D

Nice top half of the inning – would like to get going fast in the bottom half!

@Ranger_ve: Are you in Venezuela or just from Venezuela?

I knew the International market would come around.

LAA 2 NYY 1 Bottom of the fifth.

@tom b: that’s what it feels like exactly.

Why not trade millwood and max to chi for bradley, with them picking up most of 2011 $$?

Bradley is owed $21 amd millwood $12

@evan: i don’t understand all the fall and instructional league ball and what not, but what do kids like rueben jr. do? he’s 16ish, right? does he play back in the dominican or somehow with the rangers? sorry if i sound ignorant.

7:35: Just in case you are wondering on my take on Kevin Millwood, it’s this: I’d start him on Sunday. If there were clear cut choices to move into that spot, I’d have no problem pushing Millwood back. RHP Brandon McCarthy, who will probably pitch Sunday, has a nice record (7-2), but its not like he has dominated when healthy this year. He’s made two starts since coming back from the DL. He was sharp against Toronto, but allowed Cleveland five runs in 6.1 innings. The other option is LHP Derek Holland and he simply hasn’t been very good since the start of August.

Millwood was a huge part of the Rangers’ early-season success and was the model for the ohter pitchers to follow at the start of this season. That’s a good engouh tiebreaker for me to give him a shot. But it should also be mentioned he has playoff race experience.

So does A. Jones have Play-Off experience. Bad reason to start Millie.

@Evan Grant: Would you put Millwood on a set pitch count (maybe 70 pitches) a la chamberlain in New York?

LAA 2 NYY 3. NYY got two on a two run triple from Texeira.

@Evan Grant: Short leash it is then.

Come on Elvis you have to make a bigger deal out of that.

7:59: Omar Vizquel has handled his only chance in this game cleanly (well, he bobbled it, but did recover in time to throw the runner out). Vizquel, who has started at second, short and third this season, has 188 chances without an error. Only four players – OF Darryl Hamilton (389, 1996), 1B David Segui (323, 2000), C Bill Haselman (247, 2001) and 1B-OF Frank Catalanotto (200,2007) – have had at least 200 chances in a season with no errors in Rangers history. With the exception of Hamilton, who played center, none of them played “premium” defensive positions.

Omar Vizquel has been a transcendent defensive player. A lot great plays you see today were first done by him. i.e: bare hand catches ,360′s etc.

not to mention, wasn’t the last time we played the A’s in oakland, they did a pretty good number on us. i think.

All right here we go.

i wouldn’t put millwood on the mound against the angels…..that’s seems pretty stupid when he has a 6.56 era against them…..at least he has a 2.57 era against the a’s even though it was all accomplished before the break………..if you want to win i would put feliz on the mound and say show me what you’ve got……we all know what millwood has and it’s big fat grapefruits………..

@John: Oakland is 27-28 since the All-Star break, 20-20 since August 1. Thinking the perception of them as very good lately may be an optical illusion.

AND keep in mind we’re 13-12 in our last 25, so this requires a pretty major turnaround. I’m not deliberately trying to be pessimistic, I’m just not sure we have much of a realistic chance left. We have a small realistic chance, but it’s just that: small.

I listen to the games on XM. Am wondering about the size of the crowd.

@dbs: Crowd is small. I’d venture in the 10,000 range of actual attendance. I’m expecting paid to be about 22,000 to 24,000.

with all the talk on the brodcast about the quote future games coming up cna we please talk about winning tonight

you know what evan with this kind of performance by the offense does anybody blame the non diehard ranger fan for not coming out I am tired of seeing this happen this year getting playing down to the level of the competition I will say it again playoffteam are whipping the a’s right know and a pretender are well mailing it in and I am sorry to say I think we that is exactly what is going on

i was supposed to go to the game tonight but working late tonight and then all weekend and fighting a cold…i guess i’m not as diehard as i should be. plan on getting out there this weekend though

The loss of MY and Hammy destroyed this teams chances. They just don’t have the guns to win the fight right now and that’s a shame.

and here we go with the abligotory tom grieve well if scott had of done this and done that okay how about next inning we hear some ripping of the hitting from this team and how it is letting them down and not playing up to the level they should be but will we hear that no of course not it will be tomko is the greatest pitcher since cy young and a pitcher who got released by the royals who is dominating us and that is pathetic that is what we should hear

I just can’t fathom less than 10,000 would go to see Feldman pitch tonight, this inning aside. Playoffs are a real longshot but can’t rule them out.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m freakin sick of watching pop flies. It’s just like watching static on TV, the picture never changes.

The Rangers need a new GM. The new GM should be George W. Bush.

@Evan: Where’s MJH? Does he not write for Inside Corner anymore?

This is not about the front office. This is a young team trying to learn how to handle being under the microscope and the pressure of winning. Add to that Texas heat, doubleheaders, and injuries, and it’s just not working out. I, for one, am proud of what this team has accomplished.

LAA 3 NYY 3 bottom of the eight.

callie said it better than i could. first of all, the season’s not over. second, what the young kids have acomplished development-wise was pretty unexpected. and exciting. i’m not just going to tote the ‘just wait until next year’ because this is still exciting baseball.

Thanks, Evan!

Any so called “baseball fan” that questions the job that Ron Washington and JD have done with the hand that they’ve been dealt (NO MONEY) and with the players they have (Young players = inexperience = inconstant play = some bad mistakes) needs to turn in their baseball watching privileges and focus on football where every game matters instead of the entire season as a whole. You Gallaway Wanna-be “Over-reacters” are what continue to make Ranger Fans look like fools. The Rangers have overachieved without solid contributions from their supposed No. 3 hitter, with a falling Ace, and an injured Team Leader. I’m extremely proud of the way the Rangers play with heart and hustle and even if they don’t make the playoffs, JD should win Executive of the Year and RW Manager of the Year for what they’ve been able to accomplish with the players they inhereted.

anybody have a link to Kennedy charging the mound on feldman a few yrs. ago?

Sorry, no Yankee lead. thought on the MLB.com graphic there was already a runner on second.

Weaver walked A-Rod to make it first and second with one out. He’s out, and Darren Oliver is in.

I don’t know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. It all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team, or we’re gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we’re finished. We’re in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the s### kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.

I’d take em for the Ingram concert.

I’d take em but I’m in DC. Nationals anyone?

Cano RBI single makes it 5-3 Yankees.

@ texas rocks suck down that kool aid cause it’s coming like a fire hose

hey sports fans let’s look at the results before and after the dfa’ing of vicente……

Before 59-47 .557

After 21-16 .568

And i’m sure that .011 improvement is all because everyone “feels better” without vicente in the dugout…….

i guess if the reason you play baseball is to feel self-righteous i guess then i guess the rangers are world series champions……

the object of the game is to win period so figure out how to get the most from “everybody” not just the players with kneepads and kool-aid on their lips……..

@Just Saying – you do know that you can make your exact argument the other way, right? As in, the record improved .011 after – things didn’t fall apart because super-awesome Padilla left. I’d say at best he was not impactful, so why not send his negative “feeling” away?

Unless Padilla was going to start in place of Holland or Millwood he would not have significantly impacted the Rangers record. Hunter, Feldman, Nippert and McCarthy have done fine since Padilla left. The lack of any contribution from Holland and Millwood recently has made it impossible for the Rangers to go on any type of winning streak.

I haven’t heard from Evan in a while, I hope he hasn’t done anything “drastic”.

LAA 3 NYY 5 Final. Mariano gets the save.

@Ryans Dad – I think Evan is working hard to find the other two of the “three up” Andrus’ hit streak merits an “up”

@DBs, @Ryans Dad: Snuck in the back to watch the end of Bills-Pats and to take mind off how disheartening this game must be for Rangers fans.

Get a good nights sleep and tomorrow is a brand new day. ‘Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Another one bites the dust….”

I guess it could be worse, we could be Bills fans.
I know it doesn’t matter if the Rangers don’t score but why not Feliz instead of Grilli?

So, this team hasn’t scored a run in how many innings now?

17 scoreless innings for this offense by count.

@JS – I don’t think that is a fair assessment. Baseball history is full of players that move teams and instantly improve, not to mention the obvious AL to NL inherent improvements. I’m not defending the front office for all moves – let’s face it there have been some bad ones – but I don’t agree that Padilla is a good example. If Maddux can’t motivate Padilla pitching well, it’s on Padilla not the team.

9:30: Rangers have not been shutout in back-to-back games since August 14-15, 2008 when they lost the final game of a three-game sweep at Boston and then lost the first game of a homestand to Tampa Bay. The Rangers were shutout six times last year; four of them came in an eight-day period from August 7-15. That week dashed any hope of a miraculous playoff run. Could the same thing be happening now?

My reaction to this game was to open a Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot. Drowning my sorrows. Such a magnificent season, but the team looks dead in the water since leaving Cleveland. Surely the rain and Kinsler’s comments last Friday didn’t sink this ship, but it feels that way.

@dbs holland would have been in the bullpen and we’d then have had a fighting chance in those games……..

it is utterly bizarre to me that a player that is paid 200k and up can complain about another player with a straight face……be a professional……do your job…….with the economy where it is and ownership where it is how can a player even think about complaining about their teammate that gives them a better chance to win……….geez grow up………….

@evan basebal is not a beauty contest and neither is sports writing………just ask randy galloway………

insert fork here…prepare for this team to actually not improve in the offseason, despite its youth, as their complete farce of an owner continues to dump salary..IQ and financial health are finally starting to balance for the Hicks family

9:41: Here is what makes this game particularly difficult to swallow if you are a Rangers fan. It is not like the weakened offense is facing a Cy Young candidate. RHP Brett Tomko, who has allowed four hits on 98 pitches in eight innings, is on the verge of a complete game shutout. How rare is that for Tomko, the ultimate in a “journeyman?” Well, he hasn’t had a complete game since 2005 and has exactly one shutout in his career of 266 starts. He has the second most starts in history to have no more than one shutout. Kirk Reuter had one in 336 starts from 1993-2005.

“Well I’m going to the game tomorrow to sit with Norm at the wedge. Any advise?”

wear a gas mask and ear plugs and you’ll be fine

This. Team. SUX!

Evan—as a fan since this team’s inception–I challenge you to find me 15 losses in the club’s history more devastating that tonight’s loss given the circumstance

if there is no one there tonite it’s not going to get any better and every time mlb has to pitch in for payroll will mean less money to renew contracts…….i’d even bet that no free agent is allowed to be signed before new ownership is on board………can you hear the howling over the millwood $12 mil contract……every time jd looks up at the bosman committee they’ll howl “how much you paying millwood?” end of discussion……hurry up new owner make this management team go away……far far away…….

9:57: And that’s a wrap. Question to discuss while we construct the Post Game Show: Is this the most disheartening Rangers’ loss of the year? Perhaps a better question might be: Is anything else even close?

Hey Evan,
What do you think about benching some of the regulars for tomorrow’s game? If that’s all they’re gonna give you, I’m sure some of the guys riding the bench would jump at an opportunity to prove themselves. Like Gentry and German. Even put Andruw in the lineup. He’s probably due for his one good game this month…

We all know that there are some serious holes in this lineup. Give JD a chance to address those issues in the offseason (aka give him some money) and hope that this team takes another significant step forward next year, and not a significant step backward, ala the Rays this year.

There are 100 reasons to be positive and hopeful for next year…but until we lose those games to the Angels, I will refuse to give up on this tremendous season by my team.

All we gotta do is have the Sox sweep the Halos, then beat them all 7 times too! Easy peazy….

It was a bad day at Black Rock but remermber, There are at least 10 AL teams that would love to have the Rangers record.
It’s a loss, maybe the season, it has still been a great season. I wouldn’t critize any of these guys. Some days in games and life you get the crap beat out of you. The season is 162 games and only 4 teams in each league will make the play-offs. We are number 5 and we’re still better than the Central leader.

Seriously, Evan, there must be some question in the organization about lack of offense. I know the Rudy reputation is stellar, as far as management is concerned, but this year has been pathetic. Players have been sent down to Coonbaugh (sp?) and come back improved. I know that’s under the direction of Jaramillo, but actual improvement hasn’t occurred under Rudy’s direction. I’m not jumping on the “Fire Rudy!” bandwagon, but something needs to be done. I’m just curious about how front office is viewing Rudy’s future with the organization.

I can’t really say that I am upset about them losing. I am disappointed but they were never in the game. There was no excitement at all in this game.

It ain’t over yet, but we’re running out of fingers to plug into the dike. Big improvement this year, but not quite enough pitching and not quite enough hitting overall to make it to the post season show. Still have my fingers crossed, though. We will need big improvement from Holland next year. He essentially skipped AAA, and I wonder if that hurt him. I think it did. Feliz got the time down there to work on things and I think it really helped him when he got to the show. He’s so young, it wouldn’t disappoint me if he spent another year in the bullpen. For his sake, I hope Millwood makes his money and comes back, but the days are gone for this team to think he’s a #1 starter on a contender (not even close). He’s just not that guy, no matter how good he is in the clubhouse. I’m 60/40 on re-signing Byrd. His body of work this season is only okay, but he has great heart and let’s not forget he came off knee surgery in the off-season. I know the upside on Hamilton is huge, but I think the Rangers have to think long and hard about whether to keep him. This has less to do with substance abuse in my mind and more about durability. If the Rangers can get good value for him, I would be hard pressed not to trade him. I’m probably in the minority, but I keep Cruz over Hamilton if I absolutely, positively had to make a choice. Last but not least, Chris Davis has to grow from this year and pick up where he seems to be leaving off. If he can hit .260 with a .330 OBP to go with his power and defense, we are set for quite awhile there.

A question from a teacher/parent about the instructional league–aren’t those two 16 year olds supposed to be in school in the fall? What’s the deal?