Austin

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Fizzlers, 4-7

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Mariner Luck

The Mariners won the "Hits" column by a score of 11-2.  They still very nearly lost the game.  That's the sign of a team playing in bad luck.

You know another sign of a team playing in bad luck?  When they open the broadcast by reciting last night's three double plays and giving you "Timely Hitting" as the key to the game.  Don' sweat it.  Won't be long before the pregame shows are extolling our "timely hitting."  When they are, check the standings.

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Mariner Execution

The Mariners won the "Hits" column by a score of 11-2.  They still very nearly lost the game.  That's the sign of a team taking wayyyyy too many "flu-like symptoms" into the game.

The M's had three baserunners killed in the first three innings or so.  A certain number of those will happen.  A certain number of them should not happen when you're diving back into second base to beat a snap throw from 35 yards away.

Hey, though.  Brad Miller's throws to first base are miles better than they had been.  Somebody clued him in on that "nose to leather" idea that John McGraw suggested.

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M's On Pace for 223 Homers and 101 Losses

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Q.  The pennant is almost out of sight.  Quickly, Duncan, the strengths.

A.  The things that have gone wrong have been as transient as an Alaskan Way panhandler, those being the lousy pitching of Paxton, Iwakuma and Taijuan.  The things that have gone right have considerably more traction, those being the 2015 versions of Ackley, Smith, Cruz, et al.

Keep playing like this, let the rotation settle in to provide the electrical surge, and Dr. D's calculations show a clompfest through the AL West.

But then, Frankenstein was never supposed to be a sedate bedtime story.  There could be a house fire or two we need to jump out of along the way.

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Q.  How much time does Rodney get before they go to the shot-put guy?

A.  SSI doesn't see that Rodney is throwing the ball any differently than he ever does.  Rick sez "they're hitting some real good pitches."  I'll go with "it was 23 straight saves before he blew that one."  But Rick said it better.

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K-Pax vs Brandon McCarthy

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THWIP:  Bill James is now keeping an updated list of the Starting Pitcher rankings.  Brandon McCarthy is #70 'in the world,' David Huff is UNR, and Brett Anderson is #167.

THWAP:  Of course, James Paxton is merely #143 by the nature of the beast, Hisashi Iwakuma is a lofty #31 (both leagues), and Taijuan Walker is UNR.  The real point is that the M's are lucky enough to miss the #1 and #9 pitchers 'in the world.'

In this article, Bill explains what attracts him to the concept:  the fact that it creates storylines.  Hey!  You've got #1 vs #2 going on up there in Seattle!  Also, if the #143 beats the #1, that's a cool news line to be aware of.

From the world of NCAA basketball, rankings have value because they drive seedings.  From the world of chess, rankings have value because we have so much confidence in their accuracy.  The #1 player in WA State is a long, long ways ahead of the #9 player, and the #9 player is a long ways ahead of the #40 player.  Two guys sit down, right away you've got a feel for the David-vs-Goliath factor.

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