.

whooop!  Running out of spare time!  (You're never busier than when on a vacation, are you?)  The briefest of M's celebrations, whereupon Moe Dawg and Tacoma Rain might just develop the stub into something worthwhile

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HISASHI IWAKUMA

- Excuse please, Iwakuma-san.  You do not mind less rest, do you?  Can you throw perhaps just eight innings?

- Eight innings was my relief day in high school.  But I must with respect decline to throw more than 700 pitches this weekend.

....

Iwakuma wasn't as much of a L.A. hero on Friday as he might have been if he'd done it with the Dodgers, but even they must have enjoyed the ballet.  Brooks says an almost-perfect mix of fastballs-splits-sliders, 50-20-20.  The fastball might and did materialize in any part of the strike zone, and the shuuto was actually falling farther than gravity.  Nobody ever did explain to Dr. D how you get an armside breaking pitch to rotate away from you.  Dork it, baby.

His fastball was comfortably 88-89, which for a right hand pitcher is a different conversation than 86.  His velocity does trend down just a bit over the period 2014-16, but check out this velocity chart and compare his last two starts to those in 2014.  In many, actually most* of his successful 2014 starts, his velocity was right where you saw it tonight.

Iwakuma-san is still not throwing at his very best, but with his pitchability and snake-tongue offspeed pitches he's got plenty 'nuff 'stuff to stay in the 2 slot.  You could call that good news, I think.

... meanwhile, Wade Miley has been looking a little less than WBC-grade.  Thank You, Farhan.

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JOEL PERALTA

It's hard for me to visualize that he ever threw better than he's throwing right now.  

He throws a stomach-high splitfinger, the batter freezes just like on a high Tom Gordon or KRod yakker, and Dr. D blinks.  No way.  Then he throws a 90 MPH paintball with life and Dr. D blinks twice.  This can't be happening.  He's 40 years, 1 month old.  His stuff thinks he's 25.  I just don't get it.  The Mariners have had some guys with weird age-arc curves lately.

We're sure he'll turn into a pumpkin in a week or two.  But, man, right now enJOY it.

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STEVE CISHEK

He also looks like he's rolled the clock back.  Not talking box scores, man.  Talking war.

Still don't like seeing him come in for sidearm 92-MPH sailers when it's a one-run game.  Then again, Dr. D never saw a sidearmer he trusted with one run.  But give him two or three runs and he might be more automatic than (say) Fernando Rodney.

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BULLPEN GENERALLY

For all we know we've seen the most glam two weeks of the season, and it's all downhill from here.  But, hey, if these meatball relievers had pitched like the tomata cans they are, this team would be 4-12.  Friday; the Taijuan game; the Sabathia game; and Cishek won the last game of the homestand to "salvage the homestand and the season" as Dutton put it.  :- / but okay.

We know, the season isn't over just yet.  But pausing at the 8-8 mark, and grading the papers based on what's been handed in to date, ... how much credit do DiPoto and Servais get here, exactly?  How many big surprises are there in the 'pen right now?  (Four.)  Now that is scraping the mayo jar with a Denny's grade rubber spatula.

Enjoy,

Dr D