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=== Chone Figgins ===
Started the pile-on. Blistered three different base hits, on each of them showing the long followthru (and therefore acceleration) that Dr. D craves. The triple and double were pulled with authority, the single leaving a vapor trail up the middle. All were on 91'ish fastballs, mostly deep in counts.
Pitchers are going to challenge him until they buy in, and then come the walks. PRESUMING that Figgins continues to accelerate the bathead through 91 fastballs.
In fairness to Chone, he has now hit leadoff for the Seattle Mariners in five games (once last year), and has 9 hits in those five games. Last year he was feeling for the baseball, just poking at it listlessly. Now? He knows what he wants and he is going after it. I got your sports psychology right here, pokey.
At 34, Mickey told Rock that "yer got the heart, but you don't got the tools no more, kid." We ain't signing off on Figgins' age-34 season, and you'll be able to see for yourself whether the SP's ever do.
But! This was precisely what we wanted to see. And the M's are playing .750 baseball :- )
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=== Justin Smoak ===
Mike Blowers, during the broadcast, opined that Smoak wasn't doing much with fastballs middle in "and isn't quite there yet left handed." As he said that, Colon challenged him middle-in with a 90 FB and, on cue, Smoak fouled it back harmlessly. "That's a pitch he should be able to handle," Blowers followed on calmly. So calm. Tea, anyone?
SSI has given Smoak credit for not jumping out in front, as he did in 2011. But now it occurs that Smoak is forcing himself to time everything late ... meaning that he can't get the bat head out in front to punish inside pitches.
It's adjustments back and forth. Smoak needs to see the pitch, pull inside ones, take outside ones the other way. I've got to admit he's not reading the pitches that great.
It's a step. If 2011 is volume 1, and where he needs to be is volume 10, it looks like he's up to 6 or so.
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He's got the batting eye. He's got the 230 lbs. He's got the bat wrap. Capt Jack said this was a developmental year. Developing...
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=== Saunders ===
We kiddingly asked Geoff Baker for a cheese pizza, to check with Saunders about the training method. He non-kiddingly delivered a 20-inch combo with buffalo wings, reporting that Saunders is all over the followup sessions.
In the three pics below, Saunders clears his knees to some extent and does step over home plate to steady himself. But you'll notice that the torso does NOT over-rotate, the top hand comes off, and this on an inside pitch.
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ere Vinnie Catricala makes 14 bats, just like in Arizona.
Thank you, Capt Jack.
Cespedes sure didn't have any problems squaring up that 94 mph fastball by Delabar. It looked like it had a little bit of inside run to it as well. We could be looking at one of the better MLB Cuban defectors here. He's no Yuni. He's looking like an ROY candidate. BTW that's not bling, more like neo-hippy wear. Beads, hemp, and such.