Top Prospect Makes His Way To Arlington

The Neftali Feliz Era has begun. Well, sorta....

Feliz was called up from AAA Oklahoma City and will work out of the bullpen for the foreseeable future. Overall, the young flame thrower was 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 77 1/3 innings at Oklahoma City but, after beginning the season as a starter, was moved to the bullpen where he was more effective, going 1-1 with 20 strikeouts, three walks and a 2.16 ERA in 12 relief appearances.

Red Hawks pitching coach Terry Clark said Neftali was very excited when he heard the news of his call-up.

"He was emotional,” Clark said. "First time, going to the big leagues, and he cried a little bit. He’s really happy, and I’m really happy for him.”

With the starting pitching incurring a rash of injuries the past month or so, having a fresh power arm in the bullpen could be just what the Dr. ordered.



"We think he has the ability to help us or we wouldn’t have brought him up," general manager Jon Daniels said. "We’re not expecting him to come in and save the day. He’s here to make a contribution. He’s improved in the areas we’ve asked him to work on. He deserves the opportunity."

It is doubtful Feliz will see any time this season as a starter as the Rangers believe he will be most effective in a relief role at this stage of his career. Feliz has an electric fastball but has struggled at times with his control when employing his secondary pitches.

To make room for Feliz on the 40-man roster, starter Matt Harrison was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. Harrison is out the rest of the season after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.

Feliz's call-up is just the latest in what has been a major pitching youth movement this season for the Rangers. Derek Holland has been both a starter and a reliever since his call-up in May and Tommy Hunter has been very impressive thus far in his role as a starter.

Tap The Brakes On Dealing For Halladay

Last week, Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi admitted to putting some feelers out regarding the possibility of dealing ace starting pitcher Roy Halladay.

Halladay is a career 141-69 and is a bonafied #1 starter. The Blue Jays have let it be known that it will take a massive package of young prospects to pry Halladay away and have sent scouts throughout the majors and minors to gauge exactly what sort of talent is out there for the taking.

Many experts feel as though the Texas Rangers organization are in a position to offer the best package of player possible but there are several factors which prevent me from truly being able to embrace a possible trade.

I understand that the Rangers have played really well this season and find themselves in the thick of the AL West race a year sooner than they'd previously projected. But three seasons ago, Texas set out to build their organization from the ground up, dealing away expensive contracts like Mark Teixeira while stocking their minor league organizations with top-tier prospects. This modus operandi has worked extremely well, as Texas is now ranked as having the very best farm system in all of baseball, spearheaded by the previously mentioned Teixeira trade, a deal which netted them their starting shortstop (Elvis Andrus), starting catcher (Jarrod Saltalamacchia), number five starter (Matt Harrison) and top pitching prospect (Neftali Feliz).

Trading for a player like Halladay, while bold, would effectively cripple the farm system as Texas would surely be forced to deal away quality youth similar to what they added when they traded Teixeira to Atlanta in 2007.



So what would it take to get Roy Halladay? Well, Toronto has said they want young pitching (Neftali Feliz & Kasey Kiker), a power bat (Justin Smoak) and a shortstop (Marcus Lemon) in exchange for their ace.

Feliz just put on a pitching display at the All-Star game when he pitched one inning in the Futures Game, striking out two and averaging almost 97 mph with his fastball.

Kiker is currently pitching for AA Frisco, has shown good command throughout the season and was the starting pitcher in the AA All-Star game, pitching a hitless, scoreless inning.

Justin Smoak was promoted to AAA Oklahoma City last week and appears to be on the fast track to Arlington. He may well be the odds on favorite to be the Rangers starting first baseman as early as next season.

Marcus Lemon was a 4th round pick in the 2006 draft and is a slick-fielding, lightning fast infielder who's already made a successful jump to AA Frisco.

There's also the issue of Roy Halladay having an iron clad no-trade clause and, at least if the rumors are to be believed, would not okay any deal which would ship him to Texas, a place where he is a career 4-3 with a 6.14 ERA in 11 appearances. The Ballpark in Arlington is far and away Halladay's least favorite park in which to pitch, meaning even if they were able to convince him to accept a trade to Texas, it is very unlikely he would even consider signing an extention. Instead, Halladay would likely opt to test free agency after the 2010 season, with Texas getting nothing in return save for a 2010 1st round draft pick from the team that signed him away. Dealing away four (possibly more) top prospects for what would amount to less than a season and a half from Roy Halladay just doesn't add up for me.

Finally, Roy Halladay does nothing for what may well be Texas' biggest issue going into the second half of the season: the offense. The Rangers offense has been very inconsistent for the entire season, one day looking like world beaters only to look lost the next. It appears as though this is simply what they are and if that is the case, no amount of All-Star pitching will make up for all the missed opportunities and silly hitting mistakes this offense seems poised to make over the next 70+ games.

If I'm calling the shots I'm holding my water for now. Hallday is a proven All-Star and would be a welcome addition on any team but mortgaging your future for little more than a rent-a-pitcher (albeit a great one) is simply something Texas cannot afford, especially with Rangers owner Tom Hicks currently wading waist deep in a well-documented financial crisis.

Texas is not and will never be able to spend with teams like the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox, at least not as long as Hicks is the owner. Despite being the 7th largest market in baseball, Texas is currently 22nd in the league in payroll. And while a high payroll doesn't guarantee wins, a low payroll means a team can't afford to make many mistakes and hope to remain viable. The Yankees can afford to trade away their entire minor league for a single player; if things go south they'll just buy more. Texas doesn't have this luxury.

The Rangers have had a great first half of the season and with any luck will find themselves battling it out with the Angels and Mariners in the AL West for the rest of the year. It's simply not the time to be trading away young studs, even if it's for possibly the best pitcher in baseball.

Rangers Lose 5th In A Row, Now Tied For First In AL West.

This season is beginning to look like so many other 'promising' seasons of years passed. Texas' hot May has given way to a cold June and, after building a 4 1/2 game lead against the Angels, now find themselves in a tie for the AL West.

Texas has gone stone cold at the plate, flailing wildly and coming up short with runners on. The Rangers are now 15 for their last 90 with runners in scoring position. Needless to say, hitting .167 with RISP isn't going to get it done, especially in Texas where the ballpark forces you to be an offensively-geared unit.

Last night in Arizona, the offensive struggles continued as D-backs starter Max Scherzer tied the Rangers offense up to the tune of two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Texas was 2-for-9 with men in scoring position.



Hitting Coach Rudy Jaramillo thinks the hitters are putting too much pressure on themselves.

"There's too much going on in their minds to execute," said Jaramillo. "I see all these things, but once we learn to relax, we're going to stop swinging at pitches we can't hit. I wouldn't throw us a strike right now either. We need to relax, clear our minds, breathe slow and trust our ability."

Matt Harrison did nothing to help the offense, allowing four runs within the first two innings of the game, putting Texas in the hole early. After all was said and done, Harrison lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs.

"He wasn't very sharp tonight," manager Ron Washington said. "He just didn't have it."

"I'm very frustrated," Harrison said. "A terrible performance. I walked too many guys, I fell behind too many guys and I was missing up in the zone. We needed a good start tonight and I didn't give it to them. Very disappointing."

The comic relief moment of the night came in the 6th inning when catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia overthrew pitcher Jason Jennings when tossing the ball back to the mound in-between pitches. No one on the infield noticed, allowing a runner fron 3rd base to score.

Texas is now 7-12 in June.

Pudge Sets A Record, Vizquel Ties A Record, Rangers Win In Extra Innings

History was made Wednesday night as Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez caught his 2,227th game, setting a new record which was previously held by Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk.



When Rodriguez stepped to the plate for his first at-bat, he recieved a standing ovation from the more than 32,000 fans in attendance.

"It was awesome," Rodriguez said. "What happened today out there was unbelievable. A standing ovation my first time up, it was awesome. I got some goose bumps when that happened. The video that they did in the third inning was unbelievable. I want to say thanks to the Rangers organization for what they did here for me and the Houston Astros also about these days. It was nice. It was an unbelievable moment."

Omar Vizquel also made a move on history, picking up his 2,677th career base hit, tying fellow countryman and Hall of Fameer Luis Aparicio for the most hits ever by a player from Venezuela.



"I never thought I'd be involved in a situation like that," Vizquel said. "So many good players have come from our country."

While the game seemed secondary to all the added intrigue, it still managed to deliver a few fireworks of its own. Both teams went back and forth for the entire game, niether ever able to fully gain any sort of advantage.

There were five total lead changes in the game, the last coming in the bottom of the 10th as David Murphy went opposite field for an RBI single to give Texas the 5-4 victory.

"It just felt great," Murphy said. "I really do believe that the walk-off is the best moment in baseball. The team gets to celebrate on the field, it brings everybody together and gives you a little momentum going into tomorrow."

Matt Harrison, just back from the DL pitched well enough, giving Texas five innings, allowing three runs.

"My arm felt really good," Harrison said. "It was frustrating falling behind a lot of hitters, but I made pitches when I had to. Overall I felt pretty good, but I wish I could have gone out there at least another inning.

C.J. Wilson pitched very effectively, giving Texas two shutout innings. Since his early season struggles, Wilson has been much more consistent on the mound.

While Texas' offense remains a bit of an inconsistent mystery, they did manufacture some runs, stealing three bases on the night, all of which resulted in runs coming across the plate.

Manager Ron Washington seemed proud of the sustained effort given by his team.

"We kept battling and finding ways," Washington said. "When it was all over, these guys found a way to pull it off."

Both Nelson Cruz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit solo homeruns for Texas.

McCarthy Out "Several Weeks" With Shoulder Injury

Texas found out today that starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy has a stress fracture in his right throwing shoulder. The injury is very similar to one that sidelined him for alomst a month back in 2007.

"It's not good," McCarthy said. "It's not what you want to hear at this point, but what can you do. It's frustrating because it's frustrating. I really don't care what the situation is. It's a pretty good kick to the gut."

McCarthy is 5-2 on the season for Texas and has shown flashes of the pitcher the Rangers thought they were getting when they traded for him three seasons ago.

"It's frustrating," GM Jon Daniels said. "I feel for him."



This will be McCarthy's fourth time on the disabled list in the past two seasons.

In other pitching news, Matt Harrison, who has been sidelined with a strained left shoulder, threw a bullpen session this afternoon and is expected to come off the disabled list. He's slated to start on Thursday against Toronto.

Also, Frank Franciso remains day-to-day with a sore shoulder. Jon Daniels has stated that he's been speaking with other teams about a possible deal from some bullpen help but wouldn't rule out the possibility of a starter if the right deal came along.

"I'm open to it," Daniels said. "It's something we'll look into, but it's easier said than done. My expectation is we'll go with the guys we have. If there is a quality guy available, we'll look into it, but it's easier said than done."

A-Rod Looks Great In Return To Texas, Rangers Look Lost.

In view of a sold out crowd on Memorial Day, Texas came home after sweeping the Astros to take on the New York Yankees.

Nelson Cruz's hot hitting continued for Texas as he went 2 for 4 with a solo homerun in the first game of a 3-game set against the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, he was the only member of the offense to bother showing up Monday afternoon.

Yankees starter Phil Hughes dominated Texas to the tune of six strikeouts over eight scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits.

The Yankees offense was also running high, led by Alex Rodriguez, who went 5 for 5 with two douobles and four RBI.

Another former Ranger, Mark Teixeira went 2 for 4 with a double, two RBI, and three runs scored.



"When you get beat like this, you let it go," Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "They came in here and kicked our tails. Phil Hughes made great pitches. It was one of those games. They played a great game, we didn't and it showed on the scoreboard."

The Rangers have now lost 24 of the last 32 games played against the Yankees going back to 2005. They have also lost 17 of the last 21 games played against New York at home dating back to '04.

Matt Harrison was knocked around from the very beginning, allowing seven earned runs in only five innings pitched.

"It's very disappointing," Harrison said. "I felt good coming into the game, but I wasn't able to get the job done. My stuff was there, but I didn't put it where I wanted it. I left fastballs over the plate, and I couldn't throw my breaking ball for a strike. They make you pay when all you can do is throw fastballs for strikes and they're sitting on it."

Ian Kinsler, Michael Young & Josh Hamilton set the tone for the poor offensive performance, going a combined 1 for 10 with one walk. Michael Young thinks Texas will get right back after it.

"We're not going to sit here and pout about it," Young said. "They swung it well and pitched well. You want to play well in front of a great crowd, but that's not something we're focusing on when we leave here. We're focused on how we can get better."

Rangers Walk Off For Two Straight Games

Attention all Rangers fans...enjoy it while it last.

The final two games against the Seattle Mariners have been nothing short of amazing.

After a back and forth game which saw both teams matching the other run for run, Seattle looked to have sealed up the win in the top of the 11th as they got to C.J. Wilson for one.

But in the bottom of the 11th, both Michael Young and Josh Hamilton reached base and Texas looked to have a rally on.

"After you see Michael Young get on base and Josh Hamilton walk, you start feeling it in your body," Andrus said. "You start feeling it that you can get the win, you feel that we can come back right there."

Come back, they did as Hank Blalock stepped to the plate and drilled a double to right center field, scoring both men and giving Texas the dramatic 6-5 win.

"Wow ... what a ballgame," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

What followed was a home plate dog pile celebration that left at least one player a little light-headed.

"I don't remember what I was doing," Kinsler confessed. "I get so excited that I black out."

"My first beer shower," Blalock said. "It feels great. We were frustrated as a ballclub early in the game. We kept leaving guys on base. But we did a good job of grinding it out, putting it behind us and focusing on our next at-bat."

Another positive that caem out of the game was the way starter Brandon McCarthy battled, going seven innings, his longest outing as a Ranger.

"We did a great job fighting tonight," Blalock said. "We got down early and did a great job of grinding it out. It was a nice win."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the final game of the series, Texas again needed some last second heroics. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th, last nights hero, Hank Blalock hit a solo shot to put Texas down one.

After Nelson Cruz flied out, David Murphy kept things going with a double setting up Chris Davis to hit the biggest homerun of his young career.



"It's just an unbelievable feeling," Davis said. "I've been a part of so many moments with this team. We feel we can come through at any time. We're always coming through for each other and picking each other up. It just feels great to be the guy who comes through and picks them up."

The homer was Davis' 4th in nine games. It was also the 1st walk-off homerun of his career.

"It's awesome," Davis said afterward in a beer-soaked T-shirt. "It's awesome to be in the middle of that. It's fun when you're on the outside. But it's awesome to be in the middle and everybody jumping up on top of you."

Matt Harrison continued to pitch well, thorwing his second straight complete game, picking up the victory. He also ran his scorelss innings streak to 22 innings before allowinf 2 runs in the 4th inning.

"Our psyche is already high but that just continues to reinforce what we're trying to do," manager Ron Washington said. "Play nine innings, keep it close and see what happens. We never think we're out of a ballgame. You keep going out there and getting people out, making plays and getting guys on the bags and you never know what will happen."

Harrison Throws A Gem, Shuts Out Chi Sox

It looks as though Matt Harrison has figured it out. Crediting a decision to waste less time in between pitches, Harrison has been ace-like ever since with Friday's game in Chicago being the best of the bunch.

Harrison threw a complete game shutout against an offense stacked with All-Star caliber talent, striking out five and walking only one batter. Harrison has now thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings.

"I just kept pounding the fastballs in and out and using my changeup," Harrison said. "If they made an adjustment, I would make one, but they didn't, so I just kept doing the same thing I did last start."



Harrison's offense helped him out early, spotting him a run in the first and two more in the second. Ian Kinsler and Omar Vizquel both had 2 RBI nights, pacing Texas for 6 runs on 11 hits.

If Harrison can keep pounding the strike zone the way he has his last three starts, Ron Washington thinks his best may still be yet to come.

"Harry's got good stuff. He's always had good stuff. He'll tell you [that] he played on the edges. [He's] stopped playing on the edges and [started] making them swing the bat and put the ball in play."

Texas Fights Off The Rain, Wins Another Series

After dropping a tough one 4-3 to Chicago in the first game of Texas' 3-game set, the Rangers got after in strange game 2.

With thunderstorms covering up the night skies, the Rangers and White Sox were forced to sit through three seperate rain delays.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Hank Blalock (perhaps taking a cue from Rangers play-by-play announcer Tom Grieve who correctly predicted the outcome) clubbed his 7th homer of the season, a 3-run shot into the bullpen that gave Texas a 3-1 lead.



Texas then came back in the bottom of the fourth and put another six run on the board, thanks to key doubles by David Murphy (who continues to hit his way out of a slump), Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis. Ian Kinsler, Omar Vizquel, Hank Blalock and Marlon Byrd all added RBI hits in the inning as the Rangers built a 9-1 lead.

"It was a situation that we wanted to go out there and score as many runs as we can," Blalock said.

Play was halted once again as the rain began to fall, forcing everyone back into the dugouts.

When play resumed, so too did Brandon McCarthy's dominance of his former White Sox team. After all was said and done, McCarthy went five innings, allowing only one run, striking out three and retiring the final 12 batters he faced.

"I think I finally settled in and attacked the zone," McCarthy said. "I just let the ball go. I was just pitching for contact and attacking the zone."

Texas reliever Luis Mendoza allowed a grand slam homerun in the 6th to Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski but they were albel to get no closer, falling to Texas 9-6.

"That was a long one," third baseman Michael Young said. "It's good to get out of there with a win. When the game got tough with the rain delays, we had some relievers who had never been in that situation before."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the rubber match between the Rangers and Sox, Matt Harrison turned in his 2nd consecutive quality start, giving Texas five innings of shutout baseball and picking up his 2nd win of the season.

"He made pitches when he had to make pitches," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Give them credit. They made him work. He only gave us five innings, but they were five pretty good innings."

Harrison was spotted a lead early as Ian Kinsler lead the game off with his 9th homerun of the season.

"I'm not trying to hit a home run in my first at-bat," Kinsler said. "I'm trying to drive the ball every single at-bat. I like doing that, though. Hitting one out of the ballpark in the first at-bat takes some air out of the other team and helps your starting pitcher relax, knowing he already has a 1-0 lead."

Kinsler added a RBI single later in the game and is now hitting .337 on the season.

Michael Young broke out of a mini-slump, adding an RBI single of his own. Nelson Cruz had a three hit night and Elvis Andrus added 2 base hits and sacrifice. This was the fisrt night Andrus hit in the no. 2 spot in the batting order.

"I like it," Andrus said. "All my career I have been hitting second. I feel comfortable there and we got the win."

The win over Chicago had to be particularly sweet considering the pitcher they defeated: former Rangers top prospect John Danks. He he is now 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers.



"It's always been just another start," said Danks, traded to the White Sox after the 2006 season. "I have more at stake than worrying about what these guys are doing or thinking or trying to impress someone. I have my own career to worry about. I really don't care what these guys think. I'm just going out there to try to give us a chance to win."

Texas pulls to 12-12 on the season and now heads to Seattle for a two game series with the Mariners.

Harrison Pulls Things Together, Rangers Take Series

Texas finally got some consistent pitching out of Matt Harrison as he went seven innings, surrendering four earned runs, walking only one hitter. Struggling early in the season with his control, Harrison stepped up, giving the bullpen some extra rest, and, in the process, picking up his first win of the year.

Darren O'Day and C.J. Wilson combined to pitch a scoreless 8th with Frankie Francisco coming on to pitch the 9th, picking up his fifth save of the year.

The game started off rough for Texas, with Harrison allowing all four of the runs he surrendered in the first two inning. But after the 2nd, Harrison and Co. combined to pitch seven scoreless innings.



"I just tried to change the tempo of my delivery and attack hitters," Harrison said. "The first couple of innings I was up in the zone and wasn't finding my release point. I slowed it down just a little and started getting the ball down in the strike zone. I just got into a groove and kept going with it."

Michael Young added a 2-run homerun in the 5th pulling Texas to within one run. In the 6th, they added three more, highlighted by a 2-run single buy the suddenly scorching David Murphy. Before hitting a homerun two game ago, Murphy had started the season 0 for 22. He's since gone 3 for 8 with 3 RBI. Before his recent hot streak, many speculated Murphy might be on his way to the Minors.

"I obviously know I have to perform," Murphy said. "As far as getting sent to the Minors, I wasn't worried about that. I know they have confidence in me, but you can only struggle for so long."

The series win has Texas feeling good heading back home for a 3 game series with Oakland.

"A good road trip," outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "A real good road trip, especially winning three here. We've got a good team; we should expect to win every series. I know that's not possible but this is the way you have to play to get into the playoffs. I'd love to be Boston and win 11 in a row, but I'll take about six series in a row."

Young's Heroics Not Enough, Holland Makes A Splash

Texas is certainly developing a flare for the dramatic.

After falling down 2-0 in the 2nd (off a 2-run homer by former Ranger Rod Barajas), Texas came back with a couple of their own in the top of the 3rd, thanks to a 2-run single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

But Matt Harrison was unable to do much of anything tonight, giving up three runs (including another 2-run homerun by Barajas) in the 4th.

The 5th inning was started by Scott Feldman, who continues to throw buckets of gasoline on fires, giving up two more runs in 1 2/3 innings.



Feldman was then pulled for Derek Holland, who was making his Major League debut and did nothing but impress, going 2 1/3 innings, striking out two and allowing no runs. Holland came in and threw strikes, showing poise on the mound, regularly hitting 94 mph on the radar gun.

Texas began to chip away, picking up one in the 5th, one more in the 8th, and three in the top of the 9th, the last run coming via a solo homerun off the bat of Michael Young.

But C.J. Wilson couldn't hold the lead and, after struggling through the 10th inning, allowed a lead off walk in the top of the 11th. The walk forced in the newly acquired Darren O'Day, who hadn't even been with the team long enough to get his own uniform (O'Day arrived roughly 20 minutes before actually warming up to enter the game), forcing him to wear Kason Gabbard's. Despite the situation, a moment of levity was offered when Ron Washington and the Rangers infield were seen standing on the mound laughing at the sight of seeing a pitcher that they'd previously never met running towards them from their bullpen.

The good feelings lasted all of one batter as Kevin Millar stepped up and did what he's done so many times in his career: drive in the game-winning run.

- Matt Harrison's struggles continue to worry many, his ERA now 9.20. He's been hit very hard and one has to begin to wonder how long they're gonna be able to stick with him pitching the team into early holes. However, with Kris Benson injured and Scott Feldman pitching no better, Texas may not have much choice than to let him see if he can pitch through his issues.

- Darren O'Day has allowed zero earned runs this season. He has, however, allowed five unearned runs. Not exactly what you want out of a relief pitcher.

Rangers Offense Sputters, Royals Roll

What a difference a day makes.

Fresh off a 19 run explosion against the Baltimore Orioles, Texas had to be feeling pretty good with perpetual doormats, the Kansas City Royals, coming to town. But it was the up-and-coming Royals who turned on the bats, scoring four runs in the 2nd inning of starter Matt Harrison, a leadoff homerun by 3b Mark Teahen and a three-run blast by Coco Crisp. Harrison battled, making it into the 6th inning but was forced from the game after a leadoff walk to John Buck and a single by Alberto Callaspo.

Willie Eyre came in and poured gasoline on the fire, allowing a two-run single by Mike Aviles.



"I was falling behind too much and showing my offspeed stuff too early," Harrison said. "I should have attacked more with my fastball early. I threw some good offspeed stuff later, but they had already seen it. But, overall, I was falling behind too much. I need to attack more than I have been."

Reliever Josh Rupe fared no better, giving up a 3-run homer to Mike Jacobs. All toll, Kansas City put up 12 unanswered runs.

Texas managed only three extra-base hits the enitre game, solo homeruns by Marlon Byrd and Hank Blalock in the 8th, and a solo homerun by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Kansas City - 12
Texas - 3