Good stuff ahead for the Rangers?

One of our favorite Dallas sports bloggers, the great Richie Whitt, keeper of the Soon-To-Be-Great Sportatorium over at the Observer (and the links list over there on the left), posits that there is a whole lot to look forward to in Rangers baseball, both in the short and longer terms.

Why, you ask?

Because, retorts RW, new Rangers’ owner Chuck Greenberg reminds him a heck of a lot of a certain other casually dressed Pittsburghian (Pittsburgher?) who took over a moribund Dallas sports franchise and turned it into a winner seemingly overnight.

Yep, Richie sees a lot of Mark Cuban in this guy.

This is, perhaps, too lofty a dream for long-suffering Ranger fans. Its too much for me to buy into sight-unseen. But, you know, what if…?

Stay sportsy, my friends

Oh so much to talk about here in Sportsville. I have been neglectful. But no more. Onward!


Rangers

Our formerly-red-shoed Rangers have done the near-impossible this season. They have kept us entertained past the start of the regular NFL season. This has never, to my thinking, happened before.

So much to be excited about regarding this team! Young pitchers who throw hard as hell, and who seem to know how to pitch as well. Young position players who can play their positions, hit reasonably well, run the bases (some blazingly fast). A nice mix of veterans to provide some wisdom.

And, at the head of it all, the Old-Skool Brother, Ron Washington.

Can it be? It's late Sept and I really should be back in school. Er, no. Not what I meant. It's late Sept and and we are still waxing rhapsodic about the Texas Rangers? We are. This has been the most entertaining baseball season I have experienced since the Red Sox of 1986.

Thank you, Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels, and the rest. If Big Dumb Tom can sell the team to someone with some dough, next year may be even better.


University of Texas football

I've got the same feeling I had at the start of the season in 2005. Remember, I didn't start to get totally on board until after the Ohio State game that year. This year's schedule holds no similar out-of-conference test, so it will be Oct 17th's annual showdown with Oklahoma before I start to mention the "C" word (not THAT "C" word, you pervert) around here. But the cards seem to be falling into the right places, don't they?

By the way, did you see McCoy complete that pass to Shipley aboard a boat going 45 mph on the telecast this past weekend? Whoever thought that little stunt up needs to be keelhauled. Have you ever tried to stand in a small boat at speed? It ain't easy, and I thought it would not have taken much to knock Shipley right over the side. Maybe he was strapped in or something, but, man, I cringed!

At any rate, this season is off to a good start. That's all I'm saying right now.


Cowboys

Um, oh dear. Uh-oh? Maybe? I dunno.

I missed the opener against Tampa Bay, but it seems like it was a good one. However, I think we're seeing Tampa Bay is one of the worst teams in the league.

The Giants are clearly one of the best, and the Cowboys did seem to have the upper hand throughout the game. But...

But what's up with this Wade Phillips defense? There has been minimal pressure, even when they bring six guys. What happened to the swarming, scary-ass defense we saw at times down the stretch last year? Were Greg Ellis and Kevin Burnett really that important? I will certainly go on record as saying Kevin Burnett is a MUCH more attractive option than Bobby Carpenter. How is that guy still on this team?

The Cowboy defense looked a lot like it did in the doldrums of the Pear-Shaped Football Genius' tenure - unable to make a stop, unable to make tackles, and unable to get off the field when it really matters.

But what's up with Romo? Did he just have a one-game brain fart? Or his inconsistency becoming a consistent? It's feast or famine with this guy - he doesn't have many so-so games. And history is beginning to suggest the bigger the stage, the more likely he's going to toss out a clunker. When do we call it a trend?

The running game looks to be, potentially, something serious. Barber is hurt already, which isn't good. But it seems mild, and I thought the Cowboys could have had 300 yards plus if they had just kept running it.

The new kickoff guy seems to have worked out. The last time a Cowboy reached the end zone off a tee, he was holding a 1-iron, so it was good to see a few kickoffs get into the neighborhood. Still, a punter and two kickers? Wouldn't you really rather have another left tackle on the roster?

And let's talk for just a moment about the colossal, shiny Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, shall we? I absolutely LOVE The Ticket's nickname for it: The Death Star. I hope it sticks. It's perfect. In a world turning more Idiocracy by the minute, the Death Star only speeds us on our way to a Costco world. Sure, its a showplace. Sure, its going to get TONS of positive press. But do we really need 100,000 people crammed into a stadium to watch a football game on the world's largest TV screen? Personally, I am embarrassed by the place. It's too much for me. And it's in Arlington.

That last bit did sound a bit good-old-days-ish, didn't it? Maybe a bit curmudgeonly? Well, too bad. Look at the title bar of this blog, you ninny.

And now that I have managed to disparage both Jerry Jones and my readership, I bid you a fond farewell.

Aloha, Spicolli.

A day full of hope

April again, and a new baseball season is upon us. There are differences between April 2009 and Aprils of the recent past. I think there's reason to hope for a reasonably entertaining and satisfying season.

I can say this on April 5. Will I be saying the same thing on June 5?

So, what is different? Some minor stuff, and one critical, critical element. Allow me to elaborate.

I like this infield. A lot. The addition of ultra-prospect Elvis Andrus at SS, accompanied by Mike Young's move to 3B, and what should be a settled arrangement at 1B, solidifies things defensively. None of these guys are Tinker, Evers, or Chance, but, if the hype is to be believed, Andrus has a chance to star in his own poem and the whole bunch ought to improve over last year's butcher shop. The law of averages nearly ensures steadier fielding after last year's anti-clinic, right?

Offensively, the infield should be set for a pretty good, if not spectacular year. Young, Kinsler, Davis, and Saltalamacchia ought to produce some hits.

The outfield is OK, I think. I don't know that Andruw Jones has much left, but Rudy seems to think he's got plenty. I am still not sure if Rudy Jaramillio is Batting Cage Jesus or the most overrated dude to ever apply pine tar - if he's so great, how come this team hasn't hit with men in scoring position since the Clinton Administration? Either way, he seems to get some respect around the league, and if he says take a look at Jones, we probably ought to wait until at least early May before we run him out of town.

The biggest change, the biggest difference between today and the last 5 or 6 Opening Days is the state of the pitching staff. No, Walter Johnson and Cy Young have not returned from beyond the grave to don Ranger blue and red. We can look forward to mostly the same guys who have spared us to death over recent campaigns. However, for a change, we did not see a catastrophic injury in spring training. Shockingly, the Rangers start the season with the entire staff on the active roster.

This is a near-miracle. I mean, really. Not Parting of the Red Sea (how timely, yeah?), but pretty amazing.

Does this mean Millwood, Padilla, McCarthy, et al are going to throw strikes? No, that remains to be seen. But the fact they're available at the start of the season is beyond encouraging.

All in all, despite the 50-degree chill in the air (and the freeze warning for tonight - alas for my newly-planted snapdragons!), I would like to be fighting traffic on Collins today in an effort to catch me some Opening Day festivities!

Gay-Rod did 'roids with the Rangers?

I am shocked, shocked!, to hear Alex "Gay-Rod" Rodriguez apparently tested positive for steroid use back in 2003 when he was with the Rangers.

It sounds like the late 90's/early 00's Ranger clubhouse was the world's busiest pharmacy. Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, and, of course, Canseco, and God-knows who else, were all apparently juicing like crazy, so it's not exactly the biggest surprise ever that Gay-Rod was following suit.

There's no way we're ever going to get a clear understanding of who was juicing and who wasn't in those days. It's sad to say, but every record and statistic for the ten-year period 1995-2005 needs to be questioned. And yet the American fan (and I include myself in this category) looks forward to spring training with optimism and enthusiasm.

It's enough to turn one into a cynic.

The Mets' new field is still going to named "Citi"

After two massive government bailouts and a total crash in stock price, my former employers at Citigroup are still going forward with their plans to pay through the nose for naming rights to the Mets' new ballpark.

Citi Field is scheduled to replace venerable Shea next year, and Citigroup is reportedly paying upwards of $400 million to have their name on the marquee.

Does this sound like good use of our dough?

Atlanta has soured on Tex

In today's Atlanta Journal Constitution Braves blog, David O'Brien is contemplating what it would take to send Mark (Big Tex) Teixeira packing. His views sound just like all of ours this time last year.

O'Brien has figured out that Tex, while a stat-producer of massive proportions, is not a clutch guy, does not even resemble a team leader, and is all-business/no-passion.

Hell, Dave, any Rangers' fan could have told you all that just as soon as the ink was dry on last year's trade.

We've given Doogie some major grief for failed trades (Soriano for Wilkerson/Sledge/Galarraga, Young/Gonzales for Eaton/Otsuka - makes my head hurt just thinking about 'em), but we have failed to give credit for last year's absolute fleecing of the Braves. Miserable Mark and Ron Mahay for Saltalamacchia, Harrison, Andrus, and Feliz will go down as the most one-sided trade seen in these parts since the Herschel Walker deal.

In the meanwhile, Braves fans are ready to get Tex out of town. The question is who's going to give up talent to rent his services for 3 months. Not the Rangers, and that's all I care about.

Josh Hamilton: The Amazing Story

Yet more accolades, much deserved, for Josh Hamilton and his performance in last night's Home Run Derby.

In the middle of that Round 1 barrage, I found myself cheering, laughing, describing the sheer awesomeness of what I was witnessing to my wife, just overwhelmed with the joy of it. THIS is what sports are supposed to be about.

Thank you, Josh, for one of the great experiences of my life. And if that sounds hokey to you, too bad. It was something you'll never see again. Stop, for moment, and recognize greatness in front of you.

The greatest story in sports gets better

Josh Hamilton, the greatest story in sports today, and maybe the greatest story in the history of sports (I'm looking for a better one), just added to his growing legend by crushing 28 home runs in the Home Run Derby.

I'm usually not much of a fan of the Home Run Derby, but tuned in to see our local boy hit a few. I found myself laughing out loud as his total continued to climb.

I hope, I really hope, this guy can keep his head screwed on straight. It's so rare that we have good stories come out of pro sports, and this is one which can be the kind of story you tell your grand kids.

What fun. How great for Hamilton. How lucky for us to be able to see it unfold in front of us.

Max Ramirez is one tough dude

I'm not about to start live-blogging Ranger games, but I do have to stop down and make mention of the double play just turned by the Rangers to end the Angels half of the 8th.

After Bill-Buckner-ing a slow roller to first, young Chris Davis redeemed himself by throwing an absolute screamer home to C Max Ramirez. Ramirez stood his ground, got BELTED by the runner, but held on to the ball for the out. Lying stunned on the ground, Ramirez obviously heard P Dustin Nippert hollering "Third!". Ramirez rose to his knees and threw a perfect strike down to third to get the man trying to take the extra base.

The Rangers are likely going to lose tonight, which sucks. However, this is what we're looking for this year - head's up, hard nosed plays by promising young players.

Good job, Max!

Ouch

Duck!

Sportsville update: Way up and way down

The news from Sportsville today is more bad than good. However, the good is so good that I think it outweighs the more abundant, but less surprising, bad.

On the bad side of the ledger, we have the little Mavericks and the inconsequential Rangers, both of whom lost last night.


The Rangers, dropping ever further from the realm of the relevant, lost to Kansas City (Kansas City!) 9-5. This puts them at 9-18 for the season thus far, the worst record in baseball. Oh, and they also lost another starter (Jason Jennings) to injury.

Can we just forfeit the rest of the season now?

For my part, I will not venture into the confines of the Ballpark (unless Ed invites us to join his fam in the suite again; I'll make an exception for that) for the duration. I may even swear off games on TV, except I don't know what else I'll do on a random mid-July Tuesday night.

God, they are terrible.


The little Mavs completed their third giant choke in as many years, losing Game 5 to New Orleans 99-94 and dropping the first-round series three games to one. It is clear to everyone that drastic changes are necessary. The really bad news is the Mavs total lack of options, mostly as a result of giving up half the roster and two of the next three first-round draft picks in the (now-obviously failed) J. Kidd trade.

It's always hard to say what Cuban will do, but the vote here is trade anyone and everyone who can bring any sort of future return. Blow the thing up completely, get some expiring contracts (or, better yet, draft picks), suck for a couple of years, and start over. This includes Dirk.

And there is no way Avery is back.

Thinking back to the halcyon days of June 2006, didn't we all think the Mavs were a dynasty in the making? Didn't we all think, "So what if they choked against Miami? They'll be back!"? I sure did.

What a disappointment.

We like to finish on a positive here at CIT, so let's move to the most positive of all, the biggest, most pleasant surprise of all: your Dallas Stars.


A 2-1 OT win over San Jose last night gives the Stars a death-grip on the second-round series with a 3-0 lead. Our boys withstood the expected San Jose everything-but-the-kitchen-sink onslaught in the first two periods and emerged down only 1-0, due primarily to Marty Turco's continued larceny (thanks, Razor) in goal.

Once the third period started, the Stars took over the game. Zubov's seeing-eye liner from the point on a power play tied it, and unlikely hero Matty Norstrom scored on a weird and wonderful mis-directed pass four and a half minutes into OT to win it. Brendan Morrow continued to play like a man possessed, hitting everything in teal, and Mike Ribeiro found more hockey wizardry in his bag - is he the greatest 170 lb player in this generation?

A sweep is now possible, and, while I expect the Sharks to win Game 4, I don't discount the chance of confetti raining down from the rafters of the AAC tonight either.

The bad news is the Stars are all we've got this summer. The good news is they are earning the respect and attention in all the right ways.

Go Stars!

Happy day in Sportsville

The DFW Metroplex of Love awakens this morning, some of us earlier than others, to the best sports news its seen in some time.

Everyone won last night. I have no idea when that last happened. I wouldn't even venture a guess.


The ridiculous Rangers found a little something, coming back from a 5-0 deficit against Minnesota to win 6-5 in 10 innings. Never mind that Hank Blalock hurt himself again (I'm sorry, but how the hell do these guys get hurt so often playing this game? Maybe I'm an idiot, but it sure seems like, if you keep yourself fit and flexible, you should never get hurt playing BASEBALL!). Never mind that the "brain" trust of Ryan, Daniels, and Hicks (stop laughing!) met earlier in the day to discuss this team's complete failure thus far and left the meeting with nothing new. Never mind the total absence of any semblance of hope for this year or the near-term future. Never mind all that. The Rangers frickin' won. 'Nuff said.


The little Mavericks were, for one night at least, not so little. Avery's wife must have hit him with a frying pan to get him to realize what everyone else in town saw about 90 seconds into Game 1 - Jason Terry was in the starting lineup in front of ancient, creaky Jerry Stackhouse, and was actually able to slow down Chris Paul. Other defensive responsibilities were shifted as well, and the Mavs throttled the Hornets 97-87. It was the kind of convincing win that makes you think this may yet be a series.

I just wonder why Josh Howard chose yesterday to make his poorly-timed, but not-especially-surprising, statement about his dope smoking. He's just one of many weed-smokers in the NBA (and on Planet Earth, for that matter), and who really gives a crap or is even slightly surprised? But I don't know why we need to be discussing this in the midst of the playoffs. And it's not like his stellar play gives him all kinds of latitude to be making nutty statements like this. Howard needs to shut up and work on his move to the basket.


And out in San Jose, the Stars won Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series with the Sharks 3-2 in OT. The Stars had no business winning this game. San Jose really was the superior team. However, the Stars did enough on offense to make Marty Turco's super-human effort worthwhile. Make no mistake, Turco stole this game for his team. And, boy, does it feel good to write that last sentence! There is a long, long way to go, and I'm trying not to get too wild and crazy here, but the way is open this year for Turco to silence every critic he's ever had.

Fellow sports, let's enjoy this rarest of confluences all day today. I expect to see nothing but smiles and nods today. I expect everyone to hold doors for each other, yield the right of way when they should, and pick up stray trash on the street. Let's make it a great day to be fans in Sportsville!

Rangers: It's happening again

Your Texas Rangers are headed for the cellar again. Today's debacle was as ugly an 8-3 loss (to the Red Sox, who completed the four-game sweep) as you'll ever see, with another pitching and fielding implosion occurring in the 4th inning.

This team has shown an absolutely life-force-draining ineptitude in the field, at the plate with runners in scoring position, and in the bullpen. The only race which appears to hold any interest for the rest of this season appears to be which number will be the largest: wins, errors, or bullpen ERA.

I wanted to be a Jon Daniels fan. I wanted to be a Ron Washington fan. I tried. Really. I can't do it. Both of these guys need to be fired right now. You can replace them, on an interim basis, with Abbott and Costello, Harold and Kumar, or biscuits and gravy. I don't care. It's obvious this season is gone (in April, for God's sake). Get me someone to blow this thing to itty-bitty pieces and rebuild from the farm up.

I hate being a baseball fan.

Daily YouTube: Guys like sports

You know, I can see some of the Yankee fans I've known actually reacting like this.

Gay-Rod finds some humility

Alex "Gay-Rod" Rodriguez and his agent, the Baseball Anti-Christ (aka Scott Boras) have gone back to the Yankees, hat in hand, and humbly accepted the Yankees original contract offer, less the $21.3 million the Rangers would have been on the hook for if Gay-Rod hadn't opted out of his original contract.

It's no secret that I am a Gay-Rod hater, and have been since he was here in Texas. The guy is the KING of the meaningless stat. How many late-inning, no-one-on-base, we're-losing-by-7-runs homers did he hit as a Ranger? How often has he disappeared in the playoffs as a Yankee? There's no question Gay-Rod is one of the most physically gifted athletes to ever put on cleats, but he's a shrinking violet. He doesn't have the mental toughness to hold up when the pressure is on.

I wish nothing but failure on the guy. And, in this case, I got it.

Gay-Rod and Boras completely misread the market Rodriguez would attract. His initial demand for 10 years/$350 million was greeted by the sound of crickets. After a mutual "we're not talking to THEM" with the Yankees, Rodriguez quickly came to the realization that the Yankees are the only team who are going to pay him anywhere near what he wants.

This is a failure more for the Baseball Anti-Christ than Gay-Rod. Boras clearly gave his client horrible advice and totally misread the situation. Gay-Rod comes out of this mess looking greedy and stupid, but he's still going to get the richest contract in the history of sports (10 years/$270 million or so) for the second time in his career.

Its just nice to see loads of bad press for both of these jerks.

DRM is pure evil, and Major League Baseball is its latest dupe

From our old friends at Joy of Sox yesterday:

The morons at Major League Baseball, who have not quite embraced the digital age, started selling game videos via download a while ago. Like all responsible providers did up until very recently, they employed DRM software to limit distribution of their product. Apparently, it worked just fine as long as you stayed within the lines.

OK so far, right?

Well, not so much.

It seems that in late 2006, MLB switched DRM providers without making any provision for downloads previously purchased. So, if you spent $3.95 to download some of the pennant race games from the Red Sox first championship season in 86 years, you're SOL right now.

Major League Baseball is so tone-deaf, and so unresponsive to their fans, and such a lousy custodian of the Great Game, it makes me want to barf.

Tantalizing Rangers trade rumor

The great Evan Grant writes in today's Inside the Rangers newsletter that a trade may be brewing between the Rangers and the Dodgers.

According to Round Mound of Rangers Beat Writer, the Rangers would send Texeira and either Gagne or Otsuka, and would receive, in return, 1B James Loney, RHP Chad Billingsley, and highly-touted prospect LHP Clayton Kershaw (a Highland Park Scot, no less).

So, let's see: For a top-notch starting position player with a year and a bit until free agency (and the Baseball Antichrist for an agent) and a top reliever, the Rangers would get a very young starting position player with a TON of upside, a very young starting (probably) pitcher with a TON of upside, and a stud LHP prospect who's a local.

Grant is pretty sure a deal along these lines is well along. I certainly hope he's right, and the Rangers are able to see it through.

Stay tuned...

And you thought the Rangers' season was over

Tim McMahon explains the Rangers chances of making the playoffs. Yes, there is still a chance.

Tim goes on to provide an entirely appropriate clip from Dumb and Dumber to illustrate the point.

I have been remiss in posting about the Rangers' completely failed season. I'll work up some good bile on that and get back to you.

Time for a BIG Rangers trade (we hope)

The Texas Rangers' season is over, and has been since about May 5th. Amidst this disaster (wait, that should probably be DISASTER, in bold and italics, to convey the depth of abysmalosity we're witnessing), the Rangers have some serious chips in the deadline trading game. Let's see if they can cash in.

Tops of the trade-'em-now list is Mark Texeira, the power-hitting first baseman who will enter the final year of club control in 2008 and is a disciple of the Baseball Antichrist. There is essentially no way the Rangers will re-sign Texeira, so it's of paramount importance they get something for him now.

Also on the list of viable trade bait: Eric Gagne, who has shown he's got a little something left; Sammy Sosa, who also has shown he has a little something left; Aki Otsuka, who has been the most reliable pitcher in the organization for the past two years; and perhaps a few others. I'd trade Mike Young, the newly re-signed "face of the franchise" - I know, I know; he's a great guy, he's home-grown, he's part Mexican, and he can hit. But, if you can get some legit pitching prospects, welp, see ya, Mikey!

This season has been so bad, I don't think there's anyone on this team who's untouchable. Unfortunately, there are way too many players here that no one will take. But that's another story.

All this is a lead in to a column in the New York Post today which calls Jon Daniels "the most gunshy GM in baseball".

Well, if you had engineered some of the worst trades in Ranger history (hell, maybe in baseball history), like the Chris Young and Adrian Gonzales for Otsuka and the-long-gone-and-forgotten Adam Eaton trade, and the Alfonso Soriano for Brad Wilkerson trade, and the Kevin Mench and Coco Cordero for long-gone-and-forgotten Carlos Lee trade, and the John Danks for Brandon McCarthy trade, wouldn't you be a little gunshy too?

I sense very bad things for our little Rangers for some time to come.

Daily YouTube: A guy who’s not as funny as he thinks he is

Phillip Wellman, manager of the Braves AA affiliate in Mississippi, went nuts the other night, yanking up bases and throwing rosin bags like grenades.

Why do baseball managers get to make such idiots of themselves? What would happen if you tried some of this nonsense at your job?