Yes saw Chi Chi hang one and Luke Jackson. Then again that 3 run inning for the Stros could have ended on GIDP if Mitch got a handle on it. But such is the game and I won't beat on Mitch. That was only his second error all season. Amazing.
"They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters,Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood."---Psalm 106:37-38
Yeah Nap will be in the line up today until he becomes a liability.
"They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters,Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood."---Psalm 106:37-38
The Rangers had to win one of three and they did. Perez did ok given he pouted like a child when Elvis botched up a 2 out no base runners on ground ball. Which led to 2 unearned runs, and thus the game. But that is baseball and the kid needs to grow up and put such behind him. He did rebound well and go after Altuve for a strike out.
I have to say the HP Ump was consistently horrible yesterday.
Sherrington gives us a good analysis for the final week of AL West baseball. He mentions what you already posted here. The closer Street is probably finished and so is the set up man Joe Smith:
The AL West is shaping up to become a lot like the NL Central. The AL West might be a lot more interesting next year if the Mariners find their way too.
Well here's to some exciting baseball in the next week:)
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
Sherrington: Astros' biggest concern isn't the division leading Rangers, it's the surging Angels
With Houstons record on the road they do have their work cut out for them to maintain their place as the 2nd WC. They need to play .500 as a minimum to stand a chance...
The key to beating Keuchel is to lay off the breaking stuff if you do you can beat him. That is what they did when they laid a "9 spot" on his the last time they faced him, short memories I see...
Perez did ok given he pouted like a child when Elvis botched up a 2 out no base runners on ground ball. Which led to 2 unearned runs, and thus the game.
Or he's tired of always being the victim of Elvis errors?
Maybe we'll get to see a Papelbon/Harper moment in the dugout... :)
With Houstons record on the road they do have their work cut out for them to maintain their place as the 2nd WC. They need to play .500 as a minimum to stand a chance...
Yes, they don't have that Little League homerun porch in left field on the road:)
Heck Elvis could belt 15-20 HRs in that ballpark.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
That article also mentioned Weaver (their ace apparently) complained of shoulder tightness. We shall see. Still waiting for more on Holland who took a line drive to his middle finger on Saturday.
Good news for us, is we do have Nick Martinez if we need to skip Holland. Probably why we have not seen Nick in the Astros series but saw Chi Chi twice.
On another note...the Mets are division champs! Saw that they auditioned some young talent on Sunday to shake out their post season roster. Probably to showcase too.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
But that would befit what he's getting paid to do...
You mean like Odor? Hope that kid keeps focused. He is a large part of why the team is where it is right now. I see they moved him up a notch in the batting order.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
I see they moved him up a notch in the batting order.
He hits all over the order but usually hits top 2 spots or 8th cause he can get on base, drive in runs and steal bases. Every once in awhile the will put him in 6th right behind Moreland to help protect him, this is usually when "Evis" or Josh isn't getting it done. Once he convinces Banny that he can hit be consistent in that slot I think you will see him move up to 6th permanently...
Wish we had a few more of him.... Oh wait never mind I forgot that we already do. He has a younger brother who is a middle infielder and the Rangers signed him this Spring he should have played in the Venezuela league this year, he's 17. If he did alright you might see him in A ball next year...
Good news for us, is we do have Nick Martinez if we need to skip Holland. Probably why we have not seen Nick in the Astros series but saw Chi Chi twice.
Martinez pitched last night so I would imagine Holland will pitch as scheduled...
Sloppy but a win, Stubbs made a good play to save the game. (If Detroit had some pitching they would have been in the mix). Angels aren't going away anytime soon in fact are now the #2 WC cause the Stros kept up their losing ways on the road, Twinkies won and could still end up being a playoff team...
Rangers need to win 3 of the next 5 but would rather see then win out and go into the postseason on a winning streak for confidence purposes. Needless to say it's gonna be an interesting last few days to the season in the AL no matter how it turns out...
If Grubbs could get himself together at the plate he would make a damn fine OFer, hopefully they will keep him and see if they can fix his stroke...
I'm sure he just earned a job on the post season roster...if there is such a roster next week:)
Yes great D and dude can 'cut bags' on the bases too.
"Magic" number 4 for Division title and 3 for 2nd WC. Which means they better win 4 of their next 5:)
Then again in head to head with the Angels the following could happen:
Angels go to Arlington down two. Rangers win the opener and the lead goes to 3 game ahead. That would guarantee at least a tie (with the Angels) in the Division if they lose the remaining 3 games.
Oh boy back to the tie breaker math. We can't figure this out because we don't know what Houston will be doing. Their first game in Arizona they face the Diamondbacks ace who I think is up for Cy Young contention. Record of 15-8. So no easy ride for them there.
Wild Wild West to the end.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
You guys keep playing for it all until the end . Use up all your pitchers .
May not matter though . We have a hurricane bearing down on us ;and bad weather the rest of the week . Don't know how the Yanks will get in 5 games in the rest of this week . Maybe there is a window for the game tonight . Maybe .
Then again .. maybe y'all will be playing an extra game Monday .
May not matter though . We have a hurricane bearing down on us ;and bad weather the rest of the week . Don't know how the Yanks will get in 5 games in the rest of this week . Maybe there is a window for the game tonight . Maybe .
Maybe a couple of double headers in the works for the East Coast teams this week/weekend? That would be something.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
Richards (probably considered the healthy ace) pitches for the LAA tonight against Zito (what a joke) for the A's. The Angels have not set their rotation for the Rangers series yet. Which means they will probably float Richards to the first playoff game if they lock up a WC slot before Sunday. Or pitch him in a final game of the season to win the division or WC slot.
He pitches tonight so that means he can only pitch as early as Sunday on 3 days rest. Will be interesting to see what a strategist like Mike Scioscia will do to juggle the rotation.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
I'm sure he just earned a job on the post season roster...if there is such a roster next week:)
If he was hitting.250 or so I would agree. But if they have to use up the bullpen they may be forced to carry extra pitching. As it stands right now I would say they will carry 13 pitchers, the number they've carried pretty much all year...
Like I said before the 25 man roster will have some hard decisions made before it's final...
As we know due to days off during the playoffs, teams can go with a 4 man rotation. So Perez would no doubt be the long reliever or injury fill in or rain out fill in.
But given the above that would mean:
4X starters
That would mean by your estimation they float Perez and 8 more relievers. I don't see them going that for the playoffs.
You need two long relievers. So Ohlendorf and Bass get the nod or one of them and Perez. So let's say it's Perez and Ohlendorf. So that ticks off 2 for the Pen.
Then of course the work horse crew:
Tolleson
Kela
Diekman
Dyson
are no doubt 'in' in any playoff series. So that is 6 total for the pen out of necessity. So we are now up to 10 total pitchers. 4 starters and 6 relievers. This is bare minimum.
Then add the blow out games (even in the playoffs) where you need someone to eat up innings. That would add either a Nick Martinez, Chi Chi Gonzalez or Anthony Bass to the mix. Picking one with starting pitching experience is important but veteran experience is also a factor. So Bass wins this one.
So we are at 11 pitchers now. 4 starters, 6 base relievers (closer, three set up, one long who pitched as a starter most of the season); then a blow out specialist (Bass).
So far all are RHP save Perez and Diekman. So we are up to 11 pitchers and two are LHPs. For your 13 pitcher model that would leave Freeman and Faulkner LHPs who could be added in L vs L matchups. Freeman did better against RH batters.
So the last two slots could go to both south paws, but if you have Perez, and Diekman do you need another two LHPs or just one. I say only one and it should be Freeman (most experience at MLB level than Faulkner). So that is now 12 pitchers. Your 13th would either be Nick Martinez or Chi Chi Gonzalez. That would add another long arm or rain out option IMO.
So my analysis of the 13 pitchers if Banister so chooses to follow your sage advice (and mine:))
Too bad we could not find a spot for Wandy Rod in the BP for the playoffs.
And of course all this means nothing if they don't win the next 3 or 4 of 5 games.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
Obviously: Gimenez, Moreland, Odor, Elvis, Beltre, DD, Choo with Fielder as DH.
LF is the issue. Who starts there in the playoffs? Do you roll the dice with Napoli? I think Banister will do that as he has been playing Nap. So shoe horn Nap in LF (he can play 1B as well and if needed play the emergency 3rd catcher) against LHP and Josh Hamilton in LF against RHP. If Josh's numbers are better against a specific LHP then play Josh to reduce risk in LF.
So that's 10 right off the bat (no pun intended). Then we need a utility INF and that is Alberto. So that's 11. The second catcher will have to be Chirinos because he can play both 1B and 3B in a pinch and catch of course. So that's 12. Then you need another OF who can play all three spots. That would be Stubbs (handy pinch runner too). That makes 13. So they would need to trim the pitchers down to 12.
After all of that, I would argue if they retained 13 pitchers they would be crazy and it would limit their pinch hitting options. So I see them going 12 pitchers and 13 position players. The additional position player would most likely be Venable(good speed and fielding), but could be Rua if Banister wants another RH bat.
So IMO it has to be 13 position and 12 pitchers. 12 pitchers may be a bit much. That would be 4 starters and 8 relievers. That's a lot for even the playoffs. Managers in playoff games have to know when to cut bait and play to win another day. So you need one or two guys to eat up innings.
Plus...these will be difficult decisions for a team that was not expected to do much this season.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6
Three losses to the Yankees in the mid to late 90s in the ALDS yet I don't know many Rangers fans who have a deep seated hate for the Yankees...Like Boston fans do:)
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."---Romans 5:6