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His cutter is an OK pitch, but not a 70% of his pitches pitch. He needs to throw the fastball and curve more.
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Roenis Elias
It's a lot more fun to quit your job after a great day, than it is to quit during the worst day. Y'feel me?
You want to quit your job, there's a right way ... get all your systems going great, hand in your best project, laughs all around, go down to the cafeteria and have your fave meal. THEN if you still want to quit, well. Enjoy. The. Talk.
Same is true inverted. You want to propose to marriage? Catch her on her worst day ever. You still want to propose, then there y'go amig-O.
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Fun, too, to analyze pitchers based on their worst performances, worst months, worst pitches, worst seasons. John Benson used to love to ask, "Which of these pitchers had the Best Worst year, 2010-13?" Bartolo Colon, for a long time, was a great pitcher by that measure.
Roenis Elias gave up 9 hits, including a grand slam, and botched a game he should have won. And it's a paradoxical thing, but for the first time Dr. D could really visualize him as a minor star in this game.
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Just f'r instance, in spring training they used to talk about this Erikkkkk slider. SSI never saw such a thing. But as the season has worn on, it has dawned on Elias that there are certain sliders that can't be hit by certain guys, and certain sliders that can't be hit by anybody, and ...
The run value on the curve is +1.97 now, by the way. I thought he was a 100 ERA+ pitcher WITHOUT a curve. Now he's got a slaughterhouse breaking ball?
The pitchability? He guessed wrong a coupla times. But Elias had worse intentions than ever. He ain't pitching to contact; he's pitching to murder souls, as Cliff Lee's fans put it.
This guy is going to be our FIVE! Ah, life's good. We're emerging from the 5-year tunnel here. You wanna quit watching baseball, you have Dr. D's blessing.
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Errors
Seager only got charged with one. He actually made two, right in the inning they hit the grand slam, and one of the errors came on a DP. He picks either ball, the M's are 20-17 this morning. End of story.
Can only assume his head was still spinning from the flu. But, if you're counting, that's 5 errors for Seager in 20% of a season, and sometimes they ain't counting.
If you just joined us: Seager is very good to his right. Everything else is a different subject. Today it cost us.
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I ain't sayin' that Kyle Seager kain't play for my ballclub. Bah humbug.
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Danny Farquhar
When did the cut fastball become a chocolate-dipped strawberry in the pitching box? They sit on it more and more and more... today's game-losing 3-run jack was a first-pitch centered cutter:
Yes, that's THE Johnny Giovatella.
Farquhar's curve ball is utterly devastating:
- CURVE = 1.57 run value lifetime
- FASTBALL = 95 MPH
- CUTTER = 60.2% of his selection, as we type. Let me read that sentence again
He's still a good pitcher, trying to imitate Mo Rivera with the all-cutter shtick. But makeup-wise he is uncomfortably reminding Dr. D of Brandon League.
Wake up kid,
Jeff
Comments
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conduct unbecoming a pitcher at any level (except for Mo), even Little Leaguers would be sitting on it.
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Doc... I right there with ya on Elias. I love what I see, and how he appears to really progressed just this year.
Does this mean IF Walker and Paxton stay healthy... I really hope that is not a big if... then our rotation is basically set for 2015? I think it does.
That means Maurer and Erasmo and others better start padding their resume's now, or they become bullpen fodder.
Further, that means Hultzen can take his time re-habbing and getting used to not throwing across his body.
Moreover, there is no need to push Sanchez, Pike, Gohara, and Diaz... not that I want to hold them back, but the M's can reduce the stress on their young arms if the coaching staff sees any hint of something.
Lastly, in the up coming draft, Mac can put a little more emphasis on bullpen arms that can move fast in the system versus the buried starter in the later rounds.
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Then this rotation is looking like the 1970's Dodgers shtick, when they put about 11 starters in the All-Star game in six years.
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Elias is in there, for me. I'm saying, six years, #2 pencil lead. The attitude and disposition of Roenis Elias, that is why I pay cash money to see grown men chase a ball around a field. The more of a rage he gets into, as he snaps that curve off, the cleaner it washes the Mike Hargrove era away.
What you do when you have a plus starter and no place to put him, we haven't the foggiest. Ask Walter Alston? :- )
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And nobody ever accused Lord Farquhar of military bearing in the first place, Maq :- )
60-70% of any pitch, yeah. But your worst pitch? Faugh.