Texas Rangers 2019-2020 Offseason Thread

[Nightcrawler]

IF is always the operative word.....I didn't see any of the WS due to being across the great water.......But I sure am glad the Nats - minus Harper, ha - came through in the end!

was looking bleak for awhile there.

Astros led for 6 innings and Greinke was throwing a gem. Hinch mismanaged it for sure. Probably should’ve either left Greinke in to sink or swim with the lead or brought in Cole at the first sign of trouble.

In a situation like that, go down or hold on using your best and have no regrets

 

[Kelleyman]

 

[donaldson79]

Unfortunately

I don’t see the hatred astros getting much weaker besides losing Gerrit Cole.

Their team, as it stands today, will be a contender for at least the next 5 years at a minimum......Even losing someone as terrific as Cole, they're still loaded; especially at the positonal player positions.

Frankly, we aren't in the Astro's league - from a talent standpoint - at the MLB level or in the upper minors.

 

[donaldson79]

was looking bleak for awhile there.

Astros led for 6 innings and Greinke was throwing a gem. Hinch mismanaged it for sure. Probably should’ve either left Greinke in to sink or swim with the lead or brought in Cole at the first sign of trouble.

In a situation like that, go down or hold on using your best and have no regrets

I kind of gathered that Mr Hinch has come under major fire for some of his decisions, or lack there-of........I mean, it's the last game of the year. How do you 'hold back' anyone under any circumstances?

 

[Kelleyman]

I kind of gathered that Mr Hinch has come under major fire for some of his decisions, or lack there-of........I mean, it's the last game of the year. How do you 'hold back' anyone under any circumstances?

He sure gave his thought thinking bullpen was fresher than Cole.
To me Harris was the one wearing out. He gave up a HR previous if if remember straight. Kind of reminds me of the Ogando overuse in 2011. Only so much gas in the tank.

Hinch said he and Cole had an agreement yet Cole is in a Boras cap in the locker room. Been reading a bit of this

 

[Kelleyman]

Their team, as it stands today, will be a contender for at least the next 5 years at a minimum......Even losing someone as terrific as Cole, they're still loaded; especially at the positonal player positions.

Frankly, we aren't in the Astro's league - from a talent standpoint - at the MLB level or in the upper minors.

Hope not as well as you paint it but they FO have a heralded starter Forrest W who had a down year but is on the rebound. Tucker is a goood prospect too. Hopefully they don't get more pitching soon. Payroll is on the increase there

 

[donaldson79]

Hope not as well as you paint it but they FO have a heralded starter Forrest W who had a down year but is on the rebound. Tucker is a goood prospect too. Hopefully they don't get more pitching soon. Payroll is on the increase there

Oh yeah..........This may wear em out over the next 5-8 years, but in the near future, my goodness, they're loaded all over the lot.

 

[Kelleyman]

Oh yeah..........This may wear em out over the next 5-8 years, but in the near future, my goodness, they're loaded all over the lot.

Quote that they will not go over the 208 threshold. Think this puts them out of G Cole pursuit. Maybe he heads to Yanks or Halos?

 

[DT LUNA]

Do we really consider Chirinos a 'top notch' catcher?.......Somebody who keeps up better than me can address this, but I don't think he's considered a very good catcher. Just adequate, with a bat that seems to come through in the clutch more than most..............I've always thought of him as a good back-up, but not so much more.

Really did not mean to imply "top notch". He was released to bring in Mathis to help our young pitchers. In my way of looking at it, Mathis was not worth giving up Cheerio to help the Astros. I think he is good enough till some one else surfaces to share time with Trevino. PS: good to hear from ya.

 

[Kelleyman]

Re Astros salary etc

 

[Nightcrawler]

He sure gave his thought thinking bullpen was fresher than Cole.
To me Harris was the one wearing out. He gave up a HR previous if if remember straight. Kind of reminds me of the Ogando overuse in 2011. Only so much gas in the tank.

Hinch said he and Cole had an agreement yet Cole is in a Boras cap in the locker room. Been reading a bit of this

it made me think of Wash’s idiotic decision to stick with the shaky matt Harrison in game 7 and not start Derek Holland after the rain out.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Oh yeah..........This may wear em out over the next 5-8 years, but in the near future, my goodness, they're loaded all over the lot.

Their pitching really has been the difference from the other teams who also have loaded offensive talent. Losing Cole hurts and Verlander and Greinke are getting up there in age. You would think at some point they just have to start leveling off. That will be the determining factor. I mean if the Yankees had pitching then look out.

 

[Kelleyman]

Their pitching really has been the difference from the other teams who also have loaded offensive talent. Losing Cole hurts and Verlander and Greinke are getting up there in age. You would think at some point they just have to start leveling off. That will be the determining factor. I mean if the Yankees had pitching then look out.

Yeah the Astros will be dangerous in the playoffs even without Cole but this is no 107 win team next year. Just goes to show the best team over the regular season does not always win the WS.

Nats were a team of destiny and lightning in a bottle can sneak a WS. I am in no means in favor of mortgaging the farm, but trying to compete to be a "playoff contender" is wise even for next year if some moves are made.

Unfortunately have no indication these owners will open up the wallet

 

[Nightcrawler]

Their pitching really has been the difference from the other teams who also have loaded offensive talent. Losing Cole hurts and Verlander and Greinke are getting up there in age. You would think at some point they just have to start leveling off. That will be the determining factor. I mean if the Yankees had pitching then look out.

now that Verlander has a ring and he’s a surefire first ballot hall of famer, I don’t feel bad in rooting for his skills to diminish. The Astros never sniffed any championships until they acquired verlander. He’s the leader of that pitching staff. Whenever they lose him, they should take a step back.

Thankfully, the Astros haven’t had much luck growing their own pitching. They have a highly hyped kid coming out this year tho.

 

[saddles]

Yeah the Astros will be dangerous in the playoffs even without Cole but this is no 107 win team next year. Just goes to show the best team over the regular season does not always win the WS.

Nats were a team of destiny and lightning in a bottle can sneak a WS. I am in no means in favor of mortgaging the farm, but trying to compete to be a "playoff contender" is wise even for next year if some moves are made.

Unfortunately have no indication these owners will open up the wallet

It shows you the best team doesn't always have the best regular season record. It took a really, really good team to go 74-38 over the last 112 games of the regular season though.

With the unbalanced schedule, along with some teams playing in better divisions than others, regular season records can be misleading when compared to other teams' regular season records.

Usually, very good teams win a WS. Very, very rarely do teams chasing Fool's Gold win one. It will be awhile before we are in that first category, as we haven't even reached the second category yet.

 

[donaldson79]

Really did not mean to imply "top notch". He was released to bring in Mathis to help our young pitchers. In my way of looking at it, Mathis was not worth giving up Cheerio to help the Astros. I think he is good enough till some one else surfaces to share time with Trevino. PS: good to hear from ya.

Thanks partner........good to be back......My adventures in SE Asia are over it seems.

 

[Kelleyman]

It shows you the best team doesn't always have the best regular season record. It took a really, really good team to go 74-38 over the last 112 games of the regular season though.

With the unbalanced schedule, along with some teams playing in better divisions than others, regular season records can be misleading when compared to other teams' regular season records.

Usually, very good teams win a WS. Very, very rarely do teams chasing Fool's Gold win one. It will be awhile before we are in that first category, as we haven't even reached the second category yet.

I think overall the Astros with their pitching deserved to be favorites to win the WS last year. Texas was a better team than St Louis in 2011. Of course arbitrary postponement was a factor in St L win. And SL was no where near Wash category

 

[scotsman1948]

Grandal and Moustakas have declined their options with the Brewers and have become free agents

 

[saddles]

I think overall the Astros with their pitching deserved to be favorites to win the WS last year. Texas was a better team than St Louis in 2011. Of course arbitrary postponement was a factor in St L win. And SL was no where near Wash category

My point is, that among the top few teams it is hard to distinguish who is best by record alone. It is easy to look at the stats and think Houston is the favorite, but with our unbalanced schedules, the stats are sometimes skewed.

Then there is the part about a team going through a rough stretch, whether diue ro injuries or other factors, and then righting the ship, but doing so too late to keep their record from ever being as good as it should be, based on their talent. That is why the postseason is usually very telling. That should never lead to a team planning on catching lightning in a bottle in the postseason and therefore only building a good team instead of a great one.

One thing to keep in mind is how some pitchers simply perform much better in the regular season than the postseason and that can make a really good regular season record not be worth very much in the postseason. CJ Wilson comes to mind. I believe Kershaw, Verlander and Price have had their problems in the postseason as well. Hamels and Darvish didn't fare so well for us a little while back. In our case CJ was so valuable in getting us to the postseason and then struggled once we got there. Colby Lewis seemed to do the opposite.

Bottom line to the whole discussion is the Rangers are not ready to do anything that might hamper their future to win more games now. That includes not trading someone like Minor for good prospects if you get the chance to. They have to be willing to make a trade like that even if it means us winning a few less games in 2020. Don't be afraid at any point in the very near future, to take a step back if it helps propel you to greater things in the not so very near future.

It is a lot easier to enter a window when it is open than to force your way in, by breaking the glass, thereby ruining the window and cutting yourself in the process.

 

[DT LUNA]

My point is, that among the top few teams it is hard to distinguish who is best by record alone. It is easy to look at the stats and think Houston is the favorite, but with our unbalanced schedules, the stats are sometimes skewed.

Then there is the part about a team going through a rough stretch, whether diue ro injuries or other factors, and then righting the ship, but doing so too late to keep their record from ever being as good as it should be, based on their talent. That is why the postseason is usually very telling. That should never lead to a team planning on catching lightning in a bottle in the postseason and therefore only building a good team instead of a great one.

One thing to keep in mind is how some pitchers simply perform much better in the regular season than the postseason and that can make a really good regular season record not be worth very much in the postseason. CJ Wilson comes to mind. I believe Kershaw, Verlander and Price have had their problems in the postseason as well. Hamels and Darvish didn't fare so well for us a little while back. In our case CJ was so valuable in getting us to the postseason and then struggled once we got there. Colby Lewis seemed to do the opposite.

Bottom line to the whole discussion is the Rangers are not ready to do anything that might hamper their future to win more games now. That includes not trading someone like Minor for good prospects if you get the chance to. They have to be willing to make a trade like that even if it means us winning a few less games in 2020. Don't be afraid at any point in the very near future, to take a step back if it helps propel you to greater things in the not so very near future.

It is a lot easier to enter a window when it is open than to force your way in, by breaking the glass, thereby ruining the window and cutting yourself in the process.

Like the bleeding boxer laying on his back looking up......that was a lucky punch.