Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill
* Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where the patrons always say: Spahn, Sain and a cocktail in the rain.
* Remember the Senior Professional Baseball League, a one-year experiment that flopped in the winter of 1989-90? Remember who the Most Valuable Player of the League was? That's right, Ron Washington. He hit .359 with five home runs and a league-leading 73 RBI in 67 games.
* Washington played for the West Palm Beach Tropics, who were managed by **** Williams and owned by John Henry. They were 52-20 but lost a one-game league championship playoff game. Mickey Rivers, Toby Harrah, Pete Broberg and Lee Lacy were also on that team.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers are hot after pitcher Vicente Padilla.
* Washington talks about being a "player's manager," and interesting is what George Plimpton wrote in Paper Lion, one of the best books ever written about pro football. Wrote Plimpton: "The players say that of Vince Lombardi of the Packers. That he was once a players' coach, and that the pressure in Green Bay changed him into a martinet…removed him from his players."
* Plimpton was talking at the time with Lions coach George Wilson, who observed: "After awhile the coach can't take the losses out on himself. So he turns on his players. He forgets that his players are men. And he also forgets that once he was a player."
* Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver said this: "A manager's job is simple. For 162 games you try not to screw up all that smart stuff your organization did last December."
* Thomas Edison was a huge baseball fan. Said there was a time when he could name every player on every team in both leagues. He also created the first baseball movie The Ball Game in 1898
* Oddibe McDowell started 462 games in center field for the Rangers. That's still the most in club history. The Rangers signed Gary Pettis to a three-year contract after the 1989 season. That's the last time one of their center fielders has had a multi-year contract.
* Ron Washington: "Our goal is to win the division. We don't need to worry about winning the World Series. We need to win the division first. After that, anything can happen. Just look at the last six teams that won the World Series."
* Just for the heck of it: Nick Capra.
* Washington on his time at the Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy: "We started out learning baseball on the chalk board. By the time I left there, I knew what every player at every position on the field was supposed to do on every ball that was hit in every situation."
* Yankees manager Joe Torre on Alex Rodriguez: "I told him a number of times...you don't need to do it all yourself. If you do happen to fail one at-bat, let it go and come back the next time."
* Robert Redford went to the University of Colorado as a pitcher on a baseball scholarship but was kicked off the team for drinking too much. He was in the same class at Van Nuys High School as Hall of Famer Don Drysdale.
* Nice gesture, Barry Zito calling Washington and telling him that he would like to pitch for the Rangers. But those who know him well still say he's not coming to Texas.
* Trey Hillman on not getting the Rangers job: "It will happen somewhere if it's supposed to happen."
* Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried several times to get comedian Bob Hope to buy the Washington Senators and keep them from coming to Texas. Hope wasn't interested.
* Al Oliver's .346 batting average was the highest for anybody with a minimum of 120 plate appearances at the old Arlington Stadium.
* Kenny Rogers is 53-27 at Ameriquest and everybody talks about how he was a perfect fit here. But Aaron Sele was 27-12 and Rick Helling was 37-20. Both were right-handers. They are both free agents.
* Ken Griffey Sr. was hoping to land a spot on Washington's staff but the position is going to Gary Pettis instead.
* Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola Sr. are St. Louis icons but the Cardinals have to keep them separated. Apparently they had a business venture go sour in the 1970's and still aren't speaking to each other.
* In 1896, Professor Charles Hinton of Princeton University mounted a short breech-loading cannon on a two-wheeled carriage. The bore was not rifled but smooth. Yes, that was the first pitching machine. The speed of the ball depended on the amount of gun powder used.
A couple of comments to your mix of topics:
1)I always wondered why Al Oliver never came back to visit the Rangers for an old-timers day, or any other functions. He was always one of my favorites, and quite a hitter, too.
2)Aaron Sele pitched well for the Rangers, though was prone to the gopher ball at times. Still, he kept the team in the game with numerous quality starts.
3)If the Rangers are looking for "bargains", why not look at Ryan Drese, Rick Helling and Aaron Sele. I'll bet they'd come back with incentive-laden contracts.
4)I still say Rusty Greer, Will Clark and/or Mark McLemore should have been somewhere on the Rangers' staff, not only for their grit, savvy, leadership, but, hey, they are our ONLY link to success in terms of winning a division.
5)Why not package Brad Wilkerson, Joaquin Benoit, and Hank Blalock together and try to either save money so we can sign DeRosa and Matthews, or trade them for a Jake Peavy-like pitcher. I'm personally very tired of watching Brad whiff or take strike three and tired of Benoit's ups and mostly downs.
6)Please let's say an emphatic "NO" to any talk of either A-Fraud or Barry Bonds coming to cause problems on our team.
7)If the Rangers don't make a top priority of re-signing Vicente Padilla, a true and effective workhorse, and no.2 starter, then they aren't really serious about winning. He showed what he can do in the heat,and in the jinx that is a Texas Ranger uniform.
8)I WANT TO PLACE IN NOMINATION a move BACK to Ranger Red, the uniforms we actually WON with.
9)I'll never forget watching "Mick-the-Quick" Rivers twirling the bat after he swung and missed. He tore down the lines like a gunshot....causes me to wonder why Alfonso Soriano just shuffled and jogged. To me, Mickey was more valuable due to his all-out effort. Of course, I'd love to have Alfonso, but Mick was the best I feel.
10)Please, let's bunt, sacrifice and play for one run this year. I get so tired of swinging for the fences (listening Hank?) when the situation calls for moving the runner, bunting, etc. That's the end, finally.
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The rain in Spahn falls mainly in the Sain?
No. I don't believe in luck. ' No faith in jinxes. Call me apostate.
Changing the jersey for another team's has usually turned out well for young players because they're a year more developed. We've given up on them too soon, so we've paid mucho to serve as their training ground. Two years ago Benoit was excellent but injured. Last year he was relatively healthy but tentative. To trade him this year would only increase your superstition, as he puts together health and excellence. Hoe around it, and give the fig tree one more year.
As for Wilkerson and Hank, trading them post surgery, and pre-proof of health (or lack thereof) would be to trade them when their value is at an all-time low and their potential at an all-time high. Isn't that what's called a sleeper?
While I've said we need to begin our Winter with a trade that starts the ball of attracting free agents rolling, I've been mistaken to suggest Hank for that, b/c he (like Wilk) needs Spring to prove his greatest worth (to us or anyone else).
I will say it should be more Rudy's call than anyone's. Mr. Washington's quote of "mine, all mine" (regarding Hank) suggests it's Blalock's fielding (rather than his hitting against lefties) that's been suspect. But he's been superb at fielding when healthy, no?
While I was glad to see our mgr's fondness for Hank, I was confused by the focus on Hank's defense.
p.s. Are we really only seeking 2 starters? How about bringing back Kip Wells as a low-priced sleeper for insurance?
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If Robert Redford is hanging around the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill - I'm applying for a job as a waitress.
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Bob hangs out here but word is he's a lousy tipper
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