Thursday Morning Rangers Notes: The Sweet Dreams Edition
Joey Matschulat
Ryan Garko rakes a sixth-inning RBI single en route to a brilliant 4-for-5 performance against the White Sox on July 9th, 2009.Time for one of those "a little bit from here and there"-type pieces wherein I promise to serve up more later in the morning and may or may not end up delivering on that promise, perhaps because I threw all good judgment to the wind and didn't sleep all night and may pass out at any moment:
● 4:00 p.m. CST: Texas has claimed first baseman Ryan Garko off irrevocable outright waivers from the Seattle Mariners (Richard Durrett, ESPN.com)
● 8:00 a.m. CST: A baseball source said Wednesday that talks regarding a potentially revived Mike Lowell-to-Texas trade had "accelerated," but by late Wednesday evening, the same source stated that the two sides were no closer to consummating a deal (Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston.com)
[Not only a same-day rumor bust, but a same-day rumor bust by the source of the rumor himself. That's a new one. Momentarily ignoring the money issues and looking at this from a pure talent/roster standpoint, the outstanding problem is that Lowell is no longer the potential 400- to 500-plate appearance player that the Rangers believed they were acquiring back in December; cut those old playing time projections in half and you're probably on the right track, in which case you're acquiring a 200- to 300-plate appearance guy who wasn't happy about being marginalized in Boston and would immediately find himself marginalized by his new employer.
Max Ramirez -- assuming that we're still talking about a Ramirez-for-Lowell swap, which hasn't been clarified -- isn't nearly as illustrious in the prospect sense these days (being 25 years old and not having established that you can actually hit above Double-A ball tends to do that to your stock), but one would still rather hesitant to pull the trigger on that exact same trade again. Well, at least I would.]
● 7:30 a.m. CST: Phil Rogers tabs the Rangers as his pick to win the AL West with 88 wins (yawn), but also chooses Clint Hurdle as his favorite for the intradivision manager of the year (Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune)
[I wouldn't ordinarily call attention to this sort of reckless supposition, except that it recalls to mind the reader-submitted question published here one Sunday morning last November in which this Hurdle-the-manager idea acquired some traction; it's probably still a bit far-fetched, but it's something to think about, and if we're not writing things that make you think, then we're failing. In any event, Rogers' controversial pick requires three things if it is to come to fruition: (a) a 2008-esque April meltdown, (b) front-office support for Hurdle as Washington's successor, obviously, and (c) a prodigious mid-season turnaround culminating in no fewer than 85 wins. I think I could do without all of that, to tell you the truth.]
● 7:15 a.m. CST: With this weekend's roster-finalizing deadline fast approaching, the Rangers will apparently carry both Andres Blanco (Opening Day second baseman) and Joaquin Arias (utility infielder) so long as Ian Kinsler resides on the 15-day disabled list with his high ankle sprain (retroactive to March 26th); Texas will also split time between Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden behind the plate, and will award the final spot in the bullpen to Doug Mathis, who beat out Guillermo Moscoso and Willie Eyre (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Reader Comments (10)
Lent is over! Now the Triduum and shazzam!... Appropriate that baseball resurrect with Easter!
2 things:
1) I'm with you, Joey. Besides, what can't Matt Brown do that the "new" Mike Lowell can ... apart from Fenway. Besides, if we have 3 million and one prospect, then we have the 4 million and 2 prospects + 1 vet that it would presumably take to get Josh Willingham, who actually would be a difference-making 25th (or 21st) man. Besides, if we wanted a surer bet than Brown to hit MLB-LHPs as consistently (even 75% as consistently) as Brown has mashed them at AAA, we'd be smarter to pick up Garko (for nothing) than Lowell. The fact (?) that we're not doing so tells me that the front office would rather have a younger version of Garko (Brown) than an old version of Lowell AND another potental (3rd-string-catching version) of Brown (i.e. MaxRam) to choose from.
And, given that choice, even though I've been the biggest Brown fan on this board, I'm hoping the Rangers go with Max (at least eventually) for 2 reasons: a) This current team is built more for winning close games than out-slugging. If Max can be the OBP-machine he once was, that consistency would be a better tool off the bench than Brown's power; and b) the fact that a 3rd Catcher could factor into EVERY game, by allowing Wash to platoon Salt&Tea almost 100% (i.e. even mid-game to counter a L-R pitching change) means the #25 man could have the influence of a #9 man.
2) Especially since the Rangers can get by without O'Day for 5 games, I really hope they'll DL him long enough to carry Mendoza into the first few days of the season, when it would be much easier to slip him through waivers than it would right now. Why just lose Mendoza, when O'Day might pitch only 2 (possibly compromised) innings in that time anyway?
Hey Joey, Are we ever going to see the 2nd part of "re-tooling mccarthy?"
Reader submitter here,
while I genuinely hope Washington and his troops can take care of their business at hand, the unfortunate reality is that there is a "dead manager walking" feel to the beginning of this season.
My point last winter was that while I didn't envision Ryan/Daniels to come in trigger happy in 010, the idea that another poor start, given heightened expectations, wouldn't be accepted. As such, having Hurdle in place and assuming he had established his credentials in this clubhouse, there would likely be less blowback from an in season change than in years prior.
Ironically the way I see it now is, Washington's removal may completely derail any good will and positive vibe and momentum in the clubhouse, ultimately affecting the win-loss column. Reason being, that the "substance" issue and anything relating to, or stemming therefrom, becomes the centerpiece of conversation rather than a margins albeit critical issue. In other words, as an issue they are overcoming together it solidifies their unity. If that unity is broken, they may implode.
I hope I'm wrong. Better yet, I hope they play to their abilities, get some breaks, and put it all behind them. It's pretty tiresome already.
So it looks like we're claiming Garko off of waivers.
lee: Part II is in the works. I ran into some trouble trying to re-classify McCarthy's pitches, so it has been delayed. Gameday (PITCHf/x) really crapped the bed during McCarthy's last few starts of 2009. I hope to have it ready for tomorrow morning, but that's far from certain right now.
I am a big fan of the Garko move. He will make Davis better by limiting his at-bats against lefties. He provides insurance in case Guerrero has health issues. If Smoak or Moreland are deemed ready before the end of the season, then Garko could provide value in a mid-season trade.
Yep. Garko makes much more sense than Lowell. Since Hamilton can play CF if Borbon is struggling vs lefties, and Garko (unlike Murph) can play OF vs lefties, or 1B if CD still struggles against them, or DH if Vlad starts repeating his '09 against them... this is the safest insurance for 3 of our 4 potentially biggest holes (the last being our C vs righties if Salty doesn't hit. I'd suggest trading Richardson for the just-waived Chad Moeller, but Moeller won't agree to AAA for the time being. And if their platoon is working out well, but is strictly split, with each only successful hitting vs the opposite-handed P, then maybe Max will prove to be resurrected by the time that is known, or at least in time to help in that way come September.)
Love the Garko move for the insurance in hitting. Only thing about Garko that is bad for his role on the time is lack of defense, but Matt Brown and Mike Lowell were never going to play good defense either.
Season opener on Monday and JD is still watching the wires.
I like that.
The Rangers are beginning to finally reach the point where all positions have to be earned in competition; even utility ones. The last number of years they were just trying to fill out their dance card with players who were sucking in oxygen and exhailing CO2 - not much else was asked; ya know - stuff like fielding and batting.
Vlad is such an upgrade at DH, BMac is not starting, catcher is wide open and even one of my favorites Murphy has been pushed back to 4th OF and PT DH. These are the benefits of competition.
If someone falters now or during the regular season there is someone else to take their place. The team (and fans) don't just have to "grin and bear it"
Play Ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Garko should be a part time guy... The real question I have is the bullpen is much weaker when CJ is in the rotation and thats what scary to me.