OOTP X: Texas Rangers

[Doc_Brown]

April 28th-30th

Game 1, Att: 49,075



Entering this game on a 5 game winning streak you'd like to think that it would carry on and until the top of the 9th it looked like it would. Padilla once again pitched well giving up only 1 run in 7 and 2/3 innings although he did hit 2 batters. Going into the top of the 9th we just needed Fransisco to do what he's done all year produce a 1-2-3 innings he couldn't, he give up 3 hits and walked a batter as the Athletics produced a 4 run top of the 9th, we got one back in the bottom of the 9th but it wasn't enough.

Game 2, Att: 49,090



Move along nothing to see here. As soon as we forget this game the better, we didn't turn up at all and Oakland made us pay 10 fold. Suzuki hit the only homer of the game for his 1st of the year.

Game 3: Att: 48,671



Well I'm glad the series is over, hopefully we'll have learnt from it and wont repeat the mistakes again. We didn't get enough batters on base or hit the long ball, the pitching wasn't much to write home about either. The only good thing is that it happened in April and not September/October. We were 7 down by the time we got on the board but by that time the fat lady had already fnished her encore. Sweeney scored the only homer of the game in the 9th his first of the year to firmly bolt the door.

[Doc_Brown]

April in review.

The first month in charge, I'm happy with how the team has played for the most part, there are a few areas we need to tighten up on. The Starters need to cut down on allowing batters to get a free pass and find the strike zone more, the amount of times we've had a batter 0-2 and he somehow gets on base is way too high. We need a true ace Millwood and Padilla are at the back end of their careers and McCarthy, Feldman and Harrison although solid and useful aren't the kind of pitchers who'll win you the World Series.

The Bullpen need to pitch how they were at the start of the month when we for the first few games had the best bullpen ERA but then the bullpen started leaking hits and runs like a sieve, although part of this problem could be linked with the point below. Perez has had a rocky start we're hoping he'll soon settle down and prove to be a good signing.

As for Fielding we've got to cut out the basic errors that are being produced, dropped catches, fumbles etc they're hurting us as the Oakland series proved which then effects the previous 2 areas. This is probably the biggest concern for us at the moment and one that will be looked at right away.

Hitting has been on and off for us, we've probably not hit enough long balls thus far with a few of the guys running hot and cold, Young has been in a slump got a few hits and then dropped back into a slump. Andrus started off solid but as the month wore on the hits stopped, although his running ability and base stealing has been most impressive. It probably didn't help losing Davis for what looks like the year, not saying he's a 30+ home run 100+ RBI guy but he's better than what we have in replacement at the moment.

Team Grade: C+

[Doc_Brown]

May 1st

Roster moves;
Scott Thorman DFA. We want an extra arm in the bullpen and Thorman was the guy who replaceable on the 25 man roster. Kason Gabbard will be the one added to the active roster.

Achievements:
Magglio Ordonez(Detroit Tigers) 5 hit game Vs New York Yankees (4/28/09)

Johnny Cueto(Cincinnati Reds) 3 hit shut out Vs Houston Astros (4/29/09)

Next up for the Rangers we have a 3 game series Vs

Projected pitchers,

Chicago White Sox(5th AL Central 6-10 10GB)

C.Richard 0-0 0.00ERA 0BB 0K
J.Danks 0-3 4.50ERA 10BB 20K
C.Floyd 0-3 5/66ERA 12BB 15K

Texas Rangers(2nd AL West 13-9 1GB)
B.McCarthy 3-0 1.20ERA 9BB 7K
M.Harrison 3-1 2.05ERA 7BB 12K
V.Padilla 2-0 1.86ERA 1BB 22K

[Doc_Brown]

May 1st-3rd

Game 1, Att: 49,102



A game we needed to win. It was a tight game until the 5th when we finally took advantage of having runners on base, Hamilton hit his 2nd homer of the year. McCarthy once agan laid down a marker for the rest of the rotation to show them how it's down and give the bullpen a much needed rest, Strop came in to get the final 2 outs.

Game 2, Att: 48,934



Another win that we made hardwork of. It started with a 4 run 1st and we slowly added it, but to the credit of the White Sox they didn't give up and if they weren't so far behind they may well have won it. Gabbard had a nightmare his first pitch was sent out the stadium and he gave up 4 runs in the 9th, he seems to have slotted in nicely to the bullpen. Byrd hit his 1st homer of the year with 1 on, the White Sox hit 2, The first was by Dye with 1 on for his 3rd of the year and Wise hit his 2nd of the year.

Game 3, Att: 47,983



Padilla had an off day, he just couldn't find the zone, he gave up a few hits and hit a few batters, Hammel got off to a slow start but then produced a nice spell of pitching, During that time we found the zone in the 8th we got some hits and walks and turned a 4 run deficit into a 1 run lead. Francisco then produced the goods in the 9th for his 5th save of the year. Thome hit the only homer of the game in the 6th with 2 on for his 2nd of the year.

[Doc_Brown]

Roster Moves:
Kason Gabbard added to the active roster.(5/1/09)

Injuries around the league:
Randy Johnson(San Fransisco Giants)-Sore shoulder- 2 months(5/2/09)
Jay Bruce (Cincinnati Reds)- Shoulder Inflammation- 4 weeks(5/3/09)
Adam LaRoche(Pittsburgh Pirates)-Hip strain- 5 weeks(5/3/09)

Achievements:
Andy Pettitte(New York Yankees) 5 hit shut out Vs Los Angeles Angels(5/3/09)
Johhan Santana(New York Mets) 4 hit shut out Vs Philadelphia Phillies(5/3/09)

Trades:
Los Angeles Angels-Atlanta Braves: B.Abreau(RF) and H.Congar(C) for M.Diaz(LF), B.Hicks(SS) and $837,500.

Next up for the Rangers a series Vs

Projected starters for Seattle Mariners(3rd AL West 14-11 2GB)

E.Bedard 2-3 5.18ERA 13BB 22K
R.Rowland-Smith 3-1 2.57ERA 8BB 27K

Texas Rangers(1st AL West 16-9)

K.Millwood 2-2 5.74ERA 7BB 18K
S.Feldman 1-2 6.28ERA 8BB 12K

[Klew1986]

I'm liking this so far. Do you happen to have AIM or MSN? Would like to share tips and stuff.

[Doc_Brown]

May 4th-5th:

Game 1, Att: 31,557



If you wanted to learn how to pitch then don't watch this game for any tips. Both starters give up hits and walks like they were going out of fashion . The bullpen's did slightly better and stopped the flow of runs. There were 2 home runs in the game 1 for each side Murphy hit ours in the 2nd with 2 on for his 4th of the year and Beltre hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 2nd for his 6th homer of the year.

Game 2, Att: 24,964



The game started great for us with Young hitting a lead off homer from the 1st pitch of the game for his 1st of the year, then the Rangers went home. The Mariners took advantage of their runners on bases we didn't, we left 4 runners on 3rd base alone.

[Doc_Brown]

May 5th

Achievements:
Chone Figgins(Los Angeles Angels) 22 game hitting streak(5/5/09)

Injuries around the league:
Mark Teixeria(New York Yankees)- Intercostal strain- 5 weeks (5/4/09)
Felipe Lopez(Arizona Diamondbacks)-Chronic back soreness- 4 weeks(5/5/09)

Trades:
Kansas City Royals-Florida Marlins: A.Gordon(1B) and J.Taylor(3B) for A.Sanchez(SP) and G.Johnson(SP)

Next up for us a 2 match series Vs our bogey team

Projected starters are,

Oakland Athletics(1st AL West 16-11)

S.Gallagher 1-4 3.58ERA 10BB 16K
G.Gonzalez 2-2 3.86ERA 9BB 24K

Texas Rangers(3rd AL West 16-11)
B.McCarthy 4-0 1.17ERA 9BB 10K
M.Harrison 4-1 2.23ERA 8BB 18K

[Doc_Brown]

May 6th-7th

Game 1, Att: 34,186



Our bogey team strikes again. For a short moment it did look like it was going to change 3-1 up in the bottom of the 2nd with 2 outs Oakland fight back to tie the game then McCarthy gets injured and the bullpen have to enter, Gabbard didn't have it today as he gave up hits, hit batters and walked some too. Blalock scored the only homer f the game in the 7th, for his 4th of the year.

Game 2, Att: 29,596



Please tell me we don't have to play them anymore this year, PLEASE!!!!! These games start in 1 of 2 ways 1)Texas gets an early lead and Oakland came back to win it or 2)Oakland take the lead and never look back, but always end with the same result. By the time we got on the board we were already 3 down then in the bottom of the 6th Oakland hit 3 more, we scored 2 in the 7th and they hit back with 2 in the 8th. Cruz hit his first homer of the year in the 7th with 1 on and Baldelli hit his 2nd of the year in the 8th with 1 on.

[Doc_Brown]

May 8th

Achievements:
Luis Castillo(New York Mets) 6 hit games Vs Philadelphia Phillies (5/6/09)

Injuries around the league:
Ichiro Suzuki(Seattle Mariners)-Fractured wrist- 6 weeks (5/6/09)

Oadlis Perez(San Diego Padres)-Partially torn ulnar collateral ligament-7 months(5/6/09)

Russel Martin(Los Angeles Dodgers)-Fractured foot-4 weeks(5/6/09)

Trades:
Baltimore Orioles-Toronto Blue Jays: L.Scott(RF), R.Adams(2B) and $950,000 for J.Fraser(MR) and R.Sobolewski(1B)

Next up for the Rangers a 3 game series Vs

Projected starters:

Chicago White Sox(5th AL Central 8-21 11GB)

G.Floyd 0-4 5.85ERA 17BB 24K
M.Buehrle 2-4 5.70ERA 12BB 21K
J.Contreras 1-1 3.31ERA 6BB 23K

Texas Rangers(3rd AL West 16-13 2GB)

V.Padilla 2-0 2.65ERA 3BB 25K
K.Millwood 2-2 7.28ERA 11BB 21K
S.Feldman 1-3 6.42ERA 10BB 14K

[Doc_Brown]

Originally Posted by Klew1986

I'm liking this so far. Do you happen to have AIM or MSN? Would like to share tips and stuff.

Thanks, as for MSN and AIM I just need to remember the passwords and I'll PM them to you.

[GrimmyDee]

Looking good so far, I'll be following.

And it does indeed seem you have a bad curse of the Athletics.

[Doc_Brown]

May 8th-10th

Game 1, Att: 33,387



The Rangers slump rumbles on, we just can't hit at the moment. Contreras pitched a good game for the White Sox. Thye also took advantage of being able to hit and getting runners on base. Kinsler scored the only homer of the game in the 7th for his 4th of the year.

Game 2, Att: 35,716



This game wont go down as the greatest game ever, but we don't mind we end our losing run. The only runs scored were 2 home runs for Hamilton to make it 4 for the year and one for Dye for his 4th of the year.

Game 3, Att: 34,787



A close game Andrus gave us an early lead when he hit a RBI in the 3rd, aside from that it was a pitching duel between Feldman and Richard, they both gave upa few hits but not much else. The game was made safe when Byrd hit a 2 run homer in the 9th for his 2nd of the year. Feldman went out to pitch a 9 innings shut out.

[Doc_Brown]

May 11th

No game today, it was nice to beat the White Sox to end our mini slump and to be fair the White Sox are the team that everyone wants to play at the moment.

Achievements:

5/8 Jason Kendall(Milwaukee Brewers) 2000th hit
5/10 Scott Feldman- 5 hit shut out Vs Chicago White Sox
5/10 Tim Lincecum(San Francisco Giants) 6 hit shut out Vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Injuries around the league:

5/9 Adam Dunn(Washington Nationals)- Oblique strain- 6 weeks
5/10 Matt Wieters(Baltimore Orioles)- Fractured hand- 5 weeks
5/10 Ryan Dempster(Chicago Cubs)- Shoulder inflammation- 3-4 months

Trades:
Detroit Tigers-Houston Astros: J.Anderson(CF) for J.Keppinger(3B) and T.Steele(RF)

Next up for us a 3 match series Vs

Projected pitching;

Seattle Mariners(4th AL West 16-16 2GB)

R.Rowland-Smith 3-2 2.68ERA 9BB 30K
J.Washburn 1-3 6.55ERA 12BB 17K
G.Hernandez 0-0 12.27ERA 8BB 4K

Texas Rangers(2nd AL West 18-14)

B.McCarthy 4-0 1.79ERA 10BB 12K
M.Harrison 4-2 2.17ERA 10BB 21K
V.Padilla 2-1 3.15ERA 5BB 31K

[Doc_Brown]

May 12th-14th

Game 1, Att: 48,908



Yes our 1st win Vs the Mariners. The ground work was done by McCarthy he did give up bith runs after a slow start but he soon got upto speed and Fransisco chalked up his 7th save of the year.

Game 2, Att:48,922



Normal Rangers service Vs the Mariners was resumed today. The Mariners smashed it open in the 6th and we just didn't have the firepower to get back in touch. Hamilton hit his 5th of the year in the 1st with one on and Balentine hit his 4th of the year in the 2nd.

Game 3, Att: 46,339



5 runs in the first 2 innings was enough to see off Washburn. Aside from a Young error we played some good stuff and recorded win number 20. There wwas 2 homers in the game 1 each, for the Rangers, Jones hit his 3rd of the year in the 1st with 1 on and Hairston Jr smashed his 4th of the year on the 2nd pitch of the game.

[Doc_Brown]

May 15th

We take our 2nd series on the bounce 2-1 and beat the Mariners, bring ou our next series Vs the Athletics I think we can now take them.

Achievements:
5/12 Aubrey Huff(Baltimore Orioles) 5 Hit game Vs Tampa Bay Rays

Injuries around the league:

5/13 Bobby Abreau(Atlanta Braves)- Broken knee cap- 4 months
5/13 Gary Sheffield(New York Mets)- Torn ankle ligaments- 5 months

Next up for us a 3 match series Vs

Projected staters(I have noticed that my scout has yet to guess the correct starting pitchers);

Los Angeles Angels(3rd AL West 17-18 3GB)

N.Adenhart 2-2 3.00ERA 10BB 21K
D.Moseley 2-5 6.05ERA 13BB 19K
T.Armas 2-1 4.17ERA 13BB 24K

Texas Rangers(1st AL West 20-15)

K.Millwood 3-2 6.03ERA 15BB 26K
S.Feldman 2-3 5.06ERA 10BB 16K
B.McCarthy 5-0 1.94ERA 14BB 15K

[Doc_Brown]

May 15th-17th

Game 1, Att: 48,592



The Angels used thier speed around the bases to full effect today turning singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Millwood who in his last start had found his stuff well today he didn't have it couldn't hit water from a boat today, he was yanked in the 5th after throwing 101 pitches. The only plus for us today was Perez who seems to finally have settled in at Texas. Kinsler hit the only homer of the game in the 1st for his 5th of the year.

Game 2, Att: 48,868



We were out hit by the Angels but had a higher figure in the column that matters. Feldman once again stepped up for us in the last 2 games 17 innings pitched and only 1 run given up. If the bats could just warm up for us, we'd have the full deal. Byrd hit the only homer of the game in the 6th for his 3rd of the year.

Game 3, Att: 49,024



Again another close game, in the top of the 8th Hammel blew the lead. Willits came on to pich run and we put Teagarden in as catcher for his better arm, first pitch is a wild one and Willits moved to 2nd base, Matthews then drove in the run to tie the game up. In the bottom of the 8th we struck back with 3 runs it could've been more but we left the bases loaded. Diaz hit the only homer of the game in the 3rd for his 3rd of the year.

[Doc_Brown]

May 18th

Achievements:
5/15 Mark Teahen(Kansas City Royals) 22 game hitting streak
5/17 R.Rowland-Smith(Seattle Mariners) 6 Hit dhut out Vs Boston Red Sox

Injuries around the league:
5/16 Carlos Lee(Houston Astros)- Fractured foot- 4 weeks



Next up for us a series Vs

Projected pitchers:

Detroit Tigers(4th AL Central 15-23 9.5GB)

R.Porcello 3-3 4.70ERA 16BB 23K
E.Jackson 1-2 3.15ERA 15BB 29K
J.Verlander 3-4 3.91ERA 19BB 38K

Texas Rangers(1st AL West 22-16)

M.Harrison 4-3 3.14ERA 11BB 22K
V.Padilla 3-1 3.30ERA 6BB 35K
K.Millwood 3-3 6.26ERA 15BB 31K

[Doc_Brown]

May 19th-21st

Game 1, Att: 36,456



The long ball killed us todaywe gave up 4 including a walk off one. Once again we had chances to win the game but failed to take them, we really need to do what Detroit did, hit the ball out of the park! Guillen hit 2, one in the 1st and the other in the 5th with 1 on to take him to 4 for the year, Raburn hit his 1st of the year in the 3rd and Granderson his 3rd in the year for the walkoff.

Game 2, Att: 37,077



Just like yesterday Detroit hit 4 homers and outplayed us in every department. Granderson followed on from yesterday with 2 home runs today one in the 3rd and 1 in the 7th for 5 on the year, and Thames hit 2 to take his tally to 11, his 1st came in the 2nd and his 2nd came in the 5th with 2 on.

Game 3, Att: 31,129



At last we shut down the Detroit home run machine and managed to grind out a Texas style win. Millwood pitched ok but needs to improve alot more and Hammel came in didn't do anything flash and got what was needed done.

[Doc_Brown]

Injuries around the league:
5/19 Matt Kemp(Los Angeles Dodgers)-Torn thimb ligaments- 4 weeks
5/20 Colby Rasmus(St. Louis Cardinals)-Sprained knee- was out for 3 weeks butwill be out for a further 3 weeks
5/20 J.J.Hardy(Milwaukee Brewers)-Shoulder soreness- 4 weeks
5/21 Shinn-Soo Choo(Cleveland Indians)-Strained groin- 6 weeks

Trades:
5/21 Atlanta Braves-Cleveland Indians: M.Prado(2B) and J.Locke(SP) for F.Carmona(SP) and C.Lofgren(SP)

5/21 Toronto Blue Jays-Milwaukee Brewers: J.Carlson(MR) for Z.Braddock(SP) and N.A.Green(SP)


Next up a trip to our neighbours

Projected starters:

Houston Astros(6th NL Central 14-27 10GB)

M.Hampton 1-4 8.53ERA 13BB 15K
J.Hirsh 0-1 7.43ERA 4BB 8K
R.Ortiz 0-6 9.39ERA 13BB 24K

Texas Rangers(1st AL West 23-18)

S.Feldman 3-3 4.44ERA 11BB 21K
B.McCarthy 5-0 2.03ERA 16BB 19K
M.Harrison 4-3 3.61ERA 14BB 22K