Heading off to New York for the last dance at Yankee Stadium...

1. Yankees, Orioles, Angels White Sox before the All-Star break. Tough stretch. Will the Rangers have a winning record at the All-Star break?

2. What's your take on Scott Feldman as a starting pitcher?

3. Do you think Max Ramirez should share equal playing time with Jarrod Saltalamacchia?

4. Are you concerned that Josh Hamilton is starting to wear down?

5. Do you have any special memories of Yankee Stadium or just five playoff losses?

 

 

 

After seeing the pitching coach discussion during Friday's Happy Hour, decided we need a dog's primer on pitching coaches.

* Manager Ron Washington, at the end of last season, was told he could replace any coaches. He wanted Mark Connor back. The two got off to a slow start but were working much better together at the end of the season. Washington gained a healthy respect for Connor's knowledge and worth ethic.

* Leo Mazzone? Not a good idea. He had issues at the end of his time in Atlanta and again in Baltimore. His resume is attractive but let's not go there.

* Simple lesson learned about pitching coaches in 20 years of covering baseball: every pitching coach reaches and improves some pitchers, but misses out on others. They connect with some, fail on others.

* Nolan Ryan loved Tom House, the Mad Scientist with the Ph.D who had a million different theories and tried them all out with the Rangers. Others found him to be be a bit over their heads.

* Kenny Rogers didn't flourish as a Major League pitcher until House was gone and Claude Osteen was named pitching coach.

* Osteen was the old-style pitching coach who brought relative simplicity and the Dodgers approach to his staff. The Rangers had a 4.28 ERA in 1993 and Osteen was regarded as an excellent pitching coach. The Rangers had a 5.45 ERA in 1994 and Osteen was out the door.

* Rick Peterson was considered a genius with the Athletics - Barry Zito loved him - and a flop with the Mets. Some said he was too much of a self-promoter. Obviously he knows Washington well from their days with the Athletics.

* Bobby Valentine really wanted Mel Stottlemyre as his pitching coach.

* The typical pitching coaches loves his pitchers in Spring Training then grumbles about them being "fifth starters at best" in August.

* The Rangers won three division titles in 1996 and 1998-99 with Dick Bosman as their pitching coach. He was joined to the hip with manager Johnny Oates. Everything was great until the Rangers fell to last place in 2000. Then his pitchers turned against him and Oates, despite great personal anguish, fired him at the end of the season.

* People don't realize how much Oates agonized over that decision but Bosman was never held in high esteem by general manager Doug Melvin. The GM allowed Oates to pick his own coaches - every single one of them - but lobbied against Bosman from the start.

* Bosman to a pitcher on a mound visit: "I don't know what you're doing out here but Johnny doesn't like it so you better try something else."

* Larry Hardy replaced Dick Bosman. The Rangers had the lowest ERA in Spring Training in 2001 and owner Tom Hicks told everybody in Spring Training what a great job Hardy was doing. By June, the Rangers pitching was a mess and Hardy stepped down.

* It's hard to measure how far back Rangers pitching was set just because Oscar Acosta was hired as pitching coach in 2002. But it was considerable. That may have been the single dumbest move made by the Rangers in 36 years in Arlington. Definitely in the last 20.

* Jerry Narron, by the way, wanted Lee Tunnell.

* Orel Hershiser knows pitching. Hershiser knows much about many things. Like House, he was probably way over some people's heads.

* Jim Bouton on Jim Turner, the Yankees pitching coach in the '60's: "If a batter struck out on a 3-and-2 change, Turner would nod sagely and say: '3-and-2 change, boys, one of the most effective pitches in baseball.' If two innings later the same hitter homered off the same pitch, Turner would shake his head and exclaim, 'you can't throw a 3-and-2 change to the hitter.' Not in this ballpark.'"

* Of you've been around, you remember in 1988 when Bobby Witt was demoted to Triple A Oklahoma and worked with pitching coach Ferguson Jenkins. When he returned, he ripped off like 11 straight victories or something and everybody talked about what a great job Jenkins did with Witt.

* Turns out it was Oklahoma City teammate Mike Jeffcoat who was the one who straightened out Witt. But Jenkins got all the credit.

* Pitching coaches may be the single biggest target of displaced aggression known to man.

* Most pitching coaches teach the same thing. Most of it comes down to how they teach it. Connor is simple, direct, honest. There is no self-promotion, hidden agendas or flapdoodle. Only knowledge, passion and work ethic.

 

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where we drink a toast to Jeff Wilson and his bride Jenny as they get ready to walk down the aisle on Saturday.

* Joaquin Benoit had a good bullpen session and a long chat with pitching coach Mark Connor on Thursday. Said Conner: "He's been out of sync mechanically and mentally. He says he's healthy. I told him, 'Look, you're in a different position on every pitch.' We need to get him back to being really simple."

* Marlon Byrd on facing his old team the Phillies again: "That's going to be fun. Jimmy Rollins is my son's godfather, Ryan Howard was in my wedding party, Brett Myers was my roommate in the Minors. I came up with a bunch of them, practically the whole team. I love those guys. I love the way they play the game. It will be good to play against them. I would say there will be an extra pep in my step but I already play the game hard."

* Eddie Guardado on the different between the American and National League: "I think the N.L., the play more fundamental baseball. They have to with the pitchers hitting and no DH: hit and run, get guys over, bunt... Here in the American League you look for the three-run bomb. But I think the American League is the better league."

* Largest jersey handed out to a Ranger this year was pitcher Franklyn German, who wears a size 54. Kameron Loe and Josh Hamilton wear a size 15 shoe.

* Max Ramirez was the sixth Ranger to ever hit a home run in his second Major League game. Five have gone deep in their first Major League game. Ruben Mateo was the last to do it on June 12, 1999.

* Josh Hamilton, on the possibility of his first All-Star Game being at Yankee Stadium: "I think it would be awesome. Obviously there is a lot of history there and it would be cool to take part in the last year of the stadium."

* Rangers pitchers ended up going 4-for-15 in Interleague play at the National League parks. Kevin Millwood had a double and Eric Hurley, Kason Gabbard and Scott Feldman all had singles for their first big league hit. The Rangers were 0-4 in the four games in which their pitcher got a hit.

* This was tied for the second most hits by Rangers pitchers in a single season in Interleague play. They were 7-for-19 in 1997.

* Just for the heck of it: Brian Jordan

* Sidney Ponson is denying that he did anything wrong in a St. Petersburg hotel bar late one night before he was supposed to pitch. He told the New York Post: "My girlfriend was there - nothing happened. Whatever [the Rangers] said about me, they had a reason why they said it. I know I didn't do anything wrong. If I did something wrong, why did they let me pitch? Release me on the spot if I was on that short of a leash."

* As far as manager Ron Washington, Ponson said, "He barely talked to me when I was there," Ponson said. "I don't know if he liked me or disliked me. I pitched for my teammates."
Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer had never seen a baseball game when they wrote Take Me Out to the Ballgame in 1908.

* The Rangers lead the American League with 29 sacrifice hits and they are tied for first with 32 sacrifice flies. They also have the third highest stolen base success rate in the league.

* One more? Their hitters see 3.89 pitches per bat, second highest in the league. That means their doing a good job making the opposing pitcher work.

 

 

Chris Davis, Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez and Elvis Andrus were selected to play in the Futures Game on July 13 in Pittsburgh. Don't think Davis and Ramirez will play if they are still with the Rangers. Ramirez and Andrus were picked for the International team.

The Rangers are calling up first baseman Chris Davis. He will be with the club tonight in Houston. More on the website

 

Hank Blalock is back with the Rangers but he's not going to be back with them anytime soon. He is right hand is still swollen and sore from what happened this weekend at Oklahoma. No word yet but the guess is at least a couple of weeks and definitely not before the break.

By the way, Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton are not in the lineup. More on the website

 

While paying respects to Jimmy Cannon, the best that ever was...

* Washington D.C. and Houston are both oppressively humid. But Washington D.C. is infinitely more fun.

  * Why are exotically beautiful animals always on the extinct list while the mosquito, water mocassin and house fly endure forever. If we can kill off all the buffalo, why not the mosquito?

* Jarrod Saltalamacchia is going to be the No. 1 story for the Rangers in July.

* They have a message board here at Minute Maid Park that list prices for oil stocks, oil futures and oil commodities. Have no idea what any of that means but suspect they are all doing pretty good.

* But if you want to save money, don't make the mistake of buying Jose Canseco's second book. It's just not quite as well written as The Sun Also Rises, From Here to Eternity or a Separate Peace.

* Jose appears to be going to the way of Jack Higgins. The more books he writes, the worse he gets.

* If Big Brother is going after smoking in all public places, certainly cell phones are going to be next. How were all these people able to exist before cell phones were invented?

* Why do people insist on taking all their worldly possessions through security checkpoints at airports? And are those big belt buckles really worth the trouble?

* It will just be like the Rangers luck if Robinson Tejeda turns out to be a stud reliever for the Royals. But that can't possibly happen can it? Of course not. And Armando Galarraga can't possibly... never mind.

* Just to ruin the good parts - Canseco slams Rafael Palmeiro all through his book and repeats accusations against other former Rangers teammates. But I'd hate to spoil the ending.

* In Canseco's first book, he extols the virtues of steroids and how good they are for you. Remember the part about how he said Ben Grieve should have been taking steroids? In this book, he said he wrote the first book to tell the world how baseball was being ruined by steroids. Now steroids are bad.

* Congress is looking into steroids being bad. Plus Bill Belichek's penchant for spying on other teams. But not oil prices.

 

 

 

 

Josh Hamilton left Tuesday's game after four innings with inflammation in his left knee... He will be re-revaluated tomorrow....

 

Jamey Wright's wife Marnie is having their second child and he will not be with the Rangers for Tuesday's game against the Astros. The Rangers are hoping he'll be back on Wednesday. More on the website

Hank Blalock has a jammed right hand and is not playing tonight at Oklahoma. He will not be activated on Tuesday.. More on the website

 

Dropped by the White House Sunday night, but didn't get invited in for dessert. No doubt the President was busy so didn't get a chance to ask him....

1. Should Vicente Padilla be on the American League All-Star team?

2. What should the Rangers do at catcher while Gerald Laird is sidelined?

3. What impact do you think Hank Blalock will have on the Rangers offense?

4. Are you able to contain your excitement about the Lone Star Series and the possibility that the Silver Boot could come back to Arlington.

5. Are the Rangers in better shape now and for the future than the Astros?

 

 

They have a tube of shark repellant on display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. It was on display with other equipment supplied to Apollo astronauts during the heyday of the American space program.

Assume that was for the splashdown although you never know what you'll find on other worlds. They just found water on Mars the other day and Capt. Kirk certainly had the heads of a few sharks brought to him during his day. Or will have.

They have just about everything at the National Air and Space Museum, including an original copy of the Royal Guardsman album that included that oldie but goldie "Snoopy and the Red Baron."

That Bloody Red Baron was in a fix
He'd tried everything, but he'd run out of tricks
Snoopy fired once, and he fired twice
And that Bloody Red Baron went spinning out of sight

The Americans always won when it came to flight, from that December day at Kitty Hawk to July 21, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took a stroll on fair Luna.

Or as Charles "Pete" Conrad said when he put the Americans up 3-0 over the rest of the world, "Whoopee! Man,  that may have a small one for Neil but that was a big one for me."

Yes Yuri Gagarin was first in space but the Rangers also beat the Yankees in Game 1 of the 1996 Division Series too.

 Actually you do have to give the British some credit for being quick-witted in the sky, like the time the grounds crew at Frankfurt Airport got mad at the English pilot who couldn't find his way from the runway to the gate.

"Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?" asked Ground.

Replied the pilot, "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark and I didn't land."

Hey, but it was Charles Lindberg who flew across the Atlantic and Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier, and both the Spirit of St. Louis and Glamorous Glennis are hanging front and center from the ceiling at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

They are right there with Apollo 11, Friendship Seven and the Wright Flyer, which has been restored to look as it did on Dec. 14 when Orville flew it for 120 feet.

Plus a couple of World War I bi-planes - a Spad, not a Sopwith Camel - and a few other Prohibition relics that carried both the mail and wing-walkers all across the Midwest.

All living proof to Marla, Toby and everybody else there on a humid Saturday morning that nobody does flight better than Americans. The Romans had their roads and the British had their ships but the Americans have their planes and everybody else is competing for the silver medal. All it takes is 30 Seconds over Tokyo or 90 minutes in the National Air and Space Museum to figure it out.

They do give the Russians their due there. They even have a chess set specially designed to carry into space so the cosmonauts could hone their Sicilian Defense or Ruy Lopez just in case they came back to earth and found themselves facing....

Bobby Fischer.

National Air and Space...

No. 1 on the list of things to do on a weekend in Washington D.C.
 

 

 

 

The Rangers are putting Gerald Laird on the DL with a pulled hamstring muscle. Max Ramirez is coming to the big leagues. More on the website

 

The Rangers have placed pitcher Doug Mathis on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Luis Mendoza has been called up from Triple A and placed in the bullpen. More on the website.

 

 

* Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where a cold one always awaits John McLaren, who deserved better.

* Gerald Laird on the way the Rangers have played of late: "It's tough, definitely. We feel like this team is on the right track but we've got to play better baseball and put it all together. Every game it seems like we make one critical mistake. We're right back in this thing if we play better baseball but we've got to start soon."

* Josh Hamilton on playing football in high school: "I played quarterback as a freshman. On the varsity. I got killed. I was bigger than my center. I played quarterback and cornerback. The next year they wanted me to play quarterback and defensive end. I said, 'No, thank you."

* President Bush at fund-raiser Wednesday night: "I can't say for sure what I'm going to be doing at this time next year -- I suspect I'll be in Crawford, watching the Rangers on TV."

* Marlon Byrd on facing his old team, the Nationals: "I thought the way they got rid of me was kind of dirty. So it's going to be fun going up against them, beating up on them for three days."

* Rangers are visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital today before they play the Nationals.

* Nolan Ryan and Jim Sundberg are going to the College World Series next week in Omaha. Their dining partner on Monday will be Warren Buffet.

* General Elwood "Pete" Quesada, the first owner of the Rangers/Senators franchise, was quite the decorated soldier including two Distinguished Service Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart. The French gave him the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre while the British made him a Commander of the British Empire as well as the Order of the Bath.

* The Senators beat the White Sox, 6-5, in 22 innings on June 12, 1967. The game ended at 2:43 a.m. The American League, because of that, adopted a rule that said no inning many begin after 1 a.m. The National League never adopted the rule.

* There was also a Washington Senators team in the NFL. This was in 1921 when it was still called the American Professional Football Association. They played just four games. Lost two to the Canton Bulldogs. Beat the Cleveland Indians. Won a second game by forfeit. They were defunct the next year.

* C.C. Sabathia on pitching a shutout in two hours and six minutes: "I knew it was pretty early because it was still light. I was thinking maybe I could catch the Lakers' game."

* Just for the heck of it: Mickey Vernon.

* Chipper Jones does live in South Texas but it appears he wants to stay in Atlanta, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I don't think there's any reason I can't play through 40 as long as I don't let my body go, which is not going to happen. I'm too active year-round to let my body go. My desire to stick around and play four, five, six more years is strong. I want to accomplish some things here, put up some numbers here as long as the Braves want me."

* Would have thought that Ken Griffey Jr. had more of those 600 home runs against the Rangers than any other team but that's not the case. His 32 home runs against the Rangers are only tied for his sixth best. He has 38 against the Twins. But his .382 average at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is his highest in any existing park in the Majors.

* David Wells has given up eight of those home runs, most by anybody. Next are Roger Clemens and Tom Gordon with six.

 

Who is this guy? Anybody know? Obviously he has something to do with our beloved franchise. Who is going to be the first person to identify this man?

We do have a winner if you want to check out the comments!

 

Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve stopped by the Ballpark on Tuesday just eight days after prostate surgery. Grieve said everything is going well and he's hoping to be back in the booth on June 27 when the Rangers get back from their next road trip.

 

A few questions as we get ready to escape from New York

1. What kind of reception should Mark Teixeira get at the Ballpark this week?

2. How do you feel about the Teixeira trade right about now?

3. Is the Rangers pitching staff good enough to keep them in the race through the hot summer?

4. What's your take on what happened with Milton Bradley and Ryan Lefebrve in Kansas City?

5. How concerned are you about Joaquin Benoit?

 

Sorry, this dog only has opinions today.

* The opinion here is the Rangers would be better served putting Joaquin Benoit on the disabled list until he is confident that his shoulder is 100 percent. He just doesn't seem to feel that way. But nobody important agrees with that opinion.

* Mark Teixeira shouldn't get booed at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington this week should he? Will Clark and Ivan Rodriguez both received big ovations upon their returns.

* Tim Wakefield is the most underrated player in baseball.

* Gerald Laird is the Rangers best catcher right now. Jarrod Saltalamacchia could one day be an All-Star catcher. Figuring all of this out seems to be the No. 1 challenge facing general manager Jon Daniels as the Rangers go forward. This rotation is not the best of solutions and it's not the worst of solutions but it's not the permanent solution and at some point soon somebody has to figure out the final solution.

* Hank Blalock's success at first base will be determined by his offense, not his defense.

* It was heartwarming to see that Tim Russert was a great baseball fan and a Nationals season-ticket holder. But Dan Rather is still my all-time journalism idol and he's a big baseball fan too. The Camera Never Blinks - Rather's first book - is a terrific read.

* Speaking of which, Disney is re-releasing the animated film Sword in the Stone. That's based on the T.H. White book of the same name and his classic The Once and Future King is still the best on the King Arthur legends.

* That said, Cormac McCarthy's book No Country for Old Men wasn't as good as anticipated. The movie was just okay as well.

* Milton Bradley is the Rick Blaine of baseball players. As Senor Ferrari said in the movie Casablanca, "He is a difficult customer that Rick. One never knows what he'll do or why."

* Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo said a big moment for the Rangers offense this season was when they called up Brandon Boggs from the Minor Leagues and started feeding off the energy he brought to the lineup. Said Jaramillo, "That was a real turning point for us."

* The talk about Eric Hurley's first start was how sharp his slider was against the Royals and how effective he was throwing his fastball inside on hitters.

* Monday marks the 10th year anniversary of Tom Hicks becoming the owner of the Rangers. The past eight hasn't gone as plan and there has obviously been a financial pain extracted but the lessons that must be learned are the importance of stability in leadership, the viability of a productive and sustaining farm system and the need to stick to the plan.

* It would be easy to list mistakes but it all comes down to there being no shortcuts in baseball. You can't get where you want to go that quickly. The owner has always wanted to win despite suggestions to the contrary. The problem perhaps was wanting it too much too soon.

* Never thought signing Alex Rodriguez was a mistake. Always thought the mistake was trying too hard to surround Rodriguez with players that would allow it to happen right away instead of going with one sustaining, long-term plan.

 

 

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where Shea Stadium still conjures up memories of the Amazin' Mets of 1969.

* Rangers pitchers are hitting .141 in Interleague play since it began in 1997, fifth best in the American League. Bobby Witt still has their only home run.

* The Twins have the highest batting average at .170. But no American League team has yet to beat the Rangers .368 average (7-for-19) in 1997 for the highest single season average by their pitchers.

* Indians pitchers have hit four home runs in Interleague play: Dwight Gooden, Dave Burba, C.C. Sabathia and Jason Davis. No other American League team has more than one.

* TBS announcer Ron Darling on Mets manager Willie Randolph: "He is always going to be on a simmering seat especially in that town, and that's unfortunate but that's just how New York can be.  But when you are ownership and you are a town that expects you to be a 95 - 100 win team and you look more like an 85 - 90 win team then a lot of frustration seems to build in a town where there's more TV shows than actual players talking about baseball."

* Mike Mussina on leading the Yankees in victories: ``Funny how things happen. When I got to Spring Training, I was hoping to stay in the rotation. A lot of people assumed my best stuff was behind me. Granted I don't throw 90 mph anymore, but I still know how to pitch.''

* St. Louis is the only city in which the Rangers have never played. Unless you count Washington D.C. I guess you do, although the Rangers will take care of that next week.

* Actor James Caan: "My kid was a great baseball player. I thought I had it made. Front-row seats at Yankee Stadium. Then he turned sixteen and wanted to be a rapper."

* Just for the heck of it: Damon Buford.

* On June 13, 1973, the Dodgers had an infield of first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, shortstop Bill Russell and third base Ron Cey. They stayed together for the next 81/2 years.

* New York City wanted the Brooklyn Dodgers to play on the site of Shea Stadium. Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley refused since they were from Brooklyn. By the way, the Mets have played more games at Shea than the Dodgers did at Ebbets Field.

* At one time they thought about putting a dome over Shea Stadium. But the structure couldn't support it because it's built on swampland.

* Every heard the town of Downey? It's just south of Los Angeles. Karen Carpenter's hometown. They almost had the Dodgers before Walter O'Malley got his free land in Chavez Ravine.

* David Clyde's first career complete game for the Rangers came at Shea Stadium on April 27, 1974. Against the Yankees. They played there in 1974-75 while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. Yankees drew 10,162 for the game. A Saturday at that and Clyde was the winning pitcher.

* Clyde pitched a second complete game at Shea Stadium later that season. This time he was the losing pitcher in a 2-0 shutout by future Ranger Doc Medich.

* Nolan Ryan started his career with the Mets and went on to throw seven no-hitters in his career. He threw a no-hitter for three of the four teams he played for but not the Mets. They still don't have a no-hitter. Neither do the Padres, Rockies or Rays.

 

In honor of Eric Hurley's Major League debut, we present 10 random first Major League starts in Rangers history....

1. Kevin Brown - Sept. 30, 1986 - allowed two runs on six hits in five innings in a 9-5 victory over Oakland but did not establish himself as a starting pitcher in the Major Leagues until 1989.

2. Bobby Witt - April 10, 1986 - He allowed six runs on five hits and six walks in 31/3 innings against Toronto. The Blue Jays won 11-10, but Witt ended up winning 11 games as a rookie.

3.John Dettmer - June 16, 1994 - For some reason, Kevin Kennedy let this kid throw 138 pitches over 82/3 innings against Oakland. He went back out to start the ninth in a 4-4 game and ended up allowing two runs in a 6-4 loss. Jay Howell finally relieved him with two out in the inning.

4.Steve Dreyer - Aug. 8, 1993 - Five scoreless innings in a 7-1 victory over Seattle. Walked six and struck out six. Turned out to be just one of four Major League victories.

5. Rick Helling - April 10, 1994 - He made the rotation out of Spring Training and allowed four runs in four innings against the Orioles. Rangers won 8-7. He was 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA in his first six starts, then got hit hard in his next three outings and was sent back to the Minor Leagues.

6. Wilson Alvarez - July 24, 1989 - Faced Toronto. Faced five batters, allowing two walks, a single and two home runs. Then he was traded to the White Sox in the Harold Baines trade.

7. Joaquin Benoit -Aug. 8, 2001 - His first game with the Rangers came against the Tigers and he allowed six runs in five innings. The Rangers lost 19-6. It was his only appearance of the season.

8. Edinson Volquez - Aug. 30, 2005 - He faced the White Sox on Aug. 30, 2005 and allowed five runs on six hits in 42/3 innings. The Rangers lost 8-0.

9. Juan Dominguez - Aug. 12, 2003 - Another ill-advised rush job: four runs on seven hits and four walks in 42/3 innings in a 7-4 loss to the Tigers.

10. David Clyde - June 27, 1973 - No we didn't forget. The debut all are measured by. Who can forget that he walked the first two hitters he faced, then struck out three in a row in the first inning. He ended up walking seven and striking out eight in five innings in a 4-3 victory.

 

The Rangers have announced that Eric Hurley will start on Thursday against the Royals. He replaces Sidney Ponson and will be making his Major League debut

 

Yes this is Donald Duck's Birthday. Donald Fauntleroy Duck that is, who made his screen debut today in The Wise Little Hen.

Fifteen years later he made a cartoon called Slide Donald Slide. He's sitting in the backyard wanting to listen to the World Series on the radio and a bee who got there first wants to listen to classical music.

Remember when the great cartoons were set to classical music and Elmer Fudd, to the music of Ride of the Valkyries, sang, "Kill the Rabbit! Kill the Rabbit!"

This bee, however, wanted to listen to the Overture from the Poet and the Peasant by Franz von Suppe.

1. Did the Rangers do the right thing by letting go of Sidney Ponson?

2. Who should fill Sidney Ponson's spot in the rotation?

3. What trade would you make if you tried to get a starting pitcher from another team?

4. Did the Rangers do the right thing by not using their first round pick for pitching in the First-Year Player Draft?

5. What's hurting attendance the most at the Ballark: A.) gas prices. B.) construction. C.) prices. D.) cynicism; E.) Quality of opposition.

 

 

Warning: this dog bites abusive and rude clubhouse attendants...

Michael Young has a 22-game hitting streak, a hairline fracture in the ring finger on his left hand and a strained groin muscle. Doesn't look like he'll play on Sunday.

Josh Hamilton just looks tired. He was 0-for-5 on Saturday. He looks like he needs a day off. The Rangers have the top three in runs scored in the American League but two could get the day off on Sunday.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was called up on April 25. That's when he and Gerald Laird started sharing the catcher's duties. The Rangers are 14-7 in the 21 games that Laird has started and 10-10 when Saltalamacchia has started.

Milton Bradley leads the American League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The last guy to do that in a full season in the American League was George Brett in 1980. Other guys who have done it include Ted Williams, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, Jimmie Foxx, Carl Yastrzemski and Frank Robinson.

Doug Mathis vs. Matt Garza today. The Rangers lineup will be interesting. The Rangers haven't been three games under .500 since May 11. But that was well before they ran into the Rays.

Big game. Again.

The Oracle of the Elysian Fields:
"It's not that maple bats break more, they just explode. Ash doesn't do that, they just crack. Maple just blows up but it's not a problem. Nobody's dead yet."
Rangers shortstop Michael Young

Toby's Top Five:
1. Jimmy Rollins - The NL MVP was taken out of a game on Thursday by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel because he didn't run out a pop-up that was dropped. After the game Rollins accepted the blame and backed his manager's decision.

2. Anybody notice they've won seven straight and are starting to put some distance between themselves and the crowd?

3. Urban Youth Academy - There were at least 18 players taken in the draft this week who have ties to Major League Baseball's complex in Compton, Ca.

4. Charley Pride - Now officially a Ranger.

5. Gerald Laird - The guy can pick at third.

Ex-Ranger of the Week:
Here's how Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez compares to Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira as of Sunday morning
Category                   Gonzalez        Teixeira
Games                           63                   61                    
At-bats                          255                232
Runs                               39                  35
Hits                                75                   64
2B                                   15                  15
3B                                    1                     0
HR                                  17                    9
RBI                                 56                    43
Avg.                              .294                .276
On-base                        .356                 .367
Slugging                        .561                .457     

Pitching matchup of the week: Dodgers rookie Clayton Kershaw, who is from Highland Park, faces Padres veteran Greg Maddux on Tuesday. They have 722 Major League starts between them: 720 by Maddux and two by Kershaw.

Birthdays: A couple of members of the fabled 1996 Rangers celebrate this week. Kevin Gross is 47 today and Damon Buford is 38 on Thursday. Former Rangers third baseman Scott Coolbaugh is 42 on Friday. He's now a coach with the Frisco Roughriders.

Anniversary: It was on this date in 1950 that the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 29-4, to set a modern Major League record for most runs in a game. The Rangers surpassed that last year.

Last call:
"It's tough batting behind Josh. He makes it look so easy up there and I'm fighting to have good at-bats."
Rangers outfielder Milton Bradley on Josh Hamilton.

 

Gerald Laird is starting at third base tonight. Michael Young is sidelined with a bruised finger. Young is supposed to be back on Saturday.

The Rangers have designated pitcher Sidney Ponson for assignment. The move has something to do with off-field issues although the Rangers would not elaborate.... The pitcher who will replace him is not known.. More on the website

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, where we toast the Rangers top draft pick from Thursday: Charley Pride.

* Michael Young has a 21-game hitting streak but Ian Kinsler's came to an end at 19 on Thursday night. If Kinsler had been able to get a hit, it would have been only the third time since World War II that two teammates both had a hitting streak of at least 20 games going at the same time.

* The last time? Mickey Rivers had a 23-game streak for the Rangers in 1980 and Al Oliver had a 20-game streak. Oliver also had a 21-game streak for the Pirates in 1974 while Richie Zisk had a 20-game streak. Both, of course, ended up being Rangers.

* Kinsler was one behind Young during his streak and said, "That made it more fun. We didn't talk about it much but we both knew what was going on. I told him I was going to get him and he wasn't too happy to hear that."

* Jamey Wright, despite his heavy workload, said his recent problems were mechanical rather than physical: "I feel good. Am I healthy? Yeah. I feel great. Ask me in August or September and it might be a different answer but right now I feel good. The more I throw the better I feel. I've had mechanical problems all my career. Just because I'm throwing the ball well and throwing strikes, I can't take things for granted. I've got to take care of the little things to keep it up."

* Joaquin Benoit on his work load: "I'm not worried about my pitch count, I'm worried about the number of hitters I face. I'd like to face the minimum. Three. Three an inning. It doesn't matter how I get them out."

* Chess is the new game in the Rangers clubhouse and apparently reliever Frank Francisco is pretty good at it. Said Francisco, "I've been playing for a few years but I'm not that good. I make too many mistakes. I need to play alone so I can focus. I can't have too many people watching me."

* Robbie Ross, the Rangers second round pick, is supposedly looking for $1.5 million even though a second round pick should normally get somewhere around $800,000.

* Ross, a high school left-handed pitcher from Kentucky, told the Lexington Herald-Leader, "I was sort of shocked because I thought what I was asking for was something of an issue. I thought that might scare off a lot of teams, and I was worried I might not go until the later rounds. But then out of the blue, Texas took me. They kind of popped out of nowhere. I hadn't been talking to them at all. So it was really surprising."

* Added Ross: "I really don't know if they can work things out or not. I hope so. I guess time will tell. But I'm excited either way. If I get the money and sign or if I go play at Kentucky, I've got a great opportunity either way."

* Said his father Churck: "I was hoping the Yankees or Boston would take Robbie. Now we're hoping the Rangers want to pay what we're asking. We've got a lot to work out to make a final agreement."

* Just for the heck of it: Drew Meyer

* Today is the official birthday of Little League, founded in 1939 thanks to a $35 donation for uniforms.

* Justin Smoak had 62 home runs at South Carolina. That's fifth all-time in the SEC. Rafael Palmeiro is fourth with 67. Both hit their home runs in a three-year span. The three players in front of them all did it in four years: LSU's Eddie Furniss (80) and Brad Cresse (78) and Florida's Matt LaPorta (74).

* ESPN wanted Smoak to go to Orlando for the draft and be interviewed on television after being selected. Smoak told them no. Said he's rather watch the draft with his family in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

* Smoak started playing organized baseball at four. Played "Angel Ball." Apparently in Goose Creek that comes before T-Ball.

* Smoak said he has never been to Texas. But he hears Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is hitter-friendly. "But you still have to hit it," he said.

* Cardinals outfielder and former Ranger Ryan Ludwick: I've had a broken hip, two knee surgeries, a wrist surgery and a stomach ulcer from all the stress. That illness is something I consider a surgery, as they had to put me under for it. You miss a lot of time from the game when you have five surgeries in four years."

 

 

The Rangers have taken left-handed pitcher Robert Ross from Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy. He throws 90-92 MPH. Throws hard slider and decent changeup. Pounds the strike zone. Only six-feet title but supposedly a good athlete.

Justin Smoak says he's excited to be with the Rangers. But he declined to talk about how easy or hard it will be for the Rangers to sign him.

The Rangers took another LHP Timothy Murphy with their third round pick. Looks like a four-pitch guy who is not overpowering but knows how to pitch.

 

 

 

Here is his profile from ESPN

 

Switch-hitting slugger is considered a total package at first base with tremendous power and superb defensive skills and started every game in his Gamecocks career. Hit .383 with 23 HRs and 72 RBIs -- showing consistency from both sides of plate -- while making just five errors in 63 games. Excellent plate discipline with 57 walks and 28 Ks.

Here is your real First-Year Player Draft Preview.

1. The Rangers will be looking for some "toolsy" players. Toolsy players are a must.
2. Plus don't forget about signability. Toolsy and signability are musts.
3. Pitchers must have "big arms." Then when they get to the big leagues, they must be able to change speeds, locate the ball and throw strikes. But to start out they must have "big arms."
4. A toolsy big arm is huge.
5. Homework is a must. You don't want to use your first round pick to take a pitcher without an collateral ligament (R.A. Dickey) or a shortstop who can't throw (Monty Fariss). Or a catcher (Scott Heard) who just doesn't want to play.
6. Shooter Hunt (right) is the right-hander from Tulane who is on the Rangers board as a potential pick. He got the name from the Dennis Hopper character "Shooter" in the movie Hoosiers. That's reason enough to draft him.
7. One year they did the first round in all of 30 minutes by conference call. One team took an extra 20-30 seconds and a Rangers official cracked that, "they're already clutching and it's just the first round."
8. Now we have television.
9. Signability is huge. Otherwise Barry Zito and Bruce Sutter go pitch for some other organization.
10. The Rangers do better in the third round then they do the second round. Third round: Hank Blalock, Barry Zito, Ryan Dempster, Scott Podsednik, Darren Oliver and Dean Palmer. Second round: Roger Pavlik, Edwin Diaz, Terrell Lowery, Barry Manuel, Jason Grabowski, Nick Regilio.
11. Plus Vince Sinisi, who got $2 million. He was supposed to be first-round material in 2003 but slipped to the second round supposedly because Scott Boras was his agent. The Rangers took him and gave him $2 million. Now he's somewhere in the Padres system.
12. Can't remember if he was toolsy.
13. Toolsy guys taken late: Rusty Greer (10th round), Pete O'Brien (15th round), Mike Stanley (16th round), Jeff Frye (30th round), Robb Nen (32nd round)
14. The lowest round that has never produced a single player for the Rangers since they moved to Texas is the 27th round.
15. If you don't have tools, upside is a must.
16. Agents aren't agents until the players sign. They are advisors. Some advisors start recruiting players when they are freshmen or sophomores, but they obviously haven't heard about these college basketball coaches who are offering scholarships to eighth graders.
17. Scott Boras ranks his clients not by talent but by "earnings potential."
18. The big battle is over "slot money." Some guy at Major League Baseball sits at a desk with a calculator and determines how much money should be doled out per spot in the draft. The higher the pick, the more money he should get. This is life-threatening to agents. If Major League Baseball determines the price, why should a player give five percent to an agent. Or advisor.
19. Remember when the Rangers drafted Benji Gil in 1991 out of Chula Vista High School. Called his home around eleven and told he was in the shower. Called the school and asked for the head baseball coach. Also, out of curiosity, asked the secretary if school was in session that day. Her reply, "Oh yes, we're all here today...." Except one guy still in the shower.
20. Three standard questions asked all draft picks: "What do you think of being drafted by the..." "How quickly do you think you'll sign?" "How long do you think it will take you to get to the Majors."
"Great." "Pretty quick" "Quick as I can."
21. Drew Meyer went to the University of South Carolina. His dad went to The Citadel. Guys from the Citadel - if you've ever read The Lords of Discipline - hate guys from Carolina. That should have been a tipoff.
22. The Rangers once took a guy from Astronaut High in Florida. Amos Lewis. Outfielder. Real toolsy. Two picks later the Orioles took Cal Ripken Jr. Really really toolsy.

23. I'm betting Shooter Hunt. Like his tools.

 

 

 

 

The Rangers have called up pitchers Kameron Loe and Elizardo Ramirez from Triple A. A.J. Murray is on the disabled list. Third baseman Travis Metcalf has been optioned to Oklahoma. More on the website.

 

The First-Year Player Draft will be held Thursday and Friday. The Rangers have already taken Charley Pride in the Negro League portion of the draft and that's not a bad pick. He was once a pitcher with a pretty good curveball and the Rangers could use just that in middle relief.

The Rangers need middle relief.

The Rangers need a pitcher who can come into the middle of a game in the fifth and sixth innings and shut down a rally right then and there. That's why Franklyn German made the team. That's why Frank Francisco was called up from Triple A Oklahoma. That's why Robinson Tejeda was called up from Triple A Oklahoma.

Tejeda walks the first batter he faces and forces in a run. Shocking. No way to predict that or see it coming.

What else do you see coming...

1. Should the Rangers automatically draft a pitcher in the first round on Thursday or do you think they should take the best player available?

2. Should Jon Daniels be talking to other teams about pitching?

3. Is there a Rangers reliever not here who should be here?

4. Do you think Instant Replay is a good idea? How far should it be used?

5. Should the Rangers go back to playing Marlon Byrd in the outfield every day?

 

 

 

Even a dog has a hometown:

Scott Feldman pitches for the Rangers on Sunday. Feldman was born in Kailua, Hawaii where his father worked as an FBI agent. He is one of three players born in Hawaii who played for the Rangers.

Where are the Boys from?

Well, in the United States, more Rangers were born in California than any other state. There are 125 Rangers born in the Golden State led by Michael Young. Texas is a distant second with 57. Then comes Florida with 37, followed by Illinois (28 including Jim Sundberg),  New York (26) and then Michigan and Ohio with 20 each.

None? No Ranger has been born in Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico or Rhode Island. Only two came from North Dakota but they were pretty good: Rick Helling and Travis Hafner. New Hampshire's only contribution was Bob Tewksbury and Stan Thomas is the only one from Maine. Bump Wills is the only Ranger to be born in the nation's capital.

George Wright is one of 13 from neighboring Oklahoma. Thought there would be more but the Sooners were edged out by Pennsylvania (17), New Jersey and Missouri (16), North Carolina (15) and Georgia (14).

Oracle of the Elysian Fields:
"Last summer the Hall of Fame had that traveling Negro League exhibit come through here.  Talk about a critical piece of the game's history that not nearly enough people know about...  I was locked in.  Hopefully the draft concept has a similar effect, and allows the industry to bring that piece of our history to more of our fans."
General manager Jon Daniels on the Negro League draft

Toby's Top Five
1. Manny Ramirez - I'm sorry...why did Ramirez and Jon Lester for Alex Rodriguez fall through?
2. Tampa Bay Rays - I'm sorry...why Drew Meyer over Scott Kazmir?
3. Brandon Webb - I'm sorry...why didn't... never mind.
4. Charley Pride - Here's one draft pick the Rangers finally got right. Of course they've only been scouting him for 30 years.
5. Jamey Wright - Anybody notice he is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in May?

Birthdays:
  Brad Wilkerson turns 31 on Sunday. On Saturday, Doug Mathis turns 25. He was born in Phoenix, or more specifically Maryvale, which is the neighborhood of Phoenix where the Brewers train. Now he lives in Show Low, Arizona.

Glad you asked. Show Low, according to legend, was named after a marathon poker match where the stakes were a 100,000 acre ranch. The final hand was decided by lowest card wins. The winning hand was the deuce of clubs. That's now the name of Main Street.

Ex-Ranger of the Week:
Three of the top 12 pitchers in baseball are former Rangers. You know about Edinson Volquez and John Danks. But Ryan Dempster is 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 12 starts for the Cubs. He was the Cubs closer the past three years with 85 saves but moved back to the rotation so that Kerry Wood could take over that role. Dempster never actually played for the Rangers but was drafted by them in the third round in 1995 and traded to the Marlins a year later along with Rick Helling for John Burkett.

Anniversary: It was 33 years ago today that Nolan Ryan threw his fourth career no-hitter, tying Sandy Koufax for the most in Major League history. He beat the Orioles, 1-0. Also, in 1925, Lou Gehrig began his streak of 2,130 games played.

Pitching matchup of the Week:
Joba Chamberlain, who the New York media has pretty decided is the second coming of Walter Johnson, makes his Major League debut on Tuesday against the Blue Jays and Roy Halladay.

Last call:
The Lakers in six. They'll win one game in Boston, then two games in Los Angeles. They'll go back to Boston and lose, then clinch Game 6 at home."
Catcher Gerald Laird's prediction for the NBA Finals.