Wednesday a.m. Rangers stuff
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 16, 2009 7:38 AM CST
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PrintSo, yeah, the ownership thing...not resolved, but at least it has moved to the next stage, and we can be helpful that there will be some resolution.
Maury Brown offers an analysis of the sale to the Greenberg group, with his thoughts on how and why Greenberg ended up the victor.
Richard Durrett thinks this result is a good one for the Rangers.
The S-T has several items up about the sale this morning. Jeff Wilson has a story on Tom Hicks picking the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan group as the winning bidder, that includes some quotes from Hicks on the issue. Wilson also takes a look at Greenberg's history of doing deals. There's also a timeline of the process still to come to get the sale finalized, and a timeline of Hicks' time as owner of the Rangers.
Gil Lebreton and Kevin Sherrington each have columns up on the sale this morning, with each having a common theme -- Hicks did what was best for the Rangers in picking the Greenberg group.
Jeff Wilson also has an update on the Mike Lowell situation and the Rangers' various fallback options, if the Lowell deal falls through.
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure the org must be infatuated with Lowell's veteran-yness
The trade might not be dead even if Dr. Keith Meister recommends surgery for Lowell. The recovery process could have him ready during spring training, and at $3 million, the Rangers view Lowell as a bargain.
…
Ugh.
I failed my LSB ethics test.
"WHAT A SHITLOAD OF FUCK" - LL's "Poochie" on Rich Harden signing with Texas over Seattle
If that happens I'll be shocked
And how long does it take to get a thumb checked out though… come on already.
And I’m puzzled at Glaus being left off the list if we value being able to play 3b so much, though obviously that doesn’t mean the Rangers arn’t looking at him.
the preceding post was a great success.
Glaus
He has said publicly that he wants to start at a corner infield position and not just DH. I think that rules him out for the Rangers since it seems like they don’t want to take 1B away from Davis yet.
"When you play happy, good things will happen"-Elvis Andrus
heh yeah I remember that discussion now
Thanks for the reminder.
Sigh I don’t even really know what I want them to do anymore.
the preceding post was a great success.
Indeed.
I’d MUCH rather have Thome.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 8:52 AM CST up reply actions
Shirley we can bring in a cheap-o guy to do this, right?
Gomes, Sheffield, Garko, Tatis, Kapler… heck, I dunno.
There have to be some dudes who can hit RHP out there available on the cheap.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:03 AM CST up reply actions
With Thome's zero defense I'm sure the rangers would want some out of the other guy
But yeah i suppose.
I had forgotten about Kapler. If only he was good in CF..
the preceding post was a great success.
Rays signed him
Bastards.
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
Yeah. That was the first blow to what I had hoped would happen this offseason.
Hey, but I’ll trade Harden for Kapler in my master plan for the Rangers any day of the week, and I’m glad we have a GM that can make my ideas look trite.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Well I don't know about murphy out
but thinking about it I kind of like the idea of Johnson and Thome for our last 2 spots.
Thome should still righties and fits the park.
Johnson provides a needed backup for CF, and could relieve both Borbon and Thome vs lefties. Hes been pretty consistent vs them.
Although Johnson’s CF defense may have fallen more than I know.
the preceding post was a great success.
I don't think Reed Johnson is any better in CF than Boggs would be.
I certainly wouldn’t expect him to be anyhow.
Glad you’re with me on Thome in this ballpark.
Dude can still crush the ball, especially against RHP.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:30 AM CST up reply actions
Well I wouldn't trust boggs to hit close to
the .329/ .395/.483 line johnson has vs lefties the last 3 years. I know his minor league stats and that he hit some HRs vs them in the mlb stint.. but the guy can’t make contact.
But true enough if Reed can’t play CF then there are better options. And yeah his UZR is consistently negative.
the preceding post was a great success.
my idea
Is to get Alfredo Amezaga as the utility guy. He doesn’t carry much of a stick, but he is a great defender anywhere on the diamond. He can easily cover SS and CF, so you don’t have to carry 2 different guys for that. Then you have room for a both RH/LH corner hitters.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
this
a guy like amezaga would be EXTREMELY valuable to our team
"He do what he do" - Ron Washington
by dustinvandeman on Dec 16, 2009 9:38 AM CST up reply actions
the problem is
there are apparently at least ten teams who have identified that value and are going after him…
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
Really?
Damn I would love him signing here.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
hes been off my radar since I follow the marlins even less than the nationals
and obviously he doesn’t put up offensive stats that make highlights or fantasy reports.
But I can’t argue the logic, that sounds solid.
the preceding post was a great success.
Maybe David Murphy should go somewhere else where he is appreciated. He had a bad start last year but after his first 23 at bats he came around and was productive when no one else was. He was also very good defensively.
He never did hit lefties.
decent enough platoon bat, but thats what he is. He is completely useless versus lefties. He had a bad August and a bad April, but taking away lefty ABs from him makes him a fairly good platoon option.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
Can you imagine the dreaminess of a Kapler/Harden locker room encounter?
I think the universe would freaking end.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:17 AM CST up reply actions
I've had a hard time identifying
who I really want because every player has to be taken on a rolling scale matched with a projected salary. Thome at $2-3M or so? Hell yeah, sign me up. Thome at $5-6M? No thanks.
Vlad or Dye at $5M for one year? Yeah, that sounds about right. Anything above that or for multiple years gives me cause for pause.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
True, I can't figure out how much any of these FA's are gonna get.
Given that Matsui just got 6.5mm I think 3mm sounds about right for a guy like Thome, but who knows.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:04 AM CST up reply actions
I know it's still early in the game...
….but as much as I jock Hicks, Gil and Sherrington ARE right…he DID make the best choice by keeping Ryan around…but still….
Fuck Tom Hicks
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 16, 2009 7:45 AM CST reply actions
It hurts to say
Thank you Tom Hicks, for doing two good things here at Texas…
Hiring JD/Thad and Ryan and letting them run the team…
AND making sure to keep those guys in place as the door hit you on the way out of the owners office, as you now take your place at the end of what is hopefully a long table of DFW Ranger fans/investors who all, assuredly, hate you.
TCU Frogs- #3
"THAT WAS MY SPECIAL MONDAY MORNING TAPE, SPECIAL, FOR YOU!
It's fucking Monday afternoon, you should get out of bed earlier."
by FormerLSBUser on Dec 16, 2009 7:51 AM CST reply actions
The way you linked that muary brown article is awful
I think my computer just exploded
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
seriously
I can’t even load the bizofbaseball site. annoying.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Dec 16, 2009 8:32 AM CST up reply actions
His site is down, per his Twitter feed
Should be back up shortly.
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 16, 2009 8:49 AM CST up reply actions
ah ok
thought it was just my company’s lame blocking stuff
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Dec 16, 2009 9:03 AM CST up reply actions
If the guys I got stay healthy, I'm thrilled.
Kind of a big if, though. But Butler has a pretty good injury history, as well.
I love Danilo.
I was trying to get him thrown into the Bargnani trade earlier.
by brettgardner on Dec 16, 2009 8:58 AM CST up reply actions
I'm pretty upset that I missed the news of Speights being close to a return
I was really counting on getting him back to help offset Oden.
Don't know about that.
Looks like Perkins and Oden are almost exactly the same.
by brettgardner on Dec 16, 2009 6:23 PM CST up reply actions
Whew, I wanted Dunleavy so bad off waivers
I was very nervously awaiting. I think between Dunleavy, Manu, and Dano i’ve taken care of my 3 point problem.
That's why I made all those moves the one day
To take Dunleavy’s name off the front page of transactions
Hah
I wondered if that was the reason, or if you were trying to delay the waivers for everybody else.
I obviously had Dunleavy too, but I figured someone else would get him. Yeah, you’ve got some salty 3-point guys now.
by brettgardner on Dec 17, 2009 8:33 AM CST up reply actions
So I'm guessing you accepted that trade?
It’s a pretty even trade, but I dumped Manu on somebody therefore, I win.
I think Luke French has a lot of potential. TORP potential.-Dstar
Mr. Hicks,
this is the best thing you’ve ever done for this organization. Thanks for keeping Nolan around.
OT: LSB Almanac
Updates requested recently so I just added about a dozen things to it and there are probably another dozen from the past year worthy of inclusion that I can’t think of. Remind me of some.
the preceding post was a great success.
haha
just read the Gabbard/Sexson GDT…awesome…
The transcript of TAG and Lewing penned by BigSteve is great.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 16, 2009 8:48 AM CST up reply actions
Since you mentioned it, I had to take a look
I think we were all a little gay for TAG that night…
Grieve: The Yanks have struggled so far. - Lewin: Yeah, cry me a bag of money.
Dykstra has all the money!
ElectricOkra.com
Olney insider article, not sure if there is anything more but the paywall, but if so, feel free to post it if interesting
On it.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Dec 16, 2009 8:56 AM CST up reply actions
Ok:
He grew up a Pirates fan, his favorite player is Roberto Clemente of whom he still has a poster up in his bedroom in his parents house. His wife wouldn’t let him name is son Roberto, but they compromised on Walker, Roberto Clemente’s middle name. (didn’t know that)
He says Ryan was probably a deciding factor for MLB-types. Then links to basically the same set of articles that AJM did.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Dec 16, 2009 9:00 AM CST up reply actions
and now Walker
can name his own son Texas Ranger, and he can go by TR.
Art imitating life :: Life imitating art.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
I don't know
the Jewish community has been known to go for long walks…
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
is that racist?
I couldn’t decide. I was talking about their walking around the desert after their exodus from Egypt.
At least I said the whole word, though.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
no it's not rascist at all.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
So as much as I love all the Nolan Ryan puff pieces this morning.... I wish they'd focused more on Greenberg.
How much do we really know about how Greenberg’s gonna be running this franchise budget-wise?
I’m so sick and freaking tired of my team being bereft of funds.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
yeah, the Ryan pieces are getting old
but let’s face it. The Texas Rangers brand is completely tied to Nolan the Savior right now, and what’s good for the Texas Rangers brand is good for us, the fans.
It feels like the papers know this is momentous and want to join the chorus, but don’t really know enough about Greenberg yet to write anything of consequence, so they just write about Ryan until we know more about Greenberg. Hopefully we’ll get more substance over the coming month.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
lazy media
Most of the media is really lazy, so they follow the deeply rutted wagon path of build ‘em up and eventually tear them down. It’s the easiest thing to do.
it only makes sense
there’s no other way.
"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means" - Calvin Coolidge
by hubcityraider on Dec 16, 2009 12:27 PM CST up reply actions
Ryan puff pieces...
there will now be many more of those for years to come. Hope you’re not too tired of them.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
little help please
Three players are at the top of the list — Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye. They are all free agents and have been on the Rangers’ radar the entire off-season.
Daniels hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding one of those bats in addition to Lowell
How would that work?
I think our 8 everyday position players are pretty much set, so you have 5 spots for the bench and DH. You have to have a utility IF, a backup C, David Murphy, backup CF…. how can you fit 2 of those DH types listed above into the one remaining roster slot?
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
Go with hammy as the backup CF?
If we had an all star CF that would probably be fine, but who knows what will happen with Borbon.
Lowell and Thome platooned would probably be a decent DH and give you backup at the corners actually… Though then Lowell is mad and someone in the OF is losing at bats to murph who isn’t going to just sit on the bench.
But yeah, it wouldn’t really make sense. Might as well just pay one guy their combined salary better and get someone who can actually field on the bench. You can risk not having a good 3b backup with MY likely to get 155+ games there..
the preceding post was a great success.
I think we need a decent contingency plan for CF
Borbon is far from proven, hell Warsh wouldn’t even play him at the position last year, now it appears that we are going into the season with him as the starter and no player on the roster that you could justify starting in center for any length of time if Borbon is rocking a sub 300 obp after a month or two.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
Brandon Boggs?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Pounds LH pitching, good defensive
player who can play anywhere.
His only problem is that he’s too smart for his manager and a bad shoulder.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
I don't think he can play anywhere
I mean, maybe he wouldn’t totally embarrass you, but that doesn’t make it a great option.
by brettgardner on Dec 16, 2009 9:22 AM CST up reply actions
Anywhere = all 3 OF positions
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Hah.
Yeah, I know. I don’t think he can play anywhere in the OF.
by brettgardner on Dec 16, 2009 9:28 AM CST up reply actions
Supposedly
Boggs was one of the best defensive OF’s in MLB during 2008.
Granted, it was limited playing time but he was a good OF who could cover ground and had a cannon for an arm.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
who on earth said that
I may not be an expert analyst, but I can tell when I see that level of defense…. and I don’t recall it.
the preceding post was a great success.
I think he's talking about Dewan's +/-
Boggs was rated a top 5 LFer by that metric IIRC.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
I believe it was Dewan
and I wanna say they had a nice write-up on Boggs as well.
I’m still not sure which defensive metrics to get in bed with and still believe this is the Wild West of baseball stats that has yet to be conquered.
There’s a lot of good info available but I’m not sure who has it nailed.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
the reports I've heard on his defense
seemed to think that he would be at least average ML CFer, but he seemed to be getting kinda thick last year, and who knows what effect the shoulder surgery will have.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
Boggs was a CF in the minors
and the Rangers were playing him there quite a bit in CF last spring training.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Yep
Scouting reports say he can
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Dec 16, 2009 11:09 AM CST up reply actions
Not to be a presumption killer
But if Hamilton doesn’t rebound hitting wise, Boggs could actually outperform him in 2010.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) also -
"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance."
~Ambrose Bierce
by Ed Coffin on Dec 16, 2009 2:35 PM CST up reply actions
I wouldn't bet
on that happening.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
This made me laugh
His only problem is that he’s too smart for his manage
I think that can be said of all the players.
"What ... 92 miles per hour?" Feldman scoffed. "That's not gas. Feliz throws gas."
by NorCalRangersFan on Dec 16, 2009 11:31 AM CST up reply actions
...r
"What ... 92 miles per hour?" Feldman scoffed. "That's not gas. Feliz throws gas."
by NorCalRangersFan on Dec 16, 2009 11:32 AM CST up reply actions
Hambone and Gentry/Boggs/Golson can cover us in the short term, I suppose.
But anyone worth a damn and capable of playing CF is gonna cost you.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:19 AM CST up reply actions
I posted this below
but what about Baldelli?
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
Hamilton and then Murphy if you need a quick fill in
Long-term, I’m fine with Gentry-Golson-Boggs in that order getting some PT in CF. It won’t give us much offense, but we at least get some great defense while Borbon is out for whatever reason.
I don’t see the Rangers being able to get anyone much better than that as a back-up plan to Borbon.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
Wasn't part of the super Lowell love that he could back up 3b and therefore allow Young to be our backup MIF or some such ass grabbery?
Sounds super retardo McGee to me, but that was the theory anyhow.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:07 AM CST up reply actions
Oh, and just go ahead and deal David Murphy.
He’s not very good.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:08 AM CST up reply actions
I think that is a pretty good idea
but for that to work, I think you would need several guys in the pen that could go more than an inning at a time. Plus I think several of our bullpen candidates have options, so you could always just have one spot in the pen were you fire up the OKC shuttle as often as needed.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
Nippert, Harrison, and Mathis in the pen
Gives you several guys that can go more than an inning at a time
11 pitchers
I’ve never understood why any team uses more than 11. You can only have one on the field at any given time, so why use half your roster on that one position, while leaving yourself with almost no bench flexibility?
I know it’s not 1975 anymore, but teams used to function fairly well with 9 and 10-man staffs…
"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
How do you go with 11 pitchers
with Harden, McCarthy, CJ, Harrison, Feliz, Holland among others all in the mix?
We have several injury prone or young pitchers to choose from and I’d guess we need to roll with at least 12 pitchers.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
What do the injuries have to do with anything?
Unless they’re all getting hurt in the same game, you can just call someone up to take their place.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
via mlbtr
The Red Sox are “working hard” to obtain Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The writers caution that a deal is “not close, and might not happen at all.”
What's the deal with both Rosenthal and JPM being credited together all the time?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"The purpose of life is to have a fucking good time." - Albert Ellis
by Cecilio's Guante on Dec 16, 2009 9:21 AM CST up reply actions
Buccholz and Lars would have to be a part of that, I would think.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
When they signed Cameron I figured they were moving on AGon with Ellsbury as part of the package.
Ellsbury, Buchholz, Bard, Lars for Agon + Bell?
That would seem to make sense for both sides.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:22 AM CST up reply actions
Eh, maybe. Sub out Bard for Delcarmen or Buchholz for Kelly + Bowden or something if that's the case.
But holy hell would the Sox be lethal with Agon.
My mind just exploded I think.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:28 AM CST up reply actions
BoSox w/ AGon
I guess that they would have something like:
C – Varitek
1b – AGon
2b – Pedroia
ss – Scutaro
3b – Youk
rf – jd drew
cf – cameron (assuming Jacoby is part of the package)
lf – ?
That’s pretty salty, but really how much better are they with AGon instead of just signing Beltre to play 3rd and hanging onto Buchholz and the rest of the package that it would require to get Gonzalez?
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
You forgot about VMartinez
Very, very salty.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
damn
yeah, forgot about him.
Still, I wonder if the difference between Beltre and AGon is worth Buchholz + ?
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
What if it's Ellsbury, Kelly, Bowden and Lars?
Kelly’s really highly regarded, and that’d allow the Sox to keep they’re insane Becket/Lester/Lackey/Matsuzaka/Buchholz rotation in place for ’10.
Ugh… just typing those names into the same rotation makes me sick.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:43 AM CST up reply actions
Padres GM
If your trading AGonz to the BoSox you pretty much gotta get Buch, right? That group of Ellsbury, Kelly, Bowden, and Lars isn’t really giving you anything special.
Ranger fans say "NO! NO!" to Go Go.
Keep Reinsdorf's chub from ruining my club.
There are people who'd rather have Kelly.
And Ellsbury is really good just by himself.
I don’t really like Lars, but he’s a 1b, so there’s that.
Bowden would thrive in that ballpark, but everyone does that.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:53 AM CST up reply actions
No such thing, really.
Not when it comes to A ball pitchers and we’re talking about two years of Adrian Gonzalez on the cheap and you’re in perpetual win-now mode.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:51 AM CST up reply actions
He can probably hit 50 hrs in Fenway.
I think Luke French has a lot of potential. TORP potential.-Dstar
Well...
Adrian Gonzalez 2009 WAR: 6.3
Adrian Beltre 2009 WAR: 2.4
Beltre had a down 2009 and Gonzalez had a big jump last year. Beltre has consistently been about 4 WAR and Gonzalez was at 3 before last year.
If Gonzalez stays above 6 WAR then probably but if he regresses then its definitely not worth it.
"You'll meet them again on their long journey to the middle." -Lester Bangs
His WAR would almost certainly jump in Fenway though?
Right? I mean, I know it’s supposed to have park factors and all, but I wonder how well they work for elite hitters moving from places with such a disparity in hitting environment.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Dec 16, 2009 2:21 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah...
…but you also get AGon for a lot cheaper than he’s worth for a few years where you’re probably going to have to pay Beltre close to his real value. While it’s less of an issue for them…it might make a difference if they’re really going to go after Mauer.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Dec 16, 2009 2:23 PM CST up reply actions
And if they do sign Beltre
Do they dump Ortiz or Varitek?
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
OT
So I’m listening to the podcast last night and it would appear that one Adam Morris and myself have a lot of the same thoughts pertaining to the Texas Rangers.
The “Tom Hicks Sucks” 60 second rant was funny.
He thinks the team hasn’t done much more this winter than rearrange the chairs on the Titanic.
He acknowledges that JD’s biggest weaknesses have shown up when he tries to improve the major league team.
He also says that the seeds of the Mike Lowell trade stem from JD desperately trying to impress the new owners and improve the club any way he can.
He also says that if the Rangers win between 79-82 games next year that JD is likely to be fired. He will have been here 5 years and shown no improvement.
I agree with all of the above.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Josey
You’re obsessing.
"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
Just pointing
out that Adam and I share a lot of the same feelings about This Thing which shocked me given how adversarial he can be towards what I have to say about JD.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
To be clear
My point in the podcast was not that I thought Daniels should be fired if they win 80 games next year, but that it wouldn’t surprise me if he was, and I walked through the thought process that I think a new owner would go through in evaluating whether a move next offseason should be made.
I also think your portrayal of what I said about the Lowell move is a tad…skewed. However, I do think that, as I said in the podcast, Daniels and the front office are working for their jobs, because if the team takes a step backwards in 2010, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for someone to say that Daniels has done a great job building the farm system and putting together a pipeline of talent, but he’s not the guy to get them over the top.
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 16, 2009 9:38 AM CST up reply actions
I thought you said (paraphrasing because it was a late listen)
“I think Jon Daniels is 50-50 any ways because of new ownership and that he’ll get fired if the team wins between 79-82 games.”
I also heard Ted Price say that JD’s first two years shouldn’t count because he took over an organization who had a “dilapidated farm system.”
Love your work TP but JD took over a franchise with Ian Kinsler, Adrian Gonzales, John Danks, Scott Feldman, Eddy V and CJ among others all knocking on the door. There are not two position players in this system who will have the careers of AG & Kinsler.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
Uh, Elvis has a damn good chance to be as good as AGon and Kinz.
So do Smoak, M-Per, Feliz, Der-Hol, Scheppers, etc…
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:48 AM CST up reply actions
x
"I think Jon Daniels is 50-50 any ways because of new ownership and that he’ll get fired if the team wins between 79-82 games."
That’s about right, I think.
by Adam J. Morris on Dec 16, 2009 9:49 AM CST up reply actions
I don't disagree with you about him doing a good job
of restocking the minor league pipeline (it was stocked when he took over) although I do get tired head from the praise heaped on him for the Tex Trade. He gave up a Hall of Famer in his prime with 1.5 years left on his deal and found a GM who didn’t give a shit about the long-term future of the Braves.
Those trades don’t happen very often and JD gave up a helluva player for Tiny E, Feliz and what looks to be organizational fodder.
We’re at the point where we need somebody who can make the right moves to get This Thing from 87 wins to 95 wins on a consistent basis. Right now, JD is the GM that has taken us from 79 to 87 wins and it took 4 years.
One of the topics referenced last night was that the window of opportunity is beginning to open and that it doesn’t stay open as long as many people think it will.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
I have no interest in the JD wars, but I am curious ...
what would you say are the top four moves needed to take the team to 95 wins on a consistent basis?
And what do you mean by consistent basis? Four times out of six years? Five? A longer or shorter span?
1) Fire Ron Washington 2) They need to do what they can
to get the team OBP up to .340-.350
3) Find adequate replacement for the 198 IPs that Millwood gave them
4) Get the RH bat that torches LH pitching
Consistent basis? I’d settle for 4 years out of 6 years with 95 wins per.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
by Josey Wales on Dec 16, 2009 10:17 AM CST up reply actions
So that's your 4 point plan
1) Managers just don’t have that big of an effect on a team, good or bad. Just dumb to have this as your number 1
2)Lowell last season had a .363 OBP vs. lefties and a .337 OBP on the season. So why is it a bad move for JD to go get him. He’s got to do what he can to get the team OBP up to .340 and with no money to spend, this is one thing he can do.
3) Well since Harden can give you around 140, I feel confident that we can find 50 scrap IP like Millwood put together towards the end of last season
4) Again, what is your problem with Lowell? It seems like the things you are looking for are the things that Lowell helps the team with.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
I'm kind of meh on the RW issue.
I find the line-up decisions more frustrating than the in-game stuff, and I honestly don’t have any idea how effective he is at the back-stage management tasks. I don’t doubt there are better managers, but I can’t name one who’s unemployed.
Lowell’s injury bugs me enough that the money plus prospect seems a bit high, but the bigger issue is that I don’t see one player fixing the OBP. Last year, 1B and C were where OBP went to die, but we need to see a turn around from Kinsler and Hamilton too. I’d be singing Ian the ballad of Hank Blalock on a regular basis to try to get him to improve his approach, but I have no idea whether just getting Josh to lay of the walls and the body shots is going to work. Like, FuturePants below, I’d like to see a couple specific suggestions, here.
I had the same thought on the value of some of those 198, since I thought we’d have been better off with someone else on the mound when Millwood was struggling. I’m keeping my fingers crossed on Harden.
I don’t think we can prospect whip another team into fixing all of these needs without impairing our ability to win consistently across a six year window, and we currently don’t have the money. So it does seem like we are stuck hoping on internal improvement and taking some risks with players who are older and/or have injury histories.
x
1) Ok, fine.
2) Boy, can you get more vague? Obviously the OBP needs to go up from 2009, but HOW do they get it to go up? Like, tell me moves that need to be made, and how JD will accomplish it, given the payroll restrictions.
3) Same complaint as 3: tell me moves that need to be made, and how JD will accomplish it, given the payroll restrictions.
All you do is bitch and provide no insight, no ideas, and no legitimate thoughts.
by FuturePants on Dec 16, 2009 11:24 AM CST up reply actions
Could you elucidate on the subject please?
1) why? how is he the problem?
2) I personally think that’s been addressed with the change in hitting coaches.
3) You don’t think Harden will pitch 198 innings? ok with that. Something wrong with the other 7 starters we have filling in the gaps?
4) Agreed. Lowell? our other options are Garko, Gomez, Dye (yuck) or Vlad. I’ll take any of them (except Dye)
you’ll SETTLE? for 4 years out of 6 with 95 wins per year? Yankees fan? Me, I won’t be happy unless they win 10 straight world serieses, and then, only then, will I allow myself to think that maybe Jon Daniels is doing a good job.
Points for usage of "elucidate"
1) Ron Washington players play hard for him but that only takes us so far. He’s not very smart with line-ups or in the use of his bullpen. His teams tend to play a very stupid and sloppy style of baseball and have limped to the finish line the last two seasons..
2) The Rangers had a .351 OBP in 2008 with the same hitting coach they had in 2009. The problem was that Milton Bradley was never replaced and Rudy J was given chickenshit and told to make a nice chickensalad.
3) ZIPS has Harden projected at 126 IPs next year and somebody needs to fill in those 72 IPs and pitch effectively. I don’t know definitively who that person is (please don’t say Dustin Nippert).
4) I’d prefer somebody who is not in their mid to late 30’s to fill the role. He’s a LH hitter but Nick Johnson is an OBP machine that kills LH pitching and could be the good fall back for Chris Davis next year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
by Josey Wales on Dec 16, 2009 11:51 AM CST up reply actions
Bill James has Harden at 135
and Fangraphs voting has him at 140
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
Adam
says Bill James projections are worthless.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
how about 4
Engel Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Chris Davis, and Justin Smoak.
Of course, I could be talking out of my ass, since hindsight is 20-20 and the only way to be sure of this is to look backwards from 5 years before.
looking back 5 years ago, our farm system absolutely pales in comparison to this one. Feldman was a reliever at the time, Gonzalez had just been acquired, Danks was 3 years out, as was Volquez.
You can argue that we lost Danks and A-Gone for nothing, fine. But at least we got Hambone for Volquez and we still have the other 3.
btw, Danks is not the pitcher that even Tommy Hunter is, much less Holland, Feliz, Perez, Ross, Ramirez, Kiker, Beavan, etc etc etc……
RH CF Option
What about Rocco Baldelli? At least on paper he looks like a great option and I haven’t heard his name mentioned yet…
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
if theres an injury
and he has to play every day, we’re in trouble since he really physically CANT play every day
yeah, what is his health condition again?
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
dont remember the exact name
but his mitochondria dont work correctly so he cant recover very well from just normal physical exertion
so he actually physically has to be platooned?
So there is no way Ron Washington could ignore platoon splits and try to play him everyday.
I think we’ve found a winner.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
He's not a CF'er anymore than Boggs is.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"You like Castlevania, don't you?" -Psycho Mantis.
by thedirkatron on Dec 16, 2009 9:44 AM CST up reply actions
Was anyone able to locate how Boggs has graded out defensively playing CF?
Now I’m curious because I really have no faith in Borbon.
looking at fangraphs
and admittedly not completely understanding all the metrics, it looks like he’s passable.
I am in the Amezega camp with most everyone else, but only one team will get to sign him this year, so if that team is not us, Baldelli might be an interesting guy to bring in.
What is this, Horseville? Because I'm surrounded by naysayers.
now, comes the excruciating part
of watching our rivals continue to sign players while the ownership negotiates the deal out of the next month or so
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
x
According to the Denver Post, non-tendered third baseman Garrett Atkins is already drawing a good deal of attention.
Atkins, 30, hit a disappointing .226/.308/.342 in 2009 with nine home runs and 48 RBI but he is a .289/.354/.457 career hitter and is only two years removed from a 25-homer season. The Orioles, Twins and Giants are thought to have some interest in him as a third baseman or utilityman.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
Let him go there...
I’m really not that interested in Atkins anyway. His numbers away from Coors have been pretty scary.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Yet you believe JD is doing the right thing by bringing
in a broken down Mike Lowell and his .713 OPS away from Fenway.
Brilliant.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"Business as usual." - Tom Hicks on the Ranger off-season 11/19/09
by Josey Wales on Dec 16, 2009 10:13 AM CST up reply actions
as i said before, hes had a higher ops on the road in 2 of his 4 seasons there
the preceding post was a great success.
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