Annoying game last night. A winnable game, one that slipped away. Hard to say it is one the Rangers should have won, though...you aren't going to win many games in which you give up 6 walks, and you aren't going to win many games in which you record five hits.
Anthony Andro's game story talks about the walks the Rangers allowed coming back to haunt them. Three of the four ChiSox runs that scored got on base via walk.
Evan Grant says in his game story that there are many culprits to blame for last night's loss.
Bryan Dolgin offers his post-game thoughts after the loss at ESPN Dallas.
Evan Grant calls this the ugliest game of the year, and has a revealing item about some second-guessing Ron Washington was doing after the game:
Key decision: Manager Ron Washington was unhappy with himself for not using left-handed hitting Mitch Moreland until it was too late. The Rangers had two runners on with one out in the eighth and consecutive struggling hitters coming to the plate. Had Washington pinch hit for DH Mike Napoli, he would have eliminated his backup catcher from the game, leaving Yorvit Torrealba flying without a net. Had he pinch hit for Torrealba, who came up with two outs, then Napoli would have moved behind the plate and the Rangers would have lost the DH. Washington elected not to make any changes. Torrealba, who was in a 1-for-25 stretch, popped out to end the inning.
This, of course, drives home why you want Napoli at first base, and Michael Young at DH, rather than vice versa. If Napoli is at first base, you can pinch hit for Torrealba and slide Napoli in behind the plate without losing your DH. It will be interesting if we see that pattern change somewhat going forward.
Joey Matches has some thoughts up on things as well...
For those of you who missed Jon Daniels' chat session last night, you can read it here...
Andro's notes talk about the pride Yorvit Torrealba takes in his gamecalling, Mitch Moreland sitting with a hamstring issue, and Josh Hamilton's progress.