M's 2, Angels 1 - It Could Happen (start the ASG)
Iwakuma's lifetime ERA: 2.37. Verlander's lifetime ERA: 3.37.

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BY THE NUMBERS

2.37 - What is Iwakuma-san's career ERA, as a starter (132 IP)

3.37 - What is Justin Verlander's career ERA, as a starter (lots of IP)

AN INTEGER - What is the difference between the two ERA's, currently

VERLANDER and schlub for IWAKUMA, SEAGER, and SWEETENER - dream rotisserie trade, and easy to execute

1.02 - Iwakuma-san's lifetime ERA vs the Angels (5 starts, 35 IP, with 30 K and 3 BB)

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID - what is the Angels' visceral reaction to a Mariner series with Felix and Iwakuma going

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5.6+ - how many strikeouts per game does a finesse pitcher need to star, per Ron Shandler

6.1 - Greg Maddux' K rate, career

7.8 - Maddux' K rate, 1995 (career best; he went 19-2, 1.64)

8.8 - Hisashi Iwakuma's strikeout rate, 2013

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2.7 or so - ceiling for BB rate, if you are a star finesse pitcher

1.99 - BB rate for a freaky low-BB pitcher

1.8 - Maddux' BB rate, career

1.19 - Hisashi Iwakuma's walk rate, 2013

NO - Is Hisashi Iwakuma as good a pitcher as Greg Maddux was, 1992-1998

YES - Might Hisashi Iwakuma lead the American League in ERA, 2013

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EXTREMELY - how effective is Iwakuma within his Madduxxy finesse-pitcher template

TOP 10 - Where, among SP's, would Dr. D draft him in an AL-only roto league, if a May 1 league were forming

YES - Does this imply that Iwakuma is -- in effect if not in reputation -- an elite ace (doesn't have a robust track record, though)

.......................

1.67 - Iwakuma's ERA, current season

6 - How many games has Iwakuma-san started in 2013

4 - How many times has he given up 0 or 1 runs

THE OTHER TWO - How many times has he given up 2 or 3 runs

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SALE, DARVISH, VERLANDER, ANGELS #3, A'S #2  - who has Iwakuma faced in 2013 so far (along with one Astros schlub)

ALL OF THEM - how many of these people has Iwakuma outpitched

$19MM - what did the Oakland A's bid for the right to negotiate with Hisashi Iwakuma in 2011

$16-18MM per YEAR - what did Don Nomura use as a baseline for negotiations (arguing Zito and Schmidt as comps)

$21MM TOTAL - what will the Mariners pay Iwakuma, over 3 years, if they exercise his option for 2015

YES - Was Iwakuma in fact comparable to pitchers of Zito's and Schmidt's caliber, as Nomura argued

YES - Should he receive a voluntary team raise (okay, extension of options with biiiggggg signing bonus)

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3-2 and 2-1 - By what scores did Koufax and Drysdale just beat the Angels this weekend

CHUCK ARMSTRONG - which M's executive loves classic 1960's NL-style pitchers' duels

CHUCK ARMSTRONG - which M's executive is influential as it pertains to contract extensions

2 - How urgent is it, scale 1-10, to extend Iwakuma (objectively speaking)

7 - How important is it, scale 1-10, to voluntarily be fair to your franchise players

10 - How important has it been, past years, to treat WBC stars well in Seattle

I DUNNO - Do Japanese influences still come into play with respect to WBC stars in Seattle

? - Number of times that Felix and WBC-san will win back-to-back, during the next 5 months

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Blog: 

Comments

1
IcebreakerX's picture

I imagined Iwakuma outpitching Darvish in Year 1 last year before he got smashed by the Hanshin Tigers... But it turns out that Year 2 was when the gears really started turning.
Darvish is totally overshadowing Iwakuma as the West Coast Darling of the East Coast Bias.
They will learn. They WILL learn.

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