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Below is one the best articles I've read about this embarassment!
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
Posted on Tue, Aug. 12, 2008
Pitching: It’s a hill of a quest for the Texas Rangers
JIM REEVES
[email protected]
Forget about the wild-card race, OK? I don’t mean to be a deadhead about the Texas Rangers’ chances here as they open up a big three-game series in Boston tonight, but let’s get serious.
You have seen the Rangers’ pitching lately, right?
’Nuff said.
As resilient as this team has been, as hard-nosed as it has shown itself to be, the pitching deficiencies present a hill so tall, the 1927 Yankees couldn’t climb it.
You want a "hill" of a question to contemplate? Try and figure out — right now — whether the Rangers have a Popsicle’s chance on a Texas sidewalk in August of having a better pitching staff, rotation and bullpen, in 2009 than they’ve had this season.
There are no guarantees, of course, but it has to be better than this, doesn’t it? Please, tell me it will be.
As good as the Rangers’ offense has been this season — and it’s been just this side of phenomenal — it simply can’t make up for how badly the pitching has fared.
How bad has it been? Glad you asked.
So bad that at 5.33, the Rangers’ team ERA is even worse than the 5.12 ERA opposing pitchers have posted against that vaunted Texas offensive juggernaut.
So bad that even though the Rangers are hitting a major league-leading .281 as a team, opponents’ offenses, with Texas pitching to feast on, are raking it at a .288 pace.
So bad that during a 17-game stretch heading into this series with the Red Sox that could either make or break their wild-card hopes, they are 8-0 when scoring eight runs or more, 1-8 when scoring less than eight.
"If you can’t pitch, you can’t win," manager Ron Washington correctly assessed after the Rangers’ 15-7 victory in Baltimore on Sunday.
He’ll never make a truer statement.
You think Red Sox hitters aren’t salivating with anticipation at the prospect of facing Scott Feldman, Luis Mendoza and Vicente Padilla over the next three days? And two-thirds of that trio represents the Rangers’ best and brightest this season.
Here’s the scary part: Padilla and Feldman, along with Kevin Millwood, will be counted on to anchor the rotation again next year.
In other words, here we go again.
"Padilla (12-6, 4.85) has had a good year for the most part," general manager Jon Daniels said. "He’s had some ups and downs and been a little less consistent than you’d like in a perfect world.
"Kevin’s been hurt, obviously, and that’s been frustrating for us and for Kevin. Fortunately, it’s been more minor, nagging injuries than anything, hamstrings and groins, and not his arm.
"You’d like to see both [Millwood and Padilla] pitching 200 innings next year."
And I’d like to win the lottery but that isn’t going to happen either.
This isn’t to take anything away from Padilla, who has actually been reasonably productive this season, or Millwood, who brings a needed dash of leadership on those rare occasions when he actually goes to the mound, but what we’ve learned over the last three years is that if you’re counting on them as your Nos. 1 and 2 starters, you’re in trouble. They’re middle of the rotation starters, at best, if that.
Feldman may be the most pleasant surprise, pitching-wise, of the season and the fact that we’re talking about a guy who has a 4-5 record says more about the kind of season it’s been for Rangers’ pitching than any of us want to know.
At least Feldman has been reasonably consistent in his first season as a major league starter. Ten of his 18 starts qualify as quality starts, an indication that he’s keeping the Rangers in games more often than not.
"For a guy who hasn’t started since junior college and is working with a new arm slot, he’s been a bright spot," Daniels said. "I’d like to think he’ll get better, too, as he continues to learn his craft. He’s been one of the better stories on the pitching staff this year."
That said, Feldman is no top-of-the-rotation starter. He lacks a strikeout pitch (nine more Ks than walks this season) that prevents him from being able to put hitters away when the opportunity is there.
Barring a major trade that sends either Millwood or Padilla elsewhere this winter, those three are locks for the 2009 rotation.
How the rest of it looks is yet to be determined, but it’s safe to say the final seven weeks of the season could go a long way toward shaking out the candidates.
The Rangers love Luis Mendoza’s "stuff" but with a 7.50 ERA, he needs a strong finish or he’s probably pitching his way back to bullpen status, at best. Matt Harrison is a left-hander, which is in his favor, but he’s young and is viewed as more of an eventual back-of-the-rotation starter.
Eric Hurley is a good bet, but he also hasn’t stayed healthy since the Rangers brought him up.
Brandon McCarthy is still lurking out there somewhere and excited the Rangers with a bullpen session last week. But he hasn’t pitched an inning this season or shown he’s someone the Rangers can count on to stay healthy.
Tommy Hunter, Thomas Diamond, and — if you like a long shot — Neftali Feliz are other names to watch.
There’s also no question that Daniels will try to add a young starter from outside the organization with a trade, probably from the Rangers’ abundant depth at catcher. They were highly interested in Florida’s Chris Volstad at the trade deadline and were willing to deal Gerald Laird and a solid prospect. They’ll look for similar opportunities this winter.
That brings us to the bullpen, where the closer role will once again be up for grabs in 2009.
Let’s save that discussion for another column. I’ve brought you enough bad news for one day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rangers at Red Sox
6:05 tonight, KDFI/Ch. 27
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
Posted on Tue, Aug. 12, 2008
Pitching: It’s a hill of a quest for the Texas Rangers
JIM REEVES
[email protected]
Forget about the wild-card race, OK? I don’t mean to be a deadhead about the Texas Rangers’ chances here as they open up a big three-game series in Boston tonight, but let’s get serious.
You have seen the Rangers’ pitching lately, right?
’Nuff said.
As resilient as this team has been, as hard-nosed as it has shown itself to be, the pitching deficiencies present a hill so tall, the 1927 Yankees couldn’t climb it.
You want a "hill" of a question to contemplate? Try and figure out — right now — whether the Rangers have a Popsicle’s chance on a Texas sidewalk in August of having a better pitching staff, rotation and bullpen, in 2009 than they’ve had this season.
There are no guarantees, of course, but it has to be better than this, doesn’t it? Please, tell me it will be.
As good as the Rangers’ offense has been this season — and it’s been just this side of phenomenal — it simply can’t make up for how badly the pitching has fared.
How bad has it been? Glad you asked.
So bad that at 5.33, the Rangers’ team ERA is even worse than the 5.12 ERA opposing pitchers have posted against that vaunted Texas offensive juggernaut.
So bad that even though the Rangers are hitting a major league-leading .281 as a team, opponents’ offenses, with Texas pitching to feast on, are raking it at a .288 pace.
So bad that during a 17-game stretch heading into this series with the Red Sox that could either make or break their wild-card hopes, they are 8-0 when scoring eight runs or more, 1-8 when scoring less than eight.
"If you can’t pitch, you can’t win," manager Ron Washington correctly assessed after the Rangers’ 15-7 victory in Baltimore on Sunday.
He’ll never make a truer statement.
You think Red Sox hitters aren’t salivating with anticipation at the prospect of facing Scott Feldman, Luis Mendoza and Vicente Padilla over the next three days? And two-thirds of that trio represents the Rangers’ best and brightest this season.
Here’s the scary part: Padilla and Feldman, along with Kevin Millwood, will be counted on to anchor the rotation again next year.
In other words, here we go again.
"Padilla (12-6, 4.85) has had a good year for the most part," general manager Jon Daniels said. "He’s had some ups and downs and been a little less consistent than you’d like in a perfect world.
"Kevin’s been hurt, obviously, and that’s been frustrating for us and for Kevin. Fortunately, it’s been more minor, nagging injuries than anything, hamstrings and groins, and not his arm.
"You’d like to see both [Millwood and Padilla] pitching 200 innings next year."
And I’d like to win the lottery but that isn’t going to happen either.
This isn’t to take anything away from Padilla, who has actually been reasonably productive this season, or Millwood, who brings a needed dash of leadership on those rare occasions when he actually goes to the mound, but what we’ve learned over the last three years is that if you’re counting on them as your Nos. 1 and 2 starters, you’re in trouble. They’re middle of the rotation starters, at best, if that.
Feldman may be the most pleasant surprise, pitching-wise, of the season and the fact that we’re talking about a guy who has a 4-5 record says more about the kind of season it’s been for Rangers’ pitching than any of us want to know.
At least Feldman has been reasonably consistent in his first season as a major league starter. Ten of his 18 starts qualify as quality starts, an indication that he’s keeping the Rangers in games more often than not.
"For a guy who hasn’t started since junior college and is working with a new arm slot, he’s been a bright spot," Daniels said. "I’d like to think he’ll get better, too, as he continues to learn his craft. He’s been one of the better stories on the pitching staff this year."
That said, Feldman is no top-of-the-rotation starter. He lacks a strikeout pitch (nine more Ks than walks this season) that prevents him from being able to put hitters away when the opportunity is there.
Barring a major trade that sends either Millwood or Padilla elsewhere this winter, those three are locks for the 2009 rotation.
How the rest of it looks is yet to be determined, but it’s safe to say the final seven weeks of the season could go a long way toward shaking out the candidates.
The Rangers love Luis Mendoza’s "stuff" but with a 7.50 ERA, he needs a strong finish or he’s probably pitching his way back to bullpen status, at best. Matt Harrison is a left-hander, which is in his favor, but he’s young and is viewed as more of an eventual back-of-the-rotation starter.
Eric Hurley is a good bet, but he also hasn’t stayed healthy since the Rangers brought him up.
Brandon McCarthy is still lurking out there somewhere and excited the Rangers with a bullpen session last week. But he hasn’t pitched an inning this season or shown he’s someone the Rangers can count on to stay healthy.
Tommy Hunter, Thomas Diamond, and — if you like a long shot — Neftali Feliz are other names to watch.
There’s also no question that Daniels will try to add a young starter from outside the organization with a trade, probably from the Rangers’ abundant depth at catcher. They were highly interested in Florida’s Chris Volstad at the trade deadline and were willing to deal Gerald Laird and a solid prospect. They’ll look for similar opportunities this winter.
That brings us to the bullpen, where the closer role will once again be up for grabs in 2009.
Let’s save that discussion for another column. I’ve brought you enough bad news for one day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rangers at Red Sox
6:05 tonight, KDFI/Ch. 27
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