or the season in a nutshell

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• First let me say that Spurdynasty has added a few views of his own on this game at the end of my 1st game report. Read it. We differ on a few opinions. When in doubt go with his mindset. He does some of the best work on LSB, no doubt.
  
• Boggs -- He can throw. He cut loose several cannon shots in pregame warmups. So I think the club made a mistake not calling him up a few days ago. Or maybe they wanted Golson to work with Rudy a bit? Just a wild hunch.
• Max's defense -- He had one really bad inning. Boggs made a throw from left field to try to nab a runner scoring on a single from 2nd. Max was going to try to cut the hitter down at 2nd base since the throw was slightly late to the plate,  but Max didn't catch the ball. My view of this play was obstructed, but it looked like he simply missed the catch. Same inning, he blocked a ball in the dirt and it got tangled up between his feet. The runner moved to 2nd base from 1st. I had the feeling that the runner would not have attempted to get to 2nd unless he was aware of Max's poor defensive reputation. You just don't see guys attempt to get to 2nd when the ball is within reach of the catcher. Final bad play of that inning for Ramirez was a throw. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, he tried to pick off the runner at 3rd base. His throw hit the runner in the back while he was diving back to the bag. It sailed down the left field line. Both runners scored. So here's the question. Can his offense overcome his defensive shortcomings enough to allow him to be an everyday catcher? If so, it's a close call, he'll have to really rake with the stick. I see him more as a backup catcher/DH. One last thing, his feet are a bit slow when moving to block pitches in the dirt. No balls got back to the screen, but that bothers me some.
• Pirate Murray -- I remember Newberg talking about his new 5/8's arm slot. Here's the scoop. The fastball delivery is closer to 4/8's, the curveball is closer to 5/8's. Watch for it if you get a chance to see him pitch. You'll see it. The curve was a much more effective pitch too. His velocity was kind of everywhere between 76 and 89.
• Golson -- Speed and arm are fantastic. Very athletic body frame. He just can't make enough contact with the bat to make a positive impact. He should have become a decathlete.
• Vallejo -- I tried to get another stopwatch time for him going from home to 1st. Just didn't happen. I believe that the diving stop that spurdynasty mentioned was actually to his left. He didn't appear to get a good jump on that ball from my view. It was still a fine play though.
  
• Warning -- Next time you go to a game in person, make sure that you are always alert. And keep reminding the people who sit close to you to do the same. Some lady took a nasty foul ball shot to the right eye. The ball had nearly hit the on-deck hitter before rifling into the stands. She walked, with assistance, up to a waiting wheel chair. Hope she's OK. I have never heard of an on-deck hitter getting hit before. Anyone?

RANGERS PROSPECTS:

• Jose Vallejo -- I have always thought of Jose as a speed/defense kind of guy. Not so much anymore, here's why. I brought my stopwatch to the game last night and timed a few players going from home to first. Borbon and Boggs were easily faster ( by about 0.2 of a second ). Even Duran and Arias were faster to first and they both swing righty. I would not have believed it if someone else had said it. I am going to tonight's game also, so I'll double check the numbers. The main reason this would downgrade his prospect status is due to the decreased range factor. I'm totally bummed by this. I have heard it mentioned that Vallejo has put on about 10 or 15 lbs in the offseason. Has he? I don't know. He now wears a very baggy uniform so I honestly can't tell.
  
• Julio Borbon -- High fly clanked off his glove in the first inning for a 3 base error. Eh, don't sweat the small stuff, at least he got to the warning track and had time to camp underneath it before butchering the play. The main concern with him has always been his plate discipline. It's not gotten any better, if at all. Which brings me to this point. Players like Julio, who don't strike out much, aren't really penalized by taking a few strikes. It bugs me that he doesn't make the pitcher work a bit more since he's really good at putting the bat on the ball. I can envision him roaming center field for a few years in Arlington, but I don't see him helping much on the offensive side. He tried to bunt twice last night. Not on his own, but from the 3rd base coach's signals. That would be a good development if he could augment his OBP a bit with a few small ball hits. The 2nd time he bunted the home plate umpire called him out for being out of the batters box when he made contact, and it appeared to be the right call. He didn't argue. He has some work to do on the bunts.
• Boggs -- Looked great. I have always been partial to players who show great patience at the plate. He got his walk last night to help his OBP. He also hit a rope single and a huge wind aided homerun, batting against a lefty pitcher. I spent more than a few minutes trying to determine if I could detect any residual shoulder soreness/injury. Couldn't do it. He never cut loose with a big throw. So I would venture a wild guess that he could play right now in Arlington if they wanted him.
  
• Maximiliano -- His stroke is coming back. He didn't start behind the dish though. We all know he can hit and that's why I wanted to see his defense. Poor Kevin Richardson couldn't hit his way out of a glass phone booth.
• Neftali Feliz -- He throws tonight and I will be there to see it.  Right behind home plate as a matter of fact. I want to see how his control/command is for myself. If there's any questions you want answered about him, let me know before 5:00 today. Please no requests for photos or videos. Sorry, photography is not a hobby of mine.
• Arias -- I tried to check on his arm too. He never had to make a difficult long throw so it's still a question mark in my head. He hit a mammoth blow to the upper deck in left field though. For such a thin guy he can really bomb them every once in a while.
• Doug Mathis -- Control, OK. Velocity, OK. Pace of game, OK. Holding runners, OK. But that's the problem with him. He does nothing better than OK. Can't strike guys out, that's a big minus.
• Other things -- Nate Gold is back at 1st base. He still Nate... Will Duran ever hit for a decent avg again?... Dell Diamond (roughly the equivalent of Frisco's park) has added some billboards on top of the press box and above the homerun porch. Not a fan of that. I wouldn't have even mentioned it, except for the fact that Nolan Ryan owns the team, and there have been a few whispers that when the OKC contract runs out ... Who is this left fielder we have named Royce Huffman and why were so many Round Rock fans cheering him?... Don't expect this OKC team to make a huge push to move into 1st place in the division, I don't see it happening...  If you're going to the game tonight, find me in section 119, row 20, seat 7, mention you're from LSB and I'll buy you a beer...
  
• Astros Prospects -- who cares?

They say that Mozart was making music at 2 years of age. Leonardo da Vinci had the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. That's true genius. But brilliance exists in baseball too. I became acutely aware of that last night while watching the MLB Network. What follows is my somewhat biased list of the top 25 geniuses in baseball:

25. Female Form -- Morganna The Kissing Bandit (60-23-39)

24.  Pitching Coach -- Roger Craig

23.  Writer -- Roger Angell

22.  Character -- Casey Stengel

21.  Creative Owner -- Bill Veeck

20.  Best 5 Tools -- Willie Mays

19.  Comedy -- Max Patkin (Clown Prince of Baseball)

18.  Announcer -- Vin Scully

17.  Manager -- Billy Martin

16.  Courage -- Jackie Robinson

15.  Win at all cost player -- Ty Cobb

14.  Greatest moment -- Bobby Thomson

13.  Owner who demanded wins -- George Steinbrenner

12.  Power Maven -- Kenesaw Mountain Landis

11.  Best Game Ever -- Game 6, 1975 World Series

10.   Control Pitcher -- Greg Maddux

 9.  .400+ Hitter -- Ted Williams

 8.  Book -- Ball Four by Jim Bouton

 7.  Stats and Research -- Bill James

 6.  Negotiator -- Marvin Miller

 5.  Run scoring machine -- Ricky Henderson

 4.  Coach who knows how to win -- Cliff Gustafson

 3.  Homerun hitter -- Babe Ruth

 2.  Defensive Wizard -- Ozzie Smith

 1.  3-d Spatial Memory -- The Batting Stance Guy

I have to add one honorable mention for the Real Men of Genius Ads by Bud Light, but those commercials were only loosely tied to baseball.  If I had to put a Ranger in there, well, I guess it would be Julio Franco for longevity. My hope for the future is that I'll be able to add this listing: Best GM -- JD.

So, who did I miss?

Lately I've been reading a lot about all of the minor league prospects that
the Rangers have been accumulating in their system. It's great fun imagining
how many wins we can amass in the coming decade if a few youthful pitchers can
blossom into dominant starters, abetted by a few hitters and fielders. No need
to mention any names here. However, there is something that has been bothering
me quite a bit. It's this secret that I've been holding. Well, secret isn't the
right word, because I've been trying to let it go, but nobody will listen.
Previously, I've been in the throes of this battle with fans, coaches, and even
one retired major league veteran, and often they won't let me even begin to make
my opening argument before they start a salvo against me.

Every baseball scout, whether professional or amateur, has their own methods of
evaluating the talent held by unripened players. They often talk about the
5 tools: Hit for average, hit for power, run, throw, and defend. Some say
there are 6 or even 7 tools. Others break down skills even further. Trying to
decide how many tools and skills a young baseball player exhibits is largely inequitable. For example, a first baseman really doesn't need a good throwing arm. He won't use it all that often. In the same vein, a catcher doesn't need to run all
that fast, since he isn't required to chase down fly balls or steal bases
with any regularity. What I am mainly concerned about though, is which one of those tools or skills makes the most difference in winning and losing a ball game(s). My answer is probably different than what most talent evaluators would say.

Let me tell you where I stand early on so you can plan your rebuttal as I go. I pride myself in being a critical thinker, and it is expected that the reader should analyze every idea that I will put forth. It's not so easy to lay out though. It will take  some
effort on your part to digest and play with some of the thoughts that will be presented. Certainly, an open mind can be quite helpful when trying to persuade someone to change their belief set. We're not talking religion here, but I know from firsthand experience that this discussion can become fairly emotional.

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