Tuesday morning Rangers stuff
by Adam J. Morris on Mar 2, 2010 8:32 AM CST
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PrintSo there was some baseball yesterday, even if it was just of the intrasquad variety...
You can read T.R. Sullivan's notes from the game here, Evan Grant's observations here, and the box score here.
There's an intrasquad game again today, but that's scheduled to go only 4 or 5 innings.
Josh Hamilton sat out yesterday with a sore shoulder, and won't play before Friday at the earliest.
Jeff Wilson has a story up about Nelson Cruz, who says he doesn't have time for much of anything except baseball.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia caught four innings yesterday, and didn't have a problem throwing to second base, although there were apparently some issues with throwing the ball back to C.J. Wilson in the first, that led to a talk with Scott Servais.
T.R. Sullivan writes that the Rangers are looking at some outside options for the utility infielder job, including Julio Lugo, and that the Rangers "need" a righthanded hitter who can play first base and third base, with Mike Lowell still a possibility.
Richard Durrett has a look at the Rangers' late inning relievers as part of his positional review.
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Ahhhhhhhh....
Baseball!
"Drinks are on me if Lewis posts >168IP and an era lower than 3.86." by RangerMad on Jan 20, 2010 12:36 PM PST
Hey Blogamemnon
Today is tuesday.
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
I can do anything but two mondays!!!
argh
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Garfield's worst nightmare
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 8:51 AM CST up reply actions
Oh Noes!!!
It’s Groundhog Day again.
"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.
Now for the obligatory overreactions:
Matt Brown is ON this team, what a find!!!
Kiker sucks! Cut him now!!
Feliz gave up a triple? I think he need more seasoning in AA
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
Don't forget:
Pedro Strop is ready for The Show!
Julio Borbon has got This Thing figured out!
And, of course, SALTY’S BACK!
"Drinks are on me if Lewis posts >168IP and an era lower than 3.86." by RangerMad on Jan 20, 2010 12:36 PM PST
Ogando needs to get the
Opening Day Start!
"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.
Moreland for MVP!
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
CJ is in midseason form. :)
3. LHP C.J. Wilson was inconsistent with his command. It took him 26 pitches to retire three hitters. He issued consecutive five pitch walks to left-handed hitting David Murphy and Justin Smoak.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
by RangerMad on Mar 2, 2010 9:23 AM CST up reply actions 9 recs
An early blow to his chances at the rotation, hopefully.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 9:25 AM CST up reply actions
Like i have said
before. I really hope if he doesnt make the rotation it is because he isnt even close. I want this idea out of his head. The worst case scenario would be if CJ pitched pretty well and was BARELY beat out by someone else.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
Well, my worst case scenario would be him just barely beating out someone else
Because I just don’t think putting him in the roto makes any sense.
But I’m agreed, I wanna see CJ lose and lose big so we can put this folly to rest.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 9:29 AM CST up reply actions
I simply can't understand
the logic in hoping for CJ Failure.
"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 disagree that spring training games are meaningless
and so does Sky.
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2010/02/spring_training_3.php
"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)
Uh, ok, but
that’s not exactly what we’re talking about here. Obviously, Sky isn’t saying evaluate every individual player solely on their spring performance.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I don't how to qualify individual performances
in spring training other than to say it’s one ingredient or element of information.
I saw Nelson Cruz in 2008 at spring training and he looked hopelessly lost. That was a bad team and the Rangers still cut him.
After going out and having a monster season at OKC (and looking great in a late season call-up) I was anxious to see him again at Surprise in 2009.
I don’t know how to define it because hearing terms like “comfortable magnetism” makes my skin crawl when evaluating baseball players but the Nelson Cruz I saw at spring training in 2009 had a swagger which reinforced my thoughts about him finally breaking thru and having a good season in The Show.
"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'm fine with that kind of thing
How the players looks in his innings or at bats, and in batting practice, etc. is a lot more meaningful in spring training than the stats and game performances to me. Small sample makes the numbers mostly meaningless, though they can sometimes reflect improvement. But the scouting and longer term history are obviously more meaningful.
I just took issue with your clumsy segue from talking about Wilson’s individual performance in one game to Sky’s article about an entire team’s performance over a month’s worth of games.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I think a lot of people get too caught up in the stats one way or another
and think when someone mentions ST performance, that that is what they are talking about.
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
Re: Cruz
The Rangers got hideously lucky with Nelson Cruz.
Based on how he looked in spring training, not only was he so bad that the Rangers cut him, but he looked so bad that the Rangers were able to put him through league wide irrevocable waivers and send him to AAA. Basically, any team could have picked him up for $25k.
Had he looked a tiny bit better, we’d be talking about how awful his 33 homers this past year looked on the Mariners and how David Murphy and Vlad would be splitting time in Right field for the team.
And let me say that what Cruz did to the ball in AAA in 2008 is definitely rated NC-17 or worse.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
I wasn't even talking about player evaluation.
I was talking about how rooting for failure makes sense because the standings don’t matter.
Rooting for failure in the regular season means rooting for the team to struggle in games that matter. That doesn’t make sense.
Well, there apparently
is at least some correlation with a very strong spring training record and season record. I buy that — to a point. Stat of the Week last year also had a post up about how players who put up ridiculous spring training numbers often do indeed go on to have a regular season that is a bit better than their projection.
Nothing to bank on, of course, but if the Rangers were to win, say, 3 of every 4 or 4 out of 5 games this spring, it would indeed be reason for a small bit of added optimism. And it might cause me to increase my expected win total from the 85-88 range to closer to the 87-90 range.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Oh no, I can believe that.
But rooting for someone to fail in spring training still doesn’t mean rooting for the team to fail. So that’s how someone can root for Ceej to fail in spring training: it won’t actually cause the team to lose meaningful games and it makes sure he doesn’t get a starting role based on a small sample size.
But what IF
CJ was one of the two best starting pitchers this spring?
How is that a bad thing?
"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 haven't been around the last couple days...
is anyone hoping otherwise?
If so, why?
"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 Mar 2, 2010 12:40 PM CST up reply actions
n'mind, I read below.
"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 Mar 2, 2010 12:48 PM CST up reply actions
Based on a handfull of exhibition games?
Why would you ignore his career, as a reliever even, up to now?
Well he would have to show that he can make the proper adjustments
I think his pitch count per inning comes from the need to strike more batters out.
If he can pitch to contact and get his pitch counts down, shows that he can produce a good GB/FB, then I think he can start.
If he’s on par or only slightly better than the other pitchers, obv leave him in the pen. If he looks like a legit TORP, I would give him a shot.
But, again, he's never looked like a TORP in his life.
How would looking like that in a handful of games in spring training be enough to ignore that?
Agreed
Are we really going to decide C.J. has completely changed his style of pitching based on 6-8 ST appearances?
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Mar 2, 2010 1:03 PM CST up reply actions
Your arrogance
knows no end asshat
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Mar 2, 2010 1:14 PM CST up reply actions
Well, he hasn't been given a chance in some time
Last season his ratios were all fantastic except BB/9 and Pitches/Inn.
He should be entering his prime.
I don’t think Hunter/Harrison/McCarthy have a chance at TORP status, but C.J. has the stuff that could transform him into a TORP.
If Holland/Feliz show a need for more AAA to start the season, I wouldn’t have a problem giving Ceej a chance since he has greater upside than the alt’s for #4/5.
I’m not saying we should slip him in, but if he dominates each of his outings, he’d deserve a chance, imo.
Last season his performance still wasn't even close to TORP.
It was roughly the total production you’d expect from a middle of the rotation guy. And that was HIS FIRST EVER very good season in the rotation. The year before that he was putrid (FG would suggest replacing him with a scrub would have had us above .500 that year). The years before that he was fairly mediocre.
So now we’re going to decide someone who’s spent his career as a mediocre reliever is a better starter than Holland, McCarthy and Harrison (and maybe Hunter) based on finally having a good year in the bullpen and a few good performances in meaningless games? I don’t see how that’s a good idea at all.
Sure, it’s possible he does better in the rotation than he does in the bullpen, but pitchers like that are rare. You don’t bank on the exception to the rule when you’ve already got some good players lined up for the spot.
Also, I think Ceej is older than you realize. He’s 29. That’s not “should be entering his prime,” that’s the back end of most player’s peaks.
29 = prime, imo, but I think it's been a matter of dispute
And I think McCarthy has a worse track record, Harrison can’t be counted on yet, and Holland may need work at AAA.
I get your concerns, but last year he had way better than middle of the rotation stuff.
10 K:9, 3.9 BB/9, kept his WHIP to 1.33 despite the walks and a .323 BABIP, .4 HR/9
If he managed 150 innings with these ratios (except I’m dropping his K:9 down to 8.4 [career avg]), then he’d manage an FIP of 3.28.
This could translate into a sub-3 era with our defense.
What evidence do you have that 29 is the beginning of one's prime?
You know that runs counter to a whole lot of research, right?
McCarthy does not have a worse track record. He can’t stay on the mound, but when he is, he’s been better. Keep in mind how much lower the baseline for a reliever is, Ceej has better rates because he SHOULD have better rates. Relieving is easier. Adjust for position and McCarthy is a better pitcher when he’s healthy. The only time Ceej should be ahead of B-Mac is when B-Mac is on the DL.
And no, he didn’t have way better than middle of the rotation stuff. Again, that’s a reliever. A 3.25 xFIP over 73 innings for a reliever is a 2.2 WAR season: that’s a middle of the rotation performance. And that’s the best he’s put up in his career, by a lot.
Relievers put up low WARs bc they pitch less innings
Lincecum as a reliever wouldn’t put up much more than a 3 WAR.
I’ll defer to you on the issue of “prime,”
But, I’ll stand by my point that McCarthy has been worse. His HR and K rates are significantly worse than C.J.‘s. Last season was the first good one he’s had as a starter in his career and you cannot discount his injury problems.
They make up for the low inning count by having really low standards.
In theory, as his IP per game totals would go up, so would his rates.
Also, McCarthy is a starter. Wilson is not. And I don’t discount McCarthy’s injury problems, but we’re not talking about who we should give a contract to we’re talking about who should play.
You are right that doubling his IP and pitching multiple a game probably wouldn't entirely regress him to keep him at 2.2. . .
. . . but 2.2 is also about the worst of the mid-rotation guys (given even distribution of pitchers to determine the standard).
GB/SO rates
CJ compared very favorably to TORPs in these two very important rates.
I’m in agreement with you regarding CJ’s place on this team, but a pitcher with CJ’s GB and SO ability is sorely needed in the rotation, hence (I believe) the looksee. All that being said, I agree he’s much more impactful in the pen.
Here's a good article on aging.
It, like almost any other study you’ll ever find, points out that 27 is the usual best year. Meaning 25 is roughly the start of of 5 year peaks, and 23 is roughly the start of 10 year peaks.
I’ve never seen any evidence that 29 is typically the beginning of a player’s prime, and that’s a pretty bold suggestion. I’m very interested to see the basis, though.
I didn't mean to suggest that he is entering his prime
I meant to say that he’s in his prime.
For whatever reason, I had the conception that 27-30 were the prime years
25-29 is usually about the peak of a player.
Had you said he’s in his prime then I wouldn’t have had an issue with it, but he’s definitely not entering it.
And it should be pointed out that his prime has had some pretty pathetic seasons.
Because the Rangers might decide to ignore his track record and make him a starter based on a month of exhibition performances.
I think they’re smarter than that, but if he fails it leaves no doubt.
I think
He’d have to be phenomenal to sway them.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I actually give our FO the credit to agree with you.
But I’d like to leave there no doubt. I understand your philosophical point below and respect that, I just don’t have the reservations about rooting for a Ranger to fail to make sure the whole is good.
different paths
to the same destination. Some want CJ to succeed in spring training and be a TORP level starting pitcher. You want him to fail in spring training so he can go back to the bullpen where he’s been effective before and probably best profiles to be effective again.
People get too hung up on “rooting to fail,” but, at least in this instance, yours is just a different path to ultimately the same desire: a strong 2010 Rangers team.
If CJ is one of the best TWO pitchers this spring thats fine
I don’t think anyone would be upset if he was that. What people are afraid though is that he is the 4th or 5th best pitcher this spring and will then be taken out of the bullpen and put into the rotation. I don’t believe that helps this club.
CJ in the pen for this team >>>>>>>>>>> CJ as the 4th or 5th starter on this team
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.
Spring training is too small a sample size. . .
. . . to decide the 2nd best pitcher of ST isn’t actually actually worse than the 4th or 5th best pitcher in reality.
Its not just based on numbers
If CJ has one meltdown inning his overall numbers may be average or worse. Its how he looks. If he looks like one of your top two pitchers entering the regular season then yeah go with him in the rotation.
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 never said it was about numbers.
I said it’s a small sample size. Which it is. If he looks good over a handful of exhibition games, it’s still just a handful of exhibition games vs. an entire career.
He looked good all of last year
He looked good when healthy in 2008. Hes 29 years old. If he looks like your 2nd best starter in spring you roll with him in the rotation until he proves hes not worthy.
If he looks like your 4th or 5th best starter in spring then you keep him in the pen for the good of the team
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.
He looked good for a reliever in 2009.
He didn’t look good for a starter. And that’s the only year he’s looked particularly good for a reliever.
That’s a much larger sample size than a handful of meaningless games.
Also, I’m not sure how the age helps your point. Being 29 means he’s not a good bet to ever be better than he has been. He’d have to be better than he has been to be one of our two best starters (unless we’re in far worse trouble than I imagine). I don’t know how it could possibly be considered sane to say someone is a good bet to be significantly better than he ever has been in his career based on a few exhibition games, no matter how good they are.
The age means you shouldn't get the ups and downs a young guys gives you
His stuff last year was top notch. If he brought that kind of stuff to spring training and was the 2nd best starting pitcher in camp you would be a fool to not give him a rotation spot. But if that stuff translated into 4th or 5th starter stuff in camp then you keep him in the pen. Its pretty simple really. Its not just basing it off a handful of spring games. Its taking what he has done the last few years (which hasn’t been terrible and has actually bordered on damn good) and seeing if that translates to being a starter and assessing whether its top of the rotation material or back of rotation material.
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.
Calling any of his career outside of his most recent season damned good is baffling.
Even if someone genuinely likes the guy as a person and wants to pull for him that’s baffling.
And I’m guessing that’s where the primary disagreement is situated.
The problem is no one knows for sure when he got hurt in 2008
How long was he pitching hurt? Looking at his gamelogs you could make a case he started pitching hurt about mid-May. He started off 2008 with 10 out of 11 outstanding outings with one real clunker mixed in.
Through May 10th he still had a sub 2.50 ERA. His peripherals weren’t great but also skewed by one really bad outing.
From after May 10th till he went on the DL finally he was really bad. However he upped his peripherals.
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.
How good does Feliz need to be
(3rd, 4th, 5th best?) to make it as a starter so it doesn’t hurt the team?
"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)
Feliz is a totally different case than CJ
Feliz would have to be head and shoulders batter than everyone in camp and even then you would have to err on the side of caution based on his innings totals for this year.
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.
Because Feliz is 22 years old
And if he starts the year in the majors he won’t be able to pitch 180+ innings and you lose one of your best pitchers down the stretch of the season
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 thought he was Kenny Rogers reincarnate?
Or…
"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.
Passive aggressive Rodney
needs the eternal tampon.
"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 wouldn't be as afraid to push him as I would Feliz
Generally ts not the year you push the guy that bites you its the next year or two where they show signs of overuse. Since CJ is a FA after 2011 I wouldn’t be as worried about burning him out as I would with Feliz who is only 22 and under control for 6 more years.
I think CJ could pitch 200 innings this year. What would he be able to do next year……..I don’t know. Maybe hes good for 200 each year……..maybe he breaks down after 50 next year. Ill worry about that when the time comes
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 tempted to actually go and look at a chunk of players whose IP jump by more than double and seeing if they hold up the whole year.
I’ll bet you most of them don’t.
Did you see the articles last week or two
about the Verducci effect? I saw two separate studies (kind of quick and dirty) that showed almost no effect whatsoever. I think they were at Baseball Analysts and Sabernomics. Obviously it still seems wise to limit innings increases, but I’m skeptical that it’s a slam dunk, no doubter injury risk.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
The Verducci effect specifically or increasing pitch counts in general?
I did glance at that article, but we’re talking doubling CJ’s work load at least (you think he takes a long time to get out of the inning when he sees players once, wait until he sees them again).
I’m not necessarily talking about injury, but performance. I would be very surprised to find out that most pitchers who have their work loads doubled hold up the entire season the year after. I’m certainly interested in being corrected, but Big Steve is telling me it’s not really a risk that year without any supporting evidence at all and I’d like to see it.
The Verducci effect specifically
Both writers were specifically addressing the Verducci effect of big innings increases year to year and found almost nothing, something so small it could just be noise.
Oh, I agree totally that doubling Wilson’s innings would be pretty insane. I wouldn’t throw out caution based on those two studies, I just think a LOT more study should be done before people just use the Verducci effect as gospel one way or another.
That idea very quickly became accepted and then widely referenced without a whole lot of vigorous debate and number crunching, seems to me. I hope it gets looked at more closely now. I suspect most teams have done their own studies on this stuff.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I can agree with that.
I’d really like to see a study on what sort of pitch count increase can be cause for concern and what would generally be safe.
Yeah, I think
pitcher usage in terms of pitch counts, days of rest and other details are probably just as important as raw innings totals.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Philosophically
I just can’t root for anyone to fail in spring training on my favorite team, that’s all. And I was looking for an excuse to jab at lonestarjon.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Personally
I do not hope CJ fails as a starter, but I believe it’s inevitable.
by Anonymous New Guy on Mar 2, 2010 11:20 AM CST up reply actions
I'm gonna leave the irony alone.
"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 Mar 2, 2010 12:11 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
why do I want CJ to fail?
because it helps the team. Understand that the concept of CJ to the rotation is for the benefit of CJ, and not the Rangers. The Rangers have no shortage of solid, maybe even spectacular, starting pitching. Somebody with major league experience won’t make our rotation. Harden, Feldman, Lewis, Hunter, Holland, McCarthy, and Harrison all have more than 20 major league starts. CJ has 6. and they were 5 years ago.
Its not like we’re all unsure about what CJ brings to the table. He’s a great pitcher. but he’s got a big platoon split (.578 vs .797 for his career, .556 vs .701 last year) and he’s not been prone to long relief appearances, (faced fewer than 10 batters in all 74 of his appearances in 2009)
The key for CJ is that he’s less likely to be effective in the Rotation, and hasn’t really been stretched to move into the rotation. And with him in the rotation, that means that none of Holland, McCarthy, and Harrison make the rotation (unless Lewis or Hunter is held out or someone gets hurt.) And that of course ignores Neftali Feliz in the rotation, who is a much better candidate for a rotation spot than CJ anyway.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
If it's a close decision and CJ doesn't make it
he will just complain about that to the media and cause more drama like always. So, as I feel he’s more beneficial in the bullpen anyways.. it would be best for him to lose out and big (though still be ready to go opening day heh)
you better ice those fingers down after such a long response.
"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 Mar 2, 2010 2:27 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
...
@LoneStarDugout The Rockies have signed former Ranger 3B Travis Metcalf to a minor league deal.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Metcalf can play defense at 3B and not hit
Whereas Blalock can just not hit.
Also
Metcalf knows he is a scrub, and I’m not sure former all-Star Blalock or his agent have figured that out yet.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
Much better, 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.
Why?
He’s better than Joaquin Arias, and he shouldn’t cost too much in trade.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 9:05 AM CST up reply actions
yeah, I'd rather have Lugo
than who we have now.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
If you ever watched him play on a regular basis
he has a habit of fucking shit up in key situations and making stupid errors on easy ground balls.
I think every club he's ended up with
fans end up calling him “Fucking Lugo”
he's usually been a starter for those clubs
he wouldn’t here.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Meh.
He’s +7.6 runs in UZR for his career at short. He’s no worldbeater, but all we need him to be is a UTL guy.
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 9:17 AM CST up reply actions
I'd still prefer Arias.
I think he at least has a chance to be better, whereas Lugo is just guaranteed to piss me off.
Well
Looks like we found the worlds only Joaquin Arias supporter. You can call off th search boys!
; )
Morality you can fake. Fun you either have or you don't.
by LSJ on Mar 2, 2010 9:22 AM CST up reply actions 4 recs
If it's him or Lugo, then yeah.
About the only guy I might not rather have than Lugo is Matt Kata, and that’s a pretty close call.
exactly
I don’t get why you can be down on Lugo when otherwise we would have Arias as the utility. Anybody would be a welcome breath of fresh air.
Have you seen Arias on defense?
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Check the salary on Lugo
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
what's the problem with the salary?
acquired by St. Louis in trade from Boston 7/22/09 after being DFA 7/17/09 (Red Sox to pay all of approximately $13.5M still due Lugo in 2009 and 2010)
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Ahhh, did not realize
they were also paying this year’s salary. Now the Rangers’ interest in him makes a little more sense.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sweet.
Back on the Lugo bandwagon. As long as it doesn’t take anything painful to get him.
How anyone can like Arias more is beyond me.
OT: LSB
is anyone else having an issue with LSB every time the page refreshes going from wide format to narrow format?
When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.
yep
"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, all morning thus far
Me no likey, kinda ruins the 28" HD effect…
"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 Salt Shaker throwing the ball back to the mound problem
isn’t going away any time soon, if ever.
I did notice how EG was careful to state facts and nothing else about CJ’s outing.
"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)
It seemed to go away yesterday
after having a little chat with Servais. Salty has barely played this offseason, lets see where he is later in ST rather than his first game since that winter league game.
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
Why do that
when you can overreact based on the first spring intrasqaud game…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Mar 2, 2010 10:23 AM CST up reply actions
OT: Yall hear about the greenville fire?
Hurricane’s owner doesnt even have insurance.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
Y'all hear about Chile?
Bad timing, no? America has SO done the earthquake relief thing.
"Drinks are on me if Lewis posts >168IP and an era lower than 3.86." by RangerMad on Jan 20, 2010 12:36 PM PST
that's stupid to not have fire insurance when you own a restaurant
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Agree
but still sucks nonetheless. Terillis is the only italian place in dallas i really liked. I know they have one in plano or frisco but definitely not the same.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
agreed on the suckiness of the events
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
The food at Terillis was ...okay.
The atmosphere, the bands and the vibe to the place were all top-shelf.
"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 always liked the food there...a lot
I do agree on the ambiance though. Just a good restaurant. Perfect date place.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
Happy
Texas Independence Day.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Come and take it.
When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.
by Escher on Mar 2, 2010 9:27 AM CST up reply actions 2 recs
I prefer to remember San Jacinto
It had a happier ending.
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
remember lower Greenville?
If the Rangers don't make the play-offs this year I'm gonna go all Epic Bearded Man on your ass.
You're wrong, Alamo didn't fall till March 6
Today is a joyous celebration. Saturday will be a somber one.
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
by WestTxAg06 on Mar 2, 2010 10:12 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Remember Goliad!
Grieve: The Yanks have struggled so far. - Lewin: Yeah, cry me a bag of money.
ElectricOkra.com
by WhipSmart on Mar 2, 2010 10:37 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
How shall we celebrate this 174th anniversary of this momentous occasion?
"Josey drives to games???
I always assumed he rides in on his high horse"
jam0152
Martin Perez, "Mucho queso"
let's get fucked up
You hear about the "Electric Arms", they're all the rage.
"If the Rangers have marked improvement in 2010, I'm going to need to give JD credit." Josey Wales, Feb. 10, 2010 11:45 AM CST
by sunlegend54 on Mar 2, 2010 1:42 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
It should be renamed it Texas Dependence Day.
Independence is a funny word and if you consider it in the literal sense, it doesn’t actually even exist.
Since when did Salty turn into Rube Baker?
I didn't know what a mancrush was. Derek Holland showed me.
Or Whoopi Goldberg.
"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.
Blind Lemon Jefferson
"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 Mar 2, 2010 12:34 PM CST up reply actions
Marcus Welby
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
I never has a regular girlfriend like you, but I did get kicked in the balls once by a mule.
Now, I thought that I would be hurting for the rest of my life, but you know what happened the very next week? My momma died.
by RyanBlueThunder on Mar 2, 2010 11:26 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
x
@SPTimesRays OF Rocco Baldelli is here at #Rays camp w/exec VP Andrew Friedman, details to come.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
x
@SPTimesRays: Baldelii will be a “special assistant” to Rays, work with minor leaguers, other players.
"I was going to say, 'You’re gay for Elvis.' But then I realized that I, too, am gay for Elvis." ~Adam J. Morris.
Wow, so he is retired then?
"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 guess until he files, he is still active
He could be using the “work with minor leaguers” job to show he is healthy, if he gets on the field any.
"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.
Wasn't Gabe Kapler managing in the minor leagues before he came back with the Rays and got significant playing time?
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
by WestTxAg06 on Mar 2, 2010 10:50 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Yes he was
Good comp.
"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.
And that made me look him up...not a bad gig
Rays re-signed outfielder Gabe Kapler to a one-year, $1.05 million contract.
Kapler gets a $50,000 raise after spending this season platooning with Gabe Gross in right field. All but 64 of his 238 plate appearances came against left-handed pitching and he’ll fill a part-time role again in 2010 after hitting .239/.329/.439 overall.
$4412 per AB…“Hey coach, can I just get 2 ABs a month? I’d be good with that.”
"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.
the ole boy still kicking it huh, good for him
If the Rangers don't make the play-offs this year I'm gonna go all Epic Bearded Man on your ass.
if we can get 400 ABs
of quality Josh Hamilton, I think it would do alot for this offense.
The most important parts of this offense are rebound years from Vlad, Kinsler, Davis, the Catchers and Hamilton. That seems like alot to ask along with Cruz and Young continuing their production from last year. Borbon will hopefully be the sparkplug. We have alot of questions that aren’t going to be answered until we get into the season.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
That's why this team needs Murphy...
I asked a question in another thread about who will get more PA’s. Murphy or Hamilton? I really think that is a legit concern right now. For those who want to deal Murphy, I think you need to seriously consider how much playing time he will really get in LF this year. I’m not going to be shocked if he gets more starts in LF that Josh. Hopefully I’m wrong.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
I've always been big on Murphy
I think he can at least fill in, and do a decent job if needed. As long as Vlad, Davis and Kinsler bounce back.
I'm just goofin' new boot goofin'
Every baseball team
needs a lanky, goofy looking dude like Murphy. Murphy doesn’t have the skill set of the other three outfielders but unless you could get a real good piece in return for Murphy, he is a viable asset coming off the bench. Even when he struggles, he doesn’t seem to press and let it get to his head as much as others.
wow already i.Orange?
If the Rangers don't make the play-offs this year I'm gonna go all Epic Bearded Man on your ass.
Yes I just don't think the can stay healthy
All those drugs did a number on him. It makes me sad too.
I'm just goofin' new boot goofin'
Not possible
"I don’t know how these SN blog authors get their gigs, but I’m frankly surprised SN tolerates AJM’s lack of effort." Tex34
Neftali Feliz says sit your 5 dollar ass down before he makes change...
Let me finish that post for you
…and yet they don’t do it.
Freude, schoener Goetterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
It's good to know Salty can throw to second base...
Hopefully no one ever reaches third, for fear he might skip one into centerfield throwing back to the pitcher.
He’s the Chuck Knoblauch of catchers…
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
by R Derff on Mar 2, 2010 9:55 AM CST via mobile reply actions
No, not at all.
"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.
No...you don't think there could be mental block happening
much like Knoblauch’s from second to first?
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
I think TOS has more to do with Salty's throws than anything mental.
I didn't know what a mancrush was. Derek Holland showed me.
by DerekSTheRed on Mar 2, 2010 10:35 AM CST up reply actions
I agree
Who knows how much he was ignoring/hiding/manning up about the injury last year. It could have started bothering him in April, for all we know.
"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.
Well now everything supposed to be better
and he’s having problems “flipping it” back to pitchers.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
It was the first two innings of the first intrasquad game, for fucks sake
Knee jerk much?
"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.
yep probably just a little tentative, no biggie
If the Rangers don't make the play-offs this year I'm gonna go all Epic Bearded Man on your ass.
If you need a visual Derff kinda looks like Salty.
"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 Mar 2, 2010 11:08 AM CST up reply actions
Minus the fro...maybe
The FBL looks pretty good. Have ya’ll found anyone else?
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
yes, a couple from here. Scoop and heck, I'll have to look...I just need their emails, been too busy the last few days.
I’ll holler at them today.
"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 Mar 2, 2010 11:19 AM CST up reply actions
Every time I see "Derff"
I think of this guy:
It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin
You're not going to believe this, but he's actually that tall.
But not near as funny as Dorf……
"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 Mar 2, 2010 11:24 AM CST up reply actions
I'm sensitive about my dwarfism
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
C'mon man
If you’ve watched Salty over the last two years you know he’s had some struggles getting the ball back to the pitchers. I think it goes beyond last year and the TOS. No need to get hostile about it though, it’s cool.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball." - Terence Mann
I'm never hostile
it’s all good.
"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.
Before the end of last season
I can’t think of a single time when he had a problem throwing it back to the pitcher.
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
This is an accurate statement.
"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 Mar 3, 2010 6:54 AM CST up reply actions
Then again
before Knoblauch had the yips with the yanks he was a consistently great 2B.
"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland
So Salty had the yips and TOS?
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
He threw the ball
pretty well before the TOS crap. I remember multiple games he saved blocking pitches in the dirt with a man on 3rd. There were plenty of good signs that Salty is coming around defensively.
2010: Salty’s breakout year.
Yeah...
Leno is back on the Tonight Show.
Personally, I think this Leno is far superior to the real one.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Jeez, is this a baseball message board
or something more akin to The View?
"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)
Swing
and a miss…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Mar 2, 2010 10:39 AM CST up reply actions
It's The View...
and your old ass is Barbara Walters.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
So who's Hasselbeck?
Purgatory's kind of like the in-betweeny one. You weren't really shit, but you weren't all that great either. Like Tottenham.
Change the channel jackass
Who gives a shit what Josey says.............................
by Lil' Jonny Donuts on Mar 2, 2010 6:40 PM CST up reply actions
OT - Scoop16 and ACEJc
shoot me an email to ryan dot appleton at gmail d o t c o m
"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 Mar 2, 2010 11:21 AM CST reply actions
anyone else having problems with the "z" function?
I hit z to scroll to new comments.. and its marking them as read but my screen isn’t scrolling with it.
my webcomic - Fanatics
well i went to another thread and came back and its working again
Good. Nevermind then, weird though.
my webcomic - Fanatics
MLB at bat iphone app
is out for this year, up to 15 dollars now but it looks better than ever.
my webcomic - Fanatics
ooh, big upgrade
unless the description is leaving it out for some reason, it appears that you will be able to stream video of all games without having to have a mlb.tv subscription.
Obviously it can’t really replace mlb.tv since noones going to watch their favorite team on a tiny screen, its a nice option for those who want to cheaply look in on other teams at critical points.
my webcomic - Fanatics
so the video part is included this year
instead of just having 1 game a night. that does make it worth it.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
well last year (late in the season when they got it supported anyway)
you could watch every game (with blackout restrictions) if you had a mlb.tv subscription of paid .99 for an individual game.
but nobody go rush to buy it for that because i’m not sure, the description doesn’t mention anything about paying for them, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it still has the subscription or per game fee.
my webcomic - Fanatics
yeah, I had mlb.tv and this app last year
I would bet that they aren’t including the streaming video without extra costs
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
is the 15 bucks monthly or one time?
"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 Mar 2, 2010 12:39 PM CST up reply actions
Well, one time for the season
Have to buy it every year + theres a different one for the postseason i think.
my webcomic - Fanatics
wish i had one too =p
I just use the ipod touch in which case I still loved having the app for use at home and on wifi hotspots, but with an iphone it would be amazing to have it anywhere.
my webcomic - Fanatics
Annoying that I can't just upgrade last year's app
I’m debating on spending the $15. It’s pretty sweet and easily one of the best iphone apps period, but eh…
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
by Dirk Diggler on Mar 2, 2010 12:45 PM CST up reply actions
nevermind about the free streaming games
someone on another board looked it up in the FAQ
“You only need to log into an mlb.com account if you would like to access your MLB.tv subscription. You do not need to login to use any other app features.”
“At Bat contains 1 free live streaming games available to everyone. There are listed in the scoreboard as AtBat.tv Games of the day. You do not need to log in to watch these games.
Oh well, still lots of value.. scores, pitch tracking, good schedule, video highlights and features, maybe the condensed games again, radio broadcasts, 1 free stream and use of mlb.tv for the rest.. well worth it for fans.
my webcomic - Fanatics
cha-ching
Ken_Rosenthal Sources: Justin Upton close on multi-yr deal with #Diamondbacks. Deal believed to be 6 yrs in 50M range. Still would be FA at 28. #MLB
oh shit I better get to work ...
because of that damn Chilean earthquake the days are 1.26 microseconds shorter.
If the Rangers don't make the play-offs this year I'm gonna go all Epic Bearded Man on your ass.
That's pretty damn interesting
"Big whoop, wanna fight about it?"
by lost in space on Mar 2, 2010 1:39 PM CST up reply actions
Give Vlad just enough
ABs to get ready for opening day and nothing more.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
From DMN/Evan Grant blog
• The Rangers will honor the late Bobby Bragan by wearing a patch on their sleeves throughout spring training that says “Bobby Bragan 1917-2010.” The jerseys will be available for purchase after spring training with a portion of the proceeds going to the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. A number of jerseys will also be donated to the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, which has provided over 500 scholarships to Dallas-Fort Worth students since 1992. Bragan, who spent more than 70 years in professional baseball, passed away at age 92 on January 21.
It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin
That's really neat.
"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.
Nice touch
"If this video was an ice cream flavor, it'd be pralines and dick." Clark
re: Matthew Wilder-Break My Stride, 4/17/09
I got one of those scholarships back when I was in school
he was a really cool guy.
"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan
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