Linkin’ Park: Lurking Around The Web For You

The door closed on the Rangers’ chances at a division title on Monday with an ugly 11-0 loss in Anaheim. Last night, the Red Sox shut the window too. Had Boston lost their final six contests and the Rangers won out, Texas could’ve snuck into October as the wild card team in a scenario ESPN gave a 0.1 percent chance of happening. But the Rangers didn’t take long in extinguishing that option.

Just a night after the Angels celebrated their third straight A.L. West title right in front of them, Texas did what seemed all but a formality for the last week — they officially eliminated themselves from playoff contention. And now there’s not much left to do but commend the team for their most successful season in years and look to the future.

Probably the biggest question in need of an answer moving forward is who the Rangers will retain in the offseason. Both Marlon Byrd and Pudge Rodriguez figure to qualify as type-B free agents, meaning the Rangers would get compensated for losing either as long as they offer them arbitration. But Byrd, coming off a career year, will be looking for a big contract which could make it tough for the cash-strapped Rangers to bring him back, despite the fact that a few players are already publicly hoping for his return.

(more…)

From the Rangers Clubhouse: Sickly Silence and Dejected Acceptance of Losing AL West

ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was quiet enough in the Rangers clubhouse beneath Angel Stadium to hear the celebration across the hall.

While the Los Angeles Angels were celebrating their third consecutive AL West title, the Rangers were dealing with being the vanquished contenders. It’s not a role many of them are used to because the Rangers haven’t been in playoff races this late in a season in a long time.

“This is not a good feeling,” said 3B Michael Young, who returned from four weeks of dealing with a strained hamstring to have a pair of hits in Monday’s 11-0 loss. “Right now, I don’t care about the future or how our team shapes up for next year. It’s about winning or going home. We did not get it done. And that is really an unpleasant feeling. The Angels deserve a lot of credit for overcoming a lot of adversity and doing what it took to win. From our side, we’ve got to get better. It’s as simple as that.”

(more…)

The Depot: Rangers-Angels Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Teary Farewell Thoughts

Well, that’s that. Rangers eliminated from playoff contention.

9:13: In case you missed my announcement from earlier in the day, here is the link. In case you missed our story about Josh Hamilton not playing today and perhaps not again this year, it’s here.

9:22: Michael Young admitted that even though he’s in the lineup, he is not 100 percent. You know what might be the best thing for the Rangers at this point? It might be best if Los Angeles did what seems inevitable and clinched quickly. That way, maybe some Ranger core players could just rest over the final week of the season. Not saying that’s what I’d like to see happen, but I’d hate to see Young or Josh Hamilton try to do something this week and suffer an injury that lingers into 2010. Young doubled in his first at-bat, but he is basically jogging on the bases.

9:31: After Kendry Morales homer, the Angels take a 3-0 lead with two outs in the first. In the time the Rangers have recorded their last six outs, they have allowed 10 runs.

9:53: Dustin Nippert is up in the second inning. It’s the third time he’s been up and throwing in the last 30 hours.

(more…)

Series Preview: Rangers at Angels

There was about a ten minute period Sunday afternoon when it looked as though the upcoming four-game series between the Rangers and Angels might have playoff implications after all. The Oakland A’s had run off four straight runs in the late innings against the Angels to pull within one, while Texas needed to maintain a 6-3 lead for just three outs to complete a sweep of the Rays. A Rangers win combined with an Angels loss would’ve pulled Texas to within 4.0 games in the A.L. West and effectively given them control of their playoff destiny.

But the A’s rally fell short, and the Rangers’ bullpen imploded. Darren O’Day, C.J. Wilson, and Frank Francisco faced 11 batters and recorded only two outs, while the Angels picked up a pair of insurance runs and turned to Brian Fuentes, who locked down his 45th save of the season.

So here we are. The Rangers are six games back with seven to play, and they absolutely have to sweep the Angels to keep their playoff hopes alive.  And it’s not one of those, “They need a sweep or it’ll be tough to get in,” kind of things. It’s more like this: if the Rangers don’t take all four in L.A., they’re mathematically eliminated.

But there’s a sliver of hope. Though the Angels are on the cusp of setting franchise records for offensive prowess led by Kendry Morales’ breakout season and Howie Kendrick’s excellent September, the bats are struggling at the moment. And when a team which has relied on offense all year stops hitting, they stop winning. So at least the Rangers have that going for them.

(more…)

Series Preview: Rangers vs. Rays

While the Rays played their way out of playoff contention with an 11 game losing streak that culminated on September 13 with a pair of losses to the Red Sox, they were officially eliminated until a few days ago. That day is nothing but a formality at this point for the Rangers, with the Angels’ magic number down to four. So the upcoming weekend series between Texas and Tampa will serve little purpose other than to showcase the plethora of young talent on each side and ponder the future.

For now, the Rays’ future is third baseman Evan Longoria, whose strong finish to the season has some wondering about his MVP credentials. Tampa is also hoping Ben Zobrist can maintain his personally unprecedented performance next year after posting a 7.4 WAR season. But history’s not necessarily on his side, and he wouldn’t be the first former Rays All-Star to see a drop off after a career year.

Tampa Bay’s future success could hinge on their ability to find a true ace to anchor a solid pitching staff, whether they acquire one — like Felix Hernandez — or develop one. David Price was supposed to be that ace, and nearly everybody had him ranked as the game’s top prospect prior to the season. But a concerningly bad slider and mediocre results have taken some of the luster from the Vanderbilt product and left some to wonder whether he’ll ever be a top notch starter. The good news for Rays fans is that Price, who will start the finale on Sunday against the Rangers, has posted a 3.41 ERA since July 31 and has shown marked improvement on his slider. And between Price, Matt Garza, James Shields, AL Rookie of the Year candidate Jeff Niemann, and newcomer Wade Davis, the Rays are stocked with five quality starting pitchers aged 27 or younger.

(more…)

Evan is on His Way

Hi Ranger fans! Evan is running a little late tonight. I, like Eric Nadel, suffered a torn retina and Evan, being the great guy that he is, pinch hit for me at a D Magazine event this evening. Meanwhile, carry on. Open the Home Run Pool and tread water until he arrives. He’s a peach.

Linkin’ Park: Lurking Around The Web For You

Sure, the Angels’ magic number down to five with 11 games still left on their schedule and the Rangers’ shot at making the postseason is essentially gone at this point. And true, Michael Young is still out indefinitely and Ian Kinsler is growing frustrated by dwindling crowds at the ballpark. But the Rangers still have 12 games to play, and with Josh Hamilton looking ready to return, a solid run at a 90 win season isn’t out of the question.

Realistically, however, it’s not too early to start looking ahead to 2010 and beyond, especially for a team that can boast as much young talent as the Rangers can. One of Texas’ biggest bullpen bolsters, flame throwing Neftali Feliz, might move away from his current relief role next year, at least according to Rob Neyer. Neyer doesn’t see how the Rangers rotation can be successful without Feliz in it, especially in light of Derek Holland’s struggles throughout his rookie campaign. But, as Joey Matschulat points out, there’s still a lot to like about Holland despite his unsavory statistics.

(more…)

The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes, and Celestial Body Viewings

7:30: Home Run Pool is open. And for your pre-game reading enjoyment, we’ve got some notes, quotes and anecdotes.If I’m not here before game-time, I should be back right around first pitch. I’m having a spot of grown-up dinner. Yay!

10:35: Elvis Andrus ties Ian Kinsler for the team lead in steals with a sixth-inning swipe. It gives him 29 in 33 attemps (87.9 percent). Among the majors most frequent runners, Andrus’ steal percentage is the best in baseball. The Rangers, currently with an 81.8 percent success rate, are on pace to set the AL record for best stolen base percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts.

Series Preview: Rangers at Athletics

Back in July, the Rangers didn’t made a blockbuster move to assist in what was going to be a strenuous sortie with the Angels for AL West supremacy. Instead, they stood pat at the trade deadline and hoped their young team could spin a surprising postseason berth without any outside help.

Now we know better. And with Texas’ playoff hopes seemingly wilted and only a few weeks until they’ll spend a long October at home, they’re allowed a hypothetical do-over. But, in truth, they probably wouldn’t trade for Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee to anchor the pitching staff, or Victor Martinez or Nick Johnson to curb their bouts of offensive anemia. And quite frankly, those guys might not have been enough anyway.

My guess is the Rangers would go back to September 4 and swap schedules with the Oakland Athletics. That was the day Oakland hit rock bottom following a 6-3 loss to the Mariners that pushed the Athletics to a season-high — or season-low — 17 games under .500. The Rangers, meanwhile, pulled within 3.5 games in the division and 2.0 in the wild card chase after a 5-1 victory in Baltimore. Since then, the A’s have won 12 of their last 14 and seven straight to move to 71-78 on the season, while Texas owns a 5-9 record over that stretch, being shut out in five of their nine losses.

So if anyone has Doc Brown on speed dial, now might be a good time to speak up.

(more…)

The Depot: Rangers-Angels Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Noontime Prayer Vigil for AL West Race

11:30: The home run pool is open. And it’s glistening under this strange yellow light up in the sky. I’m not sure what you would call it, but it’s not the usual gray we are used to.

12:30: With runners on the corners and one out, Marlon Byrd takes a contested called third strike and it looks like first inning opportunity might evaporate. Then Hank Blalock bloops a two-out, two-strike single to left field for a hit. He drove in the winning run last night and has put the Rangers on top today. And, so, for all the complaining about his disappointing performance this season, there are reasons why you keep veterans around.

12:34: Another two-out, two-strike hit for Rangers, this one from Nelson Cruz. He had been in a 3-for-30 slump.  First multi-run inning for the Rangers since the first game of last Sunday’s doubleheader. It’s the first time they’ve scored as many as three runs in an inning since the ninth inning of a 10-0 win over Cleveland on Sept. 9. Quite a stretch.

(more…)

Post-Game Show: Rangers 3, Angels 2

•  Box score

Story of the Game

The vast majority of the fourth Rangers Ballpark sellout crowd of the season stayed to see if three runs – three runs – would result in their club’s first win since last Sunday afternoon. The 3-2 victory over the Angels followed some ninth-inning fielding strategy in which manager Ron Washington admitted going against the percentages … and also admitted he’d do it differently in the future.

The one-run lead came courtesy of a sixth-inning solo home run by 1B Hank Blalock, making his first start since Sept. 6 and only his third in the last 23 games. Washington left Blalock at first, Chris Davis at third and 11-time Gold Glover infielder Omar Vizquel in the dugout in the ninth. With Torii Hunter on first and one out against closer Frank Francisco, Kendry Morales hit a grounder to Blalock. He couldn’t field it cleanly, leaving runners at first and second. A double steal advanced the runners to second and third, after which Juan Rivera was intentionally walked to load the bases. Howie Kendrick hit a wicked grounder to shortstop, which Elvis Andrus turned into the game ending 6-3 double play.

Washington said he considered pulling Blalock in the ninth, moving Davis to first (here he has played excellent defense) and inserting Vizquel at third. “But I trust Hank,” he said. “I like Chris over there at third although Vizquel is better. It was a trust thing.” And would he handle it differently down the road, given what happened in the ninth? “Yes, I would,” he said.

Blalock started because Washington wanted a veteran lineup to try to jump start an offense that had scored only one run in the previous five games, all losses. And he wanted as many left-handed bats as possible against Angels RHP Jered Weaver, who came into the game holding right-handed hitters to a .205 batting average.

Blalock hit his 24th home run, his first since Aug. 8, in the sixth off Weaver to break a 2-2 tie. As for the ninth-inning error, he said: “It’s a 3-6-3 double play that’s supposed to end the game.”

But Andrus turned the game-winner, pulling the Rangers within 6.5 games of the Angels going into Sunday’s series finale at noon. And Andrus was on the receiving end of a spectacular force out to end the seventh inning on a submarine throw from 2B Ian Kinsler on a sharp grounder by Kendrick that got past RHP Darren O’Day. Where would O’Day rate Kinsler’s toss on the O’Day underhand scale? “I think I had my eyes closed,” he said. “I was so surprised that he even got to it. You can’t say enough about those two up the middle.”

(more…)

Saturday Rangers-Angels In-Game Blog

ARLINGTON - Expecting a packed house this evening. Michael Young and Josh Hamilton remain sidelined. Young didn’t take batting practice and said he’s unsure when he’ll return Hamilton is expected to resume baseball-related activities on Monday. Both will be on the trip to Oakland. And Kevin Millwood is scheduled to start Monday night’s opener of the four-game series against the A’s.

Saturday HR Pool (and Just Plain Run Pool?)

ARLINGTON - Here’s the lineup that will face Angels RHP Jered Weaver (15-6, 3.85) in the 6:05 start:

1. Julio Borbon DH; 2. Elvis Andrus SS; 3. David Murphy LF; 4. Marlon Byrd CF; 5. Hank Blalock 1B; 6. Ian Kinsler 2B; 7. Nelson Cruz RF; 8. Chris Davis 3B; 9. Ivan Rodriguez C.

Given the state of the Rangers’ attack, feel free to also hazard a guess at who scores their first run of the game and the inning just for recreational purposes.

Race Day: One Last Look at A.L. Playoff Races?

About the AL West Race

Los Angeles: Before Friday night’s game, Angels manager Mike Scioscia sounded like he wasn’t sure DH Vladimir Guerrero could start after sitting out Thursday night’s game at Boston, the result of being hit in the left rib cage on Wednesday night. Guerrero ended an eight-game Ballpark homerless streak during a 2-for-4. In 96 career games in Arlington, he’s hitting .397. LHP Scott Kazmir finally got his first win as an Angel in four starts. His six shutout innings lowered his LAA ERA to 1.42.

On Saturday night, RHP Jered Weaver (15-6, 3.85) will try to improve his career record against the Rangers to 5-2. In five starts against them this season, he has a 4.88 ERA. He has won eight of his last 11 decisions and 12 of 16. He’ll be opposed by RHP Scott Feldman (16-5, 3.65). He pitched six-plus innings on Monday in the Rangers’ 9-0 loss to Oakland. In three previous starts this season against the Angels, Feldman is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

(more…)

One Cowboys Fan Regrets Regular-Season Opening of JerryWorld Will Overshadow Rangers-Angels

ARLINGTON – Here are the Rangers finally facing the Angels in the long awaited September series at Rangers Ballpark, and it’s a shame that they figure to be overwhelmed by the Cowboys’ regular-season opener in their new digs on Sunday night. So says a guy who attends a handful of Cowboys home games a year, depending on whom he can mooch tickets off.

“I think the Cowboys playing Sunday is going to take away everything,” said Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter of Prosper. “It’s going to drain the Texas Rangers’ drive.”

(more…)