Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill
Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where a cold one always awaits Avery Johnson.
* Nolan Ryan on Rangers owner Tom Hicks: "I've always said the owner is the owner, and whatever the owner wants is what is going to happen. But Tom has always tried to distance himself to a degree from the ballclub. He has left the responsibility to (Jon Daniels) and myself to set the direction more."
* When Juan Gonzalez set the Rangers club record with 158 RBI in 1998, he had one RBI for every 3.86 at-bats. Josh Hamilton has an RBI for every 3.69 at-bats this year. That's would be the highest ratio in club history.
* Actually Gonzalez's RBI rate in 1998 was only the fourth best in club history. He was better in 1996 when he had an RBI every 3.76 at-bats. Rafael Palmeiro had one every 3.82 at-bats in 1999.
* President Grover Cleveland: "What do you imagine the American people would think of me if I wasted my time going to the ballgame."
* Oakland pitcher Chad Gaudin on Frank Thomas' first triple in six years: "That was priceless. I don't think I saw him beat one out in 2006, much less triple. He told me a couple of days ago, 'I can run now,' and I said, 'Really? After 15 years, all of a sudden you can run now?' It's impressive."
* The Athletics have had 17 20-win seasons since 1971. The Rangers have had three. The Athletics have had nine different pitchers win 20 games. Again the Rangers had just three.
* Babe Ruth, 60 years ago: "Ball players should get all they can in the way of salaries from their bosses and there should be no ceiling on salaries."
* Rangers first basemen hit .176 in April with a .324 slugging percentage. Both were the lowest in the league. Next were .188 (Tampa Bay) and .347 (Kansas City). They also have 12 RBI in 30 games. Rangers first basemen have driven in at least 93 per season every year since the 1994-95 strike.
* Yes it was on this date in 1939 that Lou Gehrig took himself out of the lineup after playing in 2,130 consecutive games. Nine years prior to that, Indians shortstop Joe Sewell took himself out of the lineup with a fever of 102 degrees. He had played in 1,103 straight games and was actually ahead of Gehrig.
* Of course you know on that same May 2, 1930, the first night game was played under permanent lights. It was a Minor League game in Des Moines, Iowa. About 12,000 showed up for the Depression-era game instead of the usual 600 or so.
* Just for the heck of it: Bob Tewksbury.
* Brewers manager Ned Yost on struggling infielder Rickie Weeks: "I couldn't care less about the numbers. If I didn't know, I'd think he's hitting .270, .280. The loud outs and loud base hits stick in your mind much more than the quiet ones."
* Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay has lost three straight complete games. Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich lost seven straight complete games in 1975.
* What Halladay has done has happened twice in Rangers history. Gaylord Perry lost three straight complete games in 1976 and Jon Matlack lost three straight in 1978.
* You also saw that Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb has won his first six games. The last Ranger to win his first six games of the season was Rick Helling in 1998. He finished with 20 wins overall. Kevin Brown won five straight to start the 1990 season but finished with just 12.
* Angels third baseman Brandon Wood on shortstop Erick Aybar: "I just call him Web Gem."
* Remember Ted Cox, an infielder for the Red Sox in 1977? Me neither. But he holds the Major League record with six straight hits in his first six Major League at-bats. Brandon Boggs fell two short of matching that.
Mr Sullivan, you post at 4.45 am?? Where on earth do you hang out - or don't you sleep? (My excuse? I'm in Australia. G'day!)
Interesting comment from Mr Ryan. So Hicks at least "tries" to keep his grubby little fingers to himself. But not too hard...But from what I've seen and read about Mr Ryan, he has the integrity to tell Hicks to butt out or he would resign.
PS I'm also a Chelsea fan(raised about a mile from their stadium). Loved what they did to Liverpool!
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Yay! Des Moines makes the Friday Happy Hour! Ha ha. Sorry, I get a little excited at the mention of my home state.
I wish Tom Hicks would distance himself a little more. Maybe completely.
Josh Hamilton is just plain awesome.
I'm excited to watch Brandon Boggs and see if he can keep this up.
- Micah
http://baseballismyboyfriend.blogspot.com
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It's good to see Brandon Boggs off to a hot start. John Mayberry got promoted to Oklahoma to take Boggs' spot and is off to a good start as well hitting 290/350/559 between Oklahoma and Frisco.
Grover Cleveland may not have known how to have a good time, but he was on the $1000 bill.
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The more and more, Nolan opens his mouth, the more convinced i am that he is a public relations ploy. Daniels and Washington should have been fired last week period end of story. But what does the franchise do? Hires a VP of Marketing and Community Development Petroskey. Could it be that the season ticket sales are in the toilet? Wow, just shows where the focus is, it obviously isn't on the field. Hey TR, i am assuming that you meant pitchers who have had 20 win seasons, not 20 win seasons. I think we will at least win 20 games this year, hopefully. At this rate winning 11 out of 30 puts us at 60 plus wins. Those numbers would look good for a team that is rebuilding, but we aren't. Anybody else wonder why we have had only 3 pitchers ever win 20 games or more for us? Well here is an answer or a question. How many FORMER Ranger starters have won 20 or more games? Start with Jenkins, Perry, Brown, Righetti, and Darling. How many 20 win seasons are Danks and Volquez going to have? Remember Volquez is 4-0. Sure looks like the front of a rotation guy to me. Whoever told you he was a marginal prospect at best should be fired. I am not against Hamilton, what i am against is how the Rangers always have to belittle the guy they are trading, say he is marginal, say he won't be missed, then the guys goes out and starts 4-0. I think it is being done purposefully, but if it isn't then the scouting department is missing terribly on these guys. So far for those who are keeping track Gonzalez, Young, Soriano, Galaragga and Tex all gone from this roster with only, Salt who evidently is a platoon player. Why isn't he at least DHing or playing first base when he isn't catching? Blows the mind.
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Just for the heck of it Adrian Gonzalez, the former #1 overall pick who was GIVEN to the Padres. Well here are his numbers here with the Rangers who really gave him a chance. 69 Games, 192 AB's, 44 Hits, 7 HR, 24 RBI's and a .229 BA. Just for the heck of it, Jason Botts, who isn't Adrian but is eerily similar 93 Games, 282 AB's 65 Hits, 5 HR's, 38 RBI's and a .230 BA. All San Diego did was give Mr. Gonzo some consistent playing time and he took the next step. I am not saying that Botts is going to be an Adrian Gonzalez, but i am saying HE DID NOT GET A CONSISTENT CHANCE HERE. The way Broussard is playing and the fact that we don't have a first baseman, then it is crazee to let Botts go. Couldn't we have let him play first base every freaking day the rest of this year? Would it really have hurt anything? If you are rebuilding and have a young big switch hitter, YOU DON"T FREAKING CUT HIM, period end of story. Can Daniels really afford for Botts to go to some team and hit 15 to 20 home runs???????????The more things change the more they stay the same. RIDICULOUS.
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Hey D'god...It appears that the Rangers are 11-29 and not 30, as your post reads, unless you are forecasting the future! Simple mistake I know but at least you were close.
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If Botts goes somewhere and hits 20 home runs it will be with a AAA team period end of story. He has to shorten his swing from the left side or he'll never hit major league pitching. If he hasn't made that adjustment by his 4th go round in the majors at the age of 27, then it's not likely to happen. I'd have like to see him get consistent playing time, but it looks like he's the second coming of David McCarty. He had some good moments this year and in the 2 months last year where he got to play, but when you couple that with his age and lack of defense, it's not enough to justify taking up a spot on the 40 man roster. Hopefully Chris Davis is deemed ready by September and the Ben Broussard era will come to an end.
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Cracked record, dgod. You simply repeat yourself over and over again. But I do find it interesting that Mr Ryan has gone from being the hope of the future to a "public relations ploy". What's going on?
Besides, you would hate it if the Rangers had a good season. You'ld be like King Gama in Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida. "Ahhhhh! Doesn't the day seem lank and long, when all goes right, and nothing goes wrong. And isn't your life extremely flat, with nothing whatever to grumble at."
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did any of yall see that catch that hamilton made? he is a leader and a good player to have on a baseball team.
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Great catch, great presence of mind to get up and double the runner off at first. He does something impressive every single game.
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Ham is a player, but that end of the rotation guy is 4-1, if he wins 8 more then he would be a front of the rotation type of guy on this team. Which is more important? Offense or pitching? This guy is lights out as a hitter and fielder, but what is the team record 12-18? Where are the pitchers on this team? If you don't find some then Ham is just another great player on a horrible team. So what.
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Washington's second season class A managerial record 59/76 for a .437 record. Is he really the answer here?
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The Ham for Volquez trade appears to be a rare hit for JD. Sure it burns to see Volquez having success in Cincinnatti, but who in the heck thinks he would be doing anything close to that here? We're still a long ways away, but Ham is definitely a step in the right direction. Also, real impressed with that throw Salty made last night on the strike throw out double play. Trade Laird...
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