Poor Toby's Almanac: Easter Sunday
Toby descends from a pack of wild dogs that have roamed the mystical lands of the Transvaal since the beginning of time. Each Sunday morning, he helps us look ahead:
The Week that is: The Rangers take on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington beginning on Monday. The Rangers have won 12 of their last 15 games against the Devil Rays in Arlington. Then they open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on Friday.
Elijah’s coming: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have some of the best young position talent in the game, including starting center fielder Elijah Dukes. You’ve probably heard about Dukes, who is 22 and a tremendous talent, one of those five-tools players that everybody loves to label.
He was the Devil Rays starting center fielder on Opening Day and already has two home runs. He also has a history of trouble, including six arrests since 1998 and three suspensions alone in the past year.
The Rangers talked seriously about acquiring him last year. The Devil Rays were trying to move him and the Rangers considered it. Manager Buck Showalter was asked how he felt about acquiring Dukes. But it obviously didn’t get done, and now Dukes is starting to put his past behind him and assert himself at the Major League level. This story has a chance to be as good as Josh Hamilton in Cincinnati.
Oracle of Elysian Fields: "Everybody made a big deal of the first three games. We came home and everyone was ready to talk about when the Cowboys open." Shortstop Michael Young.
Must-see TV: The Seattle Mariners pitching plans had Felix Hernandez pitching against Kevin Millwood on Friday at Safeco Field. That may be adjusted because the Mariners had two postponements in Cleveland because of the snow. But Hernandez is still expected to pitch sometime during the three-game series in Seattle.
Ex-Ranger of the Week: Right-handed pitcher Aaron Harang was a sixth round pick in 1999 and was still in the Minors when the Rangers traded him to the Oakland Athletics on Nov. 17, 2000 for second baseman Randy Velarde. Now he is with the Cincinnati Reds. After winning 16 for them last year, he is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in his first two starts this season.
Welcome to the Majors: John Danks makes his first Major League start on Sunday for the Chicago White Sox. He is facing the Minnesota Twins. The opposing pitcher is Johan Santana. Said Danks, traded by the Rangers this winter: "It’s going to be a little tougher than it is with anybody else."
Looking behind: Sunday, besides being the celebration of the Resurrection and the 91st anniversary of the Easter Uprising in Ireland, is also an important anniversary for two momentous events in baseball.
It was 33 years ago today that Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run and 32 years ago today that Frank Robinson made his Major League debut as the manager of the Cleveland Indians. He too hit a home run as the Indians designated hitter in a 5-3 victory over the Yankees.
Birthdays: Mark Teixeira turns 27 on Wednesday; Former Rangers pitcher Jose Guzman, who now does the Spanish radio broadcasts, and Minor League field coordinator Mike Brumley were both born on April 9, 1963.
Teixeira has 140 home runs and 450 RBI so far in his career.
Most home runs before 27th birthday: 1. Alex Rodriguez 298; 2. Jimmie Foxx 266; 3. Eddie Matthews 253; 4. Albert Pujols 250; 5. Mickey Mantle 249;
Mot RBI before 27th birthday: 1. Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott 960; 3. Alex Rodriguez 872; 4. Joe DiMaggio 816; 5. George Davis 790;
Baseball’s All-Easter team
1B Mike Lamb
2B Ron Hunt
SS Rabbit Maranville
3B Lave Cross
OF Luke Easter
OF Ben Paschal
OF Johnny Hopp
C Todd Greene
P Bunny Hearn
Last call: "I was so excited I felt like a fool running around the bases like it was Little League," Alex Rodriguez after Saturday’s walkoff grand slam
T.R. Sullivan
Toby
TR…Your All Easter Team is a hoot!… I’ll save a whole new box of “Peeps” for you for that one!
…and then they started to hit the heck out of the ball…what a game last night!
It’s Easter and I shouldn’t do this but…I’m a no thug sort of guy. Some guy like Dukes who stays in trouble is not the kind of guy baseball needs. We’re solving enough problems in baseball without inviting more. I’m glad the Rangers passed on him. As you may remember I was down on Sammy Sosa but in a way that’s different because he was never found guilty…by the way I sure enjoy watching him hit…That’s just my two cents worth
I, too, am glad the Rangers passed on Dukes. At the time, you had no idea if the guy was ever going to put his troubled past behind or if he was indeed a bad apple. And, you still don’t know for sure. It’s been less than a year. But I think the Rangers can build a winner without bringing in players who might not be the type you want to market your team around.
Please explain to me why you think, Dukes would be a good story? He has been arrested 6 times, probably on each of these occasions it was his lack of judgment that placed him in position of being arrested. You also said he had been suspended 6 times, what would the suspensions have been for? drugs i would suspect. The fact that he is his own worst enemy and chooses to continually engage in criminal behavior and now supposedly is reformed is not something that should be valued. Good for him, hope that is the case. Overcoming circumstances that you yourself continue to create isn’t something that i would consider a good story. Criminals often reform and state they will reform while in jail after getting caught, only to return to the life of crime once they leave jail. The underlying issue is often substance abuse. If the guy didn’t have the skill of playing baseball, no one would care about him, he would be just another bum on the street that most of us, including yourself probably ignore and avoid at all costs.
Dukes would not be a good story.
He would be a great story.
A great, great story.
There are thousands like him, who have done terrible things and been through difficult times.
I prefer to cheer and support them as they seek to straighten out their lives.
I decline to condemn them.
The mathematical formula I believe is 70 times 7.
Such vitrolic is toxic, especially on Easter
The simplest way to put is, if a person intentionally sets fire to his own house and then rushes in to save everyone inside, should he be hailed a hero or an arsonist? With pantherparent you would say hero. I am not condeming the guy i want all people to succeed in life. I just don’t think that people who invite things upon themselves should be praised for overcoming the things that except for their own invitation would have never occurred in the first place. Steve Howe comes to mind immediately. Praise someone for overcoming Cancer. Praise someone for overcoming a difficult homelife and or poverty. Praise people who truly overcome, not someone who has a god given gift but fails to work or doesn’t have the personal discipline to develop their skills.
Elijah Dukes father went to jail when his son was 12 for shooting a crack dealer.
Enough said
I thought panthers were conservative, not liberal.