Official Season Thread - 2013 Edition

[Xx srs bsns xX]

I figured Feliz would be back in the bullpen sometime in August. I think that was the Rangers plan all along?



However, Lewis & Harrison on the other hand... yes...should have been in the rotation by this time already. (minus the whole being shutdown thing)

 

[romeo212000]

I figured Feliz would be back in the bullpen sometime in August. I think that was the Rangers plan all along?



However, Lewis & Harrison on the other hand... yes...should have been in the rotation by this time already. (minus the whole being shutdown thing)

I think the word you're looking for is could've been. Any time you're dealing with injured pitchers the earliest possible return almost never happens.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Most here get Jamey's daily emails ... but if not his piece this morning was real good-feel post ...

The remoteness of July 29. | Texas Rangers Blog | The Newberg Report

 

[Windingmywatch]

I think the word you're looking for is could've been. Any time you're dealing with injured pitchers the earliest possible return almost never happens.

Like government projects coming in under cost and on time.

15day DLs for position players usually work out ... but for some reason for pitchers only 50/50. Longer DL stints for pitchers as you point out rarely if ever materialize on the timetable reported.

I am beginning to believe that at least for TEX which has probably the best pitcher rehab experience in MLB that announcements are marketing ploys. Fans get excited about a return and that is good marketing. Other teams read TEX announcements and plot their acquisition strategies to counter expected TEX roster moves.

I have grown to read or listen to JD's statements or official team releases to expect that there is at least two messages going out because when JD does make a move ... you never know about it ahead of time. So when you do know 'something' ahead of time ... it could very well be misinformation.

If JD was ever under consideration for U.S. Secretary of State ... he would be a fantastic choice. IMO.

 

[pegasusredleg]

Most here get Jamey's daily emails ... but if not his piece this morning was real good-feel post ...

The remoteness of July 29. | Texas Rangers Blog | The Newberg Report

Very well written. Facts are straight, good flow. Loved it. If the Rangers take it all, this article would be a good intro for a tome.

 

[pegasusredleg]

Like government projects coming in under cost and on time.

15day DLs for position players usually work out ... but for some reason for pitchers only 50/50. Longer DL stints for pitchers as you point out rarely if ever materialize on the timetable reported.

I am beginning to believe that at least for TEX which has probably the best pitcher rehab experience in MLB that announcements are marketing ploys. Fans get excited about a return and that is good marketing. Other teams read TEX announcements and plot their acquisition strategies to counter expected TEX roster moves.

I have grown to read or listen to JD's statements or official team releases to expect that there is at least two messages going out because when JD does make a move ... you never know about it ahead of time. So when you do know 'something' ahead of time ... it could very well be misinformation.

If JD was ever under consideration for U.S. Secretary of State ... he would be a fantastic choice. IMO.

The article you posted hinted we may not be finished upgrading this team.

 

[Windingmywatch]

The article you posted hinted we may not be finished upgrading this team.

Yep ... might be an interesting weekend.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Sounds like Adduci will get the call that Jamey thought would happen too. Nice. Give him all of Murphy's PT. If he gets called up today ... he's playoff eligible. If not called until tomorrow or later he can still be an injury replacement for a player who is eligible.

Texas Rangers could promote career minor-leaguer | Texas Rangers Blog

 

[Windingmywatch]

reposted LAA thread

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

Cruz Made Four-Year Pitch To Rangers Last Winter: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Cruz Made Four-Year Pitch To Rangers Last Winter

Nelson Cruz's future as a Ranger is up in the air following his 50-game suspension for involvement with the Biogenesis clinic, but if things had gone his way in the 2012-13 offseason, he'd be calling Arlington home for quite a bit longer. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that Cruz and his former agents Seth and Sem Leinson of ACES pitched a four-year, $56MM contract to the Rangers last offseason, but GM Jon Daniels and his staff passed.

Cruz is reporting to the Rangers' instructional league next week (at his own expense) to prepare for a potential playoff push, and while the team has made it clear that he isn't guaranteed a spot, Heyman notes that manager Ron Washington has voiced his desire for Cruz to rejoin the club. Cruz is viewed as a positive in the Rangers clubhouse, and the team is happy that he was open about his mistake.

In terms of free agency, it's not clear if four years and $56MM is still what the 33-year-old Cruz is looking for. The longtime Ranger hit .260/.319/.460 with 24 homers in 585 plate appearances last season but was hitting .268/.330/.511 with 27 homers in just 409 PAs at the time of his suspension. His superior numbers seem as though they should up his price tag, but he's a year older and now has the a PED connection hanging over his head. Cruz has also changed agents recently, switching from ACES to Adam Katz of the Wasserman Media Group a month ago.

Heyman points out that Cruz's 27 homers still lead the upcoming free agent class, so it's easy to assume that his power bat will still be in demand this winter. Prior to his suspension, Cruz had cracked the Top 10 on Tim Dierkes' Free Agent Power Rankings, but the 50-game ban dropped him off the most recent edition of the list.

Cruz is earning $10.9MM in 2013 after signing a two-year, $16MM contract that bought out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility prior to the 2012 campaign. The contract initially called for a $10.5MM salary in 2013, but he picked up an additional $400K of incentives based on plate appearances in 2012 (as can be seen on Cot's Contracts).

 

[Windingmywatch]

Interesting ... TEX gets two shortstops in MLB's Top 35. Profar #16, Elvis #4 ... not sure I agree Tulowitzki is #1 though.

B/R MLB 500: Top 35 Shortstops | Bleacher Report

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

Interesting ... TEX gets two shortstops in MLB's Top 35. Profar #16, Elvis #4 ... not sure I agree Tulowitzki is #1 though.

B/R MLB 500: Top 35 Shortstops | Bleacher Report

Its b/c of his offense. Same with Miggy @ 3rd base.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Its b/c of his offense. Same with Miggy @ 3rd base.

... not quite the same as Miggy

Tulo .311 .384 .547 .931
Miggy .353 .446 .667 1.113

No doubt Tulo deserves his 20/20 scores for Hitting and Power ... but to award him 27/30 for Defense while Elvis gets a 25? I don't buy that.

BR provides an interesting presentation here (along with its previous position rankings) but suffers from assigning an objective score from a subjective assessment.

 

[jta4437]

... not quite the same as Miggy

Tulo .311 .384 .547 .931
Miggy .353 .446 .667 1.113

No doubt Tulo deserves his 20/20 scores for Hitting and Power ... but to award him 27/30 for Defense while Elvis gets a 25? I don't buy that.

BR provides an interesting presentation here (along with its previous position rankings) but suffers from assigning an objective score from a subjective assessment.

Check put the defensive numbers, Tulo gets pretty stellar marks across the board, his range numbers actually are better than Andrus' and is tied for 3rd (with Andrus) in DRS @ 9, behind only Andrelton Simmons @ 40 DRS (seriously WTF thats crazy) and Pedro Florimon @ 16

Tulo is the #1 SS b/c he gives you good defense and premium offense

His ONLY problem has been staying healthy,to label him as a offense only SS is patently false, he's no Jhonny Peralta

 

[Windingmywatch]

Check put the defensive numbers, Tulo gets pretty stellar marks across the board, his range numbers actually are better than Andrus' and is tied for 3rd (with Andrus) in DRS @ 9, behind only Andrelton Simmons @ 40 DRS (seriously WTF thats crazy) and Pedro Florimon @ 16

Tulo is the #1 SS b/c he gives you good defense and premium offense

His ONLY problem has been staying healthy,to label him as a offense only SS is patently false, he's no Jhonny Peralta

Good info. Fangraphs? I gotta learn how to use that site if that's where you pulled that together from. Agree Tulo is excellent offensively and good defensively. Didn't know how good he was defensively.

 

[jta4437]

Good info. Fangraphs? I gotta learn how to use that site if that's where you pulled that together from. Agree Tulo is excellent offensively and good defensively. Didn't know how good he was defensively.

Yeah fangraphs, I'll admit I don't know what everything means, thats some math thats above my head and time investment,

I mostly use it as a comparison tool, if you're #3 in a defensive category then I assume you're pretty good in that metric, especially if you're behind Simmons, who I know is outstanding...

That said I know DRS is defensive runs saved, which combines things like range and errors... which is a pretty good measure for a defender

 

[Windingmywatch]

This is really a 2014 item ... from Gerry Fraley this morning ... items of interest w/2014 TEX schedule.

Some items of note to the Texas Rangers? 2014 schedule | Texas Rangers Blog

Thought this part was especially nice ...

The National League opponents for 2014 — Atlanta, Colorado, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington and the New York Mets — began Tuesday at a combined 35 games under .500. The NL opponents this season — Arizona, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs — are a combined 25 games over .500.

TEX is 10-8 in interleague play this year ... with the 2 remaining PIT games to be determined. In 2012 TEX was 14-4 in interleague play.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Looking at just interleague play versus total schedule results ...

TEX 2013 interleague opponents (ARI+NLC) are 6 games over .500 while TEX 2014 interleague opponents (COL+NLE) in 2013 are 18 games below .500. So basically this year's opponents from Fraley's accounting were strong but not as strong in interleague play as they were within the NL ... while TEX 2014 opponents weren't as bad against AL opponents as they were against their own NL opponents.

So 2014 interleague play could constitute a swing back to well in favor of TEX if 2012 results and 2014 expectations were to materialize.

 

[scotsman1948]

according to B/R MLB500, Darvish is #7, Holland #22, Garza #43, Perez #68, Harrison #15 and Ogando #121 in the top 150 pitchers

 

[Windingmywatch]

MLB commissioner Bud Selig to retire after 2014 season - ESPN

Well ... that's the best post season news for me already.

Now we can fix the stupid ASG HFA thing.