Let the Speculation Begin

I have pretty much been reading non-stop (after about two hours of cooling off) about the Rangers. The speculation is rampant.  More than I ever remember. So let me put a big fat “nobody knows anything” on this and join the games.

Several comments about the Rangers re-visiting the Red Sox and talking about Jacoby Ellsbury.  He is, for sure, a gifted athlete. He is different from Josh Hamilton. Wouldn’t put up the same numbers but plays much better in the outfield. The problem with him? He actually gets hurt more than Josh does. Not sure how JD feels, but for me, that’s a no.

The Dallas Morning News had a nice picture gallery with suggestions that included Ellsbury but also Tori Hunter. No thank you. Too old. On their list they also had Colorado Rockie Carlos Gonzales. He goes into the “I wish” category. I don’t think we would give up what they would want for someone that young, that talented, with that many years left on his contract.  I agree with everyone though, that it all starts with Josh.

I am not a fan of re-signing Josh. Not totally because of his late season collapse. Not the ridiculous lazy play in the outfield in Oakland either. I am tired of the drama. The injuries. The bizarro comments to the media. I don’t like that it takes a village to hold him up. I think that may have played a bigger role in our demise, more than any of us will ever know for sure.

As far as the money goes? Don’t spend it on Napoli either. Mike was hurt more than not this season. Mike never got his swing on track this year and I can only remember one noteworthy game in Boston early on. I won’t rule out his return. He was looking at a big contract before this year. That’s the funny thing about free agents and will be true with Napoli and Hamilton. Napoli will be sold with last year’s numbers and Josh will be sold on his very hefty season numbers. Both are misleading. Ryan Dempster and Roy Oswalt won’t be back. It’s doubtful for Mark Lowe. I won’t rule out Mike Adams and Koji Uehara returning to the Rangers. They both have some miles left.

I firmly believe that we will make at least one “blockbuster” trade this off-season. We have enough moving parts to make two. For fun and nothing else, I will throw a couple out this week.

The last bit of speculation I read about this weekend involved Ron Washington. Most was about him staying. I read a few reasons why he might be let go. Some of the reasons were valid and one particular one got my attention. It had to do with Wash not playing Jurickson Profar more. I truly believe he could have provided a spark that this team sorely needed. I have no idea how good his numbers would have been, but his attitude is infectious.  According to some sources, Nolan was more than miffed. The only thing I have to offer on Wash is, if that were to come to pass, I would totally expect our next manager to be Mike Maddux. I still think that is a long-shot.

I Think the Replacement for Josh will Come VIA Trade

Rangers Win, So Do A’s

The Rangers handled the hapless Cleveland Indians last night and while some of us were hoping for a back and forth series between the A’s and Angels is turning out to be all A’s. I looked in on that game once, early, and the Angels were up 2-1. That didn’t last as the A’s put more runs on the board and hung on to win 6-5. We looked genuinely happy to be home early on last night and then it looked like we got bored. Adrian Beltre hit a towering ball to left that eventually became his 31st homer. They had to go to the replay to call it but it put the Rangers up 5-1 in the eventual 6-4 win. Matt Harrison, on extra rest, got his 16th win. He was really sharp until the 4th and left with two out in the sixth after throwing 87 pitches. At first I thought something might have been wrong or they had him on a lower pitch count, but after the game Matt said he started pitching to contact and left a few over the plate.  Not what we would expect from a Game One starter.

Tonight we get Ryan Dempster and he has been pitching very well of late.  The other solid candidate for Game One. We find out Roy Oswalt’s most recent troubles against Tampa Bay on Sunday was because of a forearm strain. He’ll not throw for three days and then they will evaluate. I am wondering if his post-season spot is in jeopardy pending how Martin Perez pitches the rest of the way.

One funny thing, from the I love this team file, Joe Nathan, a huge New York Giants fan lost a bet to Mike Adams, a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. The result? Nathan had to dress like Tony Romo for batting practice. I didn’t have the sound up last night and wondered why Romo would be there in full dress for a Rangers game. Turns out it was Joe. Mike also won a bet with Jon Daniels, who will have to wear a cowboy hat for a future meeting with the press. I love this team.

Romo look-a-like Joe Nathan before last night’s game.

Rangers Take Price to Town

Young Derek Holland matched Cy Young candidate David Price pitch for pitch tonight. Unfortunately Mr. Price sucked.  Ok I don’t know if it was that Price sucked or that we are that dialed in right now. It certainly was a great way to start our series against the Rays. AL Player of the Week Adrian Beltre defended that crown with another outstanding night and it does, indeed, seem like the offense is hitting on all cylinders. There were even back-to-back jacks from Beltre and Nelson Cruz. But the stars of the night were Alexei Ogando, Mike Adams and Joe Nathan who shut down the Rays offense in the 7th, 8th and 9th to seal the 6-5 win. I watched on ESPN and they were touting the Rangers bullpen being the problem last season in the playoffs but they look damn tough this season. The only real difference is Nathan and he has been scary at times and I was yelling at the TV they were this good last year at this time too. So we’ll see.

Waited to post this morning because #1 I was tired last night but #2 there has been a bit of Ranger news in the morning when I get to work each day.  The story of the day today is Roy Oswalt clearing waivers and the Dodgers sniffing around. Just got a text message there is a rumored deal, but no mention of who with. We’ll keep watching the wire.

Rangers Bounce Back, Beat Sox 6-3

One of the hardest things as a fan has been sitting through entire games we could win and then ultimately lose. Tonight we had to wait until the sixth inning but were rewarded with a solid 6-3 win. Ryan Dempster was as advertised. He missed his spots a couple of times and paid the ultimate price when Will Middlebrooks hit a 3 run shot off of him in the 7th. That came after Ryan’s only walk of the night. He was pretty efficient and it appeared only Cody Ross had his number tonight. Josh Hamilton looked as good as we have seen him in a while. Waiting an extra beat on off-speed pitches for base hits. He did as he said he needed to do and let the game come to him. Robbie Ross, Mike Adams and closer Joe Nathan all had solid outings as well.

Dustin Pedroia was rung up with a HORRIBLE call on a check swing in the eighth and did not go quietly into the good night.  After giving first base umpire Paul Bauert a piece of his mind on his way back to the dugout and then FROM the dugout, he decided being about 30 feet away when the Red Sox took the field would be a better place to let it all out. Except he really didn’t get the chance. Anybody notice that Bobby Valentine looks like Robert Blake when he is going at it with an ump? Not the cute kid from the Little Rascals, but the guy who went back to get his gun at Vitellos.

We wrap up this series and the road trip in the morning (for me) and I am hopeful the “good” Matt Harrison shows up. We need back to back strong starts from our starters. Dempster was good and I think he will be better. We await results from the OAK-LAA game tonight and see if we are five or six games up. But for the night, I will take this.

 

Four and Counting

Actually today’s game could have been a bigger win. There was a base running debacle in the third inning. The story goes something like this: Josh Hamilton should have gotten to second on a missed cut-off man. Then after that, on a blown double play chance, Dave Anderson supposedly stopped Josh from scoring. But I was watching when this unfolded. Everybody is saying we were screwed by our aggressiveness. Josh seemed absent again. Completely while he was on in the third. More symptoms of something else. I know he is taking a beating from fans right now and while we don’t all agree on the extent of the problem and with some crackpot fans thrown into the mix, it can’t be lost on everyone that we all KNOW something ain’t right. Mike Olt had his first two major league RBI’s but had an error later in the game. Nothing hurt by that and just another part of Mike’s education at first base.

Scott Feldman has passed the fluke stage. He’s for real. Again. He battled. He never appeared to lose his composure even though he got into a couple of jams. He had his first walk in 24 innings today. I know there is a little extra pressure on him, as this appears to be an ongoing audition. Mike Adams got a key strikeout in the eighth. That was huge on a different level because Adams has been struggling of late. It wasn’t a chap K either. That was one of KC’s best hitters. Then Alexi Ogando came on for his second save chance and two days and except for a weak lead-off single, it was lights out.

I watched the last five innings of the Angels-White Sox game and Kevin Youklis is also a pain in the Angels ass. That was nice when he hit the two-run bomb to tie the game, but ultimately the White Sox couldn’t finish the job. The A’s played their second extra inning game in a row and came up on the short end of a 3-1 game and fell to 5.5 games back of the Rangers. They have closer problems right now. I was hoping the Angels had suffered the same fate but Fierri got it done for the Angels.

Tomorrow it’s Holland Vs Hochevar as we look for the sweep and fifth straight win before heading into Boston. No off-day in between but we will get one on Thursday before opening a weird three-game home stand against the Tigers.

Just an Anomaly

Things were back to “normal” tonight as the Rangers dropped a winnable game to the Angels. Dan Haren, who has not been Dan Haren this season, looked more like Cliff Lee as he handled the Rangers. More trouble moving runners and getting the job done. Josh Hamilton remains clueless at the plate and seems to be in a free-fall. There has been absolutely no sign of life from him other than the occasional home run that is now starting to appear to be on lucky swings.  He did stop swinging at first pitches, but his refusal to use his immense talent and try to hit the ball the opposite way is killing the Rangers. But he is not alone. Yes we got a key 2-run homer from Nelson Cruz tonight but based on Haren’s total lack of success and inflated ERA this season plus our past success against the “good” Haren makes me think we still have major problems with our offense.

Matt Harrison appeared to feel the pressure in the first couple of innings, then settled in to pitch a pretty good game. But for whatever reason, Ron Washington decided to put Alexi Ogando on the mound so he could continue his struggles against Albert Pujols. What I do not understand about this is Wash is one of those guys who plays the percentages and uses our bullpen situationally. This is the second time this week he had Snoop out there in a place where he had failed in the past.

So we take our (now) five game lead back home to face the Red Sox. But it’s not that simple as we’ll have the (what’s the opposite of sufficient?) fill-in talents of Scott Feldman and more than likely Martin Perez this week. Colby’s injury is still bugging him and Oswalt has a bum back. If there was a time that it looks like we need some starting pitching help, that would be now. But the trade front doesn’t look that promising these days.

Sure enough, teams that are selling are learning that rentals are not “in” this year. We covered it a lot here. Based on his current “break” Zack Grienke doesn’t look possible and Hamels appears near a deal with the Phillies. The was almost a deal for Ryan Dempster to go to the Dodgers but they said the price (high-end prospects) was too high for a rental and turned their attention to Matt Garza. All well and good except Garza is now banged up. Unless J.D. has something up his sleeve, there is a long-shot possibility for Cliff Lee. Not as long but still not good odds for Anibal Sanchez or Josh Johnson from the Marlins. James Shields might be available from the Rays but the Angels appear to have an edge on a deal right now. If they get Shields (and reportedly Ben Zobrist too) it will just make them that much tougher. I am pleased to see that their bullpen is still a mess. Then there is the matter of Mike Adams and Ogando having problems retiring hitters.

It’s gut check time.

Silly Buzz Has Me Excited

The talk of Cliff Lee to the Rangers is almost absurd. But when you start thinking and playing out scenarios, it’s not ludicrous. The key being the Phillies signing hometown pitcher Cole Hamels to a very expensive deal. The Phils might need to dump some salary and since the deal he signed with the Phillies was actually LESS than what we offered him season before last, it wouldn’t be a huge hit on our payroll. Ok bad phrasing. Of course it would, but not outrageous.

There are really no scenarios in which I see us wanting to deal Jurickson Profar. But, if we had to in a deal to get Lee, I could live with it. No player is a sure thing. Profar is as close to one as I have seen in our organization since maybe Mark Teixera. Profar is better than that. But we get a #1 starter that is proven and probably able to stay at that level for at least the next two seasons.

I would be willing to see a package fronted by Mike Olt and Martin Perez, plus a couple of other good prospects. Again it’s only speculation but appears to be burning up the internet right now.

Yesterday’s game had a horrible finish. I put it on Wash. Yes Ogando needed some work, right off of the DL. But he was pitching to someone who had already burned him. In a similar situation. This season. I couldn’t find any info online as to why we didn’t put Adams or Nathan in. I assume it was to rest them for the Angel series. I will say this. That spark I saw in the team the night before was present again yesterday. Something just looks different. Instead of knowing we were going to fall apart with an opportunity, while we weren’t successful every time, I felt like they weren’t pressing and letting the game come to them. Listen, this is really based on no science whatsoever. It is me watching baseball for over 40 years.

The Angels did us a favor and dropped the final game of the Detroit series, losing the series 3-1. We’re up six going into that amusement park of a yard and while we get Weaver in game one, I like our chances.

Hell YES I would take Cliff Lee back.

Feast or Famine

Last night it was all about clutch two out hits. Tonight, it was only one clutch two out hit. Provided by the recently Gwynn-like Craig Gentry. We were shut down by Wade Miley. In fact we were out hit 6-3. But I will take it. We had two bullpen arms (Adams and Nathan) fresh and ready to go after Matt Harrison turned in 7 strong innings. It’s a shame he didn’t get the win. This was our third shutout in the last four games. Good stuff from a hobbled rotation.

Other game notes…Rangers have won 3 straight for first time since a 4-game win streak May 25-28. They have won 3 of 4, but lost 8 of last 13. With the win, we have won our second series in a row. We have only won consecutive series once since we started the season winning our first six…..tomorrow night Scott Feldman, coming off a strong outing in San Francisco. I hope Scooter has the confidence he has been looking for in all of his pitches…He’ll face Daniel Hudson who was clobbered in his last start, after his previous three were pretty good. Hope it’s the hit-able Hudson we get. Even though Tuesday night the bats were working, something still seems “off”.

The Rangers Have a Song- Is it too Early?

In a lot of ways, I’m old school baseball. I learned the game in the 60’s. Sure I have adapted but there are plenty of things that just won’t change. Then on top of that are fan superstitions. The Sports Illustrated cover is bad news, like in football, the Madden football cover. I don’t like to say a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter. All those baseball and softball games I played, I never stepped on a foul line. Mike Adams got together some of his music friends, INK, featuring rappers Illicit, Zica, and Pain and they put together a tune. I do like it. But it begs the question, will it jinx us?
 

Happiness is a Long Game with a Happy Ending

With every passing game and more than a few opportunities, it was just a matter of time before we had a walk-off win. Today was the day. It was made even more perfect because the Jays had just taken a lead in the top of the 13th. Love our guys. They never quit. Another remarkable stat that caught me off guard. I knew we had played .500 ball in the previous twenty games before this home stand started, come to find out, no back to back wins since May 10th and 11th.

It was moments like today I couldn’t be a GM. I would have summoned Josh Hamilton to the carpeted office to sign his extension. OK, not really. But the moment wasn’t actually when the ball cleared the center field wall. It wasn’t when Josh touched home plate. It was Josh, after the mob scene broke up at home, taking time to celebrate separately with Alberto Gonzales. Our star. Jammin’ on it with a bench player. Nice.

Other notes from today….Note to Wash: The season is still relatively young. Why not take the suddenly red-hot Mitch Moreland for a spin against lefties?  Sitting him for the still ill and still slumping Mike Napoli was kind of a slap in the face. I know, you’re not platooning. But it sure looks like it….Question of the day: Can Colby seriously not make a start that doesn’t include giving up a homer? Hey home plate ump Marty Foster- you bouncing Henderson Alvarez was cool. Did you do it because there had been a touch of bad blood when we were up in Toronto? I LOVED our 7-8-9 hitters opening a can of whoop ass on the Blue Jay bullpen in the sixth inning. They might need a spotter when they come to Arlington…Mike Adams appears to be back and Joe Nathan appears to be pitching in 2009 again….Alexi Ogando is in a bit of a slump. He knows it and I’m not worried….Cool Fact of the Day- Robbie Ross was born when Jays infielder Omar Vizquel was a rookie…Yu Darvish on the bump tomorrow. You know he’ll be out to get back on track tomorrow and handled the Jays last time….Know how I know Wash is a good manager? Look at the pic.