OOTP16: Texas Rangers Dynasty

[WeagleWeagle]

I have twice now tried to write about a dynasty on here and haven't really gotten all that far in either one. My Atlanta Braves one picked up some steam but a job change & city change made life too busy to keep playing & writing about it and eventually I just lost interest. Then I tried a fictional dynasty but just couldn't get into it. So a few months ago I decided I would play & record info like I was going to write one up but not post it here until a year was completed and I felt invested. Well last night I wrapped up my first season as manager & GM of Texas so it's time to give this whole dynasty writing thing another shot!

I didn't do any setting adjustments just launched the game with default settings out of the box for a new ML game. I simmed 2015 and chose from teams that fired their GMs. I will give month by month recap of 2015 and then dive into when I took over.

Enjoy!

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
4/9 - 2B Robinson Cano (Seattle) out for 2-3 weeks with elbow sprain
4/17 - Atlanta relief man Andrew McKirahan will need Tommy John surgery and be out for 9-10 months
4/22 - Mets reliever Bobby Parnell out for 8 more weeks recovering from Tommy John surgery
4/26 - Pirates lose LHP Jeff Locke for 4 months with shoulder inflammation
4/26 - Tigers LF Yoenis Cespedes out for 4 weeks with fractured thumb
4/26 - Big injury day continues with STL C Yadier Molina sidelined for 6 weeks with fractured thumb


Transaction News
------------------------
4/11 - Seattle trades away LF Seth Smith & SS prospect Rafael Fernandez for Orioles 1B Chris Davs
4/14 - Cuban free agent 3B Luis Yander La O Camacho signs with Detroit for 1 yr $4.88 million
4/15 - Philadelphia and Baltimore agree to trade where Orioles receive LHP Jake Diekman & 18 yr old RF prospect Bryan Martelo for 31 yr old LF Alejandro De Aza
4/23 - Baltimore stays busy trading for Jon Niese of the Mets and in exchange New York gets SS Everth Cabrera and 19 yr old RHP prospect Victor Ramirez
4/29 - Angels trade away stud SP prospect Sean Newcomb and 31 yr old RHP Joe Smith to Miami for 2B Jordany Valdespin

Random News
--------------------
4/26 - ARod and Dillon Gee are suspended 7 games after fight during Beltway Battle
4/27 - Cincinnati rookie SP Raisel Iglesias leads rookie pitchers in ERA early with 1.19
4/28 - Mark Buehrle (Toronto) earns 200th win
4/30 - Freddie Freeman (Atlanta) hits for cycle against Reds


Batters of the Month
---------------------------
AL - RF Jose Bautista (Toronto) .393 12 HR 28 RBI 17 runs scored
NL - 1B Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona) .393 7 HR 18 RBI 18 runs scored

Pitchers of the Month
----------------------------
AL - SP Masahiro Tanaka (New York) 4-1 1.42 ERA 38 IP 27 K .210 avg
NL - SP Mat Latos (Miami) 4-0 1.19 ERA 37.2 IP 29 K

Rookies of the Month
-----------------------------
AL - 2B Devon Travis (Toronto) .315 3 HR 11 RBI 8 runs scored
NL - SP Raisel Inglesias (Cincinnati) 3-0 22.2 IP 15 K .225 avg

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
5/11 - Atlanta loses star 1B Freddie Freeman for 8-9 months with broken elbow
5/12 - SP Nathan Eovaldi (New York Yankees) out for 4-5 months with shoulder inflammation
5/15 - Cleveland RF Brandon Moss is on DL for 4-5 months with torn back muscle
5/19 - SP Zach Greinke (Dodgers) out for 4 months with torn tricep
5/19 - Another SP is out as Brewer Matt Garza is done for 4 months with torn labrum
5/22 - Marlins lose slugging RF Giancarlo Stanton for 3 weeks with knee sprain
5/23 - Rangers will be down 3B Adrian Beltre for 3 months with broken hand
5/24 - Big blow to Angels losing SP Garrett Richards for 4 weeks with sprained UCL
5/25 - Atlanta loses another star as SS Andrelton Simmons is out for 4 weeks with oblique strain
5/26 - SD RF Matt Kemp done for 6 weeks with fractured finger
5/30 - Yankees down CF Jacoby Ellsbury for 3-4 months with fractured ankle

Transaction News
------------------------
5/4 - Yankees trade 3B Chase Headley, 22 yr old CF prospect Michael O'Neill & $3 million to White Sox for SP Jeff Samardzija
5/6 - Milwaukee sends away LF Gerardo Parra, 19 yr old SS prospect Jake Gatewood & $3 million to acquire 25 yr old Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani
5/17 - RP Huston Street signs 3 yr extension with Angels
5/19 - Cardinals acquire prospects 3B Jhoan Urena and RHP Jorge Cespedes from Mets for 26 yr old SP Seth Maness & $509K
5/21 - Atlanta & Miami agree to interdivisional trade sending Martin Prado back to the Braves for 3B Chris Johnson & RF prospect Jordan Paroubeck
5/22 - Big trade for Arizona acquiring SP Chris Archer & $1 million from Tampa Bay in exchange for SS Nick Ahmed & 20 yr old CF prospect Matt Railey
5/22 - Rockies trade away 28 yr old CF Charlie Blackmon to the Braves for prospects SS Daniel Castro & 18 yr old SP Garrett Fulenchek
5/24 - Dodgers trade away fan favorite 3B Juan Uribe to Kansas City for RP Wade Davis & 18 yr old C prospect Chase Vallot
5/24 - Twins get bullpen help acquiring RP Nate jones from White Sox for prospects LF Amaurys Minier & RHP Dereck Rodriguez
5/26 - Cardinals trade 31 yr old 3B Mark Reynolds to San Diego for SP Ian Kennedy & 20 yr old SS prospect Eliezer Alvarez
5/26 - Pirates & Miami agree to pitchers swap with Pitt getting 23 yr old minor leaguer RHP Trevor Williams & Marlins getting LHP Tony Watson
5/28 - White Sox ship off C Tyler Flowers and $2,675,000 to Texas for prospects RHP Alec Asher & C Jesus Alberto Gonzalez
5/28 - Braves deal RP Cody Martin & $507,500 to Pirates for 23 yr old prospect LHP Cody Dickson
5/28 - Nationals give pen a big boost acquiring RP Kelvin Herrera along with $1.6 million from Royals for prospects RHP Jefry Rodriguez & LF Jorge Marmolejos-Diaz
5/29 - Angels receive 26 yr old SP Tyler Thornburg from Brewers for prospects SP Chris Ellis & SP Hunter Green
5/29 - Royals dealing away bullpen as now Greg Holland is sent to Pirates for prospects C Wyatt Mathisen & SS Adam Frazier
5/31 - San Diego gets 2B Derek Dietrech and sends Miami 3B Yangervis Solarte

Random News
--------------------
5/4 - 2B Jace Peterson (Atlanta) suspended 3 games after going off on umpire that included taking his shoes off, trying to get ump to smell his armpit & finally using batting doughnuts to mimic eyeglasses
5/4 - SF CF Gregor Blanco has hit safely in 20 straight games
5/6 - LF Carl Crawford (LAD) hits for cycle in 11-0 win over Angels
5/9 - Texas 3B Adrian Beltre hits HR #400 in 10-4 loss to Tampa Bay
5/9 - Blanco's hit streak ends at 24 games
5/12 - RF George Springer suspended for 3 games after profanity laced rant at umpire in Astros-San Francisco game

Batters of the Month
---------------------------
AL - 1B Carlos Santana (CLE) .323 23 RBI 20 runs scored 27 walks .475 OBP
NL - 1B Joey Votto (CIN) .347 11 HR 27 RBI 22 runs scored

Pitchers of the Month
----------------------------
AL - SP Cory Kluber (CLE) 5-0 1.35 ERA 40.0 IP 33 K
NL - SP Brandon McCarthy (LAD) 4-0 48.1 IP 1.30 ERA 34 K

Rookies of the Month
----------------------------
AL - 3B Ryan Rua (TEX) .283 6 HR 15 RBI
NL - RF Jorge Soler (CHC) .252 5 HR 18 RBI

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
6/4 - Braves lose CF Cameron Maybin for 10 months with ruptured medial collateral ligament
6/9 - Andrelton Simmons (Braves) suffers 3 weeks setback in injury recovery
6/12 - Marlins down RP Vin Mazzaro for 7-8 months with torn labrum
6/12 - Newly acquired Braves SP Robbie Ross Jr is already going to need Tommy John surgery after injury and is done for 9 months
6/15 - Detroit Tigers will be without RHP Joakim Soria for 7-8 months with a torn labrum
6/19 - 2B Matt Carpenter (STL) is out 5-6 weeks with bruised kneecap
6/24 - Volatile Royals reliever Edinson Volquez is out of commission for 11 months with partially torn UCL

Transaction News
------------------------
6/1 - Arizona trades away RHP Evan Marshall to Reds for prospects 3B Seth Mejias-Brean & RHP Mark Armstrong
6/1 - DBacks make 2nd trade of day moving RP Addison Reed to Mets for 16 yr old SS Kenny Hernandez & 19 yr old RHP Darwin Ramos
6/1 - Atlanta acquires 29 yr old RP Antonio Bastardo from Pirates for prospects C Jose Bricenco & RP Zach Quintana
6/4 - Miami adds RHP AJ Ramos to roster dealing away prospects C Matt Morgan & SS Jesus Severino to Toronto
6/5 - RP Wade Miley on the move to Toronto along with $3 million while Red Sox add prospects 1B Rowdy Tellez & C Andres Sotillo
6/6 - Nationals extend SP Jordan Zimmerman 4 more years worth $68 million
6/6 - Detroit deals away 1B Victor Martinez to Brewers for 27 yr old SS Hector Gomez & 18 yr old prospect SS Frankly Mallen
6/6 - The stove stays hot with Mets trading prospects RHP Casey Meisner & RF Eudy Pina to Pittsburgh for SS Jordy Mercer & $515,500
6/8 - Atlanta & Arizona exchange young SP with Braves getting LHP Robbie Ross Jr & DBacks getting RHP Tyrell Jenkins
6/11 - White Sox trade away 1B Adam LaRoche & RHP prospect J.B. Wendelken to Padres for SP Andrew Cashner
6/11 - White Sox & Padres making 2nd deal of the day with Sox getting OF prospects Travis Jankowski & Marcus Davis while Padres get 27 yr old RHP Zach Putnam
6/18 - DBacks stay busy making deals this time trading for LHP prospect Foster Griffin from Kansas City for RP Chase Anderson & $507,500
6/21 - Big panda is on the move, Boston trades 3B Pablo Sandoval to Astros for prospects RF Teoscar Hernandez & LHP Kent Emanuel

Random News
-------------------
6/4 - CF Desmond Jennings (Rays) & SP Roenis Elias (Mariners) suspended 6 games for fight, later in game another fight happened resulting in Seattle's Nelson Cruz & Tampa Bay's Jeff Beliveau to be suspended as well for 5 games
6/7 - Twins 1B Joe Mauer has 20 game hit streak snapped
6/24 - Boston CF Rusney Castillo sees 20 game hit streak ended against Baltimore
6/25 - 1B Miguel Cabrera (Detroit) smashes his 400th HR in 6-1 win over CWS
6/28 - Toronto's RF Jose Bautista & Texas's SP Tanner Scheppers receive 2 game suspension for altercation in game today
6/28 - Another fight took place in another game as SS Nick Ahmed (TB) & SP Clay Bucholtz (BOS) started a bench clearing brawl and are punished 4 games for it

Batters of the Month
---------------------------
AL - 3B Josh Donaldson (TOR) .364 9 HR 33 RBI 30 runs scored
NL - LF Carlos Gonzalez (COL) .339 7 HR 17 RBI 24 runs scored .378 OBP

Pitchers of the Month
----------------------------
AL - SP Chris Sale (CWS) 5-1 2.93 ERA 43 IP 56 K 7 BB
NL - SP Julio Teheran (ATL) 5-1 2.09 ERA 47.1 IP 45 K 13 BB

Rookies of the Month
----------------------------
AL - CF Rusney Castillo (BOS) .341 3 HR 15 RBI 18 runs scored
NL - C Lednier Ricardo (PHI) .341 2 HR 11 RBI 15 runs scored




2015 MLB Amateur Draft
----------------------------------
1.) SS Brendan Rogers | 17 yrs old | 5* (Arizona Diamondbacks)
2.) SS Alex Bregman | 21 yrs old | 5* (Colorado Rockies)
3.) CF Trenton Clark | 17 yrs old | 5* (Texas Rangers)
4.) SP Brady Aiken | 18 yrs old | 5* (Minnesota Twins)
5.) SP Kyle Funkhouse | 21 yrs old | 4.5* (Houston Astros)
6.) SP Dillon Tate | 21 yrs old | 4* (Boston Red Sox)
7.) LF Mitchell Hansen | 19 yrs old | 4.5* (Chicago Cubs)
8.) SP Carson Fulmer | 21 yrs old | 4* (Chicago White Sox)
9.) RF Nick Plummer | 18 yrs old | 3.5* (Philadelphia Phillies)
10.) C Tyler Stephenson | 18 yrs old | 4.5* (Cincinnati Reds)

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
7/3 - Boston CL Koji Uehara to miss 4 months with shoulder inflammation
7/3 - Tough blow for Giants losing ace Madison Bumgarner for 5 weeks with strained groin muscle after running bases injury
7/5 - Reds LE Gerardo Parra is out 5 months with fractured knee
7/7 - Nationals down SP Gio Gonzalez for rest of season with torn rotator cuff
7/13 - Reds lose heat throwing SP Raisel Iglesias for 5-6 months with torn labrum
7/14 - Phillies lose LF Corey Dickerson for 4 weeks with back injury
7/17 - Another Red down this time CF Billy Hamilton for 5-6 weeks with quad strain
7/19 - Blue Jays down outstanding SP Aaron Sanchez for 4 months with torn labrum
7/21 - Mariners SS Brad Miller out for 5 weeks with strained groin
7/22 - Another Toronto starter down as Andy Oliver is out 4-5 weeks with bone chips in his elbow
7/22 - Brewers lose Ryan Braun for 4 weeks with hamstring strain
7/24 - Red Sox reliever Anthony Varvaro is done for 8-9 months with radial nerve compression
7/25 - Royals will be without LF Alex Gordon for 6 weeks with torn quad
7/25 - Giants CF Nori Aoki done for 8 months with torn labrum
7/29 - Cardinals lose RP Randy Choate for 4-5 months with shoulder inflammation
7/30 - Tough blow for Cardinals losing Jason Heyward for 4 months with broken kneecap
7/31 - Sad news as Michael Bourn of the Cleveland Indians has to call it career after suffering a concussion
7/31 - Yankees will be without SS Didi Gregorius for 6 months with broken elbow

Transaction News
------------------------
7/3 - A's trade CF Craig Gentry & 22 yr old CF prospect Rodolfo Penalo to Colorado for RF Drew Stubbs
7/3 - DBacks acquire RP Kris Medlen from Royals for 2 minor league prospects SS Joe Munoz & RF Mitch Haniger
7/4 - White Sox trade away RP Hector Noesi & $1.95 million to Braves for SP prospect Andrew Thurman
7/5 - Yankees trade for Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood, sending back 19 yr old RF prospect Alexander Palma
7/5 - White Sox & Padres agree to deal sending C Tim Federowicz to White Sox for 2 prospects C Brett Austin & SS Maiker Feliz
7/6 - Big move as Padres trade away LF slugger Justin Upton & $3 million to the Yankees for prospects CF Leonardo Molina & RHP Mark Montgomery
7/6 - Inter division rivals White Sox & Indians agree to deal with LHP Dan Jennings going to Cleveland and 19 yr old LHP prospect Justus Sheffield going to Chicago
7/6 - Very interesting move as Rockies trade away LF Corey Dickerson to the Phillies for SP Chad Billingsley, SS prospect Lucius Fox & $992,500 in cash
7/8 - Brewers trade LHP Will Smith & $507,500 in cash to Houston for 1B prospect Conrad Gregor & C prospect Jacob Nottingham
7/11 - White Sox deal away RHP Javy Guerra to Yankees for 22 yr old 3B prospect Dante Bischette Jr
7/12 - Rangers acquire 37 yr old RF Marlon Byrd from Reds for prospects RHP Luke Lanphere & SS Michael De Leon
7/12 - Phillies trade away prospects LHP Matt Imhof & RF Cord Sandberg to Rockies for RHP Adam Ottavino
7/15 - White Sox & Pirates agree to deal sending LF Andrew Lambo & $507,500 in cash to White Sox for 24 yr old CF prospect Keenyn Walker
7/15 - Rangers trade for SP Jimmy Nelson from the Brewers for 2 prospects 2B Travis Demeritte & RHP Scott Williams
7/15 - It was a wild day for trades as Nationals & Padres got in the action with the Nats acquiring 3B Will Middlebrooks and Padres getting C prospect Pedro Severino
7/16 - A day later Phillies traded for RHP Junichi Tazawa from Red Sox for prospects RHP Victor Arano & 1B Luis Encarnacion
7/16 - Rockies trade 26 yr old RHP Chad Bettis to Rockies for prospects 3B Luis F. Castillo & 3B Trey Michalczewski
7/17 - Washington trades away RP Drew Storen, C prospect Jakson Reetz & $3 million in cash to rival Mets for 3B Eric S. Campbell
7/17 - Orioles & Angels agree to deal that sends SP Chris Tillman to Angels for 1B C.J. Cron & SP prospect Victor Alcantara
7/21 - Jays attempt to fill hole in rotation Sanchez injury left by acquiring SP Mike Leake from Reds for prospects 3B Mitch Nay & RP Sean Ratcliffe
7/23 - The DBacks acquire SP Jake Peavy from SF sending back LF David Peralta and CF prospect Marcus Wilson
7/24 - A's acquire RP Jake Petricka from the White Sox for SP prospect Kyle Finnegan
7/25 - Reds send LHP Tony Cingrani to Giants for prospects CF Gustavo Cabrera & 3B Ryder Jones
7/25 - Washington exchanges CF prospect Victor Robles for White Sox 3B Connor Gillaspie
7/25 - Rangers land C Josh Phegley from A's for RHP Roman Mendez and SS prospect Juremi Profar
7/25 - White Sox get RHP Nick Vincent from Padres in return for CL prospect Andrew Mitchell
7/26 - Rockies trade SP Christian Friedrich & $507,500 in cash to Blue Jays for SS prospect Dickie Thon
7/27 - Miami deals 25 yr old SP Jarred Cosart & $507,500 in cash to Royals for prospects LHP Sean Manaea & LF Jose Marmolejos-Diaz
7/28 - Boston trades away SP Joe Kelly to Phillies for prospects RHP Shane Watson & RHP Mitch Gueller
7/30 - Rangers send 25 yr old LF Ryan Rua to Reds for RP Sean Marshall & 22 yr old SS prospect Alex Blandino
7/30 - Reds deal RP Evan Reed & $720K to Pirates for RHP prospect Luis Heredia

Random News
--------------------
7/14 - NL defeats AL in All Star game 5-3 with Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen winning MVP
7/27 - 2B Robinson Cano (SEA) has hit streak end at 20 games

Batters of the Month
---------------------------
AL - 3B Evan Longoria (TB) .372 8 HR 17 RBI
NL - RF Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) .280 13 HR 29 RBI 18 runs scored

Pitchers of the Month
----------------------------
AL - SP Drew Smyly (TB) 5-0 2.08 ERA 43.1 IP 34 K .167 avg
NL - SP Carlos Martinez (STL) 4-1 1.69 ERA 42.2 IP 27 K

Rookies of the Month
----------------------------
AL - 2B Micah Johnson (CWS) .366 14 RBI 2 HR 19 runs scored
NL - 3B Hector Olivera (LAD) .330 2 HR 16 RBI 12 runs scored

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
8/8 - Reds RF Jay Bruce out for 6 months with ruptured disc
8/12 - SP Hisashi Iwakuma (SEA) done for 6 months with bone chips in elbow
8/13 - Toronto 3B Josh Donaldson out of commision for 3 weeks with obilque strain
8/21 - Pirates lose RF Gregory Polanco for 4-5 weeks after obilque strain
8/27 - Took most of the season but Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki finally hits DL with broken hand that will keep him out for 4-5 months
8/29 - Twins CF Tori Hunter on DL for 7 months due to torn ACL
8/31 - Big loss for Rays as SP Jake Odorizzi is out for a whole year and will need Tommy John

Transaction News
----------------
8/13 - Miami & Seattle execute waiver trade sending LHP Brad Hand & cash to Mariners with Marlins getting back 1B prospect Jordy Lara

Random News
-----------
8/2 - Tampa Bay has won 10 straight games
8/2 - Rangers 1B Prince Fielder hits 300th HR
8/6 - 3B Brett Lawrie (OAK) & SP Brett Oberholtzer (HOU) each earn 5 game suspension for fighting
8/7 - Detroit C Alex Avila suspended 4 games for flipping off umpire
8/7 - Indians LF Michael Brantley sees hit streak end at 23
8/9 - Atlanta LF Tyler Moore (claimed from WAS of waivers) hits for cycle against Marlins
8/24 - Dee Gordon's hit streak also ends at 23 games
8/25 - A finally healthy Madison Bumgarner strikes out 16 against Cubs

Batters of the Month
--------------------
AL - 1B Kennys Vargas (MIN) .381 8 HR 19 RBI 9 BB .423 OBP 23 runs scored
NL - CF Joc Pederson (LAD) .359 7 HR 20 RBI 29 runs scored .483 OBP

Pitchers of the Month
---------------------
AL - SP Sonny Gray (OAK) 6-1 2.76 ERA 45.2 IP 42 K
NL - SP Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 6-0 1.41 ERA 44.2 IP 47 K

Rookies of the Month
--------------------
AL - RF Preston Tucker (HOU) .375 7 HR 12 RBI 20 runs scored
NL - 3B Jake Lamb (ARI) .327 10 HR 21 RBI

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
9/3 - Rockies lose SP Jordan Lyles for 12-13 months with torn flexor tendon
9/4 - Final Colorado star hits DL as RF Carlos Gonzalez suffers torn PCL which will bench him for at least 7 months
9/9 - Toronto SP Drew Hutchinson will be on DL for at least 2 more months
9/12 - Nationals are down CF Michael A Taylor for final 6 weeks of season with partially torn labrum
9/12 - 2B Rougned Odor (TEX) on DL for 3 weeks with bruised wrist
9/19 - Braves lose CL Jason Grilli for 4 months with torn rotator cuff
9/24 - Reds LF Jesse Winker done for 4-5 months with broken bone in elbow
9/28 - CL Kenley Jansen (LAD) will miss 2 weeks with shoulder inflammation
9/28 - Elbow injury claims Toronto SP Andy Oliver's career
9/29 - Dodgers injuries mounting as LF Carl Crawford hits DL and will be done for awhile with torn labrum knocking him out at least 9 months


Random News
--------------------
9/1 - LF Carl Crawford (LAD) earns hit #2000
9/2 - 3B Nolan Arenado (COL) hits for cycle against DBacks
9/14 - Fight between Michael Brantley (CLE) & Yordano Ventura (KC) leads to 3 game suspension for both
9/16 - Eric Hosmer (KC) has 20 game hit streak ended
9/22 - ARod officially has 3000 hits
9/26 - Rookie 3B Joey Gallo (TEX) hits for cycle against Astros

Batters of the Month
----------------------------
AL - 1B Miguel Cabrera (DET) .368 7 HR 29 RBI 26 BB 21 runs scored .481 OBP
NL - C Buster Posey (SF) .337 9 HR 21 RBI 18 runs scored

Pitchers of the Month
----------------------------
AL - SP Danny Duffy (KC) 5-1 1.66 ERA 38 IP 24 K 5 BB
NL - CL Addison Reed (NYM) 10 SV 13.0 IP 23 K 2 BB 0.69 ERA

Rookies of the Month
----------------------------
AL - CF Byron Buxton (MIN) .388 2 HR 10 RBI 21 runs scored
NL - 3B Jake Lamb (ARI) .343 4 HR 16 RBI 16 runs scored

[WeagleWeagle]

Injury News
----------------
10/1 - RP Francellis Montas (CWS) tore rotator cuff & done for 8 months
10/2 - Big loss for Yankees as SP CC Sabathia is done for 13-14 months with torn flexor tendon in elbow
10/4 - Brewers lose RP Francisco Rodriguez for 4-5 months with shoulder inflammation

Transaction News
------------------------
10/2 - Padres trade young SP Tyson Ross to A's for prospects RHP Daniel Gossett & RHP Dylan Covey

[WeagleWeagle]

The Detroit Tigers come all the way from the Wild Card to win the World Series!

[WeagleWeagle]

With the close of 2015 season, 3 job opportunities appeared for me to take over. The Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers & Boston Red Sox all let go of their GMs. I thought about doing the Twins but I have seen a few dynasties with them and I just couldn't make myself be the Red Sox so I chose the Rangers. They way underperformed and still have a great core of young talent so this isn't a tear down/rebuild sort of thing. It's add a few things here or there and get this machine whirling.

The big news to kick off the offseason was the announcement that that DH was being removed from the American League. I left League Evolution on and am accepting what ever madness they inflict on the league this is a big one to kick things off. At first I was a little pissed as I like having a DH purely because it's one less roster cut for the lineup but since I manage every game as well it's definitely more fun when the pitcher's involved. Will be interesting to see as this dynasty marches on what wild things League Evolution adds to the fray.

The heart of this team is already here in the form of SS Jurickson Profar, 2B Rougned Odor & 3B Joey Gallo. All 3 are very young and under control for a bit. They will make the foundation of this lineup for the years to comes. As for the rotation Yu Darvish is the clear ace. He is coming off a pretty serious injury which has dropped his stamina some. I still expect him to be THE guy of the rotation. I am going to look to add another ML arm to help this season as I do have a few solid SP prospects in Alexander 'Chi Chi' Gonzalez, Nick Martinez & Jake Thompson but I don't think any of them are ready to take the mound every 5 days in the Show

[WeagleWeagle]

11/16 - Padres trade 2B Jedd Gyorko (3*/4.5*) to Orioles for prospects SP Hunter Harvey (0.5*/3.5*) & RF Bryan Martelo (0.5*/1*)
11/17 - Cleveland 1B Carlos Santana wins AL MVP while Colorado RF Carlos Gonzalez wins NL MVP

Arbitration Results
-------------------
RP Neftali Perez awarded $5,750,000 we offered $4,700,000


November Recap
-----------------------
11/24 - SP Yovani Gallardo unfortunately accepts qualifying offer, was hoping to get draft pick from him signing elsewhere

11/27 - SP Kenta Maeda signs with Detroit for 4 years $18,920,000
11/27 - We are currently 10 million over budget so need to make some moves. Looking over salaries I tried to see if I could move Gallardo who is on a 1 yr $15 million deal but no biters early. Also shopped Prince Fielder who has a very high price tag & no bueno there which is fine as I am ok with holding onto him for another season or so. As much as I hate it I think Elvis Andrus has to go. He has a $14 million deal for next 5 seasons and it looks like Jurickson Profar has the higher upside. So will be looking to send Andrus off for either some SP help or prospects, maybe both?

11/28 - Cardinals trade away prospects C Steve Bean & RHP Juan M Perez to Reds for RP JJ Hoover & $880,000

11/28 - Big deal for Rangers. Send off SP Yovani Gallardo & LF prospect Nick Williams for RP Jairo Diaz & prospects 3B Trey Michalczewski & SS Rosell Herrera. My scout is VERY high on Michalczewski and thinks Herrera could be serviceable one day. Diaz gives us a fireballer in the bullpen and we ditch Gallardo's large contract to get back in the green. Williams was a decent prospect but with some of the guys in the pipeline he was expendable


December Recap
-----------------------
12/1 - Used our 1st overall pick in the Rule 5 draft to pickup SP Dallas Beeler from Cubs. Don't expect huge things but we need arms. He has been solid in AAA & his a good groundball pitcher. Will slot in the back of the rotation

12/5 - No way I thought I would get it done but I was able to deal Shin-Soo Choo & his $20 million a year to the Indians along with LHP Edwar Cabrera who is a 28 yr old SP that has never shown much to get a shot at the show. In exchange we got freak 17 yr old porspect RF Oscar Gonzalez. VERY long way from him joining club but this was about getting some breathing room on the payroll. We did that & got a very high upside slugger. Now to decide whether to add a corner OF bat or go get a SP

12/14 - LF Justin Upton lands in Boston after signing 4 yr $26,750,000 deal. He hit .325 with 8 HR & 40 RBI for Yankees last season after being traded over by Padres. Now he lands for their bitter rival
12/14 - Houston rookie SP Asher Wobciechowski had a strong first season for the Astros but was traded away to the Blue Jays for CF prospect Lane Thomas

12/18 - Brewers trade outstanding RP Taylor Jungmann & $507,500 to Atlanta for prospects 3B Dustin Peterson & SS Luis Mejia

12/19 - San Diego trades away RP Odrsamel Despaigne to Baltimore for talented OF prospects Christin Stewart & Vahn Bonzoian

12/20 - White Sox send SP Andrew Cashner to Angels for prospects RHP Kyle Cody & RF Damion Smith

12/28 - Giants finalize deal with one of top OF prospects in Alex Gordon, signing him for 6 yrs $20,200,000 a year. I took one peak at his demand and realized it wasn't gonna happen....
12/28 - Mat Latos converts good 2015 season to big payday signing for 7 yrs at estimated $16,400,000 a year with the Detroit Lions

12/31 - Yankees rotation will now feature the 1-2 punch of Tanada & David Price as the outstanding lefty signs with New York for 5 years $126,800,000


January Recap
--------------------
1/2 - Tigers part with outstanding young LF Tyler Collins in exchange for young SP Kevin Munson and big time SS prospect Sergio Alcantara of the DBacks

1/5 - We land our SP target Mike Leake for 3 years $29,500,000. He will either be our #2 or #3 guy in rotation behind Darvish & Holland. He was ok last season splitting the year between Reds & Blue Jays
1/5 - Also wanted an OF bat to help & got it in Jeremy Hazelbaker who has yet to play in the majors and just wanted a shot so signed him to a 1 yr $800k deal. He can play any OF position at high level and can be #4 OF this season along with replacing Choo's left handed bat
1/5 - Mike Piazza & Ken Griffey Jr elected to Hall of Fame

1/6 - 3B Mark Reynolds is gonna put up some huge numbers as he signs with the Rockies for 4 years worth $28,400,000. Should fit right in at Mile High Stadium
1/6 - Astros trade away 3B Luis Valbuena to Brewers for SP Mike Fiers

1/18 - Brewers CL Jeremy Jefferies accidentally shoots himself in the foot with handgun... Out for 2 weeks
1/19 - Rockies sign outstanding RP Drew Storen to 2 yrs paying $2,960,000 a season

1/22 - Milwaukee makes big splash in free agency signing 2B Ben Zobrist to 2 yr deal worth $19,500,000 a year

1/25 - Giants sign former Baltimore slugger 1B Chris Davis to deal that pays $4,080,000 a year over 3 years

1/30 - Cubs trade for LF Jackie Bradley Jr of the Red Sox for prospects RF Eloy Jimenez & 2B Carlos Sepulveda


February Recap
---------------------
2/5 - Phillies land SP Jeff Samardzija for estimated $14,433,333 a year over next 6 years

2/10 - White Sox have signed Johnny Cueto to 5 year deal that pays out estimated $9.1 million every year

2/13 - Big time deal as Angels trade away Josh Hamilton to the Nationals for LF Eric S Campbell & SS prospect Randy Arozarena

2/14 - Interesting deal as Tigers acquire 29 yr old CF Desmond Jennings from Rays in exchange for 33 yr old 2B Ian Kinsler & $3 million in cash

2/23 - CL Jonathan Papelbon signs with Angels


March Recap
------------------
3/2 - Mariners want to see if Cliff Lee still has something and sign him to 1 yr $11,800,000 deal

[WeagleWeagle]

Spring Training Review
----------------------
3/10 - In first week of spring training Tampa Bay loses star RF Kevin Kiermaier for 5-6 months with broken elbow
3/15 - New York Mets & Phillies make interesting deal that sends C Travis d'Arnaud to Phillies for 37 yr old 2B Chase Utley & RF prospect Nick Plummer
3/16 - Giants lose ace Madison Bumgarner for 3 months with torn tricep

3/17 - We suffer major injury as RP Matt Harrison goes down with stretched elbow ligament for 9 months. Tried to deal him in the offseason due to contract but looks like those millions will sit on DL all season...
3/25 - Another lefty reliever down for us this one really hurts as Neftali Perez is out of commision for 3 months with bicep tendintis

3/29 - RP Tyler Clippard signs with Dodgers
3/31 - Phillies lose LF Corey Dickerson for 5-6 weeks with hamstring strain


Rangers Spring Training Notes
-----------------------------------------
- We went 14-12 in spring training
- Biggest surprises were success of prospects RF Nomar Mazara & C Jorge Alfaro. Both will start in AAA but good chance both are with ML club by end of the year especially Mazara
- Joey Gallo does what he does & struck out a bunch but hit 4 HRs & put up a ridiculous ISO .279
- Derek Holland had a solid spring along with reliever Jairo Diaz who we picked up in offseason trade
- Lost 2 left handed bullpen arms for significant time

[WeagleWeagle]

Baseball is finally here! The BNN have the Texas Rangers going 86-76, finishing 2nd in AL West behind the Angels. Overall we got out of spring training without too much damage and are ready to kick this thing off. Our lineup is more left hand heavy than I would like but it should be potent. The core of our oder will be Odor/Fielder/Gallo/Profar where I expect most of the offense to be generated from. If we can get guys like Martin or Phegley to also give consistently strong ABs we should be in good shape.

The starting rotation is anchored by Yu Darvish. Derek Holland had a very strong spring and will slide in as #2 in the rotation with FA acquisition Mike Leake in the 3rd spot. Jimmy Nelson is a young interesting arm that will sit 4th and our Rule V pick Dallas Beeler will start his career as the #5 man.

The bullpen scares me a bit. Shawn Tolleson had a strong season last year and will retain the closer job. Keone Kela & Alex Claudio have some big time stuff but after that a lot of unknowns. Lisalverto Bonilla is young but has an electric arm. Phil Klein is young as well but has a bit more experience and a guy that I can use against righties or lefties. Jairo Diaz was acquired this offseason and just like Bonilla & Kela can gun it from the right side, however control could be an issue with him. Martin Perez is the other lefty of the bunch and actually could be a starter with his stamina if we wanted too down the line & Ross Ohlendorf will be used as the long reliever.

Overall I am excited about this bunch. We have a bunch of youth with high upside. We also have another wave of prospects coming up soon in Jake Thompson, Alexander Gonzalez, Jorge Alfaro & Nomar Mazara that make me excited about the future as well. The goal of this season is to get to the playoffs. I don't think we have the arms yet to win it all but get in there & anything can happen.

Let's play ball!!!

[WeagleWeagle]

Cleveland Series Preview
----------------------------------
The Rangers open the 2016 season at home against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians last season won 98 games on their way to an AL Central Division Pennant. Much of that roster remains with Kluber still occupying the ace spot and Carlos Santana emerging in the middle of the order. There will be a familiar face on the other side of the diamond as former Ranger Shin-Soo Choo will be starting in RF. The Rangers & Indians agreed in a deal over the offseason that sent Choo & Edwar Cabrera back to Cleveland in exchange for 17 yr old prospect RF Oscar Gonzalez. This is a great early test for this Rangers club. Both sides will throw their best with this being the Opening series. With it at home it's important Texas gets off to a strong start in 2016.

News
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- Cleveland announced signing of RP Shawn Kelly to 2 yr $13,400,000 deal

[WeagleWeagle]

April 11th, 2016
Cleveland @ Texas
RHP Corey Kluber vs RHP Yu Darvish

Darvish Dazzles, Hazelbaker Homers in Debut
(Arlington, TX) - The 2016 season for the Texas Rangers kicked off Monday with two of the best aces in the AL facing off. Kluber coming off a 17 win season where he put up an impressive 2.71 ERA matched up against Ranger ace Yu Darvish who had last season cut short with injury. Both got off to a fast start as each struck out 2 batters in the first frame. Rougned Odor earned the first hit of the season for the Rangers with a 1 out double in bottom of 1st but it came to nothing when Joey Gallo struck out to end the inning and stranded the Texas second basemen at third base.

In top of the 3rd, old friend Shin-Soo Choo pulled off a bunt single to earn the Indians first hit of the season. Later in the inning, things got real interesting as a HBP & a walk set the table for Michael Brantley. Darvish however escaped, getting Brantley to hit a weak fly ball to 3B. He was back in the fire again in the top of 4th though after Yan Gomes opened the inning with a single, Carlos Santana worked a walk and Plouffe laid down a sacrifice to move both into scoring position. Manager WeagleWeagle elected to walk Craig Gentry to load the bases and setup the double play with 1 out. Darvish instead decided to go with the strikeout sitting down Craig Gentry on a nasty offspeed pitch. Kluber however almost came through with 2 out magic as he hit a rocket up the middle that took a diving Odor to stop. But still the Rangers escaped with a no score tie game.

The bottom half of the 4th was where the game changed. After Odor singled to lead the inning off, Jurickson Profar worked a 2 out walk to put 2 on for FA signee Jeremy Hazelbaker. Hazelbaker got a fastball he liked and planted it over the LF wall to put the Rangers up 3-0 where it would stay for good. Darvish finished the day with a clean 7 innings, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts & 3 walks to give way to the Ranger bullpen. Alex Claudio struck out lefties Kipnis & Brantley while Keone Kala entered and got final out of 8th by striking out Yan Gomes. Shawn Tolleson then came on in 9th for first save attempt and although he made things interesting with back to back singles surrendered to Plouffe & Choo he would get pinch hitters Jake Lowery & Carlos Moncrief out by a strike out and ground out respectively to end the game earning his first save of the season and the Rangers an opening day win!

News
--------
- SP Brandon Morrow finally signed, landing with the Cubbies on a 1 yr $9.6 million deal. He will take the mound tomorrow for his first start of the 2016 campaign

[WeagleWeagle]

April 13th, 2016
Cleveland (0-1) @ Texas (1-0)
RHP Carlos Carrasco vs LHP Derek Holland

Holland No Hit Bid Comes Up Short
(Arlington, TX) - It was set to be another pitcher's duel with hard throwing Carlos Carrasco taking the mound for the Indians to face lefty Derek Holland and if you don't count bottom 1st inning it was just that. Leonys Martin lead off the bottom 1st for the Rangers with a single for his first hit of the year. Rougned Odor then followed with a rocket off the RF wall and raced around for an RBI triple. Prince Fielder would follow with a weak grounder up the middle but Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis threw it away scoring Odor and putting Fielder on 2nd. Back to back singles followed to put score at 3-0 with Jurickson Profar grounding up the middle and RBI machine Hazelbaker following with a bloop single for his 4th RBI early in the 2016 campaign. Carrasco finally escaped the inning getting Josh Phegley and Jared Hoying out but the damage was done.

Meanwhile for Texas, Derek Holland was outstanding. He kept Indians hitters off balance not leading to many strike outs but producing weak contact and easy outs. Cleveland didn't get their first baserunner until top 3rd when Shin-Soo Choo worked a walk but it would take all the way to the 6th before they would get their first hit and it came from unlikely source. With Holland cruising, Rangers Stadium was buzzing about a possible no no in the 2nd game of the season but Carlos Carrasco took out his 1st inning frustrations with a rocket up the middle for a single. That would lead to Holland's one bad inning as Francisco Lindor followed with a double to put both runners in scoring position. Kipnis grounded out easily to first but Michael Brantley got enough on a flyball to score Carrasco and give Indians first run of season. That is all Cleveland would get in the game though.

In bottom of 6th, Profar lead inning off in a big way with monster shot off RF wall. He would display his blazing speed, tearing around the bases and just beating a throw home to score an inside the park HR and put the Rangers up 4-1. From there it was all bullpens. Phil Klein entered for Holland in top 7th to face one batter which didn't go great surrendering a single. But it would come to nothing as lefty specialist Martin Perez got the job done striking out one and then getting Choo to ground into an inning ending double play. Nick Hagadone entered for Indians and was dominant giving up only one hit (Jeremy Hazelbaker) & striking out 2. For the Rangers, the 8th was again worked in combo by setup men Keone Kala & Alex Claudio. Kala got a pop out but surrendered a single to Lindor. Claudio then came on and surrendered single to Kipnis but that's all she wrote as next batter Brantley grounded into double play. The 9th was Tolleson's again and again he was shaky but effective. He gave up a single to Gomes then two batters later walked pinch hitter Jake Lowery. But a James Ramsey strike out later and a Choo pop out to Gallo would end it giving the Rangers the opening series and Tolleson his 2nd save.

News
-------
- SP Jeff Samardzija impresses in his debut for the Phillies blanking the Mets on 5 hits, 2 walks & 9 strikeouts

[WeagleWeagle]

April 14th, 2016
Cleveland (0-2) @ Texas (2-0)
RHP Trevor Bauer vs RHP Mike Leake

Indians Win Marathon
(Arlington, TX) - Fans got way more baseball than they paid for on Thursday as the final game of the opening season series took 14 innings to complete. A series that featured mostly pitching in the first 2 games turned offensive in the finale.

The Rangers got the first baserunner of the game when who else but Jeremy Hazelbaker ripped a single into LF with one out. Josh Phegley followed with a single up the middle of his own but nothing would come of it as Jared Hoying grounded out and Mike Leake struck out. On the other side, the Indians offense found life from an unlikely source. SP Trevor Bauer smashed a triple with 2 outs and was rewarded with a run when Francisco Lindor followed with a single to give Indians first lead of the season. Cleveland would add 2 more in the next frame when Yan Gomes went deep for 1st time all year scoring 2 runs and making it 3-0. The Indians in fact scored 2 runs an inning in the next 2 frames with Shin-Soo Choo singling home 2 runs off Ross Ohlendorf who entered in relief in top 5th. Ohlendort struggled further in the top 6th serving up 3 straight singles leading to a run and then a groundout scoring a 7th making it 7-0 for the Indians.

On the other side Trevor Bauer was dealing. Entering the bottom of the 6th he was 2-2 at the plate and had struck 9 batters out in 5 innings. But in the bot 6th the game turned. Prince Fielder opened the inning in a big way getting his first hit of the year in a blast over the RF wall to make it 7-1 Indians. Joey Gallo followed with his first hit of the season on a single up the middle. Jurickson Profar would then one up Fielder going deep for a 2 run shot, his 2nd of the year but first out of the park, cutting lead to 7-3. Hazelbaker would follow with a single but next 3 batters would be retired by Bauer.

Lisalverto Bonilla made his first appearance of the 2016 campaign for the Rangers in top 7th and besides a 2 out triple by Trevor Plouffe got the job done. For the Indians, things would get rough. Nick Hagadone was dominant the day before in his relief appearance so Cleveland turned to him again. It didn't go well... Delino DeShields Jr entered as pinch hitter for LF Leonys Martin to face the lefty and promptly doubled off the RF wall. Rougned Odor followed with a double off the opposite wall to make it 7-4. Prince Fielder worked a walk to bring tying run to the plate in form of Joey Gallo. Gallo continued his rough start by striking out. However, Profar would fare better. He got another fastball he liked and deposited another ball over the wall to tie the game at 7! That brought on Cody Allen who stopped the bleeding but the major damage had been done and we headed to the 8th with a tie game.

Martin Perez replaced Bonilla to face the all the lefties coming up in the Indians order. Cleveland responded by pinch hitting rigthy Jose Ramirez, who singled to start the inning off. Lindor followed with a warning track flyout that advanced Ramirez to 2nd. Perez then got Jason Kipnis to pop out but walked John Brantley leading to Jairo Diaz making his first appearance in the young season. Diaz would get Gomes to ground out and end the threat. Rangers would do nothing but get an infield single from Odor in bot 8th taking a tie game to the 9th. Keone Kala entered, walked a batter, then sat the next 3 batters down in order. The Rangers had a final chance to end game before going to extras. Profar hit a 1 out single but next 2 batters struck out resulting in free baseball!!

Alex Claudio entered for Rangers and with the help of 2 outstanding defensive plays by Odor & Fielder would sit down the Indians 1-2-3. In bottom of 10th, Rangers would threaten when the final bat off the bench, Robinson Chirinos, entered as a pinch hitter and cranked a double off the wall. However, it would lead to nothing as DeShields popped lazily out & Odor hit long fly out to LF. Onto the 11th!!!

WeagleWeagle then turned to 2nd to last reliever in Phil Klein and he made it look easy in top 11th striking out Gomes & Santana and putting together a simple 1-2-3 inning. The Indians turned to lefty Kyle Crockett to face the heart of the Rangers order in bot 11th. Good thing for them 2016 Texas's heart beats very weakly... Fielder singled into RF but Gallo followed with another strikeout (he had 4 on the day). Profar worked a walk but Hazelbaker & Phegley both struck out to push game to the 12th.

Klein again was stunning striking 2 more Indians out and working a 2nd perfect inning. Cleveland called on LHP Dan Jennings in bottom 12 who besides a 2 out walk to DeShields got the job done. In the 13th, Klein had his best inning of the 3, striking out the side. He finished his appearance working 3 perfect innings with 7 strikeouts. As for the bottom of the 13th, the Rangers flirted with ending the game. After Fielder & Gallo struck out, Jennings walked Profar. That brought LHP Marc Rzepczynski in to get them out of trouble but he escalated it further by walking Hazelbaker. However, Phegley could not come through as he struck out for 3rd time and we were off to the 14th.

The 14th saw the piching dam break. A tired Shawn Tolleson entered the game for Texas and gave up a leadoff triple to Brantley. He followed it up with a strike out of Gomes and then intentionally walked Carlos Santana to set up the double play, facing Rzepczynski. The pitcher would lay down a sacrifice which advanced Santana but kept runner on 3rd. Then with 2 runners in scoring position, Cleveland finally got a clutch hit. Trevor Plouffe poked a single into RF and scored 2 putting Indians back ahead 9-7. Tolleson kept the damage to 2 but that meant the Rangers needed a big both 14th to win.

Jared Hoying worked a walk to lead the inning off. Tolleson sacrificed him over to 2nd which turned out to be a brilliant move as DeShields Jr doubled off the wall to score Hoying and make it a 1 run game. Rougned Odor stepped to the plate and hit a nice ball but straight to the RF which meant it all came down to Fielder. Prince worked a full count before getting sawed off and hitting a weak grounder to the pitcher. An easy throw later and the marathon was over and the Indians had first win of the season.

News
--------
- Washington ace SP Stephen Strasburg hits the DL for 2 months with shoulder inflammation
- Yankees lose starting SS Didi Gregorius for 6 weeks with torn meniscus
- Pirates & Twins make early deal sending RF Mel Rojas (1.5/2) & 3B Connor Joe (1/2.5) to Minnesota with Pittsburgh getting C Chris Herrman (2/2)

[WeagleWeagle]

Oakland Series Preview
--------------------------------
Rangers head west to O.co Coliseum to face the 4-0 A's. Oakland started this season with a 4 game sweep of the hapless Mariners. Last season the Athletics were a Wild Card team that fell to Detroit who eventually won the World Series. They return AL Cy Young winner Sonny Gray who pairs with October acquisition Tyson Ross to make a solid 1-2 punch. Honestly there really isn't a weak link in their rotation. As for their lineup Brett Lawrie was a platinum bat winner last season and bats #3. They are without outstanding SS Marcus Semien, slugging LF Josh Reddick & CL RJ Alvarez but C Stephen Vogt & RF Mark Cahn are off to hot starts each hitting .500 with 5 HRs between the two. This should be a series all about SP and which offense can take advantage of RISP.

News
-------
- Due to all the pitchers used in 14 inning loss to CLE, we made some roster moves to bring in some fresh arms
- Demoted Martin Perez & Phil Klein to AAA, purchased contracts of Ryan Rodebaugh & Jimmy Reyes. Both Martin & Klein will be back on roster in next few days

[WeagleWeagle]

April 15th, 2016
Texas (2-1) @ Oakland (4-0)
RHP Jimmy Nelson vs RHP Jarrod Parker

Parker Dazzles
(Oakland, CA) - The A's are a team built on great pitching and that was on display Friday as the home team's SP Jarrod Parker went all 9 innings in his first appearance in 2016. He only struck out 2 but walked no one and kept damage minimal on 7 hits. Meanwhile for Texas, starter Jimmy Nelson pitched 3 strong innings before struggling in the 4th & 5th. Poor work out of the bullpen didn't help as the A's tacked 4 more runs on in final 3 innings of the game. For Oakland's offense it was all Lawrie who busted out after poor series again Seattle with 4-5 day that included 2 HRs, 3 RBIs & 4 runs scored. The only bright spot on offense for Texas was C Josh Phegley returning home to go 3-4 with a solo HR, a double, RBI & 2 runs scored. The two teams will meet again tomorrow as ace Sonny Gray will take on first time starter Dallas Beeler. Talk about a tough first assignment.

News
- Scott Kazmir was electric in Dodgers win over Padres going all 9 innings with 9 strikeouts and only a single hit in dominating 7-0 Dodger victory

[WeagleWeagle]

April 16th, 2016
Texas (2-2) @ Oakland (5-0)
RHP Dallas Beeler vs RHP Sonny Gray (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Gallo & Fielder Break Free
(Oakland, CA) - It's been a rough start for Joey Gallo & Prince Fielder. Each hitting under .200 with Gallo striking out in half his at bats. Those struggles lead WeagleWeagle to wiggle the lineup some moving Hazelbaker to the #1 hole and Profar to the #3 hole dropping Fielder to #7 and also struggling Martin to #5. The moves appeared to work as Rangers scored 7 and knocked out 12 hits. But most impressive might have been Rule V draftee Dallas Beeler who outdueled Sonny Gray in his first start in ML since 2014.

Hazelbaker opened the game with a 4 pitch walk but Gray struckout Odor & got Profar to ground into double play to escape the danger. In the bottom of the 2nd, he couldn't escape Gallo's dangerous bat. The struggling young 3B cranked a fastball out over the CF wall to put the Rangers up 1-0. Leonys Martin then followed with a double down the LF line and 2 batters later Fielder got in on the action with an RBI single to put the score at 2-0. It took 16 ABs this season but finally Jared Hoying had a hit with a single to LF to put 2 runners on with 2 outs for Dallas Beeler. But the youngster stood no chance against Gray and went down on 3 pitches.

Oakland's first hit came in bot 2nd when Stephen Vogt singled to RF with 1 out but nothing came of it as Beeler sat down the next 2 batters. Sonny Gray struck back in bot 3rd with a 1 out single but again Beeler recovered striking the next 2 batters out. Texas threatened again as well in top 4th as Josh Phegley continued his hot hitting with 1 out double off Gray. Fielder followed with single but Hoying & Beeler could not make Gray pay.

In bottom of the 7th, Beeler finally ran into trouble. Vogt lead inning off with a single and a few batters later on double play attempt Beeler sailed throw over Profar's head and into CF putting 2 runners on with 1 out, facing pinch hitter Coco Crisp. Crisp singled to load the bases. So with 1 out Mark Canha came in as pinch hitter with bases loaded with chance to change game. Beeler wasn't having it as he sat him down on strikes. He then got Billy Burns to pop out and escaped the inning unharmed.

Roman Mendez entered the game in the top 8th to relieve Gray and promptly walked Odor. After a Profar fly out, Gallo struck again with a hard hit ball off the wall for an RBI double making it 3-0 Rangers. WeagleWeagle attempted to hide his worn out bullpen by sending Beeler back out but he walked first batter he faced in Ike Davis bringing up hot hitting Brett Lawrie. So Ryan Rodebaugh made his 2nd appearance since call up to try and get Lawrie out. He didn't... Lawrie smacked a double and then Rodebaugh walked Van Slyke to load the bases with no outs. That lead to other recent callup Jimmy Reyes making his ML debut against Stephen Vogt. It also didn't go well as the hot hitting A's C singled home 2 runs to make it a 3-2 game. But after that Reyes got it done getting a deep fly out and a double play to keep game at 3-2.

It fell apart for Oakland in top 9th as Fielder capped his 4-4 day with a leadoff single. Delino DeShields entered as a pinch runner and executed a perfect hit & run with Jared Hoying putting runners on the corners. Elvis Andrus then entered as a pinch hitter and attempted a safety squeeze but instead popped it up to the pitcher... No problem though as Jeremy Hazelbaker came up next and ripped a single into LF scoring DeShields. Dan Otero then relieved Mendez and he had an even worse time. He walked Odor to load the bases and then got an RBI ground out from Profar. But then he was rudely introduced to Gallo, as the 3B slugged his 2nd 2 run double of the day to put game out of reach at 7-2. Ross Ohlendorf entered to finish game off and he made it a 1-2-3 inning giving Oakland their first loss of the season.

The rubber match tomorrow will be another pitcher's duel as Yu Darvish will make his 2nd appearance of the season as will Tyson Ross. The Rangers are hoping Gallo & Fielder's bats stay hot and they can claim their 2nd series of the young season

News
- He was not great in his brief appearance so Rodebaugh was sent back down to Round Rock and a now mostly rested Martin Perez was recalled. Klein should be recalled tomorrow after another day's rest