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Mark
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61st Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 05:21 pm | |
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Ric wrote: Although, obviously, the Baseball people in the organization must have their doubts, too. What does he have, now, 4 AB's for the season? Must be SOME reason he isn't playing....
Then why is he on the roster?
I want to see Botts either getting daily at bats or DFA'd.
I know that you and I do not agree about this, but I don't think that he has ever been given a fair shot here.
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LEB
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62nd Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 05:48 pm | |
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Soup wrote: LEB wrote: Soup wrote: Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, down by 3 with a guy on 2nd. Why don't you pinch hit for Catalanotto? He's a horribly slow starter and now hitting .083.
Not totally accurate. While Cat is off to a bad start this year, he's a career .290 hitter in April, which is the third best month for him. Last year, he was a bad April hitter...but the year before, he hit .413 in the first month. He's a bad (.263) hitter in Sept.
Wash had to take a lot of things into consideration...not only Cat's bad month, but is he hitting/seeing the ball better in batting practice? Who did he have who was better to pinch hit for Cat in that situation against that pitcher? 
I don't care what he did in April of his career. I've seen him struggle horrendously now for 2 straight years to start the season. And anyone can see that he's overmatched at this point. If a pitcher is struggling, you yank him. If a guy is hitting 50% below the Mendosa line, you pinch hit for him. The game wasn't over with the tying run on deck... in my opinion.
YOU were the one who was saying Cat was a "horribly slow starter" and the stats don't prove you right. I do agree with you in that if for whatever reason, a guy is not swinging the bat well right now, it doesn't matter what his history in a given situation. Wash is looking at Cat the hitter RIGHT NOW a lot closer than you or I and I'm assuming Wash is also consulting with Rudy about Cat and everyone else daily.
Plus, early in the season, a manager has to let a vet fight his way out of a slump. David Ortiz isn't hitting a lick right now. If you're Francona, do you pull him out?
Last edited on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 05:50 pm by LEB
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Mark
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63rd Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 05:57 pm | |
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LEB wrote: David Ortiz isn't hitting a lick right now.
There are other big names not hitting a lick yet.....Jose Reyes, Miguel Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Troy Tulowitzki, Carl Crawford, Jim Thome, Gary Sheffield.
Ask me how I know.....I've got all of these guys on my various fantasy teams. 
edited to add: Also, Ordonez is hitting 150 points lower than he was this time last season.
Last edited on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:10 pm by Mark
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Ric
Bayou Bum
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64th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:00 pm | |
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Mark wrote:
Ric wrote: Although, obviously, the Baseball people in the organization must have their doubts, too. What does he have, now, 4 AB's for the season? Must be SOME reason he isn't playing....
Then why is he on the roster?
I want to see Botts either getting daily at bats or DFA'd.
And if you DFA'd him, you'd want him replaced with? Mench, maybe? C'mon....
Last edited on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:08 pm by Ric
____________________
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"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Ric
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65th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:07 pm | |
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According to multiple reports, Texas has optioned righthander Kazuo Fukumori to AAA Oklahoma to make room for righthander Scott Feldman, who comes up from AA Frisco to make this afternoon's start.
The plan is to return Feldman to Frisco after the game and recall a reliever, though it can't be Fukumori due to the 10-day rule. Righthanders Kameron Loe, Wes Littleton, and Frankie Francisco are the leading candidates to get the call before tomorrow's series opener against the Angels.
Jamey
____________________
All I ask is a chance to prove
that money can't make me happy.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Mark
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66th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:09 pm | |
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Ric wrote: Mark wrote:
Ric wrote: Although, obviously, the Baseball people in the organization must have their doubts, too. What does he have, now, 4 AB's for the season? Must be SOME reason he isn't playing....
Then why is he on the roster?
I want to see Botts either getting daily at bats or DFA'd.
And if you DFA'd him, you'd want him replaced with? Mench, maybe? C'mon....
Absolutely not. Mench should not have even been signed.
I know that you and I do not agree about this, but I don't think that he has ever been given a fair shot here.
I was not for signing Broussard or Bradley, but maybe those were the right moves to make because young guys are not ready to fill those slots. MAYBE.
I see no reason to be giving Cat regular at bats while Botts sits. None. Maybe when Bradley is ready to play in the field every day, then we'll see more of Botts. We'll see.
If we thought that 2008 was a year that we had no chance of making the playoffs, then I think that we should have found out for sure about Botts and Cruz, once and for all. I would have played both of those guys every day. Either your patience with them is rewarded, or you get your answers and cut ties with both of them completely.
Who loses their job when Davis is ready later this summer?
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Mark
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67th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:12 pm | |
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Ric wrote: According to multiple reports, Texas has optioned righthander Kazuo Fukumori to AAA Oklahoma to make room for righthander Scott Feldman, who comes up from AA Frisco to make this afternoon's start.
The plan is to return Feldman to Frisco after the game and recall a reliever, though it can't be Fukumori due to the 10-day rule. Righthanders Kameron Loe, Wes Littleton, and Frankie Francisco are the leading candidates to get the call before tomorrow's series opener against the Angels.
Jamey
I guess that's one of the advantages of signing players from Japan. They come with a rookie status and all of their options, which gives you a lot of roster flexibility.
Fukomori being horrible thus far made this a pretty easy decision to make.
(Though I'm not too thrilled about watching Feldman take a start.)
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Ric
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68th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:18 pm | |
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Mark wrote: Ric wrote: Mark wrote:
Ric wrote: Although, obviously, the Baseball people in the organization must have their doubts, too. What does he have, now, 4 AB's for the season? Must be SOME reason he isn't playing....
Then why is he on the roster?
I want to see Botts either getting daily at bats or DFA'd.
And if you DFA'd him, you'd want him replaced with? Mench, maybe? C'mon....
Absolutely not. Mench should not have even been signed.
I was not for signing Broussard or Bradley, but maybe those were the right moves to make because young guys are not ready to fill those slots. MAYBE.
I see no reason to be giving Cat regular at bats while Botts sits. None. Maybe when Bradley is ready to play in the field every day, then we'll see more of Botts. We'll see.
If we thought that 2008 was a year that we had no chance of making the playoffs, then I think that we should have found out for sure about Botts and Cruz, once and for all. I would have played both of those guys every day. Either your patience with them is rewarded, or you get your answers and cut ties with both of them completely.
Who loses their job when Davis is ready later this summer?
I think we found out about Cruz already. He is, and will probably be, in Texas, anyway, depth at AAA.
Botts is probably in the same arena, though if they tried to slide him thru waivers, they would assuredly lose him and get nothing.
At least Cat has a history. I'm not thrilled, but he does have a track record. Botts doesn't, even given the opportunities he has already wasted. The retired list is sprinkled with LOTS of guys who tore up AAA pitching and couldn't make the jump....
____________________
All I ask is a chance to prove
that money can't make me happy.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Mark
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69th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 06:23 pm | |
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I think that we probably know more about Cruz than we do Botts.
Botts has 250 major league at bats spread over three seasons. I hardly call that a legitimate chance.
I'd like to see one full season invested in both before I make my final decision.
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Ric
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70th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 07:10 pm | |
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In todays game, you don't get full seasons. You look good in the minors, you get your shot in MLB. You take advantage or you don't. Neither has, here.
That's not to say that someone goes somewhere else and does well. See Murphy, D.
He would never have the opportunity in Boston, even though they had opportunities there with the demise of Willy Mo, Trot Nixon, et al. He still didn't do it there...
Likewise, I believe that eventually, maybe Homer Bailey comes our way for Laird, because the Reds are almost ready to give up on him...
Both Cruz and Botts, but especially Cruz.. will probably never get a full season here to try and impress. Too many jobs (Daniels, Washington) on the line to take a chance on guys that have consistantly proven they aren't legitimate Big Leaguers.... and rightly so.
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All I ask is a chance to prove
that money can't make me happy.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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Soup
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71st Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 07:58 pm | |
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LEB wrote: Soup wrote: LEB wrote: Soup wrote: Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, down by 3 with a guy on 2nd. Why don't you pinch hit for Catalanotto? He's a horribly slow starter and now hitting .083.
Not totally accurate. While Cat is off to a bad start this year, he's a career .290 hitter in April, which is the third best month for him. Last year, he was a bad April hitter...but the year before, he hit .413 in the first month. He's a bad (.263) hitter in Sept.
Wash had to take a lot of things into consideration...not only Cat's bad month, but is he hitting/seeing the ball better in batting practice? Who did he have who was better to pinch hit for Cat in that situation against that pitcher?
I don't care what he did in April of his career. I've seen him struggle horrendously now for 2 straight years to start the season. And anyone can see that he's overmatched at this point. If a pitcher is struggling, you yank him. If a guy is hitting 50% below the Mendosa line, you pinch hit for him. The game wasn't over with the tying run on deck... in my opinion.
YOU were the one who was saying Cat was a "horribly slow starter" and the stats don't prove you right. I do agree with you in that if for whatever reason, a guy is not swinging the bat well right now, it doesn't matter what his history in a given situation. Wash is looking at Cat the hitter RIGHT NOW a lot closer than you or I and I'm assuming Wash is also consulting with Rudy about Cat and everyone else daily.
Plus, early in the season, a manager has to let a vet fight his way out of a slump. David Ortiz isn't hitting a lick right now. If you're Francona, do you pull him out?
He has been very slow to start the last 2 seasons. Slow to the point of embarrassment. That's enough of a trend for me to pinch hit for him at that point of the game. I didn't take into account what he did in April of 2003 so you got me there...
As far as comparing him with Ortiz... Catalanotto is not now, nor has he ever been a top-notch player. Apples and oranges.
Last edited on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 08:13 pm by Soup
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Mark
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72nd Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 09:09 pm | |
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Remember how Mark Teixeira always frustrated us Ranger fans with his slow starts?
He is currently hitting .196 for the Braves.
I hope Braves fans are enjoying that.
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Mark
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73rd Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 09:44 pm | |
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| I've got to gig the Rangers for not hustling on the Rios error. Kinsler should have scored and Young should have made it to second. Instead, we've got runners at the corners.
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Mark
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74th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 09:59 pm | |
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Mark wrote: I've got to gig the Rangers for not hustling on the Rios error. Kinsler should have scored and Young should have made it to second. Instead, we've got runners at the corners.
...and now we find ourselves in a tie ballgame once again. The score should be 4-3.
Ron Washington should fine both of those guys for that play.
I remember when Washington took over, he said that he would have only two team rules:
1. Be on time.
2. Hustle.
Kinsler and Young have both violated one of the two rules that the team has. Inexcusable.
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Mark
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75th Post Sun Apr 13th, 2008 11:30 pm | |
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Now we are in extra innings, possibly because of that lack of hustle back in the fifth inning.
This should already be a W in the books.
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Mark
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76th Post Mon Apr 14th, 2008 01:14 am | |
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I could probably be characterized as a Ranger homer, but I'll offer no excuses for losing today's game. There are none.
I've already mentioned the lack of hustle by Kinsler and Young in the fifth inning.
Byrd led off the 10th with a triple, and then the next two batters (Murphy and Bradley) failed to hit a ball to the outfield to get him home.
I've got huge problems with a couple of Ron Washington decisions. First, the decision to pinch hit Botts in the bottom of the 8th. Why do you put him in that situation at this point in his career. I would rather have seen the veteran Broussard hit in that situation, even though it was a lefty/lefty matchup.
Second, why bring in Nippert in any kind of winnable game? He's been nothing but a torch since he got here. Benoit had a very easy 8th. I would have pitched him again in the 9th, and then gone to either Wilson or Rupe in the 10th. Nippert shouldn't be touching anything more than blowout games right now.
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stemyn
Moving in the right direction
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77th Post Mon Apr 14th, 2008 02:29 am | |
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Mark wrote: the decision to pinch hit Botts in the bottom of the 8th. Why do you put him in that situation at this point in his career. I would rather have seen the veteran Broussard hit in that situation, even though it was a lefty/lefty matchup.
Mark, just earlier in this thread you wanted to see Botts get a chance. He got one and stood there looking.
I am probably just as big a Botts fan, if not more so, then you. And I do not feel it was a bad move. Broussard was looking silly today. He had struck out two times in a row. Pinch hitters left were Vazquez, Melhuse and Botts. Roll the dice.
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Mark
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78th Post Mon Apr 14th, 2008 02:41 am | |
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Yes, I want to see Botts get a chance with every day at bats. Sending him up there to pinch hit with the game on the line after sitting for several days is just setting him up to fail, IMHO.
Broussard had looked silly against Burnett. Burnett was long gone in the 8th.
Last edited on Mon Apr 14th, 2008 02:44 am by Mark
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Mark
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79th Post Mon Apr 14th, 2008 02:51 am | |
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LEB wrote: Plus, early in the season, a manager has to let a vet fight his way out of a slump. David Ortiz isn't hitting a lick right now. If you're Francona, do you pull him out?
Update: Ortiz and his .070 batting average has been given the night off tonight.
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Ric
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80th Post Mon Apr 14th, 2008 02:57 am | |
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that doesn't constitute 'pulling him out..'
Botts, by the way.. has set himself up to fail. You HAVE to deliver when called upon in that situation... IF you are a Big Leaguer. He isn't.
____________________
All I ask is a chance to prove
that money can't make me happy.
"There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance."
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