D

Check out Elvis’ eye black. He’s getting exotic.

7 years, 126 million for Zito….

Hitless in three straight at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first inning. Rangers are hitless in their last nine.

@Rangers Fan: Counting the first inning strikeout, it’s now .207 since May 1, .210 since April 21 (the last two months).

That was a great inning by Millwood. He looks to be on today.

@Rangers Fan-Good question

Love Tom Grieve but this is the part where he starts talking about HOW GREAT our OUTS ARE!!!

WOO HOO!! That’s AWESOME!

@Walrus: It still comes down to the players executing. Jaramillo is an excellent tactician, but his weakness as a hitting instructor is still philosophy and approach. Nobody can help players understand their swing better than Jaramillo. But it appears most of the hitters – particularly the young hitters and the free-agents-to-be – have struggled to grasp pitch sequences and scenarios.

@Rangers fan: Jones is still hitting 50 points higher than Davis for the year and his on-base percentage is more than 100 points higher. Jones has a longer track record of success and still seems more of a threat than Davis in the lineup. But I’ll turn your argument on its head. I’d suggest the reason Jones ISN’T playing regularly is because Davis is so good defensively.

Well….what about if we make an organizational decision and decide we will not resign Byrd if he continues what Evan spoke of in the blog…is Boggs a part of the future? If we can ride with Davis then why not give Boggs the full time job in the OF (until Hamilton comes back).

I am a Byrd fan, but I think the Rangers are in the strange postition of Contending and Rebuilding…Boggs will not be swinging for a new contract, he will be doing whatever he can to stay on the field. I hope Marlon gets it together because he seems like a great guy and can play great defense.

@Evan-Yes,Jones has a long track record. But he’s not the player he was. Fun with stats: Compare the 2008-2009 numbers for Jones vs. Davis.Figgers lie and liars figger. Of course, Davis may never again be what he was in 2008, Just like Jones career numbers are meaningless, at this point.

@Evan – Are the Rangers giving any thought to bringing up Borbon? Seems to be the type of hitter this lineup could use.

@Dylan: the players call him “Milly”

@Red: Borbon has certainly improved his on base percentage, but I wouldn’t say he’s exactly the type of hitter this lineup needs. This lineup needs disciplined hitters and while Borbon is more disciplined than he once was, I don’t think I’d yet call him a disciplined hitter.

Tough inning, but love the way “Milly” battled through.

As much as I see the trying to win now…I don’t want to set us back if we don’t win this year..if that makes sense? I think we all know truly contending for it all is not happening this year. We are making great progress this year. Contending and getting that kind of experience is an added bonus. But not letting players work through slumps, learning how to make adjustments, etc will only set us back.

@Evan – Been to a number of Frisco games this season and it seems like, with the exception of Smoak and now Beavans, the AA team isn’t quite as prospect heavy as this time last year. Is it just a matter of the top notch prospects being a year closer (OKC) or really young (Bakersfield)?

@Rangers Fan – Must have missed it. What did he say?

a few bad sequences there….

This ballpark is horrible. Too easy to get a triple.

Here is what I dont get if the Cowboys can get rid of a cordinator then why cant the reangers do the same with Rudy. I mean I know he is considered great and all but if he cant teach someone like Chris Davis and Salty to stop swinging so freely and be more patient at the plate then this team will always be what it is no discipline.

@Dylan he was talking about how San Fran inspired Tony Bennett to write “Baby Got Back” and then he goes “oh my notes were wrong, it was I left my hear in San Francisco”…very strange

@Fred I’ll agree with you on that, it just doesn’t burn him as often in the Ballpark, probably would if he played LF or CF.

Could Nellie be considered for DH next season? If you move Hamilton to right, Borbon in center, Murphy/a righthander and Nelly DH? Blalock and Jones most likely won’t be here.

millwood should have caught that ball. That was a decent relay. Don’t think they’d have gotten the runner, but should have been caught.

Nice catch, Andruw!

@beerguy: I agree with you. But no one even really calls him “Crush”. He is pretty much just CD, now.

@alan – Remember the Espn game against the white sox? Steve Phillips said Rudy is considered by everyone in the majors as the best in Baseball. Line would form to the left to get him.

@JOSH LEWIN: We are beyond COLD, we are more like ARTIC!!!

@TD – I dunno. I can see where you are coming from, but if you can get the throw there in time, the inning is over and you give up no runs. Worth the try.

@beerguy: that’s kind of the point – even the players call each other regular stuff.
Millwood: Milly
Cruz: Nellie
Harrison: Harry
Davis: CD
McCarthy: B-Mac
Even the players aren’t very creative.

Best in baseball or not the aggressive aproach or not listening to Rudy is really killing this team.

I think in general fans give way too much credit to the impact of a coach and manager. When players do well, the praise is for them, but when they struggle oddly blame is given to the coaches and managers. As always, I say blame the player first for any failure. Sure the coach plays a part in that, but the players have to actualize what the coach says.

Rudy gets a pass for everything let me get this straight if the Rangers pitching goes bad the coach has to go but if the bats dont then it is because rudy has a great reputation for helping guys. I guess thats why we will always be 2nd because are hitting approach will never change

@fred: you are right. “lettuce” is good
@beerguy: I agree. Rudy can’t go out there and do it for them. Rudy has a track record of helping mediocre hitters become good to very good hitters, but he just gives them the tools to do the job. The players have to go out there and do it.

I’d like to see this teams OBP for the last 15 years and where it ranks league wide……betting it’s in bottom half most years.

@alan: The Rangers always hit. Check the stats for any year since Rudy has been here. Now we are having trouble hitting, and all of a sudden Rudy is a bad coach.
The Rangers NEVER pitched well. the pitching coaches couldn’t have been doing too great! Now Mike Maddux comes in (and Nolan Ryan is the pres.) and we are getting good pitching from basically the same guys we had last year.
Either way, coaches can only do so much. The players still have to perform.

We need to start a big time JINX:

Zito has the NO-HITTER going….

@DC: Texas has never been about OBP, they have never emphasized it. Check runs scored.

That’s 70 K in 184 AB for Salty. He’s right up there, too.

@beerguy: look at his track record. do you think we’ve always hit IN SPITE OF Rudy? Nope.

@alan: I don’t know about you, but I haven’t turned anyone from good to great lately.

@Dylan: Remember three guys from the Frisco team last year are now with the Rangers: Andrus, Davis, Holland. …

This year’s Frisco team is not as prospect heavy as it was a year ago, but Smoak and Beavan are premier prospects, Lemon, Poveda and Pina are legit prospects and there are a handful of other prospects there. It’s a lot different than a few years ago when each team had maybe one prospect.

@Rangers Fan: Yup, you summed it up.

To me the strikeouts of Chris “CHIP/CD/CRUSH” Davis don’t matter, because no one is ever on base anyways these days!

I guess my whole problem is I understand he cant go out there and do it for these guys but man why cant someone get Salty and Davis and others to be more patient. If A 20 yr old ( Andrus) can do it then surely he can point to those guys and say see what happens when you dont swing at everything in world.

And from a cynic’s perspective, at least strikeouts work the pitcher more than those first pitch pop flies…

Thank you Gravypan at least someone else can see through their homer eyes and be honest here

We should give props to Kinsler. He’s been hitting better and of all differnt kinds. Even got down a bunt for a hit the other day and several walks. I’ve been happy with Andrus. The rest of the line up…not so much.

@Alan: I am not celebrating Rudy in spite of the slump. I’m mad and frustrated. But my frustration is targeted toward the players. I would suppose we’re all “homers” if we’re fans…

@rangersfan: you are right. since Kins had his “revelation,” he has been doing a much better job.

Texas Rangers 196 walks 28th in league 541 strikeouts 25th in league .260 16th in league. But no need to change anything.

I second the vote to keep Evan’s commentary on top. It won’t stop me from reading the blog(as i usually read the comments as well), but I do prefer the original format.

@The Beer Guy: For the veterans, your point is valid. It’s one thing when it’s a guy like Chris Davis who isn’t able to either move a runner over with nobody out or get them home from third with one out. It’s another when it’s Michael Young stepping up to the plate and giving away an at bat with a strikeout.

I know I’ve knee jerked and called for Rudy’s head. But honestly, if they made a switch at the hitting coach position, it’s still on the players to get out of this funk.

This is going to be really embarassing if we get no-hit! Can you imagine, with the pitchers that SF has (Lincecum, Cain, Johnson) and we get no-hit by Zito?

I don’t mind Evan’s commentary being at the top, but I like it when he lets us know in the comments that he has posted something up there. And when he is answering our questions, it is good to do it in the comments section.

@Dylan: Taking a couple days off from HEAVY blogging is right, though, it could be argued that any blogging done by me is heavy. I’m, unfortunately, a heavy blogger.

@All: I think my experiment indicates a couple of things. I think it is more effective to separate my in-game commentary from our chat, but that it is also kind of a pain for many of you to keep going back to the top to see my comments. Now, I’ve got to come up with a system to best address both those needs. Who’s a tech expert?

I know Zito has been better this year, but if we can’t touch him up for a least a few hits, we are in trouble. He is a ten years younger Jamie Moyer.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I lose

I suck at predictions THANK GOD!

Hanging curve

lol…my MLB.com feed is several minutes behind real time apparently! I just now saw Jones’ HR

So the SF fans choose to boo a clearly fair ball instead of applauding a pither who took a no-hitter in the 7th? Classy.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9849503-2.html

This is a good tool. Downside is that it doesn’t play well with comments within it’s system but it does help the constant refresh. It’s one option.

Rought day for Nellie, however.

As I said earlier, Cruz is an over rated OF

@ Fred…I’m not sure anyone has ever really said he was a great fielder.

Going into this year, there was talk about him being a plus fielder. He does have a cannon, though

When the offense isnt going…you can’t make errors. And we made 2 errors.

Giants announcers said they haven’t seen range like Andrus’ all year

I’m now officially frustrated with this team.

Hitting. For the 30+ years I’ve been watching this team, I’ve been BEGGING for pitching. Now, when it FINALLY appears that we’ve got decent pitchers, our offense goes in the tank.

I’m SICK of watching Davis, Blalock, Salty and the rest FLAIL when up at the plate.

Does Davis need to get bellow .100 before he’s sent down? Sickens me.

Shut down inning. Do the pitchers know what they are?

RP. I now expect late inning losses (like last night). Not ENTIRELY the pitchers fault, because the offense stinks right now, but Jenning’s wild pitch was no surprise.

Cruz’s play in the OF (and at the plate) has been bad this series.

I’ve been working on not posting when frustrated (which has been a lot lately), but it has become too much, so I had to let it go.

OK, I feel a bit better. Sorry for the rant.

Evan, is in not possible for you to cut and paste your time comments at the top into the the comments section below it? Simplest solution as you, on average, have about 12-15 game notes at the toop. Just leave the time stamp so we can tell the difference.

Yes it would be twice, but once the comment field starts getting to 100-200+ comments- the top is pretty far up.

Which is a nice problem to have.

Something to take your mind off the hitting this is pretty wild…..http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Wicked-video-Minor-leaguer-performs-major-leagu;_ylt=AtK1taYfKs8_Pf8va02a.BF0fNdF?urn=mlb%2C171207

A solution to the posting issue that’s more user-driven is just to open a new browser tab. Keep one on the comments and the other up top on Evan’s comments. Refresh as necessary.

4:57: Before anybody goes all ballistic on Nelson Cruz’s defense, let me say this: I think just about every problem he’s had this year has been sun-related. I think something can be done about that. I don’t think he’s had much problem in night games.

@beerguy: good point; I feel kind of silly for not thinking of it.

oh my gosh a patient hitter you see it can be done thanks gosh for Andrus

@scooper: hehe, no worries, it just occurred to me.

New nic for Eddie Firestarter.

Should we lose, the only positive I can take from it would be that surely this sweep will force JD to pull the trigger on something. My guess is that Davis is going down to OKC. And that his replacement will be with the team in time for the Arizona series. Also, if Everyday Eddie bombs here, I could see him being DFA’d.

@The Beer Guy – on the separate tabs: So simple it is genius.

@DC is it the minor league player that swings the bat with no hands?? That is crazy!

Stunned that Eddie did well, but pleased; sadly, I expect no comeback from the offense.

Uh Boggs…just watched 2 strikes right down the middle of the plate. Sick.

Wow…terrible AB for Boggs.

WHERE DID THE OFFENSE GO??!?!?!?!?!?!?

I hope the Angels win tonight.

If this is a division-leading offense that’s an embarrassment to the American League.

I’m not sure any Ranger fan roots for them to drop in the standings.

Terrible. Happy for the off-day tomorrow. Less frustration for me, better for the blood pressure. Cya all

I see signs that this team has the same moxie as the Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars have, which is to say, none.

When things go bad for this team, I see no fire, and it frightens me.

Also, watching the other teams for years, the Rangers seem to have the same leadership void that the others have.

Romo, Dirk, Mo and MY are all reluctant leaders.

Guys – this isn’t a leadership thing. It’s not a “hunger” or “drive”. This isn’t football. If anything, they are beign too aggressive. They have entirely last their way at the plate. Hitting is contagious, good and bad. I don’t know if Rudy has been spending too much time with Davis and has hasn’t been able to spend as much time with the rest. I don’t know what it is. But yes it is frustrating.

I do think there is something to Evan’s point about the FA’s to be (Blalock and Byrd becoming over agressive free swingers). I don’t have any interest in the old veterans taking ABs from young guys. Not sure the young guys are ready, but it sure looks like Borbon might be. Ramirez looks to be close. When he gets in a groove, there will be no excuse to not get him up here. I don’t care if it means releasing a contract. By August 1st, Borbon and Ramirez should be in the starting lineup as CF and DH. Holland needs to stay in the rotation and Felize should be up in the pen for a month, and moved into the rotation in September.

In the meantime, Boggs should be getting some PT. I’m not sure what else the coaches can do, other than start issuing strategic take signs to most of the hitters, to help them work the pitchers in the early innings.

just got back from the game…..sat behind nolan and i swore he and the blond he was with had on giants caps………but neither of us had anything to cheer about except on a couple of andrus plays…..then as was discussing the superb defense that davis had he muffed the elvis throw…..i had said his defense was what kept him in the lineup but that “we expected better defense from a .200 hitter”………………….

of last 4 losses in a row….jennings has 2 of them…..cj hasn’t been used

@Fred, I was doing the first one as an example.

How bout Andruw!!!!

I think the biggest question, from a management and structure standpoint, that the rangers must figure out this year in order to get this thing to the next level is whether Rudy is the guy or not. I’m not opining because frankly, I don’t know. Nor am I qualified to weigh in. But if there is a philosophical difference, that MUST be addressed. I thought we went through this in mid-07 and found a middle ground.

All I know is, the season will slip away if they bat .200 as a team too much longer. I don’t mind this season not ending up in the playoffs, if we are developing players in the process. We are on the pitching front, for the most part. I would like to see Murray up here, but not sure anybody else is really ready. With respect to the bats, probably not yet, but they need to be watching Smoak, Borbon and Max very closely. I would rather lose with youth than lose with temporary players.

Btw, I mentioned to my son that last night wasn’t a total washout, that I would rather lose and have Holland pitch great, than lose and him get shelled. He thought about it for about 10 seconds and came back with, “yeah, I suppose so, but why not have them win and he pitch great? And, besides, winning with him getting shelled would still be better than losing and him getting shelled”.

Genius.

what seems WACK right now is that the Rangers don’t have any hitters in the system ready to be called up…….in the best minor league system in baseball and no one is ready…..timing sucks right now…….

i winced when they picked up the $6 mil on blalock…so little in return for that $ $$ ..the bullpen needed that cash….

@jack i forgot how bad the veterans had been and why we had to deplete the farm so quickly……

Nolan just didn’t look like a guy in the middle of a $450 million deal……..but it was pretty funny seeing him and the beautiful blond in giants/bank of america caps…….my wife swears she was rooting for the giants……..good sportsmanship…..

missed bp today but as i arrived saw one lone ranger running on his own in the outfield……..39………scott feldman…..guy is just determined to be a ball player…….

Why with the the world’s greatets hitting instructor is everyone looking to the minor league instructional program to improve hitting?

But then again why did Cruz have to keep going down to re-learn hitting?

Couuld it just possibly be the world’s greatest hitting instructor?