Series Thread: AL West will be decided this weekend

[donaldson79]

Remember all the Team Nolan people and their anti JD stances? Wonder what they're up to these days.

For the record I was never in either one of their courts 100%. But I thought they made a good team.

IMO, Nolan didn't do as much as those who were 100% behind him thought he did. Nor did he do as little as the one's who we 100% in JD's camp felt.

 

[Bmurph]

Remember all the Team Nolan people and their anti JD stances? Wonder what they're up to these days.

Guaranteed they are bitching about something, somewhere

 

[WastinSomeTime]

This from Jason Stark on his vote for AL Mgr-of-Year and why.

AL Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Houston Astros
View attachment 36008You know all that stuff I just said about Joe Maddon? A lot of it holds true for A.J. Hinch, too. I'd love to go back in time, slap a lie detector on everyone reading this and ask you all: Are the Houston Astros ready to win -- like this year, in 2015? What percent of you would have said yes? Ten percent? Four percent? Zero percent? I know I wouldn't have. I never expected this team to lead the AL West for 139 days. Or to be in position to play in the wild-card game with three days left in the season. A lot of things had to happen to make that possible. But the work of the manager is right at the top of that list.


To manage the Astros, you need to be able to absorb more data than the CEO of Intel. But you also need to balance that with a feel for the human beings who are asked to make that data come to life on a baseball field. And, as one exec who knows him well put it earlier this year, this particular manager is a "great balance of baseball and analytics, in that order." So as seriously as I thought about casting this vote for Jeff Banister, Paul Molitor, Ned Yost, Joe Girardi and John Gibbons, none of them changed their culture -- or their baseball team -- more than Hinch did.

My "ballot": (1) Hinch, (2) Banister, (3) Molitor, (4) Yost, (5) Girardi.

Manager of the year in the AL is as tough a call as Cy Young in the NL. It could really go to any number of people and they would all be deserving.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

As great a year as Pittsburgh has had and still end up with a WC spot is tough but then have to face Arrieta would be even tougher. I would not want to face that guy right now in a winner take all game.

 

[RevSader]

Remember all the Team Nolan people and their anti JD stances? Wonder what they're up to these days.

They are still going strong on facebook hoping the Rangers lose the division.

They are the REAL fans of the Rangers after all, because they tell it like it is. I've never seen a more misguided bunch of mattress stains outside of the commentariat at Huffington Post.

 

[donaldson79]

Manager of the year in the AL is as tough a call as Cy Young in the NL. It could really go to any number of people and they would all be deserving.

As much as I want to see Banister win it, your comment seems both fair and honest.

They'll be more good options for many of the awards than can be recognized.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

They are still going strong on facebook hoping the Rangers lose the division.
They are the REAL fans of the Rangers after all, because they tell it like it is. I've never seen a more misguided bunch of mattress stains outside of the commentariat at Huffington Post.

It really is some of the most idiotic reasoning a sports fan can have. Hope your favorite team does not win a division so they can fire JD. As much as I didn't like RW I still wanted us to win the WS. And second of all the Rangers are still in the playoffs so JD would still be here. It's like the saying - with friends like this who needs enemies. They need to find another team to root for.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

They are still going strong on facebook hoping the Rangers lose the division.

They are the REAL fans of the Rangers after all, because they tell it like it is. I've never seen a more misguided bunch of mattress stains outside of the commentariat at Huffington Post.

Those knuckleheads still exist and that's what they really say and want? Jeez Louise that's just pathetic.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

One thing to think about in the playoffs is that there at the most 2 straight days that a team has to play before a day off. With that in mind if our starting pitchers can have a mindset of making it through 6 innings then Kela, Diekman, Dyson and Tolleson could pitch in every single game. And there is not a better BP at the end of the game than that.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Ok, who wants a good laugh? Here are just a few quoted excerpts from the March 7 article by Ken Rosenthal about the quick demise of the Rangers franchise. To be fair to Mr. Rosenthal, hindsight is 20/20 and none of us saw a division title back in March. BUT, these quotes are so 180 degrees wrong, it's hilarious:

1. "Not to sound alarmist — OK, I’m sounding alarmist — but without Darvish, which team exactly will the Rangers beat out in the AL West?"

2. "Oh, and enough of the ambulance chasing on Twitter and elsewhere every time a player gets injured. Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels is not walking through the Rangers’ clubhouse door."

3. "The Mariners might be even better than the Angels. The A’s will compete, because they always compete. And the Astros, after an active offseason, figure to at least improve on the 70 wins they achieved last season."


Yu Darvish injury continues shocking collapse of Rangers franchise

 

[Bmurph]

Tonight's line-up

CF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
LF
Josh Hamilton (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Chris Gimenez (R)

Weaver vs. Perez

Really no surprises here, Josh back in LF vs righty. Moreland as well

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Interesting read and honesty by the writer:

Why were everyone's American League predictions so horrible?

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Tonight's line-up

CF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
LF
Josh Hamilton (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Chris Gimenez (R)

Weaver vs. Perez

Really no surprises here, Josh back in LF vs righty. Moreland as well

Thanks. Hope we are patient and take those outside breaking pitches the other way against Weaver.

 

[Bmurph]

Thanks. Hope we are patient and take those outside breaking pitches the other way against Weaver.

Yes sir, now let's go win this division

 

[DT LUNA]

Yes sir, now let's go win this division

Hope we get to Weaver early since they pretty much expended their pen last night.

 

[romeo212000]

Ok, who wants a good laugh? Here are just a few quoted excerpts from the March 7 article by Ken Rosenthal about the quick demise of the Rangers franchise. To be fair to Mr. Rosenthal, hindsight is 20/20 and none of us saw a division title back in March. BUT, these quotes are so 180 degrees wrong, it's hilarious:

1. "Not to sound alarmist — OK, I’m sounding alarmist — but without Darvish, which team exactly will the Rangers beat out in the AL West?"

2. "Oh, and enough of the ambulance chasing on Twitter and elsewhere every time a player gets injured. Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels is not walking through the Rangers’ clubhouse door."

3. "The Mariners might be even better than the Angels. The A’s will compete, because they always compete. And the Astros, after an active offseason, figure to at least improve on the 70 wins they achieved last season."


Yu Darvish injury continues shocking collapse of Rangers franchise

 

[MajorCharlesRane]

I really don't want this to go down to the wire on the last day. I hope they take care of this thing tonight.

 

[saddles]

It really is some of the most idiotic reasoning a sports fan can have. Hope your favorite team does not win a division so they can fire JD. As much as I didn't like RW I still wanted us to win the WS. And second of all the Rangers are still in the playoffs so JD would still be here. It's like the saying - with friends like this who needs enemies. They need to find another team to root for.

I once wanted the team to lose so Doug Radar would be fired. They weren't going anywhere that year and he needed to go so I figured it would be like taking one step back in order to take seven or eight steps forward. There are no similarities between that situation and the one with the JD haters though.

 

[saddles]

Ok, who wants a good laugh? Here are just a few quoted excerpts from the March 7 article by Ken Rosenthal about the quick demise of the Rangers franchise. To be fair to Mr. Rosenthal, hindsight is 20/20 and none of us saw a division title back in March. BUT, these quotes are so 180 degrees wrong, it's hilarious:

1. "Not to sound alarmist — OK, I’m sounding alarmist — but without Darvish, which team exactly will the Rangers beat out in the AL West?"

2. "Oh, and enough of the ambulance chasing on Twitter and elsewhere every time a player gets injured. Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels is not walking through the Rangers’ clubhouse door."

3. "The Mariners might be even better than the Angels. The A’s will compete, because they always compete. And the Astros, after an active offseason, figure to at least improve on the 70 wins they achieved last season."


Yu Darvish injury continues shocking collapse of Rangers franchise

I think I picked them to win about 77-78 games after they lost Yu. That was with me expecting a good year from Holland and for Rua to be somewhat successful in LF.

I knew by the end of April that I would be wrong. I thought I had been overly optimistic.

 

[Kelleyman]

I think I picked them to win about 77-78 games after they lost Yu. That was with me expecting a good year from Holland and for Rua to be somewhat successful in LF.

I knew by the end of April that I would be wrong. I thought I had been overly optimistic.

Nice. I at least won a bet that the Rangers would be at least a 500 ball club. Team came through big on that count