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Title: 2015 Texas Rangers
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Published: Oct 14, 2014
Author: CZ82
Post Date: 2014-10-14 18:08:52 by CZ82
Keywords: None
Views: 374995
Comments: 1454
For those of you who would like to comment on what might happen with the 2015 version of the Texas Rangers or any other MLB team for that matter.
Poster Comment: BTW Stone the Rangers are going to steal Cueto from the Reds!
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#1. To: redleghunter (#0)
Looks like the Rangers have narrowed their managerial search down to 3 candidates, Bogar, Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash and Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister.
Hope it's Bogar. He had a winning record in the last few weeks of a throw away season. Hard to do when the chips are down.
Well they hired Jeff Banister instead, don't know if I like that or not. Wonder if they will keep Bogar or not?
We shall see. One article said they really wanted the Pirates skipper Hundley and would go for the 'next best thing.' Well if he can get these guys swinging the bat again, I'm all for it.
Also looks like they're trying to resign Colby Lewis too.
All good news. However disappointed about Koozie. But reality is he will still need a few months into the next season to recover.
Looks like Bogar isn't going to be on the team this year, they offered him a position with the team but not on the bench. I would have rather seen Bogar as the manager and Bannister as his bench coach.
Disappointed to see Bogar go. Guess he figured or someone in the front office figured having him sit in the same dugout he managed from for a short time might cut into Bannisters plan.
Looks like he ended up with the Angels, can't say I'm happy about this whole situation. Also looks like they are bringing in Michael Young as a special assistant.
So bad and good news:)
They moved Knebel and Alfaro to the 40 man roster along with a few other prospects... Hmmmmm...
Trying to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
Looks like they picked up a starting pitcher Gallardo for the 3 slot and a reliever German to take Cotts place since they didn't resign him. Also noticed they picked up Detwiler about a week or so ago hoping he can get back to being a starter. Looks like they are almost Overstocking the pitching staff, can't have too many pitchers I guess.
Also noticed they picked up Detwiler about a week or so ago hoping he can get back to being a starter. Looks like they are almost Overstocking the pitching staff, can't have too many pitchers I guess. Good moves that fit the budget. They are betting on those who were not healthy last year being healthy. Not a sure thing in any sport:) Sure someone can tough out 17 weeks or so in the NFL, but injuries in the NBA and MLB with so many months of play significantly impact a team. Especially in the MLB with pitchers. It is a specialized position requiring movement and endurance every half inning. Plus Gallardo has pop in his bat. Will be interesting to see a pitcher for the Rangers hit a dinger:)
Texas Rangers signed free agent RHP Ross Ohlendorf to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster RHP Alec Asher to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster RHP Alex Gonzalez to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster RHP Keone Kela to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster C Pat Cantwell to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster 3B Joey Gallo to spring training. Texas Rangers invited non-roster LF Jared Hoying to spring training. Here is some more stuff that is happening.
Yes the Rangers have to rebuild the BP due to Ross gone and Ogando signed with the BOSOX.
Have you seen the latest 40 man roster? http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=tex
Pretty much confirms what I was thinking. They have a solid #1-3 for the rotation and 4&5 is a ? If Lewis can hold down that fourth anchor leg of the rotation then we are competitive. Of course if everyone stays healthy and avoids playing with large dogs near stairs.
Don't know if you've seen this or not, the top 15 prospects in the organization.
Update on Fielder. Slimming down some, doing cardio and strength training. Even hired a chef. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150206- video- working-out-with-rangers-prince-fielder-includes-pilates-sparring- basketball.ece
Left-field competition wide open for Rangers At least 10 candidates for position, with no clear favorite heading into Spring Training Left-field competition wide open for Rangers By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com | @Sullivan_Ranger | February 6, 2015 ARLINGTON -- This may be the mother of all Spring Training competitions. There may be nothing like it in Rangers history. The Rangers have an opening in left field, they have no less than 10 candidates for the job and there is no clear favorite. Texas has a candidate who has played in an All-Star Game, one who has been in two World Series and others who played in the All-Star Futures Games. Two were first-round picks, two were 17th- round picks. One, big league veteran Nate Schierholtz, was added to the mix on Friday. Left field is not the only position at stake. The Rangers need a designated hitter, a fourth outfielder and one more player off the bench in an undetermined role. Breaking down 10 of the candidates: 1. Michael Choice Acquired: From the Athletics in a four-player trade in December 2013. Assets: Choice is a former first-round Draft pick out of the University of Texas at Arlington with rare right-handed power and good on-base percentage numbers in the Minors. Concerns: Choice hit .182 in 86 games and 280 plate appearances for the Rangers as a rookie last season as he struggled to adapt to a part-time role. Best chance: The Rangers traded for Choice because they expected him to be an everyday outfielder as early as this season. Now he has to win the job. 2. Ryan Rua Acquired: Drafted in the 17th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Lake Erie College. Assets: Rua has soared through the Rangers organization by being able to hit at every level and play multiple positions. Concerns: Rua was drafted as an infielder and just doesn't have much experience in the outfield. Best chance: Rua could be the perfect fourth player on the bench because he hits right-handed and can play multiple positions. 3. Jake Smolinski Acquired: Signed as Minor League free agent on Nov. 18, 2013. Assets: A right-handed hitter, Smolinski batted .349 with a .512 slugging percentage in 24 games for the Rangers in 2014, although a broken left foot prevented Texas from getting a longer look. Concerns: A second-round Draft pick by the Nationals in 2007, Smolinski had eight unremarkable Minor League seasons -- .263 career batting average, .397 slugging percentage -- before the Rangers gave him a chance last year. Best chance: Nobody can ignore a .349 batting average, even in limited exposure. 4. Mitch Moreland Acquired: Moreland was taken in the 17th round of the 2007 Draft out of Mississippi State. Assets: Moreland is a proven left-handed Major League hitter when he is healthy. Concerns: Moreland just hasn't been able to stay healthy over the past three seasons as major surgery on his left ankle ended his season after 52 games last year. Best chance: The Rangers say they are going to look at Moreland in the outfield this spring, but he is the leading candidate to be their designated hitter and backup first baseman behind Prince Fielder again. 5. Ryan Ludwick Acquired: Ludwick was signed to a Minor League contract on Wednesday. Assets: Ludwick has had a highly productive 12-year Major League career as a right-handed power-hitting corner outfielder. He laps the field as far as big league experience. Concerns: Ludwick is 36 and has had shoulder problems for the past two years. His last big season was in 2012. Best chance: Ludwick could win a spot as at least as a platoon partner with Moreland and backup outfielder. But if the guy is healthy and at his best, he would be Texas' left fielder. 6. Kyle Blanks Acquired: Blanks was signed to a Minor League contract in December. Assets: Blanks was a 42nd-round Draft pick by the Padres in 2004 under the old draft-and-follow rules. Signed just before the 2005 Draft, he had five excellent seasons in the Minors. By 2009, the Padres were moving guys like Chase Headley and Kevin Kouzmanoff around to find a spot for Blanks in the lineup. Concerns: An amazing run of injuries over the past five seasons kept Blanks from achieving some pretty high expectations. In 760 Major League at-bats, Blanks has hit .234 with 30 home runs, 105 RBI and a .407 slugging percentage. Best chance: Blanks can play first base and the outfield when healthy. Since he hits right-handed, he has the assets to be a backup for both Fielder and Moreland. But Blanks has been on the disabled list six straight seasons. 7. Carlos Peguero Acquired: Peguero agreed to a Minor League contract on Jan. 13. Assets: Peguero hits left-handed and has some serious power. He has had some big Minor League seasons in the Mariners organization and was once considered one of their top prospects. Concerns: Peguero has big power but also big strikeout numbers. In 214 Major League at-bats, he has nine home runs, a .196 batting average and 89 strikeouts. Best chance: Peguero has played well in winter ball, and getting him away from pitcher-friendly Safeco Field might help. Being a left-handed hitter might be an advantage. The best case is Peguero might be a left-handed-hitting Nelson Cruz, who also broke through late in his career. 8. Delino DeShields Acquired: Taken in the Rule 5 Draft from the Astros in December. Assets: A former No. 1 Draft pick (eighth overall) in 2010, DeShields has tremendous speed and some power. A right-handed hitter, he can play both the infield and the outfield. Concerns: DeShields has never played above Double-A. At Double-A Corpus Christi this past season, DeShields played in 114 games and hit .236 with 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 54 stolen bases, 61 walks, 112 strikeouts, a .346 on- base percentage and a .360 slugging percentage. Best chance: As a Rule 5 Draft pick, DeShields has to be kept on the big league roster all season. That's always difficult for a contending team, but the Rangers like the talent and he might stick as a fourth outfielder if he can play center field. 9. Jared Hoying Acquired: Hoying was drafted in the 10th round out of the University of Toledo. Assets: A left-handed hitter, Hoying is coming off a strong season at Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .271 with 33 doubles, 26 home runs, 78 RBI and a .517 slugging percentage. Concerns: Hoying walked 40 times and struck out 140 times in 555 plate appearances. He made progress, but there are still some holes in the swing. Best chance: Hoying has a reputation for being one of the hardest workers in the organization, and that has been reinforced by the improvement he has shown while moving up in the system. If he can cut down the strikeouts and maintain the other numbers, somebody will find him a spot in the big leagues. 10. Antoan Richardson Acquired: Richardson was signed as a Minor League free agent on Dec. 13. Assets: Think Daniel Robertson with more speed. Richardson is a 5-foot-8 switch- hitter with 324 stolen bases in 10 Minor League seasons. He played briefly with the Yankees last season and the Braves in 2011, making him one of six Major League players born in the Bahamas. He does get on base. Richardson led the International League in hit by pitches last season. Concerns: Richardson can fly but has little power. He was signed mainly to provide Triple-A depth in center field. Best chance: If the Rangers kept Richardson, it would likely mean DeShields being offered back to the Astros. He is really the kind of guy you would like to have around in September in a pennant race. T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields, and follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Thanks. Have not seen this until now. I think Rua has a great shot.
I do too and it would solve a lot of problems. Speaking of problems have you seen this yet? Profar to miss another year, http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150220-thad-levine-updates-jurickson-profar-injury.ece
No did not see that. Thanks for the update. Good news is we are deep on middle infield. Like Odor's attitude.
They traded Sardinas to get Gallardo so it isn't quite as deep as it was.
In a pinch there is always Adam Rosales:) He's always available.
So what happens if Andrus goes down do you really think he can do the job, Sardinas is the better defensive player.
Some good news. Looks like the Rangers are leaning towards picking up the 2016 option for Beltre early.
Yea I seen that a couple of days ago, hopefully his legs will hold up! If not he's gonna be one expensive DH. I'm not gonna say what I really think cause I've said it before.
Hamilton will probably be suspended. Seems he had a relapse: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/02/josh-hamilton-reportedly-facing- suspension-and-thats-bad-news-for-the-texas-rangers.html/ Fraley seems to be more concerned that a suspension would free up money for the Angels to get Hamels.
I think his playing days is about over cause he seems like he doesn't care anymore. Maybe he thinks he has enough money stashed away and is gonna go back to being a drunk/druggie again full time. What a dumbass he is.
Just got an alert on my mobile....Looks like Darvish is heading to Tommy John surgery. Ouch!
Yea I noticed that when I went to DMN website, this will mean another year of young pitchers learning in the majors instead of the minors. Probably means no playoffs either BTA I wasn't really counting on that anyway.
You probably saw this article today: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/kevin-sherrington/20150308- sherrington-rangers-can-be-optimistic-despite-yu-darvish-injury-but-adding-this- piece-would-help.ece I don't care who they trade from the farm for a potential Hamels deal....BUT no way on Joey Gallo.
You know now that I think about it they should just start the season with what they have since they did pick up some experienced pitching and seem to have some depth in case of injuries and ineffectiveness. If Perez and/or Harrison manage to make it back then they don't really need Hamels. He's so damn expensive anyway and they already have 3 other (potentially bad) large contracts another would just tie their hands. (They would never be able to re- sign Darvish/Holland when the time comes). They have so many good prospects (especially pitching) in the farm system I would hate to see them trade 4+ of them away just to get one guy. (They did that before with Garza and now regret it). With what is in the farm system they have the potential in 2-3 years to be damn good for a long time.
I agree. There was a rumor Darvish started working out as a left hander. FWIK he can pitch from both sides.
If nothing else happens to the pitching staff you're gonna see at least one young pitcher in the starting rotation. Tepesch did pitch fairly decent to close out the year but he still needs to master another pitch. Then you have Martinez who looked good and lost at the same time. And now some think Rodriguez might get a shot at starting because he has a better repertoire than the other 2. But if they do that then he goes to FA a year sooner. Let him start in the minors and give one of the other 2 another try. If they suck pull them and bring him up to see what he can do, he didn't do to bad in his outing yesterday throwing 56 pitches. In the OF you have to make the decision between DeShields and Hoying/Schierholtz. I know Delino has speed but he seems to have issues judging the ball defensively. He originally was a OF then moved to 2B then back to the OF. (Might explain why Houston left him unprotected). He might make a good DH for some team since he seems to have a decent bat. (I know what you're thinking about traditionally the DH spot be a power bat but speed kills)!! In the IF Rosales "is supposed" to be the utility IF but he seems to be doing what he did last year and that is play his way out of a spot. But... can't say that I see anybody else to fit in that slot unless they pick up someone.
I'm sure you saw this one: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/kevin-sherrington/20150309- sherrington-absence-of-globe-life-park-s-jet-stream-might-bode-well-for- rangers.ece
Well I guess Yu finally decided to get the surgery done, glad that he didn't procrastinate like Profar did. Also seen they plan on doing something I suggested before to give their players some rest except this is for the pitching staff....... http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150312-grant-with- darvish-out-rangers-could-take-non-traditional-approach-with-starting- rotation.ece
Yeah thanks good article. With the chicken arms around the pros these days, this is a smart move if they do it. I remember the 2010 run for the pennant. No big names on the starting rotation until they traded for Cliff Lee. Rangers got by on scoring a bunch of runs and a few strong arms in the pen. Don't think any starter that year went beyone 6-1/3 innings. Seemed to work out until the WS:)
Looks like Joey Gallo just launched another 3 run "moonball" against the Giants. :) The best part is he has as many walks as he does "K"s this spring, showing more patience and better judgment on pitch selection.
Like hearing good news.
Did you watch the game yesterday it was on ESPN? They lost 2-0 against the Padres. Scoreless game until the error and misplayed ball (1B playing too far off the line against a lefty) in the 8th inning.
Not a bad outing for Bass.
http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350317113 http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=350317113 Choice got cut again, Kirkman got released and Beimel got blasted yesterday.
Another long season ahead:(
Oh but the future... http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150319-grant-the- future-appears-bright-for-the-rangers-but-is-it-close.ece
Sprints Fielder? Rangers’ slugger uses speed to execute perfect bunt in spring training game Is Prince trying to make a point?:)
It's beginning to look like they are going to keep him to start the season. He might end up being a late bloomer like Cruz was. I watched the game the other night and Ludwick looks lost at the plate, look for him to be released.
Thanks good article. Hope they give him a shot.
SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Rangers informed veteran Ryan Ludwick on Thursday that he won’t make the club, which all but means that a rookie – either Ryan Rua or Jake Smolinski – will win the job. http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/it-appears-a-youngster-has-won-texas- rangers-left-field-job.html/
Just read that article. Thanks. Maybe this is the year where the Rangers have some rookie surprises. Also saw Nick Martinez threw 6 shutout innings and did some good fielding as well. So he will most likely be #5.
Update: Martinez is going to be the 5th starter, Jamey Wright and Schierholtz were released, and they acquired a LHP from the Cardinals named Sam Freeman (stats look OK) so would imagine Claudio is going back to the minors.
Thanks for the update. Good news on offense is looks like Fielder can hit again.
Well there doesn't seem to be any in the battle for long reliever. They released Jamey Wright he's done, Tepesch ERA is above 10, Bonilla ERA is above 9 and Ohlendorff will probably go on the DL for awhile. Nobody else has been stretched out to do long relief unless they decide to use Renaudo, who just got sent to the minors. On top of that Scheppers doesn't look like he's ready either with only 4 innings pitched and an ERA over 12. If he doesn't start the year in the minors to get some innings I will be surprised, that's if he has any options left.
This is an older article but just heard on the NYM rumor wire (yes I still follow my childhood team from NY) that their GM is still looking to shop Gee:
Profar and other pieces for him?? NOT!! They gave up Sardinas and other pieces for Gallardo who has had a much better and steady career.
Rua gets the job in LF:
Thought you might like this.
Great piece, thanks. Great thing about baseball is the hitters will make adjustments. The pitchers are burning themselves out with this velocity. The DL shows. It can't hold for long.
Just goes to show you that changing speeds/angle of your pitches is still the way to go instead of throwing "flames".
Well Rua saved the embarrassment of a no hitter. But it seems all the talk about the gamble with pitching shows in the first game. Rangers hit the ball hard but directly in Oak gloves. Those little leprechauns:)
I take it you watched the game. It wasn't on here but the Stars vs Sharks was. :)
Yeah, tough to watch. Really pathetic to keep watching to just make sure your team gets a hit. LOOOOONG season ahead with loads of changes.
One game does not a season make. Sonny Gray has been hard on the Rangers for awhile now and it was the first game of the season, and I have no doubt some of the guys haven't gotten their swing yet. Sonny went 8 innings cause he threw strikes, Gallardo went 4 innings cause he didn't throw strikes. If Gallardo keeps this up against the stronger lineups of the AL then they wasted 3 prospects acquiring him, another Garza scenario.
Yes but JD was desperate for another veteran arm. Turns out if he did not go for Gallardo the Yu injury would have been more of an impact.
Only if he can give them 6-7 innings consistently, if he can't then Tepesch's salary (500K)is much more palatable for 4-5 innings than Gallardos (11.5Mil). Either way you're gonna see the middle relievers a lot.
Good pitching from Colby. Fielder gets two hits/2 RBI. Martin got on base a couple of times. A rookie set up reliever pitches out of his own jam and keeps his cool. Tolleson has a 1-2-3 8th inning. Feliz closes without theatrics. Not bad.
Are you watching MLB Tonight on the MLB Channel? If not they have HOF pitcher Pedro Martinez on the show tonight and they are talking about hit batsman and retaliation. Pedro hit 140+ batsmen in his career and he was asked how many of them he hit on purpose in retaliation for his teammates being Hit By Pitch, he answered probably 98% or so. Now that's protecting your teammates and a man after my own heart.
Wow LOL. No watching the Ranger game. Kazmir dealing. Rangers befuddled through 3. Detwiler doing good. Gave up a deep hit to center and Laurie tried to stretch it to three. Martin and Elvis gunned him down:)
That is the way the game is supposed to be played, you throw at the other team they throw back at you. You try to show up the other team or run your mouth at them they will get you back, plain pure and simple. Nowadays you get warned for "accidentally" hitting the opposition, they don't automatically suspend/fine you for charging the mound and they let you stand and admire your HRs instead of running the bases. Its MLBs fault not the players fault, let the players police the game more and it will be better. On the other hand drilling a guy in the back for being a turd is one thing, going headhunting is something different altogether and should be dealt with harshly. We used to throw at baserunners and idiots in the dugout all the time to get the point across that you should let your play do the talking not your mouth or stupid behavior!! I can't remember a single time the umps threw any of my guys out of the game for "policing" behavior, he would just break up the scrum and walk back to behind the plate smiling...
Middle third....5-0 Rangers so far.
8-0 now. I see they split up Andrus and Beltre batting back to back finally.
Nick Martinez did great. I think him coming up last year getting bruised up a bit put a lot of hair on his chest at 24. From the reporting he had a great September under Bogar. Of course now I claim Martinez as he is a Fordham grad:) Finally, great to see an active pro player from my small alma mater. And yes taking Andrus down from second in the order is a move that should have happened two years ago. One of the "Washisms" that needed to go. Bannister is showing the team he is in charge of that club house. Change is good in baseball as with any profession.
True, but who are you going to put into the 2nd slot on a regular basis? You could put Choo there but I think that's a waste, he's better in the leadoff slot or the 5th slot. And if you make him leadoff and drop Martin to 2nd then who is gonna cover Fielders back, not Moreland. Truthfully I don't think there is a 2nd slot hitter on the roster unless DeShields can become an everyday player.
Well now with Choo maybe on ice a few days maybe someone will step up.
And Peguero did pretty good last night. Also noticed they claimed Pimental instead of calling up one of the young'uns. He can be a starter or long reliever, looks like they want him to do the later with that 96 MPH heeter he has. :)
Tough game today in extra innings. Quite a few opportunities on both sides. Too bad about Martin's long drive was not one foot more.
I have a sneaking suspicion he won't be the leadoff batter much longer is his OBP does go up pretty soon.
Martin to put it nicely is off to a sloooowww start.
DH Mitch Moreland 3B Adrian Beltre 1B Prince Fielder RF Shin-Soo Choo LF Carlos Peguero CF Leonys Martin C Robinson Chirinos SP Nick Martinez Looks like he's really shaking it up for tonight. Don't know if I agree with Odor hitting first since he almost always picks on the first pitch and is very impatient this year for some reason. I think I would have let Peguero try it on for size just for grins. Did notice they put Choo 5th to protect Beltre and Fielder.
LOL seemed to work. Banister hinted Odor listens to instruction. Kid did a good job drawing a walk to get some runs across. Who would have thought the 9 spot responsible for 5 RBIs. Chirinos is either hot or cold. Buzz thought Banister took a page from Melvin in shaking up the lineup. It does keep those scouts and the game prep on their toes. We did our first scrimmage today. No umpire of course so opposing coach agreed I would call balls and strikes since he was new to coaching. One of the opposing team parents (a dad) started heckling and raising his voice I was a crummy ump:) I mean he was loud. I mustered as much dignity and quietly confronted him and another dad. Told them in a voice the kids could not hear to stuff a sock in it. If he wanted to do a better job he should have volunteered like the rest of us and sign a background check. He closed his pie hole. I have to say in 8 years of coaching it was the first time any parent got cheeky with me. Oh there have been overbearing and nasty parents in the past but the other parents usually shut them up. I had Mrs RLH and a player's grandma get off the bleachers making a move to the other side:) I really thought the guy would try escalating the matter but he was just a loud mouth who needed a few calm but firm words. The opposing coach apologized and said he would handle it. I told him that we all have to talk to our players parents about sportsmanship. Nothing worse than the kids seeing a bunch of adults acting like unruly kids. I know you would have belted the guy:)
He seemed to be a lot more patient last night took almost 5 pitches per at bat, he did a good job. (And Choo only took 10 pitches in 5 AB). Some guys for whatever reason can't hit in certain parts of the lineup, must be a mental thing for them. (Scared maybe or trying too hard)? I hit in just about every slot in the lineup thru my playing days and can't say I worried about it all. I Just looked at is as "Ok it's my turn what's the situation, what is the positioning of the defense and here is what I need to do", then I just did it. I did bat leadoff or 2nd for quite sometime cause I could get on base by hook or by crook. The funnest lineup I ever had was I had 4 base hitters with decent speed and 6 power guys. So I broke the lineup down to Base hitters in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th slots and the big boys 3,4,5 and 8,9,10. I also had enough Leftys that I could alternate the batting order in L,R,L,R all down the lineup. That drove the opposition batty cause they couldn't relax no matter what and if they missed shifting the Defense..... oh well I think you can see what I mean.
That's the key to what I teach the kiddos on the team. What to do when ahead of the count; when the count is even and when behind in the count. Look at how many baserunners, where they are, and how many outs. After a few years with a good number of the same kids, they are starting to get the hang of it. Even Sonny boy who was always swinging for the fences last season is more patient at the plate. He drew a walk last night after an 8 pitch at bat. Then next at bat fouled off three balls (all close to the line) only to chase a low and outside pitch:) But even then he did so after a 7 pitch at bat. So he's getting there on the patience end. I know he can hit now just need to work on being a more patient batter to get better pitches to hit. I did bat leadoff or 2nd for quite sometime cause I could get on base by hook or by crook. Yeah that's the rub. Younger hitters like Odor and Martin want to be the hero at times. Martin instead of trying to go yard the other night could have shortened his swing a bit and drop it in the OF for the winning run.
One of the hardest thing to get young players to do is shorten the swing or go with the pitch with 2 strikes. The other one is when you have a young guy with some power is to get him to use the wind to his advantage instead of his detriment. I had one that just refused to go with the pitch the other way when the wind was blowing in his face at 20mph+. So I got fed up and started scratching him in games on nights the wind was blowing in, hoping he would get mad and also pay more attention to the other hitters. After the second game he came up to me and said "Ok I get it now teach me how to use the wind". So I took him to the cages and worked on his stance and timing for hitting the other way for 3 or 4 nights. Once I was happy then I fed him nothing but high outside pitches in BP. Once he figured out he could hit the ball just as far if not further the other way he was happy as a clam. He then proclaimed he would hit more HR than Sal my cleanup hitter, everybody laughed. The reason they laughed was have you ever seen a guy hit a "SOFTBALL" 500 feet, I have and it was Sal who did it. It was during a night game and it emptied both dugouts when he launched it. Everybody (including Sal) just stood there in awe at how far it went. We played on diamonds that were 325 to dead center and the light poles were about another 75' back from the fence and roughly 60 high. The ball he hit that night clanged off the light pole just under the platform you would stand on to service the lights. One of the guys ran out and grabbed the ball everybody on both teams signed it and we gave it to Sal. He had a wall at the house where he had all of his memorabilia mounted and right in the middle of it was that ball and the bat he used to hit it. It was my bat that he used so for a couple of beers I gladly gave it up. :) Then turned right around the next day and ordered "2" more of the exact same bat, 1 for me and one for Sal!!
Great story. And great coaching tips too...thanks. Those were mighty hits for a softball. Somehow I could hit a baseball pretty good and far, but when I played some softball in the Army I could not go yard. I got close enough but probably could have used your tips back then:) I settled for hitting the ball in the gap or opposite field and going extra bases instead of flying out. I was always looking at the situation and how to move runners and knock them in. On another note, did you see the below article? There are a series of Josh Hamiliton articles today since there is not much to talk about with the Rangers:)
It all depends on what COR/Compression balls you were using and what bat you used, along with technique and pitch selection. Here is an article on COR ratings and the bats you should use. It's much more involved than when I played, ahhh things were simpler back then. http://softballhitting.info/softballcorcompinfo.html When I played they had Gold, Green, Blue and Red Dots. Gold was the softest and Red the hardest which meant the Reds would go much further than the Golds with the same impact. (In ASA rules we played with the Blue Dots which were .47 COR). They were also just coming out with the specialized bats for those balls, so you had to have an idea how to pair them up correctly. Hence special ordering them from certain supply houses who knew what you didn't. For the last 6-7 years I was ordering a brand new bat before each season started. Because you could wear one out in a single season, and the technology was changing so rapidly. (In fact they were just starting to Cryogenically treat bats). And you "couldn't" take one of those bats to the cages cause the balls they use would ruin a high performance bat like that in just a couple of swings. And when you're paying $1-300 per bat that can put a dent in your wallet real quick if you ruin one or two. In fact when they first came out they recommended not using certain models in temperatures under 50 degrees IIRC. Me personally I like the "End loaded" bats which had a shorter length barrel but was weighted heavier out in the end. Some of them had thinner handles so they could put even more end weight in it, which I didn't care for but would just build it up to a bigger size by "double wrapping" it. SO as you can see softball is a much more specialized sport than baseball where you only have one COR ball and only wooden bats. One time we went to a tournament at the AF Academy in Colorado Springs. Most of us had just gotten our new bats and wanted to try them out in the thin air there, you're at 6,000 or so feet above sea level. Well when we got there we told our bats were illegal cause they didn't meet USSSA specs. Which was a bunch of BS cause they used the same ball we did Blue Dots. Luckily we had brought some of last years bats to use in BP and for some reason they weren't illegal even though they were ASA rules bats too. We were already at a disadvantage as it was because were were used to ASA arc rules and USSSA has lower arc rules, so we had to adapt to that both hitting and pitching. I think they had scouted my team before the tournament and knew we would have cleaned house using our new bats and hence declared them illegal. Chickenschitts!!
Yes with baseball the balls are pretty standard. If not playing at professional level, their is usually one standard "Official League" type ball. Some have small variations like high seams (better for pitching) etc. However the non-wood bats are getting very specialized outside of pro baseball. Aluminum bats are going away and now there are composite bats down to youth level. There are single formed composite and dual or two piece composite. Basically advertised as less vibration on the hands and better 'sweet spots.' For the HS to college level they have composite bats with BBCOR. BBCOR requires a break in before it is as effective as advertised. Got my son a dual composite bat two years ago. It's ok and was advertised as not needing a 'break in' like the single form. Last week saw a single composite on 'sale' on line and bought it to see if it is better than the other. Only draw back is now I will have to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon with sonny boy breaking it in. Which means hitting 15-200 balls with it off a tee rotating it 1/4 inch each time.
So now the kids have "hot bats" like us slow pitch guys had. But doesn't this raise another issue like the ball being faster off the bat and causing more severe injuries? We were out practicing one day at our private practice field (only CE guys had the keys to the gate) and one of my guys got hit in the face with a batted Blue Dot. Split the cartilage in his nose right down the middle, fractured an eye socket, "Shattered" his supposedly shatterproof Ray Ban sunglasses, cut his eyebrow above one eye wide open (2" gash), cut the cheek below the other eye (1" gash), hemorrhaged both eyes, and turned 2/3rds of his face about 5 different colors. Now you would think he was in the infield to sustain injuries that bad from a batted ball. Nope, he was shagging fly balls and was about 360-370' from home plate when he got whacked!! Luckily one of our guys was on off duty EMT and we laid him down in the back of my truck and took him to the ER. There is an off colored spot in the carpet in my truck, don't know if it's from all the blood he lost or it's rust from the bottom of one of my tool boxes.
The big barrel composite bats are "illegal". They don't allow those until HS. For TTAB and Little League the barrel cannot be more than 2-1/4. Wow how did that guy recover from his injuries. LOL rust probably. Ranger game almost ready to start. Wonder if Nellie is going to bomb us.
He's hit what 4 or 5 already? Just looked and the game isn't on here, will have to catch updates thru the MLB channel and Sportscenter... Poop!!
Check out the line up on line. Same one as opening day. Prince Fielder is the only one batting above Mendoza line at .400.
And he seems to be doing what I suggested last year. Hitting to the opposite field instead of pulling dribblers to the 2B for a DP or easy out, hence leaving base runners stranded. It's nice to see his average weighs more than he does. If he actually had somebody in front of him who could get on base he would have 15 RBIs by now instead of 5. You know if more guys would learn to go with the pitch instead of trying to force the pitch they could raise their average at least 30 points maybe more. To me it's utterly amazing why some guys who have all of this talent can't figure that out. Is their ego that big, their IQ that low or the coaches that dumb? Duhhhhhhh.. Trying to be a HERO and end up being a ZERO. (rolling eyes).
I think the better hitters who do go opposite field are astute to knowing when such a pitch is coming. Others are just out there trying to figure out what's coming next and end up only hitting the ball when a pitcher makes a mistake. Elvis lost right now. As are many of the Ranger batters. Fielder knows what his scouting report says I'm sure and he makes adjustments.
I think the better ones do it on purpose so the pitchers can't figure out what to throw them on a regular basis to get them out.
Just to rub some salt in our wounds...Cruz could have easily been on the Rangers roster again....
Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks Andrus stinks.
LOL I saw that. That had to be JD's worst deal yet...the contract extension of Elvis. He had two young sprouts in the farm who could take EAs spot for a fraction of the cost. At least one of the big three contracts have to be dumped. Either EA, Prince or Choo. All three are toxic contracts no one wants to take on except maybe the Yankees. Even they will ask for some cash in return. Heck we are still paying A-Rod to hit HRs or sit on his duff for the Yankees.
They should have called the Yankees the day Jeter announced his retirement, they could have at least got a "bag of used pucks" (derogatory hockey term) in return. Oh wait maybe they did and the Yanks told them to FO..
Would have been another A-Rod situation I'm sure. Elvis goes to the Yanks, Rangers eat a portion of the salary and Elvis has an All Star season. Seems to happen to everyone we ditch except Hamiliton.
Like someone else we know who wanted to play 2B but wasn't really that good at it and they were too chicken to force him to play the OF. Then they traded him and he really took off, after his new team forced him to play the OF. The guy ended up with over 400 HRs for his career.
Rangers struggling tonight. After such a good night last night. It's hard not having a #1 or #2 rotation pitcher to start the season. Gallardo is no #1 or even #2. It's ok to have a bunch of 3s and 4s when you have a consistent offense like we did in 10-11. Good thing everyone else in the AL West is struggling too.
I think the Offense will finally get its act together and they will stay close to .500 for awhile. They can't all hit below the Mendoza line for the entire season. Houston just moved into last place yesterday for team batting average at .216. So there is at least one team who's bats suck worse than the Rangers.
Good news we may have a lefty reliever soon...Claudio seems to be doing better in RR: Texas Rangers may add lefty reliever soon Other than the Scheppers 2X fiasco, Banister showed he is much better making BP calls. He is not making who pitches the 7th and 8th predictable which is good. Keeping the opposing manager and bench coach thinking. Any advantage opens doors. I shut off the 8-1 romp the other night only to realize it ended 8-5 with 4 runs in the 9th. Again confirming that with good pitching, teams can beat the Rangers. If however, this offense proves to be like the 2010 late come back Rangers (getting to BPs) I think we can hang in there for an end of year fight IF Holland and Perez are truly healthy when they come back. Matt Harrison, is a wild card...we shall see. I said the same thing about Colby though:)
Matt Harrison, is a wild card...we shall see. I'm not too worried about Holland, Perez probably won't pitch much before Aug or Sept so am not expecting much. Harrison I think will be back by July at the latest, he just did a 75 pitch BP session earlier this week and is going to do a 80 pitch BP session "today". They next thing up for him will be live batters and pitching in the minors to finish his rehab. They say he is looking really good and very anxious to get back to pitching in the majors.
Update on Hammy: Deal is done. So the Rangers pick up about 20% of the money. Frankly that is not a bad deal if this is spread out over the remaining three years. If he starts producing and the Rangers are not contenders this year, then he can be an economical trade deadline piece for prospects.
Oh well I guess we will see how this all turns out. He's currently going thru a divorce, coming back from surgery and last I seen his stroke sucked, lots of bad things going on right now. If Magaden and Jones can help him find his stroke this may turn out OK, if not then it will end up as I fear a clusterphuck.
CJ Wilson went to visit Hammy at his friend's ranch where he is working out and rehabbing. He said Hammy was in the best shape he has seen him (chizled and cut) and hitting the ball good. Yes this is a risk but a low risk as we are not sending anyone to the Angels and the money is minimal. I think it was Evan Grant who said "what do the Rangers have to lose" in a rebuilding year? Well about $5M a year but that's chump change compared to the other toxic contracts they have. Maybe having Hamiliton become a two spot guy giving Fielder some protection will help. If that stroke is back as you said, things could only improve what we have now. Good to see Martin over Mendoza line. I think he, Moreland (not as many at bats) and Fielder are the only ones over the mark right now. Wandy gave me fits last night but due to good OF defense he got the job done. He was out of gas in the 4th but still pitched 'flubber' balls for strikes in the 5th. Maybe some more conditioning and he can be a 5th in the rotation. He still worries me... 3-2 belt high inside pitch to Freese? Rookie mistake, I give him a pass. Feliz should have told him to walk that dude with runners on:)
Rookies mistake or catchers mistake? He is constantly throwing the fastball much more than he throws the curve or change (101 fastballs, 33 curves and 17 change-ups). He needs to throw the later 2 just a bit more, change speeds to keep the hitters off balance.
Looks like Hammy deal done:
They better get his swing fixed or otherwise it's gonna get ugly quick. The other thing they need to do is ride his ass about trying to make spectacular plays in the OF and end up going on the DL instead. BTA if he isn't hitting that may end up being the best thing for everyone involved. Choo went "oh fer" again last night, they really need to get him out of the lineup for a couple of days. Along with a couple of others to give them a chance to work on their swings. BTA maybe it's time to see if they can coax Jaramillo out of retirement!!
Jason Jaramillo? LOL he is a career AAA player:) I know you are joking that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Choo went "oh fer" again last night, they really need to get him out of the lineup for a couple of days. Choo is now 1 for 31 if Buzz was correct. Somethings up like an injury he is hiding. Now I don't know if the fans are yelling CHOOOOO or BOOOOO. He is horrible and lost at the plate. Yeah that throw to first in the first was the nail in the coffin. Then again Gallie was struggling but evened the keel later. On Hammie? Will let you know once he gets back to Round Rock. Once he gets there I will park away from the right field fence and hope his swing is back.
I'm talking Rudy, you know the guy who was the Rangers hitting coach for 15 years 1995-2009. Years when they had no pitching but always was in the top 5 of offense and home runs. Went to Chicago in 2009 and was released in 2012 and as far as I know hasn't gotten another gig. Don't know if it's on purpose (I suspect so) or if his phone hasn't rang, he was in high demand for quite awhile. They should at least give him a call and see if he's interested in being a "special consultant".. :) Just think of some of the big bats he coached, Gonzalez, Sierra, Palmiero, Hamilton, Texiera so forth and so on.
Give JD a call. They need Rudy back. Forgot about him. Thought he was retired.
Looks like the Rangers finally made a "command decision" and he's gonna get it cleaned out in the next few days. This came out after I went to bed... http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/texas-rangers-mitch-moreland-to-miss- at-least-two-weeks-kyle-blanks-added.html/
Another terrible night of no offense. I shut it off after the 5th inning to watch a movie with the Mrs. She had ENOUGH baseball hanging out watching me run the kid's practice for two chilly windy hours yesterday evening:) But I see DeShields got an RBI double driving in Smolkinsky. If those two guys can get some decent on base time things could turn for the top of the order. Good call on Mitch. Get it done and over. If this is the yearly "Mitch injury" then we are getting off easy:) Hammy working out in AZ, pitchers on the way...So some help. As long as they don't dig too deep a hole things can only get better....right?:)
Now that Moreland is out for awhile I think they need to give De Shields some playing time to see if he can handle MLB pitching and get the offense going some. Give Choo a couple of more days off then let him DH for awhile so he can concentrate on his swing. I figure Josh, Mitch and Ohlendorf will be coming back about the same time so hopefully the rest of the team has worked out it's batting issues and is ready to make a run. If everything goes OK then Harrison should be about a month behind them. The pitching hasn't really been that bad it's been the hitting that's been the big drag so far. Truthfully they should be at .500 or a game or 2 over.
Face in palm after tonight's game:(
Any game to where you hold the opposition to 4 runs or less is a game you should win.
Woo hoo a walk off win in the 10th! Choo the hero of the game. BP tried to blow another one. Kela did good at the top 10th. They have to have some BP help in RR. I think they have issues with the 40 man roster.
Seen one of these cruising the Lowes parking lot in Xenia yesterday, had so many stickers on it I don't think the owner even knows what all is on it. The reason I say that is I seen a "I'm a Stupid Liberal Bitch" sticker nestled in with all the anti Pubbie stickers. Wonder if her husband or neighbor snuck it in? :)
Can't find it. Where? Lol...now THAT is one stupid, miserable b*tch. Wonder if her husband or neighbor snuck it in? :) Lol...who is more a lunatic?
I seen one a couple of years ago sitting out in front of the coat hanger clinic (over on Stroop) that I think the only thing holding it all together was the stickers. When I asked them why they didn't protest what was being taught in the public school system the one woman said "Why should we my granddaughter is going to grow up to be much smarter than me". Needless to say I just shook my head, rolled my eyes and drove away.
Hitting instructor Dave Magadan is in his third season, the final season of his current contract. While personnel around him has changed dramatically from 2013 forward, Magadan has overseen an offense that has declined in production year over year. And hitting coach has been the Rangers’ most transient spot lately. Rudy Jaramillo left after 15 seasons in 2009. Since the start of 2009, the Rangers have had five hitting coaches. The Rangers do have a former big league hitting coach on staff in assistant minor league hitting coordinator and outfield coordinator Dwayne Murphy. They also think highly of Triple-A hitting instructor Justin Mashore. Whatever the route, the Rangers look like they are on the verge of making some kind of change. Because with the worst record in the AL, something has to. Above from this morning's Rangers news. Changes are coming is what JD said on Sunday. One possible above. Rudy is mentioned as a good benchmark. Also Odor and Andrus options mentioned. Is Maddux on the hook? Probably not. Jon Daniels: Texas Rangers will not wait much longer to ‘mix it up’
Sit them both for a couple of days to help them get their schitt together, it seemed to help out Choo immensely. Beltre could also use a few days too. I'm beginning to think Bannister is a bad idea but am not in the locker room so can't say that for sure, just a hunch. All I know is Bogar did a damn good job with basically the same team with a few exceptions, .636 winning percentage will get the job done.
Clubhouse has to get used to Banny. Wash was not hands on but a player's manager. Banny is like that new commander coming in who does not care what the old beloved commander did. It takes time for a team to adjust to a new boss. Hammy better lose that smirk he gets when he strikes out or rolls on a ball. Banny won't be amused.
My point is he doesn't come from an organization that has a history of winning or even being competitive. Kinda makes you wonder how he's reacting to coming here and seeing the same old stuff he saw in Pittsburgh. That could be effecting how he's dealing with his players, seems like they are just too uptight, pressing too much for no reason. I would love to be a fly on the wall just to see what the mood is.
A gem by Wandy Rod tonight. He went 8 full on 104 pitches one ER (HR) and 3H. Bats showed up too scoring 7 runs. HR by Blanks his third since being called up. So the Rangers win their first back to back games with their first series win. Saved the BP for Colby tomorrow. Wish I had some of the above with sonny boys team tonight. Had a late game kids were not focused at all. Ump was garbage. His grandson was on the other team. Wanna guess who won:) All my players but two ran the count to 3-2 each at bat. Not one walk from high pitches on each at bat. Same pitches from my pitcher ball four. The dude was fooling no one. My team parents were livid we could not buy a strike. Had to hold them back from getting tossed. We got beat and not one ball was hit by the other team until the last inning and those were ground outs. I counted 7 total swings from the other team all game. My pitcher was not on his best game but no way did he pitch that many balls. He had 1-2-3 innings last game using the same routine. I finally sent in a kid who throws perfect down the middle strikes. He doesn't miss much but has no velocity. Finally got some outs but ump still called some balls clearly down the middle and belt high. The other team still just stood there and didn't swing. Awful. Don't know what that coach is teaching those kids. We will get them next time. I should have sent in sonny boy in relief. But he was sick being a trooper at 2B. I'm still amazed at the ump. Now I've seen bad umps before but this guy was inconsistent. At least most bad umps are consistently bad:) There's much more that went wrong don't know where to start. Oh the two kids who consistently missed practice showed up. I'll leave it at that:)
It happened to my daughters when they were playing in a downtown league. Had a few runs ins with the locals over their "lack of integrity" and they didn't take to kindly to be told that. None of them ended up in any rough behavior but they sure heard about how bad their upbringing was and that their parents should paddle their butts for acting so childish. :) After that they only played on base and the games were much better, kids had a lot more fun and so did the fans in the stands.
After that they only played on base and the games were much better, kids had a lot more fun and so did the fans in the stands. LOL. Yeah last night's game was the worst I encountered in all my coaching years. Bias was never an issue in the past. He also called a hit by pitch on a batter after the ball hit the catchers glove. I about came unglued at that point. Another kid from the other team swung at a pitch up high and the ump called ball four. I came out for that one...said 'ump he swung at the pitch.' He said "I can't overturn my own call." Opposing coach shook his head in agreement with me. He also missed the illegal big barrel bats. Everyone one on the opposing team had these huge caveman barrel bats. I called it, and he complied. The other coach had to dig through the team bag to find one bat that was legal. The barrel cannot be more than 2-1/4 in diameter (not that it matter as that team only swung at 7 pitches all game). By half way through the game both teams kids were toast. It was passed their bed time. LOL my catcher called time out, called me over and said "coach I'm tired and it's past my bed time:) That was kinda cute and his mother shouted out 'get back in there!' Gotta love that mom:) But the youngsters got a good lesson last night. We live in an imperfect world and people make mistakes. Plus, the adults on our side (your's truly as well) kept our cool and kept encouraging the kids and coaching them. They have seen enough of 'ugly' adults in the past.
Some people were just not meant to be involved in the activities of people they know.
Whoo hoo a four game winning streak. Nick finally gave up a couple of runs. I'll give him a pass:) 5-4. Bp was able to keep the lead.
Good idea. :) Noticed DeShields walked 3 times last night in his 4 ABs and seen 26 pitches, just what he is supposed to do get on base. Odor 4AB 3 SO, they really need to sit him for a couple of days. Harrison pitching BP to Hamilton in Arizona, Martin hitting off a tee, and both Moreland and Hamilton might be in Round Rock this weekend. Sounds like a good time to attend a ballgame doesn't it, that's if you can talk Mom into it.. :)
Odor 4AB 3 SO, they really need to sit him for a couple of days. Harrison pitching BP to Hamilton in Arizona, Martin hitting off a tee, and both Moreland and Hamilton might be in Round Rock this weekend. Sounds like a good time to attend a ballgame doesn't it, that's if you can talk Mom into it.. :) LOL yeah, kind of dropped that hint last week about going to RR for Mom's day. No response necessary...the look said it all:) Father's day a few years ago we went there and that was fun but a 1:05pm game and nearing 95 degrees at game time. The dads were allowed on the field to throw catch with the kiddos...we did that and the field temp was probably another 10 degrees hotter. Yes DeSheilds did well. He also swiped three bases in that game.
I'm hoping this will force them to at least platoon him with Martin when he gets back cause he's a righty and Martin a lefty. And the latest is when Martin returns he "WON'T" be batting leadoff, Choo seems to have nailed that down for the time being.
Gallardo another loss again. Once again the 5th and 6th inning struggles for him. Bp could not keep it close tonight. Can't win them all:)
Looks like they are sending Odor down to the minors to break his bad habits at the plate. So my question is why can't Magaden do his job instead of sending him to RR and having Mashore do it?? Then let Choo sit for a few days to get his head together but they can't let Odor do it. They claim he needs to play everyday to get his schitt together, talk about making no sense whatsoever.
And Odor was replaced with Field, a career minor leaguer. However DeShields keeps drawing walks, and has now 9 SB. He is on base for Choo and the top of the order. He walked twice in the loss tonight and scored twice. Blanks went 2-3 IIRC. Will be interesting when Moreland gets back and Josh too.
Will be interesting when Moreland gets back and Josh too. Somebody is going to be the odd man out in the OF when Josh gets here, wonder who that will be?? That could go a couple of different ways.. Right now I think it should be Martin but Bannister said a guy shouldn't lose his job because of injury. BTA DeShields is playing better and the team seems to be winning more with him in the lineup, ride the hot hand ya know. But what happens when Josh gets here and he sux? It could get very interesting.
BP shake up seems to be coming. Long overdue: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/texas-rangers-gm-jon- daniels-likely-to-return-from-trip-to-round-rock-with-relief- replacements.html/
Duhhh... Overdue in my opinion.
Also DeShields got a single, double and triple tonight.
I'm curious as to when they are going to try him in the leadoff spot?? If he can handle that it could make for some really interesting options in the lineup!!
I'm sure Banister is giving it time to see if this is just a new guy pitchers have not figured out yet. The upside is he is walking a lot so it seems DD is not fooled by those sharp breaking balls that end up in the dirt. Last night two pitchers figured that out and gave him a fast ball down the middle, which he hammered in the L/C gap for a triple:) I am cautiously optimistic. Lead off? Too soon as the guy needs some MLB line up time. Plus having #9 get on base for Choo right now is working out great. If only we could teach DD how to play SS.....:)
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/five-observations-on-spending-two-days-around-josh-hamilton-in-texas-rangers-comeback.html/ Just found this. And this is why I say let DD have a shot at leadoff and move Choo to 2nd slot just for a couple of days to see what happens. If it works then you don't really have to worry about what is quoted up above, if it doesn't then fall back, regroup and go again. I've never really understood the pressure of batting leadoff when you usually only do it once a game anyway. I batted leadoff and never really thought about it, just did what I normally did get on base by hook or crook. If theses guys mindsets are that fragile then something is really wrong.
Good point.
DD got 2 more hits last night and if he would have been hitting leadoff it could have amounted to 1 or 2 more runs. Which would only have mattered if the BP had done their job, since they didn't it's moot. Last night Fuji stunk and Bass, Freeman did alright, go figure. Used all 3 on back to back nights Bannister must have felt the other guys needed some rest, or maybe it's something he plans on doing from now on who knows.
I don't think Bannister planned on using middle relief with the way Wandy has pitched lately. I think at some point he had no choice but to use the middle men again. Which means he has to bank on Colby hurling a good one tonight to get to the seventh at least. Should be no reason why he can't. Rangers 6 under .500 and about 8 games down. As long as they can keep it here or a little better until help arrives with Holland and then Perez. We shall see.
And now that the bats are coming around the pitching is falling apart. (rolling eyes).
Yep Feliz blew another save and took another loss. Banister was about to toss equipment. The offense came back twice in the game. Thinking Tolleson needs to close or closer by committee.
I didn't get to see it so don't know what happened at the end other than there were ahead going into the 9th. Let me guess Feliz went in and pitched conservatively instead of with the killer instinct the closer is supposed to have and all managers expect?
Feliz pitched predictable. Like Ogando used to do. He comes in with a 2-1 breaking ball to get a swinging strike to make it 2-2. The batter knew his slider wasn't working so a fastball was coming next. And that is what he did and a second deck HR followed. I told sonny boy "watch this, a fast ball and it's going over the fence." Sure enough that is exactly what happened.
But can't you blame some of that on the Catcher for giving in to what he wants to throw instead of mixing it up and keeping the hitters off balance. I would think that would force the pitcher to perfect his off pitches instead of using them just for show, he would end up being a better pitcher in the long run.
I would think that would force the pitcher to perfect his off pitches instead of using them just for show, he would end up being a better pitcher in the long run. Remember the pitcher has the final veto:) Seems Chirinos called for it. Maybe Feliz missed. Oh well...:) Well they won against a good pitcher yesterday. They were struggling against good pitchers this season and finally beat one who was pitching well. Ol' David Murphy hurt us a bit in this series. Why is it he is doing so well with the Tribe?:)
And sometimes the pitcher outthinks himself instead of trusting his catcher and manager. BTA we don't have catchers that are as well respected as someone like Pudge. Kinda makes me wonder if Bannister is calling pitches from the dugout, you would think he would in certain situations.
Angels skipper has been accused of doing such. In high intensity situations I bet they do at least give a signal for location. Then again, pitchers are not perfect. Sometimes they aim for low and outside and the pitch catches most of the plate. Batters with some experience will make you pay for mistakes like that. Fielder is one and Beltre eh sometimes. I've seen him chase some really bad pitches.
Yankees legend Yogi Berra, who never said most of the things he said, turns 90 Tuesday. J. Meric/Getty Images 10. "It's like deja vu all over again." 9. "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." 8. "The future ain't what it used to be." 7. "We made too many wrong mistakes." 6. "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." 5. "You can observe a lot just by watching." 4. "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." 3. "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." 2. "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical." 1. "It ain't over 'til it's over." Did he really say all those things? Probably not. The evidence for some of them doesn't exist, and as early as 1949, the New York Daily News referred to Yogi as the "man who says funny things even if the newspapermen do make up most of them." As Yogi himself tried to explain, "I never said most of the things I said." Just picked this up off an article about Yogi's 90th birthday.. :) http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/58047/happy-90th-birthday-yogi-berra
LOL we could do a better job than the DFW 'experts.' Here's an article which addresses what we talked about days ago. Wonder if Fraley, Grant and the DFW gang lurk here at LP:) Fraley: Rangers manager Jeff Banister has upped the stakes in his changing of bullpen
Many think the Rangers will not be contenders again until 2017 at the earliest. Who do you think the Rangers will have playing at the four corner positions and at DH in 2017? Fraley: Don't hold me to this. I'll go Gallo and Beltre on the infielder corners. Fielder at DH. Hamilton and Choo at the outfield corners. Found this little tidbit in an article, seems he thinks Josh will stick around. Remember when I mentioned moving Beltre to 1st, Gallo as far as I know hasn't played 1st before hmmmmm... http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150520-fraley-here-s- what-to-make-of-rangers-3b-prospect-joey-gallo-playing-outfield-in-frisco.ece
Joey Gallo Fangraphs Gallo just played his first game in the OF for the Rough Riders. I saw somewhere else he played rougly 7 games at first base so far. I hope they don't confuse this kid like they did Chris Davis. Davis played 3B and 1B often at Round Rock. Then right before they traded him he played some OF for Round Rock. I remember in 2011 taking my son down to the railing to get Chris Davis' autograph a week before he was traded. I said "Chris hope to see you in Arlington soon." He shrugged like he already knew he was being dealt:) Then in 2013 going down the same railing at RR AAA my son got Mike Olt's autograph. A few weeks later he was dealt to the Cubs for that rental pitcher. So we will not be seeking Joey Gallo's autograph anytime soon:) Seems Gallardo can't get passed the 5th inning. Gave up two bombs in the game too. BP held their own and did not give more runs. So maybe the Banny plan has merit.
Last year at Frisco, only 3B and OF this year.
LOL a 2-1 win last night. Boston had 12 LOB for the game. Wow, talk about managing each pitcher and pitch:) Tolleson was calm and cool in the 9th. Gave up a one out double, then a long drive to the Green Monster which DD snagged nicely holding the runner at 2nd. Then Banny orders an intentional walk of Big Poppie (the second of the game IIRC); then he puts on the shift for Ramirez and gets a direct grounder to Field. Frankly Wash would have blown that game. Rangers had about 8 or 9 LOB as well. The one run for Boston was a HR I believe. So good news is Klein gets the win. Hey I'll take it. Looking at the MLB standings as a whole...'Stros best team in baseball...LOL, about time they reached this level with plucking the best draft picks and DFAs over the past 3-4 years. They keep beating the A's which is good.
And they put him back in the 2nd slot and he did good last night, Martin stunk again.
He did get a double:) I'm really digging this "Manager managing the game" meme. Been lost for quite some time with Texas. Just think, if Wash applied such logic in a handful of regular season games in 2012 we may have avoided the WC game.
Did you see that Oakland hired Wash, I found out in the middle of the night watching MLB channel.
Sheppers just allowed a 3 run HR in the 8th. Now 10-8 Rangers.
10-9 final Ohlendorf gets the save after he gives up a HR in the 9th, neither BP has much to write home about after last nights game. Rangers put up a 7 spot in the 3rd, that has got to be their biggest inning in quite sometime. Pineda tried coming up and in to Prince and he took him deep both times. My guess is pitchers have noticed how Prince has adjusted to them pitching him outside and are now experimenting again on where to pitch him. On MLB Tonight last night they had Carlos Pena on as a studio analyst and he was talking about he fixed weak areas in his swing. He used to be really weak in the upper portions of the strike zone and he said he didn't change anything like stance or placement in the box, it's just that he started targeting those pitches specifically to hit. Once the pitchers figured out he was looking for those pitches and tried to hit other zones then he would start looking for those too. (Maybe the Rangers need to hire Carlos as a "special consultant".. :) Oh wait never mind if he hasn't formally retired they still might own his rights)!! It's a cat and mouse game you gotta keep making changes to your game to keep up and be successful.
Nail biter last night. Had sonny boy's friends over. The house erupted after the last out:) Rangers just put up 10 in the 3rd. Early game today. Guess they play tomorrow night. I saw a bit of the Fielder piece on MLB yesterday. Seems he is in this for the long haul. Good news.
Lets see 2nd day in a row DD has been leadoff and they have score 25 runs and he's been on base 4 out of 9 times, not too shabby. I was kinda surprise he was leadoff yesterday because CC is a lefty but guess Bannister is gonna find out if he can handle the job or not. If he can keep this up (.400 OBP) I think they've found their new leadoff guy, he seems to be doing good defensively in CF. Josh is supposedly ready and coming to town Monday, I would imagine they are going to put him in the 5th slot for now to see how he does. I do hope this works out for the team cause I would hate to see them regress back to where they were earlier in the season. Martinez did a nice job yesterday 2 runs thru 7 innings, that makes 15 starts in a row for him where he's given up 3 runs or less. Not bad for an infielder turned pitcher. :) Harrison still seems to be on track... Might have to revise my estimated return date for him to July sometime since his velocity is still down in the 80s. "Harrison made his third start in extended spring camp Saturday in Arizona and pitched four scoreless innings. The left-hander allowed three hits, struck out four and threw 62 pitches. His velocity was 86-88 mph". http://m.rangers.mlb.com/news/article/126179956/matt-harrison-sharp-in-extended- spring-start
All good news. And our first 4 game winning streak. Let's see how Gallardo does against the Yankees order. May be another home run Derby:) Heard Holland may be delayed a couple of weeks.
Just seen a batting order looks like Josh is hitting 5th, no day off for Choo.
Six in a row! One game to .500. Shep pitched pretty good in the 6-7th. Then Freeman did fine too. Tolleson had a perfect 9th. He did get hit in the foot on the last play. Hope he is ok. I think Colby pitches tomorrow.
The pen did a pretty good job overall Klein didn't look too good he was charged wit 7 out of 8 runs. Josh got on base twice once thru a BB and the other on an error by the pitcher on a come backer he threw over the 1B head, scored 1 run. Not the best of days but it could have been worse. The networks must be noticing they are playing better because 3 out of the last 4 games have been televised up here, before that none of them had been. OTOH they were playing the Yankees and that could be the reason, even though nobody around here really likes them other than those who think it's fashionable to follow them.
Yes, it was because they played Boston and NYY. For some reason the Tribe just kills our pitching this year.
I get so sick of turning on the TV and either the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Giants or Dodgers are playing. I could personally care less about all of those teams and would rather watch other teams no matter what their record is.
Seems even the Mets get some national television coverage...being of course the big NY market team.
Another win last night that makes 7 straight and back to .500 which ties them with the Angels for 2nd place. Prince still having an outstanding stretch at the plate and a very good month for that matter, another starter doesn't go at least 6 innings but the pen pitched well last night (looks like they are getting back to certain guys having certain roles) and "Evis" tried blowing the game in the 9th by booting another easy ball. Martin still stinking it up at the plate, Choo needs a day off and I can't remember the last time Smolinski got a hit. Also beginning to look as if they should have left Josh in the minors for another week or so to work on his swing. I realize the OF is thin but the way DD was playing I think they could have managed without Josh till he was hitting better. If they can stay at .500 for awhile until some of the other pitchers get healthy they might be able to make a late run at the playoffs, maybe...
12-2 loss today. Swisher et al. chewed up Colby in the second inning (I believe). He gave up 8 in one inning. He is trending down. Again hope he is well. It was nice being at .500 for about 12 hours:)
Just seen that they scratched Chi Chi from his Thurs start at RR in anticipation of him starting Sat at Arlington, that is if they don't get rained out tonight.
Looking forward to seeing Chi Chi pitch. New umpire today:) We won 8-1. Sonny boy 2-2 one single and one double knocked in 4 runs. Kid pitching did great. His dad said "last game we are going on vacation." After seeing his son do so well they will delay vacation by one day and he will pitch again:) Happy dad, happy coach but wonder if the mother is happy:)
Chi Chi did a good job took a no-no into the 5th and lasted for 5-2/3rds, kept his team in the game and gave them the chance to win which they did. Wonder how long they plan on keeping him?? Alberto doing a good job so far at the plate and in the field, DD is still doing a good job in the leadoff slot got on base 3 time Sat, Josh didn't get any hits but at least walked 2 times (so far the experiment is going alright) overall good game got them back to .500...
I think he stays like Perez did in 2013 until some of the vet south paws show up. Look for Detwiler to get another shot at a start. How that goes will determine if Chi Chi goes back down. Frankly I would like to see him go down to work on using less pitches, get his walk rate down and at least endure 7 innings. Once Perez was able to do that, he was lights out. However, maybe they are taking it easier on the newbies given their experience with Perez.
As far as I know he's still with the club (he's still on the Active Roster) so look for his next start to be in Kansas City against the Royals on Friday night. Harrison is starting his rehab assignment tomorrow which means that could last up to 30 days depending on his progress. Perez is starting his extended spring training assignment on June 5th and Holland is playing catch at 60 feet now.
Wow I missed the live version of the Joey Gallo fireworks. Was running baseball practice tonight. Joey went 3-4 single, HR, 2B, BB, one K. Knocked in 4 RBI early before the rout. Rangers win 15-2. Great first game:) Last at bat was a walk and the relief pitcher gave him nothing to work with.
Was 445 feet according to the computer, typical Joey moonball. :) Hope to see those kinda shots with more regularity going forward. And the 2B hit right at the top of the fence another foot or so and he would have hit 2 HRs last night. Seen they called Smolinski back up last night, hopefully he plays better this time around and allows them the opportunity to give the other OFs a day off here and there although the 8th is another off day.
Neat article here: Throwback: Bryce Harper and Joey Gallo Make for a Terrifying Little League Team
Yea I read something about this a couple of weeks ago that they played together when they were 8 and 9, in Nevada IIRC. Speaking of Bryce read this to get a laugh. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/24/mlb-players-think-bryce-harper-is- the-most-overrated-in-all-of-baseball/
They lost 9-2 tonight. Martinez gave up 6 ER. Tough night for him. Hope he is not burnt out with all the 100+ pitch games. Bright spot was Gallo hit another second deck dinger. He went 1-4 with three strikeouts. Never saw a fastball in the three strike outs. All breakers and change ups. Plus Sale was on the mound.
"The back felt good," Harrison said. "My arm felt good. I've got to figure out what I can do to get my velocity back up. I haven't been able to get as much power in my legs. It's not going to happen overnight, but hopefully by the end of the month. I'm getting outs, just a little different way. I threw and got off the field healthy. It was a good day." Looks like Harrison is getting closer.
FYI: Red Sox Designate Carlos Peguero By Jeff Todd [June 4, 2015 at 2:31pm CDT] The Red Sox have designated outfielder Carlos Peguero for assignment, the club announced (via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, on Twitter). His roster spot will go to the just-acquired Alejandro De Aza. Boston added Peguero just over a week ago, and he saw only six plate appearances with his new club. He’s always had plenty of pop — as his 30 Triple- A home runs last year attest — but Peguero strikes out quite a bit while walking only at the league average. Still, his left-handed power bat holds reasonable appeal, though it remains to be seen whether another team will be inclined to give the out-of-options slugger an active roster spot
12 hits and only 2 runs I imagine the 13Ks had quite a bit to do with runners being left on base last night. Also had to use 6 pitchers again when probably only 2-3 were required. And I didn't believe it at first when I read it was they are currently tied for a "Wild Card" position at only 3 games over .500, amazing. Oh and the dress that got ruined in the PowerAde incident is up for sale, LOL http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/own-emily-jones-gatorade-soaked- dress.html/
LOL...Again, I'm sure Fox Sports appreciated Emily is a conservative woman:) There are a few ladies over at MLB channel which if that happened to them, a commercial break would be required:)
I know I read that other teams were targeting reporters but now I can't seem to find it... Kelly Crull
Gallo batting 5th tonight:
Looks like the only change to the lineup is that Corporan is catching today instead of Chirinos. Wandy hasn't faced the Royals since 2012 so I would imagine he has an advantage since most of their players haven't faced him before.
4-2 win today. Wandy did good. Gallo went 1-4 and had a fly ball out and ground out. So he's learning. Had another K lookin. Stros lost again. 3.5 out now. Good thing is we are hitting the Royals when they are slumping. We will be done with them tomorrow. Then on to the A's at O co.
Looks like the Astros are coming back to Earth after their hot start, or should I say a start against a lot of teams who weren't playing very well. Cleveland, Texas, Athletics, Angels, Seattle and San Diego all teams who got off to rough starts. All of them were below .500 until recently and some still are. If those teams were playing better at the time the Astros would be around .500 right now.
Lost 4-3 today on an 8th inning HR. Good news is the Stros lost too. However 2/3 ain't bad to win another series.
The top and bottom of the order did them no favors they went "oh fer" so no one for the middle of the order to drive in with their hits. Joey did a little better at the plate yesterday turned one of these looking Ks into a walk. Wish there was a way to go back and look at each one of his ABs. I would imagine another issue he is having is he isn't tuned in to certain umpires "funky" strike zones yet that will take some time. I wonder how much coaching he's getting on the bench from guys like Choo and Fielder??
Good point. I'm sure the vets are talking to him and Magadan too. He's a smart kid FWIK, so I'm sure he is looking at the video of his at bats. He's getting a lot of change ups and breaking balls. MLB style. Meaning he sees such pitches in AA ball but not the type that comes at you in three different speeds. The slower pitchers in minor ball are probably more predictable. Such is life for the youngster. He was not up at AAA ball yet and goes straight to the majors. On another related subject we have Sherrington writing this today: He's still beating the "get Hamels" drum. He also points out the price for such a trade and it includes names like Alfaro, Gallo and Gonzalez. No way. But he mentions the Phils had a scout in the stands during the Royals series looking at Chi Chi and Gallo. I see his point on IF we are to be contenders THIS YEAR, we need an ace in the rotation. However, no one considered (not even Daniels I believe) the team would be post season contenders this year. The year started as a rebuilding year. Even with Harry, Dutch Oven, and Perez coming back, it is still rebuilding as those pitchers will not be 100% right away. I say don't sell a good 2017 and beyond for a possible shot this year. The Rangers benefit from a rough patch throughout the AL right now. They and the Yankees are doing well right now. That changes in a long season. So can the Rangers maintain what they have been doing...winning more ballgames than losing? Probably not. The history of the team is they are 'streaky'. Late June and early July have historically been their worst stretches (except for 2010 and 2011). Don't know...but don't sell the farm and take on another expensive long term contract. They have to be thinking what to do with Yu's contract extension now. That will be big bucks. So as the article does conclude...JD has time to mull his options. There's still a lot of baseball before the July trade deadline. When the Rangers pulled the trigger on Cliff Lee, they had a sizable lead in the AL West. So too soon to pull any triggers.
Especially Perez, average time is 15-18 mos for TJ surgery till the pitcher regains his stuff, some never get it back!!
Latest news on Holland is more delay. The MRI showed he is healing but not quick enough to hit a mound. An article I saw said they are being cautious because Profar had a similar injury and they put him in rehab too soon. Which leads me to believe the Rangers are still looking at a run in 2017 vs. this year or next year. I don't think financially they can get as bad as they were last year but if they keep playing .500 ball and then have a WC shot in the last few weeks, it's possible they make the playoffs. Going deep? Don't think so. Yu won't be back until around the ASB next year. So the question is does a 2017 team have Adrian Beltre on it. Don't think so.
If they stay above .500 it should start bringing some of the fans back especially if Gallo and Rodriguez are with the team and doing good. Fans like to see new players and will make the trip just to find out how he/they look in person.
Like me:) I will once I find out a good time for the entire family.
You know they do a military discount, right?
Can I still get those discounts as a retired guy now?
I wouldn't see why not last time I went to a Reds game I went to the window to pick up the tickets. (I carry a trifold wallet with my "blue card" visible whenever I open it up to pay for things). Well the girl in the ticket booth seen it and said "Oh you're military you get a discount", so she gave me a 10% discount thanked me for my service and on I went to the game. I know on Sunday home games they do family specials for parties of 6 or more, so if they do it down there take a couple of the kids friends. (If I lived closer to you I would volunteer to go to get your party up over 6).. :) I'm surprised at how many places I get a military discount that don't advertise giving one, now whether they normally do it or it's just that particular person I'm not sure. Heck I went to lunch in a bar the other day close to where I was working and got a discount, so I just gave it to my waitress in her tip. I've even seen places online that do it too if you order from one that has a local pickup where you can show your ID.
2-1 win at Oco against Sonny Gray. Not bad. Detwiler did good in the 7th but gave up a lead off double which scored the As only run. Banny took no time to pull him for Scheppers. Schep got a one pitch double play and struck out a batter. Tolly shut the door. Mitch hit a bomb to dead center. You have to see that one:) 2 games out now. Not shabby. Without Beltre. Joey got a single off of Gray. Struck out once and looked lost. He really needs to get back to AAA or AA to mature at the plate.
They said it was 454' will have to find the replay and watch it. The good thing is they beat Grey who is a tough pitcher, Hahn is up next.
Worth the read... Cowlishaw: Rangers, Astros showcasing future while trying to cling to improbable playoff hopes
Here's one you might like.
Good article.... On another note: Papelbon from Philly may be their first trade piece. Given how our BP has been a weak point (at times) with the second worst ERA in the AL, wonder if JD at least makes a call. Some news reports have the Phils saying they would pick up much of the salary. I was surprised to see Kela was the one who blew the game last night. Then again 'Evis' did no favors to Kela in the 9th. Can't win them all but blowing a 4-2 lead going into the 8th is not what this team has been doing in May. To think for a couple of hours the Rangers were 1.5 games behind Houston:)
Looks like now they're trying to gloss over what happened between Bannister and Choo. http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/banister-backs-choo-endorses-value-to- texas-rangers.html/
Perez threw 33 strikes in his 45 pitches. Not any more... ARLINGTON -- Friday, left-handed pitcher Martin Perez said his arm felt like new. Turns out there was a reason he didn't mention his legs. The Rangers announced Saturday morning Perez has been removed from his rehab assignment after tweaking his left groin. When Perez returns to health, he will restart his 30-day rehab, though there is no date set.
Nice explosion at the plate today. Mitch and Gallo go deep and everyone got in on the hit parade. 11-7 Rangers win. Was 11-3 going in the 9th but Bass (who you pointed out did not pitch since 3 June) got knocked around a bit. Edwards had to come in to get the last out. Guess Bass needed to get out there.
Astros got bombed again yesterday which means Rangers are within 1.5 games of 1st place in the division. With all these DL players coming back soon it looks like they could make the playoffs this year and maybe even make some noise!! Mitch is looking good so far in the cleanup position, maybe he is finally becoming the player they always thought he could be. I would say his place on the team is pretty safe about right now, last year I wouldn't have said that.
Mitch is quite odd. When he has to step up he does so with gusto. He knows he's the man right now. It seems when he is not pressured to produce he slacks off. All those years of injuries and being in the shadows of legends might have been the reason. Now I think he sees himself as one of the big boys. 1B getting crowed. What to do with Blanks? Wild card thought here. What if Mitch is a major trade piece to get some pitching help. Would hate to see him go. Beltre to first and Gallo at 3B? Or is Adrian going? That guy is the clubhouse mafia boss. Who knows. It's good having this kind of "problem."
A starter is almost always going to be injured (in fact 2 of them right now) so why trade Moreland?? He's proven he can be a full time player in the bigs and Blanks hasn't, on top of that there is only 1 year difference in their age. (I would use Blanks as trade bait and bring Odor back up). If it were me I would figure out a rotation to utilize the players is a way that allows each one to have one day off per week (especially the older ones like Hamilton, Beltre and Choo) to stay fresh and help reduce injuries, at least for now as Beltre is still productive. But that would mean that you would have to use Moreland/Gallo in both the OF and 1B to make it work. This would keep as many big bats in the everyday lineup as possible especially against RHP.
DD pulled his hammy today it looked like. OF looked horrible today. DD, Choo, LM and Smolinski all missplayed balls resulting in 4 triples and a double. It is a wonder they kept the Twins to four runs. Gallo went deep again, this time to center. Tolly blew the tie in the 9th. With DD probably out for a few days or going on the 2 week DL hope Rua comes back. Smolinski looked lost at bat and in the OF. How he let a ball get a ball over his head for a double in the 9th in a tie amazes me. Thought they played deep in those situations to prevent the extra base hit. Oh well I'll take 2/3. Angels lost too.
Well speak of the devil... http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/rougned-odor-returning-to-majors- could-joey-gallo-move-to-left.html/
Yep saw that. They should hire us as advisors:)
Yea it is getting kinda weird, only 2 hours after we talk about it then an article with the same topic comes out.
Gallardo good night. 7 shut out innings. 11th straight quality start for Rangers pitching. According to Grant a new club record. Done so with spit and duct tape. Scheppers tried to blow another. Gives up another lead off HR then stacks two runners on with the tying run coming to the plate in Puig. He smokes two inside fastballs past Puig for a K. Schep is so inconsistent. Dangerous in fact.
You have to admit for the most part guys they've brought up from the minors and guys other teams have released have done the job they've been asked to do. Otherwise they would be in last place at least 20 games under .500, maybe more...
Indeed: Grant: How 'puzzle player' Jeff Banister is piecing together Rangers' lineup amidst injuries
I'm really surprised at how Chi Chi is pitching in the bigs, he wasn't doing that great down in AAA only was averaging pitching 5 innings. He's pitched 30 innings now and has only given up 3 ERs, that's pretty good for 4 starts those are ACE numbers. Oh BTW did you see Princes "face plant" rounding 3B last night? It had everybody in the dugout rolling and he was even smiling BTA what else could he do.. Here's a video of it... :) http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/06/16/131075062/prince-fielder-belly-flops- rounding-third-base
Had to watch the replay. I was in the other room doing something and my son yells "dad you gotta see this!" Too funny and the good thing is Prince has been a big boy most his life so he takes it well when he does things like he did last night. Warrior, though...hole in the knee of the pants looked like some blood there too:)
Like father like son. He actually runs pretty well for a big guy, earlier this year he did a 1st to home on a 2B by Beltre I think. He was safe, not by much but was safe. Speaking of the big boy I wonder if he is going to be in the lineup tonight since there is no DH? Either he or Moreland will sit unless they put Mitch in LF.. Guess I need to go find tonights lineup somewhere. Hmmm can't find a lineup but I did find this... "Without a DH Rangers manager Jeff Banister said the plan is for Mitch Moreland and Prince Fielder to split the next two games against the Dodgers at first base". So I guess Joey may play LF again, maybe...
Just found a lineup looks like both Prince and Mitch are getting the night off, (getting as many RH bats in the lineup as possible) Joey is in LF. Looks like Banny wants to see how Joey will do against a good LH pitcher like Kershaw, this "might" help determine if he will stay or go when Adrian comes back.
Looks like Banny wants to see how Joey will do against a good LH pitcher like Kershaw, this "might" help determine if he will stay or go when Adrian comes back. Looks like Prince getting the night off went out the window Blanks came up lame again, but all's good he went yard in the 9th to give them a little cushion. Kela came in for the 9th and did alright nothing spectacular, wonder if he's going to be tried out for the closers role I wouldn't think just yet but....... Joeys "interview" against Kershaw went alright even though he had 3 Ks for the night. After the first K he made the adjustment and made Kershaw pay then Kershaw made the next one and struck him out for the 2nd time, good battle nonetheless. It's obvious he still has some learning to do but he's doing alright so far. Latest thing I heard about Beltre is that he still can't grip a bat, looks like Joey will be around a bit longer. :)
Joeys "interview" against Kershaw went alright even though he had 3 Ks for the night. After the first K he made the adjustment and made Kershaw pay then Kershaw made the next one and struck him out for the 2nd time, good battle nonetheless. It's obvious he still has some learning to do but he's doing alright so far. Latest thing I heard about Beltre is that he still can't grip a bat, looks like Joey will be around a bit longer. :) Watched most of the game (tired of course today:)) Good game. Joey going yard and frustrating Kershaw. Odor had a good night and Prince with the clutch insurance run. Kela 'going after' the toughest part of the Dodgers order. I like this team:) The 'kids' on the Rangers don't scare easy. They are aggressive. I like that. That is Texas baseball. Kela even threw two high heaters to Puig to get him off the plate. Then pitched him low and outside to get him to swing wild. Good stuff. Nolan Ryan would be proud. Freeman was a stud. He whipped that 97-98 mph fastball by some very good batters. Another hold for him. Now we face Greinke tonight. Right handed pitcher so Gallo in again and we will probably see Mitch tonight. Fielder as a PH later in the game. If you rattle Greinke's cage early he makes awful mistakes.
They called up Renaudo to give the starters some extra rest, hope he does better than his last start he wasn't too good. Did you see that David Murphy came it to pitch for Cleveland last night when they were blown out?
Renaudo hanging in there. Almost lost the bubble in the bottom 5th but Puig lined out with two on. Renaudo was hanging some off speed stuff the Dodgers kept missing. Hope they have Bass ready.
Renaudo made it to 6-2/3 before they brought in Detwiler. Kela just balked in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th and they lose 1-0. And I thought I had seen everything.
Yep a little stutter step after he set to pitch. I'm sure he will receive some counseling:) Dodgers were desperate not to be swept:)
I just found this looks like his MRI went alright, wasn't it last Friday?
Took the family to Harrison's rehab assignment tonight at RR. He looked good and got the FB up to 92-93mph. Not bad. Oh the box score looks worse than the performance. RR infield and outfield combined for 4 errors. Harry was getting ground balls mostly. Good news . Ground balls not finding the Infielder gloves.
Then this means you missed a good pitchers duel, both Sale and Colby went 8 innings but Sale was the more dominating with 14Ks and only 2 hits. But once he came out of the game they found a way to get to Robertson for 2 runs to win the game. Good clutch pinch hit by Mitch to get the runs home. Astros lost so they picked up a game and are 6 over .500 for the first time in who knows how long. Todays afternoon game is Martinez vs Rodon.
LOL I was giving folks updates in the stands last night. I announced via my At Bat app that Moreland put us ahead 2-1. The folks around me started cheering:)
Speaking of updates another error by "Evis" lets some more runs score instead of being out of the inning, 3-0 Sox. Looks like I need to refresh more often... LOL...
Yeah Elvis had two errors in that game. Time to take a sit down. For all of Nick's mistakes he produced a DP ground ball.
They need to send him a message about his play but it's hard to do with this patchwork lineup right now, and having this string of LHP to face. Without looking I'd bet he has at least 15 errors so far maybe more. Just went and looked and he has 14 which is just about what he averages for the whole year!
He's sitting today along with Odor. The offense is struggling lately. Prince is in a mini slump and Gallo is down to about .250 BA.
The offense is struggling lately. Yea I know but the lineup favors facing RHP instead of LHP. IIRC I seen a stat earlier in the season where they had faced something like 10 LHP and had none or only 1 victory. The reason I seen for "Evis" sitting out was he had played more innings this year than anybody else, no mention of shoddy defense. Tomorrow is an off day and then Oakland comes to town for 3 games, they face Chavez RHP, Graveman RHP and Gray RHP. Speaking of Oakland I seen earlier today on the MLB channel were they picked up Smolinski off of waivers and sent him to Nashville.
Didn't know Smolinski was gone. Guess out of options. Going to happen to Banks sooner or later too. Rua probably heading to waivers to soon. Tough loss today. Had bases loaded three times late in the game. Each time giving the first out with a bunt. Good news is Angels lost but looks like Stros will win. Always a silver lining. Pitching has been good. Martin broke an 0 for 21 with a HR. Did not realize he was hitting that bad. Choo in a mini slump too. Looks like Beltre out until the ASB.
Last I seen he still couldn't grip a bat, has that status finally changed?
Saw an article today that after the ASB is the new goal. Hope Gallo can turn things around. Remember this was supposed to be a two or three week stint for him then probably move to AAA. Mitch seems to be the only bright spot in the line up right now. Wonder how long before DD comes back.
Haven't really heard any status but will be at least till end of the month because of being on 15 day DL.
Looks like a few more starts in the minors for Harrison until he comes up:
I would think they would want him to do 2 more starts to help get his stuff back, his stats aren't the best right now. I think they will use him in a 6 man rotation if at all possible or maybe in long relief, cause as of right now the other 5 are getting it done and who do you sit???
First would be Martinez. His honeymoon is over. He is getting worse with each start. They need to skip him once at least in the rotation like they did for Perez when he was first called up. All those 5-6 inning 100+ pitch games has to be taxing on Nick. Don't get me wrong he has talent and a future with the team. They know he is rotation 4 or 5 quality. Other than Chi Chi and Gallardo the rotation is full of 4/5 types right now. A team cannot sustain this type of good pitching with the current rotation.
Yea I had forgotten he has been struggling lately he needs to be skipped at least once to get some rest and figure out any mechanical issues he may have.
Uh oh....Trade winds blowing. Hope they don't literally sell the farm. Would be mighty upset if we lose either Gallo or Chi Chi or both!
They've been kicking the tires on Hamels for quite sometime and some of the first names raised and declined on were Chi Chi and Joey. Now it looks like it's switched to Alfaro and Mazara and probably one or 2 others. The issue I see with this is I would just imagine they want the Phillies to take back some salary to be able to fit in Hamels 22.5 million contract. If the Phillies are willing then a deal might happen if not then I thinks it's dead as dead can get. They are hoping nobody else bids on Hamels and they can get a better deal but I think it would be "a cold day in hell" before that happens. As I speculated before if they would take Andrus then I could do some kind of deal with one good prospect and a so-so prospect or 2.
As I speculated before if they would take Andrus then I could do some kind of deal with one good prospect and a so-so prospect or 2. Hey if they take Elvis and his salary I think JD would flip the bill on Hamels contract. But I know the Phils have a horrible farm system and want to reseed that. Just how much do we want to sell to possibly get 2-3 strong seasons from Hamels? One comment I saw is that JD is hedging on whether Darvish comes back strong next year. He won't be available most likely until after ASB 2016. That's about half a season without the supposed ace of the rotation. So the Hamels discussions may be somewhat serious now. We have three pitchers rehabbing. One, Perez is young and looking good to come back sometime this summer. Holland who knows. Seems he gets an MRI a week. How steady going forward is that shoulder going to be. Harry is a wild card. See him probably coming back in middle relief or maybe even a set up man. Don't know. Would hate to see Alfaro go given how much the organization invested in him. Good catchers who can also deliver with a bat are hard to come by as we realized over the years. Alfaro was supposed to be the next version of Pudge. But on another subject let's look an update of the Rangers offense so far: Pos - Avg/OBP/SLG/OPS C - .197/.285/.365/.649 1B - .286/.333/.491/.824 2B - .207/.277/.307/.584 3B - .256/.316/.421/.737 SS - .236/.295/.313/.608 LF - .215/.301/.391/.692 CF - .256/.314/.357/.671 RF - .231/.324/.385/.708 DH - .326/.398/.490/.888
Nomar Mazara on the other hand has been in the minors 4 years and they are thinking about moving him to RR "AAA". Looking at our OF situation as of this moment I would be hesitant to trade him away, especially if the Hamilton (age 34) experiment turns out to be a failure (more injuries). And even though Choo (age 32) has a good bat his skills in RF aren't the best and aren't going to get any better. And as of this moment I'm not really seeing anybody else in the minors that is any better than Mazara.
And as of this moment I'm not really seeing anybody else in the minors that is any better than Mazara. Frankly every draft has a good batch of OFers so surprised the Phils look for this to reseed their farm system. Over the past few years they have had some top picks in the draft. Don't know why they would be looking for an OFer from someone's farm. Only a Joey Gallo comes along every so often and a Trout every generation. But Mazara is neither. Teams go for pitching in the farm and infielders particularly middle infield. They only go for OF prospects if they need to fill some holes in the short term. Well Chi Chi did some learning last night and the upside is he now knows he is human:) Given his demeanor, I think he will learn from the experience and not beat himself up too much. Beltre bullied his way back into the line up and gets a Sac Fly RBI and a good solid base hit. Fielder is still struggling at the plate and hitting into the shift; time to go the other way again (that's how he got it all started this year). Gallo hitting the ball well even on outs and legged out a double. But he is whiffing too much and doing so with RISP or with runners on first and second. I know, he launched from A ball last year and was promoted to AA ball last summer. So is it time to send him to RR AAA so sonny boy and I can snag his HRs on the grassy knoll overlooking RF?:) LOL, I am being selfish:) They might even have sell outs at that ball park if he goes there the remainder of the season. I will say this that pitchers are using everything but their fastball against the guy. A few left handers have challenged him with an inside fastball but they are playing with fire when they do. He has to start making some of these veteran pitchers pay for their mistakes like he did against Kershaw. Andrus is doing just enough inconsistently to stay in the line up. He had a good night last night. Mitch now struggling a bit. A bit of turn of events last night. The bats did better and plated 6 runs; this time the pitching did not hold up. Something about Melvin's A's at home that has this team vexed this year. Go figure...they owned the A's last year.
I noticed that when I seen the replay on Quick Pitch about 2AM, a hit the other way is just as good as a hit pulling the ball.
You think Joey Gallo is heading to AAA after Hamilton is activated? JD may have to think again if that was the plan. Quick thoughts: Something isn’t right with Rangers’ Mitch Moreland Some discussion on if Mitch is hurt (poss ankle). Hey no problem...Joey plays 1B too!
By Cody Stavenhagen / MLB.com | June 25th, 2015 + 24 COMMENTS ARLINGTON -- In some ways, Rangers third baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo is like most Major League rookies. In some ways, he's nowhere close. • Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players After going 1-for-4 in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Athletics, Gallo has only five hits in his past 36 at-bats. He also has an alarming 20 strikeouts in that 10-game span. Like most rookies, he is dealing with his first instance of Major League struggles. Gallo, though, was intentionally walked in his second career game. He is a 6-foot-5 left-handed hitter who already has five home runs. Pitchers know he is coming, and they are ready. Like a five-time All-Star, he is a target. "We knew there would be these kind of ripples during every game," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "He's not chasing [pitches]. These guys know who Joey Gallo is. Believe it or not, he's getting pitched like Prince Fielder." Opposing pitchers have been hammering Gallo low and away, and they are quickly learning how to get him off balance. In that regard, Gallo is still catching up. "After the first week or so, pitchers have started making adjustments," Gallo said. "Obviously I have to adjust, too, and keep learning the pitchers. There are guys I have never seen still." Gallo has always been a high-risk, high-reward type hitter. He has rare power, but he also came up with a tendency to chase pitches. Gallo has worked on his plate discipline and even started grinding out some walks. For reasons like that, Banister said he's not at all concerned with Gallo. It's a matter of a rookie learning the land. And even though the impending returns of outfielders Josh Hamilton and Delino DeShields could put Gallo's immediate Major league future into question, this still no ordinary rookie. "I just feel like maybe my timing is little off right now," Gallo said. "I'm not seeing the ball too well. But the last few games, I feel like I've had pretty good swings at least, but the results haven't been there." Why doesn't this surprise me... "Believe it or not, he's getting pitched like Prince Fielder." Patience Joey, patience... As long as somebody is hurt he'll stay...
Sending a message to Martin today. Gallo started in CF. Banny must see the up side to Gallo. He's plugging him in where ever he needs him. He will come around. In some ways Gallo is like Hammy. Maybe Hammy can help him out.
Yea I noticed that, somebody really needs to sit down and talk to him about his role/future on this team. I have a sneaking suspicion he thinks he's history at the end of the season when that isn't necessarily true. Now if he keeps playing this way they yea he might be gone, but if he gets his schitt together and gets his OBP up to at least .350 or better then he has a place on the team. Maybe not as a starter but a place nonetheless and should play close to 120 games a year. I'm curious as to how well he speaks English, maybe this is part of the problem he just doesn't totally understand what is being said. Especially when it comes to Magaden and him spending time in the cage together...
There should be enough native Spanish speakers on the team and staff (Pudge?) who can help.
I would think so too. Either he isn't listening to the coaches or maybe he just isn't patient enough to lay off bad pitches, gotta be one or the other that's holding him back.
Martin missed two RISP chances today in the 3-2 loss. Once with the bases loaded. He made a great assist out at 3B today. Probably what's keeping him on the team. But when DD gets back he needs to sit go on DL or be dealt. He's killing rallies. Chi Chi gave up three. One no doubt HR but he lost his composure walked one and gave up a couple of hits. Part of the learning process. I'm thinking his frustration caused some of his minor league pitching early this year. Something a pitcher has to master to be good.
He's killing rallies. Beltre and Moreland did the same thing between the 2 of them they left 11 runners stranded, between the 3 of them 17 total. The team as a whole had 13 more Ks yesterday, ridiculous. Most of these pitchers they are facing aren't that good to rack up that many Ks. I have a sneaking suspicion Magaden is gone come the off season, most of the team is hitting below .250.
Some great hitting last night. I'm starting to think not only JD and Banny are watching our comments but the players too!:) Choo if you are monitoring...Keep up the good work from last night...Mitch you are doing good don't get injured. Joey...You earned a Golden Sombrero last night (again), but hit a triple and drove in three. Kid, you gotta stop striking out. Maybe Norris just had a bad night who knows...they won and keep hovering at .500. Hope Colby can find the strike zone tonight...down low not high like last time.
2 last night and another one so far tonight, gives him 12 HRs in the last 38 games 13 total. Score 2-2 with the bases loaded no outs Prince at bat, Odor has been on base both times so far.
2 night before last and another 2 more last night, gives him 13 HRs in the last 38 games 14 total. There fixed it. Looks like if Mitch can stay healthy he can be a force in the middle of the lineup. I'm glad they "followed my advice" (LOL) and didn't trade him... :) Boys teed off on another RHP last night now if they could only figure out what they need to do to beat lefties.
Just came across the wire...Angels GM stepping down. Heard there was some strife between him, the manager and some of the players. Seems anyone who 'has it out' for Josh is cursed:) One report had Puhols going toe to toe with the GM and basically telling him to get out of the clubhouse. Seems Scioscia and Dipoto locked horns on using "Billy Beane" type stats. Scioscia more of a 'feel' guy. You look at Dipoto visiting a team in their clubhouse and complaining when the team is in second place only 4 or so games out. Quite a change for this organization. Losing their GM now after running away with the AL West last year (http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2014- standings.shtml) finishing 10 games up on the second place A's. Then again, I think the Angels know they have the Rangers to thank for beating the A's as many times as they did:)
Here is an interesting article about how they struggle against lefties. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150701-grant-another- struggle-against-left-hander-shows-what-rangers-are-missing.ece They had a couple of good opportunities to tie or win the game and blew it by swinging at bad pitches. 2nd and 3rd one out Andrus pops up and Fielder grounds meekly to 2nd rally killed, game over. The heart of the lineup looked even worse against Britton in the 9th swinging at more junk, 3Ks.
They had a couple of good opportunities to tie or win the game and blew it by swinging at bad pitches. 2nd and 3rd one out Andrus pops up and Fielder grounds meekly to 2nd rally killed, game over. The heart of the lineup looked even worse against Britton in the 9th swinging at more junk, 3Ks. Chen was tough but we did blow whatever opportunities he gave us. So we have a young pitcher in Martinez, who gets his clock cleaned in his last start. He gives 6 good full innings and then he goes back out in the 7th. That would be something I would expect of Wash to do, not Banny. Patton seems fresh and gets outs. Don't know...Maybe he should have started the 7th instead of sending out Martinez again. Martinez is a 4-5 rotation type of guy with some potential to be a 3 man. But right now he is a 4-5 guy and they usually only go 6 innings. Something for them to look at I hope.
Well they don't really have a choice right now do they with most of the real starters on the DL.
Martinez was optioned to RR today and Feliz activated. Go figure that one out. Feliz did horrible in RR. Tonight Buzz said Harry would start sometime next week for the Rangers. Perez had a decent rehab game tonight. He gave up 3ERs but Ked 5. I'd say he has another two starts and he is back. Holland getting another MRI.
Well you have a whole lot of things going on here all at once, guys coming back from DL, they're still in the hunt for a playoff spot, trade deadline looming on the horizon. 1st thing is it looks like they decided against the 6 man rotation, for now. Harry is back and gonna start Tuesday (instead of Wed as I predicted) so they need room for him. I think this will be a tryout for both Harry (13 million dollar contract) and Feliz to see if they can be effective, do they want to keep them or do they need to make some trades. or maybe just release them who knows. I also would say they have seen something in Martinez they want to change/improve so he'll be better later. Maybe put him on the 15 day DL to get him some rest for later on this year if they can hang tough. Then not long after this happens you have Perez coming back and that is gonna force another decision. Actually go to a 6 man rotation or do you send Chi Chi back?? My guess is the later, he got some valuable experience up here and they will want him to work on his issues. Then not long after that you "might" have Holland coming back and that is gonna force another decision. All of this is also gonna be used for making any off season decisions too, especially on the starting pitching, OF and maybe even Beltre's contract. Looks like a busy month of July is looming... :)
After tonight's game I see Chi Chi heading back to AA or AAA very soon. I don't think the kid can handle a fourth butt whooping in a row. The past two starts have been UGLY. That beautiful cutter of his is not working. My guess is he is overworked or lost confidence. I will say this. Martinez and Chi Chi lasted longer without getting bombed than Tepesch and Grimm. Starting to think calling up Chi Chi did more harm than good.
Starting to think calling up Chi Chi did more harm than good. It should be a good learning experience for him, shows him what he needs to work on before he gets the call again. When he first was called up I looked at his stats and he was averaging only 5 innings per start. He will need to build his stamina up before he can survive for 200+ innings in the bigs. They could always bring Renaudo up for a start or 2 to give him some extra time off or just to send him back to the minors to get some rest.
Mendoza and Mendez look good in relief. Feliz hanging out in BP sulking.
It came on the day when former closer Neftali Feliz declined an assignment to the minor leagues and became a free agent. Looks like there will not be a trade to get a young prospect or even a bag of used pucks for that matter.
Yes saw today Detroit is going to roll the dice with him. He can hang out with Soria and Narhan:) I really thought Boston would go for Feliz. They already have Uehara, Ross and Ogando.
You know I never could figure out why they got rid of Uehara.
Choo stinks. First and third two outs and he rolls over a low curve.
I was going to ask who you thought they were going to call up for the 2nd half but I just noticed they optioned Mendez and announced Perez will start on Friday against the Astros. Any guesses as to anymore moves??
I think we hear Harry goes to the DL after his next start.
I have a sneaking suspicion that you're right about that one. The other thing is will they be buyers or sellers? I think they will do both if they can, get rid of at least 1 big contract maybe 2 and pick up some relievers.
I think they will do both if they can, get rid of at least 1 big contract maybe 2 and pick up some relievers. Yes they will sell to buy:) I think the organization is putting 2017 as their target year. With Yu not coming back until mid 2016, I'm thinking the strategic plan is 2017 and interesting...Beltre is not in that plan I don't think. However, I don't think they deal Beltre. They need power right hand bats and he's one until another deal is made. The organization has a glut of LH bats and that will be dealt. Choo is the likely candidate but his contract is toxic and so is his current performance. Only a team in need of a LH DH is going to consider Choo. He is a liability in the OF with all the young players coming up in the MLB.
They might as well now after what I seen this weekend.
Martinez got bombed for 7 runs tonight. Then settled well and bats came back. Now Sheppers .....nail biter gets a bases loaded out. Good thing Choo was pulled and Hammy was in RF. Going to top 9th after double switch.
By a team that stinks, when you score 7 runs you should win the game. Looks to me like some of the coaches need to find a new place of employment next year.
Morning read here: Well the bats came alive last night. Choo hit for the cycle...Perhaps the Rockies GM noticed and wants him:) Harry got a bunch of ground balls (and pitched shutout innings) our guys actually caught and got outs. I'm sure he's happy that outing and did a lot to boost his confidence.
His "heeter" also topped out in the low 90s which helps, of course keeping the ball down in the strike zone helps more.
Scheppers needs a new zip code. He blew the first game in the bottom 9th and today gave up 4 runs in the 8th allowing the Rockies to tie the game. Elvis came through for two runs in the 9th and they won. What stinks is Scheppers got the win after blowing the lead!
You would have thought by now they would have sent him back to AAA (or another DL stint) and recalled someone else, how much worse could a "young'un" be?? It just seems amazing that this team has so many pitchers that have screwed up mechanics, grips and location of pitches. Is it the pitchers, catchers, coaches or all of the above??
Maybe it's because we watch them so often we pick up on the above. Or it IS a problem and they can't see it themselves.
I'm not quite sure how but they've won 4 games in a row and are creeping back towards .500. So this makes me curious as too whether JD will be a buyer now since he sees improvement?? Or will he see it for what it is, the opposition isn't that tough?? "Evis" was his usual self last night making dumb plays (1st inning) that extend innings and give up runs, then does nothing to make up for it. Maybe JD will use him as part of the deal to get Hamels?? :) (we can only hope).. Nice little deal the Astros did to get Kazmir only took 2 prospects, if JD would have done the deal he would have sent 4 or 5...
I think JD is looking for controllable pieces and not rentals like Kazmir. If they don't deal for Hamels I expect one or two starters from SD are in the cards. That might also include Elvis since SD needs a SS.
Looks like Ohlendorf is now gone he's been Designated for assignment and they sent Bass down to AAA to get some rest I'm assuming...
Yikes two horrible games in a row. Both from rehab pitchers. Pen is smoked after tonight. Expect some DFAs to get fresh arms. Banny may have pulled the trigger on Perez too soon. Wandy did worse.
15-19 mos is par for the course for that type of operation before they become effective again. SO that pretty much means he will be useless this year.
Yes all about making the rotation viable for 2016. Pitch the kid. Hamels a Ranger and Harry goes to Philly with some good prospects. All in all everyone got what they needed. Hate to see Thompson go. Think he is better than Chi Chi.
Was kinda surprised to see Harry go but understand they needed to dump some salary somewhere to make this work, just suspected they would do it in another way. (Was hoping they would take "Evis"!! I know I'm dreaming again).. :) Yea I agree I hate to see Thompson go he has the potential to be a very good pitcher, hope that part of the deal they won't regret. Looks like they also got a reliever Jake Diekman, throw him out there and see how he does is all you can do.
I guess Harry or some other starter had to go so the Phils have something to finish the season with. What surprises me is Harry was real careful when he batted against the Rockies. Hope he stays healthy doing it every 5 days. Wish him well. Yes it's all about 2016-17 now and getting the rotation there. They are still short a starter for 2016 as Darvish will not be back until after the ASB sometime.
Rangers Trade For Reliever At Deadline Home / KWTX - Sports / Headlines List / Article The Miami Marlins traded right-handed reliever Sam Dyson to the Texas Rangers on Friday for catcher Tomas Telis and a minor league pitcher. MIAMI (July 31, 2015) The Miami Marlins traded right-handed reliever Sam Dyson to the Texas Rangers on Friday for catcher Tomas Telis and a minor league pitcher. Dyson was 3-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 44 appearances for Miami this season. He appeared in 80 games with the Marlins over the last three seasons, after breaking into the majors for two games with Toronto in 2011. Telis has gotten limited action with the Rangers over the last two seasons, playing in 24 games with no home runs and 10 RBIs. He was signed as 16-year-old free agent from Venezuela in 2007, made 18 appearances last season and batted .182 in six games with Texas this year. Telis will report to Miami. The Marlins also got left-hander Cody Ege, who was sent to Double-A Jacksonville. Speaking of trades they snuck this one in within 5 minutes of the deadline.
After watching Dyson give up the lead in extra innings, I'd say we got what we paid for:) Not much in the way of improvement for the BP. Ain't going to get better anytime soon either. All the contenders have the good relievers now. Either promote from minors and roll the dice and wait for the off season market. Surprised Mendez and Jackson have not come up yet. Guess after the mega Hamels deal slim pickings at AAA and AA.
Jackson didn't even pitch and is sent back, Kela is back up as of today...
Hamels scratched from Thursday's game. Some sort of groin soreness. Probably from the 129 pitches during his no-hitter. Go figure no wonder he stunk so far.
If you look back the last few months you will see other articles about him having hammy issues, and to think I was ready to blame it on the mound in Arlington again...
Rangers blew the 2-0 lead in the 8th and then with 2 out in the 9th (now tied 2-2) Patton walked the #8 man and then gave up a game winning double to the 9th spot. Dude was hitting .224 Awful.
A couple more games like last night and they'll be out of it both mentally and physically...
Yep. Seems they go on a two week bender of runs production and good pitching. Then...NOT. Too inconsistent. I think the pitching corps is smoked except for Perez. Gallardo looks like he does not even want to be there. The Nick Martinez experiment has gone the path of Tepesch-Grimm. Holland needs to get back soon. Well a couple of more weeks and young blood is coming up. Banny can stock the BP with as many arms as he needs no matter how they perform:) Joey Gallo doing much better. He mountain climbed back over the Mendoza line going on a tear of HRs and RBI. However, the K-Monster still owns him.
They are going to have to play .650-.700 ball down the stretch to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. As of this moment they are 5.5 games back of a wild card and only 5 games back of the Astros, their better shot might be in the division. They have 7 left against both the Astros and the Angels and most of their other games are against other teams not in the race...
As of this moment they are 5.5 games back of a wild card and only 5 games back of the Astros, their better shot might be in the division. They have 7 left against both the Astros and the Angels... 14 game against both those teams? Yup. The division is still up for grabs. With Texas only 5 games out and the Angels and Astros beatable. Fugetabout the WC. .650 ball at this point in time...would help.
14 game against both those teams? Yup. The division is still up for grabs. With Texas only 5 games out and the Angels and Astros beatable. Fugetabout the WC. .650 ball at this point in time...would help. After tonight the Rangers are 1.5 games out of lower WC. I looked at the various 2nd WCs since inception a few years ago. Only one team won less than 88 games. Difference this year is one team in the AL is not running away with the top WC. Then again a good friend and baseball fan told me to stop scoreboard watching until around September 10th. I think he is right. The first WC will go to the team who has been consistent most of the season and holds their own with the infusion of younger players in September when rosters expand. Second WC will go to whoever is competitive now and goes on a mid September hot streak.
I looked at the various 2nd WCs since inception a few years ago. Only one team won less than 88 games. Difference this year is one team in the AL is not running away with the top WC. And now the Rangers won yet again. Yeah, odd year of absolute parity. Is it possible 85-86 games wins...a division AND WC??
Don't think the Royals will tank that bad but they have trouble beating good teams this year. The Rangers are the bizarro opposite. They lose to sub-500 teams and beat above 500 teams. Better record on the road (best AL road record) than at home. Hard to tell if the Rangers tank. It does not take much right now. In the position of the Twins, Rays, Angels, Orioles and Rangers if any of those teams go on a 5-7 game losing streak it may be tough to bounce back in Sept. I foresee Bannister using 7-10 pitchers in a game come Sept call ups:)
Yea they tried losing last night to a sub .500 team, AGAIN!!! Choo's throw and Rodney's lack of pitching are the only reasons they won last night... Looks like my bad mouthing of Adrian has finally gotten to him he's been playing better for a couple of weeks now... "EVIS" well he's still playing his way into moving to a new zipcode, hope that can be arranged this off season... Ever since he got that big contract he's been regressing in all areas of his play...
Defense has been much better. His hitting has moved up a bit since the AS break.
Till the next time the lose 4-5 in a row then he goes out to lunch until they start winning again...
7-2 Rangers top 9th. Was 3-2 going into the 7th. Then they had three HRs in a row. One two run HR by Moreland, then solo by Napoli and then another by Elvis. Holland did well. Made it 6 1/3 innings. Only had one inning (6th) where he got in trouble. Defense to the rescue again with a bases loaded no outs double play, then DD guns out a runner at the plate for the third out one batter later.
I'm glad he did so well now all we need is a few others to start pitching up to their potential and they will have a good shot at the playoffs...
Yeah...Perez was horrible tonight. Registered only two outs for the middle of the Tigers order. And one of those was a sac fly. Honestly, he's lucky. That game could have easily been a double digit blowout. I know the kid is good but the team needed some consistent pitching tonight.
I had to laugh when I seen this... :)
Apparently Charlie Sheen gave him a call about his 'wild thing' haircut.
Looks like they brought him out of retirement to pitch against the Yankees!! :)
Lol in the Blue Jays uniform. Sheen has aged. 2-0 win for Colby tonight. Ties his personal best wins in a season. Care to guess what year that was:) http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1259&position=P It was a good year to be a Rangers fan UNTIL Feliz blew the save in game 6 and Cruz missed a routine fly ball after Josh got back the lead. So saw Nefti Feliz pitch well in the 8th inning for Detroit. He lit up the radar to 97-98. Too bad he could not find that velocity with us. He would still be pitching for us.
Booze drugs and makeup will do that to you, he's 49...
49. Really. I am close to that age with cancer, surgery and chemo and look 10 years younger:) I guess all that good Army living helped.
I'm almost 10 years older than him and if I shaved off my "greybeard" (LOL) I know I would look younger than him... :)
A dandy tonight. Gallardo better buy some Rolex watches for the defense. They kept his lead. Once again took him too many pitches but the Detroit lineup is very good. Was 5-0 going to the bottom 9th. Tolleson came in with two outs and two on and Kinsler hit a 3 run HR. I question the call. Dyson got two easy outs. Then two batters hit squibbers in the infield for hits. I think Dyson would have got Kinsler to roll out or pop out. Well they won and Tolly struck out the batter before Miggy could bat. It's a win:) So far this series Miggy has come up with no runners on or leading off the inning. Hamels tomorrow. Hope he can finally win one for the Rangers:) Miggy is 6 for 8 against him lifetime. BTW. Rangers in sole possession of the second WC slot. Also back in second place.
Maybe he should call Pedro Martinez up and get some advice from him on how to throw a murderous changeup!!
4-2 win. Took 3/4 from Tiggers. Hamels records first Ranger win. BP gets the job done. Gimenez and Napoli go deep. Banny and Beltre get tossed out of the game.
About time they played above the level of the opposition and took the series, bta the Tigers are no slouches just can't seem to find the right chemistry... Just noticed the Rangers just got rid of some more players, sent Choice to Cleveland and are giving Rosales his outright release. With the infusion of all those recently drafted players this was to be expected, gotta move some others up to make room for them...
Starters are working out of jams. Plus the Divine intervention of Miggy not coming up with runners on just about everytime all series was a key factor. The Martinez 'twins' can be struck out, and GDP. Miggy...not so much. I think he only whiffed twice in the series and the second time yesterday it was a questionable call by the 1B ump on a check swing. Miggy is an amazing machine at the plate. Now how long can these starters put up 6-7 innings with 2-3 of them 20 plus pitches to get out of jams? Answer is not long. So they need to start getting K's to shorten these innings or ground balls. The BP is with the infusion of Dyson and Deikman is doing well. As long as they don't wear them out. Just noticed the Rangers just got rid of some more players, sent Choice to Cleveland and are giving Rosales his outright release. With the infusion of all those recently drafted players this was to be expected, gotta move some others up to make room for them... Surprised to see that so close to the September roster extension.
Neither one of them were going to be called up because they haven't shown they could handle the "bigs".
Big week ahead in the AL playoff race. As you know the Rangers face off against the hot Blue Jays at Globe Life field in Texas. The Yankees host the Astros. That should be a good series. KC hosts the O's TB hosts the Twins Angels go to Detroit That should shake things up in the Division and WC standings.
right now it's in the middle of the 8th and scoreless in the Bronx. Eovaldi is pitching a gem ........7 k Hoping the Yanks bats come alive . He deserves a win. CC went on the dl today which could be a blessing in disguise .
Nice walk off last night in the bottom 9th. I watched a bit of the bottom 9th on live look in on the At Bat App. I really question the Astros manager's call to IBB A-Rod. That put the winning run in scoring position for a veteran like McCann.
Rangers are up . Looking for a sweep. Here's hopin . On the surface ,the pitching matchups favor the Jays .
Holland came back strong and he is pitching tonight. His third start since coming back from a shoulder injury. Hard to say but Holland has been more consistent the past few years (when healthy) than he was in 2010-2012. Then again the Jays have been beating up LHP all season. Lewis on Wednesday so that should be a good game. Gallardo RHP on Thursday...roll of the dice if he can make it to 6 full innings. How about those Mets!:)
Amazing !!! of course . Mets and Yanks in 1st place going into September . Now there is a rarity .The Mets will be a tough out in the playoffs with their pitching staff and renewed offensive depth. But then again. They have a tougher road to hoe in the National League . The Cubbies against the Pirates in a 1 game playoff will be worth the price of admission.
Heartbreaking night for the Rangers. A VERY rare Tolleson blown save. He might need a few days off. Yankees...Yikes! I put all the AL (and Mets of course in the NL) playoff contenders on my mobile for alerts for score changes. LOL, Daniel grabbed my phone and said "hey dad, the Yankees are getting killed.":)
Looks like I spoke too soon they got smoked again...
Hey Unc...It seems as I review our initial impressions on how this team would go, you came closest. You said they had a shot if they could stay around .500. Well that still rings true as all the contenders for the second WC have periods of struggle and success. So I concede you are closest. I OTOH saw this as a team with a first year manager and a walking wounded rotation. I was really looking at 2016-2017 as their year to get back into competitive Sept and eventually Oct baseball. If they can lick their wounds and take one from the Jays and win the series against Balt., I think they hang on another two weeks. But I must say, the Rangers have exceeded 'my' expectations this year. I guess growing up a NY Mets fan as a kid, you keep your expectations kind of low:) LOL and look at how the Mets are doing. So here's to hoping for a Rangers-Mets WS in 2015, 2016 or 2017! Of course beating the Yankees along the way:)
The Jays are steamrolling everyone -- Texas has got to shrug it off. You just hope they don't get into a funk (like the Yanks.) "Exceeded expectations" gets tossed out the door when you creep to within 3 games of a playoff spot. You now expect the troops to rally and overcome on the way to the playoffs. Otherwise it's considered a choke. Speaking of epic chokes, the Yanks are in serious trouble of even making the playoffs; Texeira is still hurt, Ellsbury is a fragile china-doll and apparently hurt again (playing turribly anyway), A-Rod ran out of gas (and magic) and the rest of the team is slumping badly. I predict they don't make the playoffs, thanks to the lack of foresight by do-nothing GM Cashman. Tulowitski was THE key piece for a Jays team that should be there in the WS to challenge the Cards (who magically do MORE with less somehow.)
I seen a bit on ESPN or the MLB channel praising him for holding on to their prospects.
Are they praising him now that the trade-less impotent Yankees are nose-diving off a cliff like Wile E. Coyote? :-) Yes, even Tom praised Cashman's non-moves to stand pat (instead of strengthening what I perceived as a fragile, old team -- even with a 6 game lead -- man that seems like a lifetime ago.) ALL teams need fresh blood and insurance for a stretch run. Yes, moving a prospect hurts a bit when you're competing for all the marbles. Cashman got nothing and gambled. Came up snake-eyes. BUT...but...he still has "da future." IF he doesn't get fired -- which I've been waiting for for 10 years.
and I still praise the move. Yes I would've liked Price ,but not at as a rental. Other than that ,it is not the Yank pitching that was an issue . Where exactly were the Yanks going to add a bat ? The middle infield was the only place that made sense . Catcher is at almost career highs in HR . 1st base ? Tex was playing like an All Star before he banged his leg . 2nd yes ,they could've used an upgrade . Short Stop ? Again Troy Tulowitzki is a rental who is very fragile . 3rd ? Hedley aint the reason they are losing . DH ? ARoid at the time of the trade was playing like an All-Star/Come back player . Outfield ? Gardy was an All-star at the break ;Ellsberry ,and Beltran were not going to be moved because of their contracts . Bird has been a good addition to the bench /1st base . Severino has been pitching like an ace . The other prospects will be up in a couple of days . I wouldn't have traded either Bird or Severino ,and what I heard was that one or both of them would've had to be moved to bring in anyone. Their bats have been pathetically quite ,and A Roid looks old.....but when Bird plays 1st ,Tex or Beltran will get the DH slot . Girardi won't play A Roid if he's not producing down the stretch . They still have 2 head to head series against the Jays ,and a big series against the Mets . Relax ;there is still a month to play .It should be fun.
Ok, rent Price. Otherwise, who's their Playoff Stopper? Nobody. Yankee starting pitching *was* a big problem *while* they were hitting. Now the BP is showing signs of burn out while the SP is competent. Where were the Bombers going to add a bat? EVERYWHERE. Yes, middle IF made sense; They've gotten NOTHING from then for the entire month of August. They have no professional hitting in their depth chart -- not to mention their starting lineup since August. Headley at 3rd can't hit or field; He IS one the reason they're losing. Totally Un-clutch. Didi can't hit LHers; Drew is brutal (.190). Ryan? Their IF can't hit. Tex was due to get hurt, one year after recouping (with hardly any rest.) A-Rod...ran out of gas. Bird, not ready for Prime Time. Severino: The ONE rook living up to expectations. I'd bring up and play Refsynder and Judge. Gardy needs rest, he's looks...fried since the AS break. Ellsbury is a shadow of his former self. Can't complain at Catcher. Yes, Tex was playing lights out, but...you NEED depth at first for what just what happened. Tulo was key, THE piece. Yes, a bit injury prone, but SS is a rigorous position. I'd have signed him long term. You see the instant different he made in Toronto. Beltran has the range of a snail on Valium. The Yanks are in BIG trouble. Playing the two hottest teams in baseball -- the Jays AND Mets? If that's 10 games, they'll win 2. Relax ;there is still a month to play .It should be fun. You're a masochist, Tommy :-)
And just got smoked by the Astro's.
Rangers pitching shut out baseball through 6 innings. Now top 7th and Deikman in. The Jays are disciplined hitters. D man is wrapped up in a ten pitch at bat right now still going. Edit: walked him...two on now one out. Rangers toast with Tulo coming up next. Edit #2: Tulo up with bases jammed and one out. Yikes LOL Edit #3: I'm such a baseball pessimist. Dyson came in and got Tulo to GDP. BUT...The Rangers have just spent their magazine on decent relievers besides the closer who blew the game on Tuesday:)
Remember this guy?? http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/32868/odubel-herrera The Rangers let him go to the Phillies as a Rule 5 he plays CF...
Nice BA. Could use that at LF right now:) Nice diving catch though by Veneble today. Saved Gallys bacon. DD had three BBs today and two hits (or the other way around). One of the base hits turned into a little league HR driving in 3. Tolly got in a bit of hot water again but got the save.
Something else you have to consider in the off season is the high ERA of the pitching staff, is it because of the pitchers, the game the catchers/Banny call or the Maddox brothers???
Hamels walks three in one inning and walked in the only run. He looked terrible. Then he struck out two to end the inning and gave up one more hit and BB all game going a full 8 innings. Nice come back. I think he struck out a total of 10. Choo and Gimenez go deep and DD has another great game. Beltre got two hits and Fielder belted a ball against the wall but was gunned down by Jones at second. 4-1 win. Angels and Astros lose.
The box score says 10. I was kinda surprised that he lasted as long as he did after that bad inning, but the PB needed that. The only issue I had was they should have let someone else pitch the 9th Banny is beating Tolleson to death. We could have seen what the new kid Faulkner has, they just called him up and sent Martinez back down... BTA they'll wait for a spot with no pressure to see what he is capable of, he has been lights out lately...
Yeah Banny used Tolly AGAIN last night. Dude had disc surgery a couple years ago. He needs a few days in a row off. Used 7 times in the last 9 games. He has 28 saves with 30 or so games left. Joe Nathan in 2012 had I believe 38 saves and that was a high mark second to Mariano Riveria. Clear to me what they need to do. Starters have to go 7 full. If not bring in long reliever until the 8th then platoon Kela, Dyson and Deikman for 8th and 9th. I understand the two new relievers are Banny's secret weapon and he does not want a lot of exposure of them. But losing Tolly at this stage would be disastrous.
I would imagine most of those guys are going to get today off... Callups start Tuesday don't they, that's when you'll see some of these guys get some rest. That's if who they call up is effective and can get the opposition out...
Callups start Tuesday don't they, that's when you'll see some of these guys get some rest. That's if who they call up is effective and can get the opposition out... Callups for the good players may be delayed. The Express is in the playoffs. Holland pitched his 8th career complete game. It was a gem.
As of this time...... SAN DIEGO -- The Rangers are planning to activate outfielder Josh Hamilton off the disabled list when rosters are expanded on Tuesday. Catcher Carlos Corporan is also being activated off the disabled list. The Rangers are also calling up four players: third baseman Joey Gallo, outfielder Drew Stubbs and pitchers Luke Jackson and Ross Ohlendorf.
Somehow the Padres give us fits. Losing 2-0 so far.
Make that 7-0 loss and the second bad outing in a row for Colby, I would say he is the next one that needs to get a few extra days off.
Yeah Colby was profusely sweating in that game. The sweat coming off the brim of his cap was as fast as a cow peeing on a flat rock. So he needs a breather.
They won the game last night but used 5 pitchers to do it. Am beginning to wonder if he realizes just how many relievers he has in the bullpen??
Banny used 5 pitchers but three of the moves were NL double switch deals and not many pitches tossed other than Tolleson who got in some hot water in the 9th. He needs a rest. Don't know why they can't alternate Tolly with Kela and Dyson to close out the games. Tolleson is smoked. He can't get his good pitches to work the past three outings. Plus he was in a non-save situation with a 4 run lead. It should have been Kela out there. Plus remember...Our BP is larger now:) Still waiting for Luke Jackson to pitch unless he snuck him in when I was not looking:) If that was Wash last night, he would not have used the double switch and he would have kept the same reliever in until he got bombed and blew the game. Banny is not afraid to pull the plug when it looks necessary. Probably why we are 7 games above .500 and not 7 below. Banny knows how to manage a NL bench and BP. He did it masterfully last night with the exception of bringing in Tolleson. No reason other than top of the order was coming up. But Kela has been blowing away top and middle order guys all season. Maybe he is keeping Kela fresh to make him the closer in the home stretch. Now we just need the Yankees and Astros to lose 7 straight and the Rangers win 5-7 straight:) Hamels on the mound tonight. He has a good record and ERA in that cavernous ballpark. How about your favorite Ranger swiping Home?
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while...
Ah come on. You have to give him some credit. He has about the same amount of RBIs as Beltre this year. Then again Odor is doing better than both of them and he spent what 5 weeks in the minors. That's with a sub Mendoza line BA now he has it up to .270 or so with I think 47 RBI and 9 HRs. Making great plays too.
Considering how much he/they are making not a heck of a lot, over 30 million in salary and less that 100 RBI between them... :( :( :( Roughie has about 150 less at bats about the same statistics and gets paid $500K, I'd take 3 Roughies any day. Besides that he stirs the pot when on the field that gets the opposition upset and off their game... :)
He does and we needed that. My older son watched him bat last night and said "dad is Odor 'staring down' the pitcher, he looks intense." I said, 'yes that's what you are supposed to do.':)
You know I think Beltre could be a good pot stirrer if he put his mind to it, he seems like he has that mentality inside him somewhere... Especially after reading those comments he made about being "the ugly one"... LOL...
it could be worse . you could be a Mets fan. This clown has belly ached all year whenever the Mets considered 6 man rotations ;skipping one of his starts ,or even when he was taken out of games early .. The article portrays it as a dispute between Matt Harvey's agent ,the infamous Scott Boras, and Mets GM Sandy Alderson. But the real issue is that Matt Harvey is a diva .If he wants a chance for the ring ;he should tell Boras that he's all in. http://deadspin.com/the-mets-have-a-matt-harvey-problem-1728740506
Here I found these at ESPN which give a little more information like pitches thrown and such... http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/62535/there-is-no-right-decision-on- what-to-do-with-matt-harvey http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/13583419/new-york-mets-proceeding- planned-innings-cap-matt-harvey
I am reminded of the time the Nats shut down Strasburg in 2012 before the playoffs. They figured they would be in the hunt for years to come. Guess they were wrong. They shut him down but he still needed TJ surgery later.
There is of course the possibility that Harvey and Boras are covering up an injury . Heard Harvey talk about it today . I thought he'd sound like Keshawn Johnson...give me the d--n ball !! . Instead he sounded wishy washy about the issue. He said he always considered 180 innings his limit. Come on ! Who does he think he's fooling ? He has complained about missing starts and getting taken out of games all season . In the height of a pennant race he and his agent do this stunt ? The Mets don't need this distraction and don't deserve it . They have supported him throughout his career knowing that Boras will cut the rug out from under them when he becomes a Free Agent. I know what I would do . He immediately goes to the bullpen to be a one inning bridge to Clippard . Then if he has any innings left in the post season he can be on the roster until his 180 is up . The NATs did it to themselves . Harvey and his agent are calling the shots this time.
Latest I've seen... Looks like Mets will skip his spot in the rotation a few times to limit his innings according to GM... http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/13602299/matt-harvey-new-york-mets-september-workload-limited-innings-cap-looms
Fans on talk radio here are steaming about Harvey .The more I think about it ;the more it looks like the typical Mets FUBAR .
Aren't they also having issues with another guy who was injured earlier, Matz I believe??
Matz was going to be the 6th man in the rotation. He pitched yesterday and developed a blister on his finger .
Looks like the Mets got one of the runs back, now 5-4...
Yanks win ,Mets win , Jays lose ....... go Rangers !
Rangers up 2-0 in the 7th. Astros lost. We need Gary's Royals to come through and beat the Twins this week:)
Didn't happen Twinkies still right there... Kela is out with sore elbow, looks like he will get some rest whether or not the Rangers can afford it. He has been used a lot this year he may end up being shut down, we'll see. But Faulkner filled in for him and did what the fireman is supposed to do, used only 20 pitches to get 5 outs.
That was beautiful to watch. He just gunned them down. Dyson still getting the job done too. Wondered why Chirinos gave a sinker ball thrower a high target. That ball almost got out of the ball park. Note to Chirinos, talk with the guys who know Dyson.
It would be nice if Faulkner could become a regular piece of the bullpen. Noticed they recalled Scheppers, hope he has got his stuff back.
Banister is impressed with Faulkner. He put him in a pressure situation and Faulkner rose to the occasion. I like younger pitchers who don't think too much and just blow away a line up:) You would think Banister learned keenly from Scheppers. Whatever he has going on, it won't get solved this season. If we ever get in a game again where we score a bunch of runs, Schep is the guy to eat up 2 innings at most...and be on a short leash. These are so close due to in large part this: So it seems the Rangers have no issues filling the bases but knocking them in...not so good:) Could be an issue that Fielder is in a slump. His BA went down another 10 points in a week. Veneble and Stubbs are no help at the bottom of the order. That Josh Hamilton threat in the 6 or 5 spot is probably gone for the season as he is relegated to pinch hitting (which did not see him bat much last series). Joey Gallo has fallen off the radar too.
Looks like ESPN seems to think they can catch the Astros... http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/62624/mondays-top-5-the-rangers-can- catch-the-astros
I might be crazy to think this but I wish Lyonis Martin was coming back soon. Veneble and Stubbs are doing fine but their bats are not much better. Gallo hitting the ball finally. Mitch, Odor and Choo went yard tonight. 6-1 Rangers in bottom 4th. Mets down 7-1 come back to win 8-7. Twins lose, Yankees edged by the woeful Os and the blue birds win.
Here come the Rangers in the Yanks' rearview mirror. We've got some hurt troops....Tex, Gardner, Eovaldi. We can be caught. Girardi wore out the pen as well. Mets just ended the Nats season -- that was a turrible loss. The Twin...fugetabout them. The Yanks...oy...losing to the sickly O's. I couldn't bear watching the last few innings cuz I had a baaad feeling.
Ping to above.
The one injury that bothers me is Eovaldi . He is mediocre ,but the Yanks score when he pitches. The Yanks live and die with the HR .They didn't get them yesterday and wasted an excellent day by Tanaka. Bird has been an adequate replacement for Tex . He is hitting homers and getting RBIs at a pace at least the equal that Tex produced and most important ;the Yanks are 15-6 in games he's played . Gardy was slumping before his injury and Beltran ,Chris Young have taken up the slack. Waiting for Ellesberry to wake up. Meanwhile A Roid has 30 HR and McCann has a career high 25 HR .He's looking good for a 100 RBI season. Not too shabby for a catcher . Not sure what they are going to do about another starter because I think Eovaldi is shot until the playoffs . CC goes tonight .They will need an offensive outburst I believe Texas in the rear view ? I hope so . I want them to take their division. A 7 game series against Texas would be a blast . Looks like the must see 1 game wildcard game will be Pittsburg v Chitown Cubs .
here is some 20-20 hindsight. Yesterday Giradi did not use his 2 big BP options because they have been used a lot ,and he probably wanted them fresh for the 4 game series against the Jays starting tonight . However ,we are in the middle of a rain event here ,and there is more than a good chance that today will be a wash out . The matchup scheduled is Severino v Price . Neither team is going to want to waste their top pitchers in a rain delayed or suspended game . We saw this weather front moving in all day yesterday . So should Giradi have thrown the dice and run Betances and /or Miller out to try to preserve what was then a tie knowing the Jays were losing ? He instead used Warren for 47 pitches in the loss, which means he will probably not be able to be a starter in the Jays series. After Severino ,the Yanks have yet to announce their rotation for the series . It is probable that Tanaka will go Sunday on a normal rest . CC won't pitch. Nova and Pineda will probalby fill the remaining 2 slots . The only suprise in the Jays rotation is Saturday they will use Marcus Stroman who is coming off an ACL injury that kept him on the DL all season. Wondering how many Yanks fans who have tix for Saturday's game know that Fox picked the game up and it now has a 1:05 start time instead of the 4:30 start time on the ticket ?
That moved through my area yesterday afternoon and evening, we didn't get a whole lot from it. It kept breaking up and would only lightly rain for short periods of time, very little accumulation.
It's a rainout and they screwed the ticket holders for today's game. The game will be part of a single admission double headers Saturday. Tickets for today's game will not be honored . They can be traded in for tickets next year .Also today was supposed to be Babe Ruth Bobblehead day . That will be rescheduled too . Double headers usually are split which is not good for the Yanks . They need to take 3 of 4 of this series. And I wonder what the line ups will be . The Yanks are a veteran team and have too many players who can't play two. Meanwhile it's a football night tonight . I hear it could raining hard in Foxboro too. That means the new extra point rules may become a factor.
Now it's what? Equivalent of 25-30 yard FG?
Something like that .The extra point will be kicked from the 15 yard line with two point conversions remaining at the 2-yard line. The defense now have the ability to score two points on returns. Previous an extra point was dead on a failed try. So much for the NFL trying to limit collision plays
Yankees drop game 1 of double bill. And in extra innings. Jays have Monday off. Sweeping a double header is rare these days. So Yanks will probably gain back a game.
"I'm not looking at numbers regardless of what the results are," Fielder said. "I'm just controlling my mindset and controlling trying to get a good pitch to hit." And swinging at inside pitches that would have hit you if you weren't bailing out and swinging at the same time... Another LHer (on a bad team) does them in cause they have no RH bats that can hit the ball on a consistent basis... You would have thought Gallardo would have been pulled when he gave up the 1st HR and showed he had no command of his fastball whatsoever...
Well Banister is listening to you Zig. Mike Napoli starting in LF today. He never played the position as a pro. Let's see how that works out.
NOTHING IN LEFT The Rangers had lost five of their previous six games against left-handed starters, so Banister did what he could to get his best hitters in the lineup. That included slugger Mike Napoli getting his first professional action in left field. Napoli played the first five innings in left without getting a ball hit his way before going to his usual position, first base. Napoli then had a fielding error on a grounder in the sixth. He got on base 3 times which gave Evis and Roogie someone to drive it which is better than the other LFers have been doing...
Nap dropped his first fly ball tonight. Led to an unearned run. But Mitch and Fielder went yard. With base runners!
It was nice that the Leftys broke thru against a LH pitcher for a change, especially against Kazmir who normally gives them fits... 1-2 more decent RH bats would really help...
Walk of sac fly bottom 9th! 1/2 game in lead of AL West. Twinkies and Bronx Bombers lost. Things tightening. Astros have easiest schedule left. Twinkies and Angels beat up on each other next week.
That series will tell if Twinkies can hang around till the end or not, last night was the first bit of ground they've lost in the last 2 weeks or so...
For the Rangers to hang around they need to beat Kyle Seager and the M's....And not play footsies with the A's and sweep them in O co. like they did consistently last year. If they can handle the low ball teams, who are out to play spoiler, they can hang on to a playoff spot. The Astros have an easier route IMO. The Twinkies also have an easier schedule after the Angels but has KC to end the season. KC at that point will probably throw out their AAA ball players for that series to stack their rotation for the divisional series. 19 or so games left and loads could still happen.
18 games, Astros 17... Lets see the Rangers have 5 with Astros, 3 with Seattle, 3 with Oakland, 3 with Detroit and 4 with Angels to end the season... It seems to me I remember hearing/seeing the Astros had a very low winning percentage when hitting 1 or less HRs, but can't seem to find it again...
14-3 win. Fielder had quite a night with 2 HRs. Nap and Roogie went deep early and Wilson late in the game. Angels lost and Twinkies losing in the bottom 12th. Angels vs. Twins starting tomorrow. Then I think the Angels play the Astros. Angels may be done if they can't sweep the Twins and Stros. Stros get back a few of their starters tomorrow off DTD.
Depending on what happens in that series and what other teams do, both teams could be pretty much eliminated... I'm beginning to think the Twinkies have shot their wad and are gonna fade away... Yankees look like they might play well enough to make it to the playoffs by are having to ride their "old fogeys" and pitching pretty hard to maintain their lead... They may end up being "one and done" when it's all said and done... Jays are still playing very well so I can't imagine any scenario to where they wouldn't make it, too much offensive talent...
The Jays and Royals of course are the odds on favorites to be paired off in the ALCS. But... As Derek Jeter once said: "good teams make the playoffs, but hot teams win series." Very true. So if the Rangers can keep hot, who knows?!
Well they completed the sweep last night and in convincing fashion. The veterans with all the experience stepped up this series and got it done, most of them are guys we were talking bad about earlier in the year. Having the RH bat of Napoli in the lineup has really changed the dynamics of the batting order for the better, no more easy outs other than "EVIS". Now if only we could teach Naps how to play defense in LF... :) I noticed the pitchers (took my advice) were throwing a lot of breaking pitches to the Astros the last 2 games. If you can throw breaking pitches for strikes you can easily defeat younger teams. One because they can't sit on "heeters" and two because most have them still haven't figured out how to hit that pitch consistently. Made the last 2 games easy pickings and they held the Astros to only 2 HRs for the series sweep... It ain't over yet but things are looking a whole lot better than they were 4 days ago, and now Seattle comes into town...
Man you have to get off of Elvis' case...LOL. It was his patient at bat that led to the rally with two outs to get those additional runs. Until last night he had 55 at bats without a K. Elvis has been clutch in a lot of games. I can't remember the last time he GDP to end an inning. Yeah Nap could have got Colby out of that inning with no runs. Venable or Stubbs could have nabbed that warning track line drive...maybe not, hard to tell. Nap had a good lead on that rocket from Gattis. Then again, Nap not in the line up, McCullers might have pitched Beltre and Fielder different. But the Rangers are 4-0 with Nap in LF. LOL I also noticed that Elvis is helping out Nap quite a bit. Elvis went out deep from SS to nab a routine fly ball. Nap gave him a look like, 'what the..." but then a grin which meant "thanks I know." Odor should be playing the OF if the infield ever gets too crowded with talent. That kid is shagging fly balls Choo is waiting on in dead RF. I guess Moreland is nursing some sore legs. I saw some fan question about putting Nap at 1B and Moreland in LF. I think the answer was sore legs or the Rangers not wanting to increase Moreland's risk of injury. I noticed the pitchers (took my advice) were throwing a lot of breaking pitches to the Astros the last 2 games. If you can throw breaking pitches for strikes you can easily defeat younger teams. One because they can't sit on "heeters" and two because most have them still haven't figured out how to hit that pitch consistently. Made the last 2 games easy pickings and they held the Astros to only 2 HRs for the series sweep... Yes, good patient pitching all around. There's much to a starter knowing that the defense can turn amazing DPs if an inning gets kind of tight; also knowing the offense will give you a good early lead really helps with the starters. Yes...M's in town. Kyle Seager. Really hope the Rangers stop pitching him inside. But Gallardo is 1-1 with a 2. something ERA this year against the M's. Hope he can give us at least 6 innings. Would be nice to get 7 complete innings from him. Angels beat the Twinkies last night 11-8. Doing the math, the Angels have to sweep the Twins to get past them. I think the Twins will at least win 1 game, which means then only really gain one game or both teams are tied. So really for the Angels to make an impact on the WC race, they will need to at least win 3 of 4 to keep even or sweep to go 2 ahead. Anything less than that, the Angels could be finished. Same with their series against the Astros. Astros have the A's.
A's pitching could give the Astro's batters fits, the lead could grow this weekend...
Plus the Astros pen is smoked after this week. Another factor: Astros a young team and have not been in a Sept position where they had to play catch up. We shall see. Here are the matchups for the Astros-A's this weekend: Friday: Athletics Astros Doubront (3-2) Fiers (7-10) Saturday: Athletics Astros Gray (13-7) Kazmir (7-10) Sunday: Athletics Astros Brooks (2-3) McHugh (16-7) We miss Iwakuma but get Nuno and Hernandez. We have Gallardo, Hamels and Holland this weekend.
Gray/Kazmir should be a good matchup low scoring I would imagine...
A's beat the Astros at their own homerun game. Nice of them since we lost leaving the bases loaded twice and a total of 10 LOB. Napoli in LF allowed an additional run to score. Can't win them all but Rangers need to take the next two.
I went and looked up Valencia's (He hit 2 of those 3 HRs) card with the A's and his picture still showed him a Blue Jays uniform, LOL...
10-1. Good game for Gimenez with 3 RBI. Now on to Felix. Mariners used 7 relievers. Rangers need to get some runs or pitch count up on Felix early.
If you have a good balance in your lineup and bench and they can protect each other, you force the other team into using up their pen if they want a chance to win. Rangers don't quite have the balance I would like to see but it seems to be good enough for right now. Especially when Choo and Beltre are just tearing the opposition up. For the last 10 days both are batting right at .500 along with 6 BBs each, and have raised their BAs closed to 20 points. (Looks like all the talking bad we did about them earlier is finally paying off)... :) I noticed DD looked a little better last night a couple of hits and RBIs, also replaced him later in the game to give him a little rest for today... Pitchers kept Seager, Cruz and Cano in check again just need to do it again today and they stand a chance at winning the game and series... Then on to Oakland and Houston for 6 on the road... Twinkies are done lost a DHeader to Angels yesterday too far back now I think to have a chance... Angels go to Houston for 3 starting tomorrow would be nice to see them take 2 of 3... Still haven't decided if Houston or Angels will take final playoff spot Yankees are beginning to look like they will make the playoffs but still have one more against the Mets and 3 in Toronto to get thru, after that their schedule looks fairly easy...
2-1 Mariners. A bloop and a slow poke base hit, two walks and a wild pitch. Will kill ya every time. Got another DP to get out of that ugly inning.
Looks like the ugly inning ended up being the 5th put the game pretty much out of reach... Something I've never figured out is when the starting pitcher is having major control issues why do they keep him out there? I can see why when the rosters are only 25, (but now they have 40) come on they should have had somebody warmed up and ready to go the top of the 5th, somebody who could go 2 innings or so...
Yes, after Seager got on base they should have brought in Nick Martinez. So will be quite a fight to the finish now in the AL West. Rangers can't play footsie with the A's. They have to at least win that series and if they want a chance to gain back a game, they have to sweep. I think we get Sonny Gray on Thursday.
Their record against the A's is 6-10...
Mostly and obviously when they were playing quite badly:) There were a couple of earlier season series with the A's where they lit up Martinez and Gonzalez, thus helping to reward them with a new zip code in Round Rock Texas. Then last go around Colby Lewis pitched a gem against the A's and Chi Chi did well. The match ups for this week are: Perez vs. Dolin Lewis vs. Dubront Gallardo vs ? ? might be Sonny Gray, but they might be watching his innings. Don't know.
? might be Sonny Gray, but they might be watching his innings. Don't know. ESPN is showing it to be Sonny Gray but I guess we'll find out for sure come Thursday...
Good come from behind game last night. Banny pulled the plug on the struggling Perez early in the 5th. Mitch Moreland HR got us back in it. Then some good hitting and smart base running. 4 sac fly RBI last night. Back up 2 games.
At least this time he was prepared going into the inning and not waiting until he got into trouble before using the bullpen phone, that was probably the difference between winning and losing the game... Oh well he's still wet behind the ears and not used to being in this position this late in the season, he's more used to coaching in meaningless games...
Angels won 6-5 today (close one in the bottom 9th) So we are back to 2.5 games up with a chance to make it 3.0 games up tonight. Still scratching my head at bumping Hamels out. Don't know if Banister sees the Angels as the real threat now and wants Hamels to pitch the last game of the season against them. After our series with the Stros, they go on for a series with the hot Mariners in Seattle. We play Detroit who seem to be pitching by 'committee' these days.
Looks like Josh is trying to run the bases to see if the knee can handle it and Martin is starting to take some swings at the plate... So have you thought about who will be on the 25 man roster come the playoffs? It might be kind of early to speculate especially with the status of the 2 above up in the air... I say they take 12 pitchers and 13 position players, 5 IF, 5 OF, 2 C and 1 DH... I think you might see some surprises in who makes the playoff roster if he's willing to take some chances... BTA this will have an effect on what he does too... Beginning with the 2007 post-season, two changes were made to the injury replacement rules. These were: (1) The position player for position player and pitcher for pitcher requirement for replacing an injured player in the PEL prior to the start of a post-season series was eliminated. (2) Players injured during the course of a post-season series could now be replaced during the series. Such replacement must be done on a pitcher for pitcher, position player for position player basis. The rules regarding the players eligible to become replacements are the same as those used for injury replacements prior to a series. However, the injured player, once replaced, is ineligible to participate in any further post-season series, even if he is later healthy.
Rules are fair in my opinion. If Martin can swing a bat and throw and catch a ball take him on. Good speed and his bat HAS to be better than Stubbs and Venable combined. Those dudes play great OF but have holes in their bats. Josh would be a great bench bat. As an AL team, the Rangers are handicapped when playing in an NL ballpark. Does Fielder or Mitch play first base? Which ever bat is most hot? Tough decision but we are not there yet:)
Royals have lost their closer Greg Holland for the rest of the season, that could put a big crimp in their style and chances to win the World Series...
If we keep present course we will face the Royals first. That's if the Jays keep the best record and get the WC winner.
Want a headache? http://espn.go.com/blog/jayson-stark/post/_/id/1409/read-it-and-weep-explaining- all-of-the-potential-tiebreaker-scenarios
Wow, LOL. Note to Rangers....win 2 of 3 or sweep the Astros and you won't have to worry about tie breakers:)
Right now I would say the Astros confidence is starting to wane since they have stunk the last 2 weeks. If the Rangers come out tonight and jump on them early the Stros just might...
There's a lot to be said about 'scoreboard watching' when you are behind in the Division and trying to keep ahead in the 2nd WC. I remember Ian Kinsler mentioning in 2012 he kept peeking at the scores when the A's were handing the Rangers their 4th point of contact in that late season series. You know the one where all they had to do was win one of 4 to get the Div title.
Rangers win 6-2. Great effort by the middle inning relievers. Up now 4-1/2 games. Finally got to Kasmir. Yankees lost but still way ahead of the 2nd WC. Think they have it. Rangers and Yankees have same record now. Twinkies lose, and Angels winning in the 7th by 5 runs. Looks like Astros 2nd WC lead will be shaved to 1/2 game. Mets magic number 1! Let's Go Mets!
Kasmir has pitched against the Rangers 6 times this year, the first 3 he won (2 of them he allowed 1 hit) the last 3 the Rangers have won... He hasn't pitched a complete game yet and doesn't go over 115 pitches, so wait him out and get his pitch count up to get to the bullpen...
Well Rangers lost. But made the closer pitch 25+ pitches and knocked him out of the box. We had 2 on 2 out and the go ahead run at the plate. Scored 3 in the top 9th. That was with two outs. Chi Chi and Luke Jackson lost the tie. Holland left 4-4 tie. Final 9-7. Why the Stros put in their closer with a 5 run lead is a head scratcher.
I see Josh played LF yesterday, didn't seem like he helped or hurt them in the game. Wonder if he'll be sore today, and I doubt he'll pay today with Keuchel pitching...
The Rangers had to win one of three and they did. Perez did ok given he pouted like a child when Elvis botched up a 2 out no base runners on ground ball. Which led to 2 unearned runs, and thus the game. But that is baseball and the kid needs to grow up and put such behind him. He did rebound well and go after Altuve for a strike out. I have to say the HP Ump was consistently horrible yesterday. Sherrington gives us a good analysis for the final week of AL West baseball. He mentions what you already posted here. The closer Street is probably finished and so is the set up man Joe Smith: Sherrington: Astros' biggest concern isn't the division- leading Rangers, it's the surging Angels The AL West is shaping up to become a lot like the NL Central. The AL West might be a lot more interesting next year if the Mariners find their way too. Well here's to some exciting baseball in the next week:)
I didn't know that Smith was done too, maybe the Stros will be able to hang on if no "yunguns" step up for the Angels...
That article also mentioned Weaver (their ace apparently) complained of shoulder tightness. We shall see. Still waiting for more on Holland who took a line drive to his middle finger on Saturday. Good news for us, is we do have Nick Martinez if we need to skip Holland. Probably why we have not seen Nick in the Astros series but saw Chi Chi twice. On another note...the Mets are division champs! Saw that they auditioned some young talent on Sunday to shake out their post season roster. Probably to showcase too.
Martinez pitched last night so I would imagine Holland will pitch as scheduled...
Yeah we won one!
Sloppy but a win, Stubbs made a good play to save the game. (If Detroit had some pitching they would have been in the mix). Angels aren't going away anytime soon in fact are now the #2 WC cause the Stros kept up their losing ways on the road, Twinkies won and could still end up being a playoff team... Rangers need to win 3 of the next 5 but would rather see then win out and go into the postseason on a winning streak for confidence purposes. Needless to say it's gonna be an interesting last few days to the season in the AL no matter how it turns out...
Under Fan Graphs Stubbs should have a category for Saves. It should indicate "1" for Games Saved:) That dude can run. I don't think DD would have been able to get that.
If Stubbs could get himself together at the plate he would make a damn fine OFer, hopefully they will keep him and see if they can fix his stroke...
I'm sure he just earned a job on the post season roster...if there is such a roster next week:) Yes great D and dude can 'cut bags' on the bases too. "Magic" number 4 for Division title and 3 for 2nd WC. Which means they better win 4 of their next 5:) Then again in head to head with the Angels the following could happen: Angels go to Arlington down two. Rangers win the opener and the lead goes to 3 game ahead. That would guarantee at least a tie (with the Angels) in the Division if they lose the remaining 3 games. Oh boy back to the tie breaker math. We can't figure this out because we don't know what Houston will be doing. Their first game in Arizona they face the Diamondbacks ace who I think is up for Cy Young contention. Record of 15-8. So no easy ride for them there. Wild Wild West to the end.
If he was hitting.250 or so I would agree. But if they have to use up the bullpen they may be forced to carry extra pitching. As it stands right now I would say they will carry 13 pitchers, the number they've carried pretty much all year... Like I said before the 25 man roster will have some hard decisions made before it's final...
Current expanded roster for the Rangers: We had in the BP before the expanded roster: Tolleson Kela Dyson Diekman Bass Freeman Was not on the roster but on the DL: Olendorf Was added when rosters expanded: Scheppers Jackson Gonzalez Faulkner Martinez (off and on starter and fresh arm out of the pen August-Sept) Freeman Of course there was some shell game moves towards the end of August to get fresh arms up and these lists varied. Starting rotation since Holland came back: Hamels Holland Lewis FA this winter Gallardo FA this winter Perez As we know due to days off during the playoffs, teams can go with a 4 man rotation. So Perez would no doubt be the long reliever or injury fill in or rain out fill in. But given the above that would mean: 4X starters That would mean by your estimation they float Perez and 8 more relievers. I don't see them going that for the playoffs. You need two long relievers. So Ohlendorf and Bass get the nod or one of them and Perez. So let's say it's Perez and Ohlendorf. So that ticks off 2 for the Pen. Then of course the work horse crew: Tolleson Kela Diekman Dyson are no doubt 'in' in any playoff series. So that is 6 total for the pen out of necessity. So we are now up to 10 total pitchers. 4 starters and 6 relievers. This is bare minimum. Then add the blow out games (even in the playoffs) where you need someone to eat up innings. That would add either a Nick Martinez, Chi Chi Gonzalez or Anthony Bass to the mix. Picking one with starting pitching experience is important but veteran experience is also a factor. So Bass wins this one. So we are at 11 pitchers now. 4 starters, 6 base relievers (closer, three set up, one long who pitched as a starter most of the season); then a blow out specialist (Bass). So far all are RHP save Perez and Diekman. So we are up to 11 pitchers and two are LHPs. For your 13 pitcher model that would leave Freeman and Faulkner LHPs who could be added in L vs L matchups. Freeman did better against RH batters. So the last two slots could go to both south paws, but if you have Perez, and Diekman do you need another two LHPs or just one. I say only one and it should be Freeman (most experience at MLB level than Faulkner). So that is now 12 pitchers. Your 13th would either be Nick Martinez or Chi Chi Gonzalez. That would add another long arm or rain out option IMO. So my analysis of the 13 pitchers if Banister so chooses to follow your sage advice (and mine:)) Too bad we could not find a spot for Wandy Rod in the BP for the playoffs. And of course all this means nothing if they don't win the next 3 or 4 of 5 games.
None of the starters are impressing me right now and none seem to be capable of pitching more than 5-6 innings. That isn't enough to get the job done in my opinion (especially in the playoffs) so that is why I think they will continue to carry 13... You really only need 3 good starters in the playoffs with the days off, this makes your 4th and 5th starters your game 4 pitchers, if you can get 4 innings from each one you're golden... If things continue they way they are they will play the Royals and they have a winning record against them. Most of this I think is because most of their starting pitching is RHed, which will be a good match-up for the Rangers since most of their big bats are LHed. Less need for RHed pinch hitters or pinch base runners, but you will still need late inning defensive replacements (and will need to be RHed... So with all that being said the pitchers will be Hamels, Holland, Perez, Lewis, Gallardo, Tolleson, Dyson, Diekman, Kela, Martinez, Gonzalez, Ohlendorf and Faulkner... Let me guess you are wondering why I picked Faulkner over Freeman? Easy .125 BA by LHers against him and Freeman is .277, no brainer... Even though Faulkner is young he seems like he can "git er dun"... :) And Royals most dangerous bats are LHed... As far as position players go Beltre, "Evis", Odor, Moreland, Fielder, DD, Hamilton, Choo, Giminez, Napoli, Stubbs, and Alberto. I wish I had different choices for the last 2 but there just aren't any...
That's a gamble not running with a second catcher. Nap is an emergency guy given his hip issues.
I'm not really in love with the options both pitching and position players for this team going into the playoffs, they have holes and no aces... If Scheppers was pitching well I would keep him and drop 2 other pitchers to keep more position players. But then who do you keep as position players since most of the other choices haven't played in the last week to 10 days. Obviously Banny isn't using any of them because none of them are hitting even 1/2 their weight! And there is Josh another tweeked knee/shoulder away from being useless, who is gonna be his replacement?? (Who aren't hitting either)?? Venable, Martin?? I'll say it again I REALLY DON"T LIKE THE OPTIONS THEY HAVE!!!
Yes they have holes in a leaking boat. But they have bailed out enough water to get where they are. I don't think anyone in the front office or even the dugout thought they would be where they are. It's been an amazing ride this year. Having the "trouble" of figuring out a post season roster is a good problem to have:) If 2-6 keeps clobbering the ball they have a shot. Pitching has been an issue all season especially the BP. But those two additions did wonders.
Getting both Diekman and Dyson has really shored up the bullpen. There for about a 3 week stretch in the 1st half the starters were throwing quality starts every time out, before and after not hardly...
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#3. To: CZ82 (#1)
#10. To: redleghunter (#3)
#11. To: CZ82 (#10)
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#19. To: redleghunter (#18)
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#21. To: redleghunter (#20)
Disappointed to see Bogar go. Guess he figured or someone in the front office figured having him sit in the same dugout he managed from for a short time might cut into Bannisters plan.
#22. To: CZ82 (#21)
#27. To: redleghunter (#22)
http://rangers.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=tex
#28. To: CZ82 (#27)
#30. To: redleghunter (#28)
#31. To: CZ82 (#30)
Looks like they picked up a starting pitcher Gallardo for the 3 slot and a reliever German to take Cotts place since they didn't resign him.
#33. To: redleghunter (#31)
Chicago Cubs claimed Gonzalez Germen off waivers from Texas Rangers.
#35. To: CZ82 (#33)
#37. To: redleghunter (#35)
#39. To: CZ82 (#37)
#41. To: redleghunter (#39)
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/01/top-two-texas-rangers-prospects-bring-the-thunder-with-big-bats-and-powerful-presence.html/
#42. To: CZ82 (#41)
#44. To: redleghunter (#42)
#45. To: CZ82 (#44)
#46. To: redleghunter (#45)
I think Rua has a great shot.
#48. To: CZ82 (#46)
#50. To: redleghunter (#48)
Good news is we are deep on middle infield.
#51. To: CZ82 (#50)
#53. To: redleghunter (#51)
#55. To: CZ82 (#53)
#56. To: redleghunter (#55)
#57. To: CZ82 (#56)
#59. To: redleghunter (#57)
Hamilton will probably be suspended. Seems he had a relapse:
#60. To: CZ82 (#59)
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#69. To: redleghunter (#67)
#70. To: CZ82 (#69)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150312-grant-with- darvish-out-rangers-could-take-non-traditional-approach-with-starting- rotation.ece
#73. To: redleghunter (#70)
#75. To: CZ82 (#73)
#77. To: redleghunter (#75)
#78. To: CZ82 (#77)
#79. To: redleghunter (#78)
http://m.rangers.mlb.com/news/article/113129932/rangers-release-michael-kirkman-option-michael-choice-to-triple-a
#80. To: CZ82 (#79)
#82. To: redleghunter (#80)
#83. To: CZ82 (#82)
#85. To: redleghunter (#83)
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article16043945.html
#86. To: CZ82 (#85)
#90. To: redleghunter (#86)
I watched the game the other night and Ludwick looks lost at the plate, look for him to be released.
#92. To: CZ82 (#90)
#94. To: redleghunter (#92)
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#96. To: redleghunter (#95)
Good news
#98. To: CZ82 (#96)
(Edited)
#104. To: redleghunter (#98)
#105. To: CZ82 (#104)
#108. To: redleghunter (#105)
http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview15/story/_/id/12592577/ten-ways-boost-offense
#111. To: CZ82 (#108)
Why? Teams are employing defensive shifts. Umpires are calling lower strikes. And pitchers are throwing harder than ever.
#113. To: redleghunter (#111)
#116. To: CZ82 (#113)
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#118. To: CZ82 (#117)
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#120. To: CZ82 (#119)
If Gallardo keeps this up against the stronger lineups of the AL then they wasted 3 prospects acquiring him, another Garza scenario.
#121. To: redleghunter (#120)
Turns out if he did not go for Gallardo the Yu injury would have been more of an impact.
#122. To: CZ82 (#121)
#125. To: redleghunter (#122)
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#131. To: redleghunter (#126)
Wow LOL.
#134. To: CZ82 (#131)
#135. To: redleghunter (#134)
#138. To: CZ82 (#135)
I see they split up Andrus and Beltre batting back to back finally.
#142. To: redleghunter (#138)
And yes taking Andrus down from second in the order is a move that should have happened two years ago.
#146. To: CZ82 (#142)
#152. To: redleghunter (#146)
Instead of playing DeShields they called up Pegeuro.
#153. To: CZ82 (#152)
#154. To: redleghunter (#153)
Too bad about Martin's long drive was not one foot more.
#156. To: CZ82 (#154)
#159. To: redleghunter (#156)
2B Rougned Odor
#160. To: CZ82 (#159)
#161. To: redleghunter (#160)
LOL seemed to work. Banister hinted Odor listens to instruction. Kid did a good job drawing a walk to get some runs across.
#163. To: CZ82 (#161)
I hit in just about every slot in the lineup thru my playing days and can't say I worried about it all. I Just looked at is as "Ok it's my turn what's the situation, what is the positioning of the defense and here is what I need to do", then I just did it. I did bat leadoff or 2nd for quite sometime cause I could get on base by hook or by crook.
#170. To: redleghunter (#163)
Yeah that's the rub. Younger hitters like Odor and Martin want to be the hero at times. Martin instead of trying to go yard the other night could have shortened his swing a bit and drop it in the OF for the winning run.
#171. To: CZ82 (#170)
It was during a night game and it emptied both dugouts when he launched it. Everybody (including Sal) just stood there in awe at how far it went. We played on diamonds that were 325 to dead center and the light poles were about another 75' back from the fence and roughly 60 high. The ball he hit that night clanged off the light pole just under the platform you would stand on to service the lights. One of the guys ran out and grabbed the ball everybody on both teams signed it and we gave it to Sal. He had a wall at the house where he had all of his memorabilia mounted and right in the middle of it was that ball and the bat he used to hit it. It was my bat that he used so for a couple of beers I gladly gave it up. :) Then turned right around the next day and ordered "2" more of the exact same bat, 1 for me and one for Sal!!
#174. To: redleghunter (#171)
Those were mighty hits for a softball. Somehow I could hit a baseball pretty good and far, but when I played some softball in the Army I could not go yard. I got close enough but probably could have used your tips back then:) I settled for hitting the ball in the gap or opposite field and going extra bases instead of flying out. I was always looking at the situation and how to move runners and knock them in.
#176. To: CZ82 (#174)
They were also just coming out with the specialized bats for those balls, so you had to have an idea how to pair them up correctly. Hence special ordering them from certain supply houses who knew what you didn't. For the last 6-7 years I was ordering a brand new bat before each season started. Because you could wear one out in a single season, and the technology was changing so rapidly. (In fact they were just starting to Cryogenically treat bats). And you "couldn't" take one of those bats to the cages cause the balls they use would ruin a high performance bat like that in just a couple of swings. And when you're paying $1-300 per bat that can put a dent in your wallet real quick if you ruin one or two. In fact when they first came out they recommended not using certain models in temperatures under 50 degrees IIRC.
#181. To: redleghunter (#176)
Got my son a dual composite bat two years ago. It's ok and was advertised as not needing a 'break in' like the single form. Last week saw a single composite on 'sale' on line and bought it to see if it is better than the other. Only draw back is now I will have to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon with sonny boy breaking it in. Which means hitting 15-200 balls with it off a tee rotating it 1/4 inch each time.
#183. To: CZ82 (#181)
#187. To: redleghunter (#183)
Wonder if Nellie is going to bomb us.
#188. To: CZ82 (#187)
#200. To: redleghunter (#188)
Prince Fielder is the only one batting above Mendoza line at .400.
#204. To: CZ82 (#200)
You know if more guys would learn to go with the pitch instead of trying to force the pitch they could raise their average at least 30 points maybe more. To me it's utterly amazing why some guys who have all of this talent can't figure that out. Is their ego that big, their IQ that low or the coaches that dumb? Duhhhhhhh..
#208. To: redleghunter (#204)
#210. To: CZ82 (#208)
#213. To: redleghunter (#210)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150420-grant-stats-say-rangers-elvis-andrus-is-worst-shortstop-in-baseball.ece
#215. To: CZ82 (#213)
#220. To: redleghunter (#215)
At least one of the big three contracts have to be dumped. Either EA, Prince or Choo
#223. To: CZ82 (#220)
They should have called the Yankees the day Jeter announced his retirement, they could have at least got a "bag of used pucks" (derogatory hockey term) in return. Oh wait maybe they did and the Yanks told them to FO..
#225. To: redleghunter (#223)
Would have been another A-Rod situation I'm sure. Elvis goes to the Yanks, Rangers eat a portion of the salary and Elvis has an All Star season.
#227. To: CZ82 (#225)
#230. To: redleghunter (#227)
It's ok to have a bunch of 3s and 4s when you have a consistent offense like we did in 10-11.
#233. To: CZ82 (#230)
#236. To: redleghunter (#233)
IF Holland and Perez are truly healthy when they come back.
#237. To: CZ82 (#236)
#238. To: redleghunter (#237)
#242. To: CZ82 (#238)
If Magaden and Jones can help him find his stroke this may turn out OK, if not then it will end up as I fear a clusterphuck.
#244. To: redleghunter (#242)
3-2 belt high inside pitch to Freese? Rookie mistake, I give him a pass.
#248. To: CZ82 (#244)
#250. To: redleghunter (#248)
#251. To: CZ82 (#250)
BTA maybe it's time to see if they can coax Jaramillo out of retirement!!
#254. To: redleghunter (#251)
(Edited)
Jason Jaramillo? LOL he is a career AAA player:) I know you are joking that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
#257. To: CZ82 (#254)
#258. To: redleghunter (#257)
And Moreland is having more issues with the elbow, he just needs to get it cleaned out and be off the 2 weeks or so it would take to heal. I realize they don't want to fall into too big a hole to start the season but if he doesn't get it done soon it could cause more damage and then be gone the rest of the year.
#260. To: CZ82 (#258)
#262. To: redleghunter (#260)
But I see DeShields got an RBI double driving in Smolkinsky. If those two guys can get some decent on base time things could turn for the top of the order.
#263. To: CZ82 (#262)
#264. To: redleghunter (#263)
#266. To: CZ82 (#264)
#268. To: redleghunter, A K A Stone, Liberator (#266)
#269. To: CZ82, redleghunter, A K A Stone (#268)
I seen a "I'm a Stupid Liberal Bitch" sticker nestled in with all the anti Pubbie stickers.
#270. To: Liberator, A K A Stone (#269)
#272. To: CZ82 (#270)
While it is rarely the fault of an instructor when his charges go bad, it is simply easier to try to change the instructor than the lineup. The Rangers lineup has been offensively dead all season. They began Sunday last in the AL in hitting at .220 and managed just four hits against an uncharacteristically wild Sonny Gray to fall to .216.
#274. To: redleghunter (#272)
Also Odor and Andrus options mentioned.
#279. To: CZ82 (#274)
#283. To: redleghunter (#279)
#286. To: CZ82, Liberator (#283)
#287. To: redleghunter (#286)
All my players but two ran the count to 3-2 each at bat. Not one walk from high pitches on each at bat. Same pitches from my pitcher ball four. The dude was fooling no one. My team parents were livid we could not buy a strike. Had to hold them back from getting tossed.
#289. To: CZ82, liberator (#287)
It happened to my daughters when they were playing in a downtown league. Had a few runs ins with the locals over their "lack of integrity" and they didn't take to kindly to be told that. None of them ended up in any rough behavior but they sure heard about how bad their upbringing was and that their parents should paddle their butts for acting so childish. :)
#292. To: redleghunter (#289)
Bias was never an issue in the past.
#293. To: CZ82 (#292)
#294. To: redleghunter (#293)
Nick finally gave up a couple of runs. I'll give him a pass:)
#295. To: CZ82 (#294)
Noticed DeShields walked 3 times last night in his 4 ABs and seen 26 pitches, just what he is supposed to do get on base.
#297. To: redleghunter (#295)
Yes DeShields did well. He also swiped three bases in that game.
#298. To: CZ82 (#297)
#301. To: redleghunter (#298)
#303. To: CZ82 (#301)
#305. To: redleghunter (#303)
However DeShields keeps drawing walks, and has now 9 SB. He is on base for Choo and the top of the order. He walked twice in the loss tonight and scored twice.
#307. To: CZ82 (#305)
#312. To: redleghunter (#307)
In addition, Freeman could replace Claudio as the lefty in the bullpen.
#315. To: CZ82 (#312)
#317. To: redleghunter (#315)
#319. To: CZ82 (#317)
I'm curious as to when they are going to try him in the leadoff spot?? If he can handle that it could make for some really interesting options in the lineup!!
#323. To: redleghunter (#319)
• Finally, this: I have no idea what Hamilton will provide the Rangers, but I expect he’ll give them more than they are getting from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. While he replaced Mitch Moreland after three at-bats Tuesday and entered into the No. 3 spot in the lineup, he was penciled in to hit second on Wednesday. The Rangers rank last in the AL and 29th of 30 teams in the majors in OPS (.533) from the No. 2 spot. They have the lowest slugging percentage (.263). The Rangers need to move Elvis Andrus out of the No. 2 spot and down in the order and they have no really attractive options other than to put Hamilton or Mitch Moreland there. One will hit second. One will hit five. The Rangers lineup will be better off for it.
#325. To: CZ82 (#323)
Just found this. And this is why I say let DD have a shot at leadoff and move Choo to 2nd slot just for a couple of days to see what happens. If it works then you don't really have to worry about what is quoted up above, if it doesn't then fall back, regroup and go again.
#326. To: redleghunter (#325)
#327. To: CZ82 (#326)
#331. To: redleghunter (#327)
#332. To: CZ82 (#331)
#335. To: redleghunter (#332)
Yep Feliz blew another save and took another loss. Banister was about to toss equipment.
#337. To: CZ82 (#335)
#338. To: redleghunter (#337)
Feliz pitched predictable. Like Ogando used to do.
#340. To: CZ82 (#338)
But can't you blame some of that on the Catcher for giving in to what he wants to throw instead of mixing it up and keeping the hitters off balance.
#344. To: redleghunter (#340)
Remember the pitcher has the final veto:)
#345. To: CZ82 (#344)
Kinda makes me wonder if Bannister is calling pitches from the dugout, you would think he would in certain situations.
#349. To: redleghunter, Liberator (#345)
Yogi Berra, the great Hall of Fame catcher of the New York Yankees, turns 90 Tuesday. He's living in an assisted living facility in New Jersey, where he still watches a lot of baseball. In honor of Yogi's birthday, here are 10 of his best Yogi-isms:
#351. To: CZ82 (#349)
#355. To: redleghunter (#351)
Wonder if Fraley, Grant and the DFW gang lurk here at LP:)
#356. To: CZ82 (#355)
#357. To: redleghunter (#356)
I saw somewhere else he played roughly 7 games at first base so far.
#361. To: CZ82 (#357)
#362. To: redleghunter (#361)
which DD snagged nicely holding the runner at 2nd
#366. To: CZ82 (#362)
Martin stunk again
#368. To: redleghunter (#366)
#370. To: CZ82 (#368)
#371. To: redleghunter (#370)
#372. To: CZ82 (#371)
#373. To: redleghunter (#372)
#374. To: CZ82 (#373)
#378. To: redleghunter (#374)
#381. To: CZ82 (#378)
#383. To: redleghunter (#381)
Shep pitched pretty good in the 6-7th. Then Freeman did fine too. Tolleson had a perfect 9th. He did get hit in the foot on the last play. Hope he is ok.
#385. To: CZ82 (#383)
The networks must be noticing they are playing better because 3 out of the last 4 games have been televised up here, before that none of them had been. OTOH they were playing the Yankees and that could be the reason, even though nobody around here really likes them other than those who think it's fashionable to follow them.
#387. To: redleghunter (#385)
Yes, it was because they played Boston and NYY.
#388. To: CZ82 (#387)
#390. To: redleghunter (#388)
#393. To: CZ82 (#390)
#400. To: redleghunter (#393)
I would imagine they will think about bringing someone up from the minors for a start in the slot Klein is filling.
#404. To: CZ82 (#400)
#407. To: redleghunter (#404)
Looking forward to seeing Chi Chi pitch.
#412. To: CZ82 (#407)
Chi Chi did a good job took a no-no into the 5th and lasted for 5-2/3rds, kept his team in the game and gave them the chance to win which they did. Wonder how long they plan on keeping him??
#418. To: redleghunter, GarySpFC (#412)
I think he stays like Perez did in 2013 until some of the vet south paws show up. Look for Detwiler to get another shot at a start. How that goes will determine if Chi Chi goes back down.
#420. To: CZ82 (#418)
#422. To: redleghunter (#420)
HR
#423. To: CZ82 (#422)
#424. To: redleghunter, Pericles (#423)
Throwback: Bryce Harper and Joey Gallo Make for a Terrifying Little League Team
#425. To: CZ82 (#424)
#431. To: redleghunter, Pericles (#425)
Harrison began his assignment on Wednesday by throwing five innings for Triple-A Round Rock against Reno. Harrison allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four. He threw 78 pitches. The outing comes on the one-year anniversary of Harrison undergoing spinal fusion surgery to correct back problems that limited him to six Major League starts in 2013-14.
#439. To: CZ82 (#431)
#444. To: redleghunter, Pericles (#439)
#448. To: CZ82 (#444)
Oh and the dress that got ruined in the PowerAde incident is up for sale, LOL
#452. To: redleghunter (#448)
#453. To: CZ82 (#452)
#458. To: redleghunter (#453)
#459. To: CZ82 (#458)
#460. To: redleghunter (#459)
Stros lost again. 3.5 out now.
#464. To: CZ82 (#460)
#466. To: redleghunter (#464)
#468. To: CZ82 (#466)
I would imagine another issue he is having is he isn't tuned in to certain umpires "funky" strike zones yet that will take some time. I wonder how much coaching he's getting on the bench from guys like Choo and Fielder??
#472. To: redleghunter (#468)
Even with Harry, Dutch Oven, and Perez coming back, it is still rebuilding as those pitchers will not be 100% right away.
#475. To: CZ82 (#472)
Especially Perez, average time is 15-18 mos for TJ surgery till the pitcher regains his stuff, some never get it back!!
#482. To: redleghunter (#475)
I don't think financially they can get as bad as they were last year but if they keep playing .500 ball and then have a WC shot in the last few weeks, it's possible they make the playoffs. Going deep? Don't think so.
#483. To: CZ82 (#482)
Fans like to see new players and will make the trip just to find out how he/they look in person.
#484. To: redleghunter (#483)
#485. To: CZ82 (#484)
You know they do a military discount, right?
#486. To: redleghunter (#485)
#487. To: CZ82 (#486)
#489. To: redleghunter (#487)
Mitch hit a bomb to dead center. You have to see that one:)
#490. To: CZ82 (#489)
#494. To: redleghunter (#490)
http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/13048805/no-panic-jeff-banister-texas-rangers-respond
#497. To: CZ82 (#494)
#503. To: redleghunter (#497)
In fact when Bannister asked Choo where he was throwing the ball he replied in other words "This isn't my first rodeo I know where to throw the ball".
#505. To: CZ82 (#503)
#512. To: redleghunter (#505)
Good news here:
#514. To: CZ82 (#512)
#518. To: redleghunter (#514)
#520. To: CZ82 (#518)
Mitch is looking good so far in the cleanup position, maybe he is finally becoming the player they always thought he could be. I would say his place on the team is pretty safe about right now, last year I wouldn't have said that.
#521. To: redleghunter (#520)
Wild card thought here. What if Mitch is a major trade piece to get some pitching help. Would hate to see him go. Beltre to first and Gallo at 3B? Or is Adrian going? That guy is the clubhouse mafia boss. Who knows. It's good having this kind of "problem."
#522. To: CZ82 (#521)
#523. To: redleghunter (#522)
But that would mean that you would have to use Moreland/Gallo in both the OF and 1B to make it work.
#524. To: CZ82 (#523)
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/rougned-odor-returning-to-majors- could-joey-gallo-move-to-left.html/
#526. To: redleghunter (#524)
Yep saw that. They should hire us as advisors:)
#527. To: CZ82 (#526)
#529. To: redleghunter (#527)
Done so with spit and duct tape.
#532. To: CZ82 (#529)
You have to admit for the most part guys they've brought up from the minors and guys other teams have released have done the job they've been asked to do. Otherwise they would be in last place at least 20 games under .500, maybe more...
#538. To: redleghunter, Liberator (#532)
You have to admit for the most part guys they've brought up from the minors and guys other teams have released have done the job they've been asked to do. Otherwise they would be in last place at least 20 games under .500, maybe more...
#541. To: CZ82 (#538)
Oh BTW did you see Princes "face plant" rounding 3B last night? It had everybody in the dugout rolling and he was even smiling BTA what else could he do..
#542. To: redleghunter (#541)
Too funny and the good thing is Prince has been a big boy most his life
#545. To: redleghunter, Justified (#542)
#547. To: redleghunter, Justified (#545)
Just found a lineup looks like both Prince and Mitch are getting the night off, (getting as many RH bats in the lineup as possible) Joey is in LF.
#551. To: CZ82 (#547)
Looks like Prince getting the night off went out the window Blanks came up lame again, but all's good he went yard in the 9th to give them a little cushion. Kela came in for the 9th and did alright nothing spectacular, wonder if he's going to be tried out for the closers role I wouldn't think just yet but.......
#553. To: redleghunter (#551)
Now we face Greinke tonight. Right handed pitcher so Gallo in again and we will probably see Mitch tonight. Fielder as a PH later in the game. If you rattle Greinke's cage early he makes awful mistakes.
#556. To: CZ82 (#553)
#558. To: redleghunter (#556)
(Edited)
#561. To: CZ82 (#558)
#566. To: redleghunter (#561)
Left-hander Derek Holland, out because of a strained shoulder muscle, will start a progressive two-week throwing program. He will undergo another MRI before returning to the mound.
#569. To: CZ82 (#566)
#576. To: redleghunter (#569)
Took the family to Harrison's rehab assignment tonight at RR.
#579. To: CZ82 (#576)
#582. To: redleghunter (#579)
(Edited)
LOL I was giving folks updates
#585. To: CZ82 (#582)
#587. To: redleghunter (#585)
Yeah Elvis had two errors in that game. Time to take a sit down.
#589. To: CZ82 (#587)
#590. To: redleghunter (#589)
but it's hard to do with this patchwork lineup right now, and having this string of LHP to face.
#591. To: CZ82 (#590)
#592. To: redleghunter (#591)
Looks like Beltre out until the ASB.
#593. To: CZ82 (#592)
#595. To: redleghunter (#593)
Wonder how long before DD comes back.
#597. To: CZ82 (#595)
#600. To: redleghunter (#597)
The results have been average: Harrison is 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA and has allowed 27 hits in 22⅔ innings. He has 12 strikeouts and eight walks but has not yielded a homer, which is an indication his pitches are sinking.
#601. To: CZ82 (#600)
who do you sit???
#602. To: redleghunter (#601)
First would be Martinez. His honeymoon is over. He is getting worse with each start. They need to skip him once at least in the rotation
#606. To: CZ82 (#602)
#610. To: redleghunter (#606)
#611. To: CZ82 (#610)
The issue I see with this is I would just imagine they want the Phillies to take back some salary to be able to fit in Hamels 22.5 million contract. If the Phillies are willing then a deal might happen if not then I thinks it's dead as dead can get. They are hoping nobody else bids on Hamels and they can get a better deal but I think it would be "a cold day in hell" before that happens.
#614. To: redleghunter (#611)
#615. To: CZ82 (#614)
Nomar Mazara on the other hand has been in the minors 4 years and they are thinking about moving him to RR "AAA". Looking at our OF situation as of this moment I would be hesitant to trade him away, especially if the Hamilton (age 34) experiment turns out to be a failure (more injuries). And even though Choo (age 32) has a good bat his skills in RF aren't the best and aren't going to get any better.
#619. To: redleghunter (#615)
Fielder is still struggling at the plate and hitting into the shift; time to go the other way again (that's how he got it all started this year).
#620. To: CZ82 (#619)
#641. To: redleghunter (#620)
#648. To: CZ82 (#641)
#654. To: redleghunter (#648)
Sending a message to Martin today. Gallo started in CF.
#658. To: CZ82 (#654)
#662. To: redleghunter (#658)
There should be enough native Spanish speakers on the team and staff (Pudge?) who can help.
#663. To: CZ82 (#662)
#664. To: redleghunter (#663)
Martin missed two RISP chances today in the 3-2 loss. Once with the bases loaded.
#665. To: CZ82 (#664)
#668. To: redleghunter (#665)
Mitch you are doing good don't get injured.
#669. To: All (#668)
2 last night and another one so far tonight, gives him 12 HRs in the last 38 games 13 total.
#671. To: CZ82 (#669)
#674. To: redleghunter (#671)
#676. To: CZ82 (#674)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20150701-grant-another- struggle-against-left-hander-shows-what-rangers-are-missing.ece
#678. To: redleghunter (#676)
Martinez is a 4-5 rotation type of guy with some potential to be a 3 man.
#682. To: CZ82 (#678)
#684. To: redleghunter (#682)
Martinez was optioned to RR today and Feliz activated. Go figure that one out. Feliz did horrible in RR.
#688. To: CZ82 (#684)
#689. To: redleghunter (#688)
My guess is he is overworked or lost confidence.
#710. To: CZ82 (#689)
#729. To: redleghunter, Liberator (#710)
Feliz hanging out in BP sulking.
#737. To: CZ82 (#729)
#747. To: redleghunter (#737)
#749. To: CZ82 (#747)
#753. To: redleghunter (#749)
#755. To: CZ82 (#753)
#756. To: redleghunter (#755)
#758. To: CZ82 (#756)
The other thing is will they be buyers or sellers?
#760. To: redleghunter (#758)
I think the organization is putting 2017 as their target year
#761. To: CZ82 (#760)
#765. To: redleghunter (#761)
Martinez got bombed for 7 runs tonight.
#768. To: CZ82 (#765)
#770. To: redleghunter (#768)
Harry got a bunch of ground balls (and pitched shutout innings) our guys actually caught and got outs. I'm sure he's happy that outing and did a lot to boost his confidence.
#771. To: CZ82 (#770)
#772. To: redleghunter (#771)
#773. To: CZ82 (#772)
It just seems amazing that this team has so many pitchers that have screwed up mechanics, grips and location of pitches. Is it the pitchers, catchers, coaches or all of the above??
#776. To: redleghunter (#773)
#778. To: CZ82 (#776)
#784. To: redleghunter (#778)
#787. To: CZ82 (#784)
#788. To: redleghunter (#787)
Banny may have pulled the trigger on Perez too soon.
#791. To: CZ82 (#788)
#792. To: redleghunter (#791)
Hamels a Ranger and Harry goes to Philly with some good prospects. All in all everyone got what they needed. Hate to see Thompson go. Think he is better than Chi Chi.
#794. To: CZ82 (#792)
#804. To: redleghunter (#794)
#810. To: CZ82 (#804)
Speaking of trades they snuck this one in within 5 minutes of the deadline.
#875. To: redleghunter (#810)
Surprised Mendez and Jackson have not come up yet.
#876. To: CZ82 (#875)
#877. To: redleghunter (#876)
#879. To: CZ82 (#877)
#881. To: redleghunter (#879)
#882. To: CZ82 (#881)
#890. To: redleghunter (#882)
Yep. Seems they go on a two week bender of runs production and good pitching. Then...NOT. Too inconsistent. I think the pitching corps is smoked except for Perez.
#894. To: CZ82, redleghunter, tomder55 (#890)
They are going to have to play .650-.700 ball down the stretch to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
#901. To: Liberator, CZ82, tomder55 (#894)
They are going to have to play .650-.700 ball down the stretch to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. As of this moment they are 5.5 games back of a wild card and only 5 games back of the Astros, their better shot might be in the division. They have 7 left against both the Astros and the Angels...
#910. To: redleghunter, CZ82, tomder55 (#901)
After tonight the Rangers are 1.5 games out of lower WC.
#912. To: Liberator, CZ82, tomder55 (#910)
Yeah, odd year of absolute parity. Is it possible 85-86 games wins...a division AND WC??
#918. To: redleghunter (#912)
The Rangers are the bizarro opposite. They lose to sub-500 teams and beat above 500 teams. Better record on the road (best AL road record) than at home.
#932. To: CZ82 (#918)
"EVIS" well he's still playing his way into moving to a new zipcode, hope that can be arranged this off season... Ever since he got that big contract he's been regressing in all areas of his play...
#936. To: redleghunter (#932)
Defense has been much better. His hitting has moved up a bit since the AS break.
#938. To: CZ82 (#936)
#942. To: redleghunter (#938)
Holland did well. Made it 6 1/3 innings. Only had one inning (6th) where he got in trouble.
#944. To: CZ82 (#942)
#946. To: redleghunter (#944)
#948. To: CZ82 (#946)
#949. To: redleghunter, tomder55, Liberator (#948)
Apparently Charlie Sheen gave him a call about his 'wild thing' haircut.
#950. To: CZ82 (#949)
#953. To: redleghunter (#950)
Sheen has aged.
#956. To: CZ82 (#953)
#960. To: redleghunter (#956)
49. Really.
#962. To: CZ82 (#960)
#965. To: redleghunter (#962)
Once again took him too many pitches but the Detroit lineup is very good.
#968. To: CZ82 (#965)
#969. To: redleghunter (#968)
Took 3/4 from Tiggers.
#971. To: CZ82 (#969)
About time they played above the level of the opposition and took the series, bta the Tigers are no slouches just can't seem to find the right chemistry...
#973. To: redleghunter (#971)
#974. To: CZ82, liberator, tomder55 (#973)
#975. To: redleghunter (#974)
#976. To: tomder55, CZ82, liberator (#975)
#977. To: redleghunter, CZ82, liberator (#976)
#978. To: tomder55 (#977)
On the surface ,the pitching matchups favor the Jays .
#983. To: redleghunter (#978)
How about those Mets!:)
#985. To: tomder55, liberator, CZ82 (#983)
#986. To: redleghunter (#985)
A lot of those losses came when they were giving up 6-7 runs every night and couldn't pitch their way out of a paper bag. I think things are quite a bit different now their pitching seems to be better...
#988. To: CZ82, liberator, tomder55 (#986)
#991. To: redleghunter, CZ82, tomder55 (#988)
If they can lick their wounds and take one from the Jays and win the series against Balt., I think they hang on another two weeks. But I must say, the Rangers have exceeded 'my' expectations this year.
#993. To: Liberator (#991)
#996. To: CZ82, tomder55, redleghunter (#993)
I seen a bit on ESPN or the MLB channel praising him for holding on to their prospects.
#1001. To: Liberator, CZ82, redleghunter (#996)
#1005. To: tomder55, CZ82, redleghunter (#1001)
(Edited)
and I still praise the move. Yes I would've liked Price ,but not at as a rental. Other than that ,it is not the Yank pitching that was an issue . Where exactly were the Yanks going to add a bat ? The middle infield was the only place that made sense .
#1007. To: Liberator (#1005)
Playing the two hottest teams in baseball -- the Jays AND Mets? If that's 10 games, they'll win 2.
#1010. To: CZ82, liberator, tomder55 (#1007)
(Edited)
#1011. To: redleghunter (#1010)
#1016. To: CZ82 (#1011)
#1021. To: redleghunter (#1016)
#1023. To: CZ82, tomder55, liberator (#1021)
#1026. To: redleghunter (#1023)
Nice come back. I think he struck out a total of 10.
#1033. To: CZ82 (#1026)
#1038. To: redleghunter (#1033)
Clear to me what they need to do. Starters have to go 7 full. If not bring in long reliever until the 8th then platoon Kela, Dyson and Deikman for 8th and 9th. I understand the two new relievers are Banny's secret weapon and he does not want a lot of exposure of them. But losing Tolly at this stage would be disastrous.
#1043. To: CZ82 (#1038)
would imagine most of those guys are going to get today off...
#1045. To: redleghunter (#1043)
Call ups for the good players may be delayed. The Express is in the playoffs.
#1047. To: CZ82 (#1045)
#1048. To: redleghunter (#1047)
#1056. To: CZ82 (#1048)
#1060. To: redleghunter (#1056)
#1063. To: CZ82 (#1060)
They won the game last night but used 5 pitchers to do it. Am beginning to wonder if he realizes just how many relievers he has in the bullpen??
#1074. To: redleghunter (#1063)
How about your favorite Ranger swiping Home?
#1076. To: CZ82 (#1074)
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while...
#1084. To: redleghunter (#1076)
Ah come on. You have to give him some credit. He has about the same amount of RBIs as Beltre this year.
#1087. To: CZ82 (#1084)
Besides that he stirs the pot when on the field that gets the opposition upset and off their game... :)
#1096. To: redleghunter (#1087)
#1097. To: CZ82, Liberator, Redleghunter (#1096)
#1100. To: tomder55, redleghunter, Liberator (#1097)
#1103. To: CZ82, tomder55, liberator (#1100)
#1104. To: redleghunter, CZ62, Liberator (#1103)
#1115. To: tomder55 (#1104)
#1117. To: CZ82, liberator, redleghunter (#1115)
#1118. To: tomder55 (#1117)
The more I think about it ;the more it looks like the typical Mets FUBAR .
#1121. To: CZ82 (#1118)
Aren't they also having issues with another guy who was injured earlier, Matz I believe??
#1122. To: tomder55 (#1121)
#1124. To: CZ82, liberator, redleghunter (#1122)
#1127. To: tomder55, CZ82, liberator, GarySpFc (#1124)
#1129. To: redleghunter (#1127)
We need Gary's Royals to come through and beat the Twins this week:)
#1131. To: CZ82 (#1129)
But Faulkner filled in for him and did what the fireman is supposed to do, used only 20 pitches to get 5 outs.
#1134. To: redleghunter (#1131)
#1136. To: CZ82 (#1134)
It would be nice if Faulkner could become a regular piece of the bullpen. Noticed they recalled Scheppers, hope he has got his stuff back.
#1139. To: redleghunter (#1136)
#1141. To: CZ82, tomder55, liberator (#1139)
#1142. To: redleghunter (#1141)
#1143. To: CZ82, tomder55, liberator (#1142)
#1151. To: Liberator, redleghunter, Cz82 (#1143)
#1160. To: Liberator, redleghunter, Cz82 (#1151)
(Edited)
#1163. To: tomder55 (#1160)
Rain event here
#1166. To: CZ82, Redleghunter, Liberator . (#1163)
#1168. To: tomder55 (#1166)
#1169. To: redleghunter (#1168)
#1184. To: tomder55, CZ82, liberator (#1169)
#1186. To: redleghunter (#1184)
Fielder has only four hits in his last 40 at-bats, dropping his batting average from .341 to .306.
#1187. To: CZ82 (#1186)
Another LHer (on a bad team) does them in cause they have no RH bats that can hit the ball on a consistent basis...
#1192. To: redleghunter (#1187)
Mike Napoli starting in LF today. He never played the position as a pro. Let's see how that works out.
#1194. To: CZ82 (#1192)
#1197. To: redleghunter (#1194)
(Edited)
But Mitch and Fielder went yard. With base runners!
#1199. To: CZ82 (#1197)
#1201. To: redleghunter (#1199)
Twinkies and Angels beat up on each other next week.
#1205. To: CZ82 (#1201)
That series will tell if Twinkies can hang around till the end or not, last night was the first bit of ground they've lost in the last 2 weeks or so...
#1207. To: redleghunter (#1205)
19 or so games left and loads could still happen.
#1208. To: CZ82 (#1207)
#1209. To: redleghunter, tomder55, Liberator (#1208)
Angels vs. Twins starting tomorrow.
#1212. To: CZ82 (#1209)
Jays are still playing very well so I can't imagine any scenario to where they wouldn't make it, too much offensive talent...
#1216. To: redleghunter (#1212)
Very true. So if the Rangers can keep hot, who knows?!
#1217. To: CZ82 (#1216)
Well they completed the sweep last night and in convincing fashion. The veterans with all the experience stepped up this series and got it done, most of them are guys we were talking bad about earlier in the year. Having the RH bat of Napoli in the lineup has really changed the dynamics of the batting order for the better, no more easy outs other than "EVIS". Now if only we could teach Naps how to play defense in LF... :)
#1224. To: redleghunter (#1217)
Astros have the A's.
#1225. To: CZ82 (#1224)
A's pitching could give the Astro's batters fits, the lead could grow this weekend...
#1226. To: redleghunter (#1225)
#1228. To: CZ82 (#1226)
#1232. To: redleghunter (#1228)
A's beat the Astros at their own homerun game.
#1233. To: CZ82 (#1232)
#1235. To: redleghunter, tomder55, Liberator (#1233)
Mariners used 7 relievers
#1239. To: CZ82 (#1235)
#1244. To: redleghunter (#1239)
Got another DP to get out of that ugly inning.
#1245. To: CZ82 (#1244)
Something I've never figured out is when the starting pitcher is having major control issues why do they keep him out there? I can see why when the rosters are only 25, (but now they have 40) come on they should have had somebody warmed up and ready to go the top of the 5th, somebody who could go 2 innings or so...
#1247. To: redleghunter (#1245)
Rangers can't play footsie with the A's.
#1250. To: CZ82 (#1247)
Their record against the A's is 6-10...
#1251. To: redleghunter (#1250)
Gallardo vs ?
#1256. To: CZ82 (#1251)
#1257. To: redleghunter (#1256)
Good come from behind game last night. Banny pulled the plug on the struggling Perez early in the 5th.
#1260. To: CZ82 (#1257)
#1262. To: redleghunter (#1260)
#1263. To: CZ82 (#1262)
#1271. To: redleghunter (#1263)
#1273. To: CZ82 (#1271)
#1275. To: redleghunter (#1273)
If we keep present course
#1279. To: CZ82 (#1275)
Want a headache?
#1283. To: redleghunter (#1279)
Wow, LOL. Note to Rangers....win 2 of 3 or sweep the Astros and you won't have to worry about tie breakers:)
#1284. To: CZ82 (#1283)
If the Rangers come out tonight and jump on them early the Stros just might...
#1285. To: All (#1284)
#1287. To: redleghunter (#1285)
Finally got to Kasmir.
#1288. To: CZ82 (#1287)
#1295. To: redleghunter (#1288)
#1303. To: CZ82, liberator, tomder55 (#1295)
#1305. To: redleghunter (#1303)
The closer Street is probably finished and so is the set up man Joe Smith:
#1310. To: CZ82, tomder55, liberator (#1305)
#1320. To: redleghunter (#1310)
Good news for us, is we do have Nick Martinez if we need to skip Holland. Probably why we have not seen Nick in the Astros series but saw Chi Chi twice.
#1321. To: CZ82 (#1320)
#1322. To: redleghunter (#1321)
Yeah we won one!
#1323. To: CZ82 (#1322)
Sloppy but a win, Stubbs made a good play to save the game.
#1325. To: redleghunter (#1323)
(Edited)
Under Fan Graphs Stubbs should have a category for Saves. It should indicate "1" for Games Saved:)
#1326. To: CZ82 (#1325)
If Grubbs could get himself together at the plate he would make a damn fine OFer, hopefully they will keep him and see if they can fix his stroke...
#1331. To: redleghunter (#1326)
I'm sure he just earned a job on the post season roster...if there is such a roster next week:)
#1334. To: CZ82 (#1331)
#1344. To: redleghunter (#1334)
#1346. To: CZ82 (#1344)
As far as position players go Beltre, "Evis", Odor, Moreland, Fielder, DD, Hamilton, Choo, Giminez, Napoli, Stubbs, and Alberto. I wish I had different choices for the last 2 but there just aren't any...
#1348. To: redleghunter (#1346)
#1351. To: CZ82 (#1348)
I'll say it again I REALLY DON"T LIKE THE OPTIONS THEY HAVE!!!
#1360. To: redleghunter (#1351)
Pitching has been an issue all season especially the BP. But those two additions did wonders.
#1363. To: CZ82 (#1360)
Replies to Comment # 1363.
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