Comments on: Post-Game Show: A’s 4, Rangers 2

By: wahouma

wahouma — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:45:21 +0000

it’s always interested me that the loudest praise for jaramillo comes from the players. did you see laird’s comments last week from detroit?

i think he’s very good at teaching what he sees as the correct hitting approach and philosophy. it seems to me to be the baseball version of “nellie-ball” though. go for the fences (3-point shot) with all your might every time you see a pitch you like. what player didn’t love nellie? what player and his agent don’t love large power stats?

i wonder how washington/brown are with the “la vida grande” philosophy. ryan/daniels?

By: Mac

Mac — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:54:38 +0000

I agree with Chris who I think hit the nail on the head. Rudy J. is way overrated and overpaid. There are some things he has done right i.e. his ability to fix a swing of a given player. But overall I really think he is weak. Last year for example you could see his work paying off as Rangers hitters took a more disciplined approach by going deeper into counts. This year that has vanished as you see a lot of first pitch swinging pop ups or weak ground outs in key RBI situations.

The Rangers do not hit situationaly very well, do not execute the bunt well, and have too many young guys struggling at the plate whcih is all a direct reflection on your hitting coach. It’s great that Rudy has helped Andru Jones improve his swing, but Chris Davis, David Murphy, and Taylor Teagarden struggle mightily and I am just not observing anything signifcant from the coaching. When you add the fact that Josh’s swing does not look as fluid or consistent as last year one has to look at the hitting coach and his approach. There is too much love thrown Rudy’s way and not enough discernement of the day to day and the end result. He seems to work well with veterans but I am not at all impressed with his work with young hitters. Rudy—-way overrated.

By: b.money

b.money — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:13:01 +0000

This game was summed by runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. . . three stranded and zero runs across.

I can’t believe Mike couldn’t keep it on the ground to the right side. . . Blalock I believe, he swings for homerun or bust every pitch.

By: Tim Perkins

Tim Perkins — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:51:31 +0000

Kinda makes you wonder what the team used spring training for.

By: T Coleman

T Coleman — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:03:18 +0000

I appreciate how hard the everyday guys play, but I echo what has been said above…the team is not fundamentally sound. Frequent base running blunders, the inability to score from third base with less than two outs, stranding a lead-off double. Three of the four runs Oakland scored today were not the result of a base hit. The majority of the Ranger runs are scored from a home run.

By: alan

alan — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:49:19 +0000

I thought this team was supposed to be about fundamentals…situational hitting, base running and defense….Those have been SO bad that the pitching weaknesses are almost irrelevant..Everybody give MY and Kinsler such high marks and praise for their key hits this season that they all overlook fundamentally TERRIBLE mistakes that they make you wonder who the young guys are supposed to learn from

By: Jolly

Jolly — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:06:41 +0000

The A-Rod story just rubs it in on Rangers fans faces………ie it was our owner who gave him the $252mil contract and it bothers me that if he didn’t display fiduciary responsibility then why would he suddenly possess that skill now? And that’s a much bigger problem than being short two arms in the bullpen……..that keeps me from being overly optimistic……

By: JustSaying

JustSaying — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:56:38 +0000

A little disappointed with the record…..after a 3-0 start I was more optimistic….but I still think we can compete this year in “this” division….but we still need another bullpen arm or two….

Millwood should be an inspiration throughout the system cause I really think his off-season work is what has pushed him to this early success…….Padilla is a mystery and I think we need an astrologer or a psychoanalyst to take a look at him………

If we are in a winnable division then we have to put the best possible line-up out there……and despite my pre-season dis-belief Jones sure looks like he needs to be in almost every day….

By: becca

becca — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:49:23 +0000

YES! my boy padilla never lets me down! thanks auditor!

By: Auditor

Auditor — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:43:30 +0000

Funny you should ask becca, HBP by Padilla was the 5th batter in the first inning.

When Padilla starts Evan needs to change the Home Run pool to a HBP contest.