Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where the patrons know the most compelling individual story for the Rangers in the final weekend is if Mark DeRosa can finish with a .300 batting average.

* Overlooked this year is Mark Teixeira leads the American League with 19 game-winning RBI.

* Akinori Otsuka on Padres closer and former teammate Trevor Hoffman becoming the all-time saves leader: "I'm proud of him. The last three years he has taught me everything. In the off-season I was training with him. I think about him as a friend and a brother. I have a lot of respect for him as a pitcher and a friend."

* President Bush's high school yearbook at Phillips Academy notes that he was the Comissioner of the Stickball League.

* Rick Bauer and Scott Feldman were throwing the football in the Rangers clubhouse the other day and zipping it pretty good. Only the two right-handed pitchers were firing the pigskin left-handed, looking like Mark Brunell in doing so. Said Bauer, "I have a better slider left-handed. I can throw left-handed pretty good and I can hit both ways. My dad wouldn't let me throw a Whiffle Ball right-handed because he thought it would blow out my arm so I threw left-handed."

* Rangers bullpen coach Dom Chiti and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel are brothers-in-law. Their wives are sisters.

* Bobby Jones managed 17 years in the Minor Leagues. The one guy he's shocked didn't make it big? Answered Jones, "Ruben Mateo. When I had him in Tulsa he could do it all, run, throw, field, hit and hi for power. I can't believe what happened to him."

* Eric Young wants to play next year. But if he retires right now, he's 25th all-time with 465 stolen bases. He would need nine next year to catch Roberto Alomar.

* Gary Matthews Jr. has had at least 30 hits in each of the last five months. He never had 30 hits in a month prior to this season.

* Michael Young, as of Thursday morning, led the American League with a .415 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. That's not surprising knowing he has had a great year. But Hank Blalock is fourth with a .413 average and he is tied for eighth in the league in the number of at-bats (80) in those situations.

* Just for the heck of it: Aaron Myette.

* Everybody is singing the praises of Joe Girardi, the Florida Marlins manager who could win Manager of the Year and still get fired after just one year in the job. But it does seem strange that he has had a cool relationship with infield coach Perry Hill, a holdover from the previous regime who has a reputation for being the best in the business at teaching defense.

* Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky inherited Jerry Narron as his manager and they never knew each other before being thrust into their current working relationship. Word is they hit it off well and Krivsky is quite happy with Narron as his manager. Both used to work for the Rangers but never at the same time.

* The Chicago Cubs aren't expected to pick up Kerry Wood's option and will likely make him a free agent. Wood, who thinks he should pitch in relief to reduce the stress on his arm, was born in Irving and pitched at Grand Prairie. The Rangers could use him but he is talking very loudly about how he would like to stay with the Cubs next season and beyond.

* Roger Clemens on the possibility of retirement: "I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I'm not going to say a whole lot right now. Hopefully I'll have the ball in my hands one more time. I don't know where it's going to be."

* Former Rangers Al Oliver and Bobby Bonds are among the 27 players who are on the Veteran's ballot this winter for the Hall of Fame. Former manager Billy Martin is among the 15 candidates who will be voted on seperately as managers, umpires and executives.

* Personal opinion: Cubs third baseman Ron Santo is the one player not in the Hall of Fame that deserves to be in there. As for the other group, Martin might be a worthy choice but **** Williams has to be in the Hall of Fame.

* Reds pitcher Aaron Harang goes into Friday's start with a record of 15-11, 3.83 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 2251/3 innings. Yes, the Rangers traded him and one other player to the Oakland Athletics on Nov. 17, 2000 for second baseman Randy Velarde. The Athletics traded him and two other players to the Reds on June 30, 2003 for outfielder Jose Guillen.

* Michael Young on getting his 100th RBI: "I'm usually right around 100 RBI but this is the first time I've past it so it means a lot because it means I'm in the field. To rack up those kinds of numbers you have to be on the field a lot."

* Before there were cellphones, reporters used to have to go through Judy Johns to talk to the general manager. She always pretended to be gruff and act like your request wasn't important. But there were occasions when I needed to talk to the general manager and get a story done before I could attend one of my son's athletic events that evening. I was honest and told her that. I was never late to my son's event. Not one single time. Ever.