Kuzul

The Texas Rangers have outscored their opponents 57-23 in the past eight days, and Endy Chavez has been the unsung hero of this recent hot streak. While players like Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have been hitting balls out of the park, Chavez has been hitting .435 in 13 games while crossing the plate 11 times.

The emergence of this new hitting machine has surprised many in the Rangers fan base. Chavez began the year in AAA Round Rock hitting .305 in 30 games. He recently made his first major league appearance since 2009 where his season ended with a torn ACL. He was called up after Julio Borbon was placed on the disabled list but has remained on the roster despite Borbon being activated.

Chavez is putting up career high numbers in a lot of offensive categories and in many cases is outpacing the player he was sent to temporarily replace. Here’s a look at some figures comparing this year’s stats with his previous career-high stats.

It’s very telling that he’s seeing fewer fastballs and more secondary pitches yet his average is up over .100 on his career high. Even dropping pitches outside of the strike zone isn’t enough to keep him off the bases.

If Borbon wants to come back to the majors, he’s going to have to improve his plate discipline. He’s certainly more of an elite defender in the outfield than Chavez but the Rangers can’t afford to keep Endy’s hot bat on the bench. Don’t be surprised to see a trade involve David Murphy because the Rangers don’t really have a need for two outfielders to warm up the dugout during games, especially if the Rangers really want Borbon to come back.

Can he keep this hot streak alive through the rest of the season? Only time will tell.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Texas Rangers‘ outfield had their third trip to the DL Saturday, as Julio Borbon held the lucky ticket. That makes the trifecta complete. All three opening day starting outfielders are currently on the DL.

First came Josh Hamilton on the infamous slide in Detroit April 12.

Next was Nelson Cruz on May 3. Cruz left the game with “tightness in his quad.”

Borbon left the game Friday due to a “pull in his hamstring.”

The Rangers still won the game 4-1, but losing your best defensive outfielder will take a toll on the workload of the bench.

Craig Gentry was recently called up to replace Cruz. The Rangers called up Endy Chavez from AAA Round Rock (Tex). Chavez is 33 and has nine years of big league experience. He is a career .270 hitter who had to miss part of the 2009 season due to a torn ACL after a violent collision with Yuniesky Betancourt.

He signed with the Rangers for the 2010 season, and started in AA Frisco. He posted a .545 batting average in 32 games and was quickly promoted to AAA Oklahoma City (currently Round Rock), but sustained an injury yet again.

For the 2011 season he is back, healthy, and like Brett Tomko, ready to play for a major league club again. The opportunity came when Borbon was placed on the DL.

This begs the question: Would highly touted prospect Engel Beltre have been called up if it weren’t for his trashcan throwing fiasco?

Beltre is ranked as the best outfielder in the farm system, and fifth best overall prospect for the Rangers. According to BaseballAmerica.com, he has the best outfield arm and is the best overall defensive outfielder for the Rangers.

From the San Antonio Express News:

“Frisco RoughRiders outfielder Engel Beltre has been suspended indefinitely by the Texas League for his role in an altercation with fans after Tuesday’s game against the Missions.

The suspension likely will be for 10 days, but a definitive ruling is scheduled to be announced today, a spokesman for the league said.

Beltre was identified as the player who tossed the trash can into the stands moments after the RoughRiders’ 7-6 loss to the Missions.

The Texas Rangers, Frisco’s major-league parent club, also disciplined the outfielder, placing him on the temporarily inactive list and optioning him to the team’s extended spring training site in Arizona.”

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Frisco-player-suspended-as-a-result-of-melee-1355970.php#ixzz1MNXILuJc

It’s sad to see that high emotions cost a great young athlete a chance at making the big club. There was a good chance he could have been called up after Borbon’s injury. For his sake, i hope he learns from this situation.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This past weekend, New York Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright was at the Chelsea Piers holding a baseball clinic for the youth of New York. While there, he answered some intriguing questions that have come up in past offseasons, most notably the issue of whether to adjust the dimensions of the outfield walls at Citi Field.

Each year I’m a supporter of this proposal, and each year it’s been vetoed by ownership. Maybe this year, or a year in the near future, it could be different.

With Sandy Alderson now running the Mets front office, he has already been fixing the image of the Mets by hiring new businessmen with experience and firing those who could portray a negative image of the organization. One aspect the team could change to bolster their image is adjusting the vast dimensions of Citi Field.

David Wright, now taking a more outspoken leadership role, touches upon the effects of playing in such an expanse playing field during his interview with Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com:

“I don’t think there’s any question that it affects your thought process and your swing…”

This is exactly what we don’t need our “power source” in the lineup to be worried about before he steps to the plate. We need David to be doing what he does best and lead this team to victory, but instead he’s got to speak about issues like this.

“I’ve kind of learned firsthand that you’re just not going to hit very many opposite-field home runs at Citi…I’d be lying if I said that I wish [the wall wasn’t shorter in right-center] because I think one of my strengths is going the other way, and going the other way with power. Instead of home runs they turn into doubles, triples, whatever.”

He seems OK with the situation, but I don’t think he would be speaking in such detail if he was just OK with it.

Currently the field is 364 feet in left, 408 feet in center and a staggering 415 feet in deep right field.

Like Wright said, my big issue comes from the “Mo Zone” in deep right field and that giant wall eating up any potential home run balls coming its way. Its 415 feet out there and it could definitely be moved in with little opposition from anyone, but great praise from many players and fans.

The height of both right and left field should be reevaluated and shortened to a height that will bring back the probability of the exciting home run rob a la Endy Chavez. Nothing is more exciting in sports than robbing what everyone thinks is a sure thing. With the height of the walls the way it is now, the chance of making a highlight reel play is extremely little to none at all.

The Mets did improve their home run totals in Citi Field from 2009 to 2010 hitting 14 more than they did a year ago. But if we want to see a healthy 2011 Mets led by David Wright, Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran reach their home run potential, then management should seriously begin to discuss reassessing the park where they play over half their season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com