This week's DMN Rangers newsletter

by Adam J. Morris on May 21, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

Evan Grant has a new Rangers newsletter up, with a whole lot of good stuff in it this week...

The leadoff item deals with C.J. Wilson's struggles and the suggestion that he may be a little smarter than you'd prefer your closer to be...

Also a lot of talk about how Hank Blalock switching positions impacts Frank Catalanotto, Chris Davis, and Blalock's future with the team, the possibility of Michael Young moving to third base, strikeout pitchers vs. pitch-to-contact guys in the minors, A.J. Murray, and more...

Check it out...

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Well

It’s about time the site was back up. I can’t start working until I get the morning post.

What happened to my old signature?

by WyoRanger on May 21, 2008 11:28 AM CDT 0 recs

yep.

But I want to comment on the Nolan thread, but it isn’t letting me…

by JBImaknee on May 21, 2008 11:31 AM CDT up 0 recs

Nolan

I scheduled this post, and the Nolan post, to go up this morning, but with the server going down, it put both of them up simultaneously when the sites came back up.

So I pulled the Nolan post down, and it will go back up at noon. I want some spacing between the two posts.

by Adam J. Morris on May 21, 2008 11:32 AM CDT up 0 recs

I wanted to comment as well.

something along the lines of that’s often why great players don’t make great coaches and that’s because they don’t understand what it’s like to be a player that doesn’t have their ability.

by OKC Ranger Fan on May 21, 2008 11:34 AM CDT up 0 recs

Wilson

I don’t think being smart has anything to do with it. Greg Maddux is perhaps the smartest pitcher whoever lived, and I doubt he’d be letting things slip away like Wilson has been. BGL’s problem is just being obsessive – the inability to put blinders on and focus on the task at hand has nothing to do with brains. If he were an idiot he’d still be dwelling on it.

Along those lines, I’ve noticed Ranger pitchers have a tendency to allow one bad call to send them into a tailspin – you have to wonder if Connor knows how to handle it.

Bottom line: I think dealing with these obsessions is a correctable skill, as opposed to a fundamental problem with CJ.

by JBImaknee on May 21, 2008 11:30 AM CDT 0 recs

CJ needs a little Ricky Vaughn

go after hitters with the confidence that they won’t touch his stuff.

by OKC Ranger Fan on May 21, 2008 11:36 AM CDT up 0 recs

Along those lines, I’ve noticed Ranger pitchers have a tendency to allow one bad call to send them into a tailspin – you have to wonder if Connor knows how to handle it.

Padilla seems to be better about that this year.

by Inkara1 on May 21, 2008 1:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

CJ

To be fair, one run leads actually get blown by closers a lot. Obviously it sucked, but I still think it’s too early to panic with Wilson. I hope they keep him on a longer leash. Fortunately it sounds like they are doing that.

"You’re the only here who contributes schtick only." - brettgardner

by trza on May 21, 2008 12:12 PM CDT 0 recs

Hurley

I disagree whole-heartedly with Mr. Grant in his newsletter about Eric Hurley. Hurley has always been a hard-throwing, strikeout pitcher. He has consistently led his leagues through the minors in strikeouts. His inability to keep the ball in the ballpark has nothing to do with anything other than Texas trying to turn him into a “contact pitcher.” Can I ask why you would turn a pitcher, coming from high school, that can throw 94-99 and turn him into a “contact pitcher?” It seems as though he will get ahead of a guy 0-2, 1-2, then start nibbling INSIDE trying to get the batter to hit something weak. If he doesn’t miss all way inside, it’s left over the middle of the plate and hit hard. Why not go right after them and strike him out? This may also have something to do with his high pitch counts through 5 or 6 innings.

by sidebar54 on May 21, 2008 12:50 PM CDT 0 recs

He doesn't throw 94-99

At least repeatedly, but point taken …

"When I am pissed off, I get angry." - Miles 5/06/08

by Chase Irwin on May 21, 2008 12:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

He did....

Coming out of high school….....

by sidebar54 on May 21, 2008 1:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, but

you see that with most pitchers, don’t you?

It’s probably unsustainable to throw 94-99 if you can’t locate well. I highly doubt that Hurley had to locate much in high school if he was throwing that kind of heat. Beavan’s velo drop comes to mind and you don’t hear about Kiker sitting at 97 much either.

I don’t know, imo, it seems like pitchers refine their mechanics (often including a loss of velocity) in order to repeat their delivery healthily and efficiently.

"When I am pissed off, I get angry." - Miles 5/06/08

by Chase Irwin on May 21, 2008 1:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

89-91

without great command of the zone, and very inconsistent off speed stuff.

Formerly known as OKRangerFan

by B_Black on May 21, 2008 1:10 PM CDT up 0 recs

All I can do...

is laugh at this post….. you, sir, have never seen him pitch….. that is obvious by your statement.

by sidebar54 on May 21, 2008 1:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

OK.... Been down this road before.

http://www.lonestarball.com/2008/4/8/390826/game-7-game-day-thread#4428089

http://www.lonestarball.com/2008/3/9/154522/0195#2718805

http://www.lonestarball.com/2008/4/9/390945/4-8-minors#4440228

I was at the Redhawks game last night also. Want to know how Madrigal looked? Pretty damn good with a fastball well located from 93-96 and a solid slider and change. Also just for everyones FYI, JMJ missed his fifth home run by a few inches. He bounced it off the top of the wall at about the 410’ – 415’ area of left center.

Formerly known as OKRangerFan

by B_Black on May 21, 2008 1:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

The book has always been on Hurley in the past two years....

starts at 89-92 in the first two innings…...

by the third, he is 92-94…....

by the fifth it’s consistent 93-96…...

by sidebar54 on May 21, 2008 1:16 PM CDT 0 recs

Well...

If that’s truly the case, maybe he should spend more time warming up before his starts.

by Topgun22 on May 21, 2008 1:52 PM CDT up 0 recs

Are you a relative or something?

You seem to come out of the woodwork every time Hurley’s awesomeness is questioned.

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

by t ball on May 21, 2008 2:06 PM CDT up 0 recs

Nope....

just a big fan…..though I do wish I was!.... there are a couple of guys I am big fans of …. Castillo, Hunter, and Komentani…. for the most part….... I just have my biases…. my apologies

by sidebar54 on May 21, 2008 4:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

Believe me

I couldn’t wait until he got to Oklahoma last year. I was pretty excited about him, but after seeing him pitch several times now, both this year and last, my excitement has diminished considerably. Granted, I have only seen him during a stretch of his career where things have not been going well for him. I not saying he will never be a part of the major league staff, it just my believe that he wont’ turn out to be more than a 3-5 starter. He is not the ace everyone is looking for.

Formerly known as OKRangerFan

by B_Black on May 21, 2008 4:31 PM CDT 0 recs