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Bullet Points

1) It was remarkable:  what Taijuan was trying to do, Noesi actually was doing.  We'd say that only 1 MLB game out of 100, do you find two such similar-looking pitchers mirror'ed off against each other.  In this case, it was one guy doing it right, one guy doing it wrong.  So, it was instructive.

• Hot fastballs wild in the zone
• Changeups, about -5 MPH not really good enough, as the only "keep em honest" idea
• Special talent, unharnessed
• High release points
• White knuckle (notice that Noesi gave up like 1 hit before the bullpen scrambled) 
• etc

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2) Taijuan, who is more raw than we expected, is defending himself just fine.  He's an excellent #5 SP.  He's an excellent concept as a #5 SP.

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3) If you just joined us, MLB(tm) hitters do not swing and miss at fastballs.  They swing and miss at offspeed changes.

Or, under certain very specific pre-conditions, at fastballs outside the zone with two strikes.  But those pre-conditions are hard to construct.  Taijuan does not construct them.

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4) Noesi finished his change, keeping it down in the zone.  All it takes is a couple of garbage swings, and then they're behind on the fastball.  By "a couple" we mean "two, teamwide."

Taijuan is completely inept at finishing his change.  Why the people on TV praise this changeup is an utter mystery to Dr. D.  Probably they mean his lower-body action is pretty good.

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4b) A couple of times, Taijuan threw an 87 MPH change (??) that fell off the table like a slider.  This pitch was a guaranteed garbage swing.

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5) Taijuan flashes a wipeout yakker.  It is when his front hip explodes through, that he has a pretty good one.

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6) Walker's makeup is a pleasure to behold.  I just love watching a man battle like that, fearlessly, when he's the underdog.

We're fairly optimistic that Waits can get him to either (1) keep the change down, or (2) do something else, to get the hitters "in between" a little bit.  When he does, look out.

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7) No shame in getting destroyed by Chris Sale, any more than the Yankees and Red Sox need to be ashamed of a Felix wipeout.  And it just so happened that Quintana and Noesi had big days -- like the moon coming out and Paul George hitting 25-footers falling out of bounds for 37 points on you.  

Tell you a little secret:  in sports, you have to hope your opponent misses.  If he doesn't, you lose.  That's all.

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7b) That said, this is why you play Stars & Scrubs:  you need your own Paul Georges, if you want more than a long string of moral victories.  If Billy Beane wants to trade his 12-gauge up for a 10-gauge, there's no good reason the Mariners shouldn't do the same.

Enjoy,

Dr D