It Was a Great News, Bad News Kind of Day

We’ll start with the good news. For the hearty fans following along on the interwebs and Twitter, the closing moments of today’s trade deadline certainly took us from a reality check that would see us carrying through the rest of the season on faith and total relief as we swept in and foiled the Yankees again. Tweets from the pundits pretty much had us out on everyone. Including one Ryan Scott Dempster. Who, if you did not know, was drafted by the Rangers way back in 1995. Dempster is battle worn and has even had Tommy John surgery, but that’s ok. He has mound presence and is just the kind of guy we need ti help us get back to the promised land. No he is not Cliff Lee, but after Roy Oswalt’s latest start, it became apparent we needed someone. Here’s more on that idea. Zack Greinke has an ongoing battle with social anxiety disorder. Now he has shown he has it in check, but a playoff stretch is just the kind of thing that can set that off. I am sure it was one of the things discussed in the Rangers front office.  It would be tacky for me to elaborate further and probably was that I brought it up at all.

Dempster will battle and has terrific success, seemingly, the more trouble he is in. He spent a healthy chunk of his career as the Cubs closer. Bottom line, he handles pressure just fine. That would make him Nolan-esque. The cost? Two class A players. We’ll discuss them in a later post. But for the day, after our pickup last night of Geovany Soto (who happens to be Dempster’s favorite catcher to work with) the only things we didn’t get from our shopping list was a little bench help and another bullpen arm. Pending how everything is going, Alexi Ogando can fit the bullpen need, unless we need him to start. Which depends on Scott Feldman. By the way, Oswalt looks like he is headed for the pen. Until he finds his arm slot, let’s hope it’s for mop-up duty. We’ll see Dempster Thursday night as the current series with the Angels wraps up.

One more thing on what happens going forward, there is suddenly some support online, for the idea of bringing Mike Olt up sooner than later. I can think that it is at least in the heads of the front office, because of our stubbornness in keeping him.  In fact someone makes a good case for calling him up and move Michael Young into the bench role. 

Now the bad news. We won’t be seeing Neftali Feliz on the mound anytime soon. In fact maybe not until 2014. Turns out he had a serious problem. He is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery that shelves him for at least a year. I wasn’t totally counting on getting him back because he just hadn’t made any progress and the discovery of a more major problem came after he was scrubbed from a rehab outing.

As I finish this, the Angels and Rangers are into the second inning and Derek Holland looks good. So far. I hope he knows it’s time.

Welcome Dempster and Soto- the newest Rangers

A Bittersweet Day

We’ll start off with the game last night. That’s the good news. Our bats were lively and Josh Hamilton actually knocked in a couple of runs. Mike Napoli homered again. And it was a beautiful shot to deep left. The most shocking news from last night’s 9-1 win over the Red Sox? A quality start from Scott Feldman. Something telling from Scott last night was his admission that he thinks too negatively sometimes. Last night, he said, he tried to stay positive.  If his problems end up being mostly in his head, then that would be immensely more fixable than any mechanical problems he might have. The reason why this is important? Well that’s the bad news.

We lost Colby Lewis for the season yesterday.  The problem he had with “forearm tendonitis” is more serious than that. Add to that Roy Oswalt’s tricky back and we have problems. We have Feliz on a rehab assignment and Alexi Ogando struggling with his command. Both would be decent options, if they were throwing like they used to.  Tonight Martin Perez will be pitching and we will have quite a few scouts in the stands. Scouts from the Phillies, Brewers and Marlins more than likely. Here’s what the rumor mill is churning out now…

We want an elite pitcher. That is a very short list. One of those pitchers, Zack Greinke, throws tonight against the Phillies. Coincidentally, Cliff Lee will be pitching for the Phils. Greinke has had issues of late and would only be a rental. Another scenario, which really doesn’t have rumor legs yet, is a deal for Lee. Before the Phillies would even consider that, they would need to sign Cole Hamels. Not that we don’t want Hamels, but he would be a rental and if he doesn’t take this deal the Phillies are offering (rumored to be in the six-year $127 mil neighborhood) would almost certainly guarantee we wouldn’t consider being able to sign him. That makes him, for sure, a rental. But continuing on with Lee, Jamey Newberg this morning, said something like Lee and Hunter Pence. Now we would lose Olt and Perez just about guaranteed (plus at least 2 more).  But neither are rentals. It would also free up David Murphy to be traded for some bullpen reinforcements. Nolan said it’s time to consider everything but not panic. But with Colby out and Oswalt questionable, it turns what was only a “what if” situation, into something a little more serious. Not for now. But for October.

Lee and Pence wouldn’t fix everything, but it couldn’t hurt.

Trade Possibilities

Fans love to speculate about trades. At the beginning of the year it looked like this might be one of the first years we wouldn’t be looking for an arm at the deadline. Now things are a little different. We have Feliz and Holland on the DL. Oswalt is working back into shape and will provide some help. The fact that the two pitchers who are on the DL are young would probably hold us back a little in looking for anyone to help us out. I know a lot of this also depends on their long-term prognosis. Both have arm problems and I have to wonder when the outcry about our “no pitch count” philosophy will come into question. I hope not.

There are some arms that might be available. We never want to leverage the farm in a win-now scenario and I have no idea what the cost would be. With no place for Mile Olt (unless he plays more first base soon), he might be the biggest chip we have to offer. Scott Feldman too, but he hasn’t exactly helped his trade value. Neither of those would be enough to get these pitchers. BUT, that said, I would like to ask about (and I don’t know that we haven’t) Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster from the Cubs and Cole Hamels from the Phillies. Hamels will be a free agent after the season. With the new free agent compensation setup, it would make signing him after the season imperative. That would just add to our list of players needing big money to continue with the Rangers. So as much as I would like him, I doubt it will happen.  Garza would be costly I’m sure and Dempster’s name just hit the market today.  Zack Greinke is a free agent after this season too.

Lots of talk about another bat and one player that has been mentioned going to the Rangers is Kevin Youklis. I don’t see it. We have Michael Young doing the same thing Youk does plus more (2nd base).  We probably would consider adding a bat, but more than likely an outfielder.  Possible first base. Carlos Lee might be available from the Astros. He had one stint with the Rangers already (he didn’t like it). Shane Victorino, who is not having a stellar year with the Phils, might be an option. Carlos Quinton, who recently returned from the DL in San Diego is probably available too.

At the beginning of the year, it looked like the last paragraph was all we needed to look at to finish out the roster. After the last month with the pitching causalities, I can’t help but wonder what we might have to do.

The Long Stretch is Over

Twenty games in twenty days. We have a 19 day in August but this was the longest stretch of the season.  We went 10-10. We held first place. We have a 5 game lead and the Angels still haven’t been able to put together a decent run. So now we get a day to regroup and focus on fixing what is ailing us. From everything I have read, I can’t determine if our hesitance with signing Roy Oswalt is financial (we are supposedly already over budget), or because we want to make sure Neffi Feliz has a spot in the rotation when he gets back.

I’m a little sore at Wash today. He said Feldman’s loss was one bad pitch. Sure, he got one up that ended in a grand slam, but he walked too many and had the same problem with location we have had in so many other starts. Is it trying to be too fine? We were constantly getting strike one in the early going. Not so much lately. Is lack of success on that messing with our minds too much? Something is going on, because we have too many starters having the problem right now.  Or it’s just me.

I have been in heaven with our success the last two years. I have been a fan since 1972 and even our steroid driven run in the 90’s doesn’t touch this. What comes with that?  Higher expectations from me and setting myself up for a bigger fall. But I see it like this. We had the good run. Then we had some owies. Then this long stretch. I have to keep things in perspective. I know we only have a single day off but hopefully the guys can compartmentalize like I just did.

Maybe a Bigger Catcher’s Mitt?

Something is going on with Ranger pitching right now. Especially with the starting staff. More often than not, they are missing their spots.  I don’t know what’s going on. It started with Matt Harrison, then Colby Lewis, a start or two by Derek Holland, Neffi Feliz (but that’s been all year) and tonight Yu Darvish. The thing that gets my goat about Darvish is that the narrative was already going to be about Darvish and his second time to face teams. That had zero to do with his success in Seattle last night and everything to do with getting his pitches where he wanted them to go. None of his pitches were really working and he looked more like he did in game one, inning one against the Mariners than any of his other starts since then. So we have gone from having a staff that was hitting their spots most of the time to now almost never. I am not sure what causes this, other than it is akin to a pitcher losing his timing and slipping into a slump. It ends up being an elbow dropping in the swing a quarter of an inch or barely lifting their front foot when they weren’t before. The thing that makes it difficult so far is that I haven’t seen it happen with an entire starting staff at the same time.

But hold on Ranger fans, there’s another fly in our pitching ointment.  Neftali Feliz is on the DL with and elbow snafu.  They are saying at least six weeks. For now Scott Feldman is the man. The upside of Feldman? He proved he was all the way back last fall and has been decent as a spot starter this season. Only two starts though. There are no starting pitching options on the farm. If anything Ramirez and Perez have regressed this season. Roy Oswalt seems an obvious choice but he will be costly and wants to know he will be a starter for the rest of the year after being signed.  The upside of the oft injured starter is he throws strikes. Lots of them.  While not being our number one starter, he has a lot of experience in that role and would be great for Holland and Harrison. And for that he gets my vote. Plus, any success from him without getting hurt, we might be able to move one of the other starters before the deadline for some outfield help.

Rangers Handle the Astros

It was a game we needed. And we had to overcome a little bit of trouble to get it done. Mainly the control problems of Neftali Feliz. It was the same story with him tonight. Almost unhitable, but plenty of base runners. He struck out six but walked five including the unforgivable walk of the opposing pitcher.  He went deep into the count so many times, he hit 100 pitches in the fifth inning. An inning he couldn’t even finish. His performance prompted a visit from Ron Washington and a serious talk in the dugout from him as well.  It’s time to remember he is only 24 and has basically changed jobs. I remember plenty of times that he worked exactly this was as a closer. Not sure if it is adrenaline or concentration. But he is a work in progress.

Adrian Beltre hit a mammoth shot in the 7th inning.  It was a solo shot, but a no-doubter.  Houston, going through offensive problems, really never threatened because our bullpen got it done again. It all added up to win number 5 for rookie Robbie Ross and another save for Joe Nathan, who threw for the fourth straight game. He has been very strong of late and it appears the closer’s spot is not one for worry right now.

One other very cool thing tonight. It was one of those moments that is a reward of sorts for hardcore fans.  We are the ones who not only watch the wins and losses, and the great plays, but those moments I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Things like Yu Darvish and Neffi Feliz becoming friends and Yu learning Spanish. Tonight it was a simple pop fly behind third. Adrian Beltre was parked under it and for sure was yelling “I got it, I got it”, when Elvis Andrus ran in front of him. It seems Elvis was just having some fun with Beltre and on the slow motion replay you could see Adrian say “get away from me”, as they both laughed.  Another thing, along with the team having a good laugh after Neffi’s first at bat, that shows this team is close. And this is special.

One other matter, it happened before the game. There had been buzz that made it look like we had at least been talking to Josh Hamilton’s agent. Not only did Nolan Ryan dispel that but indicated that he expects Josh to test the market when the season is over. Just a hunch? They tried and the Hamilton camp simply wants too much. Hopefully we’ll never know because we will get him signed. But with his start and the way they threw around money this past off-season, I don’t think we feel like many, if any, players are worth that kind of money. So enjoy him while we have him.  As a fan of all we have done the last two years and so far this season, it will hurt, but I’m with Nolan.

It’s Amazing What a Good Night’s Sleep Can Do

I honestly had wondered when it was going to hit. That was a pretty tough road trip for the Rangers. They lost the first two series on the road (Toronto and Cleveland), Adrian Beltre had a bum hammy and the trip started with a gimpy Josh Hamilton. We go to Baltimore and get our game back and then have a rain out. Not a big deal normally, but it meant playing a double-header before getting home in the middle of the night and facing the Angels and C.J. Wilson that very same day. To be honest? I bet the almost two-hour rain delay gave the team a little pep. They certainly handled business. I have no stats to back this up. Maybe someday when I get some time to back this up, I will research it, but the team always seems flat not the day after travelling, but the second day. Such was the case yesterday as we dropped the game 4-2 to C.J. (wuss alert -he bagged out of the rain delay) and got small balled to death. You could see our guys looked a little heavy footed and slow of bat at the plate. The game was an early start. In fact, the earliest in Ballpark history. Which meant they got home early and got a full night’s rest. And look what happened.

I have to admit, especially after posting the numbers, I was wary of taking on a red-hot Jared Weaver. When they went up 2-1, that one run edge with Neffi, who is still finding his way in his new role, it seemed huge. We tied it and then an inning later? Not so much. Nellie Cruz, who hasn’t been right at the plate all year, hit a grand slam to go up 6-2. It wasn’t a classic Nellie bomb. It was a wall scraper down the line in left, but it got over. Then it was on. We scored at will. We chased Weaver. Not until after he had a real hissy fit in the dugout. That was awesome. Wah. We hit a speed bump in the 7th when Mark Lowe lost his way. I still think that when Joe Nathan is done, it will be Lowe who will fill his shoes. No buzz on that, that’s just me. But he certainly wasn’t on tonight. It didn’t matter, we matched the three they got in the bottom of the inning.

I don’t know how many times, especially in the last twenty years, that no matter what we did, we just couldn’t get the Angels to go away. I have to admit, I felt a little of that feeling tonight. When we answered, I remembered, this team is unlike any other in our 40 years. To me, this was the first serious monkey on our back. And little known fact: Monkeys don’t like well rested opponents.

Old Ballparks are Amazing

As Neffi gets horrendously sloppy and seemingly lazy, I turn my attention elsewhere (yes the game is still on). This is the angriest I have been at anyone at anytime during the season so far. SO unnecessary.

Anyhoo- Anyone who knows me will tell you I LOVE old ballparks and their stories. I haven’t really been able to put my finger on it, but I’m sure it has something to do with Mom and Dad’s love of antiques and old buildings being passed onto me and the fact that one of my earliest childhood memories is going to Burnett Field in Oak Cliff to see a ballgame and one time the Barnum and Bailey circus. There is scarce photographic evidence of this place but here are a couple…

If you like architecture at all,  I highly recommend subscribing to Curbed LA and Curbed SF (actually there are other cities as well). You get some great houses and new and old buildings. Curbed SF had a feature on old San Francisco ballparks.

Hidden Histories: SF Baseball Stadiums – Hidden Histories – Curbed SF.

Save a Horse Ride a Yankee

I really prefer these kinds of streaks. The winning of all of our series so far kind of streak. We’ve won all six this year and the last few of last year. In fact the only series we haven’t won since last year was THAT series. Before this great team was built, our previous stronghold on the AL West in the 90’s ended in futility against the Yankees.  It is always nice to dispense of them. Even better it is with the new Ranger style of play. The new style? Guess which Rangers will kill you tonight? So many times a team will hop on the back of one or two players getting hot. Not the case with this team, with different faces sending us into the win column with each win.

I am seeing a lot of regular Ranger prognosticators weighing in with its still early” and I won’t be one to rock the boat. I am a big believer in baseball karma. The more smack you talk, the bigger the price. But I will say it is great to see trouble in Anaheim with some back biting (regards to Marv Albert) going on after their most recent loss. Also not lost are all of the mainstream baseball prognosticators calling the Rangers not just the best team in baseball, but even the GREATEST team in baseball. It’s not something any Ranger fan will ever get enough of. Another adds- and they will only get better.

Notes from last night…Robbie Ross is a smart pitcher…Mitch Moreland finally looks like he is going to break out soon. Nice homer last night, but he hit almost everything really hard…Scott Feldman would have gotten a double play in the 3rd had it not been for the bat he had just sheared from the hands of the hitter. Self preservation set in and the grounder slipped by him. Most brutal infield single I have ever seen…wonder if others will walk Josh Hamilton to get to Adrian Beltre. He’s .500 now at making you pay for doing that….I like that on one hand Nolan and crew started the trend of having starters go deep into a game but now, like with Neffi Feliz, regulating starts a little more.  It means lesson learned with Ogando last season…I love to look at stats and now I have added one more to check, pulling for Nolan and crew to get their three million in attendance…the Rangers are now 3rd in attendance in all of baseball. A well deserved off day today as we get ready to face maybe the toughest pitching staff we have faced yet in Tampa Bay this weekend.