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Try to capture the flavor of the James Paxton start tonight?  

Hmmm ... it used to be popular to say stuff like "Dante Bichette is only the 6th player in history to have three straight seasons of 110 RBI and 8 outfield assists."  Nowadays you don't see it much.  But if you tried to do it with K-Pax tonight?  Maybe like "the 3rd Mariner pitcher since Hargrove to get KO'ed after 4 IP despite 7 K's and one hard-hit ball"?

No.  Watching the game tonight was like --- > watching a Randy Johnson start from 1990.  GLS said "the game was hard to watch."  Just so!  EVERY at-bat was hard to watch in 1990, because The Big Unit was just this close to wiping them out in a holocaust.  But he'd walk 5 guys on 3-2 counts and give up two seeing-eye singles in the 5th to lose the game.

Same thing with Paxton.  The Twins couldn't get wood on the ball, but ... errors and seeing-eye grounders and more errors and then, maybe a centered pitch and ... maddening.

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To the casual fan, it sounds like we're making excuses for Paxton.  But already in the 1st inning, Blowers was protesting that "his defense isn't helping him out here."  In the 5th he was like "Look where those hits went!" (double-play grounders that found holes.)  

After the game Valle was all over that, too.  Then in the postgame Lloyd McClendon was instant, that Paxton took a big step forward but

• "We put him behind the 8 Ball time and again"
• "I'd venture to say there were 35 pitches we cost him with defense"
• "He did a pretty blamed good job limiting the damage in the first inning"
• He threw the ball really well
• etc

To guys who have seen 6,000 games, like those three, or tired old feebs like Dr. D, it was clear from start-to-finish that it was a bad luck game.  Well, a bad played game.

.......

And that despite the fact that James Paxton threw nowhere near as well as he did in 2014.  He battled his command terribly and was 91-93 MPH.  You'd say it was his "Grade B stuff" except it was two notches worse than that.

And still 7 strikeouts against ... well, maybe 3 well-hit balls.  Because he's still got the assets we've all talked about.

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Bullpen

Before Opening Day, we fretted about the 'pen blowing -10 games more than it had in 2014.  So far this year it has blown three or four, if you count tonight's.  Which Dr. D does.  He isn't talking the dictionary definition of "blown save."  He's talking about games that woulda been wins if the 'pen didn't botch it.

So what is a 7-10 record if you reverse three of the games?

That's not quite fair, 'cause the M's Pythagorean record isn't 10-7.  But you get it.  This 'pen had two full blank days coming into the game and then they all got reamed.  In large part because of walks.

Also:  they showed the stat where the M's last year went 55-4 when scoring 5 runs.  This year they're 3-and-4.  It's going to be a different ballclub, gentlemen.  Don't spend the next six months hopin' for a 3.14 team ERA.

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The Rotation

Amigos are wringing their hands in the Shout Box.  "Tell us it's going to be okay, Doc!"  :- )

It's going to be okay.  Consider Happ our #2, which he is.  Even if you take away Iwakuma -- which you do not -- the M's have this:

• Two reliable vet starters 1-2
• (as a pair their stats average to "All-Star")
• Three up-and-down rookie starters
• (as a trio the group's talent and early returns average to "massive")

That is a plus rotation.  In the big picture.  Trust us.  This is wayyyyy too much almanac surfage talking.

... on the other hand, you are not going to be able to assume a 3.14 team ERA.  You fixed the offense, but you don't get to just snap "nice 2015 offense" with "historic 2014 pitching" like they were Lego's.

That said ... the rotation will be good.  Over the course of 162 games.  It will.

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Austin Jackson

Tonight, AJax got a hanging curve ball and proved that he can still put his keister into a pitch, hitting a home run OVER the bullpen into the concourse.  And with that ballista missile, Dr. D exhaled a big sigh of relief.

'Cause of one swing?  Well, it's like Danny Hultzen throwing one 96 MPH fastball.  Your only question in the first place was about his physical frailty.

Now, and only now, SSI --- > reverts.  Now we're comfortable speaking in terms of his career stats.  Which sez, "Exactly league-average hitter in every respect."  That's a compliment, not an insult, even if he weren't in the middle of the diamond.

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2001 Offense

Well, in philosophy if not in degree; there aren't a lot of Edgars and Ichiros to go around.

And with the prospect of a 100 OPS+ for Austin Jackson ... well, Ruggiano is translating from the NL to the AL.  You got Ackley who is fine.  Suddenly LF-CF-RF-DH-1B are all 100 bats sandwiched around Nelson Cruz.

And except for your catcher, it's a lineup full of decent hitters PLUS three hitting stars.  Dr. D always thinks of the 2005 White Sox who won the World Series with a bunch of 95 hitters plus Paul Konerko.  This is 20 years of b-ref.com surfage talking.  You get an offense full of 100 hitters, you only need one star.  The M's have three.

Taro sighting!  Great to see you man.  This guy's crystal ball is as good as it gets.  With him, Dr. D picks his battles V-E-R-Y carefully.  So I'll pick this battle, if everybody agrees.  The M's 2015 lineup can play for me anytime.

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7-and-10

Way too early to panic :- ) it is a looooong season they play out there.  And it ain't like we got eight feeb hitters plus Russ Branyan.  This ballclub is loaded.

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Cheers,

Dr D