Texas/Cleveland Series

OK, so I apologize for not having posted in a while. I have been fasting from basketball due to my parents’ financial situation. And it has been tough, needless to say. But come again on May the 11th, I will finally get to know what the Mavericks have been doing in the playoffs, which I am looking forward to. I have also been praying my brains out in the meantime. I even had to change my homepage to not show the Mavericks and NBA information just so I don’t screw it up. But I least I have my baseball, which I hold dear… and with that in mind, let me rundown the series with the Rangers and the Indians. It boils down to this as to whether the Rangers walk away with a winning April or not.

Game 1:
Texas (11-11) at Cleveland (12-10)
John Koronka (3-1) vs. Jason Johnson (2-1)
Koronka has been a very pleasant surprise for the Rangers and to me this season. He has given up only six runs in his last 19 innings (that’s a 284 ERA for those keeping score at home). Koronka hasn’t thrown more than 98 pitches, which was in his last start against Tampa Bay. Johnson has thrown 101 pitches against Baltimore in a seven inning outing back on April 18th. Johnson has thrown 25 2/3 innings to Koronka’s 24 innings, and Koronka has given up 3 homeruns to Johnson’s 1. Both have the same WHIP of 1.17 (A WHIP is walks/hits per inning pitched – for those who don’t know). No Cleveland hitters have ever faced Koronka and the Rangers hitters have a total of 60 at-bats against Johnson for an average of .200. Blalock and Matthews both have a homerun against Johnson. The Rangers hitters collectively pull together 5 RBIs against Johnson. RBI percentage is 8.3%... which is good for Cleveland. Over a stretch of 27 batters, that would give the Rangers roughly 2 runs. Seriously, this is really a monkey shoot (I think I may have used that correctly), but I would say, Rangers, simply because Mench is on fire, and the team is inspired. Texas wins this with a close by the Ottobot: 5-3

Game 2:
Texas at Cleveland
Kevin Millwood (1-2) vs. Fausto Carmona (1-1)
I still think Kevin is a 20 gamer. I am not shying down from that. And this is a game that he will win. Why, because it is his former team. Kevin’s ERA over his last three starts is 2.37, giving up only 5 runs in 19 innings of work. He has no-decisions in his last two starts, based off of blown saves… Otsuka will be handling the closing for at least a little while… maybe the rest of the season. Who knows, really, right? But at least the Rangers have choices in pitching, something we haven’t been able to say in a long, long time, if ever. Now, Kevin does sport a 4.20 ERA coming into this one overall… his first two starts weren’t quite on target, but he has been getting better and better as things progress. Some would argue the 6 walks in his last start… but I won’t. Cleveland has five hitters who have faced Millie, Boone and Vasquez both rip him well (8-20 combined). Hollandsworth should take a seat for when Millie is on the hill (3-18). Carmona hasn’t faced a Rangers hitter before… and with sporting a 7.15 ERA coming into this, I don’t like his chances. I would almost think him to hit the showers early. He’s given up 9 runs in 11 1/3 innings against Baltimore and Detroit combined. Granted those are two very good offensive teams, at least right now. Lefties are hitting him with greatness (.471) whereas righties aren’t doing so well (.185). Maybe that is the only thing keeping him around. Still, I pick the visitors on this one… SCORE: 9-3

Game 3:
Texas at Cleveland
Vicente Padilla (2-1) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-2)
Now, I just like Padilla. With the exception of the Oakland start (in Oakland, mind you), Padilla has an ERA of 2.92. But the reality is there are no exceptions in baseball. You got to count all the stats. Otherwise, what would the point be? Padilla’s ERA is 3.64. And overall, he’s looked really good. Like Koronka, he’s done much better than I expected. I am surprised to see Westbrook sporting an ERA of 5.52, to be honest with you. But I am surprised to see Millwood with a 4.20… so stranger days, right? The Rangers really do bash up Westbrook in a MAJOR way. In 62 at-bats (with the existing Rangers), we slap him with a .387 average and 12 RBIs. That’s a RBI percentage of 19.4%. Although the at-bats is pretty low, I am pretty confident in the batting average… so that supports a strong run showing for this game in my mind. The flip side is a bit different for Cleveland. They only have 22 at-bats against Padilla and only 3 hits. The even scarier thing is that it is spread over three batters. Again, Hollandsworth should sit the bench for at least the starter. The Rangers bullpen has done well against the Cleveland hitters… I don’t know, but could I be predicting a sweep? Well, it looks like that may be the case. The only reason I am predicting this win is the lack of success by Westbrook against these hitters, and the success of the bullpen for the Rangers over Cleveland: Score – 11-5

Lidle vs. Sosa

Female Horses (1-6) vs. Chopping Block (4-4)
Cory Lidle (0-1) vs. Jorge Sosa (0-1)
Lidle does well against these hitters. None of the meat guys do well against him, so this should make the game go well for the Phils, at least giving them a chance. Chipper is gone, and that helps even more for them. The thing about the Braves is that they are good. They don’t loose and haven’t experienced the feeling of being a looser in such a long time, that being under 500 is something they are just not used to. Sosa stunk it up in his first start. He does do well against the Phillies, though. They hit .147 against him, but Bobby Abreu slaps him around. Well… I didn’t get to check all the stuff before the game starts… so here it is – Horses chop the block, win it 6-3. Weatherman out.

Koronka vs. Escobar

Rangers (2-7) vs. Angels (5-3)
John Koronka (0-1) vs. Kelvim Escobar (1-0)
Well, I tried reverse psychology yesterday, and it almost paid off. It didn’t pay off… but with the exception of the ninth inning, it did. STINK! So, I’m not saying play dirty or anything, but can you imagine what a fastball to “Vlad the Impaler” would do for the Rangers? Or at least pitch him so inside it tickles that hair off his chin. Scare him a bit and his average will go down against my boys. Nolan would. Randy would. Roger would. Why not John? I say go for it. The only hope I am hanging on right now is the fact that in the first two series the Rangers have played, they haven’t been swept. It’s a sad hope, but hope none the less. No real numbers for the Angels against Koronka… but I can say this, they haven’t scored against him. As a matter of fact, they haven’t even got a hit off him… again, sad hope, but hope none the less (you see, Koronka hasn’t pitched against any of these chumps). The Rangers should score against Escobar. RBI% is high with a 16.7% ratio. One in six at-bats scores a run, on average. He also gives the Rangers a dinger every 24 at-bats. I’ll take that. Oddly enough, Blalock and Tex haven’t gone yard on him. Matthews, Young, and Laird have… but not Tex. How strange is that? You want something stranger? Well, how about the fact that the Rangers don’t hit against this guy. We do make them count, though. 22 hits and 20 RBIs and they sport a .183 average. Merry Christmas, Batman, what?! I am not sure how that is really possible… but it is. Despite my gut, I am going with the Rangers because the Baseball Gods are generous to those who have no pride and simply beg for a victory. Rangers in a shocker to everyone, even themselves: 8-7.

Mavs (59-19) vs Warriors (30-47)

Mavs (59-19) vs. Warriors (30-47)
Do you want to read something surprising? The Warriors aren’t all that bad. It shocks me to write it. They average 98.3 points per game and give up 100.2 points per game. But looking at the record, I would think they win big and loose close. And if that is the case, the Mavericks have a game in store for them tonight. In the Warriors loosing streak (which is at nine), they have lost in double digits 3 times. Five of the games were lost by five points or less. Washington beat them 116-98 to start the streak. Memphis beat them 100-75 in the second blowout of the streak. The Lakers were the last to send them to the loss column with a 111-100 victory. Golden State is in the second game of a back-to-back whereas Dallas is in the first game. Avery Johnson is going to be stressing on how much time to play his guys with the Phoenix game tomorrow night. Should Dallas jump to an early and large lead, it won’t be an issue. Golden State squeaked them on March 23rd with a 122-121 victory in Dallas. AJ, I am sure, hasn’t forgotten about that, since it was in the midst of a Dallas slump where they went 2-5 in the last two weeks of March. The Mavs are averaging 110.7 points in the three games they’ve played against the Warriors. Dirk and Terry both need to continue their success against them. The big key for Dallas is stopping Richardson (averages 29.7 against Dallas this year) and Davis (should he play, he has averaged 30 points in the two games against Dallas). I like Dallas in this one, not because they are vying for the number one spot in the west and that they have everything to play for, but because of the rest factor. If Davis plays, he could be a little extra edge for the Warriors, but I don’t know if they are going to be coming in with heart on a nine game skid and a loss last night. But a timely stomp on someone’s foot could give the Mavs a huge edge… but, I’m not saying to play dirty or anything. I mean, we’re not the Knicks, for crying out loud. I’m going to say Dallas over Golden State (a ten game loosing streak – OUCH!): 112-99.

Stars vs. Blue Jackets

Hockey:
Columbus Blue Jackets (32-41-4) at Dallas Stars (51-22-5)
Now, I don’t know a whole lot about hockey. I’ve been to a handful of games during this little lifetime I have been given, and I guess I would like to see a few more to get a better understanding of it all. I read that the Stars will most likely rest Modano, who is a hockey stud. Also, Willie Mitchell might be rested as well. As far as goals for and against, Dallas and Columbus are almost exactly opposite from each other. Dallas has scored 252 while giving up 205. Columbus has scored 204 while giving up 265. Interesting. They should play into each others hands if all the peeps where playing. I still think that a half Dallas can do a full Columbus in. Dallas can definitely beat them, hands down, at full strength. The two last played on December 21st of last year, Dallas winning 5-3. They also played on November 18th with Dallas winning as well 6-3. The two play again at Columbus to end the Stars regular season. I would think that Modano and Mitchell will be playing then to stretch out the muscles before the playoffs. What in the world is a blue jacket? It sounds like a bug or something, but their logo has a fairy wand in it… and in my opinion, a team with a fairy wand shouldn’t be allowed to win at Men’s Professional Sports. Even if I thought they were going to win, I would still pick the Stars… but I do think the Stars will win it anyway, so not much of an issue there. Stars oust them with a magic wand: 4-2. Weatherman out.

Bauer vs. Weaver

Today’s Game: Rangers (2-6) at Angels (4-3)
Rick Bauer (0-0) vs. Jeff Weaver (0-1)
You know, I thought yesterday was a simple shoe-in for the Rangers. And in most cases, it should have been. Kameron Loe pitched rather well; his location of pitches was amazing. And yet, the Angels hit his stuff. I mean, when Vladimir Guerrero hit that one at the ankles and it was outside at that, I felt it wasn’t Loe’s pitching that was the problem. The Angels were simply having a good day and the Rangers weren’t. When luck is against you, you simply can’t do anything about it. So, will luck be with the Rangers, I don’t know. They have to play with heart. I didn’t see that last night. They have to execute on defense. They didn’t do that last night. And irregardless of how good the guy is on the hill, if those last two things aren’t there, it doesn’t matter if the pitcher is a Cy Young candidate, you’re odds of loosing are going to be high. It’s too early to be counting yourself out right now, guys. Don’t loose heart in April. Had the Angels lost heart after going 6-14 in 2002, they wouldn’t have been World Champions. Bauer pitched three innings against Detroit on the 7th (that’s Friday, ya’ll). He gave up four hits, and one run, while striking out two and walking one. The Angels have a career .143 average against Bauer, which is 3-21 consisting of the current players on the roster. The RBI% I show is 9.5%, which is a good guesstimate. There is a strong margin of error with numbers (at-bats) so low… It’s not a surprise that the three who have the hits on Bauer are Figgins, Guerrero, and Cabrera. Cabrera’s hit is a homerun, by the way. Juan Rivera is the other guy to have an RBI against Bauer. The Rangers RBI% is a bit higher against Weaver (10.8%). The team average against him is .257. I am not sure (I’m on the soapbox here) if the Rangers hitting is going to improve until Rudy comes back. In my personal opinion, the two most important people on a team are the hitting coach and the pitching coach. It’s their job to oversee the development; it’s their job to calm the player down when he’s given up a walk and a hit and then another walk. And the pitching coach hasn’t much impressed me yet this season. Rudy is recovering from surgery, so when he gets back, things will change at the plate, that I am certain. (Off the soapbox) Nevin has a homerun and Young has four RBIs against Weaver. In fact, Young is 6-12 against him. Wilkerson looks like he will continue to struggle, if they have him in the lineup tonight. Outside of Young and Nevin, there isn’t too much success against Weaver for the Rangers. So, the weatherman’s prediction is Angels win it by pitching, pitching, pitching: 4-3.

Loe-Rider vs. Lackey

Alright, I got to go to the game yesterday afternoon. I picked up a Michael Young Bobble-Head… and man, it’s a cool one. All the other bobbles got to meet him when I got home. What a collection it is! I just love those trinkets. Anyway, I hit the nail on the head on the Spurs/Mavs game Friday. I missed out on the Detroit/Rangers game, though. At least the guys didn’t get swept. Before I jump into today’s game between Kameron Loe and the Angels, I will give a brief update on the Bush League Baseball stuff.

The Texas Head Bashers (on the Texas server) are currently undefeated with an 8-0 record. They played Kiwi Thunder in round two of the Tournament of Champions and won it 4-0 in an eight inning game. This will be the deepest I have been in this tourney, going into the third round. Only 1.6% of all the teams make it this far… so it is really an honor to be there.



The Euless Mudcats are still seeded second in their division of 16 teams, although tied with leader. Their record is 24-2 and they have the best defense and second ranked offense. The Mudcats have clinched a top two finish. The two teams who beat the Mudcats are still to be played the second time through in the remaining four games, so that is something to look forward to.

The SGP Warriors are undefeated at 26-0 and have clinched 1st place. Their offense and defense are tops in their league. They are simply waiting to enter into the Tournament of Champions, as well as the Elite Tournament, which would be a first for me. They also threw back-to-back perfect games since the last update on that… to say that is an amazing feet would be an understatement, but their competition isn’t all that, though.

The Dorky Dragons are facing hardship. They have clinched a playoff spot; the worst they can end up is the fifth seed, which is where they finished last season. They have the #5 offense, and the #4 defense. A team earlier trashed them 26-2, clearly a better team, but the second game against them, we were more prepared and only lost 6-1. I felt that was a good improvement on things… just being thankful for the little things, I guess.



Rangers (2-5) at Angels (3-3)
Kameron Loe (0-1) vs. John Lackey (0-1)
Well, Loe can do no wrong in my eyes. The dude is simply a superstar in the making. He will be a 20 gamer someday, when he is used correctly. Loe had a quality start in his 2006 debut. Loe has pitched against the Angels. Last season, he pitched one inning on June 21st, striking out one in a one-two-three inning for him. He then faced them again on June 28th and 29th. On the 28th, he didn’t record an out, but got the loss while giving up three runs. On the 29th, He pitched two innings, giving up one hit and striking out one in getting his first win of 2005. He then saw the Angels again on September 21st, where he only threw 53 pitches and going only 3 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on two hits, striking out one, for what ended up being a no-decision for him. So that tallies him up to a 5.69 ERA against the Angels in 2005. Career against the Angels, he has a 7.20 ERA. Current Angel’s hitters bat .260 against him. There is only one homerun for the Angels in the 50 at-bats against Loe. Their RBI% against him is 12%, meaning the 20 batters would send 2.4 runs across the plate. Figgins is 4-10, Guerrero is 3-8, and everybody else isn’t worth mentioning. Lackey is lacking when it comes to the Rangers. The hitters do quite well, especially the guys who have a reputation for doing well for the Rangers. First, Michael Young (great bobble, by the way) slaps him for a .372 average, 2 home-runs, and 9 RBIs. Hank the Homer guy has a .343 average, one homerun, and 4 RBIs. Mark Teixeira has connected twice while posting his .429 average and 9 RBIs. As a team, the Rangers hit an even 300 and collect a 14.4 RBI percentage against the guy. So, the same 20 batters would get the Rangers 2.89 runs. The .49 difference is huge, especially since Lackey didn’t start the season sharp and Loe did. I would say that the Rangers have a strong upper hand against the Angels on this game. In fact, I haven’t been more sure about a call on a baseball game in quite a while. And I am not saying this because I am a Loe-Rider. I am saying this because the stats speak for me on this one. Of course, I do know how to manipulate stats, but ever since I can up with the RBI%, I really have not been wrong when I stick to that… which is crazy in my mind. Rangers rock the Angels early, send Lackey to the showers, and collect a huge win, their first on the road, and hopefully the start of a strong winning streak. I would say the score would be – oh – Rangers 7-3. Johnny Out.

Koronka vs. Maroth

Rangers (1-3) vs. Tigers (3-0)
Koronka vs. Maroth
ESPN says that Maroth had a solid spring, finishing on April 1st with 5 shutout innings. Could Detroit be for real? I hope not, at least not tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. After the Rangers finish, they can do what they want until we play them again. Young and Teixeira hit him really well, especially Young who is a 7-13 career off him. Current Rangers players have a career RBI% of 20%, which is really good for the Rangers. Every five at bats, we get a score. I’ll take that. If the Rangers send 20 batters, that’s a good four runs. Gary, Mench, and Hank all have homeruns against Maroth, but of course, Gary is out with an injury and to return at the end of next week, so I hear. Millwood is a career 0-2 against Maroth… I don’t think he will be in the lineup today, though (I didn’t include him in the RBI%, by the way). Now, the tough thing is Koronka. He has never faced any of the current Detroit players… so this prediction is going to be iffy at best. Here’s something encouraging… last season, he pitched 15 2/3 innings, giving up 19 hits, 13 runs (2 homeruns), walked 8, and struck out 10. He lets hitters do the ground ball more than the fly ball, which is good in our stadium. Heck, it’s good anywhere. But, because I am a super nerd, I found some goods on the guy. In AAA, he threw a 4.24 ERA in 136 innings. He had 96 Ks and a 9-11 mark. With all the souvenirs Detroit has been giving out of late, I don’t know if John is really ready for their surprising bats. He needs to force the groundball a little more than what he did in the Majors last season. And please Buck, don’t let this kid go past six, unless it’s a no-no. Any kind of a hit, and pull him at six. I will have to admit, though, I don’t see him going six. For whatever reason, I do see the Rangers pulling this out tonight. I can’t really say why, maybe it’s because Maroth isn’t going to do so hot, or maybe it is because my clock says 4 pm… maybe it is because I feel fruity. I don’t know. Rangers to end the two game skid with a late shocker: 5-3.

Mavs at Spurs

At 7:00 PM Central Time tonight, there may be a shift in power in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks (56-19) walk into San Antonio (58-17) to try to hand them their second consecutive home loss. In Avery Johnson’s perspective, it is a must win (but I think that is always his perspective). The Mavs coach simply doesn’t care for the taste of loosing. Dallas scores 99.7 points per game and gives up 93.1 for a spread of 6.6 points. San Antonio averages 95.7 points and gives up 88.8. Dirk has averaged 23.7 points against San Antonio this season. Howard, who has only played two of the three, averages 16. Damp notably averages 2 blocks and the Spurs. Howard should shoot the ball a good deal tonight; he shoots 50% from the field against San Antonio. The Mavs also are averaging 29 free throws in the three games and 75% makes on those. It would be nice to see both of those numbers go up in tonight’s game, would make for an easier win. But I don’t think the Spurs are going to make it easy, by any means. To both teams, this is a pre-playoff game. It’s as they say in football, “Any Given Sunday”. Parker and Duncan are the point’s boys in Spur land. Parker puts up 25.7 against Dallas this season and Duncan 15.3. Parker’s FG% against Dallas is almost 60% and Dallas needs to make it their purpose to cut that down quite a bit. At least tonight they do. Fin and Ginobili also average double digits in the points category. Dallas needs to manhandle the Spurs, needing to out rebound, block shots, and control the ball. Most importantly, they just need to out defend. The point spread is Spurs by 5. The Spurs play better defense and that may be enough for them to win this game. The age old saying is that defense wins championships. The better defense tonight will win this game. My gut is screaming and crushing my logic. The one intangible in all this remains to be Avery Johnson. The call I feel that is right in all that I have said is this: The Mavericks over the Spurs: 94-92.

Detroit at Texas

Detroit (2-0) at Texas (1-2)
Nate Robertson vs. R.A. Dickey
Dickey is a new-founder to the Knuckleball. I did get to see him pitch his final pre-season game against Florida on April 1st. He had good movement with it and then lost control in the 3rd inning. When he is on, he is on… but when he is off, he is off. Wow, that’s a sports writer stock line, isn’t it. I am willing to bet that the performance on Saturday is going to be typical with R.A. He’ll most likely have a few good innings followed by a few bad. The key for him is a pitching coach coming out at the right time and giving him the words he needs to hear to get back on track. I’ve heard reports of a radio station complaining about a jet stream coming off the Gold Club… blah, blah, blah. If the hitter hits the ball, and the wind carries it, then it happens. Good pitchers make good adjustments, in whatever park they are playing in. If this was the Polo Grounds (shortest part of the park is 500 feet), I don’t think pitchers would hold back on challenging someone just because there is more ground that the outfielders have to cover. Each park has its problems and challenges. And to blame a pitchers mistake on something structural is simply a cop-out. Dickey didn’t have a wondrous pre-season, but I don’t think he was expected to. He came to work on his knuckleball and that he did. My expectations for his season are not great by any means, but I expect him to progress as the season goes. Based on numbers and previous performances against Detroit’s current batters, he has given up 5 RBIs in 39 batters faced. Should he face 20 batters, he will give up 3 runs. I think that number is low. I look for him to pitch 5 innings and give up more like 4 runs before yielding to the bullpen. I also think there is going to be several walks involved; being a knuckleballer is prone to the free pass. He doesn’t give up the extra-base hit much to these guys, though, only one double and that is it. The Rangers have some experience against Nate. 9 RBIs in 80 at-bats shows an 11.3% RBI ratio. The same amount, 20 batters would yield 2 to 3 runs (closer to the two). Nate has continued to improve each season, having a 5.44 ERA in 2003, 4.90 in 2004, and a 4.49 in 2005. May 9th, 2005, Nate pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball against the Rangers to collect his first win of 2005. He faced them again on June 2nd, this time only going 6 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned). He got a no-decision on that start. Dickey’s last appearance against Detroit was back in 2004 in which he started that crazy game where the Rangers gave up 8 runs in the top half and then scored 10 in the bottom half of the 16-15 win. Dickey’s part 4 2/3 innings and 6 runs, (all earned). Dickey didn’t have a knuckleball then, so the dynamic has changed a little. But the fact is that Nate is improving on what he has and Dickey is bringing in something new and inconsistent by him. It sounds like a Detroit win tonight, unless the pitching coach does his job and smoothes out the pitcher at the time. That is the true key to all this. I have to go with my gut and my gut says the stats will pull through on this one. Detroit will slap the Rangers silly and send Dickey to the showers early with a 6-2 victory.

It Can Happen

Looking ahead, there is the Mavericks to play San Antonio on Friday. The Rangers start a four game series against the Detroit Tigers tomorrow. I get to see the game on Sunday which will have Pudge and the Gambler for Detroit as the battery. The Spurs and Rangers both trail as of right now. Rangers have a shot; the Spurs don’t as I type this. Rangers are down 2-1 in the top of the 8th. Spurs trail 95-79 to Sacramento with 2:41 remaining in the fourth. The thing that I am thinking is that should the Spurs loose to the Mavs on Friday, the two would be tied in standing (Spurs have the tie-breaker) but it would make things look very interesting for the final stretch of the season. Could the Mavs overtake the Spurs for the number one seed in the Conference? It’s possible. Aliens could land on my roof tonight too. It’s possible. I mean, the Rangers once let a steroid user pitch an inning, blowing out his arm and essentially ruining his career. And it’s the same steroid user who let a fly ball bounce off his head for a home-run. Stranger things have happened in this world. Hey, if Michael Jordan retires to play minor league baseball, the Mavs can upset San Antonio to hand them a two game loosing streak at their house and start shaking things up. It’s still in the top of the 8th for the Rangers (2-1). Its 97-84 for the Spurs game, Spurs loosing, of course, with only 25 seconds remaining. I want to remind us all that we do have a healthy Josh Howard, a strong Dirk (and I’m a Dirky Dude), and a bench that is always full of surprises. Jason Terry puts up a strong game, then it’s a simple mistake from San Antonio after and the Mavs win the Division and the Conference. But, should the Mavs loose on Friday as San Antonio just did to Sacramento (97-87 the final), then the Mavs will simply have to be content with a #4 seed and a second round Road-Court advantage playing to San Antonio. Rangers are now in the top of the ninth and the score is still the same. It’s now a final. More predictions will come tomorrow as I size things up. Johnny Out.

Loe vs. Beckett

Rangers vs. the Red Sox
Kameron Loe vs. Josh Beckett
Of the Red Sox hitters, six have faced Loe. They hit .667 against (that four out of six) and have 3 RBIs. Loe is arguably my favorite pitcher, and heck, the guy thinks my son is awesome. And in my little world, flattery will get you everywhere. I liked the guy a ton before getting his autograph earlier this year, and when you compliment my boy, the stock just goes up. If I could get away with saying that he will no-hit the Sox, I’d be apt to do it. But as it stands, in a handful of tries, Ortiz, Rameriz, and Varitek have successfully done well against the Loe-Rider. The breakdowns that I normally do wouldn’t prove worthy since there is only six at-bats, so it will be difficult at best to guess what the Red Sox will do against homey. Barajas is 2 for 2 against Beckett; look for him to be in the lineup. Wilkerson has somewhat success hitting .258 in 31 at-bats. With two homeruns in the mix, he will be in there, too. Current Rangers hitters have but 6 RBIs against Beckett (and that is in 78 at-bats). And with a 7.7% score ratio, the Rangers need to think about getting Beckett into a high pitch count and hope for success against the bullpen. If Beckett goes all nine, the Rangers will most likely score 3 or 4 runs. Loe had much success in the Fall last season, and did quite well this Spring. I honestly think he can put together a good game for the Rangers, but I don’t know if the Rangers can answer with the needed bats. And on top of it all, I don’t see Loe going longer than 7 innings, not with Otsuka and Coco in the pen, it wouldn’t make sense, and I don’t think Loe has gone longer than 6 innings in his career. If that is the case, Loe goes a strong 6, and then the Sox face a stronger pen than last year, which the Sox have done quite well against thus far already. Going against everything I believe in, I say the Rangers will be dropping to 1-2 this season as the Sox end a one game loosing streak with a victory of 4-3. BOO! GO RANGERS!

MVP vs. Wake-Man

Tonight’s Game with the Rangers…

MVP (that’s Mister Vicente Padilla) vs. Wakefield:
The Rangers normally don’t do too well against Wakefield, at least to my recollection. The Rangers do hit him for a .268 average. Nevin has connected on him twice in 16 at-bats… which is interesting in my mind. Nevin did fairly well in the pre-season and with his success against Wakefield, look for him to be in the lineup. Nix, Barajas, and Mench all have strong numbers against good ol’ Timmy. The Rangers Three (Young, Blalock, and Tex) don’t hold strong numbers against the Wake-man…

On the flip side, MVP hasn’t much success against Red Sox hitters, although ESPN’s numbers on him show differently. They say numbers don’t lie, but they can be deceiving. Red Sox hitters, as a team, hit a .248 average against Padilla. 18% of the time, or close to 1 in 5 at-bats, the Sox will get an RBI… That is a tough number to look at. It’s a good number for the hitters, bad for the pitchers. Over a nine-inning stretch, you would want a team to have an 8% ratio. So this is a bit of a concern for me… I look for a high scoring game tonight. Rangers will prevail somehow, someway, and simply because I say they will. Rangers win over the Sox – 7 to 6.

Bush League Update

Bush League Update:

The Mudcats are 19-2 and are coming into an off day. One more win will clinch a playoff birth for them… the worst finish they can find themselves is a 9th place. The Warriors continue to be undefeated and sit at 21-0 and have a 4 game lead on second. They also have clinched a top five finish and need only one more win to clinch 2nd. The Dragons are in a tougher division than the other two teams already mentioned, but find themselves in fourth place with a 17-4 record. They have already clinched a 9th place finish and only need two more wins to clinch 7th or better. The Texas Head Bashers, on the Texas server, have already started a new season and are 3-0 and moving into the second round of the Tournament of Champions, which is the deepest I have gone in my young Bush League managerial career. The Mudcats have thrown 9 no-hitters this season (4 perfect), the Warriors have thrown 7 no-hitters (5 perfect), and the Dragons and Bashers both have thrown 1 no-hitter, which were both perfect games. Tonight is a well needed off night for the MLB server teams… my players are getting tired and gassed out. I also am looking forward to checking out some real baseball this afternoon as my Rangers open the season against the Red Sox. Millwood takes the hill for his first regular season game as a Rangers pitcher. I am looking forward to seeing his performance. I just wish I could be at the game… but life does have some drawbacks. Anyway, Johnny Out.

I want to take a look at how the pitching really is for the Rangers. The starting rotation in particular is of my first concern.

There are seven pitchers (at least) who can and most likely will start for the Rangers this season.

Kevin Millwood is safe on the ace spot. Adam Eaton should be secure for the #2 spot, when he comes back from surgery. Vicente Padilla is stuck in the #3 spot and Kameron Loe (whom I think should be labeled higher) is set for the #4 spot. The number five spot is still be jumbled around, R.A. Dickey will start the season with the job, with everyone jumping up a spot in Eaton’s absence. John Koronka will fill in the #5 spot to fill the space during the injury but Robinson Tejeda could also get a look see down the line as the season goes. David Dellucci is gone. He was traded last night to Philadelphia for Tejeda… I will miss Dellucci, he was a great player. But as much as people like the grand old hitting part of the game, pitching and defense is what wins the game.

I see that Millwood will be a 20 gamer this year. Padilla will win somewhere around 15… Eaton, if he started the season and played all year, I would think about the same as Padilla… so since he is only going to be with us half of the year, maybe 7 wins, then. Loe, well, he is my favorite player. I think he will go about 12-8 this year, but there is always a thought in my head that he could win even more than that. R.A. Dickey, I don’t know if he can stay in the rotation all the way through. I did see him pitch last night and I don’t think he has a full command of the knuckler. He could also be a 12 gamer this year, but he may loose more games than win. I think he should continue to work on it, next year he can be a stronghold in the rotation as he learns the command of the pitch. Last night, he through that puppy great the first two innings, it was dazzling to watch. Tejeda hasn’t pitched all that long in the majors… but I like his numbers thus far. He went 4-3 with a 3.57 ERA for the female horses. Koronka pitched even less for the Cubs and went 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA. Those are good numbers, but the truth is, I can’t expect both of those kids to duplicate those performances all season long… they haven’t even pitched half a season in the majors… my expectation is that the Rangers flip-flop them should they want any success in the number five role out of these two. In other words, platoon the #5 spot to see who performs best and give the job the better performer. It’s also to compare apples to apples… see who does better against the same team. I don’t know… that is how I would approach the fifth question.

Kevin Millwood:
- 6.00 ERA
- 9 innings with 6 earned runs
- 10 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
R.A. Dickey:
- 6.19 ERA
- 16 innings with 11 earned runs
- 16 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts
Kameron Loe:
- 3.68 ERA
- 14 2/3 innings with 6 earned runs
- 13 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Adam Eaton (injured):
- 11.25 ERA
- 8 innings with 10 earned runs
- 16 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Vicente Padilla:
- 4.32 ERA
- 16 2/3 innings with 8 earned runs
- 19 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts

I don’t have any information outside of what I have already shared on the two “new guys” the Rangers picked up over the last couple of days. I would like to know how there springs went and get an idea of what we have picked up… anyway, Johnny Out.

I do need some fans to check out my game... I am not sure outside of this link how to get them... but if you are willing, I am most certain that is very safe. Thanks so much - Johnny Out (again).

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