=== Figgins ===

Is cutting his zone nice and tight, is taking good swings, and .... the reason his production is not too swift?  He gets no walks.  Chone Figgins with an 0.33 EYE can't succeed, period.  No version of Chone Figgins, such as Brett Butler or Luis Polonia, can succeed with an 0.33 EYE.

Of course, the 0.33 EYE goes up when Figgins starts hurting pitchers.  He started hurting pitchers tonight.  In this chapter of the story, Figgins has to do his damage with doubles, triples, and homers.  If there's another chapter, if, then that one will include some BB knights and paladins.

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=== Hitterish ===

Before the game, Kyle Seager explained that an aggressive hitter takes more pitches.  If you don' know what he meant, you better ax somebody.  Geoff Baker has a post up on it.  It is the Eric Wedge mantra that has drawn so much grief from baseball analysts who have not played baseball.

Dave Valle referred to it on the postgame.  Charlie Lau said that guys like Figgins -- says Valle -- look "hitterish."  The basic idea:

1. The guy is looking for something particular.
2. He decisively ignores other pitches.
3. If he gets his pitch he will do you great harm.
4. He is calm, alert, and "on top of the situation."

You know, like all of the Rangers look.  If the ball is in their zone, they'll rip it and you just hope you get lucky.  If it isn't, you fall behind in the count.  All with an air of inevitability.

Chone Figgins is not Teddy Ballgame.  But standing in the box, he looks like the strike zone is his office.

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=== Youuuuuu'll Never Fiiiiiind ===

Another chart liiiiiiiike Miiiiiiiine ...

 ..........

6 walks, a full 112 pitches ... and in all the 6-walk theme park, you could only find three pitches above the 42" high mark.  That's, what, the sign that gets you onto the Dumbo ride?

Or check even whether there are any pitches above the 36-inch mark.  Hey, coach ::sniff:: you told me this'd work.  You promised I'd get them out if I did that!

With nobody out in the 4th inning, Lowe had thrown 85 pitches (!?) and his uniform looked like somebody had fished him out of the Puget Sound.  Sgt. Wedge's troops, this one's for you.  The Indians' rotation is gonna be stark-ravin' glad to get out of here and face some easy hitters.  Like Boston's or the Angels'.

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=== Ackley ===

G-Moneyball has aptly pointed out that Ackley wants it too much.  Just so.

There are a lot of synonyms in the English language; English is a magnificent system of idea transfer.  The synonym I would choose for Dustin Ackley isn't "shrill;" that has the idea of high vibration, of near-panic.  I wouldn't use the synonym "hectic"; that has the idea that he's rushing things, being hasty.  He's not; he moves deliberately.  I wouldn't say "overexcited" or "high-strung"; that has an emotional component that is alien to him.

I'd say that he has been "greedy."  Definition?  An overwhelming desire to have more than is sufficient.  DING DING DING.

In Wednesday's game, Ackley chose to simply flip the greed switch off.  He chose to let the game come to him again, and was Dustin Ackley again.  Two line shot singles and the 70 HIT ability.

..........

You know who had a problem with greed, who had to learn how to let the game come to him?  Edgar Martinez.

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=== Saunders === 

We know you're wonderin' what our cornball shtick has to say tonight :- ) so...

The swing is pretty much 2011, maybe a bit less hook around the corner is all.  The good news:  Wednesday he looked much more relaxed.  The right shoulder never covered his ear at any time -- and by a freakish coincidence, Saunders effortless drew two walks.

Wish he'd drop the weight a little and wish he'd go back to arm-swinging.  But, remember, his OPS+ was 21 last year.  He's better.

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=== Montero ===

Blowers, on TV, noted that in Tuesday's game, Montero came up in RBI situations and the Indians' pitchers took him down below the zone.  And off the plate.  And Montero swung, first pitch, 1-1 counts, etc.  

If you're protecting the plate with two strikes, says Mikey, that's one thing.  But fishing for sucker pitches on 0-0 and 1-1, that's just being overanxious.

I take full credit for re-typing this.  In your subconscious you'll remember it as just one more fantastic Dr. D cat scan.  Don't think I won't send the bill.

 

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=== Ichiro ===

In addition to his homer ... what was it, 410 feet? ... he hit four doubles that didn't show in the box score.  

One double was called foul by the 1B ump; it might just have missed going over the bag, or it might not have.  Another one sliced hard down the 3B line, landing a baseball or two foul.  Another one was caught on the warning track, deeeeeeeep in Safeco's RF power alley, and would have been out of some parks.  Another low, hard liner into the power alley happened to hit the CF.  His final at-bat was a fairly hard fly ball to the LF.

Meaning that his BABIP was .000 on the night.  It should have been .600, besides the homer.

If you were just watching the box score ;- ) you might conclude that he had been something less than Shoeless Joe Jackson.  If you'd had the game on, you'd gone away wide-eyed muttering "that guy should be illegal."  Ichiro is dialed in, big time.

His batting EYE is 1.00, his line drive rate is crazy, his SwStr% doesn't exist, and his OOZ doesn't either.  Like Eric Wedge said:  "Ichiro is just hitting into a lot of hard outs."  That'll do for us too.

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Felix tomorry,

Dr D