Rangers Road Trip

H

Horn69

2,500+ Posts
Not a good start. 12-3 Yanks in 6th. Thought Washington was a little quick with the trigger on Padilla even though he wasn't pitching very well, but...He was pitching tough and those guys were a little bit tentative against him. But they are absolutely teeing off on the bullpen.

Hook'em!!!
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Hey Horn69 - I just tuned in... wow, Padilla got roughed up pretty good, but from your comments it sounds like the bullpen ain't helping the cause. This is an enourmous hole for the Rangers bats to dig out of
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What little I heard on the radio, the Yankees were picking up where they left off the last time they faced Madrigal.

And that ain't good.
 
I know it didn't help that Padilla plunked Teixeira a couple of times, but the Rangers have GOT to get over this Yankee-phobia they have. Yankee Stadium is just another ballyard, and the Yankees put their pants on one leg at a time.
 
That lineup of the Yankees is certainly not just any ole ballclub. The first 4 batters are all very tough outs and they can put together big innings in no time. At one point I would have put the Rangers batters up against the Yankees batters, but it appears the Rangers batters have come back down to earth.
 
Well, crissakes, SOMEBODY'S getting them out. They're not undefeated and they don't all bat 1.000.

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I just knew Rangers were doomed when Davis' 3 run shot fell short in the deepest part of the park.
(would've been 6-2 Tex)
Sure 'nuff, couldn't get Elvis home from 3rd the next inning & then the floodgates opened.
What's really weird is that I had the same feeling on Sunday when Sweeny robbed Kinsler of a homer as the first Ranger batter that day. 9 innings later, we lost by one.
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HOOK 'EM,
Texdoc
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The Yankee games have pretty much confirmed my suspicions about our team. I've been all-aboard the Optimism Train this season, as everyone knows by now, but our team has been overacheiving.

We've been beating up on the other weak teams in the West to the tune of a 13-3 record. We are 17-18 versus everyone else, including 1-9 against the Yankees and Tigers. Those teams represent the best in our league, essentially. We haven't even played Boston or TB. I've got a sneaky suspicion we may get our asses handed to us on this road trip. 2-4 seems realistic.

I still firmly believe we have a good chance at the playoffs, though, since the West is awful this year and we've already been dominant within our division. Let's face facts, though. We are not as good as New York, Boston, Tampa Bay, Detroit and possibly Toronto.

Luckily, to make the playoffs we only need to be better than Seattle, Anaheim and Oakland.
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Yeah Texanne, that is what I said - the Yankees are undefeated and all batting 1.000. They do have the best record in the AL after a horrible start. I think they are doing just fine and the lineup has a lot to do with that.
 
Should have scored 8 runs tonight but a very good game given some of the circumstances.
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Andrus was making Jeter smile with some of his plays. Sweet.
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Agreed. CJ and Francisco were lights out painting the corners and overpowering the batters. It was a pleasure to watch.
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My DVR kicked on to record two of my husband's shows just as CJ Wilson was facing A-Rod with Damon (I think) on first. I think it was the 7th inning. I didn't get to see what happened after that. I know that Wilson got out of it, but how did he retire A-Rod?

Thanks, guys -- I know you'll come through for me!
 
Rex Kramer, the Angels rotation has been hit by injuries pretty hard. I agree getting that sweep was important, but also understand they will be a tougher opponent once everyone is at full-strength.

Texanne, A-Rod went down swinging on a filthy change-up. CJ totally outmatched him in the at-bat.

CJ has taken a lot of abuse, but this guy has been awesome in almost every outing, save for a few at the beginning of the year. I heard some chatter that folks didn't think he had good stuff, but that's not the problem. Dude has a consistent fastball that clocks in the mid-90's. He has an above-average change-up. His slider is decent. His problem is command. He gets too much of the plate and tends to get lit up on occasion. But when he's on, he's nasty.
 
I've said before that I think the acquisition of O'Day really gave Wilson the necessary kick in the ***. Since O'Day came aboard, Wilson has been nails.
 
I think CJ had to work through some mental things coming out of his injuries from last season and early season failures. A shut down lefty that can get right handed batters out as well is an amazing weapon.
 
5-1 Rangers going into the bottom of the 5th...Chris Davis with a pair of doubles, Nellie Cruz with another jack in front of his Dad, McCarthy looking good so far...

After Tuesdays debacle and the series in Arlington last weekend, taking the last two of this series before heading to Fenway would be very, very good...

EDIT - Son of a *****, spoke too soon...McCarthy gave up 5 in the 5th, tied up the game later on a HR by Kinsler, then CJ gives up his first runs in 14 games on a two-run HR. 8-6 Yankees, bottom of the 8th...
 
dang! Had a chance today. Good effort to tie it back up at 6 and have some hope. Oh well. Would be nice to take 2 of 3 in Boston. Hopefully they will respond.
 
Millwood was rock-solid tonight in getting his 5th win. Good help from the 'pen, and Kinsler tames the monster. Tied once again with the goddam Yankees for the best record in the AL.

2-2 road trip thus far.
 
Yes, impressive 5-1 thumping of the rsox in Beantown. Kinsler was the batting hero and Millwood was superb for the 5 or was it 6 innings he pitched. No Fransciso to close the door - it was side arm O'Day all the way.

Go Rangers!!!
 
Very nice win this afternoon in Boston to end the road trip at 3-3. It would have been nicer to go 4-2 if they could have made the lead stand up in Yankee Stadium, but 3-3 is OK. They end the road trip with the same 4-1/2 game lead they had when they started.

Now it's back to Arlington for Toronto and LA. The Angels go to Tampa for three, then back to Anaheim to host the Padres. Texas needs to go at least 4-3 on the homestand - 5-2 would be superb.

It's way too early to start printing World Series tickets, but I'm beginning to think this Ranger team has the potential to be the real deal. Anaheim is still not playing to their full potential, and they have bullpen problems. If the Rangers can get Josh Hamilton back and productive and the pitching can hold up through the heat of summer, there's a chance...

HornHuskerDad
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Padilla pitched well today. I wondered how he'd respond to the whole waiver deal, and he came through it all nicely. The guy is a nutjob, but he's still the best #2 guy we could reasonably throw out there. The bats really came alive after Lester totally shut us down Saturday. Nellie has to be in discussions for MVP candidates at this point.

3-3 is better than the 2-4 road trip I predicted. We let that rubber game get away in NY, which is unfortunate, but that certainly didn't ruin the trip in the end. We maintained our 4.5 game lead over Anaheim and are playing at home 19 of the next 25 games.
 
HHD, agree 100%.

If they go out and pick up another Adam Eaton, I may make a concerted effort to run my wheelchair into a highway embankment.
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I'm in the camp of not making any moves to add starting pitching. It comes too dearly at the expense of the farm system. I think a good to great reliever can be had to really shore up the bullpen and it won't cost that much.

That's the only direction I would go. The Rangers are primed to win big over the next decade and the only real way they can truly screw that up is to trade away gobs of talent in a "win this year bid".

Stay the course. Keep grooming the prospects & in a couple of years make a bigger play in the FA market.

Hook 'em
 
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