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DEE GORDON - where do we start.  The entire Mariner offense was the X's and O's you draw up on the chalkboard, the events you are trying to cause to occur during play, but which never happen that way.

Gordon is our centerfielder, leave us not forget.  Anybody remember when we wanted to bid on Michael Bourn and Denard Span and stuff like that?  Anyway.  Gordon starts the game with a leadoff walk :- ) and then draws several throws over to first.  On the first throw home (IIRC) the catcher threw an absolutely perfect pop-and-fire to the bag ... too late for the headfirst Gordon.

Next play, Jean "Sudden" Segura fists one over the 2B's head... the CF runs in on it, scoops it on the short hop, Gordon runs through a stop sign!   the CF literally turns a somersault on the throw home -- a somersault!  the likes of which I have never quite seen and THAT's a perfect throw.

1-0 Mariners.  Turns out Gordon can execute a Ty Cobb slide also.

I think Dr. D is going to cry.

......

For the sake of completeness, let us add that Gordon lined out to deep OF, and hit safely for a single... on a ground ball to the second baseman.  The 2B took four steps to his right, flip-fired as hectically as he could:  no way.

As a community, how are we going to characterize this guy?  Mini-Ichiro?  the Safeco Lofton?  Jerry Dipoto's Lou Brock, in honor of the clever heist?  Gordon is probably going to turn out to be roughly as good a player as Brock, but ... what do you think of his chances of doing it through age 37.  If he did, he'd be on the M's Mt. Rushmore.

.......

Everybody had a hit, Cano had two base hits.  Did you catch the funny procession in the 8th?  Robby Cano banged one back up the middle for his 2nd hit, an RBI that made the score 4-1 .... a pinch runner came in and he jogged off with a big smile.

Kyle Seager banged one back up the middle to make it 5-1 ... pitch runner came in, Seager jogged off with a big smile.

Mitch Haniger ripped a lined drive on one hop to the left fielder, making it 7-1 ... you guessed it.  Pinch runner, Haniger jogs back to the bench grinning.  It was quite the processional.

You know, I coulda sworn the same thing happened with Segura... ah well.  Even Dr. D's memory hallucinations are becoming greedy.

........

Is it just me, or is the "We acquired Ryon Healy to play every day" -- in response to Dan Vogelbach's .388/.508/.878 spring with an 11:10 EYE and snake-tongue HR bat -- does that Healy shtick have a lingering scent to anybody else like "We have to show the league we poached one here?"

It's probably just me.

........

Zuumball was 1-for-2 and the hit was a savage 1-iron, barely clearing the 3B's head and barely clearing the LF's head -- how it stayed low enough to rattle the fence, was the mystery.  He hit that ball SO hard.  Wonder if there's anyplace to look up the velo, same night.

Enjoy,

Dr D