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Ric
Bayou Bum
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21st Post Tue Mar 18th, 2008 03:55 pm | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
Monday started with a surprise for Erica, proof of an overnight visit from Iggy, the Egotistical Iguana, who serves as the Greater Phoenix Tooth Fairy despite the fact that his foot is severely burned (the ugly result of a Starbucks mishap you wouldn’t believe if I told you) and, sadly, unable to bear weight. Iggy passed the crucial test, coming through with a suitable exchange for the left maxillary central incisor that Erica no longer had any use for.
[There's a cool photo that I couldn't get to work here. If you want to see it, go to http://newberg.mlblogs.com/newberg_report_/] 
Stunningly, Max was awake earlier than the rest of us, a huge upset considering not only the fact that Erica had gone to sleep Sunday night almost grudgingly, with a single purpose of waking up just to see whether the Tooth Fairy was keeping up with her dental status even 1,100 miles from home, but also the yeoman’s work Max had turned in on a brisk Sunday in Surprise, volunteering both to get Jason Botts some extra work at first base:
[Cool photo here, too.]
. . . and to catch an extra side for Thomas Diamond as he continued his impressive return from Tommy John surgery:
[Cool photo here, too.]
It didn’t much matter to Max on Monday morning that Cristian Santana might see some time as a corner outfielder in 2008 to avoid overdoing things behind the plate as he tries to put 2006’s shoulder injury and 2007’s thumb injury behind him. He wasn’t concerned about whether Dad would manage to find another way to lead the report with Josh Hamilton, and he wasn’t fixated on the truth to the rumor that Marcus Lemon had come to camp bigger, in a good way.
The simple, innocent reason Max was ready to go before the rabbit who had attacked T.R. Sullivan a couple days earlier had rolled out of its own bed was that the two minor league baseballs he’d come home with on Sunday were trophies, yes, but more like gateway drugs. “These are gray baseballs, Dad. I need white baseballs.”
Telling Max that we’d see what we could do, but that we couldn’t promise anything, was like telling rookie Mike Young he wasn’t going to hit enough to be a starting middle infielder in the big leagues.
The boy was determined.
We got to the fields early, but there aren’t baseballs to be hunted down when the players are merely loosening up. Soon the back fields started to fill up, with what was easily four times as many fans as there had been the day before. I didn’t want to tell Max that baseballs would be harder to come by (too soon to start those Adam Smith lessons), fearing it would crush his spirit.
Distracted by another sick Josh Hamilton Batting Practice Display, followed by yet another eye-opening round from David Murphy – and a completely punishing effort from both sides of the plate (particularly the right side) by Milton Bradley, which fired me up more than anything else I saw on Tuesday – the Quest for White Baseballs seemed like it had, at least momentarily, slipped Max’s mind.
Having also watched the big club take infield, which is still one of my favorite things to watch in all of sports, and drawing Max’s attention to how much of a weapon an outfield of Murphy in left, Hamilton in center, and Nelson Cruz in right can be (and coming to my own conclusion that Jarrod Saltalamacchia really does look like what a big league catcher looks like), we decided to head west from the batting practice field to the back fields, where the minor leaguers were getting their work in.
On the walk there, Max got hold of an abandoned foul ball, lightly used, certainly closer to white than the two scuffed balls he’d come away with on Sunday. On the rest of that walk to the four minor league fields, with Max clutching the relatively new baseball, he never looked up, staring down at that ball with a smile on his face that cannot be faked, until persuaded by Mom and Dad to look up for just a second.
[Cool photo here, too.]
We settled in with maybe half a dozen others to watch the trio of Chris Davis, Elvis Andrus, and Max Ramirez get their batting practice reps in, a display that, while not at the level of Hamilton-Murphy-Bradley-Marlon Byrd, would have had any serious Rangers fan salivating, unless they were three and a half years old and more intent on fielding ground balls with that new, game-issue prize he was toting around. As I threw him grounders, and Erica was doing cartwheels (literally), he was doing the same (figuratively).
Soon it was time for lunch, and on the way to the car a fan handed Max another ball. Of course, that turned lunch into a nuisance for Max, who couldn’t wait to get back to the fields. We got back in time to grab a patch of grass on the stadium berm just before the Rangers and Mariners stood out of their dugouts for the National Anthem, a closer call than we imagined it would be because we hadn’t counted on passing the mini-wiffle ball park, in which Max dutifully took some cuts, hitting two inside-the-park home runs that, in his mind, clearly ended with plays at the plate since he insisted on sliding home both times.
Jason Jennings was effective through four innings, even though several of the outs were loud (but predictably he was no match for Cha Seung Clemens, who inexplicably toys with Texas like it was a lineup of kids in wiffle ball park). Jennings’s velocity was up a tick or two (touching 87 a few times), and he limited the Mariners to two hits and no walks with a solid array of off-speed offerings, fanning a pair. He felt good enough that Texas had him throw an extra 17 pitches in the bullpen after his four innings were done.
The Rangers are going to pitch Jennings in a minor league game on Saturday so that they don’t give Seattle another season preview. Eric Hurley will get the big league start that day, which is a pretty interesting development considering that by then we’ll be just over a week from Opening Day. I’m still convinced that Hurley needs to be in Oklahoma in April, but the more camp innings he gets with a big league defense behind him and big league hitters in the box, the better.
Robinson Tejeda was impressive again in relief; it’s obvious why Texas isn’t in a rush to give up on his arm, especially with Frankie Francisco (still toting one option) not seizing an opportunity thus far. Tejeda, who pitched one inning yesterday, will the get the ball again today, the next step in the process of evaluating whether he’s capable of pitching in a high-leverage bullpen role on back-to-back days.
I’m still hanging onto my prediction that Josh Rupe is this year’s pitching surprise.
The Rangers don’t seem concerned about Kason Gabbard’s lack of effectiveness so far, which is good enough for me right now, but the more and more I see of Murphy and Engel Beltre, the more I’m convinced that the Eric Gagne trade will have a place right next to the Mark Teixeira trade in Jon Daniels’s trophy case, no matter what Gabbard does.
I don’t know how brilliant the inning and a half was that I got to do alongside Victor Rojas during yesterday’s Webcast, but I had a blast. I believe if you go to http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?c_id=tex you can listen to yesterday’s game for free. I did the seventh inning and the top of the eighth. Thanks to those of you who emailed questions to the booth – there were apparently tons of questions we never got to.
You must read Mike Hindman’s final spring training observations. Great stuff at http://rangersfarmreport.mlblogs.com/.
Texas released a handful of minor leaguers, the most prominent of which was probably speed merchant R.J. Anderson, a standout high school cover corner and punt returner who turned down stacks of Division I football opportunities (and ultimately a commitment to the University of South Florida) to take the Rangers’ above-slot signing bonus as the club’s ninth-round pick in 2005. Beset by hamstring issues in his first season, he never found a rhythm and, with the dramatic influx of center field prospects in the system since the time Anderson was drafted, his chances here had been minimized. The Rangers also released catcher Joe Hulett, infielder Jason Sowers, and outfielder Luke Salas.
I know the error totals have been disappointing, but you watch Johnny Whittleman get his infield work in and you do see a third baseman. In the box he looks like a number six hitter, maybe a number three depending on where he takes things over the next two years.
According to Baseball America, Texas will assign Julio Borbon to Bakersfield to start the season. I’m not sure whether BA is drawing that conclusion from Borbon’s camp assignment once he was optioned (those assignments are often not final) or if a Rangers official confirmed that that’s where the 2007 supplemental first-rounder will play in April, but it was his likely destination in any event.
The Hunt continues today. Max has his agenda, I have mine (which is not to say that the girls don’t have their own). Tops on my list is to take in a couple Class A games today, plus another opportunity, if possible, to watch Milton Bradley continue on his path to regular season readiness. If he’s physically right, he has the chance to significantly impact the level of damage that this team’s lineup is capable of inflicting. Perhaps dramatically.
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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22nd Post Wed Mar 19th, 2008 09:41 pm | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
With no visit from the Tooth Fairy to delay the day’s start, and only the minor issue of my inability to plug iPhoto files into my SBCGlobal emails gumming thing up, we got to the fields at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, early enough to see Ron Washington and Art Howe working exclusively with Kevin Mench around the first base bag on Field 7, which is basically nothing more than an infield with a fence fringing it.
We walked by the Mench Crash Course and caught up with a handful of players just before their morning stretch, with Erica showing off her missing tooth and Max energetically exchanging high fives.
That is, except when Max’s favorite player tried to strike up a conversation with him, and he went into a shell that almost never surfaces when he’s cloaked in baseball pants, a Rangers cap, and his trusty Wilson A2291. It was pretty cool, though, when he posted up and threw a ball to his hero, who then flipped it to Ginger, who tossed it back to Max to complete a crisp 6-4-3.
Moments later, as I was tossing grounders to Max on the grass, Wash emerged from Field 7 and headed toward a spot nearby, where the few beat writers and columnists in town were waiting for his morning briefing. T.R. Sullivan addressed the manager first, 10 feet before he’d arrived: “Wash, right there is the only player in camp you haven’t hit ground balls to.”
Wash drops his glove but keeps the baseball that was tucked inside. Lifts his fungo. Without so much as a word or a gesture toward Max, he slaps a solid two-hopper from about 20 feet away, and a thousand thoughts rushed through my head (one of which was not to grab the camera or ask Ginger to, though there was no time for that anyway): How badly would Max be scarred if he booted the ball with that sort of rapt audience? Would he earn a “Pickin’ ma-CHINE!” shout-out? Would he earn a split lip?
Knees bent, both hands properly outstretched, feet at an appropriate width, Max gathered the Wash bouncer perfectly.
“There. I’ve hit grounders to everybody now.”
Funny thing is, Erica is more proud of losing a tooth than Max was making the play on a fungo off the bat of the Rangers manager and one of the game’s premier infield instructors. But the moment wasn’t lost on me.
One run on two hits and no walks over five innings for Luis Mendoza yesterday pretty much solidified a rotation spot for the 24-year-old. He not only became the first Rangers starter to go five innings this spring, but he did it in just 61 pitches, which included an array of dirty changeups that held left-handed hitters to a 1 for 11 day.
Kason Gabbard makes a start in a minor league game this afternoon, as the big club is off. His rotation spot is reportedly not in any jeopardy despite poor numbers this spring, but the Rangers would obviously like to see the lefthander locate his fastball more effectively than he has so far.
Milton Bradley will make his official spring training debut Friday night, serving as the designated hitter, which he’ll also do so Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, if all goes well. Texas had planned to have him travel to Tucson for tomorrow’s game against Arizona, but the Diamondbacks have told the Rangers that they are opting to having pitchers hit in that game, as is their right as the home team.
Every few days a Chicago newspaper revisits the idea that the Cubs continue to covet Marlon Byrd. I understand the positive clubhouse factor that Byrd offers, but with the way David Murphy is backing up his breakthrough summer with a massive spring, as long as Texas holds firm on its insistence that it would take more than Matt Murton to get him, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Byrd moved. It would take a bit of a leap of faith on the ability of both Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley to avoid the disabled list all year, but Murton would address the depth situation (he’s not a center fielder but Murphy certainly can be), and if Chicago added a pitcher like Sean Gallagher or Donald Veal or Jose Ceda to its offer – a longshot but it’s the Rangers who have the leverage here – Texas can capitalize on a great non-roster signing (and another Rudy Jaramillo success story) from a year ago.
Typical day for Engel Beltre yesterday. Leads off the game with a no-doubt home run on the first pitch he saw, drops a drag bunt late in the game that the Royals third baseman had to eat.
Watch out when Wilfredo Boscan and Kennil Gomez start to fill out.
I would have had a big smile on my face, too, if I were Scott Servais having a conversation with Neftali Feliz, Wilmer Font, and Martin Perez on the back fields yesterday.
It’s a scary thing whenever a prospect gets hurt, but in righthander Michael Main’s case, the stress fracture in his rib cage is easier to cope with considering (1) it’s not an arm injury, (2) he should be back on the mound two months into the season, and (3) it’s likely that the first-rounder was going to be held back in extended at the outset of the season to keep his workload down anyway, much as lefthander Kasey Kiker was last year, his first season in the system.
The St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association released infielder Matt Brunson.
Day off today for the big club, a welcome break for lots of people, including the skipper, who certainly earned a day to regenerate after managing to slap a ground ball to the last kid in camp he hadn’t done so to yesterday.
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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23rd Post Wed Mar 19th, 2008 09:44 pm | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
With no visit from the Tooth Fairy to delay the day’s start, and only the minor issue of my inability to plug iPhoto files into my SBCGlobal emails gumming thing up, we got to the fields at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, early enough to see Ron Washington and Art Howe working exclusively with Kevin Mench around the first base bag on Field 7, which is basically nothing more than an infield with a fence fringing it.
We walked by the Mench Crash Course and caught up with a handful of players just before their morning stretch, with Erica showing off her missing tooth and Max energetically exchanging high fives.
That is, except when Max’s favorite player tried to strike up a conversation with him, and he went into a shell that almost never surfaces when he’s cloaked in baseball pants, a Rangers cap, and his trusty Wilson A2291. It was pretty cool, though, when he posted up and threw a ball to his hero, who then flipped it to Ginger, who tossed it back to Max to complete a crisp 6-4-3.
Moments later, as I was tossing grounders to Max on the grass, Wash emerged from Field 7 and headed toward a spot nearby, where the few beat writers and columnists in town were waiting for his morning briefing. T.R. Sullivan addressed the manager first, 10 feet before he’d arrived: “Wash, right there is the only player in camp you haven’t hit ground balls to.”
Wash drops his glove but keeps the baseball that was tucked inside. Lifts his fungo. Without so much as a word or a gesture toward Max, he slaps a solid two-hopper from about 20 feet away, and a thousand thoughts rushed through my head (one of which was not to grab the camera or ask Ginger to, though there was no time for that anyway): How badly would Max be scarred if he booted the ball with that sort of rapt audience? Would he earn a “Pickin’ ma-CHINE!” shout-out? Would he earn a split lip?
Knees bent, both hands properly outstretched, feet at an appropriate width, Max gathered the Wash bouncer perfectly.
“There. I’ve hit grounders to everybody now.”
Funny thing is, Erica is more proud of losing a tooth than Max was making the play on a fungo off the bat of the Rangers manager and one of the game’s premier infield instructors. But the moment wasn’t lost on me.
One run on two hits and no walks over five innings for Luis Mendoza yesterday pretty much solidified a rotation spot for the 24-year-old. He not only became the first Rangers starter to go five innings this spring, but he did it in just 61 pitches, which included an array of dirty changeups that held left-handed hitters to a 1 for 11 day.
Kason Gabbard makes a start in a minor league game this afternoon, as the big club is off. His rotation spot is reportedly not in any jeopardy despite poor numbers this spring, but the Rangers would obviously like to see the lefthander locate his fastball more effectively than he has so far.
Milton Bradley will make his official spring training debut Friday night, serving as the designated hitter, which he’ll also do so Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, if all goes well. Texas had planned to have him travel to Tucson for tomorrow’s game against Arizona, but the Diamondbacks have told the Rangers that they are opting to having pitchers hit in that game, as is their right as the home team.
Every few days a Chicago newspaper revisits the idea that the Cubs continue to covet Marlon Byrd. I understand the positive clubhouse factor that Byrd offers, but with the way David Murphy is backing up his breakthrough summer with a massive spring, as long as Texas holds firm on its insistence that it would take more than Matt Murton to get him, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Byrd moved. It would take a bit of a leap of faith on the ability of both Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley to avoid the disabled list all year, but Murton would address the depth situation (he’s not a center fielder but Murphy certainly can be), and if Chicago added a pitcher like Sean Gallagher or Donald Veal or Jose Ceda to its offer – a longshot but it’s the Rangers who have the leverage here – Texas can capitalize on a great non-roster signing (and another Rudy Jaramillo success story) from a year ago.
Typical day for Engel Beltre yesterday. Leads off the game with a no-doubt home run on the first pitch he saw, drops a drag bunt late in the game that the Royals third baseman had to eat.
Watch out when Wilfredo Boscan and Kennil Gomez start to fill out.
I would have had a big smile on my face, too, if I were Scott Servais having a conversation with Neftali Feliz, Wilmer Font, and Martin Perez on the back fields yesterday.
It’s a scary thing whenever a prospect gets hurt, but in righthander Michael Main’s case, the stress fracture in his rib cage is easier to cope with considering (1) it’s not an arm injury, (2) he should be back on the mound two months into the season, and (3) it’s likely that the first-rounder was going to be held back in extended at the outset of the season to keep his workload down anyway, much as lefthander Kasey Kiker was last year, his first season in the system.
The St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association released infielder Matt Brunson.
Day off today for the big club, a welcome break for lots of people, including the skipper, who certainly earned a day to regenerate after managing to slap a ground ball to the last kid in camp he hadn’t done so to yesterday.
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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24th Post Fri Mar 21st, 2008 04:08 pm | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
Kasey Kiker was ridiculous in the top of the first against a Seattle squad yesterday, striking out the side, but I bet he’ll remember the bottom of the first for a lot longer. After Kiker exited the dugout to get in his post-appearance stretch, he was intercepted by a man who threw his final big league pitch when Kiker was five years old. I couldn’t hear what Nolan Ryan was saying to the 20-year-old lefthander and it didn’t matter. The smile on Kiker’s face and the look in his eyes as he nodded through five minutes of Nolan’s observations, whatever they were, said it all.
Kevin Millwood had to make the dreaded two-hour trip to Tucson yesterday in order to make his first exhibition start of the spring, but if it ticked him off, he took it out on the Diamondbacks lineup. Millwood went five scoreless innings (needing only 63 pitches), punching out five while scattering three hits and a walk.
It will be the righthander’s only Cactus League appearance of the spring. He’ll start a minor league game on Tuesday rather than face the Mariners, whom he’s scheduled to face on Opening Day.
Hank Blalock continued to shake any residual concerns about his readiness for the season as well, hitting his second home run and adding his third double. He sits at .258/.343/.548, with five of his eight hits going for extra bases.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.231/.259/.615) doubled in a run and crushed a three-run homer, and though he’s not hitting for average, five of his six hits have gone for extra bases. Meanwhile, Gerald Laird (.290/.313/.710) is having a terrific camp, leading the club with four homers. The fascinating issue of which catchers Texas will take to Seattle heats up. (T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and San Diego have each called Texas about Laird.)
The spirited battle for a roster spot between Jason Botts (.351/.368/.459) and Kevin Mench (.353/.463/.647) continues (Sullivan reports that Seattle and Tampa Bay have asked about Nelson Cruz), while Josh Hamilton (.538/.581/.949), Ian Kinsler (.450/.531/.600), and David Murphy (.405/.409/.762) keep on putting up video game numbers.
Yesterday I saw Kinsler take batting practice for the third or fourth time since getting out here, and it struck me that the kid who hit .400 in Clinton and slugged .500 as a minor leaguer nonetheless has to be one of Rudy Jaramillo’s proudest sculptures. Kinsler has come a long way from the dead pull hitter he was on the farm to a potential star who has learned to quiet those lightning-quick hands enough to create a legitimate spray chart. In batting practice, he’s showing an ability to hit the ball to right center with tremendous authority, and I think we’re about to see a player about whom we should be thinking not about 30-30 but about 30-30-.300, a leadoff hitter whose power may make him even more dangerous than Craig Biggio.
In six fewer at-bats, Murphy (32) has three times as many total bases as Marlon Byrd (11), who is hitting .188/.264/.229. I’ll say it again: there’s nothing that’s convinced me that Murphy can’t be a factor on a championship team, and he’s done nothing in his eight months here to confirm the notion that he’s merely a fourth outfielder.
Think about how much the Rangers could get right now for Murphy, Engel Beltre, and Kason Gabbard, none of whom the Rangers would have any interest in trading right now.
I don’t know what Milton Bradley is going to look like coming out of the box (he debuts tonight as the designated hitter and will only sit once in the next five games), but if BP is any indication, he’s going to look great in it. His back field sessions at the plate are impressive, and business-like.
Name one hitter in the Rangers lineup whom you can’t reasonably expect to improve on his 2007 numbers.
This lineup, assuming it stays relatively healthy, is going to score.
Mark Connor’s assessment of the best pitches on the big league staff: C.J. Wilson features the best fastball (even though Franklyn German throws harder), Kason Gabbard’s curve ranks ahead of Millwood’s, Joaquin Benoit possesses the top slider as well as the filthiest change (“one of the best I’ve ever seen”), Luis Mendoza unquestionably totes the best sinker, and German has the best split.
Wilson was really sharp in a minor league outing yesterday, getting three outs on strikes and one on the ground in a 20-pitch appearance. He’s expected to face Seattle in tomorrow’s big league game.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News learned that Hamilton’s favorite TV show, naturally, is “Smallville,” which is about a young Superman.
Edinson Volquez shares the strikeout lead in all of baseball this spring, and his 21 punchouts have come in fewer innings (15) than co-leaders Johan Santana (20 innings) or John Maine (19.1). Volquez (3.00 ERA) has walked only three hitters and hasn’t been taken deep.
Cincinnati has reassigned uberprospect Jay Bruce, the player whose apparent readiness was a key factor in the Reds’ decision to trade Josh Hamilton, to minor league camp. Bruce is going to be a star, but his big league debut will apparently not be a week and a half from now.
Justin Duchscherer, Clint Brannon, and Freddie Thon. Thon completes the trifecta of players whom I’ve seen get the spring training word that they’d been traded. I was standing outside the dugout during Gabbard’s minor league start on Wednesday when, as Thon came off the field after the top of the first, he left the dugout with his bat on his shoulder and a smile on his face, as teammates and coaches slapped him on the back and wished him good luck. I learned later that the career .290/.318/.429 hitter who had a tremendous second half at Bakersfield in 2007 (.313 with 10 homers and 46 RBI after the All-Star Break) had been traded to Toronto.
One more full day at the fields, capped by Rangers-Angels under the lights tonight.
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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25th Post Fri Mar 21st, 2008 04:09 pm | |
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| IMHO, if ANYONE asks about Nelson Cruz... the club should be very aggressive in moving him.. regardless of WHAT comes back....
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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26th Post Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 05:50 am | |
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According to T.R. Sulivan of MLB.com, the Rangers have moved first baseman Chris Shelton and utility infielders Edgardo Alfonzo and Ryan Roberts to minor league camp, solidifying Ramon Vazquez's roster spot. Also, Kason Gabbard and Luis Mendoza have apparently earned the final two spots in the rotation (meaning tonight's starter, Sidney Ponson, should be Oklahoma-bound), but the club hasn't decided which will be the No. 4 starter and which will be the No. 5 starter, who won't break camp with the big club since he won't be needed until April 12.
Still no decision behind the plate or on the final roster spot, which will go to Jason Botts or Kevin Mench. And two bullpen spots remain up for grabs behind C.J. Wilson, Eddie Guardado, Joaquin Benoit, Kazuo Fukumori, and Jamey Wright.
Jamey
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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27th Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 02:09 am | |
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According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, Texas is on the verge of signing
injured righthander John Patterson to a minor league contract, days after
the 30-year-old was released by Washington. Patterson, a native of Orange,
Texas, missed the final five months of the 2007 season after missing the
second half of the 2006 season with nerve problems in his forearm.
Interesting, low risk deal.
Jamey
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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28th Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 02:11 am | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
Few things from today’s Rangers win over San Francisco:
1. Luis Mendoza, pitching for the last month in an environment typically not conducive to pitchers who rely on sink, has a 1.81 groundout-to-flyout rate, and has yielded just one home run in 16.2 innings. While his 5.40 ERA is unimposing, he’s allowed just one run in his last 10 frames (including today’s five scoreless), and his overall opponents’ line is a respectable .270/.324/.397 (and would look even better if it hadn’t been for two base hits today that bounded off the rock hard surface in front of the plate and over Hank Blalock’s head). Mendoza’s got some momentum heading into the season.
2. Two more outfield assists today (both belonging to Marlon Byrd, giving him a phenomenal five for the spring). Whether Texas leads baseball with 11 spring training assists from its outfielders is not important, but I can’t tell you how fired up I am to see the Rangers man the outfield each game with two or three guys capable of not only playing a solid center field, but also throwing like a right fielder. The improvement in this outfield’s ability to catch the ball before it hits the ground, and to throw well enough to erase baserunners -- or at worst to keep them from attempting to take an extra base -- is going to help the number one starter, the long man out of the pen, and everyone in between.
3. If the all else is equal in the competition for a bullpen spot apparently pitting Kameron Loe, Wes Littleton, Frankie Francisco, and Josh Rupe against each other, Francisco’s inability to field his position well could tip the scales in someone else’s favor.
4. I get all the arguments on both sides, but the news that the Rangers are apparently resigned to shop righthanders Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando to teams in the Far East makes me sad.
5. Michael Young is 6 for 6 with a walk since playing catch with Max on Saturday morning. And hours after Jason Botts gave Max his wristband (also Saturday morning), Botts went 2 for 5 with a two-out, two-run double and two, run-scoring single, which according to at least two beat writers following the team on a daily basis cemented a roster spot for Botts, who has been battling Kevin Mench and Nelson Cruz for a job.
Max hasn’t taken the wristband off.
And I know a guy who goes about 6’6”, 250 who would probably prefer that it stay that way.
That’ll be the last reference to my kids for a while.
Probably.
-- Jamey
____________________
The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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albertmorris
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29th Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 04:06 am | |
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| I enjoy reading these...thanks for posting, Ric.
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A madman is no less a musician than you or me. It is just that his instrument is a little out of tune.
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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30th Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 04:12 am | |
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| It is VERY good to see you back on AM......
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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albertmorris
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31st Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 04:14 am | |
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| Thanks. It is good to be back....
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A madman is no less a musician than you or me. It is just that his instrument is a little out of tune.
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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32nd Post Mon Mar 24th, 2008 02:54 pm | |
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Greetings from the brand new Holiday Inn Express in Surprise, Arizona.
Expectations
Texas hasn’t had a player sign, come through its system, and throw at least 162 big-league innings since Doug Davis in 2001. (And before him you have to squint back to 1997 and Darren Oliver.) Each of Texas’s division opponents has developed no fewer than four ERA qualifiers since then. Would you believe Kam Loe, with 136 innings in 2007, holds the record for most innings by a Texas-bred pitcher in the last six years? Three others have surpassed 100 innings during 2002-2007 (Colby Lewis, R.A. Dickey, Joaquin Benoit twice), but none provided a league-average ERA.
Through no fault of his own, this is the backdrop under which Eric Hurley operates, and why some people are so anxious for him to start the season in Arlington. I don’t blame them, but current management appears to be ignoring the pressure of that history, for which I’m grateful. His arrival in Arlington shouldn’t hinge on the past or even how Texas performs this season. At times last season Hurley looked ready, but on the whole there were too many walks, too many homers. He’ll get there soon.
Observations
A few weeks ago I wrote about the problem of where Texas would place its catching prospects. Texas seems to have “too many” catchers apparently bound for Frisco and Clinton but none for Bakersfield. On Thursday, the low-minors games revealed two interesting data: 1) catcher-turned-outfielder Chad Tracy, who I assume is destined for Bakersfield, was once again behind the plate, 2) catcher Jonathan Greene played third base.
In Thursday’s low-A game, Engel Beltre hit a liner to the left-center fence and slid into third a full second ahead of the relay throw. In the next inning he made a diving catch. The 18-year-old certainly didn’t look out of place among his A-level teammates. Nolan Ryan watched and presumably approved. Listening to Clinton’s games on MILB.com will be fun anyway, but if Beltre starts out there, it’s icing on the cake.
None of Seattle’s high-A hitters had a prayer against C.J. Wilson. Irrespective of the competitive mismatch, Wilson did look very good, throwing full speed without trouble.
Before every pitch, Kaz Fukumori placed his pitching hand on his hip in an oddly casual manner, as if posing for J Crew. He then turned his head slightly to the left and spit (ruining the catalog image) before his delivery. When a runner advanced to second, he stopped spitting.
“Up” and “flat” aren’t the words you want to describe someone’s fastball. Beau Jones just had one of those days.
Kason Gabbard’s counterpart in Wednesday’s intrasquad game was Zach Phillips, who looked sharp against mostly AA-level batters. He used the curve with complete confidence anywhere in the count.
Corey Ragsdale is an infielder again.
Warning
Coppertone spray-on sunscreen? Don’t ever get it in your eyes.
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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33rd Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 02:19 am | |
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According to multiple local reports, the Rangers have made the following decisions:
- Kason Gabbard will be the fourth starter and Luis Mendoza will be the fifth starter, but Mendoza will begin the season on the disabled list due to a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. As he was not slated to start until April 12 anyway, the procedural move is not all that significant (as long as the blister heals), and Mendoza could make a rehab start for Oklahoma on or about April 7.
- Josh Rupe has won a bullpen spot, leaving Robinson Tejeda (who is out of options) and Wes Littleton (who is not) battling for the final spot on the pitching staff.
Jamey
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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34th Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 02:21 am | |
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According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers have told Adam Melhuse he will break camp as the Rangers’ backup catcher to Gerald Laird, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be optioned to Oklahoma.
Jamey
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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35th Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 02:22 am | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
On May 15, 2000, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was working in Boston for international food and beverage company Allied Domecq, the job he'd landed after graduating a year earlier from Cornell with a degree in applied economics and management.
Assistant GM Thad Levine was in his first season in baseball operations with the Colorado Rockies, having earned his MBA from UCLA the year before.
Rangers Director of Player Development Scott Servais was with the Rockies, too, serving as Brent Mayne's backup at catcher in what would be Servais's penultimate season in the big leagues. Two days earlier, he had singled and walked off of Giants starter Shawn Estes, driving in a run in a 10-9 Rockies win and squeezing 13 strikeouts, 11 of which belonged to Colorado starter Pedro Astacio.
As of May 15, 2000, Rangers Scouting Director Ron Hopkins was a national crosschecker with Oakland, whose big league third base coach was Ron Washington.
On that date the professional baseball career of Jason Botts began. Rangers Scouting Director Chuck McMichael (now Special Assistant to the Braves GM) had drafted Botts in the 46th round out of Glendale Community College in Southern California in June of 1999, on the recommendation of area scout Tim Fortugno, whose responsibility for Botts and C.J. Wilson and Scott Feldman and John Mayberry Jr. and John Hudgins and Zach Phillips and unsigned pick Noah Lowry helped him land his current job as a Mets crosschecker.
Texas followed Botts through his sophomore season at Glendale, convincing him days before the 2000 draft to forgo an opportunity to transfer to USC (where his teammates would have included Mark Prior and Anthony Reyes).
Rangers General Manager Doug Melvin, his assistant Dan O'Brien, and Director of Player Development Reid Nichols -- all of whom work in similar roles today for Milwaukee -- decided to send Botts to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he played for current Royals Class A manager Darryl Kennedy.
It was in the GCL that Botts, with the help of roving minor league hitting instructor (and current Yankees AAA hitting instructor) Butch Wynegar, taught himself to switch-hit. Botts, having never batted from the left side before turning pro, hit .319/.440/.503 and was named by Baseball America as the top draft-and-follow signing in baseball that season.
It's been a long road for Botts. Among his teammates on that 2000 club, which won the GCL title, were Edwin Encarnacion, Laynce Nix, Jason Bourgeois, and Omar Beltre, the latter of whom is, as far as I can tell, along with Hank Blalock and Joaquin Benoit, about the only player who has been in the organization longer than Botts. Director of Minor League Operations John Lombardo, around since 1998, can probably confirm that.
Tom Hicks and Eric Nadel and Tom Grieve have been around longer than Botts, too, as has Zack Minasian. Although they'd headed elsewhere before returning, Nolan Ryan and Chuck Morgan were here in 2000, too, and they'll be on hand with the others two weeks from today when Botts trots out to the first base line with his major league teammates for the first Major League Opening Day introductions of his career.
Our second-grade daughter Erica wasn't born until three weeks after Botts signed with the Rangers. Anything could happen as his 2008 season gets underway, and just because he's made the team it's not a lock that he'll still be around by time Erica graduates second grade. Kevin Mench has an out in his minor league contract if he's not in the big leagues as of June 1, and depending on his start at Oklahoma, and Botts's in Texas, there might be a temptation to retrieve Mench's bat for use against left-handed pitchers and prevent him from leaving via free agency.
But for now, Botts -- himself an established destroyer of southpaw pitching
-- has a chance to prove that his spring line of .357/.386/.476 is more indicative of the type of damage he can do than the .242/.329/.336 numbers he has in his big league looks over the last three seasons.
Nobody in this system has had to prove himself to more people, from general managers to player development officials to coaches and scouts, than Jason Botts has. Part of that is due to his longevity, part due to differing opinions on what he is, and could be.
Today the Rangers have given Botts a chance to reward a lot of baseball people who have believed in him over the years, an opportunity to do his part to help this team win, eventually, like it hasn't since 1999.
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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36th Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 02:31 am | |
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According to several local reports, righthanders Franklyn German and Jamey Wright have sealed jobs as relievers on the big league staff, and righthanders Frankie Francisco and Eric Hurley have been sent to minor league camp. There are still two open bullpen jobs.
Both German and Wright are non-roster players and so two players will need to be removed from the 40-man roster to accommodate their addition -- one will evidently be outfielder Nelson Cruz, while John Rheinecker is a likely shift off the roster to the 60-day disabled list. It gets a little trickier once a move must be made to make room for Adam Melhuse, assuming he sticks as the backup catcher, though righthander Robinson Tejeda will lose his roster spot if he doesn't earn a job on the Opening Day roster.
In addition, the club has officially named C.J. Wilson its closer, which is no breaking news but is obviously an indication that the Rangers are comfortable with the soundness of Wilson's arm and his readiness to take the ball in the ninth inning when the season begins in six days.
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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37th Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 03:26 am | |
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No Future, Only Present
You’ve seen or read about those “The Future Is Now” shirts Texas farmhands wore last fall and in morning warm-ups this spring. Here’s a few words about some hitters for whom the future really is now:
Brandon Boggs (#26 prospect per Jamey, #18 per Scott) -- Boggs has come a long way from the guy who slugged .369 for Spokane as a rookie in 2004. Jamey didn’t rank him in his top 60 prospects list entering 2005. The following two years Boggs rated 60th and 56th. 2007 was the watershed. Healthy all season for the first time, his AA debut resulted in career bests in all significant rate stats and counting stats.
Unfortunately, he gets no break. Boggs turned 25 in January. Of my top 72 Rangers prospects, Nate Gold is the only position player both older than Boggs and lacking MLB experience. If he falters this season, he’ll enter 2009 as a 26-year-old who didn’t handle AAA pitching. Not good.
Boggs increased his walk rate to a prodigious 14.8% last year but also struck out in one-quarter of his appearances. Despite his improved power (58 extra-base hits last year), I expect AAA pitchers to challenge him to make contact, and I look forward to how he responds.
John Mayberry (#22 by Jamey, #20 by Scott) – You remember the Baseball America quote: “All his hitting flaws are correctable, but it may take him 1,500 at-bats in the minor leagues.” Mayberry should reach 1,500 by the end of June.
Though batting average is overrated, it’s not irrelevant, and in Mayberry’s case it’s his biggest problem. He’s displayed legitimate corner-outfielder power (51 homers in two years) and maintained an adequate walk rate, but his average dipped to .236 last year.
Mayberry turned 24 in December and is entering his fourth professional season after three years in college. Texas has to place him on the 40-man roster this winter… or not. So, no more talk about his physicality, his tools, his potential, his learning curve. It’s time for performance.
Joaquin Arias (#25 by Jamey, #28 by Scott) – I can still envision Arias as a Major Leaguer. I can also see him completely out of baseball in two years.
Arias has hit for average (.288 career, .315 in AA as a 20-year-old) but hasn’t developed any secondary skills (.100 isolated power and a dire 3.3% walk rate in the high minors). At 23, he no longer has the “young for his level” description to excuse his batting.
Management can be patient if it wants. Being on the Major League disabled list all of 2007 saved an option, so Arias won’t be in a Botts-like situation until 2010. Yet time really isn’t on his side. The Face Of The Franchise plays his position and is signed through 2013, and Elvis Andrus could force him out of the starting role in AAA in 2009. Learning a new position seems imperative.
Sad to say, Arias is still recovering from shoulder problems that wrecked 2007. He played short while I was in Surprise last week but wasn’t throwing at full speed.
Jose Vallejo (#35 by Jamey, #41 by Scott) – In 2006, Vallejo batted .234/.289/.284 for an extremely young and extremely bad Clinton squad that spoiled the debut of newly renovated Alliant Energy Field. Repeating Clinton in ’07, he improved to .269/.326/.327. The advancement was modest but real; Vallejo upped his walk rate by 30% and his line-drive rate 65%. He did commit 25 errors in ’07 versus 14 in ’06, but he also fielded an additional 87 balls (Clinton pitchers generated grounders at virtually identical rates in both seasons).
Vallejo doesn’t turn 22 until September, so what’s the rush? First, Texas has to decide this winter whether to place him on the 40-man roster. Second, imagine that his 2008 plays as a slightly weaker version of ’07. He’ll have three full seasons of mediocre-to-bad hitting and might be facing another season in Bakersfield after already having repeated Clinton.
An extreme ground-ball hitter, Vallejo won’t enjoy the nearly automatic boost in slugging hitters receive in moving from the Midwest to the Cal League. For him, it’s on-base percentage or bust.
Ben Harrison (unranked by Jamey and Scott) – A separated shoulder in winter ball during the ’06-’07 offseason has jeopardized Harrison’s career. He devolved from a respectable Frisco debut in 2006 (.282/.341/.491) to a guy who couldn’t hit the Cal League (.240/.305/.367). I remember him claiming his shoulder felt fine in a June interview with Scout.com’s Jason Cole. To be honest, I hope he was fibbing. Better to still be recovering from injury than to be a healthy 25-year-old outfielder slugging under .400 in A-ball. Now 26, Harrison simply must dominate to have any hope of reaching the Majors.
Released
Pitchers:
Eric Cyr (offseason signing)
Daniel Hoben (29th round, 2006)
Jon Hollis (38th round, 2006)
Ivan Izquierdo (undrafted)
Marc Major (offseason signing)
Michael Wagner (18th round, 2006)
Andrew “Ace” Walker (undrafted)
Jim Wladyka (offseason signing)
Brett Zamzow (28th round, 2004)
Catchers:
Kevin Gossage (33rd round, 2005)
Joe Hulett (offseason signing)
Infielders:
Jim Fasano (9th round, 2004)
Micah Furtado (20th round, 2003)
Matt Smith (undrafted)
Jason Sowers (42nd round, 2007)
Outfielders:
R.J. Anderson (9th round, 2005)
Luke Salas (undrafted).
Signed
Mark Alexander, a right-handed pitcher drafted in the 20th round by the Dodgers in 2004. Always a reliever, even in college for Missouri, the 27-year-old tossed 79 innings between AA Jacksonville (4.41 ERA) and AAA Las Vegas (14.25 ERA in 12 innings) last year.
Caleb Moore, 4th rounder in 2005 signed by Minnesota. Moore was a backstop until last July, hitting .196/.244/.252 for high-A Fort Myers, when he converted to pitcher and amassed 14 innings, 13 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA in the Appy League.
The Rest
18-year-old Leonel de los Santos, who has appeared in exactly four pro games in the United States, caught the 9th inning of Wednesday’s Major League game.
Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus recently presented his “State of the Systems” for the AL West and had a mostly favorable review of the Rangers. He described the upcoming seasons of Taylor Teagarden and Thomas Diamond as pivotal. He also expressed his love of Neftali Feliz and his mild skepticism of Elvis Andrus.
In the past, only smug media elites like me and Jamey could get their hands on the Texas Rangers Media Guide. Now, it can be yours: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/tex/fan_forum/media_guide.jsp
The Bakersfield Blaze have announced Micro-brew Mondays. If you’re at a game in August, nothing will repel the summer heat better than a rich, malty stout. Seriously though, two bucks for a 12-ounce brew is pretty solid.
Laynce Nix’s brother Jayson (again with the “y!”) will be Colorado’s starting second baseman.
After three days in Surprise, I spent the weekend in Las Vegas for a friend’s bachelor party. There will be no trip report for that.
Scott Lucas
newbergreport.com
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The wife says I'm obsessed with Baseball. Wow, did THAT come out of left field.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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38th Post Thu Mar 27th, 2008 01:21 pm | |
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THE NEWBERG REPORT
When Texas tees it up with Kansas City at lunchtime today, it will be the professional equivalent of heading out the door for the final day of school before summer break. After the 27th out, the Rangers will toss their textbooks and spelling tests and book reports in the air and board a flight to Dallas, leaving Arizona behind for another year. A game against the White Sox in Oklahoma City tomorrow night, a game in Frisco against the RoughRiders Saturday afternoon, and it's off to Seattle for three that count against the Mariners, another three in Anaheim against the Angels, and back to Texas for an eight-game homestand against Baltimore, Toronto, and Los Angeles.
A handful of games out of 162 d | | |
