Rangers 2014

[BP]

Neal Cotts was claimed by someone yesterday, probably the Tigers or Royals. He's pretty valuable this late in the season.

[Lone Sailor]

He hasn't been the cyborg that he was last year.

[BP]

He hasn't been the cyborg that he was last year.

True but he's still an effective late inning lefty. The Darren Oliver factor is in play.

[mustang_marc]

Rangers just shipped Geovany Soto to the Athletics for cash. I'm not disappointed he's gone.

[mstng86]

Rangers just shipped Geovany Soto to the Athletics for cash. I'm not disappointed he's gone.

Why would anyone pay for that guy at this point?

[Lone Sailor]

Rangers just shipped Geovany Soto to the Athletics for cash. I'm not disappointed he's gone.

[Slowhand]

Rangers just shipped Geovany Soto to the Athletics for cash. I'm not disappointed he's gone.

Excited to see Telis play up here, he's been lighting AAA up.

[BP]

Why would anyone pay for that guy at this point?

Jaso had a concussion and is out for a week. Soto calls a good game when he's sober and has an above average bat for a catcher.

[mustang_marc]

Jaso had a concussion and is out for a week. Soto calls a good game when he's sober and has an above average bat for a catcher.

If you consider a .230 BA 'above average" then I guess you could be right.

[mstng86]

Jaso had a concussion and is out for a week. Soto calls a good game when he's sober and has an above average bat for a catcher.

above average bat?

I cant imagine there are other catchers out there that strikeout more?

[BP]

If you consider a .230 BA 'above average" then I guess you could be right.

You left off the "for a catcher". Other than Molina, Posey, Mauer and Pierzynski catchers don't usually produce much. Soto hit .245 last season and has a career .248 average, which sucks for a MLB player but is better than average for a catcher.

[01vnms4v]

Have not seen a win like this in a while.

So don't forget papa johns special code RANGERS7 tomorrow 1/2 pizza

[Lone Sailor]

Rangers 2014

Holland has pitched well in his first game back. 7 innings, 105 pitches, 6 strikeouts, no walks, 1 earned run.

[mstng86]

Holland has pitched well in his first game back. 7 innings, 105 pitches, 6 strikeouts, no walks, 1 earned run.

I heard he is the 60th player to play this season. It's some kind of record.

[thomasblively]

Did anyone else catch him writing a name on the ground before he took the mound? I just came across this article in the Dallas News...


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sometimes things happen for a reason.
On Tuesday evening, Derek Holland will walk to the mound at Kauffman Stadium and bring to an end his frustratingly long seven-month rehab process from surgery to repair torn cartilage in his knee, which he suffered when he tripped over his dog. It is the kind of process that can drive a player mad.
In Holland’s case, the reasons have become particularly clear in the last week, even as his rehab was forced to drag on just a little bit longer. Perhaps because his rehab was forced to drag on a bit longer. Important as it is for him to be on a mound, there are more important moments.
Like the one that will take place inside an ICU unit at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.
“We wouldn’t miss it for anything,” said DeAnna Berry of Granbury. “We will be having a watch party just for this. We are very excited.”
Berry’s 18-year-old son, Briggs, has been in the ICU unit for most of the year after undergoing a bone marrow transplant in an attempt to cure a rare immune deficiency disorder called X-Linked Hyper IGM Syndrome.
It is within that ICU unit that Briggs and Holland became “fast friends,” to quote DeAnna Berry. Holland visited periodically and the pair texted constantly. And last week, because his return to the roster was delayed a little longer by back spasms, Holland was available to return to the hospital for what was sadly expected to be the last time.
After complications from the transplant recently set in, things started to spiral downward quickly. With Briggs struggling to breathe on his own, doctors informed the family that Briggs might be within 24 hours of losing his battle.
Radio hosts Ben Rogers and Jeff Wade, the family’s conduit to Holland and a host of other sports celebrities who have sent their hopes for a recovery, came to say good-bye. Because of the back spasms, Holland was still in Dallas rather than Round Rock or on the road with the Rangers. He insisted on joining them at the hospital.
“It was the hardest thing,” Holland said. “But he’s made me see a different side of things. He has meant so much to me. I want him to see that.”
The amazing thing is that a week after that visit, Briggs Berry will likely get to see it. Though still in the early stages of bouncing back from the same rare disease that killed his older brother, Briggs is more alert and looking forward to the game.
“He was really out of it when they came by,” DeAnna Berry said. “But I was able to tell him a little later about their visit and his eyes bugged out with a ‘Wow, really?’ kind of look. It was awesome.”
Since then the improvements have been small, but steady.
When the game starts, the TV cameras will be focused on Holland. A lot of fans will be looking to see if he can locate his fastball and if his slider is consistent. That is is all to be played out in the final month of the season, during which time Holland can use five or six starts to put to rest any concerns about his physical condition going into 2015.
If the cameras are sharp enough, though, they will capture Holland scribbling in the dirt behind the pitcher’s mound before the first inning. He will be writing Briggs’ name on the mound. He will also have his name on his cleats.
And, clearly, his name will be on Holland’s mind as well, even as Holland tries to put the entire frustrating season behind him.
“I want to be back on the mound, and that’s huge,” Holland said. “But I want to do this for him, as well. I want to show him that not only is he fighting, but I’m fighting, too; we are both fighting together.”