Hitless Wanderings in Texas

First base merry go round continues

2008-05-12T00:45:16Z

Ben Broussard being designated for assignment ends a brief but mistake filled stint here. He has been a platoon player nearly his whole career. He has been a poor hitting 1B, a position that usually demands a strong bat. Unlike the famous song New York, New York; if you can't make it as a hitter in the Ballpark in Arlington, you can't make it anywhere. The Rangers blew over $3.5MM on this mistake.

We now have Chris Shelton, who has done nothing since his hot start fro Detroit 2 years ago. We have the aging, all bat, no glove Catman, who also has virtually no power as well. Will they make there error complete and call up Gold before he's ready?

Millwood going on the DL is a shock to the suddenly lights out starting pitchers. I say good. Let's see what the kids can do. (Please repeat 1000 times so this can sink in!)

10 Things for Ranger Fans to Consider

2008-05-07T20:56:27Z

I have not been posting because I have not had much good to say about the Rangers. After a month of silence, I have to post something. Here are some things to keep in mind for 2008:

1) 1) When evaluating any Ranger personnel move, you have to ask the following question: "Will this make the Rangers better in 2010?" We all know that the Rangers have no shot this year or next, despite some of you who were drinking the pre-season Kool-Aid and wondering if the Rangers could be this year's Colorado Rockies. (Don't deny it. We know who you are!)

2) 2) Players who won't be around for 2010 are merely fodder to obtain additional prospects. If we can keep Milton Bradley healthy and muzzled, maybe we can get some prospects for him later this summer.

3) Salty is the Ranger catcher of the future. The only question is: Do you want him to learn at the major league level or in the minors. I vote majors. Which means Gerald Laird may be able to get us some prospects.

4) 4) If the Rangers plan was to trade Tex, could they at least have a viable alternative at first base? How soon will our minor league first sackers be ready? If you answered 2010, there's no need to bring in someone else between now and then. I would have given Botts a longer tryout, but Broussard's days are probably numbered and it is approaching zero. Chris Shelton was never the answer except for trivia about fast starts in 2006.

5) 5) What can be done to improve the team's middle defense? Michael Young still doesn't cover much ground at short and Kinsler makes Soriano's defense look passable. I thought both of these guys were in the Rangers long term plans, but can they afford to have them butchering up the defense?

6) I have no confidence that the Rangers pitching coaches at the minor or major league level can develop young pitching. The early season success of Edinson Volquez with the Reds underscores my concern. Here was a guy with electric stuff, who struggled in the Rangers system because of wildness. The Reds have him for spring training and he looks like the second coming. Rangers' heads should roll over this. If the Rangers can't develop young pitching, they might as well give up right now. People can have all the talent in the world when drafted or acquired, but if don't get much better they will be cannon fodder in the big leagues. Josh Hamilton is trying to let us forget about Volquez, but good young pitchers the scarcest commodity in baseball. The Ballpark can make a good hitter from a lot of spare players.

7) How long will Nolan Ryan be given a free pass by his buddies in the media? When he was hired, I thought it was a smart think for Hicks, JD & Company. Management can get bashed all day, but people will think twice before taking on the Express mano-a-mano. He also will help sell tickets from a promotional standpoint.

8) Hitting, defense, starting pitching, and bullpen - Which has been the most reliable part of the Rangers game thus far? I would vote starting pitchers. Millwood and Padilla have been inconsistent, but more good than bad. The worst part of the game - defense unquestionably. While watching the rangers in the field, I am reminded of the Keystone Cops. For those of you too young to remember them, google it.

9) 9) General admission home games? When the Rangers are playing non-contending teams, crowds are going to be very sparse all year. Look for increasingly aggressive promotions to get fans to the ballpark. It still irks me that parking is so high ($12???) considering it's for a surface lot with no shade a mile away from the ballpark. The price of beer also encourages me to stay home where the beer is colder and 1/6^th the cost. Dollar hot dog nights won't cut it. Maybe free parking night would entice me. Given Cleveland's ill fated nickel beer night, that won't be happening anytime soon.

) 10) Should he stay or should he go? Wash is obviously not in the plans for 2010 because his handling of the current Ranger debacle has been no less than a disaster of Hindenburg proportions. The question is when to give him the ax? What message would that send to a new skipper? Is the guy you really want available? Who would want to take the helm of this sinking ship right now? My advice is to stay the course through the bulk of this year, maybe even through next year. Pull the trigger late in the year so the new manager will have a month or two to get to know the players before the off season hits. By August 1 have a plan of who the next Ranger manager will be and what sort of team this will be in 2010. We have come full circle. Decide what the team can look like in 2010 before making any current decision.

Back to Baseball HW Quiz

2008-02-06T19:25:32Z

The following questions are about 60/40 AL and Rangers Questions based on the 2007 season. Let's see how much you remember about last year's bargains and busts. I will specify if the answer is a Ranger or in one case, a former Ranger player.
As I looked through the year end stats, I noticed a lot of weird things and some things I expected.

#1 - ARod's season was head and shoulders better than anyone. (.314/143/54/156/24) Therefore, this quiz will not use him as the answer to any question.

#2 - How in the heck did Carlos Pena put up those stellar numbers? (.282/99/46/121/1) He gets my vote as "least likely to repeat 2007".

Here is the scale of your level of baseball knowledge:

18-20 - TR Sullivan material
14-17 - Tom Greive wannabe
10-13 - Favorite TV show is Baseball Tonight
6-9 - Knows nothing about the Rangers
3-5 - Needs to mix in a game
0-2 - Were you in a Coma last year?

1) What two teammates were in the top 3 in AL batting average in 2007?

2) The AL K’s leader is the only starter in the top 3 in K’s that will remain with the same team in 2008. Who is he?

3) Who led the Rangers in HR’s last year?

4) Only one Ranger hitter had more than 50 walks last year? Who was it?

5) Of the 5 Rangers pitchers with the most innings, who had the lowest ERA?

6) For starters with 100 or more IP, who led the AL in ERA in 2007?

7) The AL Saves leader had 5 more than anybody else. Who is he?

8) Of players with 20 or more SB’s, he had the best success rate, having one CS in 27 attempts?

9) I struck out a league leading 164 times in only 395 at bats (41.5% of the AB’s). I was also second in the AL in walks with 105. I led my team in HR’s with 26. Who is this patient but whiffable slugger?

10) Only one team had two players with 30 plus HR in 2007. Name the players.

11) I tied for 42nd in the AL with 18 homers, but I led my team in HR’s. Who am I?

12) I am a total spare, weighing 205 pounds. Of AL players with more than 150 at bats, I had the lowest BA at a pathetic .148. If .200 is the Mendoza line, maybe .150 will be named after me.

13) I had the most AB’s in the AL (430) without hitting an HR which is better than Jason Kendall the year before. At least I stole 27 bases and hit .293, so I wasn’t a total spare (like Kendall)

14) I had as many K’s as Brad Wilkerson, as many HR’s as Gerald Laird and a slugging percentage 13 points below “Salty”. What Ranger am I?

15) I was a great middle relief find in 2007 going 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA and a WHIP of 0.76. My claim to fame was throwing strikes. Among pitchers allowing less than 10 walks, I had the most innings pitched – 79? I also struck out 80 while only walking 9.

16) I am one wild and crazy guy. Despite winning 18 games, striking out 183 hitters and posting an ERA of 3.66, I led the league in both HBP’s (19) and Wild Pitches (17). Who is the owner of these Bobby Witt like stats?

17) I led the league in HR’s allowed in 2007

18) I was third in the AL in HR’s allowed, but I only needed 139 IP to give up 28 dingers. What former Ranger’s great is this?

19) Power outage up the middle? In 2007, only one player who played 90% or more of his games at a middle infield position hit more than 20 HR? Who is it?

20) Only 2 regular catchers (250 plus AB) hit over .300 in 2007. Everyone should know Jorge Posada hit .338. Who was the other?

Witt

2008-02-06T18:46:56Z

Wilkerson

2008-02-06T18:46:56Z

Tex

2008-02-06T18:46:30Z

Sosatex

2008-02-06T18:46:29Z

Pavliktex

2008-02-06T18:46:29Z

Jorge

2008-02-06T18:46:29Z

Houghtex

2008-02-06T18:45:18Z

Corderotex

2008-02-06T18:45:18Z

Chanhotex

2008-02-06T18:45:18Z

Blyleven

2008-02-06T18:45:18Z

Arod

2008-02-06T18:45:18Z

Tom Hicks vs Ross Perot Jr.

2007-06-20T17:57:19Z

It is clear that Tom Hicks is turning into Ross Perot Jr. – at least his pattern of ownership seems to be very similar.
If you recall, Perot lead the group that bought the Mavericks from Don Carter. Shortly after that, the Mavs spiraled downward until they were the laughingstock of the NBA. ESPN even flashed “Mavericks highlights – turn away!” on the screen during Sportscenter to alert fans to the horrible basketball that was about to be shown. Perot was all about real estate development and didn’t know anything about creating a winning basketball team. He (with Hicks as a partner) later developed the very successful Victory Plaza around the American Airlines Center after he sold the team.

Hicks now seems to be totally immersed in developing Glorypark between the ballpark and Jerryworld. Just as Perot always had more of a knack for real estate than the pick and roll, Hicks seems to be devoting more and more resources to development and less to winning. Our only hope is that there is a passionate baseball fan that can convince Hicks to sell the Rangers. This guy would have to overpay, because Hicks would not like the idea about “selling low” now that the Rangers are abysmal. The longer he waits, the worse the Rangers will get. They have in no way hit rock bottom, but that could be coming in the next year or two. I would suggest the time to sell would be immediately. In other words, the Rangers need to find their Mark Cuban. Say what you will about Cuban, but the Mavericks would not be where they are without him. I am not saying it should be Cuban, just someone like him. Surely there is a passionate baseball fan with hundreds of millions of dollars to invest.

Remember when Hicks bought the Rangers? Everyone was excited because the perception was that the previous ownership did not have the money to pursue high dollar free agents. Everyone thought Hicks would spend what was needed to bring a winner to Arlington. One of the first things he did was sign ARod to the largest contract in baseball history, paying him tens of millions of dollars more than anyone else would. On the ticket they extolled Hick’s greatness with a song about his “big 12 pounder” implying that Hick’s had the stroke to get whatever the Rangers wanted.

Unfortunately, in baseball, you have to be smart as well as rich. Proof of this is George Steinbrenner, who annually spends twice as much as virtually every team in baseball, but has not won a world championship in this millennium. When Hicks bought the Rangers, they had a strong minor league system which regularly churned out top position players, particularly Latin players. Hicks ignored these assets and like any other asset they depreciated until now they are in a very sorry state. Hicks inherited a quality GM in Doug Melvin, but later fired him to hire “the smartest GM in baseball” John Hart. After dabbling with Grady Fuson, Hicks hired the youngest GM in baseball history who has made mistakes of the highest magnitude in both hiring and trades.

Hicks bought the best soccer club in England and they promptly lost their first championship match under him. He commented about how the fans were so loyal and passionate as compared to the US teams he owned. Be careful what you ask for. I am sure those fans are feeling the same way Rangers fans did back when. They expect him to get them the players they need to be perennial champs. How long will it take for them to realize that this won’t happen? If his poor management skills rear their ugly head in Liverpool, those fans will be calling for Hicks’ head and he may not feel so comfortable traveling in the UK.

Mr. Hicks – please see the handwriting on the wall and sell now, before the Rangers hit rock bottom with your continued mistake-ridden Ross Perot Jr.-like leadership!