Marc-O redux, and the M's 6-4 Win
.
Bat571 sez,
....
Do I get to gloat? I only heard later about the 4-year run in the Colorado State Championships, but when the kid was at Gonzaga, he was confident and mature. Came across as very cerebral, as with Moyer, but with a MUCH better FB.
Now, down the road, he can pop that FB at 93 once in a while, but his other stuff continues to sharpen. He probably needs to soften up his change-up a bit, and get some drift to it, and he might be doing something to tip it, in particular. But the kid has MLB(tm) moxie in spades, yet is, like Paxton and Haniger, a genuinely NICE kid.
The M's future goes way beyond Felix and Cano. I just hope Ladner, BC, helps young Paxton decide to stay in the NW, rather than go where Boros may take him.
...
It's funny how old guys remember 30 years ago, better than they remember yesterday ... in the 1980's Bill James had a Player Handbook each year. One of the last ones was in 1991 and when Norm Charlton was about to go to rookie camp, he said something along the lines of
"There are 7 things I like to see in a young pitcher. 1. Intelligence, which Charlton obviously has as a graduate of Rice. 2. A good organization to work in; the Reds, the World Champions, certainly have to count as a good franchise." (Dr. D - these were the days of Marge allowing her sheepdog onto the field...) (Better go check the Rice thing before Matt does ;- ) yep, holds three different degrees from Rice.)
I completely forget the other five. LOL. But he thought that IQ, in the literal sense, was a huge plus for a pitcher trying to develop into an MLB(TM) veteran.
Dr. D sells himself as Marco's agent, but of course on the day the trade was made, Tyler O'Neill for Marco Gonzales, Bat571 was the only one here arguing it was a favorable trade. Many, if not most, thought the deal smacked of desperation, and were irritated that the M's gave up without getting one of the Cards' heralded pitchers.
If anybody knows how that turned out for the Cards' heralded pitchers so far, lemme know! I know doodly about the NL.
Enjoy,
Jeff