tOfficially Official 2016 Spring training thread

[donaldson79]

dollars to donuts there was an incident in the clubhouse... either directly involving the kid or possibly that LaRoche didn't like the kid witnessing. LaRoche speaks up, other player(s) respond in kind.

It is easy to take a stand against a player who hit .208 last year. If he had hit .320 with 35 HRS I don't think they would have considered changing things up. It may have simply been a way to encourage him to retire or it may have simply been a change of heart by upper management. It would have made sense to me if they had waited a year to make changes once his contract was up.

I could see this happening in either one of y'all's scenarios. But for some reason I'm more inclined to think the dollars/contract came into play more than conduct. And if that's true, then shame on the White Sox. And the reason I lean in this direction is due to the young man, dad too, never having a problem over the past 4/5 years, plus the current players (on field mgr too) seemed to be somewhat united behind LaRoche.

Now I wonder if the player's union, agent will get involved? This could really come back to haunt the White Sox over the long haul.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Now I wonder if the player's union, agent will get involved? This could really come back to haunt the White Sox over the long haul.

I read a little more about LaRoche. Didn't realize his dad played in MLB, and apparently he wanted to give his son the same experience he had. FWIW, LaRoche is a pretty vocal bible thumper as well. I've also read that this might have been an edict from ownership to reduce the kid's presence.

 

[donaldson79]

Hilarious!

Ya know, it was pretty informative too. Good post!

 

[donaldson79]

I read a little more about LaRoche. Didn't realize his dad played in MLB, and apparently he wanted to give his son the same experience he had. FWIW, LaRoche is a pretty vocal bible thumper as well. I've also read that this might have been an edict from ownership to reduce the kid's presence.

Again, the ownership/upper management knew this long before the last 48 hours. This is why I'm leaning toward "the Almighty-Dollar" as the ultimate culprit here.

The timing almost seems a little on the "orchestrated side" to me.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

Lol

 

[saddles]

Ouch.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

Maybe Holaday is on the Rangers radar.

Tigers Notes: Verlander, Holaday, Nesbitt

The Tigers have “quietly prepared” to trade backup catcher Bryan Holaday ever since signing Jarrod Saltalamacchia to serve as the backup to starting catcher James McCann, writes Lynn Henning of the Detroit News. Though Holaday is in the midst of a big Spring Training performance and has seen time at both third base and left field in Grapefruit League action, the out-of-options catcher, whom Henning notes is beloved by teammates and coaches alike, is all but certain to land on another club at the end of the month.

 

[saddles]

Five questions with Rangers GM Jon Daniels

 

[saddles]

Gallo goes 1 for 1 with a single and a HBP. Tepesch was very bad.

 

[donaldson79]

Maybe Holaday is on the Rangers radar.

I looked him up on baseball reference, and he's only had 108 AB for Detroit in 4 years, and he's 28.

You probably remembered he's from Dallas and played ball at TCU, but I didn't.

 

[saddles]

The Surprise, Surprise: Competing For A Roster Spot

Stat of the Day

4: the amount of batters who have reached based against Andrew Faulkner of the 21 he’s faced. Faulkner is competing for an Opening Day roster spot. For my money, he’s earned it and will serve a valuable role on the team as a lefty capable of dominating lefties while remaining very tough against right-handed batters, too.

 

[saddles]

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Kids in the clubhouse part of the Texas Rangers’ family

 

[donaldson79]

Kids in the clubhouse part of the Texas Rangers’ family

Boy, this story has taken on a life-of-it's-own hasn't it?

Sale said Williams has told three different stories on why the decision was made to limit 14-year-old Drake LaRoche's access to the clubhouse, prompting his father to leave the team.

"Somebody walked out of those doors the other day and it was the wrong guy," Sale said.

Sale said Williams has contradicted himself, first saying that players complained about LaRoche's son being in the clubhouse, then saying it was coaches that spoke against it and then saying the decision came down from ownership.

"We got bald-faced lied to by someone that we trust," Sale said.

"This isn't us rebelling against rules; this is us rebelling against B.S.," Sale said.

 

[Kelleyman]

The Logical Rangers/Padres Blockbuster | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[romeo212000]

The Logical Rangers/Padres Blockbuster | FanGraphs Baseball

I'm awfully cagey about trading for NL pitchers who pitch in cavernous pitcher friendly parks.

 

[saddles]

I'm awfully cagey about trading for NL pitchers who pitch in cavernous pitcher friendly parks.

Not a trade, but Chan Ho comes to mind doesn't he?

The trade that guy proposes is ridiculous.