SB Nation - Tommy Hunter

Sunday morning Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:47:02 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

2 months ago: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Tommy Hunter adjusts his cap during the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners of a baseball game in Seattle on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009. Hunter was pulled from the game in the inning as the Mariners went on to win 2-1. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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Last game of the season today. Which I felt the need to mention, since some of you might not be aware of that.

Anthony Andro says Tommy Hunter was tipping his pitches last night, and the Rangers didn't catch any breaks, in losing 2-1 to Seattle.

Pudge Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, and Andruw Jones all want to come back next season. Pudge and Vizquel, I think could well be back. Andruw, probably not.

Ray Buck has a story on Neftali Feliz, who he says is the Rangers most promising pitching phenom since David Clyde. While it may be nitpicking, I'd take issue with that, as I'm not sure either Clyde or Feliz was more promising than Eddie Correa, who, as I mentioned in the game day thread last night when Tom Grieve compared Feliz to Correa, was younger when he threw his final pitch as a major leaguer than Feliz was when he threw his first pitch as a major leaguer.

Jeff Wilson lists the needs the Rangers have to address for next year, although he indicates most of them will have to be fulfilled from within. Wilson also mentions that the Rangers may look at C.J. Wilson in the rotation next year.

And Jan Hubbard has a piece about how a solid season from the Rangers this year resulted in a lot less talk about how TBIA is keeping the team from succeeding.

MONDAY HALOLINKS: Kendry Morales Tops 100

WiHaloFan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:10:09 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Up next for Angels: Monday vs. Texas -- latimes.com
A victory by the Angels in the first game of a four-game series will clinch the AL West title. Ervin Santana vs. Tommy Hunter

Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels - Recap - September 27, 2009
Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Angels snapped their first four-game losing streak of the season with a 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Morales had three hits and Mike Napoli also homered for the Angels (91-64), who blew most of an early five-run lead before hanging on for their first victory since last Monday, putting them on the brink of their fifth AL West title in six years.

Angels snap losing streak - OCRegister.com
"You want to take care of your own house, your own business. It's something we haven't done a great job of doing this month. … You have to earn it. We still have to earn it."

Rangers-Angels Preview - FOX Sports on MSN
Los Angeles will start Ervin Santana (7-8, 5.46 ERA), who may be pitching for a spot in the club's postseason rotation. Santana is 0-2 with a 3.82 ERA in his last six outings.Santana lost his lone start this year against the Rangers, yielding five runs over four innings July 8 in an 8-1 loss. He fell to 4-2 with a 4.89 ERA in six career home starts against them.

Video highlights from yesterday's game:

Morales' bat leads Angels past A's - angelsbaseball.com
Daily Recap: Kendry Morales collected three RBIs to support Joe Saunders and his six innings of three-run ball against the A's

Napoli jacks a solo homer to left field - MLB.com
Mike Napoli jacks a solo homer to left field for the Angels

Morales laces a two-run homer to right field - MLB.com
Kendry Morales smacks a two-run homer to right field

Figgins makes strong throw home for the out - MLB.com
Chone Figgins makes a nice throw home to nail Eric Patterson

Team Reports - CBSSports.com
Angels manager Mike Scioscia hadn't seen a four-game losing streak all season. When he saw one Saturday, he decided it was time to close the clubhouse doors and talk to his team. "You have to get back to that in-house, pitch-to-pitch mentality," Scioscia said Sunday when asked what his message to the team was. "Sometimes guys might have been trying to chew off too much at a time. Not one guy is going to carry us to our goal. But some guys might be thinking they're going to be that one guy. "That was the gist of what we talked about."

Team Reports II - CBSSports.com
C Mike Napoli's home run in the fourth inning Sunday was his 62nd as a catcher. That breaks a tie with Bengie Molina and Lance Parrish for the most home runs by an Angels catcher.

It's one away from playoffs for Angels now -- latimes.com
No more complicated mathematical formulas, no more magic numbers, no more scoreboard watching. Win one more game against the Texas Rangers and they capture their fifth American League West title in six seasons. "The challenge is very clear," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "We need to win a game. That's it."

Weekend Buzz: Father's death strengthens Molina brothers' bond - CBSSports.com Baseball
"That's a special family, you know?" says Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria, who has been a teammate of both Bengie (this year) and Yadier (2004, in St. Louis). "And they've had such a rough year." Yes, sadly, this fall is a particularly emotional one for the Molinas. Their father, Benjamin, passed away suddenly in their native Puerto Rico last October. He died doing what he loved, tending to the baseball field he had built for the children in his hometown. He was stricken with a heart attack while on that field. "All of his life, he was there for us," Jose says. "That's the reason we're here."

Angels are really playing the field -- latimes.com
Angels' productive offense has overshadowed a defense that ranks third in the AL. Even first baseman Kendry Morales, who was new to his position, has proven reliable with the glove.

The Five Biggest Problems for the LA Angels Right Now - Bleacher Report
The Angels for years now have been a great regular season team that struggles in the playoffs. It’s smelling that way again. They peaked early, and now they look like a team playing uphill. They need to get their focus back, their patience at the plate back, and soon.

rallymonkeys: Abreu in exclusive company
Abreu reached another personal milestone in a season loaded with them on Saturday night: 100 RBIs for the seventh year in a row. Only Albert Pujols has done that, but Abreu was reasonably certain a former teammate - Alex Rodriguez - would be joining them shortly.

As a rookie, ace in the making - angelsbaseball.com
"I just remember having a feeling going into the World Series with him on the mound that was different," Kennedy, the intensely driven second baseman of the Angels' 2002 championship outfit now with Oakland, was saying in the visitors' clubhouse at Angel Stadium.

September 28 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on September 28.
1974 - Nolan Ryan pitches his third of seven career no-hitters, striking out 15 batters and beating the Minnesota Twins, 4 - 0, at Anaheim Stadium. He also walks eight to run his season total to 202 base on balls, joining Bob Feller in 1938 as the only pitcher to walk more than 200 in a season. Ryan will again top 200 in 1977.
1975 - For the first time in MLB, four pitchers share a no-hitter when Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers of the Oakland Athletics combine to no-hit the California Angels, 5 - 0, on the final day of the season.
2008 - The Angels set a franchise record with 100 wins with a 7-0 romp of the Rangers. They finish with the best MLB record of 2008.

Poll

What is your biggest concern heading into the play-offs?

Inconsistent bullpen

161 votes

Slumping hitters

201 votes

Facing the Red Sox

146 votes

508 votes | Poll has closed

Monday morning Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:44:09 -0000

BP says the Rangers' odds of making the playoffs dropped from about 21% to about 14% from this time yesterday.

I am reminded of the episode of the Simpson's, where Homer is having a barbecue, and the pinnacle is the roast suckling pig on a grill. Lisa, who has recently converted the vegetarianism, is appalled by the meat-eating, and ends up rolling the grill away. The grill crashes through a hedge.

Homer: It's just a little dirty. It's still good, it's still good! [Grill passes through traffic, jumps a bridge and the pig lands in the water.] It's just a little slimy, it's still good, it's still good! [It gets caught in a dam spillway, and when the pressure builds, it shoots into the sky.]

Homer: It's just a little airborne, it's still good, it's still good!

Bart: [Crestfallen.] It's gone.

Homer: I know.

I don't feel that we as Rangers fans holding out hope for the playoffs are at the "It's just a little airborne" stage -- more like, "It's just a little slimy." But Texas is rapidly approaching the point where they are going to need to go at least 5-2 against Anaheim to stay in the race.

A split yesterday, with Tommy Hunter doing his thing in game 1, and Derek Holland continuing to struggle in game 2. Holland continues to go through growing pains in the rotation, although given the way King Felix shut down the bats in game 2, it didn't make a lot of difference how well Holland pitched.

Jeff (the writer) Miller has some post-game thoughts, as well.

Kevin Millwood, meanwhile, may have his next start skipped -- he threw on the side yesterday with Mike Maddux in an effort to work on some mechanical issues. Skipping Millwood would mean Hunter would go on Friday in the first game of the Anaheim series, with Scott Feldman and Brandon McCarthy presumably pitching the weekend games.

Anthony Andro writes about the things the Rangers did to kill time during the rain delays, and Marlon Byrd said Saturday night's game was the worst conditions he's played in in the majors.

Series Preview: Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers

Jeff — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:35:46 -0000

Seattle: 72-69
Texas: 79-60

SUMMARY

	MARINERS	RANGERS	EDGE
HITTING (wOBA)	-88.9	-16.3	TEX
FIELDING (UZR)	65.7	41.1	SEA
ROTATION (pRAA)	-27.8	-45.9	SEA
BULLPEN (pRAA)	-26.0	2.3	TEX
OVERALL(RAA)	-77.0	-18.8	Texas

"How the hell are we winning this season series?" he asked himself about the Mariners and Angels a few days ago. Well, that righted itself in a jiffy. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, Texas can't be too mad that we took 9 of 19 from LAnaheim, especially since we're just 4-9 against the Rangers, but even so, that sweep could not have been timed any worse. On the plus side for them, at least they can also focus on the wild card.

The last time these two teams met, they were pretty evenly matched. Since then the Rangers have gone 20-16 with a +31 run differential while the Mariners have gone 18-18 with a -13 run differential. While Seattle's only bright spot over the past ~month has been defense, Texas has been about average or better at everything, turning itself into a more legitimate contender. They've been able to stay with Boston, and while no one would tell you that Texas is the better team, it's no longer a laughable suggestion, and the completely retarded decision to drop John Smoltz (and Brad Penny) and add Paul Byrd didn't do the Red Sox any favors. Even if the Angels maintain their buffer zone, the Rangers have plenty reason to hope. They've made up two games in nine days, and with a lot of Seattle and Oakland left on the schedule, they could rocket up in a hurry.

GAMES

Game 1: Brandon Morrow vs. Kevin Millwood
Game 2: Doug Fister vs. Derek Holland *
Game 3: Felix Hernandez vs. Tommy Hunter

The Mariners may not be a lot of fun to watch right now, but at least all of their starters are interesting. There's no telling what we should expect from Morrow, and my inclination is to suggest that he'll still be the same inconsistent conundrum he's always been, but on the other hand Millwood kinda sucks, so the first game isn't totally hopeless. I can't tell you how nice it would be to have Russell Branyan back. Jose Lopez should never be a team's biggest power threat. It's a shame about Griffey's sorry carcass.

I'd say game 2 should be Fister's greatest test, but then he did already take care of the Yankees, so who knows. It won't be easy. Opposing him is the 22 year old Holland, who's put up good K and BB numbers as a starter but gotten slaughtered by dingers. A quick glance at his splits reveals an oddly better K/BB against righties than lefties but also an extraordinary righty home run rate, so I'm not yet sure what to make of his changeup. I bet it's "presently inconsistent but promising." As a man who makes his living standing on a hill and throwing balls at another man in a mask, he should have what it takes to toss six or seven strong innings.

Tommy Hunter's a big sweaty fat guy who spends a lot of time in the high 80s. Though right-handed, his numbers across the board are a virtual carbon copy of Jarrod Washburn's. Well isn't that something.

Friday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:25:21 -0000

by Tony Dejak - AP

3 months ago: Texas Rangers' Ivan Rodriguez looks up after running the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Fausto Carmona in the first inning in a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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I'm going to stop saying "big series" or "big game," because they are all big right now.

Jeff Wilson writes that the Rangers have set their rotation for the final stretch, with Kevin Millwood, Scott Feldman, and Tommy Hunter all getting five starts apiece, and Brandon McCarthy and Derek Holland getting four.

Evan Grant has a lengthy piece up looking at the performance of Ron Washington this season.

Randy Galloway has a column celebrating Nolan Ryan and Mike Maddux turning the Rangers around by fixing their pitching.

Game 138: Rangers 11, Indians 9

Ryan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:25:50 -0000

by Mark Duncan - AP

Carlos Carrasco, throwing his Super G ball.

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After the Indians were quickly down 5-1, the offense scored eight more runs, but today the bullpen couldn't keep the Rangers down. Carlos Carrasco again couldn't throw strikes, and had to be pulled after five innings. The right-hander allowed 11 baserunners and two more home runs.

The lineup, meanwhile, solved Tommy Hunter. In his last start against the Indians, Hunter threw 7.2 scoreless innings. Tonight the Indians tagged Hunter for eight hits in 5.1 innings of work. Rangers manager Ron Washington pulled Hunter in the sixth, replacing him with young phenom Neftali Feliz, who in his short career has dominated opposing hitters. But tonight's results seemed to go against the grain, and the Indians plated both of Feliz's inherited runners in the sixth, and scored a run off him in the seventh.

But the Rangers kept scoring runs, and although the Indians tied the game in the sixth, they never relinquished the lead. Marlon Byrd ended Chris Perez's long scoreless streak by blasting a three-run homer in the top of the seventh.

Next Up: Game Two, minutes from now.

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Travis Hafner	.172	Chris Perez	-.278
Michael Brantley	.160	Carlos Carrasco
Matt LaPorta	.081	Jhonny Peralta	-.190

Saturday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:19:36 -0000

More photos » by Andy King - AP

3 months ago: Texas Rangers relief pitcher Pedro Strop throws in the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins in a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy King)

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I couldn't watch the game last night. Our power went out at 6:30 last night, didn't come on until 1 a.m., then went out again at 5:30 this morning and has been out since. So I had to follow on my Blackberry.

However, the Gamecast thing on my Blackberry seemed to think that the called strike three that ended the game wasn't close to being a strike. That seemed to be the consensus from folks here who were commenting, as well.

And Jeff Wilson writes that David Murphy was sure he had a game-tying home run in the ninth, on his double that bounced off the top of the baggie in right field.

Evan Grant commends Tommy Hunter and Pedro Strop for shutting down the Twins after a three run first inning.

Wilson also has some injury updates on Marlon Byrd (who, it sounds like, won't be playing this weekend), Eddie Guardado, and Brandon McCarthy, who could be replacing Dustin Nippert in the rotation.

Ron Washington is going to throw out the first pitch today at the Metrodome, as the Twins have been honoring former players and team personnel in the Metrodome's last season.

The Angels have acquired Scott Kazmir, after having been rumored to have gotten him, then having reports coming out that said the deal was dead.

I know some folks are upset about what this does to the Rangers' chances in the A.L. West this year, but given that Texas is 5 games out with a month to go, I don't see that it makes much difference there. The Angels are rolling the dice that this has been an off-season for Kazmir, that he'll bounce back the next couple of years, when he's going to be making a significant amount of money. There seem to be some questions surrounding Kazmir's health and whether or not he's a reasonable bet going forward.

Tuesday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:36:10 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

4 months ago: Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz delivers to the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 8-5. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Solid win last night, although it seems to be overshadowed by the Matt Purke fallout.

Purke apparently turned down a $4 million signing bonus to go to TCU. $4 million would have been the 5th highest bonus given to anyone in the first round this year. That's a lot of money for him to walk away from, and for the Rangers to offer.

But that's the risk you run when you take guys like Purke. If it weren't for signability concerns, there's no way he would have been sitting there at #14. The Rangers offered well over-slot to get him to sign, and took him apparently believing that they could get a deal done without going all Porcello on him. It didn't work.

But if you want the Rangers to grab a guy sliding over "signability," you have to be prepared to occasionally lose a guy like this.

Make no mistake, this is a hit to the system. The Rangers will have a compensatory pick at #15 in 2010 (#16, if the Royals don't sign Aaron Crow), but since they don't get a compensatory pick if they don't sign that guy, they aren't likely to go with a risky sign. Whoever they take at #15 isn't going to be as highly regarded as Matt Purke.

Anyway, moving on to the playoff race...Anthony Andro writes that Tommy Hunter was a little shaky, but was bailed out by the offense last night.

We've said all season, just wait until Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler start hitting...well, those guys are hitting, and all of the sudden, this offense looks a lot more formidable than it did a couple of weeks ago. And is about to have Nelson Cruz back...

Josh Hamilton hit third last night, with Ron Washington wanting to break up the string of lefties against Francisco Liriano, but it may be permanent, or it may not. No one seems to know.

Jim Reeves writes that, while we are justifiably excited about the wave of arms coming up, the less-heralded trio of Dustin Nippert, Tommy Hunter, and Scott Feldman are winning games and contributing to the Rangers success now.

Joaquin Benoit threw yesterday for the first time all year, although it doesn't seem like he's going to be an option for anyone before 2010, and he's a free agent after this season.

Liriano gets bombed, Twins lose 8-5

Jon Marthaler — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:48:39 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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The hardest thing for Twins fans to take about the team's recent woes may not be all the losing, though the team did drop its twelfth out of sixteen games to the Rangers. The manner of the losses, however, is pretty galling; it seems like Minnesota has spent the entirety of August behind 6-1, or 7-3, or 9-1. Every once in awhile, the sun breaks through the clouds and the team wins 11-0, but otherwise August has been a steady parade of relief pitchers and crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

We will not speak much of Francisco Liriano in the game recap, because the title of this story and his line (2 IP, 7 H, 7ER, 2 BB, HBP) tell you all you need to know. You can already picture his start - wild as hell, falling off the mound, throwing sliders that nearly ended up in dugouts, while a steady diet of Ranger hitters waited for the inevitable fastball down the center of the plate before pounding the ball.

Justin Morneau left the game with "dizziness," according to the team's broadcasters, and one could be forgiven for chalking this up to battle fatigue.

The Twins fell behind 7-2 after two innings, and though they later strung together a few hits and runs to get within 7-5, they could come no closer. Despite the much-improved Texas pitching staff, mid-summer games in Arlington always seem to follow the same script: it's hotter than the inside of a pottery kiln at game time, both starters get bombed early, and the game turns into the Dallas Invitational Batting Practice and Relief Pitching Competition. Rangers starter Tommy Hunter got the win, tossing 5.2 innings but throwing enormous numbers of pitches to get through that short stint, walking three and working from behind against seemingly every hitter.

On the bright side, of course, there is Joe Mauer. There will always be a ray of sunshine on Mauer's spot in the box score, it seems. Mauer homered in the first, giving the Twins a short, hopeful 1-0 lead. He doubled and scored in the sixth, touching off the Minnesota rally that moved them within two. He singled and - improbably - stole second base in the seventh, but died there. Those eight bases he gained were nearly as many as his teammates put together, who managed three singles, a double, and six walks.

Ultimately, though, there's too much for Mauer and his teammates to fight against every night. No team can win, starting from six or seven runs behind every night. And with the team's starting pitchers struggling to get all the way to the fourth inning, the team is headed nowhere but down.

UPDATE: Liriano will head to the disabled list with a "tired arm," which I suppose is code for any number of things, including "inability to control emotions" and 'inability of manager to keep patience with failures for longer than two innings at a time."

Thursday a.m. Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:13:42 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

4 months ago: Texas Rangers left fielder Julio Borbon makes a diving catch to take a hit away from Cleveland Indians' Shin-Soo Choo in the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, in Cleveland. The Rangers beat the Indians 5-0. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Jeff Wilson writes that Tommy Hunter pitched backwards yesterday, relying more on his curve and then using his fastball, rather than the other way around. Whatever it was, it certainly worked.

Nelson Cruz is apparently close to being ready to return, and could be back in the lineup today.

Esteban German is glad to be back in the majors.

Ian Kinsler only played seven innings last night in his rehab start at Frisco, but him leaving early reportedly wasn't health related.

And T.R. Sullivan writes about the way Doug Mathis has carved out a role in the Ranger pen.