.

Hey!  A postgame!  :: crowd goes wild ::

...

I/O:  Justin Smoak hits a double.  The .gif is on Lookout Landing.

CRUNCH:  Nothing to see here.  Well, more accurately, nothing that I see.  

It's a fairly ugly swing, the CG moving in a discordant direction and the limbs disorganized -- but OTOH -- he stays back, takes the ball the other way right handed, and he does cover the baseball.  Like I say, nothing to see; it's a spring training swing and hit, doesn't count for him or against him.

...

I/O:  Erasmo goes two "strong."

CRUNCH:  Nothing to see here.  

By "nothing" I mean not anything; no single thing.  That he could throw a fastball at the knees, I knew already.  That this will sometimes result in a ground ball, I also knew.

Well, scraping the bottom of the mayo jar... he was scheduled the first day.  A lot of people are making noises like they prefer that Erasmo make the rotation.  By "a lot of people" we mean "Jack Zduriencik, and everybody who echoes Jack Zduriencik, which is everybody -currently- associated with the Mariners."

...

I/O:  Robinson Cano lines a single, and then is semi-intentionally walked.  Word is, you'll see this a lot, since Cano doesn't have lineup protection.

CRUNCH:  Nothing to see here.  Shirley you don't believe that a young pitcher, first day in camp*, is trying to make the team by pitching around a really good ... um ... second baseman.

Bill James said about Frank Thomas, when the Big Hurt was coming up, "He protects HIMSELF.  By not swinging at balls."  

Basically, SSI sides with Bill on this one.  If Robinson Cano draws 90 walks this year, I'll be delighted.  Edgar used to draw 120; it didn't prevent him, or his team, from changing the scoreboard.

...

I/O:  Taijuan Walker is starting to get behind schedule.

CRUNCH:  We thought as much.

He's young.  He's arm-y in his delivery.  Those are two different problems, and they converge.  Taijuan's shoulder will hurt, his whole career.  Most MLB pitchers operate under a lot of pain.

If there is any org in the majors that you can trust, to be "precious" with a kid like Taijuan, it's the Mariners.  Dr's R/X, amigos:  relax.   Breathe deep.  Figure on 140 innings from Taijuan this year, and if you get more it's a bonus.

's all good.  Felix, WBC-San, Paxton, and Erasmo ... if Taijuan is the afterthought, great.

...

I/O:  Hisashi Iwakuma may be ahead of schedule.

CRUNCH:  There are three possible reports out of camp here.  Which of these is not like the others?

• Iwakuma is a few days ahead of schedule
• Iwakuma is on schedule, more or less
• IWAKUMA'S INJURY IS NOT GETTING BETTER; CONSULTATION FRIDAY TO SEE IF SURGERY IS NECESSARY

So, yeah.

...

I/O:  Felix is ours and you can't have him.

CRUNCH:  A stat of the day ... the "black ink test" asks the question, "How often did Hall of Fame pitchers LEAD THE LEAGUE in strikeouts, wins, etc.?"  The "gray ink test" asks, "How often did HOF pitchers place in the top 10 in major stats categories?

At age 27, Felix has amassed 50% of a "Black Ink" career and 53% of a "Gray Ink" career, in terms of leaderboards required to enter the Hall of Fame.

Which is not misleading.  Felix posted roughly half of an HOF career, and then he signed up for his first big deal to keep him in Seattle.  He's had -- more or less -- 8+ superb seasons as an elite ace.  He's just gettin' loose, babe.

We need to get this guy some postseason games.  He'd wallow in them.

BABVA,

Dr D