SB Nation User Blog: tdi1985

Wednesday Quick Facts and Trivia

tdi1985 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:08:26 -0000

I was waiting for the morning post, to make a comment with some facts and trivia, but I'm bored at work and want to get this out there.

Interesting Facts:

The New York Yankees, with the best record in all of baseball, only have a losing record against 2 AL teams: The Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels. The two teams the Rangers could have used the Yankees help with the most!

The Texas Rangers are tied with the Boston Red Sox with the second toughest schedule so far this year, based on ESPN.com's Strength of Schedule calculations. The Yankees and the Angels are tied for the 8th most difficult schedule (also tied with the Padres).

The Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays are all tied with the most games played against a starting LHPin the AL. This equates to those three teams being on the bottom of the list of AL teams with games played against starting RHP.

Trivia:

1) The Texas Rangers have a losing record against 4 teams in the AL. Name the 4 teams.

2) Take a stab at which team has the number 1 toughest schedule so far this year, based on the Strength of Schedule stat. Think about teams that play a lot of games against difficult opponents, I guess.

3) Of the three teams that have played the most games against starting LHP in the AL, one has a losing record, one is at .500, and the other has a winning record. Which teams fall into those categories?

4) And also, what is the Texas Rangers record in games against a starting LHP?

BONUS: The Rangers played 52 games against starting LHP in 2008. What was the Rangers record in games against a starting LHP in that season?

Rangers have what it takes to win AL West by Buster Olney

tdi1985 — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:55:55 -0000

Rangers have what it takes to win AL West by Buster Olney

It's the cover story on ESPN.com's MLB page right now. I don't have insider, so I can't recap the whole thing, but the headline is enough to show that the Rangers are starting to be taken seriously. Let the good times roll!

"A Rangers collapse is no sure bet" by Ken Rosenthal

tdi1985 — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:35:34 -0000

"A Rangers collapse is no sure bet" by Ken Rosenthal

Finally a front-page story on where the Rangers are right now... Rosenthal believes it is possible that they can keep it up, and includes some pretty good points:
The Ballpark in Arlington is notoriously hitter-friendly, but Rangers pitchers no longer fear contact; the team has improved from last in the majors in defensive efficiency last season to first in the AL thus far.

Spring Training on Assignment

tdi1985 — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:17:30 -0000

Hey Blue Jays fans. I'm a regular of the Texas Rangers blog, LoneStarBall.com. I'm home in Dunedin for the weekend, and I'm hoping to do some baseball related activities on Sunday. I'm not entirely sure about the Jays schedule for Sundays, but if you think they'll be working out, I'd be happy to go take some pictures, video (albeit off of my digital camera), and make some notes about what I saw.

I know a lot about the Rangers minor leaguers (so if I were in Surprise, AZ I'd be like a kid in a candy store), but I don't know too much about the Jays organization. Let me know if there are players you'd like me to look at, get pictures of. It might help if you know the numbers they're wearing.

If it turns out they're off on Sunday, this was all for nothing, but I'm itching for some baseball, so let's see how it plays out!

Troy I.

What should be done with C.J.?

tdi1985 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:56:47 -0000

I know CJ has a lot of fans on here, especially those of us that were around LSB when he was. But obviously something has to be done at this point. There is going to be a lot of discussion about what should be done with CJ, so I just wanted to help the situation by making one thread that we can centralize the discussion. On top of that, I'm curious what the community opinion is at the moment. So go ahead and vote in the poll, about what you think needs to be done with CJ at this point.

In my relatively unknowledgeable opinion, he at least needs to be put on the DL, and used as a set-up man the rest of the way. He won't be worse than Wright in that role. I don't think there is one man on this team that can really handle full-time closer duties at this point, so I would suggest that you use a combination of Eddie and Frankie depending on the batters you're facing. I also really want to see more discussion on stretching CJ out in the Arizona Fall League, ST next year, or in the minors early next year.

Based on the new information, with CJ being put on the DL with bone spurs.... I reworked the poll with new options. Pick your answer based on what you think should happen with CJ keeping in mind that he might not be coming back until next year.

Poll

NEW POLL: Since it looks like C.J. is going to be out for a while. We'll re-work the poll: What should be done with C.J. when he comes off the DL (this year or for next year).

Put him back in as the closer

18 votes

Put him in as a set-up man

36 votes

Not even that, use him in the 6th-7th innings

25 votes

Leave him in the minors for a month or so, and bring him back in short relief

28 votes

Leave him in the minors until your hand is forced by injuries and you need a reliever

7 votes

Stretch him out, in the offseason, spring training, or in the minors at the start of the 2009 season. See if he can be a servicable starter

42 votes

Cut him loose, and move on.

11 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

Ian Kinsler, First Half AL-MVP

tdi1985 — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:35:49 -0000

Jayson Stark has a really awesome piece up over at ESPN.com where he names Ian Kinsler his First Half AL-MVP! Very deserving, and it is great to see that Kinsler is getting some recognition for how great he has been so far this year! Here is what he has to say:

AL MVP of the half year: Ian Kinsler, Rangers

AP Photo/Gail Burton
If you're one of those folks who hasn't paid much attention to Ian Kinsler -- which at least puts you in a group that includes just about everyone in America except Mrs. Kinsler -- it would probably come as a shock to hear he's even the MVP of his own team. But while Josh Hamilton is a more charismatic story and Milton Bradley's 1.033 OPS makes him a sabermetric hero, it's Kinsler who has really been the centerpiece of one of the best offenses in baseball. You'll undoubtedly be stunned to learn that Kinsler leads the league in batting, hits, runs, total bases, extra-base hits and multihit games. He's in the top five in the league in nine major offensive categories. He has stolen 23 bases in 24 tries (with the only caught-stealing on a pickoff). He's hitting .397 with men in scoring position. Only three of his 14 homers have been hit in that Texas home run paradise. He has run off separate hitting streaks of 23 and 19 games just since mid-May. And he has reached base in every game but one since May 16. The only arguments against him come down to defense (16 errors) and the fact that his team hasn't been closer to first place than six games since June 1. But the Rangers actually have more wins since April 24 (42) than the White Sox (41), Angels (41) and Red Sox (40). So every number on Kinsler's stat sheet is relevant to his club's revival. And that's good enough for us.
Apologies to: Hamilton, Bradley, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Quentin, Kevin Youkilis, Joe Mauer, J.D. Drew.

Kinsler is even the lead picture on the main MLB section over at ESPN.com, awesome!

He gives out some other awards, including AL Least Valuable Player of the First Half, Richie Sexson. That award is probably more deserving than Kinslers! A decent read, so check it out!

All-Star Selections

tdi1985 — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:05:30 -0000

Check this out for more information about how each player got to the game. I'll summarize it here though, too!

AL Starters:

C. Joe Mauer
1B. Kevin Youkilis
2B. Dustin Pedroia
SS. Derek Jeter
3B: Alex Rodriguez
OF: Josh Hamilton - 3.7 million votes
OF: Manny Ramirez
OF: Ichiro Suzuki - Lone Mariner
DH: David Ortiz

They announced Josh Hamilton first, so it will be interesting to see if he actually surpassed Manny, or if those were read off in alphabetical order, or what.

AL Pitchers:

SP. Scott Kazmir - Players pick
SP. Roy Halladay - Players pick - Lone Blue Jay
SP. Justin Duchsherer - Managers pick - Lone Athletic
SP. Cliff Lee - Players pick
SP. Ervin Santana - Players pick
SP. Joe Saunders - Players pick
CL. George Sherrill - Managers pick - Lone Oriole
CL. Mariano Rivera - Players pick
CL. Jonathan Papelbon - Players pick
CL. Joe Nathan - Managers pick
CL. Joakim Soria - Managers pick - Lone Royal
CL. Francisco Rodriguez - Players pick

A crap load of closers!

AL Reserves:

C. Dioner Navarro - Managers pick
C. Jason Varitek - Players pick
1B. Justin Morneau - Players pick
2B. Ian Kinsler - Players pick
SS. Michael Young - Players pick
3B. Joe Crede - Players pick
3B/1B. Carlos Guillen - Managers pick - Lone Tiger
OF. J.D. Drew - Players pick
OF. Carlos Quentin - Players pick
OF. Grady Sizemore - Players pick
DH. Milton Bradley - Players pick - On the show, Francona said Bradley will be starting at DH, in lieu of David Ortiz

Great news about Kinsler, Young and Bradley!

AL Final Vote:

1B. Jason Giambi
2B. Brian Roberts
3B. Evan Longoria
OF. Jermaine Dye
OF. Jose Guillen

####

And here is the link for the details about the NL selections.

NL Starters:

C. Geovany Soto - First Rookie to start at catcher in the NL
1B. Lance Berkman
2B. Chase Utley
SS. Hanley Ramirez
3B. Chipper Jones
OF: Ryan Bruan
OF: Alfonso Soriano
OF: Kosuke Fukudome

I could think of some more deserving NL players that should have been starters.

NL Pitchers:

SP. Aaron Cook - Managers pick
SP. Tim Lincecum
SP. Dan Haren - Managers pick
SP. Ben Sheets
SP. Carlos Zambrano - Managers pick
SP. Brandon Webb
SP. Ryan Dempster - Players pick
SP. Edison Volquez - Lone Red
CL. Brian Wilson
CL. Kerry Wood - Players pick
CL. Brad Lidge
CL. Billy Wagner - Managers pick - Lone Met

NL Reserves:

C. Brian McCann - Managers pick - Lone Dodger
C. Russell Martin - Players pick
1B. Albert Pujols - Managers pick
1B. Adrian Gonzalez - Lone Padre
2B. Dan Uggla
SS. Miguel Tejada - Players pick
SS. Cristian Guzman - Managers pick - Lone National
3B. Aramis Ramirez - Players pick
OF. Matt Holliday - Players pick
OF. Nate McLouth - Players pick - Lone Pirate
OF. Ryan Ludwick - Players pick

NL Final Vote:

3B. David Wright
OF. Pat Burrell
OF. Corey Hart
OF. Carlos Lee
OF. Aaron Rowand

The announcers didn't add the commentary on every player about if they were a players or managers pick, but if I don't have the commentary, you might be able to infer if the player is the only one from his team, like Guzman is (although they did say he was a managers pick).

Top Teams Represented:

Red Sox - 7
Cubs - 7
Rangers - 4
Angels - 3
Twins - 3
Yankees - 3
12 teams with 2
12 teams with 1

VIDEO: KC Announcer Comments on Bradley from Wed's

tdi1985 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:06:03 -0000

MovieUploaded by idt5891

VIDEO: KC Announcer Comments on Bradley from Wed's

Bradley co-winner of AL player of the week

tdi1985 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:07:49 -0000

Bradley co-winner of AL player of the week

Bradley shares the honor with Joe Crede:

Texas Rangers outfielder Milton Bradley and Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede have been named the Bank of America Presents the American League Co-Players of the Week for the period ending June 8th...

...Last week, Bradley hit .478 (11-23) with five home runs and nine RBI. The 29-year-old outfielder racked up 29 total bases, along with a 1.261 slugging percentage, three doubles and 12 runs scored. Bradley walked nine times, stole four bases and posted a .647 on-base percentage in seven games. During a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians from June 2nd-5th, Bradley went 7-for-13 with four home runs, seven runs scored and seven RBI, including a multi-homer game on June 3rd. On June 7th, the Harbor City, California native went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI against the Tampa Bay Rays. On the season, Bradley is batting .340 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI. This marks the first career weekly award honor for Milton Bradley...

...Tourneau, the world's largest watch store, will present both Milton Bradley and Joe Crede with luxury Swiss Tourneau timepieces, suitably engraved, in recognition of their achievements as players of the week.

(Hey, I got a watch from Tourneau once!)

Clinton has 9 players named to Midwest League All-Star Game

tdi1985 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:20:41 -0000

Clinton has 9 players named to Midwest League All-Star Game

Clinton sends the most players to the Midwest League All-Star game, with Lansing and Kane County coming in second with seven players.

Four LumberKings will start:
Catcher Jose Felix
First Baseman Ian Gac
Shortstop Renny Osuna
Outfielder Mitch Moreland

Pitchers:
Neftali Feliz
Kennil Gomez

That is all the article alludes to, but they say there is one more pitcher, so that leaves 2 unnamed position players.

The article also says that Clinton manager Mike Micucci is likely going to be involved in the staff for the Western Division team.

If I had to guess, the three unaccounted players are likely:
Beltre, Timothy Smith, and Beavan.