MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Quote Of The Week: 3/16 Plus Edition

Another week, another quote pertaining to the Texas Rangers’ still muddled backstop situation. Let’s get this over with, shall we?

“I don’t want to go to Triple A, and I don’t think there’s any reason for me to go to Triple A. I’ve proven my ability in the big leagues as a hitter. Atlanta called me up as a catcher, and I’ve proven myself in spring training.

“I want to be in the big leagues. I want the starting job. That’s my goal, and that’s what I want to do.”

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, commenting late last week on the bleak possibility of being shipped back to Triple-A Oklahoma to begin the 2008 season. With fellow backstop Gerald Laird seemingly having won the starting job behind the plate, the Rangers can now delegate one of two roles upon their their 22-year-old catcher: everyday starting catcher at Oklahoma City, or backup catcher/right-handed designated hitter in Arlington.

Sounds like Jarrod knows pretty definitively which role he’d like going forward.

Whichever role you feel is the correct role for Saltalamacchia is very likely dependent on whether or not you feel this 2008 Rangers squad has an outside shot at being competitive. Though a prolonged stint with the Redhawks might well aid his long-term development (both offensively and defensively), a catching tandem consisting of Laird and the ever-mediocre Adam Melhuse would probably be baseball’s equivalent of a black hole in the Texas lineup, sucking up precious outs while providing sub-replacement level production at the plate.

For obvious reasons, that would be relatively damaging to this team’s projected 2008 win totals.

There is, of course, that somewhat dubious possibility of Gerald returning to 2006 form, when he clubbed seven home runs in 260 plate appearances and provided a lovely .296/.332/.473 (105 OPS+) line at the plate. But even then, the vast majority of his offensive value was derived from his work against southpaws, whom he torched to the tune of a Sammy Sosa-esque .400/.414/.600 in 88 PA. Against right-handers, Laird batted a far less appetizing .241/.291/.405 in 172 PA.

Though Saltalamacchia, admittedly, didn’t show terribly much in his limited work against left-handers last season (.226/.268/.357 with four homers in 123 PA), a lineup showcasing Jarrod as the right-handed DH would be far preferable to that of one featuring, oh, say, Kevin Mench, in terms of pure entertainment value. But would such an arrangement really help to facilitate the further polishing of Saltalamacchia’s improving, yet still rough, defensive game? Probably not.

And herein lies the great dilemma facing the Texas Rangers. With yet another top catching prospect - in the person of former Texas Longhorn Taylor Teagarden - steadily barreling down the minor league pipeline, Saltalamacchia finds himself in a precarious position.

Another strong campaign from Teagarden in 2008, combined with a lack of opportunity (or results, as the unfortunate by-product of inconsistent playing time) for Saltalamacchia at the big league level, could quite feasibly knock the latter down a peg on the organizational catching depth chart, and perhaps even trigger frenzied mid-summer trade talks to ship Jarrod out of town forever.

And boy, would that be disappointing to see. For as much as I like what Teagarden brings to the table, Saltalamacchia’s gorgeous, fluid swing and seemingly limitless offensive potential as a catcher have fully captured my imagination. Make no mistake about it, I want to see Jarrod establish himself as the catcher of the future here in Texas.

And when playoff baseball finally makes its glorious, long-awaited return to the Temple, I want to see Jarrod behind the plate, snapping cool, collected throws back to his pitcher, taking control of the game through not just his game-changing bat, but also his refined glovework, throwing arm and battery communication skills.

Watching a player like Gerald Laird - a decent stopgap, but hardly somebody that figures into the Rangers’ long-term plans - potentially even dent Saltalamacchia’s chances of becoming what I think he can become in Texas is, by far, the most distressing development to come out of Surprise this spring, as far as I’m concerned.

Here’s to hoping Jon Daniels and company find a way to properly resolve this situation in a timely manner - and to ensure that Saltalamacchia, regardless of the steps required to make it so, yet becomes one of the undeniable cornerstones of this franchise.

* * * * *

Elsewhere in the baseball realm:

● Top pitching prospect Eric Hurley tossed four quality innings against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon, surrendering a pair of runs on just two hits and two walks while flashing an impressive 95 MPH heater and 69 MPH curve (granted, velocity readings that might have been something less than totally accurate in light of Mark Redman’s own bizarre 91 MPH reading).

As the great Jamey Newberg often emphasizes: Patience.

● Kevin Millwood (strained left hamstring), Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm) and C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) were all dominant during their respective minor league outings against Seattle’s High-A squad on Saturday, an encouraging step forward for the trio of ailing hurlers.

Mike Hindman of “Rangers Farm Report” has the complete scoop on their performances in terms of pure velocity and movement, noting that Millwood looked “very healthy” and that Benoit “appeared to be nearly back to full strength,” but that C.J.’s fastball, which normally sits in the mid-90’s, was missing around 5-7 MPH. Not a major concern, but still something worth keeping an eye on.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, meanwhile, sums up the Rangers’ new plan for Millwood:

Millwood is scheduled to pitch in his only “A” game of the spring Thursday. His final scheduled start would fall on March 25th when the Rangers play Seattle, but the club doesn’t want him to face the Mariners on the 25th and then again six days later on Opening Day.

So, if the schedule remains the same, Millwood would pitch in a minor league game on the 25th. What is still in question is the weather. It is iffy for Sunday and a rainout could push everybody in the rotation back a day. That would then allow Millwood to pitch in an “A” game on Friday and again on March 26th, then have four days of rest before facing the Mariners in the season opener.

● Don’t think a tornado could ever hit Rangers Ballpark in Arlington while a game was in progress? Think again. The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF2 tornado swept through downtown Atlanta on Friday night, sideswiping the 71,000-seat Georgia Dome during an SEC tournament basketball game between Mississippi State and Alabama and tearing multiple holes in the dome’s roof with 2:11 left in overtime.

One can only shudder to think what kind of havoc such a traumatic weather event might create at an outdoor sporting event, particularly with upwards of 20,000 people in attendance.

● Finally, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan brings us this bit of quotable goodness from the Rangers’ minor league offices:

Rangers Minor League officials made a study of their six farm teams over the final three months of the 2007 season.

The officials found when their clubs allowed five or fewer free bases in a game, those clubs won an astounding 91 percent of their games. They also found out that Major League playoff teams are the ones that allowed an average of less than five free bases per game.

“We want that to be the identity of our organization, being good at not allowing the free base,” Rangers farm director Scott Servais. “That’s something we talk about with our players every day. Oakland’s identity is high on-base percentage. The Angels are known for their aggressiveness and putting pressure on the other team. This is what we need to be known for.”

Servais said the free base comes in seven different areas: walks, hit batter, passed ball, wild pitch, balk, error and stolen base.

Well, imagine that! Who would have thought that allowing fewer walks and committing fewer mistakes would be conducive to winning more games? Next you’ll be telling me that drawing more walks and collecting more hits helps you to…oh, right.

And not to unnecessarily bag on Scott Servais, who is by all accounts a fine baseball man, but wouldn’t something as abstract as “being good at not allowing the free base” be something that you would want to inherently strive for anyway, as opposed to something you would want to build your organizational identity around? Just strikes me as a rather odd curiosity, is all.

Fifteen days until Opening Day.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 2:19 am and is filed under Quote Of The Week, Spring Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.