Series Thread: Rangers Host Angels for Three Games August 14-16

[saddles]

And sometimes you win 9 in a row... just sayin'

Yeah, it is all over the place.

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

One thing we got wrong for each team in 2023

Coming into the 2023 season, it’s easy to see why nobody expected the Rangers to spend almost every day of the campaign atop the AL West. After all, the reigning World Series champs are right down the interstate in Houston, and two of the best players of this generation reside in Anaheim. Even the Mariners made the postseason in '22. And yet, Texas has been alone or tied atop the division for 138 of the season’s first 139 days (the lone exception being April 8) thanks to a high-powered offense led by Corey Seager and a rotation that withstood losing Jacob deGrom to season-ending UCL surgery. The club has not only gotten contributions from its superstars, but guys like Jonah Heim, Ezequiel Duran and Josh Jung have broken out and proven to be everyday players. Now the Rangers have the chance to win the division and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. It’s well within reach. -- Kennedi Landry

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Who will be No. 1 in 2025? Projecting each team's future top prospect

Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF (No. 2/MLB No. 13)

Langford signed for a Rangers-record $8 million as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 Draft after starring at Florida, topping NCAA Division I with 28 doubles and 52 extra-base hits while taking the Gators to the College World Series finals this spring. He features well-above-average power to all fields and is also a disciplined hitter with solid speed. He's off to a .333/.458/.688 start in pro ball with 11 extra-base hits in 13 games, mostly in High-A.

 

[scotsman1948]

I would like to see Duatin Harris start making it difficult to not bring him up. He is having a really good August so far. I hope he starts to catch fire.

Me too

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Anthony Rendon keep getting mentioned on Reddit recently, and what an absolute disaster his contract is. Even though some people frame it as the Rangers "lowballing" him when he was a FA. he would still be massively overpaid if that's the contract offer he accepted. Same will Gallo, really.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Anthony Rendon keep getting mentioned on Reddit recently, and what an absolute disaster his contract is. Even though some people frame it as the Rangers "lowballing" him when he was a FA. he would still be massively overpaid if that's the contract offer he accepted. Same will Gallo, really.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and in this case we were very lucky. I don't think any of us saw this coming after what he did in Washington.

 

[scotsman1948]

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and in this case we were very lucky. I don't think any of us saw this coming after what he did in Washington.

So true

 

[scotsman1948]

Hearn was pitching in KC recorded a strikeout, a double and a walk and he ‘s out of the game. Looked like the old Hearn we all knew here

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Hearn was pitching in KC recorded a strikeout, a double and a walk and he ‘s out of the game. Looked like the old Hearn we all knew here

Last I saw his ERA was like over 9.

 

[Kelleyman]

Losing is one thing. Scoring 2 runs in 27 innings is something different. That smells of mailing it in. It's not like we are facing Cy Young in those games.

they are still assessing players. As mentioned Leody and Janks and Duran against JPM

Yes we might see someone losing the active roster spot. Best to spresd it around now because come playoffs players will be set

Mailing it in seems to indicate a lack of effort to that end I hardly see the evidence
But yeah the A lineup was not out there

 

[Kelleyman]

I would be glad to take that, as long as it is EVERY time. It is never going to be like that every time though. Sometimes you are going to lose 3 or 4 in a row. At times you have to win more than 2 of 3 to make up for those times when you lose 6 or 7 out of 10.

And there have been sweeps.
But we need to avoid losing streaks.
Are you worried about that!

 

[saddles]

they are still assessing players. As mentioned Leody and Janks and Duran against JPM

Yes we might see someone losing the active roster spot. Best to spresd it around now because come playoffs players will be set

Mailing it in seems to indicate a lack of effort to that end I hardly see the evidence
But yeah the A lineup was not out there

I think the effort level has been scaled back in those games. I did use the phrase "it smells like." It could be a huge coincidence, but it does look bad. It would be impossible to prove anything either way.

I do know effort level fluctuates at times. For example, look what happened when they got mad at the Astros.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Last I saw his ERA was like over 9.

Now Hearn's ERA is 12.66.

 

[saddles]

And there have been sweeps.
But we need to avoid losing streaks.
Are you worried about that!

I am just concerned with the mindset that says "we've done enough damage, let's relax a tad." I am all for keeping your foot on the enemies throats.

Overall, the thing that has bothered me the most is having some on Twitter who simply cannot believe there is a difference in settling for your team winning 2 out of 3 in a series and accepting the team letting up in the third game.

I have seen some complain about the offense going dead in those third games and others react as if these folks exoected the Rangers to win every game. It is mystifying. Lol

 

[DT LUNA]

they are still assessing players. As mentioned Leody and Janks and Duran against JPM

Yes we might see someone losing the active roster spot. Best to spresd it around now because come playoffs players will be set

Mailing it in seems to indicate a lack of effort to that end I hardly see the evidence
But yeah the A lineup was not out there

Janks and Leody have JPM pushing them so hopefully we will see better results . Duran has no competition so he likely will remain as is unless something else motovates him.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Janks and Leody have JPM pushing them so hopefully we will see better results . Duran has no competition so he likely will remain as is unless something else motovates him.

Saddles stated Duran was 7 for his last 18 which is almost a 400 clip. Just kind of being patient to see if he keeps going in the right direction.

 

[jta4437]

I don't know if other fanbases are like this, but Rangers fans are so incredibly hyperbolic about this sort of stuff. It's amusing until you realize that it's hard to have discourse with people who freak out about everything.

Very true, some people are just always looking for a reason to think the sky is falling

 

[WilltheThrill]

Saddles stated Duran was 7 for his last 18 which is almost a 400 clip. Just kind of being patient to see if he keeps going in the right direction.

7 for 18 is a bit disingenuous if we’re talking about painting an accurate picture of how good or bad he has been recently because the cut off is right when he had his 2 monster games. Yes, he was quite good in those 2 games, so credit where credit is due. But he batted .167 in the 4 games before those 2 monster ones, and he’s batted .182 since those 2 monster games.

So you can really paint whatever picture you want, depending on how you slice the data and which games you choose to include. Depending on whether you want to go back 6 games, 10 games, or 15 games, his average has been in the low .200’s all the way to the high .200’s. So that is decent in and of itself.

But he leads the team both in strikeouts/at-bat and runners left on base over the last 10-15 games. That’s where he’s been bad. He gets enough odd hits here and there to keep the average respectable. But in clutch situations, he’s definitely not someone you want up to bat.

By contrast, Leody actually has a lower batting average over the last month. He has hit a measly .196. But he also has more than twice the number of RBI Duran has and more RBI/ab. So it just depends on how you look at it. Duran’s a better hitter lately if you need someone to lead off the inning with a hit. Leody is the better hitter lately with men in scoring position.