=== Compass Rosy ===

Rosy points out that Doug Fister, with even a few more runs, could have an 8-and-1 record.

This brought back childhood memories, in which I enjoyed watching SP's who blasted out of the gate with huge W/L records.  Rick Honeycutt comes to mind: in 1980 he started out 6-0 for the fourth-year Mariners.  Actually, he was 6-0 after six starts.  Sports Illustrated ran a little story, "Unsinkable Mariner," which thrilled me.

Bill Bonham started 8-0 for my 1977 Cincinnati Reds, IIRC...

For me back then, this brought visions of 25-5 records.  Who knows?  I watch for no-hitters in the 3rd inning, too.

Fister wasn't going to be 8-1, but one of these years Felix is going to start 5-and-0 in his first five or six games and then the chase for the huge W-L will be on...  Massive bummer that, the way Doug Fister has pitched, he isn't leading the league in W's the way he is leading it in ERA and WHIP.

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

Rosy also continues to emphasize "the little things."  In just one 2-1 loss, the M's (a) got a runner picked off first, (b) messed up a bunt, (c) drew no BB's the entire game and (d) we're sure there was plenty more.

Winning 1-run games does indeed come down to the bullpen, and to execution on these types of plays.  They've known that since John McGraw. 

The M's have like 10 road losses in the other team's final AB, and they have been messing up simple execution plays all season.   Their Pythag is 20-26, and with even a little better execution, they might well be around .500 despite Lopez and Figgins.

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

The M's haven't given up, but they're grinding.  You can work very hard but if you're working hard while fearing the worst, you are going to foul up a lot.  What a team needs is hard work, plus joy and hope and optimism.

Nothing for it, but to win a few and get some momentum going.  Then the attitude changes, and then the execution follows.  Not because of hard work, but because of state-of-mind.

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=== Dead Cat's Bounce ===

Gomez does smokin' postgames, and I especially liked his review of Fister-uber-Verlander:

Funny that the Mariners score some runs in what turns out to be a pitchers duel, as Doug Fister matched fireballer Justin Verlander step for step until Verlander faltered in the 8th. Also go figure that in two of his lesser starts stat-wise, Fister puts up his best two performances of the season, as his defense lets him down a bit but he pitches better than he has all season, with very few mistakes. Believe it or not, he's getting better even as his line scores fall back to Earth.

Awesome to see a dude, other than Jeff Sullivan, watch a ballgame and post a plus report that is in contradiction to a minus box score.  Doug Fister is a work in progress - a work in early progress, in fact.

It's easy to miss the fact that all pitchers go through phases and transitions and transmogrifications -- usually large ones.   Roger Clemens, just to take one huge example, came into the AL throwing 98-mph fastballs up in the zone.  Later, he became a three-pitch craftsman in the low-mid 90's, and even later than that, he became a control artist using a sinker-slider, and by the time he was 50 he was something else...

Felix pitches much differently these days.

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

Doug Fisters current incarnation, in which he pitches like Scott Erickson and Jo-El Pineiro and Catfish Hunter, can't possibly last.  Doug Fister can't continue to run the #3 fastball ratio in the AL with an 88 fastball; he and Jo-El are the only guys in the top 20 who are under 90 mph.

Fister has the change and curve to morph away from the sky-high FB percentage and win.  That will occur, at some time.

But in the meantime, yeah.  Fister is in a rocking chair out there.  He's got the jam pitch, he's got the tease pitch, he's got the ladder pitch and he exudes command of the stadium out there.

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Cheers,

Dr D