SB Nation Dallas - Features

Texas Rangers Vs. Oakland Athletics Preview: Q&A With Athletics Nation

2012-05-16T13:10:08Z

Tyler Bleszinski, founder of Athletics Nation and SB Nation, stops by to help us preview the brief two-game series between the Rangers and the A's.

After being swept by the Kansas City Royals, the Texas Rangers welcome the second-place Oakland Athletics to Arlington as they look to return back to their winning ways. To help us preview this series, we've brought in Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation for some Oakland-oriented insight.

What were the expectations surrounding the A's this season? Is it a bit of a surprise that Oakland is over .500 at this point of the season?

I'm not sure there were any expectations on this team this year. Many people thought 70 wins maximum given all the unknowns. I was pretty bullish on the team if only because I thought the pitching was going to be good. The question marks to me with the A's, as it has been over the last three or four seasons was the offense and the health of the team. The offense has literally been just good enough to support the pitching so far and the team seemingly has more pop than in seasons past with guys like Cespedes and Reddick giving the team some unexpected HR power.

The A's received plenty of negative publicity over the winter when Billy Beane went into firesale mode again, but how are the two major trades (Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez) working out for Oakland so far?

Bailey has yet to pitch an inning for the Red Sox and Reddick has nine home runs so far and looks like he could be the A's best hitter. While Gio Gonzalez is an incredible starting pitcher, the A's got a lot of talent back in return with Tommy Millone already being a part of the A's rotation and Brad Peacock likely soon to follow. A.J. Cole looks like he could be the best of the group and Derek Norris has been tearing it up at Triple-A and will likely become the A's starting catcher sooner rather than later. Beane got a lot of quality for two good pitchers (one of them being excessively fragile).

Rangers fans know a bit about Brandon McCarthy, but what's been the reason for his success since leaving Texas? What are the signs that he's on that Rangers fans should be looking for Thursday?

McCarthy isn't the same power pitcher he once was. He's much more move around the zone and look for excellent control. He had an injury issue but then came back and struck out a season-high 10 in his last game in which he was outstanding. He's started using his curveball a lot more of late and we'll see if that continues in Texas.

Do you expect the A's to attack Josh Hamilton, or will they likely pitch around him and make others in the lineup beat them? Seems as though most managers should be doing the old unintentional-intentional walk, since Hamilton swings so much.

Hamilton seems like a tough guy to pitch around simply because the Rangers lineup is so very stacked. But I tend to agree with you in that Hamilton looks like a guy who should be avoided right now.

Assuming the A's aren't contending this year, who do you expect they'll be fielding offers on in July, and when do you expect them to reasonably contend?

Billy Beane always says that he's always entertaining offers so I don't think it will be only in July. I don't think Kurt Suzuki finishes the year with the A's simply because the A's have a few talented catchers waiting in the wings. Clearly Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes are likely going to be dealt if Beane can find a taker. And if the A's aren't contending come July and Manny Ramirez comes back to hit like the Manny of old, expect to see Manny traded.

The Dallas Mavericks Uncertain Offseason

2012-05-16T13:01:32Z

Mark Cuban will be wooing Deron Williams with a roster that has far more questions than answers.

If you just looked at the Dallas team from last year, the team that just got bounced in four, you would be forced to conclude the Mavericks have a lot of needs.

Number one would be center, the more frustrating because the Mavs had the answer to that problem and let it get away (and there is zero chance the Mavericks will be starting 2012 with a better center than they had in 2011, despite what may happen in the summer of '13).

Second would have to be an athletic 2-guard. Dallas' (often) starting 2-guard last year, yes, was the only player on the Mavericks who occasionally drove, but let's just say that it's not 2003 and leave it at that.

However, of the 15 players on their roster last year, they have exactly 8 who are currently signed on for another year, one of which is Lamar Odom. Two are centers, one is a PF, two are SFs (though one is Kelenna Azubuike), and two are whatever Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones are (a 2-guard forced to play point and a terrible basketball player, respectively). The odds are 50-50, too, that one of those centers, Haywood, will be amnestied. Whatever needs the Mavericks had this year, they'll probably have more next year.

To my mind, this constitutes a problem. If Dallas would like to re-up Ian Mahimni this probably won't be too hard but Ian is, in a few words, brutally bad at times. If they want Kidd around for another year or two at the minimum, that will probably be possible, but no point guard out there scores less often. They could easily get Brian Cardinal back to back-up Dirk, but unless his three-point shot also returns, there really isn't that much point.

For all I know, the Mavericks plan to make Kelenna Azubuike and Yi Jianlian a big part of what they're doing, going forward. For all I know they're planning to amnesty Marion, not Haywood, because while Marion is a much better player, he plays a position that's more easily replaced.

There is an an additional and under-reported issue to all this. Delonte West and Vince Carter were relatively decent players willing to sign with the Mavericks for one year for different reasons, but they both wanted to play with the defending champs. It's not quite as enticing to play with the seventh seed who got swept, and exposed, and has even less impact players in hand.

Here's what we're looking at: Mark Cuban would love to sign just Deron Williams, let the team be terrible next year, and still have plenty of cap space for the summer of '13. Those of you who have been paying attention know that Erick Dampier was supposed to be Dallas' big cap savings, then Tyson Chandler was. Last summer, Cuban turned down the opportunity to acquire Al Jefferson for nothing before eventually acquiring Chandler in order to keep cap space.

The problem is that if Cuban doesn't sign Williams, he doesn't have a team to offer to any free agents who might be willing to take a discount. Conversely, if he doesn't have a team to offer Deron Williams, it's not 100% clear why the Mavericks should be more enticing than the Nets. Better organization? Of course. Better pedigree? Absolutely. But Williams is 28 and Dirk going to turn 34 in a month.

Williams says he wants a contract early, and the Mavericks are much more sellable to free agents if they can get him first, so that seems like the obvious first move. However, I don't trust Cuban to be willing to put together a "win now" presentation and that's really the only selling point he has: they can't wait too much longer on Dirk's career, they don't have anybody else, and they will be offering less money and fewer years than Brooklyn.

However you look at it, the Mavericks face an enormously tough rebuilding challenge in the offseason that only gets tougher if Cuban is committed to hanging on to cap space, as he likely will be. Moreover, beyond Deron Williams, the free agent crop isn't exactly inspiring.

Dallas will have a top 20 pick for the first time in a good while (#17). With that, as well as some cash on hand, we'll see how flexible they can get to address more needs than they've had in the last decade.

Royals Shell Colby Lewis To Sweep Rangers

2012-05-16T03:36:33Z

Colby Lewis lacks the fastball to give a rest-day lineup a chance.

Final - 5.15.2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	10	0
Texas Rangers	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	4	8	2
WP: Vin Mazzaro (1 - 0) LP: Colby Lewis (3 - 3)

Complete Coverage >

Colby Lewis manages to get by -- and in fact excel -- despite a lack of overpower fastball velocity. He does it by locating his fastball excellently to get ahead and set up an incredible slider.

Tonight, he did no such locating. If you take a gander here, you'll see no fewer than five pitches placed in the center square knocked for "in play, no out." That there makes up the bulk of the Kansas City offense Tuesday evening. Even the velocity was down, as well, averaging under 88 miles per hour on the fastball, and garnering just three swinging strikes.

As has been the case when he's struggling, the amps on the heater were not there early, and early is exactly what cost him. His own error extended the first inning, and some very hard-hit balls combined with a hit-by-pitch to put the Rangers down 4-0 before they even got to come to the plate.

And without locating his fastball, he couldn't use his slider effectively, only getting two swinging strikes on his most lethal pitch. He was sort of okay after the first. No great shakes, but a pitcher who will usually win a game with Ranger run support. He just concentrated a lot of awful in that first inning, and effectively ended the game before it started.

The offense lacked Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz, but still managed four runs, and could have scored more with some favorable wind/slightly better contact. With two outs in the first, David Murphy launched a ball to the centerfield wall that would have made the game 4-3 had it gone a couple feet farther. In the fourth, Adrian Beltre sent a ball to the centerfield track with a runner on first, nearly making it 6-3. Hamilton later scored, but that was four just-missed runs through the first four innings in a game the Rangers lost by three.

Hurts, huh? To add insult to injury, Hamilton hit his own near-home run in the fifth that only ended up being a sac fly. Make it five just-missed runs.

Centerfield hated the Rangers Tuesday night. That's the way baseball go.

Meanwhile, if Colby Lewis makes a simple play to first base in the first inning, he gets out of the inning without allowing a single run, and perhaps the face of the game is entirely different. The way things went, it's hard to imagine, but this was not a total implosion. Which is not to say this was some case of the Rangers getting particularly unlucky. They could have won this game without much going differently, but then they would have been lucky. Instead, they lost when they were outplayed. They lost because they struck out five times against Kansas City reliever Tim Thomas in two innings.

On the plus side, the bullpen looked good (again), with five total strikeouts, no walks, and no runs allowed by Alexi Ogando, Joe Nathan, and Koji Uehara in three and a third. Too little too late, though, as the Rangers only managed to pull to within a save situation after a pinch-hit home run from Brandon Snyder with two outs in the ninth.

So now Texas has been swept in 2012. Only in two games, which shouldn't really count, but oh well. Ron Washington chose to sit some of his best players in the series, started his spot-starter, and Pitcher Least Likely to Return didn't have his stuff available. It happens, and it's really frustrating, but nothing was said about the Texas Rangers that we didn't know, and thus we still know they are a fantastic team. As far as benching starters in clumps, it is not very fun, but the manager who does it now has two AL Championship rings on his finger, so maybe he's on to something.

The Rangers are now -- hopefully -- nice and rested to begin destroying worlds again.

CHARTS!

Source: FanGraphs

Biggest Failures

Colby Lewis -33%
Michael Young -8%
Craig Gentry -8%

Biggest Play: With two outs and the bases loaded in the first, Brayan Pena singles home two, making it 3-0 Royals (13% win probability added).

Paul Schreiber's Strikezone

Via Brooks Baseball

Poll

Goat of the Game

NHL Draft 2012: Brendan Gaunce Scouting Report

2012-05-15T13:00:57Z

This is one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, especially at areas (defense and center) where the Stars organization needs help. Dallas, with the No. 13 pick, could have a number of excellent prospects to choose from.

Dallas has a pretty weak center core and very few good prospects at the position in the organization. With Mike Ribeiro getting older (and worse) and no other good offensive options to turn to, the Stars should think hard about drafting a center with their first pick this season.

By the time the Stars pick rolls around, the top three centers available (Mikhail Grigorenko, Alex Galchenyuk and Filip Forsberg) should long gone (probably four gone in Radek Faska), but I expect (and hope) that Brendan Gaunce will still be available.

The 6'2", 210 pound 18-year-old has just about everything a team needs. He's a big, tough power forward with excellent hands and playmaking ability. He's ranked as the 13th best North American skater and fourth best center by Central Scouting and should fall around where the Stars draft:

A highlight tape from his time as an amateur:

For the past two seasons, Gaunce has been playing in the OHL and he put up some excellent numbers last year. He averaged a point per game on his way to 28 goals and 40 assists for the Bellevillle Bulls and he's also a consistent member of the Canadian World Junior Championship teams.

Gaunce may not have the natural gifts and talent as the premier center prospects (though I believe he does), but he might be one of the most complete players in the entire draft. He's in the perfect mold to become a top power forward in the league with his size, skill and toughness; aspects of his game that will only get better as he matures. As you can see from his assists, he's a talented playmaker first and a goal scorer second. He has a good hard shot and great vision.

He does a little bit of everything on the ice. He works on both the power play and penalty kill units and works hard on the defensive side. Two way centers are coveted in this league and with his size, he uses his body well to just physically outwork guys for the puck. He can also work as a winger if needed but center is his natural position and he's easily a top-six forward, something that the Stars desperately need. Even better, he's a smart player with great leadership qualities (he's really a born leader).

If he really develops his offensive game, he would have a comparable skill set to David Backes, one of the best two-way centers in the league and a top Selke nomination (for best defensive forward). There's really not too much more you could ask this kid to do.

He has very few negative points to his game. He's not the most fluid skater and stickhandler on the ice, but that's something that can easily be worked on. As stated before, his offensive ceiling might be a little bit more limited compared to the other top centers in this draft, but he's still immensely talented. You could do a whole lot worse than him. With the way the draft will likely play out, Gaunce is my top option for who I hope the Stars pick.

Dallas Cowboys Draft Picks 2012: Talking Caleb McSurdy

2012-05-15T12:00:22Z

The sixth in a series of Q&A's about the Cowboys draft class of 2012 with the people who knew them best: the writers who covered them in college.

An interview with Fritz Neighbor, a staff writer over at the Missoulian whose covered Montana football since 2004.

1) How is the level of competition at the FCS level? How many guys typically move on to the NFL in a given year and what type of an adjustment process will McSurdy face?

Across the board the FCS isn't as deep or talented as the Bowl Subdivision, but I like to think there are 5-10 players on the Griz who could play at the FBS level. I figure 3-8 Big Sky players, through the draft and free agency, head to the NFL each season. It'll be more now, since we can count Cal Poly (which had cornerback Asa Jackson selected in the NFL Draft).

McSurdy's biggest adjustment will be the speed of the game. He's got the smarts and the physicalness, but he also sat behind an almost-every down player for the Griz (Shawn Lebsock) for two seasons. McSurdy's speed/quickness really seemed to take a jump from his junior to seniors seasons. That's a credit to him, and tells me he can adjust again.

2) In general, how big a deal is FCS football in the Northwest? How popular is Montana football in the state?

In Montana and Eastern Washington it's a pretty big deal, but many times Montana goes on the road the Griz have had nearly as many -- if not more -- fans than the host team. This goes for Portland State and Idaho State, though Eastern Washington has certainly become a big rival with large home crowds. With Boise State, Oregon and Oregon State, Washington and Washington State, Utah ... the FBS is bigger.

That said, Griz football is a huge deal in the state and outside it. I personally know people who drive 9 hours one way for a game, then turn around and back to Sidney or Plentywood on Sunday. The popularity of the Griz makes a huge impact on the local business community. For the better part of 15 years, with few exceptions, every game has been televised live state-wide. For a long time I included satellite coordinates in my game previews so people around the country could go to a local bar and get the game. Just in case people had trouble working a satellite transponder, I included the number of a troubleshooter: Bob Bonner, the proprietor of the Torrey Pines Pub in Las Vegas, where fans show up to watch the Griz every game day.

3) What type of defense did the Grizzlies run last year and what were McSurdy's responsibilities?

McSurdy played for two years under defensive coordinator Mike Breske, who has since become the DC at Washington State. Breske liked to run the 3-4 as well as the 4-3 and blitzed a ton, and McSurdy did it all: one-on-one coverage in the slot, zone coverage, blitzing, gap fills. Montana certainly had a tough time with Sam Houston State in the FCS semifinals, the linebackers in particular. But the play McSurdy made before halftime was so good: He ran a delayed blitz, then jumped and batted the pass from Brian Bell. Then he caught it and ran 61 yards past an offense with a ton of speed.

4) Can he step in and contribute on special teams right away?

Absolutely, and in fact that's what he's shooting for. He's a bright, smart, strong and fast football player. I think he could be a major factor on special teams.

5) What would you say is his ceiling as an NFL player?

Well, two years ago I would not have predicted Caleb McSurdy would get drafted, so maybe I'm not the best guy to ask. But given what I've seen since, I predict his smarts and work ethic can make him an impact player on defense in 2 or 3 seasons.

Texas Rangers Vs. Kansas City Royals Preview: Q&A With SBN KC

2012-05-14T14:01:16Z

Matt Hays of SBN Kansas City stops by to help us preview the brief two-game series between the Rangers and the Royals.

After taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels, a two-game series against the Kansas City Royals might feel like a let down. The Rangers, though, had better remain sharp, as Kansas City has some of the best young talent in all of baseball -- and some of it will be on display. Matt Hays of SB Nation Kansas City helps us preview this brief-two game series.

The Royals have toiled in recent years, but there has been a growing sense of optimism surrounding them thanks to the farm system. What were the expectations this year, and how much did that 12-game losing streak affect them?

After finishing September with a 15-10 record, and a young group of players being a year further along, expectations were relatively high by Kansas City standards. Most reasonable Royals fans were aiming for 81 wins, but generally most would probably be happy if the team finished with a 78-84 record or better. Keep in mind, this is a once proud organization that has only had one winning season in the last 17.

The 12-game losing streak really hurt, as it was so early in the season. With the All-Star Game being held at Kauffman Stadium this year, it seemed like it was more important than ever for the club to at least be relevant come July 10th. The team is actually 10-6 since the losing streak ended, but it's still a deep hole to climb out of.

Of all of Kansas City's young players currently on the MLB roster, who is the most exciting and why?

The easy answer to that would be Eric Hosmer, as he is one of the most highly-touted young players in all of baseball, but after getting off to a .180/.250/.336 start through 128 AB's, many are now wondering if it's time to send him down to AAA to regain his form. However, I would answer the question with Mike Moustakas. It's not known if Moustakas will play in the Texas series as he has been slowed by a leg injury, but he is hitting .308/.362/.523 currently and his defense has never been better. Long labeled as a liability at third, this spring he came to camp in great shape and has been well above average defensively.

And of course Alcides Escobar plays shortstop as well as just about anyone in the league. He makes up for his meager hitting with a great glove and arm power in the field.

What's been the reason for Eric Hosmer's struggles? Keith Law said prior to the year that he expected Hosmer to pick up some MVP votes, yet here he is hitting under .200 still.

No question Eric Hosmer has struggled this year, it reminds many of the same struggles Alex Gordon went through in 2007. Some have questioned his batting stance, as it appears he is more open than ever, meaning he isn't able to pull the ball. However he still is second on the team in both home runs and RBI. I think it's just a funk that many young hitters go through when making the adjustment to major league life. It's concerning, but in the grand scheme of things, I believe he is too good to not work his way out of it eventually.

How long do you think Dayton Moore and Ned Yost will keep their jobs for, if this year ends up being another majorly losing season? Are they close to the hot seat as it is?

In some ways I believe Ned Yost was on or near the hot seat during the long losing streak, as he repeatedly stated that he was managing the squad one day at a time. I honestly think Yost is safe, unless this team somehow falls to 20 or 25 games under .500 at some point in the season. The same can be said with Moore, I believe he is safe through the end of the season. Might we see a change in 2013? Possibly, but I wouldn't expect any drastic during the middle of the year.

The bigger issue is the ownership, David Glass and his son Dan Glass (team president), but that story is for another day.

Do you expect KC to pitch to Josh Hamilton, given the tear he is on, or will they make Adrian Beltre et al. beat the Royals in this series?

I expect the Royals to pitch to the Hamilton and the Rangers, at least on Monday evening. Bruce Chen is starting the first game of the series and has generally been Kansas City's most reliable pitcher over the past two years. Kansas City has yet to announce a starter for Tuesday, but it's looking like Vin Mazzaro will be making his first start of the season. I expect the Royals to not mess around with Hamilton, as he has three hits and a walk in five at-bats against Mazzaro in his career.

What We Learned Against The Angels

2012-05-14T11:00:39Z

The Angels and Rangers played their first bout in the 2012 season, and everyone outside of Texas fans has to be disappointed with the results.

So, the first series between the Rangers and their supposedly-biggest division competition is in the books, and all told it went fairly well. With wins in games one and three, Texas took the series.

The legion of baseball media has to be a bit disappointed, though. This was likely circled the moment the schedule was out as one of the first big series of the year; a showdown between two AL powers figured to be close to one another. It was the first chance for one AL West team to directly gain some significant ground on the other. It was supposed to be a tight, thrilling series.

Instead, the Angels came in a whopping seven games back. The seemingly-perfect Yu Darvish vs. C.J. Wilson opener was ruined by rain, and the Rangers won two of the three games in laughers.

Disappointing for the mass media, but not for Rangers fans.

What we learned is that Yu Darvish is something special. He struck out seven despite having a game broken up by rain in his first start ever against his new rivals. There were three walks, two home runs, and only 5.1 innings, but considering the rain delay we should all still be happy with what we saw. Though, I guess we already knew he was special.

For his six innings in the series -- including not coming back after a rain delay -- C.J. Wilson pitched six innings with five strikeouts, four walks, and six earned runs.

Neftali Feliz also continues to look like a good choice for the rotation, striking out five against two walks in six innings. He did it pumping his fastball in relentlessly and getting putrid contact off of it. It was a one-game sample, but it was an example of Feliz being able to survive at least one game without being able to get his off-speed stuff over. All that said, while he only threw three change-ups in the third game of the series -- only one for a strike -- all three resulted in whiffs. We already knew he had crazy heat, though.

Then there's the relentless Ranger offense. Three more home runs from Josh Hamilton. Five more base hits from Elvis Andrus. And Nelson Cruz is finally on fire, with six hits, two walks, a double, and a home run in the series. The home run was one of the most exciting moments in the Ranger season: a two-out grand slam off Jared Weaver to make the game 6-2; an enormous 28% swing in win expectancy. His wOBA on the season is now .321, inching closer to his expected mean. Of course, we also knew the Rangers had a destructive offensive force and Nelson Cruz was one streak away from being fine.

The series goes down as a 2-1 Rangers win, but it wasn't really that close. Texas outscored the team that many in the media felt was going to take away their crown 25-13. Their two victories were effortless beatdowns, and their loss featured just one fewer total base. The Angels needed some good luck and small ball to eke out a victory in the series, while the Rangers steamrolled through the other two; including the one where their ace started against a first-year starter.

It should be pointed out that this series didn't actually mean a whole lot as far as the Rangers' standing in the division, though. A sweep would have been awful, but other than that, a game added or subtracted from the standings wasn't going to do a whole lot. The way the Angels have fallen back so early in the season is sort of like being back six runs to start the third inning. You might still win, but you're so far back that scoring a run still won't do more than cause a slight bounce on the chart. Watch, at the time this is being written, Baseball Prospectus places the Rangers' odds of winning the division at 81.4%; you won't see that go up much when you click the link as you read this. Win or lose this series, Texas was going to need an epic collapse and an incredible run by Anaheim to botch this. It could happen, it's just not much less likely than it already was.

With the +12 hung on the Angels, the Rangers have engorged their already-handsome run-differential to an incredible +80. That's fifteen runs ahead of the Cardinals for the best in baseball. It is nearly four times that of the AL's second place Blue Jays, and eight runs more than all AL positive teams combined. Put another fun way: this is currently the seventh highest run-differential in the history of the franchise.

It's May. Thanks, Angels.

So, what we learned is this: Texas is capable of dominating inferior competition. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are inferior competition. It is only a month in to the season, and yet they do not look at all like they are on the same level as the Rangers, no matter how much money they spent. They are likely a good team, but when they have to deal with a great team in front of them, they are most likely playing for a Wild Card without something special happening, and Texas reminded them of that in their first meeting.

Then, we probably should have known that, too.

Oh well, it's nice to have some confirmation.

Small Ball The Difference In Texas Loss

2012-05-12T20:55:30Z

After Josh Hamilton tied the game at 2-2 with his 18th HR of the season, LA had two runs and four base-runners in the top of the seventh without ever getting a hit out of the infield.

A walk. A bunt single. Another bunt single. A sacrifice fly. An infield single that Elvis Andrus knocked down but couldn't make a play on. One more sacrifice fly.

That was the play-by-play of the LA Angels seventh inning, which gave them the decisive two-run lead in their 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday afternoon. With an offense that has been sputtering all season, the Angels returned to their small-ball roots under Mike Scioscia to grind out a victory.

When they signed Albert Pujols to a record-breaking contrast last off-season, they couldn't have imagined this is how they would have to scrape out runs. However, with Pujols looking nothing like the player who crushed the Rangers in last season's World Series, they had to dig deep into Scioscia's playbook to get a win.

The Angels two-run seventh inning came without a single hit into the outfield against either Matt Harrison, who left with two runners on and no outs, or Alexi Ogando. Ogando, for the first time all season, actually looked mortal, giving up his first hit to a right-handed batter all year before walking two consecutive hitters in the eighth. He responded with two straight strike-outs to end the inning, but the damage was already done.

The Rangers fans got what they asked for as former ace C.J. Wilson took the mound for the second consecutive day, but he was only able to throw 93 pitches in 5.2 innings. Nor, for that matter, was he able to slow down Josh Hamilton, who crushed a solo HR in the bottom of the sixth inning to give himself 9 home runs in the last 6 games.

Hamilton's exploits left the FOX national broadcast team almost speechless:

"If Jimmy Carroll was doing that at San Carlos Little League, I would say that is ridiculous. Josh Hamilton is doing this in the major leagues. That's what makes it even more astounding. We're seeing arguably the greatest week that any player has had offensively."

The loss sets up a decisive third game on Sunday between Neftali Feliz and Jered Weaver. And while it's only May, pulling out a series win in Arlington could help LA get out of their early-season rut.