Saturday morning things
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 9:32 AM CDT
57 comments
Yeah, yesterday was an ugly game. Vicente Padilla went south all of the sudden in the 4th, after having me thinking no hitter possibilities after 3 innings because of how good his stuff was. Poor defense. Bats could have been better. Bah.
And the pitching matchups the next two days aren't real encouraging. Bah.
Still...the team is at .500 right now. It could be worse.
Richard Durrett's game story focuses on the defensive miscues. Bah.
Dustin Nippert is supposedly heading to the d.l. to make room for Luis Mendoza today. He really looked hurt yesterday, I know. Eddie Guardado and Jamey Wright are also d.l. possibilities.
Scott Feldman gets the start on Sunday, and Josh Rupe is expected to be sent down to make room for him.
I know there's been a lot of complaining about Feldman coming up, but think about it...who are the other options? Sidney Ponson and John Patterson aren't on the 40 man roster. Neither is Eric Hurley, who has struggled in his first 2 AAA starts. A.J. Murray, up until this season, hasn't started regularly since 2005, and had command issues in spring training (and before you make the "he's young and we're supposed to be rebuilding" argument in favor of Murray, keep in mind he's a year older than Feldman).
And Feldman has a stellar minor league track record, and coming into the 2007 season, had a career 3.38 major league ERA in 50 innings, with 34 Ks against just 12 walks.
It seems as if Feldman's awful 2007 season -- and no doubt, he wasn't good last year -- has people ready to write him off as useless, which I think is real premature. Calling him up for a spot start, given how well he pitched late in spring training and for Frisco, makes sense, I think.
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problems with this team
as I see it there are three problems with this team right now judging by last nights game.
they can't pitch
they can't hit and
they can't play defense
other than that it looks pretty good 10 games in
yo soy Horsedooty!
I soloed in the mile high club.
by Sr Horsedooty on Apr 12, 2008 10:32 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Feldman
Well, the career Minors numbers are 2.57 ERA, 112 K / 48 BB, 140.2 IP but who's counting?
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on Apr 12, 2008 10:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Totally agree on Feldman and Murray
I guess my only question is, are they sure that Feldman shouldn't have been in the AAA rotation? It probably would have meant not signing Ponson, but as good as Feldman had looked, it might be more important to have him in AAA. Anyway, I'm a little anxious to see him Sunday. I didn't get to watch him in the exhibition game, so I haven't seen him pitch with his new (old?) arm angle.
by Brett Perryman on Apr 12, 2008 11:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Feldman's arm slot
was changed by the Rangers shortly after he was drafted. Then, he proceeded to fly through the minors, and had some success in the bigs.
Last year, things fell apart for him...then the Rangers suggested this winter that he go back to the 3/4 arm slot. So far, he has had success with that approach, and picked up his velocity as a result. I wonder if the new motion is just more natural for him.
I predict he will pitch well, but run out of gas a bit early.
...it's the weekend, so why the hell not?
by Rodney on Apr 12, 2008 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The reason that I used the ? on the old
was that I didn't recall if what they switched him away from was actually a 3/4s slot (or if it was higher). If you're saying that it was his old slot, I think that's good. The low slot worked well enough I guess, but he had promise with his previous delivery.
by Brett Perryman on Apr 12, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
In 2005 C.J. Wilson was useless with a 1-7 record, a 6.94 era in 48 IP, now he is the most valuable part to the back end of our bullpen. So let's not give up on a young arm just cause of a bad year.
by bigbadleroybrown on Apr 12, 2008 11:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
some people might look at the CJ experiment
as a good reason why you shouldn't call up a AA pitcher to spot start when he's not ready. Aren't those outings one of the main reasons CJ got relegated to the bullpen as opposed to the starting rotation? Doubt the same thing would happen to Feldman but still.
scap load or die
by ab03 on Apr 12, 2008 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Defense
They SUCK at it., and it's not like you have a team full of sluggers to make up for it. There are some pretty good athletes, though. Much was made about Washington being such a defensive guru...why in the hell hasn't this team improved then? It's fundamental baseball. Catch the ball and throw it to the right place. I understand that not every player can be a Gold Glover, but they are professionals and should be fielding their positions better than this. It's embarrassing just to watch, so I'm sure they're really, really embarrassed.
Is there a coaching problem? Same thing last year out of spring training, if you recall. They were horrible defensively to start the year (probably worse than this year), and seemed to get better as the season progressed. There are a lot of things I like about Washington, but can he run a camp?
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 12:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, not really
Young is a bad defensive shortstop, and Cat is a below-average defensive left fielder. Blalock hasn't been good defensively at third base in the past, although he supposedly has made strides with Washington working with him.
However, I don't think you can say, overall, that this is a team that sucks at defense.
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
nope
which is what makes yesterday so frustrating. they don't have to play cat in the field and not playing cat would have saved a few runs. and, it's not even that they have to play cat in the field to get him playing time because he can just DH on the days Bradley plays the field (who actually is a good fielder).
And while Young is bad defensively, he usually doesn't make the mental mistakes he's been making. Kinsler - a little harder to say. He seems like he might be prone to mental mistakes on a regular basis, Soriano style.
Either way, you look at this defense and you you think that if they were played at their optimal positions and everybody did what they were capable of doing, Rangers would be in good shape.
scap load or die
by ab03 on Apr 12, 2008 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Throw in Kinsler
If 3/4 of your infield is bad (I don't know about Broussard) then I think it's fair to say that the defense overall is as well. Good outfield defense is nice to have but the difference between good defense vs. bad is much more noticeable and important in the infield.
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
by DaheelzCM on Apr 12, 2008 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think Kinsler is a bad defensive player
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
He's certainly not good
You can't make that many errors and be good. He has the ability to be very good, I think, but he's not and that's the bottom line.
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, I think he is
And yes, you can.
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've watched every game this year...
...with the exception of the home opener.
The guy has made a lot of mistakes out there. I don't see how you can call him a good defensive player at this point. Yes, he's made some very good plays, particularly the one OC brought up. It really was a gem and that leads me to believe he CAN and probably WILL be good, but he's not right now because he simply makes too many errors.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this, I guess.
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
in Thursday's postgame interview...
...Wash predicted that Ian wouldn't commit more than 10 errors this year.
by oc on Apr 12, 2008 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well...
He's on pace for 48 so he had better work on that.
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
by DaheelzCM on Apr 12, 2008 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
259 MLB games
38 errors.
The previous two years he made 35 in 249 games. Averaging about 125 games and 18 errors per season.
Great defensive 2B right there, let me tell ya. He's got talent, but steady he is not. I think he'll come around in time but to say he's a good defensive player right now borders on the delusional. Lewin says stuff like "when the game is on the line he makes the play", but guess what? EVERY out counts. EVERY addtional pitch thrown because of an error or misplay counts. Second base is too important a position to screw around with, especially with so many ground ball pitchers (and pitchers who are just plain bad).
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here's the problem
to say he's a good defensive player right now borders on the delusional.
That's because you are only looking at error totals. How many errors a player has isn't the sole determinant as to whether he's a good defensive player or not.
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
A stat head
saying stats don't matter? I'm shocked.
by AirJordan on Apr 12, 2008 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You read that sentence and took out of it
that stats don't matter?
by Brett Perryman on Apr 12, 2008 8:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm calling him a not-good defensive player
strictly off of what I've seen with my eyeballs so far this season.
I wouldn't call him a "bad defensive player", cause I think the tools are definitely there and I have confidence that he'll get better as the season goes along, but he certainly hasn't been good.
He's got a lot of Soriano in him, imo. The ability to make some great plays, then boot an easy one. Right now, from what I've seen, he's not a good defensive player.
"Sabean did a good job on selling high on Liriano." Excel Hearts Choi
by thedirkatron on Apr 12, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Soriano
I don't think that's an apt comparison. Soriano made mental mistakes, but was also a bad defensive player with bad range. I don't think he made particularly great plays.
Kinsler is a guy who showed really good range after coming off the d.l. last year, and if he continues to do that, I can live with an above-average error total.
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2008 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
True
Soriano sucked. Ian doesn't. I shouldn't have invoked Soriano's name.
It's probably the small sample size that has me anti-Ian's defense right now. I didn't have the MLB package last year, so I didn't get to see much of him and I'm mainly going off of what I've seen so far. Ian's made some really great plays, but has also not made a few mental mistakes that really pissed me off.
But like I said, I think Ian's got the tools to be really good defensively and I have confidence that he will be.
"Sabean did a good job on selling high on Liriano." Excel Hearts Choi
by thedirkatron on Apr 12, 2008 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry I used the word "delusional".
I guess I still have a penchant for the dramatic.
Anyway, I said earlier about the team as a whole: "I know that there's more to defense than errors, but leading the league in them is pretty disturbing. That's a lot of extra outs."
I know there's more to it than that. Like thedirkatron says, I've been watching the games and that's largely what I'm basing it on.
Errors are an important number, though. Unless a bad scoring decision was involved, then for every error there's one more definite out a pitcher has to get, or a baserunner that gets moved along when he shouldn't have. That's a pretty big deal, especially when you're the Texas Rangers and your pitchers historically have trouble getting outs as it is.
Kinsler does have good range. Pretty good arm and decent footwork, too, usually. I believe I said he has talent, and that's what makes it all the more frustrating.
Anyway, he doesn't make enough great plays to offset the number of errors he makes, in my opinion. There's a problem at second base, at least for now. I like the guy. He can certainly hit. I think he'll improve but until he does, it's a problem.
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
well... it depends what ian shows up...
...the one who pulled that gem out of his cap in Game 2 on thursday...
or the one who tries to be too cute with his glovework.
by oc on Apr 12, 2008 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Broussard
He seems pretty average to me. Big downgrade from the first basemen we've been fortunate enough to see here in the past, but he's probably adequate. Have yet to see anything from him that would put him in the "strong" category.
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Blalock
I'll give you that...it does look like he's improved. And I heard HItzges calling Kinsler a butcher the other day and I don't think that's true, but he should be better than he is. Young isn't good. And if you're not good up the middle, you suck. Laird is okay behind the plate and very good at throwing, and Hamilton looks great. But I'm a believer in strong defense. Strong defensive players:
Hamilton
Bradley
Laird
You can't put Kinsler in that group. Byrd would be based on his arm alone but I have a feeling we're not going to be seeing much more of that guy. And speaking of that, Hamilton and Bradley could be banished to the DL at a moment's notice.
Don't they lead the league in errors as a team, though? I know that there's more to defense than errors, but leading the league in them is pretty disturbing. That's a lot of extra outs.
by Black Francis on Apr 12, 2008 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's early
There is no such thing as global warming. David Murphy was cold, so he turned the sun up.
by SarasotaRanger on Apr 12, 2008 3:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yep
It's early, alright, but the games they've thrown away because of bad defense count just the same as the ones in September. This is not how major league baseball is played. They should get this kind of shit out of their system in spring training and be ready to play on opening day. There's no excuse for this.
by Black Francis on Apr 13, 2008 2:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
First through the order
Am I the only one that's thinking Padilla looked good the first time through the order because of the movement of his slider? As soon as the Jays got a second chance, they teed off on it. The pitch just wasn't that good the second time through the order.
Where were Padilla's other pitches? That's the kind of stuff I'd expect from a bullpen pitcher, not a starter.
Derek
Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!
by DerekSTheRed on Apr 12, 2008 12:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Padilla was rarely throwing a slider
that pitch in the low 90's w/ about 2 feet of movement on it is his 2 seam fastball.
And the Blue Jays never really teed off on it, they hit several balls that a good defense would have converted into outs, but our defense turned them into singles and doubles.
Pedro: "I wasn't cockfighting, I just have a wide stance."
by tricer on Apr 12, 2008 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
pitch
I called it a slider because that's what Grieve called it. Whatever the pitch was, he fell in love with it and forgot to mix in his other pitches. Maybe teed off was a bad turn of the phrase. The O's just waited on that one pitch and had a lot of success because they knew what was coming.
Derek
Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!
by DerekSTheRed on Apr 12, 2008 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The 40 rules all!
And with the 22nd overall selection the Dallas Cowboys select Jonathan Stewart.
by TheBZA on Apr 12, 2008 1:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Nippert on the DL
I know every team does it and it would be VERY hard to enforce but MLB needs to come up with some sort of criteria for DL moves with players who clearly aren't hurt.
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
by DaheelzCM on Apr 12, 2008 1:02 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Feldman
He can't be any worse as a starter than Jason Jennings.
by doolindalton on Apr 12, 2008 1:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
+1
There is no such thing as global warming. David Murphy was cold, so he turned the sun up.
by SarasotaRanger on Apr 12, 2008 3:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jamey Wright
Why is he a candidate for the DL? He pitched effectively in the second game of the doubleheader on Thursday night.
It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin
by txranger7 on Apr 12, 2008 1:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Rick Porcello
Two starts so far in high A, having turned 19 in December.
10 IP
5 H
4 R
0 ER
7 K / 2 BB
That hurts my feelings.
His next start would probably be tomorrow or Monday.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on Apr 12, 2008 1:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
dont frown my friend,
He still has a chance to flame out. I really didnt mind skipping over him in the draft.
Adam loves him some Lard
by NYTXFAN on Apr 12, 2008 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jeezy Chreezy
That's a nice start.
"Sabean did a good job on selling high on Liriano." Excel Hearts Choi
by thedirkatron on Apr 12, 2008 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Bryan Corey DFA'd by the sox,
god that deal makes it so much better now.
Adam loves him some Lard
by NYTXFAN on Apr 12, 2008 1:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I'm not sure NYTXFAN
counts as "a lot of complaining" =)
unless surprise is complaint.
but anyway... losing padilla v litsch partly on defensive mistakes with mendoza/feldman vs halladay/burnett coming up really hurts.
hard to see this series as winnable like the o's was after a game 1 loss.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
by DSheppard on Apr 12, 2008 2:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hopefully
Mendoza stays a ground ball machine, and Feldman shocks and awes. I sure hope the defense is overall better the rest of the series, but looking at the AL West, it's "standings soup". Oakland on top right now? Go figure.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
by Ed Coffin on Apr 12, 2008 2:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Gavin Floyd...
...had a no-hitter going into the 8th for the White Sox.
broken up by Renteria.
Tigers are losing 7-0. on their way to 2-9.
anybody worried about them?
by oc on Apr 12, 2008 2:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Their pitching
Pretty shaky. Willis might be hurt, Verlander's a mess, so's Robertson.
And the BP... Feels like 07 all over, waiting for Zumaya to ride in off the DL with that gasoline.
JD should at least be asking them what they'd offer for Frank.
Not that they have much...
They're a playoff team, though. A 2008 Detroit collapse would be like the Vince Coleman Mets or something.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on Apr 12, 2008 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Worried? No.
Pointing my finger and laughing? Yes.
by lonestarJon on Apr 12, 2008 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's really funny now
Dontrelle is hurt. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Right Jonny?
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
by DaheelzCM on Apr 12, 2008 5:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Has nothing to do with that
I posted that before AJM's note that D-Trainwreck was hurt. I picked the Indians to win the Central again for a reason - the Tigers are overrated.
They're the now the Texas Rangers of the ALC - great lineup, horrible pitching.
by lonestarJon on Apr 12, 2008 5:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Except...
"great lineup, horrible pitching" doesn't really describe the Rangers.
"I know you're a bit dense but no, it doesn't. Obviously lying isn't a problem for me."
by benmor78 on Apr 12, 2008 11:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think he was talking about...
the Rangers in the late 90's.
It's ironic that it has been the opposite this year though. I could get used to this good starting pitchg thing. Now if the situational hitting and defense would just come out, the Rangers will be looking good. Of course the pessimistic Ranger fan in me can see that happening and then the starting pitching going to shit, but we'll see.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
by slc ranger on Apr 13, 2008 12:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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