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Thanks for the patience, amigos.  The last few weeks we've been doing three articles per but that's NOT the new norm by any stretch.  If I'd a known about the circumstances when doing the Patreon drive I'd have held off, trust me.  But just the same please accept my heartfelt thanks.

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2018 M's TRADE DEADLINE

Sodo Mojo revisits the 2018 trade deadline for us.  They cut it as fine as re-evaluating the Tuivailala-for-Elledge deal, go through Duke and Warren and Maybin.

Sodo Mojo swoons at the five games Tui pitched before tearing his Achilles', and calls him a major asset going forward with his 4 years of club control.  Their grade at the time A-; their new grade B.

They gave Zach Duke a B at the time, revising it to D- now.  In case you don't want to look it up, here's his statline with the M's:  5.3 K, 4.5 BB, 0.8 HR.  But in his last 18 games he's given up 1 run, a .147/.275/.206 (!) slash line, and the M's are 12-6 in those appearances.  Mojo doesn't care for his record vs. LHB's (.226/.293/.333 on the year) and calls into question Dipoto's ability to provide a real LOOGY for Servais to deploy.

Adam Warren got a A at the time and gets a D now.  :- )  In 19 innings, he's racked up 5.7 K, 3.8 BB and 0.9 HR.  Comment: his lifetime standard is more like 8.0 / 3.0 / 0.9 and they need to get him right.  He'll be in the mix come March.

Duke on the other hand is a true LOOGY, with a piddling 5.6 lifetime K rate and no hair-fine BB rate to compensate, so if he can't come in and get one lefty there's no point.

Cameron Maybin they gave a C at the time and an F- now.  If you lost interest in the Mariners some time ago, and shame on you if you did not, you lost track of his .202/.256/.274 slash line.

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Not included in the article's summary is Dipoto's trade of Adam Moore for Denard Span (116 OPS+) and Alex Colome (results:  scintillating; attitude:  boggling).

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VARIOUS AND SUNDRY on the statistical side

I didn't know that a reliever could get 3.5 WAR.  Edwin Diaz did ... that is, he did know, and he did do it.  This tied him with James Paxton for the team lead.

I mean, I sort of knew you could get 3.5 WAR as a closer, but Mariano Rivera never did.  He got 4.3 one year setting up Wetteland and throwing 107 innings, but much more to the point, Mo averaged only 2.09 WAR per season in his career.  Think about that a minnit.

In a 19-year career as closer, Mo got 3.2 WAR twice as his highwater marks.  Excluding the one setup year.  Aside from that he never hit 3 WAR in a season.

Diaz had 15.1 K, a miniscule 2.02 BB, and 0.63 HR.  That's what I call a piece to build around.

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Speaking of a piece to build around, Marco Gonzales also pitched -- pitched I sez -- his way to 3.3 WAR this year, only 0.2 less than Paxton.  Want to hear the funnier part?  That's despite the same number of innings, 150 to 161.

In terms of slash lines, Marc-O was 7.7 / 1.7 / 0.9 and as long as he replicates these outcomes, he is a fully viable #2 starter.  Throwing for club-controls money.

I just like him.  I like guys who think while they compete.  I like guys who went to small schools.  I like guys who battle.  I like the fact that he came up with Seattle (you know what I mean; Randy Johnson "came up with Seattle" in my mind).  Megakudos to Bat571.

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There are pieces here.

BABVA,

Dr D