=== Takin' the Good With the Bad ===

I had cheerfully grabbed Aardsma's first 5-6 saves and laughed all the way to Interurban Avenue, so I'm not going to throw a snit fit now.

Aardsma never claimed to be a Prime Time, $10M closer and 38-for-42 again this season will be just fine.

...............

What did make Dr. D smile was the postgame quotes, that Aardsma "had left two fastballs up."  Needless to say, (1) Aardsma strikes guys out because he throws fastballs up.  Also, (2) he has very little control as to whether the pitch is up or down anyway.

His postgame comments should be read simply, "That's baseball.  You rolls the dice and you takes what you get."

...............

SSI has been white-knuckled for at least a year on "The DA."  A 96 fastball up is a swinging strike or a tater, and he's been taking all the swinging strikes he can get.

Aardsma is what he is:  an ad hoc closer until you can get one with legit lockdown skills, like Brandon League or Mark Lowe.

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=== The IceMan Cometh ===

Doogie's first good start came with the M's record at 2-6, it was a pitcher's duel matching zeroes into the 8th, and then Milton Bradley's 3-run shot turned around their April.

We notice that again today, the White Sox (1) gutpunched the M's the night before, and (2) Freddy Garcia had a 1-hitter late into the game.  In these very unlikely circumstances, Fister again handed the ball to the closer with a lead.  That's unpossible, Ralph.

Fister's performance under duress was surgeon-calm.  Wakamatsu put on the headset for the TV guys in the 3rd inning and that was exactly what he observed about Fister:  he's calm out there.

Dr. D would take this to mean that Fister's pulling away on the inside for the rotation job security.  At least he hopes so.

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=== Tui at SS ===

Tuiasosopo gets his backside lower than do most ML shortstops, and he plays deep.  Most shortstops prance over to a backhand ball like an antelope, lean over at the waist, and with feet already set, throw as hard as they can, to get the runner by a step.

On a grounder in the hole today, Tui scrambled over, bent wayyyyyy low to the ground, smothered the ball sure-handedly, stood up... with both feet on the outfield grass, took a 1-2 step and gunned the ball over to 1B on a line to get the runner by several steps.

Same thing glove side:  he gets in front of the ball early, lowers the entire CG to ground level, pulls it into his belly, and then relies on his arm to buy the time back.  (He booted one gloveside the other day because he leaned over at the waist on the run; today he was exaggerating his fundamentals.)

Tuiasosopo is never going to start in the majors at short, but I'd sure rather see him there than Jack Hannahan.  And he's liable to be VERY plus at third base.

...............

SSI will cheerfully concede that his K rate bears watching.  Tui is getting deep counts, which is good, but the swing-and-miss rate is mortifying.

But:  don't be one of those fans who runs over to a blue-chipper, watches his first 50 AB's go awry, and then wanders off having lost interest.  That's free advice.  :- )

Gotta keep the inexperience in context.  Fans want blue-chippers to show their stuff yesterday, but Tui's a work in progress at the plate.  He will be for awhile.

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=== The Won-Loss Record ===

Geoff Baker Live! eerily prophesied (1) a three-game sweep by Chicago, (2) a 2-1 M's win in KC, (3) a .500 record in April, (4) and the M's where they want to be when Lee comes back.

The M's got gutpunched in Oakland, too, just as bad.  They rallied, no sweat.  Earl's Seventh Law: momentum is only as good as that day's starting pitcher.  The M's have Felix, Lee, and Fister to stop downhill slides.

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;- ) ,

Dr D