Rangers Recap

This week I will do a recap on the Rangers overall season and every category of it. First, I would like to wish health to Tom Grieve, as he has prostate cancer and will need to have surgery.

Note: pitching stats are as of 5/24/08. Hitting and fielding stats are as of 5/25/08.

Rangers Overview: The Rangers were awful at the start of the year, bottoming out at 9-18 on April 29th. At that point we were already 7 ½ games out of first, only 27 games into the season, and had a .333 winning percentage. At that point we had the worst record in baseball, had allowed the most runs in all of baseball, and had only scored more runs than 4 AL teams. In 27 games, the Rangers had allowed 49 more runs than they had scored. That’s an average of losing by 1.81 runs per game, which is awful. At that point we were 4-8 at home and 5-10 on the road. Since then, we have been playing very, very well. We’ve still allowed the most runs in all of baseball, but now we’ve scored the most runs in our division, the 2nd most in the AL by one run, and the 3rd most in all of baseball. Our winning percentage is now up to .500, going 16-7 since starting off 9-18. The Rangers have the best record vs. the West in the West, and now have a winning record at home and vs. righties and are only one game under .500 on the road. In their last 23 games, the Rangers have an average of a win of 1.61 runs per game and are now on the year only averaging a loss of 0.24 runs per game. They’re also the only team in the West to have a winning record in 1-run ballgames. Now the Rangers are only 4 games back of both first place and the wild card and are only 1 ½ games back of second place.
Team’s grade so far this year: B

Rangers pitching: The Rangers’ pitching has struggled this year, allowing the most runs in all of baseball. We only have one pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 and six with ERA’s under 4.00. Vicente Padilla is the only member of the original starting rotation who hasn’t been injured and is leading the team in wins with six. Our closer, CJ Wilson, who started the year on fire, now has a 4.79 ERA. Sidney Ponson has a 2.95 ERA, and is leading the team in that category. I would say that Jamey Wright has been the star of the bullpen and Vicente Padilla the star of the rotation.
Pitching grade so far this year: C-

Rangers hitting: The Rangers hitting has been very successful so far this year, scoring the most runs in the West, the most in the AL, and the 2nd most in all of baseball. The Rangers have the 2nd best batting average in the AL, the 2nd best slugging percentage in the AL, the 2nd best OBP in the AL, the 2nd most walks in the AL, the most total bases in the AL, the most RBI’s in the AL, the most home runs in the AL, the 2nd most doubles in the AL, the 2nd most hits in the AL, the most runs in the AL, and the most at-bats in the AL. The team is batting .280 with 60 homers and 259 RBI’s. They are batting incredibly well with a team OBP of .355 and even 26 stolen bases. They have been caught stealing the second least in the AL, only 5 times. They have succeeded in stealing 84% of the time. The Rangers’ only down-point on hitting is striking out 362 times, the most in the AL. The Rangers might have an MVP and Rookie of the Year on their offense this year. The hitting is doing great, but the pitching is letting down.
Hitting grade so far this year: A+

Rangers defense: The Rangers’ defense has really struggled this year, but has gotten better of late. The Rangers have the worst fielding percentage in the AL, the most errors in the AL, but do lead the league in both assists and double plays, so it’s not all bad. The Rangers already have seven players with 3 or more errors, including Ian Kinsler with 9. The Rangers have 26 players with fielding percentages under .980. The Rangers’ defense has been better lately, but has struggled overall this year.
Fielding grade so far this year: C+

Results of last weeks poll:
Who do you think is the best player that the Rangers traded for in 1990?
Jeff Huson – 61%
Cash – 27%
Scott Chiamparino – 11%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for my May Awards. Have a good Memorial Day!

Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 6

This past week my great grandmother passed away. Her name was Jo Rasor and she was 78 when she died. She would have turned 79 this Tuesday. She lived in Dallas so I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with her during my life. She was always very nice to me and liked to buy presents for my sister and me. She was very dedicated to her family and spent most of the last few years of her life taking care of her daughter (my Aunt CK, who passed away late last year). We’ll miss her.

This week I will continue the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 5 on April 19 of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. This time I will analyze all of the trades Tom Grieve made as GM in 1990.

35. 1/3/90 The Chicago Cubs traded Bryan House (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Rey Sanchez.

Loss - Bryan House never made it to the majors. Rey Sanchez had six more years of playing. He hit over .280 in two of those years and platooned in both of them.

Record: 8-7-20

36. 4/2/90 The Montreal Expos traded Jeff Huson to the Texas Rangers for Drew Hall.

Win – Drew Hall barely played for the Expos and struggled when he did. He played one season for Montreal and went 4-7 with a 5.09 ERA. Jeff Huson played four years as a Ranger and was a decent player, in his best year batting .261 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI’s.

Record: 9-7-20

37. 4/13/90 The Minnesota Twins traded Jeff Saltzinger (minors) and cash to the Texas Rangers for Fred Manrique.

Tie - Saltzinger never made it to the majors and Manrique only hit .237 in his 228 at-bats as a Minnesota Twin.

Record: 9-7-21

38. 8/29/90 The Texas Rangers traded Harold Baines to the Oakland Athletics for players to be named later. The Oakland Athletics sent Joe Bitker (September 4, 1990) and Scott Chiamparino (September 4, 1990) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.

Loss - Harold Baines played 11 and a half more seasons and in 9 and a half of them he played well. He played two more years for the A’s after the trade. Joe Bitker only pitched 23.2 innings as a Ranger and Scott Chiamparino only pitched for three years and 85.1 innings as a Ranger. His record was 2-6.

Record: 9-8-21

39. 12/12/90 The San Diego Padres traded Mark Parent to the Texas Rangers for Scott Coolbaugh.

Tie - Mark Parent only had 1 at-bat as a Ranger, and Scott Coolbaugh only played two more years. During those two years, he had 180 and 21 at-bats, batting .217 and .190.

Record: 9-8-22

40. 12/30/90 The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Jim Poole and cash to the Texas Rangers for David Lynch (minors) and Steve Allen (minors).

Tie - Neither David Lynch or Steve Allen made it to the majors, but Jim Poole only pitched six innings as a Ranger.

Record: 9-8-23

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has had the best year so far out of the division leaders?
Diamondbacks – 61%
Marlins – 31%
St. Louis Cardinals – 8%

Come back next week for Part 7 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.

NL Recap

This week I did a recap of the NL so far this season.

NL West:
Arizona D’Backs: The Diamondbacks have the best record in baseball and are playing great. They have the most runs in baseball and are the only team to score 200 runs so far. So far they have outscored their opponents by 51 runs.
Key player: Brandon Webb: 8-0 W-L, 2.41 ERA, 56 IP, 41 K
Record: 23-13
Streak: Lost 1

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are playing pretty well, outscoring their opponents by 25 runs. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Key player: Rafael Furcal: .366 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI
Record: 19-16
Streak: Lost 2

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies aren’t playing very well and only have 15 wins. They are being outscored by 28 runs. Out of the 15 Rockies wins, Aaron Cook has 6 of them.
Key player: Matt Holliday: .324 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .416 OBP
Record: 15-21
Streak: Won 3

San Francisco Giants: The Giants are struggling, especially with only two of their starters having any more than one win. Only one starter has more than two and nobody has pitched even 45 innings yet. They have scored the second least runs in baseball, too, with only 121.
Key player: Bengie Molina: .282 AVG, 4 HR, 20 RBI
Record: 14-22
Streak: Lost 5

San Diego Padres: The Padres are doing awful. They have the worst record in baseball, and have scored the least amount of runs in baseball. They are being outscored by 51 runs so far this year and are 4-9 in one-run games.
Key player: Adrian Gonzalez: .303 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI
Record: 12-24
Streak: Lost 5

NL Central:
St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals are really doing well, mainly because of their home record. They’re only 8-8 on the road, but they’re 14-7 at home. They are outscoring their opponents by 23 runs this year.
Key player: Albert Pujols: .349 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .497 OBP
Record: 22-15
Streak: Lost 3

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs are playing well, but are only 4-6 in their last 10 games. They’re outscoring their opponents by 46 runs.
Key player: Derrek Lee: .322 AVG, 9 HR, 25 RBI
Record: 20-15
Streak: Won 1

Houston Astros: The Astros are doing very well lately, going 7-3 in their last ten and are outscoring their opponents by 11 runs this year. But they’re struggling on the road, with an 8-11 record away from home.
Key player: Lance Berkman: .380 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI
Record: 19-17
Streak: Won 1

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are lucky to be only one game under .500, because they’ve really struggled. They have only scored 150 runs this year and are being outscored by 21 runs.
Key player: Corey Hart: .294 AVG, 1 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 17-18
Streak: Won 1

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates have not been doing very well, being outscored by 20 runs so far this year. They have been struggling on the road and doing well at home. Their road record is 6-12 and their home record is 10-7.
Key player: Xavier Nady: .346 AVG, 5 HR, 34 RBI
Record: 16-19
Streak: Won 4

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are really struggling, with a losing record at both home and on the road. They have been outscored by 24 runs this year.
Key player: Jeff Keppinger: .292 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI
Record: 14-21
Streak: Won 1

NL East:
Florida Marlins: The Marlins are only outscoring their opponents by 2 runs so far this year, but they’re 6-3 in one-run games. They’re 10-5 in divisional games.
Key player: Hanley Ramirez: .336 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI
Record: 21-14
Streak: Won 5

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are outscoring their opponents by 17, but are only 3-6 against the rest of the division. They are 6-4 in their last 10.
Key player: Chase Utley: .336 AVG, 13 HR, 28 RBI
Record: 21-16
Streak: Won 1

New York Mets: The Mets have only scored 152 runs this year, but are still outscoring their opponents by 9. They are 6-4 in their last 10 and are only 8-10 on the road.
Key player: Ryan Church: .328 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI
Record: 17-15
Streak: Won 1

Atlanta Braves: The Braves are outscoring their opponents by 44 runs, but are 1-10 in one-run. Also, they’re only 8-10 in divisional play, and only 4-12 on the road. They are 14-4 at home, though.
Key player: Chipper Jones: .413 AVG, 10 HR, 29 RBI
Record: 18-16
Streak: Lost 1

Washington Nationals: The Nats are being outscored by 33 runs this year and have only scored 144 runs. They are 5-12 on the road.
Key player: Christian Guzman: .310 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI
Record: 15-21
Streak: Lost 1

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has had the best year so far out of the division leaders?
Red Sox – 41%
Minnesota Twins – 33%
LA Angels – 25%

Come back next week for Part 6 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.

AL Recap

This week I did a recap of every AL team’s season so far, gave the key player for each team, as well as gave the team’s record and current streak.

AL West:
LA Angels: The Angels have been very good so far this year, with average pitching and good offense, as they have scored the 2nd most runs in the AL.
Key player: Casey Kotchman: .324 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI

Record: 19-13
Streak: Won 1

Oakland A’s: The A’s have gotten off to a very good start without Eric Chavez (injured) or Dan Haren (traded). Dana Eveland has really helped the pitching staff with a 3-2 record and a 3.67 ERA.
Key player: Emil Brown: .281 AVG, 3 HR, 26 RBI
Record: 18-14
Streak: Lost 2

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners do not have a very good record at 13-17, but are outscoring their opponents 130-127 this year. What’s killed them is the fact that they are 1-8 in one-run games.
Key player: Jose Lopez: .298 AVG, 2 HR, 17 RBI
Record: 13-18
Streak: Lost 4

Texas Rangers: The Rangers have been struggling badly this year, allowing the most runs in all of baseball. They’ve only scored 136 runs, while allowing 181. But the Rangers have won four straight games and are finally playing good baseball. Since Brandon Boggs got called up he’s 7-for-16 (.438 batting average) with 1 HR and 2 RBI’s. He’s playing very well. AJ Murray had his first game of the year Saturday night and gave up 2 earned runs in 5.1 innings. After two starts this year Sidney Ponson has a 1.38 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. Josh Hamilton is leading all of baseball in RBI’s with 33 and Milton Bradley is second in the AL in batting average with a .333 AVG. CJ Wilson is tied for seventh in the AL with seven saves. Last week the Rangers DFA’d Jason Botts to call up Chris Shelton. That move doesn’t make much sense to me, because I didn’t think they had given Jason Botts enough time. He was only batting .158 but had only been given 38 at-bats. I don’t agree with this move because they cut a guy with the potential to be a big part of this team the next few years for Chris Shelton, who probably isn’t part of our future. Since this is a rebuilding year, I wish they had been more patient with Jason.
Key player: Josh Hamilton: .310 AVG, 6 HR, 33 RBI
Record: 13-18
Streak: Won 4

AL Central:
Minnesota Twins: The Twins have done well, but have been outscored by seven runs, even though they've allowed the third least amount of runs in the AL.
Key player: Justin Morneau: .286 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI
Record: 15-14
Streak: Won 4

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are outscoring their opponents by 21 runs this year, but are still a .500 team due to a losing record against right-handed pitchers.
Key player: Carlos Quentin: .289 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 14-14
Streak: Lost 4

Cleveland Indians: The Indians have been struggling so far this year and a lot of it is due to CC Sabathia's bad start. They also have a 7-11 record in non-divisional play.
Key player: Grady Sizemore: .278 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 14-16
Streak: Lost 1

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers offense hasn't been bad, but their pitching's been horrible, allowing the second most runs in the AL. They are 4-11 in divisional play.
Key player: Magglio Ordonez: .313 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 14-17
Streak: Lost 2

Kansas City Royals: The Royals pitching has been good this far, but they have scored the second least runs in all of baseball.
Key player: Billy Butler: .299 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI
Record: 13-16
Streak: Won 1

AL East:
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are doing very well, especially on hitting. But what’s really helped them is that their 7-2 record in one-run games.
Key player: Manny Ramirez: .322 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 19-13
Streak: Won 2

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles have a pretty good record, but are still being outscored by 9 runs. Their 8-2 record in one-run games is why they’re doing so well.
Key player: Nick Markakis: .276 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI
Record: 16-14
Streak: Lost 1

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays have scored 15 more runs and allowed 5 less runs than the Orioles and are still tied for 2nd with them due to the Rays 2-4 record in one-run games.
Key player: Eric Hinske: .280 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 16-14
Streak: Lost 2

New York Yankees: The Yankees record is even and their score for the year is about even, only being outscored by three so far. They are three games back.
Key player: Melky Cabrera: .293 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 16-16
Streak: Won 2

Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are three games under .500 and are outscoring their opponents by 12. But in one-run ballgames they are 2-8.
Key player: Alex Rios: .313 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 14-17
Streak: Won 3

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the AL MVP?
Manny Ramirez – 50%
Casey Kotchman – 12%
Justin Morneau – 12%
Carlos Pena – 12%
Other – 12%
Joe Crede – 0%

Come back next week for the NL Recap.