Poor Toby's Almanac...Dog Night at The Ballpark

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 and on Sunday night he will be out in left field at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Come meet Toby if you are there.

Dog Night: As many as 600 dogs have signed up for Dog Night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Sunday. Toby will be among those in attendance as the Rangers go for only their second sweep of the season when they take on the Milwaukee Brewers. The Rangers swept the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the season.

The Week That Is: Speaking of sweeps, the Rangers go on the road to the National League this week, taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates first in a three-game series that starts Tuesday at PNC Park and then playing the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series that starts on Friday at Great American Ballpark.

The Rangers have been to both places once before. The swept a three-game series from the Pirates in 2002 and lost a three-game series to the Reds in 2004. The Rangers also swept a three-game series from the Pirates in Arlington back in 2004. So they are 6-0 against Pittsburgh all-time.

Jerry Narron was the Rangers manager when they swept the Pirates. Now he is the manager of the Reds.

The Oracle of the Elysian Fields: "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times." Mark Twain.

Melhuse No. 66: Adam Melhuse joins the Rangers this week and when he finally gets behind the plate, he will be the 66th catcher in club history. The Rangers have used 65 catchers through their first 5,600 games.

Jim Sundberg and Ivan Rodriguez have combined to start 2,774 games for the Rangers or approximately 49.53 percent of every game in franchise history. Sundberg started 1,395 games while Rodriguez started 1,379 games. Geno Petralli is third all-time with 419 starts.

Among others who have been behind the mask were infielders Scott Sheldon, Jim Anderson, Roy Smalley and Lenny Randle. Plus Mike Lamb. Remember that experiment? Cecil Espy the center fielder caught one game. So did Joe Lovitto.

Mickey Tettleton caught three games, started one. Mark Parent caught three games, including one start. Remember him. The Rangers acquired him in the off-season before the 1991 season and he blew out his knee in Spring Training. Didn't make it back until late September. There was Ned Yost, who had excessive eye lid tension. Plus some who were good for other teams: Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike Stanley, Darrell Porter and Dave Valle.

Then there was Hal King. He was the first catcher in Rangers history, way back in that first game on April 15, 1972. He was also the cleanup hitter even though he had hit just five home runs for the Atlanta Braves in 1971. Frank Howard, who had hit 26 home runs for the Senators in 1971, batted fifth. King made 34 starts in all for the Rangers, tied for 19th all-time with Alomar.

Birthdays: Damon Buford, member of the great 1996 team, is 37 on Tuesday. Rangers Minor League hitting coordinator Scott Coolbaugh is 41 on Wednesday. Wade Boggs (49), Andy Pettitte (35), Dusty Baker (58), Brett Butler (50) and Lance Parrish (51) celebrate on Thursday. Kerry Wood is 35 and Calvin Schiraldi is 45 on Friday. Former Rangers shortstop Manny Lee is 42 on Saturday. Joe Charboneau is 52.

The No-Hitters: Monday will celebrate two historic no-hitter anniversaries.
It is the 69th anniversary of Johnny Vander Meer's first of two consecutive no-hitters and it is the 17th anniversary of Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter. He pitched it on June 11, 1990 for the Rangers against the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum.

Ryan walked two and struck out 14 in just his second start after coming off the disabled list with a bad back.

Vander Meer's first no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds was at Crosley Field against the Boston Braves. He walked three, struck out four and did not let a batter get past first base. Four nights later he pitched for the Reds in the first night game every played at Ebbets Field. He struck out eight but walked seven. He walked the bases loaded in the ninth but Leo Durocher popped out to end the game.

Ryan almost matched Vander Meer's feat. He pitched his second no-hitter on July 15, 1973 and then, pitching on just three days rest, took the mound on July 19 against the Baltimore Orioles and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Mark Belanger broke it up with a single.

Ryan lost the game, 3-1, in 11 innings. He allowed just three hits in 102/3 innings. He said it was the only time in his career that he went out and deliberately tried to throw a no-hitter.

Trade Deadline: You're old if you remember when June 15 was the big trade deadline day, not July 31. Among the players who got traded on June 15 were Keith Hernandez, Tom Seaver and Lou Brock. That's right Cubs fans. Thursday is the 43rd anniversary of the famous Cubs-Cardinals that sent Brock from St. Louis to Chicago for pitcher Ernie Brogolio.

Last Call: "I've always have been a firm believer that the game has never belonged to the owners. It has never belonged to the ballplayers. It belongs to that guy who puts up his money up on the window and says, 'How much does it cost to sit in the bleachers?' That is who owns baseball. And it has got to be kept that way." Johnny Vander Meer.