- Whichever minor league coach got ahold of Kam Loe, give him a promotion and a raise. Loe wins his 3rd straight impressive start, on the road, against a division leading team. And the Rangers take down a pitcher going for his 18th straight game without a loss.
- Question: if this winning continues, will management once again stray from a definite plan of action/rebuilding for the 80th time in the past 10 years? Who knows, but they get an 8-3 win to open the killer 3 team stretch they have awaiting them.
DETROIT – The sleep-deprived Rangers may not remember much about Monday's 8-3 win over Detroit.
That's a shame. What happened had to be seen to be believed.
Just to jog their memory: Kameron Loe outpitched Jeremy Bonderman. The Rangers scored seven of their eight runs with two outs. Akinori Otsuka, throwing curveballs not many people knew he even threw, breezed through the heart of the Detroit order in the eighth inning. And the Rangers began an 11-day stretch against the teams with the three best records in baseball by snapping Detroit's seven-game win streak.
It all happened less than 24 hours after the Rangers came back from five runs to tie a game against Houston in both the eighth and ninth innings only to lose. Then they got on a plane and flew to Detroit. They didn't arrive at their hotel until about 5 a.m. Monday.
"We've been playing good baseball lately and we emphasized after [Sunday's loss] that it was just one day," said Jerry Hairston Jr., who delivered a two-out homer in the ninth for the knockout punch. "If we keep doing a good job day in and day out, we're going to get the job done more times than not."
It was something they could apparently understand, even through half-lidded eyes.
Loe was the one wide-awake Ranger. He flew ahead of the team and had a full night in Detroit to ruminate on the beating the Tigers administered him nearly three weeks ago. The nine hits and nine runs he allowed in only 2 2/3 innings June 7 were enough to convince the Rangers that Loe needed a minor league tutorial.
Circumstances, of course, intervened, and with only a single bullpen session in the minors and a new arm slot, Loe returned a changed man. He worked out of jams in the first and second innings and ended up giving the Rangers seven innings on a night when the bullpen was precariously thin.
As he did in his last two starts, Loe relied on his sinking fastball and was more willing to throw off-speed and breaking pitches. He was not nearly as predictable as he had been when the Tigers mashed him.
"You can be successful in this league if you can sink the ball and you can change speeds," manager Ron Washington said. "He did an outstanding job of that."
That's what Loe has done in all three of his starts since a torn callous on Brandon McCarthy's finger necessitated his quick return. All three have qualified as quality starts. In those starts, he's gotten 40 ground ball outs to 10 fly outs.
Loe allowed a first-inning run from a bases-loaded, one-out jam. In the second, he allowed the first two runners to reach but got a sacrifice bunt and then two grounders. The Rangers then gave him four two-out runs in the top of the third.
"I don't want to say I got lucky, but maybe I did get a little bit," Loe said. "But I definitely had some extra motivation against these guys."
Loe wasn't the only one with extra motivation.
Otsuka, who was held back from Sunday's game with Houston so he could potentially close Monday (or perhaps be showcased for Detroit) came in to face Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen with a 4-2 lead in the eighth. He retired the terrifying trio on nine pitches. Ordonez and Guillen both made outs on curves. Otsuka has primarily used a slider for his breaking ball, but has become more aggressive with the curve.
The Rangers were able to use Otsuka in the eighth because two innings earlier Eric Gagne convinced them he could pitch a third consecutive day. That's no small feat, considering the last time he did it was Sept. 9-11, 2004, before arm and back surgeries cost him nearly two seasons. He got up and began throwing in the top of the ninth, but when the Rangers scored four runs in the inning, the team was able to use Frank Francisco instead.
"My arm felt better than it has all year," Gagne said. "It felt great."
Maybe, being sleep-deprived, he just didn't know any better.
- My plan: keep winning, but stick to the fire-sale of veterans this July, and keep starting young guys like Loe and this guy, Willie Eyre:
DETROIT – Willie Eyre has been one of the most consistent relievers in the Rangers bullpen all season.
Now, the club will see how he does as a starter.
Thanks mostly to a strong start from Kameron Loe on Monday, the Rangers did not need to use Eyre. That allows him to make tonight's start against Detroit in place of Vicente Padilla, who was placed on the disabled list Monday.
It will be the first career start for Eyre, who is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 19 games for the Rangers this season. Eyre, 28, made 42 relief appearances for Minnesota last season.
The Rangers had to choose between Eyre and Triple-A Oklahoma left-hander John Koronka.
Koronka has made two starts for the Rangers this season, but has compiled a 7.84 ERA in two losses. Detroit's lineup is not made for the faint-hearted, or left-handers. The Tigers are loaded with right-handed hitters.
Koronka is allowing right-handed hitters a .400 batting average for the season and a .303 average for his career.
"You don't want to have to bring a lefty up to face these guys unless it's absolutely necessary," manager Ron Washington said. "I'd prefer to not have to do that."
Eyre could get more than just this start, too. The Rangers need a starter for Sunday at Boston. If Eyre does well tonight, he could become the top option for that game, too.
- Eric Hurley has a less than stellar Triple A debut
Hurley's debut: Eric Hurley had a brief bout of wildness in his Triple-A debut Monday and couldn't minimize the damage from it. Hurley, 21, was charged with five runs (four earned) in five innings in Oklahoma's 7-1 loss to Omaha.
Down 1-0 in the second inning, Hurley hit Angel Berroa with a pitch with two outs and a runner on second. He then allowed a run-scoring single and followed it up with a walk that loaded the bases. A two-run single gave Omaha a three-run inning.
- Mavs must make decisions soon on George and Stack. Both should come back, with Stack more likely. Losing Stack would hurt the most, losing the player with the biggest nuts on a team that lacks it most of the time. Also, trade speculation re Buckner.
For the moment, the Mavericks have Moe Ager – seldom-used and unproven as a rookie last season – penciled into their starting lineup.
That's because they don't know for sure the status of two of their swingmen – Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George.
Both of those situations will be resolved in the next week. George's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Monday he will meet with his client in the coming days to figure out whether George will exercise his option for a second season with the Mavericks at $2.16 million. The other option is to terminate the deal and become an unrestricted free agent.
"Devean loved it in Dallas and he loved playing for Avery Johnson," Bartelstein said. "But as we all know, this is a business."
The Mavericks will wait for the decision. Early on, it was believed George wanted to come back to the Mavericks. But the lure of free agency is tough to pass up.
Stackhouse's situation is slightly clearer. The sixth man becomes an unrestricted free agent Sunday, meaning he can sign anywhere in the league.
However, only two teams will have significant money under the salary cap and neither Charlotte nor Atlanta makes much sense for Stackhouse, who can still score with the best of them but doesn't fit the profile for building or rebuilding teams like the Bobcats and Hawks.
Since it is unlikely anyone will be able to offer Stackhouse more than the mid-level salary exception (expected to be roughly $6 million), the Mavericks figure to be able to offer him more than anybody else.
Assuming neither side comes in with unrealistic expectations, a middle ground likely will be found quickly after the free-agent period opens. Teams are prohibited from discussing specific free agents until Sunday.
"There's so many free agents, plus people want to see what the cap number is and all that stuff," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "There are a lot of variables. A lot of guys really deserve the mid-level or higher and there's not that much money to go around. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. And we're always there to scoop them up and write the checks."
It is unlikely the status of either Stackhouse or George – or any free agents the Mavs may pursue from other teams – will have an impact on Thursday's draft. The Mavericks, with three second-round picks (34, 50 and 60), are likely to take at least one and perhaps two international players who likely would play next season in Europe.
Trade winds: In advance of the draft, trade speculation is heating up and one of the names mentioned frequently is Greg Buckner. Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson each acknowledged that numerous teams have inquired about Buckner.
It's possible the Mavericks may be considering packaging Buckner with one or more of their second rounders to move up in the draft.
"Everybody's going to be talking until the draft," Cuban said. "And once they make their decisions, they fall in love with who they think they might be able to get. Then guys fall into the second round and people are going to be making all these great offers to get No. 34 and No. 50 and even No. 60.
"That's just the way it works. Just like last year and the year before. By being patient we got guys that we never thought we could get."
- ESPN's Chad Ford has Dallas taking Arron Affalo from UCLA. Wouldn't be a bad pick, can play D and be a future 2 guard for when Stack retires/leaves. However, he has my personal favorite pick for the Mavs at #34, Big Baby going 3 spots ahead at #31. That guy is my pick for best late round value/sleeper. I think he's going to be a good player in this league and I hope the Mavs try like crazy to get this guy. Would be a perfect low scoring threat to complement Dirk. Weight issues could keep him sliding to the Mavs, or they could make a trade to get high enough to get him.
31. Seattle SuperSonics (from Memphis)
Glen Davis | PF | LSU
Sonics go big with a guy who can use his strength and skill to score in the paint. If Davis can keep the weight off, he could be the steal of the draft.
34. Dallas Mavericks (from Atlanta)
Arron Afflalo | SG | UCLA
Afflalo is a tough, physical swingman with a beautiful mid-range game and great defensive mind-set. Avery Johnson should love the grit he delivers.
- My other personal favorite who is top 10 talent but has off the court issues, Sean Williams, is driving high up draft boards lately. It's looking more and more like he won't be available unless the Mavs trade up. Chad Ford's take:
22. Charlotte
(via Toronto)
Sean Williams Position: C
Height: 6-10
Weight: 230
Age: 20
School: Boston College
(Williams' previous position: No. 17 to New Jersey)
The skinny: The Bobcats need rebounding, shot-blocking and athleticism in their frontcourt. Williams' off-court mistakes have dropped him out of the lottery, but at some point a team is going to take a chance on him because his upside is tremendous.
- KG to the Lakers?????
If the Lakers are trying to get Kobe Bryant to change his mind about leaving, they're off to a good start.
The Los Angeles Times cited league sources on Monday saying that the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are in discussions that could bring Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles.
Trade discussions initially involved the Lakers, Wolves, Pacers and a fourth team, and sources told ESPN that that team was the Celtics. They would have gotten Jermaine O'Neal from the Pacers and sent young players to the Wolves. The Lakers would have gotten Garnett, while the Pacers would have landed Los Angeles forward Lamar Odom and center Andrew Bynum. Minnesota would also have acquired at least one of the teams' draft picks, possibly Boston's No. 5 in Thursday's draft.
Later on Monday, the Times reported that the deal in that form had fallen apart because the Celtics did not like their end of the deal. According to the newspaper, the Lakers and Timberwolves continued discussions, trying to broker a deal just between the two teams.
Sources told the Times, however, that Wolves general manager Kevin McHale is not thrilled with the idea of getting Odom and Bynum, even if they come with the Lakers' 19th pick.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press contacted Pacers CEO and president Donnie Walsh and he denied any knowledge of the trade talks.
"I haven't heard of any of this," Walsh told the paper.
According to the Times, Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Wolves owner Glen Taylor spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes on Friday. Buss then suggested that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and McHale carry on the discussions on Monday.
Bryant repeatedly has asked for a trade over the past month, saying that he doesn't feel that the Lakers are trying hard enough to improve. After losing in the NBA Finals four years ago, the Lakers missed the playoffs in 2004-05 and were out of the postseason in the first round the past two years.
Garnett never has requested a trade publicly despite the fact that the Wolves have struggled to remain competitive in recent years. Minnesota finished with a 32-50 record last season. The Wolves haven't been to the playoffs since 2004.
With Garnett able to opt out of his contract after next season, the time might be right for the Wolves to pull the trigger on a deal. McHale said last week that he has not been actively shopping his star, but that was a bit of a departure from previous statements in which he said he would not trade Garnett.
The 12-year veteran is owed $22 million next season and $23 million in 2008-09, the final year of his contract. He has requested an extension and the Times is reporting that Buss has told Taylor he would be willing to do that.
Garnett averaged 22.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season. He is a 10-time All-Star.
Bynum's name has come up often in any trade talks concerning the Lakers recently. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.9 rebounds last season but is only 19 years old and 7 feet tall.
Odom averaged 15.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season, but he did miss 26 games because of injuries. He has shoulder surgery in May but is expected to return for next season.
- One of the most well-done endings to a movie
- I love this woman
- Picks O' The Day
Yesterday's record - 3-3
YTD - 17-16
As always, take all home underdogs, and these plays:
Toronto +100 - SP pitching well in last 3, Minn starter has gotten rocked last few times out
Seattle -155 - King Felix at home, I'll take my chances
Arizona -110
Balt +145 - Pick of the day, at home vs. Pettite, SP for Balt has been lights out in his last 3 and they're at home
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