Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill
Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where those who enjoy dog-fighting are considered among the most despicable people on the planet.
* Brad Wilkerson, Gerald Laird, Frank Catalanotto and a few other Rangers will be at the Rawlings Grill after Saturday's game with the Indians. They will be signing autographs and holding a silent auction in conjunction with Disabled Sports USA, a San Antonio-based organization that works with returning wounded soldiers from Iraq.
* Jon Daniels on gossip that the Rangers are asking way too much in trades: "I'll take the high road. Some of that has to do with my tenure in the game. Some of the proposals we get, I feel I have the class and the dignity not to run to the media in the interesting of making our trading partners look bad. But we get things proposed that are worse than what we throw out there. I'm only interested in doing what's right for the Rangers. It's not like we don't make deals. We've made trades with many different people."
* Agent Scott Boras – who represents Eric Gagne and Mark Teixeira – told Yahoo's Tim Brown recently: "Extension is not a word I, uh, understand."
* Boras, talking about Gagne, also said, "He's a closer. That's what he wants to do. It would have to be a very special situation for him to leave Texas. A lot of what he wanted to do is re-establish himself."
* Gerald Laird had his ninth bunt hit of the season on Thursday. That times him with Ron Karkovice of the Chicago White Sox for most bunt hits by a catcher since at least 1974. Karkovice had nine in 1989.
* Check this out: Johnny Oates, also a catcher, had seven bunt hits, both in 1975 and 1977.
* The Rangers have 19 bunt hits, second in the league to the Twins with 20.
Sammy Sosa on growing up in the Dominican: "We really got excited when it was Winter Ball and every (Dominican) Major Leaguer would come down and that's when we would see them. I remember I was at a game when Alfredo Griffin got a standing ovation. I was with the Rangers but not yet in the big leagues. I saw that standing ovation and I thought that's what I would like. One of my dreams was to get a standing ovation like that."
* The Rangers will likely be in the market for a center fielder this winter and Eric Byrnes looks like he'll be out there. But he wants what Gary Matthews Jr. got from the Angels: five years and $50 million. The Diamondbacks want to do three years and $22 million but that's not enough because his agent said, "Eric has become one of the premier outfielders in Major League Baseball.'
* Apparently we were too quick with the Julio Franco eulogy. He's signed with the Braves and is still hoping to play until he's 50, which would be Aug. 23, 2008.
* Just for the heck of it: Kevin Elster
* The Florida Marlins would love to trade Scott Olsen, a left-hander who won 12 games as a rookie in 2006. Only problem is that in two years in the big leagues he has had separate physical confrontations with teammates Sergio Mitre, Miguel Cabrera and Randy Messenger as well as former manager Joe Girardi. He has also been suspended for insubordination and fined for making an obscene gesture to the fans.
* Astros owner Drayton McLane said he's not considering a change with general manager Tim Purpura or manager Phil Garner but said of his team, "They just need to play better. I felt that when Tim and his staff were putting together the team in November and December, I thought it would be a better team than in 2006. I thought the team had addressed some of the issues. We just have not played well. We've been on and off, and in the last several weeks, have just not played well at all. We've got to play better."
* Jim Leyland came to Minnesota this week and declared that the Twins are a great second-half team because "they have "the best manager (Ron Gardenhire) in the league. ... He's very bright, I think he runs a good game, he obviously handles players well, he's tough if he has to be, he's a great human being, he's got all the right combinations. I sincerely believe he's the best manager in the league. Now, I certainly don't want to [anger] anybody ... But I really think he's good. I think he's outstanding."
* Said Gardenhire: "I appreciate the compliment, but we all know who the really good managers are in this league. It's probably between him, and Mr. (Joe) Torre -- those guys have been doing it the longest. You don't stay in this league very long if you're not a pretty good manager, and they've been doing it a long, long time. ... I still have a lot to learn. That's obvious to the fans who write emails to me."
* Kenny Lofton is hitting .366 with a .440 on-base percentage since June 1, scoring 27 runs in 33 games.
* NBA star Charles Barkley on Barry Bonds: "'This to me has been one of the worst things I've ever seen in sports, how one guy can get so victimized, everybody in the world has turned on him, says bad things. First of all, a lot of guys were using that stuff. But they don't get the same treatment that Barry gets.''
Websters defines Trade as: an exchange, to give in return for something else, to turn in for a replacement. In no area does it mention value. So Daniels is right in saying that he makes trades with many different people. He hasn't gotten value though. He better start thinking of his "trades" as getting value for value. What replacements do we have for his trades? Other than Tejeda, Padilla, Wilkerson and Otsuka. Answer: NO ONE! In essence he is getting dealed on, not making deals! Boras, needs to realize he ain't the owner or the manager, he is just a very rich agent, with a huge ego. Who cares what he thinks or says. Sammy, I will give you a standing ovation, if you will stand up and admit that you cheated to hit 600 homers and make all of that money. TR, did you need an interpreter for his quote or was he speaking English well? Gardenhire is a stud manager, is he available? Heard La Russa and Jockety wanted to leave ST. LOUIS for Cincinnati, Ohio. Would they be interested in Texas? We missed on Jockety last time why not hire him now if he is available? You not only get him but you get that Lawyer Manager La Russa. He could handle Padilla well, they could talk about their DWI arrests. Barkley, Barkley, stick to Basketball before we get onto you about drinking before doing your analysis. I thought you were running for Governor of Alabama. Do it or go play golf with Woods and Jordan. Bonds is a miserable human being and will soon be indicted. He brought it all on himself. He is some innocent bystander, who was victimized by someone else. He should have cultivated a relationship with the media and maybe, just maybe they would have cut him some slack. Last but not least, as a 14 year Police Veteran, i am telling you people care more about animals than other human beings. Vick is in serious trouble. Did anyone see the conviction rate in the area he will be tried? Now we all know where Marcus Vicks bad act comes from? Vick is probably done in the NFL. If they give him 3 to 5 years what does that make him when he is released? Federal time is day for day, it isn't like State time which is often 3 days for one day served. If the the Feds give you 20 years, IT MEANS 20 YEARS. With the state filing charges, Vick will have to serve the Federal time first, be released into State custody to begin to serve his State time. It can't be concurrent because it is different jurisdictions. As i said, Ron Mexico is in big trouble. All of his buddies are going to cut deals and he is going to take the fall. Can't wait for the made for TV movie. Boy could he run though. Think the Falcons will miss SCHAUB? Go Texans. Run VICK, Run. I mean Ron Mexico.
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Once again, someone (this time Charles Barkley) is missing the point entirely about Barry Bonds and the way he's percieved and treated. Other players who have probably used steroids are not being vilified to the degree that Bonds is because Barry is the only one who is about to break the most hallowed (at least for now) record is sports. McGwire didn't come close to Aaron. He's been retired for 5 years and he got out of the game in the infancy of the steriod controversy. Sosa is just now at 600. Palmeiro is done. Comparing Bonds to other sluggers who may or may not have used steroids in a historical sense is apples and oranges. There's only one guy breaking the record....for now.
I'd be willing to bet dollars to dognuts that the gossip that JD is asking "the world" for his players on the trade market is coming from a rival GM or other front office personel that he's had talks with in an attempt to start negative PR that will put added pressure on Daniels to accept less in return for the Rangers veteran players. Is this dishonest? Probably. Is it a smart move? Definitely, but it's still just posturing.
Every organization is proud of it's prospects but the Rangers are proud of their veterans too. If you can't get value in return then you take the draft pick compensation when those free agents leave. Simple as that. I'd rather improve our draft status than make a deal that won't improve the organization.
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It is funny to watch ESPN debate whether the NFL or the Falcons will suspend Vick. Unfortunately, i think that this decision is going to be made for them. I love sports, but it really has gotten out of hand. If Vick is guilty, he is going to go down for gambling and cruelty to animals. Your life and how you conduct yourself is more important than a game even if it is a professional game!
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We are paying and idolizing these sports figures way too much. Much like the Roman Empire, who also valued their Gladiators. Start focusing on the real issues, like the fact that we are fighting a war over oil, won the war, took over that country in a month and are still paying $3.00 a gallon for gas!
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Regarding Barry Bonds: I've thrown out this question so many times on this blog, the radio, and NO ONE can answer it, or choose not to answer it. If listening to a Big Band radio channel geared for Seniors, and they have infomercials every single weekend for Human Growth Hormone, and tout it for wellness and vitality, AND I see HGH splashed all over Gyms, Health Food Shop shelves and Supermarkets, then WHY ON EARTH is this stuff illegal; why is Barry Bonds and other MLB Players getting indicted for being implicated on supplier's lists, and why is baseball so upset? The stuff is touted as a revitalizer, for wellness on the very station's Senior's listen to, and is readily available at Gyms, Health Food Shops, etc? I can't understand the big to-do made about this "ILLEGAL" item....UNLESS it is only about the unethical nature which might give a bit of more muscle to a slugger's biceps, thus skewing some HR records. Don't people realize that the batter must still have a great batting eye, a sterling longevity in the game, and still be able to lay bat on a ball thrown 90+ miles per hour all over the strike zone? That ain't easy my friends. I say all of the steroid and HGH clamor is much ado about nothing. It certainly shouldn't be illegal, for Heaven's sakes, otherwise every Gym, Supermarket, Health Food Shop and a Senior's oldies Radio Station's advertisers would all be indicted...and for what? I've never used a drug (well, caffeine) in all of my many years, but GEEEEZ, everyone gets so touchy about the HGH issue, because it might enhance someone's muscles. If it has a deletirous effect on athlete's health, then it shouldn't be so widespread and available in mainline venues. If Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi choose to take HGH, so what??? They mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. As Barry Bonds creeps towards the record Hank Aaron carved out, I'd personally like to say I could care less. If this substance is illegal, so be it. Take it out of all the places I've mentioned and prosecute them all. People since the beginning of time have looked for some edge, some fountain of youth when facing the aging process. So now it's illegal. What a state of affairs of Big Brother when people are dying in the Middle East trying to protect our freedom, our way of life. I wish folks would take some personal responsibility some times, and not always rely on the Government to pass laws regulating every phase of our existence. If someone at the High School level is taking "performance-enhancing" substances such as HGH to make them "stronger" or better muscle mass so they can play football or hit homeruns-fine. When they come back with bone cancer or osteoporosis or some malady in their mid-30's, they have only themselves and their parents to blame for not being a better steward of their body. Personal responsibility is what we lack in society--it's always somebody else's fault. And so it goes with MLB, and society too. When Barry breaks the HR record, I'll be watching "The Beverly Hillbillies."
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Eric Byrnes in centerfield? Someone must be kidding. Is there ANY REASON whatsoever that Kenny Lofton couldn't be resigned? He's performing very, very well. He can run. He can catch. He steals bases. What's not to like? I don't care if he's 40. Does age really make a difference if he's performing? Why sign Eric Byrnes for umpteen million dollars a year, when Kenny Lofton can still play? Unless we can sign a Tori Hunter, I vote "NO!" for unloading Kenny. Good grief--the man can still play. Why unload him? Who's path in our beloved organization is he blocking? (tick-tick-tick.....): NO ONE! Keep Kenny JD. A no-brainer.
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Excuse me for a minute... my sides are still hurting from laughing when I read the claim by Eric Byrnes' agent. One of the premier outfeilders in baseball? In what league? Tee ball? Byrnes and his agent are dreaming. Go back to the desk at Fox with Jeanne Zelasko and Kevin Kennedy, Eric. I hear your old bud from Oakland, Karros is already there.
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The MLB single season record for triples (36) was set in 1912 by Chief Wilson. The record for doubles (67) was set by Earl Webb in 1931. Since Ruth broke the HR record in 1919 with 29 the single season record has been broken seven times. Most recently in 2001. Maybe we need to spread the attention paid to career home run records out to include career leaders in 2BH and 3BH. I don't recall that it has ever been mentioned.
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I was cruising down I-20 and the Rangers had a sign that said open tryouts for tonight's starting pitcher. There was quite a line of guys out there, alot of big guts were hanging out there.
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