Poor Toby's Almanac...Random opinions from Queens

A question Tim Russert would ask:

Isn't the real problem for Jon Daniels trying to explain why he has received so little in immediate return for trading away some very good baseball players (Chris Young, Jon Danks, Adrian Gonzalez and Mark Teixeira) and not the catching rotation?

Laird isn't the problem on this team. One of the problems is the lack of production from first base. I still don't understand why Salt isn't getting playing time over there when he doesn't catch? Salty's bat isn't the question, but in my opinion he should be playing everyday at 1B or DH when he doesn't catch. Why let him rot up here and play one time a week? It is ridiculous. And Viper, their is no explaining what Dan has done. The only thing that is keeping him in this job is the Gagne deal and the promise of the Texiera one. Shocker, we started playing young guys and the team got enthusiastic. Wow! Stick to the plan? Just what is the plan other than to play just well enough to get people to come out to the ballpark and spending money? OK now onto the numbers Hicks cares about, #1 he paid $250 million for this team that is now valued at 412 milllion, even after his, Harts and Daniels running it into the ground. That is a 162 million dollar increase in value over 10 years, roughly 16.2 mil per year. Avg attendance in 1998 36,141, 2008 23,370 for a 12,771 decrease. 1621 total games in which they have won 787 for a .485 winning percentage, 834 losses for a .514 losing percentage. But hey the owner wants to win. What the article in the paper refused to disclose or say was he wants to do that within certain financial limits. I think or believe that Hicks has finally figured out that it is smarter to have a young team, at least the young team brings hope. But the bottom line is we don't have enough pitching. It happens every year, we fail to acquire the pitching necessary to compete. This team as it stands now has a lot of power and a couple of dependable starters, some of the time, but the bullpen has been well the torch club. I love Ham, he will be our right fielder for the next 10 years, but Volquez is the Cinncinnati Reds staff ace and to me i think that it is ridiculous to trade your top pitching prospects even for the next Ted Williams.

Just for the heck of it: Monday Night Baseball with Keith Jackson and Howard Cosell. This Week in Baseball with Hello Everybody, I'm Mel Allen, or How bout that? Or Saturday's NBC game of the week. Was there really anybody better than Joe Garigola and Tony Kubek? Ted Turner really changed the face of sports with his TBN and CNN. A lot of us on here, remember when these were the way things were, before ESPN and total round the clock coverage. Times were more simple then, and you just didn't hear a lot of what i would call personal stuff. Really how many people new about the "greenies" that the players used, very prevalent in those days, or about the players personal lives. Full disclosure is what i will call it. Back then the writers kept a lot of this stuff private. Now it is out there front and center. They kept it quite that Mantle was an alcoholic, if he were playing today, he would probably have been suspended several times. Not saying it is good or bad, but it seems just a little too much at times....

I marveled at the "young" Rangers yesterday sliding on the wet tarp....it all reminds me of the immortal words of Dr Sidney Freedman..."Boys and girls let's play nice...let's pull down our pants and slide on the ice."

D'god I was going to let some of the inaccuracies in your previous posts go...I thought I was mellow enough...but I just can't. You say the press never mentioned Mantle's love for alcohol...Do you just make things up as you go along. Mantle, Ford, Bauer and Martin were notorious boozers. By 1957 (and I was just a kid then) the newspaper was full of their dust up at the Copa in NYC and their other forays into nightlife on the road.. These four guys ate Casey Stengels lunch with their off field boozing. To be fair it was probably led by Bauer who had fought in the war and was older but the kids of the team were right there with him. Mind you this was in the era where managers did bed checks and enforced curfews. The Yankees couldn't take it out on Mantle but they did trade Martin away a number of times and he was like Casey's son.

Laird right now is the better catcher, but I agree with D'god that Salty should be playing at first when he isn't catching. This sounds like a better solution then putting Blalock over there.

Benoit needs to be on the DL. If he is lacking confidence right now then the worst thing to do would be to put him out there on the mound. A bullpen pitcher without confidence will have nothing good come from it... unless you're the other team.

Tex should not be booed at the park in the upcoming series against the Braves. He did great while he was in a Rangers uniform. He is a class act and hopefully the fans will recognize that.

Hurley had a wicked slider against the Royals. Hopefully he can keep that up against the Braves on Wednesday.

Hey Toby,
Don't know much about The SWord in the Stone, Disney, or No Country for Old Men. I agree with pretty much everything except..........Dan Rather???? That's high praise for Mr. Wakefield. It's debabtable but, you might have a point. Tex should not be booed. He had some good years here. He's a class guy. There will be those that do....too bad. A-Rod should not have been booed. He had an MVP year for crying out loud!
Laird has done just about all he can do to prove that he is better than Salt. Salt is not a good catcher. He can pop a homerun once in a while but, that's about it. That does not make one a good catcher. I think he's just too big for a backstop. He's not the future first baseman either. I think he's good trade bait. The catching duties should belong to Laird until someone PROVES that they are better. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? It's too bad his job was taken from him and given to someone who is obviously inferior. Ask Millwood and Padilla why they prefer to pitch to Laird. Keep bangin' that drum TR, I mean Toby.
Rudy Jaramillo nailed it about Boggs. The Rangers need to sign him to a 15 year contract, yesterday. I think he is going to be a star. I think he'll spark many a rally before he's done and I hope it's with the Rangers.
The jury is still out on Mr. Hurley BUT, as a 22yr old to come in and pitch the way he did is cause for optimism.
I hope the Rangers can be patient with all the talent they've got. Jon Daniels has made some bad trades and hopefully he has learned his lesson. the talent they've got is championship caliber. Their job actually looks pretty easy with all the prospects they've got. The only question is "Can they develop the pitching"? If they can then,.......

Toby,
Is 99 pennies really 3 bucks?

Rick let's not start talking championship caliber just yet. Let's get more than 1 playoff win under our belts first. Let's just get more than just 1 game over .500 and start to get ourselves fully over the hump of just being mediocre

hefe, I think I've figuered out the problem with D'god. His memory only retains what is written here for about 24 hours-then he goes back to repeating the same old rubbish.

Rumor has it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may have a point, Anthony. I agree with TR about the Benoit situation. I don't think Teixeira *should* get booed, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a vocal minority issuing a smattering of boos. I'm sure he'll bet polite applause from others. I always respected Teix's game and the numbers he put up here, but I don't think he's nearly as beloved as Pudge or Will. Basebal is a business both from ownership's persective and the perspective of a lot of players. It's not the Rangers fault, but it's certainly not Teixeira's either. He's likely out for the biggest possible pay day and that's his prerogative.

".... but it all comes down to there being no shortcuts in baseball. You can't get where you want to go that quickly. The owner has always wanted to win despite suggestions to the contrary. The problem perhaps was wanting it too much too soon."

Truer words have never been written - this is at the heart of the Rangers failure to produce a true contending team since 1999 - too many attempted shortcuts, not enough patience.

By the way: Happy Fathers Day to T.R. and to all the baseball dads out there.

Dan Rather? Aren't you just a little bit embarrassed to admit that? Particularly as a journalist? Courage, T.R.

Tex shouldn't be booed just because he had a couple good years? Why not? Unlike Pudge or Will, he wanted out of here and said some bad things about the team. Personally, I have never booed a player (a few umps though), but I don't have a problem with any fan vocallizing their feelings about Tex....that's what makes going to the games fun. As for other opinions, I don't have a problem with how the catching duties have been handled. I think both have benefited from a little good old fashion competition. I didn't think Hurley looked all that good in his first start. The long ball will be an even greater problem in the ballpark.

Toby,
One more observation about Salty. I think I saw Kinsler get a fresh mouthful of sunflower seeds while he was waiting to receive a throw from Salty trying to throw out a runner. I could be wrong, though.

You know, you people amaze me (and this includes you, TR) at how quickly you all are ready to give up on a promising young player because of his defensive struggles as he starts off on his Major League career.

People here like to continually debate the past mistakes the organization has made developing players, and yet here you all are demanding that the Rangers should take a promising 23 year old who hasn't even had a chance to ever catch on a full-time basis in the majors and stick him at first base (a position he made 11 errors at last year, and only hit .203/.236/.346 while playing) because he's going through a learning curve with his throwing.

Below is a link to a piece I put together a couple days ago, which includes my thoughts on Salty and catching. Read it if you want to slow down and think about this situation, but if all you want to do is knee-jerk and continue to bash the poor kid, just carry on with what you where already doing.

http://lonestarincalifornia.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/slidin-in-the-rain/

Jon,
I just read your piece about the catching situation. You make a very good case for Laird to be the starting catcher and for Salty to be his back up. Thanks.

Rick,

I'm sorry you don't understand player development. Good thing you're not the GM or something - it's impatient attitudes like yours that have cost us good players in the past.

Hey Jon, I don't have a problem with Saltalamacchia becoming the starting catcher and having a hall of fame career. Here is what I have a problem with, anointing him the future Rangers starting all-star catcher and giving him an MLB job BEFORE he has proven that he is the better talent. By your own admission, Laird is better. Until Salty PROVES that he is better he should be the back up. That's how real baseball works. You EARN a starting job. You call ME impatient! You want to give him a job BEFORE he earns it! That's impatience!

Rick, if you want Salty to "earn" his job he's got to have a chance at it - and he's not getting that chance in a 2 day on, 2 day off platoon.

It's like the old addage you've got to have experience to get a job, but you can't get experience without one. Salty's got to be given a chance to go full-time behind the plate in the Majors before we can either fully condem or annoint him as a backstop - all I'm saying is, he needs that chance.

Gerald Laird may be the better catcher right now, but he's also a player that is not going to be useful to the organization for much longer due to an abundance of catching talent - my point with him is, he's trade bait, and we shouldn't be going back and forth on whether he or Salty should be the catcher. There'll be plenty of time to go back and forth between offensive and defensive catchers when Taylor Teagarden rises to the majors next year - for now, we need to focus on finding a lucrative deal for Gerald, and being patient when it comes to Salty's skills. He deserves at least the second half of this season going full-time behind the plate before anyone starts saying he needs to move to first base.

I don't have a problem with the Rangers trading Gerald Laird as long as they get a good deal in return. But, you don't bench a talented guy like Laird before you trade him. Jon, your argument is so full of holes. I'd call it a pipe dream.

And by the way, I am not one of those who thinks he should play first base.

Am I the only one that thinks Salty is getting "more" of chance than anyone else in order to make the Jon Daniel's trade look better?

We all know Wash is bullied by JD.

As far as "catching talent in the organization", I hear Max Ramirez is pretty brutal defensively too.

Then what would you do with Salty, Rick? He's a natural catcher. Are you just trying to say you think he sucks then, and shouldn't play baseball? Or is it that an offensive catcher with a chance to be Victor Martinez isn't good enough to play on your team?

Seriously man, I'm not the one with holes in my arguement.

Jon, to answer your question I will, respectfully, refer you to my comments posted on June 16 at 7:07 and 9:25.

Hey if the Rangers think Salty is their catcher, then they should do the right thing by Laird and trade him. Emphasis on trade. I do not believe that they think Salt is their future catcher. Christian Santana is the future catcher here probably after Teagarden. I am all for player development, but catcher is just way too important of a position to just hand it over to a guy who can't throw anyone out. My personal belief is that you have to have a defensive catcher, first and foremost. Laird is also having a fine offensive year. He is just too valuable to this team and i think Salty is going to get dealt before MR. Laird does, if we haven't eroded Salty's trade value by playing him once or twice a week.

Salts strength is his bat and he like any other player needs playing time to get comfortable. So decide on what you are going to do Rangers. Either play the guy or send him back down. I personally would give him the choice of either playing first base for us or going back down to the minor leagues. That way, he could still catch a few games a week but still help us with his bat. DH is out of the question because Bradley is going to do that the rest of the year, no matter how much they tell us he is going to play right field.... I just don't believe that the major leagues is the place to learn how to work with pitchers, throw out runners and call a game. If we put Laird on the block right now their would be some takers.

Hey i didn't like the ending for No Country For Old Men, but that was one bad mother ******, probably the best portrayal of a bad guy by anyone. Probably the most realistic sadistic killer ever portrayed in any movie.

Maybe that guy could give Washington some lessons on leadership and motivation.

See Iron Man if you haven't seen it. It is a good movie, steer clear of Indiana Jones with Karen "old" Allen. Hulk was predictable and not that good.