Tuesday morning Rangers things
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 10:31 AM CDT
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PrintT.R. Sullivan says that Josh Hamilton will be activated before tonight's game and talks about his good time in OKC. Jeff Wilson expects him to be in his usual spot toinight. Wilson also spoke with Thomas Diamond and mentions that Diamond thinks that his soreness was a result of quicker warm-ups pitching out of the pen. This made me think of the situational role Derek Holland was placed in Saturday.
Anthony Andro takes a closer look at Frank Francisco's remarkable start.
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Because Z
is way too good for Blue Links now that he is a high falutin’ DMN blogger.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
I know that this is shocking, but
…a post that has nothing to do with Jon Daniels or the management of the team turned into a JD bash session in the comments:
Posted by IOHH @ 11:22 AM Tue, May 12, 2009
You guys are dead-on re: JD. Dead-on.
Just don’t let the basement Boys over at LoveSomeBlunderboy hear you.
They start crying and name-calling when you take away their JD posters and bobbleheads.
Don’t you know? He’s awesome…and cute.
At least they’re consistent in the message. I don’t know what “basement Boys” is in reference to, though. Maybe IOHH can tell us since he apparently at least reads over here.
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions
It's so funny
the team is clearly on a long term upswing, unless JD trades away some of the younger talent he has acquired, and all you get in some places is whining.
This isn’t the dark days at the end of the Melvin era where they didn’t produce with Grieve’s kids, and had very little on the farm. There are some good young major league players, and a fairly well stocked minors. You’d think folks would look forward to the next few years. This thing could be a lot of fun for the next half decade or so with a lot of playoff runs.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
Careful, the JD pollyannas are around
JD’s failures are taboo to many on this site. They just turn off their TV’s when Danks, Chris Young, or Armando Gallaraga are pitching.
by GhostofGaryHogeboom on May 12, 2009 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Nah
I’m willing to bet most of us watched while we beat up Danks one game and then held our own his next time around the rotation.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on May 12, 2009 1:05 PM CDT up reply actions
Agreed.
It’s not enough for me to finally admit the team is playing legitimately well and doing a lot of the right things to improve but now they insist that I forgive JD for all his f ups as well.
That’s just not going to happen until I see specific moves made by him that impact the team in such a way that it wins consistently and not just in 20 game windows.
This thing looks like it has a chance but it has glaring weaknesses and needs help from their GM.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
The team is playing great
After 1001 failures, JD is seeing some successes. And 1,000,000 monkeys typing 24 hours a day will produce the great American novel.
by GhostofGaryHogeboom on May 12, 2009 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions
If given an infinite amount of time
Which I think was the point of that whole thought experiment.
by brettgardner on May 12, 2009 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't think it's that they're taboo
It’s that you can’t mention Danks, Young and Gallaraga without mentioning Andrus, Harrison, Feliz, MaxRam, etc. He’s made bad trades and he’s made good trades.
Hey look
I have come out and said this before. The bad was…..well just bad but the good has been good and that one trade(Tex) is helping the Rangers win now and the best of that trade still isn’t here. The problem with the Young trade was A. Gonzalez. Young will never be that great and he is helped out by pitching in PETCO Park. Gallaraga yes I would like to have that back but he too is helped by a pitchers park and here lately he hasn’t been anything special.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Chris Young and Gallarraga aren't very good.
Danks and AGon hurt like the dickens, though.
But the overall picture is so bright I can forgive those glaring mistakes.
Even freaking Cahill is optmostic about this team’s direction.
I mean, HOLY SHIT!
He’s Cahill for FSM’s sake!!!
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
It creeps me out when you're positive.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Hey, it started last year
when I predicted a .500 team (which was probably a little early). The team has been making some good moves, like releasing Cat and moving MY to 3B. How could that not cheer me up? Both those moves took some stones on the part of the Front Office, and in years past (Soriano for instance), this team just didn’t have the stones.
The roster is being emptied of one and zero dimensional players, and starting to get some youth and multidimensional vets. I hate some of the moves that JD has made (the SD trade mostly) but all in all, he is fearless when pulling the trigger.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
Word.
Cahill said something almost complimentary about Young the other day and the first thing I did was look out the window to see if the flying pigs were attacking.
Next thing you know, Brooks will start being nice to newbs. It’s mass hysteria.
You know
MY is much easier to take at 3B. He was so brutal at SS. Even when MY screws up, at least he has the “new to the position” excuse which is legitimate.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
Plus he's actually hitting, which is nice.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I think I know the answer
but you never really thought MY was done as hitter, did you? He did have some broken fingers, and his monumental suck at SS had to bother him a little.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
I think he will end up
with lower numbers than he currently has. I hope I’m wrong though.
I’d like to see him have a better than 800 OPS at the end of the year.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
Yah, I thought he'd rebound with the bat this year, we were just talking about how hard he was to watch last year with the bad fielding and the bad bat.
There were plenty of reasons to think he’d bounce back with the stick this year.
I had an .825-.850 OPS in mind for this year, and so far he seems to be making that look on the low side.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions
The power has been the big surprise.
I had him figured for .315/.360/.430 for 2009. No way he slugs .600 the whole way, but he looks as if he could clear .450 this season.
I don't think you
are gonna be all that far off.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
that's definitely a newbergie
"if my kid said 'uhh' that much, i would say, Hey! ... stop saying 'uhh' that much..." - dennis miller
"basement Boys"
I believe is a reference that implies that those of us over here at LSB all we ever do is sit in our parents basements in front of a computer looking at numbers and dreaming up new statistics to measure players. We never sit down or get out and actually watch any of the players play.
Excuse me stewardess, I speak Jive.
Posted by He’s Still Our BlunderBoy @ 1:35 PM Tue, May 12, 2009
You guys sound like you have reinvented the wheel.
For 100 years in baseball, even before the era of Walter Johnson and Cy Young, there has been an expression…
“YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PITCHING”
Unfortunately, the Rangers have hisorically ignored this maxim and have made certain the other teams have enough pitching.
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions
So,
the arms on the farms don’t count for anything?
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
I guess not
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Not to mention...
…the excess of arms that we have to hide out on extended spring training because they don’t fit anywhere.
He must work at ESPN
because that is all I ever hear from them and the media for that matter. Yes, the pitchers have blown or been blowned up by poor management in the past(see Buck). Baseball Tonight(I spit on the ground saying it) did a piece with Winfield saying the Rangers are playing well because they lead the league in homers. Man, what a beating.
To the other morons, I guess the Rangers should field a team of 25 pitchers then they’ll have enough pitching. Don’t these clowns bother to see the current state of the team and what they are doing before typing their stupidity. Never in my 30 years of fandom of the Rangers have I ever been this optimistic about the present or future state of pitching.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
I have no idea why they turned out red.
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions
click through percentage is higher
when the team wears the red links (until click through decreases and then we’ll go back to the blue links). I just hope things don’t get ugly when the website goes on the road and doesn’t have room for the red links.
red unis today?
"Yeah, like I had a chance there" - Lancaster batter, after striking out against Derek Holland
I hope we get past the "red unis are good luck" crap real soon.
This team, to date, is legit and the color of uniform they decide to wear holds no importance.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 10:46 AM CDT up reply actions
aren't they, Josey?
aren’t they
"Yeah, like I had a chance there" - Lancaster batter, after striking out against Derek Holland
i havn't seen someone seriously mention that it weeks
and theres a difference betwen playing along with something and truly believing it. For example, noone truly believes they are effecting a no hitter by typing the words no hitter on a blog but they may still intentionally avoid doing so.
the preceding post was a great success.
And we hope you get flaming boil
right in the crack of your a**, and can’t sit at your computer for a week!!
awillis111
The Rangers have been playing legitimately well of late and as mentioned many times previously, I wrote that I’d have nice things to say about the team when this thing had my blessing.
I’m ecstatic the team is playing like this because bad baseball sucks.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Josey
Just so you know, I don’t hope you get a flaming boil in your asscrack.
by FuturePants on May 12, 2009 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Remember that, Future Pants
the next time I kick JD in the nuts.
Speaking of JD, he needs to get off his ass and find this bullpen a couple of more arms.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
Give him credit for O'Day
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
He also gets "credit" for Eddie G and Kris Benson
It’s real nice to runaround popping your jersey when BP or BA says you have the number one farm system but if you really wanna impress the baseball world, fix your team at the major league level.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Eddie G. was good last year
for the Rangers and wasn’t bad in the spring. Benson wasn’t bad in the spring either. I would have liked to have had him start in the BP and not move Feldman there. Eddie does need to go.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Stop defending JD, boomer
Those moves both sucked and this bully on Opening Day was a freaking mess.
A couple of tweaks have been made but this team still needs two more arms (a righty and a lefty) and you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe that to be true.
JD needs to swallow hard and move Holland to the rotation around June 1 and McCarthy to the pen…and then go get a legit lefty for the pen.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Please keep trashing McCarthy
The SP you’ve been pointing to as problems tend to go out and pitch great.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
Bullpens are so hard to figure
given their year-to-year volatility that it’s hard to fault a guy for having one that’s a mess for the first two-three weeks of a season. It really boils down to Ceej being bad Ceej instead of good Ceej (influenced a lot by having some bad luck on some weak hit balls, and that weird, flaky on-the-mound presence he has that doesn’t seem to handle bad luck very well).
IOW, I think giving him credit for fixing it is more relevant than pinging him for it needing fixing.
Insert Juan Cruz argument here.
Who should we trade for, and how much would you be willing to give up?
If you’re going to keep trashing the pen, you might as well try to offer a solution…
Also, if you can even name a team that is ready to start unloading bullpen arms in May, I’d be interested. Most teams won’t start trading off assets during the season until it is certain they’re out of contention…
Cliff Lee.
If we’re still in contention in a month or so I’d expect us to be in on him. (Assuming the Injuns keep sucking like a lonely crackhead on Thanksgiving.)
No idea what that’d take, though.
Probably something like Beavan, Kiker, Vallejo and maybe a marginal bullpen arm or something. Maybe a little more/less. I dunno, I’m usually pretty terrible at figuring out exactly what it’d take to get guys, but that sounds like it’s at least in the ballpark for 1.5 years of C-Lee.
But hot damn would he look good here.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Cliff Lee is a little over kill for the "legit lefty for the pen" that Josey wants
It’s still a good idea, though…
Yah, sorry.
I never pay attention to Josey, I was just thinking about possible adds for this team.
Mike Gonzalez could prolly be had if Atlanta falls out of it a bit by the deadline and you’re looking for a lefty setup man.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:24 PM CDT up reply actions
I'd imagine Cleveland would try to hold the Rangers up
for Lee, but if Daniels could work out the sort of deal you’re talking about…
Yah, it'd prolly take a little more than that.
Though it doesn’t sound that far off to me.
I wish they needed a catcher since that’s where we’re strongest, but with V-Mart, Shoppach and Santana raking down on the farm (still can’t believe they got him for Casey Freaking Blake) they’re one of the few teams that can legitimately argue they’re deeper in quality catchers than we are.
And no way to I part with M-Per, Smoak, Feliz or Der-Hol.
Those four are going nowehre.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions
He's certainly not as good as he showed last year.
But he’s still a very good pitcher.
Think 3.5-.3.75 ERA, 1.2 Whip kind of guy who really limits the walks and kills lefties.
Mostly because he’s a good starter signed for more than one year who stands a better than average chance of hitting the market during the season.
I’m not sure how many other guys fit that description.
I’m not totally in love with him either (as Tricer says below… he’s no CC Sabathia), but if we were 4 games up come the start of June and Cleveland decided to sell, wouldn’t looking into dealing some of our depth for a guy like Lee make a lot of sense?
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Fair enough
I just shiver when I hear talk of trading some farm studs for rentals or quasi-rentals, but if the team is positioned to make a run this year, I could see a trade. I might go into the fetal position until they make playoffs, but I have to say I’m a little more receptive to the concept if it means playoffs.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
Indeed.
I’m a huge advocate of building from within, but this division is winnable, and the idea of dealing some of our good-but-not-great prospects for a legit shot at an actual playoff run is something we should consider if we’re still in it a month or so from now, imo.
There is such a thing as holding on too hard to your prospects a little too hard (Angles, anyone?).
And the idea of a Millwood/Lee/Sheets 1,2,3 next year makes me want to pee in my own mouth, gargle it around a little and then spit it out on a baby.
But a lot of this is dependent on how we do over the next month or so.
We have an incredibly tough stretch coming in early June that will really tell us a lot about this team and what our timetable is in terms of a possible playoff run.
We get @NYY, @Boston then home against the surprisingly stout Blue Jays and the Dodgers.
If we’re still on top or even still close to the top after that stretch, it might be time to think about making a controlled push for ’09, imo.
But that’s a pretty huge if.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions
You're getting me all
hoppycited dirk.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008
That's scary.
Beating Boston would be a huge psychological boost, if you ask me. They just seem to have our number.
I've always loved some of your random sayings
“Pee in my own mouth, gargle it around a little and then spit it out on a baby” is merely the latest in a long line of win and awesome.
I'm guessing that package would fall well short of what the Tribe would expect
Cliff Lee is no CC Sabathia, but since they would be trading away 1.5 years of service compared to just .5, don’t you think they would expect a comparable package?
And the thing that sucks about trading with Clev is that they probably wouldn’t have much interest in any of the catchers.
Doctor please. Some more of these.
Yah, it all depends.
There’s no way I give up M-Per, Smoak, Feliz or Dutch.
They won’t be interested in catchers or CF’ers as they have the Sizemore guy.
Probably two from the Main/Beavan/Kiker/Brigham/NeRa/Font/Boscan group, plus one of Lemon/Vallejo plus another arm, depending on who they’d get out of that first group.
We’re in pretty good position to go out and get a guy like Lee assuming we can get him without mortgaging our future, and I hope if we’re in a position where we’re contending and he’s available I hope we at the very least look into it.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions
You mean there's baseless superstitions in sports?
Next you’ll tell me they’re making the rookies do stupid stuff, or Eddie Guardado isn’t good at baseball anymore.
You crazy bean, you.
did you just say what I think you said?
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on May 12, 2009 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
I know huh?
I’m still trying to process it.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
My worldview is now
fucked.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008
About damn time
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
About damn time
this thing quit being an embarrassment, boomer.
Last year was never legitimate but to date, this thing is.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:35 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree with that
Last year I don’t think any of us were sitting here saying man we are one player away from a WS run. This year is a great start to building on what should be a legit playoff run in 2010. If things break right this year who knows?
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
No, I don't believe this week/weekend is a defining
moment or a test in any way. If they go 2-4, I’m not suddenly going to be in sell mode.
The record will take care of itself as long as they continue to keep their walks and errors down and start to get on base a little bit more (.332 isn’t cutting it but it’s been cold and it’s still early). You may have a lot of different people throwing odd-ball stats at you but this game is much simpler than that.
It all falls under the umbrella of playing smart baseball and the Rangers are doing a much better job in 2009 than they did in 2008.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions
What I meant was more of a mental thing
considering that the Angels are the team that everybody in the sports media has picked to win the AL West.
Yeah, the Angels were picked to win the AL West
but that’s before anybody knew the number of devastating injuries / tragedy they were going to face plus nobody thought their bully would be this bad.
I think the Angels need to be worried about treading water (.500ish) until July 1 and then re-rack.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions
No.
That’s been in the last couple of weeks. Everybody in the media still thinks that getting Lackey and Santana back will pull them back in the race.
Lackey, Santana and the great Vlad
should help the Angels but that team was going to have difficulty winning 90 games this year (I think I had them with 87 wins before the season).
Not sure how everything is going to play out just yet but I do believe 87 wins gets you the AL West crown.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions
The thing about 2009
is that there are no obvious juggernauts in the AL at this time.
Have you seen the Yankees ERA? They’re already old and their new ballpark (which this particular team wasn’t built for) is going to drive them crazy.
Boston’s good but they’re not great and kind of a team that’s in flux (need to replace Papi). I like Tampa but they’re not unbeatable and they’re going to have their hands full just making it to post-season.
The AL Central? The Feisty Hillmans make for a good story (if Soria is hurt, they’re in trouble) and Detroit is starting to play to their paper but those are just decent teams. Nobody else has stepped up from that division.
The AL West? I have a lot of admiration for Mike Scioscia but he’s going to have difficulty winning more than 87 games.
If you can just put your ball on the green and get into the post-season, this is one of those years where anything truly could happen.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions
That was my next question
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
That was my prediction before the season.
I don’t know what they’re going to do now (and I’m letting my prediction stand until more data is available) but they’re a long, long way from getting out of the woods. There are reasons PECOTA, Vegas and several other experts predicted this team would finish with 72-74 wins.
Their manager is a freaking idiot and they’re winning inspite of him.
The GM has always had difficulty making moves that help the major league team win and this team has glaring weaknesses and positional log-jams. This GM has also has to win his next major trade in a big way or he might not survive.
The owner doesn’t give a shit about winning and is unlikely to provide the funds to make any additions no matter if it would help the club.
Could they still finish 73-89? Easily but at this point, on this date, it doesn’t appear likely.
And that’s a good thing.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Is it JD's fault
If Hicks doesn’t pony up the funds? You mean he has to win a trade in a huge way like he did with Tex?
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
Confusing
The GM has always had difficulty making moves that help the major league team win
It’s fine that you feel that way, but it doesn’t mesh well with the fact the GM is responsible for 6 of the 8 positional starters and 4 of the 5 starting pitchers.
If you feel the team is doing well, it certainly isn’t in spite of the GM.
by brettgardner on May 12, 2009 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions
gardner
JD will get credit from me when he actually builds a team that wins consistently. The three years previous, JD was one of this things biggest problems. See Chris Young, AG, John Danks, Armando Galarraga and the hiring/extension of the dipshit known as Ron Washington.
Scoring 901 runs and still finishing below .500 is an embarrassment.
This is a 31 game window and the team is riding the wave of a nice 20 streak where they played smart baseball.
Collectively, the first 11 games of this season were the same old shit we’ve watched since Washington took this thing over.
The team looks legit right now but that opinion is fluid because anything could happen. It would be flat-out stupid to claim this thing is now going to win 90 games.
I like the way they’re playing right now but I need to see much more before they get my ultimate blessing so shelve the football knee-jerk mentality gardner, because this thing needs to breathe a little bit more.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Hmm?
so shelve the football knee-jerk mentality gardner
Well, I don’t even know what that means, but I hardly think I’m knee-jerking. I still think the team finishes below .500.
I’m just pointing out the flaws in your argument.
by brettgardner on May 12, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions
gardner,
The season is 31 games old and you’re asking me if I want to discard my 73-89 prediction.
It’s simply too early and it’s the type of question that would come from a dumbass football mentality.
No, my prediction doesn’t look good right now but we’re not even 20% into the season.
Until further notice, JD (and Washington as well) is still a problem and a nice 31 game window doesn’t sway my opinion.
What I am saying is that they’re doing some of the things they need to do to get better. The red flags of past failures aren’t there right now but there’s too much of the season to left to have a defining opinion on how they’re going to finish.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions
OK
Forget all that bullshit—what is a “dumbass football mentality”?
by brettgardner on May 12, 2009 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions
You want a defining opinion on the Rangers
from me when they’ve played less than 20% of their season.
Who the hell knows how they’re going to finish this season? It’s too fucking early.
What I do know is that the window of opportunity to improve this thing is now open because they’re doing a lot of the things they didn’t do in 2007-2008.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions
I see
So a prediction 30 games into the season is too early, but a prediction before the season is grounds for scoreboarding.
Got it.
by brettgardner on May 12, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions
bg
you asked me if I wanted to distance from my prediction of 73-89.
I said no but conceded that the Rangers were playing better than I thought they would.
You also questioned my opinions on JD.
Why the hell would my opinion on JD change in 31 games?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions
I love reading...
the responses to Josey and wondering what tired rehashed BS he’s spewing.
I’m sure he has all his bases covered. If the team sucks it’s all JD’s fault. If they start to play well with JD’s players then it doesn’t mean anything unless they win the pennant for 5 straight years. All we can do is hope he’s still posting here in a few years and maybe, just maybe, he will admit he’s wrong then. Although I wouldn’t hold my breath.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
If you hold your breath, i guarantee you will die...
waiting for Josey to admit he is a jackass…i mean wrong
JD will never win with you
You will never give JD credit for any trades no matter how good they are. Yes he has made some bad trades but he has made some good ones also. I’m not a JD homer I see the good and the bad. Armando G. has had a rough go lately even pitching in a pitchers park.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
boomer1,
My opinion is open to change if JD ever builds a successful major league team.
He hasn’t done that and the major league team to date, has been an absolute embarrassment ever since he became the GM.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions
JD inherited a team that was 13 months
removed from winning 89 games.
He also got a nice bump in payroll to improve the thing.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, I did
He inherited a team that had lost its 3 best players, had no farm systems to speak of, and carried a long track record of signing high dollar free agents that would get here, collect their paychecks and pretty much suck.
One of Josey's favorite arguments
is that JD took a playoff caliber team and dismantled it because in 2004, the Rangers were able to finish with 89 wins.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
me, me, me, me!!!!
The answer to your question would be….NO
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
JD could win the WS
And you would find fault with him.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
This thing
is 17-14 with a Pythagorean of 17-14. To finish the season at 73-89, they would have to go 56-75 from here on out (43 win%). It seems pretty logical to say that they won’t finish with 73 or fewer wins at this point.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
JW, are you on your meds today?
Just kidding. You can at times make some interesting, insightfull and intformative posts. Those are usually the ones where you refrain from your normal JD and Hicks bashing.
You are right. It does look like the AL is up for grabs this year. The Angels have injuries and are getting old fast. If the Rangers can just get league avg pitching and not kill themselves with errors and BBs they could actually win the AL West.
Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
So, you're saying that the rangers could contend
with league average pitching?
League average pitching
Could go a long way in helping this team contend.
These umps are a bunch of bow-legged uncle fuckers.-D.A.Tron
http://tinyurl.com/ranger-rage
What?
Are you saying you don’t think the Rangers could contend with league average pitching?
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
Whoever thinks
That these Rangers cannot contend with league average pitching is just absolutely dead wrong.
I think the Rangers are contenders with league average pitching.
The offense should be enough
to blast away to first place, even with league average pitching.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
I'm not sold on the
lg avg pitching idea. However, with lg avg defense…
Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
I can't speak to lg avg defense...
But as I stated yesterday, I’ve always felt that with league average pitching, they could contend.
Are you factoring in....(yawns)
….PAP?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
They can contend with league average pitching
Just like Josey can contend with John Edwards for biggest douche in the universe.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
gdawg,
awwwww, are you still mad at me because I had the gall to not have blind faith in some of the Ranger spin doctors who tell the masses how to think even though they should know better?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
I'm not mad at you
I just think you’re one of the biggest douchebags I’ve seen on a Rangers message board.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
You do realize
that I don’t give a shat what a mindless cheerleader for the team thinks of me, doncha?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
I wouldn't expect you to
But then again, I’m wondering why you asked me if I was mad at you unless you held some interest in the answer.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
I'm making fun you, dork.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
*
“…fun of you, dork.”
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Well fuck me
I just got called a dork. I’ve been put in my place.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
Hmmm
“who tell the masses how to think even though they should know better?”
This coming from the guy who thinks everyone who disagrees with him is a mindless, cheerleading, sunshine-pumping, JD-fellating sheep.
"I dont care to debate with a troll." - Sharky
I don't think that people who
disagree with me are those things at all. I have been, on occasion, wrong.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
i cant believe you guys put yourself through this every f'n day
and most of you are the same guys who professed absolute love for the ignore deal, but i guess arent using it at all?
true rangers fans indeed, always encouraging the losers
mormons stole me and held me against my will with Oklahoma beer and 12+ hour work days.
The whole "ignore script" saga
is still hilarious to me.
I’ve always maintained that I would acknowledge when the Rangers were playing well and when it was time to get legitimately excited about their prospects for the season. It’s early but the team is doing a lot of the right things to improve.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Question
Who exactly made you the arbiter of when it was time to get excited about the Rangers’ prospects for this season? Because that’s how your statement comes off- like you’re the only one intelligent/prescient/whatever enough to know when it’s “time to get legitimately excited” about the Rangers’ chances for this year.
I know you don’t give a damn about being liked, but it continues to mystify me that you wonder why people target you, when I can actually hear the condescending attitude and contempt for anyone who disagrees with you coming from every word you write.
"I dont care to debate with a troll." - Sharky
RCCook
Throughout last year after May, people in here and over at NMLR were doing cartwheels about how the team was playing and how that season had a “magical feel” to it.
That magical feel was complete bullshit.
Not just a little bullshit but complete bullshit and it didn’t take groundbreaking research to determine just how correct I was in saying the pendulum was going to swing hard back the other way.
This year, the team, to date, is legit.
While there is so much more of this season left to play and the team has very glaring weaknesses, they’re doing a lot of necessary things to improve.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
i thought we sucked so bad to start off the season last year that we were prospect watching well before we were even thinking draft
wasnt that about right for last season? maybe im way off…
mormons stole me and held me against my will with Oklahoma beer and 12+ hour work days.
This steaming pile was 10-18 to start the season
And had to catch up to Oakland LAA who were both 5 or so games ahead of them throughout all of May. After May, Texas kept playing around .500 ball while the Angels were pulling away quickly.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
Fair enough
But considering how poor this team has been over most of its history, I can’t exactly blame people for holding on to any bit of optimism they can, even if it’s ultimately built on a house of cards.
I do agree that this year’s team looks much more likely to sustain its success, particularly given the defensive improvements and the fact that this team is winning lately on the strength of its pitching.
"I dont care to debate with a troll." - Sharky
relievers warming up
Part of me just thinks it wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t also had so much time off in the last couple years. Not worried about Holland in that respect.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
as long as you dont pitch him in back to back games or
3 times in 5 days, Holland will be fine i think. Keep pitching him 2 out of 5 days and he’ll be fine, that keeps him close enough to his starting/BP sessions that his arm shouldnt be that effected, I hope it has zero effect on him. Im glad they are easily limiting his IP with his BP work.
"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"
Am I the only one
that thinks maybe we move Josh to #4 in the lineup or even #5 to take advantage of the high OBP of the three guys currently 1-3? I think that would make the lineup that much more potent… Kinsler, Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Byrd, Blalock, Cruz, Davis, Salty. There really aren’t any breaks in there and Hamilton is much more protected while still having ample opportunities to drive in runs.
Rivalries aside, RIP Nick Adenhart 04/09/2009.
"if daniels was fired today, he would almost be sure to get another shot somewhere else as a GM
i dont know if you can say the same thing abotu RW" - knockoutking
If you're going to...
do that you may as well hit Andrus leadoff, keep MY in the 2 hole and hit Kinsler 3rd.
I don’t think Andrus is ready to hit at the top of the order yet. However I do think Ian is ready for that 3 hole ahead of Josh.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Anyone going tonight?
Also, is anyone aware if you can redeem half price tickets for a Dr. Pepper can at the Pearl & McKinney office?
Yep.
About 20 rows behind Nolan’s and Hicks’ bald spots.
Over & Under for tonight's attendance...
Team is in first place and playing well of late.
School is still in, weather is no factor.
No fireworks or $1 hot dogs to give away plus an underwhelming opponent.
20,500.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions
the tickets I'm using were freebies
My work has season tickets plus a few mini plans. According to my boss the Rangers called yesterday and said we have 30 upper deck tickets that we’d like to give to you. Apparently they need bodies in seats.
Doctor please. Some more of these.
Revised over / under
17,500
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm going
the usual 332 seats….
"You got a guy coming up there who can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat." - Tom Grieve on Richie Sexson, 5.8.2008
"I’ve been a Rangers fan all my life and I can tell you there’s been plenty of fucking crying in baseball…" - WhipSmart, 6.3.08
"When it comes to Jeff Mathis, the story ends with us putting one in his earhole." - AJM, 7.7.08
Anyone know what jerseys they are wearing tonight?
I need to wear the correct counterpar.
by FuturePants on May 12, 2009 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Probably
which is dumb, since it’s the Angels this weekend.
"You got a guy coming up there who can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat." - Tom Grieve on Richie Sexson, 5.8.2008
"I’ve been a Rangers fan all my life and I can tell you there’s been plenty of fucking crying in baseball…" - WhipSmart, 6.3.08
"When it comes to Jeff Mathis, the story ends with us putting one in his earhole." - AJM, 7.7.08
No worse than having KC in with blue jersey's and gray pants
and Us in blue jersey’s and white pants
red
nice
"if my kid said 'uhh' that much, i would say, Hey! ... stop saying 'uhh' that much..." - dennis miller
ESPN Monday Night Baseball
I’m reading a book and casually watching the Braves/Mets game last night when Steve Phillips throws out a dousy – he says that the Mets don’t score runs for Santana because of the rhythym that Santana sets for the game, apparently this rhythym is not conducive to Mets run production. Hershiser and the play-by-play guy didn’t even know what to say.
And, could ESPN have randomly picked two douchier guys to be in the same booth?
"A good start would be not giving up 900 runs again." -Jon Daniels
by Randy Richardson on May 12, 2009 11:27 AM CDT reply actions
They said this about clemens a few years ago
when he had a string of games where the astros couldn’t put together run support. And by they, I mean Steve Phillips and co. They keep letting the bastard talk.
Of course, back then, we used to have a website that publicly called him and co. out for it with much hijinx. Hopefully it will help you as it helped me back then.
(Notice who the article points out got the best run support in 2005).
by ab03 on May 12, 2009 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
what sucks is that I kinda like Steve Phillips
I just don’t like what he has to say quite frequently
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on May 12, 2009 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
I like Phillips on the radio in smaller segments.
He may be over-exposed in the three hours it takes to play a game but he doesn’t annoy me.
I have no problems with Hershiser.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on May 12, 2009 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions
Phillips may not be the all time worst...
…but Jesus is he an idiot.
by FuturePants on May 12, 2009 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions
i like him in small doses
at least more than anybody else on ESPN outside of Gammons, but again, some of his stuff is really dumb
"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"
He's actually said that before.
He’s talked about the rhythm starters set a couple times. FJM mocked it.
Mavs/Nuggets Announcer...
Not sure who it was, but I was watching the Mavs game last night, Dallas has the ball, Den down 1, with 3.1 secs left the announcer says:
“The important thing for Denver to remember here is that they have to foul, they can’t just let the clock run out”
Well, no shit Sherlock. I was shocked that an NBA announcer would say something that stupid.
This is from 5 days ago
but I did a search and couldn’t find the article:
It’s insider and I no longer have an account so don’t know what it says but the headline is intriguing.
They have the Rangers 2nd behind the A's
It’s just looking at trades for prospects from the last 2 years.
2. Texas Rangers
Notable trade-aways: RHP Eric Gagne; RHP Armando Galarraga; LHP Danny Herrera; C Gerald Laird; OF Kenny Lofton; OF John Mayberry Jr.; 1B Mark Teixeira; RHP Edinson Volquez
Notable acquisitions: SS Elvis Andrus; OF Engel Beltre; RHP Neftali Feliz; OF Greg Golson; LHP Matt Harrison; OF Josh Hamilton; LHP Beau Jones; RHP Guillermo Moscoso; OF David Murphy; C Max Ramirez; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
The Mark Teixeira trade gets all of the attention and with good reason — because for a first baseman they had no way of keeping, the Rangers got two starting up-the-middle players, a solid back-end starter, and one of the best pitching prospects in the game with Neftali Feliz. Beyond that, though, the Rangers have done an excellent job of leveraging teams at the deadline. Eric Gagne has done nothing since leaving, and Texas got underrated outfielder David Murphy and tools-laden prospect Engel Beltre in return. The Josh Hamilton deal is one they receive a lot of credit for, but the Rangers did give up Edinson Volquez to get him, so it’s quite possible that deal is no more than a push in the end.
The past two years have brought some much-needed talent to the system, but moves have not been made without mistakes. For an organization constantly desperate for pitching, they made a huge mistake in dealing a then-struggling Armando Galarraga to the Tigers for nothing catcher Michel Hernandez. The team also benefits from my cut-off point of January 2007, because in the previous year they made some of the worst deals in baseball, dealing away two more excellent starting pitchers in John Danks and Chris Young as well as All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for what basically amounts to back-of-the-rotation starter Brandon McCarthy.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on May 12, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions
I hope Beau Jones, Moscoso and Golson
have something to show down the road, too…
"Hang-Dai, Wu...Hang-Fu$&ing-Dai"
by Walter Sobchak on May 12, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions
Just curious
Could you post the A’s part too?
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
OAK
1. Oakland Athletics
Notable trade-aways: C John Baker; RHP Joe Blanton; OF Milton Bradley; RHP Chad Gaudin; RHP Dan Haren; RHP Rich Harden; C Jason Kendall; OF Mark Kotsay; OF Richie Robnett; RHP Connor Robertson; INF Marco Scutaro; SS Justin Sellers; 1B/OF Nick Swisher; RHP Huston Street
Notable acquisitions: LHP Brett Anderson; LHP Jerry Blevins; RHP Andrew Brown; 2B/SS Adrian Cardenas; 1B Chris Carter; OF Aaron Cunningham; DH Jack Cust; RHP Fautino de los Santos; RHP Joey Devine; C Josh Donaldson; LHP Dana Eveland; RHP Sean Gallagher; LHP Gio Gonzalez; OF Matt Holliday; LHP Josh Outman; 2B/OF Eric Patterson; OF Ryan Sweeney; 2B Corey Wimberly; RHP Michael Wuertz
That’s a busy two years — and not everyone is listed there, as I balanced out players who were acquired and later dealt away themselves, like Greg Smith and Carlos Gonzalez. The A’s rebuilding process began with the massive trade of Dan Haren; in return, they received a pair of big league starting pitchers, five players overall who have already reached the majors and one of the better power prospects in the game. They’ve also shown a knack for bolstering their relief corps for practically nothing, acquiring the now-injured Joey Devine for what little was left of Mark Kotsay, and this season adding righty Michael Wuertz from the Cubs for a pair of non-prospects. Don’t forget that Jack Cust, who has hit 62 home runs and drawn 234 walks since his pick-up shortly into the 2007 season, was acquired merely for cash considerations.
The A’s have taken advantage of players at their maximum value as well, especially in the Matt Holliday deal, where the two players after the always-risky Carlos Gonzalez were Huston Street, a set-up man in closer’s clothing, and Greg Smith, who by any rational statistical evaluation was pitching completely and utterly over his head in 2008.
The A’s have some deals that aren’t pure successes, or are at least difficult to evaluate. The most difficult might be the Nick Swisher deal. Swisher had a bad year in 2008, but looks fantastic this year. The A’s return has had mixed results so far. Power arm Fautino de los Santos had Tommy John surgery last year, Gio Gonzalez has been consistently inconsistent, and while Ryan Sweeney is the big league club’s everyday centerfielder, does he deserve to be with a career batting line of .278/.342/.372 in an Oakland uniform?
The other deal that is hard to evaluate is last year’s trade of Rich Harden to the Cubs. Oakland did not get much from Chicago, but Harden’s injury history played a major role in the low return, and it’s the rare big leaguer-for-prospects deal where both sides assumed upside risk. The one mistake was very hard, if not impossible to foresee at the time, as John Baker was a semi-organizational player when he was dealt to Florida for minor league slugger Jason Stokes. Now he’s the Marlins’ starting catcher in the big leagues, while the oft-injured Stokes played just 18 games at Triple-A for Oakland before his constant back problems ended his career.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on May 12, 2009 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
See? Stokes' body was rejecting playing in the Show while Baker is a star for another team.
That GM isn’t qualified to fetch my donuts. ;)
Heh.
Decent overview, but calling Chris Young an excellent starter on par with John Danks made me giggle a little.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
You want the mustache on or off? ... ... ... Too bad.
by thedirkatron on May 12, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Nice of you...
to grace us with your presence Z. How’s everything over at the DMN blog? Are they ready to put you in charge over there yet?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
I’m still kind of feeling my way through how detailed to be win minor league stuff. I decided that I’d start the season making sure that people are familiar with guys like Bleier and Pina, rather than assuming that they are, but I intend to find more that would interest the die hards a little more as the season goes along. The thing that I’ve struggled with the most is that they’ll ask me, for example, to schedule a post on the major league team for 9:30, so instead of writing about things as I observe them, I’m having to think up something for a particular time and topic like a real journalist type would, and most everything is canned since it’s easier to just stay up until 1:30am than to find time to come up with something and write it in the middle of the work day. Oh and Richard Durrett works his butt off.
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Did anyone make it out to Pappadeux yesterday?
looks like they had a great turn out… Great to hear for the inside corner blog. I hope Evan keeps up the great work over there.
"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"
Looked packed.
Inside Corner sez: 350+ people turned out. A friend and I rolled up a little late (stoopid work), and there were easily 45 people out front standing in line. We kept driving and got some happy hour beers elsewhere. Sniffle.
Thanks Guys.
I’m kinda liking what i read about Matt Purke from Spring, TX. Anyone think there’s a chance he drops to us?
I haven't read up on
agents and bonus demands yet, but I think it’s pretty slim at this point.
by Brett Perryman on May 12, 2009 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions
He's probably crazy.
AJM says all of us folks from Spring are crazy.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
Galvanized
You’ll never rust
"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 May 12, 2009 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Just read a post on fangraphs...
that mentioned something I had not thought about.
It mainly says not to assume the angels will get much better with the additions of Santana and Lackey. After all, their young pitching is the only reason they are above .500. Their offense and defense are not that good. Replacing good pitching with good pitching will not make them much better than they are right now.
I've been saying this for the past few days
They’ve gotten ridiculously good performances out of their pitching replacements and are still playing just above .500 ball. Lackey and Santana at best are going to come in and do what their pitchers have done. The bullpen is still a mess right now and their offense is still revolving around Torii Hunter having the best year of his career and Napoli hitting like the best player in the AL.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
I think their offense is pretty good personally
and will improve when vlad returns, hes still pretty good.
the preceding post was a great success.
Hunter and Napoli will regress
If Kendrick (1100+ career PAs and a 96 OPS+) and Figgins (82 OPS+ in 520 PAs in 2008 to go with a 75 OPS+ in 2009) get it going and then Vlad can come back and not show signs of aging or injury at the age of 34, then they can have a pretty dynamic offense.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
I think they might just
win the division with league average pitching.
4/10/09 - Josh Hamilton's last walk.
"You know a pitching prospect isn't any good if John Daniels doesn't trade him away but keeps him insteaad." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
"You probably can throw Neftali Feliz on that group of overblown Rangers pitching prospect failures." - http://crops.mlblogs.com/
9/14 in both runs scored and OPS...
Yeah, real strong offense.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008
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