Five Things to Watch in Game 3

I've been doing this journalist thing since my junior year in high school. Since that time I've meet numerous colleagues, friends, co-workers, teachers, lovers (made you look!), professionals at countless schools, newsrooms, conventions and conferences. And there's one thing I always hear, no matter where I am or who I talk to:

Everyone likes lists!

I mean how can you not? Lists are great for me because I can mindlessly throw out a column without having to follow the typical story telling format. And you guys love them because you can mindlessly digest the information without having to try and figure out what I'm talking about or what my point is. It's a win-win (win).

Without further ado, here are five things you should watch for when...er...watching the Rangers on Saturday.

1.) Which Colby Lewis are we seeing?


Without a doubt, Lewis has been royally screwed by his own team over the course of the year. He finished the season 12-13 despite a 3.72 ERA and 196 strikeouts. Lewis had more strikeouts in 2010 than David Price, Cliff Lee, Zach Greinke, Matt Latos, Josh Johnson, Chris Carpenter and Roy Oswalt. But while Lewis' low win total has a lot to do with the Rangers offensive ineptitude in his starts, let's not suger coat it - Lewis contributed at times in those losses down the stretch in August and September. Lewis finished with an ERA north of four in those months. What makes me giddy though? Even with the "struggles," Lewis' post-All-Star batting average against was only .249, with the highest month average being .278. Also during August and September, he was still striking out a batter per inning. The key for Lewis is fastball command. We all know how deadly his breaking pitches (such as his slider) can be. But his fastball hovers around 90 mph and with bad control, he can give up the long ball as he's given up 21 home runs on the year. I looked it up and noticed Roy Halladay gave up 24 this year and figured Colby was alright in that number, but then realized Halladay had pitched 50 more innings.

2.) Rangers at max capacity 


For the first time in the playoffs, the Rangers will finally roll out with their most efficient and productive offensive lineup as David Murphy will step in and play left field. It's been a long time since the Rangers have had their number one lineup and they've obviously been fine so far mixing and matching with Julio Borbon and Jeff Francoeur. With 11 runs scored in two games, it's not much to expect the Rangers to try and keep that production up with their best offensive lineup.

3.) Then again, this Matt Garza guy is pretty good


My older brother played baseball since he was five, all the way through college at Texas A&M. I remember once talking to him while watching a Minnesota game and he told me how one of his buddies on his college team had played with Garza in the minor leagues.

"So, how is he?" I asked.

"He's good, but he's a big time prick," my brother said not-so-subtly.

There's a reason Minnesota shipped him away to Tampa, besides the fact that they felt they had enough arms in their system to replace him: Garza hasn't always rubbed himself the right way to his teammates. That said, that probably has absolutely nothing to do with what Garza is going to do against the Rangers tomorrow. Whatever. What I do know about Garza (that is actually relavent) is that Garza has a reputation as a "power pitcher." He certainly has a good mid-to-upper 90s fastball but I feel as if casual baseball fans assume he's a strikeout machine. He's not. His no-hitter on July 26th was a perfect example of Garza's game: attack with fastballs in the zone, induce weak contact early in the count, then finish off the batter with a slider late in the count. Garza only recorded six strikeouts in the game, a somewhat pedestrian number for a no-hitter. Garza also hasn't posted a 200+ strikeout season, with 189 being his highest total in 2009. In no way am I saying that Garza doesn't have swing and miss stuff. He does. He just induces more weak contact than he does strikeouts. The caveat to inducing more weak contact than strikeouts is sometimes the hitters put good swings on the ball. Garza has given up 28 home runs this year, and 25 last year and posted a .248 batting average against this year. That's good, but not number one dominant, especially compared to what the Rangers' playoff starters have done this year.

To wrap up this extremely lengthy point, Garza has completely owned the Rangers over his career and especially this year (12.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 14 K's, 4 BB). He's only struck out one other team more in his career than the Rangers. Ouch.

4.) Have the Rays 100 percent mentally checked out of this series?


The Rays have done everything they weren't in the regular season: sloppy baseball and total discomposure when the heat is on. They've committed three errors in the series (two more than the Rangers). They've suffered two back-breaking calls and let the moment slip away (fail to score after the Carlos Pena "foul tip" with bases loaded and one out in Game 1 and Michael Young's three run home run after a disputed strike three check-swing). Both games the Rays have been visibly upset with themselves and the umpires and the team has imploded in the latter innings of both games. Joe Maddon now looks like an arrogant (or desperate) manager with his lineup moves and pitching rotations. Check the first couple of innings to see if this Rays' team is ready to bring the series back to Tampa or if they've already booked their off-season vacations.

5.) Is Arlington (or North Texas for that matter) a baseball town/area?


Bill Simmons proposed this question during San Francisco's exhilarating 1-0 win over the Braves on Thursday. And while tomorrow's game will technically be played during daylight hours, I'm inclined to think The Ballpark in Arlington (it will always be known as that to me) could crack number three or four. I know an outrageous amount of people from all over Texas that will be attending the game, from Bedford to Denton to Tyler. The ballpark is sold out with no standing room left and will be filled with fans preparing to clinch it's first baseball playoff series win, ever. I can only imagine how jacked tomorrow will be. I'll be there.

Let's do this.

This Just In: Expect Nothing

As I stayed awake for what seemed like an eternity last night, I pondered my Ranger post-season predictions through my head:

-Nelson Cruz would have a 2004 Carlos Beltran-like postseason.

-Cliff Lee would be a Will Smith action-comedy - satisfying but not memorable.

-The Rangers catching situation would not only produce fruitless outs, but let the Rays run wild. (Granted that falls a lot on Ranger pitchers) I really had no faith in Bengie Molina.

-Ian Kinsler would be the 2009 Ian Kinsler without the home runs. So pretty much a lousy player.

-Rays win the series 3-1 with the Rangers dropping the first two at the Trop (HEY THOSE INITIALS LOOK FAMILIAR), Rangers win Game 3 then drop Game 4. 

After today's 5-1 win in dominant fashion, I couldn't of been more wrong. Cliff Lee looked like a combination between Fregie Jenkins and Jesus (see what I did there?), Bengie Molina looked like the greatest hitter in the world and the Rangers dominated the Rays in their own dome. At least I was right, for now, of Nelson Cruz. His 440'+ monster took the noise out of Tropicana Field (like there were enough fans to make noise anyway, ZING.) 

It was a surreal feeling for sure. I'm used to high-fiving complete strangers in the moment of an intense sporting event...but for the Rangers? Unreal. One of the funnest moments of my life and yes, I lead a very plain life. Sue me.

But back to the game. Lee was masterful, working both sides of the plate with a variety of pitches. After a rough first inning (admit, you thought "here we go again") he retired 14 of the next 15 batters, allowed only one run to a solo home run to Ben Zobrist and then left, like he always does, sprinting off the mound and heading to the dugout, job well done after finishing the seventh. The thing I love about Lee the most today was he never fell in love with one pitch (Note: which was the opposite of David Price. I think he threw 99.9% fastballs. Yeah, no wonder Cruz crushed him. Did Price have a secret sponsorship with Ferrari or something to throw that many fastballs? "Here's the 15th fastball from Price. And remember, if you get a Ferrari you can go 100 mph fast like Price in 0-15 seconds!") Whenever the Rays seemed to get comfortable, if you can call it that, with Lee's fastball he'd drop the curveball. Or a cutter. Or the change up. It was a masterful performance that I should of never doubted and will probably go to baseball hell for. At least Tom Hicks will keep me company. (Note: ZING!)

Speaking of someone who could run a little more back to the dugout after an inning, Bengie Molina must of thought he was in Boston or something. Or maybe he was just being Bengie. After all, for his career Molina is a .274 hitter with a .718 OPS (which is a stark contrast to his .599 OPS he put up with Texas.) I'm not trying to say Molina is an offensive juggernaut, but he had never been the type of catcher you had to worry about putting him into your lineup. He has some of the most postseason experience on the team, which I'm not sure how much it helps, but it's something else to explain his 3-for-4 game with a soft RBI single and perhaps an even softer home run to left (he never got around on the pitch and seemed to hit it off the inside part of the bat.)

What else surprised? How about Jeff Francoeur continuing his relevancy. Ron Washington using Neftali Feliz in a non-save situation. Feliz walking the first two batters of the ninth. Chad Qualls pitching a perfect inning and a third. Josh Hamilton throwing caution into the wind with a head first slide into second on a stolen base attempt, which had the entire population of North Texas ripping their hair out. 

But not everything was dandelions and popsicles. The Rangers were able to capitalize on jumping on Price's fastball for 10 hits, but they also struck out eight times and walked none. Jorge Cantu proved that his role in the division clinching game in Oakland would be about the only role he'll play. Michael Young squandered run-scoring chances with an 0-for-4 game. 

But who cares, right? It's time for Game 2. And as the title of the post suggests, don't get comfortable. You may be reading, hearing or watching that James Shields pitches as well as a narcoleptic on acid lately (I really don't know how well a narcoleptic on acid would pitch, but my guess is not very well). Well here are some "stats" to back that statement up:

13-15, 5.18 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a .294 BAA. That looks awful right? Rangers should club Shields to death right? Wait just a minute.

Shields BABPIP (Batting Average on Balls Put in Play - which tells of how lucky or unlucky a hitter or pitcher is) sits at .354, which is .38 points higher than his career average. Which tells us he has been a wee bit unlucky. How about how he pitches at home? His ERA in Tampa is 4.53. Not a great number, but still, if he's good, he's going to be good at home. How about his record against the Rangers this year? Two starts, 14 innings, four earned runs (2.57 ERA) and a .255 BAA. The Rangers have not done particularly well against him this year. So when you wake up tomorrow and wonder if you'd rather play the Yankees or the Twins, just calm down for a moment.

Then again, what do I know? I'm the guy who thought Cliff Lee would suck today.

College Football is Pretty Awesome

There are only two ways you become a rabid college football fan.

1.) You grow up in a college town without a professional sports team in the city limits (Norman, Austin, Tuscaloosa).

2.) You grow up with parents who are very invested into a college team or high school team.

(Note: I realized I needed to add high school after realizing how many high school friends I grew up with are infatuated with college football. It makes sense. High school football transitions right into college football and still follows that "pure" formula that people think amateur level sports have. And both levels compulsively drink themselves silly on the weekends. It fits.)

I grew up without any of those things. Any colleges in the Dallas/Fort Worth area absolutely blew when I grew up (TCU was just in the infant stages of being relavent and SMU routinely pissed themselves throughout the 90s). And while my high school was rolling skulls, snappin' necks and cashin' checks, I really couldn't be too interested. Come on, I was a high school basketball player. We didn't get much attention. But I'm not holding a grudge or anything (Yes I am).

So needless to say, college football is not my expertise. Sure, I love watching games all day on Saturday, rip on the BCS and have yet another excuse to drink in the afternoon, but I can't tell you the fourth string running back for any of my "teams." I can count on one hand how many games I've been to. My only "teams" have manufactured feelings:

Texas: School I was roped into rooting for because, well, I lived in Texas. Sort of how it goes. Actually fell in love with the team in 2004 and seriously thought I was going there. Been burned twice by admissions so now I'm emphatically "meh" towards them

Kansas: School I actually went to. Great school but I transfered for a reason. So obviously some mixed feelings there (no reason to go in-depth here. It's a dark and twisted tale).

UTA: LOL

(Note: For those reading thinking I was too dumb for Texas, think again. I had a 3.5 GPA at a well-credited university when I transfered. Suck on it.)

So when I ventured out to Fair Park Saturday morning, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I went to the biggest college football game of the 2007-2008 regular season (Kansas/Missouri) but the powers at be decided to have the game over Thanksgiving Break which resulted in the stadium looking like a bunch of bumble bees swimming in an ocean.

I also had the pre-inclined notion that the Cotton Bowl was a stink hole. I've read countless reports of how the game is destined for Cowboys Stadium and that the game will be for the better for it. I sort of had to agree. I never been down there, never been to the game, so I'll trust the writers (BECAUSE THAT NEVER BACKFIRES).

Needless to say, six hours after the game ended and I was in a Dallas bar, one of my closest friends who goes to Oklahoma told me "There's no way they should move it from the Cotton Bowl. No. Way."

And I agreed.

The Red River Rivalry game really is a festival. It's a clash of cultures and friends and food and good times. And also alcohol. But seriously, it is something to behold. Inside the Cotton Bowl I almost choked on my spit by how small the stadium looked. Except then I realized I was part of a record-tying  crowd of 96,006. There is so much life to the stadium. Not to mention you can't beat over-zealous college football fans. I'm pretty sure after every penalty someone yelled "OU is buying the refs!" to which I would turn around and say something snarky about how the penalty was really Texas' fault (which I was right. Texas played a Lindsay Lohan game: Sloppy, messy but still hot enough to take home after a failed night of hooking up.) I ate it up. I'm a sucker for huge attended sporting events. I felt the same way when I went to the MLB and NBA All-Star games and even a random Oklahoma/Baylor football game. Just being apart of the crowd that was was fired up was good enough for me, regardless of Texas shitting the bed. I understand that Cowboys Stadium holds more people, but would the spirit be there? Would the noise be there? No way.

Because you see, there really is something to this whole "college football experience." Or maybe there's something to going to a giant party with carnival rides and menus that read:

"Fried Butter - 7 coupons
Fried Margarita - 11 coupons
Beer - 10 coupons
Slightly fancier beer - 11 coupons
Kids drink - 5 coupons"

Try to replicate THAT Cowboys Stadium.

What Dreams May Come

10 years ago, my Dad made an announcement.

"Josh, we're going to a lot of Ranger games this year."

What? Ranger games? I had only been to a Ranger game once before. I was actually sort of a downer about it. After all, my 11 year-old self was more concerned with Nintendo 64 and Dragonball Z, not baseball. Sure, my older brother was becoming baseball Jesus, but that's about all I had involved with the sport. I had no desire or interest to spend my youthful and crazy 11 year-old summer nights in Arlington watching baseball. My only experience had come the year before, where my Mom told me to where some shirt that had a Ranger red helmet on one side and a Yankee dark blue helmet on the other to school one day. That's about it.

When I first settled into my seat in section 32, row 29, seat two, I was awestruck. Our seats were breathtaking, considering I thought you watched baseball games through a rusty backstop (my brother's high school games) or way up high into the sky, looking at the ballplayers like tiny ants below you (my one Ranger baseball experience before then). I quickly fell in love. Going to something 70 times a year will do that to you.

Over the course of 2000-2007, that's about what I averaged: 70 Ranger home games a year. I met some wonderful people around our seats, and saw some truly amazing players. But Alex Rodriguez is the one who drew me in. Like him or not, I was dumbfounded at his tape measure shots, no matter how artificial they may have been. I loved his incredible defense, his impeccable baseball IQ. Everything was great. I had to go to every game because I didn't want to be at home when Alex Rodriguez did that, whether it be a moonshot to the upper deck or throwing out a runner from deep in the hole at short. I had to witness it.

I was able to watch a lot of other great players. Pudge. Juan. Palmeiro. Soriano. Teixera. Cordero. Rogers. And of course, Michael Young and Josh Hamilton.

But I also saw a lot of bad players. Richard Hidalgo. Brian Jordan. Carl Evertt (I don't care what you say, but I hated everything about him). John Rheinecker. John Rocker. Luis Mendoza. And those are just the ones I can really remember booing. There were countless other "pieces" that were said to get the Rangers over the hump. And we all know how that worked out.

For a long time, I just figured the Rangers were the American League Pittsburgh Pirates - destined to make fan bases miserable and unhappy. I watched every October with envy of the Yankees and the Red Sox, how it was so effortless for them to make the playoffs. Still, every April, there I was, in section 32, row 29, seat two. Wearing my free Ranger t-shirt from promotion day 125, but I was there. And I loved it.

So when Neftali Feliz record the final out (in the stadium he made his ML debut AND setting the rookie saves record), I didn't know what to do. I literally had no idea what to do with my hands. I have never felt this feeling before. The Rangers are in the playoffs. The Texas Rangers are in the bleepin' playoffs.


There have been only three moments in my life where sports have caused me to shed tears. First was during Pudge's "last" game as a Ranger back in 2002. He hit a home run during his second or third at-bat, I can't remember. The entire stadium stood for what seemed like three hours, just cheering and clapping. The second was when the Maverick's beat the Spurs in game seven of the 2006 playoffs. And the third? Three words: NBA Finals 2006. (Well, that's actually one word, a number and an acronym. Screw you.)

We can definitely add number four to the list tonight, although it was the single tear. I might have only been a "true" fan since 2000. I didn't watch the Rangers in the 70s, 80s or 90s so I don't have as many "skins on the wall" so to speak. But dammit, I watched this team during it's worst times and I loved every minute of it. I wish, prayed and dreamed for this day to come. Now, in about two weeks, I'll be going to my very first playoff game. I'm rambling now, an incoherent mess of memories and wishes. I'll stop here.

I love the Rangers.

I love this team.

I love baseball.

Having a Head Coach Sort of Helps

Wade Phillips is the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator. Jason Garrett is the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator. Wade Phillips creates the defensive play books and calls the defensive plays. Jason Garrett does the same for the offense. 

Since both of these coaches are employed by the Dallas Cowboys, they practice their units in the same area. For practice these two coaches huddle up their units, coach them up, drill them and prepare them. On Sundays, they are contractually obligated to bring both of their units to wherever the NFL schedule tells them too on that day. The two units meet and combine to become one football team.

This is probably a great thing for Wade. I'm sure every week he keeps wondering if he's going to have to play DeMarcus Ware at tight end and Mike Jenkins at wide receiver. No worries! Jason Garrett has a group of guys that already play those positions, so why not kill two birds with one stone and combine both teams!

With that monkey of Wade's back he can finally sit back and call the defense and then hit the snooze button when Jason Garret throws his group of guys out there. 

So when the Cowboys come out for the season opener and play as bad as a poop sundae, don't be surprised when they top it off with the turd cherry in week two. The Dallas Cowboys are unorganized, undisciplined, confused, lost, clueless. They have no offensive or defensive identity. There is no structure in the plays that are called, there is no consistency. 

Sometimes the talent takes over (2007, 2009). But when you do not have a head coach, this is going to happen. When you try to replace the second most penalized lineman in football (Flozell Adams) with the first-most (Alex *bleepin* Barron) from last season, what do you expect? When you have a head coach that has no control over what the final play is going to be, how can you be surprised by the end of the first half in Washington?

Here is a list of the Super Bowl winning head coaches dating back to 2000:

Sean Payton

Mike Tomlin

Tom Coughlin

Tony Dungy

Bill Cowher

Bill Belichick (three times)

Jon Gruden

Brian Billick

Dick Vermeil

And those are only the last 11 winners. Now, can you ever in your football-loving life, ever see Wade Phillips' name scribed next to these great coaches?

Of all the talk of the Cowboys' depth this year, the team forgot they're missing an important starter: a head coach.

What's on Ron's Mind?

I really don't want to write this. Bagging on Ron Washington is one of the more over-used Ranger blog topics of the last three years. Between his inane in-game decisions to his coke admission right before the season, there's been plenty of cannon fodder for writers as obscure as me and as prominent as Randy Galloway. But it's become old, tiring to read. We get it already. But the latest Ron Washington decision made my head hurt so much I had to go get a CAT scan to make sure I didn't develop a brain tumor. So forgive me for a mindless rant.

Tuesday Afternoon Quick Hits: You're A Flawed Guy

Rich Harden pitched 6 2/3 no-hit innings last night. I repeat: Rich Harden did not allow a Minnesota Twin to have a base hit last night while he pitched two thirds of the way into the sixth inning. But, since it's Rich Harden, he walked five and had 111 pitches when Ron Washington took him out of the game. Feliz pitched the ninth, gave up a single, and that was that. Poop. I guess that's just the way potential combined no-hitters go. This of course grants Harden one or two more starts, which sucks. Harden was "effectively wild" which means he was bad, but pitched a good game anyway. Imagine if one of the Twins' hitters got a hold of one after one of Harden's many walks. Different game. Just don't come crying to me when Harden gives up four runs in three innings with five walks in his next start. I warned you. Onto the hits: