First base defense matters to a degree, but teams usually put their best hitter at first base. Condor's bat REALLY needs to pick up.wbt5845 said:
Guzman is a key to this rebuild, imho. If he is not the 1B of the future, we need to figure that out. I know you guys are indifferent to how much a good defensive 1B is worth, but I'm not. He's a +talent at a position most teams hide a guy who can hit. He makes everyone else better.
What I would like to see over the last month - 0.250 BA, 6 HR, 20 RBI, K < 20.
Winning the next few days is bitter sweet. It's always fun to beat the Yankees, but I don't like helping the Astros get home field advantage in the playoffs.Danny Vermin said:
Always satisfying to beat the crap out of the Yankees but will still pull for them if they play the assblows in the playoffs.
it's a tweet, not an article in a newspaper. Concentrate more on the message.DallasAg 94 said:Rangers move some guys from lower ranks up, higher some real analytics-friendly guys at lower levels.KT 90 said:
One or more of the beats will probably have articles on this, but here is a tweet from Even Grant on the coaching dismissals:
94chem said:
You guys can check standings all you want. I get it. It's fun to see the Rangers in the WC spot. But the reality is that it's gonna take 90 wins to be in the conversation. Either Boston or Cleveland will get hot at some point. If they don't, Oakland will pull some 22-6 month out of nowhere. The bottom of the AL is incredibly soft, and I don't see an 86 win team making the playoffs.
The point is that we shouldn't be asking how to stay ahead of Boston or Cleveland. We should be figuring out if there is a solid path to 90 wins without mortgaging the future.
The prognosticators appear to be right. When we acquired Allard, they said he projects to be a pretty solid #5 starter and possibly a #4. By any measure, he would appear to be a very good #5. There are some teams where he wouldn't crack their top 4 in the rotation, but he's still a nice piece to have and looks like he will probably be a guy you can ask to start about 30 games a year.DallasAg 94 said:
Update on the pitching view. Not that anything has really changed, but always good to take a step back and track things. I think Allard pitching last night is what facilitated this.
Minor: 28 GS, 181.2 IP, 180 K, 3.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
LLynn: 29 GS, 181.2 IP, 209 K, 3.81 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
Allard (22-L): 6 GS, 33.1 IP, 29 K, 3.78 ERA, 1.38 WHIP
Jurado (23-R): 17 GS, 116.2 IP, 78 K, 5.40 ERA, 1.46 WHIP (29G)
Sampson (: 15 GS, 117.0 IP, 94 K, 5.85 ERA, 1.55 WHIP (30G)
Burke (23-L): 3 GS, 18.0 IP, 11 K, 1.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
Payano (24-R): 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 17 K, 5.73 ERA, 1.86 WHIP (6G). Hasn't pitched in a game since Aug15. He was outrighted to AAA.
Palumbo (24-L): 3 GS, 10.2 IP, 9 K, 11.81 ERA, 1.97 WHIP (4G). Out with Blister. His 3 GS are June19, July 7, Aug20, so he hasn't really gotten much of a look.
Another good outing by Allard, last night (6.1, 1ER, 89PC). We now know he can beat the less dominating teams (GS: Mil, Tor, LAAA, CHW, Sea, Bal). Even if he struggles against better teams, he is quickly solidifying himself as an Innings eater and a guy who can keep us in the game deep into the game. Avg 5 1/3 IP/GS. Next start looks to be vTampa and then likely @Houston, then vBoston, then vNYY. So, I think we should get a look.
Minor remains 4th in AL ERA. Lynn is 13th in AL ERA.
Each start by Allard grows my confidence in the rotation for 2020. He is very poised in the after-game interviews.
Sullivan is usually pretty dialed in, so anybody expecting the Rangers to go after Cole may need to tap the brakes I guess. I can't see giving Ryu big money, he gets hurt too much and hasn't been able to put up many innings (and is fading late this season). Bumgarner is a big name, but he's not the pitcher he was when the Giants were winning world series titles, so I guess it would depend on how much money he is seeking as to level of interest. Wacha sounds interesting and he might be interested in returning to pitch in Texas again. He put up some good numbers at first, but injuries have been dragging him down. Not sure about Wood, we already have a lefty in the rotation with Minor and have several of our top pitching prospects are also lefties (so that might be a negative for Bumgarner and Ryu too.... who are also lefties.Quote:
What pitcher do you think the Rangers will target this off season given the types they have signed in the past, like Mike Minor and Lance Lynn?
-- Larry B., Arlington
This is going to be a relatively deep free-agent market for starting pitchers, led by Gerrit Cole, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Madison Bumgarner. The Rangers will look mid-market and maybe take a chance on somebody not at the top of the list. Two guys who might be intriguing are Reds left-hander Alex Wood and Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha. Both are under 30, both have had some success and have also had some injury setbacks. Those are two that kind of fit the Lynn/Minor mold out of this free-agent class.
