The Mitch Moreland Era Begins

Well that headline may be overstating it a bit. But Mitch Moreland was called up from Triple-A today as Ian Kinsler was placed on the 15-day disabled list. As I wrote early last week Chris Davis had to get hot by the end of the Angels series and stay hot. Hitting .250 over a one week period does not equate to getting hot, although it was improvement. And going 0-6 with three strike outs in the last two games definitely did not help matters. Some thought the acquisition of Jorge Cantu today might mean a short one game stay for Moreland, but I had a feeling the Rangers had already made up their mind to send Chris Davis back to Triple-A which is exactly what they did after tonight’s game. What can we expect from our new first basemen?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Chris Davis, Ian Kinsler, Jorge Cantu, Mitch Moreland

Rich Harden and Optimism

A couple of days ago, I basically had a whole post ready to go on Rich Harden. It was going to be about the possibility of a move to the bullpen and whether he would accept it and included some Jon Daniels comments from Newberg Night at the ballpark. I scrapped it after the Harden rehab start on Monday night for Oklahoma City. I don’t know what Harden is going to do when he returns and I don’t know when he will return. When he does I think it will be as a starter and I think it should be soon and here’s why.

A Happier Time in the Rangers-Harden Marriage

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cliff Lee, Derek Holland, Rich Harden, Scott Feldman

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Walk off wins are fun. A walk off win following one of the best performances I can ever remember from a Texas Ranger starting pitcher are even more fun. A walk off win covering up for the mistakes of one of the teams best players… well, all is forgiven. It’s a sports cliche, but good teams find a way to win. With good teams you don’t have to talk about what if, or tip you cap to the other team. This team is good and they expect to win every time out. So why can’t this team score when Cliff Lee pitches?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cliff Lee, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz

3 of 4

The Rangers continued to do what they needed to do on Sunday night. It was just another day at the office for Tommy Hunter and the Rangers lineup. It was announced before the game that the Angels had acquired Dan Haren for their stretch run, but that had no impact on what was in front of them. The Rangers pounded Trevor Bell for four runs on eight hits, chasing him after 3 1/3 innings. Tommy Hunter allowed just three runs on three hits and a walk in 6 1/3 for the win to go to 8-0 on the season.  Same old story. Monday is a day off, after which the Rangers face another big challenge.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heading To Game

I will be leaving shortly for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Tonight is Newberg night at the ballpark (most of you are probably familiar with Jamey Newberg’s work at newbergreport.com). The pre-game festivities will include a minor league Q&A with Kevin Goldstein and the a Q&A with Jon Daniels before the game. The game itself should be an interesting one and here is why I think so.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rangers Widen Lead

Yeah, everyone is doing a take off on 7-Up since Texas now leads the West by seven games. But I thought the lyrics to this particular jingle were appropriate because these aren’t your father’s Rangers. Pitching and Defense are the difference.

Read the rest of this entry >>

How was your Cliff-mas?

Fans of a team that has been “gifted” the services of Cliff Lee have been known to refer to it as “Cliff-mas”. Rangers fans (at least those on Twitter) are no exception, but the enthusiasm had been dampened a little by the absence of a victory from Lee’s first two starts with the Rangers. On Thursday night, we all got what we wanted for Cliff-mas; a Rangers victory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, Josh Hamilton, Julio Borbon, Nelson Cruz, Playoffs, Ron Washington

Rangers v Angels Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

This is a big series, but is also one of four big series left against the Angels. Still, this fan is incredibly excited. The Rangers have opened the second half with a 5-2 road trip and now it is time to bury the disappointing play at home that finished the first half. The lead is five games. If the Rangers win the four game series 3-1, the lead will be up to seven games and likewise, if they lose the series the lead shrinks to three games. If you miss tonight’s opening game that features Rangers new ace Cliff Lee against Angels ace Jered Weaver, you are doing it wrong and here’s why.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, Playoffs

July Swoon? I Don’t Think So!

After starting the month of July poorly, the Rangers are now rolling. Between July 1 and July 11, Texas went 3-8 including four straight losses at home to the Orioles. Coming out of the break, the Rangers have fired on all cylinders (well not exactly, but more about that in a bit) winning five of six on the road in Fenway and Comerica, two places with which they have recently struggled. To quote a modern day philosopher, “What does this mean? It’s starting to look like a triple rainbow!”

Read the rest of this entry »

First Base: It’s Time

The Rangers first base situation continues to be an area that observers point to as a weakness. Whether it has been Justin Smoak or Chris Davis or someone else, few teams have gotten less productivity from first base than Texas. Rumors persist that the team is looking to add, at the very least, a right handed option at first base. This weekend, there were even some hints that another option may exist at Triple-A. Here are some facts about the current situation and where the Ranger might be headed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Chris Davis, Mike Lowell, Mitch Moreland, Ryan Garko, Ty Wigginton, Xavier Nady