Galloway column on the Rangers
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 2, 2010 10:09 AM CST
138 comments
A story that my Bloglines feed didn't pick up until after I'd done the morning roundup is this column from Randy Galloway, about the Rangers...
It is mostly quotes from "A.L. voices" about the Rangers chances and some of the guys they added this offseason, although there's also some discussion about the Rangers not keeping Kevin Millwood and what efforts were made to land Cliff Lee.
Worth checking out...
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It's a very honest column about the off-season (I wondered why the Angels wouldn't resign their icon)
and it’s also a very LSB Lewinsky-friendly (JD is not bashed by RG) piece.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
"LSB Lewinsky-friendly"
I don’t get it.
"Ok, post your favorite moment of the Tom Hicks era
Mine is today when he sold the team." - t ball
Move along...don't engage
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Don't usually like Galloway
but the “Hicks-in-a-mess” line made me laugh.
I don’t get the fascination with Millwood. His second half was awful, and he’s not getting any younger. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s out of the league within the next two years.
meta-signature
I liked Millwood here
Great guy, bulldog, but he will get slaughtered in the East and I’m gonna hate to see it.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
by R Derff on Feb 2, 2010 3:34 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
He was fat, old, and had the worst peripgrials in his entire career last season.
He would’ve gotten slaughtered here, and you would’ve been begging to see him dumped at the deadline.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
Some people...
actually do like, and root for, baseball players, man.
by ghostofErikThompson on Feb 3, 2010 1:35 AM CST up reply actions
I remember that phase of my baseball fandom.
It was fun, but lordy was I dumb then.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
So...
being a not-dumb baseball fan means trying to figure out what makes every baseball player suck?
That must not be very fun.
by ghostofErikThompson on Feb 3, 2010 7:59 PM CST up reply actions
No
It’s just hard to like players when you know they suck.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
Come on really?
Your really saying you thought Millwood sucked last year? I think he was a big part of keeping this thing respectable in ‘09. I just think he’s gonna suck this year.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
See, this
I just think he’s gonna suck this year.
Is pretty much my entire point. I just can’t miss a fat fuck whose indicators all say he’s in for a sharp decline.
As far as Millwood while he was here… he was mediocre. Not that he didn’t have value, but in large part he was the epitome of cliche Ranger pitching: aging, overpaid mediocrity. He was a sterotype I don’t want to see again at the RBiA anytime soon.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
. I just think he’s gonna suck this year.
Means, I think it’s going to be a whole lot tougher on him throwing to AL East teams.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
You are...
the epitome of “Rooting for laundry.”
by ghostofErikThompson on Feb 3, 2010 10:43 PM CST up reply actions
Doesn't really say anything we haven't already been saying.
-If Vlad stays healthy, it’s a great deal for Texas. If not, it’s not.
-Colby Lewis has to establish that he can pitch in MLB.
Maybe the first time we’ve read it in a newspaper, but pretty much everything in the column has already been discussed (and in the case of Vlad, ad nauseum) here.
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
I don't remember anybody in the DMN
asking why the Angels would let go of a player like Vlad who meant that much to the franchise (and replacing him with Matsui).
Has anybody around here really put the Cobra Lewis signing under a microscope? Is there a blueprint for an American pitcher struggling in The Show, going to Japan to find it and then coming back and pitching successfully?
I’ve seen nothing but media sugar kisses thrown at Harden.
Now the column itself is kind of mailed in because it’s filled with quotes but the quotes are very good.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
you do realize that theres not THAT much of a history of MLB pitchers going to japan
and coming back @ all…used to be, IIRC, that you went to japan when your career was in its twilight
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Feb 2, 2010 10:33 AM CST up reply actions
Which
is exactly why I’m not convinced that Lewis is going to give us 175+ IPs with an ERA under 4.50. Those pitchers cost a lot more than $ 2.5 million per.
If Lewis puts up those kind of numbers in 2010, I will give him kudos a la Darren O’day for a job well done.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
"give him kudos" / him = 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"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
hey im kind of with you
i think hes gonna be a 3 or 4 guy, and only b/c i think holland is the #5 almost no matter what (to keep his IP down)
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Feb 2, 2010 10:57 AM CST up reply actions
Yes.
Evan Grant ran a piece on Jan. 10, examining the Vlad signing in depth.
There have been many discussions about Lewis.
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
What part of EG's article asks
why the Angels would happily let him go to a division rival and replace him with somebody like Matsui?
That’s the big question. Nobody knows Vlad better than LAAA. He’s a true icon and one of the most important players in the history of the franchise but they had no problems with him signing with Texas.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
they let him go because of his (IIRC) huge salary if they picked up the option
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Feb 2, 2010 10:58 AM CST up reply actions
No. His contract expired. They didn't even offer arbitration (he was a Type B FA).
It appears they really didn’t want to pay him.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
oops
thx
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Feb 2, 2010 11:29 AM CST up reply actions
Isn't there something
about arbitration though that means he’s not going to go from $15MM or whatever he was making to what the Rangers got him at?
I'm not sure.
There is the provision that the club cannot submit a salary less than 80% of the previous year’s salary, but that applies to players under reserve for the team. I don’t know if a player is still under reserve if the contract has expired (ie becomes a free agent).
Well, I just found it. Arbitration for a free agent isn’t bound by that rule. The player and the club exchange figures, and an arbitrator selects one of the figures.
Don’t know if there is precedence for a cut from $15M to $7M in this process.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
he wasn't offered arbitration
and became a FA. He negotiates a new contract from there. His old contract has no bearings on the new one. Usually players don’t like to make that much less, but it’s the market we’re in and the value for aging players is not good.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
if he isnt offered arb they cant resign him until something like 30 days after the season starts (dont quote me on that) and if they offer arb, he can only drop 20% in salary.
so he couldnt take less and sign with them before the season and they couldnt offer below 20% in arb.
dunno why i know that but it came up with us a few years ago.
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
You are correct
"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.
x
if he isnt offered arb they cant resign him until something like 30 days after the season starts
I know you said “don’t quote me on that”. But this is incorrect. For example, just this offseason, the Yankees declined to offer Pettitte arbitration and then re-signed him a few weeks later.
by Randy Richardson on Feb 2, 2010 4:51 PM CST up reply actions
right but the player of enough service time like AP
can refuse arb, which is different at which point i think he cannot be signed until a certain point. thats different from the club declining the option and the player resigning.
which is why i said
dont quote me on that.
its a very detailed difference, barely worth discussing. but a difference none the less.
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
declining to offer arb not declining the option
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
I'm honestly confused
as to the point you’re trying to make.
by Randy Richardson on Feb 2, 2010 8:05 PM CST up reply actions
This is not true
That used to be the rule, for players who were free agents and who were then not offered arbitration, but that rule changed a couple of years ago.
You can non-tender a player and then re-sign him, or you can refuse to offer a free agent arbitration and then re-sign him.
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 2, 2010 7:13 PM CST up reply actions
Is Cashman an idiot for letting Abreu walk?
I seem to remember many discussions about it. 5 mil. looked pretty cheap in August. I HOPE this is the case come this August for the Rangers.
This just in – all GM’s make mistakes. It’s the nature of the business. When dealing with humans, one must expect variances on performance. No one can say for certain what the future may be, however, it is easy to see how the Rangers see it.
If Lewis does suck, what is lost? IMO, nothing as the team can easily release him.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
He will not answer this
If he does he will say that Cashman has earned the right to make a mistake every now and then.
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
See...no response
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
You know...
…you really should have gone to journalism school.
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
Well, the Rangers have Smoak waiting in the wings if Vlad comes up gimp.
The Angels just couldn’t take the risk. They don’t have anyone to step in as an injury replacement.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
don't start with him about Smoak "waiting in the wings"
(Wife) "So what do you want to watch on the T.V.? UFC or porn?"
(Husband) "Hmm... well, porn, I guess."
I think Smoak
is eventually going to be good with an upside of possible greatness in The Show but can we see him conquer AAA before we get his bust ready for Cooperstown?
I’m not expecting Smoak to do anything meaningful in The Show this 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"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
You going tonight?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
I'd
be too much of a distraction to the festivities.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Methinks you overrate yourself.
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
Don't flatter yourself
Zit on a ants ass is all you are. You think you are much larger than you are.
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
If
Verne Troyer cut off a digit, he’d play boomer in the LSB movie.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
That doesn't make any sense.
So you’re saying that you (zit on an ant’s ass) would be smaller than boomer (Verne Troyer’s severed digit)?
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
GREATNESS
You are like a car wreck. Everyone might rubber neck at first to see what is going on, but after a few minutes they would go on with their lives
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 2, 2010 11:24 AM CST up reply actions
Wow.
Dude, I don’t think anyone would give a shit to be honest.
Go and we’ll have a couple of pops, maybe get Chuck to sign our bosoms.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
You know, I was going to give you hell for saying that you'd get Chuck to sign your bosom.
But then I realized that I’m not totally opposed to that.
"Don’t want to spend my night waiting in line unless it’s for more beer."
--EssBee, on LoneStarBall, Jan. 21, 2010
I don't think they'd care either
Hell, Josey, you get on my nerves as much as anyone here, but if I ever met you in person, I’d be much more interested in shaking your hand and engaging in some serious Ranger discussion than I would anything else.
"To have the judgment and wisdom and personal touch of Nolan Ryan, and the tremendous group that JD has assembled, I think the Rangers on the baseball side are the envy of every franchise in baseball in terms of talent."
-- Chuck Greenberg
Thanks but no thanks.
You boys have fun tonight and shake a pom pom for me.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
I think you'll be the only
recognizable person there. The ’stache rules.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Sadly, I'm full beard again....I was creeping people out at work.
And the Mrs wouldn’t have anything to do with me…physically or verbally.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Why don't you just shave it all off?
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
I grew a full beard out 7 yrs ago and have shaved it off once (see pic)
Don’t know why, just like the beard. It’s a frame of mind Boom.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
I haven't been clean shaven
since ‘95. You really do get so accustomed to it, that you’d feel naked without it.
Plus, shaving sucks.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
I feel that
Guys get caught up in their hair—facial or otherwise—when they have nothing else going on.
Odd.
It’s not like buying a sports car and wearing designer jeans in your 40s. I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘caught up’.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Is this guy a complete prick?
Or am I missing something? Seems like 90% of what he says is acting like a dick. Unless he’s critiquing basketball players.
I think Brett is cool
he just PMSes sometimes a bit more than most of us.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I'm a complete prick
So go ahead and fuck off, please.
by brettgardner on Feb 2, 2010 10:23 PM CST up reply actions
You're all talk, you just need a hug.
Somebody give this prick a hug, huh?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
I have no problems with anyone
And really the only people who bitch about me are new guys with super-generic screen names desperately looking for an angle.
Thus, I’m pretty quick to admit to being a prick in exchange for fewer posts from said new guy.
by brettgardner on Feb 2, 2010 10:33 PM CST up reply actions
The brutal honesty is why we love you.
Not that you give a fuck.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Note to self....
The fact that I’m relatively new….and that I have a “super generic screen name” means that I shouldn’t post on here. Good point Brett. I can see how screen names indicate intelligence levels. I think you have little man’s syndrome.
If being
an internet prick is cool, consider brett Miles Davis…
I find it humorous how many internet badasses there are. I’m a prick, fuck off, I’m sooooo cool. Relax and smile every once in awhile…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 2, 2010 10:32 PM CST up reply actions
Have you ever noticed
That you’re not very smart and all of your opinions are bland? I mean, we all have.
by brettgardner on Feb 2, 2010 10:35 PM CST up reply actions
Have you ever noticed
that despite all the insults and sarcastic comments, at the end of the day you are just another faceless internet message board poster who no one gives a shit about.
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 3, 2010 9:19 AM CST up reply actions
Yes.
I’m not sure why you think I would care about that.
But good point?
by brettgardner on Feb 3, 2010 10:35 AM CST up reply actions
Your
douche rating is off the charts. But at least you amuse me with your weak attempts at apathy. I would guess that at the end of the day, if they took your LSB personality away from you, you would cry alligator tears…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 3, 2010 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
The funny thing about ASL
is how much he whines about insults thrown back his way although he’s the one throwing the first punch.
It was the same thing in football. Beats his chest about the greatness of TCU, rips on Texas Tech for being a “gimmick team” and then complains when he gets tomatoes thrown at him after TCU shits the bed fantastic at the Fiesta Bowl.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
Josey
we agreed that you wouldn’t mention Tech football again until they made a BCS bowl. Stick to the agreement.
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 3, 2010 11:04 AM CST up reply actions
Um
That’s “crocodile tears” and yeah, you have absolutely no clue what it means.
by brettgardner on Feb 3, 2010 11:05 AM CST up reply actions
Also
How can you have a weak attempt at apathy?
by brettgardner on Feb 3, 2010 11:07 AM CST up reply actions
Because
you really do care, you just make weak attempts to prove to everyone that you don’t, therefore a weak attempt at apathy. Nice work boy genius…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 3, 2010 1:06 PM CST up reply actions
I would say that you care about
“all the new guys with super generic screen names”….otherwise you wouldn’t have devoted that much time/space to posting about it. Maybe you don’t know what the definition of apathy is…? If you were truly apathetic you would’ve just ignored the whole thing.
No.
I didn’t care about that point. That doesn’t make me generally apathetic.
Please, please don’t respond to me anymore.
I called you apathetic
because you remind me of a middle school kid shopping at Hot Topic for a t-shirt that reads something like, I’m a prick, live with it and than sporting it around school just hoping to high heaven that everyone notices your shirt.
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 3, 2010 8:15 PM CST up reply actions
Don't respond to you?
Or the internet tough guy is gonna come and take me down? Btw…your basketball scouting reports make you sound like a complete retard…so please spare everyone here and keep them to yourself. Thanks!
OK.
Then it shouldn’t be a problem ignoring me.
by brettgardner on Feb 3, 2010 10:58 PM CST up reply actions
I'll ignore you as long as you
Stop posting god-awful scouting reports of basketball players that sound like something my little sister came up with.
Nah...I got plenty going on.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Shaving does suck...
I had a ‘stache my senior year in HS but quickly shaved it off. As much as I hate to shave I can’t stand how it itches after a few days.
Josey Wales born on LSB July 18, 2006 Jumped the shark--That glorious day in 2008. RIP Josey Wales.
In the interest of quicker games Ron should just tell the ump he's pulling the Feliz card and the ump should rule the inning over.--Sherman McCoy on Sept. 4, 2009
Wish I had that problem
I can go a week without shaving, and still not have more than a small buildup of hair on my sideburns and cheeks.
It takes me a good 2-3 weeks to grow even a sparse Jeffrey Dahmer mustache; the small goatee I have on my chin takes a full month, and it only extends about 2 inches from my bottom lip.
"To have the judgment and wisdom and personal touch of Nolan Ryan, and the tremendous group that JD has assembled, I think the Rangers on the baseball side are the envy of every franchise in baseball in terms of talent."
-- Chuck Greenberg
Did you ask a question tonight?
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
I must have missed where your identity became public knowledge
People seem to know, but I do not. Not that I give a shit about it either way, but I like to be informed.
Gracchus (about Obama): I think he knows what America is. America is the mob. Conjure money for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of America is not the paper of the Constitution, it's the power of the media. He'll bring them debt - and they will love him for it.
Exactly
unless you actually come dressed as The Outlaw Josey Wales, would anyone know who the hell you were? According to Jamey, you are a little anti-social recluse anyway…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 2, 2010 12:49 PM CST up reply actions
Nah
no more personal than when he tries to insult other people’s profession even though he, of course, never tells us what he does for a living
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Feb 2, 2010 2:28 PM CST up reply actions
I didn't say we should start the season with Smoak.
I only said he was an emergency option should Vlad go down with an injury. It’s a luxury the Halos don’t have, and I would bet that the lack of such an option played into their decision to not sign Vlad.
So, even if the Rangers hold the same opinion of Vlad that the Angels have — namely he’s going to break — they can take that risk, enabling them to reap the upside should he not break.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
I've seen several reports this winter about the Angels being up against a payroll boundary
I’m not at all surprised that they let go of the guys that signed elsewhere. Whether or not you believe Vlad will be healthy, it was a no brainer to let him go elsewhere, especially after they signed Matsui at a decent dollar amount.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
It's the age old "contract vs. productivity" arguement
They got younger in taking Kazmir as an insurance policy for Lackey. I would be nervous if we were giving Lackey 5 years at $15 per. He started having injury problems, and his career reminds me too much of Millwood. Yeah he’s upper rotation starter now, but I could see him slipping tremendously in the next few years. Figgins is a nice player, but he’s not $10+ mil a year for me and Vlad is on the downside of his career. The Angels took a step back this year, but it’s financially responsible for the future. You don’t want to be the Cubs right now…
Yep
Price/performance trumps the other elements of the 40.
"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 Feb 2, 2010 11:32 AM CST up reply actions
Worth checking out...
And Grandpa Urine never belong in the same post, let alone the same zip code.
"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.
this line made me sign back in and comment on it
Our scouts say Seattle also didn’t seem to give up all that much in prospects. The Rangers have better prospects."
(Good point on Cliff Lee. I hear two different versions in Arlington. One says the $9 million on Lee’s 2010 contract prevented the Rangers from being a player. The other says money wasn’t the issue. Then again, how could money have not been an issue?)
per fangraphs the phillies recieved their number:
- phillippe aumont – SP
- juan ramirez – SP
- tyson gillies – OF
granted their system lost their #2 guy (taylor) and #3 (drabek) in the same trade, but its not like they were trading scrubs…now was it a GREAT deal for the phillies, no but it was what they had to do to get halladay (however the turning around and signing joe blanton for 25 mil was…interesting to say the least)
the other thing to consider is that the halladay/lee trade was finalized VERY close (12/16 i believe) to when greenberg agreed to buy the rangers. now had the greenberg deal been done on say 12/1 or 11/1 then it may have been a different situation…
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
Vlad
The problem with Galloway’s line of logic is that you could say the same thing about Matsui. So the Angels are so sure about Vlad, but they go out and sign an older guy to replace him who’s played about 120 fewer games than Vlad has over the past 4 years.
by Randy Richardson on Feb 2, 2010 10:50 AM CST reply actions
Their willingness to spend on Matsui's injuries and not Vlad's kind of tells the story, since both got about the same contract.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
But if i recall correctly
The angels had an option on Vlad worth much more than what he or Matsui got. They saved quite a significant chunk switching from Vlad to Matsui.
Elvis has "shook up" Arlington!!
I don't think they had an option, but if they had offered him arbitration
to protect their draft choice compensation – he likely would have taken them up on it. Vlad would have cost the Angels a lot more than he cost the Rangers. It’s a lot easier to let someone go if you’re worried at all about their health at the contract level he would have gotten in arbitration. The signing made much more sense for any other team than the Angels.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Yeah now that I think about it, i think tball is right
i think i remember HH talking about this at the time we were “in talks” with Vlad. I would imagine it didnt save them a ton but something to the tune of 2-4mil
Elvis has "shook up" Arlington!!
I think he misses a very important aspect: the Rangers pitching depth.
You can always find someone who will say Harden and Lewis are silly gambles. But, the real story here is the Rangers have the depth to take a gamble.
It sucks they have to gamble due to their financial situation. It would be great to have a rotation of Harden, Lee, Millwood, Lewis, Hunter/BMac/Holland/Feliz. However, the Rangers are one of the few teams that can “make some lemonade” given the lemons of this financial meltdown and Hicks’ business model, and it’s a credit to them that they understood that and found the high-upside bets.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Also, Tim Kurkjian with a story on Colby Lewis
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Good story
Especially Bobby V’s input.
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
Good story
Some good quotes:
“There is a significant difference in his delivery and arm angle — he’s more compact, he has more of a classic motion, his arm is pointed toward the plate more consistently,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.
Over here, I was so sporadic. I was trying to throw the ball by guys all the time. I decided that I’m not going to let you beat me by beating myself. If you’re timid, and you don’t want them to hit the ball, you start nibbling, you get behind in the count, and that’s when you get in trouble. My strikeout totals were higher than I thought they’d be over there, but when you get ahead, you can make them chase."
Valentine said he thought Lewis could succeed this time around in the major leagues in part because of the regimen he went through in Japan.
“The pitchers who have come over, and bought into the philosophy, come back in better shape because they have better cardio. They do a lot more running over there,” Valentine said.
“They have better balance because of all the tedious repetition they do to control your balance. They have more off days over there, so he essentially was in a six-man rotation [and therefore wasn’t overworked]. The strike zone is tighter over there because of the stature of the guys, and because no umpire over there is giving Colby Lewis a pitch. You can’t throw it down the middle of the plate and get away with it over there. There is more contact over there, but less hard contact. He moved it all over the strike zone. You can throw strikes anywhere, right?”
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
"You can throw strikes anywhere, right?"
Chan Ho Park thought the same thing.
Gracchus (about Obama): I think he knows what America is. America is the mob. Conjure money for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of America is not the paper of the Constitution, it's the power of the media. He'll bring them debt - and they will love him for it.
It seems he went through what everyone hopes is the developmental process for every pitcher.
better conditioning, better mechanics, better command, learn a new trick.
Contrasting this article with RGs gives me a sense that Texas did a lot more homework on Lewis than RG’s source.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
workload
i wonder how that issue plays out. I guess the Rangers will be rolling with a 5 man rotation the entire year, even including days off, so Lewis will probably be in a 5 1/4 rotation. But that is less days rest
I think if anything
his reduced workload over there is a plus going forward for his health.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Great read
thx
"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.
Team success will come down to the pitching of
Hunter and Feldman. Harden pitching over 150 innings seems pretty slim. Now the innings he does provide should be solid.
Even with the success that Hunter and Feldman experienced last season, I am still a little nervous about them. Those are the two guys that have to set the tone and eat as many innings as possible. I think Lewis is decent signing, he has solid upside and hopefully with the guidance of Maddux he will put up Feldman like stats.
It is just like everybody else said, the Rangers have solid pitching depth. If they are still in the race come August but need a horse to lean on. There are plenty of tools to make a trade.
I think that this was an interesting column
Galloway isn’t so much drawing hard conclusions as thinking out loud, and the same goes for the personnel guy he spoke with. The source obviously hasn’t done a lot of detailed research on the Rangers, but from the POV of someone who hasn’t really honed in on them but has such an informed MLB view, the comments are valid and well worth considering (not that we haven’t already here, but I’m sure that a lot of Galloway’s readers are hearing those points for the first time). Probably my (and I’m sure a lot of people’s) biggest concern about Lewis since first reviewing his numbers is what he noted, that Lewis had enough command to turn in pretty good K/BB ratios in the minor leagues, so you worry that the stuff isn’t there to get major leaguers out. But the guy obviously doesn’t have any feel for just how much the command actually has improved (and there was room for improvement) or how much his adapted repertoire has helped him.
Here are a few reasons why..
the Angels didn’t re-up Vlad:
1. they realized they were too right-handed at OF and DH and decided they needed a LH bat, which is why they decided to make the offer to Abreu.
2. With Abreu’s diminishing D, I think they realize that he will be spending quite a bit of time at DH, leaving no spot for Vlad.
3. finally, perhaps the Angels would have been interested in the 1 yr deal he took from Texas. But would Vlad have take that? Would his pride allowed it? I mean he gave this team many years of great play and the best they can offer is a 1 yr dea? He took our deal as a chance at an F U season.
I think its fair to ask why a team doesn’t reup one of their own, but you have to drill down into it. The example above that somebody mentioned, whereby Abreu landed in LAA was a great example.
Btw, as somebody that has only recently started browsing the LSB comment sections, can somebody give me the cliff notes version as to the LSB/Josey Wales War? I mean, I kind of get it, reading his posts, but would love to hear the actual facts as to how it started.
Jack Daddy
Number 2 doesn't make any sense at all
Because Matsui didn’t play the field at all last year (much like Vlad) and really shouldn’t be playing the field at all anymore.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
like LSJ says,
- makes no sense.
I think there is some merit to #3. It has to hurt a player’s ego to take a huge paycut to stay with the same team, especially when the player perceives himself to still be in the prime of his career. Kind of like an “eff you”, I’ll go to team B and prove you wrong.
by Randy Richardson on Feb 2, 2010 8:08 PM CST up reply actions
that should read
number 2 makes no sense.
by Randy Richardson on Feb 2, 2010 8:08 PM CST up reply actions
Theres something wierd that happens when you hit the # key at the start of a line
If it could be harnessed, we’d know how to create bullet points.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
Everything I've read from the LAAAA people is that they believed his bat was too slow.
That he was going to lose his effectiveness because he would have to cheat on fastballs because of said loss of bat speed. This makes him more prone to the K. Him being able to take a walk and battle at the plate was what made him a better hitter than someone who could just mash the ball and K alot… a la Dunn.
Looking at his BB/K last year shows they may be right. They were turrrible (almost 3K/BB compared to what he usually put up (1.2/BB). Granted last year was a small sample size.
"grilled cheese punches like a bitch" -Gdawg
"i feel like k-rod after a save." -by reagan on Jan 23, 2010, that glorious day Hicks was out of our lives.
BB/K
Vlad has always been kind of a freak, though. He’s never walked a whole lot, but he’s never struck out a lot either. His K rates remained well below league average even when he was hobbled with injury last year.
I’m not terribly optimistic he’s going to be the old Vlad, but if he can stay relatively healthy and productive for a few months, that’s all they really need. By mid-summer, if he’s starting to drag a bit they can either bring up Smoak if he looks ready or trade for someone. He’s a short-term fix, with one season being the longest he’ll be here.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
He is a different character, which makes what he'll do this year very unpredictable.
I like his signing, just for the sake that he’s not on someone elses team. He can still strike fear in pitchers until he proves otherwise, and if that happens at some point this year I agree, Smoak should be ready to come on up. Worst case scenario we have to trade for a bat if Smoak isn’t ready/hurt.
I’m not too optimistic either, but I hope that a change of teams and a desire to prove he still has it after an injury shortened season will prop him up enought to do some damage. He brings experience and he has a good time on the field and in the dugout. (Not Eddie style, but good enough.)
"grilled cheese punches like a bitch" -Gdawg
"i feel like k-rod after a save." -by reagan on Jan 23, 2010, that glorious day Hicks was out of our lives.
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