D

If the Rangers continue winning against crappy teams but can’t beat division leaders such as Boston/NY, expect this road trip to be the tipping point in which Jon Daniels & Nolan must decide if they will be buyers at the trade deadline…..for pitching.

1. I agree that Padilla had stopped competing. I don’t like this guy on my team if I’m in mgmt.
2. You had to assume he was going to be rusty. Shame on Rangers for not insisting that he make rehab start. Hopefully we don’t repeat mistake with Matt H.
3. I absolutely look to move Padilla at deadline. I don’t care what it means to us in short term. I believe the best thing for this thing long term is sticking Holland in rotation. Padilla will NOT be here next year. Build around the guys that WILL.
4. Everyone knows I love Kinsler, but leaving the runner at 3rd and 1 out (without lifting the bat off his shoulder) is not excusable (followed by the DP that SHOULD have been turned — how far away from the bag are you when you pivot fire ball overhand?).
5. Let’s tighten it up and get the game tomorrow. Stop being Fing afraid of this NY team (that goes to the players and us fans). I’m sick of this tight, scared approach.
6. Nice ABs Chris. Let’s build on that.

I agree with Jack Daddy about Padilla needing to work out his control issues in a rehab start in the minors as opposed to a game with meaning in the bigs. If I remember right Padilla has a problem with doing that but it’s not fair to the team that he wastes a game while he works off the rust.

Also it appears that at this stage of the rebuilding our guys are still intimidated by the big boys, but that is going to change at some point in time.

I think Holland needs some innings against some one other than the Yankees to build his confidence level back up.

Well, I believe for us it’s just in the pin stripes. It’s in our heads. I think we turn it around tomorrow.

If God loves the rangers Kris Benson will continue to pitch like he did today.

Chris Davis looked pretty good even though he was 0-4.

Kinsler needs to get the magic thong.

I don’t think Padilla stopped competing when he hit Tex. I think he decided he was decided he had an open base and would rather face ARod, who he he’d retired the previous AB on a weak grounder. When he went up against ARod again, he induced another grounder, just couldn’t get a DP out of it. After that he got another grounder, it just found a hole. If anything, I think Wash gave up on Padilla too soon.

This seems to be focusing on Padilla, so I’ll weigh in on that. We loved him when he was giving us 7 innings of one-hit ball (twice). We praised him when he didn’t engage in retalliation and when he didn’t have a meltdown. You have to take the good with the bad. Today, he reverted to the old Padilla. That does not mean we will never see the “good” Padilla again. We know that he doesn’t like rehab starts. We can say that he should have had one anyway to knock off the rust. But I ask you: who would you have rather run out there? Hunter? Holland? Benson? Jennings? Mathis? I didn’t think so. At least Padilla has the attitude to handle the Yankees. He didn’t do it tonight, but he is not intimidated by them. He probably will not be back next year, but he is who we have right now. And we have to take the bad with the good.

@ scooper: I love you.

I’m wondering if part of Padilla’s ‘situation’ (don’t want to call it a problem necessarily) is bad communication. What I mean is that he seems to be one of those keep-to-myself sorts of players (and maybe it’s a language thing?). I recall last year, or possibly the year before, when he was really struggling, insisting everything was ok but generally not being very communicative. Turns out he had that forearm problem and was great when he came back. Maybe he’s still not 100% and it’s a bit of rust. He’s certainly enigmatic that’s for sure.

I think vincente just has his “scarface” days so that when he is bad he goes down in a hail of bullets and hit batsmen……..he just needs to wipe off the blood and go get another one of his nine ranger lives with one hit ball…….

I’m REALLY starting to worry about Holland. This makes two straight TERRIBLE outings for him. Either he’s not ready for the bigs yet or (even worse) he’s another in a long line of overhyped prospects.

@Evan

I like the work Teagarden is doing, but with these young pitchers, do you think we aremissing a veteran catcher to help guide these guys through the growing pains. Just a thought.