Why Doug Fister's 2011 Season Has Been So Interesting

It's biweekly Brock & Salk blog guest post time, and today I take a look at Doug Fister, and why the season he's been having might be the most interesting on the pitching staff. I'm usually one for modesty but I'm pretty sure that, in terms of traffic and attention, this is going to blow Dave's trade-Michael-Pineda guest post from last week out of the water.

The beginning paragraphs:

It's no secret that the Mariners have been carried to a near-.500 record and the fringes of contention on the collective back of an outstanding pitching staff. The rotation has been dominant from front to back, and the bullpen has done a surprisingly great job considering it hasn't had David Aardsma, Shawn Kelley, or an effective Josh Lueke.

The Mariners have hit like a lineup of nine backup catchers, but still they matter, because while they haven't scored runs, they haven't allowed any, either.

Almost to a man, the pitching staff has been superb, and what's more is that the staff includes so many interesting stories. There's the breakout of Michael Pineda. There's the comeback of Erik Bedard. There's the emergence of David Pauley. There's Jamey Wright, and Brandon League, and Aaron Laffey, and the performance of the whole staff in general, and so on and so forth. No matter where you look, there's something fascinating to be found.

You can read the rest over here. As for the radio spot, that's been pushed to next Monday or Tuesday, when we'll be able to reflect on the first half that was, and also the overwhelming assortment of Mariner All-Stars.