Monday Morning Manager

1. No - the offense maybe ready, but the pitching is not - as evidenced by the list of injured pitchers you wrote in the paragraph above.

2. Put Hank back at third base, leave Chris Davis at first - I honestly don't think they'll find a trading partner at mid-season due to Hank's recent injury history - but if he stays healthy the rest of the season and picks up his offense where he left off when he went on the DL they may be able to trade him this offseason - probably a good idea.

3. Josh Hamilton - by a fraction of a percentage over Ian Kinsler. Ian's had a terrific season so far, and will probably be the team MVP at the end of the season since Hamilton did slow down in June and July. But Josh's unearthly April and May kept this team from sinking into total oblivion and 95 RBI's on July 14 is pretty amazing.

4. That's the risk you take giving a long term contract to a pitcher based on one really terrific season (with Cleveland) while ignoring the previous injury history. There's really nothing the Rangers can do - just pay him and pray he gets better.

5. If Ian Kinsler and Michael Young continue getting on base in front of him - sure why not.

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1) Yes, if the pitching gets healhy and Hurley, Padilla and McCarthy pitch in the manner of which they're capable. The Rangers are as good as the Angels.

2) Chris Davis played 3rd until this season.

3) Ian Kinsler, not even close. Right now, he's the best hitter in baseball.

4) See ya.

5) Yes, presuming Young and Kinsler don't collapse.

1. Yes. Nothing is scarier then a young team that thinks they can beat anybody and has as much confidence as the Rangers have. Look at the Rockies from last year. They had the same problem that we have with lack of pitching. Don't tell me that a rotation of Jimenez, Francis, Cook, etc are that much better than the Rangers staff. They played in a hitters park and used it to their advantage. The Rangers have more home games starting July 28 than any team in the majors and if they learn to use it to their advantage then there is no reason to think that they can't win the division. The Rangers don't have to worry about being the best rotation in baseball, they just have to beat the guy pitching for the other team.

2. Put him in the lineup and let him go off. Some how the Rangers have to come up with a solution that keeps both Davis and Blalock in the everyday lineup. Both are big bats that make the lineup all the more scary.

3. Milton Bradley. He came in here with the desire and heart to win. He has carried this team to the next level. I love Kinsler and Hamilton and both could be the MVPs of the league, but if you ask me who is the most valuable to our team then it's Bradley. From the day that he rushed to the mound during the brawl with Sexson to get our guys away from the fight, for how he gets his team fired up with his passion for the game, or takes walks just to provide that critical baserunner on the base paths. Do you think Murphy would have the amount of RBI's that he had if Bradley wasn't constantly on-base ahead of him?

4. He's got to get better. Bottom line is that he is the anchor and most important guy in our pitching rotation. He has to perform the way he did 2 years ago.

5. Yes unless he gets hurt the way that Gonzo did. Juan should have had a lot more RBI's that year but battled injuries. If Hamilton stays healthy then he will have the team record in RBI's

1. Nope, it's still about pitching.

2. What should the Rangers do? They should put Blalock on third to show teams he is healthy, then move him before the trade deadline if any kind of deal is out there.
What will they do? Baseball man says he's not going to put Blalock on third, and MB is the DH, so watch out Davis...

3. I am so glad to see this as a question with more than one plausible answer, as compared with recent years' past when we would give the MVP to MYoung by default. I'll say Kinsler.

4. Millwood simply hasn't been the same guy that we saw in Cleveland, when he was the top FA pitcher on the market. Another disappointing year.

5. The season is a grind, and I look for Josh to require a lot more off days in the second half. I'll say that he comes up just short. Hope he proves me wrong.

1. No. I think the rotation will be better in the second half, but you’re looking up at 2 teams with much better pitching.
2. Play him. They have to in order to establish any trade value or get any sense of rather he’ll be a player who can contribute moving forward. I hate the move to first, because of the way Chris Davis has played, but Hank and the team both seem adamant about the switch.
3. I was prepared to make the argument for Hamilton, but the more I look at it the more I think I have to go with Ian. He’s been solid all year, but on fire the last 6 weeks. He sets the tone for the entire offense at the top of the line up, not only getting on base at a high rate and stealing bases with hyper-efficiency, but driving in runs from the lead off spot. Milton loses points for missed time and inability to field his position on a regular basis, but you could definitely make a case for a guy with an OPS over 1.00 and Hamilton started out driving in runs and never stopped. It’s nice to have 3 realistic candidates. I just wish there were a couple from the pitching staff.
4. He’s old and Texas is hot. Giving long term contracts to FA pitchers is the riskiest proposition in pro sports from a management perspective. That’s why it’s important to grow your own. Maybe he has two nice starts in a row coming out of the break and someone makes an acceptable offer at the deadline, but I’m not holding my breath on that one. Either way, the break should do him some good.
5. I think the more the season wears on, the more regular rest his back and legs will need, so I’m going to be a wet blanket who says no. I think he’ll end up on the good side of 140, but shy of Juan’s club record.

1. One word for Hicks and Daniels if they want to win...pitching.
2. Hank Blalock is a proven 300 power hiter. I say play him but if someone wants to offer a frontline pitcher for him and Saltalamchia that would solve 2 problems. With Milton hobbled there's room for both Hank and Davis.
3. You can make an argument for three players if you're fair and honest about it. Two have been mentioned already but the third is Michael Young...who is the leader of this team. He sets an example. Josh Hamilton is the story however.
4. Millwood was never the guy we thought he would be. Right now he's almost out of the rotation on most teams. Looks and at hits and walks per inning. Astounding. He'll be no loss (unless he stays with us)
5. Number wise it almost comes out. I'll throw another wrinkle into the mix...if Ian and Michael keep hitting then I say yes. I think they will so yes...Josh will do it.

Last season we had a good 2nd half....unless something happens in the pitching area I think this 2nd half will not live up to the last one.

1. If the Rangers played .606 ball the rest of the season, they would end up with 90 wins.......that wont be enough to either win the division or the wildcard......Nobody is winning at that clip currently. It would require pitching that hasnt been seen thus far to win at that pace.

2. Would like to see Hank back at 3rd, Vasquez back in the utility IF role, and Davis at 1B. Doesnt seem like any of the parties involved are interested in seeing that happen.

3. Hamilton carried the load in April and May and Ian has been since then.....Would probably go with Josh by a hair.

4. I like Mill but he hasnt produced the way everyone was hoping he would. If the Rangers can get young talent for him, they should. Otherwise, I would expect to see him out there every 5th day. He gives the team as decent a chance of winning as most of the other guys that are throwing right now. The team is 10-8 when he starts.

5. Going to say no but it will be close. Would help if he got some DH ABs.

1. Yes, the Rangers have a shot at the playoffs. Plenty of games left against division rivals. I think we have the pitching to keep it close enough for our offense to do it's job. As evidenced by the struggles of other teams' top pitchers in our ballbark, all pitchers will struggle here, whether that pitcher would have been Volquez, Young, Gallaraga, or even Danks (though he had a good start against us).
2. Hank was supposed to move to first since there was no better option. Now that CD has proven he can hit in the majors, move Hank back to third and keep RV as the best utility infielder in the majors.
3. Hamilton is the AL MVP, Kinsler the Rangers MVP.
4. Milwood will have a better second half but will not return next year.
5. Josh has better hitters in front and behind him then Juan had. Josh gets 165 for the season.

Been out for a while to the nether reaches where connectivity is limited and had to live with box scores...

1. The AL West is still a tossup. We need to be able to keep starters healthy and in the games deeper or the bullpen will be completely useless by mid-August. Age cannot be the crutch for the starters either because even the young guys are having their issues as well. The schedule gives the Rangers plenty of opportunities late in the year to make a move but we need pitching to do it. Oakland is managing to hang around but the the recent moves they made may set them back a bit. I think the injury bug is not done with the Angels and if a couple of their guys go into a slump at the wrong time it could really be a three team race to the end.

2. He has to play. Nothing he did before getting hurt suggested that he was a liability, quite the opposite. I like the idea of getting Chris Davis time at 3B. I alos am beginning to think he makes more of a significant off-field contribution than some give hime credit for. It is obvious that the team needs to score lots of runs to KEEP WINNING SERIES. We need every bat we can get and move them around to keep them fresh.

3. I'd go with Kinsler and Hamilton as co-MVP if I can get away with it... Those two were pretty much the offense for the first part of the season.

4. Kevin is just another case of not keeping guys healthy Are the starters not working with Jamey Reed once the season starts? Hamstrings seem to be a broken record arond here. Maybe Kevin needs to cut back on the golf or start walking the course and carrying the bag. Maybe he needs his personal cathver back, maybe we need to get him a personal pitching coach. Maybe we needt to trade him contract for contract with the Jays for A.J Burnett.

5. I think Josh does break it because he is not relying on the long ball for his RBI. He has shown the ability to cash in runners while maikng an out. If Bradly could get to playing the field regularly this question is moot since Josh could DH more games and everything takes care of itself.

Just need to rant a bit tho.

Something has got to give on the health of the pitching staff. Of late it has not been the skill level of the starters as much as not being able to stay on the field. Same story as last year with a quite different cast of characters. And as I stated above, it is not just the OLD guys. Almost every guy who has started this year is either on the DL or has spent time there. We all know that the mechanics to throw a baseball are a un-natural motion and very stressful on the arm, shoulder and lower back. The legs are the foundation and a seeming source of regular injury on this staff. So, I'll ask again, are the pitchers exempt from Jamie Reed's training staff? Since pitching mechanincs require a unique conditioning regimen that should be tailored to each indiviual is the pitching coach not being successful in helping the trainers help the pitchers? If guys can't stay healthy, they cannot work on the skills. Yes the players have to keep themselves in shape but the coaches and staff need to work with them to keep them MLB ready. The track record over the last two years for startiong pitchers demonstrates otherwise. The one track record that does stand out is the success of FORMER Ranger pitchers...

OK now I 'll put away my "Mark Connor Must Go!" banner.

First I would like to say how wrong I was with my prediction that the Rangers would not finish this homestand with a record above .500.
1. NO!!! We have the hitting, defense, confidence and no fear attitude that it takes to win. But, and a big BUT, we have no pitching. We have starters that are in consistant and can't stay healty (Millwood & Padilla), a bullpen that has been way over worked, and as much as I like him C.J. Wilson scares me to death every time he comes in the game.
2. Hank ranks in the top 3 with Millwood and Padilla as the first that need to go. But where? He has no trade value, will only hold up the progress of developing Davis and surely wont get in option picked up next season. So put him on the bench as utility infielder or puthim at AAA.
3. Hamilton. Kinsler has been amazing and hopefully will continue to be. Bradley has been a huge suprise and has brought a much needed attitude to the team and Young has been his usual self. Halmiton is the best player on the team and maybe in the league and he has played like it. AL MVP!
4. Millwood is a meatball. He can't stay healthy, can't throw strikes and can't win on the road. He is not an ace. Not on this team or any team. He isn't even the bulldog that he used to be that could eat up innings. If any team puts out an offer for him pull the trigger. Package him with Salty, Catalanotto, or Padilla.
5. Yes. Kinsler and Young will continue to be on base and as the season goes on Bradley should be able to play the field more and that will allow Hamilton to DH more often thus resting his back and legs. He is only 63 away from breaking the record and has proven that he dosen't have to rely on just the long ball to get RBI's.

I see that we all are pretty skeptical of winning the division here...and I think for most of us that reflects our belief that we don't have the pitching. Here's something to think about.
Do you realize that from the day that we were 9 and 18 we are playing 600 ball over 70 games. It just so happens that 70 games is close to what we have left. If we had a front line starter that would be worth an extra 5 or 6 wins over that streatch...that would be very near 95 wins. I want to believe that it's possible. I will buy the T-shirt!

I even spent some time looking over National league celler dwellers and wondering who might be available...all I really saw that I liked was Jake Peavey.

On another tact. One of D'got rants is Chris Young...anyone know what his record is this season? A not too impressive 4 and 4. No sense in getting all bent out of shape on the guys we've traded. They'll have the same problems as the guy we got in return soon enough. I had an old boy who tried to teach me the ropes at the college I taught at. He said not to pay attention to the administration and their hissy fits that tomorrow would be a new day. Probably good advice for ranger fans

I don`t agree with all the stuff about trading Hank. Over the three seasons before he got hurt he started 159,161&152 Games . Not what i call a fragile player. He sighned a good Contract which might like playing here lets see if he`s healthy before casuuly tossing him away.

Congratulations to Justin Morneau on winning the Home-run Derby. Congratulations to Josh for winning the exhibition and the hearts of New Yorkers. The Rangers need pitchers? At this moment Yankee fans would give up their entire rotation to get their hands on Josh. But perhaps we'll let them keep Ponson....Then again, I'd rather have Josh.

For comparison with Juan in 1998. Tom Goodwin hit leadoff that year. In the 2nd half of the season he hit .314 with an OBP of .393, just a tic below what Kinsler's is right now. He stole 38 bases on the season but he wasn't the slugger Ian is (Goodwin had only 12 extra base hits in 68 games after the break, meaning when he got on base he was usually on 1st, whereas Ian leads the league in extra base hits and even a single for him might as well be a double most of the time.

Hitting 2nd, Michael Young would have to do pretty bad to match the 2nd half performance of Mark McLemore in 1998 (.201/.318/.252). Advantage Young there.

Hitting 3rd just before Juan was Rusty Greer, who is really who we should be comparing with Young in this case, since Young hits in front of Hamilton. In the 2nd half of 1998, Greer had a line of .334/.401/.502, and while Young's best ever 2nd half BA was the .349 he hit last season, the latter two numbers are better than Young has ever done in any 2nd half. In other words, Michael Young would pretty much have to have the best half he's ever had in his career to match what Rusty Greer did after the break in 1998. Although, Greer may himself have hurt Juan's RBI totals by driving in 56 himself after the break (he had 52 before the break).

Here is Josh Hamilton's line thus far in 2008: .310/.367/.552
Here is Juan Gonzales's line for the 2nd half of 1998: .353/.411/.686, and even having the best 2nd half of his entire career, he was only able to muster 56 RBI, the same number as Greer (who, as I said, probably stole a few from Juan). I'd be amazed as anyone if Hamilton matched those Juan splits in the 2nd half, and I'm sure he would be too, as it would be above and far beyond what he's done in the majors in his brief career. As far as health goes, someone mentioned Juan battling injuries, but he actually played in 154 games that season, a number he bested only once in his career (in fact, only 3 times did he manage to play over 142 games). Josh has missed only 3 of the Rangers' games so far, so if he stayed healthy and played in every game (extremely unlikely), he'd play in 159. And Juan hit his 101 RBI in 6 fewer 1st half games than Josh needed to hit his 95.
Both players limped into the All-Star break in their respective seasons. Juan homered twice in his last game before the break, but he'd homered only once and driven in 9 runs in the 13 games prior to that one. Similarly, before homering in each of the last two games of the Angels series, Hamilton had gone homerless for 18 games and had driven in 13 runs in that span. Juan began his 2nd half by going homerless in his first 10 games, and RBI-less in his first 9. Let's hope Josh doesn't get off to a similar false start. Juan missed 3 games in late July/early August, and then 3 more games in mid-August, but played in every game the rest of the season. Josh will undoubtedly get a few days off in the 2nd half as his body fatigues and as the team falls out of playoff contention. I have no doubt he'll drive in a lot of runs, and breaking Juan's record may not take a superhuman Juan-like 2nd half, but he'll have to keep his performance at a high level, hope his teammates do the same, and hope Young doesn't steal too many RBI from him.
I'd love to see him break Juan's team RBI record, as well as A-Rod's team HR record, and any number of others, but I don't see it happening, not this year anyway. Then again, I was the one who said Jason Jennings would be a great addition to the rotation, so you can take my words with a lot of salt.

1 NO UNLESS JD CAN HOODWINK SOMEONE FOR A PITCHER

2 SEE REASON ABOVE UNTIL THEN HE PLAYS HE DESERVES IT

3 HAMILTON SEE OVERALL GAME THERE ARE NO REALLY WEAK PARTS

4 SEE NUMBER 1

5 I SEE NO REASON WHY NOT HE HAS MORE HOME GAMES THAN ROAD GAMES LEFT WITH SOME REST AND IF BLALOCK IS BACK THE INFIELD CAN REST KINSLER AND YOUNG WITH OUT MUCH DROP OFF WITH VASQUEZ

1. They have a chance. Think about it, they don't need great pitching, they just need mediocre pitching. If they had gone .500 for the first 3 weeks of the season, they'd be in first place right now. This staff can't get worse, it makes sense that they will get better. The law of averages says the injury bug has to get better.
2. Blalock probably hits for a higher average than Davis is hitting for right now. Let him play, trade him if at all possible. Let Davis play in the Olympics.
3. Isn't it nice to have two deserving MVP candidates.
4. If we could get something good for Millwood, I'd trade him.
5. If he doesn't do it this year, he will sometime in the near future.

The tough question here is what to do with Blalock. At the time it was announced, I thought his move to first was very selfish, and I still do. He's not owed anything. It's not like Hank is the established player at the position who shouldn't be displaced unless clearly deficient.

I think he has to play himself into starting. Play him a bit, and if he's not the best option, then he's the backup. It will soon be time to cut bait on Cat, which is unfortunate. I always thought he was a vauable guy, but never fit here after development of other leadoff options.

1. No. Millwood's performance has degraded lately, and Padilla has been hurt. Add Scott Feldman's probable move to the bullpen to conserve his innings, and make that a hell no. Maybe next year, if we don't dig ourselves another 7-16 hole in April, but not this year.

2. Fire Ron Washington, make Walbeck the manager, and make Hank the third base coach. Heh... just kidding, obviously...

Whatever they do, the need to keep Chris Davis in the Majors at first base. Either play Blalock at third base, or if he's not physically able to do that (which I'm betting is the case) make him the part-time DH/bench bat. Or fire Ron Washington, make Walbeck the manager, and make Hank the third base coach.

3. Ian Kinsler.

4. That's starting to look like a bad signing. He's degraded into a shadow of himself, and he's really not tradable - he's kind of like the rotation's version of Catalanotto.

5. With 95 here at the break? He'd have to have a slump-free, red-hot second half, but I think he's got a chance at it.

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