WEBVTT - Evan Grant’s Rangers checkup

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<v Speaker 1>I think the Rangers feel pretty positive about where their

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<v Speaker 1>young pictures are going. There are some things that still

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<v Speaker 1>need to be addressed, but they've contributed to the Rangers.

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<v Speaker 1>Fourteen eleven starts.

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<v Speaker 2>We are back with our friend Evan Grant, who does

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<v Speaker 2>a tremendous job covering the Texas Rangers for the Dallas

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<v Speaker 2>Morning News. Evan is there all of the time, knows

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<v Speaker 2>everything about this club. Great to be with you, my friend.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you for joining us on foul Territory. First of all,

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<v Speaker 2>before we get into it, you are a barbecue officionado.

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<v Speaker 2>This is what I've learned about you. Is there a

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<v Speaker 2>spot that it is like an.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolute must go?

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<v Speaker 4>To?

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<v Speaker 2>Tell me all the things?

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<v Speaker 1>Evan, Well, in Look, it's Texas. You kind of have

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<v Speaker 1>to eat barbecue where they kick you out of the state.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've learned to love it. I don't know that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm an aficionado. I just like food because you don't

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<v Speaker 1>get this body without liking food. So in Dallas, Look,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got a pretty good bubbling barbecue spot scene. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't say enough about Tory Hunter's place Tender. He's got

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<v Speaker 1>several locations. We saw Tory just last week when the

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<v Speaker 1>Angels were in town and I was raving to him

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<v Speaker 1>about the stuff there. It's it's really really good. But

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<v Speaker 1>there is a place in Arlington that's the official barbecue

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<v Speaker 1>spot of the Rangers for Title Barbecue. They're actually in

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<v Speaker 1>Globe Life Field. I think even persnicketty aj Perzinski enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>their food this year at the ballpark. They're doing wings,

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing they're Berea tacos and Casadilla's and they are

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<v Speaker 1>doing a giant stuff baked potatoes. So if you hit

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<v Speaker 1>those two, you're going too for the one other I'll

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<v Speaker 1>mention is Tim Barbecue in Dallas and in Fort Worth.

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<v Speaker 1>They've got this bacon burn in thing that is just

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<v Speaker 1>it's insane.

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<v Speaker 4>There's there's no like AJ's not on here, So nobody's

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<v Speaker 4>gonna be asking you for free food every time you

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<v Speaker 4>come on. Ajay's like, Evan, why are you gonna get

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<v Speaker 4>me this? When are you gonna buy me that? So

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<v Speaker 4>nobody's asking for anything today.

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<v Speaker 1>Does that make me special?

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<v Speaker 4>Though? Eric?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, because he asks everybody for free food and

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<v Speaker 1>free stuff.

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<v Speaker 4>Right everybody. He's always asking. Susan Sluster was just on

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<v Speaker 4>the other day, when are you gonna get me the garlic, nacho,

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<v Speaker 4>truffle fries, whatever, like he's always he's always looking for

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<v Speaker 4>a handout. So he's not that boogie. He's just looking

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<v Speaker 4>for free. Free ninety nine is his price.

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<v Speaker 1>That makes me special?

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<v Speaker 4>Okay, but you are special. Tell me what's special about

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<v Speaker 4>the Rangers. They're fourteen and eleven right now, but they're

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<v Speaker 4>tied for first place. Did they feel like or does

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<v Speaker 4>it does it look like they're playing good enough baseball

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<v Speaker 4>right now to be ahead of everybody else in this division?

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<v Speaker 4>And do they look up and say, whoa, the Mariners

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<v Speaker 4>and that pitching staff and their brutal lineup are keeping

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<v Speaker 4>up with us. We need to change something, or does

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<v Speaker 4>it feel like, okay, oh, team for playing well?

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<v Speaker 1>Well. I think you saw in this past week some

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<v Speaker 1>of the Rangers perspective in that their lineup hasn't been

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<v Speaker 1>hitting on all cylinders and they think this lineup is

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<v Speaker 1>going to slug and is going to score a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of runs. But for the first month a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>the same problems that existed last year have have existed.

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<v Speaker 1>So Bruce Bochi shook things up when they went to Sacramento,

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<v Speaker 1>took Marcus Simeon out of the leadoff spot and put

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<v Speaker 1>him in more of a run producing spot, put Josh

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<v Speaker 1>Smith in the leadoff spot, and moved Wyatt Langford up

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<v Speaker 1>to the number two spot. And what the Rangers tried

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<v Speaker 1>to do and it lasted all of about seven innings

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<v Speaker 1>before Corey Seeger pulled up with a bad hamstring was

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<v Speaker 1>get their their their top on base guys into the

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<v Speaker 1>top spots in the order so that the guys who

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<v Speaker 1>were sluggers and maybe not as maybe not indiscriminate swingers

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<v Speaker 1>could get more pitches to hit. And it did pay

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<v Speaker 1>off against Sacramento. Whether or not that had anything to

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<v Speaker 1>do with the ballpark and how the carries there, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, but they scored a season high eight runs

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<v Speaker 1>the first night Corey pulled up with a hamstring injury,

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<v Speaker 1>and so now they're back to kind of scrambling for

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<v Speaker 1>runs again.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey, I want to stay there.

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<v Speaker 5>We talk about scrambling for runs in the midst of that.

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<v Speaker 5>I think they're still in a good place right struggling

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<v Speaker 5>for runs, but you're still at the top of your division.

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<v Speaker 5>Have we talked about how good White Langford has been

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<v Speaker 5>going back to the end of last year in company

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<v Speaker 5>right like this has been one of my guys going

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<v Speaker 5>back to last year. I thought it'd be the Rookie

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<v Speaker 5>of the Year, and he went through his early season

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<v Speaker 5>woes but started towards and he started to figure out

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<v Speaker 5>right the wood the whole big league adjustment. Are we

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<v Speaker 5>talking about how good this guy has been and how

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<v Speaker 5>good he possibly could be?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, two things, Cam, I think to your point, I

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<v Speaker 1>think from the Rangers' perspective, what's very encouraging is that

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<v Speaker 1>they are fourteen to eleven and they haven't hit right,

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<v Speaker 1>they haven't scored a ton of runs, and they've still

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<v Speaker 1>found ways to win. And that, enlarge part is testament

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<v Speaker 1>to the starting pitching they've gotten, which has been better

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<v Speaker 1>than exp and the restructured bullpen that Chris Young made

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<v Speaker 1>over the offseason. It's been pretty much airtight. As far

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<v Speaker 1>as Wyatt Langford goes, I think you hit it right

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<v Speaker 1>on the head there. I'm planning as soon as we

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<v Speaker 1>get off of this, I wanted to do a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of research today, but I want to look at

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<v Speaker 1>Wyatt compared to the other guys who got Rookie of

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<v Speaker 1>the Year votes in both the American and National League

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<v Speaker 1>among position players, and how they did from the second

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<v Speaker 1>half of last season going forward, and Wyatt is going

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<v Speaker 1>to rank very, very highly there. He has made the

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<v Speaker 1>kind of typical upward assent that you would like to

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<v Speaker 1>see in a superstar. There's been no real ups and downs.

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<v Speaker 1>He did struggle a little bit out of the gate

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<v Speaker 1>last year, and I think that was largely due to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of getting his swing a little bit too much uphill,

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<v Speaker 1>but they made that adjustment. He came back from an

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<v Speaker 1>il stint and since then he's been he's been a

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<v Speaker 1>really good baseball player, a really dangerous hitter.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to ask you, Evan about Jock Peterson and

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<v Speaker 2>it gives me, it just hurts my heart to see

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<v Speaker 2>the struggles that Jock has gone through. Obviously, he finally

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<v Speaker 2>busted out of that oh for forty one or whatever

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<v Speaker 2>the heck it was. But then we were just all

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<v Speaker 2>waiting and anticipating if the call was going to be overturned.

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<v Speaker 2>What are you noticing from his swings? How does he

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you know that helps obviously, but how does

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<v Speaker 2>he get out of this and get back to the

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<v Speaker 2>guy that they signed to be in with.

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<v Speaker 1>Look, I think the one thing that really works well

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<v Speaker 1>for Jock here is his personality. You know, he's not

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<v Speaker 1>going to let himself get too down. He comes to

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<v Speaker 1>the ballpark with a great attitude every day. He is

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<v Speaker 1>an upbeat guy. I do think he's probably feeling a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit of pressure because you come here, you sign

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<v Speaker 1>a big contract, You're supposed to slug against right handed pitching,

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<v Speaker 1>and to this point you haven't. And it's frustrating, there's

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<v Speaker 1>no way around it. It's frustrating when you look up

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<v Speaker 1>at the screen and you see your batting average is,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, fifty eight or sixty. On the subject of

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<v Speaker 1>what he needs to do better, the only thing that

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<v Speaker 1>I can kind of assess is it certainly looks to

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<v Speaker 1>me like he's a little bit more crouched over at

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<v Speaker 1>the plate. And he did say something early this season

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<v Speaker 1>that he felt restricted in his swing, and he just

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<v Speaker 1>hasn't seemed to been able to get out of that

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<v Speaker 1>area where he just is restricted in his swing. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's one thing the Rangers have been working on,

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<v Speaker 1>is to try and get him a little bit more

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<v Speaker 1>upright and let him just kind of let loose a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit. But it's it's looked on occasion like he's

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<v Speaker 1>uncomfortable at the plate swinging.

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<v Speaker 5>You talk about okay struggles, not struggling. Jacob deGrom past

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<v Speaker 5>injury history, we've seen it. But he looked good last night.

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<v Speaker 5>Nathany Valdi gets his first complete game. But Kumar Rocker

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<v Speaker 5>going to the il. Where are they in the midst

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<v Speaker 5>of all of this going on as far as trying

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<v Speaker 5>to find a guy who can get them some innings?

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<v Speaker 5>What is that looking like moving forward?

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<v Speaker 1>As in that well, look, Cam, I think that at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of spring when they signed Patrick Corbin, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that was a really good depth move. They're not

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<v Speaker 1>looking for Patrick Corbyn to go out and win win

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen games. They're not looking for him to pitch two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred innings. They're looking for him to go out there

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<v Speaker 1>and give them five innings per start. As far as

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<v Speaker 1>the Rocker situation goes, you know, you look at this

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<v Speaker 1>team going into the year and when they had the

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<v Speaker 1>injuries that they had to John Gray and Cody Bradford,

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<v Speaker 1>and now you've got to push two rookies into the rotation,

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<v Speaker 1>two guys who don't have a ton of major league experience.

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<v Speaker 1>For them to get through the stretch in the position

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<v Speaker 1>that they're in, I think has been overall a positive.

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<v Speaker 1>I do think with Kamara Rocker, the biggest issue for

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<v Speaker 1>him right now is as works back from this shoulder

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<v Speaker 1>impingement and hopefully it's just a minor issue. He's really

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<v Speaker 1>got to get to a point where he is comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>and confident in a third pitch. I think it's been

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit too predictable for hitters. I think too

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<v Speaker 1>off in fastball counts. He's had to throw fastballs and

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<v Speaker 1>hasn't been able to get it by hitters, and so

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's going to be the big project for him.

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<v Speaker 1>All of this gets said, I don't think we've said enough.

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<v Speaker 1>Jack Lder should be back this weekend, but he's been

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<v Speaker 1>really impressive in his two starts before he had the

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<v Speaker 1>blister issue. It's been a real step in the right direction.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think the Rangers feel pretty positive about where

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<v Speaker 1>their young pitchers are going. There are some things that

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<v Speaker 1>still need to be addressed, but they've contributed to the

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<v Speaker 1>Rangers fourteen to eleven starts. Rockers had five starts right.

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<v Speaker 1>Three have been not great, two have been really good.

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<v Speaker 1>So even when he hasn't been consistent, there have been

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of good starts in there that have allowed

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<v Speaker 1>the Rangers to stay keep their head above water.

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<v Speaker 4>All right. Now, the person on the roster that I

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<v Speaker 4>don't think you said his name. You're going through everything

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<v Speaker 4>when you talked about Corey Seeger, I might have missed it.

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<v Speaker 4>He has the blandest name, and yet the last two

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<v Speaker 4>years he's been the guy that has just stepped up

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<v Speaker 4>and done whatever's done. And he's hitting three thirty three

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<v Speaker 4>and I think he has like fifty summer beats. Josh

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<v Speaker 4>Smith super bland name and he's becoming a superstar. But

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<v Speaker 4>will the Rangers allow him to become a superstar and

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<v Speaker 4>play enough because there's other names that have been higher

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<v Speaker 4>and bigger players and he just keeps producing.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Kratzy, I will correct you. I did say that

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<v Speaker 1>he is hitting leadoff right now. That was the one

0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:29.880
<v Speaker 1>thing I did say about it.

0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:30.960
<v Speaker 4>I thought you could say it.

0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:35.040
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, you know, Josh's name gets overlooked a lot

0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.240
<v Speaker 1>of times. What I will say about this is, look,

0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.640
<v Speaker 1>he's already started at six different positions on the field

0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:44.040
<v Speaker 1>this year. He is a and I think this almost

0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:45.959
<v Speaker 1>diminishes him a little bit when you call him a

0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.880
<v Speaker 1>super utility player. But he's got the ability to play

0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.400
<v Speaker 1>anywhere on the field and do better than adequately there,

0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:56.360
<v Speaker 1>and that's incredibly valuable. It's also valuable to getting him

0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.120
<v Speaker 1>enough playing time because, as you said, the Ringers have

0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.120
<v Speaker 1>a lot of guys who are kind of entrenched in

0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:04.560
<v Speaker 1>their positions. But to this point there's been plenty of

0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:07.520
<v Speaker 1>opportunity for him to play. Josh Young went out for

0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.679
<v Speaker 1>ten days with a neck issue. He was the everyday

0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.120
<v Speaker 1>third baseman. Wyatt Langford went out with an oblique issue,

0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.240
<v Speaker 1>he was the everyday left fielder. Corey Seeger is now out.

0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.520
<v Speaker 1>He's going to be the everyday shortstop, and I think

0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:22.680
<v Speaker 1>before it's all over with, he could get more of

0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:24.760
<v Speaker 1>a look in center field because I think the Rangers

0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:26.840
<v Speaker 1>are going to have to consider what they do with

0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.839
<v Speaker 1>Leodi taveris there. It's just not been a good start

0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.360
<v Speaker 1>to the year for him, and Leodi has now had

0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.280
<v Speaker 1>five years out there and it's just not making a

0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.000
<v Speaker 1>big step forward. So I think that there are challenges

0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:43.280
<v Speaker 1>to getting him every day playing time, but so far

0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.679
<v Speaker 1>the Rangers have found that and they will continue to

0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:49.960
<v Speaker 1>make efforts to get him in the lineup. Bruce Bochie

0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:54.480
<v Speaker 1>does not, in any way, shape or form diminish the

0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.560
<v Speaker 1>value that Josh Smith has brought to this club. Is

0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.959
<v Speaker 1>that bats have been probably the best and most consistent

0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:03.520
<v Speaker 1>from the start of the year for this team.

0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:04.560
<v Speaker 4>Evan.

0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.240
<v Speaker 2>The reason Aj Pierzinski is not on the show today

0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:10.839
<v Speaker 2>is because he's going to San Francisco to bother you

0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.160
<v Speaker 2>and do the Giants Rangers game. So be on the

0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.240
<v Speaker 2>lookout for Aj asking for free stuff from you. But

0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.880
<v Speaker 2>speaking of the upcoming Giant series, this is a good team,

0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:23.760
<v Speaker 2>probably a better team than a lot of us gave

0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:27.360
<v Speaker 2>credit to. How can the Giants, in your opinion, or

0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.439
<v Speaker 2>how can the Rangers in your opinion, be effective against

0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:30.160
<v Speaker 2>San Francisco.

0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.280
<v Speaker 1>Look, I think the biggest thing Alana is right now

0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:36.720
<v Speaker 1>the process offensively has got to continue to improve. I

0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:40.400
<v Speaker 1>think when the first night I can't stop myself from

0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:44.040
<v Speaker 1>saint open. The first night in Sacramento, we saw a

0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.880
<v Speaker 1>team that stopped swinging indiscriminately, took some more pitches. To

0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:50.480
<v Speaker 1>Eric's point, Josh Smith in the first spot in the lead,

0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:52.880
<v Speaker 1>first game, in the leadoff spot, takes a leadoff walk,

0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:56.400
<v Speaker 1>their second leadoff walk of the year to start off

0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.480
<v Speaker 1>a game, ends up with a two run inning because

0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.000
<v Speaker 1>they've got guys on base. They're getting better pitches to hit.

0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.000
<v Speaker 1>When I looked at the stats, earlier this week. This

0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.760
<v Speaker 1>team led the major leagues in swing percentage and was

0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.520
<v Speaker 1>last in walk percentage. And when you do that, you

0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.520
<v Speaker 1>better be putting balls in play and hitting the ball hard.

0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:16.840
<v Speaker 1>And the Rangers just haven't done that yet. So I

0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:18.800
<v Speaker 1>think they've got to be a little bit more patient

0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:22.400
<v Speaker 1>at the plate and work through that. That would be,

0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:26.560
<v Speaker 1>for me, their number one project going into this Giant Series.

0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:30.160
<v Speaker 4>All right, Evan, we have to rid off stats for

0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 4>players all the time. We're going to read off an

0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:35.440
<v Speaker 4>awesome stat for you. You are now a league leader

0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.000
<v Speaker 4>in foul territory. We've had five hundred and nine reporter

0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.840
<v Speaker 4>guests that besides Ken Rosenthal, five hundred and nine reporter

0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.040
<v Speaker 4>guest spots. You have twelve of them. You have twelve

0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.320
<v Speaker 4>of them. You are two ahead of Britt Geroli and

0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:53.640
<v Speaker 4>one ahead of C. Trent Rosecrants. So just we want

0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:55.680
<v Speaker 4>to keep you hungry. We got to make sure we

0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 4>know you know who is in second and third place.

0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.000
<v Speaker 4>So you ready, But we appreciate you here at the

0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:03.520
<v Speaker 4>FT Network.

0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:05.960
<v Speaker 1>Well, look, I don't want to say anything, but if

0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.880
<v Speaker 1>anything bad happens to Britt or C. Trent, don't look.

0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:16.880
<v Speaker 1>Don't looking for me it's great to be especially great

0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.160
<v Speaker 1>with no Aj here, so it's it's like actually talking

0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:25.960
<v Speaker 1>ball and not my gluttony.

0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:27.920
<v Speaker 4>Not me for this weekend. When he when he, when

0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:30.600
<v Speaker 4>he sees you this weekend, that'll be. It'll ruin your

0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.640
<v Speaker 4>weekend in San Francisco. Normally it's cold in San Francisco.

0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:36.720
<v Speaker 4>It's just gonna be cold all weekend for you. So sorry.

0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:38.880
<v Speaker 1>At least here will be hot air to go around,

0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:39.680
<v Speaker 1>so that'll be there.

0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:41.800
<v Speaker 4>You go, there, you go, Evan.

0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:44.800
<v Speaker 2>We appreciate you very much, even though Cam and Eric

0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:48.200
<v Speaker 2>disagree with your barbecue choices. Cam says it's all about

0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.480
<v Speaker 2>North Carolina. Eric says, it doesn't matter. You got to

0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:51.080
<v Speaker 2>do it at home.

0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:51.720
<v Speaker 1>I don't care.

0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:52.800
<v Speaker 4>I just like to eat.

0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:54.040
<v Speaker 2>We love you, my friend.

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.960
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for being on piece. Another time. Cam and I'll

0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.160
<v Speaker 1>get into the whole North Carolina versus Texas. Yeah we will, Yeah,

0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.320
<v Speaker 1>we will take care of y'all.

0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:06.120
<v Speaker 4>Mm hmm