"Open at your own risk" - 2010 Rangers season 3

[tc]

I think you're referring to Martin Perez, the 19 y.o. kid at Frisco.

The reports of the early negotiations had Seattle asking for Perez and Scheppers in the deal and the Rangers turned them down. Like you, I'm glad they kept those two and Holland. Scheppers may show up on the roster before September if someone gets injured or can't get the job done.

Right now it's going to be interesting to see how the pitching staff and rotation shakes out, especially when Harden and Holland are ready after the break. Harden might be on a short leash if he still has control problems, and I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Holland spend the rest of the season at AAA. Harrison was supposed to get the start on Saturday, so he will probably go back to the bullpen if Lee is ready to go as speculated. I think the biggest question mark is Feldman. How much longer can they stick with him in the rotation if others are pitching better? Lee, Lewis, Wilson, Hunter, Player to be named should make a solid rotation.
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Let us always endeavor to eschew superfluous sesquipedalian obfuscation and circumlocution.

[Goodson]

Yep ... Martin Perez was the name I was thinking of.

As good as he's looked in relief, I'm surprised that they didn't push hard for Ogando.

[aggieinjakartatown]

excellent news, let's hope that he delivers

[Bobaloo]

I would Feldman maybe 1-2 more starts. He's lost command of the strike zone and doesn't have good enough stuff to get away with it. Lee is here for 24 hours and he already has a must win tonight! We have to at least split with Baltimore!!!

[Goodson]

You've got that right ... two ugly, ugly hairballs coughed up by our previously-reliable bullpen squandered quality starts by Hunter and Feldman and snatched defeats from the jaws of victory.

I'm a little concerned about Feliz' attitude. One thing I noticed last night. Maddox went to the mound to talk to him and he (Feliz) stood with his back to MM for a few seconds before finally turning and joining in the conversation.

Maybe it was nothing ... but I've seen this body language from him earlier this year as well. I hope it isn't a sign of developing an overly-inflated opinion of himself at a very young age.

[Ruffstuff]

make that 4 ugly losses...good thing the Angels are struggling as well....

then there is this little teaser...

Link to Article

Would Cuban teamup with Ryan and Greenberg?

We'd be in the Free Agent market then...

[Goodson]

This team needs a vocal leader ... and that's not Michael Young's modus operandi. Someone who can be play the "Will Clark" role from the pennant-winning teams of the 90's.

And re: Cuban ... there was mention in some of the early stories on Greenberg that talks about ties he and Mark have back to their days in Pennsylvania.

[tc]

Will the nightmare ever end?:

Link to Article
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Let us always endeavor to eschew superfluous sesquipedalian obfuscation and circumlocution.

[Goodson]

This is a positional move by Greenberg-Ryan to try and get back to square one -- where theirs was the only bid that would be considered.

It just keeps an option in play that would end up with Greenberg-Ryan getting the team.

[Ruffstuff]

[Goodson]

Who on earth would have dreamed that, coming out of the All-Star break:

the Rangers would take 3 of 4 from the Red Sox IN Boston;

this despite squandering a splendid outing by Cliff Lee in the sole loss of the series?

And thanks to the M's, the lead is back to 4.5.

Now on to Detroit ... here's hoping we can exorcise some of the recent demons that have plagued us at that yard as well.

[TAMU1991]

Should've swept the BoSox. Hopefully the BoSox will cool off the A's who have been pretty streaky lately.

Now on to Motor City!

[oklahomaagg]

lee needs some run support in his outings. He's the ace and is 0-2 since joining the Rangers.

[Goodson]

Not 0-2 ... but he is winless. He's 0-1 with a no-decision in his second start against the BoSox.

I understand the talk after the game, but if it's me I'm giving some serious thought to walking Youk and taking my chances against Beltre.

[Goodson]

Heard on one of the Dallas sports talk shows that those 11 straight losses at Comerica Field means we haven't won in Detroit since 2007.

That needs to change .... starting tonight!

[Ruffstuff]

Davis is killing us...(thru the 7th inning tonight)...we need someone who can hit & play 1st base...

[Ruffstuff]

now 0-5, left three more men on....

[Goodson]

Agreed about Davis: Ryan Garko may get another look if things keep going like this.

Where or where is the Scooter Feldman that we came to appreciate last year?

[TAMU1991]

[Bobaloo]

I'd kill for Blaylock at 1B....

[Goodson]

Davis' swing just looks so long and slow.

In today's FWST Nellie Cruz commented about how he used the time off during the All-Star break to work on his swing -- tightening it and speeding it up.

Davis did hit a couple of balls relatively hard last night ... but I've got less confidence in that guy at the plate than any other player on our roster (which includes Arias and Blanco).

I hope he's working with Hurdle ... I think Clint is someone who could help him where, perhaps, Rudy couldn't.



Wasn't Harrison "just what the doctor ordered" last night? Four innings of shutout relief -- twice through the heart of their order in the process.

Big, big win for the good guys.

And one other point: Wash's ejection was interesting. Someone from the Rangers bench was getting after the plate ump after a challenged no-call on a checked swing. Off came the ump's mask and he approached the Rangers' bench. You could read his lips ... telling Wash that if he came out of the dugout, he'd get tossed.

The paper didn't address it today, but I suspect that's why Wash got tossed ... challenging the fact that he shouldn't be told that he can't come out of the dugout and talk to the ump withoout getting tossed.

[Bobaloo]

Not sure how much more rope I give Feldman. He gets the ball over the plate and it is crushed. He literally has to be perfect. Contrast with CJ Wilson who can make a mistake and get away with it because he has good movement.

[Goodson]

The big thing for Feldman is his cutter or splitter isn't sinking like it was last year -- for whatever reason. And that leads to some discouraging results.

More important, it's really wearing on the bullpen since he's pretty much become a 5 inning pitcher.

[AgLaw06]

My real question is WHY is it not sinking. It is blatantly obvious that it has not been working this year much at all, so why are we still seeing the same thing from Feldman?

Sink is almost ENTIRELY about arm slot position. It isn't about grip, it isn't about velocity, so WHY is Maddux not killing him with repetition on perfecting his arm angle from last year? I mean, I don't know that he's not, but if he is indeed killing SF with repetition....I would sure hope some results would have presented themselves before now. To me, I say designate him for assignment and let him get his arm slot right there rather than depleting our BP every outing. This is not a slam on SF because I like him and I think he has the tools, but for whatever reason, it isn't working right now. My hope in designating him would be that he works out like Davis did last year....getting his mind right and coming back up in a month with a MUCH better approach and technique.

As for Davis, Goodson, I completely agree with you that I have NO confidence in his ability at the plate, but then last night he gets two solid hits. I STILL think it is a confidence issue with him. He's got the thought in his head that the Minors and Majors are two completely different worlds as far as quality of pitchers. Minors he crushes...majors he looks lost. I'm still hoping he clicks into gear and gets into a hot streak to where he can finally believe that he can do it. We'll see.

On a side note, when are Harden (not that I'm excited about it) and Holland supposed to be coming off the DL? I thought it was supposed to be the week after the Allstar game, but I guess not.
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-George Orwell.

[Goodson]

Harden is supposed to have at least one more start at the AAA level to stretch him out to 90 pitches ... and then we'll see where we go from there.

The problem is if Feldman were pulled from the rotation, where do you turn? Nippert's on the DL because of the line drive he took on the noggin.

Holland's still nagged by shoulder and knee issues.

Mathis? (needed in the right-handed long relief spot with Nippert down)

Brandon McCarthy? I'm sure his name is on a DL somewhere.

Ogando? A possibility -- but this weakens the pen.

The best bet, based on his most recent outing against the Tigers, would be Matt Harrison. But then you're down to one lefty (Oliver) in the bullpen ... and only one true long reliever (Mathis).

This discussion reminds me that I need to take a look at the AAA roster to see if any other folks down there are performing well enough to merit a look.

[tc]

Harden got lit up on his AAA rehab start, so he is not only going to have to demonstrate that he's healthy, but that he would be an upgrade from anyone in the current rotation. Otherwise, he might slide into the long relief role of Nippert/Mathis.

I agree that Feldman is running out of chances, but there might not be anyone around to take his place. Harrison or Holland would be my choice, with one in the rotation and one as LH long relief, but that is contingent on Holland getting healthy very soon. I wouldn't be surprised if Holland doesn't get back to the big club this season.

Beltre made a couple of spot starts, but it didn't appear that's he's ready yet. Maybe he'll get another chance.
_________________
Let us always endeavor to eschew superfluous sesquipedalian obfuscation and circumlocution.