Results tagged ‘ texas rangers ’
In Case You Ever Wondered What An Eugenio Velez in a Toy Shop Is Like…
Baseball Sundays are just the best, aren’t they? The Giants won very tidily in Arizona today, by a final of 7-3 and got loads of hits in the process. 14, to be precise. Is that the best or is that the best? After such an up-and-down couple of weeks, a game that just goes down nicely is an anomaly and a welcome one, at that. Gregor Blanco and Brett Pill were the stars of the show and Barry Zito squeezed out a quality start, too. It is games like these that make you think – or, at least, hope – that the squad can work things out. It may not be neat, but it may work. They are back at .500 with 17 wins and 17 losses and they are six games out from the first place Dodgers. Not terribly shabby for May 13th. I think we may make it out alive, after all.
I am watching the Rangers (hopefully) rip through the Angels on ESPN, so I have to get going, but I would like to leave you with this two Mother’s Day stories. This first one comes from the Giants official blog about former Giant Eugenio Velez and it’s a smile-worthy story.
“Pura Eugenia Vancamper named her son after herself, and they always had a particularly close bond. She knew early on that baseball had a hold on him. When she let her three children choose a toy one day at a store, her older son chose a truck, her daughter a doll and Eugenio, still just a toddler, went straight for the plastic bat and ball. She tried to talk him into a tricycle but he insisted on the bat and ball.”
This story, about Texas’ Alexi Ogando, is also wonderfully heart-warming.
“It took five years for that second chance to come, but it did come, and there came a day last July when Fefa Ogando was not cooking in San Pedro de Macoris. She was riding in a truck through Phoenix streets that were lined with baseball fans. Her son was on the back of the truck during the Red Carpet Parade on his way to his first All-Star Game at Chase Field, and the fans were shouting ‘Ogando! Ogando!’
Fefa Ogando turned to Rangers broadcaster Eleno Ornelas and said, ‘They know my son’s name! I can’t believe it. Thank you so much for talking me into coming here!’”
Lastly, of course, our very own Gregor Blanco dedicated his fantastic game to his mother, who passed away six years ago. Bittersweet, but mostly sweet. A very lovely day around Major League baseball. Totally talking about the mother stories, but did I also mention that Nelson Cruz just hit a grand-slam in Texas? Yes. A lovely day.
Diamond Girl
The Lowdown on the Get Stepped on by Taller Giants Fans Event, aka Fan Fest
I have detailed my feelings towards Fan Fest previously on the blog- you can read that here or my account of last year’s Fan Fest here (which I wasn’t at but made an account of all the same).
A few things that are now on my mind…
Firstly I have no excuse like I did last year. I am available, I know where and when it is happening and cannot claim to have had an aunt in a freak skydiving accident, because some number of y’all have seen Confessions of a Shopaholic and would catch me in my lie.
Secondly I do know not whether it is Fan Fest or FanFest. A quick search on my blog demonstrates severe schizophrenia on my part as to this particular dilemma. Now how I can I go if I don’t even know how to spell it? This could be a good excuse. Another quick search shows that the Giants call it Fan Fest- two words- while the A’s, contrarians that they are, spell it as one word, FanFest. What to make of it all?
This is the official logo which, of course, conveniently evades the issue by making it completely unclear whether or not there’s a space, with their cute logo. Which is cute. But that’s beside the point.
Thirdly I miss my KNBR fix and if I stay home, there is the upside of following the whole thing on the radio, rather than braving the sandy field in my fabulous boots and the lines as long as the playoffs Bud Selig is proposing/promising/guaranteeing. I repeat, we need a new commish, people.
But fourthly Fan Fest is the baseball equivalent to a horrible family tradition that you do just so you can show your battle scars in the future and be all, I survived!
This is all to say I am, as of yet, undecided. Perhaps if I make some cupcakes and listen to lots of calming Enya beforehand I will go. Or perhaps I will make some cupcakes and give them out to add positive vibes to the event and play Enya over some portable speakers, to amp up the whole positive vibe thing even more.
No one will mind if I wear my antlers too, right?
Yes, it’s Instagramed. Yes, I am occasionally a hipster. And a Rangers fan. That too.
Diamond Girl
The Case Against Prince
I, like many others, have a soft spot for Prince Fielder. Aside from his fabulous hitting skills, he comes across like a great big teddy bear and the kind of guy you would most definitely want on your poison– I mean, team of choice.
Which is why I would rather not make a case against Prince. But with all this talk of a five thousand year deal, with $20 million plus per year, I feel the need to make this case.
First of all, in general, we all know to avoid deals like that at all costs. But if someone comes up who really seems like they might bring balance to the Force, then it is occasionally okay to put out one of those massive contracts.
But to me, Prince Fielder just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you want for all that time. He’s an amazing ballplayer at this point but I think there’s definitely doubt as to how well his body type can hold up over a long period of time and when we’re talking eight to ten years, that’s something that should factor in, in a big way.
For the Rangers in particular, I don’t think Prince makes sense. They’re already sitting on empty pockets, pretty much, and although Mitch Moreland has his doubters, I think he could make a perfectly sound first baseman and I think signing Josh Hamilton, injury-prone-ness and all, to a multi-year deal makes much more sense for me.
I wish Prince made sense with the Rangers, to me, because how fun would that be? But I don’t think he does. Texas does things big, we know that, but I still believe the emphasis should be (and is) on player development and scouting. Darvish was a potential triumph, in that sense. Although he is a semi-veteran and obviously cost loads of money, it also could symbolize success for the Rangers in their Japan scouting missions. In essence, it goes along with what they’re trying to do, the system they’re trying to set up.
Prince Fielder? Not so much.
Besides, I doubt he’d look that good in a cowboy hat.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Battle of the Bowties! Brauny and Dave Robertson at the BBWAA dinner a couple nights ago. I’m saying Robertson wins this fashion faceoff because Ryan’s velvet suit is a little too greasy Vito Corleone for my taste, but what do you all think?
The 2011/2012 Offseason, or In Which the Marlins Grab Players and Everyone Else Blinks and Watches
I am in a much bouncier mood than I’ve been in a long time. Because there are no boxing tweets in my Twitter timeline! There are actually tweets about baseball! There is actually baseball news!
Well, some baseball news. Mostly it’s beat writers musing on the pointlessness of bringing so many media members to Dallas to mill around in the lobby. In fact, my favorite Winter Meetings quote ever which completely sums it up was from Rangers beat writer, T.R. Sullivan last year, “Talked with Red Sox manager Terry Francona 1-on-1 in the lobby today and he told me exclusively, ‘Hey TR, good to see you.’” Isn’t Sullivan awesome?
But still, something is better than nothing. And we have something, for sure.
Heath Bell is in Florida. So is Jose Reyes. So might be C.J. Wilson, Cody Ross, heck, Brandon Belt! Yeah, Brandon might be going to the fab new Marlins stadium. I mean, probably not, but them Marlins do seem to be getting just about everyone, so who knows?
We might as well rename this: The 2011/2012 Offseason, or In Which the Marlins Grab Players and Everyone Else Blinks and Watches.
Fun, right? The Giants are not expected to be big buyers this year (then again, are they ever?) and the Rangers are busy mixing cocktails or whatever because hosting this shebang is a full-time job, so they probably won’t do much either.
That means I am free to sit back and enjoy the show and speculate as to what it’s like when Jon Daniels and Jed Hoyer run into each other in the back hallway.
Right now I’m thinking it’s all:
Jed: Hey, you hear I’m with the Cubs now?
Jon: *grunts*
Jed: Pretty spiffy, what we’re doing over there. Even SF Diamond Girl predicted we’d go to the World Series in ‘13 or ’14.
(At this point fantasy ends abruptly.)
Okay, that last part probably didn’t happen. But this is my blog, à la my dream in Inception, so I can just make it go however I like. Which definitely means references to yours truly.
I think I need to do another GM roundtable in honor of these meetings now. Can you tell how smiley I am, even through cyberspace? This is quite possibly my favorite time of year, baseball-wise, which means altogether. Yes, I am a wee bit odd. Yes, I am aware. Yes, I appreciate you telling me, even so.
Work it out, Jed and Jon. You guys will be meeting at a roundtable tomorrow and I want no bickering.
Diamond Girl
Did Epstein Say Strawberries ‘N Cream?
General Managers talk in a dialect of their own. This, we know. But sometimes that dialect resembles more of a full-blown, foreign language. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Case in point (this is Theo Epstein, talking about not hiring Mike Maddux as manager of the Cubbies):
“Mike was a very strong candidate and we spent a lot of time talking about the job. The thing that stood out with Mike is that were some more factors that went into our discussions with him with any other candidates. So in the end, it wasn’t the right fit at the right time.
“But I’ll say he’s going to be a fantastic big league manager. He’s already an incredible pitching coach and will make a great manager some day. I’m glad he was part of the process.”
-Quote from the fantastic blog of T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers beat writer, http://trsullivan.mlblogs.com/.
I read that quote maybe five times over, before deciding it wasn’t just me. It was also him. I’m sorry, but what does, “The thing that stood out with Mike is that were some more factors that went into our discussions with him with any other candidates” mean? I mean, really?
Maybe there was supposed to be a “than” or “as opposed to” in there, between “with” and “any”. Or maybe he said “strawberries ‘n cream” (that would be “our discussions with him strawberries ‘n cream any other candidates”. Totally likely, that.) and poor Sullivan was just so confused that he decided to omit the word altogether and hope nobody noticed.
Questions, questions.
One GM thing that does make sense? This. (Okay, it actually made no sense- who would willingly choose to visit Times Square, let alone sleep there?- but that makes the gesture all the more wonderful and selfless, I suppose.) Cashman also does awesome things like dressing up as an elf.
He is getting on my good side quick, needless to say. So was Theo, actually. Until that quote and this video where the focus is most definitely off. Not his fault, but still. Wrigley Field is beautiful and all, but you generally have the camera focused on the foreground or the interviewee when doing an interview.
Maybe they should get a new cameraman in addition to a new everything-else-that-could-be-new-under-the-sun.
In all seriousness, though, I am sort of selfishly glad that Maddux is staying in Texas. He looks better in Ranger blue than Cubbie blue. Not to mention that he’s a darn good pitching coach.
Diamond Girl
p.s. JD is still siddin’ down and talking things over (as previously discussed here). I can’t speak for the Force, but the world is in balance.
5 Things I Am Loving About the Playoffs
For whatever reason, the playoffs bring out the non-verbal barbarian in me, so…
5. This. Antlers.
4. This. Beltre.
3. This. Brauny.
2. This. Verlander.
1. This. Granderson.
Diamond Girl
99 Bottles of Ginger Ale on the Clubhouse Wall
Yes, it’s in honor of the Rangers clinching a spot in the ALCS. Yes, I’ll be embarrassed if I hear that they didn’t actually do the ginger ale thing this year. Yes, that’s actually 99 and I counted. And no, Canada Dry did not sponsor this post.
Cheers, y’all!
Diamond Girl
Why I Think AJ Preller is in Mongolia and Baby Giraffe Refers to a Viral Video of a Yawning Giraffe
I decided it was time to escape from the torture and I was missing my Texans terribly, so I snuck off to the O.Co Coliseum this morning and spent the day there.
It all started off very well, blow-out style, with the A’s walking in a run in the first and I was perfectly prepared to sit back and eat french fries that, yes, tasted a bit like gasoline. Then things got a li’l tense. Make that very tense. Eventually, the Rangers untied it in top of the 9th and after an iffy bottom, I went home with a heart rate slightly elevated and a 7-6 victory. They won and the Angels lost, which is the bottom line, but couldn’t they have just done it 10-0 or something, for this long-suffering San Fran’er?
I do have to the give the Rangers credit, though. They were the sweetest away team I’ve ever seen and I got an autograph from the former Best Hair in the MLB King, CJ Wilson (he might get that crown back, because now I’ve seen the hair up close) and their adorable pitching coach, Mike Maddux, the owner of a rather impressive mustache. Josh Hamilton also gave a bat away to a kid (the word is that he does that at every game) and signed for nearly 20 minutes, which is not exactly easy with the A’s dugouts. He was totally personable and nice to everyone. Love that guy.
The Maddux ‘Stache
I was secretly sneaking glances around, trying to spot AJ Preller (Rangers Senior Director, Player Personnel and former frat brother of Jon Daniels) but I figure he was probably on the Mongolian planes or something scouting around for awesome talent, not hanging in Oakland so I didn’t spot him. Better luck next time, when the appeal of throat singing has worn off, maybe.
Anyhow, I got home and saw a lot of things about a “Baby Giraffe”. At first I thought it was a viral video of a baby giraffe yawning or something (not irrational of me, there are loads) and then I realized that it actually had to do with one Brandon Belt. He, eh, hit two home runs. I don’t need to explain what that all means. Belt has been mismanaged this year no question, I think, but what’s done is done. I want to see way more out of him like that. The Giants are still very much in contention and if Brandon can help out with that, fabulous. I, for one, or maybe one million, am very glad he’s here. And glad to have a taken a series. (Taken a series! How foreign and fantastic that feels to type.)
And I finally got to test out a line I’ve waited a long time for. When the A’s mascot walked by, I was all, “Can somebody get this walking carpet out of my way?” Just, you know, channeling my inner Princess Leia.
Diamond Girl
p.s. When Alexi Ogando walked by, I nearly fainted. And when Mike Adams walked by? My mind screamed, “Giant killer!”. But my face just smiled politely, in case you were wondering.
Retraction. Things You Shouldn’t Know About the Twins
They hit. A lot. On occasion. Occasions like last night. That is something we all wish we didn’t know about the Twins. Fear not! I’m going to make you feel a lot better. Therapy Emily is here.
But first, wipe that horrified look off your face.
Yes, Madison Bumgarner made history as the first pitcher since 1900 to let in eight runs, while only recording one out. Yes, the Giants, while they got nine hits, only managed two runs. Yes, it was a basically horrifying night.
But at the same time, it’s an easier loss to take for me as a fan. Because it was a no-doubter, you know? Madison was absolutely, utterly terribly. That’s it. That’s what went wrong.
Likelihood is? He’ll be just fine in the future. And even if this were to be a signal of things to come for him in the future, I don’t know why people are calling for him to be traded right now. This is the worst possible moment to trade him. His stock is at its lowest. Wait for him to squeeze out some quality starts and then trade him, if you must. Additionally, I disagree with people saying he should be sent down or skip a start. His morale is probably also at its lowest. Unless there’s an underlying, bigger physical or mechanical issue that they know of, I think they should let him take the mound in five days. And see how it plays out. Show a little confidence in him.
Zito, of course, took last night to throw a two hit, complete game shutout for Fresno, making a nice little bid for a spot in the wacky rotation. But Bochy denies anything happening with Bumgarner and says he’s meeting with Barry today, which sounds foreboding, but maybe I’m just paranoid. We’ll see.
A little brightsideness? Today is Ryan Vogelsong and I actually think he could be a stopper. Never thought I’d write those words. But baseball is a strange game.
Try saying that to Madison Bumgarner.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Dodger Stadium today? Oh. My. God. That is so empty it’s not even funny. And believe me, I find just about everything about the Dodgers funny.
Photo via @dylanohernandez
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