Series Thread: Rangers Host the Twins for Three Games September 1-3

[saddles]

Max Scherzer said he wasn't sure he could have pitched the seventh inning. He said he isn't hurt, but he is pitching with some amount of forearm tightness he doesn't want to see turn into a strain. #Rangers. Via Jeff Wilson


Guess this is why Bochy pulled him

If that is the case then he is destined to join deGrom soon.

 

[saddles]

The most unbelievable part has become how well we played through the first week of June and some later down the line.

 

[DT LUNA]

Missed the gene except some of it via radio. Saw Biochy post game. He will never throw players only. Just said Scherzer had done his job and pen needed to throw better pitches

May have to use most reliable pitchers even Marteen and Bradford in late inning high leverage because pen has been so unreliable

Desperate times

And no offense.

 

[saddles]

It isn't just tonight that he has pulled a pitcher too early.

 

[DT LUNA]

It isn't just tonight that he has pulled a pitcher too early.

Montgomery was another.

 

[saddles]

Brad Miller with a single tonight.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

really need someone to explain the controversy of pulling a pitcher after 6 IP and 88 pitches. Not understanding how there's faith in the BP to go 2 scoreless but not 3.

 

[Kelleyman]

really need someone to explain the controversy of pulling a pitcher after 6 IP and 88 pitches. Not understanding how there's faith in the BP to go 2 scoreless but not 3.

Yeah torching Bochy for this sounds like a lynching.

Unfortunately Bullpen Failures have accelerated since some of taken on its profile lol
Burr sure looks like we will live or die based upon its performance. Scary

 

[Kelleyman]

Other thought- if pen makes a 180 and is lights out the rest is the way. We will then make some serous noise come playoffs. Bet that wakes up the bats.

Peofike. BULLPEN SUCCESS

 

[Nightcrawler]

Certainly Bochy has to shoulder some of the blame for the bullpen. Just like Woodward last couple of years. Both mismanage the BP. No argument there.

But the offense is on the players. We are the worst fastball hitting team in all of mlb. Worst K rate on fastballs. How is that even possible after scoring so many runs the first half of the season? Scouting. That's how.

We are getting shut down by nobodies because every mlb pitcher can throw a fastball. And nobody but Seager can hit one for Texas.

Never in a million years did I think a bunch of dorks sitting in the stands with clipboards could destroy our offense. But here we are in September averaging 10-12k’s per game and STRUGGLING to scratch across every run we get.

i’d rather watch paint dry than watch this piece of shit offense right now.

 

[WilltheThrill]

really need someone to explain the controversy of pulling a pitcher after 6 IP and 88 pitches. Not understanding how there's faith in the BP to go 2 scoreless but not 3.

Well, as it turns out, Scherzer was feeling arm tightness, so this one has nothing to do with Bochy. I even said that would be the only excuse for pulling him that early. So yeah, in this case, Bochy had zero to do with the loss. 100% squarely on the players.

But in general, it’s not about having confidence in the bullpen for 2 innings vs. 3 innings. I think we’re all in universal agreement that nobody has any confidence in them for even 1 batter. But that’s kind of the point. There is zero confidence in them for any length of time, so Bochy needs to do all he can to keep the starters in the game as long as they can make it. And at 88 pitches, it was assumed at the time that Scherzer could have gone 1-2 more. Obviously not. But Montgomery did say he could have pitched the 9th inning in his shutout bid. Very good chance we would have won that one if Bochy let him go the last inning.

Moral of the story is that the more innings the bullpen has to pitch, the worse our chance is to win. One inning? Maybe we get lucky. Three innings? Far, far worse chance. And as you pointed out, our offense is failing as well. So the starting pitching is going to have to shoulder as much load as possible.

Normally, this is where a manager would rest up his starters down the stretch and save them for the playoffs. Unfortunately, we will have to do the exact opposite if we even have a slight chance of making it in because our bullpen is so historically atrocious.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Never in a million years did I think a bunch of dorks sitting in the stands with clipboards could destroy our offense. But here we are in September averaging 10-12k’s per game and STRUGGLING to scratch across every run we get.

i’d rather watch paint dry than watch this piece of shit offense right now.

The strikeouts are a major problem, and they speak to very poor approaches at the plate and just flat-out missing meat pitches.

Seager and Semien almost always swing at the first semi-hittable pitch they see, often the very first pitch. It doesn’t always work out, but they’re at least trying to be aggressive on good pitches.

But with every other hitter, here is the average AB:

Pitch 1: Strike Looking (usually a fastball right over the plate)
Pitch 2: Strike Swinging or Foul Ball

So many of our hitters go down 0-2. We can’t hit fastballs, and we take the first pitch the majority of the time. The book is out and every pitcher knows this. After they get up on our hitters 0-2, they nibble and either strike us out or maybe even up the count at 2-2. Then they go back to the fastball well because we can’t hit them. I mean, look at the play-by-play summary of our last 10 games. Most at-bats to our 3-9 hitters are a repeat of that.

And the few times we have gotten ahead in favorable counts, particularly 3-1 with men on base, we just straight up MISS 92 mph fastballs center-center zone. They should be sitting dead red on that pitch, and yet somehow they aren’t squaring up on complete meat fastballs from mediocre pitchers.

 

[Kelleyman]

FWIW. Bochy mentioned that the hitters are chasing and missing the High FB. The strikeouts are huge but it seems like some batters strike out in a variety of ways. Really don’t see much of a 2 strike approach minus Lowe and lots of strikeouts due to poor pitch recognition

Definitely agree we have to take advantage of early FBs especially with men on base and less than 2 outs. Seems though this Rangers team is doing horribly against the FB. Bet it with those in and and out of the zone. Seems like even Marcus is having big issues with FB lately

 

[Sir Robin Of Camelot]

I would put Garver 4th, Heim 5th and Garcia 6th.

Garver was the first one that came to mind for me as well. And even with that low of a bar, he’d be an improvement.

 

[scotsman1948]

I don't care who the mgr is the players have to play and ours are not.

Bullseye

 

[scotsman1948]

When you have no offense and no BP then the greatest pitcher in MLB has little chance of a win and that is the bottom line.

Bullseye

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[scotsman#1948]

Garver was the first one that came to mind for me as well. And even with that low of a bar, he’d be an improvement.

wasn't it a few weeks ago that people on here were complaining about Garver being in the lineup