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96.8 MPH average fastball for Zeus last year, with Danny Duffy second at 94.8 MPH.

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It's a Bob & Groz show, which is great for what it is.  The DJ's are not there to make Mel Jr. regret that he showed up to the studio.  So when Mel sez stuff like,

.

“He’s always known he’s had great stuff; he never really had a feel for what he was trying to do with it,” Stottlemyre said. “He worked his butt off … and in the process, when he came back up, the confidence was there, it carried over in the pitches, and then you really started to see him kinda grow up and have a much better understanding of who he was.”

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The DJs' job is to nod politely, smile, and pass the coffee.  It vaguely reminds you of when Billy Martin took over the 1980 Oakland A's, taught scuffballs to Matt Keogh and Steve McCatty, and the A's started winning.  They asked Martin, or probably his pitching coach, "How do you do it?  How are these guys going 8 strong every single time?"  The reply, I'll tell you.  They get out there and they bear down.  

OH

...

But actually there are two ways to take Stottlemyre's answer on K-Pax.  One is to take it that he means zero, that it is the equivalent of foam packing peanuts, and the other way to take it is that it is the key to Zen, life and the universe.  That the Mariners told Paxton we don't care HOW good you are, there is one thing you've got to figure out about strike one, and about locating the fastball, and about change speed game, and that is

.

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Whichever way you take Mel Jr's words, I'll take Paxton.

....

One of my fave Zen koan, The master asks two disciples to get up and close the shades.  Both do so, and re-seat themselves seiza.  The master remarks to the class, "One gains, the other loses."

Enjoy,

Jeff