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.
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.
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