A Ranger win on my birthday!

Here's a recap of my weekend in Minnesota! I'll be back to regular blogging as soon as I'm caught up at work (hopefully late in the CHW series).

Friday

Road construction extended my drive long enough to hear five innings of the Rangers/Twins game. It never really got completely out of hand, but Millwood didn’t sound too solid. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when I received a text later that let me know the Rangers had lost. I was surprised, however, that they were shut out. First time all year. I guess the Twins were just returning the favor from Padilla’s masterpiece in late April.

Walking through the Nicollet area with my friends, I was wearing my Kinsler All-Star player tee. A few Twins fans came up behind me and asked me who Kinsler played for. They already knew the answer, but I didn’t know that so I answered. They gave me a hard time about their team’s victory that evening and about their boy Morneau’s show during the All-Star festivities.
THEM: Who won tonight?
ME: Yeah, well…you won’t win all of them.
THEM: We’ll see about that. Who won the Home Run Derby?
ME: Who hit the most home runs that night?
THEM: Doesn’t matter. Jason Morneau still won.
ME: Jason? Um, and you call yourselves fans.
THEM: It’s a joke among fans. And this guy’s from Canada, so he knows Jason Morneau.
ME: Yeah, well who drove in the winning run in the All-Star game?
THEM: Who scored the winning run in that game?
ME: Well, Morneau couldn’t have come home if Young hadn’t hit that sac fly.
THEM: Yeah, yeah, whatever.
They were nice about the whole thing. I honestly don’t mind taking heat from fans who are actually knowledgeable and aren’t jerks about it.

Saturday

My first Rangers game of the 2008 season. What a way to kick it off. A 14-2 loss. Yuck. Absolute yuck.

I arrived at the Metrodome in my Hamilton player tee just before 5 p.m. I had wanted to get there a little earlier, but road construction in Minneapolis is rampant thanks to the upcoming Republican National Convention. Ah well. I still caught the end of batting practice and got to chat with Shirley “The Cookie Lady” Kost for awhile while we watched our favorite boys warm up. I met Shirley three years ago in Texas and we’ve sort of stayed in touch ever since. I’ve run into her in Anaheim, Kansas City and Minneapolis so far. She’s a great Rangers fan, and I hope someday I am in a comfortable enough financial situation to follow them around like she does.

The game started, and, Matt Harrison got into trouble early. That Mauer home run just felt like the beginning of a long night. And it was. Well, it was a short night, but it sure felt long. The game was less than three hours long, but when you’re being tortured like I was, three hours can feel like much longer.

The one highlight, for me, was the Chris Davis two-run homer. His swing is so sweet. There was just no question about the hit as soon as it left the bat. Two guys next to me cheered, and I was confused since they were wearing Twins garb. The one quickly explained that Crush was on his fantasy team. I congratulated him on his good pick-up.

There isn’t much else to talk about regarding this game. It was hideous, but it couldn’t completely kill my excitement over my first game of the year. It was nice to finally see some of the new faces in person – Hamilton, Bradley, Boggs, Ramirez, etc. I got a nice wave from Hamilton (although he had just finished signing when I got there) and Frankie Francisco as well.

After the game, I met back up with my friends and we went and saw “The Dark Knight” at the imax theater. This is a little OT, but well worth a mention. Such an amazing movie. I don’t usually get into the superhero-type films, but this was just … wow. Heath Ledger was absolutely captivating. If he doesn’t at least get an Oscar nom, there’s something wrong with Hollywood.

Sunday

The big 2-8 officially started with “The Dark Knight.” Then, after just a few hours of sleep, I was up and ready to get back to the Metrodome. I sincerely hoped my boys would give me the birthday gift of a win.

I arrived at the ‘dome around 11:30 a.m. unsure if the boys would take batting practice. But after their performance Saturday, I was happy to see they were swinging away. I noticed right away that Wash was tossing BP. Where’s Rudy? The outfielders had already hit, I guess, because Davis, Teagarden, Blalock and Saltalamacchia were the ones in the cage.

Only Salty and Feldman came over to sign autographs, and Salty was the only one I got to talk to. I really didn’t have anything for him to sign, so I just handed over my ticket. While he signed, I chatted him up a bit. Or at least tried to.
ME: Hey Jarrod.
SALTS: Hey there, how you doing?
ME: Good, good. How are you? Are you about ready to get out there again?
SALTS: I’m more than ready.
ME: Good to hear. I mean, I like Taylor and all, but I want to see more of what you can do.
SALTS: *smiles* Thanks, that’s nice to hear. Hopefully I’ll get out there again soon.
ME: Well, good luck the rest of the season.
SALTS: Thanks.

I also got a wave and a nod from Everyday Eddie. He is still quite well-known and heckled in Minnesota. You should have heard the folks around me when he came in to pitch the 8th. I wish I could remember what all they said, but it’s a blur now. And I’m getting ahead of myself anyway.

The Twins’ Baker looked amazing through five innings. I don’t know if his stuff was just working or if we were that off, or maybe it was a combination of the two. I was getting nervous that I would not only witness a loss on my birthday but that my Rangers would be the victims of a perfect game.

Thank goodness for Taylor Teagarden, who notched his first major league hit and home run in the same swing. I wanted to stand up and cheer, I was so excited for him (and, okay, for myself). But I restrained myself and just clapped from my seat.

It was good to see our closer isn’t the only one who likes to put a few on the bases before getting that third out. Joe Nathan looked pretty shaky in his one inning of work. I prayed the boys would put a few more runs on the board before C.J. Wilson came in. I wasn’t really in the mood for Mr. Drama King. I didn’t want him to ruin my birthday. Fortunately, although he made things interesting, he didn’t spoil it. He got the save, the Rangers got the 1-0 win and my birthday was a happy one.

After the game, I was not yet ready to leave, so I lingered above the Rangers dugout. I watched Teagarden do his interview and then receive his home run ball. I was sure to congratulate him on his first HR/hit, and he grinned at me. Nice day for him.

Finally, I made my way out of the ‘dome and sadly left behind my Rangers for the weekend. My birthday ended with a free ticket to the Neil Diamond concert. The venue was sold out and Neil didn’t disappoint. He’s an amazing performer. No surprise, really. He hasn’t been doing this for three decades on accident.

Overall, I’d call my birthday weekend a success. The Rangers loss may have been a downer, but it couldn’t spoil all three days. There were far more highlights to make up for it.

Also, here are my photos from the weekend. Warning: There are an inordinate amount of shots of Chris Davis and CJ Wilson. :-/

Looking back and looking ahead

First, looking back....

Justin Morneau may have won the Home Run Derby, but the only hitter anyone is talking about is Josh Hamilton.

JD Drew won the All-Star Game MVP Award, but it was Michael Young who mercifully ended the game with a sac fly in the bottom of the 15th inning.

Simply put, the Rangers ruled the All-Star festivities. And I don't know when I've ever been so proud to be a Rangers fan as I have been the past few days. Okay, so I'm always proud to be a Rangers fan, but there's been an extra glow this week.

The funny thing is that everyone who knows me associates me with the team. This has it's ups and downs, of course. When the Rangers get blown out, no-hit (Buehrle) or simply stymied (Santana and Bedard last summer), I get looks and words of sympathy. And a few jabs. Likewise, when Josh Hamilton hits 28 homers in the span of about 30 minutes or the team drives in 30 runs in one game, people look for me to be on cloud nine (not beyond the realm of possibilities). I'm not sure where I was going for this, but I just thought it was interesting. I've had more phone calls and e-mails about my boys in the last few days than I've gotten since last August. Like I said, it's a lot of fun to be a Rangers fan right now.

Now, looking ahead...

I have a pretty great weekend ahead. Tomorrow night, I'm going to a Matt Nathanson concert on the river (granted it doesn't rain out). Then, Friday night, I'm headed to Minneapolis for a weekend with two of my former college roommates.

The Rangers gave me a nice gift this year by arranging to be in Minneapolis (4 hours away) on my birthday. That's right. I will be taking in my first Rangers game of 2008 this weekend, and probably the only two I'll get to this season. I have a PRIMO seat for the Sunday game. Afterall, that is the anniversary of my birth, so I decided to treat myself. I haven't yet bought a ticket for Saturday night, but I'm sure I'll be in the cheap seats since I think my friends (not really big into sports) will be accompanying me. I'm hoping to arrive at the Metrodome early both days to maximize my Rangers experience.

My birthday weekend will end with a Neil Diamond concert. Ha ha. Yeah, I'm serious. The ticket was free, so why not? :)

Gotta love a walk-off

I saw two nice wins tonight, but -- no disregard to the Perry High School Bluejays -- the Rangers win was definitely the highlight of the night.

When I arrived home from the Bluejays' game, I did my best not to check in with Lonestar Ball (my FAVORITE group of people to watch a game "with") or go to any sports news sites. I moved swiftly through my recording of the game and caught up in the 7th inning.

What a nail-biter of a game, but I was thoroughly pleased with our pitcher-by-committee. Madrigal, Rupe, Francisco and Wright did exactly what was needed tonight. In fact, the Rangers were tied 2-2 when Francisco entered the game. And promptly surrendered that two-run homer to the Angels 4th outfielder, Juan Rivera. If not for Marlon Byrd, the gap might have been much bigger. He robbed the Angels of extra bases more than once. And Jamey Wright reached out and stabbed a liner in the top of the 8th.

As we headed into the 8th, I really wasn't sure we could make a comeback. I mean, I always hope we can, but it was not looking promising. Scot Shields had us completely flumoxed the other night and K-Rod, well, he's K-Rod. Shields continued his mastery tonight, but we got to K-Rod pretty fast. Ramon Vazquez earned a lead-off walk. Ian Kinsler struck out (rare occurence until tonight). Frank Catalanotto grounded out to first. Our hopes rested on Michael Young, and he kept the hopes alive by driving in Vazquez on a single. Then, he stole second while Josh Hamilton was at the plate. I was just hoping for an extra base hit, something Hammy hadn't had in...well, a long time.

Boy, did he makeup for lost time. A two-run, walk-off homer to right field to give the Rangers the win and a lead in the series!!!! I was absolutely out of my mind, screaming and whooping and jumping up and down. I'm shocked the Perry Police didn't arrive to cite me for disturbing the public.

KISS: Oh, it's sooo tempting to give it to Hamilton, but I really think I have to go with Michael Young tonight. He was 3 for 5 with a walk, and if not for his single in the 9th, Hamilton would not have had the chance to hit the homer. Young takes a lot of heat for not being a real flashy or emotional player, but, you know what, I'm still glad to have him on my team.

MISS: Frankie Francisco. He failed to strikeout anyone in his one inning of work. He allowed the two go-ahead runs and made my blood pressure rise uncomfortably.

But who really cares about the MISS, when the game ends like this...

Before the Rangers win, my presence was requested at Progressive Field here in Perry tonight for the baseball team's senior night. Other media folks have been giving me a hard time for claiming to be a big diamond fan and not attending a game. I've just been preoccupied with two jobs and Rangers basebally, I guess. So, I made an effort to go tonight and I was rewarded with a 7-4 Bluejay win. Starting pitcher Charlie Beeler worked a fantastic curve ball, pitching three scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the Bluejays offense scored o run in the 1st, five in the second and another one in the third. After three, Beeler moved to shortstop and the third baseman Travis Anderson came in to pitch. Anderson got rocked a little, but held onto the lead. With post-season play just 48 hours away, Coach Mike Long had to be careful with his pitching staff, and starting left fielder Tyler Cooklin came in to close out the game. Speaking of outfielders, Sam Stetzel and Drew Rinner had a pair of FANTASTIC grabs. If they were in the majors, they definitely would have been web gems. Despite giving up two home runs, the Bluejays defeated the Winterset Huskies 7-4 in their home closer.

Fresh face, solid arm

I do my best to keep up with the Rangers' minor leaguers, but I had very little knowledge about Matt Harrison until tonight. The rookie, whom we acquired in a package for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay last season, could not have had a tougher assignment for his major league debut. The first place Angels. And then an hour-long rain delay. But he didn't appear shaken one bit. He looks like he's 10, so maybe that youthfulness and some adrenaline helped him.

While Harrison was working his magic (more on that later), Ian Kinsler extended his 20-game hitting streak, Michael Young went 2-3 en route to his 10-game hitting streak and Chris Davis stroked his fifth homer since being called up less than a month ago. And they did all this against an Angels All-Star with pretty decent stuff.

I couldn't believe how many youngsters we had on the field tonight. With the exception of Young, Byrd and Bradley, everyone else was under the age of 30. Harrison and Davis are 22, and Salty and Duran are 23. Crazy. Just crazy.

KISS: Harrison. You couldn't ask more of this young man in his debut. He threw 97 pitches and went 7 innings. He allowed the Angels to score just two runs on five hits and one walk. He also had one strikeout. His groundball to flyball out ratio was 9-10 -- not entirely reassuring, but he has a lot of potential. I would like him to get another look and possibly be in the rotation next spring.

MISS: C.J. Wilson. He may have gotten the save, but he didn't do it in his dominating fashion. Strikes were hard to come by and he actually walked two. He gave up one hit and then hesitated on a come-backer that could have been a game-ending double-play.

Rollercoaster

This game started with an epic low. Luis Mendoza (who previously looked pretty good in relief outings) surrendered eight runs to the Angels in just 1.1 innings. It was ugly, and I thought I might throw up.

Then, something strange happened. Dustin Nippert came in and pretty much shut down the Angels offense for the next seven innings. The lone run he gave up came on Torii Hunter's second HR of the evening.

Meanwhile, the home team cranked out a few runs of their own. Trailing 8-1 after 4.5 innings, they pounded out a five-run bottom of the 5th, courtesy of a three-run homer by David Murphy and a two-run bomb by Chris Davis. Good to see Murph getting his swing and timing back. He was 0 for 18 going into Sunday's game in Baltimore. He finished that day 2 for 4, and while he was just 1 for 5 tonight, he was robbed of two hits by Casey Kotchman.

But that was all they could muster. Despite having two on and no out in the 6th and then two on and two out in the 9th, they just couldn't bring any more home.

KISS: Dustin Nippert was absolutely spectacular tonight. I gave him a standing ovation in my own living room. He came into a nightmare of a game and brought the Rangers back to striking distance. He went 7 innings with 103 pitches. He walked one and gave up four hits while striking out four as well.

MISS: It'd be too easy to give it to Mendoza tonight. Michael Young was almost as disappointing. He was 1 for 5 with two Ks and four LOB. *sigh*

I apologize for not blogging after the finale in Baltimore. I was just so irked after the All-Star selections were announced that I couldn't bring myself to write anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm THRILLED that Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young will be representing the Rangers. I'm just mad that Kinsler will not be starting at 2B. Stupid Red Sox Nation. I don't even blame Pedroia. He didn't cast 34,000 votes for himself (I don't think). It's a bit reassuring that Rangers fans were able to get the vote that close, but still disappointing that they fell short. Ah well. At least we'll have four reps this year instead of the requisite one, right?

Newberg knows

As always, Jamey Newberg describes Ian Kinsler's All-Star worthiness much better than I do.

Read his Sunday entry here.

The selection show is a little more than an hour away. I'm holding out hope that the NYP article was wrong, however naive that might be of me. I just don't want to believe that Kinsler wasn't voted in by the fans. If it holds true, it will only increase my hatred of the Red Sox.

Back in the win column

I got a little greedy in New York. I wanted the sweep so badly that I had trouble appreciating a series win. But I put the game behind me (for the most part) and looked forward to Baltimore. Camden Yards just isn't nearly as intimidating of a venue as Yankee Stadium. I thought for sure my boys would be a little frustrated after game three with the Yankees and really come out swinging. Wrong. Vicente Padilla crumbled either from injury (strained neck muscle and bruised thumb) or ineffectiveness. Probably both. And Jeremy Guthrie seemed to have all his good stuff for our offense. The 10-4 loss was pretty tough to swallow. Thank goodness I had a Gimikk performance and fireworks to salvage my 4th of July and help me forget.

Today's game helped too, although the beginning wasn't so pretty. Scott Feldman looked like he was in trouble during his first swing through the Orioles' batting order. But then he settled down and kept it together, churning out another quality start and holding the O's to just three runs in six innings of work. His buddies in the bullpen -- Frankie Francisco, Eddie Guardado and C.J. Wilson -- helped him get his third win of the season by holding the orange birds scoreless.

Meanwhile, Scott finally got a little run support. There have been too many games where Scott was throwing well, but the bats just weren't going. But Kinsler lead off with a double and then Young singled him in to give the Rangers a first inning lead. They surrendered it temporarily in the bottom of the first, but they surged back in the 6th when German Duran hit a two-out double and then Kinsler followed up with a souvenir shot to left field. That was all they needed to secure the win, but they added another insurance run in the 8th as Max Ramirez crossed the plate when Michael Young hit into double play with no outs and the bases loaded.

Max Ramirez wasn't even supposed to be in the game, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia had to leave the game in the middle of his at bat in the top of the 6th. Turns out he has a strained right groin. Hopefully that won't keep him out for too long. We're already down one catcher (Laird) and our options for backup there aren't great. Don't get me wrong -- I think very highly of Ramirez and Teagarden (arguably our top catching prospects), but I do not want Teagarden leaving AAA (where he's playing nearly everyday) to come up to the bigs and sit on the bench. It's bad enough Ramirez is doing a lot of that now. If the call has to be made for another catcher, I sincerely hope the Rangers bring up Kevin Richardson instead. He's been in the system a long time, and most of the pitchers are very familiar with him. I remember once reading from C.J. Wilson that K-Rich calls the best game he's ever seen. C.J. doesn't dole out praise that's undeserved. At least not in my estimation.

Speaking of C.J., I love the version of him we've seen on this roadtrip. He is simply lights out. Whatever he did to get his mechanics and technique sorted out, I love it. He's working fast and getting strikeouts. Now that's a closer. Our closer.

I can't forget to mention German Duran. He said he got to the ballpark early today to work with Rudy Jaramillo. It was a much-needed session as Duran had been struggling at the plate lately. Although part of that is due to his extended time on the bench behind the hot Ramon Vazquez. Coming into tonight's game, Duran was just 4 for his last 24. Tonight, he went 3 for 3 with two runs scored. Keep it up, kid.

KISS: Ian Kinsler. He extended his hit streak to 17 games (though he'll probably have to double it to get much attention from that sports network) and went 2 for 3 with two RBI. It was his home run that made all the difference in the game and his penchant for lead-off doubles is hot.

MISS: Byrd, Davis and Saltalamacchia. All three of them have BAs in the lower-.200 range. Tonight, they were a combined 0 for 12. Davis' outing tonight really doesn't concern me too much. I do worry about the other two. I loved Byrd's contributions last year and I still want to see Salty really break out. I think he's capable of it, he just hasn't managed it yet.

TBS will announce the All-Star Game starting lineup tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST this is during the Rangers/Orioles game, so I'm not sure how I'll keep up with both (I guess that's what DVR is for, but I want to watch both LIVE!!). If you believe the New York Post's article, the lineups have already been leaked. I can't find the link now, which makes me think it's a hoax. Of course, I don't want to believe it, but I'm sure it will prove to be true. If it is, Kinsler failed to beat Boston's Dustin Pedroia out for the start at 2B. Absolute crap. Stupid east coast bias. I'm so sick of it. Kinsler is the better player. Hands down. He'll be there either way. That much, I'm sure of. And if he doesn't start, it means just one thing -- when he replaces Pedroia late in the game, he'll have the game-winning hit and win the ASG MVP Award just like Young did a few years ago. That's not such a bad consolation prize.

We all know Hamilton and Young will likely make this year's roster. I'd like to see Milton Bradley go as well. The guy's been such a contributor to this team. On the National League side, I, of course, voted mostly for Cubs. They are my NL team, afterall. I still love DeRosa like he's a Ranger, and I'm absolutely giddy over the season Geovany Soto is having as catcher. I watched him for a long time in Iowa, wondering when he'd get the call-up. The Cubs infuriated me by continuing to try and find other catching options (Jason Kendall anyone?) when their gem was biding his time and tearing up AAA. I guess he's showing them now. He's currently sitting on a .291 batting average with 14 dingers and 51 RBI. Not too shabby for a rookie!!!