2006 Random Rangers Ramblings

[Roy31]

Guerrero's 44-game streak ends

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Vladimir Guerrero's hitting streak against the Rangers is over. His domination, however, lives on.

In Saturday's 10-3 loss to Los Angeles, the Rangers managed to find a way to keep Guerrero from shooting line drives all over the field. Mainly, they decided not to pitch to him. And Guerrero's 44-game hit streak against the Rangers, the longest by a player against one team in 50 years, ended.

Texas pitchers issued walks in each of Guerrero's first four plate appearances. Three of the walks were intentional; one was thinly disguised as an honest attempt to pitch to him.


DMN

[Roy31]

- First baseman Chris Davis, the Rangers' fifth-round pick from the June draft, has been named the Rangers Minor League Player of the Month for July. He batted .343 for Class A Spokane with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in 99 at-bats.

- Class A Bakersfield pitcher Doug Mathis, a 13th-round pick out of Missouri in 2005, was the Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July. He was 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA in six starts.

[Molina00]

It didn't take much to tell Angels fans were getting mad at Texas pitching. If you weren't watching the game you should have heard the booing whenever they intentionally walked Vlad.

[Roy31]

Short-season Single-A Spokane's Chad Tracy went 3-for-5 and hit his 10th homer on Sunday. Tracy, the son of Pirates manager Jim Tracy, lasted until the third round of the 2006 draft because of questions about his defense. There are few about his bat. The Pepperdine product is hitting .291/.367/.532 in 158 at-bats for Spokane. The Rangers could choose to move him up to low Single-A Clinton for the rest of the season. -Rotoworld

At first I thought this was the Chad Tracy from the Diamondbacks lol.

[Roy31]

- Rangers signed 1B Randall Simon to a minor league contract. Simon will report to rookie-level Arizona, which is an odd place for a 31-year-old veteran. The Rangers may call him up when rosters expand next month.

- Triple-A Oklahoma's Robinson Tejeda struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings Monday against Tucson. The Sidewinders are missing Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew and Alberto Callaspo, so throwing one-hit ball against them now isn't as impressive as it would have been a month ago. Still, it was the kind of performance Tejeda needed to turn himself into a candidate for a callup. He's 5-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 starts for Oklahoma. -Rotoworld

[Roy31]

lol I got this link passed along from another Rangers fan today ... www.FIREBUCK.com

[Molina00]

That is one of the stupidest reasons to fire anybody I ever heard. Buck is a fine manager and if Texas is going to win, they will do it wich Buck at the helm.

[Molina00]

Eric Young Returns to Texas
Or at least to the Ranger organization anyway. E.Y. has been signed to a minor league contract and assigned to Triple A Oklahoma.

In 2004 with Texas, Young hit .288 with a .377 OBP, 25 doubles, scored 55 runs and stole 14 bases.

Link

[Molina00]

From MLB.com

Free agent contract watch: General manager Jon Daniels doesn't want to start negotiating contracts in the middle of the pennant race but said he has started touching base with the representatives of the Rangers nine potential free agents.

"We just want to reach out and let them know what we're thinking," Daniels said. "I still don't want it to be a distraction and there is nothing imminent. But I wouldn't rule out a more specific conversation with some of them before Oct. 1."

The nine free agents are pitchers Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla and Kip Wells, catcher Rod Barajas, utility infielder Jerry Hairston and outfielders Carlos Lee, Gary Matthews, Mark DeRosa and Matt Stairs.
DeRosa, Matthews and Lee figure to get substantial amount of attention while Eaton and Padilla will get priority because of the Rangers' need for pitching.

[Molina00]

Possible Suspension for Padilla

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have been in communication with the Commissioner's Office and are preparing for a suspension for pitcher Vicente Padilla after being ejected from Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

A decision from MLB vice president Bob Watson is expected in the next day or two. The Rangers aren't happy about the situation and almost all of their displeasure is being directed at Padilla.

"I was disappointed with how things unfolded," general manager Jon Daniels said. "We've got a lot on the line here. Our guys have put themselves in a position to contend and for something to get in the way of that is disappointing."

The situation started unfolding Tuesday when Padilla hit Vladimir Guerrero with a pitch in the third inning. One inning later, he faced Guerrero again and came high and inside with a pitch that drew a warning from home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.

Guerrero then hit a three-run home run. Padilla got Garret Anderson to line out but then hit Juan Rivera with a pitch and was ejected along with manager Buck Showalter.
Showalter, who expects a one-game suspension for himself over the incident, met with Padilla before Wednesday's game and made it clear that he was not happy with what happened.

[Molina00]

Koronka to Rejoin Rangers/Possibly One More
John Koronka will be called up to start Saturday against the Detroit Tigers.

If there is a suspension in the works for Padilla, they will need to call up another starting pitcher to pitch on Sunday against the Tigers. The most likely candidates for the assignment are Robinson Tejeda and John Rheinecker. Althugh Rheinecker is probably the leading candidate of the two since Comerica Park tends to favor left handed pitchers.

[brewersfan19]

I think Buck is a good manager, but IMO, I think he would make an even better GM.... He pretty assembled the Yankess in the 90's and the D-Backs in the early 2000's.... Just a thought to ponder.... What does everyone thinks about that suggestion?

[Molina00]

I think Buck is a good manager, but IMO, I think he would make an even better GM.... He pretty assembled the Yankess in the 90's and the D-Backs in the early 2000's.... Just a thought to ponder.... What does everyone thinks about that suggestion?

I don't know about that. I say give Daniel's a chance. He's made a couple of trades that haven't worked out but he needs a chance. I really do like Buck as the manager. It is kind of interesting when you consider he assembled the Yankee team in '95 then Torre took over in '96 and they won a WS, then he assembled the D-Back team in '00 and Brenly won a WS in '01. Buck just missed out on a couple of WS rings.

I'm glad he's in Texas now though. Especially with what Narron has done with the Reds, since he was the Rangers previous manager.

[brewersfan19]

i agree that Buck is a good manager.... It was just meant as an observation, thats all...

[Molina00]

Masset Up/Koronka Down
Coming off a start in Detroit where he gave up 6 runs in 1 1/3rd innings, it comes as little surprise that John Koronka is being optioned back to Triple A Oklahoma.

Being called up to take his place is reliever Nick Masset. He has pitched 1 game for the Rangers this year allowing 1 hit and hitting a batter in 1 scoreless inning. In his 15 games since returning to Triple A Masset has gone 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA and is 4-5 with a 4.74 ERA overall in Triple A this year.