The third time was not a charm, as John Wetteland blew another save, giving up two home runs in the ninth inning letting another game get by us. We did take the series against the Diamondbacks 2-1, but we should have swept – it felt that way all day.
We almost pulled it out in the bottom of the 10th, as Matt Mantei came in and had almost the same situation as the other day when we won after Randy Johnson came out of the game. This time, Matei did his job, and shut down the Rangers in the bottom of the 10th, but we did make a threat. John Wetteland gave up the two homers in the top of the 9th to let the game get tied at 6 (after Juan had put us up with a 3 run home run to make it at the time 6-3). The two home runs that Wetteland gave up were his 7th & 8th of the year – he gave up just 6 all of 1998.
Unfortunately, the strange start time of 3PM played a big factor, as Rusty Greer had a ball hit to him, but given the fact he was in blinding sunlight, he couldn’t see the ball till it was on the ground, allowing two runs to score. You really can’t blame him, I suppose, but the loss was hard to take. This was our first extra inning loss of the season, we’re now 4-1 in such games.
John Burkett pitched well again, if not as dominating as a few other recent appearances, but given how horrible he was at the start of the season, this is a big improvement. Mike Munoz is starting to look like one of the best off season pickups we’ve had in awhile. Unlike Mark Clark who also came in this year – I read something where if he doesn’t show improvement soon, he may need “Tommy John” surgery, and could be out all of 2000 in addition to this year!
A Measure of fame – Zaun calls his shot
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – In the village founded upon baseball facts and fables, another fantastic tale was born Monday – The Legend of Gregg Zaun’s Called Shot.
Zaun’s home run didn’t decide the Rangers’ 11-9 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the annual Hall of Fame Game. Because the game was only an exhibition, Zaun officially remains without a homer this season. Still, there was no denying that it was one of baseball’s rare magical moments, a feat so perfectly entertaining it served as a fitting climax to a remarkable Induction Weekend.
“Other than winning the World Series [with the 1997 Marlins], this was probably the best experience I’ve had in baseball,” Zaun said.
First, consider the setting. Zaun, the Rangers’ rarely used backup catcher, was sent in to play right field in the third inning of the game, played before 9,773 at Doubleday Field. It is a splendid little ballpark, built on the site of a former pasture where Abner Doubleday and other Cooperstown schoolchildren are believed to have played the first game of baseball in 1839.
Then consider that, two blocks away inside the stately brick building of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, a rare treasure sits locked inside a glass case. It is the bat Babe Ruth used in the 1932 World Series, when he hit his alleged “Called Shot” home run off Cubs pitcher Charley Root.
Here’s how the legends intersected Monday:
The good-natured Zaun quickly earned the favor of the vocal fans sitting in the right-field bleachers. When he came to bat with two out in the fifth inning against Royals starter Jeff Austin, a chant began.
“Call your shot!” implored the fans.
“I actually thought I heard [Rangers manager] Johnny Oates holler it first,” Zaun said.
The chant swelled after Zaun took the first pitch for a strike. So Zaun stepped out of the batter’s box, turned and dramatically thrust his bat to the sky, pointing toward right field.
Then Zaun slammed Austin’s next pitch into those right-field bleachers.
“I can’t believe I did it,” Zaun said. “I think he threw it right down the middle for me. I just hope the guys on the other side didn’t think I was trying to show anybody up.”
When Zaun took the field for the top of the inning, he dashed toward the right-field corner in a full sprint, then ran along the warning track toward center, slapping hands with hundreds of fans hanging their arms over the wall.
The Royals were more amused than offended. Kansas City’s Mike Sweeney leaned over reporters and said, “You’re awesome, Zaunie!”
Austin, who surrendered six home runs in his five innings, said he didn’t groove the pitch to Zaun.
“He did it,” Austin said. “He really did it. He kind of grinned at me, and I threw a fastball over the plate.”
Zaun said he wouldn’t be donating the bat to the Hall, not that he was asked for his version of “Wonderboy.”
“Hey, I’m getting some hits with that bat right now,” Zaun said. “So until I break it, they can’t have it.”
G89: Rangers beat Diamondbacks again, 9-8
With Johnny Oates away from the team attending his son’s college graduation, we had the second in two straight games in a row with a way cool ending.
I thought we were far enough out in front with the 7 spot we got in the fifth inning, but the Diamondbucks had a 5 spot of their own in the top of the 7th, and they creeped back and tied the game in the ninth when Wetteland gave up a run to blow another save opportunity. We ended up having a rather interesting bottom of the ninth. I’ll just copy the text from the game log here:
TEXAS 9TH: Greer singled to right. J Gonzalez singled to center, Greer to second. Dan Plesac relieved Bobby Chouinard. Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second on Stinnett passed ball. R Palmeiro intentionally walked. Zeile walked, Greer scored. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 8, TEXAS 9.
Walking in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th is about the worst possible way I can think of for a team to lose the game. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll definitely take this win. I’m writing this on Monday the 19th, so I don’t remember a whole lot about this game other than the bottom of the ninth finale, which makes two of these in a row. :) I’ll take it. This was the fifth time this season the Rangers have won in their final at bat at home this season, Palmeiro walked four times tonight (1 intentionally) – this tied a club record for walks by one player in a game. Aaron Sele retired 10 straight batters to start the game, a record for this season.
Players in awe of Williams
BOSTON (AP) — It was a baseball love-in on the mound, the stars of the night and the stars of the century swamping Ted Williams, gazing at him in awe, reaching over each other to shake his hand.
He rode out in a golf cart from center field at the All-Star game after they’d all been introduced — Aaron and Mays, Feller and Musial from summers past, McGwire and Sosa, Ripken and Griffey from Tuesday night’s lineup.
Players watched as the adoring crowd stood and cheered him, the roar almost as loud as the jets that buzzed Fenway Park after the national anthem. And they watched Williams respond by waving his cap, a gesture he never made as a player, even after he homered in his final game.
“Gods don’t answer letters,” John Updike wrote of that moment years ago.
This time, a baseball god did.
Williams was often booed by Fenway fans during his playing days, but now no one is more popular in Boston.
“Hell, I haven’t had a base hit in 30 years, and I’m a better hitter now than I’ve ever been in my life,” Williams said.
The 80-year-old Williams waved all the way down the right field line as the golf cart proceeded toward the mound. Even the policemen ringing the field applauded.
Suddenly, spontaneously, the players, young and old, closed ranks on him, moving in to be as close as possible to the last man to hit .400 — .406 in 1941 — and who is arguably the greatest hitter in history.
They formed a huge huddle on the mound, no one wanting to leave, no one caring if the ceremony or the game was delayed.
Williams rose gingerly from the cart — two strokes and a broken hip in recent years make it hard for him to walk.
“Where’s Sammy?” Williams bellowed, calling for Sosa, then shaking his hand. Williams wore a big smile and seemed to want to reach out to all of them. He grabbed Mark McGwire’s shoulder and spoke with him.
Afterward Williams recounted what he said:
“They wanted me to meet (Don) Mattingly when he was going good, and (Wade) Boggs. And we went to this high-class restaurant and we’re talking about hitting, the intimate part of hitting, where you put your foot, everything like that. Finally, I said, ‘Did you guys ever smell the wood when you foul one real hard?’
“They looked at one another, like what’s this guy smoking now? And I said I could smell it quite a few times, and it smelled like wood burning. I said the next time I see Willie Mays, the next time I see Cepeda, the next time I see Reggie Jackson, I’m going to ask them. They said, `Oh, sure, we’ve smelled it, too.’ So I asked McGwire the same thing, and he said he could smell it, too.”
Williams wanted to keep talking, but time and his own emotions wouldn’t allow it.
“He wanted to talk baseball with everybody out there,” McGwire said, adding that a lot of players got choked up.
Larry Walker of the Rockies was one of them.
“Tears were coming out of Ted’s eyes. I had to turn away because tears were coming out my eyes, too.”
Finally, the players backed away and Williams took the ball to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Carlton Fisk.
“Where is he?” Williams asked. His vision, once the best in the game, has suffered, too, and he can’t see well outside a narrow range.
Tony Gwynn pointed him toward Fisk and held him steady.
“I got you,” Gwynn said.
Williams joked a bit, then tossed a soft pitch to Fisk, inside but all the way to the plate.
Fisk jogged to the mound to hug him.
Other players came back to crowd around Williams, and after a few minutes the public address announcer pleaded with the players to return to the dugout. The game was running late, but no one wanted this moment to end.
“It was kind of funny,” Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said. “When the announcer asked everybody to go back to the dugout, everybody said no. It didn’t matter. What time was the first pitch? Nobody cared.”
Said Rafael Palmeiro: “That’s the chance of a lifetime. The game can wait … We had chills all over.”
It was a scene reminiscent of Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic torch at the start of the 1996 Atlanta Games — Ali shaking, the crowd cheering wildly, the greatest athletes in the world staring at him in awe. When Ali later made the rounds of the games, even athletes like Michael Jordan fawned over him.
That’s the way it was with these all-stars and Williams, an all-star himself for 18 years.
To a man, the players expressed a sense of reverence about the occasion.
“Meeting Ted Williams was probably the greatest thrill of my career,” Cleveland’s Jim Thome said.
Finally, Williams was helped back into the cart, and the crowd roared again until he made his way to his box seat along the first base line with commissioner Bud Selig.
“Wasn’t it great!” Williams said. “I can only describe it as great. It didn’t surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston’s lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans. They’re the best.”
G88: Rangers come out of break with 3-2 win over DBacks
Well, there really wasn’t much to talk about in this game until the 9th inning. :)
We had some nice D in the field, with Ruben Mateo gunning down Tony Womack at the plate from way out in the outfield, Jon Shave making a great diving stop at first base (not his normal position). However, Pudge had an off night, he had two bad throws including one that sailed into center field. Bill Jones made a comment on TV that we get spoiled seeing Pudge throw, and expect that every one he throws will be perfect. I agree with that, but it still odd to see him throw two bad in the same game.
Rick Helling gave up a run in the first inning, but then didn’t allow anything more except a hit in the second, the Diamondbacks went hitless for like 4 or 5 innings or something before Helling gave up a solo shot in the 8th inning. All told, Rick Helling pitched very well, going 8 innings, giving up only two runs on 5 hits. I’ve been feeling bad for Helling, as he always seems to pitch this way, but he doesn’t get the win. I know everyone says “I’ts the pitcher’s job to keep the team in the game”, and it is, but damn, he has won like one of his last eight starts, while only losing two, I think. He needs more run support.
And speaking of run support, Randy Johnson got some, after the Dbacks have scored nothing in his previous four starts. Coming into this game, I figured we’d be the team that they crushed in support of Randy. Well, they got two in eight innings. Not exactly a “crush”, but the way Johnson was pitching, it seemed like it was going to be enough.
Randy left in the 9th inning for their new closer, Matt Matei. He got the first two outs, and it looked like game over. However, Mantei, for being such a highly regarded starter, pitched rather wild after getting two outs, walking the bases full to Greer, Palmeiro, & Stevens. After this, Mark McLemore came up. The count ran to 2-2, and Mark smacked a double up the center that was stopped by the Dbacks’ right fielder, but not enough to prevent all three runners from coming around for the win. Man, was this an exciting win in the bottom of the ninth. It was more interesting, since virtually every batter after the first two outs ran the count full. McLemore was 2-2 when he got the hit, so Matei was always “just about there” to getting the job done, but our hitters rode it out, and we won a really thrilling game.
One other thing – 6 of the 7 Ranger hits in this game came with two outs. The one other was Mac’s single in the 8th.
Matt Williams of the Dbacks did get his career 1,500th hit in the first inning, which is always nice to see.
AL beats NL in 1999 All Star Game, 4-1
I didn’t get to see the game yet. As I write this, it’s about noon on Wednesday, and I was at a Black Sabbath concert last night. I did tape the game, I’ll watch it later tonight and say something tomorrow.
However, I did get to see the thing in the beginning with Ted Williams – that was just so cool. I got to see two of my Phillies heroes from my childhood on the field (I was 15 and living in Philadelphia when the Phils won the series in 1980) – that was great.
More from me later – plus I also intend on getting some screen captures from the game of the Rangers players.
Edit in Dec 2008: As I finally convert the 1999 season to this new site format, I noticed I never wrote about this game, so I’ll copy an old wire story up here:
BOSTON (TICKER) — On a night when baseball honored Ted Williams, Pedro Martinez built his own New England All-Star lore.
Martinez, already an icon in just his second season with the Red Sox, became the first pitcher to open an All-Star Game with four strikeouts and fanned five in two dazzling innings to lead the American League to a 4-1 victory over the National League at Fenway Park.
Martinez earned the win with the help of run-scoring singles in the first by Jim Thome, one of four Cleveland Indians in the starting lineup, and 17-time All-Star Cal Ripken of Baltimore.
“I was really excited,” Martinez said. “But it wasn’t really for the fan’s reaction, it was just to see so many glories of baseball all together at one time.”
The third and final All-Star Game at one of baseball’s storied stadiums featured pregame ceremonies steeped in tradition. Candidates for baseball’s All-Century Team, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Fenway legend Carl Yastrzemski, were introduced along with the players in tonight’s game.
The final tribute was saved for the 80-year-old Williams, an 18-time All-Star and the last player to hit .400, 58 years ago. Williams was taken to the middle of the infield on a golf cart, where both All-Star clubs and members of the All-Century Team converged to greet him amid thunderous applause.
“I can only describe it as great,” Williams said. “It didn’t surprise me all that much because I know how these fans are here in Boston. They love this game as much as any players and Boston’s lucky to have the faithful Red Sox fans.”
So enthralled were the past and present players with seeing Williams that an announcement had to be made to get the players back to their dugouts and begin the game, which started 14 minutes later than the scheduled 8:40 p.m. EDT.
With the aid of 15-time All-Star Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres, Williams made a soft toss to honorary AL captain Carlton Fisk, another Boston hero.
That set the stage for Martinez, baseball’s winningest pitcher (15) and the first Red Sox to start an All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 1986. He made the most of his 28 pitches, 19 of which were strikes.
Martinez set down Barry Larkin and one-time teammate Larry Walker before fanning two of baseball’s most prolific long-ball hitters, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. All but Walker went down swinging.
“I don’t have too much to say, just fastball, changeup and curveball,” Martinez said of his encounter with Sosa and McGwire.
“He’s right now probably the top pitcher in the game and will be for a while,” said Walker, currently with Colorado and a one-time teammate of Martinez in Montreal. “He was dominating with all his pitches and threw them all for strikes.”
Matt Williams broke the streak by reaching on an error by second baseman Roberto Alomar as Martinez fell one shy of the record for consecutive strikeouts set by Carl Hubbell in 1934 and matched by Fernando Valenzuela in 1986.
Martinez ended up facing the minimum six batters after Jeff Bagwell struck out and Williams was thrown out attempting to steal. The All-Star record for strikeouts in a game is six by four pitchers, most recently by Ferguson Jenkins in 1967.
Martinez’s regular-season dominance carried over to the mid-season classic as he was named Most Valuable Player, the first Red Sox to earn the honor since Clemens in 1986. The only other Red Sox named All-Star MVP was Yastrzemski in 1970.
Martinez became the first pitcher to win a game in his home park since Toronto’s Jimmy Key in 1991. He has pitched four scoreless innings in three All-Star appearances.
The loser was starter Curt Schilling of Philadelphia, a one-time Red Sox minor leaguer who allowed a pair of runs in the first.
“I’m happy, but I certainly wish I would have thrown two scoreless innings,” Schilling said.
The game featured 13 hits, just six by the winners. The teams combined for 22 strikeouts, breaking the mark of 21 for a nine-inning All-Star Game set in 1984. No player had more than one hit, the first time that has happened since 1988 in Cincinnati.
Kenny Lofton of Cleveland reached on an infield single when Schilling was late covering first on a grounder. Lofton promptly stole second before Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra flied out to right field and Ken Griffey Jr. took a called third strike. Manny Ramirez of Cleveland walked and Thome and Ripken followed with consecutive RBI singles.
“It was great. Kenny did his normal thing and got on base, and I got lucky and got a hit,” said Thome, who has hitless in his three previous All-Star at-bats.
Martinez was replaced by David Cone of the New York Yankees, who allowed a run in the third on a double by Jeromy Burnitz and a two-out single by Larkin. Cone also allowed the NL to load the bases in the fourth before getting Burnitz on a groundout.
The AL increased its lead to 4-1 with two runs in the fourth off 14-game winner Kent Bottenfield of St. Louis, who opened the inning by walking Thome and hitting Ripken with a pitch. Rafael Palmeiro of Texas singled home a run and Ripken scored after third baseman Williams misplayed a ball hit by Alomar.
Garciaparra, who received a warm ovation before the game, was hitless in two at-bats before being replaced in the fourth by Derek Jeter of the AL East rival Yankees. Garciaparra missed Boston’s last nine games due to a groin injury, and the ailment may have prevented him from getting to the single by Larkin in the third.
Sosa and McGwire had their chances to get the NL back in the game in the fifth, but Mike Mussina of Baltimore struck out the sluggers with runners on second and third to end the threat.
A dazzling play by Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel saved a run in the seventh. The NL put runners on first and third off Texas rookie Jeff Zimmerman with the help of an error by Boston second baseman Jose Offerman. Vizquel reached a ground ball up the middle by Vladimir Guerrero of Montreal and flipped the ball straight from his glove to Offerman for the final out of the inning.
“I thought it was just an opportunity to shine for my team,” Vizquel said. “I didn’t have much time to think about it. I just did the best I can.”
The NL went down meekly thereafter. Texas closer John Wetteland got the save, ending the game by starting a broken-bat double play by San Francisco’s Jeff Kent.
Despite Fenway’s cozy dimensions, the game did not feature a home run. Coming closest was Thome, who flied out to the warning track in right field off Jose Lima of Houston in the fifth.
The AL won its third straight All-Star Game, but still trails in the series, 40-29-1.
Fan gets surprise with Souvenier
SAN DIEGO — A baseball tossed to a San Diego Padres fan by Texas right fielder Juan Gonzalez turned out to be a hot potato for the red-faced Rangers.
Padres fan Deborah Calimlin had been asking Gonzalez for a ball during Saturday’s game. When he finally tossed her one, it had the inscription “Here’s your … ball, redneck” written on it.
The Rangers had some explaining to do because the woman turned the ball over to a Padres official, who showed it to Rangers spokesman Brad Horn.
Gonzalez, who’s been booed for asking out of the All-Star game because he wasn’t voted in as a starter, had nothing to do with the inscription, Horn said.
“This ball was never intended to leave the playing surface,” Horn said Sunday. “It was the bullpen’s shenanigans with the outfield.”
Horn said center fielder Ruben Mateo and left fielder Rusty Greer were having problems getting balls thrown to them from the bullpen so they could warm up in the field between innings.
When the bullpen finally threw out a ball, it was the one with the offending message, which Horn said was written by bullpen catcher Ken Guthrie. The message was intended for Greer.
After going into the Rangers bullpen chasing a foul ball, Gonzalez picked up a ball laying on the ground there and tossed it to Calimlin, whose seat is along the railing, Horn said.
The Rangers will make a formal apology to Calimlin and plan to give her a ball autographed by Gonzalez, Horn said.
Guthrie didn’t face any kind of disciplinary action, according to Horn.
G87: Padres beat us again by the score of 6-2
What’s surprising the last several outings by John Burkett is how GOOD he’s pitched. I wonder where all this stuff has been hiding the last several years? He’s definitely looked to me the best he’s ever looked in Texas these last four games he’s pitched. He didn’t get a win today, but six innings, giving up one run and six hits is pretty good to me. Not godlike, but certainly way better than our pitching has been overall. He would have gone further if we weren’t in a National League game, too.
Speaking of that, this was our final game in a National League Park this season – our pitchers were terrible batting this year, after a great year in 97 and an OK year in 98. Mike Morgan had a single yesterday, but that’s the lone hit by Ranger pitchers this year – Burkett looked weird up there, even more so than some of the others.
Anyway, this game was a great pitchers duel until the bottom of the 8th when Loaiza & Venafro just blew it, giving up 5 runs in the 8th. San Diego pitcher Matt Clement pitched excellent, going 7 innings, giving up one run and only 3 hits – the other Ranger run was a solo home run by Raffy in the 9th.
Juan Gonzalez wasn’t in the game, as he and his wife were at the hospital as their youngest daughter had an asthma attack in the morning, and had to be rushed there. During the radio post game show, they said that the group were still at the hospital, and tests were still going on. As I write this at 1:20AM on Monday morning, I still had not heard anything new here.
We end the “half” in first place, with a five game lead over Oakland, a six game lead over Seattle, and a 6.5 game lead over Anaheim. We should have been around 8 on the second place team, but I’ll take the lead – this is the largest lead we’ve had at an All-Star Break ever. Speaking of that, Manny Ramirez ended up with 96 (or 98, I’m not sure right now) RBI’s going into the break, a couple short of Juan last year. However, Juan had a really slow second half last year, and my gut feeling says that Manny won’t this year – I think he might take a stab at Hack Wilson, and he’ll probably get the MVP.
Hey, I like Manny Ramirez – I’m 33, and in all my years of going to baseball games, he’s the only person I’ve ever caught a foul ball from (May of 98 at the Ballpark). OK, it’s a geeky reason to like someone, but what the hell, it’s my reason. :)
Hopefully when the second half starts, we can put some distance between us and the rest of the division – our focus needs to be on the best record we can get, because if things end up the way they are now, we’re playing the Yankees again in the first round of the playoffs – UGH!!!
G86: Rangers lose to San Diego, 5-4
The Good: Todd Zeile extended his hitting streak. We had three Ranger home runs.
The Bad: Mike Morgan seems more like what his record indicates he would be pitching like, not like the guy we saw in Anaheim the other week.
The Ugly: Two errors in the 9th inning leading to a total defensive meltdown, costing us the game.
Oh my, what an ugly way to lose a game. Not only did we commit one error (Rusty’s bobble of a ball he tried to basket catch), but the one by Wetteland to finish the game was obscene. Actually, he probably should have been charged with TWO errors, as on the play before it he failed to cover his part of the infield – Wetteland seemed asleep on defense, big time.
Scarborough Green made it into this game – he drew a walk. I tend to root for the guys who hardly ever get to play, I seemed to have picked this up from my wife Lynn who feels this way about all kinds of sports players. I’m wondering how much longer he stays around, especially if we make some sort of move before the end of the month.
The ending of this game really spoiled what was an otherwise good game. Mike Morgan looked sloppy again, and we ended up taking the lead on three home runs hit by our guys today, including a real dinger of a shot by Ruben Mateo (440 feet or so). Todd Zeile set a career high hitting streak for himself with 17, and I was feeling good going into the bottom of the ninth, especially after a baserunning blunder by the Padres left us with two outs and the lead. Then Wetteland has his meltdown.
It’s too bad, as I can’t think of anything else about this game except this.
Roster Transaction
- Ruben Mateo activated from disabled list.
- Ryan Glynn sent back to AAA Oklahoma (excepted
to be recalled after the All-Star break)
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