You know, I just gotta say,

Usually when people mouth off like that, bad things happen.  What goes around comes around, and the baseball gods are truly vindictive vengeful gods that act swiftly and love to righteously punish those who piss them off.

Josh Hamilton, apparently, has not saved his breath to cool his porridge.  A grown man and addict that was/is revered in North Texas and much of this nation.  A grown man who makes over twenty million dollars a year hitting baseballs, and running after them.

Chuck Morgan, the Rangers' and The Ballpark in Arlington public address voice said it ever so well the other day,

VC, I have been wondering since December.

Its not so much the negativity, but making sure our fans feel at home and that our players feel like they are at home. Out of respect to the current roster, even though its part of our history, this year is a little early to show big hits or big plays by players that have moved on. 

We are working on a concept. A little history showing the AL trophies being raised. 

Personally, I think our fans deserve more credit than what they have received the past couple of days. David Murphy said it best, that our place was “electric”. Ron Washington said it best, 3.4 million came through the gates in Texas.

Like many of you, I have been to what people consider “baseball towns”. In New York, I saw a ballpark empty out in the middle of an ALCS game. 

I grew up close to a “baseball town.” If you take the Rangers history, put it on the banks of the Mississippi, I’m not sure that is a baseball town. 

I hope that makes sense, but what I am saying, fans here deserve a lot of credit. Fans here have supported a baseball team for 40 years with not a lot of trips to the postseason. I think Adam mentioned that in his column this morning.

In my opinion, there are alot of baseball fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We are a melting pot of many baseball fans. Some from Detroit, some from New York, some like the Cardinals from the days their grandparents listened to KMOX, some like the Braves and Cubs because of the superstations.

But in 2010, something special happened. Almost everyone in this area became Texas Rangers fans.

As I wrote back in September, 3,000,000 should never be taken for granted. It needs to be respected. There are couple of those so called baseball towns that wish they had fans like the Texas Rangers have now.

Our fans are loud. Our fans cheer when there are 2 strikes. Our fans for years have cheered and given standing ovations to great performances, that’s nothing new. That’s been going on since I came here in 1983 and getting know fans here, I am sure great performances were cheered for back in the 1970s.

In 1993 we closed a ballpark and our fans responded the way any baseball town would.

In 1994 we opened a new ballpark and our fans responded the way any baseball town would.

In 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010 and 2011 we won AL West titles and our fans responded the way any baseball town would.

In 2010 and 2011 we won AL Pennants and our fans responded the way any baseball town would.

This area is a great area for football, basketball, hockey, NASCAR and baseball.

We live in a great sports area. Not many areas in the country that can support franchises and events the way Dallas-Fort Worth does with attendance, interest, sponsorships, luxury suites, TV and radio ratings.

Dallas-Fort Worth is a great area and a great place for a professional athlete to call home.

Fans in this area, in this case, baseball fans, deserve more credit and a big thank you.

I’ll get off the soap box now.

Thanks

Chuck

by chuckranger83 on Feb 19, 2013 2:42 PM CST up reply   67 recs

Word.  Can not wait to see the Angels run in to town now.

MDS

I feel pretty good about

Today's Rangers game against the Orioles.  I mean, heck, we're not playing the Athletics anymore, right? 

I am not guaranteeing a victory, or anything.  The Orioles are a good team and another great baseball story this year, like the A's, Reds, and Nationals.  But, it is at home, Darvish is on the bump, and the Rangers, despite their recent meltdown, are the better team.

We will see how it goes.

(Hamilton's mysterious ailment, his dropped pop up, and his inability to take a single pitch have all added up to a "Happy trails" attitude amongst Ranger fans.  I feel the same way.  He was a great story, and he was a big part of the Rangers recent success, but there is no way he is deserving over the twenty million per annum offers he will entertain this winter.  He really screwed up his job dialogue, for sure.  Ciao, baby, and amen.)















Ardent

The Rangers Magic Number is five.

Their Magic Number for the playoffs is three, and their Magic Number for Home Field Advantage is eight.

(Have I told you folks the Renee Magic Number story? It is a hoot.  Maybe another time.)

Wow! Look at Napoli jump!

In the meantime, let us talk about last night's odd little A's/Rangers tilt.  Derek "Dutch" Holland had looked marvelous lately, so, last night, of course, he could not find the strike zone, and gave up two massive bombs to Cespedes and Donaldson.  He lasted all of three total innings, and left, trailing three to one.

When I saw that Roy Oswalt was coming in for the fourth, I had resigned myself to the fact that the Rangers were most certainly going to lose, and that Oswalt would act like a little cry baby again, and that Ranger fans everywhere would scream, "DFA the bum, already!"

Lo, and behold, Oswalt pitched very well for two frames, and kept the Rangers in the game. Hamilton (we discovered what his mystery illness was, but it still sounds like a fishy story) hit a second-deck bomb job of his own, and the Rangers were trailing four to two, bottom of the seventh.

The A's yanked Straily (after a v fine effort) with two out, bottom seven, and brought in Neshak. (Neshak had blown the A's four run 13th inning lead in the Bronx a few days ago.)  Neshak walked Hamilton, got to two strikes on Beltre, and then got rocked by an opposite field home run, tying the game at four.

A's fans are surely wondering why Ross pitched the ninth.  (I feel bad for Ross, he has had a v rough year.) But, for whatever reason, Managers are reluctant to bring in their closers in tied ballgames on the road.  There were some other options for Melvin, too (Doolittle, the Rangers had lefty Moreland lead off) but Melvin went for Ross.

Ross faced five batters, giving up one run, three singles, an intentional walk, and recorded his only out on Elvis Andrus' sacrifice.  And, that is your ballgame.

(Melvin's oddest move to me last night was sending the runner in the top of the ninth with Cespedes -- who murders the Rangers -- in the on deck circle.)

Beltre's legend continues to grow in Arlington.  He had a spectacular game last night, despite still being v sick.

Alright, we do it all again tonight! Darvish v Milone.  You gotta love nerve-wracking Pennant Race baseball.

















Ardent

Baseball box scores

Are so stunningly beautiful to me.  They are little haikus, one of the finest examples of the objective correlative out there.

And, oftentimes, the little AP capsules that accompany them are so succinct and perfect as to be breathtaking, too.

They are little jewels hiding in your newspaper that many do not even know about, pass over, ignore, etc, ...

And, I like scoring games, as well, which produces another type of lovely little poem, too, one more prosaic.

Hamilton cf    5 4 5 8 0 0 .406

"He hit a baseball. The dude's on fire. What do you want me to say?"

It is the end of my week, sort of, no Two Days Off Dance today, ...



All my love,
Ardent

Josh Hamilton is up for a Job Dialogue!

While most of the baseball world's eyes are prob focussed on the "It's the Yankees! It's the Red Sox! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! My Gawd!" this weekend, they should be watching what is going down in Detroit.

The Rangers split a doubleheader yesterday w/ the Tigers in what has been an absolutely thrilling early-season four game series.  The Rangers plated eight in the first inning of the first game, eventually winning 10-4.  The Tigers won the nightcap 3-2, a great pitcher's duel between Neftali Feliz and Justin Verlander.

Uh, I loooooove me some contract year, just had a relapse Josh Hamilton.  He is looking like he did in June 2010, one of the best months for any MLB hitter the last ten years.

(He just hit another one.  Rangers up 1-nil, Top 2.)

The Rangers and Tigers are the real class of the American League.  And the Angels are gonna wake up.  They are going to be good, real good, but not as good as the Rangers.  Derek Holland (w/ the crappy mustache) is very quietly becoming our ace.  Neftali Feliz' transition to starter has been amazing, again.  (This is the third year in a row the Rangers have successfully converted a reliever to a starter.)  And the Rangers are attempting to become like the 1984 Detroit Tigers, who started the season 35-5.

Renee and I are going to have the greatest Sunday ever today.  And this Okie/Texas boie loves himself this heat.  More please.  And hotter!

Everybody check out Veep and Girls tonight.  We will be riveted, eating grilled sausages from Cafe Rouge, drinking fabulous wine.







I love you all,
Michael