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Texas Rangers 2023 - They're Still Shitty?

ztejas

By ztejas
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chemHORN
chemHORN

My kid was born and I looked up to see Adolis rounding the bases on the TV in the room.  That's a good night

Jive Turkey
Jive Turkey

Haven’t been this excited to pick up the Dallas Morning News in a long time. Add it to the collection. The last titles my teams have won. 

CowtownHorn
CowtownHorn

Man, how I wish my dad could have been here to see this. Biggest Rangers fan ever. I was on the phone with him in 2011 when we needed one more strike. I’ve never heard such a crushed, disappointed rea

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ztejas

ztejas 43,526

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Just now, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

Bochy clearly knows not to ask for more than 9 outs from the pen.  Next game will be dicey given Scherzer would have to be pretty incapable of going deep, you’d think.  Hope for help from the O 

Apparently Scherzer has been asking for the ball for awhile now. I think there's a good chance he throws a gem. 

(Don't quote me. Or quote me if I'm right)

Either way - if I'm HOU I'm not stoked going into Globe Life down 2 against a rested Scherzer who is somewhat going to be throwing with house money. 

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Firemans4Horn

Firemans4Horn 18,118

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1 minute ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

Bochy clearly knows not to ask for more than 9 outs from the pen.  Next game will be dicey given Scherzer would have to be pretty incapable of going deep, you’d think.  Hope for help from the O 


We have some combo of Scherzer, Heaney, Perez, Gray and Dunning to try and get 12-13 combined innings the next 2 games. 

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C-Man

C-Man 27,247

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4 hours ago, irishtexan said:

For the Rangers or in all of baseball? It's happened 3 times in the last 4 years. Rangers this year. Astros last year. Braves in 2020. And before that Royals in 2014 and Rockies in '07. 

But before that it didn't happen very often. 

Edit: I only know this because I just read an article on it.... But you totally should have known, you dumbass.

Yep, heard it on The Ticket today. The Royals started the playoffs 8-0 in 2014 or 2015 -- that's the all-time record.

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gofuckyourself

gofuckyourself 8,361

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My favorite part of yesterday was Astros fans predicting they'd tee off on Eovaldi. 

Real students of the game, those guys.

Did anyone watch his post game interview? He was still stone cold like he was in the 5th inning. Dude is focused as fuck.

It should've been posted yesterday but some insight into Eovaldi, via The Athletic.

Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi chases defining win of a notable postseason career

Spoiler

The signature moment of Nathan Eovaldi’s career is a postseason loss. It was Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, a one-run tie in the bottom of the 12th when Eovaldi jogged to the mound. He’d already pitched an inning of relief in Games 1 and 2. He was supposed to start Game 4.

But that night at Dodger Stadium, Eovaldi just kept going. The 12th. The 13th. The 14th. He went six innings without an earned run, always with the game on the line, before on the seventh pitch of his seventh inning — his 97th pitch of the night — Eovaldi allowed a walk-off home run to Max Muncy.

It was the longest World Series game ever played, and Eovaldi was the losing pitcher. But in the clubhouse after it was over, his Red Sox teammates gave him a standing ovation. Fellow starter Rick Porcello said he cried.

“That was the most incredible pitching performance I’ve ever seen,” he said.

The Red Sox won the World Series two days later, and Eovaldi signed a $67.5 million deal a month after that. That Game 3 was an unforgettable, defining moment of his career.

And Eovaldi badly wants to replace it on his résumé.

“Obviously, I know the significance of the game, and it all worked out for us in the overall run,” he said. “But for me personally, it bothers me that it was the only loss in the World Series. … To me, I could go out there and give up five runs, and as long as we win the ballgame, that’s all I care about.”

On Monday, Eovaldi will take the ball again, this time as the Rangers’ Game 2 starter in the American League Championship Series. At 33 years old, Eovaldi’s best professional moments should be in the past. It’s a young man’s game, and Eovaldi is in the second half of his career, much closer to his last pitch than his first.

But Eovaldi’s never been better. He had a 4.30 ERA in his 20s, but a 3.73 in four seasons since turning 30. He made his first All-Star team at 31 and was the first pitcher brought out of the pen at the mid-summer classic this year. Already this October he’s started and won the clinching games of the Wild Card Series and division series.

“You guys have heard me talk about maniacal focus,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s been here, and he’s done it. I think he thrives on it.”

He’s been built for it over time.

Back in 2008, Eovaldi was an 11th-round pick out of the same Texas high school that produced Nolan Ryan. He almost certainly would have been drafted higher if not for Tommy John surgery his junior year and concern that he would follow through on a commitment to Texas A&M.

But he signed with the Dodgers and reached the big leagues at 21 after just two full seasons in the minors. He threw 100 mph. He won his big-league debut, then went six scoreless in his second start. The Marlins traded Hanley Ramirez to get him. And as Eovaldi established himself in the big leagues, he was … fine. A series of injuries kept limiting his availability, and by the time the Yankees traded for him in December of 2014 — when he should have been in his prime — Eovaldi had a 4.07 career ERA with only 6.3 strikeouts per nine and less than half as many wins as losses.

“The reputation was, he throws hard, but his fastball still gets hit for whatever reason,” former Yankees teammate Adam Warren said. “We couldn’t figure it out. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t add up.”

Secondary pitches were always a challenge. Eovaldi added a split. Then a cutter. He ditched his changeup and started using his curveball more and his slider less. He was always tinkering. Always working. His weight room exploits were legendary.

“If he wasn’t the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in the big leagues, he was one of the hardest workers,” Warren said. “And he was never satisfied.”

What Eovaldi learned over time was how to apply that work ethic. Bouncing from the Dodgers to the Marlins to the Yankees to the Rays to the Red Sox gave him perspective. It opened his eyes to different ways of training, different ways of thinking. He learned when to hold back and how to maintain strength without maxing out every lift. A second Tommy John surgery in 2016 forced him to reset all over again and sit out a full season.

“He’s a guy that’s had to deal with a lot,” former Red Sox teammate Garrett Whitlock said. “And when you’ve had to deal with a lot and overcome a lot, you also learn a lot from that. Wisdom from experience is a lot greater than wisdom from just learning from a book or a computer.”

It’s the sort of wisdom that, when applied properly, builds not only numbers but also respect. Eovaldi’s name is still spoken with reverence in the Red Sox clubhouse, and teammates who knew him even before he began to cement his career in Boston still follow his career with appreciation for what he’s become.

Whitlock, as a second-year player, lived with Eovaldi during spring training in 2022 and said every time they went to dinner, Eovaldi made a point of remembering the waiter’s name. He also knew the names of every security guard and stadium staff member who crossed his path. He told Whitlock that names “make it personal.” While with the Red Sox, he volunteered to become the team’s Jimmy Fund captain, working closely with the cancer treatment facility that specializes in children.

“I get that he was a Roberto Clemente (award) nominee,” Whitlock said. “But you guys saw only a quarter of the stuff that man did.”

His teammates saw more of it, and they remember it. They remember the willingness to pitch out of the bullpen in between starts during the 2018 postseason, despite doctors’ warnings that he was nearing an innings workload that might compromise his surgically repaired elbow heading into free agency. They remember the multiple bullpens after good starts because one particular pitch felt off and Eovaldi just couldn’t let that slide.

“It’s almost like he was just never satisfied and kept improving, kept improving,” Warren said. “It doesn’t surprise me one bit just because I know that work ethic and never being satisfied, he was going to find a way to succeed and be great.”

In 13 career postseason games, Eovaldi has a 2.70 ERA (and that number is inflated by an especially bad relief appearance on two days rest in 2021).

“We’ve worked him pretty hard (this postseason),” Bochy said. “Instead of regular rest, he gets an extra day (heading into Game 2) which we think is a good thing. And you look at what his résumé shows, he does a great job in the postseason.”

Indeed, Eovaldi has been an ace in the playoffs. He’s been the type of pitcher his combination of velocity and command always suggested was possible, it just took him a few years — a decade, really — to fully tap into it.

“He’s a unit,” Whitlock said. “There’s no doubt the stuff has always been there.”

Said Warren: “You always root for guys like that, and to see him do as well as he has, I’ll always be rooting for him.”

On Monday, Eovaldi has a chance to create another signature moment, all of which have been a long time coming.

“It’s those moments I feel like it’s more of a team moment as opposed to my own personal moment,” Eovaldi said. “For us to be here in this situation, we’ve come this far, and we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing, going out there and winning ballgames.

“And win a World Series.”

 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47,110

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6 minutes ago, Sir Ulrich said:

 

Oh look, another game that benefitted Houston. Also, missing from that scorecard was the foul tip picked off the ground and called a strike 3. Wtf was that shit? This reminds me of watching OU get away with holding all damn game and nothing can be done about it and non one is held accountable. 

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TrashMaster G

TrashMaster G 17,583

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2 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Oh look, another game that benefitted Houston. Also, missing from that scorecard was the foul tip picked off the ground and called a strike 3. Wtf was that shit? This reminds me of watching OU get away with holding all damn game and nothing can be done about it and non one is held accountable. 

Yep.  Calling the strike zone is only one area where the umps have impact. It's not the whole story.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52,555

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As umpiring goes, that doesn’t look too bad. The issue really is that the average correctly called strike average is only 88%, so you know that 1 of 10 will be bad calls just from human error. And you don’t get to choose when they happen.  
 

address that last 10% with technology, as we’ve done with ump errors in the field with replay.  Either with full automated zone or a couple of challenges that go to the automated system. 

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Skipper

Skipper 6,189

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I don't give a damn what the odds say.  I still feel like we're 50/50 at best to win this series.  Hope the squad has the same mindset - still playing with house money!     Really need the bats to wake up and have a couple of big games.  I would be pretty shocked if we hold them to 4 or less again.  

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47,110

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I don't give a damn what the odds say.  I still feel like we're 50/50 at best to win this series.  Hope the squad has the same mindset - still playing with house money!     Really need the bats to wake up and have a couple of big games.  I would be pretty shocked if we hold them to 4 or less again.  
We haven't faced any real adversity this whole playoffs. We were streaky the entire season. Either we were in the midst of winning a lot of games or losing a lot. It's how we kept going from big division leads to giving it to, got it back and built it back up to blowing it. I'm curious how we perform the first time we lose or get down early in a game. It will happen at some point. Hope we can bounce back and go win the next one.

I'm jaded as a DFW sports fan. I'm always waiting for the wheels to come off at any given time.

Game 3 is going to be huge. Win that and you get 2 more in a row to close it out at home and move on. Lose game 3 and my nerves will start to kick in and game 4 becomes massive.
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BehoId, The Underminer!

BehoId, The Underminer! 11,669

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4 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

Why wouldn’t Holland be the one throwing the pitch /nohomo?

Dutch still has the #1 postseason start in Rangers history, edging out Cliff Lee’s masterpiece in Yankee Stadium…

I replay and reread about the 2010 postseason all the time and never about 2011 so I hardly remember it at all. 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47,110

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Why wouldn’t Holland be the one throwing the pitch /nohomo?
Dutch still has the #1 postseason start in Rangers history, edging out Cliff Lee’s masterpiece in Yankee Stadium…
I was at that game 4 to tie the Cardinals. Absolute masterpiece. Too bad he couldn't complete the game but that standing ovation he got when he was pulled was incredible. I really thought after this game, it was his coming of age and he was going to be our ace for years to come. But just didn't work out for various reasons.

Was Cliff Lee game 3 or 4 of that Yankees series? Don't forget about his brilliant outings in games 1 and 5 against Tampa, too.
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BehoId, The Underminer!

BehoId, The Underminer! 11,669

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31 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Was Cliff Lee game 3 or 4 of that Yankees series? Don't forget about his brilliant outings in games 1 and 5 against Tampa, too.

3.  Four was the Holland and Hunter combined game that was the source of the great Nolan laughing at blowing out the yankees gif. 
 

image.gif.54bfabb4495747e896a9aff8239e9c0e.gif

 

 

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cmontexas

cmontexas 3,273

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7 hours ago, Skipper said:

I don't give a damn what the odds say.  I still feel like we're 50/50 at best to win this series.  Hope the squad has the same mindset - still playing with house money!     Really need the bats to wake up and have a couple of big games.  I would be pretty shocked if we hold them to 4 or less again.  

Still have Montgomery and Eovaldi in games 5 and 6 if necessary 

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Skipper

Skipper 6,189

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49 minutes ago, cmontexas said:

Still have Montgomery and Eovaldi in games 5 and 6 if necessary 

Oh I'm aware.  And I hope I'm wrong and we can continue to shut down their lineup.  But I just feel like both offenses are about to wake up in Arlington after a couple of pitching duels.

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Skipper

Skipper 6,189

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3 hours ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

3.  Four was the Holland and Hunter combined game that was the source of the great Nolan laughing at blowing out the yankees gif. 
 

image.gif.54bfabb4495747e896a9aff8239e9c0e.gif

 

 

I was randomly in NY for a deal closing as a young attorney and a NY colleague I just met scored me tix to that game from a vendor.  Was amazing.

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