With the kind of response I've received from readers to the Game Notes threads, there's no way I can stop now, huh?  Ok.  You were warned, but I'll continue.

All Game Notes posts can now be found in one place.

Yesterday, the Texas Rangers were at Hohokam Stadium to play the Chicago Cubs and they were the defeated party in the end, 7-6, after a single by Eric Patterson (who played RF for a few innings of that game) scored Felix Pie from third.  Pie got on third with a triple.  All this bottom of the ninth inning action took place with two outs.

The initial matcup on the mound was LHP Kason Gabbard vs RHP Ryan Dempster.

This was a few hours after the coaching staff announced that the rotation would look like this to begin the season (Bill James projections in parenthesis):

Carlos Zambrano (14-10, 3.52 ERA)
Ted Lilly (12-11, 3.98)
Ryan Dempster (4-4, 4.37)
Rich Hill (14-9, 3.50)
Jason Marquis (9-12, 4.66)

The bullpen should set up this way:

Jon Lieber (10-8, 4.04 ERA)
Michael Wuertz (5-3, 3.50)
Kevin Hart (2-2, 4.06)
Bob Howry (6-3, 3.28)
Scott Eyre (3-3, 4.09)
Carlos Marmol (5-4, 4.00)
Kerry Wood (4-3, 3.75)

I find it strange that they would decide to put Dempster in the rotation instead of Jon Lieber.  The latter has had a much better Spring (read notes below) and Dempster's splitter and low-90s fastball are always nice additions late into games.

Dempster's OPS as a reliever is .117 lower than his OPS as a starter and his career K/9 and BB/9 career (as a starter and reliever) look like this:

	K/9	BB/9
Reliever	7.78	4.70
Starter	7.36	4.48

You also have to consider that the Canadian has not been a regular starter since 2003 with Cincinnati.  On the other hand, you put Lieber in a situation that he has experienced only for 66 innings on career total of 2151 innings.

Bill Jame's projections still put Lieber as a double-digits winner in 2008, contrary to Dempster.  I hope this works out for the Cubs, but I don't think that should be the way to go, especially after seeing this game yesterday.

Furthermore, they seem to still think that separating lefties in a rotation somehow mixes up the other team.  I really don't know where that comes from, to be honest.  Rich Hill should be the #3 guy and Dempster #4 or #5.

- LHP Kason Gabbard went into this game with the same game plan he always has: change speeds and throw strikes.  Sounds simple enough, but to execute it is another matter.  I was impressed by a few things: he constantly gets ahead in the count and usually does so with his curve that he spots for strikes at will.  His fastball can reach 91 mph, but usually sits at 88-89 mph.  He throws inside and outside all the time, making it difficult for the opposing batters to spot a trend.  He also threw a change-up that was about 81mph.

BUT...a trend that the Cubs could have exploited was his curve ball as his first pitch in the at-bats.  He would throw it for a strike and if the guy didn't swing, he'd come back with it instantly.  Then he worked the edges.  The approach of the Cubs worked only because they got some big hits and profited from the fielding errors (3), not because they were patient or adjusted.  That's where they went wrong.

He was wild for the first three batters of the game, but then found a rhythm where he pounded the lower part of the strike zone and got a lot of grounders (10 ground outs-5 fly outs), but he left 1 pitch up to Mark DeRosa and he put it over the left field fence for a 3-run shot. 

He really needs to stay down in the zone or he's toast.  Too bad, because he knows how to pitch.

Pitching line: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.

- Ryan Dempster throws close to his body, in order to 'stay within himself'.  That usually helps a pitcher repeat his delivery, avoid getting out of synch and having his shoulder fly wide-open.  That's something that made a huge difference for Dustin McGowan of the Toronto Blue Jays.

What was most impressive was the movement on his fastball, a tailing action that made it very hard for left-handed batters to make contact.  That was good, because he had trouble coming inside lefties to jam them, but did a very good job doing that with the right-handed hitters.  That was the case with a runner on third for the Rangers, in the second inning, and he made sure to throw low and inside to have a grounder that would prevent the run from scoring.

His ST line (20 IP, 19 H, 12 ER, 11 BB, 18K) is good, but he gets hit hard when he leaves the ball up (3 ground outs and 6 fly outs in the game).

Pitching line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

- We witnessed three straight bunts in the second frame.  First the Texas starter bunted, but ended the inning with a bad one.  Then Felix Pie got on base with a perfectly executed drag bunt and Dempster made him advance to second.

- Second baseman Ramon Vazquez made me think about Asdrubal Cabrera, up there in the batter's box...but just today.  He showed good plate discipline, good plate coverage and he sprayed the ball all over the field.

- Center fielder Felix Pie can do it all: cover a lot of ground in the outfield, run the bases well, get on base with the bunt or with extra-base hits, etc.  His drag bunt to open the second inning for the Cubs offense really put pressure on the second baseman to act quickly and it turned out to save Pie at first base. 

The Cubs worked with the 23-year-old on his approach at the plate and want him to be more erect (not spread out like before) and not tap his shoulder constantly with the bat, usually a timing mechanism.  They want him more relaxed.

His second time at the plate, he swung again on the first pitch and kept the ball inside the line for a long double.  Exciting young player.

- OF David Murphy is a former Boston Red Sox farmhand, picked up during the Eric Gagne trade.  The left-handed batter was batting third in this game and he finished 2-for-3 with a double, 3 RBI and a walk.  If you have a chance, look at his pre-swing ritual where he slowly swings the bat like Todd Helton does - on a even plane.  In the first inning, he took an outside pitch and pulled it to right field, giving the runner on second base ample time to score the first run of the game.

He could be a perfect fourth outfielder for an interested team.  With Kevin Mench back in the fold, it will be interesting to see what the Rangers decide.  In just over 100 AB with Texas, he posted a .916 OPS.  He struggles against left-handed pitching.

- Want to strikeout Marlon Byrd?  Throw him off-speed pitches.  He got three straight change-ups (84 mph) in the first inning and struck out swinging.

- RHP Carlos Marmol fears nothing.  The set-up man can handle pressure and he showed it when he entered the game with the bases loaded and he struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia on 5 pitches (3 curves).  He pitches with a low three-quarter delivery and really has a great arm action on his pitches.  He also hides the ball well.  He likes to back-door breaking pitches to lefties.

- RHP Joaquin Benoit made only his second appearance of the Spring, because he had a sore shoulder. He had good movement on the fastball, but left it up too much.  Considering his playing time, that's normal.

- Jon Lieber was really something to watch.  He allowed his first base runner in his third inning of work and began to struggle with his fastball location.  When he had no problem, he topped it at 88 mph and kept it down.  Impressive stuff.  His cutter/slider worked well and it enabled him to use both sides of the plate.

- Josh Hamilton is just a beast at the plate!  He literally explodes through the zone and sprayed the ball all over the field in this game.  He finished with a single, but could have added a homer to opposite field after he connected with a high fastball in the first inning.  He's batting  .460/.500/.780 in 50 AB so far in ST.

- Micah Hoffpauir has a lot of pop in his bat, but he looked stiff this time AND he swung at the first pitch he saw of the game (against Benoit).  He had a weird follow-through and just did not look comfortable, with an ineffective home run swing that can be fooled by changing speeds.  His minor league stats really don't tell the same story, so I must have seen the wrong at-bat to best judge him.  His .319/.358/.552 line in AAA last season prove it.  He is schedule to play in the outfield this season in the minors.