Funny

corleoneAg99 said:

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Evan Grant was on the Ticket Sunday morning show for several segments and he sounds convinced they think that Yus relationship with Ohtani is a potential advantage for them in terms of getting Ohtani.

And trading Yu flushes that idea.

So if they trade Yu, which at this point seems like a remote possibility regardless IMO, it would have to be for a package that they would at least deem as comparable to having Yu and Ohtani.

And for a 60 day rental that seems unlikely. Unless they are in the bottom 2 or 3 in the AL I think Yu stays, they go for it this year, and try to resign Yu and get Ohtani. If they fail, they should at least have some cash and then they can look at some of the name FAs due to hit the street in the next few years.

But one thing they cannot do is have another Dillon Tate draft pick IMO. They need to restock the minors as well and have a couple of really good drafts this year and next. International market is always a player for them as far as this goes too.

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If we're holding onto Yu for 3 months of non-contention with just the hopes that we're going to get a potential advance in signing an overseas guy that is going to cost a boat-load and has never faced American pitching... well then there's some gross negligence going on in the front office.

Ohtani isn't relevant in the Yu discussions IMO. Either Yu signs an extension with Texas or they move him if they are out of the hunt. Holding onto the most valuable trade chip in a down year and letting him walk into free agency is what dumb teams do.

I think Chip Kelly actually paid somebody back after getting a letter or email to that same effect when he was at Oregon.

I get what you're saying, but if they are serious contenders in the playoff chase, they aren't dealing their ace. It's a terrible message to send to the team if they've played well enough to get to that position, even if they don't have the look of a WS team, to trade a star player and say we're giving up.

Squirrel Master said:

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I get what you're saying, but if they are serious contenders in the playoff chase, they aren't dealing their ace. It's a terrible message to send to the team if they've played well enough to get to that position, even if they don't have the look of a WS team, to trade a star player and say we're giving up.

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I agree -- but what constitutes a serious contender?

The 2nd wildcard has created a situation where a whole lot of teams think they are still in the hunt when they are not. If you're 3 games back of the wildcard but trailing 4-5 teams, then you aren't a serious contender.

Advanced metrics article

Interesting article most likely written by an Astros fan about how we are doomed to be terrible for the rest of the season...

Worth stating again that the game is not played on paper or by statistics.

There are some good points there though. The schedule is gonna get much tougher leading up to the All Star break and we'll know just how likely it is the team can compete this year.

Why do you keep assuming we're non-contenders?

Huell Babineaux said:

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Why do you keep assuming we're non-contenders?

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Not assuming we are, just saying that will be the difficult decision regarding Darvish.

If we're within 4-5 games of Houston, then we won't sell.

If we're not, but we're currently holding one of the 2 wildcard spots, it's unlikely we will sell.

But if we're sitting around 0.500 and 4-5 games out of the wildcard spot chasing 4-5 teams, then we should be sellers.

I'm not saying that's where we will be, but that's about where we were before this big win streak.

I think your logic makes sense. I just think they really want to keep Yu, go for it, and take a run at Yu and Ohtani.

What none of us know, including Evan, is how bad they'd have to be at the end of July to punt on all of that and do a firesale. My guess is that they would have to be 10 plus out of the WC at a minimum but only time will tell.

It does also bear mentioning that Evan has said more than once that he thinks if they trade Yu for whatever reason he won't resign here. For whatever that's worth.

Huell Babineaux said:

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If we're anywhere near the wildcard (3-4 games), Darvish is going nowhere. I think we're gonna be in a tight race with Houston for the division whenever August/Sept role around

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I agree. At this point I would just resign him. When we were playing absolutely horrible, I felt like we should deal him. But we're going to have reinforcements on the way in Beltre and Hamels eventually. Now that the team is playing better, I think it makes sense to keep him. Especially if you don't get a trade package that blows you away. There's still a lot of the season left to play, and we could keep winning or go back to being awful. Selfishly, I love watching Darvish pitch, and having him here would add a bonus for Otani if it came to that.

.... Also this is off topic but I just realized that your username is Huell from Breaking Bad. Nice!

If there's been indications from the Darvish camp that if he is traded that he won't resign here, but there haven't been any clear indications that he is willing to sign an extension... Well that seems to me like Texas is setting themselves up for yet another big free agent pitcher letdown.

Obviously the front office knows more than us -- but I really can't see there being an ultimatum that he won't re-sign if traded, but also an unwillingness to sign an extension.

Hopefully we're within striking distance come mid-July and it's a non-issue.

And now Better Call Saul

Huell Babineaux said:

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And now Better Call Saul

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Yep. Both shows are amazing.

Ordinary. Wouldn't mind seeing Rua in there over hoying. Regardless of who's pitching. He's been swinging a good bat

Interested to see what the lineup will look like against Sale. Seems like Gallo would be an obvious candidate to sit for the game. Maybe Odor too, along with Mazara although I wouldn't sit him.

Probably see Kozma and Rua both in there. Call up Profar and have him hit from the right, and activate Beltre

Texas Rangers (24-21) vs. Boston Red Sox (22-21): Series Preview

Game 1: Rick Porcello (RHP, 2-5, 4.23 ERA) vs. Andrew Cashner (RHP, 1-3, 2.45 ERA)
Game 2: Chris Sale (LHP, 4-2, 2.19 ERA) vs. Martin Perez (LHP, 2-5, 3.71 ERA)
Game 3: Drew Pomeranz (LHP, 3-3, 4.97 ERA) vs Nick Martinez (RHP, 1-2, 4.33 ERA)

Rangers begin a series tonight with the Boston Red Sox, their first AL East opponent of the 2017 season. How the Rangers perform on this nine-game road trip, in my opinion, will be pivotal going into the series with the Astros to start the month of June.

With that being said, work has been a beatdown so far this week, leaving me with little to no time for an in-depth analysis, so I will leave y'all with some quick hitters to make your own deductions.

Rick Porcello vs Rangers
Games started: 9
Record: 5-4
ERA: 5.78
FIP: 5.58
xFIP: 3.89
K/9: 6.6
BB/9: 3.1
HR/9: 2.0

Chris Sale vs Rangers
Games started: 7
Record: 4-2
ERA: 3.33
FIP: 3.75
xFIP: 3.30
K/9: 737
BB/9: 2.9
HR/9: 0.85

Drew Pomeranz vs Rangers
Games started: 2
Record: 0-2
ERA: 6.52
FIP: 5.18
xFIP: 4.98
K/9: 8.2
BB/9: 6.0
HR/9: 0.52

My thoughts: No reason the Rangers shouldn't be able to put up runs in 2 out of 3 games. Porcello is having a bit of down year so far, and Drew Pomeranz hasn't made it through 6 innings in his last 4 starts. Chris Sale has been dominant, striking out at least 10 batters in 8 straight games. Pray you get a gem out of Martin Perez or that Sale has an off day.

Boston's offense will also be a tough test, led by Mookie Bets (.282/.357/.497), Xander Bogarts (.320/.389/.433), and *gulp* Mitch Moreland (.250/.355/.454).

All 3 of these games could feature tons of offense. Should be fun to watch.

This series will be a good test to see if the starting pitching has been a mirage at all.

I've liked what I've seen from Cashner a lot. I think he has plenty to offer, and has solidified himself as the team's #3. Perez has his days, but he's at times a very frustrating pitcher. I'm scared of that game v Sale. Martinez is who he is - not very good, but if he can locate his fastball on the inside and outside edges all game like he has when he's had the most success, he can be effective. Pomeranz doesn't scare me, so we have a chance, if Martinez is locating.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Chirinos at C and Lucroy at DH vs Sale. Rua in LF, Deshields in CF, Choo in RF. I'd love to see Kozma play for Odor in that game, but I imagine it will be for Gallo.

Will be stuck at work tonight and looking for a streaming option to watch the game. Any suggestions?

fox sports go

Is that new?

eye-gor said:

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Will be stuck at work tonight and looking for a streaming option to watch the game. Any suggestions?

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I generally use reddit's mlb stream links. But those, while mostly harmless in terms of viruses or whatever, are probably not advisable websites to be using on your work computer. Fox Sports Go is probably your best bet as previously mentioned. I think it's free as long as you put in your cable provider info. Not sure though.

It's not often you see a team with a worse record and a SP with an ERA almost two full runs worse be a -200 favorite.

Was thinking the same thing this morning

What are those betting odds? I am used to just seeing run difference like in football (i.e. Redsox favored by 1.5)

Gallo should 100 percent sit tomorrow. Just saw on twitter that he's 0-6 against Sale with 6 Ks.

Then again, maybe the law of averages would tell us Gallo is due against him..... nah. Sit Gallo.

Gallo is also 3 for his last 29. He doesn't need to hit for average with his power, but he certainly needs to do better than that.

It's the money line. Meaning if you bet on the Red Sox to win out right, you'd have to bet $200 to win $100 and visa versa.

Lesley McCaslin

Sure seems like Gallo could have stepped on 3rd and had a better chance