Hamilton Sidelined 6-8 Weeks

I know what you're thinking. Good thing Hamilton wasn't playing center field Tuesday afternoon or this would've happened weeks (err...days) ago! At any rate, this proves that taking someone out of center field not only doesn't reduce the risk of injuries to an all-out player like Hamilton, it may actually make them occur sooner! (I know you think that's ridiculous, but the evidence is in my favor.)

Josh fractured his right shoulder sliding head first into home plate on a good call by third base coach Dave Anderson to send Hamilton. Home plate was vacated with Josh on third when a foul popped up near third base. Josh tried tagging on the play with no one covering home, but was beat in a foot race by Detroit catcher, Victor Martinez.

Hamilton's 6-8 week injury within the first two weeks of opening day is sure to get some frazzled and diving headfirst off the bandwagon before it's too late to jump on with another team. (See Anthony Castrovince's article hosted by MLB.com) But hear me out a minute before you go jumping ship. Pun intended.

The Ranger's replacement outfielder is David Murphy, a left handed hitter with the potential to launch 30-40 homeruns in a season given the proper playing time. As I've said before, Murphy is a starter on 26 or 27 other clubs, but due to the depth the Rangers have, Murphy is a backup here. What you're replacing Josh Hamilton's .333 average, 0 home runs, and 7 rbis with at this point in the season is a guy who has a greater than .280 career average over 6 seasons including a .313, 1 homer, 3 rbi start to 2011 in David Murphy. Murph is a fan favorite, and I expect him to drill the ball in replacement for Hamilton, just like he did last season filling in when Hamilton broke his rib in the outfield.

The other positive to take from this for Ranger's fans is the opportunity for Chris Davis to play in the big leagues after astronomical spring training numbers made solid competition for Mitch Moreland as the starting first baseman. Mitch won the job thanks to even better numbers in the spring, although Davis certainly had the numbers to make the team, and increased his trade value tremendously. I'm looking for Davis to get back to his 2008 form when he slugged 17 home runs in just 80 games, and hit a career best .285 in his rookie campaign.

The Rangers are going to be fine. There is no need to panic. Injuries happen to every team, every season, and one player does not make or break a playoff race.

Rangers @ Baltimore

Tonight the Rangers start a 3 game series against Buck Showalter's new team. Showalter was the manager of the Rangers before Ron Washington took over some 4 years ago. The Orioles are seemingly much improved under the short tenure of Showalter. That combined with some nice additions in the offseason, including the Rangers 2010 Silver Slugging DH, Vladimir Geurerro, and some solid young pitching should make for an exciting match up this weekend.

The Rangers send Colby Lewis to the mound to take on young Oriole, Zach Britton. The Rangers are looking a lot like the best team in baseball through 6 games, and I don't see any reason why that won't carry into Baltimore this weekend. The Rangers have dominated in Camden Yards for the past couple of seasons including a record breaking 30-3 win in 2009.

You have to think the slugging we've seen in Arlington will continue in Baltimore this weekend as well, considering the Rangers big bats will be seeing a lot of young pitchers, and Vladdy won't be looking to disappoint his "shipmates" from last season.

The Rangers will put Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, and Derek Holland on the mound this weekend to face respectively, Britton, Chris Tillman, and Jeremy Guthrie. Here's how I see it breaking down:

Game 1:

Lewis: 7 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Britton: 5 IP, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Rangers win 9-5


Game 2:

Harrison: 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Tillman: 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Rangers first loss of the season: 6-3


Game 3:

Holland: 7 IP, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Guthrie: 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Rangers win 6-5

Thoughts on Last Night's 3-2 win.

1. Alexi Ogando
Ogando pitched 6 shutout innings last night in 90 pitches. Granted, this was against probably the worst offense in baseball, but Ogando showed that he has what it takes to be a starter. His offspeed pitches were a devastating change of his pace from his slowed down 95 mph past ball, and he used them in just the right count, thanks in part to Yorvit Torrealba. It may be a little presumptuous, but I don't see Ogando getting bumped from the rotation for Tommy Hunter or Brandon Webb once either of them are healthy. After Harrison and Holland's first starts, I can't see them getting bumped from the rotation either, but somehow or another, one or two of these guys are going to the bullpen, and 2 guys are going to AAA.

2. I severely underestimated Michael Pineda.
Pineda was the perfect counterpart for Alexi Ogando. Both are big right handers with electric fastballs and good breaking pitches. Pineda went 6 full innings, allowing only 3 earned runs in his debut as the Mariner's 5th starter, and he did it against what I would call the most potent offense in the league at this point.

3. It might be possible that Julio Borbon is a decent centerfielder.
With the bases loaded and two outs last night, Julio made a game-saving, diving catch to end the inning, essentially saving the game. Broadcaster, Tom Grieve, made the observation that Julio's catch was the equivalent of a 2 run home run, but I think it's even better. With a 2 run homerun the Rangers would have only increased their lead, but Julio's catch saved the lead the Rangers already had with his catch. Had that ball dropped, the Rangers would have needed more runs in the late innings that certainly were not guaranteed, (and in fact never showed up.)

Props to Julio, and Alexi Ogando. The Rangers send CJ Wilson to the mound this afternoon to face Cy Young winner, Felix Henandez. This should be a good game. We know Felix can go 8 or 9 innings, and I'd like to see CJ do the same. The thing I liked about Cliff Lee was his efficiency, which was why you get at least 7, sometimes 8 or 9, innings out of Cliff every time he starts. An ace needs to be relied upon to save innings from the bullpen, and take control of the game every time out. This pitching staff has a lot of solid pitchers who can go late into games, so CJ's going to have to earn that reputation. He has a chance to show how he stacks up against the league's best pitcher this afternoon.

Rangers - Mariners Preview

Tonight, the Seattle Mariners travel from Oakland to face the Texas Rangers in Arlington. Derek Holland is moved up to 4th in the rotation to face Seattle's Erik Bedard. Each pitcher is making their first start of the season. Bedard is coming off a 2010 season in which he didn't sat out the entire season due to a torn labrum. Holland makes his first start since the regular season, although he pitched in relief in the playoffs, putting together particularly good innings against the Yankees in the ALCS.

In game two on Tuesday, Alexi Ogando makes his first start after replacing Tommy Hunter who is on the disabled list. He'll go up against Michael Pineda, who has made the Mariners rotation as the 5th starter. Wednesday's game provides the best pitching matchup of the series when CJ Wilson goes head-to-head with reigning Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez. Expect a pitcher's dual in this one to the late innings.

The Mariners have one of the least productive offenses in baseball, as compared to the Texas Rangers, although they are a team of big league hitters, and can certainly score some runs if not respected from the mound.

My predictions for the series:

Derek Holland: 6 IP, 2 ER, W
Erik Bedard: 4 2/3 IP, 6 ER, L
Rangers Win 8-3

Alexi Ogando: 6 IP, 4 ER, No Decision
Michael Pineda: 5 IP, 5 ER, No Deicision
Rangers Win 7-6

CJ Wilson: 7 IP, 3 ER, L
Felix Hernandez: 8 IP, 1 ER, W
Rangers Lose 3-1

Home runs in the series: Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, Mitch Moreland
Adam Kennedy, Justin Smoak

Miscellaneous: Ichiro gets on base 10 times in the series, and makes some crazy spiderman catch up a wall in right field.

Opening Series Sweep!

The Rangers were as impressive as ever, dominating the series by winning all three games by a combined score of 26-11 against a team that essentially everyone expects to win the American League Championship this season. Ranger's pitching got better after each of the 1st three games of the season which surprisingly makes Matt Harrison the surprise best opening pitching performance. CJ Wilson seemed like he didn't have his best stuff, but still managed to leave with a no decision and a Ranger's win. Colby Lewis faired a little better Saturday night, earning a victory with excellent run support, but still didn't compare to Harrison who pitched 7 full innings walking 2, striking out 8, and only allowing 1 earned run. Harrison has had some impressive starts before, 2 complete game shutouts in fact, and this opening start was very reminiscent of the form seen in those games.

The Ranger's averaged almost 9 runs per game in the opening series, with record setting hitting. Ian Kinsler homered in each of his first two leadoff at bats, three if you figure he walked in his first at bat on Sunday before cranking his 3rd home run in as many games in 2011. Kinsler will surely be an all-star this summer. Nelson Cruz also homered in each of the first 3 games, making it only the 4th time in history that two teammates each homered in the first 3 games to start a season. Others who homered include Adrian Beltre, who belted a majestic grand slam after the Red Sox intentionally walked Hamilton in front of him on Saturday. Torrealba, David Murphy, and Mike Napoli also hit home runs.

These two teams don't meet again until August when the Red Sox revisit Arlington for 4 more games, and the Rangers travel to Fenway for 3 games in September. By then, these two teams will have established their presence at the top of their respective divisions, and will be competing in an exciting playoff preview. You can pretty much count on the atmosphere in each of those series to be electric. I predict a near Rangers sweep at home making it 6-1, and some close, exciting games in Fenway, Boston wins the series 2-1.