Saturday morning things
by Adam J. Morris on May 17, 2008 10:05 AM CDT
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PrintMay 17, and the Rangers can get to .500 with a win today. Who would have imagined that a month ago?
Evan Grant takes a closer look at Ian Kinsler's key 7th inning steal, with Grant saying that Kinsler had figured out a hesitation in Astro pitcher Wesley Wright's delivery that made stealing a good bet. I know folks have questioned Kinsler's baseball IQ -- and not without reason, given some of the mental errors he's made in the field -- but his stolen base percentage the past couple of seasons is unreal, and suggests someone who doesn't just have speed, but understands pitchers and knows when to go.
Over in the S-T, Jeff Wilson says Josh Hamilton is pretty good. Hamilton's May OPS is just 12 points lower than his OPS in April, when he was named player of the month.
On the injury front, Hank Blalock hopes to play in extended spring for a few games this coming week, then be activated for the weekend series against the Indians. Luis Mendoza, meanwhile, will be making a rehab start for Frisco tomorrow.
I go to my first Ranger game of the season tonight. Hopefully, I'll see the team hit the .500 mark.
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may ops
whats crazy is that coming into yesterday it was 699.
he raised it 260 points with one game.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
My first game of the season, too...
Normally I try to force myself not to go to many games from OKC, with gas costs, drive times, late starts, etc., but I was watching the game Monday or Tuesday and got so fired up I had to get tickets. My brother’s going with me, and he’s really jacked about it. He’d been stuck in North Dakota for about six years before moving here recently.
If this game is half as good as last night’s, I’ll be pretty happy.
a question I need answered?
when is the last time the Rangers wore the “traditional” white home jersey?
you know….white top, white pants.
Nothing looks better, cleaner, or sharper than the white home uni.
I’m just wondering if it is still in the rotation?
That Texas flag on the players arm( I think the this is on the blue top) is the largest patch Ive ever seen on a jersey…..rediculous.
FYI…..I prefer the all grey road jersey as well, and think a team should ideally have only 2 jerseys…three at an absolute maximum.
Tuning in these days you have no idea what the Rangers will be wearing.
Please forgive any and all typos, mispellings, etc.
Your kindess in this matter is appreciated.
by red shoe ranger on May 17, 2008 12:44 PM CDT reply actions
Jerseys
I think they should have 3. white, blue and grey. the sleeveless ones have got to go.
"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
Although
I have no business joining the fashion police, the sleeveless are my favorite (probably because I relate to the sleeveless ‘muscle shirts’ the Reds wore in the 60’s and 70’s). These are poorly cut, though, since the shoulder top seam goes out a little too far and is less like an extra wide strap than those of the old Reds. And I favor all white or all silver/gray, even though the sleeved blues seem to be a popular choice of the starting pitchers (they decide night to night what to wear).
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
by Ed Coffin on May 17, 2008 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions
i like the sleeveless
and the blue ones are my favorite.
i dont see any reason i need to be able to predict what the rangers will be wearing. as long as they dont get too crazy with it, ive no problem with the number of unis.
Gerald Laird is my hero.
I like the blue top....
and I like the flag patch….
I do think they need to mix it up maybe a little more, but our jerseys have grown on me.
probably just in time for them to change.
The regular sleeved whites and greys are my least favorite
But it’s primarily because of the horrible drop shadow.
unies
don’t the starting pitchers get the call on which uni top they want to wear? I recall hearing Josh or Tom say that last year. Wonder if it still holds true?
¡yo soy Horsedooty!
I soloed in the mile high club.
by Sr Horsedooty on May 17, 2008 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions
That is typically how it works at all levels of baseball
so I would assume it is still true with the Rangers.
There's nothing rediculous about the Texas flag on the sleeves
Geez. Come on. This is Texas, man.
That might be the coolest shoulder patch in the bigs. It’s a lot better than the fat friar on the Padres jerseys, or the stupid elephant on the A’s sleeves. And, unlike the stuff other teams decorate their uni’s with, it actually MEANS something.
A Lonestar in California - 2.0
David Murphy rocks, so Ellsbury can just go get himself a taco or something.
John Mayberry
his splits are weird so far in AAA. He’s murdering right handed pitching and struggling against left-handers…
"Popularity is fleeting. … Principles are forever." - George W. Bush
stealing bases
It’s proactive, he’s part of the game and he’s concentrating more. Defensively, he’s in a reactive position, and if he concentrates like he does when he’s stealing bases, then, yeah, keep him at 2B. That’s a big IF though.
"Popularity is fleeting. … Principles are forever." - George W. Bush
Doug Mathis
Apparently he’s getting his first big league start on Tuesday per Todd Willis at MLB.com.
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080517&content_id=2716242&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex
baseBALLIN!
where does everyone see Mathis in the future?
Is he a back of the rotation pitcher or long reliever? I really dont know. Also I’ve been to a lot of Rochester Red Wings games so far this year and have finally seen Lariano pitch as well as Humber. For one, Lariano is for real. His stuff was dominant the other day. He did allow three runs though. I wish he was in our farm system.
Humber on the other hand, is terribly overrated. He has alright stuff, but I cant see him being any more than a spot starter/long reliever. Thoughts?
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
I like him in middle relief
His claim to fame is having a deeper repertoire than a lot of prospects, with the two breaking balls and all, and that typically equates to starter material. But he obviously did not dominate in the minors with that nice selection of pitches, and I really like the trouble he’s given guys throwing all of those pitches at them for an inning or so. I wonder if he couldn’t be a real asset in middle relief, and I suspect that he’d just scrape by in the back of a rotation. I also think that the energy he brings out of the pen is condusive to that role.
by Brett Perryman on May 17, 2008 2:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Feldman
What’s your take, Z? Is the hype from Connor legitimate?
I know his repertoire is different from Drese, but I keep thinking of Drese with Feldman.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on May 17, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm
I don’t know how you couldn’t like the way he’s performed so far. I wish that they hadn’t invoked Halladay’s name, because that could give people the complete wrong idea, but those are hard, good pitches. Guys with great power sinkers don’t always need a whole lot else, but I would think that at least one of those offspeed pitches has to become a consistent threat for Feldman to sustain quality long term. I always think of Drese (he obviously has a lot of bearing in this case) too, but also Rodriguez, Tejeda, and all of the guys who had pretty good stuff and showed quality for a short period before becoming basically worthless. I’m trying to not get excited, but it’s tough not to be a little bit excited when you watch him throw those pitches, watch the kinds of trouble guys have with him and the kinds of swings they’re taking, and then the kind of contact they’re making. And you like that 2+ GB%, at least independent of our defensive personnel.
But I guess what makes me somewhat optimistic is that those really do seem to be tough pitches, and he seems to command them much better than our flashes in the pan did theirs.
by Brett Perryman on May 17, 2008 2:24 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree
If you have a good enough sinker, you can succeed. But if you look at the best sinker ballers (Brandon Webb for instance) they have great breaking stuff and can get a strikeout when they need it. That is primarily why I think Mendoza, Feldman and Loe will probably end up as relievers, because they don’t have the breaking stuff to put hitters away when they have to.
Humber was completely different before surgery
When he was at Rice, he threw 95-97 with an absolute hammer of a curveball and great control. After being injured shortly after leaving Rice (as just about every Rice pitcher is) he has never been the same. His curveball no longer has any sharpness, his velocity is more often than not in the high 80s and he has never gotten his command back. He is similar to Clint Everts, in that both were great prospects who never recovered from surgery.
About Evan's story...
He made good points about Kinsler, but to talk about Ian at the expense of Josh is a bit unfair to the CF. The story of this game was Hamilton’s domination and power, and I would have loved to see 10 paragraphs of drooling admiration.
II Cor. 4:17-18
I hope
Chan Ho has a long memory and a short temper
/V\
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
by Ed Coffin on May 17, 2008 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions
First game of the season last night for me
got home from school and went up there and had a blast. Hamilton looked amazing and boggs got everything going early. The eighth inning was amazing. The stadium looked pretty full and there is nothing better than walking out after the game and seeing all the astro’s fans walk with their head down.
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