What was the real problem?

Plenty of talk yesterday both on the radio (Norm) and in the Newspaper (Galloway) about the true source of the Rangers downfall in 2004. It was a wonderful run for Texas, but in the end they fell short. It seems like both of the media heavyweights want to simplify things a bit too much. Norm claims the pitching was fine, and the hitting was the enormous downfall (more notably, the road hitting), whereas Gramps suggested that the pitching remains the historical Achilles heel, and the hitting was A-OK.

It certainly provides plenty to consider while we gear up for baseball season, but since Gramps holds the prevailing view that “The Rangers need pitching”, I thought we would not go over that tired discussion except to view one thing that non-hardcore Rangers fans may not be aware of:

The Rangers pitching last year was really, really good. Despite not really investing too much of the money in the staff (aside from CHP), and despite playing in the biggest launching pad in the AL, the results boggled the mind. As a staff, they ranked 5th in the American League in ERA, behind 3 playoff teams (Minn, Bos, Ana) and one more who was darn close (Oakland).

The Starting Rotation actually was not that great in the rankings, finishing 11th out of 14 American League Teams with a rotation ERA of 5.16 (ahead of Chi, TB, and KC) and pitching fewer innings than anyone in league besides Tampa Bay, averaging about 5.5 innings per start.

But, that Bullpen was amazing. With a 3.51 ERA, they trailed only the Angels’ pen for the league lead, and were asked to pitch nearly 50 more innings to get to that number. The job they did with the bullpen will be difficult to duplicate, but make no mistake, that was the key to this team’s success with the pitching department. The Bullpen is cheaper to build, but since they pitch almost 40% of the innings they can have a tremendous impact on the team.

Also, to those that believe this staff cannot compete with the Park factor, consider that the team’s ERA this year was remarkably close Home versus Road. At Home, they allowed an ERA of 4.58, and on the road they allowed a 4.50.

As a comparison to those close results, the Rangers bats again performed well in Arlington, scoring 6.06 runs per game. But on the road, they scored 122 fewer runs and averaged only 4.55 per game. By the way, we will have more on the offense and the amazing road hitting famine in a future blog entry.

Rangers Team ERA and AL rank since the 1999 AL West Division Title:

2004 4.53 (5th of 14)
2003 5.67 (14th of 14)
2002 5.15 (12th of 14)
2001 5.71 (14th of 14)
2000 5.52 (14th of 14)
1999 5.07 (11th of 14)

Again, what Orel Hershiser and his pitchers pulled off in 2004 was amazing. You are left to wonder if it was a fluke or can it be duplicated in 2005. In no way am I saying that the Rangers don’t need pitching (because the starting staff is in desperate need of help), but the “Rangers need pitching” argument may not be factual when you apply it to last summer.

Links:

According to the Great One, We are back to square one in the hockey negotiation …

Who is Quarterback University? …Pretty extensive list to debate…

Eddie Sefko suggests Keith Van Horn is fitting in …I am not so sure…

Eddie Johnson continues to score for US National Team …

Galloway with some quick hits on the Rangers …

• An American League scout on 24-year-old first baseman Mark Teixeira:
"He's an absolute beast at the plate, but the Rangers need to enjoy him while they can. He's the new poster boy for the union, the next massive-contract-waiting-to-happen in baseball -- the kind of contract that will help keep salaries high over the next five years.

"[Rangers owner Tom] Hicks should have held off on paying A-Rod all that money. If Teixeira keeps it up, it may take that kind of deal for the Rangers to keep him."

• The word is that Hicks wasn't exactly pleased with Teixeira's comments in this space Sunday. But all Teixeira did was ask for a major market commitment from a major market franchise with a proven fan base. If that makes Hicks mad, then he needs to be in another business, not baseball.

Hicks is mad? No kidding. Unlike Jerry Jones, Hicks cannot handle any criticism of his actions. Either way, Teixeira appears to be the new “hot button” around here….

Cuban versus Gray …

Tice involved in ticket scalping scheme …In fairness to the 6’8 coach, if they paid him up there, he would not have to get involved in this…

Fred Smoot in the Vikes fold, Donovan Darius next? …



Chelsea Moves through to Final 8 in Champions League …That was one of the most amazing soccer games I have seen in a long time. I had no rooting interest, but Ronaldinho's (above) goal was classic, as was John Terry' winner. The best in England beat the best in Spain in a thriller...

Manchester United Does not advance …

What is the Champions League? …Simply the finest competition in World Club Football…

And another goodbye gift from Furio Fan…