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Nuthin' against the beat writers.  They'll sell papers to anybody with six quarters to spare.  But it doesn't make Dr. D's job any easier.  :: draws heavy sigh ::  Recent articles:

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Robinson Cano likes it that Chase Utley isn't allowed to take his knee out this year.  The SSI reader who seeks info-tainment in this piece has Dr. D's blessing to try.  One takeaway:  the "phantom tag" of the base now gets overturned on replay.  Huh.  I liked it the old way.  "I coulda touched it; I just didn't want to sacrifice my meniscus to the umps."

But.  That'll make it a different game to watch.  Kind of a worse game, like the NFL rules on receptions made that a worse game.  Anyway.

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Leonys Martin is glad the M's gave him another chance to hold a job.  That's gratitude for yer, eh?

This was quotable, though:  Going for athleticism and defense, especially in the outfield, he rates at the top of the list on all of the defensive metrics. And he can really throw.”  Top of the list, if you're talking about MLB internal metrics, kinda means "top of the list."  Okay, let's see if he's Mike Cameron-plus.  Man, if he's that good the Rangers musta really got tired of outs.  'course we went through that with Zunino.

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James Paxton has a new arsenal:  he'll throw high fastballs now.  That way, they can't "cheat" and swing the bat through a license-plate sized area.  Hey, do you think Scott Servais ever met Sandy Koufax?  

No, seriously, intention is all that was ever needed here, namely the intention to make the batter move his eyes around even the least little bit.  Any previous manager or pitching coaches who were telling THIS guy to "keep the ball down" was guilty of One Size Fits All Cliches in the first degree.  ... Do you put any stock in this "story?"  Well, if Pete Carroll said, "Russell is going to throw for 6,000 yards next year" we'd smile and move on.  The fourth time he said it, we might smile and not move on.  :: shrug ::

So apparently the next announcement will be "When I throw 97 at the letters and then break one off from cap-to-knee, they strike out betimes."  Over/under on that announcement:  June 15.

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Boog Powell is trying to be noticed by the Mariners.  He hasn't noticed that --- > he's BEEN noticed by the Mariners.  Kewl takeaway from the article was that --- > scouts around the sport say he's a Gamer.  Head-first dives into the wall and such.  Okay, for a month he'll be the fast version of Chris Snelling, right up until (like Chris) he realizes that "Play like there's no tomorrow!" doesn't work for 162 straight tomorrows.  But yeah.  Boog Powell is an interesting get.  Dr. D isn't going to judge DiPoto on Karns, because Karns is not a marginal decision; he's drop-dead gorgeous.  The bullpen spaghetti ... meh.  If a coupla guys pitch ok, fine, no miracles to see here.  But Boog Powell will be the signature move on the year. 

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Could be the bullpen is "already set."  Wow!  So the fluff pieces on Peralta and Ano are extra fluffy.

... No, actually, this particular article has some juicy Servais quotes.  (1) Paxton or Karns will be the #5 based on "how the ball is coming out of their hands."  And you've never been so glad that the Mainframe is on the watch, 'ave yer?

(2) The M's will "keep the best," from between Lee and Montero.  "It's that simple."  And a buncha Small Sample Size saberamigos ran screaming into the night.  Not us, though.  Meaningless spring games?  We got players fighting to have their mail delivered to the team headquarters, as Knox said.  Nothing meaningless about dat.

That IS bemusing, though, is it not?  25 spring games against AA pitchers to figure out how good Jesus Montero is?

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Felix is trying to keep his shoulder closed.  From an aiki standpoint, really the idea is to get that lead shoulder finishing over and DOWN - avoiding the "spinout" which undercuts the ball and sails it.  Felix did indeed miss up at times last year.  Thing is, a guy like Felix is much more likely to iron out these wrinkles than is a guy like .... somebody younger.  So, this one looks good.

HOORAY FOR THE NEWS TRIBUNE! this space paid for by fairness in linkage, inc., co.

Enjoy,

Dr D