Doug Mathis called up

by Adam J. Morris on May 11, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

DFA'ing Ben Broussard meant that the Rangers had an open spot on their 40 man roster.

It is apparently being filled by Doug Mathis, who is being called up to give the Rangers a long man in the bullpen, after Josh Rupe and Frankie Francisco each threw a lot yesterday.

Mathis is a guy who showed up on the radar last season because he's a strike-throwing sinkerballer, and has been pretty solid in AAA so far this year.

He's a guy like Luis Mendoza...profiles as a back of the rotation guy or middle reliever as best, but is probably pretty close to being ready.

Evan Grant says either Travis Metcalf will be optioned, or Kevin Millwood will be d.l.'d.

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Interesting...

so if Millwood goes on the DL who gets his 1 or 2 starts?

Rupe, Mathis, or would they call up the Pirate again?

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on May 11, 2008 11:19 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Murray

Could he not be pulled back due to the rulebook?

Rangers Farm Probables

by shroomer on May 11, 2008 11:21 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Metcalf

With Vasquez and Duran, isn’t Metcalf a little redundant, especially when you consider he can only play third?

by Excel Hearts Choi on May 11, 2008 11:28 AM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Yes

He was up to give the Rangers a backup IF while Young’s back was bothering him.

He was likely to get sent down once Byrd came back anyway.

by Adam J. Morris on May 11, 2008 11:39 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Okay...

Let’s assume Metcalf goes down, which probably means they think the Millwood injury is not that serious. What if, however, Millwood needs to go on the DL. How does the retroactive DL stint work?

by Excel Hearts Choi on May 11, 2008 12:03 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

It is retroactive...

...to the day he last pitched…

I’d guess they’d d.l. Millwood and recall Murray (who can be recalled less than 10 days after being sent down because of Millwood going on the d.l.), then send down Mathis to make room for Byrd.

The other alternative would just be to d.l. Millwood next week when Byrd is ready to be activated, and have Mathis take Millwood’s spot in the rotation, although they don’t need someone to take Millwood’s spot in the rotation until the 20th. And actually, by then, Murray will have been down for 10 days anyway, so they could recall him and send down Mathis, if they wanted.

by Adam J. Morris on May 11, 2008 12:06 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Check out the big brain on Brad

Dalton

by jparks77 on May 11, 2008 12:22 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Do you want Byrd on this team?

"I hope it's a special dumb person hell so that I don’t have to meet up with you after I die."

- The D-tron

by Chase Irwin on May 11, 2008 1:05 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

the deal with byrd

i don’t mind byrd on the team but i’d rather boggs get the majority of AB’s than Byrd. But what are the chances of that happening?

Rare Gnats Sex

by ab03 on May 11, 2008 1:38 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Thanks, Adam.

"I hope it's a special dumb person hell so that I don’t have to meet up with you after I die."

- The D-tron

by Chase Irwin on May 11, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Well...

considering they are already jokingly calling Byrd “Wally Pip” I think Boggs would have to play his wat out of the lineup first.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on May 11, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yes

The team, as currently constructed, as a bench that consists of a backup catcher, a backup first baseman, and two utility infielders.

Having Metcalf and Duran both up is superfluous. One of them should go down to make room for Byrd. Or if not Byrd, some backup OF.

by Adam J. Morris on May 11, 2008 2:11 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I can agree with that

do you suspect that they’ll be able to fetch something useful for him at the deadline, provided he plays at “100%”?

Byrd is certainly superfluous, himself, going forward, imo. JMJ may even need a look before the year’s out: 1200 OPS in OKC, with just 2 k’s in 48 PA’s, but only 2 BB’s.

"I hope it's a special dumb person hell so that I don’t have to meet up with you after I die."

- The D-tron

by Chase Irwin on May 11, 2008 2:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Here's the thing

Barring the Rangers continuing to play well and getting into the race, Bradley will likely be dealt in July.

At that point, you’ve got an outfield of (presumably) Boggs, Hamilton and Murphy, no DH, and Chris Shelton at 1B (since I think Cat gets dealt in July as well).

If you have Byrd up as your 4th outfielder, you still need another bat, maybe two, in the mix. And you are still playing Boggs and Murphy every day.

You could call up JMJ and Chris Davis, if they deserved it, and still need Byrd (or if not him, Jason Ellison or someone like that).

by Adam J. Morris on May 11, 2008 2:31 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

That outfield

has got to be plus plus, defensively. Perhaps it is average, offensively, in aggregate.

You don’t give Botts or Cruz one last shot ahead of an Ellison? I see your point, though.

"I hope it's a special dumb person hell so that I don’t have to meet up with you after I die."

- The D-tron

by Chase Irwin on May 11, 2008 3:05 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

DH after the deadline...

I believe MaxRam is putting in his application for that job right now.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on May 11, 2008 7:42 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Chances are

Mathis will hold his own. It may be the 12th of Never before the entire rotation is healthy.

...and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on May 11, 2008 12:16 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Please explain

How does Mathis “profile as a back of the rotation guy or middle reliever at best.”

What is the profile of such a pitcher, and how exactly does Mathis fit that particular profile?

by bronco28 on May 11, 2008 12:17 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

back of rotation

to me, the definition is a guy whos average. has ok stuff, nothing overwhelming but can hold his own and eat some innings

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 12:19 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

is that what Adam meant?

Or are you guessing that’s what he meant?

by bronco28 on May 11, 2008 12:53 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

well

i was just giving my thoughts on what ive always heard a back of the rotation guy is considered to be, i dont know what he did or did not mean.

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 1:16 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

That is what a back of the rotation starter is

When you have a starter that has average stuff, average command and puts up average numbers in the minor leagues, they almost always profile as a back of the rotation guy. To be a front of the rotation guy, you need better stuff and command than Mathis has. And if you fail as a back of the rotation starter, you are destined for middle relief since you wouldn’t have the stuff to be a late innings reliever.

by uthornfan on May 11, 2008 1:34 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

well it also means

(usually) that you can throw more than 2 major league pitches

Rare Gnats Sex

by ab03 on May 11, 2008 1:39 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

mathis

he looked good to me in frisco for the most part, but had a few bad starts.
i cant remember what he throws, he didnt strike me as a groundballer like mendoza

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 1:42 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

he's not really

he’s a 4-pitch guy who happens to throw a sinker

the sinker is probably his most consistent pitch, but he’s a guy who mixes things up pretty good and has the ability to sit 93 mph with a 4-seamer, snap off a good curve, pull the string on a nice change and break a slider out of the zone with effect

but it’s good to know I shouldn’t expect anything more than back or the rotation or middle relief at best

by bronco28 on May 11, 2008 4:20 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

mathis

i know jamey is real high on him.
just from what i saw in frisco, im not expecting more than a #4 or #5 type starter from him (not that its a bad thing really)

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 4:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Very true

by uthornfan on May 11, 2008 1:43 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

pitcher callups

just had a thought, all these young back of the rotation / middle relief guys being brought up this season and no sign of loe. what does that say about his status in the organization at this point?

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 1:43 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

It says that with a few exceptions, he has never shown he can contribute consistently in the majors

by uthornfan on May 11, 2008 1:44 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

loe

i dunno, i think he’s a pretty good long/middle relief guy. but him as a starter was kind of a failed experiment

"When we're mad we'll use our words. Then the rest of the world will play nice with us. And the only boom-booms will be in our pants." - Ralph Wiggum

by rentz on May 11, 2008 1:45 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

He hasn't

pitched very well down there, not making the choice real difficult.

...and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on May 11, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I suspect he'll be traded

he could be useful to someone in the LR/MR role, imo.

"I hope it's a special dumb person hell so that I don’t have to meet up with you after I die."

- The D-tron

by Chase Irwin on May 11, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Loe

My daughter says she Loe’s him!

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

I soloed in the mile high club.

by Sr Horsedooty on May 11, 2008 1:52 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Mendoza

If Mathis comes up and pitches well, it would certainly be a tough break for Mendoza, bc they profile as very similar pitchers. That poor guy finally got his break and then got injured. He is probably in line behind a number of other guys (Feldman, Murray, and soon Hurley) at this point. Of course, at the rate our starters are dropping, that means he should be up by July.

by clark on May 11, 2008 1:55 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs