I Shouted about the Hart dilemma before I read this. He's not doing what he's supposed to be doing for us. Even if he just hit lefties it would be nice. He doesn't. He's abysmal against them as a matter of fact. Gee, if we only had a RHB in Tacoma who coule mash lefties and always has. Gee. If only. Hart? Give him a Seattle Mariner's watch and the rest of his $6 large and tell him he's a great guy. And then reload.
Much appreciated that you pointed out the ridiculousness of dumping Miller just to see Zobrist as our SS. I did not Shout that but was intending to. Stupid, stupid, stupid it would be. Dumb and dumber stupid. When Doc speaks people listen. I trust that it will now not happen. Kudos.
Jones isn't great, but he has baseball value that is long standing. He can run, he bats from the appropriate side of the plate, he has a decent glove and he will likely get better. And he's a pesky out, btw. He will stay in the game for a long time. I have no problem with him right now. But I'm grabbing a Grichuk or Souza, who project to have better bats and decent gloves, as well.
I think we both advocated extending Seager before the season began, Doc. Let's do it soon.
"Paid." Exactly! Sometimes a guy sticks a neat looking putter (that you once considered the "magic wand") into the corner of the garage (I have more than a handful there) because you just come to realize that it doesn't have any more made putts left in it. Well, no more than well below the minimum accepted total footage. It's just out of them. It once had a few but no more. I've got belly putters, others with wings and interchangeable weights, hickory shafted ones, synthetic-faced ones, mallet-headed ones, and ones that I borrowed out of somebody else's garage all lurking in my bag(s) of discarded flat sticks. I was in love with each and every one of them at some point. Alas, none was the real deal (like my current sweetie-pie sexy blade putter). In my wisdom I eventually realized that fact and moved on....to almost anything else.
So it should be with Ackley and Smoak (Chavez, too). Put them in the corner of the garage, remember briefly what once infatuated you about them, and then move on. Nobody putts with a Ackley/Smoak 3-Jack Special for this long!
And the Hart Model we borrowed from the used club bin appears to be well too rusty to ever putt well for long. I'm sure we can putt better with that Jumbo Montero Model we once traded a chipping/pitching club for.
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Starting points are pinched from the M's own press-box report, which Bob Dutton linked. Available daily at the M's site. Like SSI, it's good read when you're out of info-tainment and are scraping the mayo jar.
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#13 - Kyle Seager's rank in the league, XBH, over the last three years (since 2012)
INFIELD - Where does Seager play, a glove or bat position
25 HR, 110 RBI - what is Seager going to do, in 2014
2006 - last time the Mariners had such an RBI man (Sexson, Ibanez)
SUPERBLY - How does Seager hit at Safeco Field
INESTIMABLE - what is this quality worth to the Mariners, in a 10-year context
#3 - What is Seager's WAR among position players in 2014 (Trout, Gordon)
138 OPS+ - Seager's
7 - how many seasons did George Brett have at less that 138, out of 15 (ages 21-36
135 OPS+ - Brett's, lifetime
YES - has Kyle Seager given the Mariners a "routine" George Brett Season (like 1982, not like 1980)
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.940 OPS - Robinson Cano's performance since May 9 (after adjusting to Safeco?)
.362 AVG, 16 doubles, 33 R, 33 RBI over that time (prorates to 100 R, 100 RBI)
5 - Homers in 31 games pre-All-Star Break (prorates to 27)
NO - Was SSI ever worried about Cano's HR capability
TOMORROW's - what kind of news do you get at SSI ;- )
VERY HIGH - what is Robinson Cano's baseball intelligence
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"PAID" - what does Dr. D stamp on Justin Smoak's and Dustin Ackley's bills
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"CHRONIC" - how Michael Saunders' nicks and dings are starting to look from here (doesn't really move like a ballplayer, either; more like a decathlete -- these guys tend to step on their feet wrong, over-torque themselves, etc)
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.670 - What is James Jones' OPS, at age 25
SURE - Does Dr. D enjoy watching Jones play
TOURNIQUET - what is the essential role filled by Jones in 2014
"STOPLOSS" or "REPLACEMENT LEVEL PLAYER" - what commodity are you lucky to find in AAA, especially one who bypasses the 90-game league adjustment
YES - Is Dr. D thankful for the odd "stoploss" player who comes up from AAA and immediately band-aid's a sucking chest wound
NO - is Dr. D hypnotized by this into inaction
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.289 - What is Endy Chavez' OBP (and note well: he is on a hot streak which will fade)
NO - would Dr. D be easing up on his frantic attempts to find an outfield, while exploiting Chavez' run for another few days
LET US TALK OF MORE SERIOUS MATTERS - is a .289 OBP tolerable , from your .000 ISO leadoff hitter
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THE INSTANT A GOOD TRADE IS THERE - at what point do you "sunk cost" Corey Hart, in SSI's world
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.282 AVG vs .170 AVG - What is Mike Zunino's platoon split (helps balance out lineup)
.315 AVG with 5 doubles, 5 HR - what has Zunino done in Felix' starts (close, pitchers', games)
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5 to 6.5 - How many current Mariner hitters look well-positioned to hit about 100 OPS+ in the second half
- Cano
- Seager
- Zunino
- Morrison
- Miller, probably
- Jones, decently
- Montero (at least against LHP's)
2.0 good, or 1.0 heavy impact - How many hitters does this leave the M's in dire need of
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OH, NOT THAT MUCH - What does Dr. D make of "538's" pronouncement that the M's have been bunching their hits "luckily" and are due for an offensive drought
WHY NOT - because Almonte & Co. are gone and the roster is dynamic
AND ALSO WHY NOT - because of the "critical mass" factor - when the M's score 7 runs in 10 games, they can find a way to bump that up (easy to upgrade from 50 OPS+ to 90 OPS+
OF COURSE - would Dr. D pay $1.15 on the dollar for offensive help
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.286 with prorated 75 runs, 20 homers - Brad Miller's performance during his last 38 games pre-ASB (1/4 season)
VERY LITTLE - how much sense does it make to bring Zobrist here and make him the STARTING shortstop, now
Ohhh .... 60, 70% - how far back has Miller climbed towards his Spring Training stock "best player you never heard of)
STRICTLY - to what extent does Dr. D classify Miller's earlier slumps as "growing pains"
LIGHTNING IN BAT, MAKEUP - what commodities of Miller's appear to ensure his future
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.284 with 8 R, 8 RBI, lots of 2B and HR - what did Logan Morrison hit in his last 3 weeks pre-ASB
Logan Morrison - who is giving the toughest AB's (simply gorgeous) on the ballclub, after the two Stars (defending FRONT and BACK of strike zone comfortably)
UP WITH A BULLET - how LoMo looks to Dr D
Or not,
Dr D