August 2017
Think Ian Kennedy, Alex Cobb, Bronson Arroyo
Posted by jemanji on 08/31/17
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WHO WON THE TRADE
See Jeff Sullivan's recap. In essence, the Mariners gave the Cardinals Rayder Ascanio, and the Cards gave back $0.75M in international slot space. That space is valued at $3-4M, so this trade is a wash.
Then, the Cardinals gave the M's Mike Leake while sharing $17M of his salary. The M's wind up paying 3x$36M over the years 2018-20. The big thing is that they get to open their present now, pay a couple mill for the end of 2017. Dipoto selected his #4-5 starter going forward.
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INNINGS EATER IN DECLINE
Sullivan compiled this chart that averages Leake's fastball over... Read More
LATE is the HOUH in which this CONJURER chooses to APPEAR
Posted by jemanji on 08/31/17
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Just the Fa'ax, Ma'am Dept.
With the Mainframe back from dry dock, having received a few well-placed swings of Eye-Gore's noggin against its side paneling, I think this is relatively accurate. As of Thursday for the race for WC2. Bold face teams are in the top 4. The M's better get some mojo back on for the Orc series:
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TWINKIES +6
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PESKY RODENT ANGELS +4
@stRangers ... @Orcs ...@Mariners ... Astros ... stRangers ... Indians ... @Astros ...@WhiteSox x4 ... @Mariners ...
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ORIOLES +3... Read More
Paxton at #51, Leake at #65
Posted by jemanji on 08/31/17
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James currently has Mike Leake listed as the #65 starting pitcher in the major leagues; last week he was #66. Exactly one year ago, Leake was #49 in the league. One year before that, Leake was number #30. One year before that, he was #36.
James Paxton is #51. As far as James' rating system is concerned, it's not that big a deal whether the Mariners are using Leake, vs. Paxton, during the stretch run of the 2017 playoffs. Of course James is aware of the lockdown potential. He is emphasizing the "sure" return of 4-5 starts.
Also, once you realize that Mike Leake has been a #30-65... Read More
we may have some good news mixed with th' bad
Posted by jemanji on 08/30/17
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Me poor bairns ... they kinna take much more o' this ... I cannot change the laws of (starting rotation) physics, sir! But can a team in a 7-way demolition derby afford to have a door taken off with four laps to go? the M's are in surprisingsy resilent position for the Wc2 :
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SitRep 8.30.17
With a contemptous wave off of the Twins as no issue, which forms the height of boundless wisom on Dr. D's part. Unless and until the Twinks get to that Sept. 22 four-gamer with the Tigers and play well in it. I personally don't expect 'em to, which is loosely speaking allows us to treat the scanrio... Read More
comments stub
Posted by jemanji on 08/30/17
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POTD up shortly. Meantimes, here's a clean sheet for first reactions. Here are two from Gordon, the SSI fear-nothing juggernaut on MiLB-for-MLB maneuverings
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G-MONEYBALL 1
Mike Leake, huh?
Whenever you can pay a #4 guy $16 million a season I guess you have to do it, especially on this team. We'll see how much money STL is kicking in, and losing Rayder is fine.
That severely curtails next year's spending though. Leake is next year's big free agent acquisition - which just puts more pressure on Seattle's young players to pick up the slack. Fingers crossed that Moore or Marco can... Read More
pictured below: Jeff Sullivan's "Guillen Number"
Posted by jemanji on 08/26/17
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Guillen number being simply --- > the number of baseball runs that score because of home runs. The graph moves from post-WWII to present.
Has it seemed to you like there's more dead time in baseball? What % of the time is the baseball rolling around in fair play? Are we reduced to hoping for a set of four pickoff throws to 1B as the highlight of the 8:00-9:00 hour?
No, we're kidding. "Three True Outcomes" (homer, strikeout, walk, which are "pure" tests of pitcher vs hitter) are fine by Dr. D. They'd better be, though, because ice cream is fine but if they're stuffing it into you by... Read More
we bad, Dept.
Posted by jemanji on 08/26/17
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100 MPH IN, 106 MPH OUT
Here is the video of Yonder Alonso's center field shot off "The Missile." The M's site gives this as the 3rd left-on-left home run ever hit off Aroldis Chapman. It was right back up the middle on a line.
Lately the 'Frame had swayed beatifically to the sound of 305's thumping bat off 95-99 MPH fastballs. That, however, is the kind of shot that changes scouting reports, or it would be if Alonso were anything new this year. Personally I'll be watching to see just how often Alonso even gets challenged the next several weeks.
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On trade day, we quipped that Mr. 305... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/26/17
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BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
They say that Boeing 747's have wings that can withstand three times the stress they'll ever face. Supposedly you could mount a 747 by its wings onto 100-foot high boxes under either wing and they wouldn't bend. No idea whether they actually did that test or where they got the big cardboard boxes. Somewhere in here we were getting at the idea of a really extreme "road test."
Here was the M's little bullpen that could, against the freight train of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson. Tie game. Low SCORING tie game. In New York. The outcome had... Read More
Miranda's not in a slump, he's DUE
Posted by jemanji on 08/25/17
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WILD CARD 2: NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS
... for the team that didn't play, that is. Like you land on "Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect 1 Defeat" in Monopoly. Sit and prosper in the pokey, wayyyyy over .500 at 65-63, while everybody else does each other damage:
√ Twinkies lose their 2nd in a row, 5-1, to the cruddy White Sox and the cruddy Derek Holland (7-13, 6.05). Minnesota only +3 over .500, soon to be -17 under .500.
√ stRangers use Martin Perez' three strikeouts to lock down the pesky rodent Angels, 3-0. Check. LAA now only +2 over .500.
√ Royals score 1 in the first, 1 in... Read More
baseball stuff! and it ain't SSI!
Posted by jemanji on 08/25/17
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Disclaimer-just-ta-be-super-sure: there is a mild Sports Is Life easter egg in the below internet trailer. Forge ahead at your peril. - Dr D
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Ryan Divish has a sweet mailbag-type column up, and he starts it with Dr. D's patented word "cobbling." You simply cannot argue with the word Cobble. But we can at least hope he's wrong about James Paxton still being three weeks off. (No, honestly, he could be right, but, Ryan sometimes gives you a little extra helping of the No Cheering In the Press Box 'tude.)
Divish also has some solid analysis, and even a skosh of access, on Paxton/Boras... Read More
the most famous American oration ever delivered?
Posted by jemanji on 08/25/17
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Caleb (MisterJonez) gave us rich, detailed background on Lincoln and his views on the Civil War. Jonezie does, if I understand him right, consider Lincoln's attitude toward slavery suspect?
To pick one idea out of Jonez' remarks, here's a followup question for him (a literal question to a man who's studied it more than I have). That single quote by Lincoln (to the effect he would pursue peace even at the cost of retaining slavery) is resonant.
However, other ideas of Lincoln's cause me to question exactly what the spirit was on that quote. Did Lincoln mean something along the lines of... Read More
Dr. D's verdict: farther away than expected ... but farther away from a higher point
Posted by jemanji on 08/23/17
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THEN (July 21, 2017): We hoped Marco's elbow would be okay.
NOW (August 23, 2017, one AAA stint and 4 MLB(TM) starts later): Marco is throwing free and easy, good velocity, bobbing his weight up and down comfortably on the followthrough. The Mariners are holding him to about 23 pitches per game. (They did let him go 99 pitches this last time out.)
So FAR, so good, er, ideal. The kid does have a muscular short-arm delivery, but some guys like Mark Beuhrle have too.
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THEN: Bat571 reported that Marco was doing pretty good considering his release point has been an issue.
NOW: He's got... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/23/17
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James continues to offer fresh, Centrist thinking on the social issues that we all grapple with. Sports Is Life :- )
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An announcer named Robert Lee is being dropped from ESPN's broadcast of some upcoming college game (involving U.Va, I think) because of the similarity to General Robert E. Lee's name. I'm as much for obliterating Confederate monuments as anybody, I believe, but this seems a tad of an overreach. My question is whether you think the statistical record for former Angels reliever Bob Lee will remain in baseball.reference.com.
Asked by: SGoldleaf
Answered: 8/23/2017
... Read More
Dr. D back online sooner than expected. Crowd expresses delight
Posted by jemanji on 08/21/17
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ANDREW ALBERS
There is one (1) blog in captivity, at which you can say --- > a cliche spoken is a truth spoken. And here's the cliche: Andrew Albers commanded his slowball. Here, dig this Inside/Outside strike zone:
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In other words, if you turned the left hand batters around as if they were hitting from the right side, this is the catcher's point of view. Another way to say that is: the above is catcher's view on the RHB's and it's pitcher's view on the LHB's. That's quite the plot of slowballs that are (1) low-away or (2) in on the hands, backing the hitters up, so they can't... Read More
Here's my opinion I could be wrong
Posted by jemanji on 08/21/17
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As y'know, Dr. D has nothing but respect for James' body of work. As y'also know, we think it an overreaction that he fights so hard against the concept of hot streaks, cold streaks, extra gears, etc.
Recently he snapped at another reader for suggesting --- > that "special talent" like Robinson Cano (my example) has the ability to hit playoff pitching. But then another reader dug into James' old work and deployed James' words against himself. Very much to his credit -- would you do this? -- he printed the letter. And responded with nothing other than a wink and smile (in the form of... Read More
it's Dr. D's party, and ... well, hold that thought
Posted by jemanji on 08/19/17
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GRIK (tic of the baseball clock): Erasmo Ramirez comes through with a performance the Rays call "sharp." The M's ride his 90 pitches into the 7th inning and avoid using their short men.
GROK: From what I saw of the game, Ramirez threw the ball about average for him. :: shrug :: Which is fine. He's an average starter. Which, is 237 a lot? I dunno, are we talking about miles to walk, or seconds left to live? A lot depends on what you are comparing to. As #5 starters go, I'm delighted with Erasmo.
About 200 years ago, Voros McCracken pointed out that it was mostly luck, where a... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/18/17
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Many Denizens here are more literate in the U.S. Civil War than I am. Have heard, though, that towards the end of it the North was more able to afford losses than the South, so Grant was able to employ tactics that implied even losses. This "War of Attrition" game theory applies itself in many battles, sports and otherwise. An NBA team that is up 14 in the 4th quarter can trade baskets.
In chess, if you're up two pawns, the side that is behind cannot afford to trade pieces -- and the corollary is that the winning side can move his Queen and Knights up the board, secure in the knowledge... Read More
Linkables
Posted by jemanji on 08/17/17
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WORMHOLE 1 --- > the MLB standings have the M's at .500, same as 122 games ago. The Royals are +2 despite a -17 run differential, the rodent Angels at +3 despite a -5 run differential. Forthy games left.
Whether the Mariners, with all their injuries, deserve to have a shot at the playoffs is one question. Whether they are in fact in position to take a shot at the playoffs, that's a separate question.
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WORMHOLE 2 --- > Servais plans Erasmo - Miranda - Guy Art Dough over the weekend, with a 4.1 IP agenda for all except Miranda. Same goes for Albers and Marco to follow. M's are... Read More
Andrew Albers left out to rot on the mound for 77 pitches
Posted by jemanji on 08/16/17
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The question on Andrew Albers is not whether he could feasibly make a #2-3 starter in the big leagues. (That's a question for Marco Gonzales, who pitches Wednesday.) The question for Albers is whether the Mariners can go 2-2 in his four starts here. Since they've now gone 1-0, logically they'd have to go 0-3 to avoid that. :: wry smile ::
Here is some video of the dude.
Pitch 1 - 69 MPH change curve outside corner. (But here is an awesome earlier look at his weird overhand high-60's change curve.)
Pitch 2 - 77 MPH slider, garbage swing LH-on-LH. Cool that the lefty couldn't see it,... Read More
let's get TV some TV-level coaching
Posted by jemanji on 08/14/17
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Here comes Thyago Vieira. The embedded video has a high fastball ... an outside fastball ... an outside slider. His stats are okay lately, 10:6:0 ratio in 11 IP since going to Tacoma. They must like the way he's throwing.
Out of curiosity :- ) I wondered how Armando Benitez performed when he first came up. (Pattern recognition and all! HEH) He sliced and diced in his 1994 late-season callup, 14:4:0 in 10 innings pitched. Just offhand I'd guess that a Vieira type (or Edwin Diaz type) tends to do well his first MLB month if he controls his emotions.
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The Mariners have been pursuing... Read More
our minds are blessings the universe doesn't even understand
Posted by jemanji on 08/14/17
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A few cubicles over, we had summarized James' (and my) suspicion that "injury prone-ness" could be the brain getting overzealous about stitching pattern labels onto a perceived syndrome that may not actually be there (much). Terry added a 112-MPH launch-velocity anecdote. With his permission I'll annotate. With your permission you'll throw a potato into the comments pot about pattern recognition - how much RBI's have a real basis, or whether it takes us too long to assign a new pattern (Dipoto vs Armstrong), etc.
Terry says
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. . . I spent 18 months in a neuroscience lab. This might be... Read More
and your Word Of the Day vocab drill
Posted by jemanji on 08/14/17
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The word "revolting" gets thrown around a lot. However, it's not usually used as so appropriately as when you throw 4 straight to the rodent Angels on Edgar weekend.
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re * volt * ingadjective
1.disgusting; repulsive:a revolting sight.
re * volt
to turn away in mental rebellion, utter disgust, or abhorrence (usually followed by from):
He revolts from eating meat.
to affect with disgust or abhorrence:Watching Mike Scioscia trying to look like a tree full of wise owls revolts me.
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OriginExpand
1540-50; (v.) < Middle French revolter < Italian rivoltare to turn around < Vulgar... Read More
A pure, distilled example of the altruistic love that ennobles man
Posted by jemanji on 08/13/17
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I hadn't even heard of Sir Nicholas Winton, the "British Schindler," before a 90-second video re-circulated on Twitter following his peaceful death at 106. It's tastefully done and emotionally/spiritually nourishing.
Here is my favorite version of the video. We advise watching that original piece, before reflecting on it (below if so desired). :- )
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For further reading, the Wikipedia entry on him is concise and well done.
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A minor takeaway is --- > let's focus on altruism, over tribalism. As far as I know, Sir Winton was an atheist, and he was an Englishman. His... Read More
if yer SP's are pajama peeps, hook em at #19
Posted by jemanji on 08/12/17
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Scott Servais made some unorthodox pitching changes Friday, they didn't work out, and the press shamefully tore him apart.
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/POLITICAL DISCLAIMER SKIP THREE PARAGRAPHS IF YOU WANT NO "LIFE" WITH YOUR "SPORTS"/
This syndrome in all its forms -- "Hey! Why didn't you follow the mob and cover your keister!" -- is one of the things that keeps mankind from advancing intellectually, faster than it does. Ask any Goolag employee who deviates from the groupthink. (That's not a cheap shot out of proportion; however bad you imagine the thought enforcement is at Goolag specifically, we assure... Read More
call the meat wagon
Posted by jemanji on 08/12/17
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On the one hand, kudos to G-Money who was gracious about no "I tolja's." :- )
I'm a Dilbert/Scott Adams fan ... well, not in the sense of considering him an "authority" as one wag asked me in his Twitter feed. The goal is to benefit from everybody's wisdom, to gather ideas from each person, as opposed to picking a few "authorities" who speak from On High. Personally I find the tree of Adams' writings to bear handfuls of low-hanging fruit.
Adams preaches relentlessly that --- > ALL worldviews can fit the past into themselves. The test for self-aware people is whether your paradigm... Read More
and a bit of sabermetrics in the blog-o-sphere
Posted by jemanji on 08/10/17
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It pains Dr. D to see saber pieces that are wealthy in mathematics, but poverty-stricken in logic and common sense. When diverse views pain Dr. D, his reaction is not to call for firings and safe spaces, is not to take a mental health day off work. His reaction is to express ideas that he sees as the refutation. Thusly:
This article, "Nobody has ever made the playoffs with a rotation as bad as the Mariners," you knew before you clicked on it that the logical construction would be dubious. This turns out to be the case. In a midpoint statement and in the final paragraph, it's clear that... Read More
it's over now. Good thing Dr. D has been carrying his ski goggles around
Posted by jemanji on 08/10/17
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COPY AND PASTE DEPT.
The M's bats-and-pen 6, their rotation 3 - check. √
Balmer gets pole-axed by Sosh's Scrubs and is no longer front of the WC pack - check. √
Royals get smoked again by NL rivals - check. √
Rays and Jake Odorizzi fall prey to a 5-and-14 Red Sox pitcher (Porcello!) - check. √
And so in the space of two days, the M's go from -1 outside the playoff pack to +1 in front of it. And the madding SSI crowd, which had chuckled good-naturedly over Tuesday coffee, at poooor toothless Dr. D's suggestion of a James Paxton play-in game, sits up with a start at its Thursday coffee... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/10/17
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Twitter-sized takes. Gotta vary your pitches, or so Yovanni tells me. Who knows - maybe this will give room in the pot for Denizens to pitch potatoes?
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YOVANNI GALLARDO - dibbled-and-dunked, with 60% offspeed 'mallows, to trick the Orcs for 4-5 innings. I bet he can do that
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VETERAN SP, 5 IP 3 ER - It's like the 34-year-old offensive lineman with bum knees in December. There comes a time, you're just glad somebody puts a chip block on somebody
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NELSON CRUZ - StatCast's bells and whistles go off like a pinball machine annotating this ICBM
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KYLE SEAGER - They debated "favorite" home... Read More
M's play against the M's, defeat the M's, congratulate the M's
Posted by jemanji on 08/09/17
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GRIK (a tic of the hardball clok): Miranda coughs up another 2 homers and 6 runs. Ryan Rowland-Smith says the tree is green at its core, not rotten, and that Miranda has to learn to accept a BB now and then.
GROK: You realize that Dr. D is not the only one who believes that Miranda has it in him. Dipoto, Servais and Hyphen are less-notable examples of baseball minds who also think so. Aqua-man's super power is breathing underwater, if not withstanding a jillion PSI; your doggy's super power is her nose. Food, not food, your doggy will figure it out. Ariel Miranda has not figured out... Read More
Let's figure out the Wild Card elimination bracket
Posted by jemanji on 08/09/17
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Several pleasant things occurred on Tuesday night:
Mariners defeat Orcs, check √
Royals and Jason Vargas get greased 10-3 by crosstown NL rivals, check √
Rays luxuriate in the Sale-Kimbrel experience, are shut out with 2 hits and 16 strikeouts, check √
Even Balmer gets chewed by the pesky rodent Angels, check √
And so here is a big, bright, beautiful standings page with the Mariners firmly IN a playoff slot! Ohhh yeaahhhhhh. We had 'em all the way, baby.
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Just before those various and sundry nice things happened to us, Mo' Dawg had opined:
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I think I might throw Gallardo out of the pen... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/07/17
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Frustating to you and me that David Phelps sproinged a sproingy thing. Imagine, very carefully, if the Mariners made you their General Manager. Picture the work that goes into merely deciding on a Drew Smyly, the lost sleep, the "make sure I get this gig right" pressure. Never mind the elbow grease and midnight oil to make a deal come together! Now imagine the feeling when you get it all done ... and then get your morning java with the news that your precious Big Pitching Add just suffered a catastrophic injury.
Same with David Phelps. The lad was flinging it. Think YOU could GM if... Read More
He's a day late vis-a-vis July 31, but is he a dollar short?
Posted by jemanji on 08/07/17
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... well, he's our best stick, per the OPS+ column, that is. :- ) We told you we weren't above click-bait titles. Alonso's OPS+ sits at 142 for the year, higher than Boomstick's or Cano's. The problem is that it was all achieved in the first coupla months and he's been an ordinary hitter since.
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LAST WEEK
Not every Denizen is aware, we don't think, that Alonso came up a super big name prospect with the Cincinnati Reds. Year after year he got raves for his HIT tool and his ZONE command, rather in the Sean Casey mold.
He had a real big September with the Reds at age 24, like a 150 OPS,... Read More
the official SSI grok, kiddies
Posted by jemanji on 08/07/17
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One of yer all-time great 4-IP KO's. Heh. ... no, the Mainframe is fond of grokking that a pitcher deserved more, or less, than he got. Seemed to it that Gonzles "deserved" 6 IP, 2 ER against the Royals. Why didn't he get it? Let's crunch it ...
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FASTBALL
From the CF, Marco's heater was a very pleasant surprise. He threw it short-arm, meaning without extending the elbow, and concealed the ball behind his ear. The velocity averaged 92.0 MPH per Brooks and 91.1 MPH per Fangraphs' F/X. He has a real affinity for taking it up to the letters and inside on the hands. The late life was... Read More
here's hoping that the electric Back Leg Specials are grounded by a rock changeup
Posted by jemanji on 08/05/17
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Dr. D enjoys playing the smartphone game "Pokemon Go" with his family. If you consider yourself above such childish endeavors -- as you definitely should -- the "pocket monsters" battle each other in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. That is, water Blastoise does double damage* against fire Charizard and easily douses the dragon's flames. But Charizard burns up grass Venusaur like ... well, grass in a brush fire. And, neatly, grass Venusaur turns right back around and pollutes water Blastoise, so it goes in a circle and you have level ground on which to deploy your specialized weapons.
My... Read More
hang loose when I'm on the bases, Dept.
Posted by jemanji on 08/05/17
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TAMPA LOSES TOO
Jacob Faria twirls a gem for the Rays, 6.0 IP and 4 hits being the same as Paxton Friday, with 1 ER and a 2:9 control. But the Rays waste three hits from the unstoppable Logan Morrison and they lose to the Brew, 2-0.
Royals +4 games over, Rays +3, Mariners +1.
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JARROD DYSON WITH THE WEEKEND OF HIS SEASON
Dr. D was a little annoyed that the beat writers sold this RBI hit as "bailing out" James Paxton. I mean, talk about no margin for error ... six wins, then you give up two runs in the seventh game and it was an off night...
The M's site pointed out that Dyson was batting... Read More
and try to stay in shape can'cha Jamie
Posted by jemanji on 08/05/17
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17 Comments
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Preamble: Paxton is 12-3 and has probably 10 starts left. Think he can go 18-5 despite missing a month? What is Paxton's shot at 20 wins, maybe four percent?
Bob Dutton pointed out that Sale and Paxton are now tied for the league ERA lead, 2.700006 to 2.700002, to the seventh decimal place or something. Check me on that; just noodling from memory. Remarkable coincidence in the numbers considering they've got such different innings pitched and fractions of innings pitched.
Anyway it's 2.70 to 2.70 but Paxton is zooming by Sale like a shot on the outside rail. :- )
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Bill James with... Read More
the king of M's blogs suns itself in the afternoon preceding a Zeus game
Posted by jemanji on 08/04/17
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During the broadcast Thursday night, Mike Blowers marveled that 4 or 5 people in Kansas City had walked by him and said, hey dude, we're looking forward to seeing this Paxton kid. You get it, right. The buzz is gathering. James Paxton is gaining legitimacy as a star pitcher. ;- )
During the Fangraphs blogging this week, Jeff Sullivan wrote a neat article that suggests we agree that James Paxton is one of the best. We've got no punch line here. Maybe we woulda had one in 2013. Nah, you know how much we like Sully. He got it in 2013. He's gently leading a grumbly crowd to water, in... Read More
Dr. D is really enjoying this two steps up, two steps back shtick
Posted by jemanji on 08/04/17
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A few days ago, Dr. D warned gravely that the Mariners would need to win 3 of 4 in Kansas City. Not "need" 3 of 4 the way the Cavs "need" 3 of 4 after they've played two games against Golden State, but "need" in SSI terms. Which is a high bar.
He was wrong, improbable as that may seem. Kansas City themselves were bad at baseball the last week, losing 4 of 5 games to tighten the race. In retrospect Dr. D should probably have given consideration to the Royals' -12 run differential on the season. Ah, well. Even James Paxton gets a pitch wrong now and again. (Speaking of, after Zeus' win... Read More
two teams enter, one team leaves Dept.
Posted by jemanji on 08/04/17
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7 Comments
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Q. A Mariner suit once publicly declined to input July talent since it was "just a one game playoff" anyway. Does this make sense?
A. Could be.
But in 2001, the Yankee-Diamondback Game Seven was just one game, Clemens against Schilling with the Big Unit and Mo Rivera coming out of the bullpen. In 1991, the last game of the Serious was the ten-inning shutout by Jack Morris 1-0, just one game. Personally when I think of "just one game" I think of the Broncos chat boards right before 43 to 8.
Why not think of a Yankee-Mariner playoff game as though --- > we'd each won three, and were... Read More
Posted by jemanji on 08/03/17
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TALKING POINTS MEMO
John Dewan has the Mariners' defensive runs saved by position: +9 LF, +14 CF, +8 LF. Every other team in the AL has at least one bad or mediocre outfield position. The M's have easily the best all-around defensive outfield in the league.
This in turn allows them to Moneyball themselves into a "market inefficiency" with starting pitchers who throw fly balls in Safeco. Andrew Moore has a ridiculous fly ball rate. Ariel Miranda may be even more extreme in deserved fly ball ratio; the M's (and he) have a plus record in Miranda's starts despite 27 homers in 126 innings... Read More
moments that mattered
Posted by jemanji on 08/01/17
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MOMENT 1 = FELIX COUGHS UP 4 EARLY
Bill Krueger was about as disgusted as a guy like him can get, which is not very, after Felix grooved a high slowball to Rougned Odor. If you just joined us, Odor is a bad-ball swinger (not hitter) of Vladian proportions. You don't have to give him many strikes, much less many teeballs. Krueg's take on Felix' early "sloppiness" matched Dr. D's own take. Sloppiness from Felix Hernandez, in a pennant-race showdown with Cole blinkin' Hamels, is weird on a lotttttttt of levels.
When Felix trudged off the mound after 2 innings, the calculator gave the... Read More
But guess who's coming to dinner
Posted by jemanji on 08/01/17
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MILD-DISAPPOINTMENT TIMELINE
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1. SSI Denizens had been advised that Jerry Dipoto bolstered his rotation with Erasmo Ramirez and Marco Gonzalez. We were prepared for nothing on July 31 and we got a big heapin' helpin' of it.
2. We heard that Sonny Gray was traded to the New York Yankees. For Fowler, Kaprielian and Mateo, which are roughly speaking the Yankees' #4, #8 and #12 prospects. Doesn't sound like much, but then again there have been times our #2 prospect has been compared to somebody else's #18 prospect, so whaddoo I know.
2a. Couldn't find much around the 'net that usefully... Read More