...........

Shame they ain't called that this year, ain't it?  When they actually have got some diamonds.

... Does anybody know why they changed their logo?  This was one of my all time fave logos AND nicknames :- ) ... maybe the city of Jackson kicked in some green to get their name in there.

If you didn't catch the TV broadcast, Mike Blowers relayed a report from Jack Zduriencik.  

Jay-Z went to the doubleheader that Spec talked about at The Stalk. He sez, he goes to the DH and James Paxton is throwing 96 miles per hour.  Paxton came out and Pryor came in and Pryor was throwing ... 100 (!) miles per hour.  This is Jack Zduriencik's characterization, not mine.  The second game, and Taijuan is throwing 98, and then Carter Capps comes in and is throwing ... 100 miles per hour.

Sims, on TV, relayed what the scouts are telling him:  these kids are just bored down here.  Gotta move 'em up now.  Um, yeah.  They're going to be bored at AAA, too.

...........

The fact that they're not up here is, to me, a game-in game-out statement that 2012 is not a pennant chase year.  Maybe that's true:  maybe Zduriencik has a Grand Vision here in which 2012 goes down as strategic positioning.  Without a doubt, Zduriencik is more emotionally attached to James Paxton than I am.

Ackley was up on June 17th last year, almost to the day the right time for avoiding Super Two - and saving roughly $4M in arb money, one time, in one season.  Ackley is of course worth $4M for six weeks' play.  Considering that the Fielder money stayed in the safe, these extra six weeks sting.

Like my man Geoffy says, this would all be much easier on the stomach acid if it was from the org, and we fans rolled our eyes and played the game.  The weird thing about Seattle is that the fans jump in to sell the snake oil ... harder than the org does.  That's what makes the tummy do a slow roll to the left, fans paying $9.75 for a beer and then clamoring for the local ballclub not to spend money.  Yeh, send the grizzled old vet out there against Verlander tomorrow, homeys.  Gotta win that arb case when it comes along...

Five more prrrrrecious starts for Paxton, lads.  Then he'll mysteriously pop out of the MLB (TM) oven, suddenly knowing all those critical little things about MLB (TM) baseball, just like Ackley suddenly knew all those little things about MLB (TM) baseball last year when the Super Two checkpoint passed.  

=== Injury Risk ===

G-Money's thread has a roundtable type discussion in which the Pulsipher-Wilson-Isringhausen Mets come up.  One quick add from my end:  if some team had 7 young stars all come up and had all 7 get hurt, it wouldn't mean much for the player population.  :- )  A 19-year-old flamethrower is a 19-year-old flamethrower.  Taijuan is to be compared to all teenage stars, ever, not to an interesting little trio of pitchers that came up together in one organization.

Be that as it may:

James Paxton -- it was John Benson who made the joke, if you want a healthy roto pitching staff, no problem.  Just take all of the tall left-handed pitchers who throw 95 MPH and who went to college ... that'll do for us too.  Add the fact that Paxton has one of the finest pitching motions in organized baseball, and that he got to take the mileage off his arm one year in his early 20's.  We always think of Trevor Hoffman when we think of pitchers who weren't used heavily as youngsters.

Paxton could blow out his elbow next start, as could Justin Verlander.  But there is no such thing as a better injury bet than Paxton.  No. Such. Thing.

Danny Hultzen -- not tall.  Other than that, he's a Billy Beane college pitcher, a lefty, throws with easy velocity and with a great K/BB ratio.  If Paxton's in the top 1% of all pitchers his age for injury projection, Hultzen's in the top 10%.

Taijuan -- You got me here.  The velocity and the clean motion are plusses for the health.   Reminds me of Dave Stieb in many ways, and Stieb was uncommonly healthy.  Felix Hernandez was in the majors at 19, and Felix' health has been okay, I think.  But you are talking about a teenager.

The thing is, he can get injured in the minors just as easily.  Felix at 19 was at Safeco, being monitored by MLB physicians and coaches.

.........

As far as Pryor goes, go check the top 20 MLB relievers for velocity and tell me which of them are not effective.  Ogando?  Chapman?  Kimbrell?  Herrera?  Henry Rodriguez?  Hanrahan?

If a reliever throws upper 90's, it is hard blinkin' work for him not to be effective.  He's got to be behind in the count constantly, 2-0, 3-1, or he is going to be effective.  Here Pryor is with a 24:5 control ratio, an offspeed pitch, and a cut fastball.  When is the last 98 MPH Mariner reliever you remember who was not effective?

BABVA,

Dr D