M's 3, ChiSox 4
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=== Offense "Needs To Settle In" ===
Geoff Baker agrees with Eric Wedge that the offense has simply been missing its karma, missing its coherency, missing its collective beehive instinct.
They haven't quite found their balance point to grind this 2013 rail yet.
EXHIBIT A: several of you amigos pointed out that Michael Morse overswung during Sunday's game with RISP. You had the lead run, or tying run, or insurance run, in scoring position 2 or 3 different times, and Morse is well capable of lining an RBI hit to right field. But he was going for the 440-foot jack on every swing. Just bad thinkin'.
There are lots of other exhibits - Smoak's shrill insistence on being thrown out at 2B after his leadoff rope banged off the LF wall, and stuff like that. The Mariners' batters look like they just don't know exactly what to do, except to hit the ball hard somewhere.
A seasoned lineup -- say, the Yankees' -- simply knows when a single will do just fine, and when it won't. It's got a sixth sense for how hard to press in any particular AB. A #5 hitter for the Yankees is less likely to over-press, because more likely to have some trust in the man behind him.
It sounds esoteric, but that's the Zen Flow that is occurring during a 12-game winning streak. Mo' Dawg will tell you, when he shoots a 69, he's not pressing his shots too hard. He's pressing them just the perfect amount, all the time. Pleasantly ambitious, but always within himself.
I concur 1,000% with Baker, and Wedge, that the M's are totally blind that way.
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Wedge speaks in terms of "settling in."
He is referring to the fact that, if the Mariners are in fact good hitters, that they'll realize that fact as time goes on. They'll butcher the Houston Astros, let's say, and relax into their games as they get used to winning. It doesn't take a hair-fine intuition to butcher the Astros. Some wins, probably most wins, occur irrespective of such subtle factors.
The Chicago White Sox are a lot more used to winning than the M's are.
Good Ole Baseball Men talk about teams "knowing how to win." This is a big part of it: knowing when to press hard, and knowing when to take what they give you, and being confident that your chances will come.
Jay Buhner speaks of "letting the game come to you." You'll get your chance. Then you recognize it. Then you grab it. You think it's an accident that Dustin Ackley can't hit yet? He doesn't know when his pitch will arrive. Don't dismiss this discussion out of hand. Experience matters in baseball.
The M's are obviously off kilter as it pertains to Lineup Coherency. But if they're good, they'll naturally find their level, as (a certain amount of) easy wins fall into their laps, and their confidence settles.
It is a cliche, and it is also true. Baseball seasons are marathons. Wedge has run them before. So has Geoff Baker. Logically, this lineup will settle in -- maybe around mid-May.
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=== Mr WBC-San ===
For those who just joined us, Iwakuma left his first start because of a blister. The cause of this blister? His unpossible gyroball.
Today, he pitched without his gyroball. (F/X was mistaken in listing a few as having occurred.) He just used a located fastball, and a located slider, and a located change-curve. It was like Erikkk Bedard pitching without his curve, or Jamie Moyer without his changeup. Watch the game through slits in your fingers...
His big strikeout weapon #1 was gone -- the shuuto that drops out of the zone. His big strikeout weapon #2 was also therefore gone -- the high fastball that starts out like a shuuto but stays up.
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Iwakuma gave up some line drives at people, but he basically matched Chris Sale pitch-for-pitch. Without his shuuto.
I've made the statement that Iwakuma is only a Grade B starter, but he is sorely testing me on that one. His ERA is like #3 in the AL since he became a SP, and now here he is kicking tail without his shuuto.
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One caution flag: He's given up 3 home runs, and another 3-4 long fly balls that stayed in the park -- mostly with nobody on, if I remember correctly. But at 17%, his HR/Fly rate is already inflated, so it's not like he's been lucky, objectively speaking.
Most pitching coaches will trade you a few solo homers for a low walk rate. Just don't give the bases away, amigo, make 'em earn it...
Last year, Iwakuma had a 52% grounder rate, higher than Felix'. Here he is at 32% after two starts. Presumably he'll get the ball back down in the strike zone.
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No BB today, even. This dude is seriously groovin' on through at this point.
You tell me. What's the UP scenario for Hisashi Iwakuma? Wouldn't we love to hear from some NPB fans about that.
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They said it will be another couple games before the finger heals up enough to get the shuuto back. What happened to super glue?
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