2014 Offseason

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Jeff Banister: 'No opportunity wasted, it's what we do right now that matters most' | Dallas Morning News

One thing that made me chuckle... Banister on Darvish:

"I didn’t realize how big this man was until I stood next to him. This is a big, physical man."

It's funny because it's absolutely true. Seeing him in Spring Training and standing in front of him, it's shocking how big he is in real life. He's got to be 6-6 or 6-7. He just towers over you.

 

[jta4437]

Okay ... I read that too ... but " only 28 walks in 109 innings during his final season at Liberty." sounds pretty sound if there were an elbow issue ...

At River City ... 1 CG, 27SO, 18BB in 37.1IP in 27 games.

Trey Lambert Minor League Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com

Interesting he's got low 90s FB, cutter, curve and change up. That's a bunch of pitches for a guy you don't draft. Draft would have been cheap ... but nice that TEX has him now. We need to mark this guy. This is the kind of guy who in 5 or 6 years turns out to be competing for the CY.

Lets not get crazy here, he's a pitch to contact to guy that will eat innings, he sits in the 88-91 range, he's not really going to strike out ML hitters at a high clip

He's going to need a good defense behind him always, otherwise those grounders and flyballs become single and doubles pretty easy

 

[jta4437]

Jeff Banister: 'No opportunity wasted, it's what we do right now that matters most' | Dallas Morning News

One thing that made me chuckle... Banister on Darvish:

"I didn’t realize how big this man was until I stood next to him. This is a big, physical man."

It's funny because it's absolutely true. Seeing him in Spring Training and standing in front of him, it's shocking how big he is in real life. He's got to be 6-6 or 6-7. He just towers over you.

6'5" I believe

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

6'5" I believe

Yeah, I know what he's listed at. There's no way.

 

[jta4437]

Yeah, I know what he's listed at. There's no way.

I've seen him as well, and I'm inclined to believe he's 6'5" he's definitely not 6'7" though

 

[saddles]

I was wrong about what Vegas was picking as our over/under on wins. It is 77.5.

 

[Bmurph]

I was wrong about what Vegas was picking as our over/under on wins. It is 77.5.

Im still taking the over

 

[DT LUNA]

Im still taking the over

Me too.

 

[romeo212000]

I was wrong about what Vegas was picking as our over/under on wins. It is 77.5.

Where do I place my bet on the over?

 

[saddles]

Where do I place my bet on the over?

Vegas predicts Rangers' victory total this season (and it's not pretty) | Dallas Morning News

Sportsbook Bovada

 

[Justinkm83]

I was wrong about what Vegas was picking as our over/under on wins. It is 77.5.

I'm close to putting some money on it, but this team still worries me as constructed. I think we are going to have trouble scoring runs again. 1-4 is great on paper, but 5-9.....not so much. Assuming it's MM, Rua, Martin, Cheerio, and Odor (not necessarily in that order). Im not as worried about the pen as most national writers.

 

[jta4437]

I'm close to putting some money on it, but this team still worries me as constructed. I think we are going to have trouble scoring runs again. 1-4 is great on paper, but 5-9.....not so much. Assuming it's MM, Rua, Martin, Cheerio, and Odor (not necessarily in that order). Im not as worried about the pen as most national writers.

They've pretty much said Martin is getting the first crack at leading off

 

[RevSader]

I'm close to putting some money on it, but this team still worries me as constructed. I think we are going to have trouble scoring runs again. 1-4 is great on paper, but 5-9.....not so much. Assuming it's MM, Rua, Martin, Cheerio, and Odor (not necessarily in that order). Im not as worried about the pen as most national writers.

That shitshow from last year somehow won 67 games. That was an offense that sometimes had Adam Rosales hitting third.

 

[Duane1952]

Im still taking the over

So am I.

 

[Justinkm83]

They've pretty much said Martin is getting the first crack at leading off

So that puts Choo or Fielder 5th. Either way I think we have trouble scoring runs. I hope I'm wrong. I think I'm still placing a bet.

 

[romeo212000]

So that puts Choo or Fielder 5th. Either way I think we have trouble scoring runs. I hope I'm wrong. I think I'm still placing a bet.

A lot hinges on whether Martin can step into the lead off spot and Rua can carry his weight. If Martin can be a lead off man, then we're set pretty nicely 1-5.

Martin
Andrus
Choo
Beltre
Fielder


After that, there's a boatload of questions involving Rua, Moreland, and Odor. I'm not including Chirinos because he's a catcher and his primary job is to be a catcher. I don't expect him to be any more than a #7-8 hitter. So, I see where you're coming from.

 

[Bmurph]

That shitshow from last year somehow won 67 games. That was an offense that sometimes had Adam Rosales hitting third.

Add a healthy Holland, Fielder, Choo, a full season of the Cobra and Gallardo. Not running guys out to start that aren't really MLB ready like NMart and a guy that eats lizards, plus having Rua who got some AB's and did well in a SS last year and guys like Ludwick and Schierholtz for depth. Should add 11 wins fairly easily.

Then you add a new manager who understands analytics and doesn't require Maalox for his gut, and you may find 15-20 wins

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

A lot hinges on whether Martin can step into the lead off spot and Rua can carry his weight. If Martin can be a lead off man, then we're set pretty nicely 1-5.

Martin
Andrus
Choo
Beltre
Fielder


After that, there's a boatload of questions involving Rua, Moreland, and Odor. I'm not including Chirinos because he's a catcher and his primary job is to be a catcher. I don't expect him to be any more than a #7-8 hitter. So, I see where you're coming from.

Might get flamed for this, but any chance we don't see Elvis in the #2 spot?

Martin
Choo
Fielder
Beltre
(Whoever ends up as DH)
Andrus
Odor
(Whoever ends up as LF)
Chirinos

I have no issue with that lineup, personally.

 

[saddles]

Might get flamed for this, but any chance we don't see Elvis in the #2 spot?

Martin
Choo
Fielder
Beltre
(Whoever ends up as DH)
Andrus
Odor
(Whoever ends up as LF)
Chirinos

I have no issue with that lineup, personally.

I have heard some suggest Elvis should hit 9th.

 

[Bmurph]

I have heard some suggest Elvis should hit 9th.

I was thinking, looking at his lineup about moving Elvis to the 9 hole and moving everyone else up a spot