A lonestar in california

Welp, after popping their heads above .500 for the first time in 18 months with a sweep of Thursday’s doubleheader, the Rangers didn’t let their fans spend too much time in orbit. Rather, they brought us crashing back to reality with an 8-5 loss in the first game of a weekend set with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays didn’t arrive in Arlington until 5 AM after going extra innings with the A’s on Thursday, yet it was the Rangers who looked like they had been up half the night. The defense proved to be incredibly bad, perhaps the worst it’s been all season (and that’s saying something). Texas made three errors on the night, and had other plays, such as Kazuo Fukumori failing to cover the bag on a grounder to first base in the 7th that made them look embarassingly bad - the Rangers are now leading the AL in errors and unearned runs, and last night was a seeming showcase of why.

Perhaps the worst part of it was having to watch Frank Catalanotto clank around like a broken refrigerator in left field, getting charged with one error on the night – which was lenient, considering he had two huge gaffes in the game. The critical one came in the fourth, he failed to track down a Vernon Wells fly ball that went over his head, which contributed to the Blue Jays tagging Vicente Padilla for 4 runs that frame. Later, he made his error cutting off a ball out there in LF, that wound up leading to an unearned run.

It’s times like this that I really wonder why Catalanotto is on this team – he has done nothing but suck since JD signed him to 3-year deal in the 2006 offseason. He had his career lowest batting average in 2007 (.260) and has a whopping two hits so far this season (one of them a bunt single that came last night). He’s quite obviously a defensive liability, as his range, reads, and arm strength in the OF have deteriorated to the point of making him near-worthless. He can sub at first base, but he doesn’t really have enough experience at that position to be a viable option there, either – and of course, we already have a left-handed first baseman in Ben Broussard. His offense really isn’t making up for any of it, either – and his platoon limitations as a left-hander who cannot hit LHP severely limits the value of what offense he could provide. Considering this roster is already full of left-handed batters, he really doesn’t even make a good bench bat. The bottom line is, all Catalanotto (who turns 34 this month) really is is an offensively and defensively limited platoon player who is taking up precious room on the 25-man roster.

In all seriousness, I’m of the opinion that the Frank Catalanotto signing has turned out to be the worst move Jon Daniels has independently made as GM of the Rangers - why you would give a guy like Catalanotto a long-term contract, who was setting up for the downside of his career even back in the winter of ‘06, is beyond me. You could DFA Cat right now, and it would be addition by subtraction - and yet perhaps the real kicker is, we’re giving him more playing time than Jason Botts, who is supposed to be getting his last chance at proving himself this season. Talk about a monkey wrench in the rebuilding plan – I really wish the Rangers would find a way to get rid of him. But I digress - I’ve gotten off on a tangent here – let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Gerald Laird was also a big part of the defensive meltdown last night – he made two errant throws down to second base (the second of which, however, could partially be blamed on Michael Young) and allowed Greg Zaun to steal home plate when he threw down to second on a Jays double steal with runners on first and third. This is where I could throw in a snide comment about how Laird’s supposed great defense is the reason why Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in AAA, but I will refrain – it’s only one game, after all.

Of course, this loss can’t be hung squarely on the defense. The pitching had something to do with it as well. Vicente Padilla retired the first 9 batters of the game, but had the Catalanotto-aided 4 run meltdown in the 4th. Amazingly, Padilla kept his composure for the most part (although he did plunk David Eckstein after Greg Zaun’s steal of home plate in the 6th) and battled through another two innings. He would wind up taking the loss (his first of ‘08), giving up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 7 hits and three walks in those 6 innings, while striking out 5.

It was Kaz Fukumori who let the game get out of reach, however. He managed to give up 3 runs, 4 hits and a walk the 7th, while only recording one out. So far, the Rangers latest Japanese investment has yet to pay off – after a brilliant spring, Kaz is now pushing for a tuneup in OKC if he can’t start getting outs.

The late innings of the game would bring the highlights for the Rangers, though. Dustin Nippert, who has supposedly been suffering from a sore shin after getting nicked by a ground ball in his disasterous outing back in Anaheim, replaced Fukumori, and turned out to be an immediate improvement. Not only did he get out of the 7th, but he pitched the remainder of the game for Texas, in 2.2 brilliant innings of work, allowing zero runs on 2 hits, striking out 2, and throwing 27 of his 39 pitches for strikes. With that outing, I’d say it’s safe to assume Dustin has saved himself from the DFA or disabled list hatchet that the Rangers where seemingly preparing to drop on him this weekend. It’s certianly reassuring to see Nippert flash his potential after that uglyness in his first outing – here’s hoping we see a lot more outings like this one.

 Another highlight was Josh Hamilton, who went 2-4, and drove in 4 of the 5 Texas runs on the night – that included a monsterous home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. Josh hasn’t exaclty been hot of late, but he’s already up to 11 RBI’s on the season – if this is how he produces when he’s lukewarm, I can’t wait until he hits a hot streak again, like the one he was on in spring training.

For some more uplifting news, let’s turn to the Jarrod Saltalamacchia watch: Salty went 2-4 with another home run against the Albuquerque Isotopes today – he’s now batting a cool .360 for OKC. He also threw out a runner stealing, as the Redhawks won 6-3. Wes Littleton and Frank Francisco also both threw 2 scoreless frames in the game, Francisco striking out 4, and picking up the save. With the way the bullpen has been performing so far, you’ve gotta wonder exactly how long it’s gonna be until those two make their way back to Arlington – I know I wouldn’t mind seeing either one exchanged for Kaz Fukumori right now.

A couple tough pitching matchups this weekend in Arlington – today, it’s Luis Mendoza making his first start of the season against Roy Halladay. A tough matchup, to be sure, but it’s worth noting that Halladay has struggled at The Ballpark in Arlington, with a career ERA of 7.00 there. Hopefully Mendoza has his best stuff, and hopefully the infield defense falls into line – we’re still gonna need both to beat Roy Halladay.

Sunday it will be Scott Feldman making the start for Texas against AJ Burnett – Jon Daniels made the announcement yesterday on the KLRD preview show that it would be Feldman who got the callup for the spot start, instead of someone like AJ Murray, or just letting Josh Rupe, who is already with the team, make the spot start. This will allow the Rangers to push Jason Jennings, who has struggled his first two starts, back to Monday against the Angels, but it’s going to require an additional roster move.

It sounds like the Rangers are leaning toward putting either Dustin Nippert, Jamey Wright, or Eddie Guardado on the DL to make room for Mendoza today, and optioning Josh Rupe on Sunday to make room for Feldman - and after Nippert’s Friday performance, it appears it would have to be one of the latter two if things do go that route. What the Rangers should do though, in my opinion, is send Kazuo Fukumori down for Mendoza today (since Fukumori pitched yesterday, and looks like he could use a tuneup), and make a decision between optioning Josh Rupe or putting someone on the DL Sunday to clear room for Feldman. Then, once Feldman has made his start, you’re free to call up a fresh arm in Wes Littleton or Frank Francisco Monday. We’ll see how things play out – it’s something to keep an eye on though, especially if the Rangers choose to put Wright or Guardado on the DL.