SB Nation User Blog: Excel Hearts Choi

Great show today! Let me know who you guys want to hear from next Sunday morning (players or...

Excel Hearts Choi — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:38:13 -0000

Great show today! Let me know who you guys want to hear from next Sunday morning (players or scouting directors, whoever).

That was Grant Paulsen, host of Minors and Majors. If you guys want to hear some Rangers talk from or about their prospects, then let Grant know via Twitter, @MinorsandMajors. For those of you who don't have SiriusXM, I'd be happy to jot down the talking points of the conversation, and then post them here.

Goldstein on Borbon

Excel Hearts Choi — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:04:02 -0000

He was a bit of a mirage.

That was Kevin Goldstein on Julio Borbon and his debut last season. He was a guest on Minors and Majors on MLB Home Plate this morning. A caller asked why, after his successful call up, there is talk about Borbon not being ready for CF next season. Firstly, Goldstein said that signing Byrd makes no sense with Borbon on the roster. He wonders what Borbon does besides hit for average, because he won't draw a lot of walks or hit for power. Moreover, Borbon has to hit .300 to be useful. Grant Paulsen (the host) said that the Rangers have enough power that they can live with Borbon in their lineup. The caller mentioned that Borbon has a bad arm, and Goldstein added that it was "a very bad arm", though he says Borbon has great range. Much like Adam, Goldstein says now is the time to commit to Borbon if they plan on using him in CF.

Towers Linked to Rangers if Gilbert New Owner

Excel Hearts Choi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:46:49 -0000

Towers Linked to Rangers if Gilbert New Owner

So MLBTR has a link to an Olney article which states, "rival executives are already speculating about Kevin Towers' possible connection to the Texas Rangers if -- and it's a big if -- Dennis Gilbert's group wins the bidding for the team." Anybody have access to ESPN Insider to see what else is being said?

Conversations w/Holland & Borbon

Excel Hearts Choi — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:02:47 -0000

Grant Paulsen taped some conversations with Holland and Borbon yesterday, and aired them this morning on his show Minors and Majors (on SiriusXM). Paulsen remarked that the Ranger clubhouse was so calm and relaxed despite being in the mix for both the Wild Card and division title.

Holland:

With coming to the majors, Holland had to learn to attack the strike zone with all his pitches, and to have fun.
Hitters are the biggest difference between the minors and majors; there is a reason they are in the majors.
Holland feels to be successful, he has to be able to throw an offspeed pitch at any count.
Grew up idolizing Thome, Griffey, and Greg Maddux. Holland's "I've made it" moment was playing against Thome.
Holland likes to hit, but realizes that he is not any good at it. Paulsen asked if commissioner for a day, would Holland let pitchers bat in the AL. Holland said yes.
Holland called the Rangers the "best team I've ever played for", says the team has great chemistry, and likened them to a family.
Gets a lot of rookie hazing, but did not mention specifics.
Talked a bit about all the nicknames CJ is giving out, but has no idea why he is Wonder Boy. Miguel Cabrera is also called Wonder Boy, which Holland thinks is cool.
Holland is not a part of the fantasy football league that the Rangers created. Holland said it is probably just for the veterans. Paulsen asked if it was because they are afraid of the team Holland would put together. Holland joked that the veterans would not let him play because he would "clean house".
Paulsen asked if the Rangers would see the season as a failure if they did not make the playoffs. Without hesitation, Holland said yes. The team feels they belong in the playoffs, they are confident they will get there, and are playing for the division title.

Borbon:

Borbon feels that the biggest thing is being yourself and getting comfortable in the majors.
Veterans have been as helpful as the coaches in helping Borbon make the transition to the majors.
Borbon watches the veterans more than asking questions, and says it is important to know when to ask questions.
He knows his style of game is as a speedy player and must do those things to be successful; good things will happen.
Borbon said it feels good to know that the team believes he can still contribute as an offense only player (when starting as the DH).
His first experience in the majors is contributing to a playoff race, which is satisfying.
At the end of the day, Borbon realizes that this is still the same game (college, minors, or majors), and this has helped with his success.
He was glad to get his first hit so early on in his time in the majors
When stealing a base, the most important part is a good, safe lead (two steps plus two and a half shuffle steps depending on the pitcher). Then you need to know the pitcher's tendencies to pick your moment. The first few steps when you start to steal are key.
Borbon talked about how much fun this team is having.
Paulsen ended this interview with the same question about the season being a failure if they don't make the playoffs. Borbon said that when the season is over he will look back and make a judgement. However, he said that this team is "hungry" and is "hunting" for a playoff appearance.

Paulsen also has a theory that as more and more teams are eliminated from playoff consideration, the casual fan will start to root for the Rangers. Sure enough, a Reds fan called in to say that he is now rooting for the Rangers, and asked a question about their minor league pitchers.

We should just call Minors and Majors Neftali Feliz.

Excel Hearts Choi — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:31:58 -0000

We should just call Minors and Majors Neftali Feliz.

That is what Grant Paulson from Minors and Majors on XM Radio (a great show if you have a subscription) said because he could easily talk about Feliz for two hours. Paulson also said that Feliz is so good that he would watch the Rangers even if they were 36 games under .500. He had a bunch of other stuff to say, but I can't remember all of it; though he did called Feliz's curve as "unfair".

He's gonna have to make an about face with his attitude.

Excel Hearts Choi — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:08 -0000

He's gonna have to make an about face with his attitude.

Kevin Kennedy said this about Padilla after having a conversation with some contacts in the Rangers. He wouldn't give specifics about what was said, but mentioned that other execs will find out this information. Kennedy hinted that this information will keep Padilla from signing on with another team.

Rangers have a softer schedule.

Excel Hearts Choi — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:49:08 -0000

Rangers have a softer schedule.

KLaw was just on ESPN News, and said that the Red Sox are the better team on paper when talking about the Wild Card. However, he gave the above reason as to why the Rangers are still in the race.

Le Batard Interviews Bill James.

Excel Hearts Choi — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:21:39 -0000

Le Batard Interviews Bill James.

I found this via BTF. James talks about steroids and the Hall of Fame. Scroll down to 790 the Ticket "On Demand" section.

Taking Stock and Naming Names

Excel Hearts Choi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:56:15 -0000

Taking Stock and Naming Names

Here is a made up conversation between Shapiro, Huntington, and Jocketty after the trade deadline. My favorite part is where Jocketty joins:

Jocketty: Hey, whizz kid, didn't see that one comin', did you?
Huntington: No, Walt, I gotta admit, Scott Rolen caught me completely off guard.
Walt Jocketty: Who else is on the line?
Shapiro: It's Mark Shapiro, Mr. Jocketty.
Jocketty: Yeah, another whippersnapper. How you like them apples, Hotshot?
Shapiro: Well, I have to say, it never occurred to me to trade for Rolen there, Mr. Jocketty.
Jocketty: That's right, Homeslice. You don't know what it's like to depend on an erratic young third baseman.

Patience at the Plate

Excel Hearts Choi — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:09:30 -0000

So a lot has been made about the poor offense as of late. Since I don't watch many games due to where I live, I can't say for sure but it seems like the Rangers are not showing much patience at the plate. So I decided to look up some stats, and compare them to 2008.

2009 Swing at 1st Pitch:

According to B-Ref, the league average for swinging at the first pitch is 26% of the time (Mauer only swings at 6% of first pitches, that's crazy). The '09 Rangers have a team total of 33%. Now, that does include pitchers which is not a great way to get a good feel for plate patience for an AL team. Regardless of the pitchers, there are only three position players who fall below the league average. They are: Boggs 17%, Murphy 17%, and Vizquel 21%. None of these guys are full-time players. On the other end of the spectrum, Hamilton swings at 50% of first pitches, Byrd 41%, Salty 40%, Jones 38%, Davis 36%, and Cruz 34%.

2009 Pitches per Plate Appearance:

As far as pitches per plate appearance, the league average is 3.83 and the Rangers see 3.79 pitches (pitchers included). The only players who best the league average are: Boggs 3.89, Cruz 3.87, Davis 4.00, Jones 3.94, Murphy 4.13, Salty 3.85, and Teagarden 4.01.

2008 Swing at 1st Pitch:

For the sake of brevity, I am only going to look at those players who were on the team both in '08 and '09, though Milton Bradley will be included. League average for swinging at the first pitch was 27% and the team swung at 30% of the first pitches. Those players who were below the league average were: Boggs 20%, Salty 27%, and Teagarden 27%. Bradley swung at 39% of first pitches.

2008 Pitches per Plate Appearance:

The league average was 3.85 pitches, and the Rangers saw 3.80 pitches. The Rangers who were above the league average were as follows: Bradley 3.99, Boggs 4.33, Salty 4.36, and Teagarden 4.15.

Observations:

The 2008 Rangers were not a team that was patient with the first pitch. While the current team is also above the league average for swinging at the first pitch, the difference between the team and league average has grown by 50%. Also, both teams were below league average for pitches per plate appearance, and the difference between the two teams is negligible. So while the offense is sputtering along, they are still hacking away at the first pitch just like last season and they are not seeing a lot of pitches. My experience is limited, but it certainly feels like last year's team didn't do this. Across the board, there have been bumps in this year's team with regards to swinging at the first pitch; Salty is foremost among these players. With regards to these two stats in particular, Bradley did not stand out as much as I had expected. He jumped on a lot of first pitches, but still managed to see quite a few pitches overall. Also, Boggs is a patient hitter who can work the count, draw a walk, and play stellar defense. Too bad he has been injured.

Walks:

There is, however, a big difference with regards to walks. In '08 the league average for walks was 8.6% of the time, and the Rangers managed to draw a walk 9.2% of the time. The team leaders were: Bradley 15%, Boggs 13.2%, Vazquez 11%, Byrd 10%, and Hamilton 9.1%. In 2009, however, the league average is 8.9%, but the Rangers are only drawing a walk 7.9% of the time. The team leaders are: Jones 14%, Murphy 11.5%, and Cruz 9.4% (Kinsler is right at league average). With regards to this stat, Bradley is a beast. The problem is, however, Murphy and Jones are not going to get regular playing time, and sometimes Washington has benched Cruz for reasons I don't understand. There is no batter with regular playing time who draws a walk with regularity.

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Questions:

Without looking up the exact quote, I remember some discussion about how there has been a philosophical change in the way the current Rangers approach an AB. Namely, the hitters are too aggressive and not drawing enough walks. I kind of figured that drawing more walks would mean that the hitters would stop hacking at the first pitch and work the count. As such, the walks would start to appear. However, the 2008 Rangers were not prudent at swinging at first pitch strikes, nor did the see more pitches per plate appearance than the average team. This holds true for the 2009 team (though they are swinging at more first pitches), and yet there is a big difference in walks. I believe that Adam said that this change is mostly accounted for by the departure of Bradley. Is it really that simple? This is nothing more than a cursory glance at B-Ref, am I missing something? How does this team start drawing more walks?