The Official Texas Rangers' 2006 Season Thread!

[Five-ofan]

The problem with Wilk(and i admit i bought into his hype) is that he swings and misses alot. Making contact is a skill you either have or you dont. Im not even talking about just strikeouts because you can strikeout without swinging and missing. He just swings and misses alot which means that he will always be a high strikeout guy.

[Just211]

that miss by Mench was terrible. And no error? I mean It looked a little difficult, but only because he made it.
And if his toe hurts so much he can't move around, then why keep him on the field. it's not like he's killing with the bat.
GMJ can't get back fast enough.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

The problem with Wilk(and i admit i bought into his hype) is that he swings and misses alot. Making contact is a skill you either have or you dont. Im not even talking about just strikeouts because you can strikeout without swinging and missing. He just swings and misses alot which means that he will always be a high strikeout guy.

Right, he does strikeout a lot. But striking out alot does not mean you can't be a leadoff guy. He's not a free swinger that strikes out, like Soriano. He's (traditionally) a very patient hitter, that sees a lot of pitches, that walks a lot and strikes out a lot. You can strike out a lot and still have a very nice OBP, which still makes you a good leadoff hitter.

Wilkerson will be fine.

[Five-ofan]

I know, but there are times when you need to put the ball in play and wilkerson cant do that on a consistent basis. OBP can be overrated and has become so. IE a guy with a 320 avg and a 400 obp is better than a guy with a 250 avg and a 410 obp. Walks are not always as good as a hit. They are never a negative but they arent always the positive that a hit is.

[Male30Dan]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

I know, but there are times when you need to put the ball in play and wilkerson cant do that on a consistent basis. OBP can be overrated and has become so. IE a guy with a 320 avg and a 400 obp is better than a guy with a 250 avg and a 410 obp. Walks are not always as good as a hit. They are never a negative but they arent always the positive that a hit is.

Walks are NEVER the positive that a hit is. I agree 100% that a 320 avg. with a 400 obp > than a 250 avg. with a 410 obp in most cases. The exception CAN BE if you are talking about the leadoff position.

With that said, assuming we call the 320 avg. guy player A and the 250 avg. guy player B - if Player A is leading off and getting those extra hits with no one on but not getting on base quite as much as Player B, does it really matter? Player B is getting on more frequently so that the big average and power guys behind him have a better chance to knock him in and the only thing going for player A is he is getting on more frequently with hits rather than walks. Again, does that really matter if he is getting hits without anyone on base, (this is assuming that the 7,8,9 guys aren't producing at a high clip - which Kinsler currently is)?

Bottom line, if a guy is getting on base more frequently from the leadoff position, it is a good thing. The only way you can view it as a negative is if he is coming to the plate with runners in scoring position and striking out a lot and only getting on base with rare hits and walks when no one else is on base. Even then though he is still doing his job as most leadoff hitters aren't asked to be big RBI guys. That is Young, Tex, Nevin, Blalock, and Mench's job!

[Five-ofan]

The thing is the game has changed. 7 8 and 9 hitters arent asked to hit 250 with no power anymore. They are asked to be legit hitters which leads to alot of rbi situations for leadoff hitters. Wilk happens to be a power hitter so its fine. Im fine with wilkerson but the fact is that you cant get a hit without the ball being in play so high strikeout guys are more prone to extended slumps than guys who continually put the ball in play. That is what we are seeing now. Eventually he will heat up but for now he cant get a ball in play.

[ames7]

Wilkerson batting 7th tonight. Brown leading off. Kinsler up to 6th.

[Murphy3]

Male23dan, there are instances in which not making contact is better than making contact. It's much harder to ground into a double play when you swing and miss.

But regardless, if Wilk can hit 25 HR's with a .260 avg and a .370 OBP, he's done his job regardless of where he's at in the lineup and regardless of how often he strikes out.

[ames7]

Nix...first hit of the year.

Whoa. Sac bunt, followed by a sac fly. Who are you & what have you done to the Rangers?!

[sixeightmkw]

OHHH MY GOD, Lance Nix got a hit and the Rangers bunted.
Hell is freezing over as we speak.

[jly]

don't forget the sacrifice fly. that too is a ranger rarity.

[Murphy3]

I'm so much not a fan of Buck...nice to see him actually use the bunt...that's a rarity.

[ames7]

Ok, wait. I was watching the Stars game for the first half of this game...what happened to Kinsler? Heard he got hurt? Is it serious? *superconcerned*

[Male30Dan]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Male23dan, there are instances in which not making contact is better than making contact. It's much harder to ground into a double play when you swing and miss.

But regardless, if Wilk can hit 25 HR's with a .260 avg and a .370 OBP, he's done his job regardless of where he's at in the lineup and regardless of how often he strikes out.

Murphy,

Give me the guy that puts the ball in play every single time. If you strike out, you have .## percent chance of reaching base, (on the few occasions in which the ball gets away from the catcher after a K), and if you put the ball in play you have exponentially increased the odds of reaching base. Sure, you could hit in a double play, but would you honestly prefer a K machine in that scenario over a guy that puts the ball in play like Young??? Like I said, give me the guy with great contact EVERY SINGLE TIME!

[Male30Dan]

What a shitty way to end the game. I am so SO sick of that fat punk Cordero walking batters, (and yes I know he actually hit Erstad, but even if it didn't graze his arm, it was still ball 4). His job is to close the game and the first thing he does is give teams a baserunner. Maybe we need him pitching the 8th inning and Otsuka closing! He just isn't the closer he was a couple of years ago and he seems to be getting worse every year.

It is very early and he might turn around and grab 40 straight saves, but I wouldn't bet my money on it! I feel really bad for Bauer too... Kid pitched good and deserved the win. Eh well, the Rangers are not 2-7 bad and they will eventually get back around .500! Surely Millwood will win a couple of games before the All-Star break!

Also, everyone cross your fingers regarding Kinsler. That would be a HUGE blow to our team if he were to go down for significant time!

[ames7]

Horrendous end to the game & then there's this:

Originally Posted by DMN

The Rangers...lost rookie second baseman Ian Kinsler with a dislocated left thumb. Kinsler, who is hitting .476, will likely be placed on the disabled list today. His full status won’t be known until he sees a hand specialist today. Doctors were not able to set the thumb back in place Tuesday night.

Rangers trainer Jamie Reed said the dislocation is high up on the thumb and isn’t likely to involve a ligament injury. A ligament tear would require surgery and likely keep Kinsler out three months. A simple dislocation may only cost him a month or so.

*primal scream*

edit: X-rays show no fracture or ligament damage. The Rangers' optimistic estimate is 2-3 weeks. GAH.

[dalmations202]

With the way they have been playing lately, should their new nickname be Hoover or Kirby?

[Male30Dan]

Definitely Kirby Dalm!!!

It sucks the hardest!

[Drbio]

DMN is now reporting Kinsler out for three weeks....Newberg says 2-3. Ugh.

[sixeightmkw]

this is falling apart. They suck.

[sike]

how predictable...

[sixeightmkw]

It is just really Ironic how starting pitching last night gives them a great outing, the rangers actually MANUFACTURE a run or two, everythinglooks good, and then the pitching fails and they lose. They can win either way.

[jthig32]

On a positive note, there's nowhwere to go but up....

Kinsler going down completely drepressed me.

[sixeightmkw]

or staying at the bottom whollowing in the mud.

[Just211]

a win would've really helped last night. Good pitching, moving runners to get insurance runs, good defense, trying to steal bases(although that turned out to be unforunate), and then we blow it. It was like a real baseball game, using pitching and Strategy, not just praying the bats would get it done, then we screwed it up.
It's like Buck finally decided to coach, and now he will probably be discouraged, Kinslers hurt trying to steal, and Bullpen blew it. Just perfect

[Just211]

alright a W. bats woke up, and theres only one reason why.
GMJ
A friend and I joked all of last year that the Rangers only won when GMJ was on the field, so I guess that'll keep going.

[sixeightmkw]

bought freakin time they won a damn game. They still suck and they will be well below .500 until they start hitting more that just home runs.

[jly]

sweet, we won't lose tonight

i still have faith that the rangers will turn it around soon. as fast as they lost 10 games in a row last year, i feel they can win 10 in a row this year.

[Just211]

I have faith the Rangers will surprise some people. They have started slow, but it's mainly do to the bats not the pitching. They've only had 3 real bad outings in 10 games. For the Rangers, I'll take that. But eventually you'd have to think the bats will come around and support the pitching.

[ames7]

Looks like CJ Wilson is ready. Scott Feldman likely to be going down, since he's the only one who has options left. I think Feldman's looked pretty good, but he blew through the minors & it wouldn't hurt for him to get a little more seasoning in OKC. He'll be back up later. It'll be good to get another lefty in the pen & return Shouse to his rightful role of never seeing more than 2 batters in a game, ever.

I predict we see encouragement from Millwood tonight.

[Male30Dan]

Originally Posted by ames7

Looks like CJ Wilson is ready. Scott Feldman likely to be going down, since he's the only one who has options left. I think Feldman's looked pretty good, but he blew through the minors & it wouldn't hurt for him to get a little more seasoning in OKC. He'll be back up later. It'll be good to get another lefty in the pen & return Shouse to his rightful role of never seeing more than 2 batters in a game, ever.

I predict we see encouragement from Millwood tonight.

I predict that is a big prediction after his first two games! We shall see I guess!

[Murphy3]

Millwood has been a good pitcher for a long time in this league. She's not going out on a limb at all.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Millwood has been a good pitcher for a long time in this league. She's not going out on a limb at all.

True dat, double true!

[Five-ofan]

actually the degree to which he has sucked makes it a very easy prediction.

[Male30Dan]

Personally, I think it is going out on a limb based on his level of suck in his first two outings:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/player...?playerId=3687

The only positive thing is that he has only surrendered one home run for all 10 of those runs. He sure needs to start pitching better, but rest assured, if he doesn't, you will hear from me a bit later tonight!

His pedigree is there, but we have seen in the past that this can't always determine a pitcher being able to pitch well in Arlington. Some guys just struggle, but with him, I really hope he succeeds. This is the guy that WANTED to pitch here, so I WANT him to do well. Of course 3 or 4 more starts where he gives up more runs than innings pitched can certainly change that real quick!

[Drbio]

Keep the faith. Nice prediction ames. I concur.



Dan is just pissy because I took away his precious Railway Line game title.

[Male30Dan]

Originally Posted by Drbio

Keep the faith. Nice prediction ames. I concur.



Dan is just pissy because I took away his precious Railway Line game title.

That is easy to say when in a Mavericks' Gameday Thread when we are down 10 to Boston or Milwaukee; however, in baseball, we pretty much ARE the Boston/Milwaukee which makes it that much more of a stretch to "have faith"!

With that said, I do have faith, but if he continues his current ways, I will begin to lose said faith IN HIM!

Regarding your game comment, I am already at 4 million and I will have it back by the end of next week. I will also keep another running JUST FOR YOU!

[Male30Dan]

Nice 1st Millwood!

[Drbio]

Dan....I will be knocking you out of the top ten soon. I mean completely out. Enjoy.


Besides...we know your computer will crash.

[ames7]

Well I know I, personally, am encouraged. I especially liked the DPs to get out of his two trouble innings. The other major positive is they worked Huston Street over in a non-save situation & there's a day game tomorrow. So all in all, really good game tonight.