Saturday morning Rangers things
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 20, 2010 9:30 AM CST
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PrintLots of stories out of Surprise today...
There's a story up with quotes from guys like Michael Young and Rich Harden expressing optimism about this Ranger team, with Nolan Ryan saying that, if the Rangers don't win the division, he'll be disappointed.
T.R. Sullivan writes about the Rangers' closer situation. Frank Francisco is the closer right now, but he missed time last season with three separate disabled list stints, and he's a free agent after the season, which means that guys like C.J. Wilson, Neftali Feliz, and Chris Ray are going to be, in part, auditioning for the 2011 closer role. And there is also Tanner Scheppers, who some believe can be a shutdown closer as soon as now.
(As a sidenote, if you type Frank Francisco into the SBN photo search thing, you get a lot of Frank Gore pictures.)
Jesse Sanchez has a story up about the return of Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando to the U.S., after a half-decade of banishment.
Anthony Andro has some notes from spring training, including Josh Hamilton's prediction that the Rangers will win 96 games.
Sullivan writes that Taylor Teagarden is turning some heads early on, as he vies for the starting catcher job. Richard Durrett has a piece on Teagarden which includes quite a few quotes from the former Longhorn.
Ben Rogers defends C.J. Wilson after his comments from earlier this week, calling Wilson "motivated."
Rod Barajas looks likely to sign with the Mets, rather than the Rangers. This isn't really surprising...while both teams were offering minor league deals, Barajas would join the Mets as the favorite to be the starting catcher on Opening Day, while he'd be insurance for the Rangers, in case something happened to Taylor Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
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Lots of links today, delicious...
Regarding the closer situation…Fantasy Boy Eric Karabell has this to say:
Darren O’Day, Texas Rangers: He’s a bit of a journeyman, but he closed in the minors and seems to have found a home in Texas, where his WHIP was 0.95 in 55 2/3 innings. It wasn’t a fluke. Another thing that wasn’t a fluke was the three disabled list stints served by closer Frank Francisco. With C.J. Wilson a contender to start, O’Day is next in line.
Found that kinda odd.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Feb 20, 2010 9:36 AM CST reply actions
Yeah
I think there’s almost no chance O’Day closes. If Wilson is in the rotation and Frankie goes down, Feliz or Scheppers would probably do it, or possibly Chris Ray.
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 20, 2010 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
Chris Ray has been quietly surfing under the radar but he's
an important piece to This Thing being successful in 2010.
Nobody talks about Frank2 being a mess in the second half last year and he was really never the same after Wash F’d by using him three times in a row a month into the season (including a game where the Rangers led 7-2) but The Closer role here is hardly a given.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 10:10 AM CST up reply actions
I'm The Conductor of the Chris Ray Express....step back pops.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Feb 20, 2010 10:14 AM CST up reply actions
Meh
He’s this year’s Brendan Donelly.
"Jurick Profar is tired of practice!! I wanna play I wanna play….waiting for march 12 to go to spring training! to kill some pichers:D:D I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!" - Jurickson Profar
I don't think so, he's young and wasn't used as much as Donelly was.
He’s in year 2+ coming off TJ.
The planets are aligned for him to do something.
I feel it baby!
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Feb 20, 2010 10:23 AM CST up reply actions
I know it's been discussed some...
…but I really do worry more about his bullpen usage than his lineup decisions. Mainly because the true differences in lineups, over the course of the year, aren’t that much. However, wearing out your bullpen is a great way to set yourself up for an August collapse.
I understand the situation. Wash is under more pressure to win right off the bat and so he’s more likely to use guys in ways that results in wins in the present than take the longer term approach. I would probably manage differently as well if it was widely known that I would be fired before the season finished if I started off with a poor record. Still, taking all that into consideration, there’s just little to no reason to pitch your closer that often, especially early in the season. I suppose you could argue that the Rangers needed to prove they could contend, so it was necessary, but that better change this season as we’re expected to contend and will need our closer for 6-7 months.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Feb 20, 2010 10:18 AM CST up reply actions
If the othet guys in the bullpen perform well
then how many times the closer is used will be a non-issue.
I'm just goofin' new boot goofin'
I don't know about that. Wash definitely has each guy in "his role".
So, if there is a three-day stretch with 1-run games going into the 9th, I think Ron throws frankfranKKKKK out there until he says he can’t go anymore, and the only time that will happen is when his arm falls off.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
I think he used him more last year
Because he couldn’t trust some of the guys in the bullpen last year. If he has more options I’d hope he would use them more.
But it is Wash, so who knows.
I'm just goofin' new boot goofin'
It's not Wash that makes the decision.... It's The Gut.
I’m not sure I’ll ever believe Wash would consider a closer by committee approach or even a rest the closer once in a while approach.
He appears to have the mentality that a guy has his job, and if you change his job, it creates confusion for the guy.
So… I’m not as optimistic as you, but I would happily accept the change you describe if it comes to pass.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Not really.
Not for the late innings roles. It’s unrealistic to not expect to use the bullpen for at least 2 innings in each game. It may work out that you have some guys work into the 8th, but it won’t be the norm. So that’s why his previous (over)usage of Frank in the 9th inning is relevant.
Hopefully he can learn to trust other guys this year.
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Feb 20, 2010 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
Nonsense
Until you have 5 guys who are going to give you 9 innings every time they are rolled out there, bullpen usage is going to matter.
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 20, 2010 11:09 AM CST up reply actions
Of course
I’ve been pretty clear on that, I think.
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 20, 2010 11:16 AM CST up reply actions
Washington and the bullpen...
is a big problem and one of our major stumbling blocks.
He misused Frank2 early and CJ often. He’d leave Millwood in waaaaaay too long and going to JJennings as often as he did was also a problem.
It’s one of his biggest weaknesses as a manager (Baseball Prospectus said so in their book last year) and my hope was that it’d get better with Maddux here but not so much.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:34 AM CST up reply actions
Bullpen
Maybe if we didn’t have so many close games early last season he wouldn’t have had to use those guys as much. We had 16 games in April alone last year decided by 3 runs or less. We had a 13 game stretch where every game was decided by 3 runs or less. As much as you can say he overused those guys had he not and we lost games because we used guys like ODay (waiver pickup at the time before he established himself), or Turnbow, or Jennings you would have just railed against him also.
And leaving Millwood in too long was probably because a certain club president had said guys needed to go deeper and this pitch count crap needs to go away. Yeah he left him in too long against Minnesota in July. I was there. One game out of how many starts?
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
bigsteve
There were some games in August when he left in too long…wanna say it was at home against the Twins. Leaving FrankX in too long v Boston on that Friday night game when he clearly didn’t have it wasn’t one of his shining moments.
It also seemed like Washington was managing for his life in some of those early April/May games, especially after CJ had a couple of early hiccups.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:53 AM CST up reply actions
"There were some games in August when left Millwood
in too long."
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:55 AM CST up reply actions
Im sure Washington was managing for his life early in the season
And rightfully so. He used his best guys when he needed to. The fact his team put him in the position to have to use those guys so much means they had to be used. Had he used guys like ODay or Jennings or Turnbow and they blew games while CJ and Frankie were sitting on the bench he would have gotten fired. You can’t hold guys back just in case tomorrow is a close game. Cause then you run into a situation where you rest a guy too much and hes rusty when hes brought in to a serious situation. Very rarely did Wash bring in Frankie or CJ when it wasn’t truly necessary. Between them they appeared in 125 games. I would guess they may have been misused a dozen times (and the Boston game doesn’t count for Frankie just because he didn’t have it). I’ll take a manager who uses his best guys correctly 90% of the time.
And yes it was at home against the Twins like I said. 1 out of 31 starts isn’t a big deal especially when Nolan dropped the pitch count limit and demanded guys work deeper into games.
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Have you not?
I mean… there has to be at least a handful of instances where there is no doubt that he mismanaged the bullpen, and someone would be lying if they didn’t acknowledge it.
Go Rangers! Go Cowboys! Go FSU!
My memory isn't good with this kind of stuff
Especially going further back past last year. And I can’t recall anything specific from last year that was a big topic of discussion.
Yeah
All the questionable decisions Wash made at least had some level of reason behind them. Using Frankie in a 7-2 game for instance is questionable but he had already warmed up and so any damage had most likely already been done.
Yeah in hindsight we can look back and say “he shouldn’t have warmed up” but at the time it was the right call.
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
I'm sure somebody will look it up to prove me wrong if so
but after the 7-2 game in Seatte (which was two nights in a row he was used) he used him the next night in Oakland for a save. If he used him in Seattle because he had warmed up, it should have been mandated that he not be used in Oakland no matter what.
A couple of days later Frank was out of commission (on the DL I think) and really never the same for the rest of the 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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:37 AM CST up reply actions
The 7-2 game
Padilla had pitched a gem going 8 innings giving up 1 run. ODay came in to pitch a scoreless 9th. Then we got Frankie up because we were going into extra innings. Nothing wrong with managing so far.
We scored 6 runs in the top of the 10th which would sit Frankie down and ODay should be able to finish the game out.
Oday starts the bottom of the 10th off giving up back to back doubles which im sure made Washington nervous. Frankie was brought in to finish the game off. Nothing wrong with it IMO. Had he left ODay out and he gave up another double would it have been okay then? A win is a win. The next night could very well have been a blowout and Frankie wouldn’t be needed. You can’t use your pen expecting every night to be a close game. You can only use them based on whats happened the nights prior and whats going on that night.
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
If you use Frank in the 7-2 game
you sure as hell don’t use him the next night to close v Oakland.
Frank was never the same after that.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:58 AM CST up reply actions
I wouldn't have used him the next night
You wouldn’t have. But hes the closer and it was a 3-2 game. So while we agree he shouldn’t have been used it wasn’t bad bullpen use to use your closer in such a game. Had he used CJ and he went out and had one of his typical error, walk, bloop single to give up the tying run you would have been at the front of the line bashing Wash for not using his closer
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Bullpen usage
That’s probably the most difficult tactical part of a manager’s job.
by Adam J. Morris on Feb 20, 2010 11:09 AM CST up reply actions
True
And, despite all the grumbling around here, was there not an article stating that the bullpen over performed expectations last season? I may be wrong on that though.
"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.
I actually think the bully
is going to be okay this year because they weren’t overused last year. That was always one of the biggest problems.
If Ray is a beast, that’s going to be huge.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 11:54 AM CST up reply actions
What do you mean?
The bullpen is fresh from last season (I’d say that would have something to do with 4 months off) or that Wash has proven he won’t overuse them?
"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.
The starters went deeper into games
and the bully benefitted from that last year and will benefit from that workload this year as well.
"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)
IF Ray is a beast
I like that Millwood trade A LOT.
by ncrangerfan on Feb 20, 2010 12:53 PM CST up reply actions
Well (and understand that this may not at all be related to what you're asking)
As of mid-June 2009, the Rangers’ relievers had posted the third-highest bullpen WPA in the game, and they ultimately finished at No. 6, with the team’s best relievers posting the highest pLIs (average leverage index).
I suppose, then, that one’s view of Washington’s bullpen management can hinge on one’s definition of “mismanagement”; on the whole, he did a good job of ensuring that his best relievers pitched in the most important game situations, so from that standpoint he improved upon his bullpen management from previous years, but conversely, he pulled some highly questionable moves (e.g. FX^2 pitching in three consecutive games) that appear to have jeopardized the future health/effectiveness of his on-hand talent.
by Joey Matschulat on Feb 21, 2010 4:39 AM CST up reply actions
Ah, thanks
"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.
Yeah
It’s also the one that’s subject to the most hindsight criticism. Bring a pen guy in and they give up 2 runs = should have left the starter in. Starter gives up two in the 7th = should have gone to the pen.
There are very few objective criticisms to be made of pen usage. Basically, ignoring huge splits and overworking.
"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.
That's quite a change in tune from a couple of months ago
http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/12/14/1200783/a-flurry-of-maybe-deals#27169126
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 10:26 AM CST up reply actions
I can't see the Rangers going with a side arm pitcher for their closer
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
next fanpost idea:
eric karabell fanpage
Get your guns up!
by GayForFeliz on Feb 20, 2010 12:16 PM CST up reply actions
A late-to-the-party thought on Siege's quote-flap from yesterday
Compare it to Mikey Face’s 2008 gem, when asked why his range at shortstop was terrible and why he thought that was pretty ok:
“I think it’s funny because everybody wants Ozzie Smith range,” Young said. “I want people to show me a guy that has turbo range like that.”
Funny that Siege’s comment (which was in a pretty damned similar vein, although I suppose you can make the case that Andrus didn’t have the time in the majors that Harden has) drew up a little firestorm, but Face’s quote barely got heat, even on here.
And I don’t care if Face and Siege are both douches. Or not. As long as they play well and don’t, like, murder a pregnant lady and hide in a car trunk or make dogs fight each other, I’m cool.
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Wait, Face barely got heat?
We remember things differently. I remember a lot fewer people defending him than are defending Ceej.
Oh, he got heat
In thirdbasegate he got a crapton of heat, but that comment didn’t stir up very much at all (although there was the prerequisite amount of ‘MY is a crappy defensive SS posts’, but compare the amount of ‘MY is a flaming douche’ posts in this thread to the amount of ‘Siege is a flaming douche’ posts that popped up yesterday.
That’s the heat I was talking about.
That, and I had to dig up that MY quote sometime.
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
But CJ has a history of rubbing the masses the wrong way.
MY I don’t believe has been a distraction or disrespecting of other players, other than the move to third.
CJ is a repeat offender, while MY was a one time thing. Please correct me if I’m wrong on this.
"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.
I feel like this is correct.
The MY thing, to me, was much worse and I’ll never like him again as a result, but it was the first time I ever had an issue with him beyond being infuriated by his defense.
C.J. has been annoying me with his cool dude personality for a while. While the one instance is a lot less annoying, he’s got a rolling storm of public annoyances. Plus, the major league track record isn’t as good.
Which makes me wonder
If everything else was equal, if Siege had more of a boring, cliched, MY-style image than being a hipster doofus, where would the comment have fallen on the noise scale?
I’m thinking the Galloways and Engels of the world would have sided with him, and vomited up ‘Why is management so clueless and screwing Christopher John?’ (In his conservative douchey persona, he goes by Christopher John instead of CJ) articles and shows today. And the world would be a slightly worse place for it.
Imagination is fun.
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
I think it still would have caused an uproar. . .
. . . just less of one because there wouldn’t be so many people who already hate him.
I agree with the second part.
Yep
CJ has always rubbed them asses the masses the wrong way.
Who gives a shit what Josey says.............................
by Lil' Jonny Donuts on Feb 20, 2010 7:30 PM CST up reply actions
JFE also has a good column
up today on Josh.
F me it was from yesterday but I think it’s from today’s FWST.
"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)
Sounds like from today's CJ quotes that it wasn't that big of a deal
Not surprised at all, really.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
He was ..."just communicating."
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 10:04 AM CST up reply actions
Left out a part
Nolan also said, “Hopefully, this was a one-time occurrence and doesn’t become an issue.”
"Jesus, Spanish- our jobs aren't enough, now you want our words?"
-- Sterling Archer
Meaning, let it play out this spring, and, especially, don't go off like that during the season.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Are you one of the candy-ass Catholics
who thinks nothing of breaking their Lent vows once a week?
I’m a Catholic and the son of one of the more hard-ass Catholic mothers to ever walk the land so I’m allowed to say it.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 10:27 AM CST up reply actions
No
The whole Lent thing was a joke- I even said in the original post that I wasn’t Catholic.
So I responded to you- big fucking deal.
Go brag about your manhood to someone who gives a shit.
"Jesus, Spanish- our jobs aren't enough, now you want our words?"
-- Sterling Archer
I bet you weren't near as testy
in the days you used to “wake n bake.”
I did notice JD’s reaction to CJ’s take was a good old fashioned “piss shiver” and that it was Nolan who diffused the situation.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 10:35 AM CST up reply actions
Oh, wow
That really hurts. I’m watching soccer right now, too- feel free to make some horseshit comment about that while you’re at it.
The Nolan comment is duly noted, and added to the file the next time you feel the need to call us JD supporters “Lewinskys.”
How’s Hank’s job search going, by the way?
"Jesus, Spanish- our jobs aren't enough, now you want our words?"
-- Sterling Archer
Hank Who?
I don’t know of anybody named Hank who is supposed to play for the Rangers this year.
Let yourself heal.
"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)
by Josey Wales on Feb 20, 2010 10:49 AM CST up reply actions
Hank who? is right.
If a certain someone had their way, Hanky would be at the back end of a 3/30 deal. Good thing we have a pretty good GM working for the Rangers.
"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.
I wanted that contract after 2007 just so everybody's clear.
“That pretty good GM working for the Rangers” you reference gave 1/3 of his total 2007-2009 payroll to VPadilla, Frankie Cat, Lofton, Gagne, Broussard & JJennings while operating a team with a small market payroll.
"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)
Hind sight is always nice was my point.
I really don’t want to go into the pluses and minuses of JD. We have to agree to disagree.
"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.
but yet
your man crush continued into 2009.
Who gives a shit what Josey says.............................
by Lil' Jonny Donuts on Feb 20, 2010 7:33 PM CST up reply actions
It would've been a big deal if....
he had said it after frankfranKKKKK had blown a save with the Rangers holding a 1 game lead in the division after the ASB.
Before the season, when ST is all about competition and defining roles, not that big of a deal. At worst, a warning shot to his teammates that he’s gunning for their roles.
As far as the FA perspective on his comments, we know very little of the organization’s relationship with CJ. Hard to know how CJs comments would impact the FO’s perspective until the FO spoke about it. Ryan was quoted shortly thereafter that it was of no concern to the FO. So, there you have it. No harm, no foul.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Boo
@aandro It’s raining here so things may be slow.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
If you're bored and want to see some baseball today
TCU plays at 2pm. Matt Purke is pitching.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
LMFAO. Astros to sign Ed Wade through 2012
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Yes!
Need more relievers! Oswalt for O’Day, Oliver, and Nippert? Too much from ourside?
If Brad Pitt is playing Beane who do you want playing you?
JD: Eddie Guardado.
by GhettoBear04 on Feb 20, 2010 10:47 AM CST up reply actions
He's just taking care of his buddy
When the club is sold, he will get the boot…and the buy out.
"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.
Anybody notice
This Thing is televising 8 spring training games (including several at night) between March 14-25?
I can’t leave the house because my baseball pants are doing windsprints around the neighborhood.
"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)
Happy 17th birthday to Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond!!!!!!!
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Hey, that's legal in Texas!
haha
"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.
Mathis has a blister and Endy Chavez is in camp
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
and
@aandro Ian Kinsler is in the house.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Feb 20, 2010 11:02 AM CST up reply actions
Sweet
Always nice to see the best players showing up early.
"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.
So more on the CJ stuff...
The quote from JFE’s article was:
“It’s no secret I don’t think I should be limited to the set-up role. I have too many weapons,” Wilson said. “Here is the reality. It is real simple. There are not very many guys that have the stuff that I do that would be willing to sign here if they were free agents. There is no experienced pitcher that has my stuff that would sign here, historically.”
Then you have this exchange from CJ on twitter:
http://twitter.com/DrLeoSpacemanMD/status/9361469025
@str8edgeracer Most only have an issue w/ the “pitchers with your stuff not signing here line”.They see it as a slap in the face to Harden.
http://twitter.com/str8edgeracer/status/9361521445
@DrLeoSpacemanMD it’s not a slap in the face to harden. I specifically said LEFTIES in regards to us not landing free agents. #letsgowin
Shocking — JFE didn’t include all the context of the quote? Wow, I’m just completely shocked here.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
Yep. JFE doing what she do.
Did he talk specifically to her, or did she overhear comments in a group interview setting? I think I would avoid giving her an exclusive interview.
Let’s think about the lefties thing, though. The Rangers went after Randy Johnson and Zito; Santana refused to be dealt here. Mulder wouldn’t come here to rehab. Don’t know if the Rangers were ever in on Bedard or Lee. They certainly couldn’t afford CC. He’s probably right.
Not alot of TORP lefties out there to begin with. Maybe they’ll have a chance to trade for Kershaw or Danks in 3 or 4 years and have better luck then.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Won't need to
we’ll have Martin.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Feb 20, 2010 11:25 AM CST up reply actions
Perez and Holland
I think we’re set on lefties for awhile
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Kirkman could be a mid-roto guy too
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Feb 20, 2010 11:27 AM CST up reply actions
Dude
@Sullivan_Ranger Derek Holland injures his right knee in agility drill Saturday morning…being sent for an MRI at local hospital
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Feb 20, 2010 11:32 AM CST up reply actions
ruh roh
well maybe this clears up the #5 spot
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
I hate you
We need to not always make hard work out of sex- Rick Carlisle.
by sprite on Feb 20, 2010 11:43 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
well shit
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 11:35 AM CST up reply actions
Crap
Let’s hope we hear the word “tweak” pretty soon.
Shadazz. She's sensitive. Just like jazz. SHADAZZ.
by Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge on Feb 20, 2010 11:42 AM CST up reply actions
Both Evan and Andro say "tweak"
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
by Kinslerhomer on Feb 20, 2010 11:44 AM CST up reply actions
Sullivan also
Says that’s what the team is calling it.
Well a tweak isn't always a good thing.
I “tweaked my knee” playing tennis and thought I was fine but 6 months later I was getting my knee scoped.
Good
Got Gallardo flashbacks
Shadazz. She's sensitive. Just like jazz. SHADAZZ.
by Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge on Feb 20, 2010 11:51 AM CST up reply actions
Took me a while to realize that was Marteeeeen.
I couldn’t think of a LHP Martin in this year’s or next year’s draft. Then I wondered if there was a LHP equivalent of Bryce. Finally, the obvious dawned on me, and I realized you meant Martin Perez.
I do find Martin to be a funny nickname for Marteeeen.
Pro baseball has always been a dream, so this is pretty freakin’ cool out here. -- Tim Steggall, undrafted Rangers minor leaguer.
Oh, okay. It's a good thing writers take quotes out of context
Right.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 1:57 PM CST up reply actions
I don't feel like there's any disagreement surounding JFE.
The fact that she’s an annoying bitch is not upsetting nor surprising.
The fact that Ceej is one is a different case.
Would there be such an uproar if his comments had been correctly conveyed?
I don’t think so.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 2:04 PM CST up reply actions
I don't find the comment to be any less stupid if you put handedness in there.
Particularly since handedness isn’t as important as effectiveness with a starter. Or, like, even in the same stratosphere.
Well people were very quick to jump on him for slighting Harden
which was not the case, apparently. Plus, if you look at the handedness part of his statement he is correct — what lefty FA starters have the Rangers historically signed? You’ve got Kenny Rogers and that’s about it.
Btw, your posts need more snark — it will help you get your point across to those of us that are, like, not even in the same stratosphere as you.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 2:14 PM CST up reply actions
Okay, yeah, he didn't mean to insult Harden.
That was never my issue.
So if we’re going to focus on handedness, now he’s really stupid for giving it that much weight. Who cares if they sign righties instead of lefties?
Of course, it’s also just his word against JFE’s, and hate her though I do, I’m not about to automatically give BGL the benefit of the doubt against anyone. But, again, if he did or didn’t I find it mostly meaningless.
OK fair enough
So then you’re back to CJ just being confident in himself, basically. I don’t really see why anyone should care about that sort of thing, really.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Feb 20, 2010 2:23 PM CST up reply actions
I won't care if he's as good as he thinks he is.
The problem is I don’t think he’s as good as he thinks he is.
No, though, I think we could probably agree that almost no one cares as much as they lead on with their message board personas.
from TR twitter
Derek Holland injures his right knee in agility drill Saturday morning…being sent for an MRI at local hospital
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
Ben Rogers is defending an athlete?
I am SHOCKED!!!
by LoneStarBallUser on Feb 20, 2010 12:15 PM CST reply actions
Unless there's some underlying injury
we’re not privy to, I’m glad we’re not getting Molina, Barajas, etc. I don’t see the need.
Salty and Tea provide solid defense, they’re young w/ time to improve their hitting.
Let’s roll w/ those 2 and if an emergency hits, bring up Richardson or Hall or Max even. I’m sick of hearing about retread catchers.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
by scoop16 on Feb 20, 2010 1:02 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
You are correct, Sir Scoop.
"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've decided I'm going to hit the Tea bandwagon.
Mark it here, he’s my horse. Let’s see what he can do…
"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.
If he could just learn to hit consistently he would be really good.
His defense is already there, he just needs to start hitting. A lot of people disagree with me, but I think he’s better than Salty.
Ready for some baseball.
He has mid-40's woman hips.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Feb 20, 2010 5:40 PM CST up reply actions
Wow, I didn't realize I hit reply too soon...
what I meant was is that he seems he has a real problem with clearing his hips when he swings, thus having problems getting around on fastballs. I don’t think he’s ever going to hit bc of this.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Feb 20, 2010 5:58 PM CST up reply actions
I haven't really been able to see him as much as I like
But what I have seen I do like and think there is potential. I think if he put on about 20 lbs and hits the cages, he could do it. We’ll see.
"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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