The Rangers drafted Leiter—the top arm from Vanderbilt. The Mets got Rocker, the other part of Vandy’s dynamic duo.
I like it. The Rangers really need to get aboard the development wagon in the farm system - and starting pitching is the key. This is a great pick. Let's see how they do in the rest of this draft.
IMHO the Rangers got the better pitcher. The Rangers say they have moved away from High Schoolers which is a good thing. My only concern is that JD is evidently still involved in on-the-field decisions.
Seems like Saturday August 14th game is the best for most folks for a Hornfans Ranger game get together. We need to pick a section and some rows if people have thoughts on how best to do that. post here or PM me.
The Dallas Morning News has hinted that Leiter might be difficult to sign. That would be an absolute travesty if they fail to sign him. But it would be so like them to blow it. AGAIN, JD must have pictures of someone in a very compromising position to still be employed by the Rangers
Rangers were crushed 10-2 yesterday in a game which the Dallas Morning News captioned as "brutal." Today, Toronto swept them in a double-bill: 5-0 and 10-0. The Rangers gave up a six run first inning in the late game but "held" them to only four runs in the second inning. This is all Jon Daniels. It has to be the worst melt-down and exposure of total incompetence in recent memory. Maybe Matt Millen will drink it over with him. It's SHOCKING to see someone like this keep his job. I've been saying it for years. He should be walked out into the stadium parking lot and given the boot.
^Giving up 25 runs while scoring only 2 is not a winning formula. I understand that this is a young team, trying to grow talent on the fly. I'm mildly encouraged by the recent draft (and hoping that Chris Young was the leader of that draft). If JD has been kicked upstairs, then he needs to learn to delegate and stay out of the way.
Chris Young says he is in charge, but JD keeps the "face" of the franchise. From the lack of imagination on the outside design of Globe Life Field to the handling of Nolan to reverting back to uniforms of yesteryear, to keeping JD around, the current ownership seems to either be incompetent or have no idea what is going on.
I'm going to say this ownership is exactly like Bum Bright was; cold-blooded, humorless, unsentimental and living for the bottom-line as a way of existence.
Let's see what happens with the Leiter negotiations. If any ownership is capable of blowing it and playing hard ball with him, it's this ownership. The intangible of signing such an arm and what it means to the buzz around the franchise means nothing to them. Assuming I'm reading them correctly.
Rangers vs. Tigers - Box Score - July 19, 2021 - ESPN 6th inning at the Tigers: Tigers up 11-0, bases loaded, no outs. Tigers at bat. The Rangers need to be sold for scrap metal. Game ended at 14-0. Three shut-outs in a row.
Rumors are saying Gallo being traded to the Yankees for six prospects. If true, that probably infers that the Rangers (1) are not counting on competing next year and (2) are not willing to commit the big FA $ to sign Joey long-term. And I assume Gibson and Kennedy will be gone by Friday, also.
Ragers were far enough into a deal that they held Gallo out Wednesday night. However, no announcement yet Thursday morning is kind of strange.
DMN this morning says trade went through, Lone Star Ball has players involved. Prospects in the Gallo trade
So far it doesn't sound like the second verse of a Mark Teixeira trade (brought the Rangers Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Neftali Feliz). Guess we'll see in a couple of years. And maybe - just maybe - the Rangers could sign Gallo as a FA when he gets to that point (if he really wants to be here).
3 hours until the trading deadline, and no movement yet on Gibson or Kennedy - I bet we see something just before the deadline. No reason to keep them if the Rangers are already mailing in next season - move them for whatever prospects they can get in trade.
Here's the recap of the prospects the Rangers got from the Yankees in the Gallo trade - Joey Gallo trade prospects on the rise (mlb.com). Sounds like the Rangers got a very good (but not "great") haul in the trade.
Gibson and Kennedy went to the Phillies for prospects. 3 Middle Infielders and a pitcher with a past strange arm injury for Gallo sound a little low based on Gallo's defensive skills alone. My assumption is when the Rangers tried to low-ball Gallo during the extension negotiations, Gallo and his agent took that as a sign that his future was not with the Rangers and just said any trade to the Yankees will be fine.
With two months left to play the Rangers' long July losing streak has left them perilously close to assuming the title of the worse team in the American League. As of the start of play today, the 70 game win total liner number is 46 wins while the Rangers sit at 39 wins. Baltimore (38 wins) and Arizona (34 wins) still worse off than the Rangers.
I am resigned to finishing with 100 losses even with the recent three game win streak that ended last night. Like last year, Texas hit a summer funk that drove them off the cliff and losing 14 of 15 games derailed any hopes for 70 wins and even put 60 wins in question.
I Agree FW. The interesting issue is the strength of the new ballpark seems to be still holding in August. My guess was that it would be strong until the All-Stark break then fall off the cliff.
Laughing stock yet...? So we bring in Brock Holt to the mound in relief, a non-pitcher who throws pitches around 30 mph. It looks like slow pitch softball. This is what a 31 mph pitch looks like Rangers Throttled By A's, Brock Holt Throws 30-MPH Pitch In Relief Rangers pitcher Brock Holt threw a picture-perfect 31 mph eephus pitch for a strike
This should be embarrassing to the entire Rangers organization. We’ve seen plenty of crummy teams before, but this sort of thing mocks the game.
And you'd think that with a new ballpark (especially after dumping a still relatively new ballpark), there would be pressure to field a good team. Apparently not. The root of the problem is that they aren't very good at developing young talent. They'll draft and trade for some talented prospects, but they either wind up getting injured or just flounder in the minors for a few years until they get called up to Arlington (and usually not after dominating at AAA). They don't always totally bomb, but they virtually never turn into long term solutions or impact players. I've heard some fans give them **** about not spending a lot in the free agent market, but what would be the point of doing that? Opening the vault for a top free agent makes sense if you've built a strong core and need one last impact player to turn your already good team into a dominant one. We haven't built a respectable core, so it makes no sense to take on some huge contract for a player who would at most turn us from a dumpster fire that loses 105 games into a mediocre team of 1 great player and 24 spares that loses 85 games. I don't understand how Daniels keeps his job after so many years of failure and screw-ups. Does he have blackmail material on some key investors? Is his wife the owner's daughter? Is he blowing somebody with a lot of power? I just don't get it.
The farm system needs an overhaul. Poach some better scouts, minor league coaches, hitting coaches, and pitching coaches from other teams, or something.
As basically a 1/2 season ticket holder for the RR Express I couldn't agree more. That team is tragic. They can't hit, overall pitching is terrible although there are a couple with potential. They have way too many fielding errors and gives up 10+ runs almost every time I see them. In my opinion they have one real prospect and thats their catcher Yohel Pozo. That dude is a stud and is my favorite player on the team to watch.
It would be great if they could poach the entire pitching development department from Tampa - those folks always seem to pump out top-notch pitchers from their farm system.