News and Notes

Texas re-signed infielder Guilder Rodriguez, 2B/OF Alejandro Selen (a potential six-year minor-league free agent), and RHP Daniel Lopez.

Full-Season Position Players of the Year

1. 3B Mike Olt (Age 24, AA, .288/.398/.579, 46 XBH, 14% BB rate, 4 SB)

Olt led Texas’s minor leaguers with 28 homers in only 95 games, drew a lot of walks, and played excellent defense at third.  He had a brief MLB campaign hampered by plantar fasciitis, Olt barely played down the stretch. But when he played he didn’t hit much. Despite the disappointing conclusion, Olt confirmed his status among baseball’s best prospects during the course of the season.  He’s going to be a solid Major Leaguer. In what should be a busy offseason, Olt’s status is as undefined as anyone in the organization.  In recent years, Texas hasn’t used Spring Training as a tryout camp except for role players, so Olt will probably know his short-term future no later than March 1st. He could be in Texas, Round Rock, or traded to another franchise.

2. SS Jurickson Profar (Age 19, AA, .281/.368/.452, 47 XBH, 12% BB rate, 16 SB) 

Fantastic. Elite. Will be with Rangers in 2013. 

3. CF Leonys Martin (Age 24, AAA, .359/.422/.610, 32 XBH, 9% BB rate, 10 SB)

Statistically, Martin pummeled the opposition.  He only played in 55 games, Martin missed six weeks with a thumb injury after an ill-advised head-first slide but hit as well as ever when he returned. Martin did not affirm his status as Texas’s 2013 CF.  His use of plus running and defensive tools felt short at times.  Like Olt, circumstances and lack of instant production hurt him. Additional AAA seasoning doesn’t serve much purpose. Is a Martin/Gentry platoon in center what the Rangers go with in 2013? 

4. 3B Drew Robinson (Age 20, low-A, .273/.409/.444, 40 XBH, 17% BB rate, 10 SB)

After a highly disappointing 2011 in Spokane, the left-handed Robinson again started slowly then hit 13 homers and spent a fair amount of time at 2B.  His platoon split was huge. Robinson was drafted in 2010 as an uncommonly polished high-school hitter.  The year matched the results. Myrtle Beach, then Frisco in 2013.

5. RF Joey Butler (Age 26, AAA, .290/.392/.473, 49 XBH, 14% BB rate, 6 SB)

Butler in 2012 he improved his walk rate, struck out less and smacked a career-high 20 homers. He’s a corner outfielder who will be 27 next season.  In a lesser organization, or with the Rangers during the early part of the previous decade, he would have already stepped onto a Major League field. Round Rock or another organization in 2013. 

6. 1B Chris McGuiness (Age 24, AA, .268/.366/.474, 48 XBH, 13% BB rate, 0 SB)

After an injury-plagued 2011, McGuiness showed why Texas wanted him in the Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade.  He ranked fourth in the Texas League in homers (23) and walks (69). McGuiness was in the Arizona Fall League’s Rising Stars game, but he doesn’t hit for average, wasn’t young for the level and plays a position that demands hefty offense.  He has to keep producing.  Round Rock in 2013.

7. 2B Leury Garcia (Age 21, AA, .292/.337/.398, 25 XBH, 5% BB rate, 31 SB)

2012: After an impressive AFL, Garcia made incremental gains offensively and eliminated much of the inconsistency from his dazzling defense at second and short. Slowly, steadily, Garcia has improved. Turns 22 in March, will be at Round Rock in 2013.

8. 2B Odubel Herrera (Age 20, high-A, .284/.335/.382, 33 XBH, 6% BB rate, 27 SB)

Steady, solid. Mixed.  Herrera handled the level and will reach AA as a 21-year-old.  On the downside, another tryout at shortstop proceeded poorly.  Assuming he’s done there, his future depends more heavily on his bat. Frisco in 2013.

9. SS Hanser Alberto (Age 19, low-A and high-A, .299/.327/.410, 39 XBH, 4% BB rate, 24 SB)

Contact-oriented shortstop improved greatly from 2011 at Spokane.  Was in Carolina League while still a teenager and was the youngest hitter with at least 200 plate appearances in the league .  At mid-season, he simply stopped taking pitches, drawing only two walks in his last 78 games. Status is up.  Alberto showed fans what Texas sees in him. Frisco in 2013.  But don’t view a repeat of the Carolina League as a setback.

10. CF Engel Beltre (Age 22, AA, .261/.307/.420, 47 XBH, 4% BB rate, 36 SB)

Beltre hit for power and had his best year in stolen bases. He’s a top-notch defender in center. The power surge is nice, and the statistics, Beltre’s plate approach hasn’t changed.  His percentages of pitches taken, swings-and-misses and other categories were unchanged. Including playoffs, Beltre has played 317 Double-A games. Wow. Round Rock in 2013, if he’s still with the organization.

How many more days until the All-Star Break? (Image via Keith Allison)

It’s really a shame that Martin Perez had to get that loss.  Sure, the rookie wasn’t amazing, but he was pretty solid, going 6 innings, giving up only 2 earned runs, striking out 3 and walking 3 (one intentionally).  It’s a sad that yet again the offense couldn’t seem to get things going (and the defense…ahem…Nap Nap…didn’t help either).

A rough 3rd inning by the Rangers (and a good inning by the Twins) really just solidified this game for the Twins.  With two outs, Mauer put the first run on the board with a single.  But the damage should have stopped there.  Sadly Mike Napoli BADLY judged a routine popup on the first baseline and instead of the inning being over, the score was 2-0 and the Twins had a man on 2nd…and they would go on to score 1 more than inning.

» Continue reading “Texas Rangers: OK, Now You’ve Just Quit Trying”

(Image courtesy of flickr.com user Keith Allison.)

It’s funny how a game can go from being the most boring thing ever to super exciting with 1 swing of the bat.  Thank you, Craig Gentry.

Yet again, Matt Harrison pitched a gem of a game, going 8 innings, allowing 8 hits, 2 runs (both earned), walking 1 and striking out 7.  And it seemed that yet again, the offense wasn’t going to show up for poor Harry.

In the 2nd inning, the Rangers missed out on a huge opportunity to get on the board early.  Bases loaded and 1 out.  Mike Napoli at the plate.  Strike out.  Followed quickly by Leonys Martin lining out.  *Sigh*

Fast forward to the 7th.  2 on, 1 out.  Napoli at the plate…  You guessed it!  Strike out, and Martin grounds out.  *Groan*  Guys, I’m seeing a pattern.

Thankfully, the boys took advantage of some shaky Athletics relief pitching in the 8th.  With 1 out, Elvis Andrus singled and promptly stole 2nd.  Walks to Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Nelson Cruz would result in the Rangers first run of the night.  A triple by Craig Gentry would make the score 4-2.

Tanner Scheppers came in to close things out in the 9th, his first major league save opportunity.  Minus that solo home run to Carter, a pretty great outing by Scheppers, who earned his first major league save.

FINAL: Rangers 4, Athletics 3

<photo by TxSportsPix>

Wow…I’m not really sure where to begin. So much happened during the game. Roy Oswalt pitched again. The Rangers offense exploded. The Tigers offense almost kept up. Someone had 4 strikeouts. A rookie made his major league debut. Hitters were thrown at. Errors were made. Prince Fielder tackled someone. Cookies were talked about. Mike Maddux rubbed shoulders. Nathan had a strikeout wild pitch. And it goes on and on.

FINAL SCORE – Rangers 13, Tigers 9

PITCHING – Roy Oswalt, working with some major swamp ass in the Texas heat, looked dirty sexy on the mound against the Detroit Tigers. Okay, he looked…hittable. He threw a lot of strikes (and first pitch strikes) and gave up 6 runs. He lasted 6 innings while striking out 6.

We’ll give him a pass on this one. It was only his 2nd start of the year. Mentally, he was probably still in Surprise, Arizona working on his game. Or hunting somewhere in Mississippi.

Robbie Ross took over for RoyO, but not much happened there.

One of the big stories on the rubber was the major league debut of Martin Perez, a 21 year old up-and-comer from Venezuela. Perez didn’t necessarily have a great outing, but it was nice to see a young lefty throwing in the mid 90′s. And I do like the confidence. He (or maybe the Rangers) decided to wear Cliff Lee’s old number 33.

Although Perez didn’t last long, he did receive a nice bear hug from Prince Fielder before he departed. It was almost like Fielder wanted to cudddle with him. Perez would finish by giving up 4 runs (only 1 earned), 2 hits, 1 K, and 1 walk.

Mike Adams and Joe Nathan would finish the pitching off for the Rangers. RoyO got the win, his 2nd on the year.

HITTING – The offense was led by…the offense. In particular, David Murphy, Ian Kinsler, Leonys Martin, and others.

The Rangers started the scoring off in the 2nd after a throwing error by the Tigers gold glove third baseman, Miguel Cabrera. But it really got going when David Murphy parked a picture perfect ding dong into the right field bleachers while Michael Young and Nelson Cruz were loitering on the bases.

Moving on to the 4th, Murph flexed his big Texas muscle and knocked another home run into the outfield bleachers to extend the Rangers lead. Ian Kinsler got a little jealous that Murph was getting all the attention, so he decided to hit a big fly. Kinsler’s big fly landed in Green’s Hill where Trent lives.

Both of the Murphy and Kinsler home runs came while the Rangers broadcast was interviewing Nolan Ryan…or as my wife once referred to him as, Ryan Nolan.

In the 5th, Murph Dog was still flaming in the Texas heat and had another RBI while Leonys Martin got himself involved with a 2-run triple. Michael Young, Elvis Andrus, and Adrian Beltre would also contribute to the offense machine.

David Murphy finished 4 for 5 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, and had a clean shaved face. The rest of the guys did well too, except one, who had 4 K’s. Look it up yourself.

T’s Game Notes and Observations

• The Rangers sported the ever sexy red tops, red hats, white undies, and white bottoms.
• Emily Jones was decked out in a Rangers outfit…red top, blue bottoms, and…
• All of the umpires wore black tops, gray bottoms, whitey-tighties, and knee high socks.
• It was 99 degrees at the time of RoyO’s first pitch…damn near winter temps.
• What is the freaking deal with Josh Hamilton and the bat toss? This is beyond ridiculous. It’s ridonkulous.
• Nice run down by Adrian Beltre in the 5th. That’s text book.
• President Bush apparently got in a bicycle accident and is nursing his knee for tomorrow’s round of golf. Lovely life.
• “The backdoor got him”…I’m not sure what to think about that quote from the Rangers game.
• Dear Ranger fans - stop freaking sending the Rangers broadcast team cookies, cupcakes, salsa, cookbooks, fruit, cookies, and everything else. Stop it…now. I beg you.
• This is the Rangers 6 series win in a row.
• I wish I could be a part of the post game hug between Mike Maddux and Ron Washington.

Oh boys…When I’ve had the day from hell at work, I really just want to come home, sit down and watch you win. Or at least watch you not suck completely.

When you give up 5 runs in the top of the first inning, it makes it really hard to watch. Painful actually.

When Grimm allowed the first three Detroit batters base hits I knew we were in trouble…Oh and  when the Rangers couldn’t hit Porcello. I knew we were in major trouble. It wasn’t that we weren’t getting hits. We just couldn’t get hits at the right times. I mean they had 10 base hits…that was what was so hard to watch.

The Rangers did get on the board when Hambone hit his 23rd ding dong of the season in the bottom of the 7th, but it just wasn’t enough for the Rangers tonight.

It was definitely an off night for the boys. Let’s try not to do that again tomorrow night. Thankskbye!

FINAL: Rangers 2, Tigers 8

END OF GAME NOTES:

• Leonys Martin has a freaking cannon for an arm. I like it….but I do miss Gentry and the high socks.
• Adrian Beltre was on fire tonight. How much do you think I have to pay him to keep that up until October?
• Justin Grimm got rocked tonight…and it’s ok, he’s still cute. I’ll forgive him…until he does it again. (Insert evil laugh here)
• What is up with Prince’s dreads? It looks like someone dropped some bleach on his head.
• Holland will make a rehab start in Round Rock on Weds. He’s looking forward to getting back in the rotation. We’re looking forward to it too, Dutch.

Bring them up and put them down, that’s the way the Rangers beat them down. Sexy, sexy work by the Rangers pitching staff as they lead the Rangers to victory over the Colorado Rockies 4 – 2. Matt Harrison picked up the win. It’s his 10th of the year.

The offense? Decent. Could have been better. They left way too many runners stranded. Heck, the score should have been 14 – 0. But, who cares…a victory is a victory. If I had to pick an offensive MVP, I’d give it to Leonys Martin. Nice breakout game by him. Elvis wasn’t too bad either. Kinsler and Young…blah.

Here are some of my thoughts throughout the game…

1st Inning and 2nd Inning

• Leonys Martin…you have to catch that ball if you wanna play center field for the Texas Rangers.
• Warm air and current to the outfield bleachers should make for some solid gold home run ball.
• Matt Harry Harrison with some nice balls to the plate.
• Emily Jones has worn that shirt before on the Rangers broadcast. Me still like though.
• Josh Hamilton falls out of the batters box on that single…that’s all I’m going to say about that. Okay, maybe he looked a bit drunk. Sorry Josh.
• F, I hate leaving runners on the base.
• I like the all white uni’s with blue trim and blue hats.
• Harry flirts with danger but no danger is done.
• Nice stolen base Nelson. Speed Power Combo = solid country gold.
• Nice RBI double Leonys! Rangers 1, Rockies 0.
• That a boy Elvis! Nice RBI double yourself. Rangers 2, Rockies 0.

» Continue reading “Rangers Recap: 17 Games Over 500″

Man, I hate West Coast games when I have to work the next morning. I really hate when I stay up and watch the entire game just to have my computer crash before writing my post. Sad face.

Anyways! On to the game. The Rangers headed out to the West coast again to take on the San Diego Padres. The Rangers jumped on the board first in the first inning when David Murphy singled up the center scoring Andrus and Beltre.

That’s all the Rangers needed. Harrison produced another solid start only giving up one run in 6 innings, putting his win total at 9. He worked out of a couple of jams and really started to settle in giving the Rangers their 8th win in the last 10 games.

You go Harrison. I love when you pitch well. The Rangers and Padres both scored the only runs of the game in the first inning. Talk about a quick moving game!

FINAL: Rangers 2, Padres 1

END OF GAME NOTES

• Josh Hamilton was not in the lineup again, after a nasty stomach virus that kept him out of 5 games. He did make an appearance in the 9th and is expected to return Tuesday.
• Mike Adams made his first appearance in San Diego since he was traded last year before the trade deadline. He looks much better in Rangers gear.
• Leonys Martin is fast…I like him…that is all.

Projection in Baseball is easy to do, but realizing ones full potential, whether it’s a prospect or even a possible future line up, is very difficult.  So on the heels of what seems will be a huge turnover with the Rangers via free agency over the next two seasons [they have 12], I’ll try to project the 2014 Opening Day line up along with a quick note for each.

“Two years ago we had a very young club that overachieved, but the reality is that, over the next two, three years, our core guys have a chance to reach free agency. We want to make sure we retain the core, the guys responsible for getting us here.”  – Jon Daniels

» Continue reading “Texas Rangers 2014 Opening Day Roster”

The Rangers and Derek Holland took on their own minor league team, the Roundrock Express, this evening. Battle of the systems!!!

Since the game wasn’t on tv or on MLB radio (Stupid non-broadcasted games- I’m not bitter or anything, I swear), this is all I can tell you.  Moreland, Beltre and Hamilton all bombed homers and the final score was 10-8 Rangers…Apparently our farm system can hit too.

But don’t worry!!! Even though I can’t tell you much about the game there are a couple of things to go over before the season starts!!!

The Rangers finalized their bench for opening day: Craig Gentry, Brandon Snyder and Alberto Gonzalez will all be there. Julio Borbon (who’s been the Rangers starting center fielder on Opening Day for the past two years) will not. He will start the season in Triple A.

Side note: Washington is going to let Round Rock manager, Bobby Jones, decide whether it will be Borbon or top prospect Leonys Martin starting in center. It should be interesting!

There was some close competition between Alberto Gonzalez and Luis Hernandez but in the end Gonzalez had more major league experience.

There was also talk of moving Hamilton to left but it looks like Hamilton will start in center making room for someone else in left…. (David Murphy!!! Come on Wash make it happen!)

The Rangers will take on Mexico City’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico tomorrow night at the Ballpark at 7:05 pm CST.

COUNTDOWN TO OPENING DAY! 4 DAYS!!!!!

Mark Hamburger got the start against the Halos and RHP Trevor Bell Sunday afternoon.  Early in the 1st, Hamburger was introduced to Major League hitting when Albert Pujols took him yard.  With the exception of the solo home run, it wasn’t a bad outing for Hamburger, who gave up only 1 hit over 2 innings.

Ross, Cotts, Green and Tateyama also spent some time on the mound.  Collectively, they pitched 5 scoreless innings, gave up only 3 hits, stuck out 4, and walked 3.

With the score 0-2, the Rangers mounted a comeback in the top of the 8th.  With 2 outs and Connor Jackson on 1st (who had walked earlier in the inning), Dusty Brown, who had come in for Mike Napoli, hit a long home run to left to tie the game 2-2.

The tie wouldn’t last long.  Michael Kirkman took the mound in the 8th and promptly gave up a 2 run homer to Cantu.

The Rangers would mount another comeback in the top of the 9th against veteran Jason Isringhausen (guys, how is he still pitching?!).  With 1 out, Izzy walked Brad Hawpe and hit Alberto Gonzalez with a pitch.  Greg Miclat hit a double to right, scoring both runners.  Connor Jackson then singled off new pitcher  Jeremy Berg, scoring Miclat.  5-4 Rangers.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, Kirkman couldn’t get his stuff together.  He allowed a single to start the inning.  Then with only 1 out, he allowed 3 consecutive singles, scoring 2 runs.

FINAL: Rangers 5, Angels 6

• Leonys Martin was sent down to the Minors Sunday.  The CF battle has come down to Hamilton, Borbon, and Gentry.
• Hamburger got the start instead of Darvish since Wash didn’t want to expose Darvish to their division rivals.
• This Cardinals fan was not OK with having to watch Pujols homer in an Angels jersey.  Bleh.

Next up: Rangers take on the Reds Monday at 6:05pm.

(Photo courtesy of flickr.com user Mike LaChance.)