Washington/Baltimore Trip Report

A couple weeks ago, my dad and I went to Baltimore and Washington DC for our annual baseball trip. Here is a summary of my trip.

Thursday, June 19th:

We were on the 7am flight from DFW to Chicago O’ Hare (where we connected to go to DC). But we had a 1 hr 20 min delay getting out of DFW because of thunderstorms. We only had a 1 hr 40 min layover between our two flights. Luckily, our flight to DC was only three gates down, so we made it in the middle of the boarding process. Our flight to Washington went right on schedule, so even after a 1 hr 20 min delay we got there just on time. Once we got there we got a rental car from Avis, and drove to Baltimore. The drive didn’t go smoothly because we had to keep making stops at places. Maryland doesn’t do a very good of signing on the highways. The signs will show what’s off of the exits (like McDonald’s), but unlike Dallas where the place is right off the highway, you have to go searching through the town for the place. When we finally got to Baltimore we checked in at a Days Inn that was just two blocks away from Camden Yards. It was nice for a Days Inn, but was way overpriced.

My dad and I hung out in our room for about half-an-hour, and then headed over to the ballpark. The Rangers are incredibly fan-friendly for two main reasons that we saw just on this trip. #1: A lot of teams are starting to only open up the outfield during batting practice (the Rangers open the whole ballpark). #2: The Orioles that day were giving away Nick Markakis bobbleheads. But, they were only giving them away to people 15 and older. When we went there a couple years ago they were doing the same thing with hats. I don’t understand why they would keep kids from getting giveaways like bobbleheads and hats. So they only gave us one bobblehead but my dad gave his to me.

My dad and I got there at 5:00 PM, when Eutaw Street opened (the outfield), for the 7:00 PM game. We went to the team store and I got an Orioles shirt. Camden Yards is my favorite ballpark in all of baseball because of all the plaques of balls that show all of the homers that have been hit out into the concourse and the warehouse that they have in the outfield. And they have a really good scoreboard system.

The Orioles were playing the Astros, who going into the game had lost seven straight. The O’s were going for a sweep. Shawn Chacon was pitching for the Astros and Brian Burres for the Orioles, both of whom had pitched against the Rangers earlier in the year. Neither pitcher got out of the sixth. The Astros scored one in the top of the first and then shut the O’s down in the bottom half. Then, in the top of the second, Hunter Pence had a solo homer that put the Astros up 2-0. In the bottom half of the third, the O’s scored one to get back within one. Then in the bottom half of the fourth, they took the lead for good, with a solo homer from Ramon Hernandez, and another from Alex Cintron two batters later. It was his first of the year. In the bottom of the fifth, the Orioles tacked on three and ended Chacon’s night. He left after five, allowing 8 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 4 walks, 0 strike-outs and 2 home runs. He only threw 50 strikes in 96 pitches. Then, in the top of the sixth, with two outs and nobody on, Miguel Tejada ended Brian Burres’ night (which was only 87 pitches) with a solo homer. Burres pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 2 homers, and striking out 3 (two in the first inning). The O’s tacked on their last run in the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer hit by Aubrey Huff to take a 7-3 lead. In the top of the ninth, Dennis Sarfate allowed two runs on only one out, but they were both unearned due to an Alex Cintron error. George Sherill then came in and got the last two outs of the game, allowing one hit, but still picked up his 24th save of the year, and giving the Astros their eighth straight loss. The Orioles won 7-5.

After the game, we walked back to our hotel.

Friday, June 20th:

When we woke up, we went to Camden Yards, because Eutaw Street is always open, so we went there and checked out the balls on the ground. The first one ever hit out there was by Kevin Reimer when he was a Ranger. We then went to the Sports Legends museum right outside the ballpark. It has a whole floor for the Orioles and Babe Ruth, and then another floor for all the other sports in Baltimore. It’s a very neat museum. After that we followed the 60 baseballs painted on the ground that lead you from Camden Yards to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum. It’s a very small place, but has plenty of information. The place has a wall that shows every home run he ever hit in his career, categorized by year. After that we ate lunch at a restaurant in Camden Yards and then went and checked out a couple of old ballpark sites, but they were both in just awful areas of town. One of the parks (Oriole Park where the Orioles played in 1901-02 before they became the Yankees) was replaced by run-down apartments, and another (Memorial Stadium) by a YMCA.

After that we drove to DC, but that was also slow, this time due to traffic. When we finally got there we checked into a brand new Marriot Courtyard that was just four blocks from the Nationals stadium.

We got to the ballpark when the gates opened (5:00 PM for a 7:30 PM game), and walked all around the outside, but the outside was very plain. The only neat thing on the outside is an area where they have information on important dates in Washington DC baseball history. They have the years carved into the ground and then posts with information on what happened each year.

After walking around the outside, we went into the park, but like the Orioles, the only let you in the outfield during BP. The inside was also very plain. There just wasn’t much to it, other than it being new. Once it gets older, it’s going to be a very lame ballpark. Eleanor Czajka was there and we talked to her for a while during BP and she came and sat with us during the game.

The pitching match-up was Kevin Millwood for the Rangers against Tim Redding for the Nationals. The first inning was scoreless, but in the top half of the second the Rangers scored all three of their runs on a three-run double by Ian Kinsler. But after the second, the Rangers only had two hits (both of them infield) in their final 12 innings. In the bottom of the 3rd the Nats scored two on a Randy Flores two-run single. No one scored again until the bottom of the eighth. In the fourth, Gerald Laird pulled his hamstring going to first. After the sixth, Tim Redding came out with a stat-line of 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. In the bottom of the eighth Elijah Dukes hit a solo homer that tied up the game. Kevin Millwood left after the inning, pitching 8 strong innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, and striking out 4. After that the Nationals bullpen dominated. For the Rangers Frank Francisco had one strong inning, Josh Rupe had three strong innings, and Joaquin Benoit had one strong inning. No one scored until the bottom of the fourteenth. Jamey Wright came in and only allowed one hit, but walked two, and with two outs Elijah Dukes singled between third and short for a walk-off victory for the Nationals. Elijah Dukes went 5-for-6, with 2 runs, 2 RBI’s, one walk, a double, a homer, 3 singles, 2 stolen bases, and a walk-off hit. He ended up a triple shy of the cycle. Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, and David Murphy all went 0-for-6 on the night.

Even though the Rangers lost, it was a lot of fun being there. I had never been to a 14-inning game before. They did a 14th inning stretch and ran the Presidents’ race twice. The Presidents’ race is like our dot race but it’s with people dressed up like Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt never wins no matter what he does. Lincoln won all of the races we saw that weekend.

After the game, we walked back to our hotel.

Saturday, June 21st:

On Saturday we hung around the hotel until around 10:00 AM. We then took the subway into downtown DC. We walked to the ESPN Zone for lunch and got there right when they opened. Since we were the first people there, we got to sit in recliners in front of a big screen TV while we ate our food. It was a very neat experience.

After lunch, we went to the International Spy Museum and walked around the museum for about an hour. It’s a neat museum with lots of information on spying and its history. Then, we played a spy game they offer at the museum for an extra charge. In the game you become a spy and you make decisions about what to do. It’s very well done and really fun. It takes just over an hour to do. You go in groups of 12 and are put in spying scenes and situations (all of which are part of one big story). We got to do video surveillance, clean up an audio surveillance tape, break into and search a room, crack open a safe, and question a prisoner. Our group got 4 out of 5 stars. Once we did that, we went back to ESPN Zone and played a few games before getting back on the subway and going to see the Rangers game.

Before the game, we ate at the Red Porch, which is a restaurant in the outfield at Nationals Park. It was good to eat at an air-conditioned place but the restaurant wasn’t very good. They just serve the same food you can get at the concession stands.

To lead off the game Ian Kinsler homered into the Rangers bullpen to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Later on in the inning David Murphy doubled over Elijah Dukes’ head to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead. The Rangers took a 4-0 lead with 1 in the second, but it was cut in half in the bottom half by a solo homer from Lastings Milledge, and then they scored another later in the inning. In the bottom of the fifth the Nationals came within one, scoring one. Nobody scored until the top of the seventh after that, but then there was a lot of it. The Rangers scored seven in the inning. Vazquez struck out to start the inning, but then German Duran singled, Kinsler walked, Milton Bradley singled, Michael Young got a 2-RBI single, Josh Hamilton got an RBI single, and then four runs later the incredible inning ended after a pinch-hitter got two at-bats in it. The Rangers scored again in both the eighth and ninth, scoring one in each inning and ended up winning 13-3 with 18 hits. Kason Gabbard got the win, and Luis Mendoza got a three-inning save.

The game was a lot of fun. We sat with Eleanor again and it rained a little during the last inning. I got to talk with Thad Levine as he was leaving the game. After the game we walked back to the hotel.

Sunday, June 22nd:

We flew home taking the same route back as we took there, going through Chicago O’ Hare to get to our destination. Everything went just as planned this time and we got back right on time.

Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my top five pitchers would you want the most on your team?
Brandon Webb, ARI – 42%
Edinson Volquez, CIN – 26%
Tim Lincecum, SF – 21%
Cole Hamels, PHI – 5%
Roy Halladay, TOR – 5%
Other – 0%

Come back next week for my June Awards.

Outfield/Pitcher Picks

This week I analyzed the players in MLB at the outfield and pitcher positions and determined the top 60 players at pitcher and 35 at outfield that I would want on my team. The assumption is that my team is a contender so I’m picking for this year as well as the future.

Pitcher:
1. Brandon Webb, ARI – Webb just has such good talent, is Cy Young caliber every year, gets so many wins, with a good ERA and a good amount of strikeouts. He’s so good at getting out of jams by getting the batters to ground into double-plays with his sinker, and he still has plenty of years left on him.
2. Tim Lincecum, SF – Tim Lincecum is incredibly young, very talented, and seems to have already gotten to his full potential, as he has a great ERA this year.
3. Cole Hamels, PHI – He’s young, he’s talented, he gets plenty of strikeouts, he gets good ERA’s, he’s performed in big games, and I’m not even sure he’s reached his full potential yet.
4. Edinson Volquez, CIN – Edinson is still very young, and he’s really putting it together, leading the MLB in strikeouts (110) and ERA (1.71) and is tied for third in the MLB in wins (10), all in a hitters’ ballpark.
5. Roy Halladay, TOR – Roy is just a workhorse. He’s a veteran guy that doesn’t strike out too many guys, but doesn’t allow many runs, and he just pitches so many innings each and every year.
6. Jake Peavy, SD
7. Josh Beckett, BOS
8. John Lackey, LAA
9. Aaron Cook, COL
10. CC Sabathia, CLE
11. Matt Cain, SF
12. Clayton Kershaw, LAD
13. Dan Haren, ARI
14. Johnny Cueto, CIN
15. Johan Santana, NYM
16. Chris Young, SD
17. Erik Bedard, SEA
18. Fausto Carmona, CLE
19. Felix Hernandez, SEA
20. Jair Jurrjens, ATL
21. Ryan Dempster, CHC
22. James Shields, TB
23. Cliff Lee, CLE
24. Dustin McGowan, TOR
25. Carlos Zambrano, CHC
26. Roy Oswalt, HOU
27. Adam Wainwright, STL
28. Javier Vazquez, CWS
29. Aaron Harang, CIN
30. Jon Lester, BOS
31. Kyle Lohse, STL
32. Chad Billingsley, LAD
33. Zach Grienke, KC
34. Luke Hochevar, KC
35. Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS
36. Gavin Floyd, CWS
37. Justin Duchscherer, OAK
38. Jon Danks, CWS
39. Jon Garland, LAA
40. Chien-Ming Wang, NYY
41. Vicente Padilla, TEX
42. Jose Contreras, CWS
43. Jesse Litsch, TOR
44. Jon Maine, NYM
45. Micah Owings, ARI
46. Braden Looper, STL
47. Nick Blackburn, MIN
48. Boof Bonser, MIN
49. Jered Weaver, LAA
50. Shawn Marcum, TOR
51. Ben Sheets, MIL
52. Joba Chamberlain, NYY
53. Greg Smith, OAK
54. Dana Eveland, OAK
55. Joe Lannan, WAS
56. Jeff Suppan, MIL
57. Joe Blanton, OAK
58. Ervin Santana, LAA
59. Hiroki Kuroda, LAD
60. Scott Feldman, TEX

Outfield:
1. Josh Hamilton, TEX – Josh is only 26 years old, and he can just do it all. He can run, field, and hit. He’s the definition of a five-tool player.
2. Alfonso Soriano, CHC – Soriano has good speed, and he can hit for both power and average. He’s just missing some better fielding.
3. Vladimir Guerrero, LAA – Vlad can struggle, but at the end of the year, every year, he’s batting over .300 with 20-30 homers, and 100 RBI’s.
4. Grady Sizemore, CLE – Grady plays brilliant defense, he can hit 25 homers a year, is a great leadoff man, gets a lot of base hits, and he’s also a five-tool player.
5. Jay Bruce, CIN – Jay is very, very young, has so much talent and potential and is already getting it done in his rookie year.
6. Manny Ramirez, BOS
7. Ryan Braun, MIL
8. Pat Burrell, PHI
9. Carlos Quentin, CWS
10. Nick Markakis, BAL
11. Torii Hunter, LAA
12. Carl Crawford, TB
13. Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS
14. Chris Young, ARI
15. Rick Ankiel, STL
16. Matt Kemp, LAD
17. Matt Holliday, COL
18. Aaron Rowand, SF
19. Magglio Ordonez, DET
20. Nate McLouth, PIT
21. Kosuke Fukudome, CHC
22. Andre Ethier, LAD
23. Justin Upton, ARI
24. Hunter Pence, HOU
25. Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
26. Vernon Wells, TOR
27. Ben Francisco, CLE
28. Xavier Nady, PIT
29. Ryan Church, NYM
30. Carlos Beltran, NYM
31. Carlos Lee, HOU
32. Jeff Francoeur, ATL
33. David Murphy, TEX
34. Jason Bay, PIT
35. Michael Cuddyer, MIN

Result of last week’s poll:
Which infield position do you think is most stocked throughout baseball?
First base – 82%
Catcher – 9%
Second base – 9%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for a recap of the baseball trip to Washington DC (Rangers/Nationals) and Baltimore (Astros/Orioles) that I just got back from.

Infield Picks

This past week, I was at Myrtle Beach, SC. While I was there, I saw a Pelicans game (Braves high-A team). Keep an eye on Eric Campbell. He plays 3B and has great potential.

This week I analyzed the players in MLB at each infield position and determined the top 20 players from each position that I would want on my team. The assumption is that my team is a contender so I’m picking for this year as well as the future.

Catcher:
1. Brian McCann, ATL – Brian is still young, and he can hit for both power and average.
2. Russell Martin, LAD – Like Brian, Russell is still young, has good power and has a good batting average.
3. Geovany Soto, CHC – Geovany is a rookie and has great potential.
4. Joe Mauer, MIN – Joe is a very good defensive catcher, and has a very good batting average.
5. Jorge Posada, NYY – He might be older, but he can still hit for power and average.
6. Chris Iannetta, COL
7. Ivan Rodriguez, DET
8. Yadier Molina, STL
9. Bengie Molina, SF
10. Ryan Doumit, PIT
11. Jason Varitek, BOS
12. Dioneer Navarro, TB
13. AJ Pierzynski, CWS
14. Gerald Laird, TEX
15. Victor Martinez, CLE
16. Kurt Suzuki, OAK
17. Kenji Johjima, SEA
18. Jason Kendall, MIL
19. Rod Barajas, TOR
20. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX

First Base:
1. Albert Pujols, STL – He gets on base almost 1 out of every 2 plate appearances with a .475 OBP.
2. David Ortiz, BOS – Ortiz can hit for average, has great power, and is clutch.
3. Ryan Howard, PHI – Ryan just has great power.
4. Lance Berkman, HOU – Lance has great power and a great batting average.
5. Justin Morneau, MIN – Morneau gets a lot of RBI’s, has good power, and a good batting average.
6. Derek Lee, CHC
7. Mark Teixeira, ATL
8. Adrian Gonzalez, SD
9. Conor Jackson, ARI
10. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
11. James Loney, LAD
12. Joey Votto, CIN
13. Carlos Pena, TB
14. Miguel Cabrera, DET
15. Mike Jacobs, FLA
16. Adam LaRoche, PIT
17. Casey Kotchman, LAA
18. Prince Fielder, MIL
19. Todd Helton, COL
20. Sean Casey, BOS

Second base:
1. Chase Utley, PHI – Chase is young, talented, has great power, a good batting average, and can play defense.
2. Brandon Phillips, CIN – Brandon is just an all-around solid player.
3. Ian Kinsler, TEX – He’s young, a good leadoff man, and can hit for power.
4. Dan Uggla, FLA – He’s young and has great power.
5. Orlando Hudson, ARI – He’s very good in the field, and his hitting is solid.
6. Brian Roberts, BAL
7. Dustin Pedroia, BOS
8. Robinson Cano, NYY
9. Mark DeRosa, CHC
10. Freddy Sanchez, PIT
11. Kelly Johnson, ATL
12. Kazuo Matsui, HOU
13. Akinori Iwamura, TB
14. Ray Durham, SF
15. Jose Lopez, SEA
16. Jeff Kent, LAD
17. Juan Uribe, CWS
18. Placido Polanco, DET
19. Mark Grudzielanek, KC
20. Alexis Casilla, MIN

Third base:
1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY – A-ROD can hit for power and average.
2. Chipper Jones, ATL – Chipper is batting over .400 this year.
3. Garrett Atkins, COL – He young, gets plenty of RBI’s, and has a good batting average.
4. Aramis Ramirez, CHC – He gets a good batting average, and good power numbers.
5. David Wright, NYM – He’s young, has good power, and a good batting average.
6. Mike Lowell, BOS
7. Carlos Guillen, DET
8. Chone Figgins, LAA
9. Joe Crede, CWS
10. Troy Glaus, STL
11. Mark Reynolds, ARI
12. Evan Longoria, TB
13. Blake DeWitt, LAD
14. Jorge Cantu, FLA
15. Melvin Mora, BAL
16. Edwin Encarnacion, CIN
17. Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD
18. Alex Gordon, KC
19. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
20. Adrian Beltre, SEA

Shortstop:
1. Hanley Ramirez, FLA – He’s young, has good power, and a good average.
2. Jimmy Rollins, PHI – Jimmy has good speed, batting average, and is a good leadoff man.
3. Jose Reyes, NYM – Jose’s fast, plays good defense in the field, and has a good batting average.
4. Michael Young, TEX – Michael gets 200 hits almost every year with a good batting average.
5. Miguel Tejada, HOU – Miguel has good power and a good batting average.
6. Derek Jeter, NYY
7. Stephen Drew, ARI
8. Rafael Furcal, LAD
9. Yunel Escobar, ATL
10. Edgar Renteria, DET
11. JJ Hardy, MIL
12. Ryan Theriot, CHC
13. Orlando Cabrera, CWS
14. Johnny Peralta, CLE
15. Christian Guzman, WAS
16. Khalil Greene, SD
17. Yuniesky Betancourt, SEA
18. Jeff Keppinger, CIN
19. Bobby Crosby, OAK
20. Erick Aybar, LAA

Result of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the Rangers Runner-up MVP (after Josh Hamilton)?
Milton Bradley – 56%
Ian Kinsler – 27%
Michael Young – 8%
David Murphy – 7%
Other – 1%

Note: At the very bottom of my blog I have added the Rangers record.

Come back next week for the pitchers and outfielders.

Josh Hamilton Interview

Last Saturday, I interviewed Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. I first met Josh at the Fan Fest in January. I introduced myself after a Q&A session and asked if I could interview him for my blog. He was very nice and agreed. I’ve talked to him a bunch of times since then at spring training and before games. He always comes over to say hello and mentions that we still need to set up the interview. A couple of weeks ago, he said that he was tired of putting it off and he called Court Berry-Tripp (from the Rangers Media Relations department) over and asked him to arrange it for May 31st. Court and I e-mailed each other back and forth until we set something up. On May 31st, my dad and I were supposed to go to the center field offices at about 1:40 PM, so that we could meet Josh at 2:00. It turned out that Josh wanted me to interview him in the clubhouse. Court took us down to the clubhouse where Josh was waiting for us on a couch and eating a chicken wing. Players were just wandering around the clubhouse while I sat next to Josh on the couch and interviewed him. It was really neat.

Here is the interview:

Me: How did your faith help you get through your struggles a few years ago?

Josh: I found out that was the only way I could get through struggles. I tried for so long to do everything on my own, to get better on my own. But I couldn’t do it by myself, so ‘til I actually sought out God and relied on God, it wasn’t going to work. That was how I got stronger.

Me: I go to Richardson East Church of Christ and I’m thinking about getting baptized this summer.

Josh: Give me some of that buddy. (Josh high-fived me.) I got baptized in ’06 before my first year in the major leagues. I got baptized with my oldest girl. So I got saved…

(Josh’s wife called him. After he got off the phone, Josh said his mouth was burning up from some spicy chicken he was eating when we arrived. He got up to get a bottle of water.)

Me: When and why did you become a Christian?

Josh: I became a Christian when I was 18 years old, after I got drafted and I went off to start playing baseball. I felt like during that summer that something was missing. I grew up going to church but never accepted Christ. When I was 12 years old I started playing AAU baseball and started traveling around a lot. I kind of got away from the church scene and really trying to live for the Lord. So when I was 18, I accepted Christ in my uncle and aunt’s living room in North Carolina.

Me: What was going through your mind when you kept having all those setbacks?

Josh: I felt like things were kind of getting hopeless. I didn’t have any hope in my life. I felt like I was never going to be able to get it. Like I said before, I was trying to do it all on my own. When you have a relationship with Christ, he can get you through anything. So I didn’t have that. I was wondering what was missing. Since I was saved, people ask me ‘How can you have gone through all this stuff after you’d accepted Christ?’ I just tell them, I didn’t know how to grow spiritually. I didn’t know how to get into the Word and how to pray. I didn’t know how to fellowship with other Christians. Satan doesn’t have much to lose when you’re not a child of God. He comes at you a whole lot harder when he knows you’re a child of God than if you’re not.

Me: I read the article in Sports Illustrated on the way here and it says that James 4:7 helped you get through it.

Josh: Yep, ‘Humble yourself before God and resist the Devil and he will flee from you.’ Anytime I start to have old feelings of my past, I would just say that. And I’ve said it so many times, it became second nature really. And of course that was really one of the first scriptures I memorized. It’s kind of weird it was that one. That’s what I’m saying – God knows your heart and He knows what you’re struggling with and He’ll put in front of you what you need to hear.

Me: What advice would you give to young people who may be going through the same things you went through?

Josh: It’s about choices. It’s about choices I make. If I make good choices, the majority of the time I’m gonna have good consequences or no bad consequences. Sometimes you will, but if I make bad choices, most of the time they’re going to have bad consequences attached to them. People, places and things – that’s what my parents taught me. If I’m not doing what certain people are doing, if I hang around them long enough, I’m going to start doing those things. Same thing with places. I might not be doing what they’re doing in those places but if I keep going to those places, I’m gonna end up doing what they’re doing. Just surround yourself with good people who want to see you do well. You’ll know who those people are.

Me: When the Devil Rays let you go in the Rule 5 draft, what was your first thought?

Josh: They had told me that if they had any inclination that anybody was going to pick me up, they were going to put me on the 40-man (roster). I guess they didn’t have any inclination. Talk about God’s plan. We don’t know what it is. I was with the Devil Rays. I got drafted and went through those things with that team. Then they had a change of ownership and it was like opening the door again. They contacted me and said ‘We want you to still be a part of this team, part of the picture, the future.’ I think that was God just allowing me to get my foot back in the door. Then he had a different plan after that and that was with the Reds last year. That’s where I needed to be my first year and Texas obviously is where I need to be my second year.

Me: Was it weird to get drafted by the Cubs and then go to the Reds or did you already know that when the Cubs got you?

Josh: I didn’t know it. They called and told me that they had taken me and I called all of my family and was all fired up. Actually, a scout had called me. The Cubs didn’t actually call me. About 20 minutes later I called back and said ‘Are you sure the Cubs took me?’ and he said ‘Change of plans – they had a deal before with the Reds’. So I had to call my family all again. It was pretty cool.

(Scott Feldman walked by and said hello.)

Me: What were your thoughts when Matt Murton made a sliding catch in your first major league at-bat?

Josh: He didn’t get the script. He was supposed to let that one drop. That’s baseball. He made a good play. But I was so excited, so happy just to be there compared to where I was a couple of years before that. I was grinning ear to ear even though I got out. The fans received me so well that it didn’t really matter whether I got a hit or not.

Me: What was it like when the players on the opposing teams gave you so much support like Michael Barrett and Craig Biggio?

Josh: It was a good feeling. It lets you know that there’s more to life than just the game of baseball. There are actual trials and things you go through. Professional athletes are human beings and going to have the same struggles as other people. So for those guys to give me support was tremendous, especially considering who was giving it. Those guys are pretty good players. It’s always good to get encouragement from guys and to give encouragement.

Me: What was the key to your success in your junior year, when you batted .636 and had an 11-2 record as a pitcher?

Josh: Having fun. I’ve been playing baseball my whole life so it’s one of those things where if I’m not out there having fun and enjoying it, I’m not going to do as well as I could. That’s the main focus.

(Doug Mathis walked by and said hello to us and we congratulated him on getting his first major league win as a starter.)

Me: Do you like pitching or hitting better? Why?

Josh: I’d have to say hitting because you’re getting to do it every day. Pitching – I’m not one to sit around for 3 or 4 days. But sometimes I do miss it. The competitive part of it – being on the mound and maybe controlling the game. But I just want to play every day.

Me: I pitch in little league and I like pitching better.

Josh: Do you?

Me: I’m in every play and I think I’m better at it.

Josh: Cool.

My Dad: Grant just had a ballgame today. He won.

Me: 9-2.

Josh: 9-2? Is that a read-in to tonight? Are we going to win pretty good?

Me: Hopefully

My Dad: Well, the last time you guys talked before a game, you went 5-for-5. Maybe there’s a connection.

Josh: If it is, we’re going to have a meeting every day.

Me: I’m hoping for 6-for-6.

Josh: 6-for-6? Pressure’s on.

Me: What was it like to finally play in Tampa?

Josh: Weird. I figured that would be the first place I ever played a major league game but like I said, God’s got plans set up and, you know, it’s kind of weird – I’m glad in a way I don’t play there because it’s not a great place to play as far as seeing the ball.

Me: Yeah, especially as an outfielder.

Josh: Right. Hitting was kind of tough. It was just kind of weird. We’ll see how good their pitching is this time.

Me: Well you did well against them.

Josh: I did alright – I hit a grand slam. Yes! (fist pump) Excited about that.

My Dad: With your eyes closed.

Josh: Yeah. It was weird. Katie said she was praying for me during that at-bat.

(Josh then poked fun at Ramon Vazquez for having a sunburn on his back and shoulders and then Ian came by and said hello to me.)

Me: What are the three biggest differences between playing in Cincinnati and playing here?

Josh: My teammates – better, in a good way. The support I’ve gotten from the front office here has been really good. Probably I’m more comfortable here overall. My teammates help me feel that way. The fans help me feel that way.

Me: They’re both hitters’ parks.

Josh: Yeah. It’s weird because I hit more home runs on the road last year than I did at home I think. Or it was close. Hopefully when the weather gets really hot here, I’ll be able to start crushing balls.

(Rudy Jaramillo came by then and introduced himself.)

Josh: This is the man who makes it happen here – this is the hitting coach.

Rudy: You know how to hit?

Me: Yeah

Josh: But what’s your favorite position?

Me: Pitcher

Rudy: And you know how to hit?

Josh: Hey, we all know how to do both when we’re younger.

(Then Joaquin Benoit came in and whistled twice through his teeth. He seems to like to whistle through his teeth.)

Me: What are the three toughest pitchers you’ve faced and why?

Josh: The toughest is Greg Maddux. He doesn’t throw very hard but his ball moves. It’s really tough. Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay, is tough. Lefty who throws hard. I don’t know. I don’t like giving pitchers too much credit. I don’t know who the third one is. I’ll just go with two.

Josh (after I stopped to think about it): You thinking for me?

Me: Yeah.

Josh: I usually like the tough ones. The tough ones are usually easier to hit.

My Dad: You faced Tim Wakefield yet?

Josh: Yeah. I like knuckle-balls.

My Dad: You face Pedro last year?

Josh: Yeah but he wasn’t throwing hard. He was only 87, 88.

My Dad: How about Brandon Webb?

Josh: I don’t even remember facing him. I remember facing him in spring training I think.

(Josh’s phone rang again and Court asked me to do just one more question.)

Me: And the last one is: what’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?

Josh: Major league career?

Me: Yes

Josh: I’d have to go with the 5-for-5 with 5 RBI’s (on May 16th against the Astros). It was definitely the funnest too.

My Dad: We were right behind home plate for that game.

Josh: Oh yeah? (He then acted like he just remembered that I asked him to go 6-for-6 and was feeling a lot of pressure.)

Me: Who was the pitcher for that game?

Josh: Chacon for Houston started and it was a blur after that.

That was the end of the interview. I thanked Josh for doing the interview and my dad gave Josh a copy of a Rangers program from last year where they did an article on me. Josh asked me to autograph it for him. Court then led us back to the center field offices. We said hello to Thad Levine on the way out. We then hung out in Arlington until that night’s game. Josh didn’t go 6-for-6 but he did hit a home run and get 3 RBI’s.

I would like to thank Josh again for doing this interview and Court for arranging it. It was one of the neatest experiences I’ve ever had. It was very nice of Josh to take up his time to do it. We’ve seen Josh at a lot of games and he’s one of the nicest baseball players I’ve ever seen. No player on the team stops and talks to fans and signs autographs more than Josh. He’s very busy right now because he’s getting a lot of attention and it was nice of him to take time to let me interview him.

Results of last week’s poll:
Poll continued until next week.

Come back next week for Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 7.

May Awards

This week I will give my May Awards. These are as if the season ended at the end of May.

Rangers Awards:

Rangers MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .326 AVG, 14 HR, 61 RBI: Josh is 2nd in the AL in batting average, tied for 1st in homers, and 1st in all of baseball in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX

Rangers Cy Young: Vicente Padilla, TEX: 7-2 W-L, 3.67 ERA, 54 K: Vicente has had a very solid year, with a solid record, a solid ERA, a solid number of innings, and a solid number of strikeouts.
Runner-up: Jamey Wright, TEX

Rangers Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .283 AVG, 6 HR, 36 RBI: David is leading all AL rookies in RBI’s, and is just having a great year.
Runner-up: Brandon Boggs, TEX

AL Awards:

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .326 AVG, 14 HR, 61 RBI: Josh is a Triple Crown threat and has led the Rangers to a winning record so far.
Runner-up: Carlos Quentin, CWS

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, CLE: 8-1 W-L, 1.88 ERA, 57 K: Cliff is tied for the AL lead in wins, and has the best ERA in the AL. He’s gotten almost a third of the team’s wins.
Runner-up: Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS

AL Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .283 AVG, 6 HR, 36 RBI:
Runner-up: Aaron Laffey, CLE

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, TB
Runner-up: Bob Geren, OAK

NL Awards:

NL MVP: Chase Utley, PHI: .311 AVG, 20 HR, 50 RBI: Chase leads the MLB in homers, leads the NL in RBI’s and is batting over .300 on a first place team.
Runner-up: Chipper Jones, ATL

NL Cy Young: Edinson Volquez, CIN: 7-2 W-L, 1.46 ERA, 83 K: Edinson has seven wins, has the lowest ERA in baseball, and has the most strikeouts in baseball.
Runner-up: Brandon Webb, ARI

NL Rookie of the Year: Joey Votto, CIN: .293 AVG, 10 HR, 29 RBI: In his rookie season, Votto is hitting almost .300, and has 10 homers through May.
Runner-up: Jair Jurrjens, ATL

NL Manager of the Year: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA
Runner-up: Cecil Cooper, HOU

Results of last weeks’ poll:
What do you think has been the Rangers best category so far this year?
Hitting – 86%
Pitching – 14%
Fielding – 0%

Come back next week for an interview with Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

Rangers Recap

This week I will do a recap on the Rangers overall season and every category of it. First, I would like to wish health to Tom Grieve, as he has prostate cancer and will need to have surgery.

Note: pitching stats are as of 5/24/08. Hitting and fielding stats are as of 5/25/08.

Rangers Overview: The Rangers were awful at the start of the year, bottoming out at 9-18 on April 29th. At that point we were already 7 ½ games out of first, only 27 games into the season, and had a .333 winning percentage. At that point we had the worst record in baseball, had allowed the most runs in all of baseball, and had only scored more runs than 4 AL teams. In 27 games, the Rangers had allowed 49 more runs than they had scored. That’s an average of losing by 1.81 runs per game, which is awful. At that point we were 4-8 at home and 5-10 on the road. Since then, we have been playing very, very well. We’ve still allowed the most runs in all of baseball, but now we’ve scored the most runs in our division, the 2nd most in the AL by one run, and the 3rd most in all of baseball. Our winning percentage is now up to .500, going 16-7 since starting off 9-18. The Rangers have the best record vs. the West in the West, and now have a winning record at home and vs. righties and are only one game under .500 on the road. In their last 23 games, the Rangers have an average of a win of 1.61 runs per game and are now on the year only averaging a loss of 0.24 runs per game. They’re also the only team in the West to have a winning record in 1-run ballgames. Now the Rangers are only 4 games back of both first place and the wild card and are only 1 ½ games back of second place.
Team’s grade so far this year: B

Rangers pitching: The Rangers’ pitching has struggled this year, allowing the most runs in all of baseball. We only have one pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 and six with ERA’s under 4.00. Vicente Padilla is the only member of the original starting rotation who hasn’t been injured and is leading the team in wins with six. Our closer, CJ Wilson, who started the year on fire, now has a 4.79 ERA. Sidney Ponson has a 2.95 ERA, and is leading the team in that category. I would say that Jamey Wright has been the star of the bullpen and Vicente Padilla the star of the rotation.
Pitching grade so far this year: C-

Rangers hitting: The Rangers hitting has been very successful so far this year, scoring the most runs in the West, the most in the AL, and the 2nd most in all of baseball. The Rangers have the 2nd best batting average in the AL, the 2nd best slugging percentage in the AL, the 2nd best OBP in the AL, the 2nd most walks in the AL, the most total bases in the AL, the most RBI’s in the AL, the most home runs in the AL, the 2nd most doubles in the AL, the 2nd most hits in the AL, the most runs in the AL, and the most at-bats in the AL. The team is batting .280 with 60 homers and 259 RBI’s. They are batting incredibly well with a team OBP of .355 and even 26 stolen bases. They have been caught stealing the second least in the AL, only 5 times. They have succeeded in stealing 84% of the time. The Rangers’ only down-point on hitting is striking out 362 times, the most in the AL. The Rangers might have an MVP and Rookie of the Year on their offense this year. The hitting is doing great, but the pitching is letting down.
Hitting grade so far this year: A+

Rangers defense: The Rangers’ defense has really struggled this year, but has gotten better of late. The Rangers have the worst fielding percentage in the AL, the most errors in the AL, but do lead the league in both assists and double plays, so it’s not all bad. The Rangers already have seven players with 3 or more errors, including Ian Kinsler with 9. The Rangers have 26 players with fielding percentages under .980. The Rangers’ defense has been better lately, but has struggled overall this year.
Fielding grade so far this year: C+

Results of last weeks poll:
Who do you think is the best player that the Rangers traded for in 1990?
Jeff Huson – 61%
Cash – 27%
Scott Chiamparino – 11%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for my May Awards. Have a good Memorial Day!

Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 6

This past week my great grandmother passed away. Her name was Jo Rasor and she was 78 when she died. She would have turned 79 this Tuesday. She lived in Dallas so I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with her during my life. She was always very nice to me and liked to buy presents for my sister and me. She was very dedicated to her family and spent most of the last few years of her life taking care of her daughter (my Aunt CK, who passed away late last year). We’ll miss her.

This week I will continue the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 5 on April 19 of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. This time I will analyze all of the trades Tom Grieve made as GM in 1990.

35. 1/3/90 The Chicago Cubs traded Bryan House (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Rey Sanchez.

Loss - Bryan House never made it to the majors. Rey Sanchez had six more years of playing. He hit over .280 in two of those years and platooned in both of them.

Record: 8-7-20

36. 4/2/90 The Montreal Expos traded Jeff Huson to the Texas Rangers for Drew Hall.

Win – Drew Hall barely played for the Expos and struggled when he did. He played one season for Montreal and went 4-7 with a 5.09 ERA. Jeff Huson played four years as a Ranger and was a decent player, in his best year batting .261 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI’s.

Record: 9-7-20

37. 4/13/90 The Minnesota Twins traded Jeff Saltzinger (minors) and cash to the Texas Rangers for Fred Manrique.

Tie - Saltzinger never made it to the majors and Manrique only hit .237 in his 228 at-bats as a Minnesota Twin.

Record: 9-7-21

38. 8/29/90 The Texas Rangers traded Harold Baines to the Oakland Athletics for players to be named later. The Oakland Athletics sent Joe Bitker (September 4, 1990) and Scott Chiamparino (September 4, 1990) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.

Loss - Harold Baines played 11 and a half more seasons and in 9 and a half of them he played well. He played two more years for the A’s after the trade. Joe Bitker only pitched 23.2 innings as a Ranger and Scott Chiamparino only pitched for three years and 85.1 innings as a Ranger. His record was 2-6.

Record: 9-8-21

39. 12/12/90 The San Diego Padres traded Mark Parent to the Texas Rangers for Scott Coolbaugh.

Tie - Mark Parent only had 1 at-bat as a Ranger, and Scott Coolbaugh only played two more years. During those two years, he had 180 and 21 at-bats, batting .217 and .190.

Record: 9-8-22

40. 12/30/90 The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Jim Poole and cash to the Texas Rangers for David Lynch (minors) and Steve Allen (minors).

Tie - Neither David Lynch or Steve Allen made it to the majors, but Jim Poole only pitched six innings as a Ranger.

Record: 9-8-23

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has had the best year so far out of the division leaders?
Diamondbacks – 61%
Marlins – 31%
St. Louis Cardinals – 8%

Come back next week for Part 7 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.

NL Recap

This week I did a recap of the NL so far this season.

NL West:
Arizona D’Backs: The Diamondbacks have the best record in baseball and are playing great. They have the most runs in baseball and are the only team to score 200 runs so far. So far they have outscored their opponents by 51 runs.
Key player: Brandon Webb: 8-0 W-L, 2.41 ERA, 56 IP, 41 K
Record: 23-13
Streak: Lost 1

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are playing pretty well, outscoring their opponents by 25 runs. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Key player: Rafael Furcal: .366 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI
Record: 19-16
Streak: Lost 2

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies aren’t playing very well and only have 15 wins. They are being outscored by 28 runs. Out of the 15 Rockies wins, Aaron Cook has 6 of them.
Key player: Matt Holliday: .324 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .416 OBP
Record: 15-21
Streak: Won 3

San Francisco Giants: The Giants are struggling, especially with only two of their starters having any more than one win. Only one starter has more than two and nobody has pitched even 45 innings yet. They have scored the second least runs in baseball, too, with only 121.
Key player: Bengie Molina: .282 AVG, 4 HR, 20 RBI
Record: 14-22
Streak: Lost 5

San Diego Padres: The Padres are doing awful. They have the worst record in baseball, and have scored the least amount of runs in baseball. They are being outscored by 51 runs so far this year and are 4-9 in one-run games.
Key player: Adrian Gonzalez: .303 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI
Record: 12-24
Streak: Lost 5

NL Central:
St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals are really doing well, mainly because of their home record. They’re only 8-8 on the road, but they’re 14-7 at home. They are outscoring their opponents by 23 runs this year.
Key player: Albert Pujols: .349 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .497 OBP
Record: 22-15
Streak: Lost 3

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs are playing well, but are only 4-6 in their last 10 games. They’re outscoring their opponents by 46 runs.
Key player: Derrek Lee: .322 AVG, 9 HR, 25 RBI
Record: 20-15
Streak: Won 1

Houston Astros: The Astros are doing very well lately, going 7-3 in their last ten and are outscoring their opponents by 11 runs this year. But they’re struggling on the road, with an 8-11 record away from home.
Key player: Lance Berkman: .380 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI
Record: 19-17
Streak: Won 1

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are lucky to be only one game under .500, because they’ve really struggled. They have only scored 150 runs this year and are being outscored by 21 runs.
Key player: Corey Hart: .294 AVG, 1 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 17-18
Streak: Won 1

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates have not been doing very well, being outscored by 20 runs so far this year. They have been struggling on the road and doing well at home. Their road record is 6-12 and their home record is 10-7.
Key player: Xavier Nady: .346 AVG, 5 HR, 34 RBI
Record: 16-19
Streak: Won 4

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are really struggling, with a losing record at both home and on the road. They have been outscored by 24 runs this year.
Key player: Jeff Keppinger: .292 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI
Record: 14-21
Streak: Won 1

NL East:
Florida Marlins: The Marlins are only outscoring their opponents by 2 runs so far this year, but they’re 6-3 in one-run games. They’re 10-5 in divisional games.
Key player: Hanley Ramirez: .336 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI
Record: 21-14
Streak: Won 5

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are outscoring their opponents by 17, but are only 3-6 against the rest of the division. They are 6-4 in their last 10.
Key player: Chase Utley: .336 AVG, 13 HR, 28 RBI
Record: 21-16
Streak: Won 1

New York Mets: The Mets have only scored 152 runs this year, but are still outscoring their opponents by 9. They are 6-4 in their last 10 and are only 8-10 on the road.
Key player: Ryan Church: .328 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI
Record: 17-15
Streak: Won 1

Atlanta Braves: The Braves are outscoring their opponents by 44 runs, but are 1-10 in one-run. Also, they’re only 8-10 in divisional play, and only 4-12 on the road. They are 14-4 at home, though.
Key player: Chipper Jones: .413 AVG, 10 HR, 29 RBI
Record: 18-16
Streak: Lost 1

Washington Nationals: The Nats are being outscored by 33 runs this year and have only scored 144 runs. They are 5-12 on the road.
Key player: Christian Guzman: .310 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI
Record: 15-21
Streak: Lost 1

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think has had the best year so far out of the division leaders?
Red Sox – 41%
Minnesota Twins – 33%
LA Angels – 25%

Come back next week for Part 6 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.

AL Recap

This week I did a recap of every AL team’s season so far, gave the key player for each team, as well as gave the team’s record and current streak.

AL West:
LA Angels: The Angels have been very good so far this year, with average pitching and good offense, as they have scored the 2nd most runs in the AL.
Key player: Casey Kotchman: .324 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI

Record: 19-13
Streak: Won 1

Oakland A’s: The A’s have gotten off to a very good start without Eric Chavez (injured) or Dan Haren (traded). Dana Eveland has really helped the pitching staff with a 3-2 record and a 3.67 ERA.
Key player: Emil Brown: .281 AVG, 3 HR, 26 RBI
Record: 18-14
Streak: Lost 2

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners do not have a very good record at 13-17, but are outscoring their opponents 130-127 this year. What’s killed them is the fact that they are 1-8 in one-run games.
Key player: Jose Lopez: .298 AVG, 2 HR, 17 RBI
Record: 13-18
Streak: Lost 4

Texas Rangers: The Rangers have been struggling badly this year, allowing the most runs in all of baseball. They’ve only scored 136 runs, while allowing 181. But the Rangers have won four straight games and are finally playing good baseball. Since Brandon Boggs got called up he’s 7-for-16 (.438 batting average) with 1 HR and 2 RBI’s. He’s playing very well. AJ Murray had his first game of the year Saturday night and gave up 2 earned runs in 5.1 innings. After two starts this year Sidney Ponson has a 1.38 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. Josh Hamilton is leading all of baseball in RBI’s with 33 and Milton Bradley is second in the AL in batting average with a .333 AVG. CJ Wilson is tied for seventh in the AL with seven saves. Last week the Rangers DFA’d Jason Botts to call up Chris Shelton. That move doesn’t make much sense to me, because I didn’t think they had given Jason Botts enough time. He was only batting .158 but had only been given 38 at-bats. I don’t agree with this move because they cut a guy with the potential to be a big part of this team the next few years for Chris Shelton, who probably isn’t part of our future. Since this is a rebuilding year, I wish they had been more patient with Jason.
Key player: Josh Hamilton: .310 AVG, 6 HR, 33 RBI
Record: 13-18
Streak: Won 4

AL Central:
Minnesota Twins: The Twins have done well, but have been outscored by seven runs, even though they've allowed the third least amount of runs in the AL.
Key player: Justin Morneau: .286 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI
Record: 15-14
Streak: Won 4

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are outscoring their opponents by 21 runs this year, but are still a .500 team due to a losing record against right-handed pitchers.
Key player: Carlos Quentin: .289 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 14-14
Streak: Lost 4

Cleveland Indians: The Indians have been struggling so far this year and a lot of it is due to CC Sabathia's bad start. They also have a 7-11 record in non-divisional play.
Key player: Grady Sizemore: .278 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 14-16
Streak: Lost 1

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers offense hasn't been bad, but their pitching's been horrible, allowing the second most runs in the AL. They are 4-11 in divisional play.
Key player: Magglio Ordonez: .313 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 14-17
Streak: Lost 2

Kansas City Royals: The Royals pitching has been good this far, but they have scored the second least runs in all of baseball.
Key player: Billy Butler: .299 AVG, 1 HR, 12 RBI
Record: 13-16
Streak: Won 1

AL East:
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are doing very well, especially on hitting. But what’s really helped them is that their 7-2 record in one-run games.
Key player: Manny Ramirez: .322 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI
Record: 19-13
Streak: Won 2

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles have a pretty good record, but are still being outscored by 9 runs. Their 8-2 record in one-run games is why they’re doing so well.
Key player: Nick Markakis: .276 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI
Record: 16-14
Streak: Lost 1

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays have scored 15 more runs and allowed 5 less runs than the Orioles and are still tied for 2nd with them due to the Rays 2-4 record in one-run games.
Key player: Eric Hinske: .280 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 16-14
Streak: Lost 2

New York Yankees: The Yankees record is even and their score for the year is about even, only being outscored by three so far. They are three games back.
Key player: Melky Cabrera: .293 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 16-16
Streak: Won 2

Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are three games under .500 and are outscoring their opponents by 12. But in one-run ballgames they are 2-8.
Key player: Alex Rios: .313 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Record: 14-17
Streak: Won 3

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the AL MVP?
Manny Ramirez – 50%
Casey Kotchman – 12%
Justin Morneau – 12%
Carlos Pena – 12%
Other – 12%
Joe Crede – 0%

Come back next week for the NL Recap.

April Awards

This week I will give my awards for if the season ended right now. I give Rangers, AL, and NL awards.

Rangers Awards:

Rangers MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .299 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI: Josh has just been good all around so far this year.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX

Rangers Cy Young: Kevin Millwood, TEX: 1-2 W-L, 3.32 ERA, 25 K, 38 IP: He has pitched very well, he just hasn’t had the hitting or fielding behind him to help his record out.
Runner-up: CJ Wilson, TEX

Rangers Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .295 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI: He’s been hitting very well and still qualifies as a rookie.
Runner-up: Jason Botts, TEX

AL Awards:

AL MVP: Casey Kotchman, LAA: .329 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI: He has very good stats and almost always hits the ball, only striking out five times.
Runner up: Joe Crede, CWS

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, CLE: 4-0 W-L, 0.28 ERA, 29 K, 31.2 IP: He leads the MLB in ERA, is tied for the lead in the AL in wins and third in the AL in strikeouts.
Runner-up: Joe Saunders, LAA

AL Rookie of the Year: Adam Jones, BAL: .270 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI: Adam has been pretty good at offense, but his defense has been spectacular.
Runner-up: David Murphy, TEX

AL Manager of the Year: Dave Trembley, BAL: 13-9, 2nd place
Runner-up: Joe Maddon, TB: 12-11, 3rd place

NL Awards:

NL MVP: Chase Utley, PHI: .368 AVG, 10 HR, 21 RBI: He leads the MLB in home runs, is third in the NL in batting average, and is tied for 4th in the NL in RBI’s.
Runner-up: Pat Burrell, PHI

NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, ARI: 5-0 W-L, 2.31 ERA, 29 K, 35 IP: He leads the MLB in wins and has been just dominant so far this year.
Runner-up: Micah Owings, ARI

NL Rookie of the Year: Jair Jurrjens, ATL: 3-2 W-L, 3.45 ERA, 25 K, 31.1 IP: He has pitched very well and should have four wins if not for a bad call.
Runner-up: Geovany Soto, CHC

NL Manager of the Year: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA: 14-9, 1st place
Runner-up: Bob Melvin, ARI: 17-9, 1st place

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is the best player that Tom Grieve traded for between 12-5-88 and the end of 1989?
Rafael Palmeiro – 75%
Julio Franco – 15%
Jamie Moyer – 5%
La Vel Freeman – 5%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for Part 6 of the Tom Grieve Trade Analysis.

Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 5

This week I will continue the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 4 on March 15 of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. This time I will analyze all of the trades Tom Grieve made as GM between the December of 1988 and 1989.

28. 12-5-88 The Chicago Cubs traded Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, and Drew Hall to the Texas Rangers for Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curtis Wilkerson, Luis Benitez (minors), and Pablo Delgado (minors).

Win - Palmeiro played five years here after being traded before going to Baltimore for five years and then coming back. His home runs increased almost every year, going from 8 to 14 to 26 to 22 to 37. Jamie Moyer had two decent years ERA-wise (4.86 and 4.66), but two awful years record-wise (4-9 and 2-6) as a Ranger. Hall pitched in 38 games and 58.1 innings as a Ranger and had a 2-1 record with a 3.70 ERA and 40 strike-outs compared to 29 walks. Mitch Williams only pitched 2 years in a Cubs uniform, but pitched well. His record as a Cub wasn’t very good though, as his combined record of the two years was 5-12. Kilgus pitched one year as a Cub and had a 4.39 ERA and a 6-10 record in 145.2 innings pitched. Wilson pitched 2 and a half years for Chicago and never had an ERA under 4.20. Curtis Wilkerson only played two years in Chicago and struggled both years, hitting .244 and .220 with only 1 home run in both years put together. Neither Benitez or Delgado ever made it to the Cubs.

Record: 7-5-16

29. 12-5-88 The New York Yankees traded Bob Meacham to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower.

Tie - Bob Meacham never played as a Ranger and Bob Brower only played in 26 games as a Yankee.

Record: 7-5-17

30. 12-6-88 The Cleveland Indians traded Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne.

Win – Julio Franco played five years as a Ranger and made it to the All-Star game three times (winning the MVP in one of those games) and won the batting title once in those five years. He hit .316, .296, .341, got injured in ’92 and hit .234, and hit .289 in ’93. O’ Brien played one year as an Indian and hit only .260 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI’s. McDowell only played half a year for the Indians and hit .222 and Browne was only an Indian for three years.

Record: 8-5-17

31. 12-19-88 The Montreal Expos traded Mike Berger (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott Anderson.

Tie – Mike Berger never made it to the majors and Scott Anderson only had 54.2 career innings pitched, only 18 of which were with the Expos (in 1990).

Record: 8-5-18

32. 3-30-89 The Atlanta Braves traded David Miller (minors) and cash to the Texas Rangers for Dwayne Henry.

Tie - David Miller never made it to the majors and Dwayne Henry only pitched 51 innings for the Braves in two seasons.

Record: 8-5-19

33. 6-29-89 The Milwaukee Brewers traded La Vel Freeman and Todd Simmons (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Scott May and Mike Wilson (minors).

Tie - Neither Todd Simmons or Mike Wilson ever made it to the majors. La Vel Freeman only had three major league at-bats and Scott May only had 5 major league games.

Record: 8-5-20

34. 7-29-89 The Chicago White Sox traded Harold Baines and Fred Manrique to the Texas Rangers for Scott Fletcher, Sammy Sosa, and Wilson Alvarez.

Loss – Wilson Alvarez threw a no-hitter in his first game as a member of the White Sox and went on to play 6 and a half years as a White Sox team member, going 67-50 while he was with the team. He even went to an All-Star game while he played in Chicago. Scott Fletcher went on to play 2 and a half years as a White Sox player. Sammy Sosa had an incredible career and hit 587 homers before coming back to the Rangers. He had 1562 RBI’s and walked 884 times between stints with the Rangers. He put up incredible numbers in his career. Harold Baines played only 2 half-years as a Ranger before being traded to the A’s (batting .285 and .290 with a total of 16 home runs) and Fred Manrique only played 1 half-year as a Ranger.

Record: 8-6-20

Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Blake Beavan will start the season?
Spokane (Short-season A) – 35%
Clinton (Low-A) – 35%
Rookie League – 28%

Come back next week for my April Awards.

Blake Beavan Interview

This week I interviewed Rangers pitcher Blake Beavan and I would like to thank him for giving up some of his time to do the interview. I met Blake at the Newberg Bound Edition release party in December and have spoken to him a few times since then. Blake is always a very friendly guy and always remembers me.

1. What was it like pitching in Cuba for Team USA?

Blake said that it was a good experience. He was proud to pitch for his country and felt that he was not only representing the USA but also his family and all of the coaches that got him to where he is. Blake mentioned that his parents gave him everything he needed and raised him right. He also said that God is responsible for where he is and has blessed him with ability and health. He said that the experience is something ‘I’ll always keep in my heart and never forget.’

2. What was the best part of your first camp?

‘Pitching against pro ball hitters.’ He really enjoyed facing Jarrod Saltalamacchia so he could see how his stuff sizes up to someone in the big leagues.

3. What was the biggest surprise of your first pro camp?

The work. He was surprised by how much work it takes to be a pro athlete and what it takes to keep his body in shape. There’s lots of running. He also said that it’s real fun to watch to other guys play and see how much talent they have.

4. Can you please describe a typical day in camp?

6:30-7 – Wake up and get ready
8 – get to camp, eat, dress, and talk and hang out with the guys
9 – stretch, break into groups by position, drills, throwing
After that, do conditioning (running). He said he usually runs a mile a day.
Lunch
Get ready for the game if pitching

5. Is there anything specific you’ve been working on in spring training and if so what is it?

Blake said that he was working on his mound presence and being professional on the mound. He wants to have good body language. He mentioned that he needs to mature faster than most 18-19 year olds. He’s also working on a change-up.

6. What was the key to your success with the Dallas Tigers in 2006 when you went 9-1 with a 1.71 ERA?

He said that a lot of it had to do with the team. The guys around him kept his ERA down. He said that he had good defense behind him and can’t take credit for the wins. ‘The guys really backed me up.’ He also said that staying healthy and throwing strikes was a key. He feels that throwing strikes and keeping the ball low are the keys to baseball.

7. During your freshman year, when you had a 1.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts, but only one win, was it frustrating that your team averaged 5 errors per game?

Blake admitted that it was frustrating but he was only 16 years old playing with 18-19 year olds. They tried to work as a team to get better and they got closer and bonded as a team. He said that we need to remember that high schoolers are still kids learning the game. He learned that when there are errors behind him he has to keep his rhythm and not let it impact his performance.

8. What led to your decision to not sign with the Rangers until late last summer? Do you wish you had signed in time to pitch last season?

Blake has no regrets for signing when he did. He agent was still negotiating. He signed later than people wanted but ‘I’m here and that’s what matters’.

9. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?

He had to think about it but then said it was when he got hit in the ankle in the prospects game last month. He got the next few outs but it swelled up. It wasn’t broken but it was hard to pitch through it and he had to sit out a few days. He had to remind himself that it was just spring training and not get too frustrated.

10. Were you hoping to play for your hometown team or were you indifferent?

‘I was definitely hoping to play for my hometown team. I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid.’ He said that he wrote his dad a card when he was around 9 telling him that he was going to play for the Rangers and that, thanks to God, it’s happening.

11. Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia – he’s a big leaguer, a lefty and he’s strong
- John Mayberry – he’s a challenging hitter, and is big and strong with lots of pop
- ‘The guy that drilled it off my ankle.’ He couldn’t remember his name but said that it was a Bakersfield player.

12. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?

- Tommy Hunter – Blake said that Tommy is like a big brother to him. ‘He takes up for me and always has my back.’
- Evan Reed
Blake said that Tommy and Evan are good influences because they don’t go out a lot and don’t drink. They just like to hang out and talk.
He also mentioned Mitch Moreland.

13. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?

Blake played football, basketball, and baseball but baseball was his ‘first love’.

14. What was your favorite team growing up and why?

The Texas Rangers. He grew up watching Nolan Ryan, John Wetteland, Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro. He was always raised to be a local team fan.

15. What are your hobbies?

‘Lots of golf,’ video games, movies, and eating.

I would like to thank Blake again for doing this interview. I was really impressed with Blake’s answers and how much credit he gives to God for his success.

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think is most likely to win the World Series out of my playoff teams?
Cleveland – 30%
Arizona – 23%
Chicago Cubs – 15%
Boston – 7%
Detroit – 7%
LA Angels – 7%
LA Dodgers – 7%
New York Mets – 0%

Come back next week for the next part of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.

Season Predictions

This week I will make all my predictions for the baseball year. I will predict the regular season, the playoffs and the AL and NL awards.

AL Regular Season:

AL West:
1. LA Angels: The Angels have too much offense and too much pitching to not come in first.
2. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners were outscored by 20 runs in 2007, so I don’t think that they’ll beat out the Angels for first.
3. Texas Rangers: The Rangers have a great farm system and a good young team, but I don’t think that they have enough to have a better record than the Angels or Mariners.
4. Oakland A’s: The A’s weren’t very good last year, and they should be even worse this year after trading Dan Haren to the D’Backs for prospects.

AL Central:
1. Cleveland Indians: The Indians have one of the best 1-2 punches in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, who both might be Cy Young contenders, and they don’t have a bad offense, either.
2. Detroit Tigers: I think that the Tigers will be better this year after getting Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, but I don’t think that that’s enough to put them over the Indians since their first two pitchers (Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman) aren’t anywhere near as good as the Indians’.
3. Minnesota Twins: The Twins weren’t very good last year and they traded maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball in Johan Santana, along with losing Torii Hunter, so they should be considerably worse.
4. Kansas City Royals: I think that the Royals will be a little better this year and that the White Sox will be a little worse this year, allowing the Royals to take over fourth place.
5. Chicago White Sox: When your number one starter is Javier Vazquez, you probably aren’t going to do very well.

AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox: Boston has pretty much the same team that won the World Series last year, so they should do pretty well.
2. New York Yankees: The Yankees are an older team and they should have a lot of injuries. Their pitching isn’t good enough to win the division over the Red Sox.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have really good one and two starters in Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett, but after that there’s a huge drop-off, as their number three pitcher is Dustin McGowan. I think that’s too big of a drop-off to get ahead of the Yankees or Red Sox.
4. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays (not Devil Rays anymore) are a better team this year, as there’s another year of experience for a young team and Jason Bartlett should help out.
5. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles were awful last year and they lost one of the best pitchers in baseball in a trade with the Mariners. Their number one pitcher is now Jeremy Guthrie and their starting first baseman is Kevin Millar. Their back-up catcher is Guillermo Quiroz, who was fighting for the Rangers’ back-up catcher spot in 2007 Spring Training.

AL Wild Card:
1. Detroit Tigers: I think that the trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis gets them into the playoffs.
2. Seattle Mariners: I think getting Erik Bedard from the Orioles puts them ahead of the Yanks.
3. New York Yankees: The Yankees’ offense, especially A-Rod, should put them ahead of the Jays.
4. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays’ 1-2 punch is just too good to be under the Rangers.
5. Texas Rangers: I think Josh Hamilton puts them where it would be a surprise if they fell under any of the teams below.
6. Minnesota Twins: The Twins aren’t good enough without Johan Santana to be any higher in my opinion.
7. Tampa Bay Rays: The Devil Rays should have improved enough to be out of the bottom three teams in the AL.
8. Kansas City Royals: Even though I think the Royals will do better this year, they still went 69-93 last year.
9. Oakland A’s: The A’s don’t have good enough hitting to be able to lose Haren and still do any good.
10. Chicago White Sox: I think the White Sox will do awful this year, but that they’re better than the Orioles.
11. Baltimore Orioles: I think that the Orioles are the worst team in all of baseball without Bedard or Corey Patterson. Their outfield consists of Luke Scott, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis.

NL Regular Season:

NL West:
1. Arizona D’Backs: The D’Backs have one of the two best 1-2 punches in all of baseball, if not the best. Their starting pitching is incredible, consisting of 1. Brandon Webb, 2. Dan Haren, 3. Doug Davis (who will have surgery soon due to cancer, but will pitch until then and after his recovery), 4. Micah Owings, 5. Edgar G. Gonzalez, and Randy Johnson (once he gets back from an injury). Their pitching is just too good.
2. LA Dodgers: The Dodgers have a good 1-2 punch in Brad Penny and Derek Lowe and after a good year last year hurt by injuries, and they now have Andruw Jones. Also, it’s almost impossible for them to have that many injuries again this year.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres should be good this year because of their pitching, but their hitting could represent big problems.
4. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies had a great run last year to go to the World Series, but that was just one big streak at the end of a good year, so I don’t think that they can do that again.
5. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are the only bad team in this great division, so they should be in last place by a very wide margin, maybe even 20 games back from fourth.

NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs’ pitching isn’t great, but it doesn’t drop-off towards the end too much. But their hitting is very good and now that they have Kosuke Fukudome, it should be even better.
2. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have brilliant hitting, but their pitching is below average. To win the division I think Ben Sheets needs to stay healthy, but I don’t think that he will. Relying on Eric Gagne to close games is questionable.
3. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds should have a better year this year, because even though they lost Josh Hamilton, Edinson Volquez will help their rotation along with Johnny Cueto. A lot of their prospects, such as Homer Bailey, should come up and help them out later in the year.
4. Houston Astros: I think that the Astros will get fourth place this year by getting a little bit better, but mainly by the Cardinals getting worse.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals aren’t a very good team, but with Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder injury problems making Adam Wainwright the Cardinals’ number one starting pitcher, it’ll be even harder to finish as high as fourth place.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are not a very good team, but due to 9 Cardinals already being on on the DL, they might get fifth place.

NL East:
1. New York Mets: The Mets were good last year until their end-of-the-year meltdown, but I think that they’ll recover and get better with Johan Santana.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies did really well last year and won the division and should be even better with a healthy Chase Utley, but I think that Johan Santana is too much for the Mets to not win the division.
3. Atlanta Braves: I don’t think the Braves will do all that well this year, but that they’ll do better than the Nationals and the Marlins.
4. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nationals will be in fourth because I think the Marlins are the worst team in all of the NL.
5. Florida Marlins: I think that the Marlins will have the worst record in the NL, and will be in competition with the Orioles for the worst in all of baseball.

NL Wild Card:
1. LA Dodgers: I think that the Dodgers have better pitching than the Phillies and so they will beat them out for a playoff spot.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: I don’t think the Phillies have the two great pitchers needed to get into the playoffs this year. They only have Cole Hamels.
3. San Diego Padres: The Padres have great pitching, but I don’t think that their hitting is good enough to get into the playoffs.
4. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers have a good team, but losing Johnny Estrada will keep them out of the playoffs.
5. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies did really well last year, but were really streaky, and I don’t think that they can win 21 out of 22 games again this year.
6. Atlanta Braves: The Braves are a good team, but have injury problems and that should drop them down in the standings.
7. Cincinnati Reds: I think the Reds will do better this year, but when you have a lot of rookies on the team, you usually don’t do great.
8. Washington Nationals: I think that the Nats will do good enough to almost have a .500 winning percentage.
9. Houston Astros: The Astros probably won’t have a very good year, but I think they’ll do better than the Cardinals, Pirates, Giants, and Marlins.
10. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals already have 9 players on the DL and will probably get more with their veteran team, and that should keep them from doing very well.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates had a 68-94 record last year and I don’t think they’ll do too much better this year.
12. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are in the toughest division in the NL and aren’t a very good team, so they should have a very bad record.
13. Florida Marlins: The Marlins, in my opinion, are the worst NL team and I think their record will show it.

AL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Boston over Detroit: I think that the Tigers are good, but that the Red Sox top three pitchers in the rotation (Josh Beckett, Dice-K, and Tim Wakefield) will be too much for the Tigers to handle.

Cleveland over LA Angels: Cleveland has too good of a 1-2 punch in CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona to lose this series.

Championship Series:

Cleveland over Boston: I think it will come down to Carmona vs. Dice-K and I think Carmona wins that match-up.

NL Playoffs:

Divisional Series:

Arizona over Los Angeles: When your first two pitchers in the rotation are Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, it’s pretty hard to lose.

Chicago over New York: I don’t think having a number two pitcher of Pedro Martinez (if he’s healthy) or John Maine (if he’s not) is good enough to beat the Cubs.

Championship Series:

Arizona over Chicago: Arizona has better top-of-the-rotation pitching than the Cubs and I think that will win them the series.

World Series:

Cleveland over Arizona: This would be a series with two great pitching teams. I think that it might come down to the All-Star game for home-field advantage and I think the AL wins the All-Star game.

Awards:

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, CLE
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia, CLE

NL MVP: Jose Reyes, NYM
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb, ARI

Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think that the Rangers’ trade for Nippert was a win, loss, or tie?
Win – 70%
Loss – 25%
Tie – 5%

Come back next week for an interview with Blake Beavan.

Rangers vs. Angels Spring Training Game and Nippert Acquired

This week I will analyze the trade the Rangers made this week and do a play-by-play analysis of one of the games I went to while I was at Spring Training.

On Friday, the Rangers traded Class-A pitcher Jose Marte to the Diamondbacks for relief pitcher Dustin Nippert.

Evaluation:
Nippert is out of options so the Rangers have to put him on the team. He has three years of major league experience and has a career 2-3 record with a 6.23 ERA. He has made 46 total appearances, 10 as a starter and 36 as a reliever. Dustin was a starter at first, but the D’Backs converted him to a reliever. His career minor league record is 33-25, with a 3.42 ERA. Jose Marte struggled last year, with a 5.23 ERA between Clinton and Bakersfield. I think that this is a good trade, because Nippert could be a good reliever and make some spot starts instead of having to bring a minor leaguer up for one appearance. We didn’t give up much, either, since Marte is a marginal prospect.

Basically, this trade ended Robinson Tejeda’s career with the Rangers. Nippert is taking the last bullpen spot, which Tejeda was fighting for. Since Tejeda is out of options, the Rangers were forced to DFA him. It’s very unlikely that Tejeda will clear waivers, so he’ll be out of the organization. I still think this is a good trade because Nippert has better control and better offspeed pitches than Tejeda.

Grade: B+ – this is a low risk trade with good upside

Here is my play-by-play analysis of the Rangers/Angels spring training game at Surprise Stadium on March 21st. I didn’t start taking notes until the very end of the 1st inning, so my analysis will start with the last batter of the 1st inning.

Top 1st:
Sidney Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: Single. Tied 0-0, 0 outs

Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Double-play. Tied 0-0, 2 outs

Ponson vs. Maicer Izturis: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs

Bottom 1st:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver

Ian Kinsler: Fly-out. Tied 0-0, 1 out

Michael Young: Ground-out. Tied 0-0, 2 outs

Josh Hamilton: Way in front of a curveball for strike 2, and then took a fastball right down the middle of the plate for strike 3. Tied 0-0, 3 outs

Top 2nd:
Sidney Ponson: High speed seems to be 93-94 MPH, and he works really quickly.

Ponson vs. Garret Anderson: He threw three straight balls outside and then Garret flew out.
Frank Catalanotto: Frank made a great catch. Tied 0-0, 1 out

Ponson vs. Torii Hunter: Sidney threw a good inside pitch for a ground-out. It was a one-pitch at-bat. Tied 0-0, 2 outs

Ponson vs. Casey Kotchman: The first pitch was a ball, and the second pitch was on the inside part of the plate and forced a ground-out.
Ian Kinsler: Bobbled an easy grounder. Tied 0-0, 3 outs

Bottom 2nd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver

Hank Blalock: Took first two pitches for a 1-1 count, then chased one out of the zone and flied out to center. Tied 0-0, 1 out

Milton Bradley: This was his spring debut. He swung at a ball on his first pitch, and took the next two for strikes. He looked terrible, very slow, and looked overwhelmed. He was very late for three straight fastballs. Tied 0-0, 2 outs

David Murphy: Struck out looking. Tied 0-0, 3 outs

Top 3rd:
Ponson vs. Howie Kendrick: Left a pitch up in the zone and Howie cranked it off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs

Sidney Ponson: Best pitch seems to be fastball.

Ponson vs. Robb Quinlan: Ponson had a good mix and got Robb Quinlan in front for groundout. Tied 0-0, 1 out

Sidney Ponson: Was a good ground-ball pitcher.

Gerald Laird: Good throw gets Kendrick stealing on first pitch. Tied 0-0, 2 outs

Ponson vs. Bobby Wilson: Good pitch got him out in front for fly-out. Tied 0-0, 3 outs

Bottom 3rd:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver

Frank Catalanotto: Took the first two pitches for strikes and then got good contact and hit one high off the wall for a double. Tied 0-0, 0 outs

Gerald Laird: Got a quick 0-2 count, and singled into the outfield on a check-swing, drives in Catalanotto. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs

Ben Broussard: Started with an 0-2 count for the third straight batter. He then took the first ball of the half-inning.
Gerald Laird: Picked off. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
Ben Broussard: Grounder up the middle for single. The Rangers had three straight hits after 0-2 counts. Rangers 1-0, 1 out

Ian Kinsler: Line-drive single on first pitch. Torii Hunter botched after one bounce. Rangers 1-0, 1 out

Michael Young: Walk. Rangers 1-0, 1 out, bases loaded

Josh Hamilton: Chased the first pitch out of the zone and fouled it off, and then was way out in front of two change-ups for a strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs, bases loaded

Hank Blalock: Chased a curveball swinging for the fences and screwing himself into the ground, and chased a pitch that was at about the height of his chin for strike three. Hank looked very bad in this at-bat.
Rangers 1-0, 3 outs

Top 4th:
Ponson vs. Chone Figgins: First pitch infield chopper. Awful communication as Kinsler, Broussard, and Ponson were all going for the ball with no one covering first base. Sidney finally went to first, but then he injured his ankle. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs

Rangers pitching change: Franklyn German in for Sidney Ponson.

Franklyn German vs. Reggie Willits: First-pitch ball.
Gerald Laird: Gunned down Chone Figgins trying to steal 2nd. Rangers 1-0, 1 out
German vs. Reggie Willits: German made Reggie look silly on third pitch and he hit into a high pop-out.
Michael Young: Misjudged the ball and back-pedaled the whole way. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

German vs. Maicer Izturis: Walked him after a 1-2 start to the count. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

German vs. Garret Anderson: 1-1 count.
Gerald Laird: Good speed on throw trying to throw out Izturis, but the throw didn’t go far enough and it bounced over Michael Young’s glove and into the outfield.
German vs. Garret Anderson: Fly-out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs

Franklyn German: Franklyn threw a lot of balls in the inning.

Bottom 4th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver

Milton Bradley: Struggled again against fastballs, and chopped one into the ground for an out.
Rangers 1-0, 1 out

David Murphy: 1-2 count, chased one way out of the zone for strike-out. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

Frank Catalanotto: Liner to center for single, made good contact. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

Gerald Laird: Chopper up the middle not hit very well, but he still got robbed by Weaver for the third out. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs

Top 5th:
Rangers pitching change: Kam Loe in for Franklyn German.

Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Good pitch made Torii chop it to third for first out.
Hank Blalock: Nice play. Rangers 1-0, 1 out

Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Good pitch, Casey chopped it into the ground.
Hank Blalock: Good defensive play as the ball went very high in the air after one bounce, but Blalock’s good throw beat the runner. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

Loe vs. Howie Kendrick: Pop-up landed between Kinsler, Broussard and Murphy for single, although it wasn’t a bad defensive play. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

Loe vs. Dee Brown: Fly-out to left. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs

Bottom 5th:
Angels pitcher: Jered Weaver

Ben Broussard: Good hit, opposite-field single. Rangers 1-0, 0 outs

Ian Kinsler: Good sacrifice bunt, moves Broussard to second. Rangers 1-0, 1 out

Michael Young: Started off with a 2-2 count and didn’t swing at a single pitch, very patient, fouled the next pitch off, then takes a ball for a full count. Chased outside pitch and grounded up the middle to Weaver and moved Broussard to third. Rangers 1-0, 2 outs

Josh Hamilton: Lined out to second. Rangers 1-0, 3 outs

Top 6th:
Loe vs. Bobby Wilson: Starts with 2-0 count, and then Kam threw an awful pitch that was hit for a home run. Tied 1-1, 0 outs

Loe vs. Chone Figgins: 1-2 count, good pitch, chopped to second for out. Tied 1-1, 1 out

Loe vs. Reggie Willits: Four-pitch walk. Tied 1-1, 1 out

Loe vs. Maicer Izturis: Single up the middle, men on first and third. Tied 1-1, 1 out

Loe vs. Garret Anderson: Kam’s control seems off, Garret hits into a sacrifice fly. Angels 2-1, 2 outs

Loe vs. Torii Hunter: Deep fly-out.
Josh Hamilton: Great catch on warning track. Had to make running catch and then crash into the wall. Angels 2-1, 3 outs

Bottom 6th:
Hank Blalock: 0-2 count, liner to second, got past second baseman, but hit hard enough to be counted as a hit, not an error. Angels 2-1, 0 outs

Milton Bradley: Grounded into double play, and practically walked down the first base line, even though it was a 3-6-3 double play. Angels 2-1, 2 outs

David Murphy: Worked a full count, then reached at one out of the zone and flied out to center.
Angels 2-1, 3 outs

Top 7th:
Loe vs. Casey Kotchman: Line drive up the middle for a single. Angels 2-1, 0 outs

Loe vs. Erick Aybar: 0-2 count.
Gerald Laird: Easily gunned down Kotchman at second even though the pitch was in the dirt.
Angels 2-1, 1 out
Loe vs. Erick Aybar: Three-pitch strike-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs

Loe vs. Dee Brown: Ground-out to second. Angels 2-1, 3 outs

Bottom 7th:
Frank Catalanotto: 0-2 count, good hit to warning track, but good defensive play for out. Angels 2-1, 1 out

Gerald Laird: Foul ball for pop-out. Angels 2-1, 2 outs

Ben Broussard: Fouled a ball off his foot, but stayed in the game. He singled up the middle on the next pitch. Angels 2-1, 2 outs

Ian Kinsler: Ground-out to short. Angels 2-1, 3 outs

Top 8th:
Rangers pitching change: Robinson Tejeda in for Kam Loe

Tejeda vs. Bobby Wilson: First pitch popped out to third in foul territory. Angels 2-1, 1 out

Tejeda vs. ?: Deep fly ball misread by Josh Hamilton and turned into a triple. Angels 2-1, 1 out.

Tejeda vs. Reggie Willits: 0-2 count, worked to 3-2, and then Reggie hit a sacrifice fly.
Angels 3-1, 2 outs.

Tejeda vs. Maicer Izturis: Fly-out to center. Angels 3-1, 3 outs

Bottom 8th:
Michael Young: Liner to right for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs

Josh Hamilton: Liner to left for single. Angels 3-1, 0 outs

Hank Blalock: Double-play. Angels 3-1, 2 outs

Milton Bradley: Late on second pitch, and third pitch. Worked the count full. Nice defensive play got him out. Angels 3-1, 3 outs

Top 9th:
Tejeda vs. Juan Rivera: Double. Angels 3-1, 0 outs

Tejeda vs. ?: Ground-out. Angels 3-1, 1 out

Tejeda vs. Casey Kotchman: Good play by Ramon Vazquez, jumped and caught liner. Angels 3-1, 2 outs

Tejeda vs. Erick Aybar: RBI single. Angels 4-1, 2 outs

Tejeda vs. ?: Walk. Angels 4-1, 2 outs

Rangers pitching change: Elizardo Ramirez in for Robinson Tejeda

Ramirez vs. Bobby Wilson: Fly-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs

Bottom 9th:
Nelson Cruz: Strike-out. Angels 4-1, 1 out

Kevin Mench: Pop-out. Angels 4-1, 2 outs

Adam Melhuse: Ground-out. Angels 4-1, 3 outs

Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 50%
No – 33%
In playoffs - 16%

Come back next week for my season predictions.

Spring Training Trip Report

Last week I went to spring training to see the Rangers with my dad and granddad. This is my report of the trip and what we did.

Tuesday March 18th:

Tuesday was the day we were to fly out. Our plan was to get to Surprise in time to see the Rangers work out in the morning and then see their game against the A’s. But the weather was awful. It was pouring, with a lot of lightning. We ended up having a three and a half hour delay. The plane was an hour late getting to Dallas and then, after we boarded, we sat on the plane for 2 and a half hours before taking off. But we were lucky because right after we took off, they closed down the airport because of tornadoes for the rest of the day.

When we landed we went straight to Surprise and arrived almost exactly halfway through the game. We only saw Mendoza’s last two outs of his appearance. The final score was 11-6 Rangers. Bill White got the win, even though he allowed 2 runs and only got 1 out. Mendoza pitched very well, only allowing 1 run on 2 hits in 5 innings pitched. Ian Kinsler went 3-for-4 and Adam Melhuse had a great homer in his only at-bat. After the game I got autographs from Chris Shelton, Ryan Roberts, and Steve Busby. Before the trip I looked at the major league roster and, of the 62 players in camp, there were only 14 players that I didn’t have autographs of. My goal for the trip was to get those 14 autographs. After getting Shelton and Roberts, I needed 12 more players to get the whole team.

After the game, we then went to Outback and I ate way too much. After we had dinner we checked into the hotel (we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Surprise for the second straight year) and granddad and I were both asleep by eight.

Wednesday March 19th:

Wednesday was the Rangers only off day of the spring. I woke up at 4:30 AM and everybody was up by 5:20 AM because of the time zone difference. But we didn’t leave the hotel until 10:00 AM so we got really tired of the hotel by then. That morning we decided we had to do something during the day since the only game we had tickets to was a night game, so we got on the computer and got tickets to the Angels @ A’s game.

When we left the hotel we checked the Rangers backfields just to make sure nothing was going on and when there we saw that there wasn’t anything, we made the one-hour journey to the A’s ballpark. We could only get seats on metal bleachers, so it was very hot and sometimes we would even have to get up and go in the shade. The Angels won the game 6-1. Rich Harden pitched for the A’s and pitched pretty well, only allowing 2 runs in six innings, but allowed 8 hits. Nobody on the A’s had more than one hit in the game, and only five players had a hit. Ervin Santana pitched for the Angels and did great, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit in 6 innings. The only A’s run was given up by Serrano, who also gave up 3 of the 5 hits. Gary Matthews had a great game going 4-for-4 with 1 RBI. Vlad only went 1-for-4, but his one hit was his 3rd homer of the spring. Torii Hunter really struggled, going 0-4 with a strikeout. He got under almost every ball he hit and had three pop-up outs.

After the game we drove another hour to get back to Surprise to see a minor league game on the back fields. We got there before it started and we watched Thomas Diamond throw to hitters for the first time in a year. He did this in a simulated game. He looked good. After he was done we got to talk to him for a little while and he seemed happy with his game. The minor league game started at 3:00 PM and Kason Gabbard started the game. He struggled, allowing 3 runs in just 4 innings against minor leaguers. We saw and talked to Jamey Newberg, Scott Lucas, TR Sullivan, Jon Daniels, and Thad Levine for the first time on the trip during the game. I also talked to Blake Beavan and Kea Kometani and I got autographs from Julio Borbon, Max Ramirez, Elvis Andrus, Warner Madrigal, and David Paisano. I also talked to Scott Servais and got his autograph. Borbon, Ramirez, Andrus, and Madrigal started in major league camp and were on the list of players I needed. So I only needed eight more autographs to have the whole major league roster.

After the minor league game we took a 1 hour, 15 minute drive to Scottsdale to see the Cubs @ Giants game. With this game I had seen every team in Phoenix play a home game. The Cubs won the game 4-2. Jon Lieber got the win and Correia got the loss. Correia really struggled in his start, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. The rest of the Giants pitchers allowed no runs and only one hit total. Ray Durham went 2-2 with 2 walks , and Dave Roberts went 2-3. Jon Lieber of the Cubs went 5 innings, only allowing 1 run. Corey Patterson was the only Cub to get two hits as he went 2-for-4, but had no RBI’s. Cedeno had 2 RBI’s, both on a two-run homer. During the game, Fergie Jenkins, George Foster, and Lee Smith were signing autographs for $20 each (for charity). I got George Foster’s autograph.

After the game we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep almost as soon as we got there.

Thurday March 20th:

On Thurday the Rangers were in Tucson and we had decided to go to Tucson for the first time in our three years of going to Spring Training. It was a three-hour drive to get there, but we still got there before the gates opened. The Diamondbacks ballpark was very nice, but not as nice as the Rangers ballpark and I would give it an eight out of ten (10 being the best).

Before the game I got autographs from Ben Broussard, Jason Ellison, Elizardo Ramirez, and Edgardo Alfonzo. This got me down to 5 autographs that I needed (I already had Broussard’s autograph). I also got to talk with Evan Grant and Josh Lewin for the first time on the trip.

The Rangers won the game 8-7. Kevin Millwood made his only A-game start of the spring and looked very impressive, allowing no runs and only 3 hits in 5 innings. Wes Littleton pitched poorly, allowing four runs and five hits in just one inning of work. Feldman also struggled, allowing two runs in two innings and Josh Rupe allowed one run in one inning. Both Salty and Blalock hit homers and they both had two hits, but Salty had 4 RBI’s compared to Blalock’s 1 RBI.

After the game we drove back to Phoenix and saw a Coyotes hockey game. This was my granddad’s first-ever hockey game. The Coyotes were the 12 seed in the western conference and were playing the Kings who were the 15 seed in the western conference (worst seed). The Coyotes lost the game 6-5 in a shootout. The Coyotes didn’t score a goal in the whole shootout. The Coyotes have a new arena, which is very nice and is in a neat area, right next to a movie theater, a lot of restaurants, and the Cardinals football stadium.

After the game we went back to the hotel, and I watched college basketball while my dad read and my granddad slept.

Friday March 21st:

In the morning we went to the minor league workouts. There were no major league workouts at the time because they had a 6pm game that night, so the workouts were later that day. We tried to find out when they would be but no one who worked there knew when. We got answers everywhere from 12:30 to 4pm.

During the minor league workouts we hung out with the Newbergs and I played catch with Jamey’s 3-year-old son Max who had a great arm. He made me wish I had brought my glove from the car. While we were there I got an autograph from Engel Beltre, but he was never on the major league roster, so I still needed five more players.

We then went to Red Robin’s for lunch and saw Davidson beat Gonzaga on the TV’s. We went back to the hotel for about thirty minutes after we filled ourselves up.

At 1pm we went back to the minor league fields to see minor league games. On one field Kazuo Fukumori pitched and on another Vicente Padilla pitched. It was really cool. While we watched we talked to Eleanor Czajka, Judy Botts, the Newbergs, TR Sullivan and Scott Lucas. I also talked to Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan during the games. After Fukumori pitched, I got his autograph, leaving me with 4 more autographs to get. My Dad taught me some Japanese (he goes to Japan a lot) so I could ask Fukumori for an autograph in his language. I said ‘Sumi masen Fukumori-san. Autograph onegaishimasu?’ He said ‘very good’ before signing my ball.

At 4pm the major league workouts started and I saw Josh Hamilton’s BP and talked to Josh Hamilton and CJ Wilson. I got autographs from Eddie Gaurdado and Jason Davis, leaving me with 2 more players to get (Milton Bradley and Sidney Ponson). Both Eddie and Jason were really friendly.

The workouts ended and the Angels played at the Rangers stadium at 6pm. The Rangers lost 4-1. Sidney Ponson started really well and allowed no runs in 3 innings, but got injured in the fourth. After that, everyone in the bullpen struggled except for Elizardo Ramirez who only threw one pitch for an out. In Bradley’s first game back from his knee surgery he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a double play. Frank Catalanotto went 2-3 and Ben Broussard went 3-3 and they were the only two players with 2 hits or more. After the game was over we went and hung out at the hotel.

Saturday March 22nd:

On Saturday morning we went to the workouts and I got one autograph, Milton Bradley, leaving me with only Sidney Ponson to get. I never got Ponson because I never saw him.

I hung out Eleanor and Jamey Newberg and saw more Josh Hamilton BP. I also stopped 15 players and asked them a poll question (see below).

We then went to the Texas at Seattle game, but could only stay for three innings because we had to go to the airport. The Rangers won the game 8-5, but Eric Hurley really struggled allowing 5 runs in 4.1 innings. After he left the game, Seattle scored no runs and only got 3 hits. Both Ian Kinsler and Michael Young went 3-3 and Jason Botts went 2-5 with 3 RBI’s. Kevin Mench also played well, though, going 2-3, but with only 1 RBI. After three innings we drove about 45 minutes to the airport, where we found Joe Macko, whose flight had been delayed 5 hours. Our flight flew out on time and we made it home very smoothly.

I enjoyed the trip very much and am very glad I got to go.

I asked some of the players a poll question. I asked 15 players. Here are the results:
Do you think instant replay should be implemented in baseball?
Yes – 33%
No – 60%
Only in the playoffs – 7%

Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think was the best player the Rangers got from the trades analyzed in this blog?
Jack Daugherty – 64%
Brad Arnsberg – 14%
Cecilio Gaunte – 14%
Scott May – 7%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for a play-by-play analysis of the Angels @ Rangers game.