Texas Rangers 05!

[Five-ofan]

I agree that I wouldnt throw him into the rotation just yet unless he goes on a king felix like tear which i dont see happening. I would like to see him do well in triple a next year and then be put in the bullpen at about the as break next year kinda like loe this year. Then the next year i would try to move him to the rotation. He would be what 23 then? Still very young. Any takers on the tex for peavy idea?

[Murphy3]

I'd love to see two of the following 5 step up and 'claim' a spot in the rotation next year with what they do to end the season: RicRod, Benoit, Dominguez, Loe, and even Volquez. I don't know that RicRod will be the guy. He appears to have the worst 'stuff' of the bunch. At best, I see him as a #4-5 guy..probably closer to #5. Benoit, Dominguez, Loe and Volquez all have a good enough #1 pitch to be #3 or better in the rotation. But, as we've seen with Benoit, just because you have the stuff doesn't mean that you can consistently use it.

I know that alot of people have wanted to see Benoit back in the pen, but I'm not ready to give up on him as a starter. I'd like to see at least a couple more starts to see how he bounces back from a rough outing. His offspeed has wicked movement.

As for Dominguez, only a mental collapse of epic proportions will keep this guy out of the rotation in my opinion. He has the best stuff of any of the young pitchers that I've seen. I know that the Buck/Hart combo doesn't like him, but if they have a problem with a guy with that kind of stuff that looks like he might be on the path to succeeding...then get Buck and Hart out of here.

With Loe, the guy is a pitcher. His biggest issue is that he doesn't consistently have the third pitch and doesn't consistently keep his sinker down. But, it's not like he's spent his entire career throwing a sinker. So, with time, I'm confident that he can consistently locate it better. If so, he can be a very, very good starter in the majors. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE how good this guy can be. His sinker has a chance to be one of if not the dominant sinker in the game. The bottom drops out of it while sometimes moving in to left handed hitters. At 92-93 MPH, that can be a very, very difficult pitch to hit.

I don't know alot about Volquez, and I missed the game. So, I'll leave it to others to comment on him. But, he appears to be the a bit ahead of Danks and Diamond at this point. So, hopefully he can step it up and earn a rotation spot in spring training.

My predictions:

Young
Dominguez
Loe
and two starters to be named later...possibly one via free agency or trade (if Soriano is moved).... possibly Kenny Rogers (although I have no problem with him not being a Ranger next year)...

I wouldn't mind seeing the Rangers using Benoit, Volquez and possibly Wilson in the pen next year. Anyone remember the Twins using Santana in the pen before moving him into the rotation? It might not be a bad idea to get his feet wet in the majors out of the pen, but that's just my humble opinion. Perhaps after a month or two in the minors next year, he can be moved up into the pen or to the rotation.

As for Wilson, I like the kids arm and I like the kids stuff. Obviously, something is wrong when you look at his ERA. Location! How many times have you seen a left handed hitter drive a 93mph fastball 400 feet when the pitch was down and in? Yet, Rangers announcers act as if throwing that pitch to a lefty is actually a good pitch. Sure, it is on some, but that is in general the sweet spot for left handed hitters. Yes, you might put the ball slightly out of the strike zone (low) on the edge of the inside part of the plate, but that is not a good place to throw to lefties. You have to either get the ball under their hands, up and in, or to some other part of the plate (if it's a fastball). Obviously, something other than a fastball way down and in is a different story, but I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Get the ball under their hands, up and in, or away from the hitter....especially at TBiA.

Oh well...baby arm

[Drbio]

On the deadline to acquire players who would be eligible for post-season
play, San Diego, sitting atop the NL West, has traded 19-year-old
righthander Juan Jimenez to Texas for 34-year-old Oklahoma infielder Manny
Alexander. With AAA Portland a few days from having its season end, the
Padres must have acquired Alexander in order to put him on the active
roster.

More in the next Newberg Report on Jimenez, who went 4-4, 3.86 in 13 Arizona
League starts this year, with 67 strikeouts and 18 walks in 79.1 innings,
before making one Northwest League relief appearance on Saturday. He was
5-4, 2.92 in two seasons (spent mostly in the Dominican Summer League)
coming into 2005.


FROM NEWBERG....

[chumdawg]

Murph...intriguing, your comments about location to a left-handed hitter. I'm left-handed myself, and in my softball days anyway, I swung a pretty mean bat. Now, obviously, softball is miles away from baseball. But I've always been intrigued by discussion about differences in swings from one side of the plate to the other. I've never given any thought to the questions of location you have raised here. Is it primarily because of the way ballparks are often shorter in right field? I don't really get it.

But one thing I *have* given thought to is the belief there seems to be that lefties have "prettier" swings than righties. Logically, I can think of no reason why this would be the case.

Sorry to hijack this thread, if I have, but I have always been curious about the differences--if there are any--between left-handed and right-handed hitters.

Of course, other than the fact that lefties are smarter than righties, which we all know. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Murphy3]

Originally posted by: chumdawg
Murph...intriguing, your comments about location to a left-handed hitter. I'm left-handed myself, and in my softball days anyway, I swung a pretty mean bat. Now, obviously, softball is miles away from baseball. But I've always been intrigued by discussion about differences in swings from one side of the plate to the other. I've never given any thought to the questions of location you have raised here. Is it primarily because of the way ballparks are often shorter in right field? I don't really get it.

But one thing I *have* given thought to is the belief there seems to be that lefties have "prettier" swings than righties. Logically, I can think of no reason why this would be the case.

Sorry to hijack this thread, if I have, but I have always been curious about the differences--if there are any--between left-handed and right-handed hitters.

Of course, other than the fact that lefties are smarter than righties, which we all know. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I don't know that there's really any anatomical difference that would cause a most lefties to be lowball hitters, but most are. Yes, I know it's a generalization, but it fits. Perhaps enjoying the inside pitch does have something to do with parks...Just in the AL alone, you have extremely short porches in Texas, Boston, and NY. NY's is borderline ridiculous.

But, that doesn't answer why lefties enjoy the low ball more than righties. The only things that I can think of is that it's probably a difference caused by the pitching that they face growing up. Perhaps the low ball is just easier to drive for a lefty coming from a right handed pitcher. The majority of the pitchers that you face growing up are right handed...this holds true even in the majors. So, perhaps it even has something to do with the way a fastball would come in to a left handed hitter from a right handed pitcher... It might be easier to hit down and in as compared to a righty hitting off of a righty.... It might even have something to do with the look that the batter gets. As a switch hitter, I know that it can be a little more difficult to pull the trigger on the inside pitch as a righty coming from a righty as opposed to a lefty hitting off of a righty. You get a very good look at the pitch as a lefty. As a righty pitching to a righty, it's easier to run the ball in onto their hands. You cut the fastball to get that little extra movement that'll make a decent pitch to a righty end up turning into a jam shot.

Hey, it's just a few ideas, but I'm sure all of it plays some role. As a righty, if you have a short and compact swing, it'll definitely allow you to turn on the inside pitch a little more. Watch Kevin Mench. It helps having short arms as well. You'd be amazed at the holes on the inner part of some of the right handed hitters swings that is caused in part because of arm length.

[Drbio]

Everyone is born left handed....only the greatest can overcome it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[chumdawg]

I think you are on to something when you mention the right-handed pitching that lefties face. The reason that lefties are perceived as having a prettier swing is probably down to the fact they face more pitches from the other side. When a rightie pitches them inside, it is awfully inviting to turn on that ball. It's moving in that direction as it is.

Of course, that still won't explain the beautiful mechanics that lefties display. And Doc, please. If only the most gifted were able to overcome to obstacle, then the great unwashed wouldn't be on your side. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[ames7]

The Royals just now broke up JuanDom's no-hitter...in the seventh. *whistles*

[mary]

I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the total effing awesomeness and badassness (new words!) of Michael Young...and to bring this thread back to page 1.

The boys have gone 14-6 in the last 20, and have pulled within a game of .500, and have actually been playing some entertaining games lately.

[Five-ofan]

Who woulda thought we would still have the best ss in baseball after we traded Arod? Btw on a baseball note if Ortiz wins the mvp it will be the worst screwing of someone who truly deserved the mvp since the last time arod got screwed.(The year Juan won bcus the seattle writers voted for griffey) Mvp is not most valuable hitter but if it was Arod is having a better year hitting than Ortiz. Not to mention the fact that he will probably win a gold glove at 3rd and is a dang good baserunner with alot of speed. BTW why do peoples steals numbers go in the tank when they get here? Arod had 40 before he got here and then around 10 a year while he was here now hes back in the 20s. Fonzie had 40s before he got here and is in the 20s now. Is it all the fact that we just dont run because we have power hitters? Or could it be partially due to the heat? It takes energy to try to steal and when its 102 and we keep playing day games for no good reason it would be pretty tiring to steal.

[dalmations202]

The 9th last night was sweet....w/o that high throw and he was dead to rights.