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The Coin-Op Machine

There was a chill Super Slo Mo of Iwakuma releasing a pitch.  With the ball a few feet out of his hand, he pursed his lips in a "blowing up a balloon" motion.  So as to control the exhale.

The Japanese senseis will all tell you to exhale during the motion.  You can "KIAI!" during a gross movement like punching, but you'll never see a pitcher or batter exhaling at the moment of acceleration.

However, Iwakuma-san controls his breath as much as humanly possible ... while throwing a baseball 90 MPH at a paper plate 20 yards away, that is.

Meaning what?  With the controlled breath and relaxed eyes at the moment of huge muscular explosion, Iwakuma is mentally "in the moment" all the way through the release.

Ask Silentpadna about his near-PBA-quality bowling stroke -- calm thought at the moment of explosive acceleration is key.  Myself, I just can't do it, which badly limits me in sports.  My mind simply cannot be that "chill" with so much power required.

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Iwakuma struck out the side in the first inning.  Then the A's did something the M's never do:  they adjusted.

In-game.  Quickly.  Iwakuma didn't strike out another man until what... the 7th?

(The adjustment:  to sit back, Weight and Wait, to SEE the pitches and then take James Jones swings at them.  Gotta do that against Greg Maddux.  The Mariners, of course, do not do this.)

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What this meant was that --- > Iwakuma's "Samurai Staredown" was useless.   His "pitchability" was out the window.  He couldn't throw the fastball to lock them up, and couldn't get them lunging at splitters.

LrKrBoi29 may believe that Dr. D is fantasizing this Koruni Kenshin aspect into Iwakuma's game.  :- )   Let him ask any Japanese fan about it.  This spiritual interaction between pitcher and batter is --- > an aspect of baseball that they treasure.

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Japanese fans also savor the spiritual interaction between pitcher and catcher.  Dr. D thought Jesus Sucre's performance was sensational, considering how early it is in his career.

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Let this saying sink into your ears:  stripped of his Samurai Staredown pitchability, Iwakuma was --- > just as good!  His execution alone was enough to lock down the A's.  

Saturday, though Kenshin was drunken and ki-less, his sword technique alone was enough to easily slay the villain.  So what are you facing when he does have his ki?

All of the above is, in my view, what Bill Krueger refers to when he (brilliantly) refers to Iwakuma as a coin-operated machine.  Stick in a quarter, get your pitcher's pitch.

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It was awe-inspiring to watch, like seeing Norman Rockwell create a masterpiece with crayons.  Krueger, swooning every inch as far as Dr. D, stated flatly that Iwakuma is as good as any right hand pitcher in baseball -- except the right hander who pitches in front of him in the rotation.

Check his SP splits, if you prefer alphanumeric characters to rapture.

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Mojician stated flatly :- ) that the A's, in the playoffs, are in for disappointment very similar to that which Felix imposed on them.  Billy Beane may sense this, in his July wheeling and dealing.  You remember the 116-win Mariners?  They had a gasp-inducing roster after the first six slots.  This is not what you want to take into the playoffs.

The first six players in Seattle -- are they as good as any team's in baseball?  Yes?  Then what's the holdup here?  

The 1993-1998 Mariners had a first six players like that, even better.  The rest of the roster overcame those inner-circle HOF'ers to create a historically-disappointing legacy.  In 1997, for example, even Randy Johnson, Jeff Fassero and Jamie Moyer could not overcome SP4 Bob Walcott (6.03), SP5 Omar Olivares (5.49), SP6 Dennis Martinez (7.71), relievers like Scott Sanders (6.47) and so forth.

This time the problem is the 7-hitter group after the two Stars, but the nature of the problem is the same as in 1993-1997.

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Regarding Stars & Scrubs ... as we know, Seager and Cano bore an absurd portion of the responsibility for this series win.  The Mariners have two 100-RBI men ... in the infield.

Great.  This S&S paradigm creates a --- > fungible bottom 15 slots on the roster.  You've got to do more with these fungible slots than simply run the Cheney merry-go-round.

The Mariners have two .200+ OBP and/or .600+ OPS guys in front of their two Stars.  On top of their lineup, in the 700-plate appearance slots.

That is, of course, a joke.  The Mariners' victories are exhilarating but, with 9 different .200+ OBP hitters packing the roster, far too fragile.

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We digress, under the horrifying threat of reliving our 1993-1998 electroshock therapy.  Dr. D shouldn't be so eyes-wide panicked during such a great series.

A Rockwell masterpiece is what it is, even if hanging in a garage, and the M's did have 14 hits to the enemy's 5 hits on Saturday.  Let's savor the Stars that are laying waste the +1,000 run-differential Oakland A's.  You don't see this kind of artistry very often.

Be Afraid,

Dr D