Tuesday Morning Rangers Notes: Picking Up The Pieces
Marlon Byrd makes his dissatisfaction abundantly clear after a crippling sixth-inning strikeout on Monday, September 28th.After these last two days, I'm betting that we could all use a little old-school Craig Miller, Kenny Rogers and KXTX 39:
● The Texas Rangers lost by an 11-0 margin to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday evening, securing the Angels' fourth division title in five years and effectively eliminating the Rangers from post-season contention (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)
[Said Michael Young: "I'm mad. I don't buy moral victories or look at the so-called positives. I'm not going to get caught up in looking at the future or anything like that. I play to win right now. The Angels had a great year, they overcame a lot of adversity and did a great job. From our end, it's not a good feeling." That's the mindset that I want permeating the entire clubhouse. Not disappointment, not anxiety and certainly not ambivalence. Just nice, steady, even-keeled anger.
Two things: First, that was a very touching gesture on the part of the Angels in acknowledging their tragically fallen teammate, Nick Adenhart, by patting his outfield wall-affixed portrait ... but I'm thinking that the decision to drench his jersey with beer probably won't be remembered as the most sensitive gesture of all time, even if it was done with only the best of intentions. And second, Ian Kinsler's widely publicized mid-May decision to scream "Get the [expletive] off our field!" into the Angels' dugout appears a tad overzealous in hindsight. Since that May 17th series finale in Arlington, the Rangers have gone 62-57. Anaheim has gone 74-46.]
● All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton (pinched sciatic nerve, lower back) remains a day-to-day proposition due to residual pain (Jim Reeves, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
[Okay, so help me through this: After Sunday afternoon's disastrous home finale, Hamilton told Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he "felt great." On Monday, Hamilton told D Magazine's Evan Grant that he apparently "couldn't go" on Sunday, after all, and might in fact be finished for the season -- an assessment with which manager Ron Washington apparently doesn't agree. Confusing.
The current diagnosis on Hamilton posits that he is in no danger of incurring further damage to his injured back -- which won't require surgical repair -- and that the overriding issue is now one of pain tolerance, although I don't suspect those words offer much in the way of soothing reassurance to the disabled outfielder. According to assistant general manager Thad Levine, spine specialists Dr. Drew Dossett (Dallas) and Dr. Robert Watkins (Los Angeles) have cleared Hamilton to play ... but just because he can play doesn't necessarily mean that he should play, particularly if the pain is so severe that he places himself at heightened risk of overcompensating and inflicting collateral muscle and/or nerve damage somewhere else.
One of the problems with the argument for moving Hamilton to a corner outfield spot as a health-preserving mechanism is that I'm pretty sure there are collision-inviting walls flanking both of those positions as well; I don't have much evidence to support this hypothesis, but I'm willing to bet that chasing a fly ball into foul territory is probably just as health-endangering as patrolling the outer limits of center field. If the Rangers can't trust Hamilton to exercise some prudence in his defensive endeavors, he probably needs to be relegated to a full-time designated hitter role, because he's far too important to the success of this franchise for Texas to take the chance of him becoming a 110- or 120-game player.]
● Outfielder Nelson Cruz has now started just one of the Rangers' last five games (something which he apparently wasn't expecting), in part because manager Ron Washington wants to keep Hank Blalock's "presence in the lineup" (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)
[Is this Washington trying to get some needed rest in for Cruz, who has been playing baseball virtually nonstop for however many months now? I would like to think so, but I have my doubts that the skipper's reasoning for excluding Cruz actually runs that deep. I would also like to rid myself of this fear in the deep recesses of my consciousness that Cruz is going to be dealt for 70 cents on the dollar this winter for no particularly good reason, but no such luck yet -- and stuff like this doesn't exactly suppress the latent apprehension.
In any event, he'll start against Angels left-hander Scott Kazmir on Tuesday evening, and hopefully clout three or four home runs, because he might have more to gain from creating a positive final impression in the minds of team management than any other current roster denizen.]
● Minor league first baseman Justin Smoak snagged 2009 World Cup MVP honors after going .291/.418/.818 with nine home runs in 55 tournament at-bats, helping Team USA collect its second consecutive gold medal (John Manuel, Baseball America)
[On a tangentially related note, noted prospect guru Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus wrote the following of top Astros catching prospect Jason Castro on Monday, who was famously selected one pick before Smoak in the 2008 amateur draft: "He's not a bad prospect ... but scouts see no tools to project him as any more than average at best, and that's not what anyone is looking for with the tenth overall pick." It's not the disastrous choice that some -- including myself -- believed it to be at the time, but even if you consider that the Astros were primarily drafting for need with that pick, they could have leveraged Smoak into a better catching prospect than Castro down the line. Ergo, it's still a questionable pick.]
Quick Hits: C.J. Wilson (blister, left middle finger) has reportedly resorted to using a single-finger grip rather than his standard two-finger grip in recent weeks; the injury-necessitated change has mainly affected the velocity on his four-seam fastball ... Marlon Byrd's "first choice is to stay [in Texas]," but no contract discussions have taken place since the All-Star break ... Omar Vizquel's next planned off-season adventure? Try bullfighting in Venezuela, a revelation which prompted Chris Davis to call Vizquel "the most interesting man in the world."
14 Comments | in Analysis, Game Recaps, The Season
Reader Comments (14)
Whoa Joey. Slow down on the trading of Nelson Cruz. Ron doesn't like him and probably reaches for the Tums every time he looks at him. But, JD puts together the roster and he knows Nelson's contribution to the team. JD will straighten out Ron's gut this offseason.
Rest should heal Hamilton's back. But I think surgery is in his future.
Also, has anyone ever seen Vizquel with a beard? Maybe he really is "the most interesting man in the world."
Hmmm, let's see. Meh on showering Adenhart's jersey in beer, they were just celebrating 'with a team member.' Don't think it's that big of a deal.
I fear you may be on to something with Josh Hamilton. The only reason I could see a COF spot being better for him is just that there is less ground to cover so he can run more in control. But it seems like it would be just as easy to get a good OF this offseason as it would to get a DH (though more pricey). Unlike with the pitchers, there are a few intriguing names out there who could probably be had on short term deals. A lineup of:
Borbon CF
Young 3B
Hamilton DH
FA Signee COF
Cruz COF
Kinsler 2B
Davis/Smoak 1B
Salty/Tea/Pudge? C
Andrus SS
That should score some runs.
I wouldn't fear about Nelson Cruz being traded for cheap (despite Wash's seemingly low opinion of him) if it weren't for the fact that those who seem to have a better feel for the Rangers (you, AJM, z) all seem to fear it also. It's not that I think he's irreplaceable or that he will be much better than he is now, it's just that I'm not sure he's valued enough around the league to bring back the sort of pitcher that the Rangers would need to offset his loss.
Lastly, I would say Smoak put up video game numbers, but I'm not sure it's even possible to put up those numbers in a video game.
It was a nice run. I told myself at the beginning of the season I'd be happy with a winning record and that's what they'll have. Needless to say... I am freakin' devastated we didn't make it to the postseason because they toyed with my emotions making the run that they did. Since there's a lot of talk about 2010 being "the year" for the Rangers... I'm hinging all my bets on a postseason berth next season... that's the only way I'll be happy next year. Although... being happy this year would have been nice too...
Washington is not a MLB manager.
excellent coach.
i told myself that i'd be happy to play .500 ball throughout the season and if we could get to/stay at 5 games over, that would be even better.
i've always thought that .500 is the first step. you have to be able to stay above .500. whether you're a good team, a bad team, an injured team, an overachieving team. b/c .500 can still be a nice launching pad even after the all-star break.
as good as the record indicates we still had a rather unfortunate season in terms of injuries to the most key players at rather key times (kinsler, hamilton, young), the greatest disappearing bat-act in the last 15 years and some close to sick play from a salty Angels team.
the pitching was about as good as we've ever seen from the Rangers for about 3/4 of the season. i would say, as a whole, during those times the staff played over their potential a bit. but it's still exciting to know that we have some pitching to look forward to.
We need Valentine as manager!
It seems to me that the Rangers missing out in the division race was about 10% collapse and about 90% ridiculous play from the Angels. The Rangers have shown that even through injuries and extended hitting slumps, they can remain in contention. I think before the season I predicted 87 or 88 wins but was fine as long as we finished .500 or better. I'm not going to change my mind and get angry because we were outpaced by an Angels team that went on a crazy tear. When management is looking back on this season to find areas for improvement, I think they'll find that they just need to improve their consistency against teams below .500. I think anyone would take a .551 winning percentage against teams winning more than half of their game (AL). If they improve against the NL and losing AL teams, this could be a 90-95 win team.
"I wouldn't fear about Nelson Cruz being traded for cheap (despite Wash's seemingly low opinion of him) if it weren't for the fact that those who seem to have a better feel for the Rangers (you, AJM, z) all seem to fear it also. It's not that I think he's irreplaceable or that he will be much better than he is now, it's just that I'm not sure he's valued enough around the league to bring back the sort of pitcher that the Rangers would need to offset his loss."
Let's speak in unequivocal terms here, also -- if the Rangers deal Cruz, it's almost certainly going to be for a starting pitcher. You're not trading him for an infielder, because four of Young/Andrus/Kinsler/Davis/Smoak compose your starting infield for at least the next four years, and if you deal him for a catcher, you're pretty much acknowledging that Saltalamacchia and Teagarden and Ramirez are all failures, in the sense that you're going in an entirely new direction behind the plate.
Trading Cruz for an outfielder is, well, counterproductive -- maybe some other front office holds him in higher esteem than Texas does, but are they likely to have a more appealing and tradeable outfield trade chip at their disposal? Not likely. And moving Cruz for a relief pitcher seems like a great way to end up holding the short end of the trade stick. So, a starting pitcher it is.
If you do acquire a top-flight starting pitcher in a package deal prominently featuring Cruz, then your rotation is Pitcher X, Millwood, Feldman, Hunter and one of Holland/McCarthy/Harrison/Feliz. As evidenced by the mid- and late-season deterioration of the rotation's health, that back-end rotation depth is extremely valuable ... but then the offense, which has been the Rangers' biggest Achilles' heel in 2009 and the biggest reason why this thing isn't going to the playoffs, is suddenly missing one of its three most productive players from the previous season and is all that more dependent upon Young sustaining his big year, Hamilton rediscovering his stroke and vitality, Davis/Smoak figuring out first base, the catchers breaking out, etc.
And at the end of the day, I don't know how much the Rangers would really stand to gain in the standings from all of that roster upheaval.
Is it really that unrealistic to expect better years from Kinsler, Davis/Smoak and especially Hamilton next year? Assuming the Rangers get more production from the DH spot (and hoping/praying/wishing they get more from the C), I think one can pencil in a reasonable improvement.
I would rather not do it, but it seems like a move that would be made specifically to increase your chances in a short series. Pitcher X/Holland/Millwood/Feldman matches up a lot better than Holland/Millwood/Feldman/Hunter. Yes, I think Holland will be the best pitcher, out of the ones currently on the roster, next year.
Joey: How much longer should Michael Young play 3B? IMO, the Rangers should strongly consider moving him to DH when Smoak arrives in 2010.
It's hard to complain when the Rangers were still at least "mathematically" in the race into the last week of the season. Still, I'm frustrated with this season.
New ownership coming soon. Does that mean new managers and coaches? Who would be a good manager? A buddy of mine wants Bobby V back in Arlington. I don't know. Is he the answer?
"Is it really that unrealistic to expect better years from Kinsler, Davis/Smoak and especially Hamilton next year? Assuming the Rangers get more production from the DH spot (and hoping/praying/wishing they get more from the C), I think one can pencil in a reasonable improvement."
Perhaps not, but I'm also not betting on Young being one of the 20 best hitters in baseball again. If Kinsler doesn't straighten out his approach (or pitch selection, or swing, or whatever it is that's causing him to hit the ball in the air 55 percent of the time, he's going to keep posting the .250-.260 BABIPs that are depressing his overall production. Davis is an enormous X-factor, and Smoak ... well, if he hits like Mark Teixeira did in his rookie campaign (.259/.331/.480), we'll be doing really good. You could project the offense as an area that is likely to improve, and I wouldn't disagree with that, but there's also uncertainty in abundance.
TL: What would you do at third base in that case? Davis? Also, you might have to prepare for another act of Request-A-Trade theater if management told him that they believed he was no longer good enough to play in the field.
Young has been fantastic in the field it would be unwise to remove him from the line up...you would be removing an all star fielder?...one injury does not make him injury prone...this guy is a player and he needs to be in the field...Our defensive improvement meant that we had an upgrade at 3 of the 5 infield positions...why would you mess with that? Bobby V is not the answer...been their done that...don't wanna do it again...If Kinsler plays like this every season then he would have to be considred a severe under achiever...I think we have mental issues with Kins...His mind is not on the right things...until that gets corrected we will see the same thing we got this year...maybe worse...I think even beyond Davis...What Ian Kinsler will we get? 2nd base should be unquestionably Kins but he has performed and conducted himself into a question mark!!!
Trade Cruz for a starting pitcher only...Hamilton will rebound and replace the offensive numbers that Cruz put up...Cruz's value is high...An all star OF with power...He is a real asset that could be used to fill a need...Not a trade just to get rid of but a trade that will improve the team...whose to say that this years wasn't a career year for him...if we find a buyer with a good starting pitcher then we should sell high!