Rangers hamstrung again?

Well, it looks like Millwood's hamstring isn't any better this year than last. It knocked us flat for most of May, and now he's already out again? They say they don't think it'll take so long this time to heal. I hope they're right. :(

It's record-breaking time!

30 runs!!! Did you hear that? 30 runs! Holy cow. Way to go, Texas Rangers!

The one that should have been...

Ron, Ron, Ron, what were you thinking?! Next time you think about putting Matt Kata at third base, just replay the image of Kata's ground ball that SHOULD have ended the inning in the Rangers' favor BEFORE Seattle's five-run streak. Should have.

Sigh... Next time...

McCarthy to take on Devil Rays

Brandon McCarthy has been slated to pitch his third game for the Rangers tonight against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His performance in those first two games was mixed - rookie jitters may account for the six runs he gave up in the first stab he took, but the second was nothing to sneeze at. I'll be watching to find out which of these players is more like the real Brandon McCarthy tonight...

Blalock with an "Attitude"

Have you been watching? Blalock is playing baseball again. Daniels has a new player on the team. Could Blalock be Washington's next Chavez? This could be his best season.

The Texas Rangers have extended a minor league contract and invitation to spring training to Sammy Sosa. No firm details on the monetary value, but it's speculated that a big chunk of the money would be incentive-based.

Bowling and Baseball talk

The Texas Rangers owner, Tom Hicks, called the first Rangers organization-wide baseball meetings in 6 years. General Manager Jon Daniels brought in everyone from amateur and international scouts, office personel, and both on and off field major and minor league personnel. The meeting which lasted 4 days included a bowling tournament and a visit from Dallas Cowboys scouting legend Gil Brandt. Daniels made it clear he wanted to build the team from within focusing on player and scouting development. Gil Brandt was there to recount rebuilding the Cowboys through scouting taking the team from a 1 win year to being popular worldwide. The meetings were needed seeing as how The Texas rangers have switched thier staff up so much over the past years. After having 3 GM's 4 managers, 4 scouting directors, and 4 player development directors, the meetings helped everyone get on that same page. An estimated 90 people attended the event of which Daniels said, "Some of these people work away on thier own little island and it was the first time many of them had been to Arlington to see the ballpark."

Money cash mula dinero bread greenback

The Texas Rangers announced a rise in tickets prices for the upcoming 2007 season. The raise in prices is due to supply and demand says Texas Rangers president Jeff Cogan. He also announced the spring training and promotional schedule. The Rangers start things off on March 2nd with a game against the Kansas City Royals at Sunrise field. They wrap it up the same way they did last year with 2 exhibition games against the Milwaukee Brewers . The new promotions sound great for home game goers. There will be live music at the Patio on the North side of Ameriquest Field before every home game. They are returning the popular fireworks shows as well as bringing in a host of dollar nights for everything from hot dogs to T-shirts and caps. The Texas Rangers are looking out for thier fans in the upcoming season.

Washington Shows Arlington Snows

The Texas Rangers new manager Ron Washington is showing how much leverage he has from his long career in baseball. Barry Zito showed up in Arlington with his agent Scott Boras at the same time as a large storm carrying snow, sleet and ice. As a free agent Zito is being pursued by as many as eight teams currently. Zito had 34 starts and 221 innings with The Oakland Athletics last season where Washington was a 3rd base coach for 11 years. The two have a history and Zito has expressed interest in pitching on the mound at Ameriquest Field under his old friends tutelage. The Rangers staff feels the same way. After losing out on the bid for the Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, The Texas Rangers are getting serious about dropping some major bank on thier pitching this winter. For you long term fans do not worry there is still much interest in resigning Vicente Padilla but Zito is definitly at the top of the list. Over the past 6 years he has more starts than any other pitcher in the major league at 208 and is third in innigs pitched so one can definitly see why the interest in this lefty is so great. Work it Washington, work it.

Bidding Wars

Daisuke Matsuzaka was the pitcher the Rangers were after for next season and they though offering a 27 million dollar salary would do the trick. It turns out that they were not even in the ballpark. The New York Mets supposedly bid in the area of 38 million while the winning bid of 51.1 million dollars came in from the Boston Red Sox. The Rangers not only lost out on a great pitcher but also have 8 free agents and as the off season progresses it semms less and less likely that an agreement will be reached. Already lost is Mark DeRosa as he signed with the Chicago Cubs on tuesday for a reported 13 million dollars. DeRosa wants to play second base and with the Rangers that position is filled everyday by Ian Kinsler leaving DeRosa to fill in there or other poisitions. The Cubs offered to have him be thier starting 2nd baseman everyday and that must have weighed in on the decision. Many more players may be leaving in the next week. A sad time it is for the Rangers.