JD Makes The First Move
Rangers GM Jon Daniels made a move to avoid being “held hostage” by the market. In the off-season the dominoes fall in certain order. Sometimes you miss opportunities, like Cliff Lee. Sometimes the...
View Article#Bullpen
Going into the 2011 season, the Texas Rangers bullpen looked like this: Closer – Neftali Feliz Set Up – Darren O’Day Set Up – Arthur Rhodes Middle Reliever – Mark Lowe Middle Reliever – Darren Oliver...
View ArticleNeftali Feliz Comparisons
Much has been made of Neftali Feliz officially being moved to the rotation. The addition of Joe Nathan was a dual move to free Feliz from the bullpen. With that move, many writers ran to the narrative...
View ArticleRelax, Ranger Land
I’m going to break a few rules of writing for my first article on shutdowninning.com. Actually I’ll probably break rules in all of my articles. Since this is my first time contributing to SDI I feel it...
View ArticleOpening Day Starter
Last year at this time, we were hoping Cliff Lee would grace the mound on Opening Day 2011. He didn’t, he left to go pursue “something really special”. C.J. Wilson was actually the opening day starter...
View ArticleThe Risk of Ogando
The most overlooked move of the 2011 Rangers’ season happened in late March. In Surprise, Arizona, Mark Lowe showed he was incapable of locking down a closer’s role, that was his for the taking. The...
View ArticleAn Interview with the Ticket’s Mike Marshall
ShutDownInning: What led you into the radio business and how did you wind up at the little Ticket? Mike Marshall: Well, the answer to that question is actually in the question. The Ticket is what led...
View ArticleExpectations Management
The greatest source of disappointment is typically unmet expectations. I see this happen most often with movies. If a friend of mine tells me that I have to go see a movie because I’ll love it, very...
View ArticleYesterday Is Gone
In reflection, we learn from the perils of October. The term “one strike away” will haunt me for the rest of my life. The Rangers got to the brink…twice…and were pushed off the ledge. We search for...
View ArticleHalfway Home
**ORIGINAL POSTED DATE 7/5/12** After losing a real nail biter Tuesday night to the Chicago White Sox (not a “nailbiter” in the traditional sense, but one in which I was nervously gnawing my...
View ArticleBlessing In Disguise
**ORIGINAL POSTED DATE 7/6/12** Over the last two MLB seasons, no team in baseball has played more games than the Texas Rangers. Many of the members of the Rangers in 2012 were also Rangers in 2010 and...
View ArticleARM-aggedon?
**ORIGINAL POSTED DATE 7/24/12** What first appeared to be a second trip for Colby Lewis to the disabled list with forearm tendonitis, just one start after his previous DL stint for the very same...
View ArticleFrom Nothing To A Lot of Something
**ORIGINAL POSTED DATE 8/01/12** July 31st proved to be a busy day for the Texas Rangers after what seemed to be a quiet week leading up to today’s trade deadline. Several moves were officially...
View ArticleRangers at 80: A Look Back
**ORIGINAL POSTED DATE 9/05/12** On September 4th, 2010, the Texas Rangers had a record of 75-60 as they were on their way to a 90-72 record and their first ever trip to the World Series. On September...
View ArticleOpen Letter To The Rangers On The Eve Of Game 162
You probably never thought you’d be here. I certainly didn’t think you would be. Tied with the Athletics, the Athletics, for first place in the division with one game to go. You were the early chip...
View ArticleIs It Time To Bring Up Martin Perez?
Outside of the bullpen, and maybe A.J. Pierzynski (.328/.368/.516 in June), it has been a miserable month in Texas. The offense has posted a collective slash of .230/.301/.372 over the span of 18 games...
View ArticleTexas Rangers Midseason Outlook: Half Full, Half Empty
Though not a perfect halfway point in the season, these four long days in the middle of the summer where there is no baseball of any substance are a good time to pause and reflect on what has...
View ArticleThe Future of Feliz
Neftali Feliz is still just 25 years old. Let that sink in for a moment. He’s been gone for so long, it seems more like he’s bound to be close to 30 by now. The last time Feliz pitched in a major...
View ArticleWho Will Open As Closer In 2014?
Although the Rangers have several key needs to address in the offseason, the one area on the team they already appear to be well situated headed into 2014 is their bullpen. Solid contributor Jason...
View ArticleTracking Winter Ball
This winter season, Leonys Martin, Jurickson Profar, Engel Beltre will be playing for the Licey Tigers of the Dominican League. Robbie Ross, Neftali Feliz, and Ronald Guzman (MiLB first baseman, a.k.a....
View ArticleStrength In Numbers
The Texas Rangers finished 2013 with the 4th lowest bullpen ERA in the majors, 2nd in the American League behind only Kansas City. Most of last years core bullpen pieces will remain in Texas this...
View ArticleMy Spring Wish List
So we’re finally here. After waiting around since the final out of the World Series on October 30, or the final out of the Rangers season an entire month earlier than that, baseball is finally back....
View ArticleClik here to view.
State of the Bullpen
I’m sure we all know by now that 2014 has been a disaster, and you’re tired of hearing about it as much as I am. So my focus for Texas has been towards the future – 2015 and beyond. Jon Daniels has a...
View Article2015 Preview – The Closer
The late Richard Durrett used to run a weekly series of articles, detailing in depth positions on the upcoming Texas Rangers squad. He would let you know what it was last year, what it could be this...
View Article2015 Preview – The Bullpen
We continue with the Texas Rangers 2015 Season Preview, as we go around the diamond and compare last year’s misery of a team to this year’s hopeful competitor. Last week, we detailed the anchor of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why 2015 Should Hint at Fun to Come- Part 1: The Tao of the “Tommy John-ers”
By now, we’ve seen the M*A*S*H unit feel of 2014 carry right on over into the spring, and we realize that the most exciting arms and bats are, by and large, going to be in Frisco or Round Rock, and not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Keone Kela, Probable Future Closer, But Does Not Have To Be
Despite never having thrown an inning above AA, Keone Kela appears to have made the Rangers opening day roster. Injuries have contributed to Kela’s likelihood in making the 25 man roster, but Kela did...
View ArticleThe Bullpen is Struggling
The Rangers’ 2015 season has taken us on a wild ride. At times, the season has felt like a rollercoaster. We have all seen players slump and rebound, players injured and return, and a player getting...
View ArticleThis Week in Rangers’ Baseball – O, Bullpen, Where Art Thou?
How are we feeling, Rangers fans? Thirty-seven games into the season and the boys aren’t in last place, but they’re not knocking on any special doors either. Really, the fact that the rest of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Friday Flashback – 1979: The Year of the Emu
The Texas Rangers and great pitching are strange bedfellows. Be it the Ballpark, the heat, the winds, or some strange curse born from having the greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams, as their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shawn Tolleson, Effective Reliever
A few weeks ago, I had the idea to author a piece about Rangers reliever Shawn Tolleson, and not because Tolleson had unofficially usurped the ineffective Neftali Feliz for the ninth inning role....
View ArticleReady for a Change of Scenery
It was the worst moment in Rangers franchise history. No, maybe the worst moment in D/FW sports history. At least it felt that way to me and every other member of Rangers Nation when David Freese hit a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Evaluating The Jon Daniels Trade Deadline Deals
It happens around this time every year. The Hot Stove is fired up, rumors are swirling and fans are sitting on edge hoping their team makes the right move. Here in D/FW, fans are waiting until they can...
View ArticleJon Daniels Top 5 Moves
When Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels took over for predecessor John Hart in 2005 as a mere 28-year-old, the Rangers were coming off a 79 win season. Five of the Rangers 10 highest season win totals...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On This Day, This Year, We Can Let Go
I don’t have Timehop. I have a pretty sharp memory for long term things, and the things I want to remember, or the things that had a pretty significant impact on my life, I remember. The things I don’t...
View ArticleThree Rangers file for Salary Arbitration: What does it mean?
By now, you’ve heard the news that three Texas Rangers have not yet signed contracts to play next season. That doesn’t mean that they’re completely unsigned, rather, it means that the player and the...
View Article2016 Position Preview – The Bullpen
Times, they are a-changing in the game of baseball. It’s okay, it happens. Baseball used to be a game of power hitting – monstrous home runs, swatted into the next county, abetted by the use of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On Colby Lewis, and His Place In Rangers History
“Colby Lewis, starting pitcher. A man barely baseball alive. Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic baseball player. Colby Lewis...
View ArticleFavorite Rangers memories, as told by the SDI Staff
This is a critical time for the Texas Rangers. With just under two weeks until the trade deadline and the team in first place looking to improve, there’s a propensity for writers and fans alike to...
View ArticleWinning Pieces: How Texas can maximize their bullpen in 2016
There are few things in baseball more amazing than the evolution of bullpens. From not existing when the game began to the reason Kansas City won their title last season, the progress is stunning....
View ArticleThere should have been a statue
There should have been a bronze statue—outside of the stadium, with that muscular follow-through and a small note about the home run that brought a title to Texas. It would tell so much, and yet not...
View Article
