Friday, May 2: Rangers at the Jake. Should be a W, if Joaquin gives us anything. I have a final tonight, but i will update the RRReport later tonight.

Ok so I was wrong. Benoit looked pretty good but UU had to come in and pour some gas on that fire. He hasnt blown enough for me to get upset, but I expected better. Those who have been reading for a while can tell that I was not too happy with the way the line-up was working out and something had to give. Well, it finally did and I did not expect it. The front office apparently does not want mail it in yet, and play for next year. So instead of trading Everett or Ruben for some young arms, they sent Kevin Mench down. I heard that he still was not fully healed from his strained oblique and that was why he was not hitting and subsequently not playing. I am sure that Kevin is disappointed but as I said with Gerald Laird, it is important to get AB's somewhere. I am sure he will be a big part of the Rangers future and hopefully later this summer.

A lot of national media love to talk about Ichiro and his magic wand. I am a Ichiro fan and yes he does just stick his bat at and gets base hits. I will argue however that Raffy deserves a little pub as well. He very similarly just sticks his bat out, and opposed to a texas leaguer, it leaves the yard. There is a decent article on ESPN.com by my boy Tim Kurkjan (I will put that picture up sometime) about Raffy. It is about his Mississippi State college team and trying to escape the shadow of Will the Thrill.

Scatter-shooting while wondering what happened to Larry Parrish...I hope that Travis Hafner develops into a nice player, but I hope he does not turn into a 'Ranger killer'. Like Carlos Pena, he probably didnt have a place to play, but I wish we could have gotten a little more in exchange. He still looked very rough in the field. We shall see...How do you stop a teams 8 game losing streak?...Every series I will drop a name to keep an eye on...Last series it was Josh Phelps and for the Indians I would choose Brandon Phillips. He is the 2B who was acquired from the Expos in the Bartolo Colon deal. I admit that I am partial to little, fast, African-American middle infielders or center fielders (i.e. Gookie Dawkins, Tike Redman, Jason Bourgeois)

Thursday, May 1: I would like to apologize to all my fans and just like Tex, I am taking the night off.

But I did hear John Hart on with Norm today and it was quite amusing. Norm asked about 21 questions on Chan Ho. You could just hear how defeated Hart was. Finally Norm aked him about moving Chan Ho to the pen and then Hart just started yelling at Norm. He said absolutely not and then said he did not want to talk about Park any more.

Rangers lose 7-6 and Cobra Lewis had a very poor performance. That is inevitable with youngsters, but that is all I have to say about that.

The Ranger's Class A team Clinton is playing a series against the Cubs farm team (Lansing). I was looking into that Lansing team and there is some good news for you Cubs fans. Their #3 and #4 prospects are down there. First they have a 6-9 lefty named Andy Sisco, who is projected to be a #1 starter (like they need another one behind Wood, Prior and Clement. Sisco was taken in the second round of the draft in which they also selected Prior (Not a bad draft if only those two work out). Sisco was a tight end in high school and passed up several Pac 10 football scholarships. The second player is centerfielder Felix Pie who is projected in the Friendly Confines in '05. Just a couple guys to keep an eye on. Speaking of the Cubs farm system, I did not realize that Jays third baseman and ROY, Eric Hinski, came up in their system. Maybe he could have filled the void in Wrigley's third base that dates back to Ron Santo. Well, If you guys can live with Mark Belhorn, good luck to ya. No scatter-shooting tonight, just wondering about Jeff Kunkle.

Wednesday April 30. Very sportsy night tonight! What to watch...Rangers at 6:05...Mavs at 7:30...Stars at 9:00. Just another example of how tough life was without TIVO.

Well it is a good thing that the Rangers won 11-3 or it would have been a very depressing night. However, Ryan Drese's first inning was depressing enough. Vince Cotroneo said that Drese was prone to poor first innings. He rationalized it by saying that it happens to Tom Glavine also. I hope that was not trying to be a comparison of those two pitchers. Well, in that first he got an out, gave up a hit, and walked 2 to load the bases. Luckily he had Josh Phelps, and his chin strap, (keep an eye on Phelps) hit a seed into A-Rods glove for a DP. Drese looked alright the rest of the game, however I can not comment on whether or not he repeated his delivery. I just do not like his mound demeanor. He acts like one of those SMU frat boys that we used to kick the crap out of. Hart has said that Drese was an integral part of the Diaz/ Hafner trade. I sure as hell hope so. We will see Travis this weekend and although he has had a slow start, he will be a very good hitter. I hope that he wasn?t traded for a .200 hitting catcher. But I sure would take Drese over former Ranger Tanyan Sturtze.

Because of Todd Greene's pulled hamstring, Gerald Laird made his major league debut. I have already expressed my affection for Laird and its good to see him up here. HOWEVER, in his last game before being called up, he went 4-4. I do not really want to see him rot on the pine, backing up Einar. He still needs some more AB's down on the farm. Major League Experience = Good, Watching a spare catcher while sitting = bad. I wish everyone could have seen the Rangers defense in the 5th. Vernon Wells was on first and Drese delivered a wild pitch. Diaz tried to gun down Wells at second but threw it into shallow center. Mike Young short-hopped Blalock and the ball went to the camera well. So there was a WP, E2 and E4, you should have seen the look on Buck's face. That play reminded me of the same old Rangers. This will all change under Buck.

Scatter-shooting while wondering what happened to Kevin Elster...Maybe I should bash Juan more often. He is just crushing the ball and took the home run lead...Mike Young finished April hitting above .300, his OB isnt that great but he his here to stay...Looking down at the minors, it is good to see Ludwick heating up. CJ Wilson had an awesome start (7IP, 1 H). In the upcomming days I will do more Minor league HSO's, but Wilson is the guy that I think is going to be a good...Tex sat out 2 games in a row. I am not pleased!...One game under .500...Even those who drank the kool-aid couldn't have thought of this (maybe).

Tuesday April 29 : Rangers 16 -Blue Jays 11. Well I am not sure what to say about this one. I felt sorry for Buck during that 7th and 8th. He kept going to the pen but no one seemed to work, until Coco came and put out the fire. Now that is the Ranger O-ffense that we were all expecting. I guess that we will take 5 IP and 4 ER from JT. Everyone hit pretty well but I will single out few guys. It looks like A-Rod is breaking out of his self-proclaimed early season slump. At least tonight I can not bash Juan because of the multi-homer night. And Carl remains on fire (Is it too early to think All-Star???). Todd Greene seemed to pull his hamstring and that would be just horrible luck, the day after they let Chad Kreuter go.

I had a chance to listen to Eric Nadel on the radio tonight. It had been a while and I love the way he calls a game (God Bless Mark Holtz). I am still a fan of Frankie the Cat even if he is not a Ranger. I see that Mike Young is the man at second and the outfield is full, but could he have been traded before the end of last season? (I remember hearing the Dodgers names Joe Thurston, Guillermo Mota, or even Ricardo Rodriguez). I still remember that Johnny Oates was convinced that all Frank would ever be was a pinch hitter. I think that after finishing the season in the top 10 in hitting he can be considered a bona fide major leaguer. Maybe Mark Hendrickson should have stayed with basketball.

A 3 hour and 40 minute game!!! I was wondering how anyone is feeling about how Buck is juggling the line up. I havent made my mind up, but he really has too many pieces. I just hate seeing Hank, Tex or Mench sitting out every night. If they are in a pennant chase I love to see the vets like Ruben and Everett play. Let just let the season play out. I am a huge Vernon Wells fan. Everyone know that he is from Arlington, but I have a quick personal story. Growing up I attended the Arlington School of Baseball and Vernon Wells, Senior was one of the main guys there. He showed a lot of his works of art and I bought a set of his Upper Deck cards. When I am settled on "my hill" (Colleyville, Texas) I hope to have many of his painting in my house.

Scatter-shooting while wondering what happened to Steve Buechele...Shout out to Postman on the First Annual Mike Dement Coaches Award...Today the HO man was put on the DL. I heard a great quote on the Ticket Ticker this morning: "Since you can not be put on the DL for stealing money or sucking, Chan Ho Park claims he has a stiff back"...Good Times...I guess they will be better when my finals are over and I make my trip to the Temple and the new Frisco Park...I have been watching several others Major League games, so look out for the page to be divided into Ranger thoughts and Other MLB ideas...Finally Peter Gammons' Rumor Mill has the Red Sox, Cubs and Reds in a 3-way deal. S. Hillenbrand to the Cubs, Closer S. Williamson to the Sox, and Juan Cruz to the Reds. Boy, I would give up a lot to see Juan Cruz in Texas. I think that he is going to be great.

Monday April 28 : Day off. Not for me due to upcoming finals so today I will keep it brief. GO STARS!!! I am hoping however that they try not to make it a 5 OT contest so I can get a little sleep for class tomorrow. So Doug Davis is officially gone, and I promise not to mention him again in my writing. Hopefully he will land on his feet somewhere and have an Esteban Loaiza (4-0) turnaround.

Tonight the Hardline suggested bringing up Mario Ramos from Frisco. I would be on board with that because he has done pretty well at AA and he couldnt look much worse than some of the Rangers hurlers. This gives me a chance to get on my soap box: The day after the NFL draft everyone came out with their draft grades and that is completly absurd. No one knows how these guys will turn out, so giving grades is stupid. Give it some time and then analyze it. (How does this relate to the Rangers you ask?)

I think that is alright to look at a Ranger trade from last season. I admit I was upset when John Hart traded Carlos Pena last season to Oakland. But I think now we can look back at this. The Rangers received Mario Ramos, Gerald Laird, Ryan Ludwick, and Jason Hart. At first Ramos was seen as a bust but hopefully he has hit his stride. I fully believe that Laird will be the backstop for 10 years in Arlington. I am ok with letting Ludwick, Christenson and Drew Meyer fight it out to be the Center fielder of the future. I really do not see a spot for Hart, but he is raking in the minors and hopefully he can be turned into some pitching. After a hot start Pena has really struggled. This year he is hitting .189 with 1 hr on the mighty Detroit Tigers. However Oakland was in that 3-way deal with the Yankees (The Jeff Weaver deal). The A's winded up with Ted Lilly and he is nowhere near the A's big 3, but I wouldn't mind seeing him in Arlington. But Oak also had to give up a reliever F. German who looks dominant in the times I have seen him. Basically what I am saying is that I was probably wrong for hating John Hart on this deal. (He is not off the hook for others though.)

After thinking about it, I believe I knee jerked because the Rangers system had not been very productive for years. And when I saw them having a blue-chip prospect, I atleast wanted to see him in the blue. But I am sure the Ranger brass saw Blalock, Teixeira, Nix and others down the road. I will try to have better judgement in the future.

I love the Dallas Stars Playoff Postgame Show on The Ticket. I also read that the Rangers let Chad Kreuter go. That is too bad because he takes me back to the good old days at Arlington Stadium. But his bit was being the HO mans little buddy, and that has really seemed to help. But they need the roster space. Tomorrow 6:05 in SARS infested Toronto. JT (1-2 4.50) goes tomorrow and hopefully he brings his Kevin Brown-ish sinker. M. Hendrickson is going for the Jays, the former NBAer. Boy I would like to lived that life, but I am not complaining. OUT!

Sunday April 27, Happy Birthday Moore! Rangers win as well 10-7 in a good one over the Yankees.

Just to finish up some thoughts from yesterday: apparently Buck and John Hart had seen enough of Doug Davis and they decided to send him out and are bringing in Erasmo Ramirez. Also Newberg made mention that Johnny Oates has gotten worse and that is not great news. I still remember last year when Oates threw out the first ball of the Orioles season last year. I actually don't think I will ever forget it. Even Joe Morgan said that was the greatest thing he had ever seen in baseball. And getting back to happier news, there was new info on Juando not running out that ground ball. The Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay said that Buck had a closed door meeting with Juan to address that situation.

What is it about New York fans that makes them think they invented baseball? Not to beat a dead horse, but there are a couple comments that I can't let slide. Kay bashed the Ranger fans, official scorekeeper, and even wanted to go talk to Joe Toree after the game and blame him for losing the game. He even said that he did not think he wanted the job after Bud Selig resigns in 2006. I am thinking WHO IN THE HELL NOMINATED HIM ANYWAY. That really just makes me appreciate the great baseball announcers like Vin Scully, Lewin, Hawk Harrelson, Don Sutton, Steve Stone and others.

I am sorry that I even slightly questioned A-Rod. He came back today with an absolute incredible performance. I am all about 'clutch' hits, not hits in the 9th while down by 10. Boy A-Rod and even Mike Young had some today. Newberg is discussing this Yankee curse, but I am happy this team is competing with the 'evil empire'. I know that taking 1 of 3 will put you last place but I am glad to see them playing 11-14 ball after the tough opening schedule. Now hopefully they beat the people that they are supposed to and that none of the boys get SARS.

Scattershooting while wondering what happened to Monty Farris...If I do not see another Ranger wild pitch with a runner on third the rest of the year, that would be great...Congrats to Kevin Millwood on the no-no. I just want him to do well to show how much the Braves screwed up. But you can't tell me that the Rangers couldn't offer more that a backup catcher?...Interesting stat: Ruben Sierra has the record for most AB's without being hit by a pitch. That goes all the way back to 1990. They said one reason that helped was that he is a switch hitter, but I think having your heels outside the batters box and a long bat helps as well...I am all for memories but do they need to resign Raffy for next year????? I have already pushed Juan out the door...And finally, nothing gives me more tired head than Hall of Fame talk. Not only is every one on the Raffy question, but now I had to listen to 2 innings of should Juan be in. PLEASE GIVE IT A REST!

Just a couple of thoughts on tonight's (4/26) Ranger/Yankee game:

Boy it is sure great to see the Temple full once again. It really brings me back to the Red Shoes playoff run. Thinking of that pitching with Helling, Sele, Burkett, Oliver, and others, it can not be that hard to find a rotation similar. (I sure hope that Johnny 'Last' Oates is still hanging in there.) This game also reminds me about that game a couple of years ago at the Ballpark where Brian Sikorski pitched a gem. I was looking at the stats and I believe that was his only major league win. (I could be wrong.)

I love free baseball! I must admit I did not catch the first couple of innings, but it did not look like a great outing for Doogie Davis. But it sure is nice to have a functional bullpen even if Urbina gives up some runs. I am a self-proclaimed Davis homer, but I really think that he has about one more shot before he is permanently classified as a 4-A player. (Along side past greats like Gabe Kapler and Ruben Mateo). I am just happy to see some excitement back with this team. I watched the NY feed so I didnt hear Lewin or TAG, but the highly overrated Michael Kay was bashing Juando for not running out a ground ball. His contract is up after this year and we need room for Laynce Nix.

Scattershooting while wondering what happened to Mark Clark...Soriano is a hell of a player, but that is not a real HSO...Acevedo is a spare and the Yanks still have their best record ever (I really hate them)...A-Rod up, 2 outs in the 10th down by one. This is why you pay him all that money...AND...LOOKING??????