PatAg said:

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TXAggie2011 said:

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PatAg said:

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TV Casualty said:

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Odor had the best opportunity. He should have connected on that last pitch over the middle.

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He has the same problem in every at bat. He has no situational awareness, he's up there to hit a homerun every time.

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The stereotypical negatives certainly have appeared these first two games, haven't they?

Odor swings for the fences every time. Darvish is wild. The bullpen can't keep guys off base. Gallo pounds it or strikes out. Bannister keeps Lucroy on the bench.

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I mean..that is a problem Odor has, and it's pretty well documented. He's still young and can learn.

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I actually thought Odor had a good AB that last AB. Of course, with what he's shown, I'm defining it as good because he didn't swing at two pitches that were at his eye level and was able to lay off a breaking pitch at his feet.

Saw this today and thought it was interesting.

The List: Rangers, Diamondbacks Lead Way In Producing Big Leaguers

Quote:

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Overall OD Players
Rangers 38
Yankees 35
Braves 34
Red Sox 34
Diamondbacks 33
Cardinals 32
Mets 32
Mariners 30
Angels 29
Cubs 29
Rockies 29
Blue Jays 28
Indians 28
Nationals 28
Reds 28
White Sox 28
Athletics 27
Giants 27
Twins 27
Brewers 26
Rays 26
Royals 26
Phillies 25
Pirates 25
Dodgers 24
Marlins 24
Astros 23
Tigers 23
Orioles 22
Padres 22

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Quote:

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Int'l MLB Players
Rangers 14
Yankees 13
Mariners 12
Red Sox 12
Braves 11
Mets 11
Dodgers 10
Indians 10
Phillies 10
Cardinals 8
Cubs 8
Tigers 8
Angels 7
Diamondbacks 7
Reds 7
Rockies 7
Twins 7
Astros 5
Athletics 5
Brewers 5
Giants 5
Orioles 5
Rays 5
Royals 5
White Sox 5
Marlins 4
Pirates 4
Blue Jays 3
Nationals 3
Padres 3

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AllThings12thMan said:

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IMO, Gallo has been a bright spot. Hitting for pretty good contact, and when he's strikes out, he's at least been semi-competitive.

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Agreed. He's hit a few balls hard and worked a walk, seen a lot of pitches. I've been pleasantly surprised with him.

Yeah, for the first time in a long time, I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing from Gallo. And while Profar still has a lot of questions as well, he had a pretty good spring - ripped it up in the WBC and had a solid regular ST. There is still a ton of uncertainty with both, but I definitely don't feel any worse after 2 games than I did a month ago. Actually feeling a little bit more optimistic.

AccidentProne said:

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that dude on that trash talk thread constantly using the word daddy is beyond creepy

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AccidentProne said:

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that dude on that trash talk thread constantly using the word daddy is beyond creepy

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That and the continued focus on the issue with Rougie's brother....

jtstanley4621 said:

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Lucky #007 said:

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And while I'm disappointed in the runs given up early by Perez, I am glad that he settled down afterward and didnt continue to melt down for the most part. That was somewhat encouraging.

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Yeah. I would take 6 innings a 3 runs from him every single time. I guess the frustrating part is the command issues really put how good he could be if he got those under control at the forefront.

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I guess I don't know much about pitching. Hasn't he been around long enough to have "command issues" under control?

MooreTrucker said:

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jtstanley4621 said:

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Lucky #007 said:

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And while I'm disappointed in the runs given up early by Perez, I am glad that he settled down afterward and didnt continue to melt down for the most part. That was somewhat encouraging.

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Yeah. I would take 6 innings a 3 runs from him every single time. I guess the frustrating part is the command issues really put how good he could be if he got those under control at the forefront.

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I guess I don't know much about pitching. Hasn't he been around long enough to have "command issues" under control?

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Well, he's 26 as of yesterday. That's still young enough to still be developing. But also nearing the age/time where he is what he is. I guess I'm just being optimistic.

I still see Perez as developing. Still reasonably young, especially when you consider the interruption that TJ surgery forced in his development.

Nitkowski was talking on the broadcast last night about how Perez has remarkably similar stats to Tom Glavine at the same point in his career. Said for whatever reason lefties tend to take a little longer to develop and of course a TJ surgery only slows things down more. He's shown flashes of really good stuff, it's just about developing command and consistency. Once he settled in last night he was lights out.

I think his command issues are less a function of mechanic and ability than they are keeping his head in the right place. He has a tendency to lose it completely if things start to go downhill. That's why I was at least happy he was able to real it back in last night after a rough couple of innings to start. He just historically gets in his own head way too easily.

Lucky #007 said:

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We do still have Cashner and Ross to get back in. Hopefully they can be functional. At this point, I don't think there's anything to worry about with Yu. Just a bad night and hopefully Hamels is on point.

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I hope they contribute, but at this point Cashner and Ross are just lottery tickets.

And I don't think anything is really wrong with Yu, but the hope was/is that this is the year he is going to finally put it all together and become a true ace. Instead he looked like what we've typically seen - a guy that's going to give you about 6IP/2ER most times out. Valuable, but not a real ace.

Perez is a great #5 starter... A decent #4 starter. As a #3... Yikes.

It's early, but I would really like to see Hamels come out and have a dominating performance. I think the offense will be fine once it gets going and Beltre returns, and a bullpen is typically always a crapshoot and we have enough proven arms that it should be ok... But the only way this rotation is going to be competitive is if Darvish and Hamels pitch like #1's and either Perez pitches like a true #3 or one of our lotto tickets hit.

It's pretty ridiculous of me try to judge the body language of someone I don't know (especially when I can't compare it to how he was with previous teams), but Hamels always looks like he's not all that happy about being in Texas.

Seven Costanza said:

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It's pretty ridiculous of me try to judge the body language of someone I don't know (especially when I can't compare it to how he was with previous teams), but Hamels always looks like he's not all that happy about being in Texas.

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I really think that's just his demeanor. I don't recall seeing a time where he's looked overly excited, but I that's kind of what you want out of your pitcher, someone who doesn't show a ton of emotion.

Don't think he has an issue being here. He's just as always struck me as a square for lack of a better word.

I really don't know how you can say that. He, and especially his wife, we're ecstatic about playing here. Trust me, he's happy to be a Ranger.

I would be endlessly grateful if Hamels went ahead and didn't walk anybody today.

jtstanley4621 said:

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I would be endlessly grateful if Hamels went ahead and didn't walk anybody today.

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I'll poopslap if Hamels exits the game with zero walks

AccidentProne said:

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jtstanley4621 said:

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I would be endlessly grateful if Hamels went ahead and didn't walk anybody today.

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I'll poopslap if Hamels exits the game with zero walks

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marked

Lineup tonight:

Deshields DH
Choo 9
Mazara 7
Napoli 3
Odor 4
Gomez 8
Lucroy 2
Gallo 5
Andrus 6

Kinda weird that Deshields is the DH

Street_Cred_Norm said:

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I really don't know how you can say that. He, and especially his wife, we're ecstatic about playing here. Trust me, he's happy to be a Ranger.

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Agree with this. Everything I've seen and heard has been how happy they were to come here and be here. But as a player, the guy is extremely down-to-business with very high expectations of himself. I think "focused and serious" is being mistaken for "unhappy".

Yeah, Hamels may be unhappy -- but from what I've seen of him in his career, he wouldn't let you know it. Seems like a complete professional.

RE: DeShields DHing and the weird Bannister bullpen usage -- I think Banny has shown that in the first week he tries to get everybody into the game. May not work out great, but I think that's his thought process.

I completely get the idea of getting guys time early... you're counting on them to be able to contribute at some point, let's get that first time out of the way early**. Delino DHing is just so they can do that with Choo playing the field as well. Choo may be needed to play the field, let's let him play periodically to keep him loose.

**If only he remembered this was his philosophy when Luke Jackson was still around, maybe he wouldn't have turned into quite the disaster he ended up as.

Some guys are just intense competitors and they're all business on the field of competition. Kawhi Leonard rarely cracks a smile and I don't have the slightest concern about him leaving SA.

We're hitting some absolute bombs

Salazar is very good. Indians have a crazy pitching staff. The mounting strikeouts are a result of that

When was the last time we wore blue at home? Am I just not remembering? Thought these were the road alternates.

FishingAg_15 said:

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Going to Saturday night's game thanks to the coupon code! Don't post often but figured Accident Prone would love to know his work is appreciated!

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Lemon chill!

Cole dealing.

9 up, 9 down

free_mhayden said:

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Yeah, Hamels may be unhappy -- but from what I've seen of him in his career, he wouldn't let you know it. Seems like a complete professional.

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I agree.

A lot hard hit outs.

The only thing that I think Cole Hamels is unhappy with is the way he closed out the season last year.