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G77: Rangers are one game over .500 with 5-3 win

Posted by on at http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_22_texmlb_wasmlb_1>MLB.com Recap

I was sitting down to write recaps for the weekend’s games and was handed a project by my boss, so I will have to pass on this game.
Nice to see Pidente get his 10th win – probably could be a candidate to be an All-Star pitcher, but the last time he was, there was a tie in the All Star game. :)

G76: Rangers come back and stomp on Nats, 13-3

Posted by on at http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_21_texmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=wrap>MLB.com Recap

The Rangers got out to a lead early in this one, with a leadoff home run by Ian Kinsler, just two pitches into the game. Unfortunately, despite the score, it was NOT one of those games that you get out early and coast. For two reasons.
One – our bullpen lately won’t let you coast.
Two – We let the Nats back in the game fairly quickly.
We did get out to a three run lead in the first inning, then our bats went silent for awhile. It was during this time that Kason Gabbard let the Nats creep back in with a two run fourth, and solo run in the fifth to make the score at that time 4-3.
But a huge seven spot in the seventh inning put the Rangers way out front, and a few single runs in the last two frames assured this was a Nats stomping game.
The Rangers had eighteen hits in all, but mostly just singles. Kinsler’s home run, and doubles by Murphy, Young, & Vazquez were it for extra base hits.

Laird to DL

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  • C Gerald Laird placed on 15 day DL
  • C Max Ramirez recalled from AAA [ Link ]

G75: Rangers lose in 14 innings to Nats, 4-3

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Jamey Wright got himself in some hot water in the 14th inning. Bases loaded, one out. Got a strikeout, but hit a grounder just out of the reach of Michael Young. That was it.
Wasted a good outing by Kevin Millwood. Hats off to the Nats pen, which kept us almost completely down from the third inning on. In fact, from the seventh inning onwards, we had just one hit.
We may have lost Gerald Laird for awhile, as his hamstring looked really bad when he collapsed in a heap. That will probably make Salty the #1 catcher for awhile, they’ll probably bring up one of our kids to be the backup. Nice that Salty did finally get a guy stealing.
Basically, all this boils down to one word – DAMMIT!

Mathis to DL

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  • P Doug Mathis placed on 15 day DL, retro to Jun 16
  • P Luis Mendoza recalled from AAA [ Link ]

David Murphy

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I was listening to “The Show” on XM Channel 175, and they had David Murphy on. Was nice to see him get some national love. He said the usual stuff you’d expect about his team and all that. But the thing he talked about which made me post this entry was rookie hazing.

He talked about how the Rangers last year had their rookie hazing – they took the rookies, and the vets with the most service time got to pick a rookie’s name and had them wear what they wanted. Murphy said that Brad Wilkerson had picked him, and the next day there was a Tooth Fairy outfit in his locker to wear. So Murphy had to wear that on the plane flight, and also to some party that night as well.

He pointed out that he’s probably going to have to do it again this year, because of the oddity that he’s still technically a rookie. To make it worse, he had to do this in 2006 as well after being up with the Red Sox in September of 2006 too! He didn’t seem genuinely mad about it, but seemed like “Oh boy, I get to do this a third time now”

On the positive side, Murphy did mention that the Red Sox did give him a World Series ring after being up with them for just three games in 2007.

The Twins are NOT the original Washington Senators

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After beating the Atlanta Braves today, we head back out on the road for more Interleague play. We’re about to hear a lot about how the Rangers were the “Washington Senators II” during the time they played in DC. As I’ve pointed out a few times, the Rangers are NOT the second Senators. They’re the third team with that moniker (technically the fourth, but more on that in a bit). Most people will tell you the Minnesota Twins were the original Senators, and when they moved out of DC, the Rangers franchise became the second. All of this completely ignores the real original Washington Senators, who played from 1891-1899. While I admit, it wasn’t a major team in the overall scheme of things, it did exist for about a decade. I guess it’s not sexy enough to bring this up, which is why we never hear it.

As long as I’m totally nitpicking here, the 1890’s Washington Senators wasn’t the original Washington Nationals, either. There was a team that played one year – 1884 as the Washington Nationals. But that’s seriously obscure, and since that was a completely different league, I’m not counting them as the first.

To sum this up, I wonder if this will be brought up, too. When the Montreal Expos franchise moved to DC and took on the moniker of the Nationals, they wanted to use the old red “W” cap that our franchise used to wear. Since the Senators team moved here, Tom Hicks still owns the legal rights to the “Washington Senators” name, which includes logos, uniforms, etc.. The Nationals franchise had to pay Hicks money to let them use the cap. Gotta love THAT. Baseball is now feeding off of itself in terms of places it wants to make money. :)

G74: Rangers walk off with 5-4 win, but didn’t have to

Posted by on at http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_19_atlmlb_texmlb_1&mode=wrap>MLB.com Recap

The Rangers won in a thrilling fashion. Most everyone loves walk off wins in the bottom of the ninth. However, this is one I wished we didn’t have to get to.
First off, Scott Feldman continues to be the most unlucky pitcher on our staff in 2008. He left the game again with a lead. I don’t have a count in front of me of how many games he’s had blown for him by the pen, but it’s quite a few. His record is 1-3, and has started nine games this year. He’d probably have a winning record by more than a few games if the pen could hold a lead. It’s probably why we continue to be a .500 team.
Which brings me to another point. CJ Wilson is having a major rough stretch right now. He’s either blown saves, or just given up runs when he’s been brought in for non save opportunities. If he doesn’t get it together soon, I wonder if Ron Washington will go to someone else, like Guardado or Wright for saves? I have CJ Wilson on several fantasy teams, I wonder if I need to make some moves there.
Speaking of Guardado, how about that fifteen pitch at bat to his first batter? That’s a heck of a lot. I remember when I was a kid, a guy by the name of Jay Johnstone for the Phillies had a 21 pitch at bat. But 15 is a heck of a lot of pitches. Good thing Eddie came through with a called third strike there.
Offensively, the big blast was a three run home run by Brandon Boggs in the sixth inning. That was to Atlanta reliever Jeff Ridgeway, who was the first of six relievers Bobby Cox used. In fact, of those relievers, only one pitched more than .2 of an inning! Anyway, Boggs’ blast gave us a 4-2 lead at the time, and the game was actually feeling like it was one we were going to win – something we’ve had trouble with in the daytime this year.
Jarrod Salatamacchia continues to show that Gerald Laird is by far the better catcher on this team for now. Yeah, Jarrod is supposed to have a higher “potential” than Laird, but Laird is doing well now. Makes you wonder if perhaps Salty will get moved in July and bring up someone like Max Ramirez to be Laird’s backup.
Anyway, nice to get a win.