Series Thread: Rangers Angelic visit to La La land 7/18-7/20

[RevSader]

Oh, would you like stats? OK...

here are the current top 10 Rangers by WAR for 2016:

1. Ian Desmond 3.8
2. Cole Hamels 3.2
3. Colby Lewis 3.1
4. Adrian Beltre 3.0
5. Sam Dyson 1.7
6. Martin Perez 1.6
7. Tony Barnette 1.6
8. Elvis Andrus 1.6
9. Ryan Rua 1.1
10. Matt Bush 1.0

Seems like overall, the pitchers who are pitching well are doing better than the hitters who are hitting well. Immediately, yes the Rangers are having a pitching crisis. Newsflash: Colby and Derek are on the DL. Griffin and Yu just got off it. The Rangers are running out starting pitchers they would otherwise never ever run out there. So I'm not really sure why it's considered a groundbreaking opinion to say that there are immediate pitching needs.

I'm also not really sure why people take it so personal to suggest there are issues with the offense when that is BY FAR the cause of the most whining on this board. Yeah, I said the offense sucks. And I really do apologize that hurt your feelings so much. I've been using the internet for about 25 years so sometimes I forget that some people take comments as fact and hard truths. I apparently wrongfully assumed that a little sports hyperbole happens from time to time. But I'll honestly try to be better about not being so critical about the offense. Those guys really are doing a great job.

You picked the strangest hill to die on today. But I give you credit, you dug in hard and didn't surrender. You're effort will not be forgotten and the name Ephland will live on!!!

 

[WastinSomeTime]

6 should be enough to win.

Agree. Let's face it. Our AAA team has no pitching whatsoever. Some of that is on JD. Now I am not sure what is going on with AJ before the DL and the AJ after. But our SP is worrisome to say the least in staying healthy. So something will have to be done as the Rangers cannot go on with Lohse/Chi Chi/Nick who is the best option of those three, a good 3 innings from AJ and right now 5 innings from Yu who I hope is up to speed quickly in going deeper.

 

[PDay8810]

Oh, would you like stats? OK...

here are the current top 10 Rangers by WAR for 2016:

1. Ian Desmond 3.8
2. Cole Hamels 3.2
3. Colby Lewis 3.1
4. Adrian Beltre 3.0
5. Sam Dyson 1.7
6. Martin Perez 1.6
7. Tony Barnette 1.6
8. Elvis Andrus 1.6
9. Ryan Rua 1.1
10. Matt Bush 1.0

Seems like overall, the pitchers who are pitching well are doing better than the hitters who are hitting well. Immediately, yes the Rangers are having a pitching crisis. Newsflash: Colby and Derek are on the DL. Griffin and Yu just got off it. The Rangers are running out starting pitchers they would otherwise never ever run out there. So I'm not really sure why it's considered a groundbreaking opinion to say that there are immediate pitching needs.

I'm also not really sure why people take it so personal to suggest there are issues with the offense when that is BY FAR the cause of the most whining on this board. Yeah, I said the offense sucks. And I really do apologize that hurt your feelings so much. I've been using the internet for about 25 years so sometimes I forget that some people take comments as fact and hard truths. I apparently wrongfully assumed that a little sports hyperbole happens from time to time. But I'll honestly try to be better about not being so critical about the offense. Those guys really are doing a great job.

never been a big stat guy but those are ugly

 

[donaldson79]

What I read was pieced together from tweets by Stefan Stevenson and TR Sullivan.

Oh and I believe it was yesterday after an on field workout session.

Thanks.

IMO, if we do trade him, we'll miss him. Honestly believe he's going to be a fine, fine player for the next decade.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Oh, would you like stats? OK...

here are the current top 10 Rangers by WAR for 2016:

1. Ian Desmond 3.8
2. Cole Hamels 3.2
3. Colby Lewis 3.1
4. Adrian Beltre 3.0
5. Sam Dyson 1.7
6. Martin Perez 1.6
7. Tony Barnette 1.6
8. Elvis Andrus 1.6
9. Ryan Rua 1.1
10. Matt Bush 1.0

Seems like overall, the pitchers who are pitching well are doing better than the hitters who are hitting well. Immediately, yes the Rangers are having a pitching crisis. Newsflash: Colby and Derek are on the DL. Griffin and Yu just got off it. The Rangers are running out starting pitchers they would otherwise never ever run out there. So I'm not really sure why it's considered a groundbreaking opinion to say that there are immediate pitching needs.

I'm also not really sure why people take it so personal to suggest there are issues with the offense when that is BY FAR the cause of the most whining on this board. Yeah, I said the offense sucks. And I really do apologize that hurt your feelings so much. I've been using the internet for about 25 years so sometimes I forget that some people take comments as fact and hard truths. I apparently wrongfully assumed that a little sports hyperbole happens from time to time. But I'll honestly try to be better about not being so critical about the offense. Those guys really are doing a great job.

You're the one getting all worked up about the whole offense discussion. I've never said they were perfect. I, along with multiple others on here, have simply been pointing out how it's the pitching which has been costing us most of the games. That's it.

And it's pretty impressive that you've been "using the Internet" for 25 years. You must be employed in the Department of Defense, seeing as how the Internet was limited largely to government use until the mid-to-late 90's. So congrats on that.

I'm not sure what you've got going on, but you used to be a much more laid-back poster here and not looking for arguments where there are none. Like Romeo and DT both said- relax.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

And it's pretty impressive that you've been "using the Internet" for 25 years. You must be employed in the Department of Defense, seeing as how the Internet was limited largely to government use until the mid-to-late 90's. So congrats on that.

A little thing called America Online came out in 1991. Floppy disks and a 1440 baud dial-up modem. I was also 13 at the time, so there's a greater than zero chance I wasn't working for the DOD.

 

[RevSader]

A little thing called America Online came out in 1991. Floppy disks and a 1440 baud dial-up modem. I was also 13 at the time, so there's a greater than zero chance I wasn't working for the DOD.

Halt and Catch Fire has some pretty solid quasi history about the budding Internet back in the 80s. Pretty good show.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

never been a big stat guy but those are ugly

Also shows what a tremendous loss Colby was to the team.

 

[romeo212000]

Also shows what a tremendous loss Colby was to the team.

Can't believe there was ever a discussion about moving him to the pen.

 

[RevSader]

Also shows what a tremendous loss Colby was to the team.

A healthy Colby Lewis was a huge stabilizer for the team. He eats innings and usually keeps you in games. Sucks that he had to go on the 60 day DL. You ever tried to make a cake without eggs? Shit doesn't set right and isn't very stable...Colby was the pitching staff's eggs in the cake batter of the season. I miss you Cobra...

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Can't believe there was ever a discussion about moving him to the pen.

The good ol' days of "what are the Rangers going to do with all these starters?!?"

 

[WilltheThrill]

A little thing called America Online came out in 1991. Floppy disks and a 1440 baud dial-up modem. I was also 13 at the time, so there's a greater than zero chance I wasn't working for the DOD.

AOL as a company was around in the late 80's. They offered various dial-in services like education and gaming to their users in 1991, but they didn't offer access to the Internet to the general public until a few years later.

So if you want to say that you were dialing in to an online connection 25 years ago, again, congrats to you. I'm not sure how that has any relevance to a discussion about baseball on a message board in 2016.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

So if you want to say that you were dialing in to an online connection 25 years ago, again, congrats to you.

I do want to say that, because that's what I was doing.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I do want to say that, because that's what I was doing.

And again, what does that have to do with discussing Texas Rangers baseball on a message board in 2016?

 

[romeo212000]

The good ol' days of "what are the Rangers going to do with all these starters?!?"

I tried to tell people...

 

[True Rangers Fan]

And again, what does that have to do with discussing Texas Rangers baseball on a message board in 2016?

Both involve me connecting to the internet to talk to other people? IIRC I usually pissed them off too, FWIW.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Also shows what a tremendous loss Colby was to the team.

Yes it does.

 

[Bmurph]

I read all this today and it seems we are exactly where we were when I started reading it. Glad everyone has gotten to speak their peace. Now what the fuck are we gonna do about SP and a BP with its own issues?

 

[Bmurph]

Latest On Rangers’ Trade Talks For Starters

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2016 at 5:52pm CDT

The Rangers are actively seeking rotation upgrades, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, who points out that GM Jon Daniels said in a radio appearance this morning that he’s had the opportunity to make trades but has yet to find the right fit. The problem for the Rangers, according to Grant, is that teams speaking to Texas have persistently asked for either Joey Gallo or Jurickson Profar in exchange for available starting pitchers, either of which appears to be a deal-breaker for the time being.

Texas has heavily scouted the Rays and does have interest in right-hander Jake Odorizzi and lefty Matt Moore — senior director of player personnel Josh Boyd watched each pitch last week, per Grant — but Texas doesn’t seem keen on parting with either Profar or Gallo in a trade for Moore or Odorizzi. The Rangers would prefer Lewis Brinson to headline a deal for either pitcher, per Grant. They’d also like the Rays to be more willing to talk about Chris Archer, who is in the midst of a down season but was one of the American League’s most dominant starters last season and has maintained an elite strikeout rate.

Archer has been plagued by home runs this season but is still averaging 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings and is on one of the game’s more team-friendly deals (assuming some degree of a rebound), as he’s earning $2.75MM in 2016 and is owed a combined $20.25MM through 2019. That $20.25MM figure includes the $1.75MM buyout on a 2020 option worth $9MM, and Archer’s contract also comes with a 2021 option for $11MM. All told, he can be controlled for five seasons beyond the 2016 campaign at a total of $38.5MM. It’s understandable, then, why teams are so enamored of the 27-year-old Archer despite his downturn in production this year.

If the Rangers aren’t able to persuade the Rays to surrender one of their arms for a price with which Daniels and his staff are comfortable, Texas may turn to the Yankees. According to Grant, they’ve been looking Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova and even CC Sabathia despite his significant contract. None of the three figures to come with an exorbitant asking price. Nova is a free agent at season’s end and is a fourth or fifth starter, while Sabathia is owed an enormous $25MM this season plus $25MM more in 2017 via a vesting option that will trigger so long as Sabathia doesn’t incur a significant shoulder injury in the season’s final two months. As such, one can imagine that the asking price on Sabathia would be negligible, though I can’t imagine Texas seriously considering a deal without the Yankees adding some degree of financial compensation.

Eovaldi, meanwhile, is earning $5.6MM this year and is controllable through 2017 but has wilted after a strong start to the year. The hard-throwing 26-year-old had a solid 3.71 ERA as recently as Memorial Day but has been shelled since June 1, pitching to a 9.20 ERA across six starts. That dismal slump saw Eovaldi banished to the bullpen, though he’s slated to return to the Yankees’ rotation tonight after pitching 7 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. His 2016 struggles and relatively brief amount of remaining club control could make Eovaldi attainable for second- or third-tier prospects, though it’s not clear if the Yankees will ultimately sell off pieces that are controllable beyond the current season. If they do, Grant notes that the Rangers can be added to the extremely long list of teams with interest in lefty Andrew Miller, though unlike the other Yankees mentioned here, the asking price on Miller would be astronomical.

While Rangers fans undoubtedly would prefer to see action sooner rather than later, Grant writes that Daniels is taking a patient approach and is waiting to see if any additional clubs enter the seller’s market in the 13 days between now and the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.


We very well could be in second place while JD is taking the patient approach

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Now what the fuck are we gonna do about SP and a BP with its own issues?

Prepare to bend over one way or the other, because I just read that the Dodgers are going all in at the trade deadline.