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Jon Daniels, Talking Rangers Baseball

By Drew Silva [June 23, 2009 at 9:03pm CST]

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com gathered a few hot stove-related nuggets from Rangers general manager Jon Daniels on Tuesday afternoon. Let's dig in...

Daniels thinks there won't be enough "sellers" by the time the July 31 trade deadline rolls around. "There are just not that many teams decidedly looking to move players," he said. "There are very few teams that are not within striking distance."
The Texas GM acknowledged that a scout was present for Pedro Martinez's workout in the Dominican Republic last week, but the 37-year-old right-hander's contract demands are currently too high.
In the end, grabbing a starting pitcher is probably going to be too costly, both in salary and prospects. (Or just salary, if we're talking about free agent Ben Sheets).
"Relief is more realistic," Daniels concluded.

Comments

I wonder how far behind the Angels Texas will drop before they figure out that having all those catchers and no pitching isn't going to get the job done.

Posted by: Little Bear | June 23, 2009 at 10:02 PM

News flash, wiseguy... The pitching hasn't been the reason the Rangers have been losing games lately...

Posted by: N41D | June 23, 2009 at 10:19 PM

N41D,

Don't worry, there are more than 100 games left for the pitching to implode, which it will. Starting tonight.

Posted by: kinsler5 | June 23, 2009 at 10:31 PM

The pitching hasn't been any better or worse than it was last season... The defensive improvement is the ENTIRE reason it has been as good as it has been this year...

Am I supposed to expect that to implode?

Posted by: N41D | June 23, 2009 at 10:40 PM

True the hitting has slowed down, but don't be fooled about the pitching. Earler this year, the Rangers' staff was among the top 3 or 4 in the AL. Now, they have crept down to 8th.

Hitting comes and goes, but good pitching makes offensive slumps salvageable....

Posted by: notin | June 23, 2009 at 10:44 PM

really, I am not going to start the catcher mess again myself, but just how is Texas going to hold off Anaheim? The Angels terrific starters are going to get better. You can't expect Lackey, Santanna and Saunders to continue to pitch that poorly. Those are proven top notch starters, not just innings eat eater #4-5 starters, or unproven rookies and you know the Angels will make a move to replace Shields. A 1 game lead will not hold up with that top staff they have.

Posted by: johns | June 23, 2009 at 11:13 PM

"I wonder how far behind the Angels Texas will drop before they figure out that having all those catchers and no pitching isn't going to get the job done."

You can just hear the bitterness of a Red Sox fan there.

Posted by: Boomer | June 24, 2009 at 01:15 AM

"I wonder how far behind the Angels Texas will drop before they figure out that having all those catchers and no pitching isn't going to get the job done."

"You can just hear the bitterness of a Red Sox fan there."

LOL, No bitterness, honestly. 'tek is doing decent, just do a comparison to the Rangers catchers for yourself. I meant what posted regarding the staff that they have and what they intend to do to maybe improve it if they are going to win the division. The wild card is out, that will come from the AL East, that is a given, so some kind of starter, plus *maybe* a reliever upgrade seems to be needed to keep the Angels at bay. The offense will certainly come around, they will kill the Angels head to head with the bats, just like Anaheim's pitching, the Ranger's offense will pick back up and Hamilton will be back for a super boost.

Like have been posting before and not going to get into the Rangers/Sox non catcher trade.. The Sox have the catching situation handled internally now, just another year, maybe 1 1/2 away tops. They already promoted 1 and a chain reaction will probably follow for the one at AA when Brown is demoted from the Sox MLB roster and Smoltzie is activated Thursday.

Posted by: johns | June 24, 2009 at 01:55 AM

Boomer,

Isn't trading away one of the catchers, like maybe Ramirez to somebody probably the best chip the Rangers have to try and get another starter?

I realize your post was not directed at me, but just analyzing what the Rangers have an abundance of, wouldn't he be the best chip they have and what they could use to acquire something? I really do not know what else they could package him with to go after a top starter that may be available, like a Peavy when he comes back and *IF* he would ok a trade, but someone like peavy would seem to be well worth one of the fine young catchers, plus at least 1 other really top prospect for an established ace.

Posted by: johns | June 24, 2009 at 02:06 AM

"really, I am not going to start the catcher mess again myself, but just how is Texas going to hold off Anaheim? The Angels terrific starters are going to get better. You can't expect Lackey, Santanna and Saunders to continue to pitch that poorly. Those are proven top notch starters, not just innings eat eater #4-5 starters, or unproven rookies and you know the Angels will make a move to replace Shields. A 1 game lead will not hold up with that top staff they have."

The thing is the Ranger's plan was not to win this year, it's just been an unlikely break in their favor. Their plan was develop their top farm system and continue building for the future. Now the Angel's have had almost their whole rotation go down and are deciding to make an attempt at winning or keep the original plan. All annalists in Texas believe that they will stand pat and build upon this year with their prospects.

Posted by: Boomer | June 24, 2009 at 02:54 AM

"The thing is the Ranger's plan was not to win this year, it's just been an unlikely break in their favor."

I understand that also, it's just that 40% through the schedule everything has gone pretty well for the Rangers and there is maybe a 50% chance that they could actually make the playoffs as the NL West champs with a little pitching upgrade.

It just depends on how much a possible playoff chance is worth is it. It's been 10 years since they have been to the playoffs and just how much would it be worth to get back as far as marketing for next year, media, etc.. The price of a prospect or 2 sometimes is the cost.

I can tell you of some Sox horror stories for the playoffs.. Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell, Freddy Sanchez for Jeff Suppan, Adam Everett for Carl Everett and all were partial season rentals for aging vets for future stars. Sometimes the cost of getting to the playoffs really eats you up in the long run, but it does get you into the playoffs year after year with a strong farm system and the Rangers seem to have one now as well.

Posted by: johns | June 24, 2009 at 06:50 AM

"The thing is the Ranger's plan was not to win this year, it's just been an unlikely break in their favor. Their plan was develop their top farm system and continue building for the future. Now the Angel's have had almost their whole rotation go down and are deciding to make an attempt at winning or keep the original plan. All annalists in Texas believe that they will stand pat and build upon this year with their prospects."

Matt Bush says hello.

Posted by: carini26 | June 24, 2009 at 08:53 AM

Everything has gone well for the Rangers?

Rangers have dealt with injuries such as MVP caliber Hamilton, the best closer this year, having guys like Davis bat under .200, injuries to starters, and etc.

If anything, the Rangers have a lot of room to grow too when Francisco, Hamilton, Davis, BMac and other starters come back.

Posted by: coolbean04 | June 24, 2009 at 08:53 AM

Texas is over its head, and they have too many guys with long swings. They really need to demote Chris Davis asap. Problem is - other than Smoak, they don't have any other options in the minors at first, and it might be a stretch to have him jump all the way from AA to Arlington.

They need to see if they can rid themselves of Blalock, and now might be the time to trade Salty for a young pitcher.

The good news is that Hamilton will eventually be back.

Pitching will be okay - they have a few guys in AAA who are probably ready to contribute this year, one of them is Neftali Feliz.

But they need to reshuffle the roster on offense.

Posted by: J the Dizzolla | June 24, 2009 at 09:25 AM

"Rangers have dealt with injuries such as MVP caliber Hamilton, the best closer this year, having guys like Davis bat under .200, injuries to starters, and etc."

You also have to figure the Angels rotation is getting healthier and healthier each game also, as I wrote at the top. That pretty much neutralizes the Rangers injuries returning pitcher wise and yeah, I also mentioned super masher Hamilton and the Rangers can out bash Anaheim any day.

The Rangers pitching just seems like it may need something to get them over the top. Like I wrote, they are THIS CLOSE, why not? It's been 10 years since have been to the playoffs and if the Angels go out and get a BP arm or 2 that are far cheaper to acquire than starters, they will be in excellent shape, their offense is not a bashing one, but speed and defense and entirely different. if that rotation gets rolling and a few game lead it will be very hard to catch.

Posted by: johns | June 24, 2009 at 09:42 AM

"Texas is over its head, and they have too many guys with long swings. They really need to demote Chris Davis asap. Problem is - other than Smoak, they don't have any other options in the minors at first, and it might be a stretch to have him jump all the way from AA to Arlington.

They need to see if they can rid themselves of Blalock, and now might be the time to trade Salty for a young pitcher.

The good news is that Hamilton will eventually be back.

Pitching will be okay - they have a few guys in AAA who are probably ready to contribute this year, one of them is Neftali Feliz.

But they need to reshuffle the roster on offense."

Smoak was hurt for a month and just started a rehab assignment in their rookie league. He was mashing AA before the injury, but this injury has probably set him back to a 2010 debut, unless he quickly recovers and is called up in September.

But beyond Smoak and Feliz, the Rangers top guys are really young and will not contribute for some time.

Posted by: carini26 | June 24, 2009 at 09:44 AM

"You also have to figure the Angels rotation is getting healthier and healthier each game also, as I wrote at the top. That pretty much neutralizes the Rangers injuries returning pitcher wise and yeah, I also mentioned super masher Hamilton and the Rangers can out bash Anaheim any day."

Santana just went back to the DL, as did Escobar, and they've lost Shields for the season. Add this plus Lackey has been nothing short of crap so far, and the Angels are extremely vulernable.

Their offense is as also as bad as it's ever been since winning the WS in '02. This is not a very good Angels team right now.

I realize the Rangers are not really in a position to add payroll, but they could call up Feliz and have him serve in a similar Price '08 role. Holland pitched well in his last start too... I realize this is just one start, but he has the stuff to be an everyday No. 2 starter in the bigs.

These guys are not far from being a legit WS contender and a healthy Hamilton will make them better. They still need one more good arm to make a serious run, but I think Daniels has a team in place that can make a run. We've seen crazier things (Cards in '06).

Posted by: carini26 | June 24, 2009 at 10:11 AM

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Jon Daniels, Talking Rangers Baseball

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