MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Link Dump: 7/19 Edition

Ladies and gentlemen, the first two-word game recap in the history of Baseball Time in Arlington:

That sucked.

Dallas Morning News: A first time for nothing: Texas Rangers shut out by Twins

With less than two weeks remaining to decide if they are in or out of the playoff race before the trade deadline, the Rangers began the second half by exposing all the weaknesses that make contending such a long-shot.

They don’t have a shutdown starting pitcher. They aren’t particularly good against left-handed starting pitching. Their bullpen has already been worn to the nub.

Put them together and this is what you have: A 6-0 loss at the hands of Minnesota lefty Glen Perkins. It was the Rangers’ first shutout this season and their first since former Twins lefty Johan Santana struck out 17 of them last August. The Rangers went 135 games between shutouts.

Scout.com: Minor League Mailbag: Part 1 of 3

There has been commotion over [Blake] Beavan’s velocity being down this season, but I’m not ready to worry about it. He is currently starting once every five days and throwing two bullpen sessions in between. It is not uncommon for guys – especially high school draft picks – to lose velocity during their first full season of pro ball. I think it’s safe to say that Beavan will never sit in the mid-90s with his fastball, but I would bet for a return to the low-90s with the ability to top out in the 95-96 range. Sort of like what we see with Eric Hurley today.

I would bet that we will see Beavan’s walk and strikeout rates rise next season, and in the future, as his fastball velocity rises and his changeup improves. He’ll be able to overpower hitters with his stuff more often and I think he will begin to expand the zone a bit.

Dallas Morning News: Texas Rangers’ Teagarden makes big league debut

Infielder Ramon Vazquez, reduced to a bench role with the return of Hank Blalock, sought out general manager Jon Daniels before Friday’s game to discuss his future with the club.

Vazquez acknowledged being frustrated over the loss of playing time. He is hitting .310 this season and the Rangers are 38-18 when he has started. They are 82-59 when he has started since he joined the club last May.

Vazquez was caught by surprise when the Rangers decided to move Hank Blalock back to third base after Blalock spent nearly three months on the DL working exclusively as a first baseman.

“I knew it could happen, but I didn’t think it would happen,” Vazquez said. “I feel like my play has something to do with what we’re doing right now and I’m not going to get a chance to do that anymore. That’s frustrating.”

Baseball America: Prospect Hot Sheet: July 18

The Rangers challenged [Engel] Beltre with an assignment to low Class A Clinton, and he’s been holding his own all year as the Midwest League’s youngest position player, all the while impressing with his athleticism. A potential five-tool talent, Beltre remains understandably raw in most phases of the game, but his response to a difficult environment has been off the charts. He was a key contributor to Clinton’s Western Division first-half title, and he’s gotten even better since.

After looking like he might be slowing down a bit it in June when he hit .277/.305/.396, he’s responded in a big way in July. Beltre has had nine multi-hit games this month, including a stretch of five in a row from the 10th through the 16th, on his way to hitting .369/.379/.631 in 65 July at-bats. This stretch has allowed him to climb back up the league leaderboards, where he leads the MWL in runs scored (70) and is second in hits (115) and triples (9).

He’s even begun to show early signs of the power that has been projected of him. After hitting just four home runs in the first three months of the year, Beltre clubbed long balls in three consecutive games this week, including one to lead off Monday’s game against Quad Cities.

Baseball America: Prospect Hot Sheet Chat: July 18

Mark Da Rosa from Yonkers, NY: Even though the Yankees have a limited amount of position players, don’t they make it up with exceptional talent from Jose Tabata, Austin Jackson. Jesus Montero, and Austin Romine? How do you see them doing when they make it to the big leagues?

J.J. Cooper: I don’t know about making up for it. That’s a solid group of top position prospects, but there are other team’s whose position players will stack up with the Yankees or top it. Take the Rangers for example: if you count Chris Davis and Max Ramirez plus Engel Beltre, Julio Borbon, Taylor Teagarden and Elvis Andrus, I’d rather have that group than the Yankees’ crop.

Dallas Morning News: Hot air: Josh Hamilton adds to Texas Rangers’ clout with networks

The most-watched segment of the most-watched show on cable television this year starred (drum roll, please) … Josh Hamilton, who happens to play for your Texas Rangers.

ESPN’s Home Run Derby on Monday night is the new leader in cable’s clubhouse, making January’s CNN Democratic presidential debate just another also-ran. The Home Run Derby averaged a robust 6.4 rating and 9.1 million viewers across the country. During Hamilton’s 28-homer opening-round barrage, the ratings needle peaked at 7.5. That translates to more than 10 million viewers. That’s a lot of eyeballs.

Baseball Prospectus: Future Shock: Draft Signings Unannounced

Already packed with one of the best systems in baseball, the Rangers rarely shy away from writing big checks at the signing deadline, and this year looks to be no different. While figuring out the value of first-round pick Justin Smoak might still take some time, the Rangers look like they’ve already come to terms with second-round pick Robbie Ross for a seven-figure bonus. A three-pitch left-hander with above-average stuff, Ross will simply add to what’s becoming an organizational embarrassment of riches when it comes to young arms.

They’re also close to spending big money on seventh-round selection Matt Thompson, a Dallas-area right-hander who will get well over a half-million to go pro. Another player the Rangers will go over slot on is fifth-round pick Clark Murphy; the California high school first baseman has monstrous raw power and will sign for third-round money in the $350,000 range.

Dallas Morning News: In draft signing news, or the lack thereof …

“The report is inaccurate,” Daniels wrote. “I’d love to say we’ve reached an agreement because then we’d have these guys out playing, but it’s simply not the case. We’re working on it, but there’s nothing to report.”

The whole slotting system makes for complicated negotiations. You want to sign a player for more than the recommended slot (as would be the case with all three of these players)? Then you’ve got to get inform MLB first. And if you are going significantly above slot, MLB is going to be a little bit steamed. You don’t want Bud Selig to get mad at you. So, what ends up happening with a lot of these “above slot” deals is that players wait until very close to the deadline so that their announced bonuses won’t have an impact on the rest of the market. They sign for their big bonuses. They go to the Instructional League and that’s that.

I expect it’s going to take $1 million or more to keep Ross from going to Kentucky. But I think the figures of more than $500,000 for Thompson and $350,000 for Murphy may both be a little bit on the high side. I don’t doubt the Rangers are working towards getting deals done with all of them, but I also know that this market is so fickle that until you’ve got somebody signed and playing, well, you don’t have that person signed.

MLB.com: Gabbard will miss rest of season

Rangers starting pitcher Kason Gabbard will miss the rest of the season after having a bone spur removed from his left elbow during the All-Star break.

The left-hander was placed on the disabled list on June 28 with inflammation in his elbow.

Gabbard ended his injury-shortened season with a 2-3 record and 4.82 ERA in 12 starts.

“He had flashes,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “He had one very good start at the beginning of the year against the Angels. He won a big game out there. He never seemed right in the middle of the season. His command was never where it needed to be. Hopefully this will help him going forward.”

The Disabled List Informer: Hot Corner: Blalock and Zimmerman

The immediate concern here is that third base is certainly a more physicallydemanding position to play. The amount of diving and falling onto your hands is definitely a factor to keep watch for, as he is still very much recovering from his carpal tunnel procedure. In fact, this very action was how he had aggravated the wrist diving for a ball while on a rehab gig at AAA-Oklahoma - and he had a lot to say about it afterwards.

Blalock had undergone left wrist surgery (Carpal Tunnel release) in late-May, and seemingly went on a rehab assignment a bit too early (in my opinion). Had he waited another 2-3 weeks before starting his rehab assignment, he may not have had a setback (though with Blalock, you never know).

Baseball Prospectus: Prospectus Today: Bubble Boys

On a per at-bat basis, Bradley has been the best hitter in the AL this year, leading the circuit with a .345 EqA. Making just 19 appearances in the field has no doubt helped him stay in the lineup, so the list of teams to which he could be dealt is fairly short.

Would Jon Daniels make this move, trading one of his All-Stars, one of his great off-season acquisitions? It seems like a no-brainer; Bradley is 30 and has had considerable problems staying healthy. The Rangers have a flood of hitters in their system, and will need their DH slot available soon, even now. Daniels has to know that this is a peak for Bradley, and that he’s not a player to get invested in over the long term, and that his team, while a pleasant surprise, is not likely to make a postseason push. Dealing Bradley at his peak fits with the Rangers’ organizational needs.

Foul Territory: Guillen still irked by Wilson

Apparently, the All-Star break wasn’t enough time for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to forget about his displeasure with Rangers closer C.J. Wilson on Sunday.

Wilson struggled in the ninth but Jim Thome and Paul Konerko to end the game after Chicago had cut a 12-8 deficit to 12-11. Guillen believed that Wilson had shown up Carlos Quentin earlier in the inning and Thome after the strikeout. Guillen had words for Wilson from the dugout, which the left-hander claimed fired him up.

[…]

“It’s a funny thing about it,” he said, according to a story on the team’s Web site. “I like people when there are good. I don’t like people when they are [bad] and they are cocky. When you are good and cocky, that’s fine with me. But when you aren’t that good and you try to pretend like you are that good …

“He showed a couple of my players up, and I don’t like that. He showed my dugout up in that inning, and that’s why I screamed at him. The only reason I was screaming is became he was not professional.”

Postcards from Elysian Fields: Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill

Michael Young at the All-Star game on Milton Bradley: “Everyone - and rightfully so - has given Josh tons of credit for the season he’s had. But if Milton’s not (hitting) behind him, he doesn’t have 95 RBI. He’s got 95 walks.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 12:02 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.