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Who’s On First? Third Base….May 26th, 2008
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Well, not yet, but it is too nice of a headline to ignore. As the season of bizarre-but-successful-adjustments-on-the-fly continues, suddenly the plan is for 2-time All-Star 3rd baseman Hank Blaylock to move across the diamond and take over first base. (However on Friday, Hank didn’t get called up because of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is what will happen if you sit around playing GTA4 with Cary’s mom for weeks on end.)
While I love Hank, he’s looking less and less like the Hammer and more and more like the Nail. After missing great chunks of last season and the early going this season with various injuries, it’s getting tougher to count on seeing his name in the lineup. When he got Wally Pipped by Ramon Vazquez, Hank read the writing on the wall (and promptly had to go back on the DL with eye strain…). Actually, he saw Vazquez with a .359 average, read all the quotes about Ramon just helping this team to find a way to win, and thought maybe we could use a bat over at 1st base.
This kind of selfless willingness to try and help the team is so vital to clubhouse chemistry, although I’m betting the look on Chris Shelton and Frank Catalanotto’s faces when Hank voluntered to move over to their position might not reflect that ideal. But at this point, whatever Ron Washington wants to do it fine with Rangers fans.
Not getting enough behind the plate? Bring Saltalamaccia up to put pressure on Gerald Laird and watch Laird turn into a hitting machine. Put rookies David Murphy and Brandon Boggs in the outfield and watch them combine with Bradley, Young, Kinsler, and Triple Crown leader Josh Hamilton to power the leading AL offense. Totally remake your starting rotation and watch as Kason Gabbard, Scott Feldman, andDoug Mathis match up against the top three Cleveland pitchers.
All they do is find a way to beat Fausto Carmona and CC Sabathia, only losing to Cliff Lee (In my opinion, the 2nd best pitcher out of the University of Arkansas, and the 2nd best product of Benton Arkansas, right behind the buffet at Brown’s Country Kitchen on I-30). Texas takes 2 out of three in Cleveland, splits 4 in Minnesota before that, and finds a way to win or tie their 9th series in a row. Right now, Ron Washington doesn’t even have to go andbuy a winning lottery ticket. He’ll probably just find one blowing around while he’s walking out to the mound.
It’s very considerate of the Rangers to put Cary’s “How to Win 101 Games” column into motion to prove his point, having reeled off a series record of 8-0-1 since April 24th. The really tricky part about what they are doing is winning or tying each series without sweeping any of them. 4 times they’ve had to win the last game of a series to keep the streak going. That’s just showing off. But if the team will continue this pattern, all the fans who wrote them off in April and haven’t checked back in yet might suddenly be surprised. A few more series wins, and who’s in first ? Third place…and climbing….
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