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Hannibal sez,

People calling for a #2. We got one. He cost us O'Neill.

I'm looking for a salary dump innings eater. Maybe the Twins? Odorizzi or Lynn could be an adjustment away from useful as our "#6." I'm sure there are others, but I'm saying we need not mortgage the farm for Hamels.

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Well, there are some who would say we mortgaged the farm long ago, but ... :- ) Marco is pitching like a #2 right now, thass' fo' sho'. I think over his last 3 starts he's got 22 IP with an 0.82 ERA and a 18:2 CTL.  Krueger characterized him as "going from taking the 100 class to teaching the 400 class" since the first month of the season.

Whether it's by intelligence soaring upward (?) or guts and gumption being the key (?) or simply a few bad breaks rolling his way (per the Mainframe's insistence after games 3 and 4), Marco is now a ten-game winner, 10-5 with a 3.41 ERA that now matches his 3.47 xFIP, as the 'Frame modestly predicted it would.  This ERA puts him #12 in the AL; if he could sustain that, he'd quite obviously fit in as a #2 behind Paxton (whose own ERA is higher, at 3.49).

Brooks had Marc-O for an odd pitch mix, 20-17-18 with 27 cut fastballs into the bargain.  He was backing them off the plate constantly, and throwing backdoor cutters when behind in the count.  Blowers aptly noted that "he doesn't like to get into fastball counts and then throw a fastball."

The Times notes that Marc-O is just the 10th Mariner to win 10 before the All-Star break.  Now if he won 20, wouldn' that be somethin'?  (He's actually on pace for 17.4 - 8.7).

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There was a picturesque moment in the game Wednesday night; we had our All-Stars Segura and Haniger on 1B and 2B, and our All-Star Cruz at the plate.  A wild pitch put them both in scoring position.  Cruz rifled a shot up the middle for 2 RBI, 55 on the year, now on pace for 96 this season.  Should be good for 100, seeing his missed time earlier.

All-Star Haniger has 18 HR and 65 RBI... TV ran a list of every Mariner who had done THAT by the All-Star break.  Of course Griffey, Edgar and ARod had.  Bone did it in 1996, the year he wound up with 44-138.  A.D. did it in 1984.  Boone in 2001 and 2003, I think.  And besides that, only Ibanez a couple of years ago.  Except for the Junior glory years, we haven't had any 30-100 men really.

Here's a Q:  do you expect Mitch Haniger to have a better career than Jay Buhner?  It would be asking a lot.

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LL has a detailed piece on Mike Zunino's CERA.  It shows dramatically better ERA's for Zuumball, and slightly better K/BB's, for everyone except Mike Leake.  In this case I'd probably go along with the conclusion, even if it's not "definitive."

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Closer and Mega-Closer threw two scoreless innings to celebrate the win, Closer a "scoreless" inning and Mega-Closer an "overmatch" inning.

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Re:  the NBA, Bill James sez

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Happy Zeus Day,

Dr D