1. pull him out of the rotation first! ! he is finished. let him watch, then let him go.. save 12M
2. I am not smart enough to answer that question, dont know why it takes so long. (Chicago)
3. most of us know Ian is just a "whiner", so it dosent really bother us. HE IS A MILLIONAIRE, we are not. give us free parking, reasonable food & drink prices, and the stands would be full, of course whiney would have to take a pay cut..... hehehe. they really are not worth all that money anyway.
4. you got it. nothing. he is a good ball player, they better wait until they get Hamilton healthy, and let some of the new guys get their feet wet and see if they can hit ML baseball, forget AA & AAA.
5. for me, just keep on keeping on. I like the broad coverage you have, and the different questions you ask.
6. I dont think we can win with Wash, too many mental/gut wrong decisions. he is a very good coach, always has been. knows baseball, "the guys like him" , but dont give me that "they play hard for him" stuff, they play hard for the $$$$$$$ we just need a smarter "people/talent" type person. dont know who that would be, but there must be one, somewhere.

1. What to do with Millwood: Anything but letting him pitch every 5th day. He is undermining the playoff push in a big way.

2. I'm extremely concerned about the deleterious effects of the Rangers' financial woes. This club needs to be sold NOW.

3. Re: Kinsler's remarks. Much ado about nothing. No story here.

4. Keep Cruz. He will only get better the next 3 years or so.

5. Don't change anything with the site. I don't see quality of the written word like this anywhere else, save Sports Illustrated.

1. My guess is that he's been pitching injured, (maybe with a strained hamstring), that he hasn't been telling anyone about so he can try to make his innings. I say, he gets 1 more start, let him vest his innings because at this point there's no reasonable way to stop him, then if he pitches like shit, it's off to the bullpen.

2. I'm not very concerned at all with the Rangers fiscal woes. They're a good, young team that is poised to get better in coming years and playing in one of the largest markets around. There's plenty of value to be had there and sooner or later someone will recognize it. Anyone try to tell you things are worse than that is just full of sound and fury.

3. Again, I think too much is being made out of nothing. Kinsler's a good ballplayer that cares about his team. He's a competitor that wants to win and he wants fans out there supporting the team. There's nothing wrong with that, and any real ballplayer who says he doesn't want that is lying.

4. Sign him to a long term deal. That will help quiet the trade rumors and prove they want him around. I certainly don't want to trade him.

5. I like some of the stuff you put out there, but at times you rely way too much on high order stats and completely lose me. I think if you would just give your simple take on things a little more often it would go a long way.

1. Personally, I'd like to see him skip a start to get him some extra rest, then slot him in the 4 or 5 to improve the teams' chances re; the matchup. Barring injury, he's going to get his 180, so they may as well try to adjust things in hopes of maximizing his effectiveness.

2. None.

3. I didn't hear him say anything that was untrue. He didn't sound critical, he sounded honest.
I didn't hear him call anyone out, I heard him say he was disappointed in the attendance on the previous homestand. Nothing to see here.

4. Unless he's part of a package that brings you back Greinke, Cain, Josh Johnson, or Matt Garza, the answer is simply, nothing. Yes.

5. Right:
A. Fresh, informative writing that takes a substantive and deeper look into topics. That said, some of the #s analysis seems overindulgent at times. Not a judgement, just my opinion.
B. This site has always avoided the pissing contests and banalities that overpopulate the commentaries on other major blogs. In my view that's a credit to the authors. I commend the commenters as well but I think the authors set the tone. Thank you for that.

Wrong:
A. Can be a little knee-jerky at times, but I see that as coming from passion, so it's not all bad.
B. If I knew so much that I was "qualified" to tell you what you were doing "wrong", I'd have my own dam blog.

Gentlemen, thank you for the time, effort, and sacrifice required to do what you do.

(1) Mother Nature is to blame. He's just older than he used to be. What can he do? I don't know. Jalapeno juice up his nose. The Rangers don't have a really good answer. They could move him to the bullpen, but who takes his place? Nippert? Feliz? I don't think they want to take Feliz out of his role. Would Nippert's performance be any more predictable? They could reshuffle their rotation to reduce the number of outings left for Millwood. That's about it.

(2) A lot. It's the worst possible timing. This is definitely the offseason the Rangers need to pick up an impact FA or two to round out the team. Generally, impact FAs are gonna cost >10M per year for multiple years. If Hicks doesn't have the resources for that, or if MLB is calling the shots, well we may be experiencing the best year of the 2009-2011 Rangers.

(3) Whatever, Ian. Get your team in first place, maybe it won't sound so much like pouting then.

(4) OF is the one place the Rangers have depth to trade. Cruz might actually have higher trade value than Hamilton even though Hamilton is the more talented player, given the uncertainty with Hamilton's health/addiction. I can't think of a better piece to build a trade around to bring in an Ace.

(5) The writing isn't very concise, and sometimes the analysis is a little too certain of itself (the best analysis always acknowledges its own limitations and the specific new insight that is added).

1. The blame falls on Millwood. Assigning blame to another party is just pussy.

2. The franchise is in financial trouble, so yes, that is a concern.

3. Kinsler comes off like a mildly retarded teenager. Sure, he can play baseball, but his opinions shouldnt matter much, especially when they are delivered in such a prosaic manner. Fans shouldnt be concerned with what athletes think. They are paid to play and have very little else to offer, intellectually speaking.

4. Keep him.

5. More pornography, less overwrought paragraphs.

1. Millwood needs 4.1 IP to vest his option. There is very liitle the Rangers can do tokeep him from getting those innings. Skip his next turn through the rotation and see if the week or so of rest helps him.

2. I believe the financial mess means no major FA signings and no contract extensions. If it goes into next June I can see it effecting LA signings and who the Rangers draft.

3. Ian Kinsler is an ass. He is carrying Mark Teixeira's douche flag.

4. Where is this supposed support for trading Cruz?

5. You have carved out your niche in the world of Ranger blogs. Keep doing what you are doing.

1. Skip a turn for Milly. Maybe some extra rest will do him some good.

2. Concerned a bit about the plight of the franchise on the financial end. Hoping that it does not become a distraction to the players.

3. Personally, the "calling out of fans" is a good thing. I drove almost 1000 miles this summer to catch a weekend series with the Twins. There were a whole lot of Twins fans there, and at times they were just as loud as the Ranger 'fans'. I know it's a 'football' town, but support the teams that's making a push. They can use the added energy at this time of the season.

4. Don't trade Cruz. If Byrd leaves, that will create an opening, (Borbon?) and with Hamilton's issues, there would be little to no power coming out of the outfield.

5. Love this blog. Don't know how I stumbled upon it, but it's bookmarked and I read every day. Love it.

For all the promise he has shown in the spring and early summer, Millwood now seems to be a 4 month pitcher. What the Rangers should do next year is pitch him in April, May, and June, and then give him July and August off to just play golf and work out, and then bring him back in September for the playoff run. Seriously, I don't know what's to be done about him.

Like I said yesterday - it does hurt to think Texas probably won't be able to get Lackey (I'm assuming that), but maybe there's still hope they can sign Sheets. I suppose when the economy gets back on its feet, whenever that may be, Hicks will find a decent buyer.

No way you trade Cruz, especially if you're losing Byrd next year. OF is Hamilton, Cruz, and Borbon - with Murphy the 4th. Who are you going to get that is cheaper than Cruz who can produce what he does? Doesn't make any sense to move him unless someone severely overpays with 2 or 3 cheap young mlb-ready players. But even there - no room on the 40. Keep him.

BBTIA is a good site, and I look at it every day & enjoy commenting. I'm not into all the stats, but I find enough variety in coverage to keep me coming back. I think overall this is the best Rangers blog around. Sorry Newberg :)

1. Didn't most of Millwood's struggles begin after he hurt his glute? Wonder if he came back too soon...
2. The financial woes are a pretty serious concern, b/c we have no way of knowing whether a new owner will be better or worse, will we have to let guys go on the field or in the scouting and development area? Hicks comments yesterday did seem to ease some concerns.
3. Kins has become a whiny, selfish, bitch with a bad attitude. Years of losing, and he wants to bitch at the fans? STFU!
4. Trade Cruz? Maybe, for a good deal....I would rather look into trading Kinsler!
5. You're doing fine-I get lost in some of the higher-level stts, graphs and such, but that's on me. No complaints.

5. Merge with Inside corner. Ya'll are the two best sites and provide similar content.

I am into the stats. It is AWESOME!

I concur with some very well thought out previous posts., However, here is my take.

1. He is obviously hurt.

2. Very disturbing. Wish we knew what was really going on.

3. Whatever. Taking the whole family, or even just yourself, costs a lot. However, I recently went to a game at the new Mets stadium and things were even MORE expensive. Yankee stadium is MORE expensive still. This is where the world is going. At least it is not $70 to park like the new place down the road.

4. Trade Cruz? This guy is a BEAST. A Cheap Beast.

5. This place Rocks! I am continually impressed. We Rangers fans are blessed to have the best fan based content anywhere with you, Newberg and some of the others. Keep it coming. The time you guys put into some of this stuff is extraordinary. And for free. Thank you.

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5. The only gripe about your work Joey...(work which is much appreciated).

Stop the nested clauses within nested clauses in your writing.

Look, I'm a software developer. I understand your use of conditionals/nested clauses just fine. But, I come here to relax and unwind, not to have to think hard.

You're obviously a talented, thoughtful guy. But you don't have to prove it with every sentence.

1. Jim is correct: Millwood is a four-month pitcher. Recognize this and use him accordingly in 2010.

2. The Rangers are one of the few ML clubs well position to succeed in an economic depression. There are no potential buyers for the Rangers at $500 mil. Why? A potential investment group understands that gone are the days of flipping franchises in cash-out-quickly schemes; coercing state and local governments to fund overly expensive stadiums; and profiting from an overvalued media contract. When the television contract is renoegotiated in 2011, there will be a come-to-Jesus recalibration of salaries and personnel. Tom Hicks will be the owner of the Rangers one year from now.

3. Kinsler suffers from the same overactive, foot-in-the-mouth immaturity as CJ WIlson.

4. Texas needs a DH in 2010 and 2011. Nelson Cruz is his name.

5. BBTiA is clearly the best source of analysis of our team. David's data-driven arguments are very logical, well written and unique in the current universe of Rangers blogging. Joey has a talent for posing a relevant question, surveying the local and national landscape of opinion and offering a practical, no-drama commentary. Love it. That neither is in the employ of the Rangers allows them to be bold. As far as constructive criticism: The writing, at times, becomes too thick (wordy and convoluted). When you graduate from college, this will change. Also, sports analysis can usually benefit from a perspective that is mindful of current economic and political conditions that are reshaping private enterprise.

We do not thank the BBTiA team enough for sharing their passion freely with others who have neither the time nor skills to host a great website. Joey and all: we appreciate your dedication. You have a loyal readership and have clearly bested the field in satifying our Ranger news addiction. Evan Grant and Jamey Newberg would be well served by learning from your model.

1 - We've seen the Kevin Millwood meltdown every year. Usually it's been injury. Why else does a player have an innings pitched clause? The Rangers front office knows this. Ron has seen his production drop off the table in the second half. If he's injured and not telling, the perseption, right or wrong, will be that he's hurting the team for selfish reasons. Blame? There's plenty to go around.

2 - Any time MLB gets involved in the sale of a franchise it's going to be a long, drawn out affair. Selig and Co. only care about money - fans be damned. They prove this year in and year out. The good and bad? The good is that the Rangers are set up to build a team from within the organization, and can live without big contracts, though the standard of living might be middle class. The bad is that there's no longer any way to get around having MLB involved. It's a poor regime who has learned propaganda works on fools.

3 - No.

4 - Everyone on this team should be expendable for the right price. If you don't take that attitude I don't know how any intelligent personnel decisions can be made. Make sure you read that, "right price."

5 - Don't change a thing.

5. Someone already mentioned this, but I'll add my voice.

First off, this website is perfect as it is. That said, it could be ever so slightly more perfecter if you used a few more periods...

While realizing writing long sentences with many sidetrips is your writing style and the use of a plethora of colorful and varied nouns and ajectives, and sometimes verbs and even adverbs in the collection of letters and punctuation which together make up what we users of the English language call sentences is also part of your makeup as a scribe of the sports persuasion, it might be advantageous to the perusers of your electonic palabras, to use the Spanish word for word, if their eyes rested upon fewer of the symbols representing thoughts as they sought to glean information from your incredible storehouse of baseball knowledge.

Millwood. What a mess. If it was me and it was legal, he gets the old DFA..right now.

The financial mess this club is in is akin to fighting someone with one hand tied behind your back. The possibility of having Millwood at 12 mill next year is akin to having both hands tied behind your back.

I'm not opposed to trading Cruz for the right player. Somebody who can put the bat on the ball a reasonable amount of time. I'm tired of seeing RISP left on base because of K's and pop ups.

I'm more concerned with Kinsler's lack of strike zone recognition, his180 ft pop ups and his mid game naps than his over active mouth.

I would hope you would not change much at all with BBTIA. This is my first year as a reader and I have really enjoyed what has become my second Rangers read of the day..... Sorry but it's hard to break the life long first thing in the morning habit.... The Dallas MN and coffee. Keep up the good work.

1. Millwood isn't a very good pitcher. Expecting the kind of performance we saw in the first half from him on a sustained basis is indulging in fantasy.
2. The financial situation is THE story for the Rangers. I never thought Hicks would turn into Bob Short. Long-lasting damage to the franchise is just around the corner at a time when a steady financial hand is vitally important.
3. Kinsler's comments are no story whatsoever. With this franchise's record of futility going back to 1960, it's a wonder anyone comes out at all. The cheap seats at the Ballpark are absolutely awful, nosebleed-inducing places, with leg room only for amputees. The other seats, even at a discount, are not priced where an average person can come to a game every night. That said, I live too far away to attend very many games, what with trying stay both employed and married.
4. Nothing would be the best option, unless someone is going to give us absolutely stupid value in return for Cruz. This franchise needs to concentrate on signing its young core to multi-year contracts.
5. Love BBTIA. I'm an egghead basically, so I like your style just fine. :-)

It would be an enormous insult to simply bench Millstone. I vote we simply cut him and swallow the remaining money owed. It is better than being stuck with that load around the Ranger's necks for another year at ridiculous dollars.

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