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Pregame

Zduriencik did something wonderful before the game.  He told Taijuan that he would be making three (3) starts absolutely no matter what, which was great.  And then Z carefully assured Taijuan that the Mariners were going to --- > "throw the first one out."  This was much better.

This gave Taijuan a "definition of success" that he could easily meet ... in game one, his definition of success was apparently to get his name right on the pregame autographs.  He visibly relaxed into the game.

More on Taijuan's makeup later, but MegaProps to Jack Zduriencik and Eric Wedge.  Give them huge credit for the excellent first outing.

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Inning 1

Taijuan fell behind the first guy, and the ump bailed him out, making a couple of borderline calls to save Taijuan's keister on the leadoff man.  

Lou Piniella would have been out to the mound ... well, on the top step and rail, glaring suspiciously, after the 2-0 count.  Things would have gone downhill on a skateboard, and the Mariners' 2015 pennant would have gone up in smoke right then and there.  ... but in this case, Taijuan knew that the start would be "thrown out," and in only a few pitches he found his release point.

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On a superficial look, Taijuan looked like an average-solid pitcher, average-solid stuff - a hyped version of Aaron Harang.

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Steering the ball for nervous strikes

He was throwing 90-91, throwing mostly strikes, moving the ball around the zone.  If you didn't know what was going on, you'd have gone Whhhaaaaa...?  But what was really occurring was --- > Taijuan was steering the ball around the strike zone, inning 1, game 1.  

Ask Mo' Dawg what golfers mean when they say a guy is "steering the ball around the golf course."  We're talking about a failure to clear the knees and hips, in a nervous attempt to guide the ball down the middle.  With Taijuan, that was the shoulder.

Taijuan's curve, he was decelerating the shoulder through on the turn, telegraphing the curve big time ... Painful to watch.   He was rolling the ball up there, just generally aiming it and short-arming it.  All very understandable, but he would up with three Balls In Play (BIPs), two of them smoked.

Hey ... Dr. D preaches this.  Use your 3-iron on the first drive of the spring.  Put the ball in the fairway, and as you get loose, there will be plenty of time later to let the club fly.

Taijuan did that.  Good on him.  In fact the "takeaway" here -- excellent judgment, wisdom, and poise on Taijuan's part.  There are a few young pitchers who don't show that sense of proportion, don't control their nerves well enough to pitch within themselves.

Any starting pitcher can have trouble in the first, up to and including Randy Johnson -- get him early or don't get him at all.  Understanding that it was a first inning, first game, there were things in his MAKEUP to get excited about.

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The other thing that was excit-a-blicious was his release point and angle.  Wowwwweeeeee!

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• Fastball:  90-91 early, moved up to 94 a few pitches in (cf. Pineda)
• Cutter:  91  (ummmmmm.... that can't be right)
• Curve:  72 (too slow, too roll-y)

But, oddly, the Astros had no trouble making contact (all night!)  with Taijuan's un-possible 91 MPH slider.  More on that later.

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Inning 2

Taijuan opened up against the Astros' cleanup hitter with a Doc Gooden three-pitch detonation:

• 93 fastball, high, called strike (looked 95-96)
• Overhand curve, high-to-low, called strike (yowch!)
• 95 fastball, high, blew him away (looked 97)

And that, gentlemen, was our first glimpse of Taijuan's 10K capabilities.  

Of course the 12-6 curve mimics the plane of the high fastball during the first 50% of its flight.  This is the infamous Yakker/High Fastball whipsaw, used by Gooden, Beckett, et al.  On Taijuan it looks very stylish.

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Against the #5 hitter, a righty, Taijuan busted him with a 90 slider that broke back into nip the inside black.  Popup to short.  

This "RH jam cutter" is -- without the slightest exaggeration -- a signature Mariano Rivera pitch, one of 3-4 pitches he's used to routinely execute hitters for 20 years.  (Dan Haren and Roy Halladay wallowed in this jam-cutter also).  So .... we're starting to see a little sumpin'.

Felix threatened to deploy this pitch several times, but it never jelled.  (I honestly don't think Felix can control the break on his pitches all that much!)  Taijuan and Farquhar?  They are as comfortable throwing 90 MPH cutters as they are playing catch with their sisters.

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Against the #6 hitter, a lefty, Taijuan threw two 94-95 fastballs on the outside third, high-and-away.  The second one, Wallace had no trouble barrelling up a line drive .... right to Raul Ibanez.  The 95 was an effective 97-98, but good on Wallace for taking it the other way.  Carter Capps can tell you all about 95-98 MPH if the batter is sitting on it...

• Fastball:  93-95, effectively 95-98
• Cutter:  90, breaking gloveside 3-4 inches past center (!!)
• Curve:  72, rolling up there bloop-ily, with groan-inducing arm action (but not getting barrelled)

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