Well

From featured blog to dormant blog……Ryan is retooling and saving his wit for the season…..

In the meantime, get you some Freddie King:

Texas’ (Dallas area, Gilmer) own Mr. Freddie King (RIP) aka “The Texas Cannonball.”

For those who don’t know the King hopefully you’ll check him out again in the future.  This dude was idolized by the Stones, SRV and Clapton…thanks to the ills of America’s past most don’t know him…..

If yall check em out, hope you enjoy!

Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone (best version EVER)

Boogie Funk (Instrumental)
Man played with SOUL baby.  Plus that collar is very sick, I think they took the wings from a condor.

Going Down (Stones, Clapton and tons of others have covered this gem)
Sick Dickie’s one piece with stingray collar.

Kevin Milwood – In Pictures

Kevin Milwood started out with good stuff, hitting the corners with his fastball, making them run both away from bats and into the hitter’s hands……

Sticking to his modus operandi (atleast his M.O. since 12/29/05…….aka day signed with Rangers) his tank ran empty in the 7th inning.  To put a positive spin….he usually only goes to the 5th, thank you air conditioned dome in Minnesota (is it still the Metrodome?)

I’m not going to justify my opinion on him, if you’ve been a Rangers fan since he’s been here, you know what I’m talking about, just trust me huh?

So without further ado, I give to you the Kevin Millwood biography……….in pictures:

         

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OR

 

 

 

Take your pick.

Last Night

Last night the world was introduced to the beast that is Josh Hamilton.

Also happening last night, my man crush for Hambone intensified to embarrassing levels.

I’m going to let it soak in a little longer before I put a full entry about the All Star events.

Mainly because the exact level of love for Josh Hamilton may come out, thus terrifying those who know me and may cause me to question my own sexuality after I see it written down in black and white.

I strongly urge you to watch this clip taken from the seats of Yankee stadium as Hamilton‘s turn was underway.

 

http://www.viddler.com/player/989cfb4d/

(thanks to Jamey Newberg for forwarding to us on his mailing list)

 

Be Good-

Ryan A 

 

Quickie….

-Big game tonight against the Angels as they come to town for a 4 game series.

A sweep on our part could be a bad thing.

Should we close the gap to 3.5 games, JD and company might start trading the farm for some rentals.

So, for the love of the Rangers’ franchise, I am hoping we do no better than a push, going 2-2.  For the good of the franchise. 

Can’t believe I just said that…….

-Neftali Feliz makes his AA debut tonight for the Frisco Roughriders.

 

Feliz is 20 yrs old and was promoted last week, skipping high-A Bakersfield all together. 

We got him in the Teixeira haul.  See an updated scouting report here.

More excited to see him tonight than the boys in Arlington.

——————————————————————————————————–

Remember it’s all about tomorrow with this club. 

Noone get all crazy thinking we’re going to be in contention come September.   

I wouldn’t be hurt if I was proven wrong, let’s just do it with the current roster…….kapish? 

Stay the course gang. 

Be Good, Go Rangers-

 

Ryan

Kinsler gets HOSED!!!

                       vs.                         

 

How in the world does Ian Kinsler not start over Dustin “Mini-Me” Pedroia in the All-Star game?

 

Oh, yeah, that’s right……Pedroia plays for the Red Sox.

 

What a joke….

 

I’m sure all the Sox fans who voted for Mini-Me have been lifelong Sox fans as well……..

 

God knows you’re lying……..

 

Be good and GO RANGERS!

 

Ryan A

Everyday Eduardo

I remember reading T.R. Sullivan’s report indicating that the Rangers had just signed the lovable Eddie Guardado (here).

I was less than enamored.

The 37 year old lefty had Tommy John surgery in September of ’06 and really stunk up the joint in limited duty while rehabbing last year with the Reds.

Couple the TJ surgery with his age, it was surely yet another failed comeback story wasn’t it?

Wrong, never underestimate a man’s heart.

I remember watching him at the beginning of the season and was intrigued by his story, mainly because, well, everyone likes a comeback story right?  And the Rangers lead the league in comeback stories thus far.

The intrigue then turned into obsession.

This transformation occured Saturday, May 17th, 2008 against the Astros.  We had cheap but good seats (yes, it’s possible).  Our seats were in Right-Center field, right behind the plate in the Rangers’ bullpen.  I’d keep looking over at the players, watching them kinda monkey around with one another, CJ Wilson acting as the ring leader……imagine that….

The sixth inning rolled around, out came Eddie from the clubhouse to the bullpen, holding three cups of coffee, everyone chilled.  Not out of fear, but it seemed as though they didn’t want to let Eddie down or something, couldn’t quite explain it.

He maticulously lined up the coffee along the bullpen wall as everyone sat in what appeared to be barstools.  CJ went over to Eddie’s area, you could see that CJ’s mood had gone from light to serious fairly quickly. 

Hopefully he was over there just soaking in what Eddie had to offer.

Most teams have a grizzled, wily veteran on their squad.  Lots of times he’s on the 40-man to do just what Eddie was doing at that moment, holding court and teaching the kids what he’d do on various pitchcounts.  Typically these guys pitch in mop up duty only…..But, not Eddie, he isn’t one of those guys, rag-arm and all, the man can still pitch.

Not because of stuff, but because of heart, all heart.

You see, Eddie MIGHT top out at 87 mph.  He is consistently 82-85 with his fastball.  You may be saying, well, he must have some nasty offspeed stuff and he just uses the fastball as a “show me” pitch.

Nope.

Eddie goes right at hitters with that B.P. fastball.  He works fast (probably due to the coffee) and he throws strikes.  He is tenacious and he exudes a confidence (not cockiness) that every ball player should learn.

I remember in 2004 when we made a mini-run at the end of the year.  Carlos Almanzar and Frankie Francisco were our setup guys and Francisco Cordero was the closer.

When those guys got up in the bullpen, fans in the right field stands would begin to stir, when the last out was made in the bottom of the 6th inning, and one of those boys was heading out the door to take the mound….it created pandamonium, the place went APESH!T.  And it gave me goosebumps.

I hope we can see a little run here in the second half, I’m not expecting a ring, I just want to see Eddie running out to the middle of the diamond to chants of “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie” (I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it)

Eddie Guardado deserves to go out on top, to go out like a champion, whether it’s with a ring on his finger or not.

Because Eddie Guardado is what it’s all about, Eddie Guardado is the definition of old school.

 

Salty Getting Licked

New York Mets' Endy Chavez (10) scores as Texas Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (25) loses control of the ball during the sixth inning of an interleague baseball game, Friday, June 13, 2008, in New York.

 

NOTE TO THE TEXAS RANGERS:

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is not a catcher.

In yesterdays second half of the double header, Kason Gabbard threw well in his first start since being recalled from AAA.  In the third inning, with two outs, Gabbard delivered a very blockable ball into the dirt striking out Jose Reyes, it was scored a wild pitch which led to Reyes reaching first and thus more pitches for Gabbard.

Yes, it was in the dirt so technically it is on Gabbard but let’s call a spade a spade, if you’re in the big leagues you must make that play 99 times out of 100.

After the defensive display by Salty I fully expect the Rangers’ starters to begin faking injuries only so they do not have to throw to him.

As I said day one (and many of you have said the same thing)…..he is too big to be a catcher, there are very, very, very few catchers who have been succesful at Salty’s size. I can think of a couple here recently Sandy Alomar, Jr. and A.J. Pierzynski.  

Alas, there’s a reason the prototypical catcher is shorter and stockier than say, well, a firstbaseman.

He cannot get down on the ball quick enough due to his enormous frame.

He cannot get “out of the shoot” quick enough when trying to throw runners out (and I stress trying, see here).

Coach Ryan says, hit your knees, mask to the dirt, glove between your legs and EXHALE.

The good news is (trying not to make this totally negative) he is only 23, so he is still maturing as a player so hopefully in 3 years I can chalk this up as just another typical kneejerk reaction by me. 

Problem is, as you get older, you don’t get any smaller (dangit, I couldn’t help myself).

The Rangers have a good problem in having a log jam at catchers coming up through the system in Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez (on top of Gerald Laird and Salty who are with the big club).

With this log jam comes pressure.

Hopefully the brass can make the right choice as to who is the better all around player out of this lot.  They who do not make the cut, trade them for good, legitimate prospects, or if we’re in the thick of it in a couple of years, for pieces needed to get to the playoffs. 

With this said, I gotta admit, I’m a little worried, mainly because of the recent track record the Rangers talent evaluators have had here in Texas, but I’m sick of harping on that little issue, for now at least.

Anywho, go Rangers!

D-Train is Derailing

 

With the Rangers off last night I decided to tune in to last night’s ballgame between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians.

I was excited to get to see the pitching matchup Cliff Lee vs the energetic Dontrelle Willis….then the game started.

Good God Almighty, what is wrong with Dontrelle Willis?

Is anyone sensing an impending meltdown of epic proportions?  One that would make the Rick Ankiel implosion look like a joyride.

It was beyond painful to watch, I thought he was crying when he came off the mound.

What made it so painful to watch was me knowing how much love D-Train has for the game, how much energy and competitiveness runs through those veins while he’s on the bump.

Yes he has been on a decline in the last few years.

I would bet the ranch that it is 95% mechanical.

His long arms and legs just flailing in all directions as he delivers a pitch, never being able to replicate his delivery on back-to-back pitches.

You could see it in his eyes that he knows something is wrong,

If he didn’t all he had to do was listen to Orel Hershiser shred his mechanics on national TV, but hey, that’s his job, call it like he sees it. 

Now it’s up to Willis and the organization to right the ship of MLB’s 2005 Cy Young runner-up.

Both for him and baseball at large.

 

Sidney “The Sandwich” Ponson

Coming from and growing up in Aruba is what I blame.

Live life like it’s always Spring Break and this is what you get.

Your release from a team with gaping holes in it’s pitching staff despite going 4-1 with a sub-4 ERA.

According to T.R. Sullivan, Sir Sandwich was released for a variety of reasons, mainly pertaining to selfish acts unbecoming towards the team. 

Per Mr. T.R.:

“Daniels declined to discuss the specifics and Ponson was unavailable for comment, but team sources said Ponson was put on notice after creating a serious disturbance at the hotel bar in St. Petersburg during the team’s last road trip. He was told that further problems would not be tolerated.

Two more incidents occurred this week. Ponson started with three days’ rest on Wednesday against the Indians and allowed six runs in four innings. Only two were earned because of three errors committed behind him, and Ponson reacted furiously after being taken out. His actions were interpreted as “showing up” his teammates.

The second incident occurred when manager Ron Washington informed Ponson on Thursday that he would be pushed back in his next start so that Kevin Millwood could start Tuesday on his regular four days’ rest. Ponson would have pitched on Wednesday on six days’ rest. Ponson wasn’t happy with that decision and made his feelings clear in a heated discussion with the manager.”  Full story.

Let me be clear, I was rooting for this guy.  He’s always intrigued me, both with his stuff and his off the field antics (again, I do have a TMZ side that shines from time to time). 

I even went as far as to say he could potentially be the saving grace for this season (he was for April/May atleast, right?)

I hold nothing against the front office for letting him go.  In fact, I applaud it.  The team always comes first, ALWAYS. 

If you don’t get it, then, well, you just don’t get it and noone can explain it to you.

According to Evan Grant at the DMN Blog, Michael Young broke his finger the day Sandwich was released (click here). 

Not trying to stir the pot but I’m calling a left hook to The Sandwiches’ meaty jaw.  And Sir Sandwich better be glad that Milton Bradley didn’t unleash some fury on him, Milton would have ripped his head off.

If MY did, then good.  In my book he just took a step closer to justifying that huge contract of his.

It is clear to me, and anyone with a brain, The Sandwiches’ main problem is the bottle. 

As noted in earlier entries I believed Ponson’s fluff, I thought he had atleast hid the hooch from himself til the offseason. 

I believed this because of a simple fact…..he had no more chances due to horrendous seasons in Baltimore, New York, St Louis, and Minnesota.  But, this just shows that the bottle, unfortunately, always wins.

Hopefully, his success between the lines in Texas will not parlay him a deal with another franchise. 

Atleast til Sir Sandwich dries his liver out and starts 12 steppin’.

If the Nippon Ham Fighters come a callin’ that’s a different story….oh, the irony.