1978 Topps - Bill Fahey.

 Well, the long dark 2014 season is over for the Rangers. Time to watch the post-season and think about next year. I'll have some posts on both coming up but for today it's time for another look at the 1978 team.

Bill Fahey, shown here on card 388 of the 1978 Topps set, found himself holding the short end of the stick in 1978. The battle between him and John Ellis for the backup catching spot ended with Ellis getting the nod and Fahey getting a ticket to Triple A Tuscon.

Bill played in 66 games for the Toros and made 241 plate appearances. He ended the season with a .250 batting average and a .319 on-base percentage. Those are not numbers calculated to compel a call-up. His defense remained acceptable but that hadn't been the problem in 1977 either. Bill's bat, or lack thereof, is what got him sent to the minors for the 1978 season.

Taking stock at the end of 1978, the Rangers apparently didn't see much of a future for Fahey in Texas. Jim Sundberg had the starting catcher's gig locked up and John Ellis was serviceable as the backup and more versatile than Fahey since he could play first base as well. That made Bill expendable.

On October 25, 1978 the Rangers traded Fahey along with Kurt Bevacqua and Mike Hargrove to the Padres for Oscar Gamble, Dave Roberts, and $300,000. In 1979 and 1980 Fahey would get far more playing time with the Padres than he ever got with Texas.

Minor League Monday - Phil Bryant, 1990 ProCards Tulsa Drillers.

Phil Bryant seems to be a good mood as he poses on card 1149 of the 1990 ProCards Tulsa Drillers team set. Maybe he was just glad to finally be at Double A.

The Rangers signed Bryant as a free agent in February of 1987 and he started his career with the Gastonia Rangers the same season. He got knocked around there and ended the season with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.496 WHIP after 31 appearances and 142.1 innings. Phil was primarily a starter so a slightly higher ERA was acceptable but north of five in Single A ball is not a good sign.

Regardless, the Rangers promoted him to Single A+ Charlotte for the 1988 season. He made significant progress there as he switched to being exclusively a reliever. Over 35 appearances he posted a 2.41 ERA and an 1.211 WHIP in 71 innings of work. That was much better than the previous season and good enough to earn him a promotion to Double A Tulsa for the 1989 season.

1989 was a repeat of 1987 for Bryant. He made 25 appearances out of the bullpen and seven starts. Over the 94.1 innings he pitched his ERA tallied to 5.25 and his WHIP to 1.611. He would sit tight and start the 1990 season with the Drillers.

1990 was do or die for Bryant. Now 25 years old, he needed to have a breakthrough season and really impress.

Phil made seven starts in 19 appearances for Tulsa in 1990. He pitched 69.1 innings and turned in a 3.38 ERA and an 1.327 WHIP. Those numbers weren't calculated to amaze but they were progress and the Rangers decided to see what Bryant could do at Triple A. He appeared in 14 games for the 89ers and pitched 58 innings. Phil got hammered to the tune of a 5.90 ERA and an 1.759 WHIP.

That was enough for the Rangers. They released Phil following the 1990 season and his career appeared to be over. It wasn't though. In 1995, at age 30, Phil Bryant made a comeback attempt with the Lubbock Crickets, an independent minor league team. His 5.01 ERA and 1.693 WHIP ensured that his comeback did not last past the 32.1 innings he pitched that season.

Senators Saturday - Casey Cox, 1967.

Casey Cox, shown here on card 414 of the 1967 Topps set, was starting his second season with Washington in 1967. As an aside on the card, I don't particularly care for the pinstripe uniforms. To some it is the classic look. To me it is the mimic the Yankees look. Anyway, on with Casey Cox. He had a pretty good season in 1966 and led the Senators bullpen in appearances. He aimed to nail down his spot on the pitching staff in 1967.

Cox spent part of the 1967 season at Triple A Hawaii. I'm not sure of the circumstances but he appeared in 14 games for the Islanders and posted a 2.10 ERA and an 1.100 WHIP over 30 innings pitched. That seems longer than a re-hab stint but he could have been sent down for a sore arm or something similar. Could also be that he struggled a bit after the hard use the previous season and needed some more time in the minors.

Casey didn't spend all his time in the minors though. He appeared in 54 games for the Senators in 1967 and pitched 73 innings, all in relief. He managed to put together a 2.96 ERA and a 1.205 WHIP. He allowed just two home runs so obviously his sinkerball was working most of the time. He struck out 32 opposing batters while unintentionally walking 21. All of his numbers were about the middle of the pack for Washington relievers.

Pitching was better in Washington than it had been early in the team's existence. That meant the competition was tougher when it came to nailing down a spot. Cox hadn't done poorly and had improved from 1966 but he needed to keep that improvement going if he wanted to be a permanent fixture on the Senators pitching staff in 1968 and beyond.

Trading autos.

A short while back I was looking at some of my regular favorites in the blogging world and clicking on links they had posted to various other blogs. One such blog I discovered was LV's TTM Autographs and Baseball Cards.

Laurie regularly posts TTM successes and trades over at LV's, mostly highlighted by autographed cards. She's also a big Cubs and Royals fan. I had a few Cubs TTM autos on my tradelist that nobody ever bit on so I left her a comment offering to work a deal. Laurie emailed me right back and we got a trade worked out - three for three. I picked up two autos of Dean Palmer, including this signed 1992 Leaf card, and one of Matt Harrison.

Laurie worked quickly to finalize out deal and packaged the cards well for shipment. I'm pleased with the trade and would recommend her to anyone else looking to trade signed or unsigned cards. Thanks again for the trade Laurie!

Catching up.

Been a little over a week since my last post and I apologize for the delay. Things got busy at work and home and a computer issue ate up any remaining time I had. Lots happened with the Rangers during that time as they seem to be determined to finish the 2014 season on a high note.

After the sweep against the Braves the club traveled to Oakland to take on the A's. The A's had the first AL wildcard at the time and were hanging on by a thread in the division race. The Rangers didn't help either cause as they swept the series to run their win streak to seven. That's the highest win streak of the season. The Angles clinched and the A's found themselves tied for the second wildcard and looking at missing the post-season. A 1-2 series against the Angels finished out the road trip and the season's travels. Back in Arlington the Rangers have handed the Astros a loss to start the final home stand.

Yesterday's win came with Derek Holland, shown here on card 230 of the 2013 Allen and Ginter set, on the hill. It's win number 63 and assures the club that, no matter how dark this season is, it will not be a 100 loss season. Derek went 7+ innings and allowed just two earned runs. That runs Dutch's record to 2-0 and his season ERA to 1.31. Really makes one regret his missed season and hope he can keep it going next year.

While the club was busy playing spoiler they announced that Alex Rios will likely miss the rest of the season with his bruised thumb. Looks likely to me that Rios has played his last game as a Range. I don't look for the team to pick up his option in 2015. Colby Lewis is the other big name the Rangers are looking to lose in 2015 through free agency. He has already spoken to Jon Daniels about a contract for next year. JD says the talks will be serious and the team is interested in retaining Lewis. Lewis is interested in staying so it looks good that he will be back in 2015.

Almost to the end of the season. After the current series with the Astros, the A's come to town to finish out the Rangers year. If the Rangers can return the favor from 2012 it just might finish out the A's year as well. With the way Texas has been playing, it just might happen.

Highs and sighs.

The 2014 season has contained a lot of sighs for the Rangers and their fans. It hasn't had a lot of highs. One of the few has been Colby Lewis, shown here on card 83 of the 2004 Topps Total set. Lewis was expected to have to fight for the fifth starter's spot this year while trying to come back from hip re-surfacing surgery. No other player has ever made it back to the Majors after such a surgery. Needless to say, nobody expected much from Lewis.

Those expectations have been dashed. Colby's been the anchor of the rotation this season and seems to be getting better as time passes. All the other starters are gone due to injury and Lewis is the last man standing. He's standing pretty well too.

Yesterday Colby got the ball in the final game against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are (were?) in the National League wildcard hunt when they rolled into Arlington on Friday. Two losses later the Rangers turned to Lewis to try and finish out the sweep. Colby went seven innings and gave up just one run. When the patchwork Rangers lineup broke the game open with six runs in the fifth the writing appeared to be on the wall for Atlanta. Two more runs in the sixth brought the Texas run total to its final of 10. The Braves got two off the bullpen after Lewis left the game and he got his 10th win of the season, 10-3.

The last time the Rangers got a sweep was in late April with a lineup that's long since hit the Disabled List. Great to see the team still fighting and managing to pull off a sweep against a contender. The young guys in the lineup got to try out their bats as all but Adrian Beltre and Daniel Robertson (a replacement in the 5th) got hits. I'm not worried about Beltre or Robertson since I know both can hit.

This being 2014, the day could not be one of just a high, there had to be a sigh somewhere in the mix. It came courtesy of Michael Choice. Choice hit a double in the fifth inning. As he came into second base he pulled up and grabbed his left leg. A trainer and interim manager Tim Bogar carried him off the field. Initial word is a hamstring strain with an MRI today. I haven't heard the results of the MRI but I'm guessing Choice is out for the rest of the season. Michael has been struggling this year and he needs all the experience he can get to set the stage for next season. It's rather disappointing to see him go down this close to the finish line.

Senators Saturday - Willie Kirkland, 1966.

On the back of card 434 in the 1966 Topps set Willie Kirkland is referred to as "One of the game's top power hitters..." That description was accurate at one point in Willie's career but he suffered a power outage in 1964. He saw a resurgence of sorts in 1965 and the Senators were hoping to see more of the same in 1966.

Serving primarily as a fourth outfielder in 1966 Kirkland saw service in left and right field. He played 174.1 innings in left over 50 games and 126 innings in right over 19 games. He committed just one error in right field and none in left. That averaged out overall to a fielding percentage on par with the rest of the league.

Willie made 182 plate appearances with the Senators in 1966 and that is where the wheels really fell off for him. He managed just a .190 batting average and .261 on-base percentage. The fact that he stuck out 50 times while working just 16 walks spoke of his past as a power hitter. The two doubles, one triple, and six home runs made it clear that he was a power hitter in the past and not present.

Apparently the Senators decided Kirkland was not going to be able to regain his early career form. They released him on October 18, 1966. That was the end of the line for Willie Kirkland's Major League career.

Even though they released him, Washington must have offered Kirkland one last chance. He spent the 1967 season playing with the Senators Triple A affiliate, the Hawaii Islanders. He found his form there and slugged 34 homers over the course of the season. That wasn't good enough to get back to Washington but it was good enough to get a contract with the Hashin Tigers of the Japanese Pacific Coast League. Willie spent six season with the Tigers in the role of slugger. He never hit .270 and he never had a slugging percentage under .400. He retired as a player after the 1973 season with 126 home runs to his credit in the JPCL. That was just 22 less than the 148 long balls he tallied over nine season in the Majors. Apparently the jump to Japan worked out well for Willie.