Texas Ranger Derek Holland Overpowers Seattle Mariners!

Well if you watched or listened to Derek Hollands last performance vs Kansas City Royals like me you would have thought that it was painfully clear Derek Holland still needed work on his pitches.  Then in his very next start last naight against the Seattle Mariners there was a complete 180 done.

That was by far his best performance of the season.  The difference for Holland was that his secondary pitches were out of this world. The one thing I complained about on my last blog (lack of arsenal) and he totally proved me wrong.  He had the breaking ball working, both the slider and curve. Holland wasn't afraid to throw his changeup at any time, setting up his fastball that seemed to be completely un-hittable!

He worked quickly and was in total command, giving up his first hit with two outs in the fifth on a broken bat single up the middle. He totaled 10 strikeouts Matching the most by a Ranger this season with Kevin Millwood. This outing I believe opened his eyes and let him know that he really can pitch in the Major Leagues.

This is the type of outing that turns into a great confidence builder for a guy who quite frankly needed some confidence. Holland did not want to come out with two outs in the ninth but the Mariners were finally getting to him and he was at 118 pitches thrown.  Manager Ron Washington made the right call in pulling Holland. Washington and all the players you could tell were totally supportive and proud of this outing, Michael Young was the first to get to the mound and congratulate him on his outing. The Texas Rangers fans watching the game at the ballpark including Nolan Ryan gave Holland a well deserved standing ovation!

I posed this question in my last blog (http://normaltexasrangersfan.blogtoolkit.com/). Do the Rangers believe they have a chance of making the playoffs or not? After watching, listening, and reading about the MLB trades. The bigger question should have been, is the rest of the league scared of the Texas Rangers. Yes is the answer, The Rangers were going for Halladay and there were teams out there doing everything possible to keep that from happening.

Personally I am glad that it didn’t happen, we shouldn’t be  willing to sell off our future. I believe that Nolan Ryan has the greatest intentions for this team, and wants a winner for years to come.  If we do this and somehow make the playoffs without selling off the farm imagine what the years to come will hold for The Texas Rangers.

“To be upset over what you don’t have is to waste what you do have” Ken Keyes, Jr