quote:

---

I like Maddux, but there's nothing this pitching staff has done that has really made me feel like he's made a significant difference.

---

He was pitching coach from 2009 to 2015.

Could be a coincidence but those were some decent years for us.

R.I.P. Tommy Hanson

former Rangers minor league pitcher dead at 29.

quote:

---

Tommy Hanson, who figured in an unfortunate decision by the Texas Rangers during spring training 2014, died on Monday at age 29 in Atlanta.
A cause of death has not been issued. According to several media reports, Hanson had a "catastrophic organ failure."
Hanson went 49-35 with a 3.80 ERA as a starter for five seasons with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rangers brought Hanson to spring training in 2014, on a minor-league contract, to compete for a rotation spot. He did not perform well, and that figured in the club's decision to move right-hander Tanner Scheppers and left-hander Robbie Ross from the bullpen to the rotation.

---

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/20151110-former-mlb-pitcher-rangers-rotation-candidate-tommy-hanson-dies-suddenly-at-29.ece

Catastrophic career failure for Scheppers and Ross after that.

Ross had a great 2015 with Boston.

He had a shaky first half, but settled down later. Wouldn't call it great.

quote:

---

Ross had a great 2015 with Boston.

---

I saw him catch a fly ball with his teeth... ball unraveled.

Great may be overstating, though he did finish the year as their closer I think. Regardless, great is not a worse overstatement than 'catastrophic career failure'.

quote:

---

quote:

---

I like Maddux, but there's nothing this pitching staff has done that has really made me feel like he's made a significant difference.

---

He was pitching coach from 2009 to 2015.

Could be a coincidence but those were some decent years for us.

---

No doubt, but it's difficult to discern if that was because of Maddux or simply because the farm system finally blossomed.

On the same token, if we're going to give credit to Maddux for the successes of guys like Wilson, Feliz and Holland then one could also lay some of the blame at his feet for their inability to perform in high leverage situations late in the season.

As with most things baseball, there's so many different variables it's hard to pin-point what a coach is actual responsible for... so ultimately I think it came down to Maddux wanting to make mega-bucks and also test the market, and Texas deciding that he wasn't worth what he was asking and/or being held in limbo for a few months.

At the end of the day I don't think there is anything that shows he is a "re-sign at any cost" type of coach, and I have to assume that if Texas let him walk that there wasn't a large contingency of pitchers on the staff that said he was just crucial to their performance/development.

Agreed. For as much as pitching improved during his time in Arlington, there were also several instances of exceptional relievers being moved to the starting rotation and totally falling apart. While I do think he is a good coach, his failures can't be overlooked and I think Texas could do better.

The biggest thing that we'll never known until we have a lot more sample size to deal with is if it was Maddux that was the cause of the bullpen mis-management under both Washington and Bannister's regime.

Also probably didn't help from the "how much do we really need to pay him?" department when your starting rotation is probably going to be guys that either are already established (Hamels, possibly Lewis), a guy that I don't think really garnered too much from Maddux (Darvish), and a guy that you can't really tell if you should praise Maddux for what he's done or curse him for what he's been unable to do (Holland).

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

I like Maddux, but there's nothing this pitching staff has done that has really made me feel like he's made a significant difference.

---

He was pitching coach from 2009 to 2015.

Could be a coincidence but those were some decent years for us.

---

No doubt, but it's difficult to discern if that was because of Maddux or simply because the farm system finally blossomed.

On the same token, if we're going to give credit to Maddux for the successes of guys like Wilson, Feliz and Holland then one could also lay some of the blame at his feet for their inability to perform in high leverage situations late in the season.

As with most things baseball, there's so many different variables it's hard to pin-point what a coach is actual responsible for... so ultimately I think it came down to Maddux wanting to make mega-bucks and also test the market, and Texas deciding that he wasn't worth what he was asking and/or being held in limbo for a few months.

At the end of the day I don't think there is anything that shows he is a "re-sign at any cost" type of coach, and I have to assume that if Texas let him walk that there wasn't a large contingency of pitchers on the staff that said he was just crucial to their performance/development.

---

I agree. I guess I just look at it like football recruiting. I don't really know what to look for with regards to mechanics or performance, so I just look at how many other teams want him. And every year he seemed like a very hot commodity, not just as a pitching coach but as a possible manager. So I assumed he was valuable.

Maddux is really good, no doubt. But I think a lot of the Rangers pitching success had quite a bit to do with replacing Michael Young at short with Elvis. Young just had no range his last couple years at that position.

But could he catch a routine throw at 3rd base?

Make sure you're sitting down for the press release from the commissioner coming up at 11

quote:

---

Make sure you're sitting down for the press release from the commissioner coming up at 11

---

They've thawn out Ted Williams and he'll be the Rangers new hitting coach?

quote:

---

quote:

---

Make sure you're sitting down for the press release from the commissioner coming up at 11

---

They've thawn out Ted Williams and he'll be the Rangers new hitting coach?

---

How did you know?

quote:

---

Make sure you're sitting down for the press release from the commissioner coming up at 11

---

Did I miss it? Or was it the netting thing?

quote:

---

quote:

---

Make sure you're sitting down for the press release from the commissioner coming up at 11

---

Did I miss it? Or was it the netting thing?

---

It was the netting thing. Nets are most likely going to beyond the dugouts

I'm glad I was a kid in the 1980's.

quote:

---

I'm glad I was a kid in the 1980's.

---

Elaborate...Would you agree or disagree with extending the nets?

quote:

---

quote:

---

I'm glad I was a kid in the 1980's.

---

Elaborate...Would you agree or disagree with extending the nets?

---

I think it is silly. I mean, if you buy tickets to a game, and good ones to sit in those lower decks, you need to get off your ****ing phone, and pay the **** attention to the game.

I think stuff like this is just so damn silly. If people would stop using ****ing Snapchat and watch what is going on, they probably will always be just fine.

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

I'm glad I was a kid in the 1980's.

---

Elaborate...Would you agree or disagree with extending the nets?

---

I think it is silly. I mean, if you buy tickets to a game, and good ones to sit in those lower decks, you need to get off your ****ing phone, and pay the **** attention to the game.

I think stuff like this is just so damn silly. If people would stop using ****ing Snapchat and watch what is going on, they probably will always be just fine.

---

Well you can prohibit people from being on their phone

I was just using the phone as an example as I'm sure there are other things people do instead of pay attention.

I just think if you pay attention to the game you paid money to see, you won't get clocked in the face

quote:

---

I was just using the phone as an example as I'm sure there are other things people do instead of pay attention.

I just think if you pay attention to the game you paid money to see, you won't get clocked in the face

---

Well the reality is not everyone goes to JUST watch the game. They go to spend time with friends/family, and there happens to be a baseball game going on at the same time. Can you make an argument saying "Well they shouldn't sit there if they aren't going to pay attention to all 27 outs"? Sure, but there is no way to enforce that.

They've had experts working on this for many months. All options are being exhausted, and they have to find a compromise where they enhance fan safety without taking away the experience.

Personally, I am for extending the nets. Even if you are sitting there, paying attention, you might not be able to get out of the way because some of those balls come off the bat at over 100 mph.

Do you really think we need netting all around the stadium for these people though? Really?

I'm sorry man but baseball has been going on for decades just fine without these nets obstructing view points of fans

quote:

---

Do you really think we need netting all around the stadium for these people though? Really?

I'm sorry man but baseball has been going on for decades just fine without these nets obstructing view points of fans

---

I never said it was going around the entire stadium, and nothing has even been confirmed yet. But chances are it will be extended to the end of the dugouts

Well that is what I mean by all around the park, I should have been clearer. Just don't understand the sudden necessity

quote:

---

Well that is what I mean by all around the park, I should have been clearer. Just don't understand the sudden necessity

---

Don't understand the sudden necessity?

quote:

---

There are 1,750 spectators who are injured every year by batted balls at major league games, according to an analysis by the Bloomberg News. There are 53,000 foul balls that enter the seats every year, according to Edwin Comber, creator of foulballz.com.

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

Well that is what I mean by all around the park, I should have been clearer. Just don't understand the sudden necessity

---

Don't understand the sudden necessity?

quote:

---

There are 1,750 spectators who are injured every year by batted balls at major league games, according to an analysis by the Bloomberg News. There are 53,000 foul balls that enter the seats every year, according to Edwin Comber, creator of foulballz.com.

---

---

I don't believe that number is much higher than years, decades past though.

You aren't going to convince a lot of people this is necessary. Watch the damn game and be careful. That's what everyone has always done and doesn't need to change.

I also believe ticket stubs state on there to be aware of what is going on and be careful during games if you're sitting in those seats.
This is sort of like the lady suing McDonalds b/c her coffee was too hot...

To each his own I guess...we'll see what they end up doing

Look at it this way... Imagine it's your spouse, son, or daughter at the game with you. Y'all are sitting a couple rows behind the dugout and all of the sudden one of you gets hit in the head with a line drive, causing catastrophic injuries that result in endless medical bills. Now how do you feel about there being a net there that could have prevented that.

It's only a matter of time before someone gets killed as a result of being hit by a foul ball, and the Rangers don't want that kind of liability

quote:

---

Look at it this way... Imagine it's your spouse, son, or daughter at the game with you. Y'all are sitting a couple rows behind the dugout and all of the sudden one of you gets hit in the head with a line drive, causing catastrophic injuries that result in endless medical bills. Now how do you feel about there being a net there that could have prevented that.

It's only a matter of time before someone gets killed as a result of being hit by a foul ball, and the Rangers don't want that kind of liability

---

I don't need to look at it that way b/c I know what I am getting myself into when I go to games and sit in those seats. It is the minority of fans that think this is necessary all of a sudden. A very small minority if I had to guess.

You go to a game, you know the circumstances of what can happen at those games, and if you are not completely okay with that, then you shouldn't go.

Good talk though, back to work for me

So there were 73,760,020 fans that attended baseball games in 2015, with 1750 being injured.

Odds of being injured by a foul ball are .0023%.

Odds of being struck by lightning are .03%.

I think the problem is
1. today's society is too busy on their phones
2. Ticket prices have priced real fans out of games (at least seats that are in danger of foul balls), in turn people who haven't a clue what a foul ball is, don't pay attention to the game half the time.

That being said I wouldn't be opposed to lining the nets up to the bases.

quote:

---

So there were 73,760,020 fans that attended baseball games in 2015, with 1750 being injured.

Odds of being injured by a foul ball are .0023%.

Odds of being struck by lightning are .03%.

I think the problem is
1. today's society is too busy on their phones
2. Ticket prices have priced real fans out of games, in turn people who haven't a clue what a foul ball is don't pay attention to the game half the time.

That being said I wouldn't be opposed to lining the nets up to the bases.

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

Look at it this way... Imagine it's your spouse, son, or daughter at the game with you. Y'all are sitting a couple rows behind the dugout and all of the sudden one of you gets hit in the head with a line drive, causing catastrophic injuries that result in endless medical bills. Now how do you feel about there being a net there that could have prevented that.

It's only a matter of time before someone gets killed as a result of being hit by a foul ball, and the Rangers don't want that kind of liability

---

I don't need to look at it that way b/c I know what I am getting myself into when I go to games and sit in those seats. It is the minority of fans that think this is necessary all of a sudden. A very small minority if I had to guess.

You go to a game, you know the circumstances of what can happen at those games, and if you are not completely okay with that, then you shouldn't go.

Good talk though, back to work for me

---

I knew you were going to say that