Series Thread: Let's take 4 from the hated A's!

[saddles]

We need Rudy Jaramillo back.

I have thought that for awhile. I still think retaining Magadan was a budget saving move. They didn't want to pay him and another hitting coach this year. I think he is definitely gone after this season since they don't owe him anything for next year.

 

[UK Cowboy]

that was a major league stinker last night but there are still 161 games left so hang in there

Yeah, I know, 1 of 162. No white flags yet, but plenty to be alarmed about. If Gallardo is gonna be 86-89 with his fastball the rest of the year(as he had become in Milwaukee last year), then last night was just a preview of coming attractions

 

[romeo212000]

Wow. There is a lot of overreaction going on here.

This team's offense is going to be weak. I guess I was already prepared for it so last night didn't shock me. Against good pitching we are going to look lost a lot.

There's no reason we shouldn't be scoring runs with our 3-5 part of our order. Fielder, belter, and Choo is a scary middle of the order. I also think Rua will produce quite nicely No it's not like when we had Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Young, and Napoli, but that is a true murderer's row. Those don't come around very often.

But then again, you think the team leader in home runs might win with 20.

 

[saddles]

There's no reason we shouldn't be scoring runs with our 3-5 part of our order. Fielder, belter, and Choo is a scary middle of the order. I also think Rua will produce quite nicely No it's not like when we had Hamilton, Beltre, Cruz, Young, and Napoli, but that is a true murderer's row. Those don't come around very often.

But then again, you think the team leader in home runs might win with 20.

I do think 20 leading the team is a possibility. Maybe not a probability, but a possibility. I would be shocked if anyone got near 30.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

There's no reason we shouldn't be scoring runs with our 3-5 part of our order. Fielder, belter, and Choo is a scary middle of the order. I also think Rua will produce quite nicely

I'd like to see Choo at #2. He'd see better pitches to hit in front of Fielder than he would after Beltre.

 

[PDay8810]

Wow. There is a lot of overreaction going on here.

This team's offense is going to be weak. I guess I was already prepared for it so last night didn't shock me. Against good pitching we are going to look lost a lot.

Maybe it's me but...If this team's offense is going to be sure fire weak this season then this team will struggle to win 70 games cause the pitching looks bottom half to me. Great thing about baseball, another game tomorrow.
Here's hoping all the stars are aligned for the 2015 version of the Texas Rangers.

 

[romeo212000]

I'd like to see Choo at #2. He'd see better pitches to hit in front of Fielder than he would after Beltre.

I think Choo would be a great #2. Question is, who protects Beltre? Moreland... Rua?

 

[PDay8810]

I do think JD went after Choo and Fielder almost in desperation.

I agree....there hasn't been a whole lot gone right for a couple of seasons now

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I think Choo would be a great #2. Question is, who protects Beltre? Moreland... Rua?

Mitch made some good contact last night - I think he drove the ball almost to the warning track in left center his first time up, and TAG mentioned that his approach at the plate had been adjusted. Hopefully either he or Rua would be able to fill that role, yes.

 

[donaldson79]

It's opening day, man. What better time for knee jerk overreaction ?

Seriously though, I'm just going to chalk last night up to "it wasn't our night." Yes, we were bad at the plate, and yes Gallardo was bad. However, we also had some bad luck. Some fairly well hit balls just died in the air, and our line drives and hard hit grounders couldn't find a hole if we were remotely controlling them. The players were obviously a little jacked up too.

Now Elvis.... That's a different story. What I saw from him last night looked like the same shit we saw last year. He couldn't even make it one fucking game without an error, and those plate appearances were pure garbage. I'm giving him very little leeway after what I saw last night. Not that my leeway means a damn thing.

I honestly was just mostly pisses we were on the verge of getting no hit. What an awful way to start the season. I was relieved when I saw Rua broke it up, and change my attitude to, "we'll get em tomorrow."[/QUOTE

I know you're just messing around, but I think what you said makes sense really; about overreacting. But my comments regarding "the chicken-little's" of the Rangers didn't involve you, Eph, and several others. Y'alls were just observations. Some of what I read was pure lunacy-on-the-lose, IMO.

Perhaps you're also correct on the players, especially Choo/Prince, pressing to try and put last season in their rear-view mirrors. Let's see how we settle in tonight, and HOPEFULLY we'll get a much better feeling; outcome too.

I'm with ya on EA. Did you see his last AB? I didn't. But apparently, he K'd, but the catcher missed the ball, and EA just stomped off to the dugout. Not a good sign at all. Not only did he play like crap, his attitude needs an immediate adjustment, and it may be worth watching on how Banister deals with it (given more than a one game sample size).

 

[donaldson79]

I don't have any idea of why my last post did what it did.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

I don't have any idea of why my last post did what it did.

close the "quote" in the middle of the post. IE... [/quote........ add the "]" that might help...

 

[WastinSomeTime]

There is so much wrong with your post here, I almost don't even know where to begin. First and foremost, I am NOT some bandwagon fan. To suggest so is supremely ignorant on your part and quite frankly insulting. I have been a loyal Rangers fan since the days of Toby Harrah and Rusty Staub. Since I was 3 years old I have been going to Rangers games and 34 years later nothing has changed. I have stuck by this team through the many bleak years and will continue to do so.

This notion that a "real" or "true" fan can't speak badly about the team is complete nonsense. Just because the current team is a shell of the 2011 version doesn't mean I can't voice my displeasure.

Also, you COMPLETELY missed the point of my post. I never said that the Rangers were wrong for getting rid of Hamilton, Young, etc.. NOWHERE did I say that. What I did say was that we replaced those guys with 2 overpaid guys who have given us nothing. The decision to jettison all of those old players wasn't wrong... it was how we replaced them.

Get off your high horse. Everything in my post was 100% accurate. If you are pleased with what has become of the team since 2011 then you live in complete ignorant bliss with your head buried in the sand.

Let's see. I dreamt that we had Mike Young, Ian Kinsler, CJ Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, and Nelson Cruz in or near the prime of their careers and somehow we got rid of all of them so we could massively overpay Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo to do a whole lot of nothing for us. I also dreamt that we went totally insane and gave Andrus and Harrison a combined $28 Million per year to also do nothing for us...

You say we got rid of them just for the sole purpose of replacing them with Choo and Fielder? And you included MY in his prime? And you act like giving Harrison a big raise was a mistake? It did not seem so at the time. Plus you cannot tell me you had a problem with JD not knee jerking and resigning Hamilton right away. I hate what has happened and it frustrates the daylights out of me. There are times I really wish we had that 2011 team back. But MY, Hamilton and Napoli are not the same players they were in 2011. It does tick me off we lost Cruz so I am with you 100% on that. As for Choo and Fielder I have to wait and see how things go for them this year if healthy.

Of course you can get ticked and voice your displeasure and I will too . But you have to admit there were some circumstances that forced things to change. But that team of 2011 was just not going to continue. And from reading what you wrote it looked just like a pile drive on management. And I am not a person who automatically thinks JD walks on water. And I have been a Ranger fan before they were the Rangers when we would go watch the Senators play. Now I am going to go and check on my horse.

 

[donaldson79]

close the "quote" in the middle of the post. IE... [/quote........ add the "]" that might help...

Thanks....I knew it was pilot error.

 

[donaldson79]

Let's see. I dreamt that we had Mike Young, Ian Kinsler, CJ Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, and Nelson Cruz in or near the prime of their careers and somehow we got rid of all of them so we could massively overpay Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo to do a whole lot of nothing for us. I also dreamt that we went totally insane and gave Andrus and Harrison a combined $28 Million per year to also do nothing for us...

You say we got rid of them just for the sole purpose of replacing them with Choo and Fielder? And you included MY in his prime? And you act like giving Harrison a big raise was a mistake? It did not seem so at the time. Plus you cannot tell me you had a problem with JD not knee jerking and resigning Hamilton right away. I hate what has happened and it frustrates the daylights out of me. There are times I really wish we had that 2011 team back. But MY, Hamilton and Napoli are not the same players they were in 2011. It does tick me off we lost Cruz so I am with you 100% on that. As for Choo and Fielder I have to wait and see how things go for them this year if healthy.

Of course you can get ticked and voice your displeasure and I will too . But you have to admit there were some circumstances that forced things to change. But that team of 2011 was just not going to continue. And from reading what you wrote it looked just like a pile drive on management. And I am not a person who automatically thinks JD walks on water. And I have been a Ranger fan before they were the Rangers when we would go watch the Senators play. Now I am going to go and check on my horse.

Yeah, Young was no where close to being at, or even near, his prime when he left. CJ and Hamilton....does anyone think there's a team in baseball who wish they'd made those commitments? Including the Rangers.

We were honest with Nap and told him he was going to be a backup 1st BM, but primarily a DH. He wanted to play the field everyday, and Boston afforded him this opportunity. So most complaints anyone has about Nap moving isn't based in the reality of the situation.

Now Cruz....I shouted from the rooftops this guy was gonna haunt us, and he has. Probably will continue to do so. Still do not understand understand why the entire AL seemed to take such a tepid approach to him.

 

[Windingmywatch]

I think Choo would be a great #2. Question is, who protects Beltre? Moreland... Rua?

Unless he gets straightened out Choo sure isn't protecting Beltre. Right now I would prefer seeing lefty lefty Martin, Odor at the top. Odor is the most dangerous hitter in the lineup IMO right now and getting a base runner to 2nd ahead of Prince gets the defense out of the shift.

 

[romeo212000]

Unless he gets straightened out Choo sure isn't protecting Beltre. Right now I would prefer seeing lefty lefty Martin, Odor at the top. Odor is the most dangerous hitter in the lineup IMO right now and getting a base runner to 2nd ahead of Prince gets the defense out of the shift.

Choo will be fine. He was our best hitter before he got hurt last year. Anyone worried about him needs a reality check. That said, I don't like the idea of having three lefties in a row at the top of the order.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Let's see. I dreamt that we had Mike Young, Ian Kinsler, CJ Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, and Nelson Cruz in or near the prime of their careers and somehow we got rid of all of them so we could massively overpay Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo to do a whole lot of nothing for us. I also dreamt that we went totally insane and gave Andrus and Harrison a combined $28 Million per year to also do nothing for us...

You say we got rid of them just for the sole purpose of replacing them with Choo and Fielder? And you included MY in his prime? And you act like giving Harrison a big raise was a mistake? It did not seem so at the time. Plus you cannot tell me you had a problem with JD not knee jerking and resigning Hamilton right away. I hate what has happened and it frustrates the daylights out of me. There are times I really wish we had that 2011 team back. But MY, Hamilton and Napoli are not the same players they were in 2011. It does tick me off we lost Cruz so I am with you 100% on that. As for Choo and Fielder I have to wait and see how things go for them this year if healthy.

Of course you can get ticked and voice your displeasure and I will too . But you have to admit there were some circumstances that forced things to change. But that team of 2011 was just not going to continue. And from reading what you wrote it looked just like a pile drive on management. And I am not a person who automatically thinks JD walks on water. And I have been a Ranger fan before they were the Rangers when we would go watch the Senators play. Now I am going to go and check on my horse.

Again, you are TOTALLY missing the point. How many different ways can I say this? Let me try one more time, spelled out for you in bullet point format:

• I do NOT wish that Hamilton, Napoli, MY, etc. were still on the team
• JD absolutely DID make the right move in parting ways with those guys (except for Cruz)
• I am fully aware that our 2011 stars are nowhere near as good now
• I was very happy that JD elected not to match the ridiculous Hamilton offer
• I never said that we got rid of those guys for the sole purpose of overpaying others

Now, what I AM upset with is the series of decisions the team has made AFTER they made the right call to move on from 2011. Of course this is a hindsight discussion. 90% of the discussion on here and on sports in general is hindsight-based. I never said JD was some idiot for not being able to predict that everything would turn sour.

But after Josh and crew were RIGHTLY shown the door, the Rangers had a semi-clean slate and a wide variety of directions they could have gone with things. Most of their choices have proven so far to be wrong. They invested heavily in Harrison and Elvis. Bad call. They traded a semi-bad contract for an absolute albatross of a contract. Bad call. As Bennie pointed out, they overreached with Choo. Bad call. They let Cruz walk. Bad call. They ruined Robbie Ross and to a lesser extent Ogando, Feliz, and Scheppers (who have all struggled mightily with performance or injuries since the failed starter experiments). Bad call. They mishandled getting the most value for Mike Olt. Bad call. These are all examples of poor decisions which have added up to the current state of the team.

I am not giving up on this team. I am not saying this team is doomed after 1 bad game. I still remain hopeful for their future.

But this is a forum for discussing the team. Not all talk has to be sunshine and rainbows. I'm not someone who is constantly negative. Furthermore, I'm not sure why you have to qualify your fandom to me. I never questioned it to begin with. You're the one who chose to go down that path, telling me to hop off the bandwagon.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I do think JD went after Choo and Fielder almost in desperation. He didn't want to admit the team was in rebuild mode. Not many GMs have the guts to do that, but the offseason after the 2013 season should have been one where we spent more than we did, but on different players, or we should have not spent at all. We had too many holes to fill with just 2 players and especially with those 2. After the 2013 season JD could have went all in or rebuilt. He decided to go half way in and that was a bad solution. He probably should have just bit the bullet and rebuilt this thing. Fortunately he didn't throw good money after bad money this past offseason, but then again the budget didn't allow him to anyway based on his statements from October of 2013 when he said they wouldn't increase the budget in each of the next two offseasons.

Very well stated and exactly what I was getting at with my post.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

I just think that JD thought that the addition of Choo and Fielder would keep things going in order combined with the fact that they wanted/needed to count on guys like Profar and Odor being huge. I don't think this team thought they were true WS contenders but if they were healthy and things went favorably for the team then that would at least make this team contend for the playoffs.

In the end it's not that it was a bad plan because I really don't care what plan you have in place because what happened last year to this team in terms of injuries kills anything any organization has planned.