Posts Tagged ‘Mr. Peabody’
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Post SeasoningSeptember 30th, 2008
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I’ll be honest, I’m no math whiz. But when I tried to figure out what the Rangers’ Magic Number was earlier today, the computer suggested something about a Mr. Peabody and a WayBack Machine. That doesn’t sound promising. But there will be time for an in-depth analysis and name-calling session about the 08 Rangers in a couple of weeks. Right now, with the playoffs bearing down on baseball fans, the most important thing is to figure out who you will cheer for this year.
(By the way, I checked my calendar from last year AND for next year. They are lying to us. There’s not only one October. I call for a full apology.)
Part of the danger in jumping in with a team at this point of the season is the very real chance that they’ll go three and out and then you have to start all over again. I don’t recommend buying a cap or jersey for your new post-season ride. Over the years, I’ve developed a simple system, with points assigned for various categories. Then I decide who I am cheering for and, more often than not, who I am cheering against. (Die, Yankee Scum!) And while a carefully weighted system of pluses and minuses would be ideal, again, no reason to stress the limited math resources available in my head. As such, here you go: Read more
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Random RangernessMay 3rd, 2008
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So, I was at the Rangers game on Thursday, talking with former Mavs coach Avery Johnson. “Avery,” I said, “what do you make of this Brandon Boggs kid? I mean, he wasn’t even on the radar, and all he does is come up and start his major league career off by reaching base five straight times. He really looks like a player, and he came out of nowhere. Isn’t baseball great?” Do you know what Avery said? “$4.50 for the bag of peanuts, man.” I nodded knowingly and handed him a fiver. “Keep the change, coach. Keep the change…” Just a few more random thoughts from the week:
Speaking of Thursday - Wow. Sidney Ponson, SIDNEY PONSON, climbs out of Mr. Peabody’s WayBack Machine and throws 8 innings, allowing one run and six hits. CJ Wilson comes in and takes care of the ninth. A couple of solo shots for Kinsler and Vazquez. And it was in the win column. IN TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES. No lie, I checked 4 different clocks to see if I was reading them right, and then rechecked the start time. The Texas Rangers do not play games in 2 hours and ten minutes. Now, they occasionally will let the Tigers score 11 in an inning that runs over two hours…
Well done, Mr. Hamilton. On a team that had to scramble to reach 10 wins, setting a new record for the month with 18 losses, Josh Hamilton hit .330 with 6 HR’s and 32 RBI’s. Puts him in the Rangers record book to start the year around names like Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez. Nice April.
Managers often like to split up their starters to throw a righty, a lefty, then another righty. Or stagger starters with different styles to keep batters off balance. (It always seemed kind of unfair in the late 80’s for the Rangers to trot out fastballer Nolan Ryan, followed by knuckleballer Charlie Hough, followed by fastballer Bobby Witt.) Having said that, I don’t know about throwing “Undecided” in back-to-back games at Oakland this weekend. But Mendoza, Gabbard, and Jennings on the DL will make that choice for you. How bad is the season when you hit May 1 and are saying “Thank goodness for Sidney Ponson and Vincente Padilla”? If anymore starters go down, well, I don’t know if Bobby or Nolan could go, but I’m pretty sure Hough could still trot out there a mess with batters for seven innings.
An Open Memo: Dear Jason Botts, your disgust at being sent to minors would be bolstered a little if you had hit better than .158 so far. Nelson Cruz has hit 10 HR’s in 29 games at AAA this season, and he got skipped over so that Saltalamaccia, Boggs, and Shelton could come up to Arlington. So get to the back of the line, Jason, start hitting, and hope you measure up to the “You must be this tall to ride this ride” sign next time it’s your turn. Then we’ll feel bad for you.
Ah, Oakland. It took a full-month, but the Rangers finally got around to playing the division-rival A’s. It’s not really baseball season until you hear the announcers discussing the amount of foul territory at McAfee Stadium. Due to an obscure 1977 FCC regulation, both TV and radio crews must mention this at least twice a game, every game. I would have pointed this out to Avery, but he’d moved on. But that’s okay, because he really doesn’t like to talk about things that happen out in the East Bay anyway.