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This Houston matchup couldn't be uglier for us...I'll be absolutely stunned to win even one of these games
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We're grinding along in the mud of another filthy mcnasty Orcs series. Down 5-2, you'll come back a few, maybe they'll stick a thumb in yer eye, there are just some days when you wonder about life, love and the number 46.
When SCHOOOOOM here comes that young St. Louis Cardinals pitcher you swapped for. The feeling was not dissimilar to the clouds breaking and a megawatt Sun bathing you antiseptic of the day's grime.
Marc-O had the short-arm Sherrill fastball zinging in, zinging up, catching the corner, he attacked 18-for-26 strikes when throwing the number One. Beautiful attack and rhythm, grabbing the ball back from the catcher, whole nine yards. Here, on this plot:
... the purple sqares are the 85 MPH changeups that Marc-O is keeping low and away. Basically all the rest are his jam pitches and his elevated heaters coming up over the hands. So, a very nice mix: you've got to start the bat real early to get out in front of a short-arm 92ball on the wrists, or start it early to get on top of a 92ball at the letters.
Start a little too soon, though, and yip there's the fadeaway down under the hands or, often, Tom Glavine'd a half foot off the plate. There were 21 cambios off the 26 fastballs, along with a handful of curves. Of such stuff a whipsaw is born.
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Brooks gives 6 swings-and-misses off that changeup in only 21 pitches, and another 3 fishes off the 26 fastballs. So a 17% whuff rate derived from a George Sherrill attack, that's what Bat and Zoom been talkin' about.
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The curve came in 7 times, nice Moyeresque keep-you-honest mix, and Dr. D couldn't have been more tickled. LET'S! GO TO! THE VIDEO! TAPE!
√ THAT is what a decisive changeup is supposed to look like. Record it for posterity
Whoops, I guess MLB.com went by the Paul Newman rule on this one. If you've got the right movie star, why mess with perfection. :: eyes skyward :: well LET'S GO TO! THE VIDEO! TAPE!
√ On a little Tom Glavinesque expand-the-zone cambio-age.
Guess you have to take out word on the jam pitches and the ladder fastballs. On this subject however, your emeninces, there is much prior evidence entered. On the subject of Saturday's box score, the evidence was 4.0 ip, 2h, 0r, 0er, 0bb, 5k.
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Where does Gonzales go from here? The heavy quote was not extant. Dr. D's quote is, yah'd have to be stoopid or sumpin'.
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ZUUMBALL
Has taken a liking to low-away fastballs, which he pounds over the right field fences in vintage Mike Piazza fashion. I've got no punch line. Only a distinct taste for boiled potatoes.
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THE MINNESOTA TWINS
Let us presume for a moment that the Mariners were going to play 16-10 and finish 84-78. Could, might, would, the Twins find it in their bargain-binned little roster to go 13-14 and also finish 84-78? To the benefit of hardcore baseball fans like those in the Pacific Northwest?
:: he casts about for a realistic scenario ::
NNNNaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. Twinkies got a winning finish locked up pretty well, I think. Maybe road trips to the Yankees and Indians could help us out a leeeeetle bit, but for this week it's purty much up to the Rays and Royals.
BABVA,
Dr D
Comments
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Gohara is getting his 1st MLB start: From MLBT-R
The Braves have selected the contract of young lefty Luiz Gohara and scheduled him for his MLB debut tonight, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported. Atlanta will push back Julio Teheran, who had been scheduled to start.
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We'll be regretting that trade for the next decade. Gohara is the only prospect I strongly and immediately hated losing the past several years. More than likely a great workhorse innings eater and upside of #1. All we had to do was hold on to him and by July call him up. Oh well :(
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This was basically a Gohara for Dyson trade. And, as much as we might like Dyson and believe in dWAR, that sore of trade does not make sense. Evidently we almost trade Gohara for Cozart, but Cincy backed out over concerns about his shoulder. So maybe we believed he did, too.
Shoulder concern? Then why ever trade for a pitcher...they all have shoulder concerns. Or elbows. Uh, Smyly may come to mind.
In all probablilty we fall short of the WC spot. Then Gohara for a "bit player" (your mileage may vary) looks down right atrocious.
Edit: Will add this. We did get Leake and about 1/3 of his salary for essentially nothing. Worth the kudos to EiPoto, even if Leake is just a durable #4. I don't believe that anybody really fleeces the Cardinals, however.
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Have you ever noticed that the Yankees and Red Sox seem particularly adept at avoiding being caught inbetween on a change speed game or gifted at taking sucker pitches?
Now we know how they do it.
They cheat.
MLB is preparing disciplinary action against the Sox fire using iPads and Apple watches to quickly record and relay signs and the league is investigating allegations that the Yankees use YES network cameras exclusively for this purpose.