Rangers at Twin's Town July 5-7

[saddles]

Same here

I am not either, but I know a work around. Lol

 

[Nightcrawler]

Have to agree a bit. I grew up in NY and the family friendly version was my dad and uncles being rowdy fans at Shea Stadium and since two uncles were mutant Yankees fans we also joined them in the cheap bleacher seats in the old Yankees stadium. Rowdy and family worked fine together. People kept the language clean but still called umps and players bums etc.

My first baseball game out of the NY area was a Kansas City Royals game. I was at an Army school at Leavenworth KS, buddy was a big KC fan. We went to a game against Toronto when Canseco played for them. We were 12
Rows behind home plate and I heckled Canseco like I did at Yankee stadium. Yeah I was loud. Two minutes later two dudes in royal blue jackets came down and told me “this is a family environment please keep it down.”

It must feel like a different world. I’d love to see a game where the fans are involved and engaged in the action.

You won’t find a “loud and intimidating” atmosphere anywhere in Texas in any sport.

 

[PhantomWarrior]

Not only will Mike Minor miss what would have been his first turn in an All-Star Game, a prospect he says isn't much fun to think about, he won't pitch Sunday against the Twins. Which was supposed to be the start that would make him unavailable for the All-Star Game in the first place.

As Minor put it Saturday, "It's a weird situation."

Yes. Weird.

Now the Rangers, who lost Saturday to the Twins, 7-4, in front of 36,969 at Target Field, must make sure it doesn't get any weirder. Especially if they'd like to keep their best pitcher around past next season, as they probably should.

For the record, the Rangers insist they're not giving Minor a 10-day hiatus because there's anything wrong with him. He's not even tired. No diminishing returns on radar guns, anyway. The idea, Chris Woodward said, is to give Minor a "recharge" after the most labor-intensive first half of his career. With 117 innings in the books already, he's on pace for more than 200 for just the second time in his eight-year career. He's also coming off a 157-inning season in which the Rangers eased him back into his role as a starter. In doing so, he became one of this administration's greatest pitching success stories, a genre in short supply.

The Rangers have talked about the possibilities with Minor all season, going back to spring training. So it's not exactly a surprise. And it beats another year of short leashes.

"I like pitching until I'm pretty much done," he said. "Either I'm tired or not throwing strikes or they're hitting the ball around on me.

"I'd rather do this."

Even if he doesn't like it.

"For me it still sucks not going out there," he said. "Not taking the ball. But I guess it is what it is."

What it is, according to Woodward, is a no-brainer. They either rest him now or in September.

"If we are in the thick of things," he said, "there is no way we can do it later.

"We felt we can do it now and get away with it."

BTW: Neither Woodward nor Minor sees this move as any kind of concession in the standings, even as they go into Sunday having lost six of their last seven games.

So those are the arguments for the Minor move makes sense. Here's where it gets a little sticky.

The decision for him to skip Sunday's start came Saturday, Minor said. Or at least that's when he heard the decision was final.

If they were going to give him Sunday off anyway, why not make the call sooner, so he'd be available for the All-Star Game?

"If he was going to pitch," Woodward said, "he was going to pitch for us, not in the All-Star Game."

Just to be clear: If Minor were given the chance to actually pitch in the All-Star Game, he'd go an inning. Two at the most.

The Rangers would have needed a lot more than that from him Sunday. The Twins beat up the Rangers for 15 runs Friday, then cuffed them around for another seven Saturday. Woodward needs someone who could stop the pounding going into the break, which is what No. 1 pitchers are for. This series against the Twins is pretty important, too. Last I checked, losses count just as much in July as September.

For a series against one of the league's top three teams, not to mention the game's most explosive lineup, the Rangers have countered with Adrian Sampson and Jesse Chavez.

On deck for Sunday: Joe Palumbo. At this rate, the Rangers could be out of the wild-card race before they get back from vacation.

As you may know, the Rangers are more than a little short on pitching, a chronic condition. Pedro Payano, who followed up Chavez on Saturday, became the 10th pitcher to make his major league debut this season. He probably won't be the last. The next rookies won't alter the Rangers' fortunes much.

Minor, on the other hand, is a difference maker. He and Lance Lynn have combined for a formidable one-two punch. Jon Daniels, in fact, should do everything in his power to preserve it.

First, however, Daniels must decide before the deadline if the Rangers are players or not. If he's in, he needs all the pitching he can get.

I don’t see anything weird at all about the situation. Just a manager managing.

 

[PhantomWarrior]

It must feel like a different world. I’d love to see a game where the fans are involved and engaged in the action.

You won’t find a “loud and intimidating” atmosphere anywhere in Texas in any sport.

You should have been at my son’s 14U district playoff game last night.

 

[Nightcrawler]

You should have been at my son’s 14U district playoff game last night.

I meant at the professional level. I’m sure the minors and some kids games can get crazy.

 

[Kelleyman]

Re Minor One might think he is close to being traded. Players pulled all the time to protect an injury

But I see the logic in trying to control his innings

 

[saddles]

I guess I don't get it. What does a family friendly atmosphere at the ballpark have to do with the TV announcers?

 

[saddles]

It must feel like a different world. I’d love to see a game where the fans are involved and engaged in the action.

You won’t find a “loud and intimidating” atmosphere anywhere in Texas in any sport.

I want intimidating players. I mean they are so good that they intimidate the other team just by stepping on the field. We had that a few years back. Fans should not carry that load. The team across the street has had that kind of a team a number of times. The other teams can keep the rowdy, obnoxious fanbase. Give me great players over that over-the-top fan nonsense any day.

 

[saddles]

I don’t see anything weird at all about the situation. Just a manager managing.

I thought it was weird before I even saw the article. Something doesn't add up.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I guess I don't get it. What does a family friendly atmosphere at the ballpark have to do with the TV announcers?

I knew you were talking about the media product and not the fans themselves.

 

[romeo212000]

Bit of a slide recently. Can they get back on it?

 

[saddles]

To me, the surprising part of the season was when they were winning so many games. This team is just not at the point where they can have success in the playoffs. I think they built up some confidence against a cream puff schedule, but that part of the schedule is over now. That confidence carried over and resulted in some success against mediocre to good teams.

It was just a matter of time before some tough sledding against better teams would bring the team back down a notch pr two. Overall, they should be commended though.

 

[saddles]

 

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[saddles]

From Scott Lucas:

"Scott Heineman (.369/.456/.631) continues to make up for time lost. Barring injury to someone on the 25-man roster, it's hard to see how he'd fashion a role in Arlington, but at least he's letting the decision-makers know he's available."

"SP Brock Burke: 6 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 4 BB, 6 SO, 4.18 ERA
RP Joe Barlow: 1 IP, 0 R, 3 SO, 1.38 ERA

I saw one inning of Brock Burke's outing, in which he walked three but avoided any runs. Later, his one other walk and a Buddy Reed homer put two on the board.

Joe Barlow's last 12 batters: one single, 11 strikeouts. He's also fanned at least two batters in seven straight outings, and his K rate for the season is an astronomical 48%, slightly higher than Demarcus Evans' 47% from last year. "

 

[saddles]

More from Scott Lucas:

"Games in Hillsboro are on MiLB.tv, so I was able to get looks at Ricky Vanasco, Ryan Garcia and others. Vanasco didn't look the part early, as his first five batters included four full counts, two walks, two wild pitches and a worrying 33 pitches. Then he flipped a switch and retired 15 of 16, eight via strikeout. The one who reached hit a weak chopper that deflected off the top of Vanasco's glove, breaking up a no-hitter in the 5th. Vanasco's fastball was on the straighter side but he spotted it very well once he got control of it. The curve had impressive depth, capable of getting both called strikes and ugly swings.

Garcia, Texas's 2019 2nd-rounder, made his Spokane debut. After a couple of slower offerings, Garcia's fastball mostly ran 91-92. He had trouble throwing strikes early but those that caught the plate were located well. His slider was largely ineffective. He introduced a curve and change in his second inning, the latter of which ducked under a bat for a swinging strike. Nobody came close to a hard-hit ball. Loose-limbed, lively-armed 19-year-old Teodoro Ortega followed Garcia with five strong innings. He's looks larger than his listed 145 pounds, but he's still a string bean."

 

[DT LUNA]

Finally a RBI Santana single.

 

[Kelleyman]

Kept the runner going to home from scoring too