Series Thread: Rangers Travel to Arizona For 2 Games With the Diamondbacks August 21-22

[Kelleyman]

Problem is that there are physical limits to the number of roster spots for pitchers. From opening day to August 31st the limit is 13 and from September 1st to the end of the regular season the limit is 14. We will have Eovaldi, Scherzer, Dunning, Montgomery and Gray as starters. That leaves 8 spots until September 1st for relievers: if we move Heaney to the pen then we will have him, Perez, Anderson, Burke, Chapman, Leclerc, Sborz, Smith and Stratton. That’s 9 so who do we send down or DFA

Probably Anderson but it should 100 % based upon merit

 

[jaar01]

Piling on Will Smith is unfair. He has one big league pitch...a slider. That's it. He doesn't have a legit fastball or change up. He is a lefty lefty specialist. A good HS player could have hammered the fastballs he recently grooved to the Giants last week and Pham last night...both walk off winners.

Blame the organization for not having an actual closer. Leclerc, Hernandez, Chapman, even Matt Bush all have better "stuff" than Smith. But they can't command it. Does Mike Maddux deserve some Blame?

Will Smith only has one good pitch. You think batters haven't figured that out?

Making him our closer this season is the strangest and most unorthodox decision the Rangers have made.

 

[scotsman1948]

Piling on Will Smith is unfair. He has one big league pitch...a slider. That's it. He doesn't have a legit fastball or change up. He is a lefty lefty specialist. A good HS player could have hammered the fastballs he recently grooved to the Giants last week and Pham last night...both walk off winners.

Blame the organization for not having an actual closer. Leclerc, Hernandez, Chapman, even Matt Bush all have better "stuff" than Smith. But they can't command it. Does Mike Maddux deserve some Blame?

Will Smith only has one good pitch. You think batters haven't figured that out?

Making him our closer this season is the strangest and most unorthodox decision the Rangers have made.

He was the closest pitcher we had to a closer at the time and he wasn’t even on the 40 until the end of ST. He had some history as a closer before. And even when they added Chapman I don’t think they thought of Chapman as a closer option. He had pitched in 38 games for KC and I think they used him only 2 or 3 times as closer so they had doubts too

 

[jaar01]

I assume the Rangers had Leclerc pegged as the closer for this season. He has good stuff. When he wasn't effective due to injury or poor location it just seems odd they went with Smith.

And yes Chapman's closing days are behind him. Still a solid pickup.

 

[saddles]

Probably Anderson but it should 100 % based upon merit

Yeah, Anderson, Leclerc or Sborz can all be sent down if need be.

And, they either need to put Perez in a role or DFA him.

 

[scotsman1948]

I assume the Rangers had Leclerc pegged as the closer for this season. He has good stuff. When he wasn't effective due to injury or poor location it just seems odd they went with Smith.

And yes Chapman's closing days are behind him. Still a solid pickup.

Leclerc had 1 save opportunity in April and that’s been it

 

[Kelleyman]

x.com

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Bochy admits decision backfired

 

[scotsman1948]

Like to see them re-sign Chapman and Stratton and then sign Hader and Hicks. Would also like Blake Treinen if the Dodgers don’t pick up his $7M club option

 

[jaar01]

So IF Eovaldi comes back healthy enough to be effective, don't you want him facing the Astros in the next homestead?

I would think we'd go Scherzer, Montgomery, and Eovaldi in that order for that series.

So, I'm hoping he will throw one rehab game this Friday or Sat then join the Rangers for a 3-4 inning start next week either at the Mets on Wednesday or home against the Twins next Friday. That would set him up to throw the final game of the Houston series.

 

[WilltheThrill]

x.com

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Bochy admits decision backfired

I still can’t believe he made that decision. It wasn’t one of those “hindsight is 20/20” situations where it could have gone either way, and it wasn’t a bunch of armchair managers questioning him after the fact. It was something that was so jarringly stupid the moment that he did it that it instantly made experts and novices alike explode. With your opponent down to their last out and only 1 man on base, you don’t give them a lifeline like that, put the tying runner on base for free, and give them a chance to win the game with one swing. Bochy chose to let Will Smith face the winning run rather than the tying run. That defies all common sense.

But to his credit, he stood in front of the team and put it all on him and owned up to it. I’ll give him that. Other managers might have let ego get in the way there, but he didn’t.

 

[Kelleyman]

I still can’t believe he made that decision. It wasn’t one of those “hindsight is 20/20” situations where it could have gone either way, and it wasn’t a bunch of armchair managers questioning him after the fact. It was something that was so jarringly stupid the moment that he did it that it instantly made experts and novices alike explode. With your opponent down to their last out and only 1 man on base, you don’t give them a lifeline like that, put the tying runner on base for free, and give them a chance to win the game with one swing. Bochy chose to let Will Smith face the winning run rather than the tying run. That defies all common sense.

But to his credit, he stood in front of the team and put it all on him and owned up to it. I’ll give him that. Other managers might have let ego get in the way there, but he didn’t.

Yeah it does not excuse the decision. Let’s hope an old dog can learn new tricks
But maybe it keeps the team from panic or losing confidence him taking the hit. Still have to make endgame changes.
Not sure many other managers would humble up re this

 

[scotsman1948]

Yeah it does not excuse the decision. Let’s hope an old dog can learn new tricks
But maybe it keeps the team from panic or losing confidence him taking the hit. Still have to make endgame changes.
Not sure many other managers would humble up re this

I think the fact that he stood up in front of the team and said that shows he’s learned

 

[scotsman1948]

If you don't piggyback someone with him it is going to look a lot like a bullpen game the first 2 or 3 times he starts. That will cause some roster moves in itself just to get fresh arms for the pen. Either way they will have to make roster moves.

I think Heaney makes the pen better.

If Perez becomes burdensome for the pen then he most likely gets a DL stay or is DFAed.

So you only expect Eovaldi to only go a couple innings or so over his first 2 or 3 starts so you want to bring up Bradford to be the real starter and Eovaldi the opener?

 

[fanman8825]

The problem with that is when you bring Smith in he has to face 3 batters before you pull him.

I get it and honestly I have lost confidence in Smith.

 

[scotsman1948]

I get it and honestly I have lost confidence in Smith.

I have lost confidence in a majority of the team but it’s pretty much too late to do anything about it

 

[fanman8825]

Piling on Will Smith is unfair. He has one big league pitch...a slider. That's it. He doesn't have a legit fastball or change up. He is a lefty lefty specialist. A good HS player could have hammered the fastballs he recently grooved to the Giants last week and Pham last night...both walk off winners.

Blame the organization for not having an actual closer. Leclerc, Hernandez, Chapman, even Matt Bush all have better "stuff" than Smith. But they can't command it. Does Mike Maddux deserve some Blame?

Will Smith only has one good pitch. You think batters haven't figured that out?

Making him our closer this season is the strangest and most unorthodox decision the Rangers have made.

True and his max 92 mph fastball is not scaring anyone. I am not really getting on Smith but more so Bochy. We were fortunate to get what we got out of Smith.

 

[fanman8825]

I have lost confidence in a majority of the team but it’s pretty much too late to do anything about it

Exactly like Tavares and Duran for starters.

 

[Kelleyman]

Adolis Garcia’s improvements in Chase Pct (-9%) and Swing Pct (-7%) have yielded great improvements in his OPS this season (+.084 pts/+11%). It’s also opened him up to getting hosed more on called strikes that are outside of the strike zone. I thought I noticed a trend of bad calls against him lately. Fact check: True.

Three #Rangers in the Top 10 of total called strikes on actual balls this season.

Other 2 who umps are calling strikes for balls are Jung and Marcus

Via CJ

 

[scotsman1948]

Exactly like Tavares and Duran for starters.

And Grossman and Josh Smith etc. and never had any confidence in Miller

 

[DT LUNA]

Yeah it does not excuse the decision. Let’s hope an old dog can learn new tricks
But maybe it keeps the team from panic or losing confidence him taking the hit. Still have to make endgame changes.
Not sure many other managers would humble up re this

That old dog should already know about that kind of thing.If he doesn't, punt.