Posts Tagged ‘Mariners’

When Bad Things Happen To Good People Posted by Ken Jones in Texas Rangers, The Bullpen July 31st, 2008

Pudge in pinstripes?  That doesn’t just look wrong.  That looks “Ramon Vazquez moustache” wrong.  That looks “Solid Gold Brett Favre Commemorative Retirement Coin” wrong.  That looks “Rosanne-Barr-in-a-thong” wrong. 

Like Julio Franco, Pudge is one of our guys, even if the Hall of Fame plaque has a Tigers or a Marlins cap on the man.  He grew up here, he was our hero, and he was a main cog on the best teams the Rangers ever trotted out there.  For a little while, we were all sure that he was going to stay with Texas, finding a way to finish his career here, ending up with what the purists call a “clean” baseball card, only one team listed on the back.

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Wild Card Fever Posted by Ken Jones in Texas Rangers, The Bullpen July 27th, 2008

American League - Wild Card Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Tampa Bay	59	42	.584	-
Boston	60	43	.583	-
NY Yankees	56	45	.554	3.0
Minnesota	55	46	.545	4.0
Detroit	52	49	.515	7.0
Oakland	52	49	.515	7.0
Texas	52	50	.510	7.5
Toronto	51	51	.500	8.5
Baltimore	48	53	.475	11.0
Kansas City	46	57	.447	14.0
Cleveland	44	56	.440	14.5
Seattle	38	63	.376	21.0

That’s right. Read it and weep. If you are watching the scoreboard, you already see the future. Here come the Rangers, out of the gate after the All-Star break like a “Ron Paul for President ‘08″ campaign wagon. After crushing the Twins and the WSox, taking one out of three in each series, Texas is sitting right where they want to sit, on the fringes of the Wild Card race, lulling the 8 teams in front of them into a false sense of security and waiting to pounce. Read more

My Predictions Posted by Reid Levin in Cleveland Indians April 3rd, 2008

Here’s a rundown of the AL teams and how I think they will fare this year: (NL will come tomorrow)

Baltimore Orioles: Last year, they lost 93 games, but I see improvement this year. I think they reach at least 100. The pitching will help them immensely in this category, as Cabrera, Trachsel, and Burres are good for at least 40 losses combined. And, once they pawn off Roberts for 30 cents on the dollar, it’s “2010 here we come!” Outlook: last place.

Boston Red Sox: In what might be a classic let down year for the Red Sox, well, it might actually happen. Beckett could be hurt, Dice-K could be average, and Ortiz, Ramirez, Lowell, and Drew are another year older. Then again, they have an influx of stud youngsters in Ellsbury, Pedroia, Buchholz and Lester, and I don’t see the Yankees dominating this year. Besides, if Beckett gets hurt, the Red Sox have Bartolo Colon waiting for the wing-eating contest in the wings, so that’s gotta count for something, right? They’ll win the division.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are filled with aging veterans who “know how to play the game.” Unfortunately, with age comes forgetfulness, and most of them forgot how to play last year en route to a 72-90 record. This year, they’ll prove the theory, “you-can’t-remind-an-old-dog-how-to-do-tricks-he-once-knew-but-has-since-forgotten,” and finish fourth in the Central. They’ll be lucky to win 75 games.

Cleveland Indians: I love this team. The depth is outstanding. In the rotation, Sowers, Laffey, and Adam Miller could fill in for an injury (or an HGH suspension). Ben Francisco, Shin-Soo Choo and Josh Barfield are all major league ready minor leaguers right now, not to mention Kelly Shoppach is a pretty good backup catcher. The bullpen is outstanding, save for Borowski, who does just that. The Indians could win 100 games this year, and are my pick for the Central title, the Pennant, and the World Series. Then again, I am a bit of a homer…

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