Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where we are introducing a new lo-cal blue plate special just for Jim Reeves.

* Rangers general manager Jon Daniels on the number of injures this season: “I know there were a lot of frustrated people but a few years ago our medical staff was recognized by their peers as one of the best in baseball. This season we saw a lot of injuries. Part of that was the type of player we brought in but it was frustrating not being able to count on the same 25 guys all the time. Hopefully we can look back in a 3-4-5 year period and see that it was a fluke.”

* Ian Kinsler is over his sports hernia and is working out regularly with Michael Young and Chris Davis.

* Young said Kinsler will win a Gold Glove for the Rangers some day. That will be a first. The Rangers have never had a Gold Glove second baseman. That’s the only position they’re missing.

* Jim Sundberg, a six-time Gold Glove winner, “Rarely do you win a Gold Glove that you don’t deserve. It’s more likely that you won’t win one in a year that you deserve it.”

* Yes it was surprising that nobody listed Chris Davis or David Murphy on their Rookie of the Year ballots. The Rangers haven’t had an American League Rookie of the Year since Mike Hargrove in 1974. Actually they’ve only had five players since then who received at least one first place vote: Bump Wills (1977), Pat Putnam (1979), Oddibe McDowell (1095), Rusty Greer (1994) and Mark Teixeira (2003).

* There are eleven free agent pitchers out there who have won 20 games in a season at least once in their careers. Combined, those 11 pitchers have a total of 23 20-win seasons among them. Mike Mussina was the only one to do it last. Only three came within the last five years.

* You know of course that Tom Glavine has five of those 20-win seasons, most of any active pitcher.

The Braves took Glavine in the second round of the 1984 draft. He was the 47th pick overall. Not sure who Jimmy Meadows is but he was the pitcher who was taken with the 40th overall pick. Yes, you know by which team.

* Who are the 11 free agent pitchers with at least one 20-win season? Glavine (5), Randy Johnson (3), Curt Schilling (3), Greg Maddux (2), Jamie Moyer (2), Andy Pettitte (2), Pedro Martinez (2), Bartolo Colon (1), Jon Lieber (1), Mark Mulder and Mussina.

* Just for the heck of it: Steve Hargan.

* On Nov. 15, 1886, the Cincinnati Red Stocking of the American Association traded rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400 to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Hugh Nicol. So? That apparently was the first trade in baseball history.

* You also remembered on Veteran’s Day that 66 of the 228 players enshrined in the Hall of Fame served in the Armed Forces.

* They are asking $2,450 on e-Bay for an autographed baseball from Sen. Barack Obama. You have 21 days to bid.

* Jack Daniels whiskey is made in Lynchburg, Tenn. and Moore County. It’s a dry city and county.

* Three months to Spring Training, which means plenty of time to watch every single episode of Barney Miller, which is now free at www.imdb.com.

* C.J. Wilson’s Guitar Hero Battle of the Bands goes off at 7 p.m. tonight at the Diamond Club at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Contestants compete for the champion title of Xbox 360′s Guitar Hero World Tour. Bands perform in front of a panel of judges, impressing them with rockin’ high scores, crazy “guitar” playing skills and stage showmanship. Tickets available at the door for a $10 donation per person. For an extra $20 donation, attendees may enter a raffle for a chance to win a 30-minute ride with Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson in a $400,000 605HP Porsche Carrera GT.