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Gordon

I think Felix isn't turning as much and is losing both movement and accuracy. The changeup is completely missing today, and it looks mechanical to me. Maybe Doc can break it out tomorrow. Hopefully after a victory.

Felix badly lost the feel for his changeup, three (3) games ago, right.  

He spikes the changeup a good part of the time, and leaves it up sometimes, and then --- > he throws it exactly right, so it drops out of the zone, and they hold up.  Meantime, he always looks like he's pitching with a migraine headache.

Which ... explain to me, why don'cha, if Blake Griffin lost the feel for his dunk.   "Felix Hernandez Can't Throw His Changeup!"   mmmmmmmmmokay.

It's not mechanical in this specific case; Felix put "PAID" to all mechanical issues in about the 12 century A.D., so ... it's the juice in his legs, if it's Griffin, or it's the juice in his arm, if it's Felix.  Assuming he's not distracted, say, by the news that the umps put him on their Dead Pool or something.

... wait.  Did I just patronize Gordon too?  :: garbled demonic voice ::  One of these deeaayyz ...

Whoop - sorry; "I would wonder about his shoulder turn causing changeup-spikedowns like that."  From the stretch, fast guy on 1B, he's never turned much and he didn't use to spike every 3rd changeup.  But it's an interesting thing to watch.

As you know, Felix was really pedal-to-the-metal his first 4 starts -- the results were mind-boggling, but maybe it's just not possible to go "Extra Gear" every moment of your life?  The M's solution was to give him an extra day off, and then he looked even more pained, and they said he had the flu.  

We always compare tired pitchers to --- > 3-point shooters in basketball, when they're gassed in overtime.  They can't feather the shot.

I'd skip a turn.  Do they do that any more?  Seriously.  In the 70's and 80's, they'd just give a guy a turn off and shrug.  Does that still happen, without the DL, without a big furore?

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He doesn't look hurt.  I'd graciously offer to explain, but please refer to the lead picture, next article.

In the meantime:  Remember Earl's dictum about Jim Palmer.  90% of Palmer is better than 100% of anybody else.  Pitching as badly as he's possibly capable, Felix has 17 strikeouts, 5 walks, and 1 homer allowed in his three terrible starts.

........

Alternate post coulda been:  Pitchers Go Up and Down.  Fatigue Is Often Why.  "Bad" Felix Is Great Too.  Would you have preferred that post?  I woulda

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