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Texas Rangers 2023 - They're Still Shitty?


ztejas

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14 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

In my 40 years of fandom I don’t recall 7-0 in the playoffs ever

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.

Edited by irishtexan
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Just now, 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. 

Rangers.  Hell I’m happy rangers winning 7 in a row dooesnt happen often lol 

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Had to fly to DC for work today. Had it on at bar of restaurant team dinner was at so saw last 4.5 innings and of course things were getting rocky just as I got eyes on the game. 

That bases loaded no outs escape by Nate was some fucking Houdini shit. 

Sweep the leg. 

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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59 minutes ago, ITHorn said:

It is extremely satisfying watching the Astros writers/bloggers backtrack after talking so much shit about the rangers celebrating clinching the wild card spot. The Old Takes Exposed if the Rangers hold on is going to hit like a crack toke. 

Yes, yes it is.

Astro fans thought they hung the moon with their back door cover of the AL West.

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13 minutes ago, ztejas said:

We are almost even odds to win it now.

Screenshot_20231017_121041_Chrome.thumb.jpg.c62ee2bdcaa4791bec6fe5850a70068d.jpg

I wish I had a time machine to see what the odds would be if you were in Vegas in February or March and put $1k for the Texas Rangers to win the World Series.

Found an old article. Actually come to find out the Diamondbacks had way worse odds at +8000 to our +3000

Full pre-season odds:

Spoiler

2023 World Series odds:

Houston Astros: +600

Atlanta Braves: +700

New York Yankees: +750

Los Angeles Dodgers: +750

San Diego Padres: +900

New York Mets: +900

Toronto Blue Jays: +900

Philadelphia Phillies: +1300

Seattle Mariners: +1500

St. Louis Cardinals: +2000

Tampa Bay Rays: +2000

Chicago White Sox: +3000

Cleveland Guardians: +3000

San Francisco Giants: +3000

Milwaukee Brewers: +3000

Texas Rangers: +3000

Boston Red Sox: +4000

Chicago Cubs: +5000

Baltimore Orioles: +5000

Minnesota Twins: +5000

Los Angeles Angels: +5000

Miami Marlins: +7000

Arizona Diamondbacks: +8000

Detroit Tigers: +8000

Kansas City Royals: +10000

Colorado Rockies: +10000

Cincinnati Reds: +20000

Pittsburgh Pirates: +20000

Washington Nationals: +30000

Oakland Athletics: +40000

 

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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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