Series Thread: Rangers travel to cellar dweller A's 6/13-6/16

[DT LUNA]

DDJ did a lot of stupid things that caused him to be sent down. Base running mistakes and doing things at the plate such as bunting in situations that it was obvious that should not have been done. I think he lacks some baseball IQ whereas I think Desmond has a high baseball IQ.

Accurate summation

 

[donaldson79]

DDJ did a lot of stupid things that caused him to be sent down. Base running mistakes and doing things at the plate such as bunting in situations that it was obvious that should not have been done. I think he lacks some baseball IQ whereas I think Desmond has a high baseball IQ.

I totally agree. Please don't forget, his arm didn't improve and worse yet, much worse actually, he was hitting about .217/.218 when he left the building.

You are 100% correct on this one sir. Good observation.

 

[Bmurph]

Really hope Mazara will snap out of his funk soon. I'm not worried about him. Just ebbs and flows. I haven't noticed him being pitched a specific way, have any of you?

Dont recall any specific pitches he's having more trouble with than others, but I haven't been watching that close. To me when he first came up, he was really staying on pitches, watching pitches get deep and so forth and hitting the ball where it was pitched. Lately it seems he may be pulling off pitches quite often and not staying back, but thats just me

 

[donaldson79]

But it seemed like he may have had some hard hit balls that were outs.

One in particularly stood out. It was a shot to deep LF and Rua made a nice, above the head, and 1/2 way up in the warning track catch for the 3rd out. Seemed like that was 4th inning. Not at all sure on the inning though.

 

[donaldson79]

To me when he first came up, he was really staying on pitches, watching pitches get deep and so forth and hitting the ball where it was pitched. Lately it seems he may be pulling off pitches quite often and not staying back, but thats just me

 

[donaldson79]

Does anyone think Choo would have made the catch which Mazara didn't for the only hit of the game?

Just wondering.....ha

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Does anyone think Choo would have made the catch which Mazara didn't for the only hit of the game?

Just wondering.....ha

I really do not think he makes it over that far. He probably slows up and plays it off the wall.

 

[Bmurph]

One in particularly stood out. It was a shot to deep LF and Rua made a nice, above the head, and 1/2 way up in the warning track catch for the 3rd out. Seemed like that was 4th inning. Not at all sure on the inning though.

thought maybe Muncy hit another ball hard to RF that Maz made a running catch on too, pretty early on before he tried that bunt crap in a perfect game

 

[Bmurph]

Does anyone think Choo would have made the catch which Mazara didn't for the only hit of the game?

Just wondering.....ha

not sure coming off an injury like he had, but when healthy Choo may have better speed to get to that ball sooner. That is if he gets a good read and jump, which would be saying something for him. That was just not a very good pitch, really the only really bad one I remember in the game. I thought it might hit higher up the wall or carry out of the ballpark at first

 

[donaldson79]

I really do not think he makes it over that far. He probably slows up and plays it off the wall.

Yeah I don't either. In fact, I thought Mazara made a REALLY good attempt.

Choo would have given 100%. But he just doesn't get the read/jump of Maz IMO.

 

[donaldson79]

thought maybe Muncy hit another ball hard to RF that Maz made a running catch on too, pretty early on before he tried that bunt crap in a perfect game

YEAH, you're right.

Now that you say this, I believe it was an inning or so ahead of the Rua catch.

So that's two, very nice plays. But then again, that's what 90% of no-hitters have in common.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

From SB nation: And they do not even mention the latest troubles of Holland, our BP blowing everything in sight in the early going and losing AJ Griffin. When you add the negatives that have happened the record is a scary foretelling if this team is healthy.

You already read the headline or clicked on a tweet or what have you, so there is no sense in playing a guessing game about who is leading the American League in wins. The Rangers not only have an AL-leading 41 wins, though, but that’s also the second-most wins in baseball, tied with the Nationals and Giants — as the Giants have one more loss than either, the Rangers have the second-best win percentage in baseball. That’s pretty good even before considering that Prince Fielder has been horrific, Shin-Soo Choo and Yu Darvish have been hurt, and Colby Lewis leads the rotation in ERA and is second in innings.

"Quietly" dominating is the word choice here for a reason, though, and it’s not just because you might not have been aware the Rangers were tops in the AL. They've outscored opponents by plenty, but not in a lead-the-league-in-wins sense: their +35 run differential should still lead the AL West, but at 36-30 instead of 41-25. A 13-4 record in one-run games -- a mark they’ve managed in part because of a bullpen featuring strong efforts from Sam Dyson, Matt Bush and more -- helped secure those "extra" wins.

Given the problems listed above, though, those wins are only "extra" now. If Darvish can come back 100 percent from his recent neck and shoulder woes, the rotation is going to be frightening. The Rangers have scored the third-most runs in the AL in spite of Fielder’s horrendous .201/.273/.316 line and Choo’s prolonged absence. There are problems, yes, but the Rangers’ youth — Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar, Rougned Odor — are keeping them strong, and even glove-first shortstop Elvis Andrus has managed to help out at the plate. This is a good team that might get even better as the year goes on, and that could be bad news for the rest of the West.

 

[RevSader]

From SB nation: And they do not even mention the latest troubles of Holland, our BP blowing everything in sight in the early going and losing AJ Griffin. When you add the negatives that have happened the record is a scary foretelling if this team is healthy.

You already read the headline or clicked on a tweet or what have you, so there is no sense in playing a guessing game about who is leading the American League in wins. The Rangers not only have an AL-leading 41 wins, though, but that’s also the second-most wins in baseball, tied with the Nationals and Giants — as the Giants have one more loss than either, the Rangers have the second-best win percentage in baseball. That’s pretty good even before considering that Prince Fielder has been horrific, Shin-Soo Choo and Yu Darvish have been hurt, and Colby Lewis leads the rotation in ERA and is second in innings.

"Quietly" dominating is the word choice here for a reason, though, and it’s not just because you might not have been aware the Rangers were tops in the AL. They've outscored opponents by plenty, but not in a lead-the-league-in-wins sense: their +35 run differential should still lead the AL West, but at 36-30 instead of 41-25. A 13-4 record in one-run games -- a mark they’ve managed in part because of a bullpen featuring strong efforts from Sam Dyson, Matt Bush and more -- helped secure those "extra" wins.

Given the problems listed above, though, those wins are only "extra" now. If Darvish can come back 100 percent from his recent neck and shoulder woes, the rotation is going to be frightening. The Rangers have scored the third-most runs in the AL in spite of Fielder’s horrendous .201/.273/.316 line and Choo’s prolonged absence. There are problems, yes, but the Rangers’ youth — Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar, Rougned Odor — are keeping them strong, and even glove-first shortstop Elvis Andrus has managed to help out at the plate. This is a good team that might get even better as the year goes on, and that could be bad news for the rest of the West.

This doesn't mention how stocked our farm is...if JD wants an arm he gets an arm or two.

 

[saddles]

I wonder if this is related to Rua's play where he appeared to have hurt himself.

 

[saddles]

CF Ryan Cordell went 3 for 4 with a double and his 13th HR tonight.

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

Really hope Mazara will snap out of his funk soon. I'm not worried about him. Just ebbs and flows. I haven't noticed him being pitched a specific way, have any of you?

I think he's pressing. Hitting third for the best team in the AL at 21 is a lot to handle. I know he's mature for his age, and I certainly aren't worried about him, but he's definitely in a slump right now.

 

[Bmurph]

SC just showed the Rangers are on pace for 101 wins this season, wouldn't that be something

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

In all my many years I've never heard such a phrase before. Like it though.

It brought to mind the line outta Good Morning Vietnam from Forrest Whitaker. "Sir, I'm not sure what that means, but the tone seems pretty negative." Something like that anyway. Pretty funny.

Used to be a bit I'd do with my Dad... whenever I'd get worked up over something I'd try to come up with a phrase to see if I could get him to laugh.

Sure wish he was still here to see all this Rangers business going on. He'd absolutely love Odor.

 

[BULLPEN FAILURE]

SC just showed the Rangers are on pace for 101 wins this season, wouldn't that be something

A 100 win regular season would be awesome, and a perfect way to head into an 11 win postseason.

 

[romeo212000]

SC just showed the Rangers are on pace for 101 wins this season, wouldn't that be something

As long as we win the WS I don't care how many regular season wins we get.