C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland will start the first two games of the ALCS for the Rangers, with Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison slated for Games 3 and 4 at Comerica Park. Here's the latest from not only the Rangers, but the entire AL West….
- Opposing scouts predict the Rangers will win the bidding for Yu Darvish, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Several teams, including some of the biggest markets in the game, have been rumored to be pursuing Darvish this winter. Nightengale's scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict "stardom" for Darvish if he jumps to the majors.
- Mariners minority owner Chris Larson has seen his personal fortune "largely depleted" by the recession and a divorce from his wife, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Larson is the Mariners' largest minority owner, with a stake of 30.63% of the club, and Baker wonders if Larson's financial troubles will affect the team's payroll or force him to sell part of his ownership share.
- The criticism from Angels fans about Jeff Mathis' poor hitting "has become an emotional drain" for Mathis, opines MLB.com's Lyle Spencer, who thinks the catcher would "settle in and be a fine total player" elsewhere. Also as part of this mailbag piece, Spencer speculates about two outside-the-box candidates (Bud Black and Joe Maddon) with Angels ties as LAA's next general manager.
- The Athletics are expected to pursue Mike Aldrete as the club's new hitting coach, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee. The A's can't officially talk to Aldrete, the Cardinals' assistant hitting coach, until St. Louis has been eliminated from postseason play.
Joe Maddon as a GM? Could you imagine that? Travel day! The entire Angels organization has dressed up like robots!!
I didn’t see CJ Wilson’s name in the beginning, so I thought it just said Holland was going to start the first two games. I thought: “I know he’s good, but I didn’t think he was THAT good.”
So, if we get Darvish, can we still sign other free agents?
Nope. Limit one per customer.
Mathis couldn’t hit before the fans started hating him. That’s WHY they started hating them. So I don’t really care about this “emotional drain” crap, he needs to just be better at what he does.
Real mature man, bringing a guy down bc he cant figure out mlb pitching… Well at least hes Better then you hes in the Majors!!! So sit in your chair and comment on how “poorly” he hits. and im going to laugh in your face when he leaves town and pulls a Mike Napoi(sp?) on you. Good luck Mathis, a change of scenery might help, or a better hitting coach!
Are you high?
Terry Tiffee can also hit better than at least 95% of the people who post on this forum… I still wouldn’t want to see him on my team.
Pulls a Mike Napoli?
AAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH…
He is probably not even a good Double A hitter but it doesn’t matter since that’s not his game. His game is supposedly his “great” defense which I don’t think is all that great or even good.
Are you the one that convinced Coletti to sign Eugeni0?
I think I hate you…
“Nightengale’s scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict “stardom” for Darvish”
as they did with daisuke “four plus-to-plus-plus pitches” matsuzaka
not saying it’s impossible, not doubting darvish’s talent, not saying they’re the same. but we’ve had scouts rave like this before. what i’d be really interested in is a scout’s breakdown of 2011 darvish v. 2006 matsuzaka and why, specifically, he/they are confident he’ll turn out differently
“scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict ‘stardom for Brien Tayor”
“scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict ‘stardom for Todd Van Poppel”
“scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict ‘stardom for Delmon Young”
I’d say the Yankees win Darvish plus keep Sabathia. They have the greatest need as we just saw… and are especially looking to get a lot younger in the rotation to compensate for their aging lineup… (the Albatross Rodriguez and Jeter extensions are going to be brutal, especially Arod; 10yrs $300million? what were they thinking???)
CC Sabathia
Darvish
Nova
Hughes (until Banuelos is ready. Then he moves to the pen)
Burnett
I could live with that.
Yankee fans always think they’re entitled to everyone…
Never said they were entitled to anyone. I just think they’re desperate & mad enough to win on Darvish. They’re certainly not going to go the Garcia/Colon patchwork route again.
With as good as Garcia and Colon have done this year why wouldn’t they give at least one of them another short deal (1 year)?
…because they can have yu darvish!
The yankees havent been great with getting players from the Far East
Unless you count that Matsui character.
They can also have Igawa!
The Yankees weren’t the only team in on Igawa. They just happened to have the misfortune of being able to win the posting.
No, but if they want him they will offer him the most money!
Sure you can have Darvish, or, Dice-K Mach II.
Mathis? A fine total player? Not sure if trolling.
Bring Pujols with you aldrete!
Y’all need your own ballpark.
Build it, and they will come..
If Mathis read everything Lyle Spencer wrote about him he’d think he’s the next Joe Mauer. Lyle’s nose is so brown it’s quite amazing he’s still able to breathe.
So Nightengale’s scout sources say that Darvish will unequivocally be an MLB star, yet he’s writing for a newspaper and not working in the MLB. Kinda says something about his reputation, and looking at the track record of Japanese pitchers who make the transition to the MLB, it kinda says I should laugh.
Should also mention that Kuroda is probably the only successful Japanese SP ever in the MLB, but if someone can find another for me, I’d like to be proven wrong (seriously).
Hideo Nomo.
you kno i keep seeing that Wilson might be going here or there, but how come i don’t see much talks from texas writers or others giving signs that he would sign back with the rangers. Why wouldn’t they spend some of the money they were willing to give to Lee to him. I feel like he has deserved it. Just makes me wonder that a team will win the bid on an unproven talent when they have their ace they can give that money to?
That’s cause Texas writers have no speculation about things. They know CJ will be back in Arlington next season.
Because Texas writers are too busy writing about a team that is still alive & well in the playoffs.
Lyle Spencer has such a man crush on Jeff Mathis. It’s comical the stuff he writes.
Look – most Angel fans were pretty excited about Mathis 5 years ago. By now we all realize that he was a super over-hyped prospect that will never amount to more than being a back-up catcher.
Angels can now possibly get better since Reagins left. Maybe they’ll come into their senses and realize you need a somewhat productive catcher.
Lyle Spencer is the worst writer in all of baseball. Why do you link to that hack?
So we can laugh maybe? 😛
Mathis being emotional? Are you serious? The fans stood and waited to see Mathis wake that bat up and he never did.. this isn’t on the fans this is on the player..Like a quote says don’t hate the game..(and the game is everything everyone plus the fans)…. Hate the player…and whoever gets that Darvish guy DAYUM he gona be scary hope it ain’t Rangers
Eugeni0 Velez, 2011 season:
PCL – .339/.371/.463 31 RBI
MLB – .000/.075/.000 1 RBI
jeff mathis hit .195/.219/.278 in 2010
and then he got worse
pretty impressive, but it was only 40 PA. mathis had almost 300 this year, 220 last year, and more than 1300 in his MLB career without ever breaking a .273 wOBA
he is the worst thing that’s ever happened in a batter’s box
Fair enough. I’m just trying to milk this Eugeni0 thing for all it’s worth.