Rangers need new line-up

H

Horn69

2,500+ Posts
Wash has sit by idly long enough while this same line-up has wallowed in a deep slump. And never mind that there's been some homeruns tonight. The guys that are having the biggest problems are in keyp spots and are still struggling - namely Andruw Jones at cleam-up and Kinsler leading off. Hamilton has bad ab's but is basically getting his 1 for 4 and should be kept in his spot.

IMHO, Jones needs to be DFA. Can't imagine anyone willing to trade anything for him. He is a jovial guy (a little too much after another suckass ab) but outside of Spring Training, the first 3 weeks of the season, and his bizarre 3-HR game in LA he's done nothing. Yet, Wash continues to bat him clean-up. GET HIM OUTTA THERE!

Kinsler - He needs to drop down in the line-up until he gets his swing back together. I don't care that he had two HR's last night. He's getting the occasional HR but otherwise he's got nothing and he comes up too frequently in the one-hole.

The guys that are really showing some good AB's are Young, Blalock and Salty. Replace Kinsler at the top with Andrus, keep Young 2nd and Hamilton 3rd with Blalock 4th. As soon as Cruz can come back put him in at DH and bat him 5th. Salty 6th. Kinsler, Byrd and Murphy for your bottom 3 in no particular order.

But, the manager can NOT continue to run out the same line-up night after night. It becomes a drag and it negatively affects everyone in the lineup.

Hrrrmph.

Hook'em!!!
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<que Blazing Saddles> Can I get a Hrrrrrmph? <Que Blazing Saddles>

Yeah, despite me not having a baseball mind, several times this season I wondered why Wash didn't shuffle the lineup a little to change things for the positive / throw the other team off a little... Unfortunately, I have to agree with you 'bout your friend Andruw Jones. He has been lackluster and virtually lifeless in the clean-up position... save for that LA series when we gigged you for doing a reverse jinx on him
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It is good to have Hamilton back in the lineup but we need Cruz back in the mix.

Meanwhile we need to help the closing pitchers protect this 6-3 lead over Beantown going into the 9th.
 
Thanks Woo-Woo. When your clean-up guy is hitting 20 points higher than Chris Davis then you're in trouble. Combine that with your lead-off and #3 guy hitting in the 240's and you've basically got Michael Young doing it all by himself. At some point he'll wear out and then you got Nuthin.'

Everyone should feel better now that C.J.'s our closer again.
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Hook'em!!!
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Andrus has an OBP barely over .300, he cannot be our leadoff. Kinsler should not be either. Honestly, that is where the Rangers attention should be directed in the trade market. Find a decent hitter with decent speed that can put an OBP together over .360. My dream trade would be to get Juan Pierre. With Manny back, he is the best 4th outfielder in baseball. I imagine the Dodgers would want someone who could that 4th outfielder role and get talent for him.
 
Michael Young could bat lead-off but he's probably needed at the 2 or 3-hole. If you batted him leadoff you could put Murphy 2nd and might get something going.

Hook'em!!!
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Hit Murphy leadoff against righties...

You are absolutely insane about Salty though. .295 OBP? 88 Ks in 245 ABs? 18 XBHs in 70 games? He's lucky Wash plays him as much as he does.
 
This has become a hot topic in the OUE household, too. I realize Andrus doesn't have the ideal OBP for a guy hitting lead-off, but doesn't everyone find it ironic that he leads the team in pitches seen per AB? Our 20-yr-old rookie, hitting 9th in the order, works opposing pitchers better than anyone else on the team. For that reason alone, I think he might be a decent lead-off man.

If I had my druthers, we'd see a lineup like the following:

Andrus
Young
Hamilton
Blalock
Kinsler
Cruz
Murphy/Byrd
Jones
Salty/TT

I know some would scoff hitting Salty 9th since most teams like having a little athleticism at the bottom of the order, but given our current personnel, this strikes me as a better flow to the order. When Andrus needs a day off, move Ian back to the top and hit Vizquel 9th behind Salty/TT.

And CJ has been filthy the last 2 nights, which I'm sure excites all of you!
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I agree...this lineup sucks...Andruw Jones has sucked outside of his 3 HR magical night. Marlon Byrd was in fuego a month ago. Young has been really good of late. Blalock, too. Kinsler hits once a week. Saltalamacchia and Andruws are given outs. Hamilton will hit once a week. The pitching is good 2-3 days per week.

We are in troubkle. I apologize. the golf course I went to had $1 beers today.

The Rangers are really kinda good but really kinda suck./
 
Holy crap, I recall everybody talking about the Angels having a tougher 2nd half schedule than us. Well, the first two series sure the **** aren't. We have played the Twins and Sox, two damn good teams (currently 3-2 over 5 games). The hated Angels have drawn the A's and the Royals, both of whom have decided to officially mail it in. Who is next for LAA, a trip to Abilene for a three game set against Hardin-Simmons? I know these things change (we actually draw the Royals next) but this has certainly contributed to the Angels building their 3 game lead right out of the break.
 
If we coudl just play the Sox and Angels every series, we might have a chance to win this thing!
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Keeping those pesky Tigers and Rays off the schedule would help.
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We swept TB, too, Texanne.

This team is so hard to read. We struggle versus Seattle and Minnesota, but sweep Tampa and possibly Boston? We also own Anaheim this year.

Tommy Hunter is going to be really good, guys. Dude now has 4 pitches he can consistently get over the zone. He also has improved command within the zone, which is the point young pitchers begin to really get good, assuming they have good enough stuff. Even mediocre stuff can look good if a kid knows how to 'pitch' and not simply 'throw.' Tommy appears to have both the stuff AND command,.which bodes well for us.

Amazing to think Tommy went 1.1 innings versus Boston last year, giving up 9 ER! Wow.

Hope Padilla can put together a better outing tonight. A sweep would be great, but I'm not holding my breath with our offense right now.
 
Yeah, OUE, I was thinking Rays when it was the Mariners.

Following this team is like dealing with Sybil. Or a 4-month old kitten. You just don't know what they are going to do next.
 
Goddam Yankees. They just kill us, then roll over and die for the Sox and the Angels.

Why we continue to get that deer-in-the-headlights thing every time we play the Yankees just confounds me.
 
Getting that performance from Mathis blows me away! Sawx have to be demoralized.
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And kudos to Wash for sticking with him instead of going with the normal 7-8-9th inning routine.

Hook'em!!!
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Without question, Mike Maddux is the MVP of this team. The job he has done with the kids is amazing. He is bringing Hunter, Nippert and Holland along so well. He has helped to refocus Millwood and turned Scooter Feldman into a legit #3. I want Feliz up so he can benefit from exposure to Maddux!
 
It is amazing how caught up most major league managers/pitching coaches are with the 7th/8th/9th inning designated pitchers. Mathis was hot so leave him in there. Ok, ok, CJ had pitched quite a bit so he was sitting likely. But, I am glad they were not tempted to make a switch for the hell of it.
 
So right...great job by Wash using the stolen base to make some things happen.

Now, the darn Angels need to lose a game or two.
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Wowzer! The Cabrera AB was totally awesome on Hunter/Salty's part. Came back from 3-0 w/ bases loaded. Won't see any better confrontations in clutch situations. Whew.

Hook'em!!!
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