Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar and Grill

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar and Grill, where the consensus among patrons here is once a planet, always a planet…

* Three losses in Tampa Bay certainly left the feeling that the Rangers season is over but that’s not the case. A sweep of the Oakland Athletics would do wonders, not only mathematically but also psychologically.

The Athletics are a good team – even without Bobby Crosby, Rich Harden and Huston Street – and have been on a pretty good roll. But if the Rangers can sweep them – a difficult proposition given the opening matchup of Barry Zito vs. Edison Volquez – then maybe the Athletics will start feeling a little pressure.

* Okay, Carlos Lee probably isn’t going to be his own agent and it may end up that the Players Association has to intervene in the Scott Boras-Adam Katz cat fight over who does get to represent a guy who could command big bucks in the off-season.

But the feeling is he could end up with the Houston Astros, no matter who gets the commission. Lee has a ranch outside Houston and that short left field wall would be highly attractive to him, offensively and defensively.

* The story is a Rangers draft pick represented by Jeff Frye – now in the agent business – told the club before the draft that he would sign for slot money, then changed his mind after he was taken. The Rangers called Frye, who called the player and said he would not longer represent him. The player apologized and signed, but Frye still wouldn’t take him back.

* Kenny Rogers is his old self talking to the media in Detroit but after beating the Rangers last week, he asked anybody he didn’t recognize at his post-game session, "You’re not from Texas are you?"

* Major League baseball players love watching the Little League World Series and Akinori Otsuka was jumping up and down after a victory by Japan. Said pitcher C.J. Wilson, "It’s fun to watch because they’re trying so hard. It’s like watching the playoffs. It’s fascinating to watch any athletic competition."

* The Rangers don’t have a high number of position player prospects in their farm system but first baseman Nate Gold is having a breakout season at Double A Frisco. A 10th round pick out of Gonzaga in 2002, Gold, 26, is hitting .288 with 31 home runs and 93 RBI for the Roughriders.

* If you have been around the Rangers for any length of time you have to be rooting for the Cincinnati Reds because of general manager Wayne Krivsky and manager Jerry Narron. They’ve also added pitcher Chris Michalak, a former Ranger who is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2002.

* Former pitcher Dave Stewart on his NBX.Com Throwin’ Heat show about manager Terry Francona and the Boston Red Sox: "If anything there’s stuff going on in the front office. The biggest question is why didn’t something happen at the trade deadline. They’re an organization capable of doing something. They’ve got enough money to pull something off and they did absolutely nothing. They need catching help. I didn’t think their starting rotation was solid. They didn’t go out and get any pitching help. They don’t need any hitting, that’s for darn sure, but they didn’t do anything.