Hill College Alum Two Much For Texas Rangers

D-tails: Blue Jays 9, Rangers 0
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot Game Blog

ARLINGTON - The names Jon Lester and Brian Tallet don’t often appear in the same sentence. But the Rangers were two-hit on Tuesday night for the second time in four games, a 9-0 Toronto victory in which the lanky lefty Tallet, a Hill College product, and two relievers did what Lester did on Saturday in Boston.

Hey, Andruw Jones compared him to Tom Glavine.

So the Rangers have opened a 10-game homestand looking flat, never so much as taking a lead in two games. Maybe Rangers fans sensed this coming like an approaching storm; the AL West leaders played before a second consecutive home crowd of fewer than 18,000.

“That’s two ballgames. We’re still in first place,” manager Ron Washington said. “We’re still in good shape. We’ll pick it back up. You play 162 games, you’re going to have days like that.”

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Depot: Rangers Live Blog, News And Notes

7:20: So, what do you think of the Rangers’ first-round draft pick, Houston High School lefty Matt Purke? You know, the Rangers have used their top pick on a Houston high school lefty once before. Think it was sometime in the ’70s. Anybody recall the fella? One thing the Rangers won’t have to worry about with Purke is they don’t have to rush him to the big leagues the way they did David Clyde in 1973.

7:25: Adam Lind homers. Third homer in two games. Last time a Blue Jay punished the Rangers this badly, his name was Delgado.

7:29: Actually, this is the third time the Rangers have drafted a Houston high school lefty in the first round. They used the No. 19 pick in 1987 on Brian Bohanon. Bohanon did win more games (11) in Texas than Clyde (seven).

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With The 14th Pick…

The Texas Rangers have selected Matt Purke of Klein High School in Klein, Texas.

Purke has been connected with the Rangers both because of his Texan roots and his tremendous talent, but there were signability concerns that led many to believe the Rangers would end up with another Texas high schooler, Shelby Miller of Brownwood.

Supposedly, Purke will require a hefty signing bonus to dissuade him from honoring his commitment to TCU, but his demands are well-known across baseball, so the mere fact the Rangers drafted him says they must be serious about going over slot to sign him. Purke has been likened to Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello (the only current Major Leaguer younger than Elvis Andrus) because he’s a hard-throwing high schooler who’s looking for big money. The Rangers had two chances to draft Porcello in 2007, but took Blake Beaven and Michael Main instead. Purke may not quite be Porcello in terms of talent, but he was probably the best player on the board when the Rangers picked and he’s generally considered a better prospect than Shelby Miller.

Here are some scouting reports on Purke from Baseball Intellect and Texas Leaguers, as well as a few low-quality videos of Purke pitching after the jump…

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Following Along With The MLB Draft

Random thoughts about MLB’s amateur draft proceedings:

5:41: The fact that both highly-ranked Georgia products are gone could push Atlanta, which loves hometown talent, to taking somebody off the Rangers board. OF Donovan Tate of Cartersville, Ga. went to San Diego at No. 3 and RHP Zack Wheeler was scooped up by San Francisco at No. 6, one pick ahead of Atlanta. The Braves scouted RHP Shelby Miller of Brownwood a lot, but could also go for California high school LHP Tyler Matzek, the top ranked lefty in the draft.

5:47: Is signability becoming an issue? Matzek has not been taken, but college LHP Mike Minor, considered more signable, went to Atlanta at No. 7. The Rangers have been willing to go above slot for players in recent years and owner Tom Hicks said last week that it would be business as usual for the club at the draft.

5:50: There are five picks ahead of the Rangers and four very attractive high school pitchers (LHPs Tyler Matzek, LHP Matt Purke of Houston, RHP Jacob Turner of St. Louis and and RHP Shelby Miller of Brownwood) and two independent league pitchers (RHP Aaron Crow and RHP Tanner Scheppers) still on the board. The Rangers, it appears, are going to have a pleasant dilemma in front of them.

5:54: It should also be noted that Washington has one of the picks ahead of the Rangers and the Nats are almost certain to go for a signable player at No. 10. Colorado (No. 11) and Oakland (No. 13) also traditionally favor signable college players.

5:55: Who do you take if the Rangers have their choice between the HS lefty Matt Purke and the RHP Shelby Miller.

6:00: Three picks ahead of Rangers: Matzek, Purke, Miller all still available as are Scheppers and Crow. If the Rangers got the money to spend, they are going to be able to lock in a premiere pitching talent.

6:05: It’s gotta be Purke or Miller for the Rangers at this point, unless something really wild takes place and they go for Crow. They did not expect Crow, currently playing for the Fort Worth Cats, to be around when they picked. Crow turned down the Nationals and is represented by Randy and Alan Hendricks of Houston. He has some polish, attended Missouri (the same school that produced Ian Kinsler and tonight’s starter Doug Mathis) and he could come quick. Would the Rangers pony up $4 million for him?

Doing The Pitching Shuffle: Texas Rangers Add Jason Grilli, Demote Kris Benson

ARLINGTON – The Rangers have once again installed a revolving door to the clubhouse. It was spinning on Tuesday.

Vagabond RHP Jason Grilli has been acquired as extra help for the bullpen. RHP Kris Benson was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing outright waivers. And he was actually kind of relieved about it. By going to the minors, Benson will get a chance to start once again – that is if he pitches at all.

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Eric Nadel To Return To Rangers Radio Booth On Wednesday

After missing just six games of what was expected to be an absence of perhaps more than two weeks, Rangers raradio broadcaster Eric Nadel will return to the booth on Wednesday.

Nadel, 58, has been given clearance by both the surgeon who performed the laser surgery in New York last Thursday and doctors in Dallas. Nadel will, however, have to wear a patch to protect his right eye. Nadel was diagnosed with two tears in his retina last Thursday, less than a day after feeling some wateriness and cloudiness in his vision.

This is exceptionally good news for the Rangers and their radio fans. Nadel had gone 3,176 consecutive games between absences from the broadcast. He missed four games in 1989 after the death of his father.

Oy! It’s Home Run Pool Time

Here is your Rangers lineup against Toronto LHP Brian Tallet:

2B Ian Kinsler, 3B Michael Young, DH Andruw Jones, RF Nelson Cruz, CF Marlon Byrd, LF Brandon Boggs, 1B Chris Davis, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Doug Mathis.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, will someone win tonight? My giveaway bag is stuffed full of inexpensive trinkets.

Guillermo Pimentel: The Other First Rounder?

Guillermo Pimentel from Kiley McDaniel on Vimeo.

While the Rangers go into the 2009 draft with the #14 overall selection and the #44 pick (as compensation for losing Milton Bradley in free agency), giving them two picks before the second round begins (and yet another exellent opportunity to load up high-upside talent to the game’s best farm system), it is widely rumored that they have already bagged the elephant of this year’s amateur class by having successfully wooed Dominican outfielder Guillermo Pimentel, who turned 16 in mid May.

Pimentel is said to have plus power and an extremely smooth stroke from the left side, tremendous athleticism and a below average arm (as opposed to the Guillermo Pimentel that Rangers already have, whose cannon might be the best among all oufielders in the system right now).

The signing date for international free agents is July 2, but Pimentel is known to have a strong relationship with the Rangers already — a product of the intensified scouting efforts by the organization in the DR over the past few years — and he has worked out at the Rangers’ Dominican academy. In recent months, however, nobody has seen him leading to speculation by other clubs that the Rangers are hiding him. Having been beaten to the punch by Oakland on Michael Ynoa last year, it may be that the Rangers decided to pounce early on Pimentel — even if it means irritating other clubs — rather than risk losing him .

The Greatest Of All-Time? Yes.

I am certainly a man with a wandering sports mind, and during the sports year that sends me in all sorts of directions. One effect is that I end up watching certain events in sports that I don’t know much about, but I have built it into my annual calendar. Such is the case in tennis, with the French Open Men’s Final, the Wimbledon Final, and generally a few nights of US Open tennis the week before Labor Day.

I don’t know tennis. I enjoy it, but I cannot name 5 men’s players, I bet. It is enjoyable, but because of sports clutter, there just isn’t a time where I can dedicate 2 weeks to a major, and therefore I swoop in for a few championship finals.

Which brings us to what happened this weekend. Roger Federer won his 14th major, and his first ever French Open. This completed his career grand slam, an accomplishment that only Andre Agassi had since the 1960′s. Consider all of the amazing players of the last 40 years to not close that deal.

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Feeling Drafty: Complete Texas Rangers Amateur Draft Coverage Right Here All Day And All Night

The MLB First-Year Player Draft (more commonly known as the amateur draft) begins at 5 p.m. CDT this evening. You can find it televised on the MLB Network if you happen to be so fortunate as to get that. Jim Sundberg and Rusty Greer will be representing the Rangers as the ceremonial pickers in Seacaucus, N.J.

The Rangers draft 14th overall and also have the 44th pick (a “sandwich” pick between the first and second rounds) as compensation for losing Milton Bradley to the Chicago Cubs. The club will also have

We will be in Arlington, providing you with as much draft coverage as is possible from our merry little band. Mighty MJH will kick things off this morning with a look at the “other” potential first-round talent the Rangers might grab this summer. We’ll try to be along all day to get you pumped for the draft, but you can start by reading MJH’s outstanding draft basics feature on the scouting of Ian Kinsler, the best 17th round pick the Rangers have ever made. And you can also read Jeff Miller’s feature on Shelby Miller (no relation to our Jeff), who might just be the Rangers choice at 14. Also for your reading pleasure, here is Baseball America’s most recent mock first-round with the most excellent Jim Callis’ once again selecting Miller for the Rangers, but he also has a few other names in there, including Houston HS LHP Matthew Purke (who attended Klein High School, home of David Murphy). My bet: The Rangers end up with a Texas High School Pitcher in the first round for the second time in the last three years. Not sure which it will be, but think it will be one of them.

You can leave your guesses right here.

Road To Arlington: Rangers Minor League Report (6/9)

LHP’s Martin Perez and Yoon-Hee Nam, C Doug Hogan, IF Erik Morrison and OF’s Mike Bianucci and David Paisano were named to the Sally League North All-Star roster.

And Julio is the man. He’s bad. He’s so bad he should be in detention.

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