Beltran out for the season Texas's star acquisition sees his 2011 campaign cut short
July 7, 2011
ARLINGTON, TX - The worst part is, this injury was completely avoidable.
Carlos Beltran slid into home plate in the 3rd inning last night on Michael Young's single, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead in a game they would ultimately win 7-2. Only, the slide wasn't needed at all, as Derrek Lee cut off Vlad Guerrero's throw from the outfield. Beltran could've gone in standing up.
Instead, he slid - and his foot turned in a direction feet aren't supposed to turn.
Beltran was in visible agony on the field and had to be carted off. It was gruesome, and there was no escaping the reality of it; it's a dislocated ankle, and Beltran is done for the season.
"It's terrible," Ron Washington said. "He was hitting really well for us and was catching fire with the rest of the team. To lose a player like Carlos, it's huge. We've got a lot of good players in our lineup, but losing somebody like Carlos Beltran is a big blow, no matter what."
It's especially upsetting because Beltran was pulling away in the voting for the All-Star team in right field, and would've been one of five likely All Stars from Texas. Brandon Webb leads the way in voting at starting pitcher, Ian Kinsler trails Dustin Pedroia by a slim margin and will likely get in as a reserve, Elvis Andrus is holding off Asdrubal Cabrera at the moment, and Josh Hamilton is neck and neck with Indians centerfielder Grady Sizemore.
BATTING: 2B: Kinsler 2 (23), Andrus (16), Hamilton (18) 3B: Young (3), Chavez (1) HR: Hamilton (24), M. Ramirez 2 (15) RBI: Kinsler (53), Andrus (32), Hamilton 4 (65), M. Ramirez 3 (41) SAC: Chavez
BASERUNNING: CS: Andrus (10)
FIELDING: E: M. Ramirez (2)
Oakland Athletics
PITCHERS
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
HR
ERA
Cahill (4-10)
1.2
8
8
8
0
1
3
5.13
McCarthy
3.1
4
1
1
1
4
0
5.11
Breslow
1.0
1
0
0
1
1
0
3.07
Fuentes
2.0
1
0
0
0
3
0
4.31
TEAM TOTALS
8.0
14
9
9
2
9
3
Texas Rangers
PITCHERS
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
HR
ERA
Wilson (W, 11-6)
6.0
8
4
4
7
8
1
3.53
Lowe
0.0
1
2
2
1
0
1
6.00
Santana (H, 1)
1.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4.04
Thornton (H, 12)
0.2
0
0
0
0
1
0
1.69
Crain (H, 13)
0.1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.74
Feliz (S, 30)
1.0
0
0
0
0
2
0
3.99
TEAM TOTALS
9.0
9
6
6
8
11
2
Game 3
OAK at TEX - Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Jul 10, 2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oakland Athletics (35-56)
0
0
0
1
2
0
2
0
0
5
11
0
Texas Rangers (58-33)
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
12
1
W: M. Wuertz (3-2) L: D. Bush (2-1) S: A. Bailey (15)
Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS
OAK
TEX
1
Hamilton homered to right center, Kinsler scored
0
2
3
Hamilton singled to center, Teagarden scored
0
3
4
Willingham reached first on Beltre's fielding error, Carter scored
1
3
5
Pennington homered to right, Kouzmanoff scored
3
3
7
Sweeney grounded out to second, Kouzmanoff scored
4
3
7
Carter singled to left center, DeJesus scored
5
3
Oakland Athletics
HITTERS
AB
R
H
RBI
BB
SO
HR
AVG
DeJesus, RF
5
1
2
0
0
1
0
.320
Sweeney, CF
5
0
0
1
0
2
0
.251
Carter, 1B
5
1
2
1
0
0
0
.230
Willingham, DH
4
0
0
0
0
3
0
.238
Matsui, LF
4
0
1
0
0
2
0
.260
Suzuki, C
4
0
1
0
0
1
0
.212
Ellis, 2B
4
0
1
0
0
0
0
.228
Kouzmanoff, 3B
4
2
3
0
0
0
0
.246
Pennington, SS
4
1
1
2
0
0
1
.213
TEAM TOTALS
39
5
11
4
0
9
1
BATTING: 2B: Matsui (17), Ellis (12), Carter (16) HR: Pennington (5) RBI: Pennington 2 (28), Sweeney (22), Carter (42)
Texas Rangers
HITTERS
AB
R
H
RBI
BB
SO
HR
AVG
Kinsler, 2B
4
1
2
0
0
0
0
.312
Andrus, SS
4
0
0
0
0
1
0
.291
Hamilton, LF
4
1
2
3
0
0
1
.294
M. Ramirez, DH
4
0
0
0
0
1
0
.295
Beltre, 3B
4
0
3
0
0
0
0
.283
Young, 1B
4
0
1
0
0
0
0
.299
Jennings, RF
3
0
1
0
1
1
0
.235
Chavez, CF
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
.279
Teagarden, C
4
1
2
0
0
1
0
.514
TEAM TOTALS
34
3
12
3
1
6
1
BATTING: 2B: Beltre (26) HR: Hamilton (25) RBI: Hamilton 3 (68) SAC: Chavez GIDP: Kinsler, Chavez 2, M. Ramirez
Rangers enraged at All-Star snubs Kinsler and Andrus get passed over in the AL; trade talks at the halfway point
July 11, 2011
PHOENIX, AZ - The Texas Rangers are not happy.
They're tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in baseball, they're 4th in the league in runs, 1st in batting average, 1st in hits, 1st in doubles, tied for 1st in triples, 1st in homeruns, and 1st in slugging percentage - and yet they have all of one starter in the field for the American League side in the All-Star Game, and that's due to Josh Hamilton beating the cover off the baseball for the last two weeks so he could squeak past Cleveland's Grady Sizemore by 8,000 votes to get the start in center field. Carlos Beltran also gets credit for an All-Star appearance as he had 80,000 more votes for right field than David DeJesus, but obviously Beltran won't be playing, as he is on the shelf for the year with his ankle injury.
But the Rangers are stark raving furious about what they perceive to be a blatant snubbing of their middle infielders, second baseman Ian Kinsler and shortstop Elvis Andrus. Kinsler came up 37,000 votes behind Boston's Dustin Pedroia at 2nd, despite having a better batting average, a better slugging percentage, twice as many homeruns, nearly the same amount of RBI, more hits, more runs, and more stolen bases. Worse, Kinsler didn't even get in as a reserve, as the backup 2nd base spot went to Kansas City's Mike Aviles - who finished 13th in voting among AL second basemen.
Andrus, on the other hand, was caught and surpassed at the very end by Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera, in an incredibly tight contest of around 1,000 votes. Andrus's batting average is 13 points higher, and while he trails Cabrera in homeruns and RBI, he has more runs, more hits, and 36 stolen bases compared to eight for Cabrera. Cabrera likely got the not because of his fielding, widely regarded as the best in baseball at his position, while Andrus is subpar in that regard. The outrage there is dampened, as Andrus still made the team as a reserve.
On the bright side, Brandon Webb's scorching first half earned him the starting nod for the AL, against Diamondbacks phenom Daniel Hudson for the NL. Neftali Feliz also squeaked in, beating out Jonathan Papelbon by about 2,000 votes for the final closer's spot.
Meanwhile, despite having a sparkling 58-34 record and a gaping 11.5 game lead over the Mariners in the AL West, the Rangers continue to be active on the trade market, as the baseball hot stove heats up with the trade deadline now less than three weeks away. Rumors out of Arlington say the Rangers are looking for a few specific pieces; namely, another left-handed reliever, a rangy centerfielder so they can move Hamilton over to left, and perhaps, if the price is right, a top of the line starting pitcher. With numerous outfielders like Endy Chavez and Julio Borbon, and David Murphy coming off the DL (along with Andres Blanco), the need for a centerfielder isn't vital, but the Rangers are allegedly not sold on any of the above being permanent solutions, and they view keeping Josh Hamilton healthy and fresh by moving him out of centerfield as a primary objective.
The Rangers have notified almost every front office in baseball that the vast majority of their prospects and players are available for the right deal. The source inside the Texas front office reiterated that the players off limits to other teams inquiring about a trade are Neftali Feliz, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Brandon Webb, C.J. Wilson, and Alexi Ogando.
Rangers waste no time getting their lefty Gonzalez gives Texas another strikeout machine out of the bullpen
July 13, 2011
SEATTLE, WA - The Rangers weren't kidding around when they said they wanted another lefty for their bullpen.
Texas's front office wasted no time during the All-Star Break; while the players and coaches enjoyed the festivities in Arizona for the All-Star Game, or simply enjoyed the extended time off before the grind of the unofficial second half begins, the Rangers' brass was hammering out a deal for a very appealing player.
With the Baltimore Orioles once again scraping the cellar of the AL East, hopelessly buried behind baseball's giants, they once again are headed toward the trade deadline with "selling" in mind, and one of their most prized assets to "sell" is 33-year old lefty Mike Gonzalez, who just so happened to fit what the Rangers were looking for perfectly. Once the Orioles named their price, the deal was finished: minor league starter/reliever Scott Feldman and minor league catching prospect Arnold Yamada, an exceptionally reasonable price for someone the Rangers coveted.
Gonzalez, the lefty with a blazing fastball and ridiculous slider, joins the backend of baseball's best bullpen, and will take some of the strain off of Matt Thornton, previously the Rangers' only other left-handed reliever, since Arthur Rhodes was traded to Tampa Bay.
A native Texan returns home Addition of Adams makes Rangers' bullpen bulletproof
July 21, 2011
ANAHEIM, CA - Texas's starting pitching has pitched the Rangers to the brink of a three-game sweep of the Angels in Anaheim - including another gem from Brandon Webb last night - and C.J. Wilson will try to deliver the final salvo this afternoon, but overnight, it was the Texas bullpen that once again made waves, with yet another monster acquisition.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels had his eye on San Diego's Mike Adams for a while, but the Padres were asking for just a bit too much in return. Daniels, though, was determined to find a way to make it work, so he managed to work out an intermediary into the negotiations - the Cleveland Indians.
The Indians, barely hanging on trying to stay with the red-hot Twins and Tigers in the AL Central race, had the pieces that satisfied San Diego, and were willing to part with them. Less than 24 hours later, they immediately flipped Adams to the Rangers, in exchange for shortstop Alexei Ramirez and starting pitcher Chris Young.
The moves the Rangers have made, most notably the bullpen acquisitions of Adams, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain, have put a bit of a squeeze on their payroll, which prompted a somewhat surprising and admittedly reluctant move: the outright release of Ervin Santana, who had been a throw-in from Tampa Bay in the deal for Desmond Jennings and Reid Brignac almost three weeks ago. The Rangers tried shopping Santana, but soon found that the only way to free up payroll was to simply cut him loose. They're still on the hook for most of his salary, but the immediate relief in payroll keeps the Rangers on track, as they continue to search for one more starting pitcher and preferably one more outfielder.
The Rangers also announced the signing of 28-year old free agent reliever Manny Corpas to a minor league contract.
07-27-2011, 06:24 PM
