Saturday a.m. Rangers things (non-drug edition)
by Adam J. Morris on Mar 20, 2010 10:39 AM CDT
94 comments
Brandon McCarthy got knocked around early in yesterday's game, and T.R. Sullivan says that that has hurt McCarthy's chances of making the rotation, with C.J. Wilson and Matt Harrison, according to Sullivan, the leading candidates for the last two spots now.
Ron Washington is quoted in the piece as saying that McCarthy was leaving pitches up early on, when he gave up four runs in the first before recording a single out, and then made some adjustments to get things back on track. The thing about taller pitchers is that, while their height gives them more leverage and allows them to pitch on a steeper plane, there seems to be a sense that they are also more prone to getting their mechanics out of whack, which seems to be a not-infrequent stumbling block for McCarthy.
Anthony Andro notes that Luis Mendoza and Pedro Strop didn't do anything to help their cause, either, yesterday.
Andro also writes about the battle for the last two spots in the rotation, with Ron Washington saying that there's no guarantee that Tommy Hunter, who had the #4 spot pretty well locked up before suffering a strained oblique, will get his rotation spot back when he is healthy.
Matt Harrison says he hasn't been striking out hitters like he has this spring since he was in high school.
Richard Durrett has a brief Q&A with Michael Young up at ESPN Dallas.
Durrett also has some notes from camp yesterday. So does T.R. Sullivan. So does the S-T. So does Evan Grant.
Sullivan has a story about Elvis Andrus doing an impromptu concert using a dugout bench as an instrument during batting practice yesterday.
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Drug FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Josey drives to games???
I always assumed he rides in on his high horse"
jam0152
Martin Perez, "Mucho queso"
Drug fees?
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
Free Drugs?
"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
by jam0152 on Mar 20, 2010 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hunter...
The Rangers are going to have quite the dilemma if Wilson, Harrison, and Lewis have all had a couple good starts when Hunter is ready to come back.
Then of course you also have McCarthy, Holland, and Feliz who will be waiting for their shot as well.
With all this depth I still think a deal is likely and the only guy I can see the Rangers wanting to give up would be McCarthy. I doubt you can get much for him, but if there is no spot for him on the team they may have no other choice.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
it's the lack of trade value that I think pretty much secures BMac's rotation spot
Everyone else can be optioned and Wilson, I still have to believe, is most valuable to the Rangers in the pen.
Speaking of that, when do the Rangers need to make this decision for CJ to have enough time to get back into the bullpen frame of mind? Or Neftali for that matter? Do we think he’ll stay stretched out for the rotation in AAA?
"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
You don't just give BMac...
a spot because he’s out of options. That’s how guys like Benson end up in your rotation.
I can’t see McCarthy getting the nod over Ceej or Harrison with the way those two look so far this spring. I realize it’s just ST, but they have looked good. I remember reading that the guy who got the 5th spot in the rotation wouldn’t be backing into that job. That’s basically what it would be if McCarthy were to get that spot right now and I don’t see it happening.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Question
Do you think, over the course of a full season, C.J. would be a significantly better starting pitcher than McCarthy?
by Adam J. Morris on Mar 20, 2010 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm not asking potentially
If you think the difference between McCarthy and Wilson in the rotation is likely to be negligible, there’s not a lot of reason to put Wilson in there instead of McCarthy.
by Adam J. Morris on Mar 20, 2010 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions
Well, he's peaked my curiousity
I think it would be a shame not to find out. To me, it’s worth finding out. The chances of McCarthy making us regret, potentially, losing him seem pretty slim to me at this point.
One thing he does have going for him is a history of striking guys out.
I love me some Ks.
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
Not really.
Sort of. He has a history of being one of the better strikeout pitchers in Texas, but the thing is that doesn’t say much because is we haven’t had any above average strikeout pitchers on this staff in years.
An average K/9 is right around 7 and McCarthy’s K/9 last year was 6.01. For his career it’s only 6.06, and it’s only been above 6.45 once – in 2007 when he was in the Chigaco bullpen.
So McCarthy is actually a below-average strikeout pitcher himself, he’s just not as far below average as the Feldmans, Hunters, Millwoods and Padillas we’re used to seeing.
But the thing is he’s dropping his best pitch, the curveball in favor of going to the cutter/2-seamer BS which is probably going to send his K/9 through the floor this year.
Ron Washington is: The Bad Manager - Port of Call New Orleans
Damn you! The second I read that I hopped up on my high horse, ready to correct you.
Now I’m just stuck up here on this fucking horse…
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on Mar 20, 2010 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions
No shortage of windmills to tilt at, Dirk Quixotetron.
Have at it, good sir! May I suggest the other thread of the morning, which is a target-rich environment if you’re struggling in your search for windmills and/or strawmen?
It's Josey vs. the Morris brothers.
so yeah, better than usual.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
A head-on train collision, then.
I guess I’ll wander over to stare at the wreckage and the casualties.
Dinosaur Comics is one of the finest things on this internet, sir
So I applaud both your avatar choice and new writing assignment
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 don't see us ever really regretting losing him
But I do think its a waste of potential trade value as well as a decent arm if we just throw him away. He’s basically been a league average pitcher over the past few years even with the injuries. Now it might be a case like with Blalock, where playing so little helped hide the fact that he couldn’t play well, but I think McCarthy is worth taking a chance on that he can pitch at least half a season. He’s still young and can be a middle of the rotation guy (just lacking the innings). If there isn’t a spot for him here, then you can definitely find a decent trade partner who would want that. And you can’t do that right now and especially not when you don’t have much of an established rotation to push a guy like that out.
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
I see CJ....
making a bunch of 4 and 5 inning starts because of high pitch counts because he thinks he’s got command of 5 or 6 pitches.
McCarthy vs Wilson
The comparison really isn’t even close. McCarthy is now a mid- to upper-80’s right-hander with new pitching mechanics and a new collection of pitches. Wilson is a low- to mid-90’s left-hander with an established repertoire. Looking at their career numbers:
McCarthy
6.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, 0.82 GB/FB
Wilson
8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, 1.99 GB/FB
Then look at their 2009 numbers:
McCarthy
6.0 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, 0.9 GB/FB,
Wilson
10.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9, 2.25 GB/FB
You can argue that CJ’s numbers will suffer from moving to the starting rotation, but the only stat line that has been affected for others who have made the switch from relieving to starting has been the K-rate and even that is slight (1-2 K/9).
McCarthy is a #4/5 pitcher at best. Wilson could be a #2/3 if he can go 6 innings per start.
by spurdynasty on Mar 20, 2010 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions
The problem is that is a huge "if" for Wilson
The guy has been a great reliever, but we have no idea how that will translate to multiple times through the order, pitching deep into games.
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
no we do have a pretty good idea
spurdynasty just told you, K/9 usually goes down but other stats generally remain the same. fangraphs also did a projection by FIP. All in all, I think under 5.00 ERA is a reasonable expectation.
""It was a ball, dude," Davis said. "I don’t swing at balls anymore." -CD
Right
But does that benefit the Rangers most? I suppose that’s the million dollar question.
"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 the problem with McCarthy...
is “IF” he can stay healthy.
Both guys have very big “IF’s” surrounding them, but I don’t think there’s any doubt who the better pitcher is. At least not for me.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
two things CJ needs to do as a SP
Cut down on the BB/9 and be effective when the lineup turns over. If he can cut down his BB/9 but keep his K/BB at 2.00 then he could be a #2/3 SP.
Another concern is how he pitches when tired. Most agree the CJ has suffered when pitching on back-to-back days. Unlike most relievers who are at their optimum with about 3 days rest, the more rest CJ has, the better he pitches.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
The more I've thought about this,
the more I’m tilting toward wanting to see Wilson start out in the rotation.
After working through pieces like this 2006 David Gassko piece on Papelbon and this more recent piece on Soria by Harry Pavlidis, I’m beginning to buy into the idea that the Wilson-as-a-starter+bullpen-replacement(s)-for-Wilson platter stands a very good chance of out-WARing the Wilson-as-a-reliever+McCarthy-as-a-starter combo. And isn’t that the bottom line?
I was just thinking along the lines of
if CJ was in the starting rotation, could we get a good replacement for him in the bullpen? I’d be happy with a good utility guy though.
I totally agree with the sentiment
Harrison and CJ have pitched better in Spring Training. But B Mac has shown he is an effective starting MLB pitcher when healthy, and I think that’s more than the Rangers feel they can say about CJ or Harrison.
All that said. If B Mac is traded for 25 cents on the dollar and we roll with the other guys, I’ll be just fine with that, too.
"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
I feel like I've given...
BMac the benefit of the doubt longer than most. I was okay with him still getting a shot two years ago or even last year because the Rangers simply didn’t have better options.
This year however is different. With the depth the Rangers now have I just can’t see justifying a spot in the rotation for him. I know he’s been a decent starter when healthy, but if he can’t stay healthy that means very little.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
I'm not a McCarthy fan, I'll admit it.
He nibbles too much, hasn’t fulfilled his promise, and can’t stay healthy.
I know we’re not supposed to, but every time we talk about McCarthy, I compare him to Danks. It’s just the natural way to go.
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
I know it's hard...
not to do that but you have to. Bad deals happen, it’s part of the game. I’ve tried to give McCathy a fair shot despite the fact that we gave up Danks for him.
My opinion of him now really has nothing to do with Danks. It’s simply the fact that he can’t stay healthy and he can’t hit 90 on the gun.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Hunter's got options
It would suck for him to lose his spot that way, but its pretty easy to work around having Hunter come back with no spots open.
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
That quote from Hunter in the ST
doesn’t sound too encouraging. I expect him to go on the 15 day DL and not be ready until at least the end of April.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
Better than past years
when they’d have a crappy pitcher come off the DL, and three spots in the rotation that needed replacing.
Given that this isn’t exactly a team full of 200 IP guys, I’m pretty confident they’ll all get their fair share of starts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 7 different players get 20 starts this year. Which is normally a bad sign but I think I’d rather get the 140 best innings out of each of these pitchers instead of 180 okay ones.
Go Rice Owls!
Board Game got tossed yesterday....
Wak is already having to stand up for him and we’re not even out of ST….
Odds of him finishing the year in SEA? It’s gonna get ugly and I can’t wait to read LL when it does.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
yeah, that's kind of ridiculous.
I think both times it’s been AAA umps and maybe they’re trying to show that they can’t be intimidated or whateve, but if Bradley can’t even resist the urge to show up umpires in Spring Training then maybe there’s no hope for him. His comments about Chicago fans didn’t help him much either.
by Randy Richardson on Mar 20, 2010 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions
I was surprised he got tossed against Texas.
It didn’t look that egregious, but it may have been a AAA ump flaunting his power.
"If this video was an ice cream flavor, it'd be pralines and dick." Clark
re: Matthew Wilder-Break My Stride, 4/17/09
im sorry but that is bs
dropping your bat in that instance is just the same as saying “fuck you, you blind sack of shit, you missed that call”
you cant do that
Fuck Mike Estabrook
getting tossed is not a big deal
it is how wak handles it that is a big deal.
""It was a ball, dude," Davis said. "I don’t swing at balls anymore." -CD
Can you blame him when it really appears these guys are out to get him?
I saw the one against Texas and that was pretty ridiculous. He didn’t say a thing, he just dropped his bat, which could just be as much of a sign that he was mad at himself for not swinging as anything else. It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you!
He dropped it and was taking off his batting gloves as if it was the last out, when it was only the 2nd.
Lord knows the guy has trouble counting to three outs. I assumed he thought it was the third out. It looked that way to me.
"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.
Come on Adam
You forgot the Cowlishaw column.
I'm not entirely on board with Wash after this little incident, but Cowlishaw is being ridiculous here.
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
I did a separate post for that stuff
Because I didn’t want this morning’s news post to be dominated by drug talk.
by Adam J. Morris on Mar 20, 2010 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions
With all of our depth at AAA this season in the rotation
What’s going to happen to guys like Dozer?
I am Jurickson Profar son of judeska and chesmond.. And I was born ready! ready to play baseball!!- Jurickson Profar 2/15/2010
We finally bid them farewell
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
Mendoza will be pitching in OKC.
I doubt anyone claims him off waivers.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
I have my money on the Royals or Brewers taking him.
They always seem to have an interest in our leftovers.
Today's game is on TV right?
Lineup:
1. Joaquin Arias
2. Esteban German
3. David Murphy
4. Josh Hamilton
5. Nelson Cruz
6. Chris Davis
7. Matt Brown
8. Brandon Boggs
9. Taylor Teagarden.
Turble
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
running out the JV squad, except at 4-5-6
"I’m not in the meetings and not part of the discussions; it’s not my responsibility. . My responsibility is to go out and win tonight. My focus is to win tonight. The club has to look at more than just this year." -Michael Young
Colbayshi and Holland
pitching, should be interesting.
"There's not a man alive who can whup me. I'm too fast. I'm too smart. I'm too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked." --Muhammad Ali
Who else is pitching?
I am real anxious to see these 2 throw.
What if Colby gets shelled and Holland throws another gem? SSS be damned that would certainly cause for more articles//water cooler talk.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
you can't look at it in that vacuum
but if lewis velocity and control are suspect, then that would be cause for concern possibly.
but i still don’t think we have an april where we don’t see 3-4 lewis starts
""It was a ball, dude," Davis said. "I don’t swing at balls anymore." -CD
I know, but if it did happen we'll see those debates in tomorrow's AM thread...
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
Those are the only two listed
"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.
As in life the drug thread is where the party is
We need to not always make hard work out of sex- Rick Carlisle.
Man.
Is there a bigger beating on this blog than Josey?
"There's not a man alive who can whup me. I'm too fast. I'm too smart. I'm too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked." --Muhammad Ali
Not even close.
"I think I'm going to name my new car Scooter, because it dominates on the road." - mikeyoungfuturehof, 9.10.09
"I’ve been a Rangers fan all my life and I can tell you there’s been plenty of fucking crying in baseball…" - WhipSmart, 6.3.08
Trollscript is your friend
"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.
How do you throw passive/aggressive digs
or send creepy personal messages expressing a desire to “meet” with the troll script?
"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 Mar 20, 2010 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Yes
The dozens of morons who continually respond to him.
by Chris Martin on Mar 20, 2010 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
/Mr. Mackey
It's baseball. You don't always get what you want, and you don't always want what you get. --Ed Coffin
Revocable waivers
If the Rangers decide to try to option McCarthy to AAA (put him on revocable waivers), is that announced when they start the process? If they put him on revocable waivers, someone claimed him, and they pulled him back, would that necessarily be publicly announced (at each step)? Or is it more similar to putting a player on waivers after the trade deadline, where it usually isn’t publicly disclosed?
nothing is usually announced
until the process is done. You never hear (or very seldom) that a player has been put on waivers, then 10 days laters he has been assigned to AAA.
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
Why don't we roll with Harrison as our LH middle relief beast
a la Feliz 2009 until McCarthy breaks down or Lewis proves ineffective?
I was blown away by Harrison the other night.
"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)
Harrison is a SP
the last time he pitched in relief was back in 2006 for an AA team. We don’t want anyone in the bullpen that has “rules” on their usage. Remember, “It’s time.”
Vladimir Guererro - 2010 AL MVP
That quick wind-up he had coming from the left side with wicked stuff
seemed to be the biggest reason he was striking out that many hitters.
It may have been against a bunch of Milwaukee spares but that performance was incredible.
I agree that long-term you want him to be a starter but rolling him out there against a big lefty line-up in the middle of a game may be something to think about…however they decide to use him, he needs to be with the big club this year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
"Ranger players, especially veterans, weren’t surprised that Daniels couldn’t find a deal"
"The Influence continues." Josey Wales (1/18/10)
and he's not fat ass joba either
"Josey drives to games???
I always assumed he rides in on his high horse"
jam0152
Martin Perez, "Mucho queso"
If we where gonna trade Harrison...
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on Mar 21, 2010 8:21 PM CDT up reply actions
**we're
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
OT
The Nats are going to start Strasberg in the minors. I wouldnt have been surprised if they had started him in the majors
I would've been shocked.
It’s called Longoria’ing.
It’s what smart teams do.
Fuck I wish we’d done this with Elvis.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on Mar 20, 2010 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions
The Rangers are idiots.
I know.
: )
"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.
Blame Facey Face
And you know this.
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 do.
I hate him so much.
I want to throw him off a steep cliff into a revine and then pour bees down on him.
I fuckin’ shake with anger just thinking of him.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on Mar 20, 2010 4:57 PM CDT up reply actions
For those of you who have been out here, what time do the minor league games start every day?
We’re at the big league game today but we’re thinking about watching the minors tomorrow instead of going to Peoria for the big game.
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
by WestTxAg06 on Mar 20, 2010 2:48 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
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