65 games

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 12:01 PM CDT Comment 65 comments

We are 65 games into the season, and the Rangers are 32-33 on the year.

Last year, game 65 was the low-water mark for the 2007 Rangers. After 65 games, the Rangers were 23-42, after an ugly 8-1 loss to Ian Snell and the Pirates.

This season, the Rangers are a game under .500. Last season, at this point, the Rangers were 19 games under .500. And looked to be about to be 20 games under, as they were facing a red-hot Tom Gorzelanny, with Kam Loe having been recalled from the minors to go up against him.

That game, of course -- this game -- ended up being a turning point in the season, with Loe going 8 shutout innings, and the Rangers -- with Jerry Hairston, Jr., playing center and leading off, Victor Diaz hitting cleaup, and Brad Wilkerson at first base -- won 6-0.

After that...well, it was a lot like after the Rangers were at 7-16 this season. The 2007 Rangers started winning series...taking 2 of 3 in Cincy, 2 of 3 at home against the Cubs and against the Astros, 2 of 3 in Detroit, a split of 4 in Boston, 2 of 3 at home against the Angels and against Baltimore, a split of a 6 game trip at Anaheim and Oakland...

Like this season, it wasn't a big long winning streak, but rather, a 2 steps forward, 1 step back sequence where the team slowly crept back from the bottom.

Hopefully, the Rangers will play from game 66 on in 2008 the way they played from game 66 on in 2007. And, really, the way they've played from about game 27 on this year.

It is just weird, to me, to look at where this team is now, and where the 2007 team was then, and think about how different the situations are, and how far this team has come from where it was 162 games ago. And how far it still has to go.

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You can mark the turning point

this year to the day that they told Botts there was no room at the inn.

Sharky said it, I believe it, that settles it

by DJCahill on Jun 9, 2008 12:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You are a sourpuss today

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

today?

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

by trza on Jun 9, 2008 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

"Typical woman. 'Give me' 'Give me' 'Give me'

I’ll give ya something.

1. A backhand
2. A stuffing
3. $500 if you promise never to post here again"

~ The Immortal, BG

by Chase Irwin on Jun 9, 2008 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The problem with that statement

is that the Rangers had a winning record with Botts in the line-up which was something that could be trended back to last August (when Botts was called up).

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

But what was the payroll?

I thought that was the magical key to baseball success?

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2007 Ranger payroll

was below Oakland, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Cincy but I was responding to Cahill’s take on Botts.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ah, I guess I was referring

to your consistant cries that we up the payroll by signing established players instead of constantly looking for “magic beans.”

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2007 Lineups

I’ve looked at a few 2007 line ups and couldn’t help but laugh. Farm system be damned, I can’t explain how much more excited I am about this 2008 team….

Joe Morgan: (On Jay Bruce) I think he will. He brings energy to the team, and besides that, he is a pretty good hitter.
Ken Tremendous: I like that the #1 reason he will help his team is: "energy," and the distant #2 reason is: "ability to hit baseballs."

by TheBZA on Jun 9, 2008 12:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I'll help you:

Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley.

There, that summed it up pretty well, eh :)

The 40 trumps all!!!

by thedirkatron on Jun 9, 2008 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

But it’s more the lack of these names that I love:

Diaz, Kata, Botts, Hairston, Koronka, Wilkerson

by TheBZA on Jun 9, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

JHJ

Jerry Hairston Jr. is now with CIN. In 124 ABs his line is .331/.375/.476. He has an OPS+ of 126. Go figure.

Brandon Boggs 2008 Texas Rangers ROY

by RangerMad on Jun 9, 2008 12:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

New package

[HGH]

"Typical woman. 'Give me' 'Give me' 'Give me'

I’ll give ya something.

1. A backhand
2. A stuffing
3. $500 if you promise never to post here again"

~ The Immortal, BG

by Chase Irwin on Jun 9, 2008 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Angle up

How deep is the slope upward? It is great that the Texas offense looks to be back in order. But when can anyone expect an ace to appear on the screen? Can any time make it in the playoffs without top shelf pitching? So when can we hope that the minor league pitching depth not just shows up but can take this team to the next level?

"Purity of heart is to will one thing" - Kierkegaard

by outofnace on Jun 9, 2008 12:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

ill be much more excited to watch again

when the rotation is millwood-padilla-hurley-harrison & gabbard/feldman.

not because i think those guys will be great and turn this into an instant playoff return. just more interesting to watch. at least initially =)

Bring up Justin Smoak

by DSheppard on Jun 9, 2008 12:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

how about

Millwood, Padilla, BMac, Hurley and Feldman? That rotation might good enough to make the playoffs in 2009.

Brandon Boggs 2008 Texas Rangers ROY

by RangerMad on Jun 9, 2008 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

im hoping for the former before bmaci s healthy

but yeah, bmac is definitely in any 5 man rotation we can field when he comes back if hes actually healthy.

Bring up Justin Smoak

by DSheppard on Jun 9, 2008 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Games 66-130 in 2007: 35-28

Homer forecast for 2008: 40-23

by rooster on Jun 9, 2008 12:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

With this defense and

the pitchers allowing as many walks as they have, it’s difficult to believe they can go on a 46-32 run like they did last year (after starting season 23-42).

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

This team’s defense is better than the 2007 team’s defense.

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Isn't that like saying Roseanne Barr

looks better today than she did in 1995?

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

You said:

With this defense and the pitchers allowing as many walks as they have, it’s difficult to believe they can go on a 46-32 run like they did last year (after starting season 23-42).

They did it with a worse defense last year, which is why I was confused by your comment abuot how with this defense, it is hard to believe they can play like that.

At what positions do you think the team is bad, defensively? I know you’ve been pretty adamant that Michael Young isn’t bad defensively…is there somewhere else where you think they are bad?

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Young is not

as bad as you portray him to be but decline is beginning to happen. Quite honestly, he’s been below average this year.

Kinsler is brutal at 2b and I’m not a big fan of Chris Shelton either. Blalock seemed fairly shaky when he was healthy which likely prompted the move to 1b.

Salty is not a very good defensive catcher either (like him as a hitter though).

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Defense

Kinsler is not brutal. We saw brutal for a few years when Soriano was here. Kinsler is by no means a gold glover but he makes more plays than alot of other 2B would ever be able to make. And Shelton is been damn good this year. Young is fine on plays he can get to but thats where he is lacking. His range is not very good and thus he doesn’t make alot of errors simply because he made a great play. His errors always seem to come at the wrong times though unlike Kinsler who seems to bear down when needed and have a brain fart in meaningless situations. Salty is a decent defensive catcher (throwing aside). He is still young so I can tack some of those miscues to being young. Laird is an above average defensive catcher with an above average arm.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Jun 9, 2008 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Upon further review

Young’s range appears to be above average (if I’m reading the baseballreference stats correctly).

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I find it funny

that you barely leave your battle of life and death with msh over on newberg to come over here.

But, once there’s a semi-optimistic post about a gradual improvement of the team, you come over and piss all over it.

Well done, at least you’re consistent with your bitterness.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Do you know of a historical

precedent set where a team not only led the league in errors and led the league in walks (like the Rangers are doing) and finished above .500?

I’ll be optimistic when circumstances warrant optimism.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 4:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2006

The Angels lead the AL in errors with 124. Final record: 89-73.

Piss on that.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes I know

they didn’t lead the league in walks, but to make a massive deal out of errors of all things is ridiculous.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Angels gave up

the fourth least walks in the AL that year but keep tyring.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK

So there’s a semi-optimistic post, hoping for better play.

And your bring your error stats and take a massive dump all over it.

It’s not like he stuck his kneck out there and said they’d easily do it.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So you couldn't find

a team that led the league in errors and walks that finished above .500?

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I only cared to look for 2 years

I’ll take your word for it.

But again, as much as you rail against the “sheep” for their blind support, you should be criticized for your constant skepticism. If it’s not payroll, it’s walks/errors, it’s timely hitting….god forbid someone make a post hoping for better play, which could include less walks and errors.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't really give a bleep

about criticism thrown my way.

I’m more interested in solid baseball takes that make me think.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 4:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, I get it

You can criticize other people all you want (and don’t even try to act innocent). But, when it’s thrown back at you, it’s not a solid baseball take, so it doens’t matter.

That makes alot of sense

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who am I

criticizing in here other than the Rangers?

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 4:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're right

You’re completely innocent. Except Rosanne is gonna be pissed.

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 9, 2008 4:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So

When you are talking about our terrible defense, it is the second baseman and the short side of the first base platoon?

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 1:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinsler has 12

errors in close to 60 games which means he is on pace for 32 errors this year.

Kinsler is fucking brutal (at least this year) and is beginning to make Soriano look like Bill Mazeroski. Yes, Kinsler has nice range but most of his errors come on very routine plays.

Ranger catchers are tied with Baltimore for the most errors.

Ranger 1b are second in errors committed.

Ranger RF’s are tied for most errors committed.

This defense sucks.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

RF errors?

please, we have well above average defense in right (and left) regardless of a couple extra errors.

Bring up Justin Smoak

by DSheppard on Jun 9, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So

When you say “this defense sucks,” you aren’t talking about Young.

However, Kinsler sucks, Laird and Salty suck, Murphy/Bradley/Hamilton suck in RF (because they’ve made 4 errors out there this season), and the Cat/Shelton first base platoon sucks.

Is that accurate?

by Adam J. Morris on Jun 9, 2008 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

errors

Erors don’t tell the whole story. Kinsler, along with the entire infield, had a horrible April. There is no denying that. But Kinsler has been far from brutal since then.

We got rid of our 1B problem(s) when Botts and Broussard were let go. Shelton had been error free until this weekend.

Our outfield is wonderful no matter how many errors they have. Ill take a few errors when they make the plays they have made to save runs.

And from what I recall those catcher errors are on throws to 2nd which has been a problem but Laird has made up for the most part by gunning down more than he has made an error on.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Jun 9, 2008 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wouldn't that be the same second baseman as last year, when we went 46-32?

by Inkara1 on Jun 9, 2008 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinsler missed

a month of that 46-32 streak with a broken foot.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinsler is lapping the field

in offense among AL 2b this year. If they don’t do well over the rest of the season it’s highly unlikely he’ll bear the blame.

...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on Jun 9, 2008 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love his offense

but he’s on pace to commit 30+ errors.

In Soriano’s worst year, he had 23 errrors.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

would you like his defense more

if he had below average range and 5 errors instead of above average range and 12 errors.?

Bring up Justin Smoak

by DSheppard on Jun 9, 2008 3:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd like for Kinsler to

keep the same range, throw his pitchers a few nuggets and make all the routine plays.

Kinsler’s errors come from an awful lot of very easy plays.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yes

and they usually come in meaningless situations with no consequences. Whereas when the game is on the line I almost want the ball to be hit to Kinsler because in those situations he is money.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Jun 9, 2008 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Like when he got eaten up

by the grounder Carl Crawford hit the other night?

I know that’s only one example, but that was a very important play at a very important time and he screwed the pooch right in the butt hole.

I’d love to see the stats to back your theory that Ian is a good second baseman cause most of errors come in unimportant situations. What exactly is the definition of a meaningless situation with no consequences?

The 40 trumps all!!!

by thedirkatron on Jun 9, 2008 7:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

id love every player to be perfect too.

Bring up Justin Smoak

by DSheppard on Jun 9, 2008 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm more worried about the pitching than the defense.

However, the team has withstood this brutal period of bullpen overuse, so maybe the rotation will catch a second wind for the next few months.

I’m really looking forward to getting BMac back.

I really wish I was an expert on infield defense and could see how MY might be positioned differently with and without Blalock. That might be the second most important story from the defense’s perspective, quite a ways behind the improvement of the OF.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2008 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

gagree

about infield defense but I thought that was this manager’s specialty?

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not really interested in assessing the performance, per se.

I’m really just interested to learn the nuts-and-bolts of what those guys do differently when different skill sets are on the field. Does MY position himself more towards the hole or need to range in a direction that he’s less comfortable when Blalock is on the field? That’s the sort of stuff I would like to learn about.

Whether or not the Rangers rip off 40 wins in the next 65 games depends entirely on the rotation, IMO.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2008 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You can't talk about pitching without talking about defense

Unless you have a strikeout pitcher, defense is going to play a large part into the performance of pitchers.

by Telegraph on Jun 9, 2008 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely

dead-on with this post.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Jun 9, 2008 3:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right, but you're missing the mark

focusing on errors. Not the be-all and end-all of rating defense. Kinsler is nothing special on defense, but I think he’s really about average, not terrible. Prone to the occasional gaff, but pretty reliable on most plays.

...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on Jun 9, 2008 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hot off the presses at BTF

-> insert standard disclaimer about statistics for rating defense here <-

Baseball Think Factory just posted an article about Ultimate Zone Ratings so far this year. UZR is one of the newer stats for rating defense and is more fine grained than Zone Rating and Range Factor for measuring a fielder’s range.

The Rangers rank last as a team in UZR. And at almost every position, a Ranger player is listed in the “Worst” category, and no Ranger appears in the “Best’ list.

I was surprised to see Vasquez listed as one of the worst 3B, since from what I’ve seen, his range and fielding skill seem at least above average, or even pretty good. I also was surprised to see Hamilton as the 2nd worst CF, behind only the aging Jim Edmunds.

by NorCalRangersFan on Jun 9, 2008 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The point here is that the defense seems fairly solid, and it seems to have improved

on the left side with Blalock out. I don’t know if that means MY has to cover less ground or what, but it does seem to have improved.

I’m not worried about the defense. It appears much improved over last year, at this point, though early in the season it looked horrendous. I’m worried about the starters walking people and lasting only 4-5 innings a game. If they can stay in the game into the 6th and 7th innings, the Rangers will be OK.

by rooster on Jun 9, 2008 3:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If the Rangers repeat last year from

here on out, they end up at 84-78. Possibly second in the division and about 8-10 games behind the Angels.

Brandon Boggs 2008 Texas Rangers ROY

by RangerMad on Jun 9, 2008 1:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

And not too far

from where most of us predicted they’d be, I imagine. However, I don’t think any of us could have predicted they’d get there by having the best offense in the league.

...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on Jun 9, 2008 2:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Relief Staff

The real question is whether our relievers will be anywhere as good as in 07. I feel that the current staff has been overused which contributes to their performance but wasn’t the 07 relief staff overused last year?

by mcgee48c on Jun 9, 2008 1:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

They were, which showed up at the end of the year

Now it’s showing up earlier… although as we can see in the WPA post today, Benoit was blowing games early on.

by Inkara1 on Jun 9, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think you are, but if you are disagreeing

If the overwork is showing up earlier, then it follows that the opportunity for overwork to effect our relievers more later this year is present. That would result in degraded performance by the pen from last year.
Our relief results are not destined to be ruined by overwork, but it appears that we are set up for worse results from our relief staff, thereby jeopardizing our ability to duplicate last year’s record to finish the season. We could get more innings from the starters alleviating the overwork or the relief staff could just revert to last years level of success.

by mcgee48c on Jun 9, 2008 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs