Readables
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(1) Robinson Cano believes that he's going to get better with age. Times link here. Cool quote excerpt, perhaps a bit ambitious, but the spirit is clear:
“I don’t want to hit .280 with 23 home runs,” said Cano, citing his numbers from last season. “I want to be the best in the game. I want to be the best player.”
Cano's idea is that he understands the game better, and feels as young as ever. Dr's Diagnosis: it's obviously not unusual for a Hall of Famer to play well through age 37, and Cano's "only" 35. Edgar Martinez was a somewhat similar hitter, and easily ripped enemy pitching to the tune of a 160 OPS+ through age 38.
Good read though, worth yer time.
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(2) King 5 reports (as others do) that Felix is listed .... wait for it .... Day-to-Day. HEH! He's not day-to-day, we'll see how it goes and maybe he starts next time, but ... the doctor listing him that way is cool.
They were just talking on TV about .. Kershaw was it? ... who pitched well over 200 innings, plus the playoffs, and therefore started pitching ST in the middle. They were hoping to have Felix jump through training hoops beginning in February, but his preference all along woulda been to go 3 starts in late March (2-3 IP, then 4 IP, then 5-6 IP).
Still, if Felix is delayed, okay. It was going to be Paxton and a wolf pack anyway, wasn't it? Like some of the Big Unit squads?
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(3) Lookout Landing has a piece covering Monday's game, a 9-9 tie with the Cubs. ... (I guess I missed the memo where LL's decorum was turned off and cussing turned up to 10?) ... in any case they've got a video of Dee Gordon's 3-run homer.
Not a lot of gather or load, but excellent acceleration of the bat from a short stroke. Remember, this is a guy who used to play a lot of pepper (with a decelerated throughswing); now he's trying to hurt people and break things.
Another 95+ shot, and a 3-run homer for Dee. Maybe his intention is to become A Big Thing.
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Dr. D did not see the game; the M's televise only a few games this week. WHY WHY WHY? Please answer this. Dr. D cannot imagine the reason. Just give him one and he'll be fine.
But there's a box score, which was the way the 12-year-old Dr. D followed the Big Red Machine, so .... [wanly] ... Dan Altavilla had 1 perfect inning, 2 K's. The 'pen really is stacked at this point, not Chapman-Betances stacked, but tough decisions stacked. I don't see where Altavilla has a spot, especially if an SP out of options has to sit in the pen in March.
Andrew Romine is the probable backup infielder, if you hadn't heard. Had a game late last year where he played 9 positions. Dipoto likey.
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(4) Cool depth charts here. Includes options remaining, how acquired, power rankings within MLB, projections, etc.
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(5) Mike Salk has a fun Good News, Bad News format over at My Northwest. Hey, maybe format pitch sequencing and unpredicability is gonna catch on? ;- ) But he makes a good point about the baserunning. It was Cruz and Seager who were thrown out for a DP ---- > at home and 3B, the other day. You got two guys on, nobody out, and your team captains turn the inning into a catastrophe?
What do you have to DO to get your team captains to bear down once they're on base? Minor suggestion: a wire box with mild electric shock. Just a few volts, bare feet. Getting your baserunners killed unnecessarily? Consider the math. This is a big deal. Opening Day, just one moronic Baserunner Kill will be a great way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; baserunner kills turn scoreboard-change innings into zeroes, which makes a ballgame.
Enjoy,
Dr D