Big D

Big D

Monday, July 31, 2006

Dead Last; Papi Does it Again



David Ortiz did it again tonight for the Red Sox. There is no better hitter to watch bat right now with the game on the line, and Ortiz won another won for the Red Sox tonight with a 3 run walkoff to give the Red Sox a 9-8 win over Cleveland .

Ortiz hit a bomb off closer Carmona to dead center field and it seemed like every one in the stadium was waiting for Ortiz to hit one out. And he did...





The same day the Rangers make two more trades ( acquiring Kip Wells from Pittsburgh and Matt Stairs from KC for some spare minor league parts) in an effort to make an legitimate try to try and win the West, the team goes out and loses 15-2 in Minnesota . Texas now stands last place in the AL West at 52-54, 4 games back of first place Oakland. Just an awful, awful performance starting with John Rheinecker going 1.2 innings and givng up 8 Earned runs. Granted some of the damage was done by some shoddy fielding by newly acquired Carlos Lee, but this was Rheinecker's last start as a Ranger at least this season anyways.

Let's be honest as all rangers fans have painfully figured, this team is going as far as its pitching. Overall Team ERAs in the AL West:

Angels - 4.09 ERA (#2 in AL)
Oakland - 4.24 ERA (#3 in AL)
Seattle - 4.39 ERA (#5 in AL)
Texas - 4.63 ERA (#9 in AL)


The revamped rotation looks as follows:

Millwood -- Been just awful at home (6.28 ERA) but very effective on the road (2.96 ERA). We at least have a chance with Millwood starting and is as close to an ace as the RAngers are going to have for the next few years.

Vicente Padilla -- 10 game winner and a free agent in the offseason, the Rangers need to go after him hard to sign him up long term. Challenges hitters with his fasttball and seemingly can win games at Ameriquest (4.50 ERA at home).

Adam Eaton -- Let's not even discuss his first start. Supposedly has decent talent at #2 stuff, but he seems to be too much of a health risk for the Rangers to go after in the offseason. Thank god for Akinori Ostuka working out as closer because Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez are performing well in San Diego.

Kip Wells -- Dunn's favorite starting pitcher comes over from Pittsburgh and will be an innings eater. This is a good thing becuase he will probably come in and be our #4 starter because the #5 situation is even more murky.

John Koronka/John Wasdin (should go down)/Edison Volquez -- This team needs a spark and maybe Volquez is it.

No matter how pitiful the offense looks at times this team isn't even going to sniff the AL West without better pitching. The Angels and A's both rank top 4 AL in pitching so the Rangers better start playing soon or it's over.

I think it may already be over. Let's hope not...

Monday, July 24, 2006

Evil Empire Awaits






The Rangers begin a huge 3 game series tonight against the hated New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez returns to Arlington once again amid a storm of controversy.

With the return of Adam Eaton who starts Tuesday against New York and Kameron Loe to the pitching staff, the Rangers appear poised to hang around in this AL West race at least a little while long standing only a 1/2 game back of the A's currently thanks to a 6-5 opening roadtrip after the all star break.

Buck Showalter was taken to the hospital yesterday reportedly because of dehydration. Hopefully, he is ok and will be back for tonight's game.




Tiger Wins in Dominating Fashion at the British and Claims his 11th Major

I've never seen him look better and he looked to be a man on mission all week. You could tell how focused he was all week by his outburst of emotion on 18 after the win thinking about his father. Powerful stuff.

Astros Finally Win - Still 10 Games Back in NL Central


Better get hot soon Houston fans....

Since this is a DFW Blog, I feel obligated to post about the 3 county police chase involving a hijacked 18 wheeler and hostage which winded through the area yesterday. This chase actually came right by the golf course in Oak Cliff Sarah and I were on while playing yesterday. Pretty wild... Thankfully, it ended without anyone being hurt.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Hanging Around



Thanks to some good pitching by Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla along with some timely late inning hits by Hank Blalock, Gary Matthews Jr., and Mark Derosa, the Rangers won back to back games in Toronto and ended up taking 2 out of 3 from the Blue Jays to win the series.

The toughest part of this road trip awaits starting today where the Rangers go to Boston for 1 game where John Rheinecker matches up with Curt Schilling. The Rangers begin a 3 game series tomorrow in Chicago against the defending world champs. So far, the Rangers have somehow managed to stay afloat during this critical stretch of games. It's not getting any easier.

Rangers Interested in Shea Hillebrand?

Hillebrand would be a nice addition to a lineup desperately in need of some help. I'll take a chance with his supposed baggage in Toronto. Kevin Mench trade rumors are always swirling...

Sports Guy Chooses a Soccer Team for the Upcoming Season

I've decided to go with Arsenal. While some might call it a bandwagon pick, I want to at least be able to watch my team play on occasion, so I am sticking with my initial gut choice. Plus, I just love to root for Thierry Henry.

Powerful ESPN.com Article About the Tragedy that is Pat Tillman's Death

Finally...

Haley Joel Osment Wrecks His Saturn

Monday, July 17, 2006

Big Week Ahead




The Rangers offense hit the wall in the worst way this weekend in Baltimore failing to get even one extra base hit in 1-8 and 0-4 losses. It was the first time since the pre-ARod days back in 2000 that the Rangers offense failed to produce even one extra base hit in consecutive games. Not the time of year for the offense to experience a power outage. The next ten games should go a long way to determining whether the Rangers are serious about contending in the AL West.

The Rangers start a 3 game series in Toronto before heading to Fenway for a makeup game on Thursday. They finish this opening 2nd half roadtrip with a 3 game series against the defending world series champions in Chicago before heading home to face the Yankees in Arlington.

The offense better wake up in a hurry or the Rangers could very easily find themselves in 3rd place by this time next week.

I put the Fenway picture in this post because I got some great news this weekend thanks to the Girlfriend. Some of her family lives in Boston, and I will be attending my first game at Fenway Park over Labor Day weekend when the Sox play Toronto. I cannot freaking wait!

Also, the countdown has officially begun for the start of college football season. Last night's ESPYs on ESPN were filled with Longhorn clips and highlights from last year's Rose Bowl and other great Vince moments. It's amazing how much exposure Vince Young has brought our school, and I couldn't be happier. If you want to stroll down memory lane, check the archives on the right hand side of the page and there are quite a few posts that I made during last year's national championship run. Kind of fun to relive last season week by week.

I took a peek today at the initial lines for the first week of college football starting on Labor Day weekend. There are already a handful games that I have circled as potential good plays so be ready. Plenty of homework still to do before first kickoff, but I am starting to get pumped!

Stars Sign Washed Up Eric Lindros

No idea what the Stars organization is thinking with this signing. If they are trying to gain some credibility with fans to prove they are serious about contending, you do not sign the human concussion machine Eric Lindross. Sure it's nice the Stars have at least tried to shake things up by letting Guerin and Arnott go because both guys woefully underachieved in the playoffs. Sure, the team has added some nice role players including Daryl Sydor. But bringing Lindross in here does nothing for me, and I have little reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season. Oh well, something tells me I won't lose any sleep over it.

Keep in mind that a 29 year old Jamie Langenbrunner was also on the free-agent market this offseason. Why we let a proven playoff scorer go in the first place baffles me.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Tex Awakes from Slumber; Finally some 2nd half MLB Predictions

Mark Teixeira hits 3 home runs as the Rangers open the 2nd half in emphatic fashion with a 15-1 win in Baltimore. The Rangers hit 6 home runs total and most importantly Teixeira hopefully got the spark he needed to get his season going. Derosa was 4-4 and got on base six times. Wilkerson, Barajas, and Derosa all homered in this game as well.

Unfotuantely, Oakland came back and clipped
Boston 5-4 in 11 innings.

To keep the Houston readers happy (Glover - you big pussy):

Aubrey Huff homers in his Astros debut and the hated Astros .
beat the suddenly cold Marlins 5-1.

2nd Half Predictions

AL WEST Rangers -- You're damn right I'm going to pick the Rangers but the AL west race will most likely come down to the last weekend of the season.

AL EAST Boston -- I think the young arms for Boston (Papelbon, Lester, Hansen and company) will be the difference as Boston faces a very heated race with a resiliant Yankee team. If Matsui can come back for the Yankees in the middle of August and the setup men and rotation can hold up the Yankees could win this division. I still think Boston will win in the end. Toronto could should be the biggest pest to both these teams and I wouldn't be surprised to see them hanging around for awhile.

AL CENTRAL White Sox -- As most of the experts have predicted, you would be stupid to pick against the White Sox and Ozzie Guillen right now. The Detroit Tigers are going to be tough to beat as long as their starting pitching stays tops in the majors as it was in the 1st half. For this reason I'm saying...

AL WILDCARD Detroit -- Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers, Justin Verlander, and the rest of the pitching staff should help Detroit edge the Yankees out for the AL wild card.

NL EAST Mets -- Obviously the only NL team that strikes any fear in the AL righht now.

NL CENTRAL Cardinals -- Somehow, some way with Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds they have to get by the rest of the NL central I hope.

NL WEST Padres -- This race should be at least somewhat intersting and I expect the Rockies to have a solid 2nd half.

NL WILDCARD Brewers -- Just because I am not giving the Astros fans any satisfaction.

Should be a hell of a 2nd half....

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Scattershooting

Since I have a renewed interest in promoting my blog, I am just going to come out and start posting as much random stuff as possible in the hopes that someone reads this stupid page. But because this is a DFW sports blog at heart, you will be seeing plenty of Rangers, Stars, Mavs, Cowboys, SMU, TCU, FC Dallas, Fort Worth Cats, and anything else DFW sports related. Anyways, let's get going.....

In a surprising twist, the Mavs have decided to use their mid-cap exception on signing another blast from the past, Greg Buckner.

While Buckner was a nice player in his time here in Dallas and some of his other stops (Philadelphia and Denver), the fact remains he has never averaged more than 7 pts. in his entire career. Sure it's nice that he had 86 3 pointers last year which led his team and played some good hustling defense which is I'm sure something Avery likes to see in guys. But this seems a little disappointnig considering the Mavs were SO CLOSE to signing a Mike James, a guard with a ring who averaged over 20 points a game last year in Toronto.

Regardless, the Mavs are going to be formidable next year with whoever ends up coming back and I'm still looking forward to next season even if I don't watch a game until January. Still so bitter.....

YOUTUBE ALERT

No idea how the hell my dad got this link from some ND Alum buddy of his but I found it rather disturbing if not mildly funny about the evil that is USC.

Political Link #1 of the Day
America has Another Fan

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in a recent interview with ABC let his feelings known about America, and shockingly, they weren't that Good. Here is a sample:

"Americans have a severe disease — worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex," he said. "You want an American style-democracy here. That will not work."



Politcal Link #2 of the Day (Use BUGMENOT.COM for Login)

This story made me laugh...

Rove Booed at Latino Conference


In other news...
Zidane called a Terrorist

2nd Half MLB Preview and Rangers 1st Half Grades Coming Soon....

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Michael "Fucking" Young and 2nd Half MLB Predictions

While I know most of the country and even the crowd in attendance didn't seem all that excited about tonight's All Star game, I was plasantly surprised by tonight's midsummer classic. Thanks to Michael's Young 2 strike, 2 out triple in the top of the ninth off Trevor Hoffman. With the AL trailing 2-1 and the long AL winning streak in jeopardy, Young was able to drill a pitch in the gap to score 2 runs. Unbelievably exciting play and Rivera shut down the door in the Ninth for a 3-2 AL victory.

I figured I would go ahead and give my 2nd half predictions for the AL first on how I think the playoff race will play out.

AL West

All-Star Break
W L % GB
Oakland 45 43 .511 --
Texas 45 43 .511 --
LA Angels 43 45 .489 2.0
Seattle 43 46 .483 2.5

Obviously I am partial in this race, but I think the Rangers have enough this season to at least play meaningful games in September. And that's at least start for our sorry franchise. With that said, the A's have to be the favorite once Harden comes back off the DL and Chavez gets fully healthy. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Mariners or Angels mount a small charge thanks to some good young pitching from the likes of King Felix in Seattle and Jared Weaver with Anaheim.

Keep in mind that the last time the A's and Rangers meet is September 4th-6th in Oakland. I think both teams will be deadlocked until very late and hopefully the Rangers can pull out some magic for once.

Final Standings

W L % GB
Texas 91 71
Oakland 90 72
Seattle 83 79
Anaheim 80 82

Monday, July 10, 2006

US Government In Action

With all the shit going on this country right now, you would think the US congress would have more pressing issues to deal with than the controversial offshore gaming industry.

But in a move that clearly shows where Republican lawmakers priorites lie, the Christian values leaders have decided to take these offshore gaming websites head on.

Here is the main jist of the Bill

The legislation would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to these sites and increases the maximum prison time for violations from two to five years. It also allows law enforcement officials to force Internet service providers to remove links to the sites


As someone who uses offshore gaming websites to make wagers, I don't really see what Congress is trying to accomplish by passing this bill other than to waste everyone's time and prove yet again that this government can't accomplish anything. Obviously Congress is not trying to totally eradicate wagering on sporting events or stop poker playing in this country? Are the Republican leaders of this country that detatched from reality that they believe the government can eradicate the "evils" of society like sports gambling and poker while keeping the "good evils" like the lottery system (revenues to the state) and horse racing (strong lobby who has been exempt from this bill)?

Let's also imagine what people are going to do if they can't go online to bet. The return of the "street corner" bookie who you meet at the local sports bar or the hallway at school to make your bet. And the mafia gets a huge boost in a long forgetten cottage industry.

Instead of finding out ways to tax the offshore gaming websites and generate tax revenue, this Congress is choosing to try and tackle a problem they have no hope of ever fixing.

I love the hypocritical and fickle nature of our government in cherry picking what they deem as necessary to fix.

The Liberatrians are looking like a better and better party every day.

And yes I will continue to post my picks when the college football season starts because damnit, someone out there will take my bets.

What a finish!!!! Italy is the Champ



I know most people don't care what team I rooted for in this World Cup. I freely admit that I only truly become a futbol fan once every four years when the world cup rolls around. Since this world cup started, outside of the obvious US allegiance, I have been rooting for Italy (I've been there, absolutely love their Unis, and I have fond memories of their world cup final team in '94) and the Netherlands (obvious reasons). After this year's World Cup, I can honestly say that I am going to make a concerted effort to try and follow soccer in the years between World Cups as much as possible because I really had a fun time following the sport during the last month.



Italy wins the Cup in PKs

In addition, this World Cup has made me a lifelong fan of Italy. What a fantastic team effort during this whole tournament. I better get used to the GolTV and Fox Soccer channel over the next few years. They need to become a regular part of rotation.

A very memorable quote from one my favorite Italians (maybe the best nickname in the tournament -- "snarling dog") after yesterday's win:

As Gennaro Gattuso walked past his coach, an almighty grin on his face, he summed up the mood of his team-mates. "This is the best feeling in the world," he said. "I feel like I'm incredibly drunk."


And my last thought on the World Cup:

Thanks to Hurst and a host of others who have circulated the link of all that hot chicks either at the world cup games or shown pictures of all the players wives/girlfriends who are usually hot foreign models.

My favorite duo -- Thierry Henry who was one of the most dyanmic scoring threats in the entire tournament from France and his girlfriend, Nicole Merry.


She is just fantastic.

Rangers Enter All Star Break in a Tie for First

If you take two out of 3 from Minnesota when they have Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana pitching back to back in the series, you have done a hell of a job. The Rangers should get an extra boost of confidence going into the all star break with two series wins over Toronto and Minnesota.

This team has a real shot to make some noise probably more because the AL west is so crummy this year than anything else. But I'll take it over the alternative of being 10+ games back in the AL East or Central.

White Sox Defeat Red Sox in 19 Inning marathon

Doesn't it always seem like the White Sox end up on the victorious side of things in games like this?

Deflating loss for the REd Sox. Luckily, they have 3 days to recover from such hearbreak.

This is going to be one hell of a second half in MLB this year.



And oh yea, did I mention that football is getting closer? I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.