Your Texas Rangers!: Official 2009 Thread - Page 33 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Five-ofan · 08-26-2009, 01:10 AM

btw martin perez went for frisco tonight. 5ip 4h 0bb 0r 3k. BEAST!

mavspwnage · 08-26-2009, 02:02 AM

happy 21st birthday, Elvis!!!!!!

dalmations202 · 08-26-2009, 06:46 AM

that was sweet last night..........of course they had to make it uncomfortable in the 9th. I know Feliz is a rookie, but why not just keep pitching him when he is going that well?

He sure seems like he could be a Mariano Rivera type closer -- IF -- that is what he wanted to do.

muzak · 08-26-2009, 09:51 AM

I've been asking myself the same thing. It's time to stop babying the guy now. Let's see what he really has - for more than 2 innings.

Murphy3 · 08-26-2009, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

gutty effort from milly tonight. that said hes only had 2 out of his last 9 starts be quality starts and he hasnt gone more than 6 and a third since june 21.

He's all of a sudden falling behind alot of hitters.

Murphy3 · 08-26-2009, 09:54 AM

You don't throw Feliz for more innings because you want to be able to use him again sooner rather than later. If you extend much more than he was extended tonight, you start getting into situations where he has to have 2-3 days off between outings. If he would have gone 3 innings, he would have for sure missed the rest of the Yankees series... Now, at least there might be a shot that he can go in the third game if needed.

I understand why you'd want to see more Feliz, but it was a 5 run game.

DirkFTW · 08-26-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavspwnage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=barLaHrtvoM

I also find this video appropriate since the Angels are falling victims to the Detroit Tigers.

Are you an Angels fan? Cause the message I'm getting is "this is gay!"

Five-ofan · 08-26-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muzak

I've been asking myself the same thing. It's time to stop babying the guy now. Let's see what he really has - for more than 2 innings.

I am extremely happy you have absolutely nothing to do with rangers management

muzak · 08-26-2009, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy3

You don't throw Feliz for more innings because you want to be able to use him again sooner rather than later. If you extend much more than he was extended tonight, you start getting into situations where he has to have 2-3 days off between outings. If he would have gone 3 innings, he would have for sure missed the rest of the Yankees series... Now, at least there might be a shot that he can go in the third game if needed.

I understand why you'd want to see more Feliz, but it was a 5 run game.

you make a great point here.

looking forward to next year, can you see him being a starting pitcher? he's definitely got the stuff.

muzak · 08-26-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

I am extremely happy you have absolutely nothing to do with rangers management

considering i'm extremely under-qualified, dido. all i know, is that i feel privileged to see this kid pitch; i'd like to see what he can do with more than 6 outs.

Male30Dan · 08-26-2009, 12:42 PM

Can someone please post the ESPN Insider article regarding Nolan Ryan's influence on the Rangers?

Male30Dan · 08-26-2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

I am extremely happy you have absolutely nothing to do with rangers management

For the record, the way we used Holland worked out pretty well for us so far. I would like to see the same thing happen with Feliz. I just DO want to see it translate into a starter's role, if possible.

I know he can put his stamp on more games this way, but I want to also see the kid be given 100+ pitches to work with. Rules make sense with an arm like this, but EVENTUALLY the training wheels need to be removed and we need to see what this kid can do in a starter's role at the MLB level, assuming that is where the Rangers want him. Again, Holland is pitching great and will hopefully go above .500 today with regards to his record, and he had training wheels on earlier this year as well. I am only pointing out that I loved seeing them leave for Holland and will love seeing Feliz's leave just the same.

It probably won't happen this year, and maybe that helps his confidence heading into 2010, (it certainly lowers the opportunity for batters to see him a 2nd and 3rd time to try to figure him out and get some runs off of him), which is a good thing, but I sure wish I could see this absolute STUD perform sooner rather than later in a starter's role!!!

Murphy3 · 08-26-2009, 02:05 PM

Dan, I don't think anyone was talking about the kid going into the starters role.. they were more talking about leaving him in the game longer last night in a relief role.

He will be given a shot as a starter, and it will probably be in spring training next year. It's probably too late to move him into a starters role this season.. it would take a bit of an adjustment period to get him ...adjusted to that sort of role.

mavspwnage · 08-26-2009, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

Are you an Angels fan? Cause the message I'm getting is "this is gay!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Male28Dan

Can someone please post the ESPN Insider article regarding Nolan Ryan's influence on the Rangers?

there are a couple different articles, I'll post them both. Here is the one you are talking about:

Don't mess with Texas
With Nolan Ryan in charge, the Rangers' arms are powering them into October

C.J. Wilson sits in front of his locker, a sock halfway up his right foot, and wrestles with a dilemma: How would he summarize, concisely if possible, the difference between the Texas Rangers pitching staff this year and those of previous seasons? Wilson is quirky in a New Age kind of way. He fought, and won, a battle to bring organic food into the clubhouse. A generation ago, his articulate, slightly off-center demeanor (think straight edge, thrash-metal Barry Zito) would have earned him the label of flaky lefty. He ponders his assignment for a moment before launching into a hypothetical story about a group of hikers who come across a bear in a forest.

"There's a question each of the hikers has to ask himself," Wilson says. "How fast do I have to be to survive?" The answer, of course, is simple: Each needs only to be faster than the slowest member of the group. And that adage, according to Wilson, summarizes the traditional futility of Rangers pitching. Past staffs operated under the principle that mere survival was good enough. There were built-in excuses: It was too hot over the course of a Texas summer; the team was built for offense; the ballpark was a pitchers' graveyard. Bad pitching had become the lovable quirk of the only major league franchise that has never won a postseason series. Incompetence was almost expected. You just shrugged and stayed a step ahead of the slowest guy.

Cultures develop within institutions, whether the institution is as broad as a society, as specific as a family or as diverse and itinerant as a big league baseball team. The culture of the Rangers included the routine underperformance of the pitching staff. It had become a systemic infection. Even the uneducated could come up with the diagnosis, but treatment remained a mystery.

When Nolan Ryan took over as team president, in February 2008, he promised a new approach. The team couldn't keep doing the same things and expect a different result, so the greatest Texas pitching legend let it be known that mere survival would no longer be good enough. Excuses would be replaced by expectations. It all sounded good, but how would it work?

When Nolan Ryan shows you how to grip a ball, even while wearing a suit, you listen.

Nolan Ryan in a dress shirt and tie seems heretical -- similar to, say, 50 Cent in Wranglers and a bolo -- but here he is, the most ornery and fearsome man ever to throw a pitch, looking like the CEO-level businessman that he is. Ryan, sitting in the Rangers' press-box dining room with his outsize hands punctuating each point, is jocular with a crusty edge. It is not surprising that his tenure has been marked by an outright refusal to be held captive to trends, fads or anything that other people think. ("I'm pretty good at not paying attention to what anybody else is doing," he says.) He adopted a holistic approach to healing the Rangers' mound woes, and the team's emergence as a legitimate contender in the American League playoff picture is surprising for its primary sources: pitching and defense.

"I want to build a well-rounded ball club, not one based on just hitting," Ryan says. After allowing the most runs in the majors last year, the Rangers have allowed the fewest in the AL this year, through mid-August. After finishing with the worst ERA in the majors last year (5.37), they've jumped to fourth in the AL and ninth in all of baseball. And how's this for role reversal? Ryan's quest for balance will have to wait for the offense to catch up: After leading the league last year in runs scored, Texas now falls in the middle of the pack -- mainly because of Josh Hamilton's injury-riddled season -- and ranks among the bottom-feeders in batting average.

Despite their suddenly mediocre offense, the Rangers so far have avoided their customary late-summer wilt. The cometlike appearance of 21-year-old reliever Neftali Feliz (the first Texas pitcher to strike out seven straight hitters since Ryan did it, 18 years ago) and the accelerated development of young starters Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter could provide the kind of boost normally associated with a major deadline trade.

An examination of the past decade of Texas pitching indicates something more profound than a simple turnaround; it's akin to the discovery of a new species. The Rangers were dead last in ERA in the AL in four of the past 10 years, and they cracked the top half just once. This year, starters are pitching deeper into games, allowing manager Ron Washington to define the roles of his relievers and stick to them. Hits have become outs with the help of acrobatic rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus and an athletic outfield. And on Aug. 18, Texas reacquired 10-time Gold Glove catcher Ivan Rodriguez to help steer the staff down the stretch.

The overhaul began with Ryan's belief that pitchers over the past 15 to 20 years have been babied. Many causes and culprits -- long-term contracts for veterans, large bonuses for top draft picks, increased influence from agents and orthopedists -- combined to shift the emphasis from production to protection. Nobody wants to be blamed when the Next Big Thing blows out his arm from perceived overuse, a la Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. As a result, pitching coaches and managers have become slaves to the pitch count, a stat that wasn't even included in box scores until the tail end of Ryan's 27-year career. From his perspective, the game should dictate the number, not the other way around. "All this outside crap came into play," Ryan says. "All of a sudden you have people who haven't pitched and haven't played and don't understand baseball driving the front offices to come up with a number. 'Oh, he's at 100 pitches. I need to take him out.' No, he should be getting one more out to get out of the inning."

Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux has been a huge asset to the club.

Arms have been coddled to the point where nearly every big league team imposes a maximum of 120 feet for long-toss programs. Ryan believes the coddling has a paradoxical effect: The exertion needed to throw an average big league fastball is greater than when playing catch from 120 feet, which is roughly the length from home plate to second base. In practical terms, this means the strain on a pitcher's arm when he takes the mound far exceeds his preparation -- and that can lead to injuries. "We're not doing pitchers any favors," Ryan says gruffly.

To implement his changes, he hired pitching coach Mike Maddux from the Brewers to work with Washington. (Maddux and Ryan developed a kinship while Maddux was coaching for the minor league Round Rock Express, which is owned by Ryan.) The Rangers had organizational meetings in which Ryan and GM Jon Daniels outlined the new philosophy. Daniels brought in other prominent thinkers, including nontraditional ones such as independent pitching guru and yoga/long-toss devotee Alan Jaeger, to offer expertise.

One of the first orders of business was to eliminate the strict reliance on pitch counts at the big league level. On the first day of spring training this year, Maddux told his charges, "A pitch count is a limit. You have no limits." (Pitch counts are still in effect in the farm system, increasing at each level.) Veteran Rangers relievers joke about sitting in the bullpen in years past and watching the count on the scoreboard. Someone would point to the phone and predict the "80-pitch call." Invariably, it rang on cue.

Now the phone rings when a reliever is deemed a better choice to get hitters out. And whenever possible, the starters are given the opportunity to finish an inning, partly as a vote of confidence and partly as a means of retaining camaraderie among the staff. The atmosphere is far more collegial when a starter is allowed to clean up his own mess than when he is stewing in the dugout while a reliever allows inherited runners to score. In a game against the Angels during the last week of June, on a sweltering night in Arlington, Scott Feldman wobbled in a 35-pitch second inning but made it through and retired 13 of 14 batters during one stretch. He finished six innings, allowed three runs and threw 116 pitches, turning an ugly start into a quality start and a win.

What Maddux and Washington saw from the dugout was this: None of Feldman's pitches after the second inning was "stressful." Paying particular attention to stress pitches -- loosely defined as those with fewer than two outs and runners on base -- is a vital aspect of the new philosophy. In other words, a starter whose 110-pitch outing includes a 32-pitch stress inning is on a shorter leash than a starter who never tops 20 pitches. "If you throw 10 pitches an inning, you can throw 15 innings," Maddux says. "But a 10-pitch inning when you give up a two-out double is a lot different from a 10-pitch inning when you give up a leadoff double. We've had to reeducate guys to understand a perfect inning isn't nine pitches and three strikeouts; it's three pitches and three outs."

In the year and a half since Ryan took over, pitchers who didn't buy into the program have been cut loose. One starter was released midway through last season after he told strength coach Jose Vazquez, "Lifting weights makes me tired." Ryan empowered Vazquez to improve the staff's conditioning. In order to throw more, the pitchers first needed to run and lift more, starting in spring training. "We ran a lot," Feldman says. The 26-year-old righthander, who leads Texas in wins (12 through Aug. 19), has kept it up. The day after his start against the Angels, Feldman -- soaked in sweat with the heat hitting 102 -- ran the stairs of each section of the lower bowl at Rangers Ballpark.

All the extra conditioning is paying off: The team's average innings per start has improved from 5.37 a year ago (30th in MLB) to 5.96 (11th) this season. "These guys weren't conditioned to go deep into games," Ryan says. "They had to change their mind-set. We had to get them in shape, make them throw more. Once they bought into it, they realized we weren't asking them to do something they couldn't do. They got tougher. They realized mental toughness is a result of physical toughness." Soon a competition developed. A group of younger pitchers -- Feldman, Wilson, Holland, closer Frank Francisco -- turned every sprint into a race. "For the first time, it was cool to be fast and to try," says Wilson, in his fifth year with the team. "It was cool to care."

This statue of Ryan outside the Ballpark in Arlington seems even more relevant these days.

Long-toss -- even long-long-toss -- was required. Maddux removed the 120-foot limit and told his pitchers to trust their arms. Some Rangers worked up to 250 feet and beyond. "At first, I didn't know if my arm was going to hold up," Feldman says. "Now, more than halfway through the season, I can see where it helped." Jaeger, whose clients routinely throw 300-foot long-toss, watched a spring training session in which Rangers prospects played catch at least 200 feet apart. "It brought a tear to my eye," he says.

Ryan didn't stop there. When he was playing, it was routine for pitchers to throw live batting practice during training camp. "That's how you learned to read hitters," he says. "That's how you learned what works and what doesn't." None of the current Rangers had ever heard of such a thing, but once they started, they didn't want to stop. During one epic session, Kevin Millwood, a 13-year veteran who'd never been asked to throw BP before, stayed on the mound for 50 minutes. (The norm was 10 to 15.) "I was working on some things and just felt good," he says. "I lost track of time. And I was getting so much out of it, I just kept throwing."

The sessions, like the sprints, spurred competition. Maddux told hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo to bring a lot of bats, because his pitchers planned on breaking some. Jaramillo told Maddux to make sure he had a lot of baseballs, because his hitters planned on losing some. Millwood was the first to get rid of the L screen, and others followed. Pitchers learned they didn't have to live on the black; hitters offered tips on which pitches caused them trouble and which ones should be shelved. Vicente Padilla, an infamous headhunter who's since been released, even drilled somebody. Ryan stood back and smiled, surprised by none of it.

Maddux noticed an unexpected benefit: His pitchers were being forced to concentrate far more than during a typical bullpen session. "We talk about concentration being one of the most important parts of the game, but we never practice it," he says. "You almost have to concentrate to concentrate. Well, here we were, practicing concentration without even realizing it."

The innovative Maddux also invented a job: utility pitcher. Jason Jennings is the first Ranger to hold the unofficial title, a distinction he describes by saying, "If the starter pulls a hamstring after one pitch, I'm the guy. And if a game goes 14 innings, I'm the guy." Jennings, a former Rookie of the Year and 16-game winner, is now human spackle, filling in the holes between the starters and the late-inning crew of Feliz, Wilson and Francisco. "The only 'utility' I'd heard of in baseball was 'utility infielder,' " says the 31-year-old Jennings. "But I'm glad to have the job. It's kept me in the big leagues."

Logically, the Rangers couldn't change the culture by concentrating solely on what they can get out of their bodies; they also had to address what they put into them. Wilson crusaded to improve the nutritional content of the food in the clubhouse, arguing that the traditional pre- and postgame fare of barbecue and Tex-Mex hampered the players' ability to stay strong and healthy during the oppressive summer months. He contended that if better food could translate into a 2% improvement on the field, it could be the difference between a nonplayoff and a playoff team. "Those carcinogens are terrible for you," he says, "especially in the heat." The team listened, and now tailors diets to individual players based on Vazquez's recommendations. (Outfielder David Murphy, for example, struggles to maintain weight in the heat, while barrel-chested reliever Eddie Guardado doesn't have that problem.) "There's nothing bad in there," Millwood says. "And surprisingly, it all tastes pretty good."

It hasn't all been perfect. Three of the five season-opening starters -- Brandon McCarthy, Matt Harrison and the departed Padilla -- have spent time on the disabled list, as has Francisco. But it's not like the Rangers have suffered a rash of injuries: They've used 22 pitchers this year, which matches the major league average. And while nobody said changing an entire culture would be easy, the results have been more than impressive. "One thing we knew for sure," Ryan says. "We couldn't keep doing what we were doing."

To return to Wilson's adage, the Rangers are closer to having a dozen pitchers running shoulder to shoulder away from the bear. He might get any one of them, or they all might get away.

mavspwnage · 08-26-2009, 03:22 PM

and here is the 2nd piece:

A different kind of 'Big D' in Texas
The Rangers' pitching has been good, but their glove work has been better

As Tim Keown explains in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine, the Texas Rangers appear to have finally figured out how to assemble a decent pitching staff. And on the surface, that's most certainly true. Texas has allowed the fewest runs in the American League, only one year after giving up the most in baseball.

However, in examining the Rangers' run prevention, it becomes abundantly clear that their improvement in keeping runs off of the board has a lot more to do with the guys standing behind the mound than the men standing on it.

As you can see, the Rangers have improved their strikeout and walk rates, which are sure signs of progress. However, their home run rate has stayed the same, and their ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio has actually gone down slightly. The big gains lie with the defense -- the same sort of gains that propelled the Tampa Bay Rays to a World Series appearance in 2008.

Michael Young's move to third has really helped the Rangers' defense.

Last year, Texas ranked last in the AL in both defensive efficiency (percentage of batted balls converted into outs) and Ultimate Zone rating. This year, the Rangers are second in the junior circuit in defensive efficiency and UZR. That improved defense is the driving force behind the 33-point improvement on batting average on balls in play, which is the biggest reason for their improved run prevention.

There was a lot of talk in the preseason about how much of an impact moving Michael Young off of shortstop would have on the Rangers. Turns out, it's had a huge effect. Young had an UZR of -5.8 last season, while Elvis Andrus, his replacement at short, has an UZR of 8.4. And while the Rangers have missed Josh Hamilton's bat for much of the season, they have not missed his glove. His UZR was -13.2 in center last year, while Marlon Byrd's UZR in center this year is -0.2. Also, after posting an UZR of -7.3 last year, Ian Kinsler has an UZR of 5.4 this season. It's hard to know if that is a result of his actually making strides on defense, or simply a statistical aberration, but that's a major improvement at three up-the-middle positions. And even if you don't buy into UZR, you can't argue with defensive efficiency. Simply put, the Rangers are converting far more batted balls into outs, and their pitchers are reaping the benefits.

The biggest beneficiary of this stout defense has been Kevin Millwood. Any talk of his late-career renaissance should probably be tabled, because his performance this season has actually been worse than last year by the most important measures: walk and strikeout rates.

Granted, he clearly wasn't helped by his defense last year, as evidenced by his BABIP of .359, but his peripherals have still gotten worse.

None of this is to say that the Rangers haven't made strides on the mound. As noted, their walk and strikeout rates are better, and for the first time in ages they actually have a number of promising young arms coming through the system. Derek Holland seems to be improving with every start, lowering his ERA in each of his past five. Tommy Hunter, a supplemental first-round pick out of Alabama in 2007, has a 2.45 ERA in 11 starts. Then there is Neftali Feliz, who might be the best of the bunch. The Rangers are breaking in the 21-year-old flamethrower as a reliever, and he has 19 K's and one walk in 8 relief appearances. And we haven't even gotten into Martin Perez, their 18-year-old phenom who was recently promoted to Double-A, or Kasey Kiker, his fellow southpaw holding it down in the Texas League for Frisco.

The Rangers' pitching has been a pleasant surprise this year, but their defensive strides have been far more remarkable. Just imagine how good they'll be when they can combine a dominant pitching staff with some killer D.

Five-ofan · 08-26-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Male28Dan

For the record, the way we used Holland worked out pretty well for us so far. I would like to see the same thing happen with Feliz. I just DO want to see it translate into a starter's role, if possible.

I know he can put his stamp on more games this way, but I want to also see the kid be given 100+ pitches to work with. Rules make sense with an arm like this, but EVENTUALLY the training wheels need to be removed and we need to see what this kid can do in a starter's role at the MLB level, assuming that is where the Rangers want him. Again, Holland is pitching great and will hopefully go above .500 today with regards to his record, and he had training wheels on earlier this year as well. I am only pointing out that I loved seeing them leave for Holland and will love seeing Feliz's leave just the same.

It probably won't happen this year, and maybe that helps his confidence heading into 2010, (it certainly lowers the opportunity for batters to see him a 2nd and 3rd time to try to figure him out and get some runs off of him), which is a good thing, but I sure wish I could see this absolute STUD perform sooner rather than later in a starter's role!!!

oh i want feliz to be a starter. Starters are a ton more valuable than relievers but i dont see any reason to turn him back into a starter right now. Next year? He needs to be in the rotation from the begining even if he has to start in AAA to do it.

Dim499 · 08-26-2009, 08:28 PM

Kinda weird to give a game away when you're only trailing by 2? Washington must know that bringing Jennings in is equal to forfeiting the game. McCartney was yelling "ballgame!" as he saw Jennings walking out from the pen.

Flacolaco · 08-26-2009, 08:45 PM

Quote:

bringing Jennings in is equal to forfeiting the game

This.

Five-ofan · 08-26-2009, 09:06 PM

btw lost in ron washington's lunacy was the play elvis made earlier in the game. There arent 10 short stops in baseball(overall not just defensively) id take over him even if age wasnt a factor. but the question i have on that play is where the hell was ian kinsler?

mavspwnage · 08-26-2009, 09:08 PM

Ortiz hit a walk off HR for Boston. Pretty bad day, ouch.

Five-ofan · 08-27-2009, 01:57 PM

this guy umping behind the plate is a joke.

GermanDunk · 08-27-2009, 03:20 PM

Congrats !

mavspwnage · 08-27-2009, 03:25 PM

no drama today baby!

HELLO WIN COLUMN! first home series loss for the Yanks in over two months. GO RANGERS!

92bDad · 08-27-2009, 03:50 PM

I continue to be amazed at the joy of this Rangers baseball season!!!

Hellow Win Column!!!

Keep focused on the goal...one game at a time, with the target of Winning the Division!!!

GermanDunk · 08-27-2009, 04:05 PM

Can a coach challenge a decision ?

Kirobaito · 08-27-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GermanDunk

Can a coach challenge a decision ?

The only thing coaches (managers) are allowed to formally challenge are whether balls are home runs or not. Each park has its own set of ground rules with regards to the walls, and so coaches can ask the umpires to go to the video to check to see whether a ball actually escaped the yard (rather than, perhaps, bouncing off the top of the wall and back in) or whether it was fair or foul.

Managers can go complain about safe/out calls, but that never really makes an umpire change his call. It is against the rules for coaches to argue balls and strikes, and is supposed to be an automatic ejection, even from the dugout. It rarely is when the manager complains from the dugout, and doesn't disrupt the flow of the game.

Flacolaco · 08-27-2009, 08:46 PM

Go White Sox!

mavspwnage · 08-27-2009, 09:25 PM

White Sox win 9-5! Thanks Chicago!

mavspwnage · 08-27-2009, 11:30 PM

It is new article time:

Rangers not afraid of big bad Yankees

also, the A's have a 2-0 lead on the Angels in the 7th. Go Oakland!!!!

mavspwnage · 08-28-2009, 12:07 AM

A's beat the Angels!! SWEEEET!

mkat · 08-28-2009, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavspwnage

A's beat the Angels!! SWEEEET!

i hope this is a sign that the angels are about to come back down to earth (no pun intended).

mavspwnage · 08-28-2009, 06:09 PM

speaking of the Angels, I just read they are close to getting Scott Kazmir from the Rays.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4429766

mavspwnage · 08-28-2009, 09:44 PM

the game tonight ends on a freakin BS strike 3 call on Davis. That was ball 4 outside and the bases should have been loaded. This stings bad.

Flacolaco · 08-28-2009, 10:54 PM

That ballpark is so unfriendly. So many well hit balls go for singles.

And the Red Sox win again. Like every other damn night.

The Rangers are dying a very, very slow death. At least it's not all that painful.

chumdawg · 08-28-2009, 10:58 PM

Aren't we just a couple games out of the wildcard? Lot of baseball to play, man!

Five-ofan · 08-29-2009, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavspwnage

speaking of the Angels, I just read they are close to getting Scott Kazmir from the Rays.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4429766

kazmir is pretty awful right now. A ton of his value was based on his ability to strike guys out which was tied to his fastball velocity. He still strikes out plenty to be successful but he walks a ton of guys too. He burned out his arm and that velo is gone. Dont get me wrong he could come back and end up being very good but this doesnt scare me much.

tcat075 · 08-29-2009, 09:24 AM

So...

Angels and Red Soxs rally from deficits to win. Angels acquire Kazmir, who owns us, and since he got traded, is bound for a revival. Likely will have an ERA under 2.00 the rest of the season. The Rangers get shut down to the tune of 1 run in 7 innings by a no-name pitcher. Then, the Rangers have two homers taken away due to the Metrodome's stupid bag that creates a high fence in right, instead getting a single and a double in the 8th and 9th on baseballs that are out of all other 29 ballparks. They take advantage of Nathan's struggles, walking twice to load the bases...except they don't, because ball 4 to Davis is called a strike despite being a good inch and a half out of the strike, ending the game.

I hate baseball right now.

Murphy3 · 08-29-2009, 09:38 AM

..it was more than an inch and a half...

mavspwnage · 08-29-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy3

..it was more than an inch and a half...

that's what she said

mavspwnage · 08-29-2009, 11:24 PM

Rangers win on great pitching. Also, the A's beat the Angels again. The Halos are realllly struggling right now. The only negative is that Boston won.