Wednesday a.m. Rangers things

The argument that relievers can get into more games than starters, so if you are going to pick, putting a guy in the pen is more valuable is so so so stupid to me.

…half as dramatically as they described Marlon’s heroic attempts to make his way to centerfield after his in jury last night.

Jim Reeves says that the future of Neftali Feliz — as starter or reliever — is a key question for the offseason. He indicates Ron Washington, Mike Maddux, and Andy Hawkins all seem to prefer Feliz out of the bullpen, while Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan see him as a starter.

Reeves also quotes Washington as saying that Feliz could impact “four or five games a week” as a reliever, and the idea of Washington going to Feliz five times a week out of the pen is enough for me to want to see him back in the rotation ASAP.

And statements like this make it very clear to me that the only way Washington should stick around is if he is on a super-short leash. He’s already screwing with Borbon and now he wants to ruin the best pitcher ever to come up as a Ranger….

has been the 2nd biggest disappointment of the season after Davis’ implosion.

After hearing all the talk of a future Gold Glove defensive CF, he looks more like a classic tweener who doesn’t have the arm or instincts to be a good defensive CF, and doesn’t have the power to be a good offensive LF.

Hopefully they get him more playing time in CF through garbage time the rest of the year, and maybe his jump on the ball improves. I doubt his arm ever significantly improves though.

Nearly every #1-3 SP at the big-league level could be a useful to dominant reliever. The fact that a guy pitches 4-5 times a week (!) does not mean he has a greater influence on the team’s fortunes over the course of a season. You put Feliz in the pen if you think he doesn’t (and perhaps never will) have the secondary stuff to get guys out on the third trip through the order. Otherwise, you put him in the rotation and let him get 20 outs every time he enters the game, rather than 3. FML.

if the Rangers don’t resign Byrd?

If Borbon’s defense is so bad that he can’t play CF for a team that’s been eliminated and essentially guarantees losses, I guess it’s time to trade him.

The following might be the dumbest, most speculative thing I’ve ever said, but I’m wondering if keeping Borbon down is Ron’s way to make sure his clubhouse favorite gets a new contract. Like I said, I have no basis for saying this, but what the hell can it hurt to give Julio some time in CF?

Minorleaguesplits has some basic range statistics that seem to emulate +/-; I’m not sure how their formula works, but it has a better correlation with the truth than Wash’s gut. Anyway… Borbon put up +17 last year and +13 this year in Centerfield, both very good numbers. In comparison, Craig Gentry put up a 0 last year and a +2 this year.

so much stupid in Washington’s quotes and actions the last few days. Byrd’s hip makes it that much more obvious he should not be resigned.

Part of me wouldn’t be surprised if the market for Byrd wasn’t all that strong this winter, in fact I fear that he’ll look just reasonable enough that the Rangers will think his veteranness is worth it.

I’ve had it with Wash and I’m now on the he’s an dumbass train. There may not be much room left, and I may be one of the last LSBers on, but I’ve had enough of him. His decisions/comments the last week have been nothing short of idiotic.

The Rangers don’t have to sign Byrd.
The Rangers don’t have to play Blalock.
The Rangers don’t have to bench Cruz.
The Rangers should be playing Borbon in CF.
The Rangers should be playing TT.

And the fact that he wants Feliz in the ‘pen pushed me over the line. If Wash tries to put the Rangers best pitching prospect in the ’pen I’ll lead the charge for him to get shit-canned myself.

I’m done defending Wash.

AJM assures us that a manager is only worth +/- 2 wins a season.

The Rangers believe Borbon can play center field, even if he has only played a single inning there since being called up Aug. 7.

“It’s kind of like Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz starting off in the bullpen before getting a shot at the starting rotation,” assistant general manager Thad Levine said. “Just because we’re starting Julio off in a corner outfield spot doesn’t mean he won’t eventually wind up in center.”

Borbon, who will play center field for Las Aguilas in the Dominican Republic this winter, is absolutely convinced he can play the position.

“I don’t have a problem at all getting reads in center,” Borbon said. “It’s just a matter of getting opportunity and proving myself to people. But I have no doubt about my ability.”

Reeves

I’m glad more and more people are seeing this now.

That is our rotation for next year, and somebody better tell Wash before he falls in love with some scrub veteran.

But Wash is really starting to scare me. I’ve wondered for a long time how this organization can put their trust in such a baseball imbecile, but now it’s like all my worst fears about Wash are coming true just in time for an important offseason and phase for our team.

The only comfort I’ve been able to take so far is Wash has talked before at the end of seasons, and his pipe dreams have amounted to nothing, but (for some reason) he still is the manager and still has to have some amount of input with JD and Nolan or he wouldn’t be employed here. I’m really scared that we’re about to see Wash turn into Buck v2.0.