Wow, I am fuzzy headed… it’s pretty hard to concentrate, but I shall do my best. The Rangers are in first place, sweeping the Rays. The Loe-Rider and Tejeda both getting their first wins of the season, it’s a good thing! Baltimore is going to prove to be a tougher opponent than the Devil Rays that is for sure. Otsuka has three saves in three tries, compared to Coco who has three saves in eight tries. But Coco has done a great job in the set up role, which is a wonderful change for him. I think a lot has to do with his injury in preseason and the rehabilitation following. He is now hitting his form, unfortunately, it is too late. Alfonseca’s injury is a bit of a concern. His consistency in the bullpen has always been a big plus for the Rangers.
Game 1:
Baltimore (14-14) at Texas (15-12)
John Koronka (3-1) vs. Daniel Cabrera (2-2)
Koronka comes in with a 4.25 ERA and Cabrera has a 5.68 ERA. Cabrera has done well against the not-so-good teams, but done, well, how do I put this, horrendous against the good ones. He was tagged for seven runs against Boston in 1 1/3 innings on April 7th and six runs against New York during a 5 inning stint on April 22nd. His other three starts, he has combined for 19 innings giving up only 3 runs. Those teams would be Tampa Bay, the Angels, and the Mariners. And I am sure we would all agree, those three teams are not slated for the playoffs right now and are hands down COLD. So, Cabrera can beat the not-so-good teams. The key to a Cabrera win is the walk. In both of his wins, he gave up only one walk. In his loss to Boston, he walked 7 (and that was in a four out appearance – OUCH!) and in his loss to New York, we walked 5. He also walked 9 in a game to Tampa Bay, but that was a no-decision in which (remarkably) he gave up only one run in five innings. Should he walk nine in five innings against the Rangers, I would think the Rangers would score more than one. Back on July 25th, 2005, Cabrera started a game against Texas; he gave up three runs on three hits, one homerun. He struck out five in five innings. And he walked seven. He had another start several weeks later against the Rangers, this time only going four and two thirds. He walked five and gave up eight runs. But he struck out seven. So, is it worth giving up the win and a bunch of walks just to strike out a few? Maybe for Baltimore it is… but for the Rangers, it’s a good thing. Let Baltimore strike us a few times… let them walk us a bunch and let them let us score. It’s all good. I like Cabrera in a Baltimore uniform. He brings Rangers wins, for the most part. He did beat the Rangers in a game in September last year, but really, the season was over the Rangers at that point anyway, and Cabrera needed a good performance to help secure his job for this year, I think. So, Koronka, he’s never faced Baltimore, but I think he will do well. Miguel Tejada would be the guy to watch. He has eight homeruns, 26 RBIs, and a .423 batting average to boot. Roberts and Hernandez both are hitting .330 and Mora is batting .295, so it isn’t a lack of hitting from these guys for the reason of the 14-14 record. Baltimore has not pitched a shutout this year. The Rangers just did it two nights ago. Sadly, Tampa Bay shut out Baltimore earlier this season. Baltimore has been held to 1 run 5 times already this season. So, actually, offense is a problem. Times when Baltimore and there opponent scores six runs or more: six times. What is Baltimore’s record in those instances? 3-3. How many times has Baltimore’s opponents scored 6 runs or more? 13 times in 28 games… that’s almost 50% of the time. And lastly, how many times has Baltimore been held to less than 6 runs a game? That would be 15. The Rangers will most definitely win this game… and I would sweep the series. Although I am almost hesitant to say so, simply because the last time I said we would sweep, we didn’t. And I hate not being right all the time, at least in predicting wins for the Rangers. I’m OK in being wrong on the loses. Well, as for a score, this will truly be a shot in the dark with Koronka never facing Baltimore before, but I like his chances all the same, so I will guess with a five inning stint for him and a no-decision for Koronka as well as Cabrera… I just see this being a slugfest tonight, with many lead changes and many grabs for the Tums and stress-ball… not sure why: Score – 12-10.
Game 2:
Baltimore at Texas
Kevin Millwood (2-2) vs. Bruce Chen (0-3)
Now, if Tejeda isn’t careful, he may pass Millwood in his next start. Tejeda walked six yesterday against Tampa Bay in his Ranger debut and Millwood only has seven walks this season. “I still think Kevin is a 20 gamer. I am not shying down from that. And this is a game that he will win.” Do I sound like a broken record? Hopefully I just didn’t date myself… but alas, Chen… the dude comes to Arlington with a 7.27 ERA and a WHIP of 1.65. Now, granted, his ERA has come down a little (and I am being for real, it has been a little) over his last two starts, as pretty much every team has plunked him around like he’s throwing batting practice. If Baltimore wants a really good pitcher, maybe they should check out Kirsten Shortridge from Keller… put her in the minors and see what she can do. I would like to see a female player out there pitching. And why not? That Jenny girl in that Pepsi softball challenge a number of years ago wowed me. The infield simply sat down at second base as she struck everyone out she saw. And these were Major League hitters with aluminum bats… what was there excuse? I mean, the ball is bigger, right? So step up or shut up. Kirsten, as a plug for her (never met her, but a big fan), has an ERA of, get this, 0.13 in 160 innings, and 331 strikeouts. Now, that’s over two strikeouts an inning. With there being only three outs an inning, I would say that’s acceptable. Are the guys out there afraid that Kirsten may be better than Bruce? I wouldn’t be ashamed to see Kirsten in a Rangers uniform. I wouldn’t be ashamed at all. In fact, I think it would be pretty darn cool to go out there and see that strange wind up that softball pitchers do… because I just can’t understand it. I’ve seen it on TV and wonder “how do they do that and not fall over”? But I digress. Back to Chen, Rangers RBI% against him is 17.7%. The current hitter’s average is a .323 batting average, which is 20 out of 62. Nevin is 4 for 11. Matthews is 4 for 12. Tex is 3 for 5, including 2 homeruns. Blalock is 1 for 7, but the 1 is a dinger. In fact, of the Rangers 20 hits, 8 are homeruns. So look for the ball to carry in this game for the Rangers. Baltimore also hits Millie pretty good. This good be yet another high scoring game, but the thing I like about Kevin is that he tends to make adjustments, which is what good pitchers do. I think he will give up a few runs and not grab a quality start. His ERA has gone down in each start since the beginning of the season, and that trend will end with this game, but he will walk away with a win in this one. I don’t see him grabbing six innings, either. I may be wrong. Of course, aliens could land at second during the seventh inning stretch… all sorts of things could happen. When you’re predicting the future, there is always a huge margin of error. But I have stats to back me up. And the error is I’m on pain killers that say to not operate heavy machinery such as my brain and here I am anyway. But, alas… the score: Rangers over Baltimore to extent the streak to six: 8-5
Game 1:
Baltimore (14-14) at Texas (15-12)
John Koronka (3-1) vs. Daniel Cabrera (2-2)
Koronka comes in with a 4.25 ERA and Cabrera has a 5.68 ERA. Cabrera has done well against the not-so-good teams, but done, well, how do I put this, horrendous against the good ones. He was tagged for seven runs against Boston in 1 1/3 innings on April 7th and six runs against New York during a 5 inning stint on April 22nd. His other three starts, he has combined for 19 innings giving up only 3 runs. Those teams would be Tampa Bay, the Angels, and the Mariners. And I am sure we would all agree, those three teams are not slated for the playoffs right now and are hands down COLD. So, Cabrera can beat the not-so-good teams. The key to a Cabrera win is the walk. In both of his wins, he gave up only one walk. In his loss to Boston, he walked 7 (and that was in a four out appearance – OUCH!) and in his loss to New York, we walked 5. He also walked 9 in a game to Tampa Bay, but that was a no-decision in which (remarkably) he gave up only one run in five innings. Should he walk nine in five innings against the Rangers, I would think the Rangers would score more than one. Back on July 25th, 2005, Cabrera started a game against Texas; he gave up three runs on three hits, one homerun. He struck out five in five innings. And he walked seven. He had another start several weeks later against the Rangers, this time only going four and two thirds. He walked five and gave up eight runs. But he struck out seven. So, is it worth giving up the win and a bunch of walks just to strike out a few? Maybe for Baltimore it is… but for the Rangers, it’s a good thing. Let Baltimore strike us a few times… let them walk us a bunch and let them let us score. It’s all good. I like Cabrera in a Baltimore uniform. He brings Rangers wins, for the most part. He did beat the Rangers in a game in September last year, but really, the season was over the Rangers at that point anyway, and Cabrera needed a good performance to help secure his job for this year, I think. So, Koronka, he’s never faced Baltimore, but I think he will do well. Miguel Tejada would be the guy to watch. He has eight homeruns, 26 RBIs, and a .423 batting average to boot. Roberts and Hernandez both are hitting .330 and Mora is batting .295, so it isn’t a lack of hitting from these guys for the reason of the 14-14 record. Baltimore has not pitched a shutout this year. The Rangers just did it two nights ago. Sadly, Tampa Bay shut out Baltimore earlier this season. Baltimore has been held to 1 run 5 times already this season. So, actually, offense is a problem. Times when Baltimore and there opponent scores six runs or more: six times. What is Baltimore’s record in those instances? 3-3. How many times has Baltimore’s opponents scored 6 runs or more? 13 times in 28 games… that’s almost 50% of the time. And lastly, how many times has Baltimore been held to less than 6 runs a game? That would be 15. The Rangers will most definitely win this game… and I would sweep the series. Although I am almost hesitant to say so, simply because the last time I said we would sweep, we didn’t. And I hate not being right all the time, at least in predicting wins for the Rangers. I’m OK in being wrong on the loses. Well, as for a score, this will truly be a shot in the dark with Koronka never facing Baltimore before, but I like his chances all the same, so I will guess with a five inning stint for him and a no-decision for Koronka as well as Cabrera… I just see this being a slugfest tonight, with many lead changes and many grabs for the Tums and stress-ball… not sure why: Score – 12-10.
Game 2:
Baltimore at Texas
Kevin Millwood (2-2) vs. Bruce Chen (0-3)
Now, if Tejeda isn’t careful, he may pass Millwood in his next start. Tejeda walked six yesterday against Tampa Bay in his Ranger debut and Millwood only has seven walks this season. “I still think Kevin is a 20 gamer. I am not shying down from that. And this is a game that he will win.” Do I sound like a broken record? Hopefully I just didn’t date myself… but alas, Chen… the dude comes to Arlington with a 7.27 ERA and a WHIP of 1.65. Now, granted, his ERA has come down a little (and I am being for real, it has been a little) over his last two starts, as pretty much every team has plunked him around like he’s throwing batting practice. If Baltimore wants a really good pitcher, maybe they should check out Kirsten Shortridge from Keller… put her in the minors and see what she can do. I would like to see a female player out there pitching. And why not? That Jenny girl in that Pepsi softball challenge a number of years ago wowed me. The infield simply sat down at second base as she struck everyone out she saw. And these were Major League hitters with aluminum bats… what was there excuse? I mean, the ball is bigger, right? So step up or shut up. Kirsten, as a plug for her (never met her, but a big fan), has an ERA of, get this, 0.13 in 160 innings, and 331 strikeouts. Now, that’s over two strikeouts an inning. With there being only three outs an inning, I would say that’s acceptable. Are the guys out there afraid that Kirsten may be better than Bruce? I wouldn’t be ashamed to see Kirsten in a Rangers uniform. I wouldn’t be ashamed at all. In fact, I think it would be pretty darn cool to go out there and see that strange wind up that softball pitchers do… because I just can’t understand it. I’ve seen it on TV and wonder “how do they do that and not fall over”? But I digress. Back to Chen, Rangers RBI% against him is 17.7%. The current hitter’s average is a .323 batting average, which is 20 out of 62. Nevin is 4 for 11. Matthews is 4 for 12. Tex is 3 for 5, including 2 homeruns. Blalock is 1 for 7, but the 1 is a dinger. In fact, of the Rangers 20 hits, 8 are homeruns. So look for the ball to carry in this game for the Rangers. Baltimore also hits Millie pretty good. This good be yet another high scoring game, but the thing I like about Kevin is that he tends to make adjustments, which is what good pitchers do. I think he will give up a few runs and not grab a quality start. His ERA has gone down in each start since the beginning of the season, and that trend will end with this game, but he will walk away with a win in this one. I don’t see him grabbing six innings, either. I may be wrong. Of course, aliens could land at second during the seventh inning stretch… all sorts of things could happen. When you’re predicting the future, there is always a huge margin of error. But I have stats to back me up. And the error is I’m on pain killers that say to not operate heavy machinery such as my brain and here I am anyway. But, alas… the score: Rangers over Baltimore to extent the streak to six: 8-5
2 Random Thoughts:
Well, golly gee, Koronka is in the seventh inning and it's tied 1-1... not even 9 PM central time yet. Strange. But at least I have my degree.
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, it's still 1 to 1 in the top of the ninth!
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