Rangers Gameday: 3/29 Vs. LAA
Joey MatschulatSunday, March 29th Game Preview
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (22-5-1) vs. Texas Rangers (16-12-1)
Sean O'Sullivan (1-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 4.91 ERA)
3:05 p.m. CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)
TV: - - - | Radio: KRLD 105.3 FM, XM 180
| Brewers |
Rangers |
||
| Position | Player | Position | Player |
| 3B |
Chone Figgins |
2B |
Ian Kinsler |
| 2B |
Howie Kendrick |
3B |
Michael Young |
| DH |
Bobby Abreu |
CF |
Josh Hamilton |
| RF |
Vladimir Guerrero |
DH |
Hank Blalock |
| CF |
Torii Hunter |
RF |
Nelson Cruz |
| 1B |
Kendry Morales |
LF |
Marlon Byrd |
| LF |
Juan Rivera |
1B |
Chris Davis |
| C |
Jeff Mathis |
C |
Jarrod Saltalamacchia |
| SS |
Maicer Izturis |
SS |
Elvis Andrus |
Notes: Left-hander C.J. Wilson and right-handers Frank Francisco, Warner Madrigal, Josh Rupe and Derrick Turnbow are all slated to throw approximately 25 pitches this afternoon ... Right-hander Willie Eyre (tightness, right groin muscle) was scratched from an appearance in a minor league game on Saturday, but is nevertheless scheduled to appear in a minor league game on Monday ... Right-handers Neftali Feliz, Doug Mathis and Brandon McCarthy were all scheduled to pitch in a minor league game this morning; left-hander Derek Holland and right-hander Kevin Millwood were scheduled to throw live batting practice.
Reader Comments (27)
Some nice defense from Andrus and Kinsler bails McCarthy out (in fact, Brandon's errant throw to second base in a futile attempt to pick off Figgins facilitated the 6-5 play by Andrus to gun him down at third), and the Surprise Stadium radar gun reportedly flashed 94 mph on one of McCarthy's fastballs...wonder just how juiced the gun is...
You can tell we're in the last week of ST - both lineups look like the real deal from the top to the bottom.
Yeah, that Texas lineup looks pretty similar to what I'd expect on Opening Day (though we'll see whether the Rangers will stand by David Murphy as their Opening Day left fielder against a tough southpaw)...received my Opening Day tickets yesterday for section 27...
Nice two-run opposite-field shot from Hamilton last inning...I don't think we're going to have to worry about Josh going into the season in a slump, because he's absolutely raking in spite of Jaramillo's tweaks to his swing...
In other news, GMJ was sent home by the Angels earlier today for a "cooling-off period" after being informed that he wouldn't be a starting outfielder (much to his chagrin), and Terry Francona confirmed this morning that Brad Wilkerson had left Red Sox camp...so much for washed-up ex-Rangers...
and two innings and two homers by Hambone... Poor anahiem pitcher, who is this O'sullivan character anyways?
Matthews is healthy again and has something to prove. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being a starting centerfielder on some other team and throwing up some big numbers before too much longer. If the Angels can find someone to pick up his salary...
Boom! Crush Davis crushes one.
One thing I noticed earlier in the game: Having Elvis down in the #9, despite his non-existent power, could potentially create even more runs for TX than last season's phenomenal totals. If he can get on base, he's a good baserunner with above average speed, and now good hitters like Kinsler and Young will have plus speed on the base paths to knock in where there wasn't before.
It's scary how good this offense could be.
Here's a question for you: Is GMJ more untradeable than Catalanotto right now?
Very frustrated that today's game hasn't been on TV...had to step away for a bit, but CD evidently smashed one a mile, and Turnbow has been...well, Turnbow...
Regarding Andrus, JD, the poor OBP he is likely to produce in '09 will vastly mitigate his baserunning prowess, and I have a really hard time believing this team will plate 901 runs again (I believe I have Texas down for 850)...of course, as I say that Andrus draws a walk after a long three-run shot from Taylor Teagarden that puts Texas up 13-5, so go figure...
Generally I would say Matthews is probably more untradeable to most teams just because of salary, but if the Yankee's decide that they really want an upgrade at CF then salary probably won't be much of an issue and I could see a scenario where they narrow down their choices to Matthews or Byrd. As opening day nears and Cat shows he still has a productive bat, then I think he becomes more and more tradeable. Especially with the Rangers willing to pick up a fair portion of his salary.
I'm really wishing I could have seen some of the plays that Andrus (and Kinsler) have been making. I think there's gonna be a big difference in our infield defense this year.
I'm also thinking that with the potent offense we're expected to have this year I would rather have a little less offense (i.e. Murphy) and a lot more defense (Boggs) in the outfield. I think he could save a lot more runs than you might lose by his bat, (which may still be pretty good).
I know ST stats are meaningless, but in games they've won, they seem to always score between 8-12 runs. I agree with your assessment or prediction of a modest regression in offensive firepower, but on the other hand... you could make an argument that many of these players are young and capable of showing drastic improvement over what they did last year (I'm thinking of names like Hamilton, Davis, Kinsler, Salty, and Nelson).
By the way, if the Davis homer really travelled all the way to Bullard avenue on the fly, that's no less than 500 feet (per a quick Google Earth measurement)...
Mad Dog IS IN... and promptly gives up a rope off the wall. I think he's definitely headed to AAA. He just hasn't had it together this spring.
Andrus was great today. Two spectacular plays - I think they even doubled up Figgins.
Rupe made a statement, too.
From EG:
It should be noted that Rupe and Turnbow are both scheduled to pitch tomorrow, so any advantage Rupe may have acquired today might evaporate in the next 24 hours if he sucks tomorrow, but we're getting into crunch time now and superior performance now is clearly given more weight than superior performance a week ago.
And it's certainly possible that guys like Davis and Salty could take steps forward next season offensively (particularly Salty)...I don't know that you can count on Kinsler and Hamilton to do that, though, because their '08 rate stats are probably pretty close to their maximum potential, and I'll be pretty (albeit pleasantly) surprised if they improve substantially on those in '09...
Ugh, hearing the name Robb Quinlan evokes bad memories of that '04 Ricardo Rodriguez injury...as silly as it may sound, I still believe that if that injury hadn't happened, the Rangers might have won the AL West in '04...
Well Kinsler could improve offensively just by being healthy for the whole year. Young will also have a better year by the simple fact that he will be batting with 2 less broken fingers than before. I'm finally convinced that Cruz is legit and I think he will more than replace Bradley in the lineup. I think that adds up to more than what we lose offensively by having Andrus in there, (and could also support having Boggs in there in place of Murphy). I know everyone's been talking about trading Byrd, but with a combination of the outfielders coming up through the system and with Hamilton and Cruz likely to be around for awhile, I think we should look into trading Murphy too, (perhaps even before Byrd). Especially since there's a chance he could regress some this season. Then you have a starting outfield of Byrd in left, Boggs in center, and Hamilton/Cruz in right, with the other guy DHing. I'd say that's a huge plus on defense and balances the whole lefty/righty thing in the lineup.
And Texas wins with a 13-7 football score...really big days for some key offensive cogs (namely, Kinsler, Young, Hamilton and Davis), and McCarthy was okay...in my view, every day that passes without some sort of catastrophic Adam Eaton-esque injury occurring during the waning days of Cactus League baseball is a good day...
Kinsler's overall value would benefit from a full, healthy season, yes...my contention is that expecting much more than .319/.375/.517 out of Kinsler in '09 is probably expecting way too much...the sports hernia didn't flare up until Aug. 17, and even if you decide to go the conservative route and estimate that he had been dealing with some sort of pain in that region since the beginning of August, he was hitting .324/.384/.516 on Aug. 1. The rate stats might incrementally improve, but a slight regression wouldn't surprise me (and in fact, that's what every player forecasting system is projecting...not saying that forecasts are even remotely infallible, but, well, you get my drift).
I expect more out of Young in '09 for the exact reason you cited (he has reportedly worked extensively with Rudy J. this spring to reinforce the more vital components of his swing), though I don't anticipate Cruz will fully compensate for the loss of Bradley's .321/.436/.563 performance over 509 PA last season.
The hypothetical Byrd/Boggs/Hamilton or Cruz alignment is very appealing from a defensive standpoint, but in my mind the best way to maximize offensive/defensive utility is to slot Hamilton and Cruz into corners and roll with Byrd/Boggs in center field (assuming that Murphy was dealt beforehand) until Borbon's ready sometime this summer. Of course, the Rangers have given no indications that they are willing to do that.
i agree with the thought that Murphy might be the best trade bait out of our OF right now. Not only does he possibly have more value than Byrd to another team, but Byrd might have more value to us. I say that b/c Byrd is likely going to be a better offensive player and a more versatile defensive player than Murphy, and following this season it will be hard to find either Byrd or Murphy playing time if we commit to Borbon in CF. Also, there is a very good chance that if Byrd can play almost everyday and put up similar numbers to what he put up last year that he'll be at least a type B FA in the offseason giving us a compensation pick at least in return.
But i dont think Boggs is going to get, nor deserve to get, a whole lot of starts in the OF this year. I love him as our future 4th OF who gets a ton of ABs, but right now he's a 5th OF at best and even if we deal Murph, Andruw Jones will be our 4th OF.
By bringing in Andrus they emphasized a commitment to improved defense. I just don't see why they wouldn't want to make a similar commitment to the outfield by bringing in Boggs, or at least Byrd.
"Ugh, hearing the name Robb Quinlan evokes bad memories of that '04 Ricardo Rodriguez injury...as silly as it may sound, I still believe that if that injury hadn't happened, the Rangers might have won the AL West in '04..."
The Rangers winning the West in ? That's got to be the dumbest thing i've ever read.
I'd tell you to stick to your day job, but after having seen that in person, I'm not even sure that's good advice for you....
the West in '04*
I should have known that was coming. Hah.
Atleast it was only old stuff, not anything new right?
Hope springs enternal, and baseball starts in spring....
Baseball=Hope
This is why i was never any good in math, my proofs neer panned out...