Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill
Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where a case of B game fever is sweeping through the crowd.
* Kevin Mench, Nelson Cruz and Jason Botts all made the trip to Tucson on Thursday. But Mench was in the starting lineup while Cruz and Botts were late-inning replacements. Still feels like Mench has the inside track for the last spot on the bench.
* Watch for this to be considered: If the Rangers send Jarrod Saltalamacchia back to Triple A for more development time, it would seem obvious that Adam Melhuse will be the backup catcher. But where would that leave Taylor Teagarden? Double A. Maybe. But he could also make the Major League team as the backup catcher. That might be batted around by club officials.
* Rookie left-hander Matt Harrison gave up five runs in 21/3 innings against the Brewers on Wednesday but that didn't lower pitching coach Mark Connor's opinion of him. Said Connor: "He kept coming after them. He didn't back off. He got some balls in the middle of the plate but his stuff is good. He just needs to pitch and gain experience. He's not afraid."
* Michael Young on Josh Hamilton: "He's already one of the guys. He's got a great attitude and work ethic."
* Gerald Laird, a native of Southern California, is absolutely convinced that the Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA title. Said Laird, "They are the only team with the best all-around player in the league, a couple of big men and they have outside shooting. What else do they need?"
* Young's favorite ballpark to visit is Fenway Park while Kevin Millwood prefers Wrigley Field.
* Jerry Hairston Jr. had to wait three weeks into Spring Training to get a job before signing with the Reds and said, "It was a little strange. But I wanted to make sure I found the right fit, too. I wasn't going to just sign to sign. I was a little more patient. I wanted to get into a situation I thought would work. Hopefully, in Cincinnati, things will work out."
* The Rangers have dedicated their 2008 media guide to three people who passed away in the past year: photographer Linda Kaye, 11-year employee Matt McKee and Cecilia Newton, wife of Rangers photographer Brad Newton.
* The Rangers have awarded a Player of the Month over the past ten seasons. That's a total of 60 months (six per season) and a pitcher has won the award just 11 times. That includes just one (C.J. Wilson, July 2007) in the last 13 months.
* Just for the heck of it: Oddibe McDowell.
* David Murphy struck out twice against White Sox knuckleballers Charlie Haerger and joked, "I'm just setting him up for the regular season."
* Enjoying that rare March snowstorm in Texas? There was a time when teams had to conduct Spring Training in the snow. That was in World War II when travel restrictions kept teams from going south. Among the training sites were Wallingford, Ct. (Red Sox), Lakewood, N.J. (Giants), Bear Mountain, N.Y. (Dodgers) and French Lick, Ind. (White Sox).
* The St. Louis Cardinals announced on March 6, 1923 that their players would wear numbers on the back of their uniforms. The numbers would correspond to their spot in the batting order. That was how it started. Didn't know that? Why do you think Babe Ruth wore No. 3 and Lou Gehrig wore No. 4 for the Yankees. Part of the tradition still holds. Why do you think you almost never see pitchers wearing a single-digit uniform number?
* Former Rangers public relations director Gregg Elkin has re-emerged in the same job with the Chicago Fire of the Major Soccer League.
* The Rangers were 33-15 at home after June 20 last year. Only Colorado had a better record in that stretch at their home park.
* A replica of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will open Friday in Mansfield as a part of the Big League Dreams Ballpark.
I'm glad Josh Hamilton has been so openly welcomed in the clubhouse. Hopefully that will translate to the fans as well. I think he will have a huge impact this season.
I'm also glad to see the media guide dedications. I didn't know Linda or Matt, but as a friend of Brad's, I know the honor will mean a lot to him. He does great work for the team.
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TR, a couple of comments:
1) At this point (even though I still think Nelson Cruz could very well blossom into a really good player), I hope Kevin Mench does make it as the starter in right field. Why? I'm for the person who is more productive REGARDLESS OF AGE. I'm through "waiting" for some player who could help us in 2 or 3 years, or feeling that some productive player (Sammy Sosa, for example) is "blocking" the path for the unproductive (Jason Botts, for example). I'm all about producing, and if Mench is the guy, so what? I think that's great. Let the best man win it.
2) I'm sorry, but Salty should be the starting first baseman. He was THE Atlanta Brave top prospect, and that should tell us something. He is a power hitter, a switch hitter, and with the proper tutelage (Steve Smith, Will Clark, for example) could well develop into a top-flight first baseman for years and years to come. Broussard should back-up, and this would enable Gerald Laird (the proper and logical and productive choice) to catch full-time. I've already spelled out all the defensive pluses and offensive pluses that Gerald brings offensively, and this eliminates the Laird-Salty "contest" for starting catcher. It is nothing short of ridiculous to have a "contest" when Gerald is proven, and Salty's ceiling is way up there at first, while Broussard's is a capable back-up. Therefore, I've solved the catching and first base situations. I'd hope there would be some agreement on this point with others here.
3) As to the Rangers' Media Guide honoring longtime Fort Worth Star-Telegram photographer Linda Kaye. I knew her casually, and once when I visited the Sixth Floor Museum, in a mural-sized photo of President Kennedy speaking outside the Worth Hotel the morning he was shot, if you look really closely, one of the photographers was right there up front, Linda Kaye. I suppose she was a Paschal High School student in the photography department, taking photos, as back then, it was a major event in Fort Worth for a President of the U. S. to visit us here. She graduated the year my oldest brother did, and he too is deceased. As a child, I remember her in Tom Landry's face when I went to the Cowboy's Cotton Bowl days; in all of my 45+ years of season tickets at the T.C.U. basketball and football games, she'd be right there near the bench, snapping away. Also taking photos of Glen Campbell, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, etc. at the Colonial Golf Tournament/Pro-Am, was Linda, snapping away. I would attend the old Fort Worth Wings Central Hockey League Games and there was Linda once again, always there with her many cameras dangling around her neck. And there, of course, was Linda, in the photographer's bay by the dugout at both Arlington Stadium and at The Ballpark, always devoted to snapping the correct picture at the precise time. I didn't get to know her as well as I should, but I was around her for over 45+ years, not too far away. She felt like family, and she was, actually, as her photos will always be remembered, and her devotion to her career and bringing excellent photographic memories will always be remembered and treasured. Linda, God Bless and Rest in Peace.
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I did not know any of those who are now gone that are being honored in the media guide so I'll let the others here who did continue the eloquence already begun. I do know that no one ever knows how many lives that a person has touched until they are gone...
As far as baseball goes, Bingo, I agree on your points. I am on record as saying Salty didn't look good at first last year but a prospect like that needs to be brought along intelligently. So, to put it bluntly for those in a position to do something, GET THE KID SOME COACHING!
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