Kick in the stomach Wednesday

by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2006 8:46 AM CDT in News Comment 11 comments

You know, whenever I think I've reached a low point in being a Rangers fan, something like yesterday happens.

A winnable game, featuring a strong starting performance by Rick Bauer, of all people, and a couple of Hank Blalock homers, goes down the drain in the 9th inning.

It is bad enough that the team dropped to 2-7 with a loss to Anaheim. But Ian Kinsler dislocated his thumb, and is probably going on the disabled list.

Big picture, in terms of performance this season, replacing Kinsler with D'Angelo Jimenez probably won't make a huge difference in wins and losses. Jimenez isn't that big of a downgrade, and it isn't as if the Rangers lost, say, Michael Young, for whom there is no legitimate in-house replacement candidate.

And I'm going to spare everyone the comparison to Gerald Laird's dislocated thumb in 2004, and the subsequent fallout...I don't think that Jimenez or Mark DeRosa will end up being the starting 2B over the next three years instead of Kinsler due to a 6 week hot streak while Kinsler is out.

But in terms of development, in terms of having something to be enthused about this year with this team, in terms of overall excitement, the Kinsler injury is a huge blow. This is almost reminiscent of 2002, when a season that began with excitement and expectations started off with just about anything that could go wrong, going wrong.

I'm not writing off this team, of course. Their problem thusfar has been simple...the team isn't hitting. The team has a .256/.308/.396 line, good for a .704. That's terrible, and while folks are going to whine about how the Rangers can't "manufacture" runs, that they can't score if they aren't hitting home runs, the bottom line is, with a team OBP of .308, you aren't going to score enough to win many games anyway, manufacturing runs or not.

The bullpen has pitched well. Save for R.A. Dickey, the rotation hasn't been terrible, posting a 5.00 ERA if you subtract Dickey's gascan outing. They just aren't getting any run support.

Anyway...I don't think this is an awful, 90-95 loss team. And even if it was, that probably wouldn't be enough to get Buck Showalter fired, which would be the only thing remotely resembling a silver lining in such a scenario.

I think this is still a little more than a .500 team.

But this awful start is making me have some doubts.

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Kinsler

The thing that worries me about Kinsler is that it seems like hand injuries are never quite right until a guy has a chance to let it rest for a long time. I can see him struggling when he comes back off the DL and having this year be lost and starting all over again next spring. That is disappointing.

Jottomg??? I think you hit some wrong keys there Adam.

by Chris Martin on Apr 12, 2006 8:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Jottomg is an

advanced statistical concept. Only two people understand it, Adam and Nate Silver.

I was rootin' for you guys last night. The Angels are the worst.

Visiting A's Fan - also from BTB, a sister SBN site.

by salb918 on Apr 12, 2006 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Should be hitting...

I was typing very fast, trying to get this posted before I ran out the door...

by Adam J. Morris on Apr 12, 2006 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kinsler

"I knew it wasn't good when I looked down and I saw the top part of the thumb pointing in at me,"

No kidding.

I hope he won't be out too long - he's had a great start and hopefully he'll be back soon.

"What I heard was, 'Just go out and get it done.' So don't talk to me about potential."

by shrinking violet on Apr 12, 2006 9:10 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Adam great post

Over reacting is common at this point of the season and the team is good enough to finish over .500. I feel sorry for the fans that thought the were a shoe in for the division championship. Kinsler's injury is problematic for this season but not long term. He has shown the ability to be a solid major league player. My major concerns are two fold: Pitching and Defense. The team has been horribly sloppy in the field and the error total will not show how bad they have been. They do not look sharp as they did two seasons ago coming out of spring training. The defense has caused additional problems for the pitching staff. A staff that again entered spring training with the typical Ranger attitude of just the minimal talent to get through the season. So far the staff is what it is, and I do not see them being significantly better than a 5.00 ERA by years end. The only good news from where I sit is that the farm system has a bunch of talented arms who are getting closer to helping this team. Here is hoping that the Rangers add another Millwood type pitcher next off season to protect and compliment these young arms for years to come.

by Bigfan16 on Apr 12, 2006 9:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think

that now with a 2-7 start, and even starting a few games before this, the morality of the team is already fairly low. With Eaton gettin hurt, the Dellucci trade, and now poor performances left and right, not much is going for the Rangers right now.

Kinsler being out is just adding insult to injury (or maybe the other way around).

I was a big fan of the WBC, but maybe MYoung and Teixera's absence during spring training had some sort of affect on the moral of the team coming out of ST, with their two leaders being gone for a portion of it.

Just a thought...

And I think what the Rangers really need to get back on track, and to get some confidence back in the club, is a strong outing by our 'Ace', Millwood in his next start.

by jplata on Apr 12, 2006 10:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Millwood

The only problem is that his next start will be against Zito in Oakland. Even if Millwood pitches well they will probably still lose. In fact, looking at the probables in the next 5 games I don't see a game where the Rangers have the pitching advantage going in. Surely they can win 1 of those games anyway....

3-11 here we come!!!!

by Chris Martin on Apr 12, 2006 10:38 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

FIRE BUCK!!!!

This team is in shambles.

by Texasportsfan on Apr 12, 2006 10:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Drew Meyer

will be our starting 2nd baseman soon, very soon...

by Longhorn on Apr 12, 2006 12:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Bad News

As the season started and losses started to mount I was sarcastically negative, expecting that it was a difficult phase against good teams combined with a slow start. All of those things might still be true but I am slowly beginning to lose all hope for this season. I really could see us coming back from this road trip 4-12 which would all but bury us. With our pitching problems it will be very difficult to string together a long winning streak which is what we would need to dig out of a hole like that. When the Astros and A's have staged their second half charges in the past they have done so with dominant pitching. Even if Millwood, Padilla and Loe produce it is difficult to imagine the back of the rotation allowing us a run like that. When you combine this with Kinsler and Wilkerson's injuries things look very bad indeed. My only hope is that Padilla, Cordero and Mench have good first halves so we can get some value for them at the trading deadline. I really am trying not to panic but things are getting bad fast and we are playing horrific baseball at the moment.

by pblack on Apr 12, 2006 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs