Texas Rangers

CaribbeanGreen · April 3, 2008

What OF prospects? We have Hamilton in center, Murphy justifying what he did last year and a team that worked all summer to trade Byrd to the Cubs but wanted a ransom in return (and almost got Merton and a pitcher for him.) What if Bradley, Byrd and Catalanotto become half of what we got for Closer Roids McGee and Lofton last year? I just don't see them blocking anyone close to ready right now and think they can easily be traded if the need presents itself. Mayberry is not close to ready and I don't think Boggs is either (he is running out of chances.) I think they want to solidify as much as they can through prospects and then open the pocketbook for a Matt Holliday or someone similar once they seem ready. Or use one of their 300 top catching prospects to fill in the gap.
Salty not playing pisses me off to no end. Laird may have a gun of an arm, but he has been the biggest pain of the young season for me so far.

I have to think this is just a showcase situation for Laird. The best thing that can happen is for Laird (and for that matter Bradley, Byrd, and F-Cat) to play lights out so we can move them before the deadline. In the meanwhile, Salty is getting time at OKC playing every day.

With Salty, Teagarden, and Ramirez in the system, Laird is the most expendable piece we have. The Rangers made a big mistake when they came out and said Salty would be the catcher, because it just destroyed Laird's trade value. Playing him now, you just hope he performs well enough for someone who needs help behind the plate to bite.

That's why it's exactly rebuilding to play a lot of these guys; odds are we're not going anywhere this year, so showcase the vets who aren't a part of your future, get some players back in return, load up the farm system even more, and turn the thing over to the kids midseason. Works for me.

e-bone ver2.awesome · April 3, 2008

What OF prospects?

If we don't have any OF prospects, that just leads me to believe even less in this "rebuilding project". I guess Botts used to be a prospect, but he was left to rot in the minors so long who knows if he will ever be any good.

Quoner · April 3, 2008

If we don't have any OF prospects, that just leads me to believe even less in this "rebuilding project". I guess Botts used to be a prospect, but he was left to rot in the minors so long who knows if he will ever be any good.

I was talking about AAA almost major league ready prospects - which we do not have. We have better depth than ever.

Texas has some really good OF prospects, but are all AA or lower.

If you want to track them, I recommend this site: http://rangers.scottlucas.com/site/org.htm. Newberg may be a crazy homer at time (which is actually what you want from a guy doing what he does), but he and Scott's report is solid informational gold.

Oh, and Botts is on the roster as a utility player.

FirefightnRick · April 3, 2008

And if you think that's simply because of the Ballpark, I've got some oceanfront property in Frisco I'd like to sell you.
The tradition of poor management, a barren farm system (until recently), and losing has been around here a lot longer than our very nice park. Short of money raping someone, this has never been a very desirable place for FAs to land. Again, I give you Coors Field, home of the NL champion, low payroll, good pitching Colorado Rockies.
using the Ballpark as an excuse is weak. We can't pitch on the road either. Pitching was a huge problem at Arlington Stadium. Pitchers who can pitch can pitch; certain types of pitchers thrive is certain environments. kenny Rogers was very successful here, a soft tossing, ground ball inducing lefty. He was better or as good here as he was in Yankee Stadium or the INSANELY pitcher friendly Comerica Park and Oakland Coliseum. Weak excuse.

Go back and re read my first post and show me where I said "SIMPLY", or as your using it. "SOLELY"? I never said that, I would never imply that and never will. But that's definately PART of it and everyone here knows that, and low and behold, that's THE main focus of the S.I. report on the Texas Rangers....Pitching, with a negative comment about the park itself. A better arguement might be that the other teams have to come in and play there too, but I didn't write the article.

Piss poor management IS the reason I may never live long enough to see a national pennant hanging in the Ball Park. But after 37 some odd years of management change after management change resulting in the same thing over and over again you'd figure something would have to give some day?

By the way, the discrepency between the highest paid club, New York at $206 plus Million and Florida at $21 Million is not "SIMPLY" killing pro baseball for me as a fan, but it's PART of it.

Rick

Edited April 4, 2008 by FirefightnRick

e-bone ver2.awesome · April 3, 2008

Oh, and Botts is on the roster as a utility player.

The next Jerry Hairston, that only plays 1 position... The rebuilding is complete.

I'm just not crazy about anything the Rangers are doing or have done over the past several years. I don't see any change any time soon. We might have some good prospects, but it seems we always have. However, that has always been mismanaged and players are left in too long, brought up too early or traded when they don't set the world on fire as soon as they are brought up. I enjoy going to games and will root for the Rangers, but I don't think we will ever have a winner under Tom Hicks.

UNTLifer · April 3, 2008

Except...a pitching prospect with better numbers. We also gave up Nick Masset, who's career is already flaming out.
Danks is 23 and went 6-13 with a 5.50 ERA last year.
McCarthy is 25 and went 5-10 with a 4.58 ERA last year.
Stop making me defend JD! It hurts my soul.

Danks starts the year strong.

From Yahoo! Sports

Monkeypox · April 3, 2008

Our minor league system hasn't been this highly rated in almost 20 years. I don't understand how anyone can say it seems like we always have solid prospects, when I can't remember a single time when there was anything like what we have now. The ceiling of the prospects we have now is decidedly higher. I don't like the presence of guys like Broussard or Cat, but other than Botts, I don't see any young players getting hurt by not playing in the majors right now. If they can't win the battle against the spares we run out on a regular basis, then they're AAAA players anyway. And, to be perfectly fair, Botts has a nasty hole in his swing and has nowhere he can play suitable defense, so while I agree that he's been left down far too long, he didn't make it as difficult a decision as it could've been, though I wish he could wrest some PT away from guys like Cat and Broussard, who bring very little to the team anyway.

We don't have any high minors OF prospects because the team HASN'T been properly committed to rebuilding in the past. If they HAD been, they'd have kept AGon and traded Tex, and whatever package we got for him a few years ago would already be up, and we might not have ever buried ourselves with MY's albatross contract. These were the kind of moves that Beane used to make before he went batsh*t ego crazy.

It was impatience initially with Volquez that forced their hand on him. He never should've been brought up the first time when he was walking 4-5 batters/9 IP in AAA. If they had left him where he was, he could've been given a proper developmental curve in the minors and we might not have had to push him all the way back to A ball this year, and we might've been able to come up with something else to get Hamilton. It's like those that want Hurley, right now, to be pitching in the majors, when he has plenty to work on in the meantime. It's like those who wish to see Salty in the majors now, despite the fact that he still has a lot to do to get his defensive game up to par, AND we have a young, serviceable starting catcher right now we're trying to drum up interest in.

It's not like either one of these guys has gotten the Botts treatment. Who else, Boggs? A 25-yr-old in AA last year? Mayberry, the predictable bust - a 1st round project OF out of college? A guy whose swing they had to re-work and still can't hit the ball?

On the Hamilton deal, the reality is that we have more pitching prospects than we do high ceiling OF prospects, and a guy like Hamilton (at one point, the #1 prospect in all of baseball), who is young and under control for a number of years and still has options, was about the best thing you could hope for. I hate hate hate having to deal pitching, and I'm not big on the risk factors with Hamilton, but this trade was about the relative strenghts and weaknesses of two organizations.

Quoner · April 3, 2008

Danks starts the year strong.
From Yahoo! Sports

Saw that and was about to post. This will be a fun one to track all season.

Monkeypox · April 3, 2008

Saw that and was about to post. This will be a fun one to track all season.

Yeah, this one hurts. Another mistake made because JD thought we could contend, so we needed a "more ML ready pitcher."

Green Mean · April 3, 2008

Yeah, this one hurts. Another mistake made because JD thought we could contend, so we needed a "more ML ready pitcher."

Well we did get Brandon McCarthy in return. I know he has had some injury problems since he's been here but he has been very solid and can be a solid number 2 or 3 for us in the future. I dont think we just gave up Danks for some chump change.

Quoner · April 11, 2008

Danks starts the year strong.
From Yahoo! Sports

Danks shits pants - Massett helps! From Tim MacMahon: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives...set-update.html

A sarcastic reader noted that we neglected to mention John Danks' last outing on this here blog.

And it was a doozy. Danks got rocked for seven runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings in the White Sox's 12-5 loss to the Twins on Wednesday. Nick Masset, who was included the the Danks-for-Brandon McCarthy deal, didn't fare much better. He allowed five runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Green Mean · April 11, 2008

The Rangers are over .500 for the first time in the Ron Washington era and probably much much longer than that. I see some fight in this team....not to think I expect postseason but its nice to see some wins early in the year.

UNTLifer · April 14, 2008

The Rangers are over .500 for the first time in the Ron Washington era and probably much much longer than that. I see some fight in this team....not to think I expect postseason but its nice to see some wins early in the year.

And then Toronto comes to town and sweeps the Rangers.

SUMG · April 15, 2008

Now at 5-8....with one more game with the Angels and then a tough road trip (Toronto, Boston, Detroit)....I suspect the Rangers have seen .500 for the last time this season.

And yes, I know Detroit has been bad so far. But they'll be fine when the Rangers get to Motown. Trust me.

Oh and one more thing: Too bad we didn't hire Trey Hillman last year---he's doing great with KC. Ron Washington...sucks.

NT80 · April 15, 2008

Now at 5-8....with one more game with the Angels and then a tough road trip (Toronto, Boston, Detroit)....I suspect the Rangers have seen .500 for the last time this season.
And yes, I know Detroit has been bad so far. But they'll be fine when the Rangers get to Motown. Trust me.
Oh and one more thing: Too bad we didn't hire Trey Hillman last year---he's doing great with KC. Ron Washington...sucks.

I want to revise my earlier vote on the Rangers record....down. This could be the worst team in baseball by the time it's all over this season.

KingDL1 · April 15, 2008

I want to revise my earlier vote on the Rangers record....down. This could be the worst team in baseball by the time it's all over this season.

Rangers have an early start, once again, to settle into an nice last place lead in the West, and I am sure they will give it their all to lead the American league in last soon enough. It would be nice if Hicks would find a DFW buyer for the Rangers.

UNTLifer · April 17, 2008

Rangers have an early start, once again, to settle into an nice last place lead in the West, and I am sure they will give it their all to lead the American league in last soon enough. It would be nice if Hicks would find a DFW buyer for the Rangers.

What a beautiful display of timely hitting in extra innings last night.

KRAM1 · April 17, 2008

I should not even comment on the Rangers, but i do think this is a rebuilding year and I think .500 baseball would be a "home run" for the team and the fans...the stadium is not the problem with the Rangers, but it has shown to be a bit of an unfriendly place for pitchers....that being said...I go back to the earlier comment on this thread about Coors field!

The Rangers problem...it seems to me...has always been one of ownership and management...not the stadium....but...what do I know about pro baseball other than it is not really my "thing".

Quoner · April 17, 2008

I should not even comment on the Rangers, but i do think this is a rebuilding year and I think .500 baseball would be a "home run" for the team and the fans...the stadium is not the problem with the Rangers, but it has shown to be a bit of an unfriendly place for pitchers....that being said...I go back to the earlier comment on this thread about Coors field!
The Rangers problem...it seems to me...has always been one of ownership and management...not the stadium....but...what do I know about pro baseball other than it is not really my "thing".

Good post - just to prove I don't always have to hound you

The team has a supposedly genius hitting instructor - and has not been able to hit since steroids became an issue in 2005

The team has a supposedly genius defensive manager - and cannot field to save their lives.

Any explanation?

Green Mean · April 17, 2008

Good post - just to prove I don't always have to hound you
The team has a supposedly genius hitting instructor - and has not been able to hit since steroids became an issue in 2005
The team has a supposedly genius defensive manager - and cannot field to save their lives.
Any explanation?

I've always thought Jaramillo was overrated. As for defense and fielding...I dont know how much to blame the team versus Ron Washington...I think this group of guys are just not getting it defensively. I know Mr. Washington is a "baseball man" and is all about "fundamentals" but he cant be to blame for this poor of a fielding and defensive job can he???

untgirl04 · April 21, 2008

And if you think that's simply because of the Ballpark, I've got some oceanfront property in Frisco I'd like to sell you.
The tradition of poor management, a barren farm system (until recently), and losing has been around here a lot longer than our very nice park. Short of money raping someone, this has never been a very desirable place for FAs to land. Again, I give you Coors Field, home of the NL champion, low payroll, good pitching Colorado Rockies.
using the Ballpark as an excuse is weak. We can't pitch on the road either. Pitching was a huge problem at Arlington Stadium. Pitchers who can pitch can pitch; certain types of pitchers thrive is certain environments. kenny Rogers was very successful here, a soft tossing, ground ball inducing lefty. He was better or as good here as he was in Yankee Stadium or the INSANELY pitcher friendly Comerica Park and Oakland Coliseum. Weak excuse.

I have to disagree about the farm system. AAA Oklahoma has won the AAA World Series quite a few times, and there's lots of talent to come out of there. The real problem is young player development (especially pitchers). Whenever a young pitcher would start to look solid in the minors, management would bring them up immediately to the Majors and put them in a poor situation.

I wonder if pitching coaches (even Orel Hersheiser) had something to do with a lack of free agent interest. The Rangers have had a veritable carousel of pitching coaches, and none of them seem to last all that long. I suppose Dick Bosman would be one of the longer-standing pitching coaches, but there were a lot of rumors that many of the pitchers didn't like him. And watching him out on the mound, you could tell... Another thing that might point to poor coaching is that many pitchers got a lot better when they left the team. See Wilson Alvarez, Kevin Brown, Johan Santana (I think that's who I'm thinking of... the guy who started the All-Star game for the White Sox the year after we traded him away).

If all Rangers pitchers were terrible only at home, but pitched well on the road, then I think you could make the Ballpark argument. But there are plenty of ballparks that are just as much for the hitters as ours.

I also think management did a poor job of pitching the team to the pitchers (forgive the pun). For a while there, we had one of the best infields in baseball with Young, ARod, Blalock, and Tex, and we had a stable of solid outfielders. It seems to me, if you go to a pitcher and say 'If you just let the ball get into play, we can almost guarantee outs for you - our guys don't make mistakes fielding. And we'll give you the run support you need to make you a 20-game winner.' I just don't see how a competitive pitcher would turn that down unless those facts haven't been pointed out, or there's something going on with management. Mark Cuban, forget the Cubs, please buy the Rangers.

Green Mean · April 21, 2008

In other news, the Rangers are down 8-0 to the Red Sox on way to a 4 game sweep. YIPEE!!

KingDL1 · April 21, 2008

Well that didn't take too long, just 20 games into the season and we are tied with Detroit for last in the American League. Although Detroit may give us some real competition for that apparently coveted last place spot.

Gerald Laird: I play for the Rangers.

Arlington Mayor: Here in Arlington? I didn't know they still had a team!

Gerald Laird: Yup, we've got uniforms and everything, it's really great!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Ranger have scored just one run in 4 of their first 20 games or 20% of the games so far, but at least they have not been shut out yet this year.

Eric Nadel: That's all we got, one goddamn run?

Assistant: You can't say goddamn on the air.

Eric Nadel: Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway.

CaribbeanGreen · April 21, 2008

I have to disagree about the farm system. AAA Oklahoma has won the AAA World Series quite a few times, and there's lots of talent to come out of there. The real problem is young player development (especially pitchers). Whenever a young pitcher would start to look solid in the minors, management would bring them up immediately to the Majors and put them in a poor situation.
I wonder if pitching coaches (even Orel Hersheiser) had something to do with a lack of free agent interest. The Rangers have had a veritable carousel of pitching coaches, and none of them seem to last all that long. I suppose Dick Bosman would be one of the longer-standing pitching coaches, but there were a lot of rumors that many of the pitchers didn't like him. And watching him out on the mound, you could tell... Another thing that might point to poor coaching is that many pitchers got a lot better when they left the team. See Wilson Alvarez, Kevin Brown, Johan Santana (I think that's who I'm thinking of... the guy who started the All-Star game for the White Sox the year after we traded him away).
If all Rangers pitchers were terrible only at home, but pitched well on the road, then I think you could make the Ballpark argument. But there are plenty of ballparks that are just as much for the hitters as ours.
I also think management did a poor job of pitching the team to the pitchers (forgive the pun). For a while there, we had one of the best infields in baseball with Young, ARod, Blalock, and Tex, and we had a stable of solid outfielders. It seems to me, if you go to a pitcher and say 'If you just let the ball get into play, we can almost guarantee outs for you - our guys don't make mistakes fielding. And we'll give you the run support you need to make you a 20-game winner.' I just don't see how a competitive pitcher would turn that down unless those facts haven't been pointed out, or there's something going on with management. Mark Cuban, forget the Cubs, please buy the Rangers.

Yeah, the AAA club has won some games over the years, but the number of prospects has been REALLY poor compared to the rest of baseball. It's a product of bad management from the top down for YEARS. Minor league records don't equate to big league prospects, unfortunately.