Season in Review: September/October

Posted on November 5, 2015 by colonelsportsnation

He pitched the Rangers to the Division Series can he pitch them into the ALCS today?

Hamels pitches Rangers to division in game 162

Yesterday was my 100th post and in those 100 posts we have covered everything from the disaster that was 2014 to the comeback that was 2015. It has been quite the journey and I hope the next 100 takes the journey from this postseason to possibly a World Series next season. We shall see. Today is the final part of our look back at 2015. It has been a roller coaster of a season so far. The Rangers started off down and in last place in April. They rose back to 2nd place by the end of May. In June they stayed afloat despite injuries to key players. In July they fell way back of the Astros and nearly fell out of third. In August after the trades they rose back to being in 2nd place and leading the wild card. The question became as we entered in September would the Rangers fall back in this month or would they continue to surge. The answer would become both. It was a great month and stressful month of baseball that ended with a celebration.

As we start the month the Rangers are in San Diego for their last interleague series of the season. They had just lost to Tyson Ross and been one-hit the previous night. They were able to bounce back though and win the next game 8-6. The highlight of the game though was Elvis Andrus stealing home.

That was old school Elvis right there. That was a good sign for the team as September was getting started. They won the next night in San Diego in extra innings when Mitch Moreland had the game-winning RBI double. The next day was an off-day and then it got serious as the Rangers were starting a 23-game stretch against AL West teams. This would be where it would be determined what the team would be. Would they be the 2nd wild card, AL West Champion, or out of the playoffs entirely? This 23 game stretch would go a long way to determining that. As we entered into the stretch the team was still leading the 2nd wild card and were 2 games back in the division. They still were in a good position but that all could change if they didn’t continue winning games.

They began the stretch with a 3 game series in Anaheim. C.J. Cron who dominated Rangers pitching all season led the Angels to the victory in the first game and they won 5-2. Derek Holland had maybe his last good start of the season the next day when he pitched 8 innings and held the Angels to 1 run and the Rangers won the game 2-1. They lost the series though the next day when Colby Lewis had another poor start and the Rangers lost 7-0. Not a great start but at least they won one in Anaheim. The next trip took them to Seattle. They struggled all season against Seattle and were facing a 4 game series against the Mariners. The Rangers at least needed a split and that is exactly what they got. Gallardo pitched well and the Rangers won 3-0. They won the next night 9-6 in a game that Cole Hamels pitched. They really relied on the long ball in that game. Shin Soo Choo, Mitch Moreland, Roughned Odor, and Joey Gallo all went deep. Hamels did his thing where he pitched 7 innings and did well enough to get the win. The last two games did not go as well they lost 6-0, and 5-0. I think it was exhaustion from the long road trip and the fact that maybe they had got what they needed and then relaxed. They ended the 10 game road trip with a 5-5 record and were still in the lead for the second wild card ahead of the Twins by one game and still in 2nd place behind the Astros by 2.5 games.

The success of the 10 game homestand would be determined by how they fared against the Houston Astros in the 4 game series. They first had to face the Oakland A’s and could not afford to really look ahead. They did not want to lose ground any further before the 4 game series. Colby Lewis was starting the first game and had not been pitching well heading into this start. 3 straight really poor starts, but on this night he was nearly perfect. He started the game by pitching 7 perfect innings. He gave up a hit to lead off the 8th, but the Rangers were still able to win 4-0 and get the homestand off to a good start. Gallardo got beat the next night though 5-3. The Rangers bounced back in the third game and won 12-4 in the series finale behind a solid start from Chi Chi Gonzalez. Choo who has been red hot at this point continued hitting in this game getting 3 hits and a home run.

Shin Soo Choo who was signed in the winter of 2014 due to his ability to get on base and hit for power had really done neither in his time for the Rangers prior to the All Star break in 2015. He had really struggled and was often times mentioned as one of the worst contracts in all of baseball. In the first half of 2015 he expanded his zone more often than not and looked way too cautious on defense causing him not to get to a lot of balls. The thought with Choo was to just get to the offseason and maybe they can trade him and hand right field over to Nomar Mazara next season. The story was told that during the All Star break he talked to his wife and she told him to just be himself and to not think about the contract. He had been dwelling too much on how much he was getting paid and not enough on what he did to warrant getting that contract. He came back from the break and started taking more walks, getting more hits, and going after the ball on defense. Day-by-day his average started to go up, his OBP skyrocketed, and he started to hit for more power as he saw better pitches. It was remarkable to see what happened. He hit .274 in August and then in September he may have been the best hitter not just for the Rangers, but the best hitter in the entire American League. As he hit better the team played better. The lineup with him at the 2 hole started to flow better. It gave Fielder and Beltre numerous RBI opportunities. That is why Fielder and Beltre were among the RBI leaders for the month of September and October and that is all Choo. He was getting on base in half of his plate appearances. He hit for a .387 batting average and slugged .613. It may have been his best month as a pro. It was unbelievable to watch and renewed my faith in him heading into 2016. He was the comeback player in my mind from where he was in April to where he was in September.

As the Rangers headed into the season-defining series against the Astros they had momentum and were hungry. Would it be enough to defeat a good Astros team? The Astros had to be thinking they at least needed a split, the Rangers if they wanted to make a dent needed at least 3 and maybe to sweep to really grab the momentum. In the first game the Rangers were down 2-1 against Scott Kazmir when Mitch Moreland who started at first hit a 2-run home run to put the Rangers ahead and Prince Fielder hit a 2-run home run in the 8th provided breathing room. Moreland who normally doesn’t start against tough lefties started at first base when Bannister decided to experiment with Napoli in left field. Hamilton was still being bothered by a sore knee and actually had surgery to clean out his knee. Bannister instead of starting Ryan Rua or Ryan Strasbourger opted for Mike Napoli in order to get his bat in the lineup and to keep Mitch Moreland’s bat in the lineup. It was controversial at the time but it worked and helped the Rangers be able to compete against the tough left handers down the stretch. The second game went much like the first. The Rangers were down 5-4 in the middle innings and came back with a RBI double from Adrian Beltre to score Prince Fielder and tie the game in the 4th inning. The game stay tied until the 9th. Prince Fielder led off with a single. Drew Stubbs came on to pinch-run for him. Adrian Beltre singled and Stubbs went to 3rd. Mitch Moreland then came in to face Will Harris who was a righty that fared very well against lefties. Moreland was up to bat and no outs and he did this.

He delivered the Rangers to first place in the division. The Rangers had been the chasers since the first weekend of the season. They had been as far back as 9 games at one point and looked dead in the water. They played hard, won a ton of games and with this sac fly caught and passed the Astros and were in first place in the division for the first time all season. The season was not over yet. It was great to be in first midway through September, but the journey was not over yet. They still had two games against the Astros and if Houston came back and won the next two then all of this would have been for nothing. The next night after jumping into first place they were facing Cy Young favorite Dallas Keuchel. It would not be an easy game or so one would think. The Rangers took that momentum from the previous night and scored 6 runs in the first inning against Keuchel and ended up scoring 9 runs overall. Keuchel could not get out of the 5th inning. It was maybe his worst start of the season. Once again Choo was in the middle of it as he had another 3 hits, Fielder had 5 RBI’s, and Mike Napoli had 2 hits and a home run as well. It was a stunning night and the Rangers won 14-3. All of a sudden the Rangers are in position to get the sweep and put their foot down as the AL West leader. Lewis pitched well in the finale only allowing 2 runs and after a slow start the Rangers scored 5 runs in the late innings to complete the sweep and win 8-2. Choo was again in the middle of it as he picked up another 4 hits. As the series ended the Rangers were now in first place in the AL West by 2.5 on the Astros and 5.0 games on the Angels.

The Rangers got what they needed and now just needed to hold on down the stretch. Their first test came against the Mariners and they did not fare so well as they lost 2 of 3. Thankfully this was it for games against the Mariners. They then left for a road trip against the A’s and Astros. They needed to really sweep the last place A’s and win at least one against the Astros. They did sweep the A’s in scoring 26 runs in 3 games. They had some momentum heading into Houston. This would be the final series against the Astros and they were up 3.5 games at this point. They needed to win at least one, but they would be in first place even if they got swept. Game one saw Gallardo facing Scott Kazmir. Gallardo pitched well in 4.2 innings and the bullpen was lights out after that and the Rangers won 6-2. As I keep saying Choo was in the middle of this victory as he had 3 hits and a home run. Derek Holland continued his struggles as he had little to no control and the Astros came back in the middle innings and beat the Rangers 9-7. Choo had another 2 hits in 4 plate appearances. Martin Perez pitched well in the finale giving up 2 runs, no earned, but Dallas Keuchel pitched like the Cy Young winner he is likely to be. The Astros won 4-2. The Rangers did get the one win they needed though and were still 2.5 games up as the final week of the season was getting started.

The last week of the season saw the Rangers facing a 3 game series against the Tigers and a 4 game series against the Angels, all at home. The team likely needed to win at least 4 to secure the division. They got halfway there by winning 2 of 3 against the Tigers. They lost the first game against Justin Verlander, but Cole Hamels got a victory in a game in which he pitched poorly. Gallardo finished off the series by pitching 5.1 innings and only giving up 2 runs. The Rangers were faced with a 4 game series against the Angels with a magic number of 2 to eliminate the Angels and 2 to eliminate the Astros. The team was pushing hard to get it finished, but it would not be easy. Derek Holland again struggled with his control but pitched well enough to only allow 3 runs. Adrian Beltre had a big 3-run double to provide some space with a 4-1 lead. The bullpen held on and the Rangers clinched a playoff spot and eliminated the Angels from the division race with a 5-3 win. The Rangers needed just one victory in their final 3 to clinch the division. They could not get it done on Friday night as the Angels won in the 9th with a base hit from Mike Trout and a RBI single from Albert Pujols to win it. Jered Weaver dominated in that game. They had a chance on Saturday and held a lead in the 9th of 10-6. They had come back from a 5-1 deficit in the 5th to tie and then take the lead with runs in the 6th and 7th innings. The Angels though came back with 9th inning lead off home run from Erick Aybar and Kole Calhoun off Shawn Tolleson, then Ross Ohlendorf was brought in and he could not get outs as the Angels came back to win 11-10. It was a punch in the gut. It was not known would the team rebound on Sunday? Would they face two one-game playoffs coming up on Monday and Tuesday? They set up Cole Hamels to pitch on the last day though for reasons such as this. He was magnificent. He gave up a home run in the first, but dominated after that. He pitched a complete game in game 162 and the Rangers won the game and won the division. It was Hamels’ best start as a Ranger and it came at the most opportune time. The Rangers needed him to come up big and he came up really big on this day. With that start he delivered the Rangers to the division series for the first time since 2011. It was the 6th division championship for the Rangers as a franchise. The Toronto Blue Jays would be waiting for them. On this day the team celebrated a long journey from last place all of last season and into April this season to AL West Champion in 2015. It was a great season. The division series did not go as planned. They won games 1 and 2 in Toronto, including an extra inning classic in game 2. They lost games 3 and 4 though when the pitching did not perform as expected. The Jays outlasted them in what was a classic Game 5 that saw so many things that we had never seen happen in the 7th inning. Jose Bautista capped it off with a monstrous 3-run home run that blew the top off of the Rogers Centre and he flipped his bat all the way to Ottawa.

That disappointment should not take away from what was a great season. 2015 had no expectations, especially after they lost Yu Darvish before the season and then definitely after they lost Derek Holland during the home opener. The team did not quit though and took on the attitude of their manager. They played hard on a night-in night-out basis. Players like Roughned Odor, Shin Soo Choo, Prince Fielder, and Mitch Moreland all came back from injuries or demotions this season and produced in a big way. The no name pitching staff kept them in the race for most of the first half while reinforcements recovered from injury. Then once healthy the team thrived and played very well. Jon Daniels also had maybe his best season as he brought in Wandy Rodriguez,Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson, Will Venable, Mike Napoli, and Drew Stubbs and they all played a role in this team winning the division. Ross Detwiler did not work out as planned, but Yovanni Gallardo did and he pitched very well once the Rangers figured out how best to use him. Jeff Bannister in his rookie season as manager pulled all the right strings as the right time and got better as the season went along. I think he will be even better in his second season as he learns how to best use his bullpen.

There will be some changes for next season though. The Rangers will have a new coaching staff. Mike Maddux left to go to Washington. They let go of bullpen coach Andy Hawkins, and hitting coach Dave Magadan. Looks like Doug Brocail will replace Maddux and it has not been announced who will replace Magadan. They also have some free agents like Colby Lewis, Yovanni Gallardo, Mike Napoli, Drew Stubbs, and others. Next week I will be writing a full length offseason preview. I will look at possible trade candidates, positions they should look to improve, and possible free agent signings. I think now after writing this review I am finally ready to move on to 2016. Spring Training cannot get here soon enough.

Season in Review: July

Posted on October 26, 2015 by colonelsportsnation

Delino returned in July from his hamstring injury.

The 2015 season unlike many others was a true roller-coaster season. It was the season that saw the Rangers race to last place in the division after one month and then soar to 2nd place in the division after two months. As we pick up our season in review in series in July the Rangers have now settled into the race with the Angels for second place in the division and are in the wild card race as well. The team was able to maintain through June as they dealt with various injuries to Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, and Delino Deshields Jr. By the end of June Beltre and Hamilton had returned but Delino had not yet returned. It was during this point that we really were able to see how important Deshields was to this team. It hurt losing him more than it did Beltre and Hamilton.

Deshields, who was a Rule V pick from the Astros, had never played above Double-A before this season. He had decent minor league numbers in the Astros organization, but Houston did not have any room on their 40 man roster for Deshields. So he was left unprotected and the Rangers chose him in the Rule V draft last winter. They liked his speed and what he could possibly add to this team. He showed enough to make the team out of Spring Training, and the Rangers did not want to send him back to the Astros and so they kept him. At first Bannister did not really know what to do with him, and so he was just a late innings pinch runner. Then later in April he showed he could swing the bat, so he became the 4th outfielder. In May Leonys Martin got hurt and so he played some center field and hit really well. Bannister started hitting him leadoff and that is when the offense took off. Deshields could get on with a bunt, a softly hit ball in the infield, or he could drive it into the gap. Once on base he could make things happen with his legs. He could steal a base, go first to third, or even score from first on a ball in the gap. The offense and the lineup were rolling with him and Choo at the top of the order, but then he strained his hamstring on June 14th. That would keep him out till July 5th.During that span the team averaged just 3.1 runs per game and their record was 8-11. Deshields quietly was the MVP of this team. When he was getting on base at a good clip they would win, when he wouldn’t they would lose. Without him at the top of the order they were really struggling at this point to figure out how to produce runs. Odor, Alberto, and Choo were some of the lead off hitters used. Bannister was trying to find something that would work consistently. He put those at the leadoff and guys like Moreland and Andrus hitting second. It just was a mess. Then on July 5th Deshields came back and was immediately reinserted back into the leadoff spot and Odor was placed in the 2 hole. That seemed to work out big for the team. It did not show up in wins immediately for the team, but there was a different look that had not been there before.

The Rangers even with Deshields back in the lineup ended up getting swept at home by the Angels in a series that was not even close. That was another first half trend was that they struggled in beating teams from the AL West all first half long. They finished the first half 11-23 against the AL West. It is hard to compete for the division with such a poor intra-divsional record. That is something that would have to improve after the break. The Rangers finished up the first half with a couple of series against NL lightweights Arizona and San Diego at home. Unfortunately they lost both games to the Diamondbacks and lost 2 of 3 to the Padres. It was pretty clear at this point that the team was exhausted and running out of steam and it was pretty hard to see if they would be able to compete in the second half. Some shocking changes had also taken place during this stretch. On July 4th the Rangers designated for assignment former closer and Rookie of the year,Neftali Feliz. He was the former electric closer who had helped them reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011 and was converted to a starter in 2012, but blew out his arm and had to have Tommy John surgery. He came back in 2013, but did not have the same velocity. He was in the minors for much of 2014, but was called up after Joakim Soria was traded midseason and became the closer again. In 2015, the velocity still was not there and the consistency was not there either. With Matt Harrison needed to be activated off of the 60-day DL the Rangers decided to DFA Feliz. They ended up releasing him after the 10 days and he signed on with the Detroit Tigers. It was hard to see because it is hard to picture those World Series teams without Feliz and hard to not see him in a Rangers uniform anymore. He was supposed to be our Mariano Rivera. A guy who would close for several years and several potential postseason runs. It was not meant to be though. The team moved forward with Shawn Tolleson and others in the bullpen. Chi Chi Gonzalez was also sent down after struggling for a few starts. He got off to a great start, but hitters adjusted to him and he could no longer miss bats. He was sent down with the command being to work on his swing and miss pitches so that he can put MLB hitters away. Right before the All Star Break Matt Harrison made his triumphant return as well from another back injury. He missed all of 2013 with a back injury, then came back in 2014 and pitched in April and May, but had another episode with his back and missed the rest of 2014. He tried again in 2015 and diligently worked his way back through Spring Training, Extended Spring, and a 30-day rehab assignment in the minors. Finally on Wednesday July 8th he made his return against the Diamonbacks. He replaced Wandy Rodriguez in the rotation. He threw 4 innings, giving up 6 runs, and striking out one. The most important thing was not the result or the runs, but it was that he was back and that he made it through the start without getting hurt again. The team then lost 2 of 3 to the Padres to finish out the first half.

At the break the Rangers were 42-46 and were fortunate to only be 6 games back in the division, but they were also 5.5 games back of the Angels for second and for the wild card as well. It was going to be an uphill battle if the Rangers were going to contend. They needed to play better inside the division, play better at home, get better starting pitching, and find a way to beat lefthanded pitching. Each of those things are what was dragging the team down. It was also at this point that the Mariners were closing in on them for third place. It was a time to relax and recharge the batteries for the stretch run. The race was far from over. The Astros had not been in a true pennant race and so it was anybodies guess on how they would play down the stretch. It was up to the Rangers though to play better themselves and get back into the race. Prince Fielder represented the Rangers in the All Star game in Cincinatti and represented well. He got a 2 run opposite field single and the AL ended up winning 6-3. That closed the book on the first half of the season.

The second half got started with a very important 9 game road trip. The Rangers closed out the first half poorly and would need to really play well in the second half to get back into contention. They started the road trip in Houston for a 3 game series against the division leaders. It did not go as well as you would hope. They lost the first game 3-2, but there was good news in this game. Martin Perez made his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery in this start. He pitched decently. He made it through 5 innings only giving up 3 runs, struck out 2, and walked two. So all in all not bad for a debut. The offense though could not get a big hit that would have allowed them to win the game. They did bounce back and win the second game behind a huge game from Roughned Odor. He had 3 hits including a triple and a home run. He made the Astros mad with his over the top showmanship and caused a benches clearing argument to occur when Hank Conger tried to say something to Odor. Roughned Odor responded to the benches clearing incident with this.

A bat-flipping triple. This would not be the last time Odor would drive an opponent crazy and it is one of the main reasons why his teammates and fans love him. He plays the game with a swagger that helps him play better and the team as a whole play better. That is the Odor the team was missing in April and May. The Rangers ended up winning this hard fought game that saw both teams and managers get in each others faces. It was a needed win. They could not follow that up with a win in the rubber game of the series as Dallas Keuchel, another lefty, shut them down to help the Astros to a 10-0 win. The Rangers left from there to go to Denver to face the Rockies in a 3 game series. Nick Martinez had a poor start as the Rockies scored 7 runs in the first two innings. He would calm down though and not give up any more runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. The bullpen then went to work shutting down the Rockies from the 5th through the 8th innings. This work by the pitching staff allowed the offense to slowly be able to chip away at that lead. Finally in the 9th, Adrian Beltre did this.

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He tied the game with a double, but unfortunately Tanner Scheppers could not hold the Rockies down in the 9th. He gave up 3 hits and a walk-off win in the 9th to lose it. Not the start the Rangers wanted. They lost 3 out of 4 to start the second half and were now 9 games back in the division and were 6 games under .500. Then the team started to turn it around. They won the next two nights in Colorado and went to Los Angeles to face the Angels and won the first two games there including a come back 7-6 win against the Angels to win the series. They lost the final game of the road tri 13-7 but finished a respectable 5-4 on the road trip to momentarily get the boat back floating instead of sinking.

Then they went home on a trip to finish the month. It was at this point that the Trade Deadline rumors were starting. Were the Rangers in on Cole Hamels, were they trying to compete or sell this season, and would the Rangers trade Gallardo to a true contender? All of these questions were out there as the Rangers started a homestand by facing the New York Yankees in a 4 game series. Jon Daniels had to be pondering all of these as he looked at what was out there. At this point in the season the Rangers were still 4 games under .500, 8 games back in the division, and 5 games back of the second wild card behind 5 other teams. It would have been natural for him to really consider selling and saying that they will be ready with Yu Darvish to go all in next season and try to acquire minor pieces here and there to help fill out the roster and get ready for next season. Then the team lost back-to-back games against the Yankees to start out the 4 game series. They lost 6-2 behind another lackluster start from Matt Harrison,in what would be his last start for the organization. Then the next night they scored 5 runs in the first inning against Chris Capuano and could have scored more. Joe Girardi took Capuano out and put Diego Moreno in the game and he was able to end the first inning. Martin Perez was on the mound for the Rangers in his 3rd start after coming back from Tommy John surgery and followed that up with not being able to get out of the second inning. The Rangers allowed 11 runs to all of a sudden go from up 5-0 to down 11-5. It was an embarrasing night and probably rock bottom for team. They lost the game 21-5. Wandy Rodriguez came in after Perez and gave up 7 more runs in what was the last appearance he made in a Rangers uniform. Adam Rosales even came in to pitch in the 9th. It looked like that was maybe it. It was hard to convince myself the team could compete after a night like that. At this point the Rangers were 8 games back in the division still and were just not playing well at home. Then the tide started to turn as we neared the end of the month. It was July 29th and the Rangers had two games left against the Yankees and after getting beat down 21-5 they could go one of two directions. They could either pack it in or respond the only way they knew how and that is by winning. Jeff Bannister and the team adopted the phrase Never Ever Quit for this season. This team was not about to lay down after that 21-5. That was the line in the sand moment. The players rebounded by winning 5-2 the next night behind a great outing from Colby Lewis. Then looking for a split in the series beat the Yankees with a walkoff from Josh Hamilton off feared left handed closer Andrew Miller on a hit the looked and sounded like this.

It was also during these last two days that word got out that the Rangers had acquired Cole Hamels. It would not be announced till July 31st, but it was agreed upon on July 29th. The deal was Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman from the Phillies for Alec Asher, Jered Eickhoff, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro, Nick Williams, and Matt Harrison. It took a lot of players to get him here, but the Rangers got it done and had their ace in hand for the home stretch. The question would be could he have the same impact that Cliff Lee had on the team back in 2010. We shall see and it was a trade that showed the depth that Jon Daniels had spent years developing for a moment like this. The trade nationally looked like a trade that was made in order to compete in 2016, but Jon Daniels was giving this year’s team a chance to compete. Jake Diekman was also included in the trade to help improve the bullpen. Jon Daniels also went and got Sam Dyson right before the deadline for catcher Tomas Telis to help fortify the bullpen even more. All of these were players the Rangers would have under control for at least the next 3 seasons. It was a trade that worked in the present and in the future.

With this news and excitement the Rangers finished off the month by beating the Giants and Madison Bumgarner 6-3. It was a mismatch except for Nick Martinez actually outpitching Bumgarner and the Rangers winning. Their ace was in hand and their bullpen was made stronger and the team was suddenly on a 3 game winning streak that brought their record to 50-52 on July 31st. They were seven games back in the division and still in 3rd place. The team liked their position more than they did just a few days prior. Having Cole Hamels gave this team confidence every 5 days that they would have a shot at winning. Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman being brought in also helped a bullpen that had already been pitching pretty well and helped them become great.

As we close the book on July, the month was mainly about surviving. The team had stretches where they played well and not so well. For the month the overall record was 11-14. They struggled pitching, struggled holding leads, struggled hitting the ball consistenly, and just could not win games. The credit goes to Jon Daniels though for continuing to believe in this team and bringing in the resources for them to be able to play better down the stretch and better they did.

Tomorrow we will take a look at August when the Rangers surged from 3rd place to into the Wild Card lead by the end of the month and were making an assault on the lead the Astros held in the division.

March 7th News

Posted on March 7, 2014 by colonelsportsnation

These last two days not a lot has happened outside of the actual games and that is the way it is supposed to be. The Rangers lost 8-2 on Wednesday and they won yesterday 8-4. Alexi Ogando was the winning … Continue reading →