SB Nation User Blog: pblack

Rangers Pitching Help

pblack — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:15:02 -0000

While the Rangers may make the playoffs, their rotation, as currently constituted, is undoubtedly not playoff-caliber. There has been a lot of talk about whom the Rangers might pursue this season to front their rotation. There are three proven TORPs discussed, but it seems unlikely any would be coming to Texas. Peavy has consistently stated his desire to remain in the NL; Drayton McClane has recently said he cannot see trading Oswalt and referenced their personal relationship, and the Jays are hanging around thus making a trade for Halladay less and less likely.

Outwith a proven TORP there are many pitchers who may be had that could be matches for the Rangers. Players like Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Chris Volstad et al have been mentioned but I would like to put forth my preference. If the Rangers are going to trade for an impact starter this season then I want them to target one guy; Josh Johnson of the Marlins.

I know Johnson's name had been mentioned in the above list, but I did not know much about him, so I did some research after watching him stifle the Brewers last night and what I discovered is an excellent young pitcher who would still be under control for 2 more seasons. Johnson is being paid 1.4$ this season. Here are some numbers. His ERA this season is 2.63 and he has struck out 72 while striking out 19 in 82 innings. For the more saber minded folks he has an ERA+ of 162 and a career ERA+ of 129. His FIP is 2.88 this season.

I know Johnson has had health problems in the past but I don't have a Baseball Prospectus subscription and can't say what Carroll has to say about him. He made only 14 starts last season while coming back from injury but this season has averaged almost 7 innings/start. He would undoubtedly require a significant package of prospects but, if the Rangers are going to make a deal this season, I would rather see them unload the farm for a young guy under control for 2 more seasons who then might be locked up through his prime. Johnson is from Tulsa and thus may be willing to remain in the Texas area through his career. So I am officially on the acquire Josh Johnson bandwagon now.

Wash Needs a Vote of Confidence

pblack — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:40:29 -0000

I have advocated changing managers since the second week of Ron Washington's tenure as the Ranger manager. I have found his in-game strategy to be poor and I have seen little on the field to show me that he is having a positive influence on the team. His hiring seems to have been an overcorrection from the unfortunate Showalter era and he seems better suited as a coach than a manger.

That being said, if he is going to be the manager he needs the full support of the organization, which it does not seem he has. It has been reported numerous times that Wash needs a strong start or he could be unempolyed by Labor Day. And I think we saw the results of that perspective yesterday. Let me compare 2 games from yesterday for you.

Game1: Cardinals v. Astros. The Cardinals starter, Kyle Lohse, was dominant in holding the Astros down. He was still on the mound in the ninth inning nursing a 3-0 lead at home when he began to unravel a bit. A single and a walk put two men on with two outs for Berkman. With a poor bullpen (practically Ranger-esque) LaRussa made the somewhat unconventional decision to stick with Lohse, who induced a fly out from Berkman to end the game.

Game 2: Rangers v. Tigers. You all know the situation so I won't rehash it, but Millwood had been dominant. The eighth began with the Tigers 8-9-1 hitters due up, but Wash took the conventional, or "safe", route, and brought in his 8th inning pitcher. The game unraveled and the Rangers lost.

I think that even if Wash had wanted to leave Millwood in the game, he simply didn't feel he could. It is much easier to justify bringing in Wilson to start the eighth than it is to justify leaving Millwood in the game. By bringing in Wilson he was more protected from being second guessed, in his mind. Second, I think Wash feels like these are must win games in April. He has to treat them like late season, pennant race games. Even with a 4 run lead and a dominant starter and the bottom of the order coming up, Wash wanted to make sure the game was a win, so he erroneously turned to Wilson.

I think his perception of needing April wins is having an adverse effect on his management. He might have made these decisions anyway, I don't know, but it can't be a good thing for his handlng of the team for him to feel like he is 30 days away from being unemployed. I think the Rangers should commit to him for the year and be done with it. I think this would help Wash feel a bit more comfortable and might help his decision making if he feels some margin for error.

OT: Happy Easter

pblack — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:57:56 -0000

In the midst of the hand-wringing over the 2 losses at Detroit I wanted to pause and wish everyone in the LSB community a happy and blessed Easter. If you are Christian I hope you take this day to reflect on the great gift we have recieved through Christ's life, death and resurrection. If you are not then I hope you will enjoy a springtime Sunday and that Kevin Millwood leaves you with positive feelings. I am not intending to start a religious flame war, I just wanted to give a shout out to the board on what is a very special day for me and, I assume, a few of you as well. May God's blessings be upon all of you.

Overreactions to the Yankees

pblack — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:21:49 -0000

I was wandering around various sites, reading headlines after the Teixiera signing and read this headline, "Does Tex make the Yankees unstoppable?" By my thinking, even with the signings of Sabathia, Burnett and Tex, the Yankees are far from a sure thing to finish above 3rd in the AL East. Coming into the offseason the Yankees lost Mussina and Pettite from their rotation and Abreu and Giambi from their lineup. My first question is, do the signings even replace what they lost?

In pitching, probably so, although Burnett is far from a sure things. Their rotation has some upside with Hughes and Chamberlain, but neither have been able to prove they can stay healthy. It is not hard to imagine a scenario where Burnett, Hughes and Chamberlain are all on the shelf for a big chunk of time.

Offensively, I don't think will be as good as last season. Their outfield is old and overcrowded, Jeter is not going to get better at this stage of his career, so at best they are hoping he returns to last season's form. They have a huge hole at catcher and will have to wonder if Cano can return to form at second. Where does Swisher fit now? Will anyone take Matsui off their hands? Will Damon continue to decline? All big questions still.

And then there are their rivals. The Rays will likely add an impact bat in Burrell, Abreu or Giambi to their young lineup and they will have a full season of Price in their rotation. They may not be as lucky in the bullpen but all their pitching prospects make you think there is some organizational depth there.

The Sox should also be tough. Their lineup is still better than the Yankee's and their young pitching is further along. They go into the season with Matsuzaka, Beckett, Lester and Wakefield and then someone like Buckholz in the fifth spot. Their bullpen should also be strong.

Please take a minute to vote in the poll and share your thoughts.

Poll

Will the Yankees finish above third place in the Al East?

Yes

65 votes

No

19 votes

84 votes | Poll has closed

OT: Heisman Trophy Poll

pblack — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:03:30 -0000

While I recognize that many no longer care about the Heisman, this year's trophy is the closest in years. Two of the candidates play in the Rangers' region and so I thought we should have a Lone Star Ball poll. In the comments please feel free to include the order you rank the players or your reason for picking the player you did.

My vote goes to McCoy because I think he did the most with the least. I am an OU fan, but I think Bradford's supporting cast is much more talented than McCoy's. I would vote Bradford second and Tebow third.

Poll

Who would you vote for to win the Heisman Trophy?

Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)

65 votes

Colt McCoy (Texas)

94 votes

Tim Tebow (Florida)

18 votes

177 votes | Poll has closed

Rangers Interested in Big Unit?

pblack — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:33:08 -0000

Over at MLBTR, an article by Jack Magurder of the East Valley Sun, says in addition to the Giants and Dodgers, "Milwaukee, Oakland, Texas and the Chicago Cubs also have expressed varying degrees of interest (in Randy Johnson), sources said."

He made 30 starts last season with a 3.91 ERA and had 173 strikeouts. The article also says he would be willing to take a one year deal. Given the Rangers financial problems I would be surprised if they pursue him given he would probably want 5 figures for that one year. I also can't imagine him choosing Texas over any of the other teams mentioned. But, you never know. Thoughts?

Holiday to the A's

pblack — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:28:11 -0000

Per Jon Heyman at CNNSI, the A's have traded for Matt Holliday. No word yet on the details but Heyman says it is done.

Here is the link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/11/10/heyman.holliday/index.html

Heyman is now saying the A's are "closing in on a deal." So, I guess it's not done yet, but I have to admit, I don't really get it either unless they get a window to sign him.

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Third base options

pblack — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:27:14 -0000

I am bored this morning so I thought I would an open a thread to discuss third base options next year. The Rangers have apparently eliminated signing Crede or Blake. Blalock will DH and Chris Davis will play 1B. Internally the only candidate is Travis Metcalf. They could resign Ramon Vazquez and platoon him with Metcalf or look externally.

The availalbe free agents outside of Crede and Blake are basically nonexistant unless you wanted to take a shot at a guy like Greg Norton, but I am not sure of his defensive abilities.

So that leaves trade options. One option might be Adrian Beltre if the new Mariners GM decides to rebuild. The interim GM was asking for the moon at the deadline but the new guy might be more reasonable. Salary would be prohibitive but he would be a productive player. Another guy could be Kuzmanoff at San Diego if they go into full fire sale mode. Anyway, those are a couple of guys that leapt out at me. I am not advocating either, just offering thoughts.

I am interested to see who the rest of the community would like to bring in or what your solutions would be.

Beavan Pics

pblack — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:43:22 -0000

These are pictures from the same game in Peoria on Monday. Beavan pitched pretty well but did not seem dominating. He was like watching Millwood pitch when he is going well. He seemed in control and got a lot of weak hits, but wasn't overpowering people. He did strike out 5 in 6 innings of work and he gave up a massive home run to left field. I tried to capture his delivery to give you some idea of what it looks like these days and you can compare it to what you remember from his high school days.

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Smoak Pics

pblack — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:37:36 -0000

These are pictures I took at the Clinton game on Monday. This was Smoak's first AB and I tried to capture his swing as best I could. Thanks to those who told me how to post these and I will follow up with some pics of Beavan's delivery.

Just to recap, in this AB Smoak walked. He saw 7 pitches and fouled off a couple of good pitches. The guy he was facing for Peoria is pretty good. I didn't get to see him do much in the field outside of the routine and his out in the third inning was a screamer to straightaway center field that was right at the CFer. In the third AB, batting right, he rolled out meekly on the first pitch.

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