MVN - Most Valuable Network

Wilson’s House Of Pain: Rangers Drop 12-Inning Heartbreaker In Minnesota

Nolan Ryan. Gerald Laird. C.J. Wilson. Ron Washington. Jason Botts.

And now, quite possibly, C.J. Wilson again.

The Texas Rangers organization and their ever-loyal (if not somewhat masochistic) fanbase have witnessed their fair share of personnel, management and clubhouse controversy over the last three-odd months.

But can they handle a potentially imminent closer controversy?

After staking sinkerballer Scott Feldman to an early 2-0 lead that was quickly transformed into a 5-2 deficit and then, just as quickly, turned back into a 6-5 lead, closer C.J. Wilson received the ninth-inning call from the Rangers’ pseudo-bullpen down the right field line at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What followed was anything but satisfying. After inducing pinch hitter Mike Redmond to rap a sharp grounder down the third base line that Ramon Vazquez deftly gloved and rifled to first base to begin the bottom of the ninth inning, Wilson issued back-to-back walks to Craig Monroe and Brendan Harris, resulting in an animated mound conference with pitching coach Mark Connor.

One wild pitch and one Joe Mauer RBI single to center field later, the Rangers’ hard-fought late-inning rally was all for naught. Though Wilson did manage to wriggle out of further danger by cutting down Harris at the plate on a fielder’s choice ground out from Justin Morneau, and getting Michael Cuddyer to ground into an inning-ending force out at second base, the damage had already been irreversibly done.

After going down quietly in the 10th inning, and then squandering separate bases-loaded, one-out opportunities in the 11th inning, the Twins finally busted through against the Rangers and portly right-hander Franklyn German in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Minnesota quietly collected an infield single from the speedy Carlos Gomez and an intentional walk from Mike Lamb before late-inning defensive substitute Howie Clark socked a 1-1 fastball from German over Josh Hamilton’s head in center field, plating Gomez from second base and sending the Twins dugout into delirious hysterics as they collectively mobbed home plate:

“I thought I made some pretty good pitches,” Wilson said. “But I still have to be adaptive out there. Tonight was one of those nights, I didn’t make as good a pitch as I needed to make. It’s the major leagues, if I have to throw it in a teacup, then I should be able to throw it in a teacup. I’m upset with myself because I’m the one who made the pitches.”

True, it didn’t help matters that home plate umpire Tim Tschida’s strike zone (which elicited outcries of frustration from both television booths) was, to put it nicely, “inconsistent” all evening. It bordered on outright garbage at times. But that doesn’t render C.J.’s latest mound debacle any less disconcerting.

I recently submitted that Wilson’s struggles were attributable to a multitude of peripheral factors, including a critically low strikeout rate and an absurdly high fly ball rate. What hadn’t concerned me was any sort of express inability on Wilson’s part to consistently throw strikes; indeed, even during the rough 10.2-inning stretch between April 20th and May 18th that saw C.J. yield 10 earned runs on 13 hits and six walks, 144 of his 227 pitches (or 63.4 percent) had gone for strikes.

On Monday evening, just eight of Wilson’s 19 pitches went for strikes. Of those 19 pitches, 11 were fastballs; just five of those went for strikes. It’s one thing to have no command of your breaking pitches. It’s quite another entirely when you can’t even remotely trust your bread-and-butter pitch.

Before reading too deeply into the vague, half-hearted vote of confidence aimed by manager Ron Washington towards his left-handed closer after the game, it’s worth recalling that Washington’s wish list heading into the 2007-2008 off-season included obtaining a legitimate veteran closer:

“Will we get them all [center fielder, first baseman, right fielder]? I don’t know,” Washington said, “but we certainly need a closer.

“You’re not going to go into a season expecting to win without somebody who can close a ballgame down. It’s that simple.”

Once it became evident that no such magic bullet was to appear in Washington’s 2008 relief arsenal, I believe he softened somewhat from that previous hardline stance. But with Eddie Guardado - who is just a week removed from a remarkable nine-pitch, nine-strike save against the Seattle Mariners in Arlington - and the right-handed duo of Joaquin Benoit and Jamey Wright also at his disposal, Ron has several enticing alternatives available.

Perhaps this was just an isolated ninth-inning meltdown and nothing more. Perhaps this was the result of lingering physical or psychological issues. Or perhaps this is a harbinger of things to come. It’s impossible to say at this juncture.

But if there’s anything Ron Washington detests, it’s the chronic inability of his pitching staff to consistently throw strikes. And, given that Washington had already laid the verbal groundwork for a veteran presence to waltz in and assume closing responsibilities as far back as last September, I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that Wilson’s grip on the coveted role may already be tenuous at best.

Whatever the case may be, the next two weeks are going to be huge in determining which direction the organization goes.

And I’m not simply referring to the suddenly festering closer controversy, either.

Quick Hits: Boston Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester, who was set to be included as a throw-in prospect in the December 2003 trade that would have shipped then-Ranger Alex Rodriguez to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Manny Ramirez (until the MLBPA nixed the deal), tossed a 130-pitch no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on Monday evening…

Shortstop Michael Young is currently expressing no interest in moving to third base…Hank Blalock played in his first extended spring training game at first base on Monday in Surprise, Arizona, going 2-for-4 at the plate and playing five innings at the new position…right-handers Kevin Millwood (strained right groin) and Luis Mendoza (right middle finger blister, sore shoulder) are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions on Tuesday, though it is uncertain as to when they will embark on minor league rehab assignments…

Right-hander Thomas Diamond (Tommy John surgery) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Wednesday…left-hander John Rheinecker (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) has shut down his throwing program due to recurring shoulder soreness, and will be re-evaluated by team orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister later this week.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 2:03 am and is filed under The Season. 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.