Sizzlers and Fizzlers - Bottom Half 4.11.18
looking at a career year?

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DEE GORDON +

Dr. D is getting so he is really geeking out about Gordon.  Has hit in all 9 games; Tuesday he got a VERY tough pitch in a 2-strike count, a hot fastball from the LH-on-LH Danny Duffy low and away ... and flipped it over the 3B's head for a clean single.  Came around to score.

Jerry Dipoto, bless his heart, was FOCUSED on creating "traffic" in Seattle and that is what he has accomplished.  From a chess perspective, a Golden Axiom is "consistency" -- if you are facing an isolated queen pawn, your EVERY move has to be to that end.  You have to MAKE the pressure on that QP develop, at ANY cost.

Dipoto wanted traffic and in a chess-like manner, behaved consistently until that's what we fans so enjoy watching.

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Has 5 SB's in 9 games, a 90-steal rate.  Just saying.

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Throwing from deep CF and hitting 3B on the fly.  Had no idea, did you?   .... today he took a football slant route to a deeeeep double in right center:  he cut straight across, then angled back at 30 degrees and caught it going away.  They've got him as a PLUS center fielder with UZR, though John Dewan has him for -2 plays (not runs).  In his first 9 games he is an average center fielder; you can safely bet it will improve from here.

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Can't help but wonder.  Despite the postion switch from 2B to OF, the fact remains that 2B is more intense, demands more concentration.  Ted Williams was famous for the quip that he'd be out there in LF standing there thinking about his next AB.  Perhaps playing an "easier" defensive position will turbo the batting a little?

We're limited to one + because he was already an All-Star.

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JEAN SEGURA ++

Would be a fine #3 hitter on a weak team.  On a very good team, he is gorgeous in the #2 hole with those slashing line drives.

StatCast has him for the lowest launch angle on the ballclub, at only 2 degrees.  There's the Clemente-like "slash" that Mo' Dawg was talking about.  You get Dee Gordon on, and then Jean Segura is slashing the ball all over the park.  Reminds you of a Cito Gaston complaint about Edgar:  "you make a mistake to that guy, and there's no telling where the ball will wind up."

Seems with Gordon distracting the pitcher, "Sudden" is playing at his best now.  Despite the 0-4 he is batting .333/.378/.476 and who else thinks that is a batting line similar to what he'll wind up with?

....

I flat enjoy watching this lineup.  Imagine when Canseco :- ), Zuumball and Gamel gives us 9 hitters instead of 6.

We're going with two ++ because (1) sheer aesthetic joy, him between LH Gordon and LH Cano, and (2) dreams about that slash line for 2018.

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SHOUT-OUT

Heredia not only has a coupla balls that cleared the fence, but has a 15-66 split on his chase rate / swing-strike rate.  33-66 is average.  With him seeing the ball that well, you've got to get him some PT.  You tell your hitters that it's all about C the Z, that 8 pitches is a victory for the batter, you've got to show them you mean it, correct?

FYI, the hitters with excellent O-Z separation -- the hitters seeing the ball great -- are Motter, Heredia, Freitas, K-Swag, and Kruk in that order.

Heredia gets a + because most of us would agree he's got some upside there.  RH-on-LH, with his zone discipline, he could pitch in with the bat.  He's showin' it so far.

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MISCELLANY

The healthy half of the M's lineup is off to a rip-roaring WAR start:

Dee = 13 WAR

Sudden = 11 WAR

Robby = 9 WAR

Maniger = 7 WAR

Next homstand, let's see what the other half of the lineup has ta say.  

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Enjoy,

Dr. D

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Comments

1

That's three minuses. If he clanks one more routine grounder with his iron hands, I'm gonna punch something.

2

So long as Segura hits like he's been hitting, you can tolerate some errors. But you just hope that, if late in the season you're playing a critical game, that one of those errors doesn't lose you the game and prevent you from reaching the postseason or advancing in it.

The "clanks" are piling up, though, aren't they?!

3

Scott Servais and his crackerjack coaching crew will fix Segura up right quick.  

I mean, come on, Kyle hasn't been picked off in a week...

5

I wish I could watch the games; he's such a fun ARCHETYPE of a player to watch, especially in front of a real MOTO.  But I've thought for a couple years he would be a good fit for the M's.

Really glad Dipoto brought him in--and even gladder that he one-upped a simple acquisition with what appears to be an overall + position switch.  Killer thinking right there.

6

This offense has reminded me of the fun of the '89 and 90 As teams I rooted for, because Rickey was on them.  It's not the same offense and Dee isn't Rickey but he may be the closest we've ever seen here.  Aside from the man himself, at 41, I suppose.  Except Dee is making CF fun again as well. 

At this point it seems like a benchie with close to elite defense would be on my short list of things to acquire.

7

...a supersub infielder that does not, in fact, wreak of failure.

I'm looking at you Andrew Romine.

Yeah...no more Motter/Romine time wasting. I want a guy who can fill in at all infield positions and hit enough to not be a black hole. I'm still mad we didn't try to grab Neil Walker.

8

All of that would apply to my acquisition but mainly MiF defense is what's thin.  Asking all of that is likely expensive to acquire. 

12

About 6 weeks ago, all of KLAT was hacked and there was no site.  There had already been a new SSI chat site started by G-Moneyball at 

seattlesportsinsider.slack.com.  Myself, non-plussed with Doc's lack of a Thursday Tazoberry, tracked him down and demanded answers.  He said the KLAT crew would have the site back up in a month or so but that he was posting on his wordpress site drdetectovision.wordpress.com. I checked into old SSI regularly, and tried to answer Taro's question but the site wouldn't let me log in until today.  Sorry Taro.

The shtick is still flowing at DOV except the Monday Mochiatto was lacking. Sunday's game wasn't really worthy of a write up anyway.  I hate the Rodent Angels.  

See Y'all at DOV. I know that SSI pays Doc beer money so he may switch back now that the site is back up.

13
OBF's picture

To get added to the SSI Slack?  

Slack is an awesome interface, btw...

Oh...  WAY TO GO PAXTON!  NO HITTER!

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