More on Paxton, Hultzen and Taijuan
Dr D's version of a bullpen switch
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Q. Does Dr. D really expect the M's to re-boot in May?
A. 'course not. The M's are a mortal lock to keep them down until the latter part of June, anyway, as they did Ackley. Our little think tank ain't been hired to provide consultations, babe. We're cracking peanuts in the bleachers ... increasingly sitting by ourselves in empty stands.
That's too high! It's too high! ... oh.
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Q. Could the M's re-boot while leaving the Big Three down in the minors?
A. Sure. We listed 9,000 things you could do that would have the desired effect, starting with the health and safety of the soda machine and proceeding from there to Kevin Millwood's job. Dr. D would love to see a re-boot in any form, including the one that saves $8M on the salaries of Paxton and Hultzen.
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Q. Would Dr. D agree with Esteemed Money-Man that a complete U-25 roster sends the torpedo out into a U-turn that will sink the M's anyway?
A. Without a doubt the M's need a 90-RBI man and a reliable short reliever. They need Veteran Presence (TM) that leads in terms of bases gained and bases lost, not in terms of "showing kids the right way to go about their business."
As Colorado Mariner has observed, Dustin Ackley is nails anyway. I can't imagine how Brendan Ryan's pre-game hitting prep provides anything ... well, it may provide aversion therapy, maybe. What good does it do for an Entitled Veteran to carry himself The Right Way and then go out and go 0-for-30? Dustin Ackley takes what inference away from Ryan's batting-cage prep, exactly? That it leads to disaster?
Ideal would be a guy carrying himself the right way, and then going out and winning some key games for the kids when they're not capable. If we ain't getting that, what say we put our 25 best players out there, whether they're young or not.
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Q. What say you about Paxton's and Hultzen's BB rates? Are there precedents for 5-BB minors guys succeeding in the majors?
A. The classic example being Kerry Wood.
Wood was walking 8.12 men per game in AAA immediately before he was promoted to Chicago NL, where he promptly became the best pitcher in the National League. Dig these minors walk totals.
The minors bats just couldn't make contact, the umps wouldn't call the slider, and it made Wood look like a chump. Danny Hultzen, for example, has given up 20 hits in 44 innings (!!) and Dr. D will cheerfully bet you his blog that if you promoted Hultzen, his walk rates would magically fix themselves. Any of those Nolan Ryan types, who way overmatch the minors, are prone to walking 2x as many in the minors as they do in the majors.
Hultzen's motion is already exactly what it's going to be for the rest of his career. The scouts are saying precisely the same thing. They'll tell you that Hultzen misses a pitch a few inches here, the ump blows one there, "it happens."
Still, if you amigos don't buy it, ::SHRUG:: to that babe. Paxton and Hultzen are staying in the minors until Super Two anyhow. The Mariners have been managing money, not skills, since the day they flushed the Big Three in spring training. Can't let the fans get excited.
::hawk, spittoo::
Hultzen and Paxton, I'll take 'em against your Carraway and Erasmo this weekend for a hunnerd bucks. But they ain't the end of the discussion. The discussion in my bleacher section is, reboot or die. Reboot with Erasmo and Mr. WBC if you want. Just don't gimme the spinning freeze wheel and then try and sell me municipal water for $4. :- )
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