Tag Archives: Texas Rangers

Rangers Lose 11-0

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Rangers play bad and lose worse in game 3 of this opening series against the Oakland A’s. There is no need for a doctorate degree to determine why they lost this game. Kazmir dominated, Detweiler pitched poorly, and the defense did not help out at all last night as they committed 4 errors. The good thing is that this was only 1 game. It only counts as one loss and so if they can win today they still will have got the split they were looking for. Last night just like opening night they were done in with their pitching and lack of offense. I said it last year on this blog that there is a formula for this team to win games. The starter gives the team 6 innings, allowing 2 or fewer runs, the offense scratches together 3 or more runs, then the bullpen closes it out. That is what happened Tuesday with Colby Lewis and they won. On Monday Gallardo struggled in his 5 innings and yesterday Detweiler was even worse in his 4.1 innings.

Gallardo and Detweiler have one thing in common, and that is they are both from the National League (NL). There is always a period of adjustment for NL pitchers. They go from having to face 8 hitters and a pitcher to facing good to great hitters from 1-9 in the lineup. In the past we have seen that with Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, and even farther back Pedro Astacio, and Mark Clark. Gallardo and Detweiler both showed flashes, it just comes down to control, throwing first pitch strikes, and being able to put away hitters when there is 2 strikes in the count. If they can do that they will give themselves a better shot at winning. The good thing is that their next starts will be at home in Arlington.

Other Game Notes

  • Elvis Andrus through the first 3 games has 4 errors. I know it is a small sample size and it is just the first week of the season. That is kind of concerning though and something to watch. I am sure it will get better and he will not commit errors every game. He has made some spectacular plays too, so I am sure it is just a matter of bad luck.
  • Ross Detweiler was very bad tonight and I know I just got done saying that, but something to watch is that the bullpen has no left handers and Chi Chi Gonzalez is back in Round Rock just sitting there waiting for the call. Lone Star Ball’s Adam Morris even tweeted this last night during the game. lsb tweet If Detweiler continues pitching poorly and Gonzalez gets off to a good start this month do the Rangers call up Gonzalez in May and put Detweiler back in the bullpen where he was for the Nationals last year? That is a storyline to follow because if Chi Chi pitches well the Rangers will want to find a spot for him in the rotation.
  • Thought it was weird to already give Beltre a day off in the field in game 3. I kind of expected Rosales to get the start at 3rd today with it being a day game after a night game.
  • The Rangers play a matinee game today to close out the series. It will be Nick Martinez going up against Kendall Graveman at 2:35 as the Rangers go for a split in this weird series. Wouldn’t surprise me to see the Rangers squeak out another 3-1 or 2-0 victory. Go Rangers!!!

 

Rangers Rebound Behind Fielder and the Kid

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Kela congratulated by teammates after escaping 7th inning jam

Kela congratulated by teammates after escaping 7th inning jam

The Rangers get that first win of the season and the first win for manager Jeff Bannister with clutch hitting from Prince Fielder and pitching from rookie Keone Kela. The final was 3-1 as Colby Lewis picked up his first win of the season. The story of the game though was Keone Kela. The rookie made the team after an outstanding Spring Training that saw him pitch 9.2 innings and 11 strikeouts and allowed a .167 Opponents Batting Average (OBA). Bannister thought so highly of him that he installed him as the team’s 7th inning guy. That for a guy that a year ago was pitching in Double-A for Frisco. There was a lot more pressure last night for Kela than I am sure he faced at all last year. Kela doesn’t wilt under pressure. He was a 12th round draft pick for the Rangers and worked his way up from there to being in the majors at age 21.

That takes us to last night. Colby Lewis had just went 6 innings, allowing only 1 run with 4 strikeouts, and 2 walks. He had kept the A’s off-balance off night and allowed the only run in his last inning as he was tiring. Kela was brought in for his first major league appearance in a big spot. Normally you see managers try to bring in rookies in low pressure situations so that they can get the nervousness out of the their system. Bannister showed enough trust in Kela though to not bring him in on Monday to get that first appearance out of the way. Kela came in and quickly allowed the first two batters to reach base. Billy Butler lined a single up the middle on an 0-2 pitch that Kela left up. Then he walked Ike Davis. So two runners on and no outs and only up two.  Mike Maddux came to visit and Prince Fielder came up to him and according to Kela told him to, “man up and throw strikes”.  After that he struck out Brett Lawrie with 3 curveballs. Stephen Vogt then lined a hard line drive single to Shin Shoo Choo in right field, and thankfully because Butler was the lead runner they had to hold him at 3rd. The crowd starts to get loud, pressure ratchets up as it looks like the bullpen might blow another lead, and Marcus Semien is coming to the plate. He works the count to 3-2 and on the 7th pitch he gets Semien to ground into a game-saving double play.

What a double-play turn by Elvis Andrus. I loved Kela’s reaction to that, he clearly was able to breath a sigh of relief after that play. He was struggling, he did not have any fastball command and had to rely on his changeup and curveball to get him out of the inning and he did. I think he is going to be a solid piece to the bullpen. If he can perform in that situation then I think he can handle any situation. He will be an interesting story to follow throughout the season. Tanner Scheppers is scheduled to be back next week and that means that Tolleson will slide into that 7th inning role, but I could see him and Kela splitting that role in order to keep both of them fresh. Having both of them also gives the bullpen needed depth.

After that Tolleson and Feliz were able to close the door on the victory and the Rangers now just need to get one of the next two to consider this series a success. The goal was a split and they are halfway there. Ross Detweiler will make his Rangers debut tonight against Scott Kazmir and Nick Martinez will throw on Thursday afternoon in the finale of the series against Kendall Graveman.

Other Notes from the Game

  • Prince Fielder is looking pretty solid thus far this season. He is actually looking like a good hitter and not just a pull-happy home run guy. From the Spring Training games I saw and the two games so far this year, he is hitting to the opposite field and driving it, and he is finding holes in the shift as well. He is also making solid contact with everything. Last night he provided the two biggest hits the bloop single to center that scored Roughned Odor for the first run of the season, and then solid line drive to Craig Gentry that skipped underneath his glove that scored both Martin and Andrus. If he can do that from the 3 spot the rest of the lineup will be fine.
  • Adrian Beltre celebrated his 36th birthday last night by putting on a show defensively. Colby Lewis was struggling in the first inning. Sam Fuld had beat out an infield single and then he walked Eric Sogard. That is when Beltre came to save the day. He caught a popup deep into foul territory and caught it over his shoulder with his back to the infield. Then he started a double play off the bat of Billy Butler to get out of the inning. He also made a great stop and throw to get Eric Sogard out in the 8th inning. Happy belated birthday to Adrian Beltre.
  • There was also a nice hit-and-run by Elvis Andrus and Leonys Martin that preceded Fielder’s rbi double in the 5th inning. Martin had reached on a line drive single to center. The A’s then tried to pick him off by pitching out on the first pitch because the scouting report on Martin says he tries to run on the first pitch. This time he didn’t. He left on the second pitch when the Rangers called the hit-and-run and Andrus was able to place it right where the shortstop was and the ball rolled into the outfield and Martin was able to go third on the hit.
  • Tonight’s game is at 9:05 p.m. and will be Ross Detweiler against Scott Kazmir. Go Rangers.

 

 

Sports Blog Reboot

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I have decided after a lot of thought to diversify what I write about. I have spent this year primarily writing about news with the Rangers. I have really enjoyed doing that and when news comes with the team I will get back to writing about it. I am also a devoted fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder and every time I think about their slow start and what this season could be, I want to write about it. So I will start writing about OKC Thunder basketball as well as keeping up with the latest news coming from Arlington as it pertains to the Texas Rangers.

As far as my background with the Thunder it goes back to the day the team moved here back in 2008. I have spent my entire life in the Oklahoma City metro area. This is where I have lived, went to school, and graduated from college. That entire time I lived with the thought that our city would be nothing more than just a minor league city. We had minor league baseball teams, hockey teams, arena football league teams, roller hockey teams, and finally basketball teams. I never thought I would get to see OKC host a major league sports team. In 2008 it happened and I couldn’t believe it. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop or for something to happen and it be taken away, but nothing of the sort has happened. The Thunder have brought a renewed vitality and energy to our city. In my childhood I always grew up with 2 different seasons in our state, Football season and football off-season. Now with the Thunder there is excitement around the city and state all year long. It has been a thrill to see our team grow up from the young team that started 3-29 in 2008 to an annual Western Conference Finalist and one of a handful of teams that year in and year out has a shot to win the NBA Championship. Ever since seeing the team just come up short in Game 6 against the Spurs last May I have been looking forward to this season.

That brings me to the present day. Seeing player after player go down with injury, the team start to lose all these close games that they are accustomed to winning, and the record bottom out at 3-12 made me wonder if they would be able to come back from this. Then Westbrook came back last Friday and Durant came back on Tuesday and all hope was restored. Now instead of would they be able to come back from this, the narrative flips to how great of a story will this be if in June they are the ones hoisting the Larry O’ Brien trophy. If after all of this that has happened they are able to rebound and win the title that would be an unbelievable story. One that I want to write about on a regular basis. One that I want to chronicle as we move forward through this season. That is what I am going to do starting today.

Today the record stands at 5-13 and they will be facing the Philadelphia 76ers tonight as they try to start the climb back to being .500. It will not be an easy climb, and there will be peaks and valleys along the way, but this feels like it could be a really special season for the Thunder. For the first time since the 2009-2010 season they will be the hunters and not the hunted. I am looking forward to the next several weeks and months as this team moves forward through the season. There will be so much intrigue and drama with every game. All of these games will feel like must wins and I can’t wait to write about it. Hopefully, this will be a fun season and I will not curse this team like I felt like I cursed the Rangers 2014 season. I will continue to write about the Rangers when there is any news. There should be news coming from the winter meetings next week. We will see what Jon Daniels and his crew will do. For the most part though I will be writing about the Oklahoma City Thunder and their games as they try to climb back up the standings.

Where Have I Been

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I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything. More than anything the constant losing just beat me down. I didn’t really have anything I wanted to say about what was going on. At times it was very hard to watch. Especially the losing streaks in June and July. I will say though that September was very encouraging for this team. They beat several teams that were playoff bound and the sweep in September helped to nearly keep the Oakland A’s out of the playoffs. Several players made positive impressions in the seasons final weeks.

Rougned Odor was one of these players. September was his best month. He had a .296 BA and .826 OPS, and had more hits and runs in September than any other month. It was clear as the season went along he got more comfortable.  He has established himself in my mind as the 2nd baseman going forward. I know Profar is likely to be healthy come Spring Training, but they both have one season under their belt and in my mind Odor’s season was much better. He made better contact and was very solid defensively. He still needs to continue to get better. He profiles in my mind as a Dustin Pedroia type, a guy who gives maximum effort and his power is generated by his quick swing. I could certainly see him with his left-handed swing and the short porch there in Arlington going for 15-20 home runs when his body matures. Profar we really don’t know. He is coming off of a serious shoulder injury that kept him out all of 2014. He reportedly will be cleared to throw in January. That will still give him time to be ready for camp in March. I think being out all season puts him behind the 8 ball and not having the same level of success that Odor had last year will result in him being sent to Triple-A to start the year. If I was management and Odor is healthy to break camp, I would go with him and send Profar to Round Rock to get at-bats every day. That way he can get comfortable again playing in games. Then he will be ready if someone gets hurt or if you need a better utility player. I think it is more important to get him at-bats every day and be in the field on a daily basis as he works his way back from the shoulder injury.

Derek Holland was another player who came back from injury and looked like the player the Rangers have envisioned since he came to the majors in 2009. With the injury to Yu Darvish he came back and became the staff ace the team needed in September. He came in throwing strikes, being economical with his pitches, and lasting 7 or 8 innings every time out. In the past he would put up those performances but follow it up with performances where he could not get out of the 3rd or 4th inning. He looked as fresh as he has ever looked and gave fans something to look forward to in 2015. A Darvish-Holland one-two punch in the rotation is very formidable. Darvish is very overpowering and Holland is very economical. Those two are the reason I do not expect the Rangers to be major players in the free agent pitching market. There is no reason to overpay to get a James Shields or a Jon Lester to come here when you have Darvish and Holland in the top two spots. To get Shields would also require giving up the number 4 pick in the draft and they are not going to do that.

Now that we are talking about the rotation for next year lets talk about what I think the Rangers should do this offseason. Here is my list of objectives for Jon Daniels and his staff this offseason.

1) Decide who will be the top 4 of your rotation. Darvish and Holland will be one-two, but who else will be in the rotation? I don’t mind a competition for the number 5 spot, but having spots 3 and 4 open will not be good for next years team. I would try hard to bring back Colby Lewis. He is a proven veteran that showed the variety of injuries he suffered from in 2012 and 2013 would not end his career. He is another that got better as the season went along. In April and May he could not get back the 5.2 innings mark, but from July 31st to the end of the season he averaged 7 innings per start. That includes two complete games and one of them being a shutout. Next years team needs that veteran presence and leadership in the rotation. I wouldn’t pay outrageously for him, but I would bring him back. I think you offer a 1 year contract with a easily reached option like 130-150 innings for a second year and make the contract worth about 3 or 4 million and the option year for about 5 or 6 million. I think he wants to come back, but he also wants to test the market while healthy for the first time since coming back from Japan. In the end though the Rangers lack of depth in the rotation and his ties to the area will bring him back for 2015 and possibly 2016. Second, go ahead and make Nick Tepesch your number 4 starter. He has been there for two years now and has gotten better each season. He is a solid number 4 guy who gets ground balls and can provide innings. Then in Spring Training have a camp competition between Nick Martinez, Lisalverto Bonilla, Luke Jackson, and Chi-Chi Gonzalez for the number 5 spot. All of those guys are talented and ready for the opportunity. The good thing is there will be depth this year.

2) Get everyone healthy and have them remain healthy. Just getting back healthy players will cause them to be much better next season. I am expecting them to compete for the division title with the Angels next year. Next season Prince Fielder, Shin Shoo Choo, Jurickson Profar, Engel Beltre, Mitch Moreland, Tanner Scheppers,  and Martin Perez after the All Star Break will certainly help this team. It will give them needed depth in their lineup, bullpen, and bench.

3) Stay on top of Elvis Andrus this offseason. Last offseason the story goes he didn’t do a throwing program and that caused his shoulder to be fatigued in Spring Training and him to miss game. He also came in to camp overweight and both of those things caused him to lose range defensively, steal less bases than ever before, and just overall not have as good of a season. In his exit interview he promised to get a couple of weeks rest and then get after and come into camp in better shape next year. For the Rangers to compete they need an Elvis that is dedicated and in the best shape of his life. He needs to be able to drive the balls into the gaps, cause havoc on the bases, and play gold-glove level defense. He cannot slack off this offseason like last year. He has to be the team leader the Rangers need him to be. 2015 will be year 7 of the Elvis experience and it needs to be the year he takes a step forward offensively and in his role in the clubhouse. Rangers management and coaching staff needs to be checking on Elvis wherever he is and make sure that he is ready for camp in February.

4) As far as a free agent target I have heard talk about Torii Hunter and Michael Morse. I would not mind either of those guys. Hunter might want to finally sign here, since he already lives in the Dallas area in the offseason and is near the end of his career. Hunter could be a good guy to slot into the number two hole in the lineup and he can still hit and he can still field. They are letting Alex Rios go and so they need someone to fill the right field spot and Hunter could certainly be that guy. Morse is a guy who can be a strong right-handed DH. You can platoon him with Mitch Moreland. Moreland can still spell Fielder at first base and play some in the outfield as well. Bringing Morse in gives you a stronger bench and a lineup that will hit for more power. They could also decide that they like Smolinski and put him in right field. He certainly impressed after he came back from injury and will get a look in Spring Training for a starting job.

I think that is it. For the most part just getting healthy will solve a lot of their problems. The Rangers this past season were like the 1997 Spurs that had one terrible season, ended up in the lottery, got the number one pick, and drafted Tim Duncan. The Rangers don’t need to blow it up and rebuild. What the end of the season proved is that they are not far away. The A’s went all in and came up short and will probably rebuild next season, the Mariners still have great pitching but no offense, and the Angels will still be really good. A healthy Rangers team with one or two tweaks will be back in the race in 2015 and with a new energetic manager in Jeff Bannister. I would not be surprised at all to see them back in the playoffs next season.

I will try to write more this offseason as stuff happens. I am still hopeful and still a big time baseball fan. I have been through the good times and the bad time and will never stop believing in my Rangers.

Joey Gallo: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

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This gallery contains 1 photo.

  Today, I will be starting with my series on the future of the Rangers by looking at minor league phenom Joey Gallo. Gallo has been called everything from, “the most interesting man in the minors” to 2014 Futures Game … Continue reading →

The Future of the Texas Rangers

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The 2014 season is about halfway over and for the Texas Rangers it has turned from a season of promise into a lost season due to all the injuries. In all the Rangers have made 20 DL moves this season, 3/5 of their expected rotation is on the DL, their starting and backup first basemen are gone for the season, and numerous other star players and role players have missed time due to injury. 2014 will always be in my mind “the nightmare season” that as soon as it is over will never be spoken of again. It was the year players started getting hurt in the offseason, it carried over into Spring Training workouts and the games, and extended into the regular season. It has felt like the Rangers have not went more than two weeks without having to make a DL move. It has been a valiant effort by Ron Washington and the team to stay as close to .500 as they have, but as of today they are 11.5 GB of the division, and 4.5 GB of the wild card. They are still in the race right now for one of the wild card spots and so the season isn’t completely over, but I have decided instead of dwelling on the present on this blog I will be focusing the next couple of weeks looking into the future.

In the present it looks bleak, the Rangers have players that are hurt or underperforming, they only have a good chance of winning 1 out of every 5 games, and there really isn’t much in the way of reinforcements coming into the team. Despite all of that though the near future looks bright.  They have prospects such as Joey Gallo, Luke Jackson, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Jorge Alfaro, Nomar Manzaro, Ryan Rua, and others that are still developing and on their way up. On the major league club we have seen the promise and potential that Michael Choice, Roughned Odor, Luis Sardinas, Robinson Chirinos, Nick Martinez, and Nick Tepesch have shown. The future looks promising, but these players are not ready yet. They will have their moments, but not sustained and rarely in the late innings. In some ways this feels a lot like 2008 and 2009 in that there were a lot of players who were good, but they did not know how to win yet. They had to spend those two years learning how to win and then in 2010 it all came together. This group of players has to learn how to win together and in order to become winners a team first has to lose. It happens in every sport, it is called the slow build. For the Rangers that is what 2006-2009 was. It was getting the pieces together and then learning how to win. Before the Dallas Cowboys won their last 3 Super Bowls they had to endure seasons of 1-15, 7-9, 11-5, before going 13-3 and winning the Super Bowl. That is where the Rangers are back to right now.

Over the next two weeks leading into the All Star Break I will be writing 5 parts to our future of the Texas Rangers series. The first part will take a look at Joey Gallo. He has been called the most interesting man in the minors by Grantland and so I will be writing part one about him and the expected impact that he will have on this team, when he will arrive, and what type of player he will likely become. The second part will take a look at the top 10 Rangers prospects and their expected arrival time and what kind of impact they will have on this team. The third part will take a look at the moves the Rangers need to make to win in 2015 and beyond. The fourth part will take a look at the young players on the roster right now and what their ceiling is and if they can become long term contributors to the team. The fifth and final part will be prediction for what the 2016 roster will look like. It will be a compilation of the previous four parts and look toward 2016 when many of these players will have made or will make their debuts. Baseball America does something like this in their prospect handbooks every year where they jump ahead 3 years to make their prediction on the starting lineup and rotation. I will do the same to close out this 5 part series.

In conclusion Rangers fans don’t despair. I know that it may be hard to watch this years team and the season cannot get over quick enough, but enjoy it while it is here. Spend the games watching Roughned Odor hit or Nick Martinez pitch and realize that this is the future and while it may not be great now, they will be once they have some more seasoning under their belt. It takes time to grow for young players such as them, but I would expect that as soon as next season they will be back in the hunt for a playoff berth next season and in 2016 I expect to see them back in contention for another World Series berth. Unfortunately 2014 is not 2015 or 2016. The future will be better I guarantee that.

The Greatness of Yu

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Darvish throws first CG Shutout

Darvish throws first CG Shutout

 

There is a lot that can be said of Yu Darvish, but until last night you couldn’t say complete game shutout for Darvish. He has gotten close to perfect games, no hitters, and shutouts, but had never completed one till last night against the Miami Marlins. The contributing factor always being pitch count. In those games when he would have a chance his pitch count would be above 120 and so to give him a chance would be to risk injury. This season he has found that balance between striking people out and going deeper into games. His first two seasons he averaged 6.2 innings pitched per start, now he averages 7.1 innings pitched per start and 5 times has pitched 8 innings or longer. That is mainly due to adding a more consistent sinking fastball to his arsenal of pitches. Last night he used it to induce 8 groundballs, and 3 double plays. One of those double plays came in the 9th inning after a leadoff single by Giancarlo Stanton. Afer the single there was some movement by Washington like he was considering removing Darvish for Soria, but he allowed Darvish to stay in. Washington said about that, “I put my card down and told [bench coach Tim Bogar], ‘I’m just going to sit here and watch him get a ground ball.’”He did and was able to strike out Garrett Jones to finish it off.

He is truly becoming the Ace the Texas Rangers have been searching for all these years. Those supposed aces included such pitchers as Rick Helling, Ken Park, Aaron Sele, Chan Ho Park, Kenny Rogers, Kevin Millwood, Cliff Lee, C.J. Wilson, but none of them match what Darvish has been able to provide this team. He has provided stability and stellar performance in his time here. His overall numbers this season are spectacular. He ranks 5th in all of baseball in ERA (2.11), 9th in opponents batting average (.218), and 7th in strikeouts (101). This has been such a tumultuous season for the team with all the injuries and DL moves and players being thrust in the spotlight who may not be ready. The one consistent though has been Yu Darvish.  Every 5 days Darvish gives the Rangers a chance at winning. This team may not win anything, in fact I think they have a better chance of finishing last in the division than making the playoffs, but every 5 days Darvish makes it worth it to watch this team. He is a great pitcher on a flawed team and hopefully one day he might be able to add Cy Young winner next to his name.

The Cost of Competing

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DANIELS

 

In professional sports every team is seeking a window. A window that while open gives them a chance at winning their sports ultimate prize. It could be the Lombardi Trophy, Stanley Cup, World Series, or NBA Finals. General Managers spend their lifetimes trying to acquire enough talent to be able to open that window. Windows normally only stay open for a very short time.  Very few GM’s actually get to open that window. That is why when teams get there they normally overspend in order to maximize that window. They never want to admit that the window is closed or is closing. This takes me to the Rangers and the decisions the front office has made to try to keep the Rangers window open.

Jon Daniels has been the Rangers GM since October of 2005. He spent the first 5 years of his tenure rebuilding the Rangers from the ground up. He rebuilt through shrewd trades, under the radar signings, and through the draft. Instead of moves made to compete immediately he slowly started to acquire more and more talent. He brought in players like Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and Yu Darvish. All along he said that he wanted to get the Rangers to a point where they could compete every season. He didn’t believe in a window of opportunity. The Rangers made it to back-to-back World Series in 2010-2011 and came within an out of winning the 2011 World Series. Since then the Rangers have gotten farther and farther away from making it back to the World Series. They lost a 5 game lead with 7 games remaining in 2012 and then lost the Wild Card playoff game to the Orioles. Then in 2013 in a season full of injuries they lost a one game playoff to the Tampa Bay Rays. This season just shy of Memorial Day they sit 7 games back of division leaders Oakland.

This takes me to the point of the article. In order to stay in contention teams have to make trades that normally they wouldn’t make. Jon Daniels has made several in-season trades and now this season they are seeing that once full minor league system drained by all that talent that was traded away. It started in 2011 with the Koji Uehara trade that sent Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter to the Orioles. It was a sound trade at the time because the Rangers needed bullpen help, but Uehara did not provide anything and was left off of the World Series roster in favor of Mark Lowe.  In 2012 there was the trade for Ryan Dempster that sent Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva to the Chicago Cubs. The team needed a starter after Colby Lewis went down with an injury, Neftali Feliz had Tommy John, Roy Oswalt and Yu Darvish were not pitching well, and so they traded for Dempster. One thing we saw with Dempster is what we see with most NL pitchers who make the transition to the AL. They do not pitch as well. Dempster in his time here did go 7-3, but with a 5.09 ERA, and in September that ballooned to 5.68 ERA in the month.  The big problem now is that Kyle Hendricks has blossomed in the Cubs organization and is on the verge of being called up. Ryan Dempster is no longer in MLB and was not resigned after the season.

In 2013 they made another trade with the Cubs this time for Matt Garza. They gave up Neil Ramirez, C.J. Edwards, Justin Grimm and Mike Olt to complete the trade. That made sure they got him, but while here Garza continued to be the head case he has been throughout his career. He called people out on Twitter, his behavior was unpredictable on the mound, and his performance just wasn’t what the team thought they would get. He ended up 4-5 with a 4.38 ERA, and allowed 5.02 Runs per 9 innings. The Rangers needed to make this trade because Colby Lewis had not come back, Matt Harrison was out for the season, Nick Tepesch and Justin Grimm were not able to pick up the slack, and they needed a veteran to help them get back to the playoffs. It just did not work either as the Rangers season ended in game 163 to the Tampa Bay Rays. Then this past offseason Daniels really wanted to shake things up. He traded longtime Ranger Ian Kinsler to the Tigers for Prince Fielder, let Nelson Cruz go without a multi-year contract offer, traded fan favorite Craig Gentry to the A’s for Michael Choice, and signed Shin Shoo Choo. Only one of those has really worked out.

Having to trade prospects is the cost of competing. It is what general managers will call a necessary evil, because the here and now is more important than the future. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out for the team acquiring the veteran. That is what the Rangers have found out as they have had to trade numerous prospects in order to stay in contention. That is what makes a GM’s job very difficult, weighing the question of whether or not to make a trade, and the future consequences of making that trade. Every GM battles with that decision in the offseason and especially during the month of July. Jon Daniels I am sure did not make any of these trades lightly. He knew what could happen, but he wanted to give his team a chance at getting back to the playoffs. The problem has come this year as the team has faced numerous injuries and no longer has the depth to cover up those injuries. Here is a sobering thought, if none of those trades had been made, here is what the Rangers lineup would look like.

LF Shin Shoo Choo

2b Ian Kinsler

1b Chris Davis

3b Adrian Beltre/ Mike Olt

RF Alex Rios

DH Mitch Moreland/ Mike Olt

CF Leonys Martin

C Robinson Chirinos

SS Elvis Andrus

This is the downside of trying to keep the window open. Does it produce exciting pennant race baseball? Yes it does. Does it bring regret later? It does that as well. Every team that competes for a period of time goes through that and now is the Rangers time to go through it. It may lead to a couple of down seasons, but players like Joey Gallo, Luke Jackson, and Jorge Alfaro are just a year or two away from being ready to contribute. That will give the team the shot in the arm that it needs and the ability to compete for the World Series again.

The Curse of the Extension

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Since Jon Daniels has been in charge of the Rangers they have sought to sign younger players to long-term extensions early on in their careers in order to be able to control costs. It also eliminates the possibility of having to go to arbitration with a player. That is certainly a positive, but of late it seems that of late there has been a curse on the team and the players who have signed those extensions. In Jon Daniel’s tenure there has been 5 high profile players sign extensions with the team: Ian Kinsler, Derek Holland, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Martin Perez. As you can tell from that list only one of those players is on the current active roster right now.

That is Elvis Andrus. Prior to last season he signed a 8 year and 120 million dollar contract extension. That contract made him one of the highest paid shortstops in the game. He had certainly earned it due to his improved work at the plate and his gold-glove level defense he plays at short. Fortunately for the Rangers he has not gotten hurt, but he has underperformed his contract at times. Last season for example in the first half he hit just .242 and this season he started off so slow that the Rangers had to drop him down to the number 9 spot. Defensively he has been a rock and rarely lets the offense keep him from performing in the field. It is his lack of hitting at times that hurts the team though, especially when he is being counted on to be on base.

The first position player to sign an extension though was Ian Kinsler and as all of us know he is no longer on the team. The Rangers gave him a 5 year/75 million dollar extension prior to the 2012 season. He had just come of a 30/30 season, it was the second of his career. At the time it was thought that he would be here for many years and hopefully the rest of his career, but as we know now it was not quite meant to be. The team ending up collapsing in September losing a 5 game lead with 7 games remaining.  Josh Hamilton left after the 2012 season as well as Michael Young, and in 2013 Ian Kinsler was called upon to be the leader of the team. The Rangers signed him to that extension to play well, but also with the expectation that after being around Michael Young for so long he would be able to pick up and carry that torch that Young had held onto for so long. Kinsler did not want that responsibility. He was quoted in an interview this Spring saying,

“They wanted me to lead these young players, teach them the way to compete, when the only thing I should be worried about is how I’m performing in the game”.

That is not the kind of attitude the team wanted and so after refusing to move to first to make room for Jurickson Profar the team dealt him this past winter to Detroit for Prince Fielder.

The first pitcher to sign an extension was Derek Holland. He signed a 5 year/ 28.5 million dollar extension in March of 2012. He had earned his extension too as he went 16-5 with a 3.95 ERA, and 198 innings pitched in 2011. He also had that unforgettable game 4 World Series start where he shut down the St. Louis Cardinals with 8 1/3 shutout innings and only 2 hits allowed as he helped the Rangers tie up the series. Since then, he has failed to build on the success of that season. It was thought he would continue developing into a number one starter, but in 2012 he went 12-7, but with a 4.67 ERA, and allowed 32 home runs. Then, in 2013 he went 10-9 with a 3.42 ERA. Over the off-season though after chasing his dog up the steps of his home he tore cartilage in his knee and had to have microfracture surgery. He is still rehabbing from that injury and hopefully will be back in June or July.

The next pitcher was Matt Harrison. In January of 2013 he signed a 5 year/ 55 million dollar extension. He was coming off of a career season that saw him win 18 games and have a career low ERA, career high in innings pitched, strikeouts, and his WAR was 6.1. It was a great season and one certainly worthy of the extension he got. Since then though he has made 6 starts and may now be looking at the end of his career. He made two starts in 2013 before coming down with a lower back injury that required multiple surgeries. He rehabbed all season and off-season in order to be ready for this season, but a week into camp the same back injury flared up again. He changed mattresses and took it slowly, but was back on the team in late April. Then, on Monday in his 4th start he had to be taken out with stiffness in his lower back. It was revealed to be displacement of vertebra in his back and significant nerve irritation. The doctors have said that he can either choose to live with the pain or attempt a spinal fusion surgery that would end his season and could end his career. Either way, I would be very surprised if we see Matt Harrison on the mound again this season. It is sad, because he is a good pitcher that has just ran into some very bad luck.

The most recent player to sign an extension is Martin Perez. In November of 2013 the Rangers announced they had agreed to an extension with Perez that was 4 years/ 12.5 million guaranteed and 3 option years added on at the end. All together he can earn 32.5 million through the length of the contract. This came after Perez pitched spectacularly in the second half of 2013. He went 7-4 down the stretch with a 3.87 ERA and helped to stabilize the Rangers rotation amidst all the injuries that were plaguing the team. Then, this season he gets off to a 4-0 start that was highlighted by back-to-back complete game shutouts. The second of those was on the road against the first place Oakland A’s. He had outpitched the A’s ace Sonny Gray in that start. That would be the end of it though as he struggled in his next 4 starts. Then on Wednesday it was revealed that he had a partial tear of his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). He was placed on the DL and will be making a decision soon to see if it heals itself or he just needs to have Tommy John surgery. If he opts to wait it will be 10-12 weeks, if he opts for surgery he likely would not be back till the second half of 2015.

There you have it the curse of the extension. The Chicago Cubs have the curse of the Billy Goat, the Red Sox had the Curse of the Bambino, and now we have the Curse of the Extension. It has affected position players and pitchers alike. I don’t really have an explanation of why it has happened, but it has. Most of it has just been bad luck, but some of it has been how these players have been used. The back-to-back shutouts were great efforts by Perez, but maybe it was not the right thing to do. He still is just 21 and it was still April. I think Washington should have erred on the side of caution. Who can say it was anything but bad luck that Holland wrecked his knee chasing his dog up the stairs? Finally, who would have seen Matt Harrison all of a sudden developing back issues just months after signing his extension. For some reason though these injuries and 13 others have struck the Rangers this season. If they can somehow survive all of this and still get to the playoffs it will be Ron Washington’s greatest coaching job of his career.

 

Rangers Young Guns Continue to Struggle

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The last two games we have seen one of the questions marks heading into the season manifest itself in a negative way. That question was could the Rangers young starters be relied upon to help this team through these first two months of the season. This month we have seen that the answer is no. Going into opening day the Rangers had 4 young starters in the rotation: Tanner Scheppers, Martin Perez, Robbie Ross Jr., and Nick Martinez. For the first 3 weeks they were good to great. Perez was great to start the season. He started 4-0, and had back-to-back complete game shutouts. Since then, he is 0-3 with higher than a 12.0 ERA. Then yesterday it was revealed that he has been suffering from elbow inflammation and will have to go on the DL. Nick Tepesch will be called upon to replace him when he takes his start on Wednesday. Then you have Robbie Ross Jr. who has not had a good start since April 25th against the Mariners, when he went 6.0 innings only giving up 2 runs. Since then, he has allowed 17 runs in his last 15.1 innings pitched. Overall, he is 1-4 with a 5.04 ERA. Finally, you have Tanner Scheppers who got injured in April, but who may have lost his rotation spot regardless. Tanner could not stay out of the big inning. The Rangers were taking a chance when they entrusted these guys with the keys to the rotation, and so far it just hasn’t worked out.

Out of the 3 I imagine Martin Perez will continue getting chances to start. He has a track record of success as a starter. He pitched well in the second half last year and pitched well for most of April. I imagine throwing the back-to-back complete game shutouts is what caused the elbow injury to flare up. Since those starts he clearly has not been the same. Hopefully they will give Perez as much time as he needs to recover and that when he does come back he will be able to have the same success he had in April. As far as Scheppers and Ross I imagine that they will be back in the bullpen very soon. Washington may have to make a decision and switch roles for Nick Martinez and Robbie Ross Jr. Martinez is stretched out and can easily slide into the starter role. Ross has experience in the bullpen and will be able to pick it up very quickly. Something needs to change. I loved the move to bring up Odor and Sardinas, now it might be time to shake up the rotation. Insert both Tepesch and Martinez. They just need to survive until Derek Holland and now Martin Perez can come back. They need to stop this slide. They are now right at .500 and 4 games back of the A’s. Thankfully the A’s are not playing much better or the deficit would be larger. The Rangers will be starting a 3 game series this week in Houston. The offense is starting to come back around, now it is the rotation’s turn to start pitching better.

Tonight it will be Colby Lewis for the Rangers and Brad Peacock for the Astros. Last time out Colby pitched against the Rockies and gave up 7 runs in 3.1 innings. He became the third starting pitcher to get hit hard in that series. He will be looking for better success tonight against the Astros. Game time is at 7:10.