LeBreton on the young Rangers' struggles
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 22, 2009 10:48 AM CDT
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PrintIn a column I missed on this morning's links, Gil LeBreton writes about some of the struggles that the young Ranger hitters are going through, and says this is just a normal part of going with young players.
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What about the struggles of
All of our top prospects flaming out, and us without losing any prospect going from number 1 farm system to the mid teens.
Mid teens? Disgusting.
Not sure its possible
for top prospects to flame out in 2 weeks.
"The idea that the Rangers are going to be a solid contender for a number of years is a fantasy." - Adam J. Morris
Thats where we will be
If our top guns don’t stop acting like Merlin, instead of Maverick.
by SaltyGoesYard on Apr 22, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Negative Ghost Rider
the pattern is full
Grieve: The Yanks have struggled so far. - Lewin: Yeah, cry me a bag of money.
ElectricOkra.com
See...
prospects are ranked by ERA now or had you not heard?
by ghostofErikThompson on Apr 22, 2009 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions
It is a well known fact
that quality ML starting pitchers never had 2-3 bad outings while in the minor leagues.
Thus Main, Feliz, Beavan, et al are now completely worthless due to their early troubles, will never be good ML starters and should be stricken from any prospect list from now on.
Simple math really.
were you on the ESPN boards?
there used to be a person like you who commented a lot but would then say something that made it seem like he knew nothing about baseball.
I remember once that guy said he had seen Danks pitch in Frisco the year before and was a righty
Ceterum censeo Cat esse delendam - Cahill the Elder
A righty? Now that would be right up Josey alley.
Danks would get instant God like status.
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
he was
the White Sox made him pitch left handed and he became an ace…..
If you want some slack, bring your own rope.
by rangerfaninva on Apr 22, 2009 1:07 PM CDT up reply actions
i could totally see the Rangers approaching BMac and asking him to pitch lefty
I’m suprised they didnt’ go that route with Dickey
Ceterum censeo Cat esse delendam - Cahill the Elder
Greg Harris pitched with with both hands in a game once
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
I don't know how to respond to shit like this.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
"I guess it’s tough to look good when you play on the same team as Marcus Lemon." -Trip Somers.
"Congratulations, Mr. Somers. You just made THE LIST." -The Newberg, after reading the above comment.
by thedirkatron on Apr 22, 2009 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions
Saltalamacchia
His success above AA has mostly come in limited AB samples…50 here, 100 there…between ML and high minors.
Are folks who watch games feeling like he’s going to be alright?
"[Font} doesn't turn 19 until the end of May and his heater can already hit 99 on the gun. That's baseball porn." - Jason Parks
by hightowersmith on Apr 22, 2009 11:15 AM CDT reply actions
I wonder if some of the young players struggling on the Rangers
come from the presence of veterans on the team causing a lot of positional uncertainty.
Murphy is caught in the blender of COF options this club has, Davis knows Blalock is locked & loaded in a contract year and the catching situation hasn’t played itself out with clarity either (although Salty seems to benefit because he was involved in one of JD’s big trades).
It’s nothing you can “prove” and it probably has to do with the growing pains every player goes thru but I do wonder if it’s making Murphy, CDavis and Salty press.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on Apr 22, 2009 11:46 AM CDT up reply actions
Davis knows Blalock is locked & loaded?
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 22, 2009 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions
If I know Blalock is likely to have a good year because
he’s playing for what may be the last big pay day he has in his career, I imagine CDavis knows this as well. Then again, I didn’t pick the Rangers to win 83 games like you did so what do I know?
Blalock is, without a doubt, going to be in the line-up every day as either the Dh or 1B and if healthy, is going to be productive. Probably very productive.
It’s nothing I can prove Adam (as mentioned in the post) but this roster has a lot of positional uncertainty and logjams which might be making some of the younger kids press.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on Apr 22, 2009 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Why on earth should Davis have to worry about Hank being the DH?
Davis is struggling because he cant hit a fastball right now. Positional uncertainty has nothing to do with it
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.
I don't get that either
Blalock is not going to be here next year. Davis is important to this teams success, especially in the future, so I would think the organization would make that clear to Davis.
The "Fire Wash Watch" is on. I say he's gone by April 26th.
on top of that
the more immediate threats to Davis are Smoak, Max Ramirez and Ron Washington’s job being on a hotseat…
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on Apr 22, 2009 4:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't believe CDavis is worried at all about Smoak or Ramirez.
I saw something on either Baseball Tonight or MLB Tonight and they were talking about how some of the Reds younger players will be more comfortable because several of the vets who ran the clubhouse are gone.
Davis always had a place to play last year whether it was 1B or 3B because Washington didn’t have options. Murphy played most of the time in the OF until he got hurt.
This year things are different.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Davis is hitting under .200 and looking horrible at the plate
yet has still started 11 of 13 games at 1B. If he is worried about Hank or anything else its all in his head. There is nothing to worry about except how to hit a 93 MPH fastball which he cant do right now
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.
To quote a great poster on this site
I don’t know how to respond to shit like this.
Seriously, Josey has outdone himself with these 2 posts.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
by Gdawg on Apr 22, 2009 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I tend to be a little harsh on Salty
but watching his at bats, I’d say that his approach seems to be ok. He has looked better than the results IMO and the .250 babip seems to verify that observation somewhat.
I haven’t noticed him hacking away at a lot of junk either. I’m not sure why the walk rate is so low, but yeah – to answer your question, I think he will be alright, just a very slow start.
His catching looks noticably improved also, especially his blocking pitches in the dirt.
If you take the worst pitching staff in baseball, then add Kris Benson and Jason Jennings, what do you have???
surprise!!! You have the worst pitching staff in baseball, that's what.
I agree with Tricer here
Salty had the ear thing, but I think he’s over that and things will click at the plate soon. I think the team has to be pleased so far with his defensive progress, he looks much more in charge and comfortable there.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
yeah I think the vertigo
or whatever it was derailed him for a while
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on Apr 22, 2009 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I think it's a combination of things
1) All of these guys want to prove they belong – Murph as a starter, Salty over TT, Davis as a big leaguer in general.
2) Each of these guys now have enough at bats for pitchers to recognize tendencies. These guys have to make the adjustments back.
3) Just a slow start in general. Davis mentioned that it seems to happen to him each year.
It’s just part of the process, and I’m confident they’ll come around. Would you honestly bet the house that these guys are going to hit sub-.200 all year?
I said before the season and I’ll say it again: the first half of this season will look like typical Ranger baseball. The second half will be when you will start to see what the future looks like.
Tex isn't lighting it up, and nobody worries there
it’s just a frame of mind. and the “want it now” fast food lives we live in dictate our demand. Davis is going to come through, and probably hit 30 bombs
The "Fire Wash Watch" is on. I say he's gone by April 26th.
It's not the young batters that concern me.
Sure we would hope for more from Salty, CD, and Murphy. While looking at the bats lets not forget the success of Elvis, Cruz and the continued production from Ian, Hamilton et.al.
The real concern to me is the continuing of Rangers misery when it comes to pitching. 13 games in and our beloved Rangers are on pace to give up more than 1000 runs (a hotly debated topic in the pre-season.)
6.18 team ERA and only five pitchers have an ERA better than the teams (JJ, FF, Milly, BMac, and CJ.) Given their track record I have a hard time believing things will get better until the Rangers prove they can develop a pitching staff.
Their recent move of promoting Holland is yet another example of things that puzzle me. Why have him up if they are not goin to use him??? Isn’t he a SP and shouldn’t he be getting more starts in OKC? How did one start and 4IP in AAA make him ready to move to the pen? I just fail to see the steady hand and proven plan to develop a pitching staff by the entire organization.
Don't ignore
Holland’s ST. Nolan said that he pitched well enough to make the team out of ST. They felt he needed to get some starts in AA to face more advanced hitters. However, the bullpen implosion forced them to accelerate thier plans concerning Holland. He needs to pitch 1-2 innings every 3-4 days in order to make promoting him justifiable.
Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
Not to mention
This has be said several times before. There have been a lot of SP start their career in the BP.
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
No argument
starting in the pen has been a proven methodology for many good SP.
It is the Rangers track record that scares me. Given their track record I am puzzled by their handling of the pitching talent down on the farm.
In 12 – 24 months will we have a pitching staff apable of having a sub 5.00 ERA? Hopefully.
or
Will we be bemoaning the fact that we have developed starting pichers for the Tigers, Padres, Chisox and others?
And that track record
Will always scare you and most fans until the Rangers prove they can develope a top notch pitching prospect.
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Boomer you nailed it!
They have drafted and traded for prospects. But have yet to develop a prospect into a pitcher on thier own staff. I am uneasy and will be until they do as you say and take the final steps.
Kevin Brown and Bobby Witt
We good so I wouldn’t say it has never happened.
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Bobby Witt
wasn’t exactly good. Doug Davis was a better pitcher as a Ranger.
Kevin Brown was good here. Of course, Doug Melvin didn’t offer him arbitration, so he ended up leaving for no compensation.
"The idea that the Rangers are going to be a solid contender for a number of years is a fantasy." - Adam J. Morris
Witt got screwed by Bobby V
To many innings when he first got here.
Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Don't think that was his main problem
He pitched way too many years for me to believe he got his arm slagged. You don’t survive 15 years in the bigs if you shred your arm early in your career.
I just think he was never a very smart pitcher. By the time he finally figured out how to pitch, he was 10 years into the league, in his 30s and his stuff was naturally declining. Million dollar arm, 10 cent head.
"The idea that the Rangers are going to be a solid contender for a number of years is a fantasy." - Adam J. Morris
x
You don’t survive 15 years in the bigs if you shred your arm early in your career.
Frank Tanana would beg to differ.
by Adam J. Morris on Apr 22, 2009 3:23 PM CDT up reply actions
And one of those SPs
is now in the Ranger’ s front office. That same pitcher also threw 326 innings in 1973 but didn’ tlead the league in IP. :>O
Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
We should just fold our franchise.
We’ll never have pitching; it’s meaningless. Utterly meaningless.
/stupidity.
Rock Flag & Eagle Radio: Thursdays 10 PM - 1 AM on FM 88.7 The Choice
"Computers can’t measure the size of a man’s heart."
- Hawk Harrelson, MLB Guru/Analyst
Callis Chat Wrap Up
Craig (Canada): What do you think of the Rangers decision to bring up Holland in a relief role? Would he not be better served to get more innings as a starter in the minors?
SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:48 PM ET ) Don’t have a problem with it. Break him into the big leagues in a less stressful role, and the Rangers could use a quality arm in the bullpen. The Orioles used to do this with their starters years ago, and they had a lot of success with it.
Drew (New York): Engel Beltre: just a slump?
SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:48 PM ET ) Sure . . . don’t read too much into a couple weeks worth of minor league stats.
Nils (Rye, NY): This year and long term: Jesus Flores or Saltalamacchia?
SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:49 PM ET ) Salty.
Thought I throw this one in, to make some happy
Missing Link (from parts unknown…way unknown): Last I heard, Michael Inoa had yet to report to camp due to “personal problems”. Doesn’t sound good for a teenager with $4 Million Dollars in signing bonus. What is the latest on his status?
SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:06 PM ET ) You’ve heard what we’ve heard. No one seems to know what the “personal problems” are. MLB has taken a harder line investigating ages and identities, even on players they cleared last year, no idea if Inoa is involved with that.
And let the debate begin again….
Mac (Philly): Boscan or Font?
SportsNation Jim Callis: (3:00 PM ET ) Boscan.
That's not hail you see in Frisco....that just Justin Smoak's Home Runs coming back into orbit....
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