Smoaky Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 On a personal note, I've been in touch with Justin Smoak since he was an All-American at South Carolina and of course, love the last name...but I really like Chris Davis. He is a class act and I wish him a quick return. Smoaky ------ Rangers will option Longview's Chris Davis to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday and purchase the contract of Justin Smoak. Smoak, the Rangers first round pick in 2008, was hitting .326 with an on-base percentage of .476, including two homers and 5-RBI through Thursday. Davis, meanwhile, was batting .188 with no homers and 1-RBI. "We need to get more production out of that spot," Rangers GM Jon Daniels said. "Chris isn't the only guy in the lineup off to a slow start, but Justin has had quality at-bat after quality at-bat down there. We want to see if he can continue to do that up here. We want to reward our guys for having that quality at-bat approach. Elvis [Andrus] had quality at-bats; he was promoted to the top of the lineup. Justin's had quality at-bats; he was promoted to the majors." "Chris is working hard," Daniels said. "He's putting the time and the work in. It's early in the season but I think if this had been Chris' first exposure to the big leagues, we would have been inclined to wait. But we've got a quality option performing at Triple-A. We felt like offensively we're not clicking yet as a club and this was an opportunity to help in that regard." Smoak will join the team in time for Friday's game with Detroit. The switch-hitting Smoak seemed to jump-start his play with a solid showing for Team USA in September last year. He hit .291 with nine homers, 22 RBIs and 16 runs scored, and was voted the tournament MVP as the U.S. won a gold medal. Smoak played for three seasons at the University of South Carolina before he was drafted by Texas. "We're not looking at Justin Smoak to ride in on a white horse and save the day," Daniels said. "We just want him to play good defense and get us four-five quality at-bats a night. The rest will take care of itself. There are other spots in the offense that are off to slow starts. But this is a position where we have some depth in the system and a guy we feel that can help us right now." ----- On a personal note, I've been in touch with Justin Smoak since he was an All-American at South Carolina and of course, love the last name...but I really like Chris Davis. He is a class act and I wish him a quick return. Smoaky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nacdragon07 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Rangers will option Longview's Chris Davis to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday and purchase the contract of Justin Smoak. Smoak was hitting .326 (15-for-46) with two homers and 5-RBI through Thursday. Davis, meanwhile, was batting .200 (9-for-45) with no homers and 1-RBI. ----- On a personal note, I've been in touch with Justin Smoak since he was an All-American at South Carolina and of course, love the last name...but I really like Chris Davis. He is a class act and I wish him a quick return. Smoaky yea davis is a good person but he needs more discipline at the plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoaky Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 yea davis is a good person but he needs more discipline at the plate. You're exactly right. Smoak's on base percentage in Triple-A is .476. Smoaky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Davis is not the only one struggling. That Rangers have more players batting under .200 than they have above .200. They are on a team wide drought. Davis is the one paying the price for an entire offensively anemic team. Hell, no one is generating more outs than Michael Young right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriscoFan Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 This a GREAT move! Cant wait to see what Justin can do at the next level. Dont forget he's also walked 16 times already and had only 6 strikeouts! Hopefully, he will jumpstart the offense and the Rangers will start rolling...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratface Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm not so sure this is a good move at all...Davis has been having some quality AB's, and the guy plays Gold Glove-caliber defense at 1B. He saved Young and the Rangers last night in the seventh with his pick at 1B. The Rangers are going to hit - just give them, and Davis, a little time. Don't know if Smoak makes that same pick at the bag, though. I wish Smoak all the luck in the world, but I just think this move was made waaayyyy too early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lobo Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm not so sure this is a good move at all...Davis has been having some quality AB's, and the guy plays Gold Glove-caliber defense at 1B. He saved Young and the Rangers last night in the seventh with his pick at 1B. The Rangers are going to hit - just give them, and Davis, a little time. Don't know if Smoak makes that same pick at the bag, though. I wish Smoak all the luck in the world, but I just think this move was made waaayyyy too early. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriscoFan Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm not so sure this is a good move at all...Davis has been having some quality AB's, and the guy plays Gold Glove-caliber defense at 1B. He saved Young and the Rangers last night in the seventh with his pick at 1B. The Rangers are going to hit - just give them, and Davis, a little time. Don't know if Smoak makes that same pick at the bag, though. I wish Smoak all the luck in the world, but I just think this move was made waaayyyy too early. I disagree. J Smoak is a really good defensive 1st baseman. C Davis is a great defensive 1st baseman, but has been a liability offensively for a couple of years now. I wish both of them the best, but Ranger fans have been calling for Smoak for 2 years and here he is. Not sure why the offense is starting so slow, but maybe with the addition of Smoak and Kinsler later on, they will get on track and help these pitchers out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratface Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Don't get me wrong - I hope to goodness the addition of Smoak and very soon Kinsler will jump start the Rangers' offense, but I just don't think it was time to demote Davis yet and promote Smoak. Davis was probably good for saving the Rangers at least a run every other game with his defense around the bag, and the quality of his AB's has been vastly improving. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm just afraid this move is going to hurt the Rangers way more than it's going to help them. How about getting rid of Ron Washington instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etos10 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Don't get me wrong - I hope to goodness the addition of Smoak and very soon Kinsler will jump start the Rangers' offense, but I just don't think it was time to demote Davis yet and promote Smoak. Davis was probably good for saving the Rangers at least a run every other game with his defense around the bag, and the quality of his AB's has been vastly improving. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm just afraid this move is going to hurt the Rangers way more than it's going to help them. How about getting rid of Ron Washington instead? Ratface, I am with you. I feel like this is a knee jerk reaction to a team wide problem. I have heard disinterested third parties say that Davis is the second best 1b in the MLB (second to Texiera) I have never heard that about Smoak. I also know that last year, while Davis was down in AAA playing with Smoak, he out hit him by a bunch. He was also hitting better than Smoak in Spring Training. Rangers have a history of bringing up a player that is just smashing the ball at AAA, but can't hit the broad side of a barn in the bigs. I just think they jumped the gun on this one. Davis is way too good defensively. If you are going to send someone down--send Teagarden--14 strikeouts in his first 19 abs. That is really bad abs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBengal Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Davis is not the only one struggling. That Rangers have more players batting under .200 than they have above .200. They are on a team wide drought. Davis is the one paying the price for an entire offensively anemic team. Hell, no one is generating more outs than Michael Young right now. But Young has had SEVERAL consistant seasons. Davis has not. He's really not a very good hitter. He showed that in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBengal Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm not so sure this is a good move at all...Davis has been having some quality AB's, and the guy plays Gold Glove-caliber defense at 1B. He saved Young and the Rangers last night in the seventh with his pick at 1B. The Rangers are going to hit - just give them, and Davis, a little time. Don't know if Smoak makes that same pick at the bag, though. I wish Smoak all the luck in the world, but I just think this move was made waaayyyy too early. Its hard for me to want to keep a guy around because he plays a good 1st base. Alot of guys play a good 1st base........and they can hit too. If he was a catcher of SS I would see your point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawsnstripes Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 i think smoak should've been up already. whether davis was the one to get sent down, who knows. he's gotta hit for more average though and that's been his problem since day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed3 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 But Young has had SEVERAL consistant seasons. Davis has not. He's really not a very good hitter. He showed that in the past. Like When he returned to the majors last season,hitting .318 in September and October, with five home runs and 21 RBIs in the two-month span.[5] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBengal Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Like When he returned to the majors last season,hitting .318 in September and October, with five home runs and 21 RBIs in the two-month span.[5] Thats not consistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Thats not consistant. Consistancy can not be judged in one full season. You're looking for excuses as to why he should be sent down. I don't know why, but that's what you're doing. BTW....Smoak has shown to be a liability defensively in AAA ball at first base. But Young has had SEVERAL consistant seasons. Davis has not. He's really not a very good hitter. He showed that in the past. I'm not arguing that Young should be sent down. I'm arguing that Davis is in a slump, along with the rest of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed3 Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Like When he returned to the majors last season,hitting .318 in September and October, with five home runs and 21 RBIs in the two-month span.[5] You said hes not really a good hitter. My post had nothing to do with consist antsy. He is a good hitter set a triple a hit streak record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed3 Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Smoak is lighting up at the plate .000. And playing below average defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBengal Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Consistancy can not be judged in one full season. You're looking for excuses as to why he should be sent down. I don't know why, but that's what you're doing. Consistancy isn't measured in a 2 month span that Davis didn't look like garbage at the plate either. Instead of calling on Smoak I would've put Murphy at 1st and let Davis get some time off. Seeing triple A pitching won't fix him either. Some big league at bats may though. He was the same way in college though......either striking out 3 times a game or hitting 2 bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtlobos Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Davis was working the count more and getting long at bats. Davis could go up there and do what Smoak is doing.Why didn't they just sit Davis and let Garko get some playing time? Murphy could play first too, David Murphy needs at bats. He is one of the most patient hitters on the team, he just never gets to play. Sending Davis down was a bad idea. He'll end up getting traded or signing with another team next year, then Smoak will be out the door in a few years as well. Then they're back to square one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriscoFan Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Davis isn't getting any bats in AAA either. He's only played in 1 game since being sent down. Hopefully Ian Kinsler will be back with the Rangers soon, he's rehabing here in Frisco with the RoughRiders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxBroadcaster Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I think Davis might be one of those 4A players..not quite good enough to stay consistent at the majors but to good to really learn at the AAA level. I love his defense..but in the AL your first baseman cant be a defensive guy with no pop in his bat and sadly that is what Davis has been. Yes he came back last year and had a solid two months, but once again the pitching has found the hole in his swing and he has yet to adjust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 I think Davis might be one of those 4A players..not quite good enough to stay consistent at the majors but to good to really learn at the AAA level. I love his defense..but in the AL your first baseman cant be a defensive guy with no pop in his bat and sadly that is what Davis has been. Yes he came back last year and had a solid two months, but once again the pitching has found the hole in his swing and he has yet to adjust Lots of things can be said about Davis' bat...lack of pop is CERTAINLY not one of them. In the words of Milton Bradley, "He has stupid pop." *sarcasm on* By the way...Smoak added a few more strikeouts to his total and is tearing up major league pitching with a booming .067 AVG. His one hit was a big one though. Without his one RBI and two runs scored, we might be in the cellar. We couldn't do it without him. *sarcasm off* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricnel64 Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 Smoak has a great eye and the plate and will draw a lot of walks where as in most of those same situations Davis would strike out. Granted Smoak isn't setting the world on first at the plate, but there are things he brings to the table that Davis was unable to provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etos10 Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 Smoak has a great eye and the plate and will draw a lot of walks where as in most of those same situations Davis would strike out. Granted Smoak isn't setting the world on first at the plate, but there are things he brings to the table that Davis was unable to provide. i totally disagree with you. Davis plays a solid first base, unsure about Smoak. he hasn't had too many hard plays as yet, but the one he did have, he flubbed. At the plate, yes, he walked alot when he first came up, but those walks are dwindling. he is now doing more swinging and it will only take another week or two before the scouting reports will be such that he will be pitched to according to those pitches he swings and misses. He does not have the power that Chris has and that for me is a dealbreaker. I just don't get the love for Smoak over Davis.................... JMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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