Final series of 2021 is one for the history books: Indians play their final games at the Grill 10/1-3

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

The calender has turned to October, it is now legal to decorate for Halloween. And we've arrived at the final series of the 2021 season, with the Rangers hosting the Cleveland Indians for their final games. They become the Guardians next year (declining the option of being the Spiders and making everyone happy).

The Rangers enter this series at 59-100, tied with PIT for the 3rd worst record in baseball. PIT owns the tiebreaker, so for the Rangers to pick third, they will have to end up with one more loss than the Buccos. On the mound for that cause is Howard tonight, Lyles tomorrow, and Dane Dunning to close out the season on Sunday. 7:05, 6:05, and 2:05 are your game times.

Final 10 Prediction Standings:

Ephland: 4-6
Saddles: 6-4
scotsman: 4-6
DTC: 5-5
Kelleyman: 5-5
DT Luna: 6-4
darrylgann: 5-5

Rangers record: 4-3

 

[saddles]

Jeff Wilson had some notes about Glenn Otto.

Right-hander Glenn Otto made his final start of the season Thursday, finishing with 119 innings between the minors (95 2/3) and with the Rangers even though he lasted only two innings against the Angels.

His ERA after surrendering five runs is 9.26. It was 0.00 after his sparkling debut last month.

That 9.26 is an ugly stat to take into the offseason, and the numbers would suggest that he isn’t ready for the majors.

He might not be, but here’s something else to keep in mind: Otto didn’t pitch last season because of COVID-19, and he threw only 61 1/3 innings in 2019. Fatigue has a lot do with his performance down the stretch.

“He’s pitched a lot this year, which is great,” Woodward said. “He’s just out of gas.”

So, while many of you might be ready to judge Otto on the first six starts of his career, the Rangers aren’t. They will judge him on what they see off the field, a player who fits the culture and has an open mind when it comes to making changes for the better.

“He’s had a couple good outings, and he’s had a couple like he’s had today,” Woodward said. “It’s unfair for us to evaluate him based on some numbers. Early on, being in the big leagues for the few times probably pushed through that fatigue. The adrenaline wore off after the first few outings.”

 

[saddles]

When Evan Grant started talking up Zak Kent after he made his trip to Hickory, I questioned Evan about why Kent's numbers were better than his college numbers. Evan never answered me. Levi Weaver has a great column up on The Atletic about Zak Kent that answered my question and much more. Here is one excerpt.

Kent’s numbers at VMI weren’t exactly the stuff of legends. Over three years, he posted a record of 12-14 with 258 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.75 over 222 2/3 innings. The strikeouts were good, but the runs were not particularly rare. Kent says there’s a bit of an explanation for that.

“If you’ve ever been to VMI, the ballpark, it just flies out there,” he explains. “It’s 285 to left, with a tall fence. And then right field, it says 335 (but) it’s really like 300. And dead center was like 375 … And then that last May, I was throwing 120-130 pitches (per game); I was getting used. I told my coach, ‘When I’m out there, don’t come and get me. I got it. I’ll be fine.’ And sure enough, I’d get worn out through eight innings and the velo dips down and (I’d) give up a run or two … You look up and you’ve gone 8 2/3 and given up four runs.”

 

[scotsman1948]

Jeff Wilson had some notes about Glenn Otto.

Right-hander Glenn Otto made his final start of the season Thursday, finishing with 119 innings between the minors (95 2/3) and with the Rangers even though he lasted only two innings against the Angels.

His ERA after surrendering five runs is 9.26. It was 0.00 after his sparkling debut last month.

That 9.26 is an ugly stat to take into the offseason, and the numbers would suggest that he isn’t ready for the majors.

He might not be, but here’s something else to keep in mind: Otto didn’t pitch last season because of COVID-19, and he threw only 61 1/3 innings in 2019. Fatigue has a lot do with his performance down the stretch.

“He’s pitched a lot this year, which is great,” Woodward said. “He’s just out of gas.”

So, while many of you might be ready to judge Otto on the first six starts of his career, the Rangers aren’t. They will judge him on what they see off the field, a player who fits the culture and has an open mind when it comes to making changes for the better.

“He’s had a couple good outings, and he’s had a couple like he’s had today,” Woodward said. “It’s unfair for us to evaluate him based on some numbers. Early on, being in the big leagues for the few times probably pushed through that fatigue. The adrenaline wore off after the first few outings.”

with the limited number of innings both he and AJ pitched i'm still favoring using the opener maneuver with both of them in the 5th starter spot. 1 game with Otto the opener and AJ the follow-up and next with AJ as the opener

 

[Kelleyman]

I guess I can see how wahoo could be considered offensive so tweaking would be in order. Just hate to see the good of things be sacrificed. Could they not been called the tribe?
Oh well much ado about nothing on my end.Neighbor is a big Cleveland fan so on the brain
He was the guy years ago in stands with sack over his head and Indians jersey on Lol

 

[scotsman1948]

I guess I can see how wahoo could be considered offensive so tweaking would be in order. Just hate to see the good of things be sacrificed. Could they not been called the tribe?
Oh well much ado about nothing on my end.Neighbor is a big Cleveland fan so on the brain
He was the guy years ago in stands with sack over his head and Indians jersey on Lol

Nope there would be someone offended by even that. It is the world we live in now where everything offends someone. We’re probably one of the next teams to be forced to change

 

[DT LUNA]

I guess I can see how wahoo could be considered offensive so tweaking would be in order. Just hate to see the good of things be sacrificed. Could they not been called the tribe?
Oh well much ado about nothing on my end.Neighbor is a big Cleveland fan so on the brain
He was the guy years ago in stands with sack over his head and Indians jersey on Lol

Defenders would be a great name. They were very good at it and justified too.

 

[Kelleyman]

Good read re tanking

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Good read re tanking

This is part of why I'm not really for expansion. Just dilutes the talent pool further.

 

[saddles]

This is part of why I'm not really for expansion. Just dilutes the talent pool further.

The MLB could probably use contraction, but the player's union would never let that happen.

 

[scotsman1948]

The MLB could probably use contraction, but the player's union would never let that happen.

Consider that if they consider contraction would probably result in one Texas team going away and it wouldn’t be the Astros

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

And he wasn't even our minor league player of the year.

 

[saddles]

 

[Kelleyman]

This says a lot about Harris. Hope he can make move up well

 

[Kelleyman]

Listened to the podcast on Ticket with Lucas Tepid and Bass. A lot re MILB a Ranger system
They like Acuna and Harris. They say Tejeda had a bad year

Also they think Huff value decreases hugely if not catching

Also with all the shifts. The trend will be to get more versatile guys with the bat not so much prone to strike out. Does not bode well for guys like Lora and Huff but great for Harris

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Listened to the podcast on Ticket with Lucas Tepid and Bass. A lot re MILB a Ranger system
They like Acuna and Harris. They say Tejeda had a bad year

Also they think Huff value decreases hugely if not catching

Also with all the shifts. The trend will be to get more versatile guys with the bat not so much prone to strike out. Does not bode well for guys like Lora and Huff but great for Harris

Making contact is the name of the game these days.

 

[saddles]

Listened to the podcast on Ticket with Lucas Tepid and Bass. A lot re MILB a Ranger system
They like Acuna and Harris. They say Tejeda had a bad year

Also they think Huff value decreases hugely if not catching

Also with all the shifts. The trend will be to get more versatile guys with the bat not so much prone to strike out. Does not bode well for guys like Lora and Huff but great for Harris

A note yesterday seemed to indicate that Huff has gotten better at being able to go the opposite way.

I think the shifts may be on their way out within the next couple of years.

 

[saddles]

They say Tejeda had a bad year

He has been so overrated by those guys and some others.