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Crabtree placed on the DL

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The Rangers placed right-handed pitcher Tim Crabtree on the 15-day disabled list today, retroactive to April 15, with lower back problems.
Crabtree, 31, has not been able to pitch since Sunday due to pain and stiffness in his lower back. He had an MRI on Tuesday in Seattle and was examined by Rangers spine consultant Dr. Drew Dossett in Dallas on Wednesday. Crabtree was diagnosed to have two small disc herniations, which is believed to be a flareup of an existing condition.
The Rangers’ closer received an epideral injection in his back today, which is expected to alleviate the inflammation in his lower back. Crabtree will also be placed on a medication and rehab program. Dr. Dossett indicated that surgery is not necessary at this time. Crabtree is eligible to come off the disabled list on April 30 but it is unknown how long he might be sidelined.
The Rangers have purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher R.A. Dickey from Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League to replace Crabtree on the active roster. Dickey will wear No. 51 and will be in uniform for tonight’s game against Oakland at The Ballpark in Arlington. Texas has transferred right-handed pitcher Dan Kolb from the 15-day DL to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Dickey on the 40-man roster.
Crabtree has four saves in as many opportunities so far this season in five appearances. He is 0-0 with a 5.79 era. He last pitched on Saturday in Oakland, earning a save in the Rangers’ 9-8 victory over the A’s.
Dickey, 26, is 2-0 with a 4.00 ERA in three starts for AAA Oklahoma this season. He leads the RedHawks in wins and innings (18). Dickey had a no-decision in his last start on Monday at Salt Lake City, allowing six hits and four runs in six innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Texas’ first-round selection in the 1996 First-Year Player Draft, Dickey is in his fifth year with the Texas organization.
Kolb has been on the 15-day disabled for the entire season with a strained muscle behind his right elbow, which he injured on March 15 in Spring Training. He is currently working out with the extended spring program in Port Charlotte, Florida, and has not yet begun to throw. The 60-day DL assignment is retroactive to opening day.

Roster Transaction

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  • P Tim Crabtree placed on the DL (retro to April 15th)
  • P Dan Kolb transferred from the 15 to 16 day
    DL (Retro to April 1st)
  • P R.A. Dickey called up from AAA Oklahoma

G16: Topes win! Topes win! Seattle goes down 8-6

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Topes win! Topes win!
OK, it’s not quite that bad, but we managed to get out of Seattle without being swept. We did manage to have a winning record on this road trip against the West, which is good. We’re in second place, only 3.5 games out – so things aren’t as bad as some online folks would have you believe. :) We’re certainly scoring runs, but we’re giving up way too many. It appears that Ryan Glynn has lost his spot on the rotation. Let’s see what else happens.
Anyway, last night Raffy continued his surprising onslaught against Safeco field with another home run and a couple of RBI’s. Chad Curtis also had a jack – our offense is quite well. However, we again gave up too many, too many from the pen, and let the Mariners back in the game, when they had no business being in the game. That can be a huge problem.
Doug Davis got the win – he wasn’t stellar, though. That’s our problem so far. He only went 5.2 innings, which is killing our bullpen. Crabtree is on the DL now, and R.A. Dickey was called up from AAA to help out. My guess is he goes to the pen, and isn’t a rotation guy. On the other side, we roughed up Brett Tomko pretty good, so much so that Seattle had to bring in Aaron Sele from the bullpen – the first time he’s ever done that in his career.
Ichiro Suzuki continues to be hot, going 13 games now with his hitting streak. Is it just me, or does he appear to slap at everything to try to drive it to left field? Every time I see him hit, that’s what it seems like.
Back home – although we’ll be tired, not getting in until about 6AM on Thursday. :)

Arod returns to Seattle

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  • A-Rod goes 1-5 in his return to Seattle, and
    the Rangers lose 9-7.  Glad to see that not all of the fans out there
    booed him.  I’ve also picked up 4 additional stories about this game,
    including two written by writers in Seattle.  Lots of reading on this
    one. Game
    coverage & discussion here    .

Arod wins Player of the week award

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Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who returns to Seattle tonight as an opponent for the first time, has been named the American League’s Player of the Week for April 9-15.
Rodriguez batted .450 (9-20) with four homers and 13 RBIs in six games during the week, leading the AL in homers, RBIs, total bases (22) and slugging percentage (1.100). He was 6-for-10 with four homers and 13 RBIs in the three-game sweep of Oakland. Rodriguez drove in 11 runs in the final two games, one shy of the club record for RBIs in consecutive contests set by Rusty Greer on Aug. 22-23, 1997, vs. Chicago.
A-Rod has homered in three straight games, one shy of the Texas club record, which has been accomplished six times. His career-best is home runs in five straight games — Aug. 11-16, 1999, with Seattle. Rodriguez had two homers in one game for the 15th time in his career on Sunday, his 16th overall multi-homer game (he has one three-home run game to his credit). He is 9-for-14 with four homers and 13 RBIs in his last four games after going 8-for-33 with no homers and two RBIs in Texas’ first nine contests.
This marks the fifth time that Rodriguez has been awarded the AL’s weekly award. He last won it in the second week of the 2000 season, April 10-16.

G14: Arod returns to Seattle, and loses 9-7

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What a circus atmosphere. I probably would have been really into it if I was in Seattle – I know I would have worn Ranger colors, too. For some reason, I just don’t see myself getting assaulted in Seattle. Now, I wouldn’t try that if say, Derek Jeter came to Texas, and we were going to the Bronx. :)
However, I was sitting in my living room, and that’s not the same thing as being there. I would have liked to have been there, but from what I could see, it was definitely a circus. You’ll see in the photos below some of it – but the loudness was surprising. I knew he’d be booed a lot, and cheered when he messed up, but it still didn’t compare – even though some of the cooler stuff was announced. My favorite thing a fan did was sit there with a fishing rod with a dollar bill attached, trying to reel in Arod. Now that was funny, yet uncool at the same time. I laughed at that one.
As for the game itself? Well, Ryan Glynn had NOTHING. He has always had a problem with walking a lot, and he did that tonight too. However, he just seemed to have even less than his usual mediocre to bad outing. If Helling has a night like this Tuesday, I can see the folks clamoring for a change. I have to admit I’m surprised at Glynn, as he didn’t pitch this way in spring training.
Our bats kept us in the game for the most part – Raffy did his best, hitting two home runs in the game – the first two in Safeco this season, but we just gave up too many. I have a feeling that will be the story of the season.

G13: Rangers sweep A’s behind 10-8 win

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Hopefully, I get to use this graphic a lot this season. :)
It was really nice to see us bust out in this fashion, scoring over 30 runs against the A’s. I don’t like the fact that we’re giving up so many – we have the worst ERA in all of baseball so far. We won’t be able to carry the team that long on just the sticks. We need some better pitching. Still, a win is a win, and I’ll take as many as we can get. Especially when we have to chase the Twins (!) for best record in baseball. :)
Anyway, Arod continued his onslaught this weekend in Oakland, going 2 for 3 with 5 RBI’s for a total of 13 for the weekend. It was really awesome to see our offense wake up. Our pitching? Well, Oliver gave up too many and exited too short for a starter. Our bullpen let them back in the game when they shouldn’t have.
It seems that anyone pitching as closer has inherited John Wetteland. First off, Crabtree couldn’t pitch – he was having back spasms. Second, Venafro, who did pitch for a save, proceeded to walk the bases full before getting the job done. I wonder if we can have a closer that goes 1-2-3 anymore! :)