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We break from our moratorium on actual baseball pictures in order to bring you this virtual representation of ... sunlight.  

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=== Do We Really Need Matt Damon AND Mark Wahlberg? ===

Ghost mentions about Marcum in the comments.  (My wife's family is a Marcum family, third-gen from Ireland and England - cf. the Shaun spelling.  Betcha they're not too distantly related.)

Shaun Marcum and Hisashi Iwakuma are two of the most-comparable pitchers in the majors.  Both use a 25-25-25-25 type ratio of pitches; Marcum uses a killer 80 changeup, Iwakuma a 84 shuuto in order to glean the necessary MLB(TM) respect.  If Marcum didn't have his straight change, if Iwakuma didn't have his shuuto, they'd be AAAA pitchers.  Those signature weapons are the keys to their careers.

They pitch in VERY similar ways.

As well, Marcum has a lifetime Three True Outcomes of 7.3 K, 2.8 BB, and 1.2 HR, compared to Iwakuma last year, which was 7.4, 2.7, and 1.1.  Here, let's split that out, just for the brainiac Big Blog lurkers among us:

We kid, we kid.  You know we love ya, LrKrBoi29 ... :- )

Marcum and Iwakuma would be statistically identical, even if they didn't pitch the same way, which they absolutely do.  Seven+ strikeouts is almost impossible when nobody respects your heater, but these two guys have cornered the market on pitchability.  They are solidly in the Greg Maddux / Jamie Moyer template.  

Both get a huge amount of whiffs for their stuff, but both also have to be careful about the gopher ball.  In this respect Iwakuma has the nod, because he gets groundballs.  The grounder ratio is the big thing that creates an important difference between the two.  

In Marcum's corner, you've got the counterbalancing factor that his major league history is much better established.  That's the same thing as saying he's a more sabermetric-friendly asset; saber is about PAST PERFORMANCE analysis.  Marcum's past is superior to Iwakuma's.

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=== Said All That to Say This, Dept. ===

If you don't pair these two guys off, you don't believe in baseball comparables, period.  You couldn't find two pitchers who were cut from more similar cloth.  Pretty rare to see two guys pitch the same way, and yet wind up with SUCH identical statlines, not when those statlines are unusual.

There is a payoff here - a generalization that you can draw about pitchers within this template.

Bill James once said that this kind of pitcher "will be able to get outs as long as he's able to raise his arm above his head."  SSI is a bit squeamish about Hisashi Iwakuma's ability to munch 200 innings, and Marcum also poses questions about his TJ elbow.  Neither is a bankable 600 IP the next three years, but both will be #2-3 quality starters whenever they are able to pitch.

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=== Blue Tag 99c Mondays ===

There's an excellent Fangraphs article rat cheer with a .gif that captures Marcum better than 500 words could.  As Mike Axisa puts it, "when people see a swing like this, with a radar reading [of 87], it kinda freaks them out a little.  It doesn't look or feel right" .... which echoes the way the Seattle Mariners froze Iwakuma-san out of their rotation in the first half of 2012.

Shaun Marcum has THE slowest fast pitch in the major leagues.*  This does not win him friends in baseball dugouts, any more than Iwakuma's wussy-looking repertoire made people any quicker to understand him.  Put Jamie Moyer in a doppleganger body, so that nobody knew who he was, and he wouldn't have a chance...

Marcum figures to be way undervalued in the FA market because (1) it's "ugly" to watch him pitch, and (2) his durability is a legit question.  But what that means, for the discerning shopper, is a huge value opportunity.  The M's paid 50c on the dollar for Iwakuma, and perhaps could do something similar on Marcum.

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=== The Tools of Victory, Dept. ===

Let's finish up with Ron Shandler's take on Marcum for 2013:

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[High Base Performance Index of 75, making him an HQ roto favorite]

Elbow injury cost him two months, but his skills remain those of a solid starter.  Miller Park has done him no favors -- he was over a run a game better on the road in 2012, over two runs better in 2011.  He's a FA and a flyball pitcher.  If he lands in a decent pitcher's park and the elbow is sound ... UP: sub-3.50 ERA

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Me personally, I dunno that I wouldn't just want to go with:

• Felix
• Mr WBC-san
• Erasmo Ramirez
• Paxton, Hultzen, Capps and/or Wilhelmsen

With the kids we got in this org, man, let them pitch.  Get their year of learning out' the way in 2013.  As Gordon has emphasized, other orgs let their Gio Gonzalezes pitch before they are 100% suitable for baseball's All-Star Game.  Why are 4-walk rookies okay for the backs of other rotations, but the Seattle Mariners are morally above the muck and grind of watching a rookie SP take his lumps?

But if the Mariners feel the need for a #4 pitcher, Shaun Marcum looks like the man.  Between him AND Iwakuma you can bank on 250+ star power innings for about $15M.

As a #4 starter, Shaun Marcum would make a whale of a #2-3 starter.

BABVA,

Dr D

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*The exceptions are not relevant.

Jay-Z and Beyonce spent $200,000 on their daughter’s first birthday party. Most parents will tell you that this is a party that babies will not remember, so really, they spent the money on themselves.

A whopping $95,000 on pink and white roses turns my stomach, since this is more than my husband and I have made in the past two years together—and costs more than a house in our price range. I’m all about being grateful for what we have, but that’s just ridiculous.

So is the $80,000 diamond-encrusted Barbie they bought the baby. Um, can you say choking hazard?

My BFF and I had a disagreement a while back about the benefits of growing up poor—something we both did. We can provide better for our children than our parents did for us (most of the time), mostly because our parents had three children and we both only have one.

That said, she thinks that she would rather her child grow up in luxury than poverty, having tasted the latter, and I say that my poverty gave me character that luxury never would have. “I don’t want her to go hungry,” I argued, “but she’s not getting the latest gadgets and gizmos until she’s old enough to appreciate them.”

I don’t want my child to go without, but I’m really, really glad that I don’t buy her diamond Barbies.

Have you heard about the Not in Her Shoes project? It’s part of the This Is Personal Campaign, a movement to make sure the world knows that a woman’s medical decisions are her own and nobody else’s damn business. It’s a Tumblr blog that gives women a voice without sexualizing them or focusing on how they look—save for their shoes.

That’s right—you share your shoes. Just take a photo of them (with you in them preferably, but I’m sure you could take one with them empty if you prefer) and share why no one else walks in your shoes, no one else knows you personal situation, and no one should make your personal decisions except you.

I love this idea because it’s so easy to participate and get so many voices heard in a single, simple platform. Any bloggers of any ages can participate, and it’s really fun to read the stories and share what it means to make our own decisions as women together. Plus, while I’m not a shoe person myself, I know lots of people do like to admire shoes, which I’m sure makes it fun, too.

You can share a photo alone, or as long of an entry as you like by visiting Not in Her Shoes.

I’m all about self-discovery programs. I’m not about self-improvement anymore because I think we’re often better off loving ourselves as we are, which leads to becoming better naturally. Of course, anything that betters you and your life is great, and for me, that often comes in the form of guided journaling and taking on prompts in my journal.

Somehow, over the years, I’ve become rather adept at sniffing out really great blogs and programs over the Internet that I can use in my journaling—so adept, in fact, that I rarely even purchase books in this genre anymore. I did just buy Jill Badonsky’s The Nine Modern Day Muses, one of my favorite books about being more creative—and she’s just now launching a new book while I purchase this older one!—and highly recommend it for your self-discovery and journaling in the new year, but here are some online resources you can also turn to right now.

The Badass Dare. If you aren’t familiar with the Joy Junkie, AKA Amy E. Smith, you absolutely must check this woman out. She has taught me much about leaving behind the BS—especially when it comes to others’ opinions!—and her free New Year series, The Badass Dare, is teaching me even more. Visit the previous link to check it out.

Medical Marzipan. If you’re searching for a way to love your body, heal your relationship with food, and really just appreciate your life with you in it as you are, Mara Glatzel’s got you covered. She offers gentle weekly assignments you can work through and I love the various resources she compiles over the web.

The Firestarter Sessions. Holy cow, Danielle LaPorte rocks my socks off. I borrowed her book at the library but didn’t get through it all before it was due, and it still blew me away. You can get her free workbook questions and more information at her website.

Alexandra Frazen. Speaking of knocking your socks off, this woman has tons of tools to help you break through barriers, get your business rocking and generally improve your life.

Unraveling 2013. I am brand new to Sussanah Conway, but if her amazing workbook is any indication, I’m going to be a big fan. This is my favorite tool yet this month.

Jessica Mullen. Yet another incredibly cool and inspiring teacher, Mullen has these amazing “magic tricks,” worksheets, and other tools you can instantly print out to make your day that much more meaningful and creative.