Texas Rangers 2018 Thread

Afraid of, but agree.

 

Opening Day 32 teams full of hope. Let's get this out of the way - over/under Ranger losses. Bar set at 100. I say over at this point. You can change before first pitch of the Rangers game against LAA on 01 June.

 

I think the Rangers lose 92 games and finish 70-92. Rhyner on the Ticket here locally picked them to win 83 games yesterday on strength of their offensive capabilities but I just don't see them being able score their way out from under how terribly weak their starting rotation and bullpen are. Plus, they still dont have a closer and we are 6 hours from their opening game. I would love to be wrong but my fear is I am wrong on low end and this team loses 100 games.

 

I'll take the under on 100 losses, but any fewer than 90 will be a surprise.

 

My "over" was based solely on the lack of MLB quality starting pitching. With even average SP, the Rangers could be in the mix for the second Wildcard, but the lack of SP is going to wear down the Bullpen. Also, if the Rangers have tanked by the trading deadline Hamels is gone for sure so that is probably the 8 of the losses between mine and /FW and Crockett's predictions.

 

Southlake PD definitely taking the over.

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/te...gers-twitter-making-opening-day-super-awkward

 

I don't see the offense as being that strong. Lots of easy outs - undisciplined hitters who swing at bad pitches and strikeout, pop out, etc. a lot. They'll rack up a lot of runs against crappy pitchers, but the Astros rotation will shut us down. Closing your eyes and swinging as hard as you can isn't a very effective hitting strategy against a respectable pitcher.

But the pitching also blows. Cole Hamels is our best starter, and he's no Ace. He's not a King either. He might be a Queen, but he's more of a Jack.

 

Opening series goes about as expected losing three of four. Rangers starting pitching never got out of sixth even in win and the hitting was spotty at best. For about 16 hours the Rangers were at .500 probably wont see that for their record again this year. Headed to Oakland for first road trip of year.

 

Can't put hitters away, a lot of deep counts. Our bullpen will pitch a lot of innings, as it so often does.

 

Only adds to the problem since the BP is almost as bad as the SP.

 

Watching Bartolo Colon tonight because I just cant stop watching. The man is three years younger than I am and is still pitching in the majors. And of course it is the best start of year thus far for any Ranger as he pitches six giving up just one run.

Morning update: I went to bed after the sixth with score tied at 1 and see Rangers lost 3-1. Of course they give Colon no run support. This is going to be such a long year......

 

Something to look forward to. If he can compete in the next two starts the Rangers might have a pitcher.

 

Cameron Rupp signs a minor league contract with the Rangers; assigned to RR.

 

The Astros better watch out!

 

I came to sad realization last night as I watched Hamels shut down the A's that the best reason to cheer for him every start through June is to increase his trade status in July and hope that there are enough buyers to get 2 plus good prospects for him. Similar thoughts about Beltre at third pop up a lot too.

 

Sadly you are correct. Neither of these guys will be around the next time the Rangers are likely to be competitive, which is probably a good 2 or 3 years after this year.

 

Totally agree. Concerns now are: (a) Hamels reverting to 2017 form; and (b) when will Beltre get hurt. Since both are almost sure to happen how will JD manage the process of extracting value? The value of each goes up when a superior player at their position goes down.

 

I know Beltre has said he wants to be the team to be competitive, not rebuild. I wonder if some guys would still prefer to stay with "their team." I think everyone assuming ALL all-star players want to leave "their team" in the twilight of their career to play on contenders is overblown.

If he was open to it, I would trade him though. Bring him back next year to DH.

 

As for the over/under on losses - I'll say under 100, but over 90. Weak pitching, inconsistent hitting. Defense probably adequate. With the possible exception of Oakland, the rest of the AL West is stronger - Rangers no better than 4th in the division. I may go to a game or two, but certainly won't buy the mini-pack I used to purchase.

 

Smallest attendance in 8 years last night to watch Rangers lose to Angels and likely lose Odor for a while to a hamstring injury. The fans know this is team tank and their attendance is showing it.

 

Looks like Elvis is going to be out for awhile too. At least we'll get a high pick in the draft next year. (Of course, we had that in 2015 and didn't get much out of it.)

 

Great. This is going to get ugly very fast. Cannot wait for the owners to come out and say they will not support an increase in payroll because fans are not showing up. That will be the excuse for not making a real effort to get Kershaw.

 

They don't have a chance to get Kershaw anyway. The Dodgers will throw the bank at him. He's not going anywhere.

 

Probably; but there is a push from his Highland Park family and friends for him to come home. Remember Texas only has to stay within 13% of the Dodgers offer to be an even offer due to California's state income tax.

 

I can imagine Kershaw would prefer cool, arid workplace to Arlington. Of course, the Rangers indoor stadium is under construction.

 

Good observation. After their rookie seasons, I had projected Odor and Mazara as quality starters/borderline all stars for the next few years. I think subsequent performance leads me to see them as "serviceable major leaguers" who can win big only with several better hitters in the lineup.

 

I think the argument can be made that Kershaw is the most dominant left-handed starter of all time. Hell, his ERA and WHIP are lower than Sandy Koufax's, who pitched on a mound that was 10 inches higher and had a much bigger strike zone. (Of course, he's much tougher than Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Tom Glavine, Warren Spahn, or Lefty Grove - all Hall of Famers.) I think he's getting about $32M per year right now. If he happens to have an off year, then he probably won't opt out. If he pitches like he always has, then he's going to get a raise - probably into the mid to upper $30s per year and will probably command 7 years with another opt out after 5. I just don't see the Rangers even getting into that range.

Nevertheless, let's suppose they did. I don't think most players are going to take the top offer regardless of who's offering it. If the Marlin ("s" omitted intentionally) offered Kershaw a dollar more than the Dodgers did, I don't think he'd go there. I think that at least within a certain salary range, players want to go to solid organizations that are likely to be competitive in the long term. The Dodgers fit that description. At least for a while, the Rangers don't. If the Rangers had a bunch of thriving young players and a deep minor league system but were an elite starter short, I could see Kershaw coming home if we got into the Dodgers' salary range. We're just not in that position now and won't be when Kershaw opts out.

 

I still have quite a bit of hope for Mazara. He's off to a slow start, but he's a very young player with a decent approach at the plate. There's real room for him to improve into a very solid player. Odor is just too much of a mess at the plate, and I think pitchers have figured out the book on him. If he has a ton of line up protection, he can still be serviceable hitter. However, if he really wants to be major asset, he needs to overhaul his approach at the plate. Frankly, I wouldn't mind seeing him demoted and letting the minor league hitting coaches work with him in low pressure situations.

 

The real difference between Koufax and Kershaw is their playoff records. Koufax was nails https://www.mensjournal.com/sports/mlb-playoffs-top-5-most-dominant-postseason-pitchers-all-time.
Kershaw not so much.

 

It would help attendance if the owners would field a team that can compete.