M's 7, Tigers 3 - Props and Slops
PROPS TO WHOEVER SAID HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS - For three-point-two innings Tuesday, not only the M's fans but also Eric Wedge were thinking the classics (those being, brown bags over their faces).
Three dreary innings, culminating in Jack Wilson not remembering or not CARING how many outs there were, when getting doubled off by a lazy fly ball. I mean, what difference does it really make? We're not going to knock me in from 1B with two outs anyway.
GRRRrrrrrr.
Two outs, nobody on, Miguel Olivo doubled, and Justin Smoak stepped in.
Phil Coke, a talented LHP, worked Smoak carefully. The book on Smoak is not to let him beat you, not to center a fastball to him, to walk him if you have to. Coke did this. He threw four pitches, only one a fastball, and the FB was down in the zone.
But as good as Coke was -- and he'd locked the M's down for 4 IP -- Smoak was better. He worked the count to 2-1, Coke came back with a changeup way down, at the knees.
Smoak dipped his back knee and put one of those drop-dead-gorgeous swings on it, the kind where the bat hits him in the butt on the followthrough. The ball went high and far, over the fence.
The Mariners looked around at each other, blinked, and the next inning raced up to the plate for a single, double, single, and then a triple for a 4-spot.
Even a single real scary hitter can change a ballclub's confidence level.
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:: best winning smile :: Hey, who remembers that back in March, there was one blog givin' yer Tomorrow's News Today on one Mr. Justin Smoak, Franchise Hitter...
Of course, it was Capt. Jack that chose Smoak over --- > Jesus Montero and it was Capt. Jack who actually acquired him, so SSI will share a little credit with Zduriencik, it supposes.
One thing that Jack Zduriencik believes in, is in game-changing talent such as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Justin Smoak, and Michael Pineda. The Committee was into MLB(TM) Civics like Washburn and Batista; Capt Jack is into Talent.
There's been way too much $/WAR navel gazing and way too little Stars & Scrubs transliteration. Get you four or five Smoaks, Pinedas, Ackleys and Paxtons and then we'll talk $/WAR to finish up the project.
At the time of the Lee trade, $/WAR enthusiasts were recommending trades for handfuls of low-minors players. The more club-controls 2.5 WAR guys to underpay, don'cha know. Zduriencik, thankfully, had the right compass. It's the five guys at the very top of your roster! Those are Job One. After that, any pokey can "be efficient" with payroll and put a contender together.
April losses aside, gentlemen, Jack Zduriencik is putting the Stars in place. It isn't every franchise that has Felix, Pineda, and Smoak. Like, this one, last May, for instance.
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Smoak's OPS+ this season is 166. That woulda been #3 in the AL last year (Cabrera, Hamilton, then Smoak).
- .340/.421/.580 - Smoak 2010, after his Sept callup (57 PA)
- .288/.394/.525 - Smoak 2011 (71 PA)
That's 128 PA's, 32 games, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 8 doubles, 19 BB and 22 K... the equivalent of 30 HR's, 120 RBI, and 100 walks per full season.
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PROPS TO THE M'S SABER CREW who put an informative stat on TV: Saunders has had 0-2 counts in 40% of his plate appearances this year.
Think about that.
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It's good news. It salves my previous wounds over Saunders' 2:13 and now 3:16 EYE ratios. It's actually surprising that Saunders' EYE isn't even worse than that, if he's down 0-2 so much. You strike out on pitches that are thrown with two strikes, you know.
:shrug: so Saunders has to arrive in the batter's box ready to punish first-pitch gimme strikes. It only takes two or three homers before they stop taking liberties.
So, a new SSI strategy: see what happens with Saunders' first-pitch adjustment before we panic.
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They just started putting UZR up. Saunders is +27 per year in LF and -8 per year in CF. Which tells you how useless both figures are at this point - not unusual for April UZR's.
Dr. D mentioned that he hadn't visually been impressed with Saunders in CF in the first two weeks. Ghost replied by declaring victory and that Saunders should be out of CF. :- ) Whoa doggie.
In the first place, Saunders could be and probably is just now finding his comfort level in CF. Check him at the All-Star break.
In the second place, check him at the All-Star break.
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PROPS TO BRANDON LEAGUE who cranked it to another level Tuesday, averaging over 97 mph with his fastball.
What's more, League is throwing a 97 sinker -- his FB sinks -5 inches, more than "groundballer" Jamey Wright's fastball sinks. David Aardsma, you might recall, is the opposite: a guy you couldn't hit a grounder on if you tried.
League threw 5 splitters and got 3 swinging strikes on them. Right now Brandon League is pitching like the best closer the Mariners have ever had, dating back to 1977.
97 with sink, and a wipeout forkball? Bryan Harvey didn't do that. I guess the dude likes the ninth inning, huh?
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SLOPS TO ERIK BEDARD'S SLOW START. He's started four games and is personally 0-4. The M's aren't going to be able to run down the .500 mark without his help.
He wins Wednesday, and then we get the automatic win with Pineda Thursday, and could talk about .500. Time for this guy to torch a lineup.
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BABVA,
Dr D
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