Grigori

I'm sure he doesn't care what the voters of California think about it and that it went over very well in Arizona, his home state.

Just a reminder. The Angels were eliminated from the Division Championship tonight. The Rangers still have a chance.

As a Ranger fan and Texan I'm happy as long as they keep the Angels in California. The A's, though, I'd like to see moved to San Antonio

http://forum.newbergreport.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=110&d=1370534863

Moreno is the big problem. Take only last year, for example. He left Dipoto with no money to spend on pitching. Dipoto could have put in a bid for Peavy or Sanchez instead of who they got to pitch if they had not spent all that money on Hamilton. Or, if Moreno really wanted to get into a bidding war to assuage his ego, maybe they could have bid against the Yankees for Kuroda. There were all kinds of places to spend the Josh money to shore up the pitching staff. It wasn't just Greinke. What really sucks is that he gave Reagins 24 hours to get Vernon Wells. LOL. I mean, if that isn't owner meddling, what is? It actually makes you feel sorry for Reagins being put into that position, then fired when it didn't work out to Moreno's satisfaction. Apparently, the Moreno meddling has been going on for quite some time. Now you hear talk of Moreno firing someone? Crazy. How can anyone work under the constraints of that crackpot? Then you learn that he's already fired like 40 people or whatever? How can anyone work in an environment like that? Everyone has probably experienced working in an environment where there are constant firings or layoffs. You try mightily to get things done, but it's near impossible with everyone updating their resumes and leaving if the can. So, I find it hard to blame Scioscia or Dipoto. I put the full blame on Moreno. Mickey Mouse did a far better job of running the Angels.

I don't know enough about what Dipoto is doing in the minor leagues to know whether he's any good. If I was an Angels fan, though, I'd completely ignore what he's done at the major-league level. I do know he hired a bunch of scouts and player development people last winter, which is a good sign. It took Jon Daniels five years from being promoted to GM to get the Rangers into the postseason. The situation Dipoto inherited is not dissimilar.

As an outsider, I think the Angels need to think longer term than next year. They need to divide their players into two groups--those who will be there in 2016 when the Angels are ready to compete again and those who will not for a variety of reasons. They need to trade those who are not projected to be good players by then or whose contracts are expiring. Those trades should be used exclusively to replenish the farm with guys they can get ready for 2016 or 2017. In the meantime, the Angels should just continue to take their lumps and acquire good draft picks. It's past total rebuild time for the Angels. If they keep adding overpriced free agents without fixing their farm they will continue to get the same results. No one has had the guts to tell Moreno that MLB players peak in their late 20's. Most retire before age 30. Power goes the fastest. Speed obviously takes a beating. For pitchers it's a little later, but still most are declining by the time they hit their 30th birthday.

Y'all need to put more bases in that stadium. I noticed there wasn't enough room for all my Rangers on only three bases.

Oh, there it is. I guess it is record, then.

They said before today the Rangers have not had two walk-off home runs in a row since 1981. I wonder if they have EVER had three in a row? How about the Angels? Have they ever given up three walk-off home runs in a row? Y'all may be a part of history.

There once was a player named Hamilton, Who in Texas hit home runs, a ton of them, But to Anaheim he went, Where they paid him a mint, And he never hit more than an pound of them.

Hamilton is actually hitting slightly better than Vernon Wells at the moment.

I just love all this A's gloating over them being in first place when everyone knows the Rangers have seven key players on the DL. So, yeah, they want to minimize that factoid. Brett Anderson? LOL. He's not any good when he's well! That would be like the Angels losing Josh Hamilton and going "Gee, that's why we can't win." The A's just dropped two of three to the Rangers who are still 5-4 against them for the season, even with all the injuries. I've been watching these games and I'm just not impressed by the A's. They look weak to me. I don't see why these guys are in first place. I still think they've been lucky by catching teams when they are in a slump. It finally caught up with them. Their luck has run out and I fully expect them to collapse going forward.

Good point. What a lot of casual fans don't realize is that the A's have been lucky by catching teams like the Yankees while they are in a slump all this time. Last year they caught the Rangers in a slump at the end of the season and tried to catch them in a slump again last night. Didn't work out for them this time. My Rangers are 4-3 against them so far this year and things look like they are going to get worse for the A's.

The A's just dropped two of three to the Mariners, lost a game to Texas and have to face Yu Darvish tomorrow... they have to play the Mariners again after the Rangers. Not sure I'd want to be the A's right now.

Hello... the A's have won NINE World Series titles. That is nine times the number the Angels have won. Only the Yankees and Cardinals have won more. Just sayin'.

Haha. I'm sure the A's are thrilled about coming to Texas this week. They not only get to bat against three of our replacement pitchers, but unlike in Oakland they actually get to play in front of a crowd. The white shoes, though, LOL.

Right, right, I just love these arrogant A's fans. Remember when the A's lost Cespedes for awhile and went into a slump? The Rangers have lost Kinsler and Moreland simultaneously. Their run production went down 0.67 runs per game when they lost Kinsler then down 1.95 when both were on the DL. They come back this week, maybe Soria will be added to the bullpen, as well. So, keep dreaming A's. No way the A's win the division this year.

Here is who the Rangers got with their Hamilton pick: (#30). Travis Demeritte, HS, present SS, projected 3B, 6.1/185 Travis Demeritte / 3B/RHP | Winder Barrow HS (Winder, GA) 6-foot-1/185 pounds | right/right profile | draft day age 18y 8mo | Univ. of South Carolina commit (Source BP) Wow player; very high baseball IQ; very easy to see on-the-field leadership skills and work ethic; plays the game with purpose and passion; athletic, with fluid movements; played a very good third base; clean actions; good reactions and feel; covered a lot of ground; arm is a 7; makes every play he can get to; remarkable field awareness; if he played shortstop I’d call him a no doubt first round talent; bat flashed some potential; bat speed was present; likes to pull the ball; shows power potential; love the hands; love the approach; doesn’t get cheated; speed is only average, with home-to-first times in the 4.3 range; good second-gear and base running ability; total gamer; bat is probably only average, but has legit pop, good defensive profile at 3B, and well above-average feel for the game; he’s a likely candidate to over-perform projection; future major leaguer; will be around game forever.–Jason Parks (Source BA) PICK VALUE: $1,731,200 Area Scout: Derrick Tucker PICK ANALYSIS: The Rangers have gone to the Georgia well early and often. They love athletes and Demeritte gives them a profile third baseman with a quick bat. While he ranked No. 56 on the BA 500, this isn’t an overdraft. SCOUTING REPORT: Scouts voted Demeritte a preseason first-team All-American at third base, a position he played last year for East Cobb as it won the World Wood Bat Championship in Jupiter, Fla. Demeritte struggled throughout that event until going 3-for-3 with a double in the championship game. While he’s a shortstop, pitcher and leadoff hitter in high school, scouts see Demeritte as a profile third baseman. He hit 19 home runs in his first two seasons and committed to South Carolina last summer, so scouts were a bit put off by Demeritte’s slow start to the season. He’d heated up as the season progressed as his natural athleticism came into play. He has whip in his bat and some quick-twitch in his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. He generates excellent bat speed and has a chance to hit for above-average power if he better develops his approach and feel for hitting. He’s quick enough for shortstop now but fits better defensively at third base, and some scouts think he could handle second. His overall speed is just average, and scouts consider his arm above-average. He’s his team’s No. 1 starter and has posted gaudy numbers this spring, but teams that like Demeritte are buying an infielder with offensive upside. WHERE HE FITS: Demeritte likely won’t crack the Rangers’ top 10, but that is because their system is loaded with high-upside talent. ---------------- Keep in mind that they changed the rules so the Hamilton pick became a sandwich pick. The actual pick the Angels got would have been higher. You lose your first round pick, but instead of the Rangers getting that pick, they get put in line for the sandwich picks. No one can be sure who the Angels would have got if they had not signed Hamilton, but I think Marco Gonzales was picked close to the spot they would have had: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/2/19/4006796/2013-mlb-draft-marco-gonzales-lhp-gonzaga-scouting-report Last year the Rangers got Joey Gallo for the CJ pick: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gallo-001joe

Yeah, I said the Angels would win 81 games at the beginning of the year and everyone here thought I was crazy they would win so few. Now it looks like it would be difficult for them to achieve that. The Astros have some good players who seem determined to climb out of the basement. I think they are surging and could very well overtake the Angels before long.

Rangers disabled list: AJ Pierzynski Ian Kinsler Martin Perez Alexei Ogando Colby Lewis Joakim Soria Matt Harrison Neftali Feliz Perez and Lewis are pitching in the minors now.

I guess they need to work on their cap-tipping skills.

I think there are two plans going on. One is to spend the billionaire's money trying to keep the fans happy at the major-league level. The other is to start from scratch from the bottom up rebuilding the farm system. Bank on them being sellers at the trade deadline to retool their farm and to do some more crazy hiring this Winter. It'll take five years to fix the Angels. In the meantime it will look like a train wreck. Dipoto is not the problem. He just has a tough job ahead of him.

Joba has the weight advantage, but I'd go with Rivera even if he is older. Rivera is still tough as nails. I think he'd shower the slow-fisted Joba with so many quick punches to the face that Joba would not be able to get a lick in. Rivera has also shown on the field he has mental strength and resilience that would help him take a blow or two and bounce back if Joba got lucky. Joba would just start crying and run away at the slightest sign of pain like he has his entire career.

haha... yes, they have Vernon Wells and the Angels do not. That's the difference maker. XD