MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Rally Late To Beat Padres, 12-7

Seven members of manager Ron Washington’s starting lineup (Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Hank Blalock, Marlon Byrd, David Murphy, Gerald Laird and Ben Broussard) compiled multi-hit efforts against the San Diego Padres’ beleaguered pitching staff on Wednesday afternoon. The Texas Rangers cumulatively notched 16 hits on the day, en route to a rousing 12-7 victory.

Over half of those 16 hits - nine, to be precise - were collected in the final two innings of the ballgame, against right-handers Enrique Gonzalez and Adam Bass. The latter is a 26-year-old career minor leaguer who is only in Padres camp courtesy of the miracle known as the non-roster invite, while the former, a 25-year-old Venezuelan native desperately vying for a bullpen spot, has a lifetime 5.82 ERA in 108.1 Major League innings.

Of course, the greatest oddity of the day might have been second baseman Ian Kinsler, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. His miserable offensive performance sent his once-pristine spring batting line plummeting all the way down to - well, a still pristine .424/.485/.576 in 59 AB. And that’s without a single home run, either.

Ah, the fallacy of spring training statistics.

Granted, there was nothing misleading about Josh Hamilton’s towering two-run blast to right-center field off Jake Peavy, which secured a nifty 4-1 lead for Texas in the top of the 3rd inning. Hamilton may not necessarily garner a louder ovation than club-appointed “face of the franchise” Michael Young during the player introductions on April 8th at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, but I’m willing to bet the pair of fan favorites come awfully close in terms of decibel counts.

Vicente Padillla’s unblemished Cactus League ERA is no more, as the 30-year-old right-hander surrendered five runs on 10 hits and a walk in six innings of work on Wednesday, including a pair of back-to-back jacks to Jake Peavy and Brian Giles to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning. Peavy, for the record, is a career .174/.214/.234 hitter with 2 HR in 333 AB. I suppose that’s slightly less embarrassing than if Brett Myers had hit it.

The latest edition of Evan Grant’s fantastic “Inside the Rangers” weekly newsletter is now available, and includes, among other things, Grant’s ruminations on recently inked right-hander John Patterson, outfielder/designated hitter Frank Catalanotto (whom he believes will possess the greatest trade value at the July 31st deadline), and left-hander Kasey Kiker.

Grant’s response to a particular question on top first base prospect Chris Davis did catch my eye:

Q: What does Chris Davis have to do to reach Arlington this year?

Rob, McKinney, Texas

GRANT: If the Rangers are out of the pennant race in September, I expect Davis will be given a look then. If they are out of it at the trading deadline, he might get his chance Aug. 1 if the Rangers deal Ben Broussard.

Davis has tremendous power, as evidenced by his 36 homers and 118 RBIs at Class A Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco last season. He ranked second among all minor leaguers in homers and RBIs last year. He is likely to start the season with Double-A Frisco and could be in a position to move to Triple-A by the middle of the season. The Rangers think Davis can move fast. If he’s in the majors in September, it will be just a little more than two years after he was drafted.

I know, I know, the “40-man rules all.” But Davis seems to be a rather unique talent in the Rangers’ minor league hierarchy, one who has a more legitimate shot than most of establishing himself as an everyday regular by Opening Day 2009. And with next winter’s free agent market at first base appearing rather lackluster, and with Davis being the organization’s only top-flight first base prospect - well, you can see where I’m going with this.

Kelvim Escobar’s right rotator cuff is apparently in shreds, making it probable that the Angels’ 31-year-old right-hander will miss the entirety of the 2008 season - if his bum shoulder doesn’t force him into retirement first, that is. Throw in John Lackey’s ambiguous right triceps injury, and you have a veritable recipe for disaster in Anaheim’s starting rotation.

Ironically enough, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times innocently suggests that the Angels could look into the availability of right-hander Kameron Loe, who was optioned by the Rangers to Triple-A Oklahoma on Wednesday. Go figure.

[12:15 PM Update: Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register confirms that Escobar has a labrum tear. Just ask Will Carroll about the recovery success rate of that injury.]

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, commenting on his loss of the catching competition to fellow backstop Gerald Laird:

“I’m a little disappointed because I did everything I possibly could. I left it on the field, but at the end of the day it wasn’t good enough. That upsets you. But I’ll take it and go to Triple-A, and be an MVP there.”

MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, meanwhile, offers an expanded version of the above quote:

“I know I’m good and I know I’m going to be good. I just have to go down there and prove it even more. People are worried that I’m going to go down there and complain, but I’m not. I’ll still play hard no matter what. It’s going to work itself out.

I’m going to bust my tail no matter where I’m at. I’m going to be here some day. I’ll be back.“

I believe it.

Am I the only person who isn’t buying into the permanence of right-hander Franklyn German’s alleged turnaround? Now, don’t get me wrong - when pitching coach Mark Connor says that German possesses both the hardest fastball and best split-fingered pitch on the club, I’m inclined to believe him. And yes, German has only permitted one earned run in nine innings of work this spring, a somewhat impressive feat despite the quartet of free passes he has allowed.

But good grief, the man has given up 6.96 walks per nine innings in 137 Major League innings, spread unevenly across six seasons. He surrendered 6.98 walks per nine innings in 59.1 IP with Triple-A Oklahoma in 2007. That’s simply horrendous. Perhaps this is just the old “lightning in a bottle” principle at work yet again, but if I were a betting man, I’d place a pretty penny on German not sticking on the Rangers’ 25-man roster past, oh, say, May 15th.

The pathetic plight of Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Murton continues, as the 26-year-old Fort Lauderdale native has failed to crack the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, and will evidently be aggressively shopped by Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who could still send him packing to Triple-A Iowa if he fails to recoup what he believes to be fair market value. Reckon he could be had for less than Marlon Byrd now?

MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin reports that catcher Guillermo Quiroz, one of the Baltimore Orioles’ off-season acquisitions, has been tabbed as the club’s Opening Day backup catcher behind Ramon Hernandez. Quiroz, a one-time top prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .266/.307/.398 with 6 HR in 259 AB for Triple-A Oklahoma in 2007, and went 4-for-10 at the plate during a month-long September stint with the Rangers last year.

The Associated Press notes that the Rangers have released minor leaguers infielders Jim Fasano, Micah Furtado and Matt Smith, left-handers Eric Cyr and Marc Major, right-hander Andy Walker and catcher Kevin Gossage, and have signed right-hander Mark Alexander and catcher Caleb Moore to minor league contracts.

Scott Lucas’s handy organizational depth chart indicates that Fasano, Furtado and Smith were all due to open the 2008 season at either High-A Bakersfield or Double-A Frisco. And as for Cyr - well, I think we’ve discussed him quite enough.

Finally, old friend Chris Young faces the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon in Peoria, Arizona. Missed him by just one day.

Four days until Opening Day. The end is in sight, folks.

Quick Hits: Right-hander Luis Mendoza (right middle finger blister) will make a rehab start at Oklahoma on April 7th, and is still on course to make his previously scheduled April 12th start against Toronto…Milton Bradley is expected to play three innings in the outfield on Thursday…left-hander John Rheinecker will begin a throwing program on Thursday, and hopes to be available before the All-Star break.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 1:44 am and is filed under 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.