SB Nation - Dustin Nippert

Monday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:45:03 -0000

Yankees/Phillies in the World Series. Could be worse. Should be an interesting matchup...Yankees are significant favorites, but anything can happen in seven games in baseball.

Richard Durrett talks about the Rangers' long relief options, and thinks that Dustin Nippert and Doug Mathis -- the primary long relievers in 2009 -- will fill that role again in 2010.

T.R. Sullivan has a new mailbag column up, and fields a question on C.J. Wilson in the rotation next year, although he doesn't really give a definitive answer. He also talks about some reasons for Rudy Jaramillo's departure, and the possibility of Fernando Tatis coming back.

And BBTiA looks at the pitch f/x data for Tanner Scheppers.

Padilla takes his turn against No Hit boy Jonathan Sanchez

Phil Gurnee — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:00:34 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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Current Series

Dodgers lead the series 1-0

Fri 09/11	WP: Hiroki Kuroda (6 - 6) LP: Matt Cain (13 - 5)	10 - 3 win
Los Angeles Dodgers True Blue LA @ San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles Saturday, Sep 12, 2009, 6:05 PM PDT AT&T Park Vicente Padilla vs Jonathan Sanchez Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Kuroda Dazzles in Rout of the Giants posted by Brendan Scolari about 8 hours ago 2 comments \| 0 recs "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out" - September 12 posted by Eric Stephen about 10 hours ago 7 comments \| 0 recs Complete Coverage >
Sun 09/13		1:05 PM PDT

In game one of the series the Dodgers took care of business on the mound, and at the plate but the Rockies staged another comeback win, and this time even the Rockies Bloggers didn't believe in miracles. So we head into game two of this series still only two games a head of the Rockies.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be Vincente Padilla who in three starts for the Dodgers has been surprisingly effective for a guy cast off by a team in desperate need of pitching. Did the Rangers cut off their nose to spite their face when they ejected Padilla? His teammates were happy to see him leave, and they have put on a nice run for the postseason since he left but one wonders if they couldn't have used his arm instead of the likes of Dustin Nippert.

Padilla's opponent will be Jonathan Sanchez who came out of the bullpen to throw a no-hitter on July 10th, and has been very effective since. He's a bit of a strikeout machine and has K'd 86 in only 68 innings in 11 starts since the no-hitter, with an ERA of 2.75. Andre will be neutralized in this game (3/19) so Kemp/Manny/Road Loney will need to step up. Furcal is 0/9 but Hudson has done a little damage against him.

Amid all the talk about Loney's road home runs last night the first inning double he hit about as far as you can hit a ball into right center and not get a home run. James now has a .982 OPS in Sept and history has shown that he loves Sept so maybe more good things are about to happen. His career OPS in Sept is .915 a good 150 points higher then his career Aug OPS.

The Isotopes season is over as they got swept in three games by the minor league affiliate for the Cardinals, the Memphis Redbirds. Let us hope that is not an omen for our postseason. We do not know yet if any of the Isotopes on the forty man roster will get promoted such as Abreu, DeWitt, Paul, Wade, Ohman, Leach, Stults, or Hu. Or maybe the Silverwidow suprise Josh Lindblom who has been the most effective Isotope pitcher.

The Loons however advanced to the 2nd round with a stirring extra inning victory. Odgen now starts their playoffs with Galvez/Ruggiano/Webster trying to win a Pioneer League Championship.

Dodgers vs Giants coverage

McCovey Chronicles

One-Two-Three-youre-out-contest

Dodger Notes:

►The Dodgers are 26 games above .500, and a win tonight would put the club a season-high 27 games above the break-even point for the third time. Los Angeles was also 27 up at 61-34 on July 22 and at 62-35 on July 25.

►The Dodgers are off to their best 142-game start since 1985, when they were an identical 84-58. The 1985 team lost its 143rd game, so a win tonight would give Los Angeles its best start since 1978, when it was 85-58.

TURNING IT ON – The Dodgers have scored five or more runs in four of their last six games beginning September 5 (35 total) after failing to score at least five runs in each of their previous six games from August 30-September 4 (15 total). Los Angeles is 4-2 in its last six games.

►The Dodgers are 58-10 when scoring five or more runs, including 10 such wins in a row.

►The Dodgers are batting .300 (42-for-140) with six homers and 25 runs scored in four games on the road trip thus far.

►The Dodgers have hit 23 home runs in their last 17 games beginning August 25, tied for the most in the National League with Philadelphia in that time.

KEEPING THEM IN IT – Dodger pitchers have given up five runs or less in 30 consecutive games beginning August 10, posting a Major League-best 2.68 ERA (81 ER/272.1 IP) overall in that span. In 28 of those 30 games, Dodger pitchers have allowed four runs or less, including 10 contests in a row. Los Angeles last gave up more than five runs in a game on August 9 vs. Atlanta , an 8-2 setback. Despite the sterling ERA, the Dodgers are just 17-13 in their last 30 games.

BEING BULLISH – The Dodgers’ bullpen has allowed only four runs (two earned) in its last nine games (23.1 innings) for a 0.77 ERA in that time. Dodger relievers have a 1.17 ERA (10 ER/76.2 IP) in their last 25 games beginning August 16. The Dodgers have a Major League-best 3.11 bullpen ERA (168 ER/486.0 IP). The next-closest team is San Francisco and its 3.61 bullpen ERA (158 ER/393.2 IP).

Wednesday a.m. things

Adam J. Morris — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:36:00 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

4 months ago: Texas Rangers relief pitcher Dustin Nippert screams into his glove as he comes off the field after giving up five runs to the Cleveland Indians in the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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That was a Padilla-esque outing from Dustin Nippert last night, stretches of dominance with one awful inning mixed in. Although given the way the Rangers were swinging the bat last night, even if that meltdown could have been contained, it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Jeff Wilson's game story focuses on Nippert's outing and how one inning messed it up for him.

Ian Kinsler starts a two-game rehab stint today, and is expected to be activated Friday for the game against Boston. I'm guessing that Julio Borbon gets sent down if Nelson Cruz's ankle is better.

Rajai the new Marco - A's Walk off with Wild Win

67MARQUEZ — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:24:50 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

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A's 3, Rangers 2

And you all wondered why Raj wasn't in the starting lineup.

"Geren told me, ‘We're going to use you late'", a winded Davis told Ray Fosse and Glen Kuiper following a two-run, walk-off three-bagger that completed an improbable three-run rally in the ninth.

But me and Raj, well, we've been here before, haven't we?

For awhile it was a nifty display of nothingness. Until the ninth, that is.

The A's nearly wasted yet another in a string of stellar performances by Brett Anderson, falling victim to a 1-2 punch of Dustin Nippert and Neftali Feliz, who made his big-league debut. Cameo appearances by Frank Francisco, Eddie Guardado , and Darren O'Day, were seemingly for tease effect, until the A's cracked the Rangers' sixth pitcher of the night, CJ Wilson.

Anderson set the tone early with a 1-2-3 first inning that was so effortless and swift, most of the 10,523 fans that bothered to purchase a ticket were still getting comfortable.

Kurt Suzuki singled with one out in the bottom half, noteworthy only because the A's next knock came two hours later.

Nippert, who has taken this reliever-turned-starter thing to heart, allowed just that one hit and two walks in five frames of near-perfect work. He struck out five batters, before giving way to Feliz, who surely made his teammates happy with a six-up, six-down outing in which he hit triple figures on the radar gun while striking out the four first batters he's ever faced in the majors. Welcome to the show, kid.

The Rangers got to Anderson for a run in the fifth, and were fortunate to get that one. A pair of singles wrapped around a walk on a close 3-2 pitch to Andruw Jones loaded the bases with no out. A double play ball scored Hank Blalock, and Anderson escaped with limited damage by striking out Elvis Andrus.

Texas tacked on a second run in the eighth, before the A's threatened in the latter half. Cliff Pennington singled for the A's second hit, followed by a walk to Adam Kennedy, but Suzuki flied out to end the inning.

That merely set the stage for an amA'sing ninth.

O'Day got Scott Hairston on a ground ball out, before being lifted for Wilson. Cust singled to shallow right, while AN readied itself for the nightly tease. Nomar Garciaparra struck out. But Tommy Everidge came through with a base hit, and Mark Ellis drove home Cust with a single. Bobby Crosby pinch-ran for Everidge, and soon ran home with the tying run on Davis' double down the right-field line. Ellis came in behind Crosby, and soon Davis was being mobbed by delirious teammates.

Thursday a.m. Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:29:22 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, points to a spot on his head as he gets a hair cut by a barber who goes by the name of Montro99 before the start of a game against the Boston Red Sox in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The flu edition. The Rangers are apparently waiting until tomorrow morning to travel to Kansas City, rather than going today as planned, so that the players can spend a full day away from each other in the hopes of not getting anyone else sick.

Jeff (the writer) Miller writes that this was a bizarre game, with Dustin Nippert making a spot start, Doug Mathis getting a not-cheap 3+ inning save, a suicide squeeze, bunches of steals, and Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz hugging inadvertantly after a play in the outfield.

Jeff Wilson says that efficiency and throwing strikes was key to Mathis being able to finish out the game, needing just 44 pitches to go the last 3 1/3 innings.

Jon Daniels isn't happy with the offense:

"I’m not going to beat around the bush, I’m concerned about our offense," Daniels said. "We’ve been spoiled in the past, but we need to perform at a higher level. Right now, we’re too easy to pitch to.

"We can definitely improve on the quality of our at-bats. It needs to improve if we’re going to have a chance not just to contend, but to win."

Also in the story, Daniels has some quotes that makes it sound like the Rangers aren't adding salary.

There's also an update on four of the Rangers unsigned higher draft picks...the Rangers' third and fifth rounders are unsigned, but Daniels expects deals to be done by August 17. Little progress has been made on talks with Matt Purke and Tanner Scheppers, but that's to be expected. MLB has ruled that players who pitched in the independent leagues last year aren't subject to the August 17 deadline, so Scheppers' situation could drag on into the fall and winter.

Jim Reeves says that Josh Hamilton is struggling to get his swing back after surgery.

Tuesday a.m. Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:49:03 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Lewis - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, left, tags out Los Angeles Angels' Kendry Morales at home during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 6, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Angels won 9-4. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

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So, yeah, this road trip could have started better. And yesterday's game highlights the vagaries of all star selections, since if the picks were made today, leaving Kevin Millwood (who is 10th in the A.L. in ERA now) off the team suddenly looks more reasonable.

Jeff Wilson says Millwood had trouble with his location last night, which led to his worst start of the season.

Dustin Nippert starts tonight, and Evan Grant thinks that Julio Borbon may be headed to AAA to make room for Nippert on the 25 man roster, with Brandon McCarthy moving to the 60 day d.l. to make room on the 40 man for Nippert.

Nippert thought he was going to only be out a couple of days when he strained a back muscle during spring training. That strain ended up costing him a spot on the Opening Day rotation and keeping him out for several months.

Josh Hamilton had a couple of hits in his return to the lineup. A healthy and productive Hamilton would go a long way towards getting this offense back on track.

The Rangers want to look at David Murphy at first base, with Chris Davis down in AAA. Murphy played first base in high school.

Monday morning Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:42:30 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers' David Murphy watches his RBI sacrifice fly off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 5, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. Texas won 5-2. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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So the Rangers head out to Anaheim today, for a three game set against the Angels, and then play four at Seattle. Pretty big road trip leading into the All Star Break.

Drew Davison says Scott Feldman didn't have his best stuff last night, but he fought through anyway and allowed just two runs.

Vicente Padilla will not start on Tuesday, after experiencing shoulder soreness. Instead, Dustin Nippert will be activated from the disabled list. I'm guessing Doug Mathis will be optioned to make room for him, and Brandon McCarthy will move to the 60 day d.l. Meanwhile, Matt Harrison says that August 1 is a reasonable target date for his return from the disabled list.

Kevin Millwood deserved to be an All Star, Jim Reeves says, but was bitten by the rule that says every team must have one rep.

Thursday morning Rangers stuff

Adam J. Morris — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:07:46 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers' Hank Blalock, center, is mobbed by his team after hitting a two-run home run to win the game against the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth inning of their baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, July 1, 2009. The Rangers won 9-7. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

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Off day today, and you have to feel, well, not terrible about things right now. I hate to think what the mood would have been like if we'd blown that 7-1 lead last night and lost.

Jeff Wilson says the Rangers were glad Mike Scioscia opted to pitch to Hank Blalock, who had been in a pretty big slump before yesterday's game, in the 9th, rather than pitching around him and going after Julio Borbon. I will say that in that situation, where a hit wins the game, there's probably not that big a difference between pitching to Blalock, who has hit for power but not for average this season, and Borbon, who profiles as a good hitter for average with less power.

Evan Grant says last night's game was more reminiscent of the pre-2009 Rangers, with weird plays, a bullpen collapse and lots of offense.

Vicente Padilla has been scratched from his start on Saturday, due to a sore shoulder. Derek Holland will take his place.

Dustin Nippert could be activated and return to the Rangers after just one more rehab appearance. The question then, of course, is who is removed from the 40 man roster and the 25 man roster to make room for Nippert.

The Rangers bullpen has a new talisman, courtesy of Jason Grilli.

Mike Bauman writes that the Rangers are legitimate contenders.

Jim Reeves says that Kevin Millwood deserves to be in the All Star Game.

The S-T has a piece on Kasey Kiker.

Evan Grant says that the response to reports that the Rangers have had to borrow $15 million from MLB to make payroll has been "no comment."

Mike Heika reports that Tom Hicks has folded the marketing group he had formed for the purpose of marketing the Stars and Rangers.

Wednesday a.m. Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:06:00 -0000

More photos » by Tom Pennington - AP

6 months ago: Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler rounds the bases after hitting a home run off of Houston Astros starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez in the bottom of the second inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Pennington)

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Nice to see Ian Kinsler with a big game yesterday. And nice to see a win, particularly after Sunday's flat, ugly loss.

Evan Grant has some quotes from Ian Kinsler, where Kinsler says his problem was that he was looking for off-speed pitches, with the result being that he was getting beat by fastballs and was yanking off-speed pitches foul. Kinsler says he adjusted his approach yesterday, and the result was a 3-4, 2 homer, 1 walk game.

Jeff Wilson notes that Kevin Millwood overcame a sluggish first inning to win his third straight start, with the only run he allowed coming on a solo homer by Pudge Rodriguez.

Wilson also has some injury updates. Josh Hamilton played catch yesterday, his first baseball activity since undergoing surgery. Frankie Francisco said, after throwing yesterday, that his shoulder was "money," and he's supposed to have a rehab stint at Oklahoma City on Thursday. If all goes well, he presumably will be activated on Friday, when he's eligible to return. Dustin Nippert starts a rehab assignment with Frisco on Thursday, and Willie Eyre goes on rehab with Oklahoma City on Friday.

Kevin Sherrington has a column about about the chain-of-command issues that it seems every one of the D/FW pro teams has, with the part talking about the Rangers focusing on Ron Washington's lack of control over his coaching staff, and in particular, the conflict between Washington's desire to have his hitters be patient and work the count, and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo's more aggressive philosophy.

And Houston businessman Don Sanders, who has been mentioned as a possible financial backer for Nolan Ryan, should Ryan seek to buy the Rangers from Tom Hicks, says that investing in the Rangers is a "long shot" for him.

Monday morning Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:04:53 -0000

That was a 6-3 loss that felt a lot more like a 10-1 loss.

Jeff Wilson says Derek Holland was angry with himself after yesterday's game, for not doing enough to help the team win lately.

Chris Davis was disappointed he didn't start yesterday, saying he felt he's swinging the bat well right now. In the same notes items, Wilson reports that Willie Eyre and Dustin Nippert threw yesterday, and are getting closer to being able to head out on a rehab stint.

Gil LeBreton says that the Rangers are clearly frustrated right now, but it is not time to panic.

SB Nation - Dustin Nippert

Monday morning Rangers stuff

Padilla takes his turn against No Hit boy Jonathan Sanchez

Current Series

Dodgers lead the series 1-0

Kuroda Dazzles in Rout of the Giants

"One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out" - September 12

Wednesday a.m. things

Rajai the new Marco - A's Walk off with Wild Win

Thursday a.m. Rangers things

Tuesday a.m. Rangers stuff

Monday morning Rangers things

Thursday morning Rangers stuff

Wednesday a.m. Rangers things

Monday morning Rangers things