Josh Hamilton

People will ***** because the Rangers gave up a good pitcher for him, but I believe this was a great deal no matter what Volquez was.

The Rangers offense would be nearly Giants level of suckitude without Hamilton in the middle of the lineup. Having such a great left-handed slugger with great skills in the field is extremely important to this team. Even more important than Volky would be, I believe.
 
I agree that he will be really good.

However, I wonder why Volquez is having success in Cincy, while it appeared that would not be the case with the Rangers. Why couldn't they get "it" out of him?
 
That's just not true. Volquez was completely unprepared for the Majors the first two years they brought him up.

Last year, they sent him to Bakersfield to begin the season. They re-worked his mechanics by making him take his rocker step to the side instead of back. It really helped his command, even though there was an adjustment period (hence the terrible numbers in Bakersfield last year). They also wanted to work with him on thinking more clearly in game situations. He used to be more of a thrower.

Then he went to Frisco and dominated for the most part. He focused on his curveball there and it became an average big league pitch.

Then he went to AAA and gave up 25 hits in 51 innings with a 1.41 ERA.

And in the Majors last year he had: 34 IP, 34 H, 15 BB, 29 K...definitely respectable for a 23-year-old in the majors.

The Rangers' player development staff deserves all of the credit for Volquez.
 
I'm glad the Rangers got Hamilton, but I'm sick and tired of seeing the likes of Young and Volquez traded away, only to become very good pitchers with other teams. If JD doesn't have the right pitching coach, go get him - there are a lot of talented young arms in the minors right now, and I want to see them succeed as Rangers...

HHD
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As a Reds fan, the trade is looking good. Think it worked for both teams--Reds have had such sucky pitching forever.
 
say what you want about Volquez, but the Rangers needed a CF and they took a risk that this guy would workout. So far, so good. David Hulse is also a ballplayer and Milton Bradley is a power hitter that's managed to keep his temper tamed. Consequently, Rangers have a good outfield for the first time in a long time.

Hook'em!!!
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agreed with everyone that the trade could work out well for both teams. my problem is that we seem to trade away pitchers that go gangbusters.

to say that the rangers player development deserves all the credit is not quite true. my biggest ***** with the rangers right now is that most teams that suck would tell guys like volquez to pitch at the major league level for a season and it doesn't matter if you go 2-10 as long as you learn and progress. but with the rangers it's always a "you are ready" when brought up and when they don't succeed they get all f'd up mentally.

for example, would you rather see Eric Hurley in the bigs or send douchebag luis mendoza/j jennings? to me this is a no-brainer. so what if hurley sucks and you tell him there is no expectation other than to figure out how to get ml hitters out. everyone else does it but instead guys like mendoza/jennings beat the fans down and keep guys like hurley from developing. if jennings/mendoza were just decent it would be one thing but they are ******* AWFUL.
 
I think you're on the right track Uncle Rico. Do they just treat the young developing guys like they're so fragile that they won't be able to handle adversity? At some point the young ones have to venture out on their own.

Hook'em!!!
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If Hamilton can keep his nose clean -- and I mean that in the most literal sense -- he can be a major contributor for the Rangers. It's nice to see a reclamation project actually work out for a change. Anyone remember Steve Howe??
 
i think it's strange to see posters reply "the trade worked out for both teams" when the rangers have the worst record in MLB?
 
I love having Hamilton on this team. It sucks to see Volquez succeeding elsewhere but when's the last time we've had an outfielder with as much potential as Hamilton?
 
Oh and also interesting is Millwood/Padilla/Gabbards record of 10-7 as starting pitchers. Just goes to show how awful the back end of the rotation is. Nothing we didn't know, just interesting.
 
Padilla's CG shutout the other day was a thing of beauty and long needed by the Rangers. He's becoming my favorite pitcher.
 
HookemHorns03:

You are right about Volquez getting straightened out last year, I forgot about that. Even though Josh is a great player at a need position, it is very frustrating to see two of the long-hyped DVD boys traded off. Oh well, at least in this trade they got a valuable asset in return.
 
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