See also, Heard It On The X.  Adair-able commentary from 3/10/10's Hot Stove 710.

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I/O Mauricio Robles:  Asked which one pitcher stood out so far, Adair was on Robles instanter.

Thusly:  Impressive talent, impressive maturity, has the whole package.  Has a chance to be a very special pitcher.

Has a little Johann Santana in him:  92-96 mph, a real good changeup.

"Will he stick at starting pitcher?"  Oh yeah.

CRUNCH:  c-points G-Money.  You think Santana is over-the-top from Adair?

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I/O Ryan Feierabend:  Could pitch now, probably -- but coming off surgery, the budget is for 125 innings in the calendar year.  We want him available during the September pennant race and in the playoffs.

CRUNCH:  Well, that's what he said.

For those who just joined us, Fire used to be a 30-30-30 lefty with a plus change-speed game ... a verrrrrrry high % chance of being effective.  The Dr. Mike Marshall "roll 1d6; 1-2 FB, 3-4 CV, 5-6 CH" arsenal leaves all sorts of margin for error.

Raise your hand if you buy into Fire in the playoffs.  Nuh-uh.  But, great quote.

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I/O Michael Pineda:  "How tall is he?"  Six foot fifteen, deadpans Adair.  And moves like a smaller man (a la Shaq - Dr D).

I quote this next one word-for-word:  "Is a 92 to 98 guy."

NINETY EIGHT!   WHAT?

Adair mentioned that Pineda actually hasn't been pitching very long and then made it a point to change the subject away from Pineda.  I'd like to think that this is like changing the subject away from Dustin Ackley:  we know, we know.  Hush up.

At 92-94 mph, Pineda is one of the four or five most promising low-minors pitchers the M's have ever had (Felix, Roger Salkeld, Mike Moore, Ryan Anderson).

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I/O  Josh Fields:  He's grinding right now.  Remember in college he threw one inning, one or two times a week.  You could just muscle past guys.  Now needs to get a delivery.

CRUNCH:  Fields is going to depth-charge to 2,000 fathoms for a while, then pop back up as a post-hype "sleeper."

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I/O Cliff Lee:  Very funnnnn watching the blizzard of strikes in front of a great defense.  The hitters are hosed if they do and hosed if they don't.

Felix and Lee had 510 innings between them last season.  Our solution:  give them a very light spring training.

Lee has sooooo many weapons with which to finish hitters off.  His release time to the plate is off the charts.  Maintains concentration as if in a trance - "always in the monent" as he adairably put it.  etc etc.

CRUNCH:  Lee puts his own fingerprints on the pitching position - mechanics are unique, on-field "personality" is unique, very interesting to watch.

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I/O:  Later in the broadcast, Rizzs or Jim Caple or somebody revealed that three Japanese teams may train in Tuscon next year!

CRUNCH:  :- O

All sorts of goodness lurks behind that hill and the next one... an eventual World Series, for example.

When does NPB train?  Could ST matchups ensue between NPB teams and MLB teams?

Enjoy,

Dr D