Rangers close out May with a helping of seafood at the Grill: TB @ TEX 5/30 - 6/2

[Kelleyman]

Been thinking of Perez and what makes him elite right now. Best comp I can think of is Maddux at least for the short term. Not overwhelming stuff but this guy is executing and attacking hitters on his terms in tandem with catcher Heim. Totally gameplanning guys.
His change is only thing elite although he has brought in a cutter. Saw him freeze a RHB inside fading back in to get the called strike

He is in a zone and super accurate playing the edges

So without the elite stuff that lets some guys get away with bad pitches which Martin is not making there is the skepticism of a guy like Newberg because he does not dominuwirh power

Just watching the interview I noticed a guy who 100% believed in his stuff and his off day planning that involves others

I have not seen something like this in years and frankly it amazes me. I am rooting for this unicorn who can change so dramatically his demeanor. He is the comeback player of the year at least for now. And why should anyone inflect doubt. Go Marteen!

 

[Kelleyman]

Also 3 games he has had that inspired.
1 the game he dedicated to Beasley cancer survivor
2. The Ulvade dedication game to the kids killed
3 last game getting pounded in shin and coming back for a gem because the team needed him and we needed true team to get to 500

Honestly this is why I love sports especially baseball. These inspirational moves.
He is calling his shots but doing it for others.
This is hands down the best times for Ranger fans for a long time

 

[Kelleyman]

When the Rangers were in Los Angeles recently, Martín Pérez had a conversation with Adrián Beltré. One of the topics that came up was playing through pain, and if there was ever an expert on the subject, it’s the future Hall of Famer. Beltré famously once returned ahead of schedule from a particularly gnarly injury in Seattle and overcame a lengthy list of maladies with the Rangers, hitting .305 with 12 home runs to help lead Texas to an AL West pennant in 2015 despite a torn ligament in his thumb that should have required surgery (and did, that offseason). He returned to the lineup in the ALDS that year despite suffering a back injury that left him in tears in Game 2 of that series. And the hamstrings — phew, the hamstrings.

Coming back in the mound this is what he said
I learned that from AB,” Pérez said.

He is inspiring Colby type love now.
He is one of ours. And I don’t think we should let him go

 

[True Rangers Fan]

For the month of May there is no pitcher of higher stature

Maybe it is tough to admit a mistake in judgement. I was for adding Perez so he could eat innings and at best become a #3 starter on our team that lacks pitching —-bridging time for others to come up like Winn

I way undersold him.

Right there with you buddy.

Same. I was hoping for 150 innings of 9-9 with a 4.50 ERA. He is definitely surpassing that

I wasn't even expecting that much.

We all missed that bus.

Not sure what's wrong with y'all, I absolutely predicted that Martin Perez would have the lowest ERA in a single month for any SP in the past 18 years

 

[DT LUNA]

Not sure what's wrong with y'all, I absolutely predicted that Martin Perez would have the lowest ERA in a single month for any SP in the past 18 years

Concessions are going down too.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Been thinking of Perez and what makes him elite right now. Best comp I can think of is Maddux at least for the short term. Not overwhelming stuff but this guy is executing and attacking hitters on his terms in tandem with catcher Heim. Totally gameplanning guys.
His change is only thing elite although he has brought in a cutter. Saw him freeze a RHB inside fading back in to get the called strike

He is in a zone and super accurate playing the edges

So without the elite stuff that lets some guys get away with bad pitches which Martin is not making there is the skepticism of a guy like Newberg because he does not dominuwirh power

Just watching the interview I noticed a guy who 100% believed in his stuff and his off day planning that involves others

I have not seen something like this in years and frankly it amazes me. I am rooting for this unicorn who can change so dramatically his demeanor. He is the comeback player of the year at least for now. And why should anyone inflect doubt. Go Marteen!

On the broadcast last night, David Murphy said that what's making him so effective is mixing up his pitches. Good chance that Martin won't throw the same pitch twice in an AB, won't throw the same sequence to a batter in the next AB, etc. Dave Raymond said that last year in ST, when Perez was with the Sox, Pedro Martinez took him aside and gave him advice, the best of which was making sure that your misses don't miss by much. Murphy added to that and said that doing that keeps a hitter on his toes because he knows if a pitcher is working the edges, eventually the umpire will expand the zone and the hitter is fucked.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Hearing that Perez got advice from Pedro reminded me of when Nolan gave advice to Randy Johnson. Whatever Nolan said clicked, and Randy became one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history.

Not saying Perez will become that, but sometimes it'll click for a guy and they elevate their game.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Been thinking of Perez and what makes him elite right now. Best comp I can think of is Maddux at least for the short term. Not overwhelming stuff but this guy is executing and attacking hitters on his terms in tandem with catcher Heim. Totally gameplanning guys.
His change is only thing elite although he has brought in a cutter. Saw him freeze a RHB inside fading back in to get the called strike

He is in a zone and super accurate playing the edges

So without the elite stuff that lets some guys get away with bad pitches which Martin is not making there is the skepticism of a guy like Newberg because he does not dominuwirh power

Just watching the interview I noticed a guy who 100% believed in his stuff and his off day planning that involves others

I have not seen something like this in years and frankly it amazes me. I am rooting for this unicorn who can change so dramatically his demeanor. He is the comeback player of the year at least for now. And why should anyone inflect doubt. Go Marteen!

Like I said he is actually pitching not just throwing and he is giving them nothing fat to hit. They are having to work for it.

 

[DT LUNA]

Like I said he is actually pitching not just throwing and he is giving them nothing fat to hit. They are having to work for it.

You nailed it. Throwing ain't pitching.

 

[saddles]

Josh Smith looks to break through Rangers’ unsuccessful platoon approach

ARLINGTON – Platoon, Shmatoon. The Rangers didn’t call Josh Smith up to be a part-time player. On Tuesday, Smith, a left-handed batter was in the lineup for...

www.dallasnews.com

Platoon, Shmatoon. The Rangers didn’t call Josh Smith up to be a part-time player.

On Tuesday, Smith, a left-handed batter was in the lineup for the second straight night, even though Tampa Bay starter Ryan Yarbrough was a lefty. The Rangers had been using a platoon at third base with Andy Ibáñez or Brad Miller playing against right-handers and Charlie Culberson against lefties. The trio simply hasn’t gotten it done. Rangers third basemen went into Tuesday with a composite .583 OPS, the lowest for the position in the majors. And that included Smith’s three hits on Monday.

Manager Chris Woodward said Smith will have to “earn” at-bats against lefties. But, he added, Smith can’t earn them without getting the chance to do so. He reached base twice more on Tuesday, both times after being hit by pitches. The second one, which caught him on the right wrist, left him bruised and icing after the game, but Smith said it was not a concern.

 

[Kelleyman]

 

[saddles]

We have gone past the aberration explanation to the transformation explanation. I remember when Bobby Witt went through a great run for several games at one point in his career. That was an aberration. This really looks like a transformation.

 

[Kelleyman]

We have gone past the aberration explanation to the transformation explanation. I remember when Bobby Witt went through a great run for several games at one point in his career. That was an aberration. This really looks like a transformation.

Yea he looks like a changed person and his pursuit of excellence not caring what others think may allow him to keep being pinpoint accurate. Newberg looks like he thinks this is an aberration. Really made me think. He just has not bought into him yet

 

[saddles]

Yea he looks like a changed person and his pursuit of excellence not caring what others think may allow him to keep being pinpoint accurate. Newberg looks like he thinks this is an aberration. Really made me think. He just has not bought into him yet

I think Jamey's problem is that he is so looking forward to spitballing trade possibilities to acquire an ace. It ruins all of his fun of we already have an ace with a more than capable #2 coming up, along with a solid #3 in Winn. He doesn't even entertain the possibility of acquiring one viable agency. I understand his feeling that way, but I still like to give him a good natured ribbing about Perez.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Yea he looks like a changed person and his pursuit of excellence not caring what others think may allow him to keep being pinpoint accurate. Newberg looks like he thinks this is an aberration. Really made me think. He just has not bought into him yet

Newberg has very little cred at the moment, in my opinion. Anyone that determined to see Gallo back here has to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt.

 

[Kelleyman]

I think Jamey's problem is that he is so looking forward to spitballing trade possibilities to acquire an ace. It ruins all of his fun of we already have an ace with a more than capable #2 coming up, along with a solid #3 in Winn. He doesn't even entertain the possibility of acquiring one viable agency. I understand his feeling that way, but I still like to give him a good natured ribbing about Perez.

The difference between Perez and other elite pitchers is he wants to be here. He considers it home and is vested with all this.
The Lee trade was great but he never fully bought into Texas

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I didn't really follow the Newberg/Perez exchange closely, but my understanding was that he thinks/hopes the Rangers pursue a SP at or above Perez' caliber... do I have that right?

Can't say I'm really against that train of thought. New Guy and Perez at 1/2 followed by some combo of Dunning and two homegrowns sounds fine to me.

 

[saddles]

I didn't really follow the Newberg/Perez exchange closely, but my understanding was that he thinks/hopes the Rangers pursue a SP at or above Perez' caliber... do I have that right?

Can't say I'm really against that train of thought. New Guy and Perez at 1/2 followed by some combo of Dunning and two homegrowns sounds fine to me.

That's pretty much it. I understand him thinking that 3 or 4 weeks ago, but at some point he needs to realize that if they go after a pitcher, that pitcher is most likely not going to be above Perez in results. He is not willing to budge from what he perceives is a need to trade for a guy who he thinks could be an ace and who has 2 or 3 years of control left.

To me, you do that when you are where we were at in 2010. We certainly did not have a guy the caliber of Perez at that point. If we go into 2023 with Perez, Gray and three of Otto, Dunning, Leiter and Winn, we will be in great shape. If we sign a free agent who could easily be a number 3 or better, then that would be fantastic. We certainly don't have to trade 3 or 4 of our top prospects for a short term ace.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

That's pretty much it. I understand him thinking that 3 or 4 weeks ago, but at some point he needs to realize that if they go after a pitcher, that pitcher is most likely not going to be above Perez in results. He is not willing to budge from what he perceives is a need to trade for a guy who he thinks could be an ace and who has 2 or 3 years of control left.

To me, you do that when you are where we were at in 2010. We certainly did not have a guy the caliber of Perez at that point. If we go into 2023 with Perez, Gray and three of Otto, Dunning, Leiter and Winn, we will be in great shape. If we sign a free agent who could easily be a number 3 or better, then that would be fantastic. We certainly don't have to trade 3 or 4 of our top prospects for a short term ace.

I didn't realize he was limiting it to a trade scenario. I prefer to go the FA route if at all.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Newberg has very little cred at the moment, in my opinion. Anyone that determined to see Gallo back here has to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt.

2nd that. Gallo has great athleticism but he has changed nothing in regards to his approach at the plate based on his results.