iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I've been trying to look up what the rest of the monkeys in the troop would do to that monkey. I imagine they'd exile the s.o.b. and take all the bananas, but I wonder if anyone's studied it.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Ty France was robbed by dumb engineering and dumber ground rules.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The White Sox obviously have the Mandate of Heaven. I'm pretty sure they cursed the entire AL West to clear their path into a Wild Card spot and now through to the Divisional round. Cleveland, may God have mercy upon your soul.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The M's could've saved Houston from this embarrassment with one good month of baseball. We're sorry, Houston.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Vancouver beats Edmonton in OT! Wow, that was fun. I know the Canucks should be the Kraken's main rival, but I really can't root for oil. Oil is my enemy.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This Canucks game is amazing. So glad to have hockey to tide me over for the next Mariners season.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

That value is based on his defensive value, which is one of the less-reliable advanced stats. But he passes the eye test.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

To be kind of simplistic about it, if you extrapolate Robles's value out to 500 PAs he'd have been worth about 1.0 fWAR. Add the positive value of removing Ward's -0.8 and Ref's -1.0...and that's 2.8 extra wins. I never want to see another bat-only, "lefty-masher" waste of a roster spot.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It was very smart of the team to bring him and Arroyo up for September. Arroyo displayed elite plate discipline -- not just for a rookie but for anyone. His contact ability was also on display. And Laz just mashed the ball repeatedly. Next year I expect them to patrol the corners in the outfield.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Robles is a career 100 wRC+ hitter vs. LHP, which is league average. And he's a far better defender and baserunner than either of the other two "lefty-mashers." If they simply don't have a one-dimensional righty on the bench just to face LHP, they can roster the extra reliever they needed all year.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Going over Victor Robles' season and career it baffles me that he wasn't the regular right fielder vs. lefties all season. Had they simply not acquired either Refsnyder or Ward the team would've gotten so much more defensive and baserunning value, the bat would've been made up for.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Battlestar Galactica Sons of Anarchy Mad Men Deadwood Breaking Bad Game of Thrones (yes, in spite of the last season) Succession Haunting of Hill House Andor The Americans Non-Prestige Category Resident Alien Parks n' Rec How I Met Your Mother Archer

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Vargas appears to have taken the role in the bullpen Bazardo used to have and it's worked so far. Nice bullpen work tonight.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

if bazardo pitches in coors he will give up three home runs, or one home run that goes 600 feet.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The next hitting prospect up -- I assume some time next season -- could well be OF Johnny Farmelo who ended the season with the AA Arkansas Travelers. A multi-tool player with speed, defense, and some pop, he put up a .251/.375/.436 slash w/ 17 HR and 41 SB (!!). Here's his final dinger of 2026.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I don't know if they are available but scientists are studying radiative cooling tiles that shed heat without using energy. Something like this could help cities stay cool inexpensively.

sciencedirect.com

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

How are the M's still only 5.5 games behind Houston? This division is a sick joke. The 'stros face a good Braves team next while the M's get the basement-dwelling Rockies. With some luck the Mariners could get within a game or two of the Astros by sweeping their two game series next week.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Every Laz PA is must-watch. Especially in this bandbox of a park.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Even though it's off a terrible pitcher in a minor league park...Arroyo's first homer would've been out of any park in the league.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Nice first hit for Michael Arroyo. And first run!

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Like what about this guy? Decent numbers pitching relief considering it's the PCL.

fangraphs.com

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

they get to visit thanks to charlie he's got that kind of pull

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Bazardo pitched himself out of a job in late July, early August, but was allowed to blow one game after another down the stretch. He needed to go after that performance and be replaced with just about any cromulent reliever in the org, or off the waiver wire.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

If a pitcher in your bullpen put up these numbers over a month, would you drop him? 11.2 IP, 18 H, 4.63 HR/9, 7.71 ERA, 7.99 FIP You wouldn't? Well you must be Dan Wilson! 'Cause here's what Bazardo did the next month! 10.1 IP, 16 H, 3.48 HR/9, 7.84 ERA, 8.23 FIP

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

like if we learned he was throwing games for the mob i wouldn't be surprised in the least

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

why has bazardo been allowed to ruin the end of this season. every time he pitches he blows it. he should've been sent down a month ago.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

You gotta feel for the long-suffering backup QB who finally gets his chance to shine. Going against the AFC champs a lesser quarterback and a lesser team would've folded. Whatever Darnold's status is, it's great to have Drew Lock on this team.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I can't NOT post Laz' first dinger at T-Mobile. I got to see this one in person and just like Lazaro I knew it was gone. We haven't had someone with this kind of pop from the left side since...ever? Griffey Jr.? As I feared he's whiffing nearly 50% of the time, but it's working so far.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Montes replaces Raley in the right field / DH timeshare with Canzone and Robles. Against some lefties you can sit Canzone or Montes and use Arroyo and Robles. You need to keep Robles (who has a team option for 2027) as Julio's backup in center field.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Both Montes and Arroyo have been playing corner outfield positions in the minors so it's more likely that Arroyo will replace Arozarena and become the everyday left fielder. He won't have as much pop, but should be a good hitter for average and OBP.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

"No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave them there" --Justin Trudeau, 2017

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Came to the game tonight to enjoy some Lazaro Montes and well that's going great.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Home debut for Laz Montes and it's also Kade Anderson's third start tonight. Smart of the M's to give us something to watch even if they are falling out of contention.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

i did this for years before learning about brain amoebas. this could explain a lot, actually.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

He had a strong base-on-balls game in the minors (over 12% in '24-'25) so I believe he can fall back on that approach. Being more selective so he takes fewer swings on pitches he can't do much with, and walks more should get him back on track.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Young is hitting more ground balls and tanking his numbers. The solution for Young, I feel, would be to take more first-pitch non-fastballs -- even if they're strikes. And take more walks overall.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The mix he's seeing has fewer fastballs, and more sinkers and changeups. He's also seeing slightly fewer balls in the zone. And he's seeing a lot fewer first-pitch strikes. Consequently his in-zone contact, and overall contact rates are down. And his contact isn't as effective.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

As a known Cole Young enjoyer I thought I'd delve into what's plaguing his bat lately. I won't bore everyone with all the details, but looking at pitch mix, plate discipline, and batted ball breakdowns on Fangraphs the issue becomes clear. Pitchers are respecting his bat and he hasn't adjusted.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In retrospect if the M's wanted a right-handed bat they should've simply called up Michael Arroyo. The "veteran platoon righty" experiment in which Taylor Ward is just the latest test subject has been an utter failure. And that's just the latest edition. They need to knock this shit off.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'd be remiss if I failed to post Laz' debut dinger. Not just impressive distance, but on a 1-2 count to boot. I bet Olds was trying to get that one a bit lower down and out of the zone.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Nice patience by Lazaro in his first MLB plate appearance. That's encouraging to see because he'll need to bring his plate discipline tool with him from the minor leagues in order to be effective.

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Steve Alliston @allistonsteve.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The big question will be contact. He's pretty much struck out 30% of the time at all levels. That can work with his power and walk rate. But if neither of those skills show up, or the strikeout rate balloons, he's in trouble. This is a high-risk, high-reward profile & should be exciting to watch.

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