Let's Play Two

UPDATE: Rangers lose game 1 of the doubleheader, 4-3. Can't pin this one on Mike Wood, though - this time, it was the offense and bullpen that failed. Texas keeps finding new and exciting ways to lose ballgames. Sigh.

The Texas Rangers play two games today against the New York Yankees. I wish I could say I was twice as excited as usual.

Despite no baseball yesterday, there' s still some news out there this morning. The team has rearranged their rotation so that Kevin Millwood will start the first game against Andy Pettitte, and Robinson Tejeda will face Mike Mussina in the second game. Millwood is experiencing some soreness in his left hamstring, but is still expected to make the start; however, if he is unable to go, Mike Wood would make the start. Yikes.

UPDATE: Millwood has been scratched. Wood will make the start. Uh oh.

There's an interesting story this morning in the Fort-Worth Star Telegram detailing manager Ron Washington's adjustment from a coach to a manager. Apparently, an unnamed Ranger asked Washington to be less vocal last week in instructing the players on the field while the game was in progress, including giving less signs. While it worked for the first two games of the Toronto series with back-to-back wins, it obviously hasn't been as effective the last three games. Needless to say, Washington says he is going back to the former "hands-on" approach for now.

Eric Gagne's rehab from his latest DL stint is going as planned, and the right-hander could throw off the mound as soon as today or Friday. He is still on schedule to return for the series in New York, which begins on May 8th. Jamey Wright could throw off a mound sometime this week, as well.

An MRI on catching prospect Taylor Teagarden's right elbow showed no tear or structural damage. There's no timetable for his return to the field yet, but great news nonetheless.

The Rangers are aiming to limit left-hander Kasey Kiker and right-hander Fabio Castillo to just 120 total innings this season. The plan seems to be to increase their workload 20-25 innings a season to slowly build up their endurance. I can certainly see the club's reasons for caution, here: Kiker is only 19 years old, and Castillo is just 18. Both are working at extended spring training right now, and could be assigned to Class A Clinton before the end of the month.

Very nasty weather in the Metroplex last night, with 300,000 losing power as a result of the storm system. Winds in excess of 100 MPH hit some areas, but we got lucky here in Tyler, as the squall line had weakened before it hit us. The Rangers ended up sending fans into the underground tunnel in front of the locker rooms to shelter them from the approaching storms, which you can see pictures of here.

Unfortunately, there's still the threat of storms hitting the Metroplex during today's games as well. The weather system seems to be moving out of the area, but more storms could still spring up. Here's a radar capture as of 11:40 AM CST:

Hopefully, Texas can get both of these games in. Stay tuned for any updates.

Thursday, May 3rd Game 1 Preview

New York Yankees (10-14) at Texas Rangers (10-16)

Andy Pettitte (1-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. Mike Wood (0-0, 3.86 ERA)

2:35 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Thursday, May 3rd Game 2 Preview

New York Yankees (10-14) at Texas Rangers (10-16)

Mike Mussina (0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. Robinson Tejeda (3-1, 3.82 ERA)

7:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: KDFI/My27 | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Tonight's Game A Rainout?

UPDATE: Tonight's Rangers/Yankees game has been postponed. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday starting at 2:35 PM CST.

There's a nasty storm system currently moving in the Dallas/Fort Worth area right now, and most of north Texas is under a tornado watch until 10:00 PM tonight, including Arlington. Here's a radar image of the area as of 5:40 PM CST.

With just a little over an hour until first pitch and a dangerous weather system moving into the area, we're probably looking at a delay of at least 60 to 90 minutes at the outset of this game, and possibly a cancellation.

And as I speak, southern Tarrant County (Arlington) has just been placed under a tornado warning by the National Weather Service. With thousands of people headed into Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, this has turned into a very dangerous situation just since I began writing this. Stay tuned for updates.

6:00 Update: Multiple tornado touchdowns have been reported with the cells moving into the Metroplex, although nothing major has dropped. Northern Tarrant County has just been placed under a severe thunderstorm warning until 7:00 PM CST. It sounds like the biggest threat at this point is high winds, as 75-80+ MPH have been reported in this system near Weatherford. For those at the Ballpark, the concourses do not offer much protection, and I have to wonder what the team's emergency plan is.

6:10 Update: Mike Doocy on Fox 4 reports the Rangers have not postponed or delayed the game yet, but the storms are approaching. Small tornadoes are being reported just south of Arlington.

6:20 Update: The tarp is on the field at the Ballpark, and Chuck Morgan has announced on the PA that fans in the upper deck need to move down to lower seats. Tornado sirens are going off in south Fort Worth.

6:25 Update: 75 MPH winds reported by trained storm spotters in southwest Fort Worth. The sky over the Ballpark is getting increasingly nasty looking. Dallas County has just been placed under a severe thunderstorm warning until 7:30 PM CST.

6:30 Update: Chuck Morgan just told fans at the Ballpark to get out of their seats and into the main concourse, prompting a mass exodus of fans heading up the aisles. The tornado warning for southern Tarrant County has expired, but we're still looking at a very dangerous situation. The most dangerous storms appear to be south of the Metroplex, though, near Waxahachie. Rain has begun to fall at the Ballpark - I'm going to guess this game gets underway between 8:30 and 9:00, if at all.

6:40 Update: Sirens are now going off in northern Tarrant County, although there's no further reports of tornadic activity. Wind damage still appears to be a major threat as these storms push through. These storms are moving slower than I thought - I'll be very surprised if the Rangers get this game in. You also have to consider how long it'll take the grounds crew to prepare the field for the game if and when the storms move out. The tornado watch coverage area has also been expanded northward.

6:50 Update: Dallas County's severe thunderstorm warning has been extended to 7:30 PM CST, with the National Weather Service citing 90+ MPH winds as being possible. Further east in Kaufman/Rockwall/Henderson counties, 100+ MPH winds are being reported as possible, a number you rarely see in a NWS warning statement. That's the equivalent of an EF-1 tornado. This classic bow echo squall line is now headed towards my location in Tyler, so I'm starting to get concerned. Meanwhile, it looks like the wind and rain at the Ballpark has intensified, but it appears they're out of imminent danger. I believe John Vittas is there tonight; hope he's having fun.

7:00 Update: The major threat is now being focused towards my area. I'm not going to give further updates unless some news comes out about tonight's game status, or unless things get even more serious in my area. The NWS is putting out warnings in counties in front of the storms, something you rarely see unless it's a life-threatening situation. Stay tuned.

8:20 Update: Tonight's Rangers/Yankees game has been officially postponed. No real surprise there. In the meantime, the storm system is bearing down on the Tyler area. We're bracing for the worst.

Just Like Old Times

Yankees 10, Rangers 1

You know there's a serious problem when you're just happy that your team didn't get no-hit. Never mind that they got blown out.

20-year-old Philip Hughes dominated the Rangers for 6.1 innings last night, coming just eight outs away from being the second pitcher to no-hit Texas this season. And the worst part is, I have absolutely no doubt that Hughes would have finished the job, except for him straining his hamstring in the bottom of the 7th inning and having to be removed from the game. His injury is the latest in a string of bad luck for New York, as Hughes is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. I find it hard to muster up too much sympathy for the Yankees, though, especially when remembering those ALDS losses in '96, '98 and '99.

Hank Blalock ended any possibility of a combined no-hitter with a leadoff double in the bottom of the 8th inning off of reliever Mike Myers, and Texas somehow squeezed a run out of this late rally. But that was all the offense had in them on Tuesday night.

The Rangers, as a team, have a collective batting line of .230/.299/.392. And you know what? I'm tired. I'm tired of this team teasing us. Every time the offense has a big game and the bats look like they're about to come alive (such as after their first two games in Toronto, when they scored a combined 14 runs), they'll roll over and die again (five runs in their last three games).

And then you have Ron Washington, who made a controversial lineup decision last night in starting the freshly called up Victor Diaz at DH - in the cleanup spot. Diaz went 0 for 3 at the plate. Meanwhile, the team's second best hitter in Sammy Sosa rode the bench. Even if Diaz had clubbed four home runs, Texas still would have lost this game, but that's not really the point. I'm still a Ron Washington fan, and I like his managerial style, but some of his decisions don't make a whole lot of sense. With the way this team is playing, they need every halfway productive bat they can get in the lineup.

Kameron Loe was shelled for his second straight time out, giving up nine runs (seven earned) on ten hits, one walk and a HBP in just four innings of work. At this rate, Jamey Wright is going to win his rotation spot back easily. The bullpen gave up only one run in the last three innings, but what good is a dominant bullpen if your offense can't score runs and your starting pitching can't keep you in the game? After Loe's terrible performance, the Rangers now have the worst starting pitching ERA in all of baseball, at 6.48.

And as if all of this isn't bad enough, the defense was utterly miserable again, committing three errors on the night. With a man on first and one out in the top of the 2nd inning, Kameron Loe gave up a single to left field. Brad Wilkerson badly misplayed the ball, as it bounced off his glove and about 30 feet backwards, allowing both Yankees to move up an extra base.

After a fielder's choice that scored a run, the Yankees had a man on third with two outs. Doug Mientkiewicz hit a grounder to Michael Young, who bobbled and then dropped the ball to allow the second run to come across the plate. Not the easiest play to make, as he had to backhand the ball, but it's a play that a competent major league shortstop should make.

I can't comment on Hank Blalock's error in the 9th inning, for I had long since turned the game off in favor of the Dallas Mavericks. I suspect I'm not the only one who did that. But I can make this observation: with 22 errors as a team, the Rangers are now the third worst fielding team in baseball.

So the Rangers can't hit, pitch or field the baseball. I know we're only a month into the season, and that Texas has 136 games left to prove themselves. Perhaps the Rangers will start to play better beginning tonight, Ron Washington will bring some of that second half magic from Oakland, and Texas will win the AL West.

But a month into the season, what does all of this basically add up to?

This team sucks.

Wednesday, May 2nd Game Preview

New York Yankees (10-14) at Texas Rangers (10-16)

Andy Pettitte (1-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. Robinson Tejeda (3-1, 3.82 ERA)

7:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Struggling Rangers May Face Tough Decisions

The 2007 incarnation of the Texas Rangers is on pace for a 65-97 record, and I�m not sure that it is going to get any better anytime soon. As I mentioned in a previous post, the schedule doesn�t really let up until the 3rd week of May, at which point the Rangers may be more than 10 games out of 1st place in the AL West.

There are a lot of questions surrounding this team, and nothing seems to be going right � with the exception of the dynamic duo of Kinsler and Sosa. This ballclub is going to have to learn to scratch and claw its way to wins if they are going to climb out of the cellar. If this team can�t turn things around in a few weeks, it is pretty obvious that there are more than a few moves that will need to be made over the next weeks and months and I�ll attempt to cover some of the major ones and their timeframes.

1. Move Brandon McCarthy to the bullpen [Timeframe: Now]. McCarthy is having serious control issues right now, and if he�s not hurt, he needs to regain some confidence. Many teams break-in their pitchers by having them pitch out of the pen. I believe that having B-Mac pitch out of the pen for a month or two might allow him to iron out some of his mechanics in a less-than-stressful situation. Sending McCarthy to AAA, doesn�t necessarily reduce the stress as he�ll counted on to dominate in Oklahoma. What if McCarthy goes to Oklahoma and gets shelled in back-to-back starts? Then the Rangers are really in trouble. McCarthy pitched well out of the pen last year and in his one relief effort this season. The only issue with moving McCarthy to the pen is creating a spot for him. With Wood, Feldman, and Eyre ready to go to the minors, and Francisco ready for a call-up, things could be worked out if they had to be. At this point, you know McCarthy would get quite a bit of work as the long-man.
2. Let Cruz play every day [Timeframe: Now]. Not playing Cruz everyday is ridiculous and the Rangers are close to �Mench-ing� the young outfielder. It�s hard for a young player to get into a groove and work out the kinks if they can�t play every day. The difference between Cruz and McCarthy is obvious in that McCarthy is having location and velocity issues, whereas Cruz just needs to keep getting at bats. Give him the day off every 10th day or so, but otherwise, let him play!
3. Get rid of Matt Kata, Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Brad Wilkerson, and find out what you have in Victor Diaz, Marlon Byrd, Freddy Guzman and Jason Botts [Timeframe: 2-4 weeks]. Kata, JHJ and Wilkerson are not going to help this team past this year. Chances are that Byrd won�t be on this club next year either, but Botts and Diaz could be, if we could only find out what they can do at the major league level. I�m almost convinced that Fast Freddy could help this club if only he had the chance a la Termel Sledge. If Wilkerson keeps hitting, we might actually be able to get a little bit of trade value out of him.
4. Start auctioning off pieces to the best bids [Timeframe: 1-2 months]. If this team continues to fold, it might be time for Rangers GM Jon Daniels to make his last stand. Prominent names like Teixeira, Blalock, Padilla, Lofton, Sosa, Otsuka, and Mahay need to start circulating in trade rumors. Tex�s slow starts have killed this team for the last time. Tex should rebound and start to hit, and when he does, his value will be at its highest. If Tex is not traded by the trade deadline, his value will be diminished over next off-season as he will only have one year left on his contract. Blalock�s limited range and abysmal strikeout rate might determine that he needs a change of scenery. It is pretty likely that someone will give up a decent prospect for him as he could still return to form. Sosa, should he continue to hit, would be a very attractive option to a playoff team. With his low salary and power-potential, teams could give up a decent pitching prospect or young outfielder for a rental of Slammin� Sammy. Lofton could be traded to a contender and return a prospect of value. Otsuka is 35-years old and despite his age, should bring great value on the trade market. There are plenty of teams in the hunt for a closer and bullpen help and both Aki and Mahay could turn into pieces that would help this team. I still think a trade with the Red Sox centering around Otsuka and top OF prospect Jacoby Ellsbury can be consummated. With trades being made for prospects, the holes on the big club can be filled by players that the Rangers will need to take a look at and make decisions on next year. The idea of Jason Botts at 1B, Drew Meyer at 3B, and Freddy Guzman in CF probably doesn�t appeal to a lot of Ranger fans and certainly wouldn�t lead to winning too many games, but it gives you a head start on next year. First base and other positions can be filled through free agency in the off-season if need be.
5. Set the rotation as Millwood, Tejeda, McCarthy (after his stint in the pen to correct his issues) and Loe (and one of Volquez � after his tour of the minors, Hurley � when he�s ready, Rupe, or young prospects acquired in trades) and let them pitch the entire season [Timeframe: Now]. Just like their handling of Nelson Cruz, the Rangers need to be patient with their pitchers and let them work through some rough outings. If some of the kids struggle to the extent of that of McCarthy, then they can take turns pitching out of the pen.
6. Inform key players of the possibility of having to re-tool the team and tell them that it is in their best interest [Timeframe: 4-6 weeks]. Kinsler, Michael Young, and Millwood are the leaders of this team and it is unlikely that any of them would be traded. The burden is on the players of this team to produce. If this team continues to struggle and an overhaul takes place over the next few months and 2008 off-season, it will be the fault of the players, and they will have to be ready to accept that.

Ultimately, I think a team here in Arlington is going to have to be built around defense, speed and high on-base-percentage guys that can work the count. Right now, we don�t have many players that fit those categories. Hopefully, the Rangers will start to learn how to manufacture runs even if they are just a few at a time.

It starts tonight with Victor Diaz hitting cleanup and Kameron Loe on the bump.

Its baseball time in Arlington!

NEWSFLASH: Catalanotto to DL, Diaz called up

As expected, Frank Catalanotto has gone on the disabled list, but the news is better than expected - he has an acute strained biceps tendon in his right arm, which will not require surgery. According to doctors, Catalanotto will be able to return after 15 days.

Also as expected, outfielder Victor Diaz has been called up from AAA Oklahoma City. It wouldn't surprise me to see Victor do well in the opportunities that he receives, and if he does play well, I wonder how the front office will handle the roster situation. Could Nelson Cruz see less playing time as a result? Or will Diaz even get enough playing time for it to even matter? We'll see soon enough.

UPDATE: Pitcher Mike Wood has also been called up, with Scott Feldman being optioned to Oklahoma City. Not sure I understand this move, especially since Wes Littleton travelled with the team back to Arlington. Wood does have a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings with the Redhawks this season, but doesn't have near the upside that Littleton has.

Halladay Dominates Rangers

Roy Halladay is really, really good.

Not a whole lot to say about last night's 6-1 loss to Toronto. The offense was non-existent, save for one run on a Sammy Sosa RBI double down the left field line in the first inning that scored Kenny Lofton. Halladay's devastating efficiency on the mound allowed him to record a five hit complete game on just 110 pitches, with the game only lasting 2:02.

Vicente Padilla allowed four runs in his seven innings of work, giving up six hits and four walks while striking out four. The most disturbing part? Three home runs. Granted, Padilla was given little run support last night (and has the lowest run support of any starter in the American League, at 2.57 runs per game) but he couldn't really expect much help with Halladay on the mound, anyway. Although Padilla is now 0-4 on the year with a 5.66 ERA, he said after the game his arm was feeling fine, so at least it's not an injury issue.

No updates on the Frank Catalanotto or Eric Gagne injury situations yet, other than that if Frank's out for more than two or three days, the club will place him on the disabled list. Victor Diaz remains the likeliest candidate to replace Cat.

Wes Littleton was supposed to have been called up for Monday night's game, but mechanical problems struck. They weren't recurring mechanical problems in Littleton's delivery, though - the plane was to blame this time, and Littleton subsequently arrived late in Toronto. The Rangers are taking him with them back to Arlington, and he could still be added to the 25-man roster before tonight's game. Good to see they're not leaving him stranded in Canada.

Jamey Wright is expected to begin throwing again today. I'll bite my tongue on this one.

John Mayberry Jr. hit a three run walkoff blast last night to lead single-A Bakersfield over Lancaster, 8-6. He's now 9 for 21 with four home runs and 13 RBI in his last five games.

Texas begins a three game set tonight with the New York Yankees. With the Rangers 4.5 games behind first place Anaheim, things have got to get better fast.

Rain has been dampening the Metroplex for most of the day, but it appears the latest band of storms has moved out of the area, and the game should begin as scheduled.

Tuesday, May 1st Game Preview

New York Yankees (9-14) at Texas Rangers (10-15)

Philip Hughes (0-1, 8.31 ERA) vs. Kameron Loe (1-1, 5.21 ERA)

7:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Note: MVN's first baseball power rankings are out today, including contributions from yours truly. For the record, I placed the Rangers at #25. I can't say I'd change that much right now.

Mondays Suck

Sorry for the sporadic updates the last few days, all of us have been really busy. In the future, we'll try to have some kind of updates every day at the least even when we're really bogged down. Things should be back to normal by tomorrow.

Not a real great Monday for the Metroplex as far as sports go. Despite winning their first two games against Toronto, including a heart attack inducing 9-8 win on Saturday, the Rangers went back to their losing ways on Sunday in a 7-3 loss.

And I don't even want to talk about the Mavericks.

Brandon McCarthy was badly shelled, giving up five runs in only three innings on six hits, four walks, and a hit by pitch. Because Texas's bullpen depth was already badly depleted from the last few games, McCarthy couldn't be lifted immediately, and he was forced to go 86 pitches.

McCarthy will stay in the rotation and make his next start on Friday against the Blue Jays in Arlington. With the kind of investment the Rangers have put into McCarthy, it's a bit too soon to be sending Brandon to AAA. By that same token, though, he has got to get better. His command was awful on Sunday and his velocity wasn't exactly impressive either, as the FSN gun clocked him mostly in the high-80's or right at 90 MPH. Hopefully his struggles aren't a sign of some kind of injury.

Frank Catalanotto felt a "tearing sensation" in his right shoulder in the fifth inning of Sunday's game, and was removed from the game. Cat had arthroscopic surgery in the shoulder in 1997, and it's possible that what he felt was only scar tissue tearing off the old surgical site.

Either way, Frank will have an MRI on Tuesday. If he should require a DL visit, Victor Diaz would be the likely replacement, who's hitting .356/.386/.567 in 90 at-bats for the Redhawks. Don't be surprised if Diaz ends up sticking on the team for the rest of the year - it wasn't so long ago that he was being referred to as "Little Manny."

Closer Eric Gagne will begin a throwing program today in hopes of returning by May 8th, the first day he is eligible to come off the disabled list. Gagne's reporting no pain from his strained right hip.

Rest in peace Josh Hancock, who tragically died Sunday morning in an automobile accident on I-64 in St. Louis. The 29-year-old right-hander won a World Series ring with the Cardinals last year, putting up a 4.09 ERA in 62 regular season appearances.

Monday, April 30th Game Preview

Texas Rangers (10-14) at Toronto Blue Jays (12-12)

Vicente Padilla (0-3, 5.79 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (3-0, 2.58 ERA)

6:07 PM CST in Toronto, Ontario (Rogers Centre)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Strikeout Kings

Your 2007 Texas Rangers are struggling early this year. Both the pitching and hitting have been horrible to say the least, but somehow they are only 3.5 games out in the AL West. The Rangers are on pace for a 100-loss season, and I don't think anyone would have expected that. Here's a review of some team stats after 21 games:

Hitting - Avg - .234 (28th), OBP - .304 (29th), K's - 155 (tied for 5th most), BB - 71 (20th)

Pitching - Team ERA - 5.29 (29th), ER - 107 (4th most), HR Allowed - 27 (tied for 3rd most), BB - 89 (tied for 6th most), SO - 116 (26th), WHIP - 1.56 (29th)

Fielding - Fielding Pct. - .978 (26th)

As you can see, there's not much that the Rangers are doing right. However, there is one stat that is very, very disturbing. The Rangers have struck out 155 times and only walked 71 times. This team is swinging for the fences, or they are just plain awful. Out of 8 potential starters (Blalock, Cruz, Sosa, Wilkerson, Teixeira, Young, Catalanotto, and Laird), only Blalock is hitting above .245. Tex has the highest OBP at .337. In that group, only Sosa is slugging over .500. Wow. Everyone keeps saying how the players are coming around. I can see one or two of these guys getting into a groove and turning things around, but 6-8 of them? Not likely.

The starting pitching reads much the same way as the hitting does. Only Tejeda has an ERA under 5.00 among the starters. You could argue that Otsuka has been the only consistent bullpen guy, although Benoit has been pitching better of late (bringing his ERA down to 7.45)

So to recap, the hitting is awful and the pitching is shaky at best. If the team keeps struggling the way it has for the next month, the Rangers might be considering a fire sale between the end of May and the trade deadline.

As I write this, in the top half of the first against the Blue Jays, Josh Towers (who was 2-10, with an 8.42 ERA last year and in his career against Texas is 0-3 with an 7.90 ERA) struck out the side...consisting of Lofton, Young and Teixeira. We are the strikeout kings.

Sickening

Indians 7, Rangers 6

That right there was the toughest loss of the season. A game that the Rangers had opportunity after opportunity to win, but let slip right through their fingers. And what a crowning touch that the journeyman Willie Eyre, who I'm trying my best not to call a "freakin' scrub" right now, would blow the game in the 11th inning.

The Rangers are now 8-12. Absolutely nauseating.

Wednesday Morning Notes

Not a whole lot out there after yesterday's rainout, but there's a few Rangers related items worth noting. The Metroplex dodged several more bullets, with tornadic storms rolling through Tarrant County twice throughout the day, but there was no significant damage. I talked to John Vittas last night as the tornado sirens went off in his community of Bedford, but he lived...I think.

As previously mentioned, the rainout has allowed the Rangers to push Brandon McCarthy back in the rotation; he'll make his next start on Sunday in Toronto. Evan Grant has some interesting notes on Brandon this morning: pitching coach Mark Connor believes he's having mechanical issues which are limiting his fastball to 88-90 MPH, rather than the 91-93 MPH that the Rangers expect.

The additional time off will give McCarthy an extra bullpen session to try and get his delivery back in sync. If everything goes as planned, the adjustments will allow him to maximize his 6'7" height better and help him release the ball several inches closer to the plate, which will hopefully add several MPH to his velocity.

Brad Wilkerson is not expected to play today against left-hander C.C. Sabathia, with Matt Kata and Jerry Hairston Jr. getting the starts in left and center field, respectively. Our friend Adam Morris of Lone Star Ball has an interesting rant on this lineup construction by Ron Washington, which I tend to agree with. To be fair, though, Kata is hitting .294/.333/.647 and Hairston's got a .381 OBP. Yes, incredibly small sample sizes (only 17 at-bats), but I don't have too much of an issue with Ron playing the hot hand, so to speak.

If and when they both cool down, though, Washington had better be prepared to bench them. And I'm not a big fan of Wilkerson sitting against Sabathia, since it's well documented that Wilkerson can hit left-handed pitching pretty well (career split of .268/.370/.447 against them), but whatever.

Catching prospect Taylor Teagarden has been sent to the disabled list with elbow soreness - the same elbow that he had Tommy John surgery performed on in November 2005. The 23-year-old had been hitting 324/.511/.588 with 2 HR and 9 RBI in 34 at-bats at high-A Bakersfield.

Edinson Volquez, who was demoted to Bakersfield earlier this spring, was ejected from his start during the fifth inning on Monday for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire. He ended up allowing three runs on just one hit, but with five walks. The right-hander is now 0-1 with an 8.05 ERA and a 20/14 K/BB ratio in 19 innings. Not good at all.

And finally, here's an amusing anecdote from Evan Grant on his experience in the TSA security line at DFW International Airport this morning. Not to spoil the story, but it involves an idiot with a hand grenade.

Wednesday, April 25th Game Preview

Texas Rangers (8-11) at Cleveland Indians (10-7)

Vicente Padilla (0-3, 6.00 ERA) vs. C.C. Sabathia (3-0, 2.25 ERA)

6:05 PM CST in Cleveland, Ohio (Jacobs Field)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Rangers/Mariners Postponed

Per the Dallas Morning News, today's Rangers/Mariners game has been postponed due to bad weather. There's no word on a makeup date yet.

As of this writing at 1:45 PM, Denton and Tarrant (which houses Arlington) counties are under severe thunderstorm warnings, and the western half of the Metroplex is under a tornado watch until 8:00 PM CST. Things are expected to get much worse over the rest of the day weather wise.

UPDATE: Today's game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader when the Mariners come back to town July 23-25. Texas is using the rainout to skip Brandon McCarthy in the rotation; he will start on Sunday. Vicente Padilla will start tomorrow against the Cleveland Indians, followed by Kameron Loe on Thursday, Robinson Tejeda on Friday and Kevin Millwood on Saturday.

There are confirmed tornado touchdowns in the Metroplex area. The first wave of storms appears to have passed through, but there's more trouble on the way - and not just for DFW. Northeast and central Texas have been upgraded to a "high risk" area by the Storm Prediction Center; it's looking like a rough few hours ahead.

Rangers Can't Rally Against M's

Mariners 5, Rangers 4

Tough loss last night for your Texas Rangers, who once again had no lack of scoring opportunities but couldn't put the game away when they had a chance.

Kevin Millwood said that he felt he had thrown his best game of 2007 on Monday night, and manager Ron Washington says that Millwood pitched "awesome" because he kept the Rangers in the game. The box score would seem to disagree.

Millwood allowed five runs on ten hits and a pair of walks in six innings of work, while striking out five Mariners. I don't care how well Kevin says he threw, allowing an average of two baserunners per inning is not conducive to winning ballgames. Millwood got himself out of several jams, but couldn't avoid Ichiro smacking a three run triple into the right field corner during Seattle's four run 4th inning.. At least he seems to be comfortable on the mound, but the Rangers need better performances than that from their "ace."

Texas's offense appeared to have woken up for a while: after falling behind 4-0, the Rangers got a single from Sammy Sosa and a two run homer from Hank Blalock that landed just beyond the "Bermuda Triangle" seats in the right field corner.

An inning later (bottom of the 5th), Texas got a one out triple from Frank Catalanotto, followed by three consecutive singles from Michael Young, Mark Teixeira and Sosa to tie the game at 4-4. Unfortunately, Mike Hargrove brought on Brandon Morrow in relief of Cha Seung Baek, who promptly blew away Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz with high-90's cheese to end the threat. The FSN gun read 101 MPH on at least one pitch. Seattle scored a run in the 7th inning, which would prove to be the eventual game-winner.

The Rangers' only other threat was in the bottom of the 8th, when the Rangers got men on 1st and 2nd with two outs. But Hargrove brought in closer J.J. Putz, who retired the next four hitters for a 1.1 inning save. At least there's some signs of the offense coming out of their huge slump; most of the blame goes on Millwood for this loss, rather than the hitting.

Anyway, a few notes before today's 1:05 finale:

• Gerald Laird is now hitting .098/.190/.137 in 51 at-bats. In a way, this is more disturbing than Michael Young's slow start because at least you have some confidence that Young is going to get much better. You can't have quite that level of confidence in Gerald, who's not nearly as proven. Laird was impressive backing up Rod Barajas last year, but seems totally lost right now at the plate.
• Brad Wilkerson, who has been on the bench for five games battling a sore knee, is expected to start in today's game against Jarrod Washburn.
• With Gagne back on the disabled list, Ron Washington has apparently appointed Joaquin Benoit as his new setup man behind closer Aki Otsuka. However, Frankie Francisco may get some work in the role as well if he establishes himself early.
• Ian Kinsler batting seventh against right-handers is no longer just a temporary experiment, according to Ron Washington.
• Tom Hicks, who owns the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers, must have had a pretty miserable Monday night. The Stars lost in Game 7 of their first round playoff series, 4-1.

There's a rather large pocket of rain moving over the Metroplex right now, and severe weather is expected across northern Texas later today. No idea whether the Rangers will be able to get this game in, but right now I'm guessing they won't. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Tuesday, April 24th Game Preview

Seattle Mariners (6-9) at Texas Rangers (8-11)

Jarrod Washburn (0-2, 4.42 ERA) vs. Vicente Padilla (0-3, 6.00 ERA)

1:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: KDFW/FOX 4 | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

On The Rebound

What a difference two games can make.

The Texas Rangers took 2 out of 3 against the Oakland Athletics in their home weekend series, something the Rangers badly needed after their disappointing 2-4 road trip. Things began badly on Friday night, with Brandon McCarthy being shelled to the tune of six earned runs in only one inning, but got much better through the weekend.

Rangers 7, Athletics 0

Kameron Loe made his first start of the season on Saturday night. It could not have possibly gone any better. Kam, also affectionately known as "The Snake" for his pet seven-foot Columbian red-tailed boa constrictor, spread just three hits and one walk over 5.1 shutout innings. And if you watched the game, you'll know he looked even more dominant than those numbers suggest.

Despite the team limiting him to just 82 pitches, Loe punched out five with the aid of his devastating sinker. One of the biggest arguments against Loe being in the rotation is that he can't strike people out, and allows too many balls to be hit into play. But if his performance on Saturday coupled with his spring training performance is any indication of the future, Loe is going to be a cornerstone of the Rangers rotation for years to come.

Kameron did leave some dirty laundry out there when he left the game, though: C.J. Wilson came on with A's on 2nd and 3rd and only one out in the 6th inning, and the Rangers nursing a 1-0 lead at the time. After walking Nick Swisher to load the bases, Wilson proceeded to fan Eric Chavez and Milton Bradley to escape the inning, pumping his fist as he left the mound. Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve hypothesized that Wilson's 3-2 strikeout pitch to Bradley may have been the gyroball; C.J. admits to having thrown at least one gyroball against the Red Sox earlier this year, so it's certainly possible.

The Rangers would add another run in the 7th before blowing the game open with a five run 8th inning, with most of the damage being done by Matt Kata on a huge three run jack. Benoit, Aki and Gagne all pitched shutout innings to wrap up a nice 7-0 win.

Rangers 4, Athletics 3

Sunday saw Robinson Tejeda and Chad Gaudin facing off in the rubber match, but things did not go well for most of the game. Tejeda had his usual excellent stuff, but gave up nine hits in 6.1 innings and a painful two-run homer to Shannon Stewart that put Oakland up 3-1 in the 5th inning. Not only did the home run just barely clear the wall in left field, but it came on an 0-2 count with two outs. In the meantime, Texas wasted numerous scoring opportunities throughout the game.

The Rangers' luck would begin to change for the better in the bottom of the 8th, though. After loading the bases with one out, Sosa drew a walk off of Justin Duchscherer to make it a 3-2 game. Oakland manager Bob Geren brought on his closer, Huston Street, to face Hank Blalock. He fell behind in the count 0-2, and for a minute it looked like the Rangers would once again fail to come up with a big hit.

But this time, Blalock delivered. Hank pulled a nasty breaking pitch that was down and several inches outside of the strike zone into right field, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs. Just a tremendous job by Blalock on a pitch that he usually swings and misses at, or pops up if he's lucky. Biggest hit of the year to date? I'd say yes.

Eric Gagne came on in the 9th to close things out, but had to leave the game on a 3-2 count to Mark Ellis after landing awkwardly during his followthrough. Aki came on and got himself in a bit of trouble, but retired the last two A's to lock up the game and the series.

Now, for some Monday morning notes:

• Eric Gagne is officially listed as day-to-day with a right hip strain, but Michael Young was a bit more blunt in his post-game remarks about Gagne: "He said his a** hurt." At least it's not another back injury, but unfortunately Gagne appears to be finding new and exciting ways to get hurt. How huge does Jon Daniels' decision to not trade Aki this winter look right now?
• Michael Young is 2 for his last 33 at the plate and is now hitting .162/.195/.297 in 74 at-bats, with no signs of his slump ending anytime soon. No idea what's going on with him, but he's completely out of whack at the plate. The Rangers badly need him to pick things up, because he's killing the offense in the #3 hole.
• The Rangers will try to trade Bruce Chen before putting him on outright waivers to try and get him to AAA Oklahoma City, since there's a decent chance another team will try to claim him.
• Brad Wilkerson may be available to play in tonight's game against Seattle. He's been on the bench for several days battling a sore left knee.
• Jamey Wright hopes to begin throwing again by the middle of this week as he fights inflammation in his right shoulder. Yeah, don't hurry back.
• The four steals by the Rangers on Sunday were they most they've had in a game since recording five steals against Boston on August 6th, 2001. That includes Buck Showalter's entire four year tenure in Arlington.

The Rangers will try to make it three wins in a row tonight. I sure hope they do, because it's a lot more fun writing about a winning team than a losing one.

Monday, April 23rd Game Preview

Seattle Mariners (5-9) at Texas Rangers (8-10)

Cha Seung Baek (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Kevin Millwood (2-2, 4.91 ERA)

7:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

NEWSFLASH: Frankie Francisco called up, Gagne to DL

Per Jon Daniels on the Bob and Dan Show on the Ticket 1310 AM, the Texas Rangers are calling up right-hander Frankie Francisco for tonight's series opener against the Seattle Mariners. To make room for Frankie, the Rangers are sending closer Eric Gagne to the disabled list. Sounds like mainly a precautionary move.

Again, how happy are you that the Rangers didn't trade Aki Otsuka this offseason?

Frankie has pitched six innings in Oklahoma City this year and has yet to allow an earned run. He's walked three and struck out an amazing fourteen batters. His WHIP sits at 0.50.

Gagne Injury Update

Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Eric Gagne suffered a strained right hip in the 9th inning of today's 4-3 win against the Oakland Athletics. As of right now, he's day-to-day.

With Aki having pitched three consecutive days, and with Gagne obviously unavailable for tomorrow's game, the Rangers are almost certainly going to make a roster move in the next 24 hours. Willie Eyre, who was called up last night, threw 1.2 innings today and may not be available either. Texas will probably call on either Wes Littleton or Frankie Francisco from Oklahoma City.

Much more on this huge win tomorrow morning.