Major League Baseball: 2013 Season

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I figured they'd go after a starter. Their bullpen is decently-stocked, while their starting rotation is just shredded with 5 starters on the DL. They have gone after pitching the past 3 years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they got a starter. In 2010, they traded for Cliff Lee. In 2011 they picked up Koji Uehara and Mike Adams, which would prove to be big parts of the pen. And then last year was Dempster. I've heard Garza's name thrown around some, but who knows what will happen.

Thankfully Colby Lewis, the Rangers' 2012 Opening Day starter, has begun a rehab assignment with their Double-A affiliate in Frisco, and should hopefully be back soon. He gave up 4 R in 4 IP with 32 pitches and 1 K and a BB. Alexi Ogando is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment soon. Darvish went on the DL at the right time, All Star break, and is only expected to miss one start.

Soon, the Rangers rotation should consist of Holland, Darvish, Ogando, Lewis, and either Justin Grimm, Nick Tepesch, or Martin Perez. Perez is the Rangers' top pitching prospect. As of now, it's Holland, Perez, Grimm (if he doesn't go on the DL), Ross Wolf, and Josh Lindblom.
 
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Uehara was one of the worst trades Texas has made, considering what they gave up for him.
 
The season resumes tomorrow. So if you're a little open for some discussion, why not another team assessment? I'll start off.


Basically, all the Houston Astros Baseball Club can do is just play out the rest of the season as best as they can. While nothing special was expected of the Astros, at least they aren't INTENTIONALLY losing just to get the 2014 season going. They've shown their strength taking on ad taking down some of the better AL teams. The biggest surprise hands down was the Astros' four-game sweep at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I did NOT see that coming. We're hosting Seattle here in Houston starting tomorrow night for a three-game set. Houston has managed to get some wins against the Mariners both in Houston and in Seattle. We've managed only so few wins against the other Texas team- the Texas Rangers, including that 8-2 victory for Houston on Opening Night. More than anything, Houston still has a LONG way to go to surpass the boys up north. We've beaten every AL West team at least once... except Oakland. For some reason, we can't take down the Athletics. After the upcoming Seattle series, Oakland comes to H-Town. When will the Astros get it together against a team like Oakland?

Against almost everyone else, I just think the Astros still have a whole lot of work to do. The real issue for them is going to be about how well and how quickly they can make themselves relevant again. They haven't really been relevant since the days of the "Killer B's" and since the 2005 run to the World Series. I am not saying they should be like the 100+ win 1998 Houston Astros, but a lot of patience and some solid talent will turn around the misfortunes of this proud franchise. José Altuve and Jason Castro are among a lot of solid talent. The only real Astro that seems to be of value to other teams is pitcher Bud Norris. I keep hearing of him in trade talks. Any players who do come to the Astros will need to help make the rebuilding process quick so that fans don't get any more frustrated or disappointed. That is as if the TV distribution issues plaguing CSN Houston isn't bad enough for fans who want to see their Astros on TV. Regardless, this is all about patience and persistence for the Astros to return to relevance.


How about your team(s)? Or do you want to maybe assess teams besides your favorite team?
 
JohnBM01
How about your team(s)? Or do you want to maybe assess teams besides your favorite team?
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If the Tigers want a legitimate chance at the World Series this year they need to sort out their bullpen. Their starters are all fine and a couple of their middlemen are pretty good too, but we need a closer. Benoit is a great setup pitcher, but the lack of a 9th inning closer is really hurting us. Also Phil Coke needs to be released from the team or traded away, he's awful.

There's a ton of promise with our bullpen, but there's also not a ton of experience either. We need someone to help carry us.

Other than that I've been impressed with out hitting, but with a middle lineup like Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta you really can't go wrong. For the most part all the other guys have stepped up pretty good too. I also think Torii Hunter was one of the best additions to the Tigers, not only is he a great player, he's also a really great guy.

I still think Detroit has a shot at the World Series, but it's going to be really tough to get through the playoffs without a solid bullpen.
 
We need to get our starting pitching figured out, mainly Kennedy. Not sure what the guys problem is but to me it seems like they're not even trying to help him figure it out. Corbin is brilliant as usual, Miley is doing better but still needs some work to get back to where he was last year. Bullpen is doing better, but we have yet to find a closer that will actually close out a game correctly.

As far as offense, a few guys need to pick up the slack. Goldy is leading in RBI's by far (leading NL no less) and combined with Corbin those two are the only reason we're in 1st place in the NL West. Three games this weekend in SF and then we're back home for 7. Goldy does well in SF usually so hoping we can get at least a couple wins there...
 
Our starting pitching is great, despite Cueto having gone down injured 3 times already this season. The bullpen started the season out a little slow, but is coming around. Not quite as good as last year, but we still don't have Marshall, Broxton and Masset back yet from injury. We should be pretty solid once they come back.

Now on to the offense...it's been a disappointment so far. While we are fairly high on most offensive categories, it's due to the fact that we do a bunch of scoring in one game. I want to say we lead the majors in 10+ run games (though I could be wrong), but we tend to follow those up with a goose egg. This creates a false sense of reality that our offense is one of the tops in the league. It is not. Votto and Choo lead the majors in OBP, which is quite impressive, and I'll give them credit for that. But our players have been very streaky this season. Maybe getting Ludwick back from the DL soon will help to stabilize the team and give Dusty a firm lineup that we can use on a regular basis instead of switching the lineup around every couple of days due to lack of production.

With all that said, we are still sitting in the second wild card spot, albeit 3rd in the division. I feel the pitching will continue to stay strong, and I'm hopeful that the offense will turn it around and we can make a strong postseason appearance. Time will tell.
 
Good news regarding Yu Darvish...he is expected to be activated on Monday to start against the Yankees!
 
More good news from the Rangers...


-Alexi Ogando had a rehab start at Round Rock tonight. He gave up just 2 runs over 7 IP, the first 4 1/3 of which were perfect. Overall, he threw 80 pitches (49 for strikes), allowed just 3 H, and collected 2 K with a BB. If everything goes as planned, he will be starting next Tuesday against the Yankees. Manny Ramirez went 1-4 with a single.
-OF Craig Gentry and utility man Jeff Baker will be activated from the DL Friday for the series opener against the Orioles. P Wilmer Font and C/INF Robinson Chirinos have been optioned to Round Rock.
-Matt Harrison, recovering from back surgery, threw a bullpen session today, and it went well. He's ahead of schedule by a week, and could begin a rehab assignment in early August.
-JD has confirmed the Rangers are active on the trade market. They're shopping around in Chicago again, targeting the Cubs' Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano and the Sox' Alex Rios.
 
KM964
More good news from the Rangers...

-JD has confirmed the Rangers are active on the trade market. They're shopping around in Chicago again, targeting the Cubs' Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano and the Sox' Alex Rios.
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Looking at Soriano AND Rios is actually bad news based on what they currently have. At the present time, they are going to rid themselves of Mike Olt if the Garza trade goes through, but the bigger problem is that you have Jurickson Profar who remains completely useless and is losing value daily by not playing him at second base. Signing Andrus to that long term deal and then failing to move Kinsler to 1B means that, once again, Texas has too many infielders and their prized prospect now needs to change positions - where a change for Profar actually hurts his value. That failed deal with St. Louis for Taveras or Martinez could turn out to be a living nightmare for Texas because if they don't change something soon, then Profar will essentially become an average OF as opposed to a above average 2B/SS.
 
You are right.

But, Profar has been playing some 2B/SS this year at the major league level, and played at 2B almost every day while Kinsler had a DL stint this year. He has had I think 3 starts in the OF so far this year, but for the most part has spent his time at either second or short.

Honestly, if the Rangers could just get Garza (or another starter), I'd be fine with that. They need starting pitching. The offense is fine, and so is the bullpen. Though, I do see why they're targeting Rios...Nelson Cruz is on the list of players linked to the Biogenesis clinic in Miami, and they could possibly be preparing for his absence due to a suspension.
 
KM964
You are right.

But, Profar has been playing some 2B/SS this year at the major league level, and played at 2B almost every day while Kinsler had a DL stint this year. He has had I think 3 starts in the OF so far this year, but for the most part has spent his time at either second or short.

Honestly, if the Rangers could just get Garza (or another starter), I'd be fine with that. They need starting pitching. The offense is fine, and so is the bullpen. Though, I do see why they're targeting Rios...Nelson Cruz is on the list of players linked to the Biogenesis clinic in Miami, and they could possibly be preparing for his absence due to a suspension.
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Nothing will be done until next year in terms of suspensions (unless all players accept them). Accepting a deal for an OF is pretty risky. If I were them I would be targeting a Catcher (although none are really available).
 
Yeah, I had heard that. It'll be interesting to see how this all unfolds...especially with Cruz and A-Fraud.

In terms of a catcher, the Rangers are fine for now. Though, I'm not sure if they would be willing to re-sign Pierzynski.
 
Yeah, glad Brandon Barnes hit for the cycle, but we ended up losing by a football score of 10-7. It was 9-3, Seattle Mariners when I was watching MLB Network as Barnes needed a double to complete the cycle.

His sequence: Home Run (he had two), Triple, Single, Double.

This is the 9th Cycle in Astros history and first since Luke Scott's Cycle in 2007(?). White hitting for the cycle is cool, we still lost. So it is sort of sour to accomplish this feat yet still lose the game. Life lesson: find positives in your negative moments.


Seattle at Houston to tangle again Saturday evening trying to get a Rubber Game in this series.
 
In other news, the Garza talks between the Rangers and Cubs have hit a snag...earlier today, sources close to the talks said that a trade was "imminent" to bring him to Texas in exchange for INF Mike Olt, RHP CJ Edwards, and another unnamed prospect. It's not clear what caused the snag, but I bet it's a medical issue involving one or more players in the deal.
 
All the reports are saying the Cubs didn't like something in the medical reports of one of the Ranger pitching prospects. Supposedly it was a 6 player deal including James Russell of the Cubs.
 
Huh...my guess would have been an issue with Olt. He had a stint in the big leagues last year, and developed some problems with his right foot (especially his heel) towards the end of the season. He still played on a limited role afterwards but he just DHed.
 
KM964
Huh...my guess would have been an issue with Olt. He had a stint in the big leagues last year, and developed some problems with his right foot (especially his heel) towards the end of the season. He still played on a limited role afterwards but he just DHed.
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I saw him as a possibility as well but IIRC one of the pitchers was on DL earlier this season with shoulder issues. Olt wasn't the centerpiece so I wonder if he would scuttle the entire deal.
 
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Who knows...I just hope they can land Garza. They really need a starter. Thankfully a DL stint for Justin Grimm wasn't needed. He threw a bullpen session yesterday and said all is fine...as a result, he was available to pitch out of the pen tonight. That is very good news for the Rangers.
 
No Rubber Game- Astros beaten 4-2 hosting Seattle last night. Damned shame, but they're still my team. We're now trying to prevent getting swept again. Maybe this is symbolic because after this series, the Astros will have Oakland Athletic problems... again. Yay.
 
Sitting in the Rogers Centre, 1PM start vs the Rays. It's the Carlos Delgado day so there'll be some good fanfare.
 
Hopefully the Rangers can salvage the last game of the series against the Orioles. The Rangers problem this series is not cashing in w/ RISP.

Derek Holland pitched decent on Friday night, but didn't get the run support. Ross Wolf gave up 7 in 2 innings last night. The Rangers did manage a late 4-run rally but it wasn't enough.

On a positive note, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame last night. I remember the very first Ranger game I went to back in 1999 and seeing him play. He's going into Cooperstown, no doubt about that.
 
Mariners swept the Astros. After getting a Grand Slam in the 2nd inning, and then getting 3 more runs in that inning, they motored away to a 12-5 victory over my Astros. We're likely going to get swept again with Oakland coming to Houston in our next series- pending a miracle (or forfeit by OAK). If the Twins can stop being the Yankees' chew toy, we hope not to be the Athletics' chew toy.

And that concludes the sad state of Astros baseball. Most already awaiting Texans football and Rockets basketball at this point.
 

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