Boy wonder has become the Mariners' main man
"Whatever they ask of me," Hernandez says, "I want to do."
That's good, because the Mariners need King Felix to be King Felix. Lean Felix is a nice step in that direction.
Six days shy of age 21, Hernandez will be the youngest opening-day starter since the New York Mets gave Dwight Gooden the responsibility in 1985. The difference is, Gooden won 17 games as a 19-year-old, then 24 games (and a Cy Young Award) at age 20.
Hernandez is on a different growth curve. He is 16-18 in 43 starts with a 3.96 earned-run average. He is not Doc Gooden, but by today's more cautious standards, he's developing at a nice pace.
The travails of Tuiasosopo
Matt Tuiasosopo talks freely about last year, because he is confident that it is in the past.
It's what motivated him to hire a personal trainer and to work harder than he ever has in the offseason.
Failure can do that to you.
"That was definitely on my mind, that .150 batting average," said Tuiasosopo, a Woodinville High School graduate and former Washington football recruit. "It was a constant motivation."
It wasn't quite as bad as he remembered. But after hitting .306 in 232 at-bats at Class A Inland Empire, Tuiasosopo was promoted to Class AA San Antonio, where he hit .185. He followed with a .167 average in the Arizona Fall League.
Tuiasosopo knows this is an important season. Perhaps no one in the organization, though, needs a fresh start as much Tuiasosopo. The better competition at Class AA led to some of his struggles, but part of the problem was within.
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