This week I will give my awards for if the season ended right now. I give Rangers, AL, and NL awards.
Rangers Awards:
Rangers MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .299 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI: Josh has just been good all around so far this year.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX
Rangers Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX: 1-2 W-L, 3.32 ERA, 25 K, 38 IP: He has pitched very well, he just hasn’t had the hitting or fielding behind him to help his record out.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX
Rangers Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .295 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI: He’s been hitting very well and still qualifies as a rookie.
Runner-up: Jason Botts, TEX
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Casey Kotchman, LAA: .329 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI: He has very good stats and almost always hits the ball, only striking out five times.
Runner up: Joe Crede, CWS
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, CLE: 4-0 W-L, 0.28 ERA, 29 K, 31.2 IP: He leads the MLB in ERA, is tied for the lead in the AL in wins and third in the AL in strikeouts.
Runner-up: Joe Saunders, LAA
AL Rookie of the Year: Adam Jones, BAL: .270 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI: Adam has been pretty good at offense, but his defense has been spectacular.
Runner-up: David Murphy, TEX
AL Manager of the Year: Dave Trembley, BAL: 13-9, 2nd place
Runner-up: Joe Maddon, TB: 12-11, 3rd place
NL Awards:
NL MVP: Chase Utley, PHI: .368 AVG, 10 HR, 21 RBI: He leads the MLB in home runs, is third in the NL in batting average, and is tied for 4th in the NL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Pat Burrell, PHI
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, ARI: 5-0 W-L, 2.31 ERA, 29 K, 35 IP: He leads the MLB in wins and has been just dominant so far this year.
Runner-up: Micah Owings, ARI
NL Rookie of the Year: Jair Jurrjens, ATL: 3-2 W-L, 3.45 ERA, 25 K, 31.1 IP: He has pitched very well and should have four wins if not for a bad call.
Runner-up: Geovany Soto, CHC
NL Manager of the Year: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA: 14-9, 1st place
Runner-up: Bob Melvin, ARI: 17-9, 1st place
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is the best player that Tom Grieve traded for between 12-5-88 and the end of 1989?
Rafael Palmeiro – 75%
Julio Franco – 15%
Jamie Moyer – 5%
La Vel Freeman – 5%
All others – 0%
Come back next week for Part 6 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 5
This week I will continue the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 4 on March 15 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 between the December of 1988 and 1989.
28. 12-5-88 The Chicago Cubs traded Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, and Drew Hall to the Texas Rangers for Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curtis Wilkerson, Luis Benitez (minors), and Pablo Delgado (minors).
Win - Palmeiro played five years here after being traded before going to Baltimore for five years and then coming back. His home runs increased almost every year, going from 8 to 14 to 26 to 22 to 37. Jamie Moyer had two decent years ERA-wise (4.86 and 4.66), but two awful years record-wise (4-9 and 2-6) as a Ranger. Hall pitched in 38 games and 58.1 innings as a Ranger and had a 2-1 record with a 3.70 ERA and 40 strike-outs compared to 29 walks. Mitch Williams only pitched 2 years in a Cubs uniform, but pitched well. His record as a Cub wasn’t very good though, as his combined record of the two years was 5-12. Kilgus pitched one year as a Cub and had a 4.39 ERA and a 6-10 record in 145.2 innings pitched. Wilson pitched 2 and a half years for Chicago and never had an ERA under 4.20. Curtis Wilkerson only played two years in Chicago and struggled both years, hitting .244 and .220 with only 1 home run in both years put together. Neither Benitez or Delgado ever made it to the Cubs.
Record: 7-5-16
29. 12-5-88 The New York Yankees traded Bob Meacham to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower.
Tie - Bob Meacham never played as a Ranger and Bob Brower only played in 26 games as a Yankee.
Record: 7-5-17
30. 12-6-88 The Cleveland Indians traded Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne.
Win – Julio Franco played five years as a Ranger and made it to the All-Star game three times (winning the MVP in one of those games) and won the batting title once in those five years. He hit .316, .296, .341, got injured in ’92 and hit .234, and hit .289 in ’93. O’ Brien played one year as an Indian and hit only .260 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI’s. McDowell only played half a year for the Indians and hit .222 and Browne was only an Indian for three years.
Record: 8-5-17
31. 12-19-88 The Montreal Expos traded Mike Berger (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott Anderson.
Tie – Mike Berger never made it to the majors and Scott Anderson only had 54.2 career innings pitched, only 18 of which were with the Expos (in 1990).
Record: 8-5-18
32. 3-30-89 The Atlanta Braves traded David Miller (minors) and cash to the Texas Rangers for Dwayne Henry.
Tie - David Miller never made it to the majors and Dwayne Henry only pitched 51 innings for the Braves in two seasons.
Record: 8-5-19
33. 6-29-89 The Milwaukee Brewers traded La Vel Freeman and Todd Simmons (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott May and Mike Wilson (minors).
Tie - Neither Todd Simmons or Mike Wilson ever made it to the majors. La Vel Freeman only had three major league at-bats and Scott May only had 5 major league games.
Record: 8-5-20
34. 7-29-89 The Chicago White Sox traded Harold Baines and Fred Manrique to the Texas Rangers for Scott Fletcher, Sammy Sosa, and Wilson Alvarez.
Loss – Wilson Alvarez threw a no-hitter in his first game as a member of the White Sox and went on to play 6 and a half years as a White Sox team member, going 67-50 while he was with the team. He even went to an All-Star game while he played in Chicago. Scott Fletcher went on to play 2 and a half years as a White Sox player. Sammy Sosa had an incredible career and hit 587 homers before coming back to the Rangers. He had 1562 RBI’s and walked 884 times between stints with the Rangers. He put up incredible numbers in his career. Harold Baines played only 2 half-years as a Ranger before being traded to the A’s (batting .285 and .290 with a total of 16 home runs) and Fred Manrique only played 1 half-year as a Ranger.
Record: 8-6-20
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Blake Beavan will start the season?
Spokane (Short-season A) – 35%
Clinton (Low-A) – 35%
Rookie League – 28%
Come back next week for my April Awards.
28. 12-5-88 The Chicago Cubs traded Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, and Drew Hall to the Texas Rangers for Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curtis Wilkerson, Luis Benitez (minors), and Pablo Delgado (minors).
Win - Palmeiro played five years here after being traded before going to Baltimore for five years and then coming back. His home runs increased almost every year, going from 8 to 14 to 26 to 22 to 37. Jamie Moyer had two decent years ERA-wise (4.86 and 4.66), but two awful years record-wise (4-9 and 2-6) as a Ranger. Hall pitched in 38 games and 58.1 innings as a Ranger and had a 2-1 record with a 3.70 ERA and 40 strike-outs compared to 29 walks. Mitch Williams only pitched 2 years in a Cubs uniform, but pitched well. His record as a Cub wasn’t very good though, as his combined record of the two years was 5-12. Kilgus pitched one year as a Cub and had a 4.39 ERA and a 6-10 record in 145.2 innings pitched. Wilson pitched 2 and a half years for Chicago and never had an ERA under 4.20. Curtis Wilkerson only played two years in Chicago and struggled both years, hitting .244 and .220 with only 1 home run in both years put together. Neither Benitez or Delgado ever made it to the Cubs.
Record: 7-5-16
29. 12-5-88 The New York Yankees traded Bob Meacham to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower.
Tie - Bob Meacham never played as a Ranger and Bob Brower only played in 26 games as a Yankee.
Record: 7-5-17
30. 12-6-88 The Cleveland Indians traded Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne.
Win – Julio Franco played five years as a Ranger and made it to the All-Star game three times (winning the MVP in one of those games) and won the batting title once in those five years. He hit .316, .296, .341, got injured in ’92 and hit .234, and hit .289 in ’93. O’ Brien played one year as an Indian and hit only .260 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI’s. McDowell only played half a year for the Indians and hit .222 and Browne was only an Indian for three years.
Record: 8-5-17
31. 12-19-88 The Montreal Expos traded Mike Berger (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott Anderson.
Tie – Mike Berger never made it to the majors and Scott Anderson only had 54.2 career innings pitched, only 18 of which were with the Expos (in 1990).
Record: 8-5-18
32. 3-30-89 The Atlanta Braves traded David Miller (minors) and cash to the Texas Rangers for Dwayne Henry.
Tie - David Miller never made it to the majors and Dwayne Henry only pitched 51 innings for the Braves in two seasons.
Record: 8-5-19
33. 6-29-89 The Milwaukee Brewers traded La Vel Freeman and Todd Simmons (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott May and Mike Wilson (minors).
Tie - Neither Todd Simmons or Mike Wilson ever made it to the majors. La Vel Freeman only had three major league at-bats and Scott May only had 5 major league games.
Record: 8-5-20
34. 7-29-89 The Chicago White Sox traded Harold Baines and Fred Manrique to the Texas Rangers for Scott Fletcher, Sammy Sosa, and Wilson Alvarez.
Loss – Wilson Alvarez threw a no-hitter in his first game as a member of the White Sox and went on to play 6 and a half years as a White Sox team member, going 67-50 while he was with the team. He even went to an All-Star game while he played in Chicago. Scott Fletcher went on to play 2 and a half years as a White Sox player. Sammy Sosa had an incredible career and hit 587 homers before coming back to the Rangers. He had 1562 RBI’s and walked 884 times between stints with the Rangers. He put up incredible numbers in his career. Harold Baines played only 2 half-years as a Ranger before being traded to the A’s (batting .285 and .290 with a total of 16 home runs) and Fred Manrique only played 1 half-year as a Ranger.
Record: 8-6-20
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Blake Beavan will start the season?
Spokane (Short-season A) – 35%
Clinton (Low-A) – 35%
Rookie League – 28%
Come back next week for my April Awards.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Blake Beavan Interview
This week I interviewed Rangers pitcher Blake Beavan and I would like to thank him for giving up some of his time to do the interview. I met Blake at the Newberg Bound Edition release party in December and have spoken to him a few times since then. Blake is always a very friendly guy and always remembers me.
1. What was it like pitching in Cuba for Team USA?
Blake said that it was a good experience. He was proud to pitch for his country and felt that he was not only representing the USA but also his family and all of the coaches that got him to where he is. Blake mentioned that his parents gave him everything he needed and raised him right. He also said that God is responsible for where he is and has blessed him with ability and health. He said that the experience is something ‘I’ll always keep in my heart and never forget.’
2. What was the best part of your first camp?
‘Pitching against pro ball hitters.’ He really enjoyed facing Jarrod Saltalamacchia so he could see how his stuff sizes up to someone in the big leagues.
3. What was the biggest surprise of your first pro camp?
The work. He was surprised by how much work it takes to be a pro athlete and what it takes to keep his body in shape. There’s lots of running. He also said that it’s real fun to watch to other guys play and see how much talent they have.
4. Can you please describe a typical day in camp?
6:30-7 – Wake up and get ready
8 – get to camp, eat, dress, and talk and hang out with the guys
9 – stretch, break into groups by position, drills, throwing
After that, do conditioning (running). He said he usually runs a mile a day.
Lunch
Get ready for the game if pitching
5. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in spring training and if so what is it?
Blake said that he was working on his mound presence and being professional on the mound. He wants to have good body language. He mentioned that he needs to mature faster than most 18-19 year olds. He’s also working on a change-up.
6. What was the key to your success with the Dallas Tigers in 2006 when you went 9-1 with a 1.71 ERA?
He said that a lot of it had to do with the team. The guys around him kept his ERA down. He said that he had good defense behind him and can’t take credit for the wins. ‘The guys really backed me up.’ He also said that staying healthy and throwing strikes was a key. He feels that throwing strikes and keeping the ball low are the keys to baseball.
7. During your freshman year, when you had a 1.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts, but only one win, was it frustrating that your team averaged 5 errors per game?
Blake admitted that it was frustrating but he was only 16 years old playing with 18-19 year olds. They tried to work as a team to get better and they got closer and bonded as a team. He said that we need to remember that high schoolers are still kids learning the game. He learned that when there are errors behind him he has to keep his rhythm and not let it impact his performance.
8. What led to your decision to not sign with the Rangers until late last summer? Do you wish you had signed in time to pitch last season?
Blake has no regrets for signing when he did. He agent was still negotiating. He signed later than people wanted but ‘I’m here and that’s what matters’.
9. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?
He had to think about it but then said it was when he got hit in the ankle in the prospects game last month. He got the next few outs but it swelled up. It wasn’t broken but it was hard to pitch through it and he had to sit out a few days. He had to remind himself that it was just spring training and not get too frustrated.
10. Were you hoping to play for your hometown team or were you indifferent?
‘I was definitely hoping to play for my hometown team. I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid.’ He said that he wrote his dad a card when he was around 9 telling him that he was going to play for the Rangers and that, thanks to God, it’s happening.
11. Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia – he’s a big leaguer, a lefty and he’s strong
- John Mayberry – he’s a challenging hitter, and is big and strong with lots of pop
- ‘The guy that drilled it off my ankle.’ He couldn’t remember his name but said that it was a Bakersfield player.
12. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
- Tommy Hunter – Blake said that Tommy is like a big brother to him. ‘He takes up for me and always has my back.’
- Evan Reed
Blake said that Tommy and Evan are good influences because they don’t go out a lot and don’t drink. They just like to hang out and talk.
He also mentioned Mitch Moreland.
13. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Blake played football, basketball, and baseball but baseball was his ‘first love’.
14. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
The Texas Rangers. He grew up watching Nolan Ryan, John Wetteland, Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro. He was always raised to be a local team fan.
15. What are your hobbies?
‘Lots of golf,’ video games, movies, and eating.
I would like to thank Blake again for doing this interview. I was really impressed with Blake’s answers and how much credit he gives to God for his success.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is most likely to win the World Series out of my playoff teams?
Cleveland – 30%
Arizona – 23%
Chicago Cubs – 15%
Boston – 7%
Detroit – 7%
LA Angels – 7%
LA Dodgers – 7%
New York Mets – 0%
Come back next week for the next part of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
1. What was it like pitching in Cuba for Team USA?
Blake said that it was a good experience. He was proud to pitch for his country and felt that he was not only representing the USA but also his family and all of the coaches that got him to where he is. Blake mentioned that his parents gave him everything he needed and raised him right. He also said that God is responsible for where he is and has blessed him with ability and health. He said that the experience is something ‘I’ll always keep in my heart and never forget.’
2. What was the best part of your first camp?
‘Pitching against pro ball hitters.’ He really enjoyed facing Jarrod Saltalamacchia so he could see how his stuff sizes up to someone in the big leagues.
3. What was the biggest surprise of your first pro camp?
The work. He was surprised by how much work it takes to be a pro athlete and what it takes to keep his body in shape. There’s lots of running. He also said that it’s real fun to watch to other guys play and see how much talent they have.
4. Can you please describe a typical day in camp?
6:30-7 – Wake up and get ready
8 – get to camp, eat, dress, and talk and hang out with the guys
9 – stretch, break into groups by position, drills, throwing
After that, do conditioning (running). He said he usually runs a mile a day.
Lunch
Get ready for the game if pitching
5. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in spring training and if so what is it?
Blake said that he was working on his mound presence and being professional on the mound. He wants to have good body language. He mentioned that he needs to mature faster than most 18-19 year olds. He’s also working on a change-up.
6. What was the key to your success with the Dallas Tigers in 2006 when you went 9-1 with a 1.71 ERA?
He said that a lot of it had to do with the team. The guys around him kept his ERA down. He said that he had good defense behind him and can’t take credit for the wins. ‘The guys really backed me up.’ He also said that staying healthy and throwing strikes was a key. He feels that throwing strikes and keeping the ball low are the keys to baseball.
7. During your freshman year, when you had a 1.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts, but only one win, was it frustrating that your team averaged 5 errors per game?
Blake admitted that it was frustrating but he was only 16 years old playing with 18-19 year olds. They tried to work as a team to get better and they got closer and bonded as a team. He said that we need to remember that high schoolers are still kids learning the game. He learned that when there are errors behind him he has to keep his rhythm and not let it impact his performance.
8. What led to your decision to not sign with the Rangers until late last summer? Do you wish you had signed in time to pitch last season?
Blake has no regrets for signing when he did. He agent was still negotiating. He signed later than people wanted but ‘I’m here and that’s what matters’.
9. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?
He had to think about it but then said it was when he got hit in the ankle in the prospects game last month. He got the next few outs but it swelled up. It wasn’t broken but it was hard to pitch through it and he had to sit out a few days. He had to remind himself that it was just spring training and not get too frustrated.
10. Were you hoping to play for your hometown team or were you indifferent?
‘I was definitely hoping to play for my hometown team. I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid.’ He said that he wrote his dad a card when he was around 9 telling him that he was going to play for the Rangers and that, thanks to God, it’s happening.
11. Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia – he’s a big leaguer, a lefty and he’s strong
- John Mayberry – he’s a challenging hitter, and is big and strong with lots of pop
- ‘The guy that drilled it off my ankle.’ He couldn’t remember his name but said that it was a Bakersfield player.
12. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
- Tommy Hunter – Blake said that Tommy is like a big brother to him. ‘He takes up for me and always has my back.’
- Evan Reed
Blake said that Tommy and Evan are good influences because they don’t go out a lot and don’t drink. They just like to hang out and talk.
He also mentioned Mitch Moreland.
13. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Blake played football, basketball, and baseball but baseball was his ‘first love’.
14. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
The Texas Rangers. He grew up watching Nolan Ryan, John Wetteland, Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro. He was always raised to be a local team fan.
15. What are your hobbies?
‘Lots of golf,’ video games, movies, and eating.
I would like to thank Blake again for doing this interview. I was really impressed with Blake’s answers and how much credit he gives to God for his success.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is most likely to win the World Series out of my playoff teams?
Cleveland – 30%
Arizona – 23%
Chicago Cubs – 15%
Boston – 7%
Detroit – 7%
LA Angels – 7%
LA Dodgers – 7%
New York Mets – 0%
Come back next week for the next part of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Season Predictions
This week I will make all my predictions for the baseball year. I will predict the regular season, the playoffs and the AL and NL awards.
AL Regular Season:
AL West:
1. LA Angels: The Angels have too much offense and too much pitching to not come in first.
2. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners were outscored by 20 runs in 2007, so I don’t think that they’ll beat out the Angels for first.
3. Texas Rangers: The Rangers have a great farm system and a good young team, but I don’t think that they have enough to have a better record than the Angels or Mariners.
4. Oakland A’s: The A’s weren’t very good last year, and they should be even worse this year after trading Dan Haren to the D’Backs for prospects.
AL Central:
1. Cleveland Indians: The Indians have one of the best 1-2 punches in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, who both might be Cy Young contenders, and they don’t have a bad offense, either.
2. Detroit Tigers: I think that the Tigers will be better this year after getting Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, but I don’t think that that’s enough to put them over the Indians since their first two pitchers (Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman) aren’t anywhere near as good as the Indians’.
3. Minnesota Twins: The Twins weren’t very good last year and they traded maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball in Johan Santana, along with losing Torii Hunter, so they should be considerably worse.
4. Kansas City Royals: I think that the Royals will be a little better this year and that the White Sox will be a little worse this year, allowing the Royals to take over fourth place.
5. Chicago White Sox: When your number one starter is Javier Vazquez, you probably aren’t going to do very well.
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox: Boston has pretty much the same team that won the World Series last year, so they should do pretty well.
2. New York Yankees: The Yankees are an older team and they should have a lot of injuries. Their pitching isn’t good enough to win the division over the Red Sox.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have really good one and two starters in Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett, but after that there’s a huge drop-off, as their number three pitcher is Dustin McGowan. I think that’s too big of a drop-off to get ahead of the Yankees or Red Sox.
4. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays (not Devil Rays anymore) are a better team this year, as there’s another year of experience for a young team and Jason Bartlett should help out.
5. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles were awful last year and they lost one of the best pitchers in baseball in a trade with the Mariners. Their number one pitcher is now Jeremy Guthrie and their starting first baseman is Kevin Millar. Their back-up catcher is Guillermo Quiroz, who was fighting for the Rangers’ back-up catcher spot in 2007 Spring Training.
AL Wild Card:
1. Detroit Tigers: I think that the trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis gets them into the playoffs.
2. Seattle Mariners: I think getting Erik Bedard from the Orioles puts them ahead of the Yanks.
3. New York Yankees: The Yankees’ offense, especially A-Rod, should put them ahead of the Jays.
4. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays’ 1-2 punch is just too good to be under the Rangers.
5. Texas Rangers: I think Josh Hamilton puts them where it would be a surprise if they fell under any of the teams below.
6. Minnesota Twins: The Twins aren’t good enough without Johan Santana to be any higher in my opinion.
7. Tampa Bay Rays: The Devil Rays should have improved enough to be out of the bottom three teams in the AL.
8. Kansas City Royals: Even though I think the Royals will do better this year, they still went 69-93 last year.
9. Oakland A’s: The A’s don’t have good enough hitting to be able to lose Haren and still do any good.
10. Chicago White Sox: I think the White Sox will do awful this year, but that they’re better than the Orioles.
11. Baltimore Orioles: I think that the Orioles are the worst team in all of baseball without Bedard or Corey Patterson. Their outfield consists of Luke Scott, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis.
NL Regular Season:
NL West:
1. Arizona D’Backs: The D’Backs have one of the two best 1-2 punches in all of baseball, if not the best. Their starting pitching is incredible, consisting of 1. Brandon Webb, 2. Dan Haren, 3. Doug Davis (who will have surgery soon due to cancer, but will pitch until then and after his recovery), 4. Micah Owings, 5. Edgar G. Gonzalez, and Randy Johnson (once he gets back from an injury). Their pitching is just too good.
2. LA Dodgers: The Dodgers have a good 1-2 punch in Brad Penny and Derek Lowe and after a good year last year hurt by injuries, and they now have Andruw Jones. Also, it’s almost impossible for them to have that many injuries again this year.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres should be good this year because of their pitching, but their hitting could represent big problems.
4. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies had a great run last year to go to the World Series, but that was just one big streak at the end of a good year, so I don’t think that they can do that again.
5. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are the only bad team in this great division, so they should be in last place by a very wide margin, maybe even 20 games back from fourth.
NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs’ pitching isn’t great, but it doesn’t drop-off towards the end too much. But their hitting is very good and now that they have Kosuke Fukudome, it should be even better.
2. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have brilliant hitting, but their pitching is below average. To win the division I think Ben Sheets needs to stay healthy, but I don’t think that he will. Relying on Eric Gagne to close games is questionable.
3. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds should have a better year this year, because even though they lost Josh Hamilton, Edinson Volquez will help their rotation along with Johnny Cueto. A lot of their prospects, such as Homer Bailey, should come up and help them out later in the year.
4. Houston Astros: I think that the Astros will get fourth place this year by getting a little bit better, but mainly by the Cardinals getting worse.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals aren’t a very good team, but with Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder injury problems making Adam Wainwright the Cardinals’ number one starting pitcher, it’ll be even harder to finish as high as fourth place.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are not a very good team, but due to 9 Cardinals already being on on the DL, they might get fifth place.
NL East:
1. New York Mets: The Mets were good last year until their end-of-the-year meltdown, but I think that they’ll recover and get better with Johan Santana.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies did really well last year and won the division and should be even better with a healthy Chase Utley, but I think that Johan Santana is too much for the Mets to not win the division.
3. Atlanta Braves: I don’t think the Braves will do all that well this year, but that they’ll do better than the Nationals and the Marlins.
4. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nationals will be in fourth because I think the Marlins are the worst team in all of the NL.
5. Florida Marlins: I think that the Marlins will have the worst record in the NL, and will be in competition with the Orioles for the worst in all of baseball.
NL Wild Card:
1. LA Dodgers: I think that the Dodgers have better pitching than the Phillies and so they will beat them out for a playoff spot.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: I don’t think the Phillies have the two great pitchers needed to get into the playoffs this year. They only have Cole Hamels.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres have great pitching, but I don’t think that their hitting is good enough to get into the playoffs.
4. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have a good team, but losing Johnny Estrada will keep them out of the playoffs.
5. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies did really well last year, but were really streaky, and I don’t think that they can win 21 out of 22 games again this year.
6. Atlanta Braves: The Braves are a good team, but have injury problems and that should drop them down in the standings.
7. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds will do better this year, but when you have a lot of rookies on the team, you usually don’t do great.
8. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nats will do good enough to almost have a .500 winning percentage.
9. Houston Astros: The Astros probably won’t have a very good year, but I think they’ll do better than the Cardinals, Pirates, Giants, and Marlins.
10. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals already have 9 players on the DL and will probably get more with their veteran team, and that should keep them from doing very well.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates had a 68-94 record last year and I don’t think they’ll do too much better this year.
12. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are in the toughest division in the NL and aren’t a very good team, so they should have a very bad record.
13. Florida Marlins: The Marlins, in my opinion, are the worst NL team and I think their record will show it.
AL Playoffs:
Divisional Series:
Boston over Detroit: I think that the Tigers are good, but that the Red Sox top three pitchers in the rotation (Josh Beckett, Dice-K, and Tim Wakefield) will be too much for the Tigers to handle.
Cleveland over LA Angels: Cleveland has too good of a 1-2 punch in CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona to lose this series.
Championship Series:
Cleveland over Boston: I think it will come down to Carmona vs. Dice-K and I think Carmona wins that match-up.
NL Playoffs:
Divisional Series:
Arizona over Los Angeles: When your first two pitchers in the rotation are Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, it’s pretty hard to lose.
Chicago over New York: I don’t think having a number two pitcher of Pedro Martinez (if he’s healthy) or John Maine (if he’s not) is good enough to beat the Cubs.
Championship Series:
Arizona over Chicago: Arizona has better top-of-the-rotation pitching than the Cubs and I think that will win them the series.
World Series:
Cleveland over Arizona: This would be a series with two great pitching teams. I think that it might come down to the All-Star game for home-field advantage and I think the AL wins the All-Star game.
Awards:
AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, CLE
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia, CLE
NL MVP: Jose Reyes, NYM
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, ARI
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think that the Rangers’ trade for Nippert was a win, loss, or tie?
Win – 70%
Loss – 25%
Tie – 5%
Come back next week for an interview with Blake Beavan.
AL Regular Season:
AL West:
1. LA Angels: The Angels have too much offense and too much pitching to not come in first.
2. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners were outscored by 20 runs in 2007, so I don’t think that they’ll beat out the Angels for first.
3. Texas Rangers: The Rangers have a great farm system and a good young team, but I don’t think that they have enough to have a better record than the Angels or Mariners.
4. Oakland A’s: The A’s weren’t very good last year, and they should be even worse this year after trading Dan Haren to the D’Backs for prospects.
AL Central:
1. Cleveland Indians: The Indians have one of the best 1-2 punches in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, who both might be Cy Young contenders, and they don’t have a bad offense, either.
2. Detroit Tigers: I think that the Tigers will be better this year after getting Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, but I don’t think that that’s enough to put them over the Indians since their first two pitchers (Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman) aren’t anywhere near as good as the Indians’.
3. Minnesota Twins: The Twins weren’t very good last year and they traded maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball in Johan Santana, along with losing Torii Hunter, so they should be considerably worse.
4. Kansas City Royals: I think that the Royals will be a little better this year and that the White Sox will be a little worse this year, allowing the Royals to take over fourth place.
5. Chicago White Sox: When your number one starter is Javier Vazquez, you probably aren’t going to do very well.
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox: Boston has pretty much the same team that won the World Series last year, so they should do pretty well.
2. New York Yankees: The Yankees are an older team and they should have a lot of injuries. Their pitching isn’t good enough to win the division over the Red Sox.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have really good one and two starters in Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett, but after that there’s a huge drop-off, as their number three pitcher is Dustin McGowan. I think that’s too big of a drop-off to get ahead of the Yankees or Red Sox.
4. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays (not Devil Rays anymore) are a better team this year, as there’s another year of experience for a young team and Jason Bartlett should help out.
5. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles were awful last year and they lost one of the best pitchers in baseball in a trade with the Mariners. Their number one pitcher is now Jeremy Guthrie and their starting first baseman is Kevin Millar. Their back-up catcher is Guillermo Quiroz, who was fighting for the Rangers’ back-up catcher spot in 2007 Spring Training.
AL Wild Card:
1. Detroit Tigers: I think that the trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis gets them into the playoffs.
2. Seattle Mariners: I think getting Erik Bedard from the Orioles puts them ahead of the Yanks.
3. New York Yankees: The Yankees’ offense, especially A-Rod, should put them ahead of the Jays.
4. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays’ 1-2 punch is just too good to be under the Rangers.
5. Texas Rangers: I think Josh Hamilton puts them where it would be a surprise if they fell under any of the teams below.
6. Minnesota Twins: The Twins aren’t good enough without Johan Santana to be any higher in my opinion.
7. Tampa Bay Rays: The Devil Rays should have improved enough to be out of the bottom three teams in the AL.
8. Kansas City Royals: Even though I think the Royals will do better this year, they still went 69-93 last year.
9. Oakland A’s: The A’s don’t have good enough hitting to be able to lose Haren and still do any good.
10. Chicago White Sox: I think the White Sox will do awful this year, but that they’re better than the Orioles.
11. Baltimore Orioles: I think that the Orioles are the worst team in all of baseball without Bedard or Corey Patterson. Their outfield consists of Luke Scott, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis.
NL Regular Season:
NL West:
1. Arizona D’Backs: The D’Backs have one of the two best 1-2 punches in all of baseball, if not the best. Their starting pitching is incredible, consisting of 1. Brandon Webb, 2. Dan Haren, 3. Doug Davis (who will have surgery soon due to cancer, but will pitch until then and after his recovery), 4. Micah Owings, 5. Edgar G. Gonzalez, and Randy Johnson (once he gets back from an injury). Their pitching is just too good.
2. LA Dodgers: The Dodgers have a good 1-2 punch in Brad Penny and Derek Lowe and after a good year last year hurt by injuries, and they now have Andruw Jones. Also, it’s almost impossible for them to have that many injuries again this year.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres should be good this year because of their pitching, but their hitting could represent big problems.
4. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies had a great run last year to go to the World Series, but that was just one big streak at the end of a good year, so I don’t think that they can do that again.
5. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are the only bad team in this great division, so they should be in last place by a very wide margin, maybe even 20 games back from fourth.
NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs’ pitching isn’t great, but it doesn’t drop-off towards the end too much. But their hitting is very good and now that they have Kosuke Fukudome, it should be even better.
2. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have brilliant hitting, but their pitching is below average. To win the division I think Ben Sheets needs to stay healthy, but I don’t think that he will. Relying on Eric Gagne to close games is questionable.
3. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds should have a better year this year, because even though they lost Josh Hamilton, Edinson Volquez will help their rotation along with Johnny Cueto. A lot of their prospects, such as Homer Bailey, should come up and help them out later in the year.
4. Houston Astros: I think that the Astros will get fourth place this year by getting a little bit better, but mainly by the Cardinals getting worse.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals aren’t a very good team, but with Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder injury problems making Adam Wainwright the Cardinals’ number one starting pitcher, it’ll be even harder to finish as high as fourth place.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are not a very good team, but due to 9 Cardinals already being on on the DL, they might get fifth place.
NL East:
1. New York Mets: The Mets were good last year until their end-of-the-year meltdown, but I think that they’ll recover and get better with Johan Santana.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies did really well last year and won the division and should be even better with a healthy Chase Utley, but I think that Johan Santana is too much for the Mets to not win the division.
3. Atlanta Braves: I don’t think the Braves will do all that well this year, but that they’ll do better than the Nationals and the Marlins.
4. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nationals will be in fourth because I think the Marlins are the worst team in all of the NL.
5. Florida Marlins: I think that the Marlins will have the worst record in the NL, and will be in competition with the Orioles for the worst in all of baseball.
NL Wild Card:
1. LA Dodgers: I think that the Dodgers have better pitching than the Phillies and so they will beat them out for a playoff spot.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: I don’t think the Phillies have the two great pitchers needed to get into the playoffs this year. They only have Cole Hamels.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres have great pitching, but I don’t think that their hitting is good enough to get into the playoffs.
4. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have a good team, but losing Johnny Estrada will keep them out of the playoffs.
5. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies did really well last year, but were really streaky, and I don’t think that they can win 21 out of 22 games again this year.
6. Atlanta Braves: The Braves are a good team, but have injury problems and that should drop them down in the standings.
7. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds will do better this year, but when you have a lot of rookies on the team, you usually don’t do great.
8. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nats will do good enough to almost have a .500 winning percentage.
9. Houston Astros: The Astros probably won’t have a very good year, but I think they’ll do better than the Cardinals, Pirates, Giants, and Marlins.
10. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals already have 9 players on the DL and will probably get more with their veteran team, and that should keep them from doing very well.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates had a 68-94 record last year and I don’t think they’ll do too much better this year.
12. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are in the toughest division in the NL and aren’t a very good team, so they should have a very bad record.
13. Florida Marlins: The Marlins, in my opinion, are the worst NL team and I think their record will show it.
AL Playoffs:
Divisional Series:
Boston over Detroit: I think that the Tigers are good, but that the Red Sox top three pitchers in the rotation (Josh Beckett, Dice-K, and Tim Wakefield) will be too much for the Tigers to handle.
Cleveland over LA Angels: Cleveland has too good of a 1-2 punch in CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona to lose this series.
Championship Series:
Cleveland over Boston: I think it will come down to Carmona vs. Dice-K and I think Carmona wins that match-up.
NL Playoffs:
Divisional Series:
Arizona over Los Angeles: When your first two pitchers in the rotation are Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, it’s pretty hard to lose.
Chicago over New York: I don’t think having a number two pitcher of Pedro Martinez (if he’s healthy) or John Maine (if he’s not) is good enough to beat the Cubs.
Championship Series:
Arizona over Chicago: Arizona has better top-of-the-rotation pitching than the Cubs and I think that will win them the series.
World Series:
Cleveland over Arizona: This would be a series with two great pitching teams. I think that it might come down to the All-Star game for home-field advantage and I think the AL wins the All-Star game.
Awards:
AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, CLE
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia, CLE
NL MVP: Jose Reyes, NYM
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, ARI
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think that the Rangers’ trade for Nippert was a win, loss, or tie?
Win – 70%
Loss – 25%
Tie – 5%
Come back next week for an interview with Blake Beavan.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Rangers vs. Angels Spring Training Game and Nippert Acquired
This week I will analyze the trade the Rangers made this week and do a play-by-play analysis of one of the games I went to while I was at Spring Training.
On Friday, the Rangers traded Class-A pitcher Jose Marte to the Diamondbacks for relief pitcher Dustin Nippert.
Evaluation:
Nippert is out of options so the Rangers have to put him on the team. He has three years of major league experience and has a career 2-3 record with a 6.23 ERA. He has made 46 total appearances, 10 as a starter and 36 as a reliever. Dustin was a starter at first, but the D’Backs converted him to a reliever. His career minor league record is 33-25, with a 3.42 ERA. Jose Marte struggled last year, with a 5.23 ERA between Clinton and Bakersfield. I think that this is a good trade, because Nippert could be a good reliever and make some spot starts instead of having to bring a minor leaguer up for one appearance. We didn’t give up much, either, since Marte is a marginal prospect.
Basically, this trade ended Robinson Tejeda’s career with the Rangers. Nippert is taking the last bullpen spot, which Tejeda was fighting for. Since Tejeda is out of options, the Rangers were forced to DFA him. It’s very unlikely that Tejeda will clear waivers, so he’ll be out of the organization. I still think this is a good trade because Nippert has better control and better offspeed pitches than Tejeda.
Grade: B+ – this is a low risk trade with good upside
Here is my play-by-play analysis of the Rangers/Angels spring training game at Surprise Stadium on March 21st. I didn’t start taking notes until the very end of the 1st inning, so my analysis will start with the last batter of the 1st inning.
Top 1st:
Sidney Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: Single. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Double-play. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Maicer Izturis: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 1st:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Ian Kinsler: Fly-out. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Josh Hamilton: Way in front of a curveball for strike 2, and then took a fastball right down the middle of the plate for strike 3. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Top 2nd:
Sidney Ponson: High speed seems to be 93-94 MPH, and he works really quickly.
Ponson vs. Garret Anderson: He threw three straight balls outside and then Garret flew out.
Frank Catalanotto: Frank made a great catch. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Ponson vs. Torii Hunter: Sidney threw a good inside pitch for a ground-out. It was a one-pitch at-bat. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Casey Kotchman: The first pitch was a ball, and the second pitch was on the inside part of the plate and forced a ground-out.
Ian Kinsler: Bobbled an easy grounder. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 2nd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Hank Blalock: Took first two pitches for a 1-1 count, then chased one out of the zone and flied out to center. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Milton Bradley: This was his spring debut. He swung at a ball on his first pitch, and took the next two for strikes. He looked terrible, very slow, and looked overwhelmed. He was very late for three straight fastballs. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
David Murphy: Struck out looking. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Top 3rd:
Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Left a pitch up in the zone and Howie cranked it off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Sidney Ponson: Best pitch seems to be fastball.
Ponson vs. Robb Quinlan: Ponson had a good mix and got Robb Quinlan in front for groundout. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Sidney Ponson: Was a good ground-ball pitcher.
Gerald Laird: Good throw gets Kendrick stealing on first pitch. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Bobby Wilson: Good pitch got him out in front for fly-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 3rd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Frank Catalanotto: Took the first two pitches for strikes and then got good contact and hit one high off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Gerald Laird: Got a quick 0-2 count, and singled into the outfield on a check-swing, drives in Catalanotto. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Ben Broussard: Started with an 0-2 count for the third straight batter. He then took the first ball of the half-inning.
Gerald Laird: Picked off. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Ben Broussard: Grounder up the middle for single. The Rangers had three straight hits after 0-2 counts. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Ian Kinsler: Line-drive single on first pitch. Torii Hunter botched after one bounce. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Walk. Rangers 1-0, 1 out, bases loaded
Josh Hamilton: Chased the first pitch out of the zone and fouled it off, and then was way out in front of two change-ups for a strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs, bases loaded
Hank Blalock: Chased a curveball swinging for the fences and screwing himself into the ground, and chased a pitch that was at about the height of his chin for strike three. Hank looked very bad in this at-bat.
Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 4th:
Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: First pitch infield chopper. Awful communication as Kinsler, Broussard, and Ponson were all going for the ball with no one covering first base. Sidney finally went to first, but then he injured his ankle. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Rangers pitching change: Franklyn German in for Sidney Ponson.
Franklyn German vs. Reggie Willits: First-pitch ball.
Gerald Laird: Gunned down Chone Figgins trying to steal 2nd. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
German vs. Reggie Willits: German made Reggie look silly on third pitch and he hit into a high pop-out.
Michael Young: Misjudged the ball and back-pedaled the whole way. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
German vs. Maicer Izturis: Walked him after a 1-2 start to the count. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
German vs. Garret Anderson: 1-1 count.
Gerald Laird: Good speed on throw trying to throw out Izturis, but the throw didn’t go far enough and it bounced over Michael Young’s glove and into the outfield.
German vs. Garret Anderson: Fly-out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Franklyn German: Franklyn threw a lot of balls in the inning.
Bottom 4th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Milton Bradley: Struggled again against fastballs, and chopped one into the ground for an out.
Rangers 1-0, 1 out
David Murphy: 1-2 count, chased one way out of the zone for strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Frank Catalanotto: Liner to center for single, made good contact. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Gerald Laird: Chopper up the middle not hit very well, but he still got robbed by Weaver for the third out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 5th:
Rangers pitching change: Kam Loe in for Franklyn German.
Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Good pitch made Torii chop it to third for first out.
Hank Blalock: Nice play. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Good pitch, Casey chopped it into the ground.
Hank Blalock: Good defensive play as the ball went very high in the air after one bounce, but Blalock’s good throw beat the runner. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Loe vs. Howie Kendrick: Pop-up landed between Kinsler, Broussard and Murphy for single, although it wasn’t a bad defensive play. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Loe vs. Dee Brown: Fly-out to left. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Bottom 5th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Ben Broussard: Good hit, opposite-field single. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Ian Kinsler: Good sacrifice bunt, moves Broussard to second. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Started off with a 2-2 count and didn’t swing at a single pitch, very patient, fouled the next pitch off, then takes a ball for a full count. Chased outside pitch and grounded up the middle to Weaver and moved Broussard to third. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Josh Hamilton: Lined out to second. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 6th:
Loe vs. Bobby Wilson: Starts with 2-0 count, and then Kam threw an awful pitch that was hit for a home run. Tied 1-1, 0 outs
Loe vs. Chone Figgins: 1-2 count, good pitch, chopped to second for out. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Reggie Willits: Four-pitch walk. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Maicer Izturis: Single up the middle, men on first and third. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Garret Anderson: Kam’s control seems off, Garret hits into a sacrifice fly. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Deep fly-out.
Josh Hamilton: Great catch on warning track. Had to make running catch and then crash into the wall. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Bottom 6th:
Hank Blalock: 0-2 count, liner to second, got past second baseman, but hit hard enough to be counted as a hit, not an error. Angels 2-1, 0 outs
Milton Bradley: Grounded into double play, and practically walked down the first base line, even though it was a 3-6-3 double play. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
David Murphy: Worked a full count, then reached at one out of the zone and flied out to center.
Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Top 7th:
Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Line drive up the middle for a single. Angels 2-1, 0 outs
Loe vs. Erick Aybar: 0-2 count.
Gerald Laird: Easily gunned down Kotchman at second even though the pitch was in the dirt.
Angels 2-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Erick Aybar: Three-pitch strike-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Loe vs. Dee Brown: Ground-out to second. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Bottom 7th:
Frank Catalanotto: 0-2 count, good hit to warning track, but good defensive play for out. Angels 2-1, 1 out
Gerald Laird: Foul ball for pop-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Ben Broussard: Fouled a ball off his foot, but stayed in the game. He singled up the middle on the next pitch. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Ian Kinsler: Ground-out to short. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Top 8th:
Rangers pitching change: Robinson Tejeda in for Kam Loe
Tejeda vs. Bobby Wilson: First pitch popped out to third in foul territory. Angels 2-1, 1 out
Tejeda vs. ?: Deep fly ball misread by Josh Hamilton and turned into a triple. Angels 2-1, 1 out.
Tejeda vs. Reggie Willits: 0-2 count, worked to 3-2, and then Reggie hit a sacrifice fly.
Angels 3-1, 2 outs.
Tejeda vs. Maicer Izturis: Fly-out to center. Angels 3-1, 3 outs
Bottom 8th:
Michael Young: Liner to right for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Josh Hamilton: Liner to left for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Hank Blalock: Double-play. Angels 3-1, 2 outs
Milton Bradley: Late on second pitch, and third pitch. Worked the count full. Nice defensive play got him out. Angels 3-1, 3 outs
Top 9th:
Tejeda vs. Juan Rivera: Double. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Tejeda vs. ?: Ground-out. Angels 3-1, 1 out
Tejeda vs. Casey Kotchman: Good play by Ramon Vazquez, jumped and caught liner. Angels 3-1, 2 outs
Tejeda vs. Erick Aybar: RBI single. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Tejeda vs. ?: Walk. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Rangers pitching change: Elizardo Ramirez in for Robinson Tejeda
Ramirez vs. Bobby Wilson: Fly-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs
Bottom 9th:
Nelson Cruz: Strike-out. Angels 4-1, 1 out
Kevin Mench: Pop-out. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Adam Melhuse: Ground-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 50%
No – 33%
In playoffs - 16%
Come back next week for my season predictions.
On Friday, the Rangers traded Class-A pitcher Jose Marte to the Diamondbacks for relief pitcher Dustin Nippert.
Evaluation:
Nippert is out of options so the Rangers have to put him on the team. He has three years of major league experience and has a career 2-3 record with a 6.23 ERA. He has made 46 total appearances, 10 as a starter and 36 as a reliever. Dustin was a starter at first, but the D’Backs converted him to a reliever. His career minor league record is 33-25, with a 3.42 ERA. Jose Marte struggled last year, with a 5.23 ERA between Clinton and Bakersfield. I think that this is a good trade, because Nippert could be a good reliever and make some spot starts instead of having to bring a minor leaguer up for one appearance. We didn’t give up much, either, since Marte is a marginal prospect.
Basically, this trade ended Robinson Tejeda’s career with the Rangers. Nippert is taking the last bullpen spot, which Tejeda was fighting for. Since Tejeda is out of options, the Rangers were forced to DFA him. It’s very unlikely that Tejeda will clear waivers, so he’ll be out of the organization. I still think this is a good trade because Nippert has better control and better offspeed pitches than Tejeda.
Grade: B+ – this is a low risk trade with good upside
Here is my play-by-play analysis of the Rangers/Angels spring training game at Surprise Stadium on March 21st. I didn’t start taking notes until the very end of the 1st inning, so my analysis will start with the last batter of the 1st inning.
Top 1st:
Sidney Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: Single. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Double-play. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Maicer Izturis: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 1st:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Ian Kinsler: Fly-out. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Josh Hamilton: Way in front of a curveball for strike 2, and then took a fastball right down the middle of the plate for strike 3. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Top 2nd:
Sidney Ponson: High speed seems to be 93-94 MPH, and he works really quickly.
Ponson vs. Garret Anderson: He threw three straight balls outside and then Garret flew out.
Frank Catalanotto: Frank made a great catch. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Ponson vs. Torii Hunter: Sidney threw a good inside pitch for a ground-out. It was a one-pitch at-bat. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Casey Kotchman: The first pitch was a ball, and the second pitch was on the inside part of the plate and forced a ground-out.
Ian Kinsler: Bobbled an easy grounder. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 2nd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Hank Blalock: Took first two pitches for a 1-1 count, then chased one out of the zone and flied out to center. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Milton Bradley: This was his spring debut. He swung at a ball on his first pitch, and took the next two for strikes. He looked terrible, very slow, and looked overwhelmed. He was very late for three straight fastballs. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
David Murphy: Struck out looking. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Top 3rd:
Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Left a pitch up in the zone and Howie cranked it off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Sidney Ponson: Best pitch seems to be fastball.
Ponson vs. Robb Quinlan: Ponson had a good mix and got Robb Quinlan in front for groundout. Tied 0-0, 1 out
Sidney Ponson: Was a good ground-ball pitcher.
Gerald Laird: Good throw gets Kendrick stealing on first pitch. Tied 0-0, 2 outs
Ponson vs. Bobby Wilson: Good pitch got him out in front for fly-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs
Bottom 3rd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Frank Catalanotto: Took the first two pitches for strikes and then got good contact and hit one high off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs
Gerald Laird: Got a quick 0-2 count, and singled into the outfield on a check-swing, drives in Catalanotto. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Ben Broussard: Started with an 0-2 count for the third straight batter. He then took the first ball of the half-inning.
Gerald Laird: Picked off. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Ben Broussard: Grounder up the middle for single. The Rangers had three straight hits after 0-2 counts. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Ian Kinsler: Line-drive single on first pitch. Torii Hunter botched after one bounce. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Walk. Rangers 1-0, 1 out, bases loaded
Josh Hamilton: Chased the first pitch out of the zone and fouled it off, and then was way out in front of two change-ups for a strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs, bases loaded
Hank Blalock: Chased a curveball swinging for the fences and screwing himself into the ground, and chased a pitch that was at about the height of his chin for strike three. Hank looked very bad in this at-bat.
Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 4th:
Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: First pitch infield chopper. Awful communication as Kinsler, Broussard, and Ponson were all going for the ball with no one covering first base. Sidney finally went to first, but then he injured his ankle. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Rangers pitching change: Franklyn German in for Sidney Ponson.
Franklyn German vs. Reggie Willits: First-pitch ball.
Gerald Laird: Gunned down Chone Figgins trying to steal 2nd. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
German vs. Reggie Willits: German made Reggie look silly on third pitch and he hit into a high pop-out.
Michael Young: Misjudged the ball and back-pedaled the whole way. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
German vs. Maicer Izturis: Walked him after a 1-2 start to the count. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
German vs. Garret Anderson: 1-1 count.
Gerald Laird: Good speed on throw trying to throw out Izturis, but the throw didn’t go far enough and it bounced over Michael Young’s glove and into the outfield.
German vs. Garret Anderson: Fly-out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Franklyn German: Franklyn threw a lot of balls in the inning.
Bottom 4th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Milton Bradley: Struggled again against fastballs, and chopped one into the ground for an out.
Rangers 1-0, 1 out
David Murphy: 1-2 count, chased one way out of the zone for strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Frank Catalanotto: Liner to center for single, made good contact. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Gerald Laird: Chopper up the middle not hit very well, but he still got robbed by Weaver for the third out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 5th:
Rangers pitching change: Kam Loe in for Franklyn German.
Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Good pitch made Torii chop it to third for first out.
Hank Blalock: Nice play. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Good pitch, Casey chopped it into the ground.
Hank Blalock: Good defensive play as the ball went very high in the air after one bounce, but Blalock’s good throw beat the runner. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Loe vs. Howie Kendrick: Pop-up landed between Kinsler, Broussard and Murphy for single, although it wasn’t a bad defensive play. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Loe vs. Dee Brown: Fly-out to left. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Bottom 5th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver
Ben Broussard: Good hit, opposite-field single. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs
Ian Kinsler: Good sacrifice bunt, moves Broussard to second. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Michael Young: Started off with a 2-2 count and didn’t swing at a single pitch, very patient, fouled the next pitch off, then takes a ball for a full count. Chased outside pitch and grounded up the middle to Weaver and moved Broussard to third. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs
Josh Hamilton: Lined out to second. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs
Top 6th:
Loe vs. Bobby Wilson: Starts with 2-0 count, and then Kam threw an awful pitch that was hit for a home run. Tied 1-1, 0 outs
Loe vs. Chone Figgins: 1-2 count, good pitch, chopped to second for out. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Reggie Willits: Four-pitch walk. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Maicer Izturis: Single up the middle, men on first and third. Tied 1-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Garret Anderson: Kam’s control seems off, Garret hits into a sacrifice fly. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Deep fly-out.
Josh Hamilton: Great catch on warning track. Had to make running catch and then crash into the wall. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Bottom 6th:
Hank Blalock: 0-2 count, liner to second, got past second baseman, but hit hard enough to be counted as a hit, not an error. Angels 2-1, 0 outs
Milton Bradley: Grounded into double play, and practically walked down the first base line, even though it was a 3-6-3 double play. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
David Murphy: Worked a full count, then reached at one out of the zone and flied out to center.
Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Top 7th:
Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Line drive up the middle for a single. Angels 2-1, 0 outs
Loe vs. Erick Aybar: 0-2 count.
Gerald Laird: Easily gunned down Kotchman at second even though the pitch was in the dirt.
Angels 2-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Erick Aybar: Three-pitch strike-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Loe vs. Dee Brown: Ground-out to second. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Bottom 7th:
Frank Catalanotto: 0-2 count, good hit to warning track, but good defensive play for out. Angels 2-1, 1 out
Gerald Laird: Foul ball for pop-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Ben Broussard: Fouled a ball off his foot, but stayed in the game. He singled up the middle on the next pitch. Angels 2-1, 2 outs
Ian Kinsler: Ground-out to short. Angels 2-1, 3 outs
Top 8th:
Rangers pitching change: Robinson Tejeda in for Kam Loe
Tejeda vs. Bobby Wilson: First pitch popped out to third in foul territory. Angels 2-1, 1 out
Tejeda vs. ?: Deep fly ball misread by Josh Hamilton and turned into a triple. Angels 2-1, 1 out.
Tejeda vs. Reggie Willits: 0-2 count, worked to 3-2, and then Reggie hit a sacrifice fly.
Angels 3-1, 2 outs.
Tejeda vs. Maicer Izturis: Fly-out to center. Angels 3-1, 3 outs
Bottom 8th:
Michael Young: Liner to right for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Josh Hamilton: Liner to left for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Hank Blalock: Double-play. Angels 3-1, 2 outs
Milton Bradley: Late on second pitch, and third pitch. Worked the count full. Nice defensive play got him out. Angels 3-1, 3 outs
Top 9th:
Tejeda vs. Juan Rivera: Double. Angels 3-1, 0 outs
Tejeda vs. ?: Ground-out. Angels 3-1, 1 out
Tejeda vs. Casey Kotchman: Good play by Ramon Vazquez, jumped and caught liner. Angels 3-1, 2 outs
Tejeda vs. Erick Aybar: RBI single. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Tejeda vs. ?: Walk. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Rangers pitching change: Elizardo Ramirez in for Robinson Tejeda
Ramirez vs. Bobby Wilson: Fly-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs
Bottom 9th:
Nelson Cruz: Strike-out. Angels 4-1, 1 out
Kevin Mench: Pop-out. Angels 4-1, 2 outs
Adam Melhuse: Ground-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 50%
No – 33%
In playoffs - 16%
Come back next week for my season predictions.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Spring Training Trip Report
Last week I went to spring training to see the Rangers with my dad and granddad. This is my report of the trip and what we did.
Tuesday March 18th:
Tuesday was the day we were to fly out. Our plan was to get to Surprise in time to see the Rangers work out in the morning and then see their game against the A’s. But the weather was awful. It was pouring, with a lot of lightning. We ended up having a three and a half hour delay. The plane was an hour late getting to Dallas and then, after we boarded, we sat on the plane for 2 and a half hours before taking off. But we were lucky because right after we took off, they closed down the airport because of tornadoes for the rest of the day.
When we landed we went straight to Surprise and arrived almost exactly halfway through the game. We only saw Mendoza’s last two outs of his appearance. The final score was 11-6 Rangers. Bill White got the win, even though he allowed 2 runs and only got 1 out. Mendoza pitched very well, only allowing 1 run on 2 hits in 5 innings pitched. Ian Kinsler went 3-for-4 and Adam Melhuse had a great homer in his only at-bat. After the game I got autographs from Chris Shelton, Ryan Roberts, and Steve Busby. Before the trip I looked at the major league roster and, of the 62 players in camp, there were only 14 players that I didn’t have autographs of. My goal for the trip was to get those 14 autographs. After getting Shelton and Roberts, I needed 12 more players to get the whole team.
After the game, we then went to Outback and I ate way too much. After we had dinner we checked into the hotel (we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Surprise for the second straight year) and granddad and I were both asleep by eight.
Wednesday March 19th:
Wednesday was the Rangers only off day of the spring. I woke up at 4:30 AM and everybody was up by 5:20 AM because of the time zone difference. But we didn’t leave the hotel until 10:00 AM so we got really tired of the hotel by then. That morning we decided we had to do something during the day since the only game we had tickets to was a night game, so we got on the computer and got tickets to the Angels @ A’s game.
When we left the hotel we checked the Rangers backfields just to make sure nothing was going on and when there we saw that there wasn’t anything, we made the one-hour journey to the A’s ballpark. We could only get seats on metal bleachers, so it was very hot and sometimes we would even have to get up and go in the shade. The Angels won the game 6-1. Rich Harden pitched for the A’s and pitched pretty well, only allowing 2 runs in six innings, but allowed 8 hits. Nobody on the A’s had more than one hit in the game, and only five players had a hit. Ervin Santana pitched for the Angels and did great, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit in 6 innings. The only A’s run was given up by Serrano, who also gave up 3 of the 5 hits. Gary Matthews had a great game going 4-for-4 with 1 RBI. Vlad only went 1-for-4, but his one hit was his 3rd homer of the spring. Torii Hunter really struggled, going 0-4 with a strikeout. He got under almost every ball he hit and had three pop-up outs.
After the game we drove another hour to get back to Surprise to see a minor league game on the back fields. We got there before it started and we watched Thomas Diamond throw to hitters for the first time in a year. He did this in a simulated game. He looked good. After he was done we got to talk to him for a little while and he seemed happy with his game. The minor league game started at 3:00 PM and Kason Gabbard started the game. He struggled, allowing 3 runs in just 4 innings against minor leaguers. We saw and talked to Jamey Newberg, Scott Lucas, TR Sullivan, Jon Daniels, and Thad Levine for the first time on the trip during the game. I also talked to Blake Beavan and Kea Kometani and I got autographs from Julio Borbon, Max Ramirez, Elvis Andrus, Warner Madrigal, and David Paisano. I also talked to Scott Servais and got his autograph. Borbon, Ramirez, Andrus, and Madrigal started in major league camp and were on the list of players I needed. So I only needed eight more autographs to have the whole major league roster.
After the minor league game we took a 1 hour, 15 minute drive to Scottsdale to see the Cubs @ Giants game. With this game I had seen every team in Phoenix play a home game. The Cubs won the game 4-2. Jon Lieber got the win and Correia got the loss. Correia really struggled in his start, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. The rest of the Giants pitchers allowed no runs and only one hit total. Ray Durham went 2-2 with 2 walks , and Dave Roberts went 2-3. Jon Lieber of the Cubs went 5 innings, only allowing 1 run. Corey Patterson was the only Cub to get two hits as he went 2-for-4, but had no RBI’s. Cedeno had 2 RBI’s, both on a two-run homer. During the game, Fergie Jenkins, George Foster, and Lee Smith were signing autographs for $20 each (for charity). I got George Foster’s autograph.
After the game we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep almost as soon as we got there.
Thurday March 20th:
On Thurday the Rangers were in Tucson and we had decided to go to Tucson for the first time in our three years of going to Spring Training. It was a three-hour drive to get there, but we still got there before the gates opened. The Diamondbacks ballpark was very nice, but not as nice as the Rangers ballpark and I would give it an eight out of ten (10 being the best).
Before the game I got autographs from Ben Broussard, Jason Ellison, Elizardo Ramirez, and Edgardo Alfonzo. This got me down to 5 autographs that I needed (I already had Broussard’s autograph). I also got to talk with Evan Grant and Josh Lewin for the first time on the trip.
The Rangers won the game 8-7. Kevin Millwood made his only A-game start of the spring and looked very impressive, allowing no runs and only 3 hits in 5 innings. Wes Littleton pitched poorly, allowing four runs and five hits in just one inning of work. Feldman also struggled, allowing two runs in two innings and Josh Rupe allowed one run in one inning. Both Salty and Blalock hit homers and they both had two hits, but Salty had 4 RBI’s compared to Blalock’s 1 RBI.
After the game we drove back to Phoenix and saw a Coyotes hockey game. This was my granddad’s first-ever hockey game. The Coyotes were the 12 seed in the western conference and were playing the Kings who were the 15 seed in the western conference (worst seed). The Coyotes lost the game 6-5 in a shootout. The Coyotes didn’t score a goal in the whole shootout. The Coyotes have a new arena, which is very nice and is in a neat area, right next to a movie theater, a lot of restaurants, and the Cardinals football stadium.
After the game we went back to the hotel, and I watched college basketball while my dad read and my granddad slept.
Friday March 21st:
In the morning we went to the minor league workouts. There were no major league workouts at the time because they had a 6pm game that night, so the workouts were later that day. We tried to find out when they would be but no one who worked there knew when. We got answers everywhere from 12:30 to 4pm.
During the minor league workouts we hung out with the Newbergs and I played catch with Jamey’s 3-year-old son Max who had a great arm. He made me wish I had brought my glove from the car. While we were there I got an autograph from Engel Beltre, but he was never on the major league roster, so I still needed five more players.
We then went to Red Robin’s for lunch and saw Davidson beat Gonzaga on the TV’s. We went back to the hotel for about thirty minutes after we filled ourselves up.
At 1pm we went back to the minor league fields to see minor league games. On one field Kazuo Fukumori pitched and on another Vicente Padilla pitched. It was really cool. While we watched we talked to Eleanor Czajka, Judy Botts, the Newbergs, TR Sullivan and Scott Lucas. I also talked to Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan during the games. After Fukumori pitched, I got his autograph, leaving me with 4 more autographs to get. My Dad taught me some Japanese (he goes to Japan a lot) so I could ask Fukumori for an autograph in his language. I said ‘Sumi masen Fukumori-san. Autograph onegaishimasu?’ He said ‘very good’ before signing my ball.
At 4pm the major league workouts started and I saw Josh Hamilton’s BP and talked to Josh Hamilton and CJ Wilson. I got autographs from Eddie Gaurdado and Jason Davis, leaving me with 2 more players to get (Milton Bradley and Sidney Ponson). Both Eddie and Jason were really friendly.
The workouts ended and the Angels played at the Rangers stadium at 6pm. The Rangers lost 4-1. Sidney Ponson started really well and allowed no runs in 3 innings, but got injured in the fourth. After that, everyone in the bullpen struggled except for Elizardo Ramirez who only threw one pitch for an out. In Bradley’s first game back from his knee surgery he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a double play. Frank Catalanotto went 2-3 and Ben Broussard went 3-3 and they were the only two players with 2 hits or more. After the game was over we went and hung out at the hotel.
Saturday March 22nd:
On Saturday morning we went to the workouts and I got one autograph, Milton Bradley, leaving me with only Sidney Ponson to get. I never got Ponson because I never saw him.
I hung out Eleanor and Jamey Newberg and saw more Josh Hamilton BP. I also stopped 15 players and asked them a poll question (see below).
We then went to the Texas at Seattle game, but could only stay for three innings because we had to go to the airport. The Rangers won the game 8-5, but Eric Hurley really struggled allowing 5 runs in 4.1 innings. After he left the game, Seattle scored no runs and only got 3 hits. Both Ian Kinsler and Michael Young went 3-3 and Jason Botts went 2-5 with 3 RBI’s. Kevin Mench also played well, though, going 2-3, but with only 1 RBI. After three innings we drove about 45 minutes to the airport, where we found Joe Macko, whose flight had been delayed 5 hours. Our flight flew out on time and we made it home very smoothly.
I enjoyed the trip very much and am very glad I got to go.
I asked some of the players a poll question. I asked 15 players. Here are the results:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 33%
No – 60%
Only in the playoffs – 7%
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player the Rangers got from the trades analyzed in this blog?
Jack Daugherty – 64%
Brad Arnsberg – 14%
Cecilio Gaunte – 14%
Scott May – 7%
All others – 0%
Come back next week for a play-by-play analysis of the Angels @ Rangers game.
Tuesday March 18th:
Tuesday was the day we were to fly out. Our plan was to get to Surprise in time to see the Rangers work out in the morning and then see their game against the A’s. But the weather was awful. It was pouring, with a lot of lightning. We ended up having a three and a half hour delay. The plane was an hour late getting to Dallas and then, after we boarded, we sat on the plane for 2 and a half hours before taking off. But we were lucky because right after we took off, they closed down the airport because of tornadoes for the rest of the day.
When we landed we went straight to Surprise and arrived almost exactly halfway through the game. We only saw Mendoza’s last two outs of his appearance. The final score was 11-6 Rangers. Bill White got the win, even though he allowed 2 runs and only got 1 out. Mendoza pitched very well, only allowing 1 run on 2 hits in 5 innings pitched. Ian Kinsler went 3-for-4 and Adam Melhuse had a great homer in his only at-bat. After the game I got autographs from Chris Shelton, Ryan Roberts, and Steve Busby. Before the trip I looked at the major league roster and, of the 62 players in camp, there were only 14 players that I didn’t have autographs of. My goal for the trip was to get those 14 autographs. After getting Shelton and Roberts, I needed 12 more players to get the whole team.
After the game, we then went to Outback and I ate way too much. After we had dinner we checked into the hotel (we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Surprise for the second straight year) and granddad and I were both asleep by eight.
Wednesday March 19th:
Wednesday was the Rangers only off day of the spring. I woke up at 4:30 AM and everybody was up by 5:20 AM because of the time zone difference. But we didn’t leave the hotel until 10:00 AM so we got really tired of the hotel by then. That morning we decided we had to do something during the day since the only game we had tickets to was a night game, so we got on the computer and got tickets to the Angels @ A’s game.
When we left the hotel we checked the Rangers backfields just to make sure nothing was going on and when there we saw that there wasn’t anything, we made the one-hour journey to the A’s ballpark. We could only get seats on metal bleachers, so it was very hot and sometimes we would even have to get up and go in the shade. The Angels won the game 6-1. Rich Harden pitched for the A’s and pitched pretty well, only allowing 2 runs in six innings, but allowed 8 hits. Nobody on the A’s had more than one hit in the game, and only five players had a hit. Ervin Santana pitched for the Angels and did great, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit in 6 innings. The only A’s run was given up by Serrano, who also gave up 3 of the 5 hits. Gary Matthews had a great game going 4-for-4 with 1 RBI. Vlad only went 1-for-4, but his one hit was his 3rd homer of the spring. Torii Hunter really struggled, going 0-4 with a strikeout. He got under almost every ball he hit and had three pop-up outs.
After the game we drove another hour to get back to Surprise to see a minor league game on the back fields. We got there before it started and we watched Thomas Diamond throw to hitters for the first time in a year. He did this in a simulated game. He looked good. After he was done we got to talk to him for a little while and he seemed happy with his game. The minor league game started at 3:00 PM and Kason Gabbard started the game. He struggled, allowing 3 runs in just 4 innings against minor leaguers. We saw and talked to Jamey Newberg, Scott Lucas, TR Sullivan, Jon Daniels, and Thad Levine for the first time on the trip during the game. I also talked to Blake Beavan and Kea Kometani and I got autographs from Julio Borbon, Max Ramirez, Elvis Andrus, Warner Madrigal, and David Paisano. I also talked to Scott Servais and got his autograph. Borbon, Ramirez, Andrus, and Madrigal started in major league camp and were on the list of players I needed. So I only needed eight more autographs to have the whole major league roster.
After the minor league game we took a 1 hour, 15 minute drive to Scottsdale to see the Cubs @ Giants game. With this game I had seen every team in Phoenix play a home game. The Cubs won the game 4-2. Jon Lieber got the win and Correia got the loss. Correia really struggled in his start, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. The rest of the Giants pitchers allowed no runs and only one hit total. Ray Durham went 2-2 with 2 walks , and Dave Roberts went 2-3. Jon Lieber of the Cubs went 5 innings, only allowing 1 run. Corey Patterson was the only Cub to get two hits as he went 2-for-4, but had no RBI’s. Cedeno had 2 RBI’s, both on a two-run homer. During the game, Fergie Jenkins, George Foster, and Lee Smith were signing autographs for $20 each (for charity). I got George Foster’s autograph.
After the game we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep almost as soon as we got there.
Thurday March 20th:
On Thurday the Rangers were in Tucson and we had decided to go to Tucson for the first time in our three years of going to Spring Training. It was a three-hour drive to get there, but we still got there before the gates opened. The Diamondbacks ballpark was very nice, but not as nice as the Rangers ballpark and I would give it an eight out of ten (10 being the best).
Before the game I got autographs from Ben Broussard, Jason Ellison, Elizardo Ramirez, and Edgardo Alfonzo. This got me down to 5 autographs that I needed (I already had Broussard’s autograph). I also got to talk with Evan Grant and Josh Lewin for the first time on the trip.
The Rangers won the game 8-7. Kevin Millwood made his only A-game start of the spring and looked very impressive, allowing no runs and only 3 hits in 5 innings. Wes Littleton pitched poorly, allowing four runs and five hits in just one inning of work. Feldman also struggled, allowing two runs in two innings and Josh Rupe allowed one run in one inning. Both Salty and Blalock hit homers and they both had two hits, but Salty had 4 RBI’s compared to Blalock’s 1 RBI.
After the game we drove back to Phoenix and saw a Coyotes hockey game. This was my granddad’s first-ever hockey game. The Coyotes were the 12 seed in the western conference and were playing the Kings who were the 15 seed in the western conference (worst seed). The Coyotes lost the game 6-5 in a shootout. The Coyotes didn’t score a goal in the whole shootout. The Coyotes have a new arena, which is very nice and is in a neat area, right next to a movie theater, a lot of restaurants, and the Cardinals football stadium.
After the game we went back to the hotel, and I watched college basketball while my dad read and my granddad slept.
Friday March 21st:
In the morning we went to the minor league workouts. There were no major league workouts at the time because they had a 6pm game that night, so the workouts were later that day. We tried to find out when they would be but no one who worked there knew when. We got answers everywhere from 12:30 to 4pm.
During the minor league workouts we hung out with the Newbergs and I played catch with Jamey’s 3-year-old son Max who had a great arm. He made me wish I had brought my glove from the car. While we were there I got an autograph from Engel Beltre, but he was never on the major league roster, so I still needed five more players.
We then went to Red Robin’s for lunch and saw Davidson beat Gonzaga on the TV’s. We went back to the hotel for about thirty minutes after we filled ourselves up.
At 1pm we went back to the minor league fields to see minor league games. On one field Kazuo Fukumori pitched and on another Vicente Padilla pitched. It was really cool. While we watched we talked to Eleanor Czajka, Judy Botts, the Newbergs, TR Sullivan and Scott Lucas. I also talked to Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan during the games. After Fukumori pitched, I got his autograph, leaving me with 4 more autographs to get. My Dad taught me some Japanese (he goes to Japan a lot) so I could ask Fukumori for an autograph in his language. I said ‘Sumi masen Fukumori-san. Autograph onegaishimasu?’ He said ‘very good’ before signing my ball.
At 4pm the major league workouts started and I saw Josh Hamilton’s BP and talked to Josh Hamilton and CJ Wilson. I got autographs from Eddie Gaurdado and Jason Davis, leaving me with 2 more players to get (Milton Bradley and Sidney Ponson). Both Eddie and Jason were really friendly.
The workouts ended and the Angels played at the Rangers stadium at 6pm. The Rangers lost 4-1. Sidney Ponson started really well and allowed no runs in 3 innings, but got injured in the fourth. After that, everyone in the bullpen struggled except for Elizardo Ramirez who only threw one pitch for an out. In Bradley’s first game back from his knee surgery he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a double play. Frank Catalanotto went 2-3 and Ben Broussard went 3-3 and they were the only two players with 2 hits or more. After the game was over we went and hung out at the hotel.
Saturday March 22nd:
On Saturday morning we went to the workouts and I got one autograph, Milton Bradley, leaving me with only Sidney Ponson to get. I never got Ponson because I never saw him.
I hung out Eleanor and Jamey Newberg and saw more Josh Hamilton BP. I also stopped 15 players and asked them a poll question (see below).
We then went to the Texas at Seattle game, but could only stay for three innings because we had to go to the airport. The Rangers won the game 8-5, but Eric Hurley really struggled allowing 5 runs in 4.1 innings. After he left the game, Seattle scored no runs and only got 3 hits. Both Ian Kinsler and Michael Young went 3-3 and Jason Botts went 2-5 with 3 RBI’s. Kevin Mench also played well, though, going 2-3, but with only 1 RBI. After three innings we drove about 45 minutes to the airport, where we found Joe Macko, whose flight had been delayed 5 hours. Our flight flew out on time and we made it home very smoothly.
I enjoyed the trip very much and am very glad I got to go.
I asked some of the players a poll question. I asked 15 players. Here are the results:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 33%
No – 60%
Only in the playoffs – 7%
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player the Rangers got from the trades analyzed in this blog?
Jack Daugherty – 64%
Brad Arnsberg – 14%
Cecilio Gaunte – 14%
Scott May – 7%
All others – 0%
Come back next week for a play-by-play analysis of the Angels @ Rangers game.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 4
This week I will continue the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 3 on January 12 of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. I will start in the middle of 1987, because I stopped the last one on June 25th of 1987.
18. 7-31-87 The Texas Rangers traded Dave Owen to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later. The Kansas City Royals sent Rufus Ellis (minors) (October 13, 1987) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Tie – Dave Owen only had 5 at-bats after the trade, and Rufus Ellis never made it to the majors.
Record: 4-4-10
19. 8-13-87 The Baltimore Orioles traded Kurt Beamesderfer (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Greg Ferlenda (minors).
Tie – Neither player made it to the majors.
Record: 4-4-11
20. 11-2-87 The Texas Rangers traded Don Slaught to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. The New York Yankees sent Brad Arnsberg (November 10, 1987) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Loss – Both players played decent after the trade, but Don Slaught played until 1997, getting over 200 at-bats as a utility player 8 times. Brad Arnsberg only played until 1992, only pitching over 50 innings once. Don also hit .300 or better 5 times. Brad only had an ERA under 4.00 once, but he pitched 62.2 innings that year and had a 2.15 ERA, so it was legitimate.
Record: 4-5-11
21. 12-12-87 The Oakland Athletics traded Jose Tolentino to the Texas Rangers for Kris Killingworth (minors) and Tom Duggan (minors).
Tie – Jose never played for the Rangers, and Kris and Tom never made it to the majors.
Record: 4-5-12
22. 12-23-87 The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Scott May to the Texas Rangers for Javier Ortiz.
Tie - Scott May didn’t do much, only pitching 7.1 innings as a Ranger, and still allowed 7 earned runs. Javier Ortiz only had 160 career at-bats, none of them being with the Dodgers.
Record: 4-5-13
23. 3-17-88 The Chicago Cubs traded Ray Hayward to the Texas Rangers for Dave Meier and Greg Tabor.
Tie – Ray only played in 12 games as a Ranger and the Cubs only got 5 total at-bats out of the two players that they received.
Record: 4-5-14
24. 3-25-88 The Houston Astros traded Robbie Wine to the Texas Rangers for Mike Loynd
Tie – Neither player played in the majors after the trade.
Record: 4-5-15
25. 4-6-88 The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Billy Merrifield (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Dave Sax.
Tie – Billy Merrifield never made it to the majors and Dave Sax had 60 career at-bats, but they were all before the trade.
Record: 4-5-16
26. 8-30-88 The New York Yankees traded Cecilio Guante to the Texas Rangers for Dale Mohorcic.
Win - Both pitchers played 1 full season with the teams that they were traded to (both in 1989). Cecilio pitched 69 innings with the Rangers in 1989, with a 6-6 record and a 3.91 ERA. Dale pitched 57.2 innings with the Yankees in 1989, with a 2-1 record and a 4.99 ERA. They both played decent, but Cecilio was more efficient.
Record: 5-5-16
27. 9-1-88 The Texas Rangers traded Tom O'Malley to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later. The Montreal Expos sent Jack Daugherty (September 13, 1988) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Win - Tom O’Malley only had 27 at-bats as a member of the Expos, before he joined the Mets. Jack Daugherty played four years with the Rangers as a back-up outfielder, first baseman, and DH. He had two good years and two bad years. In his first two years his batting averages were .302 and .300. In his last two years as a Ranger, his batting averages were .194 and .205.
Record: 6-5-16
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has played the best so far in Spring Training?
Josh Hamilton – 65%
Ian Kinsler – 8%
Jason Ellison – 8%
Frank Francisco – 4%
Travis Metcalf – 4%
Vicente Padilla – 4%
Other – 4%
Come back next week for a report from my trip to Rangers Spring Training camp in Arizona.
18. 7-31-87 The Texas Rangers traded Dave Owen to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later. The Kansas City Royals sent Rufus Ellis (minors) (October 13, 1987) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Tie – Dave Owen only had 5 at-bats after the trade, and Rufus Ellis never made it to the majors.
Record: 4-4-10
19. 8-13-87 The Baltimore Orioles traded Kurt Beamesderfer (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Greg Ferlenda (minors).
Tie – Neither player made it to the majors.
Record: 4-4-11
20. 11-2-87 The Texas Rangers traded Don Slaught to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. The New York Yankees sent Brad Arnsberg (November 10, 1987) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Loss – Both players played decent after the trade, but Don Slaught played until 1997, getting over 200 at-bats as a utility player 8 times. Brad Arnsberg only played until 1992, only pitching over 50 innings once. Don also hit .300 or better 5 times. Brad only had an ERA under 4.00 once, but he pitched 62.2 innings that year and had a 2.15 ERA, so it was legitimate.
Record: 4-5-11
21. 12-12-87 The Oakland Athletics traded Jose Tolentino to the Texas Rangers for Kris Killingworth (minors) and Tom Duggan (minors).
Tie – Jose never played for the Rangers, and Kris and Tom never made it to the majors.
Record: 4-5-12
22. 12-23-87 The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Scott May to the Texas Rangers for Javier Ortiz.
Tie - Scott May didn’t do much, only pitching 7.1 innings as a Ranger, and still allowed 7 earned runs. Javier Ortiz only had 160 career at-bats, none of them being with the Dodgers.
Record: 4-5-13
23. 3-17-88 The Chicago Cubs traded Ray Hayward to the Texas Rangers for Dave Meier and Greg Tabor.
Tie – Ray only played in 12 games as a Ranger and the Cubs only got 5 total at-bats out of the two players that they received.
Record: 4-5-14
24. 3-25-88 The Houston Astros traded Robbie Wine to the Texas Rangers for Mike Loynd
Tie – Neither player played in the majors after the trade.
Record: 4-5-15
25. 4-6-88 The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Billy Merrifield (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Dave Sax.
Tie – Billy Merrifield never made it to the majors and Dave Sax had 60 career at-bats, but they were all before the trade.
Record: 4-5-16
26. 8-30-88 The New York Yankees traded Cecilio Guante to the Texas Rangers for Dale Mohorcic.
Win - Both pitchers played 1 full season with the teams that they were traded to (both in 1989). Cecilio pitched 69 innings with the Rangers in 1989, with a 6-6 record and a 3.91 ERA. Dale pitched 57.2 innings with the Yankees in 1989, with a 2-1 record and a 4.99 ERA. They both played decent, but Cecilio was more efficient.
Record: 5-5-16
27. 9-1-88 The Texas Rangers traded Tom O'Malley to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later. The Montreal Expos sent Jack Daugherty (September 13, 1988) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Win - Tom O’Malley only had 27 at-bats as a member of the Expos, before he joined the Mets. Jack Daugherty played four years with the Rangers as a back-up outfielder, first baseman, and DH. He had two good years and two bad years. In his first two years his batting averages were .302 and .300. In his last two years as a Ranger, his batting averages were .194 and .205.
Record: 6-5-16
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has played the best so far in Spring Training?
Josh Hamilton – 65%
Ian Kinsler – 8%
Jason Ellison – 8%
Frank Francisco – 4%
Travis Metcalf – 4%
Vicente Padilla – 4%
Other – 4%
Come back next week for a report from my trip to Rangers Spring Training camp in Arizona.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Spring Training Recap
This week I did an analysis of how all of the Rangers are doing so far in Spring Training.
Outfield:
Nelson Cruz: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Nelson is leading the team in at-bats with 20, and isn’t taking advantage of it with only 4 hits. With the way he’s playing, he probably won’t make the team.
Jason Botts: .375 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Jason is playing well, but his power numbers aren’t that great, so that’s the only thing he needs to step up on.
Marlon Byrd: .188 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Marlon has struggled going only 3-for-16, so his trade value might have gone down, but he’ll still make the team if not traded.
Jason Ellison: .438 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Jason has played very well getting on base over half the time with a .571 OBP. If he’s not getting a hit, he’s walking, as he leads the team in walks with 4. He might play himself onto the team.
David Murphy: .438 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
David is playing very well, but hasn’t walked at all so far this Spring Training. He struck out twice already.
Josh Hamilton: .533, 1 HR, 8 RBI
I think Josh has played the best of anybody so far this Spring Training, with the most RBI’s and second best batting average.
Kevin Mench: .214 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Kevin has walked plenty, but to make the team he has to be able to hit better.
Brandon Boggs: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Brandon hasn’t played well and has no chance of making the team.
John Mayberry, Jr.: .300 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
John has played well, but has only had 10 at-bats, already striking out twice.
Julio Borbon: .429 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI
Julio has played incredibly well, with 7 RBI’s in only 7 at-bats. Even though he’s playing so well, he has no chance of making the team.
Frank Catalanotto: .286 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Frank has had a decent spring,
Infielders:
Ian Kinsler: .474 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Ian has had the most plate appearances of anyone on the team and has definitely taken advantage.
Michael Young: .222 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Michael has struggled so far and needs to pick it up by the time the season starts.
Travis Metcalf: .412 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Travis is fighting for the utility job and is playing very well, so he has a good chance of making the team.
Ramon Vazquez: .467 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Ramon is also doing very well, so it will be fun to see who wins the utility job.
Ben Broussard: .077 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
The first base job is his, but he could lose it if he keeps this up.
Edgardo Alfonzo: .364 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Edgardo is playing well, but due to his competitors playing even better, he probably won’t make the team.
Elvis Andrus: .273 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Elvis is doing decent, but he has no shot at the team. He’s in major league camp for experience.
Chris Davis: .182 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Chris hasn’t played well, with only two hits, but both of them were homers.
Ryan Roberts: .455 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Ryan is playing very well, but he’ll have to play even better to make the team the way Travis Metcalf and Ramon Vazquez are playing.
German Duran: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
At this rate, German has no chance of being the utility guy.
Chris Shelton: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Chris hasn’t played too well, but has outplayed Ben Broussard, so if he plays a little better and Ben Broussard keeps playing the way he has, he could make the team.
Nate Gold: .111 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Nate hasn’t played very well, but has 2 walks in 9 at-bats.
Joaquin Arias: .143 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Joaquin hasn’t played very well, but has only had 7 at-bats.
Hank Blalock: .400, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Hank might have been doing well, but a car crash has kept him from having any more than 5 Spring Training at-bats.
Catchers:
Gerald Laird: .286 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Gerald has played well, but will need to do better to win the starting job.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Jarrod hasn’t played well, but has only had 10 at-bats.
Adam Melhuse: .375 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Adam has a good batting average, but will need to bring up his power numbers to even have a shot at making the team.
Taylor Teagarden: .667 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Taylor has played well, but only in 3 at-bats.
Chris Stewart: .500 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Chris only has 2 at-bats.
Max Ramirez: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Max struck out in his only at-bat.
Pitchers:
Scott Feldman: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 1.80 ERA
Scott leads the team in innings pitched and has played well, so he has a good shot at making the team at this point, especially with Rheinecker’s injury.
Vicente Padilla: 5 IP, 2-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Vicente is pitching really well so far and needs to keep it up into the regular season.
Elizardo Ramirez: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Elizardo is doing pretty well, but still probably won’t make the team.
AJ Murray: 5 IP, 0-1 W-L, 10.80 ERA
AJ is not doing very well, and has probably lost any chance he had to make the team out of camp.
Eric Hurley: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 1.93 ERA
Eric is pitching very well and is getting some great experience to help him prepare for possibly being called up to the majors late in the season.
Jason Jennings: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
If Vicente Padilla starts to struggle, he might slide up to the #2 spot in the rotation.
Josh Rupe: 4.2 IP, 1-1 W-L, 7.71 ERA
Josh is playing poorly, and has lost whatever chance he had of making the team.
Jamey Wright: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 3.86 ERA
Jamey is doing decent, which is just what was expected of him.
Matt Harrison: 4.1 IP, 0-1 W-L, 6.23 ERA
Matt has struggled so far, but he has only been in A-ball, so it doesn’t mean anything to the roster and is great experience for him.
Kazuo Fukumori: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kazuo is playing very well and hopefully he can do well in the regular season, too.
Kason Gabbard: 4 IP, 0-1 W-L, 11.25 ERA
Kason is not pitching at all well so far and if he’s not careful, he could lose his major league job.
Robinson Tejeda: 4 IP, 0-0 W-L, 11.25 ERA
Robinson has been awful and won’t make the team.
Jason Davis: 3.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 9.82 ERA
Jason still has a slight chance of making the team, but his window of opportunity is really closing.
Frank Francisco: 5.1 IP, 1-0 W-L, 1.69 ERA
Frank has played well and has clinched a bullpen spot.
Kea Kometani: 4.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kea has played very well, but this is mostly about experience. He has almost no chance at the team, unless there’s another injury, but could be putting him in position for call-up during the season.
Kameron Loe: 3.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 14.73 ERA
Kameron’s struggles are hurting his chances to make the team. Hopefully he’ll start putting together some strong outings. He’s been working on a new pitch, so the coaching staff might cut him some slack.
Luis Mendoza: 3.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 10.80 ERA
Luis has a chance of making the team, especially with the injuries to McCarthy and Millwood. He’s struggled so far but seems to be getting stronger.
Franklyn German: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Franklyn has played very well, and due to his play and the injuries, he could make the team.
Eddie Gaurdado: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 6.00 ERA
Eddie isn’t playing very well, but might get the closer role due to CJ Wilson’s biceps tendinitis.
Bill White: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Bill has done well, and might be setting himself up for a mid-season call-up.
Doug Mathis: 2.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Doug is not in big league camp, but has done well with his opportunity.
Wes Littleton: 2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 4.50 ERA
Wes might replace someone due to injury, but he hasn’t pitched many innings yet.
Warner Madrigal: 2 IP, 0-1 W-L, 13.50 ERA
Warner has struggled and has almost no chance of making the team.
Tommy Hunter: 1.1 IP, 1-0 W-L, 13.50 ERA
Tommy was just drafted last summer and is not part of major league camp. He’s probably excited to have gotten the chance to pitch in a big league spring training game.
Steve Rowe: 1.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 6.75 ERA
Steve has been in the minors for a long time and came up from minor league camp to pitch in a game. Even though he won’t be on the major league team, the Rangers respect them and might be looking at him as a coach when he retires.
Brandon McCarthy: 1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Brandon has only pitched 1 inning due to injury. Hopefully he’ll recover in time to start the season.
CJ Wilson: 1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
CJ Wilson has also only pitched 1 inning due to injury.
Kendy Batista: 0.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kendy pitched 0.2 innings in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Eric Cyr: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00
Eric was also making an appearance out of minor league camp.
Brennan Garr: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Brennan has only gotten 1 out in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Omar Poveda: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 108.00 ERA
Omar allowed 4 ER and only got one out in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the utility infielder?
Ramon Vazquez – 47%
German Duran – 23%
Travis Metcalf – 14%
Edgardo Alfonzo – 4%
Ryan Roberts – 4%
Other – 4%
Come back next week for Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 4.
Outfield:
Nelson Cruz: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Nelson is leading the team in at-bats with 20, and isn’t taking advantage of it with only 4 hits. With the way he’s playing, he probably won’t make the team.
Jason Botts: .375 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Jason is playing well, but his power numbers aren’t that great, so that’s the only thing he needs to step up on.
Marlon Byrd: .188 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Marlon has struggled going only 3-for-16, so his trade value might have gone down, but he’ll still make the team if not traded.
Jason Ellison: .438 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Jason has played very well getting on base over half the time with a .571 OBP. If he’s not getting a hit, he’s walking, as he leads the team in walks with 4. He might play himself onto the team.
David Murphy: .438 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
David is playing very well, but hasn’t walked at all so far this Spring Training. He struck out twice already.
Josh Hamilton: .533, 1 HR, 8 RBI
I think Josh has played the best of anybody so far this Spring Training, with the most RBI’s and second best batting average.
Kevin Mench: .214 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Kevin has walked plenty, but to make the team he has to be able to hit better.
Brandon Boggs: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Brandon hasn’t played well and has no chance of making the team.
John Mayberry, Jr.: .300 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
John has played well, but has only had 10 at-bats, already striking out twice.
Julio Borbon: .429 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI
Julio has played incredibly well, with 7 RBI’s in only 7 at-bats. Even though he’s playing so well, he has no chance of making the team.
Frank Catalanotto: .286 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Frank has had a decent spring,
Infielders:
Ian Kinsler: .474 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Ian has had the most plate appearances of anyone on the team and has definitely taken advantage.
Michael Young: .222 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Michael has struggled so far and needs to pick it up by the time the season starts.
Travis Metcalf: .412 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Travis is fighting for the utility job and is playing very well, so he has a good chance of making the team.
Ramon Vazquez: .467 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Ramon is also doing very well, so it will be fun to see who wins the utility job.
Ben Broussard: .077 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
The first base job is his, but he could lose it if he keeps this up.
Edgardo Alfonzo: .364 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Edgardo is playing well, but due to his competitors playing even better, he probably won’t make the team.
Elvis Andrus: .273 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Elvis is doing decent, but he has no shot at the team. He’s in major league camp for experience.
Chris Davis: .182 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Chris hasn’t played well, with only two hits, but both of them were homers.
Ryan Roberts: .455 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Ryan is playing very well, but he’ll have to play even better to make the team the way Travis Metcalf and Ramon Vazquez are playing.
German Duran: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
At this rate, German has no chance of being the utility guy.
Chris Shelton: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Chris hasn’t played too well, but has outplayed Ben Broussard, so if he plays a little better and Ben Broussard keeps playing the way he has, he could make the team.
Nate Gold: .111 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Nate hasn’t played very well, but has 2 walks in 9 at-bats.
Joaquin Arias: .143 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Joaquin hasn’t played very well, but has only had 7 at-bats.
Hank Blalock: .400, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Hank might have been doing well, but a car crash has kept him from having any more than 5 Spring Training at-bats.
Catchers:
Gerald Laird: .286 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Gerald has played well, but will need to do better to win the starting job.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia: .200 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Jarrod hasn’t played well, but has only had 10 at-bats.
Adam Melhuse: .375 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Adam has a good batting average, but will need to bring up his power numbers to even have a shot at making the team.
Taylor Teagarden: .667 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Taylor has played well, but only in 3 at-bats.
Chris Stewart: .500 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Chris only has 2 at-bats.
Max Ramirez: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Max struck out in his only at-bat.
Pitchers:
Scott Feldman: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 1.80 ERA
Scott leads the team in innings pitched and has played well, so he has a good shot at making the team at this point, especially with Rheinecker’s injury.
Vicente Padilla: 5 IP, 2-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Vicente is pitching really well so far and needs to keep it up into the regular season.
Elizardo Ramirez: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Elizardo is doing pretty well, but still probably won’t make the team.
AJ Murray: 5 IP, 0-1 W-L, 10.80 ERA
AJ is not doing very well, and has probably lost any chance he had to make the team out of camp.
Eric Hurley: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 1.93 ERA
Eric is pitching very well and is getting some great experience to help him prepare for possibly being called up to the majors late in the season.
Jason Jennings: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
If Vicente Padilla starts to struggle, he might slide up to the #2 spot in the rotation.
Josh Rupe: 4.2 IP, 1-1 W-L, 7.71 ERA
Josh is playing poorly, and has lost whatever chance he had of making the team.
Jamey Wright: 4.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 3.86 ERA
Jamey is doing decent, which is just what was expected of him.
Matt Harrison: 4.1 IP, 0-1 W-L, 6.23 ERA
Matt has struggled so far, but he has only been in A-ball, so it doesn’t mean anything to the roster and is great experience for him.
Kazuo Fukumori: 5 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kazuo is playing very well and hopefully he can do well in the regular season, too.
Kason Gabbard: 4 IP, 0-1 W-L, 11.25 ERA
Kason is not pitching at all well so far and if he’s not careful, he could lose his major league job.
Robinson Tejeda: 4 IP, 0-0 W-L, 11.25 ERA
Robinson has been awful and won’t make the team.
Jason Davis: 3.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 9.82 ERA
Jason still has a slight chance of making the team, but his window of opportunity is really closing.
Frank Francisco: 5.1 IP, 1-0 W-L, 1.69 ERA
Frank has played well and has clinched a bullpen spot.
Kea Kometani: 4.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kea has played very well, but this is mostly about experience. He has almost no chance at the team, unless there’s another injury, but could be putting him in position for call-up during the season.
Kameron Loe: 3.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 14.73 ERA
Kameron’s struggles are hurting his chances to make the team. Hopefully he’ll start putting together some strong outings. He’s been working on a new pitch, so the coaching staff might cut him some slack.
Luis Mendoza: 3.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 10.80 ERA
Luis has a chance of making the team, especially with the injuries to McCarthy and Millwood. He’s struggled so far but seems to be getting stronger.
Franklyn German: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Franklyn has played very well, and due to his play and the injuries, he could make the team.
Eddie Gaurdado: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 6.00 ERA
Eddie isn’t playing very well, but might get the closer role due to CJ Wilson’s biceps tendinitis.
Bill White: 3 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Bill has done well, and might be setting himself up for a mid-season call-up.
Doug Mathis: 2.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Doug is not in big league camp, but has done well with his opportunity.
Wes Littleton: 2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 4.50 ERA
Wes might replace someone due to injury, but he hasn’t pitched many innings yet.
Warner Madrigal: 2 IP, 0-1 W-L, 13.50 ERA
Warner has struggled and has almost no chance of making the team.
Tommy Hunter: 1.1 IP, 1-0 W-L, 13.50 ERA
Tommy was just drafted last summer and is not part of major league camp. He’s probably excited to have gotten the chance to pitch in a big league spring training game.
Steve Rowe: 1.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 6.75 ERA
Steve has been in the minors for a long time and came up from minor league camp to pitch in a game. Even though he won’t be on the major league team, the Rangers respect them and might be looking at him as a coach when he retires.
Brandon McCarthy: 1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Brandon has only pitched 1 inning due to injury. Hopefully he’ll recover in time to start the season.
CJ Wilson: 1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
CJ Wilson has also only pitched 1 inning due to injury.
Kendy Batista: 0.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Kendy pitched 0.2 innings in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Eric Cyr: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00
Eric was also making an appearance out of minor league camp.
Brennan Garr: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA
Brennan has only gotten 1 out in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Omar Poveda: 0.1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 108.00 ERA
Omar allowed 4 ER and only got one out in an appearance out of minor league camp.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the utility infielder?
Ramon Vazquez – 47%
German Duran – 23%
Travis Metcalf – 14%
Edgardo Alfonzo – 4%
Ryan Roberts – 4%
Other – 4%
Come back next week for Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 4.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Analysis of Spring Training Infielders
The Rangers opened Spring Training with 14 infielders in major league camp. I did an analysis of all the infielders in big league camp, gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training, and predicted the infield roster.
Infielders:
Edgardo Alfonzo:
Last year, Edgardo didn’t make it to the majors all year after a terrible 2006. In 2006, he only had 87 at-bats, and hit .126 with 0 home runs and 5 RBI’s. In 2005, he hit .277 with 2 home runs and 43 RBI’s in 368 at-bats, so ’06 was a big drop-off for him. Just like last year, I don’t think Edgardo will make the team all year.
Percentage: 19.9% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Elvis Andrus:
Elvis hit .244 in 385 at-bats with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and .300 in 110 at-bats with the Bakersfield Blaze. Elvis is great at fielding. Even after he did so well after coming to Texas, he’s 19 years old and is just in major league camp for experience.
Percentage: 0%
Joaquin Arias:
Last year Joaquin only had 18 total at-bats due to injury. He had 7 at-bats in the rookie league and 11 in triple-A. Since he’s coming back from injury and I only have one back-up infield spot, he probably won’t make the team.
Percentage: 19.7%
Hank Blalock:
Last year Hank missed a lot of the year due to injury. When he was playing he hit .293 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI’s in only 208 at-bats. Hank had a very good year last year, but he has always been much better in his first month of the year than the others, and last year he pretty much had two first months because of the injury. He will be the starting third baseman, since he’s already shown in camp that he can make the throws from third to first.
Percentage: 100%
Ben Broussard:
Ben had a decent year last year with the Mariners, batting .275 with 7 homers and 29 RBI’s in 240 at-bats. He will be the starting first baseman for the Rangers unless Chris Shelton has an amazing spring.
Percentage: 97.5%
Chris Davis:
Last year, Chris hit .294 with 12 home runs and 25 RBI’s in 109 at-bats in Frisco. In Oklahoma City, he hit .298 with 24 homers and 93 RBI’s in 386 at-bats. His total power numbers last year were 36 home runs with 118 RBI’s, which is very good. Even though he played so well last year, the Rangers are trying to transform him into a first baseman this year, so he won’t make the team.
Percentage: 0%
German Duran:
Last year, German played great, hitting .300 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI’s in 480 at-bats in Frisco. He played so well that the Rangers are trying to make him a utility guy for this year. I don’t think he will be the utility guy, though.
Percentage: 23.4%
Nate Gold:
After a great 2006, where Nate hit .292 with 34 home runs and 103 RBI’s in 452 at-bats in Frisco, Nate played well again in 2007. Last year he hit .292 with 26 homers and 103 RBI’s in 469 at-bats. He had the same batting average and the same amount of RBI’s in both 2006 and 2007. The only stat differences are that he had 8 less home runs in 2007 and 17 more at-bats in 2007. Even though he’s played so well the last couple years, he probably won’t make the team, especially since he’s not on the 40-man roster.
Percentage: 2.3%
Ian Kinsler:
Ian had plenty of power last year, blasting out 20 home runs, with 61 RBI’s. His batting average fell from 06’s .286 to .263. His on-base percentage rose, though, as Ian got 22 more walks than he did in ’06. He will be the starting second baseman.
Percentage: 100%
Travis Metcalf:
In Travis’ 161 at-bats he hit .255 with 5 homers and 21 RBI’s. But he’s known for his fielding, which is very good, but he only had a .947 fielding percentage while in the majors last year. It’s between Travis, Ramon Vazquez, and German Duran for the backup infield spot, and I don’t think Travis will get it, since he’s mostly a third baseman.
Percentage: 40.2%
Ryan Roberts:
Ryan only had 13 at-bats in both 2006 and 2007 and he hit .077 in both years. He has hit 1 career homer with 1 career RBI in his 26 at-bats. His career minor league batting average is .268, although it was only .249 last year. Last year he had 12 home runs and 47 RBI’s while he was in the minors. He has a chance since he can play second and third base, but since he’s not on the 40-man roster, he probably won’t make the team.
Percentage: 18.3%
Chris Shelton:
Last year Chris didn’t play in the majors at all, and only hit .269 with 14 home runs and 64 RBI’s in AAA Tulsa. In 2006 he played for the Tigers and hit .273 with 16 home runs and 47 RBI’s in 373 at-bats. He has a decent chance at making the team, but I don’t think he will.
Percentage: 18.6%
Ramon Vazquez:
Ramon had 300 at-bats last year, and in those he hit .230 with 8 homers and 28 RBI’s. Even though he didn’t hit too well last year, I think he’ll get the back-up infield spot, since he can play second, short, and third base.
Percentage: 66.7%
Michael Young:
After a very slow start last year, Michael ended up getting 201 hits, while hitting .315 with 9 home runs and 94 RBI’s. He will be the starting shortstop.
Percentage: 100%
Infield Roster:
1B: Ben Broussard
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Hank Blalock
SS: Michael Young
Utility: Ramon Vazquez
Next in line:
Edgardo Alfonzo
German Duran
Travis Metcalf
Predicted Team Roster:
Starting pitcher #1: Kevin Millwood
Starting pitcher #2: Vicente Padilla
Starting pitcher #3: Jason Jennings
Starting pitcher #4: Brandon McCarthy
Starting pitcher #5: Kason Gabbard
Closer: CJ Wilson
Set-up man: Eddie Guardado
7th inning man: Kazuo Fukumori
Middle Reliever: Frankie FranciscoMiddle Reliever: Wes Littleton
Middle/Long Reliever: Joaquin Benoit
Long Reliever: Kameron Loe
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Backup Catcher: Gerald Laird
1B: Ben Broussard
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Hank Blalock
SS: Michael Young
Utility: Ramon Vazquez
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Marlon Byrd
OF: Milton Bradley
OF: David Murphy
OF: Frank Catalanotto
DH: Jason Botts
Next in line:
Edgardo Alfonzo
Nelson Cruz
Jason Davis
German Duran
Jason Ellison
Scott Feldman
Wes Littleton
Adam Melhuse
Kevin Mench
Luis Mendoza
Travis Metcalf
Chris Stewart
Jamey Wright
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get the last outfield/DH spot?
Jason Botts – 72%
Kevin Mench – 20%
Nelson Cruz – 4%
Jason Ellison – 4%
Other – 0%
Come back next week for Part 4 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.
Infielders:
Edgardo Alfonzo:
Last year, Edgardo didn’t make it to the majors all year after a terrible 2006. In 2006, he only had 87 at-bats, and hit .126 with 0 home runs and 5 RBI’s. In 2005, he hit .277 with 2 home runs and 43 RBI’s in 368 at-bats, so ’06 was a big drop-off for him. Just like last year, I don’t think Edgardo will make the team all year.
Percentage: 19.9% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Elvis Andrus:
Elvis hit .244 in 385 at-bats with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and .300 in 110 at-bats with the Bakersfield Blaze. Elvis is great at fielding. Even after he did so well after coming to Texas, he’s 19 years old and is just in major league camp for experience.
Percentage: 0%
Joaquin Arias:
Last year Joaquin only had 18 total at-bats due to injury. He had 7 at-bats in the rookie league and 11 in triple-A. Since he’s coming back from injury and I only have one back-up infield spot, he probably won’t make the team.
Percentage: 19.7%
Hank Blalock:
Last year Hank missed a lot of the year due to injury. When he was playing he hit .293 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI’s in only 208 at-bats. Hank had a very good year last year, but he has always been much better in his first month of the year than the others, and last year he pretty much had two first months because of the injury. He will be the starting third baseman, since he’s already shown in camp that he can make the throws from third to first.
Percentage: 100%
Ben Broussard:
Ben had a decent year last year with the Mariners, batting .275 with 7 homers and 29 RBI’s in 240 at-bats. He will be the starting first baseman for the Rangers unless Chris Shelton has an amazing spring.
Percentage: 97.5%
Chris Davis:
Last year, Chris hit .294 with 12 home runs and 25 RBI’s in 109 at-bats in Frisco. In Oklahoma City, he hit .298 with 24 homers and 93 RBI’s in 386 at-bats. His total power numbers last year were 36 home runs with 118 RBI’s, which is very good. Even though he played so well last year, the Rangers are trying to transform him into a first baseman this year, so he won’t make the team.
Percentage: 0%
German Duran:
Last year, German played great, hitting .300 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI’s in 480 at-bats in Frisco. He played so well that the Rangers are trying to make him a utility guy for this year. I don’t think he will be the utility guy, though.
Percentage: 23.4%
Nate Gold:
After a great 2006, where Nate hit .292 with 34 home runs and 103 RBI’s in 452 at-bats in Frisco, Nate played well again in 2007. Last year he hit .292 with 26 homers and 103 RBI’s in 469 at-bats. He had the same batting average and the same amount of RBI’s in both 2006 and 2007. The only stat differences are that he had 8 less home runs in 2007 and 17 more at-bats in 2007. Even though he’s played so well the last couple years, he probably won’t make the team, especially since he’s not on the 40-man roster.
Percentage: 2.3%
Ian Kinsler:
Ian had plenty of power last year, blasting out 20 home runs, with 61 RBI’s. His batting average fell from 06’s .286 to .263. His on-base percentage rose, though, as Ian got 22 more walks than he did in ’06. He will be the starting second baseman.
Percentage: 100%
Travis Metcalf:
In Travis’ 161 at-bats he hit .255 with 5 homers and 21 RBI’s. But he’s known for his fielding, which is very good, but he only had a .947 fielding percentage while in the majors last year. It’s between Travis, Ramon Vazquez, and German Duran for the backup infield spot, and I don’t think Travis will get it, since he’s mostly a third baseman.
Percentage: 40.2%
Ryan Roberts:
Ryan only had 13 at-bats in both 2006 and 2007 and he hit .077 in both years. He has hit 1 career homer with 1 career RBI in his 26 at-bats. His career minor league batting average is .268, although it was only .249 last year. Last year he had 12 home runs and 47 RBI’s while he was in the minors. He has a chance since he can play second and third base, but since he’s not on the 40-man roster, he probably won’t make the team.
Percentage: 18.3%
Chris Shelton:
Last year Chris didn’t play in the majors at all, and only hit .269 with 14 home runs and 64 RBI’s in AAA Tulsa. In 2006 he played for the Tigers and hit .273 with 16 home runs and 47 RBI’s in 373 at-bats. He has a decent chance at making the team, but I don’t think he will.
Percentage: 18.6%
Ramon Vazquez:
Ramon had 300 at-bats last year, and in those he hit .230 with 8 homers and 28 RBI’s. Even though he didn’t hit too well last year, I think he’ll get the back-up infield spot, since he can play second, short, and third base.
Percentage: 66.7%
Michael Young:
After a very slow start last year, Michael ended up getting 201 hits, while hitting .315 with 9 home runs and 94 RBI’s. He will be the starting shortstop.
Percentage: 100%
Infield Roster:
1B: Ben Broussard
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Hank Blalock
SS: Michael Young
Utility: Ramon Vazquez
Next in line:
Edgardo Alfonzo
German Duran
Travis Metcalf
Predicted Team Roster:
Starting pitcher #1: Kevin Millwood
Starting pitcher #2: Vicente Padilla
Starting pitcher #3: Jason Jennings
Starting pitcher #4: Brandon McCarthy
Starting pitcher #5: Kason Gabbard
Closer: CJ Wilson
Set-up man: Eddie Guardado
7th inning man: Kazuo Fukumori
Middle Reliever: Frankie FranciscoMiddle Reliever: Wes Littleton
Middle/Long Reliever: Joaquin Benoit
Long Reliever: Kameron Loe
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Backup Catcher: Gerald Laird
1B: Ben Broussard
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Hank Blalock
SS: Michael Young
Utility: Ramon Vazquez
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Marlon Byrd
OF: Milton Bradley
OF: David Murphy
OF: Frank Catalanotto
DH: Jason Botts
Next in line:
Edgardo Alfonzo
Nelson Cruz
Jason Davis
German Duran
Jason Ellison
Scott Feldman
Wes Littleton
Adam Melhuse
Kevin Mench
Luis Mendoza
Travis Metcalf
Chris Stewart
Jamey Wright
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get the last outfield/DH spot?
Jason Botts – 72%
Kevin Mench – 20%
Nelson Cruz – 4%
Jason Ellison – 4%
Other – 0%
Come back next week for Part 4 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Analysis of Spring Training Outfielders and Catchers
The Rangers opened Spring Training last week with 12 outfielders and 6 catchers in major league camp. I did an analysis of all the outfielders and catchers in big league camp, gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training, and predicted the outfield and catching rosters.
Outfielders:
Brandon Boggs:
Brandon hit .266 with the RoughRiders last year and .250 with the Blaze last year, with a .262 total average on the year. Overall last year he had 23 home runs, 73 RBI’s, and 84 walks. He strikes out a lot, though, striking out 131 times in just last year. Last year, he had a 75% stolen base percentage, stealing 15 out of 20 tries. He has almost no chance of making the team out of camp and probably for the whole year.
Percentage: 0.1% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Julio Borbon:
Julio was drafted out of Tennessee just last year, and is a center fielder (where we already have Josh Hamilton), so there is no chance of him making the team, unless they plan to make him the center-field version of David Clyde.
Percentage: 0%
Jason Botts:
Jason has not played well in the majors; batting .242 with 3 home runs and 23 RBI’s in 244 at-bats. He’s played very well in the minors, though, batting a lifetime .293 with 112 home runs and 540 RBI’s in 3,053 at-bats. He has no options left so he will probably make the team, unless he has an incredibly bad camp.
Percentage: 86.7%
Milton Bradley:
Milton was just signed over the offseason after hitting .306 with 13 homers and 37 RBI’s in 209 major league at-bats split between Oakland and San Diego last year. He will be on the team, probably as the DH to start the season while he finishes recovering from injury. Once he’s recovered he’ll have a corner outfield spot.
Percentage: 100%
Marlon Byrd:
After hitting .223 with 18 RBI’s with the Nationals in 2006, he had a career year last year, batting .307 (career-high), with 10 homers (career-high), 70 RBI’s (career-high), 5 stolen bases (tied for second most), 60 runs (second most), and 414 at-bats (second most). He will make the team unless he’s traded before the end of camp.
Percentage: 100%
Frank Catalanotto:
After struggling early last year, Cat came on strong after injury and hit .260 on the year. He had 11 homers, which is tied for second most in his career, and 44 RBI’s. He only had 28 walks all year. Last year’s OBP for Frank was .337, only seven points higher than his highest batting average (.330 in 2001, in which he had 463 at-bats). Even after last year’s awful year for Cat, he’ll make the team as a backup outfielder, DH, and first baseman.
Percentage: 100%
Nelson Cruz:
Nelson was the key to the Francisco Cordero trade because he had a lot of potential, but even given multiple chances he hasn’t come through for the Rangers. He has a .282 career on base percentage and a .231 career batting average. He has no options left and I think he’ll be off the team at the end of spring.
Percentage: 26.3%
Jason Ellison:
Jason has a .251 career batting average in 541career at-bats. He’s played for the Giants and the Reds. Last year he hit .283 for the Giants in 46 at-bats, and .188 for the Reds in 48 at-bats totaling .234 in 94 at-bats. He had only one HR and 2 RBI’s. He struck out 27 times and walked only 8. He struck out in 29% of his at-bats. He might make it up to the majors sometime in the year, but not out of the spring, unless he does something incredible.
Percentage: 16.8%
Josh Hamilton:
Over the offseason the Rangers traded Edinson Volquez to the Reds for Josh, who batted .292 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI’s last year. He was the Reds leadoff man, even though he has a lot of power. It is unlikely that he will lead off here. He is injury prone, but pending injury he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 100%
John Mayberry Jr.:
Last year John didn’t do very well average wise, hitting only .241 in 245 at-bats in Frisco, and only .230 in 244 at-bats in Bakersfield. That totals up to a .235 batting average. But he had 30 home runs and 83 RBI’s over the course of the year. Last year’s average and the fact that John has only made it to AA (plus the fact that he’s not on the 40-man roster) will keep him from making the team.
Percentage: 0%
Kevin Mench:
Kevin had 288 at-bats last year, and hit .267 with 8 homers and 37 RBI’s for the Brewers. Kevin is a very streaky hitter. He has a very good chance of coming up due to an injury, but unless he plays terrific, there’s too much competition for him to make the team at the end of camp, since the Rangers have the option of sending him to AAA until June.
Percentage: 25.4%
David Murphy:
Last year with the Rangers, David hit .340 with 2 home runs, 14 RBI’s and 12 doubles in 103 at-bats after only having two AB’s with the Red Sox the first half of the year. After having a good year last year, he will probably plateau a left or right field position.
Percentage: 95.9%
Predicted outfield roster:
Center Field: Josh Hamilton
Right Field: Marlon Byrd/Milton Bradley
Left Field: David Murphy/Frank Catalanotto
DH: Milton Bradley/Jason Botts
Next in line:
Nelson Cruz
Jason Ellison
Kevin Mench
Catchers:
Gerald Laird:
Gerald really struggled last year, hitting only.224 with 9 homers and 47 RBI’s. It was a big disappointment after his 2006 batting average of .296. He also almost doubled his strikeout total from ’06. It went from 54 to 103. Last year might lead to him getting a backup role. He is very good at fielding, though, as he threw out 40% of baserunners trying to steal last year. The team’s ERA when Gerald was behing the plate last year was 4.78, which is okay. He’s going to spring training this year battling Saltalamacchia for the starting catcher position. I think he will be the backup catcher.
Percentage: 87.4%
Adam Melhuse:
Adam hit a total of .213 last year split between the A’s and the Rangers. He hit .231 in Oakland and .206 with the Rangers. He only had one home run and 9 RBI’s the whole year in his 94 total at-bats. He struck out 26 times in those at-bats, which is striking out 28 percent of the time. Melhuse threw out only 9% of baserunners trying to steal last year, while he was with the Rangers. But the pitchers had a good ERA in Adam’s 123 innings behind the plate. The Rangers’ ERA was 4.02 with Melhuse catching. Even though he didn’t play very well last year, his experience could make him the backup especially if the Rangers end up moving Laird.
Percentage: 28.9%
Max Ramirez:
We just got Max in the Kenny Lofton trade last year. He hit .303 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI’s in High-A Kinston before coming to the Rangers, and hit .307 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI’s in High-A Bakersfield after coming to the Rangers. Since Max is only in High-A, he doesn’t have any chance at making the team throughout the whole year.
Percentage: 0%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia:
After getting Salty in the Mark Teixeira trade last year he hit .251 with 7 home runs and 21 RBI’s after coming and hit .284 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI’s with the Braves before coming here. But Jarrod threw out only 16% of baserunners trying to steal (while with the Rangers) and the Rangers had a 4.75 ERA with Salty behind the plate. But unless he completely blows it in the spring, he’ll be on the team, most likely as the starting catcher.
Percentage: 98.7%
Chris Stewart:
Chris started the season on the team and hit .243 with 0 home runs and 3 RBI’s in 37 at-bats before being sent down to Oklahoma City. There he hit .242 with 2 home runs and 21 RBI’s. He has a chance at making the team on March 31st as a backup but he probably won’t. What gives him a chance is the fact that he can field very well and Gerald Laird might not accept a back-up role.
Percentage: 19.3%
Taylor Teagarden:
Last year in Bakersfield, Taylor hit .315 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI’s. In Frisco he hit .294 with 7 homers and 16 RBI’s in 102 at-bats. Also, Taylor is supposed to be able to field very well behind the plate and work well with pitchers. Even though he played very well last year, he’s not on the 40-man roster and he’s only made it to double-A, so he won’t make the team.
Percentage: 0%
Predicted catching roster:
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Backup: Gerald Laird
Next in Line:
Adam Melhuse
Chris Stewart
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get the #5 starting spot?
Kason Gabbard – 82%
Luis Mendoza – 5%
Other – 5%
Jason Davis – 2%
Kameron Loe – 2%
Come back next week for infielders.
Outfielders:
Brandon Boggs:
Brandon hit .266 with the RoughRiders last year and .250 with the Blaze last year, with a .262 total average on the year. Overall last year he had 23 home runs, 73 RBI’s, and 84 walks. He strikes out a lot, though, striking out 131 times in just last year. Last year, he had a 75% stolen base percentage, stealing 15 out of 20 tries. He has almost no chance of making the team out of camp and probably for the whole year.
Percentage: 0.1% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Julio Borbon:
Julio was drafted out of Tennessee just last year, and is a center fielder (where we already have Josh Hamilton), so there is no chance of him making the team, unless they plan to make him the center-field version of David Clyde.
Percentage: 0%
Jason Botts:
Jason has not played well in the majors; batting .242 with 3 home runs and 23 RBI’s in 244 at-bats. He’s played very well in the minors, though, batting a lifetime .293 with 112 home runs and 540 RBI’s in 3,053 at-bats. He has no options left so he will probably make the team, unless he has an incredibly bad camp.
Percentage: 86.7%
Milton Bradley:
Milton was just signed over the offseason after hitting .306 with 13 homers and 37 RBI’s in 209 major league at-bats split between Oakland and San Diego last year. He will be on the team, probably as the DH to start the season while he finishes recovering from injury. Once he’s recovered he’ll have a corner outfield spot.
Percentage: 100%
Marlon Byrd:
After hitting .223 with 18 RBI’s with the Nationals in 2006, he had a career year last year, batting .307 (career-high), with 10 homers (career-high), 70 RBI’s (career-high), 5 stolen bases (tied for second most), 60 runs (second most), and 414 at-bats (second most). He will make the team unless he’s traded before the end of camp.
Percentage: 100%
Frank Catalanotto:
After struggling early last year, Cat came on strong after injury and hit .260 on the year. He had 11 homers, which is tied for second most in his career, and 44 RBI’s. He only had 28 walks all year. Last year’s OBP for Frank was .337, only seven points higher than his highest batting average (.330 in 2001, in which he had 463 at-bats). Even after last year’s awful year for Cat, he’ll make the team as a backup outfielder, DH, and first baseman.
Percentage: 100%
Nelson Cruz:
Nelson was the key to the Francisco Cordero trade because he had a lot of potential, but even given multiple chances he hasn’t come through for the Rangers. He has a .282 career on base percentage and a .231 career batting average. He has no options left and I think he’ll be off the team at the end of spring.
Percentage: 26.3%
Jason Ellison:
Jason has a .251 career batting average in 541career at-bats. He’s played for the Giants and the Reds. Last year he hit .283 for the Giants in 46 at-bats, and .188 for the Reds in 48 at-bats totaling .234 in 94 at-bats. He had only one HR and 2 RBI’s. He struck out 27 times and walked only 8. He struck out in 29% of his at-bats. He might make it up to the majors sometime in the year, but not out of the spring, unless he does something incredible.
Percentage: 16.8%
Josh Hamilton:
Over the offseason the Rangers traded Edinson Volquez to the Reds for Josh, who batted .292 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI’s last year. He was the Reds leadoff man, even though he has a lot of power. It is unlikely that he will lead off here. He is injury prone, but pending injury he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 100%
John Mayberry Jr.:
Last year John didn’t do very well average wise, hitting only .241 in 245 at-bats in Frisco, and only .230 in 244 at-bats in Bakersfield. That totals up to a .235 batting average. But he had 30 home runs and 83 RBI’s over the course of the year. Last year’s average and the fact that John has only made it to AA (plus the fact that he’s not on the 40-man roster) will keep him from making the team.
Percentage: 0%
Kevin Mench:
Kevin had 288 at-bats last year, and hit .267 with 8 homers and 37 RBI’s for the Brewers. Kevin is a very streaky hitter. He has a very good chance of coming up due to an injury, but unless he plays terrific, there’s too much competition for him to make the team at the end of camp, since the Rangers have the option of sending him to AAA until June.
Percentage: 25.4%
David Murphy:
Last year with the Rangers, David hit .340 with 2 home runs, 14 RBI’s and 12 doubles in 103 at-bats after only having two AB’s with the Red Sox the first half of the year. After having a good year last year, he will probably plateau a left or right field position.
Percentage: 95.9%
Predicted outfield roster:
Center Field: Josh Hamilton
Right Field: Marlon Byrd/Milton Bradley
Left Field: David Murphy/Frank Catalanotto
DH: Milton Bradley/Jason Botts
Next in line:
Nelson Cruz
Jason Ellison
Kevin Mench
Catchers:
Gerald Laird:
Gerald really struggled last year, hitting only.224 with 9 homers and 47 RBI’s. It was a big disappointment after his 2006 batting average of .296. He also almost doubled his strikeout total from ’06. It went from 54 to 103. Last year might lead to him getting a backup role. He is very good at fielding, though, as he threw out 40% of baserunners trying to steal last year. The team’s ERA when Gerald was behing the plate last year was 4.78, which is okay. He’s going to spring training this year battling Saltalamacchia for the starting catcher position. I think he will be the backup catcher.
Percentage: 87.4%
Adam Melhuse:
Adam hit a total of .213 last year split between the A’s and the Rangers. He hit .231 in Oakland and .206 with the Rangers. He only had one home run and 9 RBI’s the whole year in his 94 total at-bats. He struck out 26 times in those at-bats, which is striking out 28 percent of the time. Melhuse threw out only 9% of baserunners trying to steal last year, while he was with the Rangers. But the pitchers had a good ERA in Adam’s 123 innings behind the plate. The Rangers’ ERA was 4.02 with Melhuse catching. Even though he didn’t play very well last year, his experience could make him the backup especially if the Rangers end up moving Laird.
Percentage: 28.9%
Max Ramirez:
We just got Max in the Kenny Lofton trade last year. He hit .303 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI’s in High-A Kinston before coming to the Rangers, and hit .307 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI’s in High-A Bakersfield after coming to the Rangers. Since Max is only in High-A, he doesn’t have any chance at making the team throughout the whole year.
Percentage: 0%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia:
After getting Salty in the Mark Teixeira trade last year he hit .251 with 7 home runs and 21 RBI’s after coming and hit .284 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI’s with the Braves before coming here. But Jarrod threw out only 16% of baserunners trying to steal (while with the Rangers) and the Rangers had a 4.75 ERA with Salty behind the plate. But unless he completely blows it in the spring, he’ll be on the team, most likely as the starting catcher.
Percentage: 98.7%
Chris Stewart:
Chris started the season on the team and hit .243 with 0 home runs and 3 RBI’s in 37 at-bats before being sent down to Oklahoma City. There he hit .242 with 2 home runs and 21 RBI’s. He has a chance at making the team on March 31st as a backup but he probably won’t. What gives him a chance is the fact that he can field very well and Gerald Laird might not accept a back-up role.
Percentage: 19.3%
Taylor Teagarden:
Last year in Bakersfield, Taylor hit .315 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI’s. In Frisco he hit .294 with 7 homers and 16 RBI’s in 102 at-bats. Also, Taylor is supposed to be able to field very well behind the plate and work well with pitchers. Even though he played very well last year, he’s not on the 40-man roster and he’s only made it to double-A, so he won’t make the team.
Percentage: 0%
Predicted catching roster:
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Backup: Gerald Laird
Next in Line:
Adam Melhuse
Chris Stewart
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get the #5 starting spot?
Kason Gabbard – 82%
Luis Mendoza – 5%
Other – 5%
Jason Davis – 2%
Kameron Loe – 2%
Come back next week for infielders.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Analysis of Spring Training Pitchers
The Rangers opened Spring Training this week with 28 pitchers in major league camp. I did an analysis of all the pitchers in big league camp, gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training, and predicted the pitching roster.
Joaquin Benoit – Joaquin was the Rangers Pitcher of the Year last year, after posting a 2.85 ERA in his best season ever. He’ll be on the team.
Percentage: 100% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Jason Davis – Jason was signed to compete for a #5 starting pitcher role and long reliever role. He has pitched 427 career innings, with a 4.78 career ERA and only 256 strike-outs. He isn’t a very good fielder with a .895 career fielding percentage. Last year, with the Indians and Mariners, he combined for a 5.84 ERA, 4.76 with the Indians and 6.31 with the Mariners. He had 37 total innings. I don’t think he’ll make the team out of Spring Training, but he has a good shot at being called up during the year.
Percentage: 25.4%
Thomas Diamond – He probably won’t make the team, especially since he’s not fully recovered from Tommy John. He’ll probably be in Oklahoma City.
Percentage: 0.5 %
Scott Feldman – Last year, Scott really struggled, with a 5.77 ERA in 39 innings. In 2006, he had a 3.92 ERA in 41.1 innings. In ’07 Scott had 32 walks compared to 10 in ’06. If he pitches well in Spring Training, he could make the team. Otherwise, he’ll probably start in Oklahoma City.
Percentage: 33.9%
Frankie Francisco – Frankie had a 4.55 ERA with 49 strike-outs in 59.1 innings pitched. He will have the first shot at a bullpen spot. He should make the team.
Percentage: 94.7%
Kazuo Fukumori – Kazuo Fukumori, who we signed from Japan this offseason, will be the 7th or 8th inning guy unless he totally blows it in Spring Training. Last year with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Kazuo had a 4.75 ERA with 33 strike-outs in 36 innings pitched. In 2006, he had a 2.17 ERA with 55 strike-outs in 58 innings pitched. He will make the team.
Percentage: 100%
Kason Gabbard – Kason, who was traded to the Rangers from the Red Sox last year, went 6-1on the year with a 4.65 ERA. He also had 55 strike-outs in 81.1 innings pitched. He’ll probably be the #4 or 5 starter. As long as he has a decent spring and based on his performance last year, the Rangers will want him in the rotation because he’ll be their only lefty.
Percentage: 98.6 %
Franklyn German - Franklyn has a chance of making the team, although not a very good one. He has a 4.60 ERA in 137 IP spread throughout five years. In 2006, he had a 3.00 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched. He is not home run prone nor is he great against home runs. He has 99 strikeouts in his career. He was in Spring Training with the Rangers last year, but never made the team. I don’t think that he’ll make the team this year, either.
Percentage: 12.9%
Eddie Guardado – Eddie had been very injury-prone lately. He has only pitched 27.2 innings over the past two years. He had a 7.24 ERA last year. He could do very well or he could be on the DL the whole year.
Percentage: 78.9% (due to injury chance)
Matt Harrison – Matt is only in big league camp to get experience. He has no chance to make the team. Matt hasn’t played above double-A. Last year, in the twenty games he played before getting injured, he went 5-7 with a 3.39 ERA and 78 strike-outs in 116.1 innings pitched.
Percentage: 0%
Eric Hurley – Eric had a great year last year with the Roughriders, going 7-2 with a 3.25 ERA before getting promoted to Oklahoma, where he struggled with a 4-7 record and a 4.91 ERA. Eric probably will not make the team out of Spring Training due to his lack of experience and Oklahoma City troubles. He will probably be called up during the year, though, if he does well in Oklahoma City and the Rangers are out of the playoff race.
Percentage: 9.8%
Jason Jennings – Jason was signed to be part of the starting rotation. He had a rough year last year (6.45 ERA in 19 games) due to injury. Unless he gets injured he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 98.7%
Kea Kometani – Kea was converted into a middle reliever/set-up man/closer last year. He had a 4.27 ERA and 8 saves with the double-A Riders last year and will probably not make the team. He might make the team if there was less competition, but there’s too much competition for him to have much of a chance, especially since he’s not currently on the 40-man roster.
Percentage: 2.3%
Wes Littleton – In ’06 Wes had a 1.73 ERA and last year he had a 4.31 ERA. Wes has a career record of 5-3. He’s had major league success but I think he’ll barely miss making the team. He’ll probably be called up sometime during the year as an injury replacement.
Percentage: 48.9%
Kameron Loe – Kameron will probably make the team as a long reliever, but it’s not a sure thing. He should be competing for the last relief spot with Wes Littleton, Jamey Wright, Scott Feldman, and Jason Davis. Last year, he pitched 23 games as a starter with a 5.36 ERA and 5 games as a reliever with a 5.40 ERA. There are probably too many locks for the starting rotation for him to have much of a shot at being a starter, but hopefully he’ll make it tough on the Rangers like he did last spring.
Percentage: 66.6%
Warner Madrigal – Warner has only made it to single-A ball, so he has no chance to make the team. Last year in single-A he had a 2.07 ERA with 75 strike-outs in 61 innings pitched.
Percentage: 0%
Brandon McCarthy – Brandon will get the #4 or 5 spot. The Rangers hope he’ll bounce back from a rough year last year (5-10, 4.87 ERA in only 23 games).
Percentage: 100%
Luis Mendoza – Last year with the Rangers, Mendoza had a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings, and even though he pitched well, he probably won’t make the team. He’ll probably start in Oklahoma City but may be used as a spot starter during the season.
Percentage: 33.3%
Kevin Millwood – Kevin will be the #1 starter.
Percentage: 100%
A.J. Murray – Murray had a 4.50 ERA in 28 major league innings last year. In Oklahoma City last year, he had a 3.08 ERA. He probably won’t make the team out of camp unless John Rheinecker really struggles, but he has an outside chance. He’ll be on the short list to be called up during the season.
Percentage: 19.6%
Vicente Padilla – Vicente will be the #2 or 3 pitcher this year. The Rangers need a much better year from him in 2008.
Percentage: 100%
Elizardo Ramirez – Elizardo has been up and down ever since 2004. He has played for the Phillies and Reds. He has done very well in the minors, going 39-27 with a 3.45 career minor league ERA, and a 4-14 record with a 5.99 ERA in the majors. I think he might make it up sometime this year, but that he doesn’t stand much of a chance out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 7.1%
John Rheinecker – John had a 5.36 ERA in the majors last year, mostly as a reliever. He probably has first shot at the left-handed reliever role since he’s out of options.
Percentage: 74.1%
Josh Rupe – Josh is recovering from an injury. That will probably keep him from having a chance at making the team out of camp.
Percentage: 1%
Robinson Tejeda – After last year’s 5-9 record and 6.61 ERA in 95.1 innings, he almost has no chance at making the team. The fact that he wasn’t brought up in September probably means that he’s out of the Rangers’ plans. He has no options remaining so is probably out of the organization by the end of Spring Training.
Percentage: 6.7%
Bill White – Bill made it up to the team last year and went 2-0 with a 4.82 ERA in 9.1 innings in his major league debut. With the RoughRiders last year, he went 2-0 with a 4.44 ERA in 48.2 innings. I don’t think he’ll make the team for Opening Day, but that he might later make the team.
Percentage: 9.9%
C.J. Wilson – Last year he had a 3.03 ERA. He’ll be fighting for the closer spot this year and even if he loses that he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 100%
Jamey Wright – Jamey had a career year with the Rangers last year, with his best ever ERA (3.62). He did much better as a reliever than a starter with a 2.05 ERA in relief and a 4.66 ERA when he started. Jamey really struggles in the 3rd inning with a 9.35 ERA in that inning. With his good year last year, he definitely has a shot, but not being on the 40-man roster could hold him back. I don’t think he’ll make the team for their first game, but that he’ll be on the team sometime during the year.
Percentage: 35.7%
Predicted pitching roster:
Starting pitcher #1: Kevin Millwood
Starting pitcher #2: Vicente Padilla
Starting pitcher #3: Jason Jennings
Starting pitcher #4: Brandon McCarthy
Starting pitcher #5: Kason Gabbard
Closer: CJ Wilson
Set-up man: Eddie Guardado
7th inning man: Kazuo Fukumori
Middle Reliever: Frankie Francisco
Middle/Long Reliever: Joaquin Benoit
Long Reliever: Kameron Loe
Left-handed Reliever: John Rheinecker
Next in line:
Jason Davis
Scott Feldman
Wes Littleton
Luis Mendoza
Jamey Wright
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the closer in 2008?
CJ Wilson – 93%
Joaquin Benoit – 5%
Kazuo Fukumori – 2%
Others – 0%
Come back next week for an analysis of the Spring Training outfielders.
Joaquin Benoit – Joaquin was the Rangers Pitcher of the Year last year, after posting a 2.85 ERA in his best season ever. He’ll be on the team.
Percentage: 100% chance of making the 25-man active roster at the end of Spring Training
Jason Davis – Jason was signed to compete for a #5 starting pitcher role and long reliever role. He has pitched 427 career innings, with a 4.78 career ERA and only 256 strike-outs. He isn’t a very good fielder with a .895 career fielding percentage. Last year, with the Indians and Mariners, he combined for a 5.84 ERA, 4.76 with the Indians and 6.31 with the Mariners. He had 37 total innings. I don’t think he’ll make the team out of Spring Training, but he has a good shot at being called up during the year.
Percentage: 25.4%
Thomas Diamond – He probably won’t make the team, especially since he’s not fully recovered from Tommy John. He’ll probably be in Oklahoma City.
Percentage: 0.5 %
Scott Feldman – Last year, Scott really struggled, with a 5.77 ERA in 39 innings. In 2006, he had a 3.92 ERA in 41.1 innings. In ’07 Scott had 32 walks compared to 10 in ’06. If he pitches well in Spring Training, he could make the team. Otherwise, he’ll probably start in Oklahoma City.
Percentage: 33.9%
Frankie Francisco – Frankie had a 4.55 ERA with 49 strike-outs in 59.1 innings pitched. He will have the first shot at a bullpen spot. He should make the team.
Percentage: 94.7%
Kazuo Fukumori – Kazuo Fukumori, who we signed from Japan this offseason, will be the 7th or 8th inning guy unless he totally blows it in Spring Training. Last year with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Kazuo had a 4.75 ERA with 33 strike-outs in 36 innings pitched. In 2006, he had a 2.17 ERA with 55 strike-outs in 58 innings pitched. He will make the team.
Percentage: 100%
Kason Gabbard – Kason, who was traded to the Rangers from the Red Sox last year, went 6-1on the year with a 4.65 ERA. He also had 55 strike-outs in 81.1 innings pitched. He’ll probably be the #4 or 5 starter. As long as he has a decent spring and based on his performance last year, the Rangers will want him in the rotation because he’ll be their only lefty.
Percentage: 98.6 %
Franklyn German - Franklyn has a chance of making the team, although not a very good one. He has a 4.60 ERA in 137 IP spread throughout five years. In 2006, he had a 3.00 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched. He is not home run prone nor is he great against home runs. He has 99 strikeouts in his career. He was in Spring Training with the Rangers last year, but never made the team. I don’t think that he’ll make the team this year, either.
Percentage: 12.9%
Eddie Guardado – Eddie had been very injury-prone lately. He has only pitched 27.2 innings over the past two years. He had a 7.24 ERA last year. He could do very well or he could be on the DL the whole year.
Percentage: 78.9% (due to injury chance)
Matt Harrison – Matt is only in big league camp to get experience. He has no chance to make the team. Matt hasn’t played above double-A. Last year, in the twenty games he played before getting injured, he went 5-7 with a 3.39 ERA and 78 strike-outs in 116.1 innings pitched.
Percentage: 0%
Eric Hurley – Eric had a great year last year with the Roughriders, going 7-2 with a 3.25 ERA before getting promoted to Oklahoma, where he struggled with a 4-7 record and a 4.91 ERA. Eric probably will not make the team out of Spring Training due to his lack of experience and Oklahoma City troubles. He will probably be called up during the year, though, if he does well in Oklahoma City and the Rangers are out of the playoff race.
Percentage: 9.8%
Jason Jennings – Jason was signed to be part of the starting rotation. He had a rough year last year (6.45 ERA in 19 games) due to injury. Unless he gets injured he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 98.7%
Kea Kometani – Kea was converted into a middle reliever/set-up man/closer last year. He had a 4.27 ERA and 8 saves with the double-A Riders last year and will probably not make the team. He might make the team if there was less competition, but there’s too much competition for him to have much of a chance, especially since he’s not currently on the 40-man roster.
Percentage: 2.3%
Wes Littleton – In ’06 Wes had a 1.73 ERA and last year he had a 4.31 ERA. Wes has a career record of 5-3. He’s had major league success but I think he’ll barely miss making the team. He’ll probably be called up sometime during the year as an injury replacement.
Percentage: 48.9%
Kameron Loe – Kameron will probably make the team as a long reliever, but it’s not a sure thing. He should be competing for the last relief spot with Wes Littleton, Jamey Wright, Scott Feldman, and Jason Davis. Last year, he pitched 23 games as a starter with a 5.36 ERA and 5 games as a reliever with a 5.40 ERA. There are probably too many locks for the starting rotation for him to have much of a shot at being a starter, but hopefully he’ll make it tough on the Rangers like he did last spring.
Percentage: 66.6%
Warner Madrigal – Warner has only made it to single-A ball, so he has no chance to make the team. Last year in single-A he had a 2.07 ERA with 75 strike-outs in 61 innings pitched.
Percentage: 0%
Brandon McCarthy – Brandon will get the #4 or 5 spot. The Rangers hope he’ll bounce back from a rough year last year (5-10, 4.87 ERA in only 23 games).
Percentage: 100%
Luis Mendoza – Last year with the Rangers, Mendoza had a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings, and even though he pitched well, he probably won’t make the team. He’ll probably start in Oklahoma City but may be used as a spot starter during the season.
Percentage: 33.3%
Kevin Millwood – Kevin will be the #1 starter.
Percentage: 100%
A.J. Murray – Murray had a 4.50 ERA in 28 major league innings last year. In Oklahoma City last year, he had a 3.08 ERA. He probably won’t make the team out of camp unless John Rheinecker really struggles, but he has an outside chance. He’ll be on the short list to be called up during the season.
Percentage: 19.6%
Vicente Padilla – Vicente will be the #2 or 3 pitcher this year. The Rangers need a much better year from him in 2008.
Percentage: 100%
Elizardo Ramirez – Elizardo has been up and down ever since 2004. He has played for the Phillies and Reds. He has done very well in the minors, going 39-27 with a 3.45 career minor league ERA, and a 4-14 record with a 5.99 ERA in the majors. I think he might make it up sometime this year, but that he doesn’t stand much of a chance out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 7.1%
John Rheinecker – John had a 5.36 ERA in the majors last year, mostly as a reliever. He probably has first shot at the left-handed reliever role since he’s out of options.
Percentage: 74.1%
Josh Rupe – Josh is recovering from an injury. That will probably keep him from having a chance at making the team out of camp.
Percentage: 1%
Robinson Tejeda – After last year’s 5-9 record and 6.61 ERA in 95.1 innings, he almost has no chance at making the team. The fact that he wasn’t brought up in September probably means that he’s out of the Rangers’ plans. He has no options remaining so is probably out of the organization by the end of Spring Training.
Percentage: 6.7%
Bill White – Bill made it up to the team last year and went 2-0 with a 4.82 ERA in 9.1 innings in his major league debut. With the RoughRiders last year, he went 2-0 with a 4.44 ERA in 48.2 innings. I don’t think he’ll make the team for Opening Day, but that he might later make the team.
Percentage: 9.9%
C.J. Wilson – Last year he had a 3.03 ERA. He’ll be fighting for the closer spot this year and even if he loses that he’ll make the team.
Percentage: 100%
Jamey Wright – Jamey had a career year with the Rangers last year, with his best ever ERA (3.62). He did much better as a reliever than a starter with a 2.05 ERA in relief and a 4.66 ERA when he started. Jamey really struggles in the 3rd inning with a 9.35 ERA in that inning. With his good year last year, he definitely has a shot, but not being on the 40-man roster could hold him back. I don’t think he’ll make the team for their first game, but that he’ll be on the team sometime during the year.
Percentage: 35.7%
Predicted pitching roster:
Starting pitcher #1: Kevin Millwood
Starting pitcher #2: Vicente Padilla
Starting pitcher #3: Jason Jennings
Starting pitcher #4: Brandon McCarthy
Starting pitcher #5: Kason Gabbard
Closer: CJ Wilson
Set-up man: Eddie Guardado
7th inning man: Kazuo Fukumori
Middle Reliever: Frankie Francisco
Middle/Long Reliever: Joaquin Benoit
Long Reliever: Kameron Loe
Left-handed Reliever: John Rheinecker
Next in line:
Jason Davis
Scott Feldman
Wes Littleton
Luis Mendoza
Jamey Wright
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the closer in 2008?
CJ Wilson – 93%
Joaquin Benoit – 5%
Kazuo Fukumori – 2%
Others – 0%
Come back next week for an analysis of the Spring Training outfielders.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Travis Metcalf Interview
This week, I interviewed Rangers infielder Travis Metcalf.
1. What were you more proud of, getting the career Kansas home run record, or being ranked the top defensive third baseman in the Big 12 by Baseball America and why?
Top defensive 3rd baseman. I have always prided myself on my defense so when I got the award I really felt satisfied that my hard work paid off.
2. How difficult was the recovery from your knee injury in 2002? Can you describe the recovery process?
Very tough! I was told that it would be a 6 month recovery, and I actually got done in 5 months. However all the rehab and hours strengthening my knee were horrible.
3. Why didn’t you sign with the Twins when they drafted you in 2003?
It was more of a "Didn't feel right" type of thing. My scout with the Twins did a great job; however they never really got back to me in time before school started about how I was going to fit in or the money situation, so I just didn't feel right leaving school at the time.
4. In 2005, when you struggled in April, were you still glad to be in Bakersfield or did you wish you hadn’t skipped Clinton?
No, never. I knew I was ready to be at that level. I was just getting situated with a different swing. I have always been trying to tweak my swing to adjust to the levels of pitching.
5. What went through your mind when you won the Rangers Minor League Player of the Year Award?
It was a CRAZY feeling. I knew I had a good year. However so did Jason Botts that year. So when I got the phone call I was so happy and appreciative that the Rangers selected me.
6. Can you describe the day that you were called up to the majors for the first time last season? That was another Crazy day. That feeling is indescribable. It was something that I waited my whole life for, and when it actually happened I didn't know how to react. I was overwhelmed!
7. What is the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started facing major-league pitchers?
Being more selective. I know I can hit. The biggest adjustment was being selective and trying not to get myself out, instead make the pitcher get me out.
8. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
- Just getting my strength back so i can stay healthy. Also just working with Rudy on my timing in my swing.
9. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
It was a game against Seattle at home, when I went 4-for-4. I was having a tough time pulling the ball. During that game I got 3 pull hits, and still went opposite field for 1. I felt like I could hit anything.
10. Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Eric Bedard, Brad Lidge, K Rod. Same answer. Because they made me look stupid!!
11. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
That’s tough because, since I haven’t spent much time in the major leagues, I'm split between the two. Kevin Mahar, Brandon Boggs, and many guys that I spent time with coming up and in Frisco are really good friends of mine. Marlon Byrd, Frank Cattalanotto, Brandon McCarthy, Kam Loe, and Kinsler have all been huge helps when I got called up.
12. What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Just keeping up with it. Getting to the big leagues has been a challenge. However staying there is the toughest part. That's what I'm trying to do now!
13. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Kansas City Royals. I lived close and they were my favorite team.
14. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
I played football, basketball, and baseball. I would like to think I was best at baseball.
15. What are your hobbies?
I'm a huge movie critic so I love watching movies. Anything outdoors, I love the lake. Also playing with my new puppy, an English bulldog named "Diesel".
I would like to thank Travis for giving so much of his time to do this interview. He agreed to do the interview when I saw him at the Rangers Fan Fest and it was very nice of him to contact me afterwards and follow up.
Also, this week the Rangers acquired OF Michael Hernandez from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for RHP Armando Galarraga.
Michael Hernandez:
Michael got drafted three times without signing, and then in 2005, when he needed to be drafted, he didn’t get drafted. Michael got signed by the Tigers before the 2006 baseball season started. That year Michael hit for the cycle twice. Last year in high-A he hit .260 and in double-A e hit .250. Michael could do well, but he doesn’t have that much potential.
Armando Galarraga:
Since 2006, Galarraga has gone from the rookie league to the majors in the Rangers organization, only skipping regular-A. Last year in Frisco, he went 9-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 127.2 innings pitched. In Oklahoma City, he went 2-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 24.2 innings and went 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 major league innings pitched. Galarraga still has an option, so I don’t know why we DFA’d him instead of Robinson Tejeda.
Evaluation:
Michael has a chance at becoming a good major leaguer, but probably won’t. Galarraga may not do much either, but has a better chance of having a major league impact than Michael. Even though Armando was DFA’d I think they could have gotten more for him and possibly should have DFA’d someone who had no options remaining and was unlikely to make the team out of spring training.
Grade: B-
This weekend my dad and I went to Ticketstock at the Plano Centre. It was a lot of fun like always. The highlight was getting an autograph from Nolan Ryan. We got there at 5:15am and waited outside for almost 6 hours for them to hand out autograph tickets. We were numbers 376 and 377 out of 500. I got to meet Nolan for the first time and tell him that I was named after him (my middle name). I also got autographs from CJ Wilson, Tank Johnson, Leon Lett, Philippe Boucher, Marty Turco, and Brenden Morrow. I also got to talk to some of the people who work at the Ticket like Mike Rhyner (who said he reads my blog), Craig Miller, and Gordon Keith.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the Rangers starting catcher in 2010?
Taylor Teagarden – 54%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 34%
Gerald Laird – 6%
Other – 4%
Max Ramirez – 2%
Kevin Richardson – 0%
Come back next week for a Spring Training Pitchers Analysis.
1. What were you more proud of, getting the career Kansas home run record, or being ranked the top defensive third baseman in the Big 12 by Baseball America and why?
Top defensive 3rd baseman. I have always prided myself on my defense so when I got the award I really felt satisfied that my hard work paid off.
2. How difficult was the recovery from your knee injury in 2002? Can you describe the recovery process?
Very tough! I was told that it would be a 6 month recovery, and I actually got done in 5 months. However all the rehab and hours strengthening my knee were horrible.
3. Why didn’t you sign with the Twins when they drafted you in 2003?
It was more of a "Didn't feel right" type of thing. My scout with the Twins did a great job; however they never really got back to me in time before school started about how I was going to fit in or the money situation, so I just didn't feel right leaving school at the time.
4. In 2005, when you struggled in April, were you still glad to be in Bakersfield or did you wish you hadn’t skipped Clinton?
No, never. I knew I was ready to be at that level. I was just getting situated with a different swing. I have always been trying to tweak my swing to adjust to the levels of pitching.
5. What went through your mind when you won the Rangers Minor League Player of the Year Award?
It was a CRAZY feeling. I knew I had a good year. However so did Jason Botts that year. So when I got the phone call I was so happy and appreciative that the Rangers selected me.
6. Can you describe the day that you were called up to the majors for the first time last season? That was another Crazy day. That feeling is indescribable. It was something that I waited my whole life for, and when it actually happened I didn't know how to react. I was overwhelmed!
7. What is the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started facing major-league pitchers?
Being more selective. I know I can hit. The biggest adjustment was being selective and trying not to get myself out, instead make the pitcher get me out.
8. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
- Just getting my strength back so i can stay healthy. Also just working with Rudy on my timing in my swing.
9. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
It was a game against Seattle at home, when I went 4-for-4. I was having a tough time pulling the ball. During that game I got 3 pull hits, and still went opposite field for 1. I felt like I could hit anything.
10. Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Eric Bedard, Brad Lidge, K Rod. Same answer. Because they made me look stupid!!
11. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
That’s tough because, since I haven’t spent much time in the major leagues, I'm split between the two. Kevin Mahar, Brandon Boggs, and many guys that I spent time with coming up and in Frisco are really good friends of mine. Marlon Byrd, Frank Cattalanotto, Brandon McCarthy, Kam Loe, and Kinsler have all been huge helps when I got called up.
12. What is the toughest thing about major league life and why?
Just keeping up with it. Getting to the big leagues has been a challenge. However staying there is the toughest part. That's what I'm trying to do now!
13. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
Kansas City Royals. I lived close and they were my favorite team.
14. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
I played football, basketball, and baseball. I would like to think I was best at baseball.
15. What are your hobbies?
I'm a huge movie critic so I love watching movies. Anything outdoors, I love the lake. Also playing with my new puppy, an English bulldog named "Diesel".
I would like to thank Travis for giving so much of his time to do this interview. He agreed to do the interview when I saw him at the Rangers Fan Fest and it was very nice of him to contact me afterwards and follow up.
Also, this week the Rangers acquired OF Michael Hernandez from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for RHP Armando Galarraga.
Michael Hernandez:
Michael got drafted three times without signing, and then in 2005, when he needed to be drafted, he didn’t get drafted. Michael got signed by the Tigers before the 2006 baseball season started. That year Michael hit for the cycle twice. Last year in high-A he hit .260 and in double-A e hit .250. Michael could do well, but he doesn’t have that much potential.
Armando Galarraga:
Since 2006, Galarraga has gone from the rookie league to the majors in the Rangers organization, only skipping regular-A. Last year in Frisco, he went 9-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 127.2 innings pitched. In Oklahoma City, he went 2-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 24.2 innings and went 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 major league innings pitched. Galarraga still has an option, so I don’t know why we DFA’d him instead of Robinson Tejeda.
Evaluation:
Michael has a chance at becoming a good major leaguer, but probably won’t. Galarraga may not do much either, but has a better chance of having a major league impact than Michael. Even though Armando was DFA’d I think they could have gotten more for him and possibly should have DFA’d someone who had no options remaining and was unlikely to make the team out of spring training.
Grade: B-
This weekend my dad and I went to Ticketstock at the Plano Centre. It was a lot of fun like always. The highlight was getting an autograph from Nolan Ryan. We got there at 5:15am and waited outside for almost 6 hours for them to hand out autograph tickets. We were numbers 376 and 377 out of 500. I got to meet Nolan for the first time and tell him that I was named after him (my middle name). I also got autographs from CJ Wilson, Tank Johnson, Leon Lett, Philippe Boucher, Marty Turco, and Brenden Morrow. I also got to talk to some of the people who work at the Ticket like Mike Rhyner (who said he reads my blog), Craig Miller, and Gordon Keith.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will be the Rangers starting catcher in 2010?
Taylor Teagarden – 54%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 34%
Gerald Laird – 6%
Other – 4%
Max Ramirez – 2%
Kevin Richardson – 0%
Come back next week for a Spring Training Pitchers Analysis.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Taylor Teagarden Interview
At the Rangers Fan Fest last week, I got to interview Taylor Teagarden. It was very nice of him and I would like to thank him for doing this. It was my first face-to-face interview.
1. What was it like to win championships with UT and Spokane in the same year? Was one more exciting than the other?
Taylor said that the college championship was definitely more memorable. It was his third season and he was pretty sure it would be his last one. They had battled all year and had lost games in the regional and super regional. He was playing with long-time teammates and lifelong friends and winning a championship with them in their final year together was amazing. Taylor said he didn’t mean to take anything away from the Spokane championship. That was also exciting especially because the team wasn’t expected to do much.
2. What led you to choosing Scott Boras as your agent?
Taylor said that Boras had contacted him in high school and was a good advisor to him in high school and college. He was contacted by a lot of other agents but Boras’ firm was the best and did the best job working with stats.
3. Why didn’t you sign with the Cubs when they drafted you in 2002?
Taylor wanted to go to UT. He had been a Longhorn fan his whole life and had been advised to go to college in case baseball didn’t work out. He said that he felt it was a good move.
4. What did you change in your batting approach between 2003 and 2004, when your batting average went from .315 to .273, but your walks went from 23 to 44 and your homers went from 5 to 10?
He said that it was just on off year. He got off to a good start but got really tired and worn down. ‘I put a lot of pressure on myself and was trying to do too much’.
5. How did the struggles of your first week in the minors affect your confidence level and how did you turn it around?
Taylor said that it didn’t affect his confidence. He knew he could play every day and that he only had a month before the end of the season, so he didn’t get too worried about it. Once he got his first hit, it triggered something for him and he found his swing again. He thought that part of it might have been getting used to a wooden bat.
6. What was the recovery process from Tommy John surgery like?
‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’. He had always been able to play baseball and it was a bad feeling to not be able to. He had to be patient and keep a positive outlook. He called it a year of basically not doing anything.
7. Why do you think you hit so much better as a catcher than as a DH last year?
Taylor doesn’t seem to enjoy DHing very much. He says that you’re more in the game as a catcher. As a DH, you don’t have the same blood flow. DHing is harder in his opinion. ‘There’s too much sitting on the bench’.
8. What went through your mind when the Rangers traded for Saltalamacchia?
Taylor thought it was something they had to do. Teixeira obviously wasn’t going to sign here and everyone needs lots of catching. He’s not worried about the competition.
9. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
Taylor’s working on flexibility and is focusing on his hips to keep them in shape year-round.
10. What’s the biggest difference between college and minor league pitching?
Minor leaguers are better. ‘It’s very hard to make it to the double-A level.’
11. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
Taylor first mentioned that there were a couple of big offensive games, such as a game in the Cal League where he went 4-for-5 with a couple of home runs. But the game he said was his most fun game as a catcher was a complete game shutout against Midland last year where he caught Doug Mathis. He said that Doug ‘dominated’ and that that kind of game is fun.
12. Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Josh Geer from San Antonio – he’s ‘tough’.
Juan Morillo, a Tulsa reliever who throws 99 mph.
Brandon Hynick from the California League.
13. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Chris Davis – they spent the whole year together and are good friends.
Ben Harrison
Elvis Andrus
14. What is the toughest thing about minor league life and why?
Traveling. The trips are sometimes all day affairs. You have to eat and sleep a lot to keep fresh.
15. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
The Dallas Cowboys. Taylor’s still a big fan.
16. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Basketball, which he says he was pretty good at, baseball, which was his best sport without a doubt, golf, and football in high school.
17. How is your arm doing?
‘My arm is strong’.
18. What are your hobbies?
Dove hunting, golf, and watching football.
I would like to thank Taylor again for doing this. It was very nice of him to take up his time for it. I would also like to thank Jamey Newberg and Eleanor Czajka for arranging for me to interview Taylor after he finished signing autographs at the Fan Fest Newberg table last week.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which new player do you think will make the biggest difference this year?
Josh Hamilton – 88%
Jason Jennings – 9%
Milton Bradley – 3%
Others – 0%
Come back next week for a Rangers Spring Training Roster Analysis or an interview with Travis Metcalf.
1. What was it like to win championships with UT and Spokane in the same year? Was one more exciting than the other?
Taylor said that the college championship was definitely more memorable. It was his third season and he was pretty sure it would be his last one. They had battled all year and had lost games in the regional and super regional. He was playing with long-time teammates and lifelong friends and winning a championship with them in their final year together was amazing. Taylor said he didn’t mean to take anything away from the Spokane championship. That was also exciting especially because the team wasn’t expected to do much.
2. What led you to choosing Scott Boras as your agent?
Taylor said that Boras had contacted him in high school and was a good advisor to him in high school and college. He was contacted by a lot of other agents but Boras’ firm was the best and did the best job working with stats.
3. Why didn’t you sign with the Cubs when they drafted you in 2002?
Taylor wanted to go to UT. He had been a Longhorn fan his whole life and had been advised to go to college in case baseball didn’t work out. He said that he felt it was a good move.
4. What did you change in your batting approach between 2003 and 2004, when your batting average went from .315 to .273, but your walks went from 23 to 44 and your homers went from 5 to 10?
He said that it was just on off year. He got off to a good start but got really tired and worn down. ‘I put a lot of pressure on myself and was trying to do too much’.
5. How did the struggles of your first week in the minors affect your confidence level and how did you turn it around?
Taylor said that it didn’t affect his confidence. He knew he could play every day and that he only had a month before the end of the season, so he didn’t get too worried about it. Once he got his first hit, it triggered something for him and he found his swing again. He thought that part of it might have been getting used to a wooden bat.
6. What was the recovery process from Tommy John surgery like?
‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’. He had always been able to play baseball and it was a bad feeling to not be able to. He had to be patient and keep a positive outlook. He called it a year of basically not doing anything.
7. Why do you think you hit so much better as a catcher than as a DH last year?
Taylor doesn’t seem to enjoy DHing very much. He says that you’re more in the game as a catcher. As a DH, you don’t have the same blood flow. DHing is harder in his opinion. ‘There’s too much sitting on the bench’.
8. What went through your mind when the Rangers traded for Saltalamacchia?
Taylor thought it was something they had to do. Teixeira obviously wasn’t going to sign here and everyone needs lots of catching. He’s not worried about the competition.
9. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in the off-season and, if so, what is it?
Taylor’s working on flexibility and is focusing on his hips to keep them in shape year-round.
10. What’s the biggest difference between college and minor league pitching?
Minor leaguers are better. ‘It’s very hard to make it to the double-A level.’
11. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
Taylor first mentioned that there were a couple of big offensive games, such as a game in the Cal League where he went 4-for-5 with a couple of home runs. But the game he said was his most fun game as a catcher was a complete game shutout against Midland last year where he caught Doug Mathis. He said that Doug ‘dominated’ and that that kind of game is fun.
12. Who are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?
Josh Geer from San Antonio – he’s ‘tough’.
Juan Morillo, a Tulsa reliever who throws 99 mph.
Brandon Hynick from the California League.
13. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Chris Davis – they spent the whole year together and are good friends.
Ben Harrison
Elvis Andrus
14. What is the toughest thing about minor league life and why?
Traveling. The trips are sometimes all day affairs. You have to eat and sleep a lot to keep fresh.
15. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
The Dallas Cowboys. Taylor’s still a big fan.
16. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Basketball, which he says he was pretty good at, baseball, which was his best sport without a doubt, golf, and football in high school.
17. How is your arm doing?
‘My arm is strong’.
18. What are your hobbies?
Dove hunting, golf, and watching football.
I would like to thank Taylor again for doing this. It was very nice of him to take up his time for it. I would also like to thank Jamey Newberg and Eleanor Czajka for arranging for me to interview Taylor after he finished signing autographs at the Fan Fest Newberg table last week.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which new player do you think will make the biggest difference this year?
Josh Hamilton – 88%
Jason Jennings – 9%
Milton Bradley – 3%
Others – 0%
Come back next week for a Rangers Spring Training Roster Analysis or an interview with Travis Metcalf.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Rangers Fan Fest
First, I would like to congratulate Victor Rojas on winning the first annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year award. Victor received 39% of the votes on the poll, which ran for over two weeks. Thanks to everyone who voted. I was able to give Victor the trophy at the Awards banquet on Friday and he really appreciated it.
I just got back from a trip to Disneyland with my parents, my sister, and my grandparents. We had a great time and spent four days at the Disneyland parks. While we were there we saw a Lakers game at the Staples Center. The Lakers beat the Nuggets 116-99.
This weekend I went to all the Rangers events. Friday night was the Awards Banquet, where they give out the yearly awards (player of the year, pitcher of the year, etc.) and do interviews. Eric Nadel and Victor Rojas did a great job hosting this year’s dinner. It was a lot of fun. I got to meet some of the new players and also talk to Jon Daniels and CJ Wilson for awhile. Eleno Ornelas was at our table and gave me some tips on broadcasting.
On Saturday, my dad and I went to the Rangers Fan Fest. I’ve gone every year since I was 3 and it’s always a great event.
We got there right around the time they opened at 9am and, unlike last year, the process for getting inside was pretty quick. We decided not to try to get any of the 10am autographs so that we could go to the 10am Josh Hamilton Q&A. So we spent the first hour doing the scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is where you go to different stations around the ballpark, and Rangers employees will stamp a piece of paper and give you small prizes at each stop. Once you have stamps from each station, you go to the last station to get free Rangers tickets and enter to win a trip.
At 10am, we went to the Legends of the Game Museum to see the Josh Hamilton Q&A. We sat with John Siburt, our preacher, who was saving seats for his family for the Michael Young Q&A at 11am. His daughter, Katie, is a huge Michael Young fan, but she couldn’t get in the Michael Young autograph line before the tickets ran out (she got in Marlon Byrd’s line instead) so they decided they had to be sure to get in the Michal Young Q&A. Katie is 6 years old, and a huge Rangers fan. She even had a Rangers birthday party and got on TV last summer during one of the Jim Knox segments of a game. Katie ended up getting Michael’s autograph after the Q&A, so everything worked out for her.
Victor Rojas hosted the Josh Hamilton Q&A. Josh seemed like a really good guy and very humble. He focused a lot on God and on how he knows that it’s because of God that he’s recovered from his issues and is still able to play so well. He talked about how amazing it is that he basically didn’t play baseball for years and came back at the level he did. He said that it could only be because of God.
Other interesting things:
- He got drafted on his dad’s birthday.
- Last year, when the Cubs took him in the Rule 5 draft, he called everyone to tell them he was going to the Cubs. He then had to call everyone back 20 minutes later and tell them that it was now the Reds.
- He was wearing a bandage on his middle finger and said that he had hurt it playing catch.
- I asked him what he learned from Ken Griffey Jr. and if there was any tension in taking Ken’s center field spot. Josh said that Griff was a great guy who never said anything negative about Josh taking center field. He was very helpful and would always yell ‘in’ or ‘back’ when a ball was hit.
- He took a call from his wife during the session to give her directions to a store.
After the Q&A session, I introduced myself to Josh and asked if I could interview him for my blog. He was friendly and agreed to contact me to set it up.
We then went to the Newberg table to see if we could still get his 10am guests (Chris Davis and John Whittleman). We were amazed to see that there was a huge line there, much longer than we normally see for the Newberg table. We got in line and by the time we got to the front, Jamey’s 11am guests (Doug Mathis and John Mayberry) had arrived. But Chris and John stayed extra time so we got all four autographs. All of the players were really nice and Doug, Chris, and John remembered me from the December Bound Edition release party.
We then walked around the booths in the Diamond Club, where different businesses had set up tables. TR Sullivan had a booth selling his new book that he wrote with scout Mel Didier, called ("Podnuh Let
Me Tell You a Story: A Baseball Life"). I spent some time talking with TR, which is always fun, and Mel, who’s been involved with baseball for a long time. I started reading the book during the day and it has some good stories in it. I also saw my friend, Ryan Wolfson, there in the Diamond Club.
At around noon, we went back to the Newberg table and got autographs from Blake Beavan and Taylor Teagarden. They were also very nice and both remembered me from other Newberg events.
We then got some lunch and waited in line to get autographs from Ben Broussard and Brandon McCarthy.
Eleanor and Jamey had arranged for me to interview Taylor after he was done signing, so Taylor, my dad, and I went to a private area and did the interview. It was my first face-to-face interview (all of the others have been over the phone or email). Taylor was really nice to do the interview and Eleanor and Jamey were really nice to set it up. I’ll have it on next week’s blog.
Next, we went back to the Newberg table to see Josh Lewin. He was very friendly like always and asked me how my basketball season was going. He was promoting one of his books (“You Never Forget Your First: Ballplayers Recall Their Big League Debuts”).
Next, we went to the alumni autograph table and got autographs from Rich Billings, Mike Jeffcoat, Pete O’Brien, Eric Nadel, Dan Smith, and Curtis Wilkerson.
We then went back to the Newberg table for their last guest, German Duran. He is also a great guy and said he had read my blog since I last saw him.
On our way out, we saw Mike Ogulnick and he said he was going to have me back on his show before Spring Training to break down the team.
Next we got into line to get Jason Jenning’s autograph (he was signing at 3pm). We finished up with the 4pm autographs: Kason Gabbard, Kameron Loe, and Travis Metcalf. I talked to Kameron for awhile about my LA trip and Travis agreed to let me interview him.
As we were walking out, we noticed that CJ Wilson was sitting at a table talking to people and signing autographs. He was promoting his Guitar Hero charity event this Friday night at the Southwest Airlines headquarters. We talked to him for awhile and got his autograph.
At that point it was 5pm and the Fan Fest was shutting down. We had a great time like always. Like usual, the best table was the Newberg table. He had great guests and I enjoyed talking with Jamey, Eleanor Czajka, and Allen Cordrey.
Come back next week for the Taylor Teagarden interview.
I just got back from a trip to Disneyland with my parents, my sister, and my grandparents. We had a great time and spent four days at the Disneyland parks. While we were there we saw a Lakers game at the Staples Center. The Lakers beat the Nuggets 116-99.
This weekend I went to all the Rangers events. Friday night was the Awards Banquet, where they give out the yearly awards (player of the year, pitcher of the year, etc.) and do interviews. Eric Nadel and Victor Rojas did a great job hosting this year’s dinner. It was a lot of fun. I got to meet some of the new players and also talk to Jon Daniels and CJ Wilson for awhile. Eleno Ornelas was at our table and gave me some tips on broadcasting.
On Saturday, my dad and I went to the Rangers Fan Fest. I’ve gone every year since I was 3 and it’s always a great event.
We got there right around the time they opened at 9am and, unlike last year, the process for getting inside was pretty quick. We decided not to try to get any of the 10am autographs so that we could go to the 10am Josh Hamilton Q&A. So we spent the first hour doing the scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is where you go to different stations around the ballpark, and Rangers employees will stamp a piece of paper and give you small prizes at each stop. Once you have stamps from each station, you go to the last station to get free Rangers tickets and enter to win a trip.
At 10am, we went to the Legends of the Game Museum to see the Josh Hamilton Q&A. We sat with John Siburt, our preacher, who was saving seats for his family for the Michael Young Q&A at 11am. His daughter, Katie, is a huge Michael Young fan, but she couldn’t get in the Michael Young autograph line before the tickets ran out (she got in Marlon Byrd’s line instead) so they decided they had to be sure to get in the Michal Young Q&A. Katie is 6 years old, and a huge Rangers fan. She even had a Rangers birthday party and got on TV last summer during one of the Jim Knox segments of a game. Katie ended up getting Michael’s autograph after the Q&A, so everything worked out for her.
Victor Rojas hosted the Josh Hamilton Q&A. Josh seemed like a really good guy and very humble. He focused a lot on God and on how he knows that it’s because of God that he’s recovered from his issues and is still able to play so well. He talked about how amazing it is that he basically didn’t play baseball for years and came back at the level he did. He said that it could only be because of God.
Other interesting things:
- He got drafted on his dad’s birthday.
- Last year, when the Cubs took him in the Rule 5 draft, he called everyone to tell them he was going to the Cubs. He then had to call everyone back 20 minutes later and tell them that it was now the Reds.
- He was wearing a bandage on his middle finger and said that he had hurt it playing catch.
- I asked him what he learned from Ken Griffey Jr. and if there was any tension in taking Ken’s center field spot. Josh said that Griff was a great guy who never said anything negative about Josh taking center field. He was very helpful and would always yell ‘in’ or ‘back’ when a ball was hit.
- He took a call from his wife during the session to give her directions to a store.
After the Q&A session, I introduced myself to Josh and asked if I could interview him for my blog. He was friendly and agreed to contact me to set it up.
We then went to the Newberg table to see if we could still get his 10am guests (Chris Davis and John Whittleman). We were amazed to see that there was a huge line there, much longer than we normally see for the Newberg table. We got in line and by the time we got to the front, Jamey’s 11am guests (Doug Mathis and John Mayberry) had arrived. But Chris and John stayed extra time so we got all four autographs. All of the players were really nice and Doug, Chris, and John remembered me from the December Bound Edition release party.
We then walked around the booths in the Diamond Club, where different businesses had set up tables. TR Sullivan had a booth selling his new book that he wrote with scout Mel Didier, called ("Podnuh Let
Me Tell You a Story: A Baseball Life"). I spent some time talking with TR, which is always fun, and Mel, who’s been involved with baseball for a long time. I started reading the book during the day and it has some good stories in it. I also saw my friend, Ryan Wolfson, there in the Diamond Club.
At around noon, we went back to the Newberg table and got autographs from Blake Beavan and Taylor Teagarden. They were also very nice and both remembered me from other Newberg events.
We then got some lunch and waited in line to get autographs from Ben Broussard and Brandon McCarthy.
Eleanor and Jamey had arranged for me to interview Taylor after he was done signing, so Taylor, my dad, and I went to a private area and did the interview. It was my first face-to-face interview (all of the others have been over the phone or email). Taylor was really nice to do the interview and Eleanor and Jamey were really nice to set it up. I’ll have it on next week’s blog.
Next, we went back to the Newberg table to see Josh Lewin. He was very friendly like always and asked me how my basketball season was going. He was promoting one of his books (“You Never Forget Your First: Ballplayers Recall Their Big League Debuts”).
Next, we went to the alumni autograph table and got autographs from Rich Billings, Mike Jeffcoat, Pete O’Brien, Eric Nadel, Dan Smith, and Curtis Wilkerson.
We then went back to the Newberg table for their last guest, German Duran. He is also a great guy and said he had read my blog since I last saw him.
On our way out, we saw Mike Ogulnick and he said he was going to have me back on his show before Spring Training to break down the team.
Next we got into line to get Jason Jenning’s autograph (he was signing at 3pm). We finished up with the 4pm autographs: Kason Gabbard, Kameron Loe, and Travis Metcalf. I talked to Kameron for awhile about my LA trip and Travis agreed to let me interview him.
As we were walking out, we noticed that CJ Wilson was sitting at a table talking to people and signing autographs. He was promoting his Guitar Hero charity event this Friday night at the Southwest Airlines headquarters. We talked to him for awhile and got his autograph.
At that point it was 5pm and the Fan Fest was shutting down. We had a great time like always. Like usual, the best table was the Newberg table. He had great guests and I enjoyed talking with Jamey, Eleanor Czajka, and Allen Cordrey.
Come back next week for the Taylor Teagarden interview.
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