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Just quickly.  Sorry bout dat.

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Q.  How did Elias look, early on, when he was behind in the count so much?

A.  Shaky from an ability standpoint.  And we notice that his spring training K:BB ratio was horrible, and it was horrible again tonight.

That said, he wasn't shaky from a makeup standpoint, and Elias' raw stuff got him out of trouble again and again.  He felt surprisingly non-worrisome when he was punching from the guard.  

I'd say this is a distinctive plus of his, that he's more stable during a bad inning than many pitchers are.

He came inside to righties with that heater, he sidearmed the lefties -- it even looked like he made up a pitch (the changeup) on the mound to get out of a jam.  He invented it on the fly ;- ) and he threw it twice in a row to go from a 2-1 count to a strikeout.

Lloyd's maxim came true before our eyes, that "they don't seem to do much with it" when Elias comes into the zone.

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Q.  How did he look after he found his groove?

A.  Like a 15-game winner.  When the batter goes defensive, Elias has about 4 different ways to torment them.  And he gleefully does so.

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Q.  How did he look after the ump ripped him off on that inning-ending strikeout?

A.  He failed to maintain his poise.  Elias doesn't get scared, but he does get furious.  Both emotions have similar effects on an athlete's statistics.

Remarkable that it did not (really) hurt the M's, that McClendon had to go to his bullpen after 5 IP.

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Q.  Did the M's battle after that blown call?

A.  They were grinding, but all the air went out of the stadium (for them).  I felt like they were behind, the whole time they had a 2-1 lead.

I'm not precisely sure why their offense went belly up.  I do know Jesse Chavez threw a wacky-and-wonderful game (he seemed to paint corners, but always the other corner from the one he was aiming for!).  If he executed those pitches every time, he'd win 15 games easily.  I don't expect that he will.

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Q.  How bad do you feel about the offense looking human again?  Is Dr. D revising his assessments on the M's infield?

A.  Justin Smoak looked like he was getting just a tad over-amp'ed on a coupla those swings, din't he?  Extended the arms a bit much, too ... they TELL us the game is all about constant adjustments.  They really are re-assessing their games on a nightly basis.  

Almonte, offensively, raked two more line-shot singles, ran the bases well, has a 3:4 EYE (woo hoo!).  He is looking like a serviceable leadoff hitter.  A lot of great offenses have a non-star leading off, followed by impact hitters; when the average-tough 100 hitters does get on, it's like now the carnage begins...

Overall, we've got to admit 

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Q.  And how much would Dr. D pay to see baseball go to an automated strike zone?

A.  As super-poster Bat571 noted, don't go 162-0.  What we mean by that, in this sport, is:  Teams don't control their fate.  It's like backgammon, where the better player tries to give himself as many dice rolls as possible.  Win or lose, a lot of times you got the wrong result that night.

Loosely speaking, the A's did deserve (slightly) to win, I thought:  Both teams had 6 hits, 10 strikeouts, and 0 homers ... but the A's walked 10 (!) times.   Abraham Almonte's belly flop alone deserved a solid CLONK into the loss column, like the sound a pinball machine makes when it gives you a replay.

.....

The M's had their #7 starting pitcher going, they were facing a weird and unfamiliar pitcher who was having a great night ... and they were this close to poaching one.  They'd be 4-0 if the umpire had called Elias' strikeout in the 5th.

Cheer up, boys.  Maybe Chris Young will give us a QS, and then it's back to the Big Three ... and shortly thereafter, it's back to the Big Five.  HEH!   Considering the context, the M's played a tough game tonight.

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Q.  What's next for SSI?  Are we going to get 8 posts every day this season?

A.  Dr. D will be away from the keyboard for several days, so the brainiacs at the UW can take out several body parts he ain't usin'.  (No jokes from the peanut gallery; he is a very happily married man.  Just returned from a "short stay" at a fancy hotel with his wife, he'll have you know.)  Thanks to Dr. G who generously donated a second opinion, several times.

My situation is just fine and dandy, thanky kindly.  But cut me some slack on posting the next week or so?

Prob'ly 5-10 days in the Hotel UW Medicine, where he will enjoy concierge service and nightly MTV.  If the laptop is feasible, Dr. D will rejoin you about Tuesday to recap the 6-1 road trip.

G, Spec, Mo', Mojician, grab the steerin' wheel wouldja :- )

Enjoy,

Jeff