He was also the inspiration for King Oscar Sardines. Long live King Oscar.

1. What's your take on the Rangers brawl with the Mariners? Do you think Kason Gabbard was trying to throw at Richie Sexson?

2. Is the Rangers run of good pitching for real or just a temporary respite?

3. What do you make of Jon Daniels saying the Rangers won't review anything until the All-Star break at the earliest?

4. What do you think of the platoon at first base between Chris Shelton and rank Catalanotto?

5. What should happen in the outfield when Marlon Byrd returns?

"If I were playing third base and my mother were rounding third with the run that was going to beat us, I'd trip her. Oh, I'd pick her up and brush her off and say, "Sorry, Mom," but nobody beats me."
Hall of Fame Leo Durocher

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass"; "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys";"
Hall of Famer Harmon Killibrew

"A man bites off more than he can chew when he doesn't do what his wife wants. You better believe it."
Hall of Famer Satchel Paige

"It would depend on how well she was hitting..." or "Only if she were digging in."
Hall of Famer Early Wynn, on whether or not he would throw at his mother.

"If he raced his pregnant wife he'd finish third."
Dodger's manager Tommy Lasorda on Mike Scioscia.

The C.J. Files: What does a closer do for nine innings? C.J. Wilson has his routine down to a science. This is how it breaks down for a road game.
First inning: Watch the game on television, see how the umpire is calling pitches, see if the other team has a specific plan of attack. Said Wilson: "A team like Anaheim is usually hacking so if they come out trying to work the pitcher, you know they're trying to do something different. Pitching is observation and strategy."
Second inning: Go out to the bullpen and report findings to other relievers.
Third inning: Eat a protein bar.
Fourth inning: Start stretching the legs.
Fifth inning: Relax.
Sixth inning: Take a Gatorade break.
Seventh inning: Start stretching arm and torso. Tie shoes. Said Wilson, "My shoes are untied the whole game."
Eighth inning: Check clipboard for scouting reports, begin warming up. Said Wilson, "I throw the exact same pitches during warm-ups every time."
Ninth inning: Save game.

The Oracle of Elysian Fields:
"I hate not playing baseball but the team playing better makes it easier to watch. If the team was struggling, I'd be sitting around thinking about how much I could help them."
Hank Blalock

Toby's Top Five:
1. The Rangers pitching staff - Who knew that Sidney Ponson and Scott Feldman would be in the hottest rotation in baseball?
2. Rays pitching staff - Actually this might be the hottest pitching staff in the American League.
3. Greg Maddux - 350 victories. Think this guy wants 400?
4. Brandon Webb - Wonder who is going to start the All-Star Game for the National League,
5. Florida Marlins - First place and a new contract for their shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Pitching matchup of the week
Kason Gabbard vs. Felix Hernandez, Round 2, Tuesday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Ex-Ranger of the Week:
Former catcher John Russell, who was behind the plate for Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter, is managing in Pittsburgh and has the Pirates on the upswing. They have a five-game winning streak going into today's game against the Braves.

Birthdays:
Bobby Witt, who is now a player's agent, turns 44 today. Yogi Berra is 83 on Monday and Bobby Valentine, still managing in Japan, is 58 on Tuesday.

Anniversary:
Five years ago today, Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th career home run. He finished his career with 569 home runs and 3,020 hits, plus all the other stuff. He is retired and living in the Metroplex.

Last call:
"I don't know what it was. Somebody didn't like me? That's just the way this business goes sometimes. Any time when you go out and you do what you're capable of doing and you do it and you get sent down, it's always a shock."
Kevin Mench after being traded by the Rangers to Toronto

The Rangers have sent Kevin Mench to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. That allows Jason Botts to DH at Oklahoma.

Welcome to the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill, a welcome haven after the bad craziness in Seattle Thursday night.

* Think it was crazy in Seattle? How about Clinton's 7-3 victory over Peoria in the Class A Midwestern League. Details are sketchy but apparently Peoria manager Ryne Sandberg - yes the Hall of Famer - charged Clinton manager Mike Micucci after taking exception to one of the LumberKings bunting in a perceived inappropriate situation. Sandberg apparently had to be wrestled to the ground.

* Richie Sexson is headed for suspension after charging Kason Gabbard and throwing his helmet at him. The Rangers aren't happy that Sexson could miss the three-game series against them that starts on Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Sexson is hitting .209. The inside joke among the Rangers is the Mariners ought to be punished by having Sexson in the lineup for every game.

* Sexson may have been a little over-wrought. He missed Wednesday's game because one of his children is in the hospital. Said Sexson, "There's a lot of stuff running through my head right there."

* Gerald Laird on what Edinson Volquez has done for the Reds: "I saw that coming. I saw that with his stuff if he every figured things out. But I wouldn't take back that trade for anything. Josh Hamilton is a joke, his talent is an absolute joke. He could be the best player in baseball. He's amazing to watch. I'm just happy that Volquez has figured it out and doing well."

* Volquez on his success: "I'm 24. I'm getting old. Every pitch I throw, I got a reason for
throwing that pitch. Before, I just threw a pitch."

* Chipper Jones is hitting .429 but as far as another .400 hitter in baseball, Frank Catalanotto said, "I don't think that's ever going to happen. It hasn't happened for a long time for a reason. There are too many good pitchers out there. You just can't do it anymore. You look back at recent history and guys aren't even close anymore. I don't think it's going to happen."

* Rangers farm director Scott Servais on Max Ramirez, who is hitting .385 at Double A Frisco: "He can really hit but we knew that when we traded for him. His defensive is getting better as he's catching more since we promoted Taylor Teagarden. But his bat is what's going to play. He has a very impressive knowledge of the strike zone and he doesn't miss it."

* Just for the heck of it: Mike Epstein

* Franklyn German's victory in relief of Gabbard on Thursday was his first in the Major Leagues since Aug. 20, 2005 against Toronto when he was with the Tigers.

Vicente Padilla's foundation provides complete funding for a Little League and a soccer league in his hometown of Chinandega, Nicaragua. His mother Tina runs the show

* There have been 31 players who had at least 50 at-bats as a Rangers first baseman. Ben Broussard's .160 average with a .227 on-base percentage and a .272 slugging percentage will go down as the lowest among those 31 players.

* Manager Ron Washington on German Duran: "His defense has surprised me. We all knew he could swing the bat. But defensive, the way he's played, I didn't see that in Spring Training. But he's handled himself well at third base and looked comfortable at second."

* Uber-prospect Elvus Andrus is hitting .266 with a .319 on-base percentage and a .305 slugging percentage at Double A Frisco and Servais said, "This guy is 19 years old, there are going to be some ups and downs offensively. He's learning himself and how to handle pitches. He's doing fine and making adjustments. He gets anxious at the plate and we're trying to get him to slow down and be patient. He'll look good for five days and then jump out of himself for two or three days."

* It was 120 years ago today that right-hander Icebox Chamberlain pitched for the Louisville Colonels against the Kansas City Cowboys. He had a 12-run lead so he pitched the last two innings left-handed. He did not give up a run.

The Rangers are designated first baseman Ben Broussard for assignment and activating third baseman Travis Metcalf off the disabled list. Broussard lost his job at first base to Frank Catalanotto... More on the websire

Pitcher John Patterson has been shut down in extended Spring Training because of a sore arm. He has been sent back to Dallas to be examined. More on the website.

Welcome to Monday Morning Manager, where we celebrate Cinco de Mayo by offering up this All-Star team of players born in Mexico.

C Alex Trevino

1B - Erubiel Durazo

2B - Bobby Avila

SS - Ruben Amaro

3B Aurelio Rodriguez

DH - Vinny Castilla

OF - Karim Garcia

OF - Jorge Orta

OF - Mel Almada

Pitchers: Fernando Valenzuela; Esteban Loaiza; Ismael Valdez; Teddy Higuera; Aurelio Lopez.

1. What's your take on the Rangers winning six of their last nine games?

2. Who should be the Rangers fifth starter: A.J. Murray or Scott Feldman

3. Who should be the regular first baseman: Chris Shelton or Ben Broussard?

4. Who should play every day: Frank Catalanotto or Brandon Boggs?

5. Who should play every day: Gerald Laird or Jarrod Saltalamacchia?

Any dog can crunch some numbers

The RBI: Bill James is smartest than the rest of us. The TV show 60 Minutes said so as much a few weeks ago and how can a dog argue with Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and Andy Rooney.

James, of course, is the statistical guru who revolutionized baseball by crunching numbers and showing that the wisdom of the ages was totally wrong. Since the Red Sox have won two World Series since he showed up in Boston is further proof of his genius.

RBI are out, according to James, and it's all about on-base percentage, secondary average, power speed number, OPS and Win Shares. James is the one who said that Juan Gonzalez did not deserve his two MVP awards with the Rangers because there was too much traditional emphasis on RBI and not on other good stuff.

How silly of the great unwashed but how were we to know. Moneyball had not been published yet.

Look, we all know that it's about starting pitching, the Rangers have proved that over and over again and Rick Helling, Ken Hill, Aaron Sele and John Burkett have been as important to this franchise as anybody even though they won't ever be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame.

But allow a dog to have the audacity of challenging the Great One's theories.

The single most important offensive statistic in baseball is hitting with runners in scoring position. It's not any more complicated than that.

The Rangers hit .173 with runners in scoring position during their seven-game losing streak. They have hit .352 in their last eight games and have won six of those.

The runners are going to get on base. The opposing pitcher will see to that. Some offensive players will get on base more than others and the value of that can't be denied. But it's all about getting them home and any Red Sox numbers cruncher is going to look like a genius when David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are hitting 3-4 in a lineup.

But nobody was better at getting them home than Juan Gonzalez when he was at his best. Will Clark and Rusty Greer were pretty good at it too and Michael Young has proven time and time again his ability to hit with runners in scoring position.

Pitching and defense are important, no doubt about it. But without spending a lot of time in a San Francisco hotel crunching numbers, experience says most close games are determined by which team is better at getting runners home.

The RBI still lives as an important number and if Nate Gold is going to drive in 103 runs in two straight Minor League seasons then somebody ought to be paying attention.

The Oracle of the Elysian Fields
If we were 51/2 games out on Sept 1st, people would be saying we're in it. But in May if you're 51/2 games out, people say the ship is sinking. I don't get it."
Shortstop Michael Young.

Toby's Top Five
1. Ramon Vazquez - The Rangers utility infielder continues to prove his quiet worth. He is 8-for-21 over the Rangers last eight games while helping ease the loss of Hank Blalock.
2. Brandon Boggs - A .438 batting average in his first week in the Major Leagues is pretty good.
3. Micah Owings - You have to like a pitcher who is asked to pinch-hit and hits a game-tying two-run home run
4. Brandon Webb - Anybody interested in knowing that the Rangers took Nick Masset five picks ahead of Webb in the eighth round of the 2000 draft. Dontrelle Willis also went in the eighth round this year. Six pitchers taken by the Rangers before Willis and Webb: Chad Hawkins, Randy Truselo, Christopher Russ, Gregory Runser, Matt Meisenheimer and Virgil Vasquez. They did take A.J. Murray in the 19th round.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers - Even hotter than the Rangers.

Ex-Ranger of the Week:
  Julio Franco has announced his retirement. Finally. Apparently he was playing for the Quintana Roo Tigers in the Mexican League this spring and told his team last week that he was retiring. He is 49 and played 23 years. He is the oldest player to ever hit a home run in a Major League game and the first of three Rangers to ever be named Most Valuable Player in the All-Star Game. His .341 batting average as the A.L. batting champ in 1991 is still the highest in Rangers history.

Pitching matchup of the Week:
Wednesday at Safeco Field: Vicente Padilla vs., Erik Bedard. That ought to be a good one.

Birthdays: Ben Grieve turns 32 today, still living in Dallas but still retired.

On Tuesday the greatest living baseball player of all-time turns 77. I saw him play in person just once in the first ever Major League game I ever saw: Game 1 of the 1971 National League Championship Series between the Giants and the Pirates. He doubled down the right field line.

Willie Mays.

Anniversary:
It was on May 5, 2000 that the Rangers overcame an eight-run deficit to defeat the Athletics 17-16. It's the largest comeback in Rangers history.

Last call:
"[Ron Washington] is irreplaceable, no matter what kind of team you have. That doesn't mean the [coaches] here haven't done a great job, but Wash would make any team better. He's the best teacher I've ever seen, and his personality and work ethic are infectious."
Athletics second baseman Mark Ellis.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has been named American League Player of the Month. He hit .330 with six home runs and 32 RBI. That's quite an accomplishment considering the Rangers record. More on the website

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.

"Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."  St. Thomas Aquinas

First understand that everything had to go right for the Rangers to be contenders this year. That hasn't happened and it's now between Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla as to who will be the last man standing in the Rangers starting rotation.

Now we know why Sidney Ponson and John Patterson were signed at the end of Spring Training. It seemed superfluous at the time, now it may be life saving even if Patterson is still not ready yet.

This is a bad time for Eric Hurley to be 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA in six starts at Triple A Oklahoma. There are some guys who are pitching well in the Minors including Doug Mathis (4-0, 3.38) and Elizardo Ramirez (4-2, 4.13) at Oklahoma and Trey Hodges (3-1, 2.25) at Frisco. They aren't on the 40-man roster and that's full but a team that's 9-18 should have somebody who is expendable.

Wonder if Kameron Loe and Robinson Tejeda still think they should be starters.

Yes the Rangers are 9-18, yes they are talking about Ron Washington's job status and yes there is some speculation that a change could be forthcoming. No decisions have been made but no manager is going to be able to keep his job if his team plays poorly for an extended period of time. <p />

Even if this team wasn't built to win this year and even if the most important thing is the long range vision of the franchise that includes the development of young players being as or more important than going all-out to win right now.

Not that the Rangers are going all-out but if Barry Zito had said yes to $99 million two off-seasons ago, then the payroll would be bigger and they could be even in worse shape than they are right now.

Remember Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the only player on the active roster right now that the Rangers have to show for Mark Teixeira, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, John Danks, Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez and Gary Matthews Jr. That can not be blamed on the manager and what has transpired at a position once manned by Teixeira, Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, Pete O'Brien and Mike Hargrove is mid-boggling. Wonder if Al Oliver can still fall out of bed and hit .300.

Jon Daniels is still in Washington's corner, believing that he is a great teacher of the game and the right manager for a team that is trying to build with young players. Should they be better?

Yes, especially on defense. Anybody notice the standings this morning? There are three teams in first place that were supposed to be in a rebuilding mode: Oakland, Baltimore and Florida.

Ouch. No doubt there was much discussed at the Cracker Barrel but if all problems were covered then hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo should have been invited to discuss the hitting with runners in scoring position.

A new manager, no matter who it is, inherits the same old problems and if you veer away from the long-range plan now, you run serious risk of falling back into the same painful rut that put the Rangers in this situation. The vicious cycle just begins anew and there are no shortcuts.

The problem is the Mavericks are toast and the Cowboys draft is done. The Stars are still rolling but as other teams leave the stage, the Rangers increasingly become the subject of talk-show flogging and the radio reception is good at Tom Hicks headquarters at the Crescent Hotel. The owner is off to England but there are plenty left behind to take notes and increase Arbitron ratings.

That's not the way to run a railroad but when there's dissatisfaction in the masses, that only cuts into ego and bank accounts and only stirs the call for drastic action.

The one thing Nolan Ryan understands is that it took the Rangers a long time to get to this point and it's not going to be a quick road back. Look, that doesn't mean Washington is going to still be here when the Rangers reach the end of that road. A team can't continue to play poorly no matter what the overall philosophy might be.

Really the Rangers set their course in July of last year. When they made those trades Teixeira, Kenny Lofton and Eric Gagne, they had crossed the same stream as Caesar and can not turn back. They have committed to a long-term plan of attack and a new manager is not going to accelerate the process. The more likely danger is another 180 degree turn for the worse.

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

St.Thomas Aquinas

Today is April 28 and you know of course that it was on April 28, 1789 somewhere in the South Sea that Fletcher Christian led the famous Mutiny on the Bounty against Captain William Bligh.

That led to a classic novel - my all-time favorite book - several followup books about what really happened and three movies of which Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson make the best Bligh and the best Christian.

You know they ask you if you could have dinner with three people and my answer has always been Fletcher Christian and William Barrett Travis because I'd want to ask them both.

What on earth were you thinking?

Which begs the question....

What's on your minds this morning...

1. Might as well ask it...what is your take on the managerial situation and what should happen there?

2. How should the Rangers handle the catching situation now?

3. How much do you think the Rangers struggles in hitting with runners in scoring position has accounted for their overall struggles?

4. Who is the Rangers Player of the Month for April?

5. Do you think 26 games is too early to make sweeping changes?