Gaviglio at Nolasco

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RICKY NOLASCO

Has been pitching cruddy.  Think "Angels' version of He Who Must Not Be Named."  He'll come at you -- only 2+ walks per game -- but you can come right back at him.  23 homers coughed up in 90 innings.  We're guessing he usually suffers only one bad inning per start...  make it count, boys.

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SAM GAVIGLIO

It came out recently that Gaviglio had been a "Bad Actor" in the minor leagues.  He also pitched in a dreary template, a 90 fastball / 83 slider two pitch template.  The combination of the two explains the fact that he was not invited to major league camp.

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M's 10, pesky rodent Angels 0

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ARIEL MIRANDA

In the 27th start of his career, opted for "Ah, who cares" mode.  Many times you saw him stepping back into his rock, practically at the same time as Zunino put the sign down.  His body language, his first-pitch strikes, and his 2-hit shutout all spoke for his extreme ATTACK mode.

Now, if you're going to encourage your talented rookie to just grab the ball and huck it -- and the M's should do this with Miranda -- then you're going to have to console him when he gives up two-three homers now and again.  Drew Smyly his ownself gave up 5 or more runs how many times last season?  Ten times.  Any non-superstar pitcher is going to take his lumps.  But Miranda will give you scads of 10-0 wins if you let him go at people like that.

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Forgotten Stars: Cecil Cooper (1982 Brewers)

Just take a look at that swing, just after contact. Fred McGriff instructional videos can't teach you to have better "back leg special" form than that. Note the back leg is taking all of the weight in the swing, the hips stay closed until after the bat clears the zone and are just now exploding out, his eyes are looking right out along the top of his bat, the energy has a distinctly upward trajectory (he's leaning waaaay back on follow-through - without a giant uppercut, he is still giving the ball lift).

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Sonny Gray

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SABRMatt notes that the M's are rumored to be talking to Billy Beane about ... Sonny Gray?!  Dr. D's 'thoughts,' however dubious, are solicited.  As Clint Eastwood's main squeeze famously said, "dreams are like clouds floating across a sky-blue mind."  And what could be sky-er blue than MLB trade rumors in July...   clouds float across Dr. D's mind thusly:

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1)  Drew Smyly's TJ surgery clears what, $10M next year when they non-tender him.  It also clears the rotation of all hopes and aspirations of having that particular young strikeout rotation member.  Clarity can be a wonderful thing.  If only we had a General Manager willing to make bold deals.

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... speaking of Jose Quintana

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Here is a local Sox column, real good read, on the Sox' need to deal Jose Quintana.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-jose-quintana-trade-v...  This piece also acknowledges Chicago GM Rick Hahn's laughable belief that Quintana is worth approximately the same as the U.S. land mass between New Orleans and Colorado.  No word on whether U.S. ambassadors will be required to cut a deal on the downlow.

Here are a bunch more Quintana trade rumors.  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/chicago-white-sox   The Astros have a sizable offer on the table but are "not budging" in response to Hahn's folly.  The Yankees and White Sox may deal:  Quintana AND superstar closer David Robertson for two blue-chippers (not the Yankees' #1) and two other prospects.

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The Role of Strikeouts in MLB's Future

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Every person, up to and including Edgar Martinez, has his plusses and minuses.  At BJOL there is a chap named Dave Fleming who unapologetically manifests several of each.  On the one hand, he's on the James team and he writes well.  On the other hand, he's a drag to talk politics with and he has your grampa's aversion to watching baseball strikeouts of any kind.  There could be other things to put on the ledger, we're guessing, but those are the ones that affect MY life the most.

Combining all four of those ingredients into one tasty Jell-O fruit dessert, we've got his latest BJOL article.  It starts, like many of the world's most beloved tweets also do these days, with a compelling observation or two.  Delivered in a less-than-sightly manner, perhaps.  But it's the substance, not the style, that sticks with you:

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Tuner's Rime

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Casey at the Bat -- or -- Rime of the 2017 Mariners ... 's all usually just a break here or there makes the difference between fame and just-fer-fun.  

The original poem "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" speaks of a sailor (below, the 'umpire') back from an adventure.  The sailor grabs a passerby (the victim-guest) by the elbow and slowly lulls him into the story, until the victim-guest buys in to the supernatural sense of foreboding.  The sailor weaves a tale of a cumulative, gathering danger, which makes Tuner's little joke such a genius application for our AL enemies in 2017.

Tuner doesn't make it easy, but the Mainframe will add a few light annotations:

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Baseball's Best Team 3 ....

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SEEMS LIKE WE SAW THAT GUY SOMEWHERE BEFORE, Dept.

Excited!  I was jazzed during the game.  He looked to me only one notch short of Classic King Felix:

GOOD

  • Nice life on the fastball, 91 and 92 without strain, good-to-quite-good precision with the pitch
  • Was capable of throwing the sharp changeup/dry spitter -- 88 MPH with two strikes, start at top of knees dive to shins
  • Always has had an excellent overhand curve
  • Slider consistently hit the black
  • Four quality pitches, way cool (compare Felix Saturday to Andrew Moore Friday.  Felix is better)
  • Body language, presence 

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