Cowboys Suck Right Now

Cowboys are in so much trouble. Tony Romo had an entire summer to work on this chemistry thing with his receivers. Reports said he and Roy Williams were staying extra late after practice to work on timing and such.

Apparently that timing wasn't enough. Romo is still throwing passes right as his receivers cut left. Could that be a fault of the receivers? Sure. But I highly doubt that Sam Hurd, Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton are all screwing up the route the same way. Seems more likely that one guy, Romo, is screwing things up. Romo is the only constant in passing routes and so blame should fall on him at the moment.

Makes you miss Terrell Owens, doesn't it? T.O. is equally frustrated in Buffalo where Trent Edwards doesn't seem to know what he's doing and has the arm strength of a middle schooler.

Like him or not, T.O. and Romo were always on the same page when it came to routes. Looks like all the critics were correct in their assumption that Romo wasn't a top tier quarterback, because he's been awful this year.

Hopefully these routes will start syncing up soon, otherwise Dallas is looking at a 7-9 season.

Also, now that the Rangers have closed up, here's a little taste of the season...a tribute I made while I was insanely bored. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0r1kauYbY

Looking to 2010

I don't even want to bother trying to make an argument for the Rangers the rest of the year. Time to look towards the off season and what needs to be done to get better.

Here's a list of things I think need to happen.

* Nelson Cruz, as much as I loved what he's done for us, needs to go. He's been solid in the outfield and he's provided pop at the plate, but there's a log-jam in the outfield and he has an easy to move contract. Plus, it's always a red flag when a player suddenly breaks out at the age of 29. He'll be 30 before the middle of next year and it's completely possible that this will be the best year of his career. Trade him to an offensively starved team like the Giants for Reliever Sergio Romo and Third Base prospect Conor Gillaspie.

* Time to bring back Milton Bradley. Bradley will be available now that he's been sent home by the Cubs for the rest of the year, and the rumor (Per Peter Gammons) is that if the Cubs trade him, they'd be willing to eat a lot of his contract. Money wouldn't be an issue for the Rangers in this instance and they could bring back a bat and a passion that they have sorely missed. Maybe swap one of your catchers and a mid level pitching prospect.

* Something I mentioned about a month ago...trade one of your catchers. I was leaning towards Salty last month, but now I don't know. Either way, Teagarden or Saltalamacchia needs to be traded away and Pudge should be re-signed to split time and be a veteran presence. I think if one gets moved, it may be Tea at this point.

* Let Millwood go. Just let him go...

* With Andruw Jones gone and Omar Vizquel likely to retire, you need to bring in two utility players. Jerry Hairston Jr and Craig Counsell would be two guys that you could play just about anywhere.

* Sign Joe Beimel to be a lefty arm out of the bullpen and Ben Sheets to be apart of your rotation. Sheets' rehab has been quiet, but the feeling is that he will eventually be a Texas Ranger.

* Move Neftali Feliz to the rotation.

* Use all of the coaching staff's hours during the off season to fix two things. 1) Ian Kinsler's uppercut swing...fix the hitch that's making him pop everything up. In 08 he was a line drive hitter who could also hit with some power. In 09, he's just hacking for the fences. 2) Work on fixing Julio Borbon's arm strength. He's too quick and covers too much ground to be a DH. His weak arm makes him a liability in the outfield though, so work hard to make his throwing arm stronger.

* Let Smoak start the year with the big league club.

The Rangers should then bat the lineup like so...

Julio Borbon - LF
Elvis Andrus - SS
Michael Young - 3B
Josh Hamilton - CF
Milton Bradley - RF
Ian Kinsler - 2B
Chris Davis - 1B/DH
Justin Smoak - DH/1B
Pudge/Salty - C

BENCH

David Murphy
Jerry Hairston
Craig Counsell

ROTATION

Scott Feldman
Ben Sheets
Tommy Hunter
Derek Holland
Neftali Feliz

BULLPEN

Dustin Nippert or Brandon McCarthy - Long Reliever
Jason Grilli - Middle Reliever
Sergio Romo - Middle Reliever
Joe Beimel - Middle Reliever
Darren O'Day - Middle Reliever/Setup
CJ Wilson - Setup
Frank Francisco - Closer

Now, the lineup and the reasons for setting it that way.

Borbon and Andrus have to be at the top. Andrus has hit around .290, .295 since the All-Star break. Borbon has shown flashes of being a .315 or so hitter. Two guys who get on base a lot and immediately get in the pitcher's head with their speed. This would start a lot of games with two on, no one out, speed on the bases and the team's best hitter coming up.

Having Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and Ian Kinsler hitting in consecutive order sets up the team like it did in 08...pitchers can't pitch around any of them. The problem with this year's lineup has been that in between Hamilton and Cruz, was someone like Byrd. Solid hitter, but someone you can pitch too and then throw garbage to the big guns. You can't throw garbage to four hitters in a row.

Davis has his plate issues, Smoak would be a rookie, and our Catcher's aren't the best hitters, but those three at the bottom of the order are solid for their placing.

As for the rotation, if Sheets is healthy, the rotation sets up really nicely. Feldman has shown signs of brilliance, Hunter showed a lot of growth, we've seen Feliz's dominance, and Holland has shown flashes as well. I think Dutch is just going through his rookie lumps like Hunter did in 08. I expect him to be much better in 2010.

So how would you set the lineup? What moves would you make? Leave a comment in the little box below!

Cowboys thoughts coming soon...

All That Needs To Be Said About Sunday's Meltdown

Maybe CJ shouldn't pitch without rest...

CJ Wilson's Stats When Pitching With No Rest

IP: 12
ER: 16
ERA: 12.00
W-L: 0-5
SV: 4/6

CJ Wilson's Stats With Rest

IP: 48
ER: 6
ERA: 1.12
W-L: 4-1
SV: 12/14

OH! So THAT'S What Strike 3 Looks Like.

Irresponsible. Outside of being a Texas Rangers fan, I have to say it's irresponsible for an umpire to call a batter out on that pitch in a 3-2 baseball game. Chris Davis did not strike out last night.

I always hear outsiders of a team where something like that happens say something to the effect of "Well, it they wouldn't have done 'A' then 'B' at the end wouldn't have mattered, so it's your own fault."

Wrong. Missed opportunities earlier in the game is no excuse for a Triple-A umpire up to the big leagues ending a close ball game on what is at best a borderline call and in all reality was ball four. So frustrating.

Tommy Hunter had a rough first inning. The Twins hit the ball hard off of him and scored 3 runs, but he held them to 3 hits and no runs for the next 6. Disappointing that he had to come out on the losing end. Coming in after him was prospect Pedro Strop who looked really good. Struck out Mauer, popped up Morneau and got Kubel to ground out. That's Minnesota's three best hitters right there.

Strop showed a nasty splitter when he got Mauer to strike out. Hopefully he can pitch just half as good as he did the rest of the way...it would go a long way to taking pressure off of Neftali Feliz.

I'm still frustrated with the bats right now. Outside of Young, no one has been consistent. Josh has hit the ball well this month, but he's having a major power outage. 2 home runs in the last two months.

Scotty Feldman is on the hump tonight. Texas could really use six or seven innings from Scott tonight.

Other notes: Tommy Mendonca has been promoted to High-A Bakersfield. Mendonca, a Chris Davis clone if I ever saw one, was shredding pitchers at Spokane, but also struck out at a ridiculous rate. Hopefully he can remedy the swiss cheese in his swing. Still, it's encouraging that the Rangers would think highly enough of him to promote him after only 49 professional games.

Brandon McCarthy pitched well at OKC on Thursday. 6 innings, 2 hits, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. Nippert and McCarthy should be the two pitchers going for the Rangers in the double-header against Toronto, and it may be a significant test to see who will take hold of the fifth spot in the rotation. Nippert has struggled of late, so BMac may come in and take his rotation spot back after being out since May with a fracture in his shoulder.

Also, Justin Smoak finally homered again for OKC. His combined numbers at all minor league levels this year are .289 avg, .410 OBP, 12 HR, 21 2B, 57 RBI. Averaged out to a 162 game schedule and his numbers are .289/.410/18HR/32 2B/88 RBI. Not a bad year for Smoak. You'd certainly take that every year if he could produce it at the major league level, but the great thing about Smoak is that he projects to be even better than that.

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

What a terrifying victory for the Rangers on Tuesday night. An odd thing to say for sure, but it's the only thing to say. Flat out, the Texas Rangers are lucky to have won last night's game by the 10-9 final that they did.

To be perfectly honest, the game reminded me of this one we played against the Angels in May.

http://sportsbydallas.blogspot.com/2009/05/and-hits-just-keep-on-coming.html

With what seemed like a sure 10-5 lead, the Rangers came into the 9th with Jason Grilli pitching to get some work in now that he's off the DL. Grilli gave up a walk and a single and was quickly pulled in favor of Frank Francisco.

Of course, thanks to my jinx having posted yesterday that Frankie hadn't walked anyone since July 10th, he walks A-Rod to load the bases with no one out. Matsui singles, one run scores. Bases still loaded and no one out. 10-6. Next batter is Jorge Posada who in his career is 0-9 against Frankie...until tonight. Fluky little infield single scores Tex from third and loads the bases again. No one out, 10-7 the score now. Robinson Cano now up...as the game winning run. Cano, of course, hits a weak single that score two.

Texas is now faced with runners on first and second, no one out, in a 10-9 ball game. Nick Swisher comes up and is bunting. I know why Girardi made the call, but I disagree with it. With no one out, I think you have to let Swisher swing there. Swisher fails on the bunt attempt, popping it up and out. Runners stay put, but Texas is still faced with thy tying run in scoring position and Melkey Cabrera coming up. Melkey lines out to Elvis Andrus, who quickly scampers to second and steps on the bag just ahead of pinch-runner Jerry Hairston's dive. Double play to end the game.

Texas really got lucky here. I'm starting to wonder if maybe Neftali Feliz should take over closer duties for now. Bottom line, Feliz is the most dominant pitcher the Rangers have right now.

The second most dominant pitcher the Rangers have right now is Derek Holland. He'll be on the mound for Texas tonight against Andy Pettite. Texas looks to clinch a series win with a victory tonight. Texas HAS to take two out of three and could really use a sweep in this series.

Couple awesome notes from yesterday's game...Josh Hamilton had four hits...Michael Young went 2-5 with another home run and three RBI...9 of Texas' 10 runs came with two outs and each time the rally started with 2 out and no one on.

Pitching has to be a concern for Texas right now. They've been rocked around a little bit the last couple weeks. Hopefully Holland and Hunter can end that trend these next two nights.

Also, finally, random thought that has been bugging me. After seeing Kinsler getting plunked on a regular basis, I'm really starting to feel like Texas would be well served to charge next time that happens. You don't want to do it, but there comes a point where the club needs to stick up for Kinsler. The next time he gets hit, I say you either charge the mound or drill the opposing team's best player with a Feliz fastball. Either way...Texas needs to back it's All-Star second baseman.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers...

Josh Hamilton in the month of August is hitting .345 with 9 extra base hits and 12 RBI...

Ian Kinsler is averaging a home run every 11 at-bats since coming off the DL and his OBP is .400...

Derek Holland is 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA since the All-Star Break...

More specifically, since being rocked by the Royals on July 25th, Derek Holland is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched...

Elvis Andrus while also playing superb defense is hitting .292 since the All-Star break which is 30 points higher than the league average for starting shortstops...

Frank Francisco hasn't walked a batter since July 10...

Darren O'Day hasn't allowed a home run in two months...

Josh Hamilton is hitting .320 on the road for the year...

Right handed batters are 1 for 23 with 11 strikeouts and 0 extra base hits or RBIs against Neftal Feliz...

Marlon Byrd is hitting .337 when batting clean up...

Michael Young is on pace to hit .329 with 46 doubles, 28 home runs and 83 RBI...

Batters are 0-12 against Kevin Millwood this year with the bases loaded...

Scott Feldman on the road this year is 9-1 with a 3.15 ERA...

Since joining the starting rotation for good in June, Tommy Hunter is 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA and a .214 opponents batting average...

When hitting leadoff this year, Julio Borbon is batting .468 with 9 runs scored and 6 RBI and a .514 OBP...

Ian Kinsler is hitting .309 with runners in scoring position this year...

Since July 20th, Michael Young is hitting .389 with 26 RBI and 19 extra base hits...

Texas Should (And Ultimately Will) Trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia

I know a lot of people who are afraid to even entertain the idea of letting Jarrod Saltalamacchia go. He's had such great potential and was the supposed center piece of the most lopsided trade that Texas has ever pulled off.

When rising through Atlanta's minor league ranks, he was projected by many scouts as a decent defensive catcher with a big bat. A 30 home run, 100 RBI, .290 hitter seemed to be the consensus projection for Salty. Numbers like that from a SWITCH-HITTING Catcher would make any team go ga-ga, and it's why he was the big chip in the Teixeira trade.

Before I go on with why Saltalamacchia should be traded and why I think the Rangers have already made up their mind on it, let me pass along some notes that go hand in hand with this theory.

August 14th...Jarrod Saltalamacchia is pulled from a game against the Boston Red Sox in the 4th inning with more numbness in his arm.

August 15th...Saltalamacchia is put on the disabled list, Jon Daniels is quoted as saying the Rangers would "explore possible trade options in an effort to upgrade the catching situation"

August 18th...Pudge Rodriguez, all time fan favorite and still a solid catcher, is traded to the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers. Upon arrival, Pudge is quoted as saying "This would be a great place to finish my career. I'm very excited to be back." as well as saying "Physically and mentally, I feel great. I want to play two or three more years."

Just down the hall in the Rangers clubhouse, Taylor Teagarden tells the media "I grew up watching and he was my idol. I've got the opportunity of a lifetime"

Pudge brings out the lineup card and the crowd goes wild. Pudge appears to feel right at home and the crowd is loving him.

August 19th...Pudge returns to the Rangers lineup and goes 3-4 with two singles, an RBI double and a run scored.

Back to today. I think at this point in time it's clear that the better all-around baseball player between Texas' two young catchers is Taylor Teagarden. I'm not saying Salty can't be better, but RIGHT NOW, it's Teagarden. While Salty has improved his defense, Teagarden is still a vastly better defensive Catcher and calls a better game. Salty's appeal has always been his offense though, so it would be excusable if he had shown that he was a much better offensive player...I haven't seen it yet.

For 2009...

Walks/Plate Appearance

Salty: 22/302 (7.2%)
Tea: 13/145 (8.9%)

Strikeouts/Plate Appearance

Salty: 96/302 (31.7%)
Tea: 47/145 (32.4%)

RBIs (162 Game Average)

Salty: 66
Tea: 81

HRs (162 Game Average)

Salty: 17
Tea: 20

So at this point in time, Teagarden is showing more patience and more pop at the plate than Salty is. The only thing Saltalamacchia really had Taylor soundly beat on is batting average. Looking at the numbers above, logic would seem to say that Taylor Teagarden could use much of the off season to work on his swing and should be able to catch up to Salty by the beginning of next year (In contact that is...Tea has already caught and passed Salty in everything else)

Right now, I think the Rangers focus for the future has to be Taylor Teagarden. Now, about now, you may be saying "Fine...let Taylor be the main guy. Why do we have to trade Salty?"

A number of reasons.

Remember the quotes above from Pudge Rodriguez? He says that he wants to finish things off in Texas. He also says he wants to play two or three more years. By connecting the obvious dots, Pudge wants an extension from Texas at the end of the year.

"OK, but why does Pudge's desire to have an extension trump Salty's youth and potential?"

The focus is Taylor Teagarden. As I quoted above, Taylor is pumped to have Pudge here. Taylor can be the youth and future, with Pudge the veteran that can show him the ropes. And who better to learn the Catcher position from than Pudge? Especially when it's the player you grew up idolizing?

"But Catcher is a premium position"

Exactly why Salty has to go. He hasn't shown any signs over the last three years of being the bat everyone thought he was going to be, and the bat was the reason everyone wanted him. If the bat isn't there, you're left with a good, but not great defensive Catcher who can't hit from either side of the plate.

Look...the Rangers have brought home Pudge to finish his career like they should have, but Pudge has shown signs this year of being able to play an extra season or two and he's expressed a willingness to be a backup. With Taylor as the future, and Pudge being his tutor...the position becomes a little crowded with Salty seemingly standing around and doing nothing.

Jon Daniels is never afraid to make a big move. That's why I think you'll see Salty and Scott Feldman along with a minor leaguer packaged away for another solid starting pitcher or a power outfielder. Why Feldman? Well...while Feldman has been excellent this year, realistically people need to recognize when someone's having a career year...that's Feldman. Feldman and Salty's value are probably as high as they're going to be for the rest of their careers (With Salty, his value days are past his peak, so it's only going down from here)

I don't want to make the same mistake with Jarrod Saltalamacchia that we did with Ruben Mateo in the 90s/00s. You can't hold on to potential forever, and I'm afraid that's a wall we've run into with Saltalamacchia.

To be absolutely clear, let me state...by April of next year, Jarrod Saltalamacchia will no longer be a Texas Ranger.