Tuesday Newsletter time: Tigers beat trade bait Kyle Gibson again. That's just the Rangers' luck.
The right-hander allowed eight runs in five-plus innings and has lost two straight starts to Detroit.
The Detroit Tigers, a non-contender this season and probably the next one, too, might be putting a dent in Kyle Gibson’s trade value.
That’s the Texas Rangers’ luck for you.
Detroit struck for eight runs Monday night in Gibson’s five-plus innings en route to a 14-0 win that sent the Rangers to their sixth straight loss. It was Gibson’s second straight loss after starting the season 6-0.
Both have been to the Tigers, who scored five off him July 7 at Globe Life Field.
Gibson’s ERA has gone from 1.98 to 2.86.
“I’m going to go look at some video and see if there’s something I’m doing pattern-wise or if I’m just missing in certain spots or usage problems,” Gibson said. “Honestly, I don’t really know.”
Maybe it’s just one of those crazy baseball things, where a pitcher can topple baseball’s best but can be toppled by a baseball also-ran. He issued five runs and recorded two outs on Opening Day at Kansas City.
Gibson has allowed 18 earned runs in three starts and 16 in his other 15.
The body of work still makes Gibson a very attractive trade target, and his value will never be higher than it is now. The Dodgers, Cardinals and Padres could use a starting pitcher, and the Rangers could use some advanced pitching prospects.
As long as the Tigers aren’t on their schedules, they would be better with Gibson in their rotation.
Bad, bad baseball
The Rangers have entered into another stretch where their games are just hard to watch. The sixth inning alone Monday was an utter disaster as the first nine Tigers hitters reached safely against Gibson, Brett Martin and Joe Barlow.
Walk, single, single, single, single, single, single, walk, walk.
Detroit scored seven times in the frame. There was an error mixed in there, though, surprisingly, it didn’t cost the Rangers a run. The Rangers have surrendered double-digit runs in three of their first four games after the All-Star break.
The offense hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball. The Rangers have been shut out in three straight games for the first time in club history, although two of the shutouts were seven-inning games.
The combined score the past four games is 39-2.
There were stretches in May and June, especially on the road, when the Rangers weren’t fun to watch. But the games were mostly competitive and the Rangers were finding ways to lose close games.
This isn’t that, and it’s even harder to watch.
ICYMI …
Despite what’s happening on the field, the Texas Rangers Newsletter continues to crank out the content. There is always something to write when covering an MLB team.
Here’s a sampling of what you might have missed.
The rotation is ripe for change, but it’s not that easy.
Friday on the farm, where draftees will soon be.
Second-half predictions, one of which is off to a particularly bad start.
The Rangers had greatest farm system ever? Yes!
Seeing tomorrow?
The following isn’t something I normally do, but this one caught my attention.
Matt Grubb, a TCU student from Illinois and a self-described Chicago White Sox die-hard fan, took to Twitter to ask the following question.
“The best baseball player born on your birthday has to get on base to save your life. The pitcher he's facing is the Game One starter of the World Series champs the year you graduated high school.
“Do you live to see tomorrow?”
As of 7:30 p.m. Monday, the tweet had 6,382 quote tweets and 1,972 likes. I think the kids call that “going viral.”
Multiple baseball scribes played along, and so did this one.
I went with career WAR to determine the best player born on Nov. 13, my birthday, and it was former Rangers infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. He’s the answer to the trivia question: Who replaced Adrian Beltre at third base following his retirement?
Arvada West High in Colorado determined I had met enough requirements to graduate in 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays won their second straight World Series. Their Game 1 starter was Juan Guzman, who received a no-decision. Al Leiter, father of Rangers first-rounder Jack Leiter, was the winning pitcher.
Anyhoo, I’ve got Cabrera vs. Guzman. I think I live to see tomorrow.
How about you? Leave your matchup in the comments section.
Doggy video!
Having grown up with an athletic miniature poodle (and a not so athletic one), this made me smile. Enjoy. See you Wednesday.
Pitching questions galore for you Jeff-One, is tonight a pretty big outing for the John King as a starter experiment? His arm seems like its died (in particular against KC and Oakland) right about the time he's hit 50 pitches in an outing a lot recently. He's gotta show he can get over that at some point (maybe tonight) doesn't he? Two, what do you think the odds of Allard, Winn, and Crouse making the 2022 rotation are? Three, given how young next year's rotation is shaping up to be-could keeping Gibson around as a veteran mentor make any sense?
Birthday matchup:
At bat - Yankees longtime SS Frankie Crosetti, bWAR 24.5, BA .245 (coincidence?)
On the mound - Peak Whitey Ford
I’m toast.