A lonestar in california

One Ranger lefty dominated last night. And one imploded horribly, for what may be the last time in 2008. Such has been the fortunes of the Rangers feast-or-famine pitching staff all year - even in such an exhilarating win they couldn’t manage to escape without some kind of debacle to debate afterwards.

The good fortunes of the night belonged to Matt Harrison, whose defense turned 3 double plays behind him as he worked into the 7th inning, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Travis Metcalf (who started at third base with Andy Pettitte on the hill for the Yanks) turned all three double plays, which all bailed Harrison out of possible trouble in the second, third and fourth innings. He certainly looked like a completely different pitcher than his last time out – the control was much better, and he wasn’t leaving the ball over the middle to get pounded. Maybe a new pitching coach does make all the difference, eh?

The Rangers offense, for their part actually didn’t seem too fazed by the left-hander Pettitte for a change – in fact, left-handed hitters Josh Hamilton (who crushed a 2-run homer in the first) David Murphy (RBI single in the 6th) and Chris Davis (sac fly and a 3-run double) accounted for 7 of the 8 Texas RBI. The Rangers appeared to be on cruise control headed into the 8thinning – with a comfortable 8-2 lead, Ron Washington decided to give struggling closer CJ Wilson a chance to try out a new mechanical apprach in the top of the 8th.

Unfortunately, nobody could have possibly predicted just how wrong the experiment was about to go.  Wilson, who had two separate side sessions before the game with new pitching coach Andy Hawkins entered the game and immediately looked disastrously bad, issuing a walk, a HBP, a strikeout and the another walk to the first four batters. That brought up Richie Sexson, who promptly jacked the second pitch he saw from Wilson out to left center for a grand slam.

Matters just got worse when Ron Washington came out to take the ball from Wilson, who nonchalantly flipped the ball at his manager and started to saunter off the mound. But Wash pulled him back, returned the ball and told Wilson to hand it to him before he left. It almost looked like a scene out of “Supernanny” or somesuch, and it didn’t sit too well with his teammates or the management:

“I didn’t like it one bit,” said outfielder Marlon Byrd, who followed up his game-winning grand slam, with three hits and a two-out, rally-starting walk in the seventh. “Everybody hits rough patches, but when the manager comes out to get you, you hand him the ball and show him the respect he deserves. I don’t know how it looks to fans, but I know how it looks to 24 other guys. It doesn’t look good.”

Said general manager Jon Daniels: “Guys are going to struggle. That is part of the game. That’s not the issue. There is a way to act and carry yourself. The way he left was unacceptable and disrespectful. He’s somebody we need and somebody we have to get right. The physical issue becomes the No. 1 priority for right now, but that doesn’t excuse what happened on the mound.”

“The physical issue” was announced as a case of bone spurs in Wilson’s elbow, something the club has apparently known about for at least a little while now, since it only took the Rangers 30 minutes of “unpleasant” discussion with Wilson after the game to make the decision to put him on the disabled list.

“I’ve been trying to pitch through it for a while,” Wilson said. “I can’t do the team much good if I’m not healthy. There are plenty of guys who can get the job done in the bullpen.”

That certainly would provide an explanation of CJ’s erratic performance this year, and his rapid deterioration since mid-July -  but my question is this: how long has this been an issue for CJ, and just how long have CJ’s coaches and managers known about this? I can’t help but notice that the bullpen side sessions and admission of an injury are something that came only after Andy Hawkins installation as pitching coach – could it be this is something that his predecessor Mark Connor perhaps overlooked? Or even worse, did the management and coaching staff know about CJ’s condition all along, and allow him to pitch through it despite his increasingly poor performances?

We might not ever get an answer to those questions, but it’s certainly something to ponder, given how the Rangers have allowed pitchers to take the mound in questionable health before - both Brandon McCarthy being allowed to pitch for over two months with a stress fracture in his shoulder blade and Vicente Padilla pitching through a sore elbow for much of the first half last season leap to mind. I certainly hope the CJ doesn’t wind up being Connor’s last victim – he’s currently headed out to LA to consult with specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum to decide whether or not he will need surgery, so hopefully it’s not too late for CJ to get himself right, and get back on track for next year.

CJ will be replaced on the roster by Joaquin Benoit, who will be activated from his DL stint for a sore shoulder – he probably won’t be slotted right back into the late innings though as for now, Eddie Guardado will take over as closer, with Frank Francisco presumably moving to the setup role. For tonight’s game though, it’s very likely that Frank Francisco might get the save opportunity should one arise – Eddie has worked 3 nights in a row, and if I had to guess, I’d say the Rangers will probably give him the night off.

I had more to write on CJ and on some other notes regarding the rotation, but that’ll have to wait for now. Perhaps I can add them later, but for now I’ve got to go. Tonight’s pitching matchup:

Tonight we have a scale-tipping pitching matchup – big Tommy Hunter vs. the equally big Sidney Ponson in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN. Much like the first time we faced Ponson this year, I really hope we can kick his ass again today – and if we do, maybe we’ll actually hold on to win the ballgame this time.