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PLAYOFFS

How sweeeet it is...

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True, the rodent Angels may be only -8 runs to us in run differential, but the Mainframe is confidently telling me that our +24 RD will helium up towards +100 by the end of the season.

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Q.  Did Nelson Cruz get all of that homer or what?

A.  Or what.  Blowers thought he "missed" it, getting it out on the end.  I think he did.  While we're on the definition of cool, we take it you saw the sleeveless-shirt game.  You think Bobby Wagner has guns that size or no?

Well, they said M's 4 Angels 1.  But actually 7-1:  Segura had an HR go one foot foul with a man on, and Healy had one go about a yard or so foul.

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Also:  is it me, or is Ryon Healy imitating Cruz?  Consciously or subconsciously, he seems to be using the same deliberate approach, as I think they noted on TV, the same bat launch, quiet lower body, and truncated followthrough.... of course, a swing won't give you vision.  And Healy always had that sweet, compact follow.

But Ryon is growing on me, and could be making the M's first base job his.  He seems to bring that "collegiate intensity," seems to pick them pretty well at 1B, and at "Age 26 With Upside" (John Benson) it doesn't seem many of us would limit his chances to move up from here.  ..... for some reason I had thought he was in a big slump, but he's slugging .469 for the year which isn't far off his season high of .495.

By the way.  How do you measure how well a 1B is picking up 1-hoppers and should-be errors?  Blowers made the point that he thought when the other IF's were confident in the 1B, that they threw more accurately.  (This was true of me, for sure.)

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Poor 'Bach.  Can't catch a break.  Leading us to this question:

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Q.  Is Cole Hamels worth an org 15-30 prospect?

A.  For us that's what, Braden Bishop?  (Org-adjusted.)  Think it was Jon Morosi who said that the M's were the only team talking to the stRangers about Hamels, the Rangers having anybody and everybody up for sale, they say.

Coming into the year, Shandler was like "don't pay premium $ for what is now a MOR arm" but that is kind of like saying "don't pay $30 for an $18 arm," you know, like Hamels is now a 2-3 guy.

Let's see, Bill James kindly tabulates the chess-type ratings I love, except for pitchers, and he's got .... HEY!  PAXTON #15 IN BASEBALL! ... almost missed him.  I was looking for Hamels in the 40s, but he is #19 in baseball.  Slap me silly.  And you could argue that Tejas has hurt him badly; his HR rate is like 1.9 and Safeco is not known for allowing 1.9 homer rates.  Well, to Ariel Miranda perhaps.

Question is what the M's do with him.  You asSUME they put LeBlanc in the pen.  But what if they shed Felix for him?

BABVA,

Dr D