SB Nation User Blog: SaltyDawg

Newberg went TROT COFFEY

SaltyDawg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:42:27 -0000

And that means it's officially okay to devote excess time to possible trades.

And with this team, the trading season will likely be a hot point of contention. You have a young team with tons of talent on the farm that is competing a year (or even two depending on who you ask) earlier than they were supposed to.

So what do you do? Who/What do you target? Who is untouchable?

Warning: What follows is lengthy and a subject I know some like to avoid. Enter at your own risk.

First thing is first, identifying who it is that you will not/can not deal:

The guys in Arlington- Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Derek Holland, Frank Francisco, CJ Wilson, Elvis Andrus

The guys worth more to you than a trading partner- Kevin Millwood, Scott Feldman, Matt Harrison, Darren O'Day

The Guys on the Farm- Neftali Feliz, Justin Smoak, Martin Perez

I included Ian, Josh, Dutch, FX2, and Elvis for obvious reasons. MY is on their because of the contract and the FOTF status. Cruz has been everything we have hoped for and one of the only consistent guys we have. CJ made my list because no matter how much he makes your butt cheeks pucker, he is a huge part of that bullpen. Milly made the second list because he has been the embodiment of this new regime and the guy the Rangers paid big bucks for. Feldman because he is the most underappreciated Ranger in the history of the frnachise. Harrison because another team would not likely accept him as a centerpiece and his left handedness is sexy...even if he does cry. And Mr. O'Day because he is the true savior of this franchise. I'm sure it would be easy to rustle up some other untouchables from the farm, but those three guys stand out above anyone else I can come up with.

Next, where are your surpluses:

Catchers- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez, Manny Pina

Outfielders- David Murphy, Marlon Byrd, Brandon Boggs, Andruw Jones

MIFers- Joaquin Arias, Jose Vallejo, Omar Vizquel, Marcus Lemon

Minor League Arms- Too many to list

Unfortunately, all three of those four catchers' values are down from where they were this offseason. It's almost a situation where a team like a Boston or New York would have to get desperate or a non-contending team covet one of those guys in any deal. If the Rangers just went out and shopped those guys, they would not likely get anything resembling equal value. Byrd, Boggs, and Jones obviously have limited value to another team and would fetch a low level prospect or be part of a bigger deal. Murphy may entice someone as a secondary piece, but his approach would be missed with the way this offense is going. With Ian and Elvis up the middle, all you have to do is identify your long term utility guy and the rest of those guys become available. Vallejo has the most value, but is likely the answer to the utility role in the future. The big time chips for the Rangers are clearly their minor league arms. Adding Scheppers and Purke just deepens those pools. Guys like Font, Boscan, Kiker, Main, Beavan, etc., etc., etc. have the chance to fetch very nice pieces.

Lastly, where are your needs:

Bullpen- A lefty to replace Eddie, a power arm to go with FX2 and CJ

1B/DH- Davis may need time at AAA or at the least a platoon partner, Blalock and Jones leave something to be desired

OBP Guy- This horse has been beaten, no need to summarize again

Cheap Starter- Halladay, Lee, Oswalt...not happening if you ask me. Any SP would be for depth

It would be nice to see if AJ Murray could replace Eddie...or if they will let anyone replace Eddie. Another power arm would change the complexion of that pen, pushing Jennings, O'Day, and Grilli back into roles that suit them even better. The Davis connundrum has been discussed ad nauseum, my two cents included. OBP has also been delved into quite deeply around here. I don't see a deal for a TORG happening for the Rangers, or any team for that matter...but maybe I'm just listening to the talking heads too much. I would be all for a depth add...like El Duque...but better.

So now, who makes sense? What players fill the needs of the Rangers, and what do the Rangers have to offer to the teams currently employing said players? I'm just here to throw out the names. I'll leave the talk about what it would take to get him to the experts.

1B/DH Nick Johnson- Yes, he is injury prone. Yes, he costs some money. Yes, the Nationals will command a nice return for him. But....Yes, he is an OBP machine. Yes, he can play 1B and DH. Currently sporting a .412 OBP and a .961 OPS against LHP. He will be a sought after player as the market heats up. Makes sense as he feels a need but is gone next year so he doesn't block Davis or Smoak.

LHP Joe Beimel- Bullpen arm who could be a Mahay-esque add similar to the Tex trade. Obviously Johnson/Beimel wouldn't get anything close to that haul, but the same idea applies here. Beimel has brought his ERA down by 2 runs over the past month. If the Rangers don't have an internal answer for a bullpen lefty, he would be a guy worth looking at.

LHP Ron Villone- Same idea as Beimel, just older and cheaper in terms of what it takes. Sporting a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings this year with a 1.35 WHIP and a .213 BAA.

1B/DH Lyle Overbay- The Jays would have to fall out of it to move him, but if they do, he would be a good get. Owner of a .921 OPS this season and solid defense at 1B. Expensive at almost $7 million this year and next. Would block one of Davis/Smoak/Ramirez in 2010.

LHP Jonathan Sanchez- This would be a buy low move and these two teams have been linked over the past year. Sanchez is not having much good said about him this year and not sure where the match would be as far as a bat for SF. This wouldn't be a season altering deal, but he would be a guy you could plug in as the long man and see what Maddux can do with him.

RHP Heath Bell- This guy is having a phenomenal year and would be a costly pick up. And, if Frankie is healthy, you are picking him up as an 8th inning guy, but paying for him as a closer. Would be a huge lift for the pen and allow everyone to slide back one inning making a formiddable 7th/8th/9th combo of O'Day, CJ, Bell, and FX2.

RHP Cla Meredith- Jayson Stark touched on him as a guy the Pads could move and he could be a nice pickup. Good, not overpowering numbers from a guy with good, not overpowering stuff. If you can get him at what you deem fair value, he is an improvement in the pen.

1B/DH Adrian Gonzalez- Just Kidding

LHP John Grabow- From all reports, the Pirates will do their usual strip mining. Grabow is solid from the left side and would be a huge improvement over Eddie. With a guy like this, it's really about not giving up too much to get him because while he could help, he is not the missing piece.

RHP Ian Snell- Apparently, the Rangers are one of the teams in on him, and like Sanchez this would be a buy low move. He won't be the savior, but would be depth and a better alternative in the long role than the OKC rotating door.

1B/DH Adam LaRoche- Same situation as Nick Johnson. He is a FA after the year making $7 million this year. Good BA/OBP separation with decent enough power. His .835 OPS looks heavenly by comparisons sake. His swing would play well at RBPIA too. Probably cheaper than Johnson given the buzz around Johnson and there are some combo trades available with the Pirates much like the Nady/Marte deal last year.

RHP LaTroy Hawkins- If the Astros decide to move some guys, he would fit the power arm role. Ripped off some 95-96 mph fastballs today. Another guy where it is all about how cost effective the move could be.

RHP Kiko Calero- Stings a little. 39 Ks in 31.1 innings with a 2.01 ERA. Has the slider working big time. Not sure if the Marlins move him, and if they overvalue him in the instance they do shop him. But, he would be a nice addition to the pen.

Obviously, there are more guys to look at...especially if teams like the Rockies, Indians, Royals, Blue Jays, Orioles, etc. decide to sell off some pieces. This is just a quick list of some guys that seem to fit the bill for the Rangers. For the Rangers, and Rangers fans, it's a matter of weighing the depth of your system against the impact of the player/s you would be receiving. This is a weird place to be as a Rangers fan. Knowing that the future is bright...but wanting to add for the present at the same time.

I know some of you get beat down by trade talk and random trade suggestions from message board GMs...but I couldn't help myself. For those of you who like the trade talk, what are your opinions as far as what you would be willing to give...and who you would be wanting to get.

6/10 Minors: Anybody Interested?

SaltyDawg — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:31:17 -0000

Hickory trails Kannapolis 3-0 in the 2nd Inning

Font roughed up to start- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR

5 outs, 4 on strikeouts, so there is a tiny silver lining

Bianucci 0-0 with a BB

Murphy goes for Bakersfield at 9:30

Frisco trails San Antonio 5-0 in the 4th

Ballard just pulled for Garr after this line: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Lemon and Whittleman both 2-2 with a single and a double so far

OKC off tonight

Thanks to the great and powerful Shroomer for his calendar

Poll

Who reaches Arlington first?

Tanner Scheppers

63 votes

Kasey Kiker

50 votes

Blake Beavan

27 votes

Martin Perez

8 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

Hackers: Chris Davis

SaltyDawg — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:41:47 -0000

Life without a computer is rougher than I thought. After a couple of months of saving following my latest computer crash, I finally spent some money and got a Mac with all kinds of goodies. I've pretty much been limited to keeping up with LSB via the Blackberry (speaking of that Adam, any idea if/when SBN will go mobile with commenting?) and it has sucked not being able to fully participate in all the chest bumping that the Rangers play has induced among the faithful.

All that said, the hacking is getting out of hand. I've read plenty here regarding the 1st pitch swings, the K's, and the lack of on base skills that the Rangers have demonstrated during this great start. So, for my first fanpost back from the world of the computerless, I thought I would try taking somewhat of an in-depth look at your 2009 Texas Rangers Hackers.

Chris Davis:

Davis has had a rough go when it comes to making contact and getting on base. As he has shown all season and last night, the power hasn't gone anywhere. And, in comparison to 2008, his overall strike zone judgment hasn't fallen off either.

Season	Team	O-Swing%	Z-Swing%	Swing%	O-Contact%	Z-Contact%	Contact%	Zone%	F-Strike%
Total *	- - -	36.6 %	73.5 %	53.9 %	49.0 %	73.6 %	64.7 %	46.8 %	62.5 %
2008	Rangers	37.3 %	72.5 %	54.3 %	48.3 %	79.1 %	68.1 %	48.2 %	64.0 %
2008	Average	25.4 %	65.4 %	45.9 %	61.7 %	87.8 %	80.8 %	51.1 %	58.6 %
2009	Rangers	35.4 %	75.5 %	53.1 %	50.4 %	62.0 %	57.7 %	44.1 %	59.6 %
2009	Average	24.4 %	65.7 %	44.6 %	62.5 %	87.6 %	80.6 %	48.9 %	57.8 %

As you can see, Davis is actually swinging at less pitches out of the zone than he did in 2008. Of course, he still swings at significantly more pitches than league average, but we knew that coming in. You can also see that Davis is making contact out of the zone a little more than in 2008. So where is the dropoff from 2008 to 2009? In 2008, Davis made contact with 79.1% of pitches in the stike zone that he swung at. While that was below league average, his numbers were still impressive because when he did make contact, it was often hard contact. In 2009, Davis is making contact with only 62% of the pitches in the strike zone that he swings at. That awful number has brought his overall contact rate down almost 11% to 57.7%...over 20 percentage points below the league average. He is also being hurt by the fact that his LD% has come down from25.5% to 17.4% and that difference has been made up entirely in FB% as his GB% has stayed the same.

Davis is definitely a hacker, and his career will probably fall in line with his first two years as it pertains to his swing percentage. His big problem this year has not been that he is up their flailing at everything and swinging at more balls than he did in 2008. These numbers point toward a mechanical/mental issue rather than an approach issue just as Rudy and Chris have stated. A look at a few more numbers for Chris may reveal something about his season:

1st 6 games: 1-for-22, 2 BB, 10 K, 0 HR

Next 11 games: 12-for-39, 1 BB, 20 K, 5 HR

Next 9 games: 5-for-30, 6 BB, 13 K, 1 HR

Next 8 games: 11-for-30, 0 BB, 10 K, 4 HR

Next 9 games: 1-for-29, 2 BB, 13 K, 0 HR

Last Night: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 HR

Chris has had 3 really bad stretches and 2 (hopefully 3 starting with last night) pretty good stretches.

In 24 games this season (6,9,9 game stretches), Davis has this line:

7-for-81, 10 BB, 36 K, 1 HR

In his other 20 games this season (11,8 game stretches and last night), Davis has this line:

25-for-73, 1 BB, 32 K, 11 HR

There are a few encouraging numbers there, along with some obvious discouraging ones. One thing I hadn't noticed until looking at these numbers is that during Davis rough stretches, his K:BB rate has been much, much, much better than in his 2 hot streaks. This at least suggests that Davis has the ability to exercise some degree of patience. Another thing I hadn't really noticed is that after striking out 30 times in his first 61 ABs (49% K rate), Davis has struck out 38 times in his last 93 ABs (41% K rate). Obviously, a 41% K rate doesn't put a smile on your face, but it does show that there is some improvement being made. Lastly, there is no doubt the power is still there. Not that anyone thought it had gone anywhere to begin with.

There has been some discussion about whether Chris could use some time in AAA, and some asking when Smoak will be up to get Chris out of the lineup? After looking at some in-depth numbers, I have to side with the Rudy Jaramillo, JD, AJM camp.

While Chris clearly has some issues to work through, I don't see a guy who needs a massive overhaul. I see a guy who is going to hit a lot of home runs, strike out a lot, and play great defense. I see a guy who may be taking 2 steps forward and one step back as he climbs out of the hole he is in. He may not wake up one morning and all of the sudden snap out of it. But his K rate is coming down, even if it is still incredibly high. His defense has been superb and is still improving. And if he needs to work on the mechanics of his swing, isn't that Rudy's specialty?

Sending him to AAA seems like a lose/lose situation to me. He either gets hot while the Rangers deal with Blalock's equally annoying hacktasticness and much worse defense. Or, he continues to struggle and it becomes a big time mental issue for him. The Rangers are getting GG caliber defense from him and have him tucked away in the #7-8 spot every night. He is 23 years old and in his first full major league season. He is flat out too good to only connect on 62% of his swings at pitches in the strike zone. He may not be the .315/.380/.570 guy some may have thought he would be, but he is also not the .208/.265/.468 guy we have seen to this point in 2009.

I have in mind 3-4 other guys to take a similar look at as well. But, seeing as I'm rusty...this could very well suck in which case please do tell me and I will go sit in the corner and work on some photoshopping for GDTs to try and recover from this putrid fanpost.

First Minor League GDT of 2009

SaltyDawg — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:32:57 -0000

Tomorrow night some of the big guns are out:

Hickory: Martin Perez

Bakersfield: Michael Main

Frisco: Kasey Kiker

OKC: Neftali Feliz

Tonight Wilfredo Boscan, Tim Murphy, Doug Mathis and Omar Poveda are the headliners:

Hickory (Boscan) vs. Bowling Green 6:00 PM

SAL league scoreboard

Bakersfield (T. Murphy) vs. Modesto 9:00 PM

CAL league scoreboard

Frisco (Poveda) vs. Springfield 7:10 PM

TEX league scoreboard

OKC (Mathis) vs. Memphis 7:00 PM

PCL scoreboard

All credit for the farm probables go to Shroomer as usual.

Shroomer's calendar

And from Zywica's new gig over at DMN:

Oklahoma City: RHP Doug Mathis vs PJ Walters (7:05 start)
Frisco: RHP Omar Poveda vs Kyle Mura (7:10 start)
Bakersfield: LHP Tim Murphy vs Connor Graham (9:05 start)
Hickory: RHP Wilfredo Boscan vs Matt Moore (6:00 start)

The featured matchup here is the Low A South Atlantic League pairing, where Hickory will play its first game as a Rangers affiliate. Boscan looks to follow up on an excellent summer in the Short-Season A level Northwest League, where he put up a very impressive 70 K / 11 BB ratio in 69.1 innings. He and the Crawdads face another Rays up and comer in Moore, a lefty with excellent stuff.

Murphy is the club's 3rd rounder from last summer's draft and had a nice debut, finishing the season in Low A. Poveda faces a pretty impressive Springfield (Cardinals affiliate) lineup that includes fast rising first round pick Brett Wallace. Boscan, Murphy and Poveda were all listed among the Rangers' top 30 prospects (11, 22, 24, respectively) by Baseball America this winter.

We'll have recaps on all of the games in the morning.

Mariners sign Chad Cordero

SaltyDawg — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:50:42 -0000

Mariners sign Chad Cordero

I know the Rangers had been mentioned as a possibility for Cordero. How in the world is he only 26? I feel like he has been around a while.

OT: Cowboys Release T.O.

SaltyDawg — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:02:51 -0000

Stuart Scott just reported it as breaking news on sportscenter.

Only link so far: http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/03/espn-reporting-to-released-by-cowboys.html

Titled: ESPN reporting T.O. released by Cowboys

They cite two sources. Should be a busy night here at the blog.

I sure am glad the local fellas were on top of this one. Should have known when Jerry said the word "roster" umpteen times the last time he was asked about it. Maybe now Dan Reeves will come back.

ESPN STORY: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3953647

The Dallas Cowboys have released controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens, sources told ESPN's Michael Smith late Wednesday

So, where does T.O. go?

Do the Cowboys draft a young WR now?

RW2 is the #1, Crayton the #2, then a battle royale between Austin, Hurd, Stanback and any newbies for the #3-5 spots.

Rangers Avoid Arbitration with Byrd

SaltyDawg — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:32:00 -0000

From TR Sullivan:

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have settled all their arbitration cases after reaching an agreement with outfielder Marlon Byrd on Friday.

Byrd agreed to a base salary of $3.06 million. He was asking for $3.6 million in arbitration and the Rangers were offering $2.7 million. Byrd, who made $1.8 million in 2008, is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

The Rangers had already reached agreements with pitchers Brandon McCarthy, C.J. Wilson and Frank Francisco. They have not had an arbitration hearing with a player since Lee Stevens in 2000.

Byrd hit .298 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs for the Rangers in 2008. In 122 games and 403 at-bats, he had 70 runs scored, 28 doubles, a .380 on-base percentage and a .462 slugging percentage.

He enters this season competing for playing time with left fielder David Murphy, center fielder Josh Hamilton and right fielder Nelson Cruz. Byrd is the most versatile of the four, having played 57 games in center, 39 in right and 31 in left in 2008

Link

Rangers Sign Vizquel

SaltyDawg — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:20:39 -0000

Per Jamey:

The Rangers have signed 11-time Gold GLove shortstop Omar Vizquel to a minor league contract, with a non-roster invite to big league camp.

TR has it too

Story

Omar Vizquel, who has played more games at shortstop than anybody in Major League history, is officially with the Rangers and coming to camp as a candidate to be their utility infielder.

laxtonto pointed this out, but the DMN blog has it too

Tim Kurkjian: AL West now a two-team race

SaltyDawg — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:30:33 -0000

And no, the Rangers aren't one of those two teams.

The Story

Some excerpts:

"We achieved our goal last year to rebuild our farm system; it has gone from near the bottom to near the top,'' said A's general manager Billy Beane. "We played well early last season, but we knew we were not good enough to win our division. We had no illusions about that. Now we've addressed a major need, I think we're better. And we insulated our young players, especially our young pitchers. We needed some room for error.''

That would seem to be the key to rebuilding. Recognizing that you are not a contender and addressing your team and its needs appropriately. The Rangers have finally committed to it and soon (hopefully) we will see the results of that committment. But, this also brings up the scariest point for me with regard to the Angels coming back to the pack. If the Rangers and/or A's are right there with them at the deadline, the temptation will be there to just go for it and make a short term move that would further hinder the long term development of the team. Hopefully, and I think this has happened, Daniels has learned from a couple of short term moves and would be smart and cautious if the Rangers are in this thing around the deadline.

Things set up nicely for the A's, but Beane is nothing but realistic. He says the Rangers, who finished second in the AL West last year, are a young team on the rise. He knows the Mariners will play better than they did last year. And he knows the Angels are always good.

"We've improved,'' Beane said. "But the Angels are the team to beat even though they've had some significant losses. You won't hurt my feelings picking the Angels.''

For some reason, this story and quotes from Beane just get me excited about the coming years. There is the potential for some incredible baseball between the A's and Rangers to take place in the near future.

And as far as the A's go, they have made a couple of nice off season moves without really hurting themselves. Giambi, Holliday, Cust, maybe Chavez, maybe Barton with some of their young outfielders and Suzuki behind the plate...that lineup should be vastly improved. It's definitely fair to say that they have really closed the gap on the Angels and should be in the division race all season.

But maybe, just maybe, the Rangers will be right there to surprise some folks too. And that is when JD's tenure could be defined.

John Danks and Friends vs Twins Open Thread

SaltyDawg — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:39:30 -0000

Not sure how many are gonna watch this...or be around LSB...or be doing both at the same time. But I figured why not.

Former farmhand John Danks is going against Nick Blackburn in the Twins/White Sox 1-game playoff. It's being broadcast on TBS and just started.

I, for one, am cheering for John and against Ozzie. I am also cheering against Morneau getting any RBI, so Hammy can win that battle outright...it may not mean much, but it means something.