Jason Jennings

[juliogotay]

Feeling good and pitching well so far. http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080317&content_id=2435065&vkey=spt2008gamer&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

[Mr. Happy]

Feeling good and pitching well so far. http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080317&content_id=2435065&vkey=spt2008gamer&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

Glad to hear it. But glad that he's not an Astro.

[JimR]

Not me. I wish he had come back. I bet he has a good year.

[legs_of_eggs]

I agree, wished he'd been brought back.

[Mr. Happy]

Not me. I wish he had come back. I bet he has a good year.

I hope he does too. I just think that he had bad karma here.

[otterjb]

Who was the last good/really good Ranger pitcher? Not that that means anything, just wondering.

He's had one good year out of many bad ones.

[juliogotay]

Who was the last good/really good Ranger pitcher? Not that that means anything, just wondering.

He's had one good year out of many bad ones.

Nolan Ryan.

[otterjb]

That's the one of greatness, (facilitated by the, at the time, Astro mistake), out of the humongous dung heap of Ranger pitchers.

[MusicMan]

Not me. I wish he had come back. I bet he has a good year.

I wonder if Pam's side of the house had any say in not bringing him back.

[Lefty]

I wonder if Pam's side of the house had any say in not bringing him back.

It was pretty odd how quickly (as I remember it) a pitching-starved team decided that they weren't interested.  Then again, Jennings might not have wanted anything to do with Houston; I'm sure he had a good idea of how the masses viewed him.  Lot of additional pressure for a guy coming back from injury.

[Noe]

I thought the whole idea that Jennings was a bust put forth by fringe fans and fringe media was absolutely brutal.  And wrong.  Jennings was hurt, not a bust.  Big difference.

He's going to help the Rangers if he's healthy.

[otterjb]

He's had many, many bad years. He had one good year. That's chamber of commerce stuff. But he was hurt, his whole career, 'cept one.

[TheWizard]

Or his giant hips were never going to survive the Houston Congo-like humidity.

[Noe]

He's had many, many bad years. He had one good year. That's chamber of commerce stuff. But he was hurt, his whole career, 'cept one.

Duly noted (not wanting to discuss the finer points of Coors Field grace for pitchers when speaking about being "bad").  But just restricting my comments to last year alone, Jenning was never bad... he was too hurt to ever prove how bad or good he could be as a pitcher for the Astros.  To say he was bad last year is a misnomer, IMHO of course.

[chuck]

I wonder if Pam's side of the house had any say in not bringing him back.

If someone booed him then it was probably Drayton.

I'm looking at the starting staff and beyond the #1 I'm wondering who is better than Jennings.

I think that anyone who can a) throw strikes, sometimes b) keep the ball down, sometimes c) allow fewer than six runs per six-inning appearance, most of the time, has a real chance of breaking into the rotation.

[otterjb]

Good points. My lack of faith in Jennings probably has more to do with just watching more bad Astro baseball last year than anyone is used to.

[Mr. Happy]

If someone booed him then it was probably Drayton.

I'm looking at the starting staff and beyond the #1 I'm wondering who is better than Jennings.

I think that anyone who can a) throw strikes, sometimes b) keep the ball down, sometimes c) allow fewer than six runs per six-inning appearance, most of the time, has a real chance of breaking into the rotation.

On second thought, I wish Jennings was an Astro this year.

[Astroholic]

On second thought, I wish Jennings was an Astro this year.

Me to, but thems the breaks.

[juliogotay]

On second thought, I wish Jennings was an Astro this year.

Me, too, but that's pure second guessing on my part. If I had been running the Astros last year I wouldn't have brought him back either unless he signed a make-good type deal for which I'm on the record on this site. I think that's essentially what the Rangers got him for but they have one big advantage. He lives in suburban Dallas. I'm pulling for him because he proved himself a class act and a pro last year despite his problems. BTW, his velocity is very low this year...in the 82-85 MPH range for his fastball. They hope he can pick up a little velocity as his arm gets stronger. He's quoted in today's Dallas News as saying he's starting a long-throwing program to build strength. Slider is apparantly sharp and feeling no pain so far.

[ybbodeus]

Jennings was an Astro killer.....FROM THE INSIDE!  Hope to God that Woody doesn't end up being the same this year.

[Noe]

Jennings was an Astro killer.....FROM THE INSIDE!  Hope to God that Woody doesn't end up being the same this year.

Must. Leave. Alone.

Do. Not. Respond.

*sigh*

[JimR]

Jennings was an Astro killer.....FROM THE INSIDE!  Hope to God that Woody doesn't end up being the same this year.

Jennings was hurt. why can you not understand that? he could have refused to pitch, but he tried to pitch through serious arm pain. try it some time.

[Noe]

Jennings was hurt. why can you not understand that? he could have refused to pitch, but he tried to pitch through serious arm pain. try it some time.

Thank you.

[Arky Vaughan]

Duly noted (not wanting to discuss the finer points of Coors Field grace for pitchers when speaking about being "bad").  But just restricting my comments to last year alone, Jenning was never bad... he was too hurt to ever prove how bad or good he could be as a pitcher for the Astros.  To say he was bad last year is a misnomer, IMHO of course.

One important mental aspect that Coors Field takes it toll on would seem to be this: players (including pitchers) can expect to have some kind of advantage at home, where things are more familiar, comfortable and, in most cases, the fans support you. Being a pitcher at Coors takes some of that away from you. The place where you'd most hope to be able to thrive is such a pinball machine that you get knocked around worse than just about anywhere you play on the road. Even for a pitcher like Jennings, who performed reasonably well in Coors, that would have to be something of a disadvantage.

[ybbodeus]

Jennings was hurt. why can you not understand that? he could have refused to pitch, but he tried to pitch through serious arm pain. try it some time.

I completely understand that, Jim.  I'm actually a fan of the guy and was happy we got him.  Lot of folks suspected he might be hurt, but he opted to keep that under wraps until he couldn't handle it any longer.  Motivation?  We can only speculate.

That said, his trying to pitch through pain wasn't EXACTLY helpful to the team's cause, so if the analogy to Astro Killer is too disrespectful to his efforts, my apologies to JJ.  He was a reluctant Astro killer, but....alas....I know the rule.  Explaining your mistake doesn't improve it.  Back to reading more, posting less for ol' ybbo.

[pravata]

I completely understand that, Jim.  I'm actually a fan of the guy and was happy we got him.  Lot of folks suspected he might be hurt, but he opted to keep that under wraps until he couldn't handle it any longer.  Motivation?  We can only speculate.

That said, his trying to pitch through pain wasn't EXACTLY helpful to the team's cause, so if the analogy to Astro Killer is too disrespectful to his efforts, my apologies to JJ.

Must.....post......less!

He said he's pitched with pain for the past 3 years.  The previous season he threw over 200 innings with pain in his arm.  We've heard many times that pitching is painful.

[ybbodeus]

Again, my bad.  I shall seek out sycophancy medication for my condition.

http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,1720077,00.html?xid=forecast031008_story4

[Twoniner]

Jennings was hurt. why can you not understand that? he could have refused to pitch, but he tried to pitch through serious arm pain. try it some time.

I agree.  It was frustrating to watch him struggle, but the one silver lining could have been bringing him back for another year cheap.  Instead, the injury plagued year is swallowed (in return for the trade package) and he's let go.   When you have so little pitching, passing ONE year contracts on pitchers that "could" help you out, isn't being financially responsible for the future, it's being cheap..     P.S.   *not my money*

[Astroholic]

I agree.  It was frustrating to watch him struggle, but the one silver lining could have been bringing him back for another year cheap.  Instead, the injury plagued year is swallowed (in return for the trade package) and he's let go.   When you have so little pitching, passing ONE year contracts on pitchers that "could" help you out, isn't being financially responsible for the future, it's being cheap..     P.S.   *not my money*

How is it being cheap when said player would rather play closer to his home?

[JimR]

I agree.  It was frustrating to watch him struggle, but the one silver lining could have been bringing him back for another year cheap.  Instead, the injury plagued year is swallowed (in return for the trade package) and he's let go.   When you have so little pitching, passing ONE year contracts on pitchers that "could" help you out, isn't being financially responsible for the future, it's being cheap..     P.S.   *not my money*

 i do not understand this.

[Astroholic]

 i do not understand this.

You are not alone.  I had to reread it three times, and I am still not sure I got it right.

[pravata]

You are not alone.  I had to reread it three times, and I am still not sure I got it right.

The reason the Astros didn't top the $4 million the Rangers gave Jennings is because they are cheap, in spite of projecting a payroll of over $100 million which should put them easily in the top 10 for 2008.  And in spite of the fans who whined, pissed, and moaned about Jennings to the easily influenced owner all last season.