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Texas Rangers 2023 - They're Still Shitty?

ztejas

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gsoda3

gsoda3 3276

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I get that Marcus is in a slump at a bad time but you gotta remember this happens in baseball to everyone. He'll snap out of it, hopefully in time to contribute to a ring. You want some hope? Just look at his career numbers. He is an amazing player on defense and offense. When he gets hot at the plate he's hotter than early 2000s johnny Damon. Pray that happens soon.

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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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dcar00

dcar00 14321

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3 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:
12 minutes ago, dcar00 said:
hey, somebody who understands baseball.  if it is a lefty might move jung up in front of heim and lowe down in front of Taveras. 
semien needs a change too and you aren't dropping him to 5th or 6th. 

No. Your best hitter bats second. Period. Your #1 and #2 hitters will come up to bat many more times than your #s 3 thru 5. And you want him up there with less than 2 outs because it gives the guys after him a chance to move him. You need a good hitter #3 to protect #2. Carter's not going to leadoff to let Mitch bat after Corey. Also your #9 guy can't be slow.

Leody is #9

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dcar00

dcar00 14321

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Garver is hitting .344 v lefties

1 minute ago, gsoda3 said:

I get that Marcus is in a slump at a bad time but you gotta remember this happens in baseball to everyone. He'll snap out of it, hopefully in time to contribute to a ring. You want some hope? Just look at his career numbers. He is an amazing player on defense and offense. When he gets hot at the plate he's hotter than early 2000s johnny Damon. Pray that happens soon.

slump doesn't begin to describe marcus

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C-Man

C-Man 27239

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21 minutes ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Two old guys screaming 3-hole! is so comical. 

 

C-Man has admitted he stopped following the sport for a decade, & dcar physically gets upset when the Rangers win. 

It wasn’t a decade. Pretty sure I never said that. I did pretty much shut it down during COVID’s dumb 60-game season replete with ghost runners in extra innings, “openers” and so on, at least on a daily basis. For the first time in my life, there were players I had no idea who they were. Between COVID and our computer baseball league folding, the Rangers being terrible and games being interminably long, I lost some interest. They’ve fixed a lot of what I didn’t like, especially the Rangers not being good.

 

16 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:
25 minutes ago, dcar00 said:
hey, somebody who understands baseball.  if it is a lefty might move jung up in front of heim and lowe down in front of Taveras. 
semien needs a change too and you aren't dropping him to 5th or 6th. 

No. Your best hitter bats second. Period. Your #1 and #2 hitters will come up to bat many more times than your #s 3 thru 5. And you want him up there with less than 2 outs because it gives the guys after him a chance to move him. You need a good hitter #3 to protect #2. Carter's not going to leadoff to let Mitch bat after Corey. Also your #9 guy can't be slow.

I won’t argue the analytics with those of you who have obviously dived deep with them. I personally don’t think there’s a huge difference between 2nd and 3rd, certainly not like 1st and cleanup. But every single game Seager has played this year has been in the #2 hole so I don’t see a huge argument to move him in the event Adolis can’t go.

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DougO

DougO 5253

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1 hour ago, TexasGary said:

At one point during the season Heaney was our best pitcher. He can be again.

He might be better if he prepares as a starter with his regular routine, get in a few innings then hand it to Dunning. Doesn't seem like he's been that great coming in the middle of the game. Bradford is capable of doing a good job as well. 

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C-Man

C-Man 27239

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No. Your best hitter bats second. Period. Your #1 and #2 hitters will come up to bat many more times than your #s 3 thru 5. And you want him up there with less than 2 outs because it gives the guys after him a chance to move him. You need a good hitter #3 to protect #2. Carter's not going to leadoff to let Mitch bat after Corey. Also your #9 guy can't be slow.

Over a full season, yes, they’ll get more PA’s. However, in a short series we are talking a couple PA’s at most. Yes, it can be huge depending on the situation.

But you want your 3-4 guys to be able to drive in runs, not necessarily “move them over” with less than two outs. (Not to mention if anybody is on base, the #3 hitter comes up with one out at most.) Seager is one of those rare guys who does it all. He could conceivably hit in any of the top four spots in an order depending on the makeup of the roster. You wouldn’t dare put him any lower than that.

I’ll argue Yordan Alvarez is the best pure hitter in the game right now and he bats third or fourth. But he really brings nothing else to the table — doesn’t field (he can play LF in a pinch) and can’t really run. But, man, that fucker can hit a baseball.

Again, no reason to argue. Our boys are up 2-1 in the World Fucking Series. Let’s do this!
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SpiralOut

SpiralOut 1818

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16 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

What will a whole season of Scherzer look like next year?  Need to invent some long-reliever-role-but-for-games-that-are-still-somehow-tight for him. 

I'd be fine with him not being on the roster.  

He ain't what he used to be.  He hasn't been for a long time.  

And now he's getting injured every time he pitches.  

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C-Man

C-Man 27239

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I'd be fine with him not being on the roster.  
He ain't what he used to be.  He hasn't been for a long time.  
And now he's getting injured every time he pitches.  

He makes $40M+ a year. Those guys don’t wind up in the bullpen. Next season, he’s a mid-rotation starter who you have to count on a DL stint or three during the season — or maybe he retires after winning another title. I really, really hope we sign Montgomery and keep him here.
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C-Man

C-Man 27239

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Behind on the Ticket stream but they just said that they’ll check Adolis today. If there’s any kind of tear, he’s out and they’ll activate Duran. If it’s just a strain, they’ll let it go and couple days to see if it improves enough for him to play again.

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Skipper

Skipper 6170

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Lots of hand wringing after a win last night.  Injuries suck but it is what it is.   The reality is we are up 2-1 scoring a grand total of 10 fucking runs through 3 games.   Everyone should be ecstatic about that.  That is the kind of offensive slump that could easily have us down 3-0.  We're now due to break out of it.  Semien hasn't been Semien but his hit scoring the run and keeping that inning alive won us the game.   And basically since the middle part of the ALCS, it seems like more often than not he's hitting the ball hard.  He's not completely lost at the plate.   He's going to snap out of it and have a 3-5 multi RBI game soon.   Hopefully tonight.  Even assuming Max and Adolis are out for the series (we'll hear more today I guess) we have enough dudes on this team to pick them up and win 2 more.

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mdmost

mdmost 43014

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Losing Adolis would be pretty tough when he helps you win games. His arm absolutely killed any momentum Arizona was about to get. Losing that will suck, even for a couple games. Losing his bat...that's even worse. Yeah, we're up 2-1 but I'd much rather be up 2-1 and have El Bombi on deck for tonight. We just have to pray it wasn't a tear. 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47095

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Losing Adolis would be pretty tough when he helps you win games. His arm absolutely killed any momentum Arizona was about to get. Losing that will suck, even for a couple games. Losing his bat...that's even worse. Yeah, we're up 2-1 but I'd much rather be up 2-1 and have El Bombi on deck for tonight. We just have to pray it wasn't a tear. 
Exactly. Sure, injuries are apart of the game but losing him would be a massive blow. Offense and defense. Maybe if we were actually hitting with some consistency this series, I'd feel a little better. But with Max's injury, it interrupted our approach we planned on using pitching wise. Gray probably could have finished that game or at least gotten us to the 8th, but Bochy has to think about the rest of the series and his availability, especially now that Max probably won't be available.

Not to mention Sborz, who has been nails this entire playoffs. That would be another massive blow.

I'm not so worried about Max as I never even expected him back this year. He gave it all he could but his body isn't allowing him to go further. We can handle his loss. I trust Bochy to put something together the rest of the way.
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C-Man

C-Man 27239

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2 minutes ago, BonzoMontreaux said:

Playoffs Sborz has been a lot less suckier than late regular season Sborz.

He got hurt or finally admitted he was hurt after a ridiculously bad run of six or seven games ballooned his ERA from the mid 3's to high 5's. Since he came back the final weekend, he's been lights out.

Here's the Verducci update the Musers referenced this AM: https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/10/31/injuries-garcia-scherzer-rangers-world-series-decisions-game-3

Quote

PHOENIX — Adolis García was headed for an MRI tube and Max Scherzer walked as stiffly as a kid in a Frankenstein Halloween costume giving a poor interpretation of what Mary Shelley had in mind for the monster’s mobility. “Agony,” was the word Scherzer used to describe his physical condition, not something you ever want associated with your presumed World Series Game 7 starter.

What happened after the Rangers won Game 3 Monday night, 3–1, may decide the World Series even more than that game. Based on the MRI on García’s oblique, which appeared to snap like a guitar string on an eighth-inning swing, and how Scherzer responds to back spasms that drove him from the mound grimacing after three innings, Texas may need to replace on its roster the hitter who is having an all-time great postseason and one of their top starting pitchers.

It was such a harrowing night for Texas—even reliever Josh Sborz required medical attention after tweaking a hamstring, but he remained in the game—that at one point Rangers GM Chris Young texted his trainer with gallows humor: “Quit f------ texting me. I’m tired of you tonight.”

Says Young: “I think the first thing we need to understand is just the respective injuries and whether or not they’re severe enough to threaten the remainder of the series. And my hope is that we’ll get positive news on both Max and Doli.”

The García decision is fairly simple. If there is any tear in the muscle in his right side, he’s out and will be replaced by Ezequiel Durán. If the Rangers find it’s a mild strain and can calm down within two or three days, they can keep him on the roster and hope he and his record 22 postseason RBI make it back.

Scherzer’s status is more complicated. He said based on his history of similar ailments, he will know in 48 hours if the spasms will allow him to pitch again in the series. He said he has endured spasms in his neck or back between five and 10 times in his career, including another World Series episode when neck spasms prevented him from starting Game 5 in 2019. He started Game 7 three days later.

“I've had it last a little bit longer, and I've had it clear in 48 hours,” Scherzer said. “It can get better, significantly better, in 48 hours. I can't tell you where we're at [right now]. I’ve got to see how bad this is and if the drugs can work.”

But the calculus for Young and the Rangers also involves how Scherzer is throwing and how much help they need on the mound the next two nights.

Scherzer is rusty. He has thrown only 9 2/3 innings in the past 48 days because of a teres major strain near his right arm. He has started on four days of rest only three times since the All-Star break. (Game 7 would be on four days.)

And while his stuff was mildly better in Game 3 in what amounts to a third glorified rehab start in the middle of postseason play, Scherzer still lacks feel and movement on his secondary stuff. He has barely used his changeup this postseason (7%, no swings and misses) and his slider lacks bite (its movement was down again in Game 3).

And now he cannot touch his toes.

Is that your best Game 7 option? Better than newly discovered bullpen ace and classically trained starter Jon Gray? And can you afford not to get an available extra arm when Andrew Heaney is starting Game 4 (against an opener, Joe Mantiply, which isn’t exactly Koufax vs. Ford), and Gray won’t be available for Games 4 and 5?

“If he can't bend over now, if he can't do that, then I don't see how in four days he's going to be ... I just need the information,” Young said. “I don't want to speculate. I'll just get the information and see. But if he comes in tomorrow and he's got a little ... I don't know.

“I'm not going to commit that we need to make the decision by tomorrow, but if it's obvious than we'd like to accelerate it.”

After his teammates went 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth, he needed to go back to the mound quickly. He grimaced just walking the stairs from the dugout to the field. He tried a warmup pitch or two but was in obvious pain.

“This is agony,” he said. “When you have a full spasm and you lock up, you can't do anything. When it's locked, you're done. Sleeping's gonna suck. The next 24 hours is gonna suck. Hopefully, I come in in two days from now for Game 5 and I don’t know where I’ll be at but hopefully that’s when I finally turn a corner.”

Scherzer wants Young to give him 48 hours. Young might not have the time. Depending on the severity of the spasms, Young may want to add an arm for Games 4 and 5 and know that Gray is a Game 7 option.

“We’ll have that discussion tomorrow,” Scherzer said. “Because I know at 48 hours you can see a turn. You just don’t know if they’re going to take that into account.”

Five of Scherzer’s past eight postseason starts have been compromised by health issues: the neck spasms in the 2019 World Series, the dead arm in the 2021 NLDS, the teres major strain fallout in the 2023 ALDS and ALCS and now the back spasms.

The Rangers survived the latest abbreviated start by Scherzer because Corey Seager hit another first-pitch homer—his third among his five dingers this postseason and 30th overall the past three years, the most in baseball—after a two-out single by Marcus Semien in the third drove in Nathaniel Lowe, who had won a nine-pitch duel against Brandon Pfaadt with a double. They also won because Seager started a spectacular double play behind a shaky Aroldis Chapman to end the eighth. If Seager had not done so, Arizona would have had runners at first and second with one out and Texas manager Bruce Bochy would have responded by asking his closer, José Leclerc, to get five outs, which could have affected his availability in Game 4.

Nothing seems to faze this Texas team. Not blowing the division title by getting shut out on the final day of the regular season (They are 9–0 on the road over 29 days since then.) Not getting shut down by Merrill Kelly in Game 2. Not obliques popping and backs seizing up. They Rangers are two wins away from winning the franchise’s first World Series and ending the longest such drought this side of Cleveland.

While Gray was bailing out Texas with his three innings of shutout relief, Scherzer was on a training table getting treatment. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that he managed to get himself upright. He staggered, zombie-like, to a large, cushioned chair to watch the game on a clubhouse television. The second he bent his back to sit in the chair, Scherzer writhed in pain.

He quickly tried to get back up but could not. He was helpless and in pain. Clubhouse attendants had to pull him out of the chair, like rescuing a non-swimmer from the water.

Is that the guy taking the ball for a Game 7 five days later?

“Nothing new for us,” Lowe said of the drama.

With roster decisions and bullpens on call in Game 4, the series just got more dramatic.

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47095

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6 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

we gotta play .500 ball to win a WS.  that actually sounds iffy given our wounded roster.  i choose to think of it as we have to prevent the dbacks from playing .750 ball.

Somehow finding a way to scrape together a win tonight would be massive. Both teams will be using a collective bullpen effort. Ours has been used a little more, especially last night. 5-9 have to find a way to contribute. And then back up to the 1 spot in Semien. It's a black hole down there overall. 

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Skipper

Skipper 6170

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9 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Somehow finding a way to scrape together a win tonight would be massive. Both teams will be using a collective bullpen effort. Ours has been used a little more, especially last night. 5-9 have to find a way to contribute. And then back up to the 1 spot in Semien. It's a black hole down there overall. 

Yep.  5-9 +1 in our lineup are due for a big game.  Might as well be tonight.

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gyroprotagonist

gyroprotagonist 2594

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1 hour ago, Vic Mackey said:

Somehow finding a way to scrape together a win tonight would be massive. Both teams will be using a collective bullpen effort. Ours has been used a little more, especially last night. 5-9 have to find a way to contribute. And then back up to the 1 spot in Semien. It's a black hole down there overall. 

Rangers have a slight advantage given that some our relievers (assuming they aren't sucking) can go multiple innings and theirs cannot for most part.  I am parroting crap i head on Ticket with Dave Raymond saying that Dback bullpen is mostly comprised of 1 inning dudes.

Yes, Sborz has been a cool customer just chewing away on that bubble gum.  Hope he is ok.

 

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