Opening Day 2003 is finally here. And Texas has their 1st winning record since at least the 2000 season probably 1999.
In any event the Rangers won the 1st game of the 2003 season the way they usually win. With homeruns. Michael Young hit a
3-run shot in the 4th to give Texas a 4-2 lead. Gonzalez and A-Rod also contributed solo shots. Gonzalez also doubled and had 3 hits in the game. In Ismael Valdez 1st career opening day start he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits through 5 for the win while Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 1st save as a Ranger. The difference was definately the bullpen. Texas relievers allowed just 1 hit through 4 scoreless innings of work.

Result Texas-6, Anaheim-3

Personally I was hoping to see Teixeira in the lineup along with Mench but that's life.

I'm glad to see Juan Gonzalez play well. Do you think Teixieria will start in the next game?

As much as I like the Rangers I'm expecting another tough year with that poor excuse for a pitching staff. Sure the offense is exciting but its the pitching that takes you where you want to go.

BGray

yup, have to agree with BGray there. Rangers had the fortune of a 3-run shot yesterday.

Pitching was pretty good.

But, it's one game.

Randy Johnson, Maddux, and Glavine all had horrific outings today.

But it's wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early

Agree with BGray, pitching is key, Rangers need it.

Tim

Rangers COULD make it without pitching if they were in another division. But look who they are playing against. Only 2 of those 4 teams can make the playoffs.

well, as I sit here watching the Angels vs Texas, I am reminded of what Bgray said

"....I'm expecting another tough year with that poor excuse for a pitching staff...."

Angels 9, Rangers 0.

You need pitching to win. Can't count on winning games by outscoring teams 11-9.

Still wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to see how Rangers pitching staff will be. But they've got Hershiser as pitching coach -- that should help some.:eek:

Well, about all I can say about this one is except for Nitkowski, the bullpen was strong again. One run on 1 hit in 2 2/3 innings.
It seems like they purpously try to avoid getting the good pitchers
Tuesday's result:
Angels-10
Rangers-0

At least they won the opener.

They should trade for pitching. I'd trade Blalock to a team who needs hitters and has pitchers to spare who are decent.

plunge, I'd trade Juan Gonzalez (maybe he's got too large a contract to do this) or Rafael Palmeiro in exchange for a couple of good pitchers.

Teams with great pitching can get away with scoring 3 runs and still win the majority of times, enough to get to play-offs

Maybe Juan but not Rafael. But I doubt the Rangers will want to swallow Juan's contract for the last year.

Originally posted by plunge
They should trade for pitching. I'd trade Blalock to a team who needs hitters and has pitchers to spare who are decent.

The only problem is that the few teams that have extra pitching will not part with the pitchers because pitching is so difficult to come by. Rarely does a team trade a good young pitcher away.

Good point, pwaldo. I was thinking of a team like the Padres, Rockies, Marlins or the Mets. The Mets in particular because they had a few competing for the #5 spot in the rotation.

It looks like another long season for the Rangers after getting hammered by the Angels for the 2nd straight game. At least they scored this time losing 11-5. Glanville was the big guy going
3 for 5 with 2 runs, 1 Rbi and his 1st homerun as a Ranger.
A-Rod hit a three-run homer for the 300th of his career cutting the Angels lead from 8-1 to 8-4. Obviously it was not enough.
Palmeiro added a solo homer in the 8th for his 491st career homer
John Thomson took the loss in his Ranger debut.

Next game:Friday at Texas vs. Seattle

Starters:Ryan Franklin vs. Ismael Valdez

Record:1-2

Nothing from Tiexiera yet. Way to go Palmeiro. I know the Rangers have a lot of games ahead of them with their division. Maybe this will condition them to beat the pants off some of the other teams from the other divisions.

Here's what I would do:

Remember when Dallas traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota for 7 players and the kitchen sink? What happened afterwards? 3 Super Bowl wins (and more, if it weren't for free agency and salary cap issues that killed the Cowboys) on the backs of Troy, Emmitt, Irvin, and a tremendous defense.

Well, that's what I'd do if I were Rangers management.

Right now, I'd even trade Rodriguez for Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (despite the fact that both are nearing their 40s, while A Rod is 23-24).

Only in basketball does ONE player (Jordan, Shaq) make a difference, primarily b/c basketball players play both offense and defense and can touch the ball on every single possession.

In baseball, the best A Rod can EVER do is hit 500 homeruns in a year (assuming he gets 500 at bats). That translates out to a minimum of 500 RBIs. No matter how good A Rod is, if Rangers get no pitching, they'll be eliminated by July, for the 3rd straight year that A. Rod has been here.

Look at the Angels -- no superstars...and they've got fans flocking this whole season to see them play.

So by July, they'll dump some hitters and hopefully get some pitching in return.

Rangers update:

6-4 loss to the Mariners, with the bullpen giving up the go-ahead runs.

Blalock's hot!!

Rangers lose again!!!!
How's that for news?
On the upside Blalock went 2 for 2 with a homer and 2 RBI and is now batting .467
Sierra also homered and drove in 2.
Valdez gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits through 6 but the bullpen couldn't keep a lid on things.
Fransisco Cordero gave up 2 runs on a hit and 3 walks for the loss in the Angels 6-4 win.
Einer Diaz is doing better than expected.
Got 2 doubles already and batting .333

Saturday nights game @7:05PM Central
Seattle's Gil Meche vs. Colby Lewis for Texas

Texas record:1-3

Wish Tiexiera was in that lineup. Glad Juan Gonzalez is doing well still.

Rangers win!!! Rangers win!!!

Glanville went 2 for 5 with 2 runs and his first 2 steals as a Ranger. He is now batting .318 for Texas.
A-Rod went 3 for 4 with a double and his 3rd homerun.
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with his 2nd and 3rd homers of the year and drove in 4. He is now batting .350
Blalock possibly the best game of his young career going 4 for 5 with 2 runs, 3 RBI and his 2nd homerun of the season.
He is now batting a whopping .550
Colby Lewis gave up 3 runs on 8hits and struck out 8 in 6 2/3 innings for the win. Urbina got his 2nd save.

Result:8-4 win over Mariners( Gil Meche making his 1st start since 2000)

Sundays game @2:05 PM Central
Seattle's Freddie Garcia vs. Chan Ho Park for Texas

Record:2-3

I would also like to see Teixeira in the lineup but where would they put him? Blalock is smashing everything, Palmeiro will never be benched and Sierra is doing pretty good.

damn, how about that A Rod. Just a monster on the offense!

Sheesh, if he keeps this up for a few more years, i will actually have to admit that he deserves that $25M contract!!

Nobody deserves 25 million dollars a year. Especially not for hitting a little white ball. I am a big baseball fan but have always thought they get payed way too much money. The only people I can think of that come close to deserving that much money is the president and our troop in Iraq.

I'm not sure if the game is over yet but from what I saw it may as well be. A-Rod stole his 1st base and Blalock homered again but when I hurled my remote at the TV it was 9-2. Or was it 10-2?
No matter. Park still stinks and if they weren't so devoid of pitching I would think they should get rid of him and his salary.
At least Blalock is hitting like I thought he would last year.

Molina..game over

Mariners 11
Rangers 2

good point about our troops deserving to make much more than what they make.

My heart goes out to the family of that Native American woman, who was the first woman to die in combat.

She left behind a 4-y/o boy and 3y/o daughter. Man, that hurts?!?!?!

Guess I'm falling a bit behind here.
Anyway, in Wednesdays game the A's won like 13-5 or something.
Sound bad but not without highlights.
Gonzalez hit his league leading 4th homerun, Palmeiro hit his 3rd,
Young stole his 1st base and Teixeira got his 1st big league hit off Mark Mulder.

On a happier note, the Rangers managed to steal one from the A's with a 5-4 victory. Colby Lewis gave up 1 run an inning for 4 straight innings before getting taken out. The bullpen then combined for an incredible 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief as the Rangers rallied from a 4-0 deficit. Carl Everett went 2 for 3 with 2 runs and his 1st homer of the year. Young went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Diaz went 2 for 4 with his 1st triple as a Ranger.
Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 3rd save.
But the big story was Mark Teixeira's 1st big league homerun. A 3-run blast in the 4th to cut the A's lead to 1.

Friday's game @9:05 PM Central
Freddie Garica's Mariners vs. Chan Ho Park's Rangers
Record:3-6

Thanks for the update, Molina. I wish they had the smarts to go after Shane Reynolds like the way the Mets have pursued him.

Glad to hear Teixiera got his first long one.

Rangers won today. Been rooting for them to beat A's during this series. Angels are struggling; can't let A's clinch division so soon, lolol

I don't think Reynolds is the pitcher he used to be at all but he would still help a little maybe. Why didn't Kenny Rogers want to stay?

The almighty dollar?

I thought I read somewhere that Texas offered him a 2 year deal or something worth a lot more than he is making in his year with Minnesota. Oh.
The almighty dollar in mass quantities.

plus you will take a lot less money if you really want to win and I don't see winning the big one in the rangers future anytime soon.

Wow!
The Rangers 1st winning streak this season.
Chan Ho Park gave up just 1 run on 3 hits through 5 innings for his 1st win and 1st good start of the year. Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 4th save.
A-Rod scored a pair of runs and Palmeiro had 2 hits, the other 2 Texas runs, 2RBI and hit his 4th homer. Only 6 away from 500 now. Michael Young also went 2 for 4 raising his BA to .355
Result-A 4-2 Texas win over the Freddie Garcia's Mariners

Saturday's game @9:05 PM Central
Ryan Drese making his Texas debut vs. the Mariners Gil Meche

Record:4-6

GIoperation..I cannot remember the last time a young player in his prime ever took a pay cut to go on a winning team.

Brent Fullmer only stayed with the Champion Angels this year b/c he tested the free agent market during the winter, and didn't get offers he wanted. FUllmer took a $1M paycut to stay. The way he's playing right now; he's gonna be a huge contract.

Devean George stayed with Lakers for $4.5M per year for 3 years; but that's only b/c he's more your above-average basketball, and not one who's a superstar. He was picked by the Lakers (first Div IIa player ever drafted by the Lakers), and was developed by them. So, when he wasn't getting outrageous "alex rodriguez-like" offers, he decided to re-sign with the Lakers.

Older players in the waning years of their career would certainly take pay cuts to be on a winnning team. It's projected that Pippen might sign with Lakers for the next year at the $4.5M free agent level, much lower than his current level.

But, I don't see a star player in his prime taking paycuts in order to play on a winning team.

Yes, Alex Rodriguez offered to re-do his contract if that would help Rangers get better players.

But, I don't for one minute think that receiving $22M per year instead of $25M per year as taking a pay cut.

Looks like everything is back to normal now.
In a 13-4 loss the Mariners, Glanville hit a solo homer. His 2nd of the year. A-Rod hit a 2-run homer for his 4th of the year.
Young went 2 for 4 raising his BA to .371.
Blalock went 2 for 4 with an RBI raising his BA to .375
Ryan Drese was hammered in his Texas debut only going 1/3 inning.

Sundays game @3:05 PM Central
John Thomson for Texas vs. Jamie Moyer and the Mariners

Record:4-7

That was sure some game yesterday. 13 innings and an unusually solid performance by a ranger starter.
John Thomson gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and struck out 6 in 7 innings unfortunately getting a no-decision. Thomson left the game with Texas trailing 3-2 then Todd Greene hit a solo homer to tie it at 3. His 1st of the season. A-Rod went 3 for 5 with his 3rd double and league leading 5th homerun raising his BA to .356
Palmeiro went 2 for 4 with an RBI. One and maybe his other hit came by beating the Palmeiro shift and hitting the ball to left field.
A rare occurence for him. Anyway, the bullpen was the brightest spot pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief until R.A. Dickey, in his 1st game of the year, gave up the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Result, a 4-3 13 inning loss to Seattle.

Monday's game @7:05 PM Central
Kevin Appier's Angels vs. Ismael Valdez's Rangers.

Record:4-8

Was rooting for your Rangers to beat the Mariners; now, you guys face us, starting tonight.

Let's see if we can't grab a couple of games here in Texas.

Should be a good one!!

Monday nights game: Rangers-4 Angels-0

This was by far the Rangers best pitching performance of the season. Ismael Valdez gave up just 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 in 8 scoreless innnings for the win improving to 2-1 on the season. Fransisco Cordero pitched a scoreless 9th dropping his ERA to 1.96
Blalock went 2 for 4 with his 4th homerun raising his BA to .386
Everett went 2 for 4 with a pair of solo homers.
Possibly two of the Rangers slowest baserunners, Palmeiro and Einer Diaz each stole their 1st base of the season.

Tuesday nights game @7:05 PM Central
Jerrod Washburn's angels vs. Colby Lewis's Rangers

Note: Washburn has an ERA under 3 so far so this one might be a tough one to win.

Valdes, who used to play for both the Dodgers and Angels, absolutely has befuddled the Angels in his 2 starts against them.

That was a good pitching performance he put on yesterday.

Angels currently winning 2-0 right now; but it's early.

In Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Angels, the Rangers won their 2nd straight and managed to get their 2nd winning streak this season
Colby Lewis gave up 3 runs over 6 innings for the win to improve to 2-0 this season. Urbina pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his 5th save. Christensen doubled and drove in 2 in his Rangers debut. Einer Diaz also drove in 2.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday's game, the Rangers had a 6-2 lead going into the 8th inning but much as the case was last season, the bullpen couldn't hold it. Cordero gave up 5 runs. Only 1 of them earned though. Park started and gave up just 2 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings for his best outing of the year. R.A. Dickey pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to finish the game. It was a big day for the offense as Teixeira hit his 2nd big league homer.
Blalock went 3 fo5 raising his BA to .408
Palmeiro walked 3 times and drove in a pair of runs including an RBI double. Everett went 4 for 5 raising his BA to .333
He also double, hit his 4th homerun and stole his 1st base while scoring 3 and driving in 2. A-Rod went 2 for 4 raising his BA to .310 . He scored 3, drove in 3 and hit his major league leading 6th and 7th homeruns.

Result:Angels-9 Rangers-8

Thursday's game @1:05 PM Central
Calloway for the Angels vs. Ryan Drese for Texas

At least Teixiera got a jack. I always check how the Rangers did in the box scores. I always check on ARod, JGonz, Palmiero, Tex and Blalock.

Of Course. I like to check on Everett too. Hope they re-sign him for a couple more years. I still check Pudge in the box score too

I am rooting for Palmeiro. Nice quiet fellow; no troubles with the Law; fantastic hitter.

the anti-Albert Belle off the field.

hoping Palmeiro is productive for 3-5 more years; if so, that would solidify his chances to get into the Hall

What do you mean by solidify his chances of getting in the hall?
After this season he is as good as in. Only 6 homers away from 500. over 500 career doubles. I am not sure how many hits he has but I think around 2500. He will probably finish with 1700 RBI or so for his career. Plus I heard last year he became the only player in MLB history to have 8 straight 38+ homer, 100 RBI seasons. My second favorite player next to, you guessed it. Pudge Rodriguez.

Another offensive attack from the Rangers.
Everett went 2 for 4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and his 5th homerun raising his BA to .348
Palmeiro scored twice, Blalock had a huge game going 2 for 3 with 3 runs, an RBI and his 5th homerun raising his BA to en unreal .423
Teixeira drove in 2, and Christensen went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI.
Drese gave up 4 runs and struck out 8 in 7 innings for his 1st win as a Ranger.
R.A. Dickey pitched 1 scoreless innings lowering his ERA to 1.93
Urbina got the final 2 outs for his 6th save lowering his ERA to an incredible 1.23
Result:Rangers-9 Angels-7
Rangers win the series against Anaheim 3-1

Friday nights game @9:05 PM Central
John Thomson for Texas @ Oakland vs. Barry Zito

Looks tough but the Rangers momentum on their side.

So much for momentum. I think the A's won 9-0
When I saw that I didn't even look at the box score.
Anyway in yesterday's game, Texas was crushed again.
This time 12-2
Palmeiro hit his 5th homerun and 495th of his career.
Everett also hit his 6th. One shy of league leader Alex Rodriguez.

Sunday's game @7:05PM Central
Colby Lewis for Texas @ Oakland against Ted Lilly

Record:7-11
A little good news.
Rangers are only 3 games out of 1st.

From the early part of the season, it appears that Oakland, Seattle, and Angels are playing each other to basically a standstill.

Winner of AL West will be whoever can win the majority of games against teams in other division.

Palmeiro is red hot!!! Go get that 500 home run!!

It was a good day for the Rangers pitching staff as Colby Lewis went 6 innings giving up just 1 run on 4 hits for the win improving to 3-0 this year. Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for hit 7th save.
Blalock went 2 for 4 with a run scored to raise his BA to .421
Everett hit his 7th homerun in the 7th to give Texas the lead 2-1
The homerun tied Alex Rodriguez for the league lead.
Young and Rodriguez each stole there 2nd bases of the year.
Result: Texas-2 Oakland-1

Tuesday's game @7:05 Central
Pedro Martinez's Redsox @ Texas against Chan Ho Park

Record:8-11

I agree with Podstock. The Rangers have a tough schedule. Don't they face the Yankees and the Red Sox both home and away soon?

I am not sure of Rangers schedule, but the Angels are about to feel the power of the Yankees and Red Sox before April ends. I assume the other AL West teams also will see these 2 teams as they pass through the West Coast

Somehow I don't think it's too fair to judge a team (i.e. Kansas City) until they've played all the other teams at least once. Unfortunately, the way the schedules are that's hard to do.

If only Texas had KC's April schedule!

Here a sad thing about the Rangers.
If they hit homeruns like a normal team instead of always leading the league, they would never win. They probably would have lost last night if not for Everett's solo shot.
Look at the Royals. They don't have just a great offense like Texas but they are still one of the top 3 teams in baseball.
Right up there with the Yankees and Giants.

It's all got to do with pitching.

When a team has a 7-0 lead on Texas, they're looking for outs, so you will see them throwing strikes to Alex, and Palmeiro, and Gonzalez...hence, the huge numbers of homers.

It's so obvious that Texas is a long-ball team. Reminds me too much of the Mets in the nineties.

They had decent pitching back in '98.
Helling, either the number 4 or 5 starter, won his first 6 decisions and finished with 20 wins.
Sele won his first 5 and finished with 19 wins.
Zimmerman had an ERA in the 2.30's and was I think 3rd in ROY voting.
Wetteland saved 40+ and had an ERA of just over 2.
Too bad his back had to give out, or whatever was wrong with him.

yea, I remember what a mistake it was for the Dodgers to release John Wetteland. Man, did that guy have a GREAT couple of years in Texas.

Much like Bobby Thigpen of the White Sox.....whatever happened to him. One year, he was saving 50+ games, then he disappeared off the face of the planet.

Pedro Martinez beat the Rangers. The most shocking news you will ever hear. Right. Anyway, Texas was down 5-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. Then exploded for a whopping 3 runs highlited by a Juan Gonzalez 2-run homer. His 5th of the year.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough as they lost 5-4.
Gonzalez was really the only offense going 2 for 4 with the homer and 3 RBI. Park pitched a decent game for him, giving up 4 runs through 7 innings against a dangerous BoSox offense.
Sierra, Rodriguez and Palmeiro each double.

Wednesday's game @7:05 PM Central
Boston's Tim Wakefield @ Texas against John Thomson

Note:Thomson has pitched very well in his last 2 starts. Hopefully he can hold the Red Sox offense so Texas can have a chance.

Pedro Martinez looks like he's getting his control back. Just 2 starts ago, he was getting rocked for a bunch of runs.

Speaking of control, He walked 6 in 7 innings last night.
The Rangers had scoring opportunities.
They just couldn't do anything with them.

Molina..I should've been more specific. Not talking about control as in balls and strikes.

I was referring to him getting back to his pitching form of last couple of years.

My bad.

It was all about pitching in last nights rain-soaked win over the Red Sox. John Thomson gave up just 1 run on 6 his and only 1 walk over 7 innings for his first Ranger win improving to 1-2 on the season. Cordero pitched a scoreless 8th lowering his ERA to 2.16
Ryan Christensen hit his 1st Ranger homerun to lead of the bottom of the 1st. He also scored twice and stole his 1st base of the year. Blalock went 3 for 4 raising his BA to .422
A-Rod went 2 for 3 nudging his BA over .300
Gonzalez hit a tie-breaking 2 run single in the 6th to snap a 1-1 tie. Everett went 2 for 3 with his 1st triple of the year raising his BA to .344
Michael Young also drove in 2 including a bases loaded walk after Gonzalez 2-run single in the 6 th.
Result:Texas-6 Red Sox-1

Thursday's game @1:05PM Central
Boston's Derek Lowe @ Texas against Ryan Drese

A rod is incredible, huh? I gotta start grabbing a few of his early years card.

It's been 2+ years since that ridiculous salary contract; but he keeps producing.

what an offensive explosion by the Rangers today!! Blew out Lowe before he even got started.

Palmeiro hit 496.

Only been interested b/c I got a ton of his 1987 Topps rookie. And they had been sitting in the commons for a long time before past 2-3 years. Had to pull them out and place them in sleeves in the Baseball Stars box.

I wish I had a ton of Palmeiro rookies. I only got one.
This was just the kind of game the Rangers offense needed.
Mench had 2 hits and drove in a run,
Blalock went 2 for 5 with 3 runs and 2 doubles putting his BA to .420,
A-Rod was big again going 1 for 2 with 2 runs, an RBI, 3 walks and his 3rd stolen base.
Palmeiro went 3 for 5 with 3 runs, 3RBI and his 6th homerun leaving him only 4 away from 500.
Teixeira replaced Palmeiro at first for a while going 1 for 1 with his 1st big league triple.
Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with 3 runs, 3RBI, a double and his 6th homerun.
Everett went 2 for 5 with 2 runs, 4RBI and his 2nd triple raising his BA to .348
Young went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and his 2nd triple.
All that and they still left 21 men on base.
On the pitching side of things R.A. Dickey gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 3 innings ing relief of Ryan Drese to get his 1 win of the year.
Shouse and Rosman Garcia combined for 4 scoreless innings each pitching 2. Shouse lowered his ERA to an incredible 1.69
Result: A 16-5 Ranger romp over the BoSox.

Friday's game @ 7:05 PM Central
Mike Mussina and the Yankees @ Texas against Colby Lewis

Note:Both of tomorrow's starters have perfect records
Mussina 4-0/Lewis 3-0
Only difference is Mussina has a 1.86 ERA while Lewis is at 4.43
The Rangers did score 18 runs in a game Mussina started last year.

Record:9-12(tied with the Angels for last)

Given that we play the Yankees tonight, and got blown out the past 2 games, you guys may no longer be tied for last at the stroke of midnight. lolol

p.s. don't actually have a ton, just about 10-13 of them. Kept them b/c I couldn't trade and/or sell them away, lolol

That would still be 10-13 times more than I have.
It is definately going to be a hard game considering the Rangers history against the Yankees and the fact that Mussina is so far perfect with a near perfect ERA.

the one thing that both Texas and Anaheim can be thankful for is that they're both not in the same division as Yankees. It's over for the other team as long as Yankees play 0.500 or better from this point on.

Imagine how well the other teams have to play if Yanks only play .550 the rest of the year?

Scary thought, huh? To be eliminated from winning your division, and it's not even May.

lol

That is what happed to the Rangers the last 3 years.
I am used to it.
You think the BoSox can win the wild card?
It might be tough boing against the ChiSox and Mariners or A's.

Not much happening yesterday.
Very little offense but solid pitching on both sides.
Colby Lewis gave up 3 runs in 6 innings but took the loss in a 3-2 loss to the Yankees. Einer Diaz was Texas big buy going either 2 for 3 with a run scored. Blalock drove in a run. Urbina pitched 1 scoreless inning lowering his ERA to .96

Saturdays game @7:05PM Central
David Wells and the Yankees @ Texas against Doug Davis.

Wells performing well so far after the mess that happened in pre-season with his books.

Yanks are just amazing!!

What was that book thing about anyway?
I remember reading about it but I can't recall what happened.

I didn't read it; but from all the hoopla on ESPN, it was probably about him babbling about stuff he did while in the majors.

Not like it's gonna be appearing on NY Times best seller list any time soon

Saturday's Game:
Doug Davis made his 1st start of the year and gave up 4 runs in his first 2 innings. Down 4-0 in the 2nd, Palmeiro Sierra hit a 2-run homer and Palmeiro followed with a solo shot. His 7th of the year and 497th of his career. A sac fly tied it at 4 in the 2nd.
Young also triple in the inning for hs 3rd of the year.
In the 6th with Texas trailing 5-4, Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th homerun of the year to tie the game at 5 which would eventually force extra innings. Urbina gave up 2 runs in the 11th for his 1st loss as a Ranger. Result: Yankees-7 Rangers-5

Today's Game:
Alex Rodriguez went 5 for 5 driving in 6 on 2 doubles raising his BA to .326
Palmeiro went 2 for 4 with a double and drove in a run.
Sierra went 2 for 5 and drove in a run.
Young went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI.
Christensen stole his 2nd base of the year.
Einer Diaz came in as a pinch runner.
He scored twice in the game and walked in his only at bat.
Result:Rangers-10 Yankees-7

that offense in Texas is a fantasy league's dream.

Man, all those hits, RBIs....talk about helping you win the fantasy baseball stats

Rangers are killing the Blue Jays with offense these past two games, it's unreal.

A. Rod is just out of this world. I think he had 3 hits also in yesterday's game.

Yeah, he had 3 yesterday. And 4 the day before and 5 the day before that. The guy is amazing. Anyway, in Tuesday's game against the Jays, Texas pounded them for 16 runs on 17 hits and a 16-11 victory. Christensen hit leadoff and scored twice.
Everett went 2 for 4 with 4 runs, 4 RBI and his 8th and 9th homeruns tying A-Rod and I think Soriano for the league lead.
A-Rod went 4 for 6 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, his 7th double and 9th homerun tying for the league lead.
Gonzalez went 2 for 5 with 2 runs, 5 RBI and his 7th and 8th homeruns.
Mench went 2 for 4 with a double.
Greene homered and drove in 2.
Diaz went 1 for 1 with a double and a run scored.
Cordero pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his 1st save.

Side-note:Former Ranger Frank Catalanotto went 4 for 6 with 2 runs scored.(He was one of my favorite Rangers the last 3 years.)

Yesterday's game was another offensive explosion with Texas pounding out 11 runs on 18 hits against the Jays in an 11-3 win.
Everett hit leadoff and went 2 for 5 with a double and drove in 2.
Blalock went 2 for 6 with his 6th double.
A-Rod went 3 for 6 unfortunately all singles.
Palmeiro scored twice.
Gonzalez went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and his 9th homerun.
Sierra went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Christensen again scored twice.
Diaz had one of his better games going 2 for 5 with a run and RBI.
Young had a huge game going 3 for 5 with 2runs, 4 RBI and his 2nd homerun of the year. A 3-run shot in the 9th of Kelvin Escobar
Drese had by far his best game of the year giving up just 2 runs, 1 earned on 7 hits in 6 innings for the win(2-1)
Erasmo Ramirez in his major league debut walked Delgado to start his career then struck out Josh Phelps to end the game.

Thursday's game @6:05 PM Central
Colbey Lewis for the Rangers @ Toronto against Roy Halladay

Note:Looks like the offense might cool off a bit with both teams best pitchers going at it tonight.
A-Rod has 12 hits in his last 17 at-bats for a 7.06 BA the last 3 games.

damnnnn, Palmeiro hit his 498th career homer today. This guy is on a roll!!

8th homer of the season.

if blalock continues to hit infront of arod he might just hit .400 he is benefitting something nice by hitting infront of arod, I would be curious to see what the difference in his batting avg, hitting 2nd v/s 6th where he sometimes hits, and it doesn't hurt that he can swing that bat.


heya molina
was I shipping you the topps series 1 cards, if so I dropped them in the mail, I don't know what happened and why it took so long but that was the second envelope that took so long coming to me.

Juan Gonzalez is hot. I knew he would; it's his last year in his contract. He tied with Griffey, Killebrew and Mantle (11th) on the all-time multi-homer games list.

Gi, thanks a lot. Hope the cards get to me quicker than the envelope got to you. Thanks to you my series 1 set is now complete.

Here is your daily Rangers update.
For starters they hit 4 homeruns in a 7-6 loss to the Jays.
3 of them were solo shots. Just goes to show you can't win by the homerun ball. Everett batting leadoff for the second game in a row hit his 10th homerun and drove in 2.
Palmeiro went 3 for 4 with his 8th homerun and 498th of his career.
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with 2 solo homers giving him a league leading 11 on the year.
After Colbey Lewis gave up 7 runs in 2 innings the bullpen combined for 6 scoreless innings as the Rangers kept pecking away. They had Lamb on 2nd with 2 outs in the 9th needing just a well placed single to tie the game. Obviously it didn't work out that way.
Shouse pitched 2 scoreless lowering his ERA to 1.13
Fultz and Cordero lowered their ERA's to 2.25 and 2.12

Friday's game @6:05 PM Central
Joaquin Benoit pitches for Texas @Cleveland vs. Jake Westbrook

Man, after seeing what Angels did to Cleveland pitching staff, your Rangers must be drooling on the plane ride there.

Angels padded their hitting and pitching stats for 2 games; yesterday's game was a rain-out

Molina, how many ABs does Teixiera have so far?

Teixeira is batting .188 with 12 hits in 64 AB's.
Not quite as good as expected but he should bring the BA up as he adjusts.

Friday's game: Indians-6 Rangers -5
Rodriguez hit his 10th homerun of the year in the 1st. One behind Gonzalez for the league lead.
Young went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored raising his BA to .311
That was pretty much all that happened on the Rangers side of things.
Benoit gave up 4 runs in a bit over 5 innings of work in his 1st start of the year.

Today's game went better as the Rangers came back from a 5-4 deficit to win it 6-5.
Young hit leadoff and went 2 for 4 scoring a run and driving one in raising his BA to .318
A-Rod keeps his hot bat going as he went 2 for 4 with his 8th double and drove in 2 raising his BA to .345
Everett went 2 for 4 with his 6th double and 3rd triple of the year raising his BA to .327
Lamb went 0 for 1 with a run scored and his 1st stolen base of the year.
Christensen went 2 for 4 driving in 2.
On the pitching side of things Todd Van Poppel made, I think, his 1st start since 1998 also with Texas.
He gave up 5 runs, only 3 earned, on 5 hits in 4 innings of work.
The bullpen combined for 5 scoreless innings of relief.
Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 9th save lowering his ERA to 2.03
Sunday's game @ 12:05 PM Central
John Thomson's Rangers @ Cleveland against Ricardo Rodriguez

The Rangers bats fell silent yesterday as C.C. Sabathia held baseball's hottest offense to 1 unearned run on 4 hits over 8 innings. A-Rod hit his 9th double and stole his 4th base.
Donnie Sadler also stole his 1st base and that was about it on offense.
John Thomson pitched a very good game giving up just 3 runs on 5 hits over 8 innings in a complete game loss.
I believe it was the Rangers 1st complete game of the year.

Tuesday's game @ 7:05 PM Central
Toronto's Roy Halladay @ Texas against Colbey Lewis

Note:Alex Rodriguez stole 9 bases all of last year and has almost half that total so far this year. He is on pace to steal 21 bases this year, which is also good for those that have his etopps card for performance bonus.

Record:14-17

Juan Gonzalez won the co-player of the week honors last week batting 9 for 5 with 5 homers and 10 RBI.
He was the co-winner along with Barry Zito who went 2-0 with a .60 ERA in 2 starts. All 5 homers came in a 3 game set against the Blue Jays.

In Tuesday's game, the BlueJays came to Arlington with a bang.
They beat Texas 15-5 hitting 5 homeruns including 2 by Delgado tying him for the league lead.
Everett hit leadoff and also hit his 11th homerun driving in 4 of Texas 5 runs.
The only other run was off Hank Blalock's 6th homerun of the season. He also hit his 7th double.
A-Rod stole his 5th base putting him half way to his total all of last year. Brian Shouse pitched 2 perfect innings of relief in what was a complete massacre for the Texas pitching staff.
The starter Lewis and relievers Yan and Powell combined to give up 15 runs in 6 innings.

In Wednesday's game the Rangers got back on track with a solid pitching performance from Benoit and the bullpen to beat Toronto 5-4. Benoit made his 2nd start of the year giving up 3 runs on 5 hits striking out 6 in 5 innings.
The bullpen combined for just 1 run over the next 4 innings.
Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 10th save lowering his ERA to 1.88
Everett did what a leadoff man is supposed to do walking twice, scoring a run and stealing his 2nd base of the year.
Teixeira went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI.
Gonzalez stayed hot going 3 for 4 with 2 runs, an RBI and his 12 homerun. A-Rod also hit his 11th.
Texas was down 3-0 going into the 2nd. in the 4th Gonzalez homered to tie the game at 3. In the 6th A-Rod homered t gie Texas a 4-3 lead which the bullpen managed to hold on to.

Thursday's game @ 1:05 PM Central
Corey Lidle's BlueJays @ Texas against Ryan Drese

Note:Delgado also hit his 12th homerun putting him and Gonzalez in a tie for the league lead.

Delgado can hit! He's always been a tremendous power hitter. Should be interesting to see how his career plays out.

Tim

194 for 532-37 doubles-56 homers-134runs-171RBI-125BB-.365BA

These are the number Delgado is on pace to reach after 35 games this year.
He had a huge your in 2000 then had a couple of slightly off season compared to that year but he looks better than ever so far. Future hall of famer.

I totally, and respectfully, disagree. No way is Carlos Delgado even on the minds of Hall of Fame voters.

Are you kidding me?!?

Let's see how he does once he's had over 10-13 years in the majors.

On a side note: Palmeiro hit 499th homer today. Boy, with 500+ homers and 3000 hits eventually...those are good enough statistics that he'll eventually be voted in, even though he's not a 1st ballot Hall of Famer

If Delgado stays at his current rate of production for 10 more years he will finish with way over 500 homeruns.
How can Palmeiro not be a 1st ballot HOF'er?
He will hit 500+ homers, possibly 3000+ hits. Might reach 600 doubles. If he stays healthy maybe 1800 or 1900 RBI.
The guy must still be fairly underrated.

Another thing.
In one respect he is a better hitter than Ruth was.
Last year Palmeiro became the 1st player in baseball history with 8 straight season of at least 38 homeruns and there is no reason to believe he won't do it again this year.

palmeiro hits number 499 in 8-6 loss to Jays.
He has been slumping lately though.
He only went 1 for 5 dropping his BA to .246
It was his 9th homer of the season though.
Everett went 3 for 4 with 2RBI and a double raising his BA to .333
Diaz went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Young went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and his 3rd homerun raising his BA to .315
Friday's game @ 7:05 PM Central
Jake Westbrook's Indians @ Texas against John Thomson

Ok!
Who would have thought that when I bought tickets to tonights game in March that I could see Palmeiro's 500th homer.
I'll be in the lower porch in right field.
Actually, I'm going to the game to get Arod's Bobblehead.
I have 4 of each of the last 2 given out of him and will get 4 of these too.
A bonus homer by Palmerio will make the ticket stub worth a bit more.
Will I go to Sunday's game if I have to? Yes.
I have 2 of his game used bats auto'd by Palmerio and would like a 3rd if I can trade him for the 500th ball. LOL

You are one lucky dog.
Good luck catching #500.

Well,
He didn't and I'm back home with the bobbleheads and wondering if I should go back tomorrow afternoon in case he hits one then.
I would have to get tickets and then go into work. The tickets would be unused.
What do you think?

500th watch going on today; even ESPN spotlighted Palmeiro's at bats.

But no go today!!

Tomorrow is another day.

He will get it one of these days. I don't really care when just as long as it is in front of the home fans. Milestones like that are supposed to be done at your home ballpark.

Saturday's Game vs. Indians
Everett scored twice to lead the league in runs scored.
Young hit his 3rd double and drove in the 1st run on the game.
A-Rod went 2 for 5 with and RBI and his team leading 10th double
Herbert Perry played in his 1st game of the year and went 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
Teixeira went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Sunday's game @2:05PM
Ricardo Rodriguez for Cleveland @ Texas against Colbey Lewis

Note:The Rangers optioned Mike Lamb to Oklahoma to make room for Herbert Perry coming on the DL.

Another note about the game.
I believe his name was Ron Young, but anyway, if there is actually anyone who doesn't know he was one of the POW's in Iraq. He was invited to sit in the Rangers dugout wearing a Rangers jersey and through out the first pitch of the game.
I believe he is Todd Greene's cousin.
If I am mistaken on any of this please let me know.
I like to have my facts straight.

Wow! This had become quite the BIG thread Molina! Good Job on keeping it up! :)


BGray

when perry comes back where does blalock and texiera go.

btw, which one of them is going to be the first one traded,

and any ideas who the rangers are going to send the cubs for the trade, we will take blalock.

If they do send Blalock I will be enfuriated.
Anyway, they might as well send Perry is they would take him.
He is a pretty good player but doesn't really have much future on the Rangers. The need Teixeira and Blalock since they are still n rebuilding mode. Once Palmeiro retires Teixeira steps in to take over and Blalock holds down 3rd. That is what I would like to see happen.

Thanks for the compliment BGray.
I take my Rangers very seriously.
Always nice to recognized.
Especially by the top dog around here.

you are right I think Perry would do ok holding down the hot spot for the my cubbies as they have belhorn, who just is ready to be there everyday, so for a short term fix perry would probably ok, there are rumors they are looking to put a deal together for mike lowell, but everyone wants juan cruz and the cubs aren't ready to deal him, as baker and the exec's see him blooming, or he could turn around and be a mike harkey.

although I would welcome blalock or tex.

Mike who?

mike lowell from florida I believe, the 3rd baseman.

Guess it is your turn to call me an idiot now.
I know who Mike Lowell is.
I meant the Mike Harkey.
I don't think I had ever heard of him.
Forgot to specify who I was talking about.
I think Lowell would help out the Cubs as 3rd.
One of the better hitting 3rd baseman.

Originally posted by Molina00
Another note about the game.
I believe his name was Ron Young, but anyway, if there is actually anyone who doesn't know he was one of the POW's in Iraq. He was invited to sit in the Rangers dugout wearing a Rangers jersey and through out the first pitch of the game.
I believe he is Todd Greene's cousin.
If I am mistaken on any of this please let me know.
I like to have my facts straight.

Yes, you were right. He was also given a locker and took batting practice. Pretty cool!
I'm sitting here at work now with a plan.
If Palmeiro hits a homer, I'll shoot from work to pick up some tickets. It's the next best thing to being there.
Then, back to work a bit more.
I'm still wore out from last nights game. The Garlic Fries got to me.

Are un-used tickets from games where players reach milestones like that worth anything or is it just what it is worth to the collector?

Hey Molina, did you ever get a chance to look for any of that football to trade for those Ranger player's I had???

Sorry. I completely forgot. I have had a lot of trades and stuff going on. Gets a little hard to keep track of everything sometimes. Post who you like and I will see if I have anything.

Ahman Green, Shockey, Portis, Urlacher, and Burress...Just let me know whenever you have a chance, I am in no big rush!!!

and in his last at-bat before the Rangers head out on 6-game road trip, Palmeiro becomes the 19th player to hit 500 home runs

And Texas wins 17-10, by a touchdown margin, lololol.

What a way to end a disappointing homestand.
A 17-10 win over a team they just couldn't get anything going against. Of course the big story was Rafael Palmeiro's 500th homerun. A 3-run shot in the 9th.
Palmeiro went 2 for 5 with 2 runs, 3RBI and also hit his 7th double. His 500th was his 10th of the year.
Everett went 2 for 5 with 3 runs, 3 RBI and his 12th homerun raising his BA to .331
Blalock went 4 for 5 with 2 runs, 4 RBI raising his BA to .387
Only problem was all of his hits were singles.
Christensen went 2 for 3 with 3 runs, 2RBI, his 3rd double and 2nd homerun.
Teixeira went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and an RBI.
Young went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and his 3rd stolen base.
Gerald Laird, in his 1st major league start, went 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Benoit pitched 2 perfect innings in relief of Colbey Lewis for his 1st win improving to 1-0 on the year.

Tuesday's game @ 6:05 PM Central
Benoit's Ranger @ Boston against Casey Fossum

Well, I didn't get to go to the Ballpark because he hit the home run to late in the game for me to get there in time.
The unused tickets of event games like that are worth more than the actual ticket. A few people collect stuff like that.
The Rangers also gave out some sort of sheet or card to all the fans that were at the game. I'll look on Ebay later and maybe pick one up.

They gave it out in anticipation or after he hit the HR?

They gave it out after.
Each usher gives them out to the people in that section.

Originally posted by Molina00
Guess it is your turn to call me an idiot now.
I know who Mike Lowell is.
I meant the Mike Harkey.
I don't think I had ever heard of him.
Forgot to specify who I was talking about.


Mike Harkey was suppose to be the next stud pitcher for the cubbies, around 10 or so years ago, he came up, pitched had a few good starts, only never to be heard of again. they had high praises on him like they do cruz.

Kinda of strange how some guys with loads of potential come to the big leagues, have little bit of success, bottom out, and then just disappear.

GIoperation...Harkey was in Cubs organization, if I recall correctly. His baseball card was an absolute hot commodity, b/c folks were projecting him to be one of the best hard-throwing right handers since Clemens.

He fizzled out.

Remember Tom "Flash" Gordon of KC Royals --- same thing happened with this dude.

I somewhat disagree about Gordon.
He was and still is a fairly good pitcher.
He was a decent starter and was putting up fairly good strikeout totals. Then got converted to closer and I think had a 40 save season. Now a quality middle reliever. If I had a team I would like to have him in my bullpen.

Iggy, right, he's a decent reliever.

But when he came up, he was touted as one of the best starting pitchers in years.

I had a ton of his rookies.

And they're lying around the house here somewhere.

lol

yeah "flash" still has a couple years left as a reliever. but the mike harkey guy was going to be the best thing since sliced bread.

Gioperation...I thought Brien Taylor, signed out of high school by Steinbrenner for an incredible $1M (first to get that back in early 1990s), was the next best thing since sliced bread?

He was left handed pitcher. Never knew what became of him. But he sure gained a lot of publicity for someone who did as much in the majors as I did.

lolol

Rangers lose. Again.
Thomson pitched quality game giving up just 2 runs on 3 hits over 6 innings but Cordero gave up 3 runs in an inning and 2/3 of work for the loss.
Blalock hit his 8th homerun.
Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and his 13th homerun.
Redsox won 5-4.
All 4 Texas runs came in the 6th.

Wednesday's game @ 6:05 PM Central showing on Fox Sports Net
Benoit and the Rangers @ Boston against Casey Fossum

I skipped the last 2 games because they weren't worth mentioning, but yesterday's game is very much worthy of mention.
The Rangers beat Roger Clemens and the Yankees 8-5 in 12 innings.
Everett scored twice, drove in a run and walked 3 times. He is batting .326
Blalock was the hero going 2 for 7 with his 9th and 10th doubles of the year and a whopping 6 RBI.
Young went 4 for 6 with 2 runs scored and his 4th stolen base raising his BA to .326
Aaron Fultz struck out 3 in 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Colbey Lewis. He lowered his ERA to 1.88
Dickey pitched 2 scoreless innings for the win improving to 3-1 on the year.
Urbina struck out 2 in a scoreless 12th for his 11th save.

Saturday's game @12:05 PM Central
Ismael Valdez and the Ranger @ New York against Andy Pettitte.

Note:Slightly irrelevent but I thought it a little interesting.
In the '98 and '99 post-seasons combined, the Rangers have scored only 2 runs. Both off Andy Pettitte. Both were RBI by Juan Gonzalez.

By Clemens losing, this means his next 2 starts will be against Boston AT Boston, and then again back at Yankee Stadium,

And he nees 2 more victories for 300.

Ironic, eh??

Rangers beat the Yankees again, this time with pitching.
A 5-2 victory. They are now 3-2 against the Yankees this year.
Everett was most of the offense going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI raising his BA to .331
Perry went 2 for 4 with and RBI.
In Ismael Valdez 1st start off the DL, he gave up just 2 runs on 5 hits over 5 innings for his 3rd win(3-2).
Cordero struck out the side in a perfect 8th and Urbina pitched a perfect 9th for his 12th save.
Tomorrow's game will be a little bit tough as John Thomson goes up against one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, Mike Mussina.

So much for what I said about the Thomson, Mussina matchup being a tough one. The Yankees didn't even come close.
The pitching of John Thomson was definately the story in this as he pitched a 3-hit complete game win giving up only 1 run.
Also striking out a season high 8 but walking a career high 5.
It didn't matter much as the offense got the job done leading Texas to a 5-1 win and there first sweep at Yankee stadium in team history. Everett went 2 for 5 with and RBI,
A-Rod went 2 for 4 with a run scored and his 11th double.
Palmeiro was 2 for 3 with 2runs, and RBI and his 8th double.
Juan Gonzalez hit a 2-run homer in the 4th to give Texas a 2-1 at that point. Young also stole his 5th base.

Tuesday's game @ 7:05 PM Central
D.Brazelton and the D-Rays @ Texas against Joaquin Benoit.

Note:In yesterday's game, Thomson threw a career highg 134 pitches in getting his 2nd complete game of the year.

Once again it was all about pitching as the Rangers defeated the D-Rays in a 5-2 victory. Benoit pitched a gem giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits striking out 8 over 7 innings for the win (2-1).
Urbina struck out 1 in a perfect 9th for his 13th save.
Blalock was the big guy going 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and his 8th homerun raising his BA to .365
A-Rod also pitched in a 2-run shot. His 12th of the year.

Wednesday's game @7:05 PM Central
Jim Parque for Tampa Bay @ Texas against Alan Benes.

Note: The Rangers have now won 4 games in a row. With the way things have gone for Parque it could 5.

Ever since Palmeiro started approaching and then getting 500 homers (not to mention 1-2 seasons from 3000 hits), I find myself strangely engrossed in everything he does daily in the statistics box.

lolol

Being a Ranger fan I have been that way ever since he came back to Texas in 1999

No pitching this time. Rangers down the D-Rays 8-7.
Texas teed off on Jim Parque for 5 runs on 7 hits including 2 triples in 2 1/3 innings. All 5 runs coming in the 3rd.
Young went 3 for 5 with 2 runs including a bunt single, scored raising his BA to .329
Teixeira hit his 2nd triple, 3rd homer and drove in 4 as the difference in the game.
Palmeiro went 2 for 4 with his 9th double.
Sierra went 2 for 3, Todd Green in for Einar Diaz went 2 for 4 wiht an RBI and his 1st career triple.
Cordero pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win(2-4).
Urbina pitched a scoreles 9th for his 14th save.

Thursday's game @ 1:05 PM Central
McClung's D-Rays @ Texas against Colbey Lewis

Note:Rangers looking to extend winning streak to 6.

It was the kind of game we expect from the Rangers.
Completely devoid of pitching on both sides as the Rangers downed the D-Rays 10-8 for there 2nd consecutive series sweep pushing the win streak to 6.
Blalock hit his 9th homerun on drove in 3.
A-Rod hit homerun number 13.
Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with his 11th double raising his BA to .290
Teixeira scored twice and drove in 2.
Diaz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and hit his 1st homerun as a Ranger.
Young went 2 for 4 raising his BA to .333
Urbina struck out 2 in a perfect 9th for his 15th save.

It was back to being pitching as the Rangers beat the Orioles 5-3
In Valdez 2nd start off the DL, he gave up 3 runs on 10 hits.
Doesn't sound very good but they were all singles.
Dickey and Cordero combined for scoreless 7th and 8th innings.
Urbina struck out 2 in a scoreless 9th for save number 16.
Palmeiro hit his 11th homerun. His 1st since hitting number 500 nearly 2 weeks ago. He also drove in 3.
Sierra pinch hit for Christenson and hit and RBI double.
Young went 3 for 4 with his 4th homerun raising his BA to .343
Second in the AL to Hank Blalock who went 2 for 5 and is batting .361

Saturday's game @ 7:05 PM Central
Baltimore's Omar Daal @ Texas against John Thomson

Note:The Ranger starters have combined for 2 complete games this year. Both of them by Thomson

Record:23-24

If they win their 8th straight tonight that will put them at the .500 mark.

damn, the Rangers are one hot team; although they finally lost one tonight, and fell behind the Angels into last place.

That is a pretty good division when only 3 games under .500 is last place. Oh well. Nothing lasts forever. I just wish they would have made it close.
Young went 2 for 4 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the year.
A-Rod went 2 for 4 with homeru number 14 tying Gonzalez for the team lead and 2nd in the league to Delgado who has 15.

Sunday's game @ 2:05 PM Central
Former Ranger ace Rick Helling @ Texas against Joaquin Benoit

Record:23-25
Standing:Last 8 1/2 games out.

There was just slight lack of pitching in yesterday's game which resulted in the Rangers dropping there second straight after winning 7 in a row.
Everett went 2 for 4 with his 8th double and 14th homerun raising his BA .327
Blalock went 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 3 walks.
He is now batting a major league high .363
A-Rod went 2 for 4 with 3 runs, 1 RBI and his 15th homerun tying Delgado and Soriano for the league lead.
Palmeiro went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, his 10th double and 12th homerun raising his BA to .282
Teixeira only had 1 hit in 5 at bats but it was his 4th homerun of the year and he drove in 4.
Young went 2 for 4 with an RBI raising his BA to .349 solidifying his place in second in the batting race.
The only good thing on the pitching side was Aaron Fultz with 2 scoreless innings of work lowering his ERA to 1.91

Tuesday's game @ 6:15 PM Central
Colbey Lewis and the Rangers @ Tampa Bay against Reyes and the D-Rays.

Molina...sweet thread! I should be here every day! Where in the world is Kevin Mench? I heard he got into some trouble when he was sent down this last time....is that the reason he hasn't gotten called up? I mean with Sierra doing so badly it would seem Mench, Ludwick or Nix would be called up. Oh well.

Looking for the Rangers to start a new streak tonight in Tampa...I will be at all four games in Baltimore! Sweet!

BTW Molina it seems we may have a lot in common. Both being Ranger and Lord of the Rings fans. Have you ever read Terry Goodkind?

I never heard what happened to Mench.
Ludwick is having a good year for Oklahoma so far I think.
They should give him a chance.
Anyway, I have never heard of that book.
What is it about?
I don't have a lot of time for reading.
Working full time and will be starting back to school on June 9th.

By the way, it is lookin' good so far.
Rangers up 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th.
Urbina on the mound.
He is having some year.
Looks like another winning streak is about to start.

Terry Goodkind is the author of the sword of truth series...it has 7 books....and I have learned more from those books then I ever learned in high school or college....If you or anyone else gets a chance to read those you should do it...you won't regret it. (I have read the series three times)

Mench took the full 72 hours to report and the organization wasn't happy...well that is what I heard anyways.

Rangers win 4-2!

The series is fantasy similar to LOR.

The Rangers got rid of Yan today for a prospect. Grabbing him was a mistake anyways. Should have used that money to go towards Kenny Rogers. 4 hitter against Oakland in the 6th.

Rogers probably didn't want to stay with Texas anyway.
He only has a year or two left and probably wanted to win before he retired.

It was timely hitting and excellent pitching as the Rangers downed the D-Rays 4-2.
Palmeiro hit a solo homer in the 2nd.
Texeira hit a 2-run homer also in the 2nd.
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and his 15th homerun.
The league top 2 batsman, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, were a combined 0 for 7.
Colbey Lewis got back on track giving up just 1 run on 4 hits striking out 5 in 5 innings for the win (4-3).
Shouse, Rosman Garcia and Cordero combined for 3 scoreless innings of relief.
Urbina pitched he 9th for his 17th save.

Wednesday's Game @ 6:15 PM Central
Alan Benes and the Rangers @ Tampa Bay against Gonzalez(Don't know his 1st name).

Record:24-26

Quality starting pitching from Valdez and timely hitting from Blalock and Sierra resulted in an 8-4 Texas win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Valdez gave up 2 runs on 4 hits over 5 2/3 innings improving to
5-2 on the year(I think 3-0 since coming off the DL).
Cordero struck out 3 in 2 2/3 scoreless innings for his 2nd save.
Everett went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Blalock went 3 for 3 with his 11th and 12th doubles.
A-Rod walked twice, hit his 12th double and drove in a run.
Palmeiro drove in 2.
Sierra was the hero though. Hitting his 3rd homerun and driving in 3. With Texas holding a slim 6-4 lead in the top of the 9th, Sierra completely smashed a pitch from Willis Roberts into the right-center field seats. I believe estimated at about 415 feet.
It gave Texas and 8-4 lead and all it needed to down the O's.

Friday's game @ 6:05 PM Central
John Thomson and the Rangers @ Baltimore against Omar Daal

Record:25-27

If anyone was wondering why there hasn't been a Ranger update in a couple of days,
well,
there was nothing worth mentioning.
Not much today either.
A-Rod scored twice and drove in 2 hitting his 16th homerun.
Rangers lost 5-4.
Yesterday was 8-1
Friday was just as bad.
It doesn't look to improve much going up against baseball's best team.
The Atlanta Braves.

Hey thats when the Rangers will win....lost against the Indians and the birds and sweep the Yanks and Braves.

What kind of team are they anyway?
They get blown out by the big losers but sweep the Yankees.
Maybe they can beat the Braves.
If they only win one against them I want it to be Valdez's start.
Just since he is there best pitcher.
3-0 since coming off the DL

Rangers lose again. This time it was a semi-rare bullpen meltdown. Valdez pitched a decent game giving up 4 runs over 7 innings. 3 in the 3rd and 1 in the 4th then settled down for 3 scoreless innings before being relieved by Aaron Fultz in the 8th.
Texas had a 5-4 lead at that point.
Fultz walked one in a third of an inning then Showalter made a stupid move bringin in Urbina with only 1 out in the 8th.
An Urbina who hadn't pitched in a week.
He took care of Vinny Castilla in short order then gave up a game winning 2-run pinch hit homer to Andruw Jones.
On the offensive side, Young scored a run and walked twice.
Blalock went 2 for 4 and drove in a run raising his ba to .355
Gonzalez went 2 for 5 with his 17 homerun.
A 3-run shot in the 1st of Russ Ortiz giving Texas a 3-0 lead.
Teixeira went 2 for 3 with his 6th homerun to lead off the 2nd giving Texas a 4-0 lead.
Result:Braves-5 Rangers-4

Wednesday's game @ 6:05 PM Central
John Thomson's Rangers @ Atlanta against Greg Maddux

Maddux is pitching baby!!

Have to root for Maddux to get as many wins as possible. I think he's only about 15 wins away from 300!!

I think he's more like 22 or 23 games away. All he needs, I figure, is to win about 10 more games this year and it's more guaranteed that he'll get it next year. I'm also cheering for him--as much as I don't like the Braves.

He still has 3 or 4 years left in him and is only 23 wins away.
Unless he gets hurt serverely, he will make next year.

Correction. Maddux is not 22 wins away with his 8 innings effort last night. It's unbelievable to think that someone can throw only 71 pitches over 8 innings. It's no wonder Maddux has been such a good pitcher. Anyway, not a lot happened last night on the Ranger front. Blalock and A-Rod went 2 for 4 and
Diaz went 2 for 3.
Diaz, Palmeiro and A-rod doubled.
Blalock hit his 1st triple of the year.
Result:Braves-5 Rangers-2

Thursday's game @ 12:05PM Central
Victor Santos making him Ranger debut @ Atlanta against former 20 game winner Mike Hampton

yup, once Maddux is getting those pitches on the black being called strikes, it's over for the other team.

Maddux was on.

22 wins away, huh? If he can win 10 more this year, he should be able to break it next year. Recovering well after a horrific start

Rangers lose again and are swept by the Braves.
The biggest thing for Texas was Blalock going 1 for 5 with 2Rbi and Greene going 2 for 4.

The Rangers Traded Ruben Sierra to the Yankees yesterday for rookie OF'er Marcus Thames.
The trade ended Sierra's 3rd stint with Texas and will begin his 2nd with the Yankees.
Who all thinks he will be back in a year or 2?

Another day and yet another crushing loss for the Rangers.
Young hit his 9th double and drove in a run,
Blalock went 2 for 5 with 2 runs, 3 RBI and hit his 10th homerun.
A-Rod went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, his 15th double and 7th stolen base.
Gonzalez went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and his 1st stolen base.
Everett went 2 for 5 with his 15th homerun.
Teixeira went 2 for 4 with his 7th homer.
Donnie Sadler went 1 for 1 with 2 runs scored and his 2nd double.
The only bright side on pitching was Rosman Garcia with 2 scoreless innings of relief to finish the game.
Result:Expos-13 Rangers-10

Nothing to shout about here.
Young went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and the bullpen was solid.
Park got hit hard in 2 innings and the Rangers couldn't recover.
In Doug Glanville's return to the Ranger lineup, he went 0 for 5 leaving 6 men on. I am starting to know how Tiger fans feel.
only difference is they are getting good pitching but no offense.

Hey i've been hearing that the Rangers are looking to trade Urbina to the Yankees. Do you think it will happen and if so who will it be for. Some have said for weaver and others have said for a minor league pitching prospect and juan rivera.

They don't need another OF'er. Although, Gonzalez an Everett will be free agents. Maybe they do.
Anyway, thay could definately use Weaver.

"They don't need another OF'er. Although, Gonzalez an Everett will be free agents. Maybe they do.
Anyway, thay could definately use Weaver."

Even without Gonzo and Carl the Rangers have too many good young outfielders to be trading for more. Laynce Nix, Kevin Mench (who is in the majors! Yes!), Ryan Ludwick, and it looks like Teixeria is turning into a left feilder.

This is what I would like to see happen.
Whenever Palmeiro retires, Teixeira take over at 1st.
Have possibly the youngest and most inexperienced OF in the majors with Mench in left, Ludwick in center, and Nix in right.
I still remember a game on TV last year.
Ludwick was catching a ball about at the warning track in center and blowing a bubble doing it. Also blew a bubble while he was swinging at a pitch.
Either great concentration or somewhat abscent minded.
I think Mench should have been a starting OF'er this year.
He did too good last year.

It sounds good to me.

This is what the Rangers lineup should look like IMO next year.

Ludwick CF
Blalock 3B
Arod SS
Raffy DH
Tex 1B
Mench LF
Nix RF
Laird C
Young 2B

Although Buck has taken a liking to Carl Everett. Either way the Rangers will have a very young team next year.

Mench would have started I believe in left but he was hurt remember? Besides if Mench had been playing in left we wouldn't have seen what Carl Everett could really do.

with a homer today, Palmeiro's one homer behind Sammy "corked bat" Sosa!!

That's pretty incredible, huh?

And he's about 250 or so hits from 3000.

Let's hope he stays healthy.

and the Rangers stopped their 9-game losing streak

I tried to do this this morning but I was having internet problems so I will post the update now. Now that everyone probably already knows but oh well.
For starters the Rangers finally won a game.
The first time in about a week and a half.
The Rangers hit 4 homers last night but I think it was the typically solid pitching from John Thomson that won the game.
Thomson gave up 3runs over 6 innings for the win improving to
4-7 on the year.
Everett went 2 for 5 with an RBI,
Blalock only went 1 for 5 but he made his 1 count.
His 11th homerun with 2RBI.
Palmeiro went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 2 walks and his 14th homerun pulling within one of Sosa on the career list.
Teixeira went 1 for 5 with his 8th homerun.
Young was the big guy goint 2 for 4 with 2 runs, 2RBI, his 5th triple and 5th homerun.
Diaz doubled and drove in a run and Glanville went 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Urbina pitched 1 1/3 scoreless for his 18th save.
Result:Rangers-9 Mets-7

Record:26-36

what would've been the chances that Palmeiro ends 2003 with MORE career homers than Sosa, huh?

I never thought it would happen.
It still might not if Sosa goes on one of his hot streaks.
But it looks promising.
I don't think Palmeiro really has hot streaks.
He just stays consistent.
How many homers has Sosa hit so far?

Looking okay so far. Scoreless going into the bottom of the second. Ismael Valdez looks sharp over 2 innings. Before the game was the pre-game ceremony honoring Palmeiro's 500th homerun. Unveiled a painting of Palmeiro. Only thing wrong with it was he was facing the wrong way. Reggie Jackson said a few words and a video flashback to his first homerun as a Cub.
I was not aware that when he first came to Texas he wore #3.
Same as A-Rod now.

Update:Gonzalez just singled to lead off the Texas 2nd to bring up Palmeiro.

Palmeiro followed up with a single to center to put 2 on with nobody out for Teixeira.
Teixeira grounds it through the hole into left to load the bases.
Looks like trouble for Florida.

Ball one inside to Mench.
High strike to even count at 1-1.
Ball two down low. Count:2-1.
Slammed foul down the first base side. Count:2-2.
Smashed into the leftfield corner but just foul.
Popped back out of play.
Fouled off.
Ball 3 almost got away from Pudge for a wild pitch but not quite.
Strike 3.

In case anyone is wondering I am watching the game right now.

Bases loaded 1 out for Einar Diaz.
He has driven in the only 2 Ranger runs over the last 3 games.
Up and away. Count 2-1.
Fly out to deep center to score Gonzalez from 3rd.

Runners on the corners with 2 outs for Glanville.
Strike one on the outside corner Count:0-1
Swing and miss at one outside the strike zone. Count:0-2
Looped a single into center to score Palmeiro from 3rd.
Teixeira takes third on a throwing error by Pierre in center.

Runners on the corners with 2 outs for Michael Young.
Fouled off. Count:2-1
Strike 2 up and in. Count:2-2
Ball 3. Count:3-2
Grounded foul 3-2
Slammed to third. Fox knocks it down but can't hold on.
Teixeira scores from 3rd.

runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs for Hank Blalock.
Blalock smashed it back to the mound.
Marlin pitcher Phelps just barely knocks it down to avoid being hit.
Scrambles to get the ball and just barely throws out Blalock at 1st. Looking good if Valdez can stay sharp.
3-0 now.

Sosa's got like 6 homers this year, and 505 for career

And yea, I think Palmeiro's just consistently good.

Not one of those "brady Anderson 50-homer season, and then disappearing into the abyss" players

I am really hoping he plays 2 more years.

Sure fire Hall of Famer if he can get that 3000th hit

I estimate if he stays healthy he will get his 3000 hit in 2005 so all he need is two more years.
Anyway, after scoring just 2 runs in their last 3 game(both driven in by Diaz) the Ranger busted loose for 13 runs on 18 hits against Marlin pitching.
In the second inning Texas scored 3 runs all on 6 singles.
In the third they scored another 3 runs. This time on 5 singles.
All of Texas first 12 hits were singles before Hank Blalock doubled.
On a night set aside to honor Rafael Palmeiro's 500th homerun he didn't dissapoint at the plate going 2 for 3 with a walk, runs scored and an RBI.
Rangers crushed the Marlins 13-2
Batting
Young: 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI
Blalock: 1 for 5 with his 15th double and a run scored
Rodriguez:1 for 5 with a run scored
Gonzalez: 4 for 4 with 4 runs scored and 2 rbi. All singles.
Sadler: 1 for 1 (Pinch hit for Gonzalez)
Palmeiro: 2 for 3 with a run, and RBI an a walk
Lamb: 0 for 1
Teixeira: 3 for 4 with 4 runs, 3 RBI and his 9th homerun
Mench: 1 for 4 with a 3-run homerun. his 1st of the year
Diaz: 1 for 3 with 2 RBI
Glanville: 1 for 4 with an RBI
Pitching
Valdez: Win(6-2) 6IP 6 hits 2 runs 2 ER 1BB 2K's
Fultz: 1IP 1H 1K
Ramirez:1IP 2H
Powell: 1IP

I guess it is time to dig my topic out of the cellar.
Same old story. Rangers lose to the A's.
It was a pretty good game though. They only lost 4-3.
Young and Diaz each doubled.
Gonzalez hit an RBI triple.
Erasmo Ramirez pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings dropping his ERA to 3.68

Todays matchup.
Rangers Mounce vs. Barry Zito and the A's

Another crushing loss for the Rangers.
A game they should have won but lost 4-3.
The same score they lost their previous game to the A's.
Mench went 3 for 6 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scores raising his BA to .295
Rodriguez went 3 for 4 with his 17th double, 17th homerun and drove in 2 to raise his BA to .299
Tony Mounce pitched a gem only allowing 1 run on 4 hits over
5 2/3 innings but the bullpen couldn't hold on.
Urbina gave up a run over 2 innings for the blown save.
Dickey gave up a run over 2/3 innings for the loss.

It doesn't get any easier as Texas goes up against Mark Mulder this afternoon at 2:35 PM Central time.
At least I will have something to do at work.
I can catch the game online.

In the second of the battle for the silver boot against the Astros, the Rangers just looked normal. Dropping the game 9-5.
Blalock went 3 for 5 with his 18th double and 12 homerun raising his BA to .340
Palmeiro hit his 15th homerun and drove in 2.
The bullpen combined to give up just 1 run on 2 hits over 5 innings of work.

Taking a walk off Pedro isn't hard, but getting a hit? That's tough.

What are you talking about?

Pitching was the story in yesterday's game against the Astros.
Joaquin Benoit pitched 5 2/3 solid innings giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 8. The bullpen combined to give up just 1 runs on 2 hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. Such solid pitching wasn't enough though as the Rangers only run was supplied by a first inning Mark Teixeira solo homerun. His 10th of the year.
Meanwhile Berkman homered and drove in 2 to lead the Astros to a 3-1 win over the Rangers as they were swept 3-0 in the battle for the silver boot.
Next game will be against Barry Zito probably leaving Ranger fans wondering, where is the light at the end of the tunnell?
It looked like Texas was going to have there best year since '99 until June rolled around. Now they are doing worse than I can ever remember.

Ranger suffer crushing loss at the hand of Barry Zito.
Tony Mounce had a little bit of trouble walking 5 in 5 innings but did not allow a run. Rosman Garcia and Cordero combined for 3 perfect innings of relief. Urbina came on to close out a 1-0 ballgame. Instead of closing out a rare Ranger shutout, he stayed true to Ranger form by giving up 3 runs on 2 hits in the 9th taking the loss. The Rangers had no offense whatsoever in this game. The best Being Everett and Mench each going 2 for 4.

RANGERS WIN!!! RANGERS WIN!!! RANGERS WIN!!!
Young went 2 for 4 with his 13th double and a run scored,
Teixeira went 2 for 4 with his 3rd triple and drove in 3,
Everett went 2 for 4 with his 18th homerun, 3rd stolen base and drove in 3,
Sadler went 2 for 4 with his 1st triple and a stolen base,
Ramos gave up 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 innings for his first big league win(1-1).
Urbina got the final out for his 19th save.
This win snapped an 8 game losing streak and a skid which saw the Rangers fall from 1 game under .500 to 20 games under .500
Hopefully this means the offense is getting back on track and they are going to start winning again.

Rangers win again. Texas was down 6-2 going into the bottom of the six when they broke loose combining for 7 runs over the next 3 innings to win 9-8.
Young went 2 for 5 with an RBI raising his BA to .320
Blalock went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI raisin his average to .336
A-Rod went 2 for 5 hitting his 19th homerun of the year.
Palmeiro went 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 3RBI and 2 homeruns giving him 17 for the year.
Mench went 2 for 4 with his 8th double and a run scored.
Donnie Sadler went 2 for 4 with and RBI, his 3rd double and 2nd triple.
Cordero got the win pitching a scoreless 8th(3-6)
Urbina gave up 2 in the 9th but still got his 20th save.

Looks like Texas is back to normal.
All offense and no pitching.

After getting absolutely murdered by the A's, Texas rebounded nicely by beating the Astros 10-7
Blalock went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored,
A-Rod hit his first triple of the year and scored twice,
Palmeiro hit his 18 homerun, scored twice and drove in 4,
Everett hit his 13th doubles and stole his 4 th base,
Mench hit his 9th double, scored twice and stole his first base,
Diaz went 3 for 5 with his 9th double and drove in 3.
Benoit gave up 4 runs over 5 innings but managed to get the win(3-3).

As is usually the case when the Rangers have good pitching,
they have no offense. Such was the case again yesterday as the Astros downed the Rangers 2-0
Tony Mounce gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, and struck out 5 in 6 very solid innings of work but the offense couldn't break through.
At one point, Texas had the bases loaded with 1 out and Hank Blalock hit into a double play. Gonzalez went 2 for 4 raising his BA to .289 and that was the extent of the Rangers offense.
Today's game will be Ramos vs. Villone

The Rangers closed out the Lone Star series in pretty good fashion with solid bullpen work and timely hitting as Texas set down the Astros 8-5. The Astros had 5 runs on 5 hits and the Rangers 8 runs on 8 hits. Texas was down 3-0 going into the 5th before the offense woke up combining for 8 runs over the next 5 innings.
Young went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored raising his BA to .315
Blalock went 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored twice.
A-Rod hit his 2nd triple and drove in 2,
Gonzalez also drove in 2,
Mench went 2 for 4 with 3 rbi and hit his 2nd homer of the year.
Palmeiro added his 19th homerun, a solo shot.
On the pitching side Ramos walked 7 and gave up 3 runs over 3 1/3 innings then gave way to Santos who pitched near perfect innings. Rosman Garcia struck out 2 in a perfect 7th for the win.
Urbina faces 1 batter in the 9th and struck him out for his 21st save.

Next game:John Thomson's Rangers @ Anaheim against Ramon Ortiz and the Angels.

Palmeiro looks headed for a 40-homer, 100+ RBIs season.

There's rumor that Palmeiro, who doesn't want to DH, is looking to get out of Texas.

Texas wants Palmeiro for life, if he's willing to DH.

If Palmeiro can maintain his consistency for 2 more years, 3000 hits and 550 homers beckons.

Heck, he just surpassed Sosa, after being a couple of homers behind Sosa when season began --- who'd thunk Palmeiro would've 19 homers; and Sosa about 8-10?!?!?

It always helps when the other guy(Sosa) has been hurt and suspended. I sure hope he can finish with Texas. He only has a couple of years left anyway, I would think.

Rangers win again!!! Texas has now won 4 of there last 5 games. Looks like things are starting to turn around and Texas got a rare mixture of good pitching and timely hitting in a 6-3 win over the Angels.
Young went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored,
Blalock went 2 for 5 with 1 runs scored,
A-Rod hit homerun number 20 and drove in 3,
Teixeira hit his 11th homerun and walked twice,
Thomson gave up 3 runs on 3 hits over 7 innings for the win(5-9),
Urbina pitched a scoreless 9th for his 22nd save.
Even with 2 homers and 6 runs in the game Texas offense still didn't really get the job done. Blalock, Glanville and Diaz each left 5 men on. Young stranded 4 and Palmeiro 3. That is 22 men left on base between 5 players. But they won and that is what matters.

ANAHEIM -- The Rangers are going forward with their youth movement and Carl Everett won't be a part of it.

On Tuesday, the Rangers traded the veteran outfielder to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations and two or three minor-leaguers to be named later.

Texas will pick from a pool of eight prospects and the club's choices will determine the number of players received, according to Rangers GM John Hart. The Rangers expect to complete the deal by the All-Star Game break.

"They are young players not at the Major League level, yet. They are players we like at the same time," Rangers general manager John Hart said. "It's another piece of what we have been talking about the last few weeks, the team going younger and moving on.

"It's a combination of pitching and position players."

Outfielder Ryan Ludwick has been recalled from Oklahoma to take Everett's spot on the 25-man roster.

"There were certain players on the White Sox we asked for and didn't get. There were others we asked for and got in the deal," Hart said. "I have to take off my hat to Carl. I can't say enough about what he has done for us this season coming back off a tough year last year."

Everett, who is 2-for-19 in his last six games and is 6-for-40 in the last 12 contests, agreed to waive his no-trade clause. He was not in the lineup Tuesday against the Angels. He is hitting .205 in the last 34 games to drop from .333 to .274, his lowest since April 15 when he hit .270.




"First, I'm gonna miss these guys. They are a great bunch," Everett said. "Unfortunately, we are not winning and you know how things happen."

The outfielder hit 11 home runs and 36 RBIs in the last 52 games, but only one home run and three RBIs in the last 13. For the season, he has 18 home runs and 52 RBIs.

Everett, who was acquired in a trade with Boston before the 2002 season, has made 28 starts in left field, 13 in center field, 26 in right field and one at designated hitter.

"I came to Texas to win and I thank John Hart for putting me in a position to win," Everett said. "It's a good situation to go into, but it's been good here.

"It's been great here, but right now I'm on another team and I'm going to play the game hard and play to win like I always have. Now it's in Chicago."

The trade marks the second successful attempt by the Rangers to bring young players into the organization. Last week the club tried to trade Juan Gonzalez to Montreal for prospects, but the outfielder exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed the deal. The first week of June, the Rangers traded Ruben Sierra to the New York Yankees for a Triple-A outfielder.

"It's tough saying bye to Carl," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "He's been great. If every young player approaches the game the way Carl does, we're in good shape.

"They are getting a professional player who brings it every day. Nobody brings more intensity or wants to win more than Carl Everett. It will be a good addition for them. It was a good move for us."

Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I personally am sad to see him go. He was a very important part of their offense this year and will be weakened by his departure. Hopefully Ludwick can mash like he was for OKC.

Everett was traded as the Rangers were defeated by the Angels 7-5.
Michael Young had a huge game going 2 for 4 hitting his 6th and 7th homeruns of the year and driving in 3.
A-Rod hit his 21st homerun and drove in the Rangers only other 2 runs. Mench went 2 for 4.
Dickey, Shouse and Powell combined for 3 near perfect innings of relief.

Today's game:Joaquin Benoit vs. John Lackey and the Angels.

In Thursday nights game the Rangers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and held on to beat the Angels 6-5.
Hank Blalock was the big story as he went 3 for 5 with 3 runs, 2 RBI, his 19th double, 13th and 14th homeruns.
Gonzalez went 2 for 5 and drove in 2,
Mench hit his 10th double and also drove in 2.
Tony Mounce gave up 3 runs over 5 1/3 innings for his first win
(1-3).
Urbina struck out 2 in perfect 9th for his 23rd save.

The Rangers ruffed up Kevin Appier for 5 runs on 6 hits over 2 2/3 innings.

Texas will be back at the ballpark for the 4th of July game today with Santos going up against Freddie Garcia and the Mariners.

Juan Gonzalez provided the fireworks on the 4th of July as the Rangers set down the Mariners 7-3.
Texas was down 3-0 after 3 innings then busted loose for 5 in the 4th highlighted by a Juan Gonzalez 3-run homerun. His 19th of the year.
Blalock went 2 for 4 and is now batting .334
A-Rod went 2 for 3 with his 20th double, 3rd triple and drove in a run.
Todd Greene went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and drove in a run.
On the pitching side of things, Victor Santos only lasted 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks.
Dickey pitched 3 scoreless innings for the win(4-3)
Ron Mahay struck out 3 in 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Urbina set down both batters he faced for his 24th save.

Today's game:Jamie Moyer's Mariners against John Thomson.

Note:Mahay has now given up just 2 hits and 2 walks in 7 scoreless innings as a Ranger while striking out 8.

John Thomson gave up just 2 runs over either6 or 7 innings of work but got a no-decision in Saturday's game against the Mariners. Juan Gonzalez hit his 20th homerun and drove in both Ranger runs as the Mariners beat the Rangers 3-2 in either 11 or 12 innings.

Powered by 2 homeruns and great pitching, the Rangers downed the Mariners 5-1 Sunday evening.
Ismael Valdez was the big story giving up just 1 run on 4 hits over 6 innings for the win(7-5)
Rosman Garcia and Fransisco Cordero combined for 3 scoreless innings to finish things off.
Michael Young went 2 for 4 with his 14th double and 8th homerun.
Palmeiro hit his 20th homerun,
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with his 16th double and scored a run,
Mench and Ryan Ludwick each walked twice and scored a run.
Mench was also hit in the head by a pitch but was uninjured.
Doug Glanville also pitched in with a couple of RBI.

Next game:Tuesday, Kyle Lohse and the Twins at Texas against Tony Mounce.

Powered by 4 doubles, 2 homers and very solid relief pitching, the Ranger, after falling behind 5-0, managed to defeat the Twins 8-6. Tony Mounce started and gave up 5 runs in the 3rd but the Twins did not score another run until the 9th.
Young went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI raising his BA to .319
Blalock went 2 for 4 and is now batting .330
A-Rod drove in 2,
Palmeiro hit his 21st homerun in the 2nd off Kyle Lohse,
Gonzalez also hit his 21st homerun in the 3rd off Lohse and finished with 2 RBI,
Todd Greene went 2 for 4 with 2 runs, and RBI and his 7th double.
Teixeira hit his 11th double and drove in a run,
Mench went 2 for 2 with 2 doubles and a run scored.
Jay Powell pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win(2-0)
Shouse, Garcia and Mahay combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Urbina gave up the Twins final run in the 9th but got his 25th save of the year.

Todays game:Long-time Ranger Kenny Rogers and the Twins @ Texas against Joaquin Benoit.

Note:The Rangers have now won 4 of there last 5 game.
In the 5th innings Kevin Mench was hit on the wrist by a pitch from Juan Rincon. He will now be out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist. A crushing loss for the Ranger as he was one of there hottest hitters .344 over the last 25 games.

Pitching was the story as the Rangers defeated the Twins 4-1 to win there 3 straight game and 5 of there last 6.
Joaquin Benoit gave up just 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings for the win.(4-4)
Urbina stuck out 2 in a scoreless 9th for his 26th save.
Teixeira hit his 12th homerun in the 2nd off Kenny Rogers to give Texas a 1-0 lead. A-Rod hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th to break a 1-run tie and give Texas a 3-1 lead.
Ryan Ludwick went 2 for 4 with his 1st double of the year.
Young also contributed a run with a single to left that scored Ludwick. Texas got 4 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings off former Ranger ace Kenny Rogers.

Todays game:Rick Reed for the Twins @ Texas against John Thomson

I think Palmeiro's sacrificing his BA for homers.

He's at about 0.250 when he's much much better, more like near a 0.300

But, at least he's hitting homers!!

He was caught up to Sosa, until Sosa got hot this past week.

wowow...assuming Palmeiro continues this pace and plays 2-3 more years -- you are looking at a 600 homer and 3000 hits batter!!!!!

I don't know if he will make it 3 more years but it is possible.
A while ago I heard something like Texas wanted to make him the DH but he still wants to play 1B. I hope that doesn't cause any problems when signing the FA comes around. He does lose a lot of what would be hits due to the Palmeiro shift. That is contributing to the drastically lower BA. Only batting .240 now.

Texas slugged 4 homeruns and got a solid performance from John Thomson in defeating the Twins 9-4. They swept the Twins and have now won 4 straight and 5 of ther last 6.
Young had a huge game going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 3RBI, his 15th double and 9th homerun. A 3-run shot in the 5th off Rick Reed. He is now batting .323
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI. The first was a 3-run shot with 2 outs in the 1st off Rick Reed. The second was a solo shot in the 4th also off Reed.
Teixeira went 2 for 4 with his 13th homerun.
Thomson gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, over 7 innings for the
win(6-9).

Todays game:Runelvys Hernandez and the Royals @ Texas against R.A. Dickey making, I think, his first career start.

Game note: 8 of Texas 9 runs came off homeruns. Solo shots by Gonzalez and Teixeira, 3-run shots by gonzalez and Young.

Podstock- Last night I was thinking the same thing...but hey can anyone blame him? He is noted as a pull hitter so they put the shift on every time up...that is a whole lot harder to get base hits when you can hit the ball the other way. I

Molina- The Rangers do want raffy as the DH next year...if you have noticed T-Rex is getting a lot more playing time at 1b than raffy. In order for raffy to stay a Rangers he must take a pay cut next year and be the DH. BTW I think he will play at least 3 more years.

Has anyone heard anything on Rusty Greer?

I know they are grooming to Tex to take over first and I think he will do a fine job. You guys see the play he made last night?
I don't real