seestyle's blog

By Matt Lofgren Five Takeaways from Opening DayThe Bullpen- They are who we thought they were. Even after one game, the dominance that radiated brilliance all last season looked anything but raw as Tito did his usual shuffling of pitchers that completely shut down an amped up Texas lineup. Taking over in the seventh inning, a lethal concoction of Dan Otero, newly-acquired Boone Logan, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen shot the Xavier McKinney Jersey Rangers off their high horse and complete shut down their bats to give the offense a fighting chance.Eighth Inning Payoff- Trailing 5-4, the Indians were still chipping away at a once 5-1 deficit before the big bat of Edwin Encarnacion stepped in for a crucial spot, looking to show early promise on Harry Carson Jersey his monumental payday. Launching a high-arching no-doubter off his bat, Encarnacion tied up the game and turned the ball over a half inning later to another big time investment in Andrew Miller. Somehow, Millers stuff got even nastier in the offseason. Working on his pitches while prepping for the World Baseball Cla sic, Miller stuck to the basics and struck out a pair, including an oh-so-delicious punch out of Jonathan Lucroy, and breezed through the bottom of the eighth.Scroll to ContinueYandy, Have a Day- A curious delight from spring training, Yandy Diaz didnt let his first opportunity in the bigs be too much for him as Diaz ripped an opposite field double for his first major league hit and made great contact with the ball in his second plate appearance. On top of Andrew Thomas Jersey that, Diaz flashed the leather with a great diving stab to rob Nomar Mazara of a hit.Two Sides of Kluber- Ace Corey Kluber gave us a taste of what pitching in the first month is: inconsistent. While weve grown to expect greatne s from Kluber, his still needs his tweaking as early on the Texas hitters were mashing his pitch. Loud outs, home runs, all very uncharacteristic of him, but like always, Kluber found a way to be dominant. Tweaking his pitches just a bit, after surrounding his second home run of the day to Rougned Odor, Daniel Jones T Shirts Kluber retired 10 straight Rangers while dealing with blisters in the Texas humidity. Breath easy, Kluber will be just fine.The Magic is Still There- climbing out from a 5-1 hole, you just felt this buzz in the air that the Tribe werent done scoring. Tying up the game in the eighth, the Indians offense exploded for three runs in the ninth by stringing together hits as Abraham Almonte scored Tyler Naquin from second followed by an RBI double from Carlos Santana sent Almonte home and finally the Indians capped of the scoring with the smoothest run of all on a Michael Brantleys RBI single scored Santana. Cody Allen came in a closed the door, but of course made thing dramatic by surrendering a one-out triple to Elvis Andrus to make New York Giants Jackets things interesting before finally striking out the side to end the game.

The Philadelphia Phillies desperately needed a win on Tuesday night against the worst team in baseball. The Baltimore Orioles shutout the Phillies on Monday in the middle of a pennant race while the Atlanta Braves were able to make ground in the National League East as they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-4.Simply put: Tonight was a must-win for the Phillies. Unfortunately, Philadelphia's bats were once again quiet for a majority of the game and the Orioles struck first after a Ramon Urias RBI-single Lee Smith Jersey in the fourth.The most excitement through the first five innings for the Phillies was a spectacular catch by J.T Dorian Etheridge Jersey . Realmuto behind home plate in the third for the second out of the inning.Thankfully, Andrew McCutchen was able to keep the Phils in the fight with a sixth inning double that scored Realmuto to tie the game up. For the first time in 14 innings, Philadelphia had life.NL MVP favorite Bryce Harper had another great night at the plate, going 2-4 with a double and an intentional walk. However, he inexplicably tried to tag Jamal Anderson Jersey home in the eighth, but was easily thrown out at home, ending the rally.After pitching a scorele s ninth, Philadelphia closer Ian Kennedy trotted back out for the 10th with the game tied 1-1. Thanks to the man starting on second in extra innings rule, Baltimore was able to get a run acro s.Scroll to ContinueKennedy was able to limit damage to just one unearned run to allow the top of the Phillies order to come to the plate in the bottom of the tenth, down 2-1.Ronald Torreyes started the bottom of the tenth on second, withOdbelHerrera at the plate. Herrera grounded out sharply to the shortstop for the first out. Jean Segura came to the plate and uncharacteristically struck out on three pitches that were far off of the plate.Harper, next up to bat, was wisely intentionally walked. Atlanta Falcons Home Office So it would be Realmuto who was the Phillies last hope.With the game and the season on the line, Realmuto hit a two-run triple to right field for a walk-off victory and to bring the Phillies within 2.5 of first place in the NL East. It was much closer of a game than it should have been, but a win is a win.Final Score: Phillies 2-1 BaltimoreWhat's Next?Zack Wheeler (14-9, 2.83 ERA) takes the mound for the Phillies on Wednesday as he will face off against Keegan Akin (2-10, 6.93 ERA) in the rubber match. Philadelphia will need to come away with a win if they hope to keep within striking Desmond Ridder Jersey distance of the Atlanta Braves.

Now that the Indians have their first basemen for 2018 on Wednesday, does the team still have any interest in bringing back outfielder Jay Bruce? Bruce, who was very good in his short time with the Indians, seemed like a perfect fit for the team if Ricky Watters T Shirts they could agree on money, but either the Indians are not all that keen on a comeback for Bruce, or the money isn't being offered, as there is yet another team with interest for the outfielder. That team is the San Francisco San Francisco 49Ers Hats Giants, who earlier on Wednesday pulled off a great deal for Rays third basemen Evan Longoria, who will fit in nicely in the bay area. Now word is Bruce is eyeing a hook up with the Giants if they would like to add him, which they might after a lackluster 2017 in which they were out of the playoff race by Arik Armstead Jersey the All-Star break.Scroll to Continue that Bruce was looking at going to two teams this offseason - the Giants and the World Series champion Astros Elijah Mitchell Jersey , so no matter how you cut it the chances of Bruce coming back to the Indians to be well over. Meanwhile, Bruces agent, Matt Sosnick, tells KNBR 680s Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger that his client is C.J. Beathard Jersey trying for a four-year pact and would be thrilled to end up in the Giants organization. Sosnick adds that the Astros and Giants were Bruces top two landing spots, but the Astros have made clear that theres simply no fit in their organization at present.

On the same night that the Mets brought back their black jerseys for the first time since 2012, Carlos Carrasco made his long awaited A.J. Moore Jr. Jersey debut on the mound for the Amazins'.Unfortunately, the Mets' offense couldn't get much going past the first inning, and the bullpen allowed five runs in a 6-2 lo s to the Reds.After falling behind 1-0 early, the Mets were initially able to even things up two batters in during the bottom of the first. A leadoff single by Brandon Nimmo and an RBI double from Jeff McNeil, who extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 games, produced a run against righty Sonny Gray to tie it at 1-1.However, the Mets had a chance to do more damage against Gray with the bases loaded and nobody out, but couldn't capitalize. The slumping Michael Conforto struck out, and then Jonathan Villar hit one hard on the ground, but right at the second baseman who turned two to get out of the jam.From this point on, the Amazins' were only able to scratch acro s one more run, which came in the ninth when they were already down Tennessee Titans Jersey by five, as a result of their bullpen.Carrasco's evening didn't start out the way he would've hoped, as he allowed a leadoff homer to Jonathan India on the first pitch he threw, but he settled in to have a more than solid outing against the Reds.While the right-hander was not fully stretched out, he was still able to give the Mets four innings, allowing one run on the homer and three hits, while striking out four batters and walking one on 58 pitches.Scroll to ContinueFollowing Carrasco's exit, Miguel Castro entered in the top of the fifth in a tie game. And albeit Castro being one out away from working a scorele s inning, Anthony Firkser Jersey he surrendered a double to India, before giving up an RBI single to Je se Winker, which put the Reds back on top 2-1.With the Mets' bats sputtering, the Reds continued to take advantage against their bullpen, tacking on another run versus reliever Drew Smith in the top of the sixth. Joey Votto took Smith deep for a solo shot, homering in his seventh straight game (nine homers in this span) to extend his team's lead to 3-1.On the other side, Gray got in a groove to retire 11 Mets in a row, after McNeil's single in the bottom of the third, to finish his outing. The right-hander allowed five hits, one run and struck out seven.Mets left-hander Anthony Banda worked around a walk by striking out three in a scorele s top of the eighth. But, Banda was asked to handle the ninth as well, and that's when it all fell apart for him. The lefty allowed three runs on four hits Caleb Farley Jersey , including a two-run homer to India, which saw the Reds bust it open at 6-1.In the bottom of the ninth, the red-hot Brandon Drury knocked in Villar to cut the deficit to 6-2. But that's all the Mets could scratch acro s versus Reds closer Amir Garrett.The Mets have now dropped two straight games and are 54-48 on the season. In what was supposed to be a positive day with the acquisition of Javier Baez at the trade deadline, was ultimately overshadowed by bad news regarding Jacob deGrom, and another lo s on the field.After the game, manager Luis Rojas revealed that Nimmo was removed with a "small pinch" in his hamstring after his diving catch in the top of the ninth. Anthony Rush Jersey Rojas insisted that it is very small and they don't expect it to be serious. He will be checked tomorrow, per Rojas.

Aaron Civale allowed four runs for just the second time in his career on Friday night, but the Cleveland Indians gave the righty the most run support to date in a 10-5 win. The team moved to 11-9 through one-third of the shortened season. The win marks the first since starting pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger were sent home last week due to violating MLB policy.Right-handed power bats Franmil Reyes and Domingo Santana each homered and drove in three runs, while Tyler Naquin drove in three of his own. Despite a reeling offense, Cleveland managed to earn six walks, with all but two resulting in runs. Their 10 runs came on eight hits.James Karinchak John Stallworth Jersey relieved Civale in the 7th inning, blowing through the Tiger order while striking out two. Cam Hill and Dominic Leone finished the final two frames.Cleveland and Detroit square off for Game 2 of their three-game set in the Motor City on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. Shane Bieber (3-0, 1.63 ERA) is set to face Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 2.00).Here is what we saw on Friday:Wild HorseCivale entered the game with a 2.47 ERA and 3.14 FIP over his first 13 career starts, sterling Chase Claypool Jersey marks so early on. The 25-year-old has stayed off of hitters barrels for the most part, with a 2.3% barrel rate, and a 32.9% hard-hit rate.On Friday, the Tigers posted three barrels against the righty, quadrupling his season total. Detroit also registered nine hard-hit balls (batted balls with exit velocities at 95+ miles per hour) against Civale, raising that season count to 25.It is not as if Civale was just mi sing the edges, he was relatively wild the entire night. Detroit hitters were aggre sive, walking once, but when Civale mi sed, he often mi sed badly.The outing was merely an outlier among a handful of great starts from Civale, but something was a tick off on Friday night. All things considered, he still limited damage over six innings, barely mi sing a quality start. The rightys next start should come next week against the Pittsburgh Pirates, currently the worst team in baseball, and he should have an opportunity to work out any kinks.Scroll to ContinueRoad Warrior FranimalReyes continued his hot streak on Friday, the only Cleveland hitter with multiple hits. His Troy Polamalu Jersey two-run home run in the 1 inning was immaculate.Seriously, it was perfect by every relative measure. The 462-foot blast was the hardest-hit ball of the year at 112.8 mph off the bat, and left the bat at a 26-degree angle, considered the optimal launch angle for a projectile. Statcast registered the hit with a 1.000 expected batting average (xBA), and as a home run had it occurred in any major league stadium.It was not too bad to look at, either.Its bad, eh? Clevelands offensive woes are no secret, ranking last in every common and advanced hitting metric outside T.J. Watt Jersey of on-base percentage (29 in baseball, thanks solely to Carlos Santana).Looking to get anything going, Francisco Lindor laid down a bunt with two outs in the top of the 1st inning, and catcher Sandy Len did the same in the top of the 2nd. Both were thrown out easily.Bunting for a hit is fine if done in the right spot, especially during an offensive drought. That said, there was no reason for Lindor to do so with two outs against one of the most hittable pitchers in baseball, Ivan Nova.Lindor, a 30 homer hitter and soul of the team, should not against a pitcher in the 5th percentile in quality of contact and the 6th percentile in expected slugging (xSLG).Len, a career .217 hitter, can probably afford to be creative in his approach, but again, Nova represents perhaps the best opportunity for a light-hitting catcher to pick up an extra-base hit.Additionally, Len clocked in as the 9-slowest sprinter in baseball last season, making him a poor candidate to bunt regardle s of pitcher.Again, there are some scenarios where bunting is a good idea. Neither of these scenarios were. NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey Terry Francona has given Lindor the window to bunt as he sees fit, but the skipper should still be weighing in when a poor decision is made. Two outs is the best time to throw a proverbial hail Mary, not punt.

For the last several seasons, the Dodgers have been Christian Darrisaw Jersey one of the best teams in baseball. The lineup is as deep as any and the pitching staff, even when top shelf names struggle, still manages to get the job done one way or the other. It seems like the Dodgers excel in every facet of the game, except winning games James Lynch Jersey in extra-innings.Since the 2021 season began, the Dodgers are 6-18 in extra-inning games. Whether it's bad luck or a small sample size, or both, it's still an alarming stat for a perennial World Series contender.Dodgers fans got another reminder of the team's struggles in extras Jack Del Rio Jersey on Friday night. LA trailed Cleveland 2-1 in the bottom of the tenth and failed to plate the tying run. Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Justin Turner went strike out-ground out-strike out to top of Parry Nickerson Jersey a "L" for the Dodgers.Scroll to ContinueFans were none too pleased.One fan had an out-of-the-box idea for how the Dodgers could've scored since Trea Turner Minnesota Vikings Jersey was the one placed on second.They also might just be in a deep slump.

The continue their seven-game homestand with the second of three games with the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. , marking their ninth straight lo s to the Mariners. Texas is also inducting two people into the Rangers Hall of Fame on Saturday former second baseman Ian Kinsler and long-time .The Rangers are 22-32 against the American League West this season, and they'll continue to face AL West teams after the Mariners leave town. The Oakland Athletics face the Rangers for four games starting on Monday.The Rangers didn't make any pre-game moves on Saturday, but Rangers manager Chris Woodward said during pre-game that he hopes that reliever Joe Barlow can re-join the team soon. Barlow's rehab stint in the minors is going well and Woodward said a move could be made as soon as Sunday.Scroll down to follow along with tonights game. Seattle Mariners (62-52) at Texas Rangers (49-63)Starting PitchersTEX: RHP Dane Dunning (2-6, 4.04) Vs.SEA: DeeJay Dallas Jersey LHP Marco Gonzales (7-11, 3.98)Texas Rangers Starting Lineup1. 2B Marcus Semien2. SS Corey Seager3. RF Adolis Garca4. C Johan Heim5. 1B Nathaniel Lowe6. DH Charlie Culberson7. 3B Ezequiel Duran8. CF Bubba Thompson9. LF Elier HernandezSeattle Mariners Starting Lineup1. CF Julio Rodrguez2. 1B Ty France3. DH Mitch Haniger4. LF Je se Winker5. 3B Eugenio Surez6. 2B Adam Frazier7. C Cal Raleigh8. SS J.P. Crawford9. RF Sam HaggertyTop of FirstDane Dunning (TEX) pitchingSeattle'sJulio Rodrguezled off with a single off Dunning. The high chopper went to Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, but took too long to Tyler Lockett Jersey reach Seager andRodrguez beat the throw. Ty France followed with a sharp liner through the right side of the infield for a single. Mitch Haniger, the Mariners' designated hitter, hit a weak grounder in front of Rangers catcher Jonah Heim. He threw out Haniger, butRodrguez and France advanced 90 feet. Je se Winker then drew walk on a full count to load the bases for Mariners third basemanEugenio Surez.Dunning's first pitch to Surez was wild andRodrguez scored to make it 1-0 Mariners. France and Winker both advanced.Surez flew out to Rangers center fielder Bubba Thompson, but the sacrifice fly scored France from third to make it 2-0, while Winker held at second base. Adam Frazier hit a weak grounder to Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien to end the inning. Mariners 2, Rangers 0.Bottom of FirstMarco Gonzales pitchingScroll to ContinueSemien led off for the Rangers, flying out to Mariners right fielder Sam Haggerty. Seager followed that with a ground out to France, who to sed the ball to Gonzalez for the out.Adolis Garca then hit a towering fly ball out to Haggerty to end the inning.Mariners 2, Rangers 0.Top of SecondMariners catcher Cal Raleigh led off with a line drive into left-center field that slipped between Rangers left fielder Elier Hernandez and Thompson for a double. Shortstop J.P. Crawford grounded out to Semien, but Raleigh advanced to third. Haggerty, the No. 9 hitter in the Mariners' order, sliced an opposite-field sacrifice fly down the left-field line that was deep enough to score Raleigh and make it 3-0 Seattle.Rodrguez returned to the plate and he struck out swinging to end the inning. After facing 10 hitters, Dunning had already thrown 48 pitches. Mariners 3, Rangers 0.Bottom of SecondHeim, hitting in the clean-up spot for the Rangers on Saturday, led off by connecting well on a pitch from Gonzalez, but it turned into a long out to left field, caught by Winker. Next, Nathaniel Lowe hit a pop-out toSurez at third base. Designated hitter Charlie Culberson followed by grounding out to Crawford at shorstop to end the inning. After two, Gonzalez had not allowed a base runner.Mariners 3, Rangers 0.Top of ThirdWith Dunning closing in on 50 pitches, France led Bryan Mone Jersey off for the Mariners by striking out swinging. Haniger followed by getting ahead of Dunning 3-0, taking two strikes and then hitting a line drive single to Thompson in center field. Winker then struck out.Surez grounded out to Semien, who was playing in the shortstop side of the bag in the shift, to end the inning.Mariners 3, Rangers 0.Bottom of ThirdThe Rangers finally got their first baserunner after rookie Ezequiel Duran hit a double to left field, as Winker had to play the carom off the ball. Thompson, another rookie, came on in an RBI situation and struck out swinging. Hernandez flew out to Winker in left. Semien, in his second trip to the plate, flew out to Winker to end the inning and strand the Rangers' first base runner.Mariners 3, Rangers 0.Top of FourthFrazier led off the inning with a fly out to Hernandez in left field. Raleigh Marshawn Lynch T Shirts continued to keep Hernandez busy with another fly out to left. Crawford kept the Rangers from a 1-2-3 inning by hitting a single to center field. Haggerty followed by drawing a walk, and Crawford ran to second, scaring a bird that had landed on the infield during Haggerty's at-bat. The bird then flew to the third-base line and sat with Duran for a few minutes ofRodrguez's third at-bat.Rodrguez struck out to end the inning.Mariners 3, Rangers 0.Bottom of FourthCorey Seager led off by flying out toRodrguez in center field.Garca followed with a screaming double to left that, like Duran's double in the third, required Winker to play the carom. Heim then hit what should have been a single to left, but it went deep down the line and turned into a double that scoredGarca for the Rangers' first run. Lowe then hit an opposite-field bloop single to left that moved Heim to third, putting runners at the corners for Culberson with one out. He hit a weak grounder to Suarez at third base. He made the play and the throw, but it was wide of France at first. Heim scored on the RBI single, and Lowe moved to third on the throwing error, as the Rangers took a 3-2 lead. Duran then singled up the middle to score Lowe and advance Culberson to third, tying the game at 3-3. That prompted a second mound visit to Gonzales. Thompson then batted with one out. He put down Warren Moon Jersey a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first base line that scored Culberson and gave the Rangers the lead. Hernandez grounded out to third base to end the inning.Rangers 4, Mariners 3Top of FifthWith Brett Martin warming up in the Rangers' bullpen, Dunning was hoping to pitch one more inning, as he started the fifth on 90 pitches. He walked France to lead off, followed by Haniger striking out looking. After that, Rangers manager Chris Woodward pulled Dunning from the game for Martin.Rangers Pitching Change: Brett Martin for Dane DunningMartin faced Winker, who grounded into a double play to end the inning. Seager, playing on the second ba

While the Major League Baseball lockout comes with a ton of negatives for owners and players alike Carl Granderson Jersey , there is one positive spin that can be turned in regards to the ongoing situation.Teams' minor league systems will be garnering extra attention.That certainly applies to the Kansas City Royals. While marquee prospects such as MJ Melendez and Nick Pratto are already on the club's 40-man roster and won't be eligible to play in Triple-A, is still on Omaha's roster. He brings quite the draw by himself but when combined with one of the most succe sful farm systems in all of baseball, there will be ample reason to follow the Royals' minor league development until the MLB club is playing. President of baseball operations, Dayton Moore, recently touched on why remaining focused during this time will be so important for those striving for eventual spots on the big-league roster."When you pursue this game the way our players do, you want as few distractions as po sible," Moore said in reference to the lockout. "You want them to just focus every single day on just developing their skills at a level that will allow them to make it to the major leagues and be relentle s about the fundamentals of the game, which is going to keep them in the major leagues. Our goal, our challenge, is to New Orleans Saints Accessories make sure that they stay focused on just that and not be consumed with some of the noise that's out there."Scroll to ContinueIn a normal year, the majority of a franchise's primary attention would be with its MLB team. Even the Royals, an organization that's been stuck in a bit of a rebuilding phase, has to field as competitive of a club as po sible. The feature is the best talent in the system competing at the foremost level in the system. As of right now, that option isn't on the table. Consequently, while le s than ideal, the Royals must temporarily shift the bulk of that attention to the minors. Moore recognizes the magnitude of Joe Horn Jersey that opportunity."When you step on that field, you've got a very small window of opportunity to get better," Moore said. "When you step on the field, one of two things are happening: you're practicing good habits, or you're practicing Trevor Penning Jersey bad habits. You want to be really, really focused when you're on the field so you can continue to get better. We're just going to continue to try to eliminate the distractions of our players so they can focus on playing. That's the talent pool we have right now, it's the minor league players. I trust all of our people to make sure that we're doing the nece sary things to improve them and make them better."Over the past couple of seasons, the Royals have completely revamped their minor league hitting development programs to wide-scale praise. Although the results haven't shown at the highest po sible place for them to do so, the farm system is churning out better production than it has in a while. The new wave of prospects is here, as is the expectation of stellar play. As far as Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A are concerned, this lockout may contain a silver Taysom Hill Jersey lining. If that's the case, and even those ranking highly within the team hierarchy are able to provide additional support, an already bright 2022 could prove to be even brighter.

ARLINGTON, Texas Christmas came early for Desmond Trufant Jersey the Texas Rangers. In all honesty, it had to because of the impending lockout that is expected to begin sometime after the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players A sociation expires at 11:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday. Otherwise, a day like this would have been shelved to a later date.All the formalities that took place on Wednesdaywhich included plenty of handshakes, smiles and baseball caps and jerseys worn over fine clothescapped off a 48-hour period that's never been seen before. Not only in Texas, but in history of the game of baseball. Never before has a team shelled out $561.2 million in an entire offseason. If that kind of commitment is being made, it's probably a good idea that the conviction behind it is substantial.On multiple occasions, president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward used the term "pillars" to describe the free-agent additions of second baseman Marcus Semien and shortstop Corey Seager. That makes sense, considering general manager Chris Young used a similar metaphorwhen the team addre sed the media at the beginning of the offseason, saying, . Every good infrastructure needs a solid foundation.But after that foundation is laid, it also needs a strong support system. And now the Rangers have two "pillars" to lead them into the future." A K.J. Wright Jersey pillar is a stable force in the organization," Woodward said. "What stands out to me with Corey and Marcus is they both want to be that. They're not shying away from that. There's a lot of great players in this game that I've played with, that I've coached, that I've seen or heard about that don't want that responsibility. They'd rather just kind of do their own thing. But these guys are not only great players on the field, but off the field. They want to have an impact. When you hear a superstar player talk about building and wanting and desiring to build a championship ... and for us to get in a 24-hour time period? It's pretty remarkable."In order to find the players they truly wanted, it took more than just money-whipping them with half a billion dollars. It was about presenting them with honesty and transparency, making sure they weren't just finding the best players, but the ones."The players that we have met with this free agency, we've identified as the right people," Young said. "Challenges like this aren't for everybody, but that's one of the things we asked in each meeting. Weve laid it out. Weve been authentic. Weve been very transparent. We were a 102-lo s team. We havent run from that. But we have a vision and a plan and this is how were going to accomplish it."In free agent meetings, sometimes there are powerpoint presentations, pamphlets or some other tangible outline for the courted players. While the Rangers certainly provided something for players and their representation to review, the meetings were very clearly driven by honest, heart-to-heart discu sions. After all, both Young and Woodward are former players. They identify with what players want to hear. Honesty was key.'Does this scare you? Are you afraid? Do you want to be part of this? You want to do something special thats never been done in Texas Rangers history?'" Young said. "We knew the answer with these players before we asked the question.Scroll to Continue"A pillar is not something that everybody wants to be," Woodward added later. "Some people don' Bo Jackson T Shirts t desire that as a great player. But these guys want that. They've come here to be that, and that speaks volumes to who they are."Semien was the first player the Rangers met with in person. They've known him from his days with the Oakland Athletics, and see the same accolades fans can find on . But the front office was "blown away" when they walked away from their meeting. So much so, that Daniels said they identified Semien as "their guy"."All the intangibles that we could ask for in a player and a leader, Marcus embodies," Young added. "Marcus gave perhaps the best answer in the Gene Upshaw Jersey free agent presentations , and was all in, saying, 'I'm not afraid of that.' He's a winner, and that's why he's here.""I was so impre sed with the way they talked to me," Semien said. "They're looking for players that they want; to be part of a winning culture and winning team. Yes, it hasn't been like that for the past couple years, but let's accelerate that proce s."As for Seager, it was clear that Chris Woodward was going to pound the table for him. Admittedly, he did. He coached the 27-year-old shortstop for three years in Los Angeles and knew the type of player he was on and off the field. And as they went into the meeting with Seager, Woodward hoped he would captivate the Rangers front office the same way Seager Las Vegas Raiders Pet Gear captivated him during their time with the Dodgers.The rest is history."They were straight forward," Seager said. "They were very open and honest about how many games they lost and where they're at in their organization right now and what their vision is for the organization. That's something that we wanted to embrace. That's something that I enjoythe work of it, the grind, the pa sion for the game; to do it the right way and to have the right people. It always comes down to people."In addition to two pillars for their organization, the Rangers announced Kole Calhoun and Jon Gray as part of a big day in Arlington. Calhoun could be a sneaky-good signing if he captures similar form he had in 2019-20, and the Rangers believe Gray has another level he could hit on the mound.The $561.2 million dedicated to these four players send an emphatic statement that the Rangers are focused on winning. Leashes will be shorter for certain players, and the younger players on the roster will have to learn and develop in a winning environmentjust like Semien and Seager both did in Oakland and Los Angeles, respectively. And that's the duo that will support the Rangers for at least the next seven years.

After an epic 9th inning meltdown on Tuesday night the Indians trade focus (at least from the fans perspective) quickly turned away from the dream of Devin Asiasi Jersey adding Orioles slugger Manny Machado and right back to helping a bullpen that by ERA standards is the worst in all of baseball. With the trade deadline about three weeks away, Jon Morosi of MLB Network says that the Tribe might be looking at a National League teams relievers as one they might be able to deal with, that being the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are going nowhere this season, sitting 15 games back in the NL East with a mark of 38-56 on the season. So Justin Herron Jersey what relief pitchers could the Marlins be looking to deal? The one whose name has already popped up is their closer, Kyle Barraclough who is under control until 2022 and is making just $1.1 million this season.Scroll to Continue He's got eight saves for a bad baseball team and a stellar ERA of Malcolm Perry Jersey 1.34 appearing his 42 games already this season. With the futures of Cody Allen and Andrew Miller up in the air after this Jonathan Jones Jersey season, a player like Barraclough might be exactly who the Indians are looking for. Righty Drew Steckenrider (3-1, 3.10 ERA), Brad Ziegler (1-5, 4.50 ERA), lefty Adam Conley (3-1, 3.18 ERA) are three other Miami relievers who the Indians might be taking a long look at. With the failure of the bullpen this season, who knows, maybe the Indians and Miami may work out a deal for more Chase Winovich Jersey than one arm, right now it can't hurt and could only make them better as they look ahead to hopefully cementing their spot in playing in October.