The Rangers Still Have No Pitching
The Rangers once again have no pitching to speak of, whatsoever. Last year, Texas had the 11th best pitching in the American League, with only the White Sox, Devil Rays and Orioles being worse. This year, they aren’t any better. You probably can’t name all 5 starters, and I’d actually be pretty surprised if you could name more than 2.
Over this weekend, the Red Sox will see 4 of the nameless 5 from Arlington.
Tonight, the Sox will get a look at Luis Mendoza. He gave up 4 runs in 5 innings to the Blue Jays last weekend, though only 1 was earned. Mendoza is a rookie who started 3 games last year, and has been injured already this year. He also walked 4 and hit 2 batters in his last start, showing a bit of a wild side. This guy is a decent prospect at only 25 years old, but is probably rushed to the majors to be starting games for the Rangers in April. Still, however, they mystery aspect is still there since nobody on the Sox has hit against him before and historically, rookie pitchers have had success against the Sox. But then again, if he’s erratic, he probably won’t make it out of the 5th inning again. The Sox will be well served to stay patient, put runners on base and get to the bullpen early setting up the rest of the series.
Tomorrow, we’ll get a crack as Jason Jennings. He’s been a mediocre pitcher since 2001, playing most of his time in Colorado and last year in Houston. He pitched only 98 innings last year and had some injury problems. He has a career ERA right around 5 and has been completely ineffective thus far this year, going 0-3 and only getting through the 5th inning once. He’s walked 10 to only 7 strikeouts and has been hit around pretty regularly. Jennings just might be the least scary pitcher in the American League today.
Sunday, the Sox get Kevin Millwood. If this were 3 years ago, this would be a tough match up. Millwood won the ERA title while pitching his only season in Cleveland in 2005, posting a 2.45 ERA over 192 innings. He then moved on to Texas, where he has been incredibly average. He’s already walked 10 guys this year, which is way above his average and though his ERA only comes in at 2.42, hitters are still hitting .277 against him. He did start opening day, and is probably the closest thing the Rangers have to an Ace pitcher, but he is certainly not the same guy he was when his career began 10 years ago. If Millwood can throw strikes and stay ahead of pitchers, he could easily turn in a good performance. He did go 8 innings against the Angels once this year, though got hit around by the same team in his last start. If I were a gambler, this would probably be the only time I wouldn’t be betting on the Red Sox.
And last but not least is Kason Gabbard who will get the start in the morning on Patriots Day. The man we traded for a 6.75 ERA in 20 games in Eric Gagne will return to Fenway. Gabbard is not exactly a top of the rotation guy, but you can be rest assured he is planning some payback for being shipped out in a trade. David Murphy will probably decide to help him out as well, as he’s been hitting quite well. Let’s hope we’re not blogging about how ex-Sox killed us Tuesday morning. Gabbard is 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA thus far this year and is looking like the best pitcher on the team (though that isn’t saying much). Why can’t we get guys like this?
Overall however, the Rangers don’t have much to offer. Their bullpen is pretty poor with the exception of their closer, CJ Wilson, who took over at the end of last year. With a last place team coming in for the weekend, I’m looking for 3 out of 4. Let’s see if it happens.
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