Series Thread: Texas Rangers want to lock up AL West, trying to sink the Mariners! 9/18-9/20

[Bmurph]

SEATTLE AT TEXAS

Time: 08:05 P.M. EST Venue: Globe Life Park in Arlington

The Texas Rangers turned what was supposed to be an evenly matched series for the division lead into a statement boasting that they're the team to beat in the AL West.

Suffering a letdown against the Seattle Mariners could make that a moot point.

Texas looks to win six straight for the first time in nearly four months when it opens a three-game set against visiting Seattle on Friday night.

The Rangers (79-67) trailed Houston by 1 1/2 games entering Monday, then outscored the Astros 33-13 during a four-game sweep to climb 2 1/2 ahead in the West.

They sat two games under .500 and were fighting for the AL's second wild card on Aug. 12, but they've gone 24-10 since. Mitch Moreland delivered the biggest blow in Thursday's 8-2 win, belting a three-run homer in the third inning that put Texas ahead for good.

Shin-soo Choo matched a career high with four hits and is batting .500 over his last seven for the Rangers, who are on the verge of their first six-game winning streak since a season-high seven-game run May 20-26.

"It was definitely a complete series for us," Moreland said. "Each game seemed like a complete win. We created a lot of opportunities on the offense side, and we were able to capitalize."

Texas has averaged 7.4 runs over its last seven, a stretch that began immediately after being shut out in back-to-back games by the Mariners (71-76) on Sept. 9 and 10.

The Rangers are only 6-10 this season against Seattle, which just put a dent in another West foe's playoff hopes by taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels.

The Mariners are hitting .273 while going 10-5 this month after Wednesday's 3-1 victory. Mark Trumbo hasn't contributed much to Seattle's improved hitting lately, though, going 2 for 20 with eight strikeouts over his last six.

He's 3 for 6 this season off Yovani Gallardo (12-10, 3.35 ERA), who looks to bounce back from a rough outing.

Gallardo went 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA over a six-start stretch capped by 5 1-3 innings that helped beat Seattle 3-0 on Sept. 7. He followed that by giving up five runs in 4 1-3 innings of Saturday's 5-3 loss to Oakland, his first defeat since July 19.

"I have to figure it out, I have to make adjustments," Gallardo said.

The right-hander should take notes from his starts against Seattle this season. He's 2-1 with a 1.56 ERA in those three outings and didn't allow a run in two of them.

James Paxton (3-4, 3.82) wasn't nearly that good the last time he faced the Rangers, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in 2 2-3 innings April 19 before the Mariners rallied for an 11-10 win.

The left-hander allowed one run over 12 2-3 innings in two starts against Texas last season, and he's hoping he can rediscover that form in his second start since spending over three months on the disabled list with a strained tendon in his left middle finger.

Paxton returned Sunday and allowed three runs - two earned - and walked three in three innings of a 3-2 loss to Colorado. The left-hander had an 85-pitch limit, but he threw only 66 despite giving up just two hits.

"It's been a long, long season waiting to get back out there," Paxton said. "If I had better fastball command and was getting ahead of guys more often it would have allowed me to go deeper in the game."

Seattle has won seven of the last 10 meetings in Arlington.

Gotta get better results vs these guys at home. No Iwakuma at least. We do face Nuno, who made us look like a Jr High team, last time we faced him though.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Let's keep MO going. Seattle has played better as you mentioned Murph.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Heard a little while ago on 103.3 that if the Rangers went 8-8 with 1 of the wins against the Astros the Astros would have to go 11-3 or the Angels 13-3.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

John Smoltz said something on MLB Network the night before last that made perfect sense. He said the Wildcard teams are not punished enough because there are too many days in between games in the playoffs. He said any team including a WC team that has 2 and sometimes 1 really good pitcher has a great chance to win it all because of that. He said that the regular season is won by a team having to use 5 ptichers and so on and it completely changes all the dynamics of a team being a complete team once the playoffs come. Of course baseball does not determine the schedule but the those with the TV rights and the longer they draw it out the more money they make. But I wish we could get it changed to where they play games one after another like they do in the regular season and like they did in the past in the playoffs.

 

[Bmurph]

John Smoltz said something on MLB Network the night before last that made perfect sense. He said the Wildcard teams are not punished enough because there are too many days in between games in the playoffs. He said any team including a WC team that has 2 and sometimes 1 really good pitcher has a great chance to win it all because of that. He said that the regular season is won by a team having to use 5 ptichers and so on and it completely changes all the dynamics of a team being a complete team once the playoffs come. Of course baseball does not determine the schedule but the those with the TV rights and the longer they draw it out the more money they make. But I wish we could get it changed to where they play games one after another like they do in the regular season and like they did in the past in the playoffs.

Manfred says MLB will 'take a hard look at' wild-card system if necessary
By Mike Axisa | Baseball Writer

September 18, 2015 10:38 am ET

The 2015 regular season ends a little more than two weeks from now, and teams are still jockeying for postseason position and a possible wild-card spot. The Yankees, Astros and Twins are in the wild-card mix in the AL while the NL field is mostly set, with the Pirates and Cubs locking down the two wild-card spots.

The Pirates (87-59) and Cubs (85-61) have the second and fourth best records in baseball, respectively, yet will likely have to settle for a wild-card spot. That has sparked a lot of discussion -- a lot more discussion, really -- about the wild-card system and whether it is unfair to teams with great records who happen to not win their division.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has shown a willingness to consider different ideas during his brief time at the helm, spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about the wild-card system. He said MLB would take a look at it if teams truly feel change is needed. Here is what Manfred told Rosenthal:

"If I've accomplished anything in the first months that I've been here, I hope it is that we have projected a willingness to evaluate and re-evaluate where we are on important topics," Manfred said. "On this one, if in fact there is sentiment among the clubs that we have an issue here, we will take a hard look at it.

"Personally, I think it is a mistake to get caught up in results. I understand what you're saying about Pittsburgh and what has happened to them. I get it. But I think it's a mistake to focus on an individual team as opposed to the system. Where we need to stay focused -- but may need to revisit -- is on the incentives we're trying to create. Let's talk about those.

"When we went to this system, we wanted to try to encourage people to compete all the way to the end of the season to win the division. I think this system does that. No. 2, even within the wild card, we wanted to build in a situation where those two teams continued to compete in order to get what we perceived to be a significant advantage, competitively and from a business perspective -- that is, a home game in the playoffs. I think we've achieved that.

"Then you get to the question of, what do you do with those two wild cards? That's the next sequential question. The balance we struck there was that we were trying to disadvantage the wild cards. We wanted the division titles to be more meaningful.

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently said the idea of a best-of-three wild-card round has been proposed, but was rejected. Manfred told Rosenthal a best-of-three series creates logistical headaches, especially since there "probably was going to be five days where the division winners sat."

"They thought (a best-of-three) would be such a disadvantage for the division winners, they didn't buy into it. We may need to re-examine those dynamics. But I think those dynamics are a lot more important than, 'Pittsburgh played really well, made the wild card, got beat in the first round.'”
There is no perfect way to improve the wild-card system. There are issues with the winner-take-all wild-card game format and there would be issues with a best-of-three formal. There's no easy solution.

That said, I hope MLB will at least look into improving the system somehow. Manfred has shown he is pretty open-minded. Hopefully they look at a way to make the wild-card a bit more fair to teams like the Pirates and Cubs, who have great records but are stuck in a division with another team with a great record.












Rob Manfred is open to the idea of re-examining the wild-card system, if necessary. (USATSI)

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Manfred says MLB will 'take a hard look at' wild-card system if necessary
By Mike Axisa | Baseball Writer

September 18, 2015 10:38 am ET

The 2015 regular season ends a little more than two weeks from now, and teams are still jockeying for postseason position and a possible wild-card spot. The Yankees, Astros and Twins are in the wild-card mix in the AL while the NL field is mostly set, with the Pirates and Cubs locking down the two wild-card spots.

The Pirates (87-59) and Cubs (85-61) have the second and fourth best records in baseball, respectively, yet will likely have to settle for a wild-card spot. That has sparked a lot of discussion -- a lot more discussion, really -- about the wild-card system and whether it is unfair to teams with great records who happen to not win their division.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has shown a willingness to consider different ideas during his brief time at the helm, spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about the wild-card system. He said MLB would take a look at it if teams truly feel change is needed. Here is what Manfred told Rosenthal:

"If I've accomplished anything in the first months that I've been here, I hope it is that we have projected a willingness to evaluate and re-evaluate where we are on important topics," Manfred said. "On this one, if in fact there is sentiment among the clubs that we have an issue here, we will take a hard look at it.

"Personally, I think it is a mistake to get caught up in results. I understand what you're saying about Pittsburgh and what has happened to them. I get it. But I think it's a mistake to focus on an individual team as opposed to the system. Where we need to stay focused -- but may need to revisit -- is on the incentives we're trying to create. Let's talk about those.

"When we went to this system, we wanted to try to encourage people to compete all the way to the end of the season to win the division. I think this system does that. No. 2, even within the wild card, we wanted to build in a situation where those two teams continued to compete in order to get what we perceived to be a significant advantage, competitively and from a business perspective -- that is, a home game in the playoffs. I think we've achieved that.

"Then you get to the question of, what do you do with those two wild cards? That's the next sequential question. The balance we struck there was that we were trying to disadvantage the wild cards. We wanted the division titles to be more meaningful.

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently said the idea of a best-of-three wild-card round has been proposed, but was rejected. Manfred told Rosenthal a best-of-three series creates logistical headaches, especially since there "probably was going to be five days where the division winners sat."

"They thought (a best-of-three) would be such a disadvantage for the division winners, they didn't buy into it. We may need to re-examine those dynamics. But I think those dynamics are a lot more important than, 'Pittsburgh played really well, made the wild card, got beat in the first round.'”
There is no perfect way to improve the wild-card system. There are issues with the winner-take-all wild-card game format and there would be issues with a best-of-three formal. There's no easy solution.

That said, I hope MLB will at least look into improving the system somehow. Manfred has shown he is pretty open-minded. Hopefully they look at a way to make the wild-card a bit more fair to teams like the Pirates and Cubs, who have great records but are stuck in a division with another team with a great record.











View attachment 30586
Rob Manfred is open to the idea of re-examining the wild-card system, if necessary. (USATSI)

Best of 3 was mentioned on MLB Tonight as well with the 1st 2 games being a DH. They felt the WC team needs to feel the pain of being a WC team and use up some of their pitching.

 

[saddles]

Manfred says MLB will 'take a hard look at' wild-card system if necessary
By Mike Axisa | Baseball Writer

September 18, 2015 10:38 am ET

The 2015 regular season ends a little more than two weeks from now, and teams are still jockeying for postseason position and a possible wild-card spot. The Yankees, Astros and Twins are in the wild-card mix in the AL while the NL field is mostly set, with the Pirates and Cubs locking down the two wild-card spots.

The Pirates (87-59) and Cubs (85-61) have the second and fourth best records in baseball, respectively, yet will likely have to settle for a wild-card spot. That has sparked a lot of discussion -- a lot more discussion, really -- about the wild-card system and whether it is unfair to teams with great records who happen to not win their division.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has shown a willingness to consider different ideas during his brief time at the helm, spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about the wild-card system. He said MLB would take a look at it if teams truly feel change is needed. Here is what Manfred told Rosenthal:

"If I've accomplished anything in the first months that I've been here, I hope it is that we have projected a willingness to evaluate and re-evaluate where we are on important topics," Manfred said. "On this one, if in fact there is sentiment among the clubs that we have an issue here, we will take a hard look at it.

"Personally, I think it is a mistake to get caught up in results. I understand what you're saying about Pittsburgh and what has happened to them. I get it. But I think it's a mistake to focus on an individual team as opposed to the system. Where we need to stay focused -- but may need to revisit -- is on the incentives we're trying to create. Let's talk about those.

"When we went to this system, we wanted to try to encourage people to compete all the way to the end of the season to win the division. I think this system does that. No. 2, even within the wild card, we wanted to build in a situation where those two teams continued to compete in order to get what we perceived to be a significant advantage, competitively and from a business perspective -- that is, a home game in the playoffs. I think we've achieved that.

"Then you get to the question of, what do you do with those two wild cards? That's the next sequential question. The balance we struck there was that we were trying to disadvantage the wild cards. We wanted the division titles to be more meaningful.

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently said the idea of a best-of-three wild-card round has been proposed, but was rejected. Manfred told Rosenthal a best-of-three series creates logistical headaches, especially since there "probably was going to be five days where the division winners sat."

"They thought (a best-of-three) would be such a disadvantage for the division winners, they didn't buy into it. We may need to re-examine those dynamics. But I think those dynamics are a lot more important than, 'Pittsburgh played really well, made the wild card, got beat in the first round.'”
There is no perfect way to improve the wild-card system. There are issues with the winner-take-all wild-card game format and there would be issues with a best-of-three formal. There's no easy solution.

That said, I hope MLB will at least look into improving the system somehow. Manfred has shown he is pretty open-minded. Hopefully they look at a way to make the wild-card a bit more fair to teams like the Pirates and Cubs, who have great records but are stuck in a division with another team with a great record.











View attachment 30586
Rob Manfred is open to the idea of re-examining the wild-card system, if necessary. (USATSI)

I have never like having two wild card teams. I would like to go back to the three division winners and one wildcard team.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I have never like having two wild card teams. I would like to go back to the three division winners and one wildcard team.

Two Wild Card teams in a one-game elimination format is terrible. You could have the 2nd best team in all of baseball eliminated before the playoffs even start because of one off/bad night.

Either make the WC best of 3 or go back to 1 WC qualifier to start with.

 

[Bmurph]

Tonight's lineup
CF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
LF
Mike Napoli (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Bobby Wilson (R)


Paxton vs. Yoga

Napoli in LF again, should be an adventure. Three RH'ers and Marte is a switch hitter, hope most balls go to RF

 

[WilltheThrill]

Tonight's lineup
CF
D. DeShields Jr. (R)
RF
Shin-Soo Choo (L)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
DH
Prince Fielder (L)
LF
Mike Napoli (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
SS
Elvis Andrus (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Bobby Wilson (R)


Paxton vs. Yoga

Napoli in LF again, should be an adventure. Three RH'ers and Marte is a switch hitter, hope most balls go to RF

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet in the Napoli/LF discussion, but Bruce Bochy also views LF as strictly a position of offense and has often put very subpar fielders (ok, maybe not as bad as Nap) there in order to keep a better bat in the lineup.

So it's definitely not an unheard of tactic, just maybe not to the degree that Banny is using it. I happen to think the risk is worth the reward. Having Napoli's bat behind Moreland creates more run chances than the few fly balls hit Nap's way between the 1st and 6th innings hurt them. Venable or Stubbs usually sub in by the 7th or 8th anyway.

 

[jta4437]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet in the Napoli/LF discussion, but Bruce Bochy also views LF as strictly a position of offense and has often put very subpar fielders (ok, maybe not as bad as Nap) there in order to keep a better bat in the lineup.

So it's definitely not an unheard of tactic, just maybe not to the degree that Banny is using it. I happen to think the risk is worth the reward. Having Napoli's bat behind Moreland creates more run chances than the few fly balls hit Nap's way between the 1st and 6th innings hurt them. Venable or Stubbs usually sub in by the 7th or 8th anyway.

I think it makes sense against LHPs but not RHPs, otherwise I agree with the assertion

 

[saddles]

Texas RHP Shawn Tolleson began the night with 20 saves since May 20. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 76 days it took him to go from one save to 20 is the fourth-fasted in major league history.

Rangers defeat Astros for fourth straight win

 

[romeo212000]

Texas RHP Shawn Tolleson began the night with 20 saves since May 20. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 76 days it took him to go from one save to 20 is the fourth-fasted in major league history.

Rangers defeat Astros for fourth straight win

Really glad he's been getting some rest lately. Hopefully he's not rusty when we need him.

 

[jaar01]

Considering the emotional high the Rangers are coming off of it is probably wise to expect a little bit of a letdown this weekend. These next 6 against Sea and Oak will be tougher than expected. 4-2 would be great but 3-3 is more likely. It will still come down to winning a game or 2 in Houston next weekend.

But wow what an amazing sweep against the Astros! Reminded me of 2010 and 2011 Ranger baseball.

 

[Bmurph]

big K there

 

[Duane1952]

Get this guy Yo.

 

[Bmurph]

Thanks Trumbo

 

[Bmurph]

Runs early and often please

 

[jaar01]

Seager-Cruz-Cano is going to be a problem all weekend. Gotta be smart with those guys. Rest of Mariner lineup is garbage.

 

[Bmurph]

Gotta get em in Nap