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Nah, Dr. D don't mind chasing these rumors around.  He gotta suitcase covered with rattlesnake hyde, and he stand Right. In. the Road.   He got the voices speak in riddles ... he got the eye ... as black as coal ...

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Here's an AXS op-ed on the tweet.  (Has it really come to this?)  It guesses every possible scenario other than this one:  Roenis Elias and ? for Justin Upton.  The basic thesis of the article:  if Zduriencik can steal Upton for "other pitching" and hold back Paxton/Taijuan, what a miracle!

The world seems blissfully unaware of last season's #23 xFIP starting pitcher.  Alas, maybe an Edwin Diaz package is as far as Zduriencik's willing to go.  Would not surprise.

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Here's the followup Twitterish.  Editor's choice:

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@kileymcd Sounds like the A's who have 6, 7 young MLB ready starters

@kileymcd @RobertMurrayDR Oakland probably with all the pitching they've acquired.

@lot_49 @kileymcd oakland Is in rebuild don't want a 1 year rental

@BravesBaseball7 @DEZ_BRYANTMVP88 They want to win for a long time more than they want to win now.

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That'll do for us too.  If Billy Beane deals Sonny Gray for Justin Upton, he'll set the blinkin' standard for incoherency in a single month's worth of shot-calling.  Extend the lease with Gitmo and normalize relations with Cuba, anyone?

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@BravesBaseball7 @colinokeefe @kileymcd Very unlikely they get that from the Mariners. We don't have that kind of depth. Want Hultzen?

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Apparently also many amigos in Seattle haven't heard of Roenis Elias.  Nor Benihana's Interstate-5 fifth man idea.  Nor Earl Weaver's observation that you often only need three starting pitchers in April "if you want to get off to a hot start."

Okay, okay.  A little more seriously:  without Elias, the Mariners do have six starting pitchers, with Hultzen.  Not counting Erasmo Ramirez, whom BaseballHQ firmly insists in merely in need of a little seasoning.

And if Diaz-Gohara-etc. are promising enough that we're offering them for Justin Upton, why have we ruled them out as future starters for us?

And let's say there was a small taxicab wreck pulling away from the Seattle hotel, in which Paxton, Taijuan, Happ, and Hultzen all perished ... we do have Wilhelmsen and Maurer, don't we?

I'm not averse to depth.  I am averse to shunning Justin Blinkin' Upton because we want two rotations instead of one.

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@kileymcd Which AL West team? Candidates in order based on avail of young pitching/need for OF in 2015: Seattle, Oak, Houston, Angels, Texas

@jacobfagan @kileymcd in response to those saying Texas, makes no sense sending 1 year of upton to a team that has no chance in 2015

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Kewl tweet, that first.  This is practically a discussion going on.  In 140 characters at a swat?  it violates everything that Dr. D stands for.

OK, in 140 char's:  #shinsoochoo owed $20M per, for 6 mor yrs.  #prince contract $24M x 6 mor.  Choo 102 OPS+ in Ballpark.  Rmbr th Alamo

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@philthy15 @JordanHusband hopefully Saunders for happ won't come back and hurt you guys

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It won't.  Especially if J.A. Happ serves as a #12-in-Cy-Vote placeholder for Danny Hultzen at the 5 slot.

No game tonight,

Dr D