Ken and Jamey Know Baseball

Making my morning rounds…a couple of things….one, I guess I can’t read the schedule…for whatever reason I skipped a day ahead and teased tomorrow’s pitching match up….today it’s Matt Harrison Vs. Brian Matusz. While Harry is trying to get back to where he was in his first two starts, Matusz, while not exactly getting shelled, may be a breath of fresh air for Ranger hitters today…..other things, Ken Rosenthal posted a video over at foxsports.com that is right on the money about the Hamels-Harper bean ball incident…and where my perspective only rarely offers a glimpse into a behind the numbers kind of thing, Jamey Newberg breaks it down, hot start vs. what’s going on the last three series.  While I try to stay constructive about this just being “how baseball go” Jamey has the numbers to back it up.

See you after the game.

Couldn’t resist.

Cool Day in Baseball

While it wasn’t so great for the Rangers today, some interesting things took place around the league. First, in Boston, former Ranger first baseman Chris Davis pitched two scoreless innings in a 17 inning marathon affair. Davis, who was 0-8 playing DH, was glad to try something different. He held the BoSox to 1 hit, walked one and struck out two while dazzling with his 80+ MPH fastball. That reminded me of a Ranger moment in 1987. We were thrashing the Yankees (final 20-3) when Yankee skipper Lou Pinella sent catcher Rick Cerone to the mound to pitch. How did Bobby Valentine counter? He sent pitcher Bobby Witt in to hit for LF Pete Incaviglia. Now Bobby eventually struck out, but not before sending a long drive that just went foul. So close to being a home run. We were there. We were laughing. Here’s the box score for that game.

19-year-old snot nose Bryce Harper faced Cole Hamels as the Nationals took on the Phillies and Hamels went all old school on the kid. Hamels hit him in the back  in the first inning then totally fessed up to it after the game. He said:

“I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it. It’s something I grew up watching. That’s what happened. I’m just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything. That’s the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players. It’s that old-school prestigious way of baseball.

“I’m not going to injure a guy. They’re probably not going to like me for it but I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t trying to do it. I think they understood the message and they threw it right back. That’s the way, and I respect it. They can say whatever they want.”

I don’t like Harper. Somewhere on my other blog I posted as much a couple of years ago. That’s right. I didn’t like him when he was 17. But keeping the theme for the day, that it was “different”, later that first inning Harper stole home on Hamels.  That is also sort of old school.  One last unusual thing for the day? Albert Pujols hit his first home run for the Angels. Will wonders ever cease?

Three Series and Counting

Nothing says I have to get my mechanics fixed more than getting ready to face the Rangers. This is at least the third opposing starting pitcher coming off a sit down video session with the pitching coach to address concerns with their mechanics. This one seemed to take as Ubaldo Jimenez more than handled our lineup through seven innings today. We only managed two hits off of him and his big curve ball was working as a nice out pitch. Where’s Adrian Beltre? Alberto Gonzales didn’t manage a single hit the entire series. If it weren’t for Adrian coming off the bench last night and getting that three run homer, we would have more than likely been swept. This is our third straight series loss and now we look more than mortal on the road after getting off to a good start. It’s not going to get any easier this week as we cruise into Baltimore and they have been playing sold ball all season. More concerns… Michael Young seems to always step into the box already down in the count 0-2.  What’s going on with Nelson Cruz? One bright spot? Koji Uehara is getting it together and is looking like the player that pitched for Baltimore but never had pulled it all together for the Rangers. Oh and that Darvish fellow can still blow you away, even while giving up four runs.

I know it’s too early to be even eyeing the panic button, but we have some serious concerns with our bench and may need to look for at least one outfielder who can hit. This is baseball though and like I said in the previous post, I would rather be doing this now over doing it in July or August. Thankfully we built a decent lead in our division but Oakland is nipping at our heels and we all know the Angels are not likely to suck all season.

Being a long time fan I do know there have plenty of years we have gotten off to good starts only to fold up after the All-Star break and I know the goal now is evaluate, fix, then floor it. We’re still evaluating.

Off to Baltimore where Jake Arrieta, coming off a five hit, nine strikeout shutout against the Yankees takes the hill for the Orioles. We have Neffi Feliz who hasn’t come close to matching even his first start of the year. He’s had control problems, but when he isn’t walking anyone he is holding opposing hitters to a .191 bating average.