Pence continues to make a case for more playing time. Why that puts the Rangers in a jam
To any baseball fan who hasn’t been to PNC Park, go there as soon as possible.
No, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t giving away money, but their home ballpark must be the envy of all of baseball.
The actual ballpark itself is first-rate. The view that comes with it is mind-bogglingly beautiful.
The Allegheny River runs behind the ballpark, with Roberto Clemente Bridge spanning it, and beyond both is the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline.
It’s remarkable.
The game that was played there Tuesday between the Texas Rangers and Pirates?
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 5-4 loss.
1. The Monday off day and left-hander Steven Brault gave manager Chris Woodward the opportunity to sit the lefty-hitting Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara for the ol’ two days off, one game missed.
Of course, National League rules contributed to that, too.
Hunter Pence replaced one of them, and that worked out pretty well. All the Arlington native did was drive in all four runs, collect three extra-base hits and make a run-saving catch in right field.
He continues to make the most of the opportunities he is given, and he’s getting more and more chances to play. He deserves to be an everyday player, and he might already be a regular if the Rangers truly thought they were contenders this season.
“He’s getting to that point,” Woodward said. “We definitely need to get him in there more often. He deserves playing time.”
But that wasn’t in the plans, as old friend Gil LeBreton pointed out the other day over at PressboxDFW.com (if you consider yourself a fan of DFW sports teams, you should subscribe to Gil’s site just as I’m sure you have the Star-Telegram).
Playing Pence every day doesn’t fit the mold of a rebuilding team, and that’s what the Rangers are. They are playing better than many expected, but it’s not like they’re threatening the Houston Astros.
The Rangers are a game below .500. They are still building for the future and need to give young players more than six weeks to show their worth.
However, an opening for Pence could come this week if the Rangers decide to option center fielder Delino DeShields, still a young player, as the corresponding move to reinstating Ronald Guzman from the 10-day injured list. The Rangers could play Joey Gallo in center field, Pence in left, Mazara in right and Choo at DH.
The Rangers also have eight relievers. That’s where they could look to trim the roster fat first.
Woodward can sort out what to do with DeShields and Pence.
Then again ...
2. ... The Rangers are in the midst of the Good Luck With That portion of their rotation, the three starters who don’t instill the same amount of confidence as Mike Minor and Lance Lynn.
Drew Smyly did his job Sunday, and Shelby Miller will try to do his Wednesday. Adrian Sampson started Tuesday.
He actually had some luck early, managing two scoreless innings even though the Pirates were hitting the ball all over the place. But Sampson yielded a two-out run in the third, two more in the fourth after being staked to a 2-1 lead on a Pence homer, and surrendered a two-run homer in the fifth.
With the Rangers playing on six straight days and with Miller likely to last no more than five innings Wednesday, based on his first six starts of the season, Sampson was allowed to hit in the fifth.
The Rangers can’t dig too deep into their bullpen too early on the road trip, and with only four bench players, Woodward didn’t want to run out of pinch hitters too soon.
It’s a heck of a situation the Rangers find themselves in for 60 percent of their games, but it’s not like they are teeming with options to shore up the rotation. Ariel Jurado is one option, though he probably isn’t as stretched out as he was at Triple A Nashville.
Phillips Valdez, anyone? He worked was pushed to six innings Monday for Nashville, but he isn’t on the 40-man roster and doesn’t seem like a world beater. The same goes for the recently salvaged Seth Maness.
With Taylor Hearn nursing elbow inflammation, the best bets might be Jonathan Hernandez or Joe Palumbo at Double A Frisco.
The status quo seems like the best option.
Smyly looks to be trending in the right direction. Sampson has been pretty good at times and not so good at others, but, if we’re being honest, he’s been one of the Rangers’ best pitchers this season. Miller’s body of work has created talk of sending him to the bullpen.
But it seems to change from start to start.
So, yeah, good luck with that.
3. The game was on the line in the eighth inning as Choo batted with two outs and the speedy Danny Santana at second base. Choo couldn’t believe how his at-bat ended, though that continues to be more and more believable.
Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt rung up Choo on a pitch that was well off the plate outside. Choo, who has one of the keenest eyes in the game, nearly fainted.
Wendelstedt did the same to Elvis Andrus for the second out in the ninth on a pitch well below the strike zone.
Umpiring did not cost the Rangers the game. They were only 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and Sampson allowed three two-out runs.
But calls like the one Wendelstedt made in a big situation continue to play the game. Umpires supposedly are graded more harshly these days, but if there are consequences, no one ever sees or hears about them.
There’s no accountability. It takes an act of Congress to speak to umpires after a game, and an otherwise harmless-looking strike call isn’t enough cause to send a pool report to the umpires’ room.
With as much hesitancy as their seems to be for going to robot umpires, the real umps aren’t doing themselves many favors.
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 10:02 PM.
