Rangers thoughts from a disheartening loss

Up until the bottom of the 8th inning last night, the Rangers game was almost perfect. Dustin Nippert had given the team five shutout innings, Neftali Feliz looked otherwordly in his major league debut and the Rangers were up 2-0. The only thing that could have made things better would have been a better offensive performance.

But from the bottom of the 8th on, the game fell apart like a house of cards. Darren O’Day did look good in his appearance, but C.J. Wilson blew the save and the Rangers lost 3-2. It’s tough to lose games like that, but I guess it doesn’t hurt as much as a 9-7 loss would. Which is weird, considering that every other year in Rangers history the opposite has been true. One loss does not kill the season, but it sure would be nice to see Derek Holland give the Rangers six or seven strong innings tonight.

The season is far from over, with 58 games to go. The Rangers are 3 games behind Boston for the Wild Card and 4.5 games behind the Angels, with both teams matched up in tough series this week. It’s not inconceivable the Rangers could win the last three games in this series against Oakland, but all they need to do is have a winning road trip. Win six of the remaining nine games on the road trip and it will be successful. It’s not time to worry about the Angels and Red Sox just yet.

So with that optimism in mind, here are a couple of positives to come out of last night’s loss:

• Josh Hamilton. Apparently he read the post I wrote yesterday, as he went 2 for 3 with two singles and a walk. Fifth straight game with no strikeouts. Both hits came against the stellar Brett Anderson, a very solid left-handed starter. With Nelson Cruz injured for at least the next couple of days, Josh is going to have to step up in order to carry this team.
• Dustin Nippert. It would have been nice to see him go longer in the game, but Dustin put the team in a position to win. Can’t ask much more from your starter.
• Neftali Feliz. Holy crap this guy looks good. Combine that performance with what Derek Holland did to the Mariners the other night? I’m tingly all over. Stretch Neftali out over the winter and throw him in the rotation next year. The best-case scenario would be if there’s a new owner and Sheets could be signed, giving the Rangers a rotation of Sheets-Millwood-Feldman-Holland-Feliz. Or go Millwood-Feldman-Holland-Hunter-Feliz. Either way, the next few years should be awesome.

Those A’s are pesky. If they find some offense in their system the next few years, they are going to be really tough to deal with. The Mariners look like they know what they’re doing, and the Angels are always going to compete. The AL West was one of the worst divisions in baseball last year besides the Angels (who probably weren’t as good as their record indicated). Within the next couple of years, it could be one of the best.

Good luck tonight Derek. We need it.

Rangers talk: What if they don’t add anybody?

Just about three hours to the trade deadline as I type this, and there are no significant changes on the trade front for the Rangers.

Seattle traded Jarrod Washburn to the Tigers for Luke French and a Class A pitcher, which means they won’t have to face him again this year unless both teams make the playoffs.

But for the Rangers, the Halladay talks are dead, reportedly because the Rangers refuse to part with Derek Holland in order to make a trade.

I’m fine with that. However, I do think the Rangers need to add somebody. Former Ranger Doug Davis seems to be pretty appealing, although he does carry a hefty contract.

Nick Johnson seems to be headed to Florida for AAA reliever Ryan Tucker and another prospect, which is a little discouraging. I think Johnson is exactly what this offense needs right now – someone who gets on base at an awesome rate.

Victor Martinez could be traded, although it would be pretty complicated to move contracts in order to get him to come here. Still, that would be another bat that would be great to have in the lineup. Boston, though, seems to be the team most interested in the Cleveland catcher.

Davis could still be coming here if he gets through waivers in August. Davis has to be traded by August 31 in order to be eligible for playoff rosters.

Other than that, the Pirates’ Zach Duke has been talked about as a potential target, and Pittsburgh certainly has not been shy about trading away their players. But the market for Duke doesn’t seem to be very lively at the moment, and I really don’t think Duke would be that great of an improvement over Holland, especially if Holland can build off of last night’s sparkling performance.

So here’s the question: What if the Rangers don’t make a big trade today?

The answer seems simple, but can get complicated.

First, the simple part: If the Rangers don’t make a (big) trade today, they will be showing confidence in the team they have (good) and the young players they have coming up through the farm system (also good).

Here’s the complicated part: Multiple Rangers have come out and said they would like the front office to add somebody. Would the clubhouse chemistry be damaged if the Rangers did not make a trade?

Personally, I’m afraid of that scenario, but I also don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal. Derek Holland’s start last night seemed to fire up the team quite a bit. All of the players were ecstatic that Derek was having such a great start, especially Michael Young.

If Derek Holland can give this team quality starts every time out – 6 innings and 3 runs – this team will be vastly improved. The offense is not what people (including myself) want it to be. There are far too many strikeouts in this lineup, and Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler are really struggling.

But if they turn it around, this team could go far. The offense may not be great, but it is still above average. The Rangers rank 8th in wOBA, or weighted on-base average. This stat takes into account averages across the league and, in a way, is OBP compared to the rest of the league while including park factors and other things of that nature.

Sorry to get stat-heavy on you there, but the point is that the Rangers offense hasn’t been TOTALLY bad this year. With something even resembling improvement from Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler, this offense really could be one of the best in the league. And with the pitching going the way it’s going, that could equal a

Texas Rangers Trade Rumors

The Texas Rangers are squarely in the hunt for the American League Playoffs with a 56-43 record, sitting 1.5 games behind Boston for the Wild Card and 3.5 games behind the California Angels (name still under protest) today, on July 30.

Texas has been linked to a variety of big names, and this post is your constant update for what all is going on with the Rangers and their trade rumors.

The Rangers have been looking for both a hitter and a starting pitcher.

First off, the big name, Blue Jays P Roy Halladay.

12:50 p.m. The Rangers are still in the mix for the Blue Jays ace, but the Dodgers are the leaders right now, according to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal.

(Not real sure what the Dodgers could be giving up that would trump the Rangers’ offer, unless the Dodgers are giving up Chad Billingsley)

The Rangers reportedly turned down a Blue Jays offer of Derek Holland, Justin Smoak and Julio Borbon for Halladay earlier this week.

There have been a few rumors floating around that the Rangers are willing to part with a couple of their top prospects, but can’t work out the financial details in order to make the trade work. Neither team can really take any salary on, which is currently the major holdup.

Halladay said that he is willing to waive his no-trade clause in order to come to Texas, but that a trade to Boston, New York or either of the Los Angeles teams would be preferable.

(Honestly? I would be very surprised if the Rangers ended up trading for Halladay by tomorrow’s trading deadline. The price just seems too high in terms of prospects and cash.)

Other names:

Adam Dunn, Nick Johnson, Josh Willingham – Washington Nationals

It doesn’t seem as if the Nats are going to trade any of these three – the prospects requested by Washington are reportedly much too high, and there doesn’t seem to be any suitors out there.

Doug Davis, Jon Garland – Arizona Diamondbacks

An Arizona scout was in Texas on Tuesday, reportedly interested in Guillermo Moscoso, but the Rangers are hoping the asking price can go down before they make that deal.

I haven’t seen anything substantial regarding any other names except for reports that the Rangers aren’t in on somebody. But continue to check back here for constant updates.

Impressions from last night’s Rangers beatdown

So last night was not the high point of the Rangers season. But they’re still 13 games over .500 and still only 1.5 out of the Wild Card.

Combine Scott Feldman’s worst start in nearly a year with an already overworked bullpen and Justin Verlander at the top of his game, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Still, here are a few thoughts I had from my seats up in Section 313:

• Ian Kinsler could take a few hints from Omar Vizquel as a leadoff hitter. First at-bat of the game, Omar grounds out on eight pitches. That’s what I like to see from my leadoff hitter. Omar had another fine game, collecting two hits and making a sparkling defensive play in the eighth.
• Combine last night’s game with Monday’s contest, and I think I’ve seen three of the four hardest hit home runs at Rangers Ballpark this year. Andruw Jones can certainly still hit.
• Why, though, does Ron Washington insist on playing Marlon Byrd every day while Nelson Cruz sits on the bench at least once per week? I guess that’s one mystery that will remain unsolved. Tonight’s lineup will have Cruz in it – Seattle is starting Garrett Olson, a lefty, so David Murphy will probably take a seat.
• Speaking of my boy DMurph, he couldn’t have looked worse in his first three at-bats. Verlander was just blowing him away with pure gas. The one that hurt the most was the third one, as it came in the 5th inning during the middle of a Rangers rally. MY and Omar were on base, and if David and Marlon could have gotten those guys in, it would have been an 8-6 game…
• Josh Hamilton is a liability just about everywhere right now. The Tigers scored in the top of the 6th solely because of him. Hamilton let a ball drop right in front of him then air-mailed the throw on a fly ball that allowed former Ranger (and current) spare Gerald Laird to score from third. He did look better in his second and third at-bats, but Josh’s bat may be starting to affect his fielding right now.
• Guillermo Moscoso should have made the start Tuesday night. Doug Mathis has been great out of the bullpen, but I’ve read quotes saying that he’s more comfortable in that long relief role than actually being a starter. I’d be willing to bet that Moscoso is more comfortable out of that starters’ role than the long relief role he was in last night, judging by his numbers as a starter at AAA.
• According to reports, Warner Madrigal will most likely be called up today in order to relieve the pitching staff a little bit. Jason Grilli and C.J. Wilson both got last night off, and Darren O’Day could probably go an inning tonight if need be, but Derek Holland needs to string together six good innings. Warner has posted an ERA of around 2 at AAA this year, but he has yet to see any kind of major league success. Let’s hope this stint is the one where he shows a little something.
• Neftali Feliz has to be getting close to getting the call. With Matt Harrison out for the year, he could easily go on the 60-day DL and create a 40-man roster space for Neftali. I saw him once at Frisco last year, and wow. He could really help this bullpen down the stretch.
• Who else could really help this bullpen? Frank Francisco. He’s pronounced himself ready, but the club is being understandably cautious with how they handle their closer. I think Frankie should slot in as the 8th inning guy until the club knows he’s fully healthy, but that would just make things so much easier with another power arm out there.
• Ian Kinsler also hopes to be back tomorrow, but I bet Joaquin Arias stays up for another couple of days just in case.
• The crowd, especially during the 5th inning rally, was into it. More than 33,000 last night for a weeknight game against Detroit – an impressive total. People must really like $1 hot dog night. If they could only figure out how to get those crowds on Mondays and Tuesdays…
• The next eight are against Seattle and Oakland. That’s going to help. Six of the next eight needs to be the goal here. That would put the Rangers at 64-45 heading into their next series against the Angels. California (I’m protesting that name) sits at 60-40 right now, but starts a six-game road trip Friday at Minnesota and follows it up with three at Chicago. 3-3 for the Halos and 6-2 for Texas equals a meager 1.5 game deficit heading into that series.

I think the Rangers have a shot at winning the Wild Card, especially with the number of games Boston has to play inside its own division and considering they don’t look all that great right now. With a trade for Halladay, I think the Rangers even become the favorites to take the WC. California just looks unbeatable right now, and they’re only 1.5 games behind the Yanks for best record in the AL. The next four series might give the Rangers a chance to gain some ground, but the four right after that seem to be great chances for the Angels to gain it right back. I’m not saying they’re out of reach, but the Rangers have a killer road trip coming up in August (@TB, @NYY, @MIN). To have any shot at winning the division, the Rangers need to be in first place when that trip starts. Otherwise, they may simply be too far back to catch the hated Angels.