- 15 hours ago
The K&C Masterpiece recapped Nathan Eovaldi’s dominant bounce-back start against the Yankees, which helped the Rangers snap a 3-game skid. They broke down Corey Seager’s recent slump, the team’s ongoing RISP struggles, Josh Jung’s incredible month, and more.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00KSC Masterpiece right here on 105.3 The Fan and Masterpiece might be a good way to describe Nathan Ivaldi
00:10yesterday.
00:11He was absolutely outstanding at a time when you really needed him to be a tremendous 7-1 strikeout ratio.
00:21Wasn't in a particularly big amount of trouble for most of the day.
00:27He seemed to have command. He stayed away from the middle-middle-middle-middle that he had lamented about.
00:33And we talked with Skip Schubacher about yesterday.
00:36And these are the kind of appearances that just make you feel so much better as a Rangers fan.
00:43Because I have to admit, especially with all the home runs given up,
00:46I have been concerned already multiple times about Ivaldi this season.
00:50And so, good on him for a hell of a start.
00:55Alright, let me ask you this real quick then.
00:57Do you think that you were concerned because of last year's success?
01:04Last year was exceptional.
01:05And he was consistent.
01:07Over and over, he was putting up zeros or ones.
01:11And you were just like, whoa.
01:13And he was taking up big chunks of innings.
01:15And we said, there's got to be a regression from that this year.
01:21Is it too, is the regression too far?
01:25Or just enough to make you go, oh, that is a concern.
01:28I feel like if we compare it to last year, very problematic.
01:32But if we compare it to, hey, typical, this might be kind of where he rides.
01:38So I hope this makes sense.
01:40I think the reason why I have been concerned, and it's not just about Ivaldi.
01:48It's about the entirety of the pitching staff.
01:50Because early on, alright, and we'll talk more about the first real month of the Rangers season,
01:55probably tomorrow.
01:56But early on, doesn't it look like this offense is going to kind of sputter for most of the way?
02:02Or be mediocre at best?
02:05They scored three runs against Elmer Rodriguez yesterday, who was called up while playing Call of Duty, according to Alec.
02:12Yeah.
02:13So, yeah.
02:14And I know sometimes a young pitcher comes up and gets the best of you because you don't really have
02:19a scouting report on him.
02:20I get that.
02:21But your pro hitters, I would like, yes, Kevin, the idea that this offense might be a little lower than
02:27I expect, for sure.
02:28And so, you think about what happened last year.
02:32And by the way, the Rangers have scored fewer runs than any team in the American League.
02:37But you think of last year, your pitching was unbelievable.
02:42I've said it before, I will say it again.
02:44I think the best all-around pitching in the history of the Texas Rangers.
02:48And you were .500.
02:51So, anytime I see a slip from any of the pitchers, I'm just kind of like, no, no, no, no,
02:56no.
02:56We can't have that because early on, it certainly doesn't look like our offense is any better.
03:02And so, I'm like, well, if your offense isn't any better in your pitching slides, that's going to mean a
03:07sub-500 record.
03:09Potentially.
03:10If this season, well, and I understand where you are on that.
03:13And obviously, last year, it felt like you had two.
03:16You had Malley for a little bit.
03:18You had Corbin going pretty strong.
03:21So, you've got some really good options from those guys as well.
03:24So, yeah, McKenzie Gore has a lot to live up to when it comes to Patrick Corbin's one season with
03:29the Rangers, for sure.
03:30And so does Jack Leiter.
03:32And Rocker, who, by the way, you pointed out, like, his outings, sometimes you're like, yeah, if I can get
03:36this from you steadily, we're going to be okay, buddy.
03:40But I think that this season, you might have to ride with Nathan Evaldi with this.
03:47I don't think he's going to give you ones all season.
03:50But if you get into a position where, like you said, it was good enough to get you there, if
03:57you get into a position where you're going to play off, that's where Nathan Evaldi seems to, you know, rise
04:01up.
04:01And that's what I think is going to happen.
04:03You're going to ride Jacob Negrom's, you know, seven innings of success every chance you get, if you can get
04:09to that.
04:10And then hopefully you'll get a game here and there that's on a big stage.
04:14Hey, he was pitching against the Yankees.
04:16He knew what he was up against.
04:17Yeah.
04:17He was more prepared for it.
04:19He was sharper.
04:20It seems like that's where the adrenaline ride is for him.
04:23I think that's where you're going to ride the roller coaster with Evaldi, Kevin, this year of sometimes you're going
04:29to see exceptional and sometimes you're going to see good.
04:32And that's just, and I'll take that.
04:34And then sometimes, man, every once in a while you get one and you're like, you should forget about it
04:37and flush that one.
04:39So I would say be prepared for that and hope that this offense figures something out, but I don't think
04:44it is going to.
04:45So I've seen multiple people bring this up, and I think it's worth having a conversation over.
04:51I need to crunch the numbers over the last three weeks or so, but Corey Seager continues to be bewildering
05:00and is struggle, struggle, struggle.
05:03And don't let people trick you by being like, oh, this OPS is not terrible.
05:08It's 722.
05:10And like, I get what you're saying.
05:12That's built on the first six games of the season.
05:17Like, take a look at the Philadelphia and the Baltimore series, right?
05:24He got off to a really fast start.
05:26He had three home runs and five RBIs, and that helped kind of like push his numbers up because he
05:31had a hell of a start.
05:32And I'm not here to deny that whatsoever.
05:34But in the last three weeks or so, kind of starting around that Seattle series where you hosted Seattle, or
05:40at least the second game of the Seattle series, man, he has been on a skid, skid, skid.
05:47You're not getting a ton of extra base hits either.
05:50I thought there was that stretch at the end of the Pittsburgh series and in the A series.
05:54I was like, all right, here we go, because he was two for four, two for four, two for four
05:57each night there.
05:58And then all of a sudden fell back off the face of the planet.
06:02And you're like, what is happening?
06:03And you're right.
06:04Had a double in that stretch and a home run.
06:06And you're seeing too many nights where you're getting two strikeouts, three strikeouts, two strikeouts.
06:13Like, that inconsistency.
06:15And I just don't want 0 for four, 0 for five nights from Corey Seager.
06:19That's just not what I expect from that batter.
06:21Now, here's my question to you about this.
06:24Yep.
06:26And I don't want to make this suggestion.
06:28How old is Corey Seager right now?
06:30He is 32.
06:3232 years old.
06:34I'm not trying to make this suggestion, but there are times, Kevin, where when your bat speed is a little
06:43bit slower,
06:43and I'm going to have to look at some numbers on his bat speed,
06:46you start to chase a little more because your timing's off.
06:50You're trying to figure out, hey, I need to go ahead and get ahead of this pitch just in case
06:55it's a fastball.
06:56Otherwise, I'm going to miss it.
06:57And then what happens is they set you up with a slider like they're doing right now,
07:02and you're chasing the slider instead of hitting the fastball because your hands aren't there right now.
07:08And I think that's where when Skip is like, he's going to come around.
07:12I think that's what Skip's trying to tell us is that, hey, once he gets his hands back,
07:18he's just expecting him to get his hands back and that bat speed back and everything's going to be fine.
07:22And then he's going to be crushing fastballs, and you don't have to worry about the slider anymore.
07:27But that's where I think Corey is right now is trying to make the decision of hitting, what, .048 off
07:32of sliders right now.
07:34I think he's trying to find that place of, do I just lay off the slider altogether?
07:39Because if I do, then pitchers are going to know that and they're going to be okay.
07:44Or do I figure out my hands and figure out how to get them back to a place where I
07:49can crush both pitches?
07:50That's where Seager, I think, is right now, Kevin.
07:53Hopefully that's the case.
07:54But, yeah, it's not the Seager we're used to.
07:56Now, for Corey Seager in the last three weeks, he's hitting .176 with an on-base percentage of .274.
08:06And so that is just dreadful, especially at a time when, obviously, Wyatt Lankford has been out.
08:14And, you know, I see this come out from the 8-0-6, and I will admit, that's probably what
08:20I think, too,
08:21is Jared said it's fine, it'll be fine.
08:23Skip Schumacher told us it will be fine, and I get it.
08:27There's a good shot in a month and a half, or maybe at the end of this month, we're like,
08:32hey, Corey Seager, everything is right again.
08:34But, like, that doesn't help right now.
08:37You have a sub-500 record.
08:41All of a sudden, even though this division is not good, you're sitting in third in a division that you
08:45should definitely be winning
08:47because of how tough a start all the other teams have gotten off to.
08:50And your marquee player, your dude, is struggling mightily offensively.
08:56So I hope it does come around.
08:57But I'm just saying, right now, he's not giving you much.
09:00And to what Jared's point was yesterday also, Kevin, whenever a Seager is struggling,
09:06that's when 7-8-9 have to be elevated.
09:10And, Kevin, do you think that this team has the talent?
09:15No.
09:16Has the batting talent?
09:19No.
09:19To have stretches where 2-3-4 are struggling?
09:24No.
09:24Unfortunately, they don't.
09:26Like, you are in a situation where 2-3-4, as you were mentioning yesterday,
09:31have to be locked in all the time,
09:34and because the production isn't really going to come from anywhere else.
09:38That's where, until they have that talent, that's just how this is going to be.
09:42And that's the thing that scares me just a little bit, right?
09:44Yep.
09:45Ezekiel Duran...
09:46I hear you a lot.
09:47Yes, that's fair.
09:48Ezekiel Duran has had a good month.
09:52A very good month.
09:53It's only been a handful of games,
09:56but Alejandro Osuna has come in here, and he's done well.
10:00Jock Peterson has had probably the second or third best month,
10:05maybe third best month,
10:06since he got here with the Texas Rangers.
10:08And you're like, great!
10:09And then Josh Young has had an otherworldly player of the month-worthy month.
10:15All of those things are true.
10:16Yes, so, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
10:19And still, you cannot score runs.
10:25Right.
10:26And that's...
10:27That tells me two things.
10:30And here's what they're telling themselves,
10:35it's going to come around for us.
10:37From my perspective, and I think from your perspective, too,
10:41the talent has to be better.
10:43And maybe we do get that stretch here in the summer, Kevin,
10:46where they all perform at their best,
10:48and they all take it further than we ever could have expected.
10:52And even themselves, they're like, you know what?
10:54We are in the zone right now.
10:57But whenever you don't...
10:59I mean, what did I tell you yesterday?
11:00He said...
11:01Jared said the Yankees have one through seven guys
11:05that can all park the ball.
11:07And what was the first thing I said to you?
11:09That's expensive.
11:10For sure.
11:11And that's just where the Rangers didn't...
11:14They're not spinning on that.
11:15So you're hoping that the Jake Burgers and Jock Petersons
11:18do those things while you're Corey Seegers
11:21and while you're Josh Youngs are doing these things.
11:24Yeah, I need to look at their exact rating,
11:25but I do not believe the Texas Rangers
11:27were in the top 12 competitive balance that I looked at.
11:31But do you think that they overcorrect them in...
11:33I'm not...
11:35I like Chris Young.
11:37I think he has a smart perspective on what he wants.
11:40I think he has all the things he needs.
11:42Not all the time.
11:43But he also made the Jock Peterson signing.
11:45Like, that happened.
11:46That's a reality.
11:47He also has Jacob DeGrom and Nathan Ivaldi.
11:49There's some good things that he's added to this team.
11:52But whenever he looks at this,
11:54do you think he overcorrected and said
11:56what you said earlier in this segment was,
11:58well, we're going to be pitching.
11:59We're just going to have to scrap together runs as a team
12:01because we're not spending on bats.
12:06And that's...
12:07Maybe it was...
12:08It's an overcorrection and a mistake at the same time
12:10that you can't correct right now.
12:12Yeah, well, I mean...
12:13And see, I've thought all along, most of the offseason,
12:15and it's really agitating that...
12:17I'm sorry, this is all coming after a win.
12:19I understand that.
12:20But it felt like an undercorrection in terms of,
12:24well, we've got to get a lot of improvements from within.
12:26And the problem with improvements from within,
12:29you've seen some of them.
12:31But that also goes off the assumption
12:33that nobody else that you were satisfied with their level
12:36could possibly go down.
12:38Yeah.
12:38Yeah, exactly.
12:39And that is a very flawed line of thinking.
12:42I know we're going to talk about this a little bit at 11,
12:44but don't we just feel like now
12:47that the Cowboys' offense is going to be the same?
12:50Kind of, yeah.
12:51And all they had to do was make...
12:53That's last year.
12:54I have no clue what this offense...
12:56So, yeah, same kind of mindset.
12:58And just like with Cooper Flagg,
12:59well, Cooper Flagg's going to be this good or better next year, right?
13:03What if he's not?
13:05That's a possibility.
13:06You better damn sure make sure you have somebody on that team
13:08that's willing to...
13:09capable of taking up that space.
13:11And that's just how that is.
13:13And that's like Rope goes down.
13:16Well, what are we going to do if that's not there?
13:18What if our offense isn't going to score three, four goals a night?
13:21How are you going to make up for that?
13:23Defensively, Stars got to do something else.
13:25And so there's a couple of things.
13:27From the 6-8-2, guys are on base,
13:29just batting with runners and scoring position is pitiful.
13:31So I agree with part of that.
13:34They're not the worst.
13:35Yeah, that's...
13:36They're like 7th or 8th worst.
13:38Okay, well, then take this combination.
13:40Think about what Corey just said.
13:42They're like 7th or 8th worst.
13:43And we talked a lot about that yesterday.
13:45We talked with Skip about that as well.
13:47But when you say they're not that bad at getting runners on,
13:51that's not really accurate either.
13:53Because batting average in the league, 19th.
13:56If you're like, I don't care about batting average,
13:58all right, on base percentage, they're 21st.
14:00If you're like, I don't care about that,
14:02OPS is where it's at.
14:03Fair enough.
14:0424th.
14:05That's where your record is.
14:06And so think about...
14:07Your record is what those numbers are.
14:09And so think about the number that you just said
14:11in cooperation with those other numbers.
14:13Batting average, 19th.
14:15On base percentage, 21st.
14:17OPS, 24th.
14:18All right, so you're not getting a lot of people on base
14:21compared to the rest of the league.
14:23And then Corey just told you they're like 7th or 8th worst
14:26with runners in scoring position.
14:27So they don't get enough people on.
14:30And when those people are on, they don't do enough with them.
14:33That sounds like a disastrous combination.
14:36And that's why since that first Seattle game
14:38on the road against Seattle, which, hey, I was pumped for that.
14:42And they were like, we've already won four straight against Seattle.
14:44Since then, you're 4-7.
14:46In those 11 games, you've scored 32 runs.
14:49Yeah.
14:49It is not complex math to figure out.
14:52That is a little bit less than three runs a game.
14:55And so some things to be aware of, perhaps,
14:59because of some of these issues.
15:00Skip said that Josh Smith would get a couple of days off.
15:04Brandon Nimmo, however, insists he needs no days off.
15:08He said despite leaving the game, he won't miss any games.
15:11Schumacher said he is day-to-day.
15:13But if you listen to Brandon Nimmo, he is very intent on playing.
15:17And obviously, they have the day off today.
15:19From the E214, when we have bases loaded,
15:21Corey hits into a double play, it makes me want to cuss him.
15:24Look, it's not like the Rangers are the worst team
15:26at hitting into double plays.
15:28They have the fourth most double plays hit into this year.
15:30Honestly, I feel like Skip kind of told us you couldn't totally rule out.
15:35That was part of the reason for the jock bunt the other day.
15:38Got to figure out ways to get guys going, guys.
15:40Got to get them around the bases.
15:41And I hope that didn't take away.
15:43I apologize if it took away at all from Evaldi.
15:47He was awesome yesterday.
15:50Seven scoreless innings.
15:51Struck out seven.
15:52He had 20 swings and misses.
15:55And so that part was outstanding.
15:57That was awesome.
15:57But even when you win these games, it's been part of a...
16:02A nail-biter.
16:02Yeah, it's been part of a troubling trend.
16:04And I know Skip kind of spun it as,
16:07yeah, but we've been in all of these games against a really tough schedule.
16:11And that part is true.
16:12That, I think, comes from Skip's approach and mindset,
16:15is that we're never going to have that quit moment.
16:19Yeah.
16:20I do think that that's the thing that he's having.
16:22Yeah, I think he's having that effect on this club.
16:24It's just we've got to see if the talent can rise up
16:27and change that OPS number to a bigger number, dude.
16:31And I said 32 runs in 11 games.
16:36So there you go.
16:37And yes, I do think it matters the opponents that the Rangers have been playing.
16:42We've talked about this all along.
16:43It's that first 40.
16:45But isn't there a part of you that worries that
16:48what if it's not just the first 40?
16:49What if it's not just the starting pitchers?
16:52We're in the middle of the pack right now, Kevin.
16:54when it comes to the records of the opponents.
16:56I will say only two teams that the Rangers have played so far have losing records.
17:01Okay, and that only puts us in the middle?
17:03It puts us about right around 15.
17:05So right where the Cowboys typically are.
17:08Don't start.
Comments