Texas Rangers 2017 Thread

HornHuskerDad said:
I'd still like to see more consistent contact from these guys. They need some singles/doubles/sac flies to go with the dingers - sub .200 just won't cut it in the long run. Nomar seems to have figured that out - hope Nap and Joey can do likewise.
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Yes, I agree. And I would Odor in their with Nap and Joey. And Rua.
 
A real clunker yesterday - it was bound to happen sooner or later. Good for Bibens-Dirkx - a very nice job holding off the Tigers to the end of the game, sparing the rest of the bullpen and giving them all a much-needed day of rest.

With Yu pitching tonight, the Rangers have a good shot at winning the series in Detroit. Looks like it's the ESPN feature game tonight. Hope Kela and Bush are available if needed for the last two innings.
 
Rangers finish first series of this road trip with a 5-2 win in a game that just went on for forever. Darvish gets his fifth win of year but to me most important part of game was Dyson's 1 2/3rds of scoreless relief that included at one point three straight strikeouts. If Dyson can be a strong 7th or 8th inning guy combined with Bush at closer and Kela at sometime closer but mostly 8th inning guy (and maybe eventually later this season Diekmann in one of those roles too) this could still be a really formidable bullpen. Off day today before three game set in Boston. Houston has lost three straight and Rangers sit a mere 5 1/2 games back.:texasflag:
 
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^Bad news, indeed - for McCann and for the Astros. Injuries do happen over the 162-game stretch - and injuries will happen to every team. It will be a test of depth for the Astros.

Meanwhile, speaking of injuries - it appears from all reports that Beltre is close to returning to the Lineup. Wonder what roster move the team will make when he returns?
 
HornHuskerDad said:
Meanwhile, speaking of injuries - it appears from all reports that Beltre is close to returning to the Lineup. Wonder what roster move the team will make when he returns?
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Baring one of those "all of a sudden injuries" that come out of the blue at times when a roster move is needed, I would send DeShields down, but they will probably send Hoying or Rua. Sending Rua down would be a mistake in my opinion.
 
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^Viper, I like your thought on that one. I suspect Hoying will be sent down. I still worry about Delino in CF - he has the speed to run down fly balls, but his arm is not outstanding. But he definitely makes things happen when he is a baserunner.

The other issue to consider when AB returns to the lineup - how the club manages his exposure on a daily basis. Gallo has been pretty decent at 3B, and the Rangers don't suffer defensively when he is there. Perhaps they can play AB two days at 3B, then a day at DH with Gallo at 3B. And as I said earlier in this thread, I would never put AB in the field on artificial turf. Meanwhile I suppose you could use Gallo in LF or 1B when AB is 3B.

Thoughts?
 
Somewhere earlier in this thread I said I would leave Gallo alone at 3B as he seems more comfortable in the field and at bat there, and use AB as DH and spelling Gallo at 3B. Agree AB should not be exposed to turf as anything other than DH.

Very tough on everyone when a star is in decline - when do you start easing him out; when does he decide it is time to hang'em up?

In other news, Evan Grant says the starting point for Darvish should be Strasburg's $175M/7 years ($25M/year) (both with TJ surgeries). I am not sure that will get the job done. I suspect he will end up $185M to (gulp) $200M for seven years as Darvish's side would argue that Strasburg is more injury prone with both hard pitch counts and innings pitched before and after his surgery.
 
Total meltdown by Dyson last night after Rangers had managed to build a 3-1 lead against Sale. Not sure I agree with sending Perez out to start the 7th, but Sam definitely blew it - seven batters, no outs, and the game is then out of reach. Need a bounceback tonight to avoid being swept.
 
Dyson has at least six blown games to his credit this year and is gasoline walking toward a fire every time he comes out. The Rangers are 30-17 if he isnt a walking meltdown this year. Time to cut bait here just like Wilhelmson and Tolleson last last year. Dyson is done.:soapbox:
 
Viper, I wish I had an easy answer and I suspect that is why Bannister and Daniels havent moved quickly on Dyson. Jeffress is having almost as bad a year and so they have two key pieces of the bullpen that just cannot be trusted and with Diekman out until July earliest and maybe the whole year if he comes back slowly that leaves Bush and Kela as only part of bullpen that can really be called on. Norm Hitzges yesterday did great analysis of Ranger bullpen and who you can really trust and it really comes down to just those two, Kela and Bush. What was supposed to be a strength of this team is a huge gaping wound. Now Tyson Ross should come up next week and that will move Griffin or Martinez to a long relief role, meaning Claudio can now be your seventh inning guy, Kela in the 8th and Bush in the 9th. Barnette can do some 7th inning work and its too early to know what they have in Bibens-Dirkx as more than a mop up guy in blow outs so there may be a few options.

Some good news beyond just getting Ross next week is that Hamels is throwing again though he is still likely several weeks away from getting back in the starting rotation. Gomez apparently is running though he too is still several weeks away from returning. Best news is that Beltre could be back next week and cannot undersell how big that will be to this team.
 
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Well, so much for my dream of a 6-3 road trip. Rangers leave Boston with their tail between their legs and limp into Toronto needing a sweep to have a winning road trip. Apparently every starting pitcher needs to go seven innings and hand the lead over to Kela and Bush to get a W.
 
HornHuskerDad said:
Well, so much for my dream of a 6-3 road trip. Rangers leave Boston with their tail between their legs and limp into Toronto needing a sweep to have a winning road trip. Apparently every starting pitcher needs to go seven innings and hand the lead over to Kela and Bush to get a W.
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Agree HHD. Easily could have been 4-2 instead of 2-4 now.

DMN says Martinez is being looked at for 7th inning/5th SP duty.
 
Rangers have now lost five straight to fall two games under .500. I had hoped to be at .500 by end of May earlier in month and so am holding on to that as a plausible goal for the next four games to end month before they host Houston late next week.
 
Just 1 under .500 now. Cashner appears to be the real deal, but SP is very fragile and the BP cannot be counted on for anything more than the 8th and 9th.
 
I will be there tonight which will be the second time I have managed to get away only to watch Martinez pitch. We are sitting 8 rows from the field at 3B. I hope AB looks less stiff in person than he did at #B last night.
 
Beltre returned last night but the bullpen blows another one giving up five runs in the seventh as Barnette melts down. As we turn the calendar to June about the only excitement left this season will be Beltre's chase for 3000 and whether this team can finish at or above .500. Frankly, there is essentially zero chance this team as it is presently composed can chase down and catch Houston.:whiteflag:
 
NIce W tonight, with the bats waking up a bit. And a nice job by the bullpen to shut down the Rays. And I'm frankly a bit surprised to see how well Gallo is handling 1B - he's done a good job on defense so far. The Rangers really need to get Hamels back soon if they are to have any chance at AL West or Wild Card.
 
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Looks like it will have the be a WC, but finishing above .500 is going to b a chore. Entertaining last 4 innings last night and Gallo does look good at 1st. However I am still concerned about AB at 3rd. Granted it was only his second game back, but watching him through the entire game reminded me of Mantle's last few seasons.
 
After wanting no part of him and thinking the Rangers needed to get whatever they could for him, I will readily concede how wrong I was and that Gallo is the future at third maybe not this year or even next if Beltre gets healthy (a big if given his age) but certainly by 2019. I heard on the radio today that Gallo's strikeout rate is down to 37% (funny to say down to 37% but it was in the 40's at one point). If he can get his K rate down to about 33% (which the radio guys noted is Adam Jones' rate) he will be a mainstay at third for years to come. Gallo can play first next year and split time at DH and third as needed.

Houston is too good this year to choke again a la 2015 and with an 11 game deficit its wild card or nothing for the Rangers. I agree with Viper that this team will struggle to win more than 81 games let alone the 89 plus it will probably take to get a WC.
 
^Reluctantly agree. The Rangers have certainly given Dyson every opportunity to get his act straightened out - and there doesn't appear to be any progress on that. And I can't believe any MLB team would trade for him - even if all the Rangers ask would be two dozen used baseballs and a fungo bat.
 
Well, here come the Astros - three-game series starting tonight at The Ballpark. Time to put up or shut up for the Rangers. A sweep would be terrific, but two wins is the minimum acceptable if the Rangers are serious about staying somewhere in the race.
 
^Sad to have to do it, but no choice for the Rangers. Perhaps he can recover his ability with another team and pitching coach. Rangers have certainly stuck with him long enough and given him plenty of opportunity to deliver - and he wasn't able to do so. Production is essential and he is not producing - time to move on. Someone else will have to step up to the challenge.
 
Dyson does get DFA'd and Rangers get knocked around by Houston in rain delayed late night action last night to fall 13 games back. Beltre got two more hits and could get to 3000 some time in July which is about all this season really has left beyond seeing if the Rangers deal Lucroy, Darvish, Profar or some of other higher priced pieces and who they get in return. The longer Napoli stays under .200 the more Gallo at first base looks long term.
 
FWHORN said:
The longer Napoli stays under .200 the more Gallo at first base looks long term.
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There's a decision to be made here - is Gallo the 3B of the future, or does he become the full-time 1B? I could see AB retiring at the end of this season - assuming he stays healthy (and that's always an issue), he is a cinch to get to 3000 this summer, and he has got to realize that he is getting old. If he retires at the end of the season to await the call from the Hall of Fame in five years, who becomes the everyday 3B? If it's Gallo, then the Rangers need to develop or acquire the full-time solution at 1B. If Gallo is fixed at 1B, then they would need to develop or acquire the new full-time 3B (Profar?). Interesting question.
 
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