ShutDown Breakdown: Rangers 4 Astros 1 05/19/2012
 Image courtesy of ESPN by Ben Wertz
The Rangers drew first blood with their future AL West rivals on Friday night as they took game one of the Lone Star Series series by a score of 4-1. Michael Young snapped a 5-41 slump with two hits and an RBI and the Rangers’ pitching staff limited the Astros to just four hits in the first game of three down in Houston. Add Comment Understanding the Fan Mentality 05/18/2012
 Image found at deadspin.com By James Holland
A little over a year ago I abandoned my ten-year long pursuit of making it in Hollywood as a screenwriter. I took my passion for writing and combined it with my love of baseball and became a sports writer. It’s still early but the success continues to grow. When I started my articles for Yahoo Sports were read by an average of 1,200 readers per day. Now those numbers have jumped to over 7,000 readers and I have joined the great guys here at Shutdown Inning. The Role of the Hitting Coach 05/17/2012
 Image found at texas.rangers.mlb.com By Peter Ellwood On Tuesday of this week, the Los Angeles Angels fired their hitting coach, Mickey Hatcher. The Angels have gotten off to a terrible start in just about every facet of the game, but especially their offense, especially after signing Albert Pujols in the offseason, trading for Chris Iannetta, and getting a healthy Kendrys Morales back in their lineup. The comparison of the 2012 Angels to the 2011 Angels is not a friendly one (2012 numbers prior to Wednesday’s game). 
Josh Hamilton: Good At Baseball 05/16/2012
 by Dan Allsup
You have probably heard, Josh Hamilton is good at baseball.But how good? Is this his best ever? MVP? Home-Run Derby? Triple Crown? $200 Million? Cure Cancer? The answers to these questions will be found in the next four and a half months. The only question I can answer is, yes, this is the best Josh Hamilton has ever played baseball. But what about that one month when he went nuts, during his MVP season in 2010? The Misconception After Perfection 05/15/2012
 by Patrick Despain
As you all remember, Phil Humber of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game in Seattle on April 21 of this year. In his very next start, he was “shelled” by Boston, giving up 9 earned runs in just 5 innings. That day I had a discussion with my friend, Peter Ellwood, about what happens to pitchers in their next start after throwing a “perfecto.” My initial thought, was that most of the 21 pitchers have been either really bad, or not very good in their next start. Peter challenged me to research it, and lay credence to my perception of this. ShutDown Breakdown: Kansas City 3 Rangers 1 05/14/2012
 by Ben Wertz
13 runs the night before including eight off Jered Weaver. One run tonight against Bruce Chen and company. As Ron Washington likes to say, “that’s the way baseball go.” Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli got the night off, and the rest of the Rangers’ lineup looked flat as the Rangers dropped a 3-1 decision Monday night to the Kansas City Royals. It didn’t start off all bad because Nelson Cruz put the Rangers in front in the fourth inning when he crushed a solo home run to the club level in left field. Unfortunately, that would be the only run Texas would score on the night. Story #2 and 3 05/13/2012
 Image found at lubbockonline.com By Chris Kautz
There's no question that what Josh Hamilton has done in the past week is story number 1 for the Texas Rangers, and all of MLB for that matter. What I'd like to talk about is the number two and three stories. One of them is positive and one is negative, but both are worth talking about. If it weren't for what Hamilton has been doing, these would be the two biggest talking points for Ranger fans and media. Interview with Chuck Morgan 05/13/2012
 by Patrick Despain
Patrick Despain: Where are you from, and what is your background in baseball? Chuck Morgan: Originally from southern Illinois, Marion, Illinois. Played baseball from 6 to 18...All-Southern Illinois outfielder in American Legion, All-Conference outfielder in high school. Started doing baseball PA when I was 14 for Little League games after I had played. Did PA for the Nashville Sounds during my years in Nashville. PD: How did you land a job with the Rangers? Shutdown Breakdown: Rangers 10, Angels 3 05/11/2012
 Image found at ibtimes.com By Ben Wertz
The first matchup of the season between the Rangers and Angels was going to be a big game no matter what the circumstances. The fact that Friday night’s game featured the marquee pitching matchup of Yu Darvish and ex-Ranger C.J. Wilson made the game even more prominent. The only thing that could keep the Rangers down was Mother Nature… and that was for only1 hour and 56 minutes. After the lengthy delay, the floodgates opened and the Rangers delivered a resounding victory by the score of 10-3. It didn’t take long for the Rangers to get on the board. They struck quickly for a run against Wilson in the first without getting a ball out of the infield. But with the bases loaded and just one out, a Spring-time Texas thunderstorm engulfed Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with a torrential downpour and gusty winds. The aforementioned rain delay prevented C.J. from having to face the wrath of the Texas lineup for more than an inning. In fact, Wilson didn’t even last one inning; he recorded just one out. Yes, the weather ruined the highly anticipated pitching matchup, but it didn’t keep the Rangers from annihilating the Angels. Yu Darvish and Swinging Strikeouts 05/11/2012
 Image found at dfw.cbslocal.com By Peter Ellwood
When a young pitcher is making his way to the major league level, one of the key components of his scouting report is the pitcher’s ability to miss bats, or generate swings-and-misses. It’s an important piece of the puzzle for a pitcher when it comes to having a long, successful career in the major leagues. The ability to generate swings-and-misses encompasses every aspect of a pitcher’s toolset: his stuff, his sequencing, his repertoire, and his pitchability. When I think of a pitcher who is able to miss bats on a consistent basis, I think of the best pitchers in the game, like Justin Verlander. When I think of a pitcher who doesn’t generate many swings-and-misses, I think of innings eaters and journeyman, like Tommy Hunter (no offense to “Big Game”). There is nothing cheap about a swing-and-miss. A batter whiffing through a pitch isn’t impacted by park factors, wind, the ability of a defense, the umpire, or many other things that affect almost all of a pitcher’s “traditional” statistics. A swing-and-miss is a mano y mano, one on one victory for the pitcher. |  
   ArchivesMay 2012    ShutDownInning.com is in no way affiliated with the Texas Rangers, Major League Baseball, Rangers Baseball Express or any business related to the Texas Rangers or Major League Baseball.
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