Rangers Notebook: Who Will Be The 2016 Closer, Fielder Slump, Gimenez Behind The Plate
By Jared Sandler | @SandlerJ
*I don't know who the Rangers closer will be next year, but Shawn Tolleson has earned the right to withstand a road bump or two for this season. Plus, I think there is great value to having Dyson, Diekman, and Kela maneuver their way through tough parts of the seventh and eighth. It is important to remember that, while the ninth inning is always highlighted, sometimes the toughest of the final frames features the opposing team's big hitters in a preceding frame, which is why the aforementioned triumvirate has great value.
*Guys and gals...Prince Fielder was bound to slump at some point. I don't think there's a need to freak out about it. I guess it is something we'll have to revisit.
*Yovani Gallardo is such a peculiar case. He's kept the Rangers in just about every game he's pitched and has been outstanding when his turn immediately follows a loss (best ERA in MLB among SP when pitching after a team's loss). Yet, in spite of all that, he is not an innings-guy, lucky to go six which can tax a bullpen. Some good and bad, I guess...
*The Rangers are 11-3 when Chris Gimenez starts behind the plate. Is there something to that or just luck? Tough to definitively say, but there is no doubt he's had a positive impact since joining the team. Pitchers have raved about his work with the staff and he's also contributing at the plate, too. Gimenez has a career-high four home runs. One of them tied a game, another gave the team the lead, and a third of those four came with the Rangers only up by a run.
*The Rangers' starting rotation is a 2.93 ERA over their last 16 games. How many playoff contending teams have a better rotation than the Rangers' group?
Quote of the Week: "It was a tough decision...we've got to find an opportunity to get him a day or two down."
-Rangers manager, Jeff Banister, on pitching Shawn Tolleson during Saturday night's 4-3 win, marking the seventh time the closer had thrown in 9 days. That workload is a product of the Rangers playing a ton of close games of late.
With a lot of the attention on Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman, and the refreshed Keone Kela--and deservedly so--Tolleson is still the MVP of the bullpen, saving 27/29 and anchoring what was a troubled group.
Stat of the Week: 2 out of 52
When Cole Hamels went eight innings and Shawn Tolleson just one inning to account for the pitching in the team's 4-1 win on Friday night versus the Orioles, it marked just the second time in a 52-game stretch the Rangers had used two or fewer pitchers in a game.
Then, Derek Holland went the distance on Sunday with his complete game-shutout masterpiece.
The other time the Rangers have done this during that particular stretch of games? Colby Lewis's eight-inning complete game in a loss to the Mariners.
Stock Up/Stock Down: Here's a weekly look at performances of Rangers players
UP: Adrian Beltre. This week: .409 (9-for-22), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1.213 OPS
DOWN: Prince Fielder. This week: .240 (6-for-25), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 XBH, .480 OPS
Good Reads
*LA Times writer, Zach Helfand, on the importance of the 1-1 pitch.
Good Listens
*Rangers SS Elvis Andrus joined Ben & Skin.
Song of the Week
Will Young's "Love Revolution" Watch above.
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