A lonestar in california


Rangers blank Mariners, Richie Sexson goes ballistic
May 9, 2008, 4:41 am
Filed under: Ranger Wins | Tags: , , , , , , ,

You know, I never though an MLB player could ever do anything that would make me despise them more than I do Barry Bonds. But that was before I was treated to the Richie Sexson show on Thursday night.

I’m not sure I can convey exactly what happened with Sexson in words, as it’s simply to dumbfounding to me that a Major League baseball player could possibly be this much of a spineless pansy. But I will try. We jump into the action with 2 out in the 4th inning. Up to that point, Kason Gabbard had tossed 3.2 innings of shutout baseball, giving up 1 hit and walking 3. The score was 4-0, as the Rangers had scored twice in each of the first two innings – and the Mariners where obviously frustrated, as they had been shut out the previous night, and been hammered 10-1 on Tuesday. Seattle starter Felix Hernandez had plunked both Ian Kinsler and Gerald Laird already in the course of the first three innings, but things where about to really explode.

Richie Sexson stepped in, and the first pitch from Gabbard was a fastball, that apparently was overthrown, and zipped high up over the plate - Gerald Laird had to stand up to prevent it from heading to the backstop. The pitch may have been high, but it was in no way up and in, or anywhere close to Sexson. Despite this, Sexson made a dramatic show of spinning out of the way on a pitch that was actually at least a foot away from his body and head, and proceeded to charge the mound. Once he got to within a few feet of Gabbard, he lobbed his helmet full-force into Kason, who ducked and deflected it with his back, and then literally leapt upon the hapless pitcher with his entire 6′ 8″, 230-some pound frame, crunching him into the ground. Gerald Laird came running out and threw Sexson in a headlock to try and drag him off of Gabbard, as both benches emptied and piled on around the tangled trio. Once the smoke cleared, Sexson would be the only one thrown out of the game, while Gabbard, and even Gerald Laird, who had to be restrained by Milton Bradley and Felix Hernandez (who was restrained by former teammate Eddie Guardado) where all allowed to remain.

Before I go any further, I think I’ll hand it off to Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve, in this youtube clip of the aftermath of last nights 4th inning “incident”, and let you judge the chain of unfortunate events yourself.

Edit: MLB sucks. They took the video with Grieve’s comments off youtube. Furthermore, I cannot seem to embed the video here with WordPress (which either means I’m stupid, or WordPress sucks, I’m not sure which). For now, you can see the video featuring Grieve here - just don’t tell Bud Selig. Elsewhere is this redlasso video, from Yahoo baseball blog that shows and ESPN report of the brawl.

While that clip doesn’t include the entire commentary, (a transcript of which can be found here) I think Tom Greive’s summariztion of Sexson, which occurred just moments after the above video cuts off pretty much sums up Sexson’s actions:

“If he doesn’t get suspended for a week for that gutless move I’ll be shocked. #1 for charging the mound on a pitch that wasn’t even close. And then for getting 20 feet away and throwing the helmet at him like a girl. What a joke. Not to denigrate girls I don’t think girls would even do that.”

Priceless, and right on target – Tom Grieve at his best. I don’t believe I have ever witnessed a more shameless display of cowardly overreaction in an athlete. Richie Sexson’s actions, from over-dramatizing the high fastball that never came anywhere close to him, to charging the mound and assaulting Gabbard with his helmet are not just indescribably unprofessional and uncalled for, they where borderline criminal. I can only hope he gets the maximum suspension Major League Baseball can wreak upon him – if it where up to me, I would ban him for upwards of two weeks to a month for that stunt.

Gabbard, who had just come off the DL to make last night’s start, came out of the game two batters after he retook the mound with bruised legs, and no doubt a somewhat shaken psyche. After that, the Rangers bullpen took over and did a superb job to shut out the Mariners the rest of the game, and give the Rangers the last laugh for now, a 5-0 victory. Franklyn German (who got the win), Jamey Wright, Eddie Guardado, and Frank Francisco fired a combined 6.1 scoreless innings, striking out five, and allowing just two hits the rest of the way. That gives the Rangers bullpen, which has been superb of late after a rocky April, a 24-inning streak of scoreless ball.

In other Ranger news, unrelated to the game, or mid-game Jerry Springer show, Ben Broussard had been designated for assignment, and Travis Metcalf has been activated from the disabled list. This was to provide the Rangers with a backup option for the infield while Michael Young was unavailable Thursday due to his flexor strain. Young is expected to be back in the lineup Friday, but JD didn’t want to take the chance that an injury would force Young to be used in the field before he was ready. Still, this is just pretty much a procedural backup move - since Metcalf was called up straight from the DL instead of going on his scheduled minor league rehab assignment, he’s going to be sent right back down on Tuesday when Marlon Byrd comes off the DL – and I don’t imagine Travis will see any playing time before that.

But so ends the saga of Ben Broussard – I think I speak for most Ranger fans when I say PHEW!

A quick note on John Patterson – according to the DMN, it now “appears unlikely” that Patterson will pitch for the Rangers this season, as he has been advised to take “extended time off” from his throwing program by Dr. Keith Meister. Sigh.

And finally, some stuff concerning Ron Washington: as Evan Grant notes on the DMN blog, despite a recent report from the Dallas Observer that the Rangers where looking at candidates to replace Ron Washington, Jon Daniels says nothing is going to happen regarding Ron until the All-Star break, at the soonest. Looks like my prediction yesterday about Ron’s job security was correct, unfortunately. Although, if you look at the names mentioned in that Dallas observer report, none of them look any better than Ron: Don Baylor, Mike Hargrove, Jim Tracy and Jackie Moore. Who knows how much credibility you can give the Observer’s report, and their “unamed sources”, but that list almost makes me think putting up with Ron ain’t so bad. Almost. My opinion: Matt Walbeck or bust.

Today it’s a rematch of Sunday’s Scott Feldman/Greg Smith meeting, this time back home in Arlington. Smith held the Rangers to just one run on three hits last time, and struck out 10, so the Rangers need to do better this time around. We’ll see how Feldman does – he’s pitched very well in his two starts, but much like Sidney Ponson, we really haven’t seen enough yet to tell whether it’s a flash in the pan, or genuine potential. Even though I haven’t liked Feldman much in the past, he’s grown on me in his new role as a starter – I’d really like to see him succeed in it.

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Padilla outduels Bedard as Rangers shut out Mariners
May 8, 2008, 5:15 am
Filed under: Ranger Wins | Tags: , , , , ,

So far, this series in Seattle has had a bit of everything for everybody. The first two games saw one club chase the opposing starter early, and effectively put the game away before the 5th inning. Last night’s contest, however, saw a classic low-scoring, nail-biting pitchers duel between Seattle’s ace lefty Erik Bedard, and the Rangers revitalized Vicente Padilla.

Bedard, who came into the game with a 4-1 career line, and a 2.42 ERA against the Rangers, pitched a pretty good game, but the story of the night was Vicente Padilla. Already the author of a complete game shutout this season (back on April 27th against the Twins) Padilla tossed another brilliant gem, putting goose eggs on the board for 7 innings, surrendering just two hits and two walks and striking out 8. At one point, he retired 12 Mariners in a row. To say he was brilliant might have been an understatement. Filthy is probably a better adjective.

The Rangers offense managed to get just two runs off Bedard, but the way Padilla was pitching, it turned out to be enough. Brandon Boggs ripped an RBI triple to plate Milton Bradley from first win 2 out in the 4th to break the scoreless tie. Bradley, who scored both the Ranger runs, later hammered a solo shot to left in the 6th, and that was all the Rangers needed.

Things did get a little hairy for Padilla in the 7th, when he walked Raul Ibanez and Adrian Beltre to lead off the inning. But thanks to some blazing upper 90’s fastballs, and some excellent framing by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Padilla rebounded to strike out the side, getting Jeff Clement and Yuniesky Betancourt looking, and Wladmir Balentien swinging to end the threat.

That was Padilla’s most brilliant inning, but also his last, as he was pulled by Ron Washington in the 8th, despite only being at 91 pitches. Joaquin Benoit took over, and worked though a nailbiter inning, walking the first batter he saw, and later giving everyone a scare by giving Jose Lopez a pitch that was jacked all the way back to the corner in deep LF, but hauled in by Brandon Boggs for the third out. Even though he got out of the inning unscathed, Benoit can just count himself lucky that it was Jose Lopez he served up that last pitch to, and not someone like Adrian Beltre, or he would have been looking at a blown save. But it wasn’t, and CJ Wilson came on for the 9th, and worked around a walk of his own to pick up his 8th save of the season, slamming the door on the shutout, and the Rangers 15th win of the season.

There was some bad news coming along with this one though, as shortstop Michael Young tweaked a flexor muscle in his left hip during his at-bat in the top of the first inning. Right now he’s listed as day-to-day, and there hasn’t been anything said about how serious his problem is, but from what I gather, flexorinjuries can keep a guy out anywhere from a few games to over a month. Needless to say, if Young is out for an extended period, it will be very bad, because the Rangers don’t have many options to replace him. German Duran and Ramon Vazquez are already splitting time filling in for Hank Blalock, and there’s no other infielder on the 40-man roster besides Joaquin Arias (who has so far been limited to playing second base in OKC, as he rebuilds arm strength from a shoulder surgery last year) who is eligible to be called up to the majors. Even if Young is only out for a few days, and the Rangers wait for him to recover, they’ll still be in a dangerous predicament, as they’ll have no backup infielder on the roster.  

I’m afraid I have more discouraging news, too – John Patterson has suffered a setback in his recovery from his 2007 elbow surgery. He has been shut down after his second start in extended spring training, thanks to soreness in his right forearm.

“He was not happy with the way the ball was coming out of his hand, and he had some pain in his forearm again,” Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor said. “Everything was going well until that second start.”

I guess this means Sidney Ponson is now undoubtedly here to stay, be it for better or worse.

Luis Mendoza, who is on the DL with shoulder pain, is not close to returning to the rotation either. According to Mark Connor, he is making progress, but the Rangers still want to play it safe, and let him build up his endurance, as he’s scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday, and then make 2 or 3 rehab starts in the minors.

For now, that leaves the Rangers with a rotation of Millwood, Padilla, Ponson, Kason Gabbard (who comes off the DL tommorrow) and Scott Feldman, with AJ Murray being the primary fallback option.

Another interesting note though, is that Doug Mathis has now “pushed ahead” of Eric Hurley, as far as consideration for a big league callup anytime soon goes. Mathis is 5-0 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP for OKCso far, whereas Hurley is 1-2 with a 7.32 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP, and has given up 8 HR – disappointing to say the least for the Rangers top pitching prospect.

A couple last notes, and I’ve got to wrap this up: Ben Broussard is a dead man walking. The Rangers have decided to platoon Frank Catalanotto and Chris Shelton at first base, pretty much making it a logical certainty that Broussard will be dropped when Marlon Byrd comes off the DL. There’s more, too: Evan Grant goes so far as to suggest that because Ron Washington was the one who lobbied for, and effectively got Broussard signed this offseason he could wind up being fired at the same time Broussard is DFA’d. While I would dearly love to see that (the very thought of seeing my two least favorite people associated with the Texas Rangers fired at the same time floods my brain with pleasure endorphins) something tells me that if Ron Washington was going to be fired, it would have been done by now. JD seems reluctant to admit he whiffed when he hired Washington in the first place, and that denial, combined with the Rangers better play of late, I think is going to save Washington’s job until the All-Star break, if not October.

Finally, Jason Botts has cleared waivers, and been outrighted to OKC, something Jason can’t be too happy about, if you remember what he had to say about his designation:

“I think I’ve been here for a pretty long time and I deserve a fresh start somewhere else. It’s not the most negative thing to me right now that this has happened. I’m excited about it.”

Unfortunately for Jason, he now must endure another season of slogging through the minors with OKC, splitting time at first base and DH. I really feel sorry for Bottsy – he may not have ever performed enough in any of his brief stints with the club to convince anyone he should stay, but he didn’t really get a fair shake at a long term chance – he got screwed out of that when the Rangers signed Sammy Sosa in 2007, and his career never recovered.

Kason Gabbard, who will be fresh off the DL, will take on Felix Hernandez today as the Rangers try to take 3 of 4 from the Mariners. Gabbard was 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA before his DLtrip – hopefully he comes back dealing, and hopefully we find out something positive about Michael Young’s hip.

 

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Jennings lit up in 7-4 loss to Angels
April 15, 2008, 5:00 am
Filed under: Ranger Losses | Tags: , , , ,

I’m not sure who’s more demoralized right now, the players or the fans of the Texas Rangers. 

There’s not really much to be said about slumps like this. After Monday night, the Rangers have now lost 4 in a row, and have seen their momentum and drive drop to a new low.

The game started off with both teams scoring in the first inning, Jason Jennings give up 2 runs in the top of the frame, but the Rangers rallied for three in the bottom against Ervin Santana, with Michael Young hitting a sac fly, and Hank Blalock cranking a 2-run homer.

But the 3-2 edge didn’t last long. Jennings, who has been just plain horrible in his first three starts as a Texas Ranger, and was pitching on an extra days rest, still continued to show a lack of velocity and sink on his balls, as Mike Napoli clubbed a home run to lead off the inning. Vlad Guerrerro then hit an RBI double, and scored when Josh Hamilton threw to second base instead of home plate on a Garret Anderson single to center.

The Rangers did rally in the third, loading the bases with one out for Marlon Byrd, but Byrd swung at the first pitch he saw, a sinker from Santana, and rolled it to short for a double play. That pathetic excuse for an “at-bat” turned out to be the gut-punch for the Rangers on the night. After that inning, the entire team just seemed to give up. It certainly seemed like they where just half-assing the rest of the ballgame, at least.

Case in point: the 5th inning. Josh Hamilton let a catchable ball of the bat of Guerrerro get down for a single, and Marlon Byrd made one of the worst mistakes I’ve seen in quite a while in RF, overunning a a line-drive single from Maicer Izturis, and letting it skip past him for a 2-run triple. That would be the last inning for Jennings, who wound up giving up giving up 7 runs (6 earned) on 7 hits and 4 walks for the night.

The Rangers did get a rally going in the 8th inning after a throwing error by Angel shortstop Eric Aybarallowed Josh Hamilton to reach to start the frame. Milton Bradley (who was 3-4 on the night) then singled, and Hank Blalock trimmed the lead to 3 with an RBI single, but the Rangers still didn’t seem to have their hearts in it. Pinch hitter David Murphy came up as the tying run, but struck out, and Frank Catalanotto quietly grounded out to end the frame.

There where some bright spots on the night: the plate performances of Milton Bradley (3-4) and Hank Blalock (3 RBI), and the bullpen, which was excellent in relief of Jennings. Wes Littleton, fresh up from OKC, fired 2.1 scoreless innings, and Jamey Wright made an appearance, battling back after he loaded the bases with no one out to throw a scoreless frame. Franklyn German also got an inning in, and turned in a 1-2-3 frame.

The Rangers seem to be bottoming out right now – and hopefully this game was the low. They need to find something they can build around, and use as a springboard right now – last season, that something was Marlon Byrd, whose amazing hot streak after he was recalled from AAA paced the Rangers summer run. Now, perhaps Milton Bradley, who has a 9 game hitting streak, and has been known to carry a team when hot, can be that something – but of course the rest of the team will need to shape up and rally around him as well.

Moving on to other matters, here’s some encouraging news: John Patterson (remember him?) is apparently making progress in his recovery (he’s been working in extended spring training in Arizona). Patterson thinks he may be able to pitch in games sometime next week, and although pitching coach Mark Connor isn’t quite as sure, the tone is still optimistic:

“Hopefully,” Connor said, when asked if Patterson could be game-ready in a week. “He’s got to get his arm built up. He’ll have some bullpen sessions, then start spinning his curveball before he can get in game situations in Arizona. Once he can throw five innings, we’ll send him into Minor League games.”

At this point, Patterson is just another “if” on the long list of Texas “what ifs” but if he could make a comeback later this season, he could wind up being a solid addition to this staff – a top-of-the-rotation type in the past, his progress is something to keep an eye on, and it’s good to hear good things so far.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia watch: Salty was 2-4 with a triple and a walk yesterday for OKC, who lost for the first time in 7 games to Albuquerque. He’s hitting .364 with a .447 OBP, and an OPS around 1.114 – rediculous numbers to be sure. I’m starting to wonder just how long the Rangers can keep him in AAA, especially with the offense having such a tough time. But then again, you can’t underestimate the organization’s infatuation with Gerald Laird – Salty will probably be stuck in OKC till July, when Laird is finally traded.

Kevin Millwood takes the mound today for the Rangers, against Dustin Moseley - all I can say is, hopefully we can halt this losing streak at 4 games.

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