Not discussing the All Star game, as there’s been a ton said. I absolutely agree with the decision made to stop it. No more pitchers, time to stop. The fans really irritated me, and I felt Selig didn’t deserve this. I’m no major Selig fan, but I don’t see what other choice he really had. Biggest mistake was announcing it DURING the bottom of the 11th inning. Wait till it was over, and then make the decision. Whoever decided that was an idiot.
As for last night’s game.. I thought Chan Ho Park did pitch better than he had been. He went 6.1 and gave up 3 earned runs (4 in all). Not bad. Technically a quality start, but he’s still got a lot of work to go. His out pitch seemed to be good yesterday, and while he wasn’t dominating, it looked good. Combined with the start before this being about the same kind, and it appears he’s headed in the right direction.
Major roster overhaul yesterday with a total of 7 moves (although one was a rehab assignment). We brought up troubled CF Ruben Rivera who got a hit last night, and showed why I call Carl Everett “Slow Ass”. It was nice to hear Jerry Narron say that Rivera will get the bulk of the playing time in center given that I want Everett released. I suspect the Rangers do too, but I’ve bought into the notion I’ve read that the Rangers are waiting to see if the players strike. If the players strike, then we can save a few bucks on Everett’s release. Anyway, Rivera made a spectacular catch up against the baggie in right center that Everett wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near. That play alone showed why we can’t have Everett in the field, and with him batting less than .200, we can’t have him at the plate, either.
Kevin Mench had a huge home run early, but then had a major base running blunder late when he got picked off trying to make it back to first on a wide turn. He was removed from the game, but I don’t feel there will be any permanent repercussions from that. Eric Milton was extremely good from the third inning to the sixth, striking out 6 Rangers in a row, and a total of 10 for his 7 innings of work. That was really spectacular to watch.
I know the Rangers aren’t going anywhere, and given we’re playing one of the contraction teams, I don’t mind losing to them, because it helps them. Still, I’d like to see some wins – we had better beat up KC when we get there Monday, or there probably will be even more roster overhaul.
Additional game commentary is available here.