Tuesday in the desert
The Rangers are planning on Milton Bradley making his Cactus League debut on Friday as a designated hitter.
Michael Main, one of the Rangers two first round picks from last year, has a stress fracture in his ribcage and will likely be sidelined until the end of May.
Sidney Ponson has been named Friday's starter against the Angels. Vicente Padilla will pitch in a Minor League game that day.
Dang. At least it's not a elbow or shoulder. When does Spokane start their season, TR? Sometime in June?
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We were at today's game. This is our first trip out to a Rangers ST but we came to TX from AZ so it is nice to catch up with some old friends.
Baseball wise:
Mendoza looked good today. Working with a nice tempo.
Botts at first was a pleasant surprise. He made all of the plays plus a great stop in the hole that only Tex would have made out of all the guy's to play 1st since he left and Botts looks completely comfortable. He left a 1 out runner on 3rd but Ducscherer wasn't giving him muct to hit. This has got to create something for the front office to think about if he keeps having days like today.
Hank looks really ready. His rbi 2 bagger today was a bullet.
Josh Hamilton is the real deal. Center field at the Ballpark may have met its match. He ran down a gapper today and threw in behind a runner that only went halfway and made it REALLY close. Didn't get the call but the A's will remember that one. He didn't have a great day at the plate but you can tell he is starting to make opposing pitchers nervous when he is up there.
Gerald Laird needs to be our opening day catcher.
little things for him today:
Working a walk that turned into a run.
Throwing behind runners and keeping them close. No A's baserunner even thought about going today
1st to 3rd on a single hit behind him.
Making the opposing pitcher keep throwing over when he was on...
Laird bashers, please come watch this guy play with an objective eye, then form an opinion.
I would not want to be the guy who has to make the calls on this year's outfield. We could go tomorrow with Josh, Shrek, Murphy, and Byrd and stack up with anyone in the league. Bradley at this point really complicates an issue that in any other year would be a no-brainer.
Team leadership and chemistry looks to be evolving. When the regulars left and headed for the clubhouse, MY, Ian, and Josh took every opportunity to sign for KIDS. All 3 stayed out signing through most of the top half of the inning and tried to make sure they got as many as possible before the powers that be hustled them off. Hank and several others hesitated and would have signed if asked. Lot of folks in the stands took notice judging by the amount of positve talk about players taking the time for something like that...This was all after what was probably their longest game before subs in ST.
Can't wait 'til Thursday. Hopefully a lot of guy's will make the trip.
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Sean, when I was in Spring Training, I was with friends who are fans of several different teams. I saw 5 other teams besides the Rangers. No other team had the player/fan interaction the Rangers showed. Everywhere I went I heard compliments of our boys, and how genuine and down to earth they were. Lots of fans from other teams were upset with their players because they were not like the Rangers. At one game, Gerald Laird had to leave before we got to talk to him. He told us he would be back. After going in the clubhouse and getting his stuff for the bus, he came back out and looked for us to sign our stuff and talk for a min. This actually became one of the prevailing themes of ST. One friend said she was gonna be writing to her front office to make the Mariners more like the Rangers and quit being so high and mighty and stuck up. I told em all...it's just the Texas Way!
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