Rangers vs. Blue Jays

Bah - HUMBUG! That's what I am feeling these days. I know my Rangers are going to pull this out and win the division and make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Maybe they should start partying like it's 1999. That could possibly turn things around. And to add insult to injury the Mavericks lost last night. I make a prediction of Mavs in seven, but keep my hopeful mind to something less than that. Well it's seven or over. I would think that Avery Johnson is spending the ENTIRE day talking to his team about what they are going to do in Game 5. They shouldn't even thing about games 6 or 7. They have to take care of the G5 business first. If the Mavs give the Warriors a "knock them down and kick them for falling" defeat, (A-LA 20+ point loss), that might give them enough gusto to go back to the Eureka Arena, or whatever it's called, and slap them silly there, thus coming back home for Game 7, winner take all. That's actually what I see on my Weather-Channel right now.

Rangers vs. Blue Jays

Vicente "Beanball" Padilla goes up against the Blue Jay Ace, Harry Leroy Halladay. Both guys are born in 1977, Padilla in September and Harry in May. I just like calling him Harry. I don't know, it just seems fun. I wonder if his parents call him Harry. Halladay comes already with an impressive 2007. Check this out:

• He's thrown a 10 inning complete game.
• He hasn't pitched less than 6 innings (which only happened once on April 2nd).
• Every start for Halladay has been a Quality Start (5).
• His last start, he collected 10 strike-outs, walking none, in 8 innings against Boston.

At home, Halladay has a 1.56 ERA, in two starts - one against Boston and Detroit. He's averaging over 7 innings a start. In his career at home, he has 53-23 record, 15 CG and 5 shutouts with a 3.34 ERA. April is Halladay's worst month (almost, but let me explain this through). Halladay has his highest ERA this month, although the worst month (wins-losses) would be August (10-11 vs. 17-11 in April). Halladay's ERA by month:

• April: 4.44
• May: 3.23
• June: 3.63
• July: 3.47
• August: 4.37
• September: 2.45
• October: 0.53

I guess the question remains - is Halladay having a "May frame of mind", or is he still thinking April? By the looks of his 2.58 ERA, I would say he's somewhere in September. The Rangers are a team who happen to do fairly well against Halladay. The team historically bat a .297 against him and are 4-4 against the Ace. His ERA against the Rangers is 5.77. The Rangers are tied third for hitting the most homeruns off of him (Boston [18] and Baltimore [12] have more, tied with Tampa Bay) with 11. Currently, things look a little different with the roster the Rangers have. The current team is batting .237 (33-139) against Halladay with four players boasting homeruns off of him (totalling up to 5 dingers). The hitters:

• Michael Young: 9-24 (.375 ave.; 1 triple, 1 HR, 4 RBIs)
• Hank Blalock: 9-23 (.391 ave.; 2 doubles, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs - WARNING: 8 Ks)
• Frank Catalanotto: 5-22 (.227 ave.; 1 double, 2 triples, 5 RBIs - NOTE: Will not play today due to injury)
• Mark Teixeira: 3-11 (.273 ave.; 1 HR, 2 RBIs)
• Sammy "Hunting 600" Sosa: 2-9 (.222 ave.; 1 double, 1 HR - WARNING: 3 Ks)
• Ian Kinsler: 0-3 (.000 ave.; I just put this here to show that the guy is going to raise this today, should he be in the lineup - he better'd be.)

There's six players, five of which should be in the lineup tonight. Time to check out Padilla, who in five starts, the Rangers haven't won a single game he has started (0-5 when Padilla takes the hill). But there is some good news, he does have two Quality Starts despite his 0-3 record, and since his first start left him with an ERA of 11.57, he has consistently dropped that ERA down with each outing (currently at 5.79). He's pitched at home once out of his five starts, and that start seemed to me to be the better of his five. Padilla has not hit a 100 pitch count this season.

In his career against Toronto, Padilla has compiled 13 2/3 innings of work in two starts, going 2-0 and a building a 3.29 ERA. Padilla needs to continue to do this tonight. His problems thus far in the season (it may go without saying, but I'll say it anyway): Strikeouts are WAY down, walks are WAY up. Padilla had 70 walks last year and 74 the year before last; he has 16 in five starts. He's on pace for 104 walks and only 65 Ks. That's a pace of 91 strikeouts less that last year, and obviously 34 walks more. What it means is more balls put into play with runners on base. It's not a good combination. I think Padilla can bring a good showing tonight.

Toronto is hitting .250 against Padilla. They have one "shot-in-da-stands" and 5 runs, all earned. Padilla only walked two and struck out 13 in his two starts against them. This should be a very good game. The Boo Jay hitters:

• Lyle Overbay: 4-17 (.235 ave.; 1 double, 1 HR, 7 RBIs) WARNING: 4 BBs
• Frank Thomas: 3-16 (.188 ave.; 2 HRs, 2 RBIs)
• Jason Phillips: 5-14 (.357 ave.; 1 double, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
• Gregg Zaun: 3-10 (.300 ave.; 1 double, 1 RBI)
• Troy Glaus: 1-9 (.111 ave.; 1 double) NOTE: 3 Ks
• Vernon Wells: 1-6 (.167 ave.; 1 RBI)
• Matt Stairs: 1-4 (.250 ave.; 1 RBI)

Now, the current Boo Jay roster is only hitting .204 against Padilla, but the OBP is .293 due to 13 walks those players have. The current team has four HRs and 13 RBIs on 103 at-bats. This really feels like it is too close to call. My gut is telling the game will be decided by the bullpen and not by Padilla or Harry. Both starters will go into the seventh inning, or at least finish the sixth. Padilla will surpass the 100 pitch mark for the first time this season. Happy Harry Halladay will give up enough runs to not let him pitch a complete game, as well as not get a Quality Start for the first time this season. Time for the Forecast!

Forecast: Into the 'pen we go, especially after an exchange of bruises from each side, possible ejections on the young year. Rangers prevail during "dirty-ball", win 6-4.

Rangers vs. Blue Jays

Wow. Mavs got killed. In March, I had a thought about the NBA playoffs. I thought that there are two teams the Mavs should not play. And if Dirk, Josh, and the rest of the Mavs survive the Golden Snake, they may have to face the second team in the Western Conference, should they eliminate the Spurs. My prediction of a Mavs loss came true. I just didn't think it would be anywhere near THAT bad. But the Suns are the other team... the Mavs would role over the Spurs and anyone else for that matter... but when it comes to the Suns or the Warriors, they just don't do so well. Anyway, I think they can hold up to Warriors in a seven gamer, but it won't go that far. I believe Mavs in SIX. Avery Johnson almost jumped out on the court and started to play in Game 3... he'll turn this around, or by the end of game 4, he will be playing in his suit!

Now, I guess it is to the topic at hand: Rangers vs. Blue Jays. Sammy "Hunting 600" Sosa has hit 3 home-runs in the last two games and is up to 595 in his career. Closer... Closer... OK, we have Kevin Millwood (2-3) up against Gustavo Chacín (2-1) in a day game in Toronto (Noon, Central Time). I'm just going to call this guy "Gus" for short. And since I bold it, that makes it official. Gus has thrown 14 1/3 innings against the Rangers and only given up one UN-earned run (that's an ERA of 0.00, for those scoring at home). What makes things even worse is the lack of hitting, which is 6 hits over those 14 and a partial frames. That is less than one hit every two innings. Could this Gus go all nine with a shutout? Or worse, ANOTHER NO-NO? I will put it bluntly, yes and no. Yes, he can go all nine and shutout the Rangers, and Gus can even throw a no-hitter against us, for a second in one month (OUCH, that hurts to say it!), but I would say that it is more likely for my cat to go get a drivers license than that happening. Here's three reasons why:

1. Gus hasn't even thrown a complete game. EVER. I don't see it happening tomorrow, either. Very early in the season.
2. He's coming off a bad start against Baltimore and didn't last through the 5th inning.
3. The Rangers are showing signs of hitting again, especially power.

The Rangers do not hit Chacín well, like I had said, and that does include the off-season adjustments. The current roster is 6-30 (two doubles: Sosa and Byrd) and seven walks, three of which are Sammy Sosa's. And that is it... not much else to tell on Chacín.

Talk about concerning, the Rangers Ace, Kevin Millwood, has thrown up 5 runs in each of his last two starts. And he has seen his ERA jump from a nice 3.71 to 5.46 in those two starts. Millwood has pitched at least 5 innings in each of his starts, but hasn't exceeded the 6 inning mark once this season. Thus far, on the surface, Gus has the immediate advantage of consistency, with his exception of one hiccup. Kevin is 2-1, however, when he goes six innings. If he can go that distance, the Rangers have a 66.7% chance of a win. Not bad. Millwood has had five starts in his career against Toronto, going 1-3. He has one complete game against them. In the 28 innings he has thrown, he's given up two home-runs, 31 hits, 13 walks, struckout 24, all leading up to 19 runs (all earned) for a career 6.11 ERA against the Jays. Yuck. And, of course, it is still April - Millwood's "I'm a H E X to baseball" month... let's find something encouraging about this... there's got to be something... OK! His complete game did come at the Rogers Centre, and he's 1-2 in Toronto. Kevin's thrown 21 innings at Rogers and only given up one dinger and has a 3.43 ERA in Toronto! Again, I think that Millwood needs to see a doctor and figure out how to get focused and mentally organized to pitch in April, and the dude can truly dominate in baseball - I mean dominate as in Smoltz and Maddux domination. The hitters on the Jays who have faced Kevin:

• Matt Stairs: 4-20 (.200 ave; 1 double, 1 HR, 3RBI)
• Frank Thomas: 8-15 (.533 ave; 1 double, 1 HR, 3RBI)
• Gregg Zaun: 1-13 (.077 ave; 1 double, 4RBI)
• Royce Clayton: 2-11 (.182 ave; 2 doubles)
• Vernon Wells: 0-8 (The well is dry... )

I wasn't going to put Vernon Wells on here, but I thought that since he signed a nice contract with them, I owed him that much, right? So let's see now...

Forecast: Rangers make it two straight wins. Why? Millwood goes six innings and there is just enough run support to make things jive. Score: 6-5.

Mavericks vs. Warriors

Well, I am wrong on Sosa going homerless today. Oops. I almost said Wilkerson would do the same. Boy, would I have looked silly.

I've posted some things on one of my other blogs about this Mavs/Warriors series... It's on my "Punko and Bruno" blog, which I am thinking of renaming (won't say just yet). The Mavs in Oakland. First off, the Mavs are 31-10 on the road vs. the Warriors 30-11 at home (evenly matched). Now, what's amazing is the stat of how the Warriors having the best record over the last "x" amount of games left in the regular season to make the playoffs... the broadcasters on television thinking that they were so smart to point that one out. Now, for me to point out that the Mavs weren't playing everybody during every game. They rested starters and when they played starters, Avery didn't keep them in that long to make a COMPLETE impact, the impact they would normally make in a game.

Don Nelson's lack of a bench is going to really kill him, and a penalty to Jackson would simply take away the golden chance the Warriors have right now. In all aspects of the "numbers" game, the Warriors have home-court. They will loose home-court... tonight? I don't think so. Golden State is going to retake the momentum for one last time, and then it will be all Mavs the rest of the series.

Forecast: Storm clouds with high-pressure in Oakland, swirling winds and confusion as Don Nelson and the Warriors throw one last bit of confusion on the Mavs. Score 107-101.

Rangers vs. Blue Jays

OK, a snap-shot again today (I'm on Valium, so please cut me some slack on my typing and whether I make sense or not).

Rangers bring the best guy they have going right now, Robinson Tejeda against Josh Towers of the Blue Jays. Towers is 1-2 with a 3.44 ERA. He's given up 7 runs in 18 1/3 innings, his only win coming off a performance where Josh threw 7 2/3's of shutout baseball. The Rangers are happy to face him, since Towers is a stemping stool to them with a career 0-3 mark and a 7.90 ERA. He's handed out 8 homeruns in a mere 27 1/3 career innings against the Rangers. Robby has a 3.55 ERA and a 2-1 record. He has one no-decision, which the Rangers won 4-3 in his last start, against Oakland. When Tejeda is on, he's good for at least six innings. In fact, in the games which the Rangers won, he's gone at least 6 1/3 innings. His only loss, he pitched 5 innings. This will be a ground-breaking night for Tejeda: He's never faced Toronto. He's faced six batters on the roster, who are a combined 0-9 against him, with 2 walks and 1 strikeout. This could be a good night for "Starry, Starry Guys" (that's the Rangers, by the way).

Sammy Sosa is going to bat clean-up tonight. NICE! Maybe he can repeat yesterday's performance of two-fer-dingers. I doubt it, but Towers should be the guy do it. OK - bas news... Sosa is 0-9 against Towers in his career. I guess it just means he is due. Michael Young is a .429 hitter with a homerun, Tex is 1-7, The Cat is 3-6 with two homeruns, and Kenny Lofton is 4-7. There are some ugly numbers and then there are some brilliant numbers. Hopefully the brilliant numbers will show up tonight. The Rangers are due. Lately, they haven't been as patient at the plate (extremely few walks) while the opposition has been amazily patient (double digits? REALLY???). Tejeda can show he has some veteran poise tonight by ending a loosing streak.

Forecast: Rangers pull off a gem over the "BOO JAYS" - Sosa goes homeless, but walks to first: score 4-2.

Rangers vs. Indians

OK, OK, OK... this is going to have to be a snap-shot, since time is short.

Vicente Padilla is on for the Rangers (did I really say that?) and C.C. Sabathia is on for the Tribe. Padilla comes in here with a 6.00 ERA and a 0-3 mark. It will be interesting to see his history against the Tribe. Sabathia is 3-0 with a beautiful 2.25 ERA. I have to keep checking myself that it is April and not September. If Padilla has a 6.00 ERA in September, he had better'd at least set a Major League record for beanballs in a season... against the White Sox. I love to see their skipper talk to the media. He's worse than Mark Cuban. In fact, he doesn't have ANY filter for his mouth. At least Cuban, who has been pretty quiet all NBA season, knows when to plug it sometimes. Anyway, Padilla is a career 2-2 against Cleveland and a 7.54 ERA. He's 0-2 at Cleveland, but has a 5.94 ERA... yeah, not that much better. C.C. (I have a friend named C.C.) ahs pitched AT LEAST 6 innings in his four starts this season, seven innings in his last 3 starts. He has topped the ChiSox twice already this season, the other starts were Tampa Bay and the Angels, both times the Tribe won, but C.C. only got the win for the Angels. He is 6-2 against the Rangers with a 4.42 ERA, which is higher than his career numbers of 3.91. Keeping in mind that the Rangers are in a bit of a slump with the bats, and Padilla is in a bit of a slump with his arm... this could be an ugly night.

Forecast: HAIL-HAIL-HAIL... and maybe a beenball or two. Tribe wins with a pow-wow 9-2.

The Texas Rangers vs. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Rangers vs. The 'Rays
I just want to get in the habit of saying it now. It's going to happen. It should happen. And when it does, I start pushing for a family reunion to be down in Tampa! After all, we are the Ray's. OK, onto more pressing issues, like today's game.

Jae-Weong Seo pitching for Tampa vs. Jamey Alan Wright pitching for Texas. Jamey Wright most likely has a love/hate relationship with his birthday - born on December 24, 1974... I'm sure his parents enjoyed the 1974 Tax Break, however. Jamey has not pitched a regular season game this season. He won the number five spot over Loe and Chen. Loe had pitched the best between the three, followed by Wright, then Chen. All surprisingly made the roster, especially Chen, who at the last minute renegotiated his contract.

I'll be honest, Jamey has never had "brilliant" numbers. He had a season with an ERA 4.10 (his lowest for a season) which was in 2000 with Milwaukee. He pitched 164 2/3 innings and gave up 12 homeruns, 88 walks, and 157 hits. His record in 25 starts was 7-9. Jamey has had a number of horrendous seasons with Colorado. Maybe he should keep it in his contract to never pitch there under ANY circumstances - when you see these numbers, you'll understand. One season: 6.25 ERA, 19 homeruns (1997). Another season: 5.67 ERA, 24 homeruns (1998). Yet another season: 5.46 ERA, 22 homeruns (2005). My two cents on this, don't let him have anything to do with Colorado again. Just let him flush them down the toilet and try to salvage a career that has only two seasons where Wright has finished at .500 or above (and that covers 11 seasons, by the way). In 1996 with Colorado, he finished with a 4-4 record. and in 1999 with Colorado he finished with a 4-3 record. I think it is important for Wright to have a great outing tonight, and even more so, a career season this year, in wins (11 is the most he's ever had), having a winning season, and lowering his career ERA (5.14 ERA) with a good mark this year. Will it happen? I guess he just has to get on the "Wright" track. (Wow, what a horrible pun.)

Now, Wright vs. Tampa: This is pretty simple. He's never started or pitched against Tampa Bay. He has faced several of their current players on their roster, thanks to the yearly dance we call the "Free Agency Shuffle" and then there's the Prom Night, where sometimes the Prom King gets traded away to a new high school for two cheerleaders to be named later. Anyway, there are six players Wright has faced on the 'Rays. Take a peek:

• Greg "Anti-Virus" Norton: 5 for 10 (3 doubles, 5 RBIs)
• Dioner Navarro: 4 for 11 (2 doubles)
• Carlos Pena: 1 for 3
• Casey Fossum: 1 for 3

The 'Rays, as a team, are hitting 12 for 36 combined with 5 RBIs, two walks, and seven strikeouts. Gary Glover is 0 for 4 and Ty Wigginton is 1 for 5 to round out the six Wright has faced. This game could be a morale booster for Wright, or it could be indications of another tough season for him. Its rough to say that one start can carry all this load with it, but let's just be honest on who this team is: IT IS TAMPA BAY!!! It's almost like saying you have a bye week in football. You don't want to look past them, but almost can't stop yourself from doing so... IT'S TAMPA BAY!!! OK, let's look at the 'Rays arm.

Jae-Weong Seo does well against the Rangers, but I will, of course, go into that in detail here in a second. Jae-Weong was born on May 24, 1977 and has five years of experience. He's sporting a 7.11 ERA coming into this game (WHERE'S THE BAND-AID!!!) in which he started a game against the Yankees. The 'Rays won the game 7-6, but Seo didn't snag the win. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs on 11 hits, but he didn't give up the long ball against a Yankee team that is supposed to hit them. In 2006, Seo gave up 17 shots in 90 innings! In 2005, it was 14 in just 67 innings. In 2004, it was 9 homeruns in 90 1/3 innings. in perspective, he gave up about a homerun ever 10 innings in '04, a homerun every 4.78 innings in '05, and a homerun every 5.29 innings in '06. The last two years, Seo has given a fan something when he hits the mound and a batter something good to see. And guess what, the Yankees didn't hit one out. The batters are due for some "home-run-fun" for tonight.

Seo has pitched against the Rangers once. Once. And he won. It was at the Ballpark in Arlington that was Ameriquest that is now the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. I love playing with names. And so do sponsers. Can they stay with a name? JUST STAY WITH IT!!! Put a Nike logo over with the phrase "Just stay with it" and leave the "Rangers Ballpark in Arlington" as it is. For me, it has been and always will be "The Ballpark". Anyway, back to Seo... his ERA against the Rangers in this Stadium is 2.57 - He went seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking one. I believe it will be a different night for him, on one simple fact. The hitters work the count. I can't see Seo getting away with one walk tonight. Let's look at the hitters against him:

• Brad Wilkerson: 11 for 46 (3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homerun, 3 RBIs)
• Kenny Lofton: 4 for 15 (2 doubles, 2 homeruns, 2 RBIs, 3 walks)
• Sammy "Hunting 600" Sosa: 1 for 5 (1 homerun, 3 RBIs, 1 walk)
• Matt Kata: 1 for 4
• Michael Young: 1 for 3

Hank Blalock is 0 for 3, Mark Teixeira is 0 for 2, and Frank Catalanotto is 1 for 7. Those three hitters combine for 1 for 12. Millwood, Padilla, and Robinson Tejeda have also batted against him and combined for another 0 for 7. Add that to the 1 for 12 and that's a wonderful 1 for 19. The current roster is 19 for 92 which makes up a .207 batting average, but I can't see Millwood batting tonight. That would make for a strange night if he did. But, you have me, with my trusty nerd utility belt, the actual average would be 19 for 85, which is a .224 average. It's better than that cold average.

So, what does all this stuff mean? Seo is in a park where he can pitch. Wright hasn't pitched a regular season game and has never pitched against the 'Rays. A Ranger win tonight could mean a playoff win or it could mean missing the playoffs completely... OK, maybe not that much pressure, but it could mean Wright pitching in a starter role in May or not.

Forecast: Rangers outhit the Rays. Win 6-5. (Sosa goes deep against Seo with a two run shot!)

A Great Day in Dallas

A Great Day in Dallas

It's a GREAT day in Dallas! Let me tell you, The Rangers win, the Mavs win... that's right, the Mavs win, clinching Home-Court throughout. Dirk and Josh aren't even going to head out on the road trip. So the Cuban-American Team (and who says the Cold-War is dead?) look to finish with a slow finish heading into the playoffs, but they look to finish HEALTHY. That's important if they want to finish the playoffs winners. I'm itching to sway of my prediction from the middle of last month when I said 66 wins is where the Mavs would finish. I'm not even sure if it was on this blog or on the Mavs Yahoo Group, but I know I definitely said it on there... it would be easy now to go higher and say 67 from that prediction, but the Mavs could quite easily drop the next two in the blink of an eye. Dampier is also banged up with a sore shoulder. 66 wins looks nicer and nicer. Still 2-3 to finish? Yes. Would it make sense to play all the guys when you don't have too? Well, they still need to stretch their muscles, per se, but they shouldn't risk playing all 48 minutes on the court, by no means. I wouldn't play even half their normal time. Let them play like a bench player and the bench players play like the starters... reverse roles. This is the first time the Mavericks have won the Western Conference - and had the best record in the NBA. I guess it finally froze over or something.

Anyway, McCarty looked good, or at least his numbers did. K.Loe's numbers didn't. I'm not sure what's going on with Kam, but I noticed Chen got to pitch the 9th. I'm not sure if that was so the Rangers could showcase him for trade value or give him some work in preperation for sending down Kam to AAA Oklahoma. I can't say that I'm excited about Kam's ERA at 11.57 right now, but I don't really want him being sent down to the minors either. In both situations that Kameron Loe has pitched, that I have seen, Loe gave up runs in which the Rangers had a large lead. He has pitched in actually three games this season, the first game against the Angels in which he pitched a perfect inning of work. The second outing was against Boston in which he gave up one run in a third of an inning; he gave up two hits and a walk (as I recall, the umpire was not consistent that day for Loe). In today's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (I understand they want to shorten the name to just "Tampa Bay 'Rays", which has my approval), Loe pitched one full inning, giving up no walks, but three hits and two runs. The two runs happened be off a homerun slapped by Upton in the seventh.

So let's see now: two and a third innings; three games pitched; three runs scored. But you know what, I still love the guys stuff. He's going to be a dominating pitcher in this game. PERIOD.

And I'll say it again, it's a GREAT day in Dallas... Johnny Out.

Texas Ranger vs. Boston Red Sucks

Rangers vs. BoSox

Kevin Austin Millwood goes up against the Boston Red Sox (Red Sucks). He's been tagged as a pitcher that stinks in April, but I think it's just a frame of mind. It is the same that goes with Dirk Nowitzki, if you want to believe you choke in certain situations, you most definitely will. And what better team to choke against the the Red Sucks. And Kevin has every excuse to choke today. Cold weather, it's still April, Alfonseca has twelve fingers... I mean, why not use that as an excuse to not pitch well. It's his fault!!! Anyway, I guess we can look at some numbers, but I don't think it will change my opinion on the outcome, which is the Rangers loose because Millwood is in an April state of mind.

His previous start, he lost against the Angels, giving up three runs in five innings of work. He doesn't have horrendous numbers in April, but he carries with himself a complex that he is a horrible pitcher in April, and the media thus labels himself as one right along with him. He has a career ERA of 3.86 coming into this game. From 2004-06, Millwood has a record of 4-7 in April in 16 starts, pitching 101 1/3 innings. In case you are wondering, that is averaging over 6 1/3 innings per start coming into this season, in April alone. His worst month of batters hitting off of him is September/October, where they almost knock him for a .300 batting average (it's actually .299, pretty darn close). April is second with a .287 average, May comes in a close third with a .284. Granted, these numbers are from the previous three seasons and not 2007. I'm sure Kevin is grateful for that. I'm just not sure why the final month of the season isn't his "complex" month instead of the first month in... oh well.

Against Boston, Millwood is 1-2 over the previous three seasons (spanning four starts) and averaging just under 6 innings per start against them (5.75 over four starts). They've hit .261 against him, splattered four homers, 24 hits, and crossed the plate 13 times, where only 12 counted against him. Kevin did give eight free passes. The current roster, however, is batting .286 and still has 8 homers, but has 30 RBIs against ol' Kev. Here are some players Kevin should consider giving a "BEAN" to:

• David Ortiz: 7 for 13 (5 homers, 11 RBIs, 3 walks)
• Mike Lowell: 14 for 49 (1 homer, 1 triple, 4 doubles, 10 RBIs, 6 walks)
• Eric Hinske: 6 for 13
• Jason Varitek: 8 for 22 (3 doubles, 3 RBIs)

I know, Hinske and Varitek didn't have "great" numbers, and Hinske didn't even have an RBI, but his average is worthy of putting on this. I'm sure he moved the runners, at the very least.

Julian Tavarez is pitching for the "Sucks", and he's an EXCELLENT choice, if you don't mind me saying so... our hitters can touch the guy, at least by what the previous history tells me. This game is screaming BOSOX all the way. Case in point:

• Sammy Sosa: 4 for 15 (1 homer, 4 RBIs)
• Brad Wilkerson: 1 for 9
• Frank Catalanotto: 2 for 8 (1 RBI)
• Kenny Lofton: 0 for 3
• Jerry Hairston Jr.: 2 for 3
• Michael Young: 0 for 2 (1 RBI)
• Mark Teixiera: 0 for 2
• Ian Kinsler: 1 for 2 (2 RBIs)
• Hank Blalock: 1 for 2

And that's really it. There's a few more with one at-bat... but really, not too much success against this guy. The current Rangers bat a WHOPPING .235 against him.

Forecast: Misty skies in Arlington as Boston wins this one 6-2.

Evan Grant Column (Shortened)

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Ron Washington envisions the Rangers winning baseball games exactly in the fashion their season-opener unfolded Monday night.

Only right now, the Los Angeles Angels are better at it than the Rangers.

Washington's formula for winning baseball is nothing new or earth-shattering. It is not predicated on complex statistical analysis or out-managing his opponent. It is all about having starting pitchers give the club innings, an offense that can grind out runs (even if it gives away opportunities for bigger innings) and a bullpen that can hold a slim lead.

That is just how the Angels beat the Rangers Monday, 4-1. It's just how the Angels have reached the playoffs three times in the last five seasons. It's just how LA remains the only team from the AL West to reach the World Series since the division took on its current alignment in 1994.

On Monday, the Angels turned a first-inning walk into a run. In the fourth inning, they turned a single by catcher Mike Napoli, the No. 8 hitter, into a run. And in the eighth, they tacked on an important fourth run.

Starter John Lackey, on the ropes in almost every inning, somehow got through five innings allowing only a run on an Ian Kinsler homer. The bullpen, the AL's best over the last five years, retired the last 11 batters in order.

The Angels are an example – and a good one – that the style Washington favors can be successful. Los Angeles gets solid starting pitching, exemplary relief work and knows how to create runs when necessary.

It's something Washington will continue to emphasize to his team.

"There were a lot of things that went just as we wanted," Washington said. "Our [starter] got us to the fifth or sixth and our bullpen was very good. We still need to try to continue to execute, but I know it will happen."

After watching Los Angeles on Monday or over the last five seasons, there should be no doubt. If the Rangers can execute Washington's style, they can compete.

• • •
Q: I have to tell you, I have never seen the Rangers picked so wide of a spectrum so early in the season. I have seen this team picked to win as much as 95 wins and as low as 72 (that a spread of 23 games – WOW!). I know this team has a lot of "ifs", and obviously some think the Rangers can realize those ifs whereas others do not. My question is: what are the "ifs" that really matter (the ones that can make the most profound impact) in winning this division and moving on to the postseason for the first time since 1999?

Johnny Ray

GRANT: Johnny, I think you are well aware of the "ifs" that are the comeback attempts of Sammy Sosa and Eric Gagne, so no need to bore you with further details about them.

With that caveat, these are the "ifs" that will determine if the Rangers ultimately make the postseason: If Brandon McCarthy and Robinson Tejeda are legitimate big league starters at this point; if Kameron Loe proves himself vital in whichever role he ends up (setup man, long reliever or starter) and if C.J. Wilson establishes himself as the top-flight lefty he's got the potential to be.

That's four "ifs" all associated with the pitching staff. Let's put it this way: Not so long ago, there were some young infielders who were given chances to establish themselves as big-leaguers. If the four pitchers follow in the same vein as Mark Teixeira, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, this will end up being a very good season for the Rangers.

The Dallas Mavericks vs. The Denver Nuggets

The Dallas Mavericks vs. The Denver Nuggets

My score was a "little" off on the previous game, but Dirk wasn't playing - so I have an excuse. Still, the Mavs won, and that says something about the stardom about of Josh Howard. The Mavs have now clinched their division and have a magic number of two to clinch the conference (special thanks to the Spurs beating the Suns last night). Dallas has a record of 62-12 and to catch 70, would need to win the final 8 - which is possible, but most likely not going to happen due to resting of players once the conference is clinched. Denver is currently ranked 7th in the conference with a record of 38-36, a half game behind the Lakers and a game ahead of the Clippers.

Dirk will return to the lineup tonight in Denver. The Mavs played Denver on December 9th and won 105-90. They played again on New Years Eve and won 89-85. They played again on February 24th and won 115-95. A win tonight would be a sweep of the season series for the Mavs. The average margin of victory for the Mavs is 13 points against the Nuggets this season.

• Dirk Nowitzki has averaged 28 points, 6.5 assists, and 10 rebounds against Denver.
• Josh Howard has averaged 28.3 points, 2 blocks, and 10.3 rebounds against Denver.
• Jason Terry has averaged 18.3 points, 4 assists, and 1.67 steals against Denver.
• Jerry Stackhouse has averaged 16 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds against Denver.

Those four alone should put up some numbers, actually they add up to 90 points, 23 rebounds, 27 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. I haven't considered Devin Harris, another good scorer on the Mavs team. And then you have Dampier and Diop, who manage rebounds and blocks.

Now, let's look at the Denver Nuggets. We already know the history of this team vs. the Mavs, as shown above. I guess it is time to evaluate the players.

• Carmelo Anthony has averaged 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists against Dallas.
• Allen Iverson has averaged 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.5 steals against Dallas.
• Marcus Camby has averaged 12 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists against Dallas.
• J.R. Smith has averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists against Dallas.

These four, added together, combine for 83 points, 29 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals. That would make for a great game - but it just goes to show who holds the overall edge. Dallas.

Forecast: Dallas completes the sweep. Bring your broom. 98-92.

Rangers vs. Angels

Rangers vs. Angels

I'm sick of these Angels. Sick. I should have not looked into the numbers last night to see how bad the situation was, so when we fell apart, it would have been a little more surprising. We all know Vlad is going to get on base. I just don't understand why the pitchers just don't plunk him and save themselves an earned run and a few pitches, at the very least. But that's just me. I'd pitch him SO inside, his nose hairs would be twitching.

Brandon Patrick McCarthy is pitching for the Rangers this afternoon. He's 6 foot 7 and 23 years old. My sister is older than him. I guess that is OK. For his career, he has only pitched 151 and 2/3 innings, putting together a 4.39 ERA. During the day, he had a 4.03 ERA last year, with a 1-2 record. His record on the road was 1-3 with a 5.20 ERA. Last season he pitched in 3 games against the Angels, 7 innings in all, getting no record but had a 5.14 ERA. He gave up 5 hits and four walks and four earned runs.

Players to watch out for this afternoon:

• Vlad the Rangers Destroyer: 3 for 9 (2 homeruns, 3 RBIs, 4 strike-outs) vs. McCarthy
• Orlando Cabrera: 3 for 7 vs. McCarthy
• Chone Figgins: 2 for 6 vs. McCarthy

Overall, the current Angel roster is batting 12 for 51 against McCarthy (a .235 average) with only 6 walks and 12 strikeouts. There are only two homeruns against him, both by Vlad, and five RBIs (3 by Vlad, 2 by Kotchman). One outstanding trait by McCarty is that he learns from his mistakes. Case in point: Vlad did not hit his two homeruns off of McCarthy last season. In fact, Vlad's homerun's were solo shots in the 2005 season, and the third RBI was in April of 2006.

Now, onto the team with "a city to be named later."

Ervin Ramon Santana is pitching for the Angels. He's 6 foot 2 and 24 years of age. He's pitched 337 2/3 big league innings, giving up 320 big league hits, 38 going past the wall. He's told 117 batters to just go straight on to first without hitting the ball, so he's a pretty nice guy. In case you are wondering, that's about one every three innings or so. Batters can expect to hit a healthy .251 against him, which isn't terribly bad, I guess. I'll check in a moment to see what the current Ranger roster does in comparison to what everyone has done thus far against him. That should be interesting to see. He has a 4.42 ERA on his short career and averages 97.9 pitches per inning. His record is rather nice, sporting a 28-16 and a WHIP of 1.29 (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) is fairly average. Keep in mind, he's still young (age 24), so this WHIP most likely will go down as he hits his peak age, or that's what the Angels are putting their stock in, anyway. He could be a bust. And he could blow out his arm punching a couple of camera-men. It could happen... maybe throw a chair or two into a crowd of fans? Maybe that's only Rangers pitchers. Anyway, Santana has given up 179 runs thus far and struck out 240.

Last season, Santana was 7-2 during the day with a 4.30 ERA. At home, he was even better than the road, sporting a 10-2 mark and a 3.02 ERA. Against the Rangers last season, he went 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA over 18 innings (three starts) giving up 19 hits, 13 runs (12 earned), 3 homeruns, seven walks, and striking out 10. He has started five games in the month of April, with only tow decisions (2-0). He has a 3.73 ERA and opponents hit .237 against him in April.

Ervin Santana should be scared. The Rangers have a lot of successful hitters on thier roster who can do some damage against him. As a team, the current roster is batting .344 (33 for 96) and has six homeruns (two by Sammy Sosa, two by Mark Teixeira, one by Michael Young, and one by Hank Blalock). The Rangers also have 23 RbIs with these four guys. Heres a list of players to watch this afternoon:

• Michael Young: 11 for 22 (1 homerun, 4 RBIs)
• Hank Blalock: 7 for 21 (1 triple, 1 homerun, 6 RBIs)
• Mark Teixeira: 6 for 17 (2 homeruns, 9 RBIs)
• Sammy Sosa: 4 for 6 (2 homeruns, 4 RBIs)

I know it might be a little early to start listing his stats, but I think he will be a bit of a challenge today for Santana, and a reason for his early "pullage", per se... consider what he has done already against Santana:

• Ian Kinsler: 2 for 6 (1 double, 1 RBI)

On a different note, Brad Wilkerson is 0 for 9 against Santana with six strikeouts. NICE... have him sit.

Forecast: Rangers upgrade thier record to 1-2 with a nice little win to close out the series before coming home to play Boston. Score - 5-3

The Dallas Mavericks vs. The Sacramento Kings

Dallas vs. Sacramento

Well, I mentioned Dallas going up against a high school team in my last post? Here it is. OK, OK, OK... well, maybe not. Sometimes the sleeper teams are the most competitive. And then sometimes, they are exactly what they are billed as, a sleeper team, one that lies down and takes their beating like they are supposed to (IE: Mavs in the mid 90's, actually the entire decade of the 90's, really).

Mavs sport the best record (61-12) in the NBA and are 4 wins away from clinching the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Should they win tonight, they will clinch the division. They already have a home-court advantage in the first round, since they will have the 2nd or better record in the Western Conference (I say second, because all San Antonio can do is tie with the Mavs at this point). The Kings have a 30-42 record, and have clinched a losing record. They are 5 1/2 games behind the Clippers for the #8 seed.

In "Reality World", the Kings are or at least should be thinking about the lottery and next season, and not so much about winning games at this point. What I mean by that is player evaluation. What should be happening is the playing of lower-key and bench players, especially the youth, if any to see if they have learned anything of the course of the year. Maybe Douby, Price, Potapenko, and Williams can play when they get some minutes? Who knows really. I don't think they are in the NBA simply to take up space... do you?

The Kings are coming off of loses to both LA teams, the Clippers and the Lakers, respectively. The Kings also won two of their last twelve, winning against Phoenix 107-100 and Orlando 95-83. So this team can play if they want to, but the question is: do they want to play tonight?

Dallas last played the Kings and won 106-104 on January 27th. The Mavs also played them on December 18th and December 1st, winning both of those times, as well: 109-91 (the 18th) and 109-90 (1st). This is the last game of the season for the two teams, and unless the Kings decide that they can all of a sudden break out of the egg shell that they some how put themselves in, and the miracle that would need to happen to the other teams, the Mavericks and the Kings will not see each other in the playoffs. I'm definitely bored talking about this game... geez.

Mavs are going to return to form, no stress on Dirk tonight as he begins to knock down everything he puts up, the game is going to look more lopsided than five fat people all sitting on one side of a paddle boat.

Forecast: Mavs over Kings 120-87

Rangers vs. Angels

Rangers vs. Angels

Fired up for tonight. Texas is going to open a can up on Kelvim Escobar (2-8, 4.52 lifetime against the Rangers, including 0-3, 7.16 last year), get solid pitching from Vicente Padilla (3-0, 3.77 lifetime against the Angels, including 2-0, 1.93 in Angels Stadium), and even up the record going into Wednesday's rubber match.

OK, I snagged that from the Newberg Report. But the thing is, I totally agree with it. I didn't want to give a forecast on yesterday's game, simply because I felt it could go either way, but honestly, I was leaning more toward the Angels and I just didn't want to say it. I HATE Vlad the Ranger Slaughterer. Remember, that's professionally, not personally. I've never met the guy. Probably a nice guy, but he really should sit out on every Ranger game, unless he's a Ranger, of course.

Now, this is another tough game to call - NOT! This is like the Mavs playing a high school team who has never played basketball before... It's like predicting the outcome of a Harlem Globetrotters game. But let's see if I can pull stats to make it a little more interesting...

Let's take a look at Kelvim Escobar in more detail. He has a 4.65 ERA with a 1-6 record plus 1 save over the last 3 seasons against the Rangers. That covers 11 games, 8 in which he started. He pitched 50 1/3 innings, giving up 30 runs on 46 hits (only 26 earned) and seven homeruns. He walked 17 and struck out 42. The Rangers hit only .238 against him. Jamey, what about this .238 batting average? That's a little concerning.

Here's an interesting stat: Escobar has not given up a Grand Slam in the last three years.

Sammy Sosa has never faced Escobar and Nelson Cruz has only one at-bat. Cruz it one-for-one with an RBI and a walk. They said yesterday that since Sosa started then that Cruz would start today. We shall see.

The Rangers (current Rangers on the roster, that is) have 167 at-bats against Escobar and 36 hits for a batting average of .216 - Jamey, this doesn't get any uglier than that... OUCH! 216 is NOT pretty. OK, optimism here... YEAH!!! Rangers with 10 at-bats or more:

• Michael Young
• Hank "The Hammer" Blalock
• Mark Teixeira
• Jerry Hairston Jr.
• Kenny Lofton (who got his 600th stolen base last night - congrats!)
• Frank "The Cat" Catalanotto
• Gerald Laird

Michael Young, Jerry Hairston, and Kenny Lofton lead the team with a .250 batting average. Young has two homeruns against Escobar, as well as seven RBIs. Brad Wilkerson just missed the cut, but is hitting four out of nine (.444 average) and has one homerun, but evidently it was solo, only one RBI as well.

Time to look at the Ranger's pitcher, Vicente Padilla. Sadly, his career numbers against the Angels hitters aren't as pretty. Vlad is, of course, in the mix, so that goes without saying (355 batting average - 11 for 31, with 2 homeruns and 7 RBIs). The current Angel roster is batting .284, but Garret Anderson is the only other Angel with a home run (with one) and as a team, they have collected 16 RBIs in a mere 148 at-bats. When you think about it, it isn't all that much, especially when you consider that there is 42 hits to think about. The Angels aren't capitalizing on their hits on Padilla, which is bad for the Angels, good for the Rangers.

Question: Will this continue for tonight?

I don't know. It really isn't too much of a different Angels team from last year, but this is somewhat of a different Rangers team this year, actually in a lot of ways. The whole Harlem Globetrotter thought earlier isn't ringing so strong right now. I'm still going with the Rangers on this one - simply due to intanglibles: Padilla's strange success against the Angels and Escobar's lack of it against the Ranger's. There is also Ron Washington - he's going to start having to factor in there somewhere... might as well be here.

Forecast: Rangers over Angels 6-3. No Grand Slam, No Sammy homerun either.

Mavericks in April

The Dallas Mavericks enter April still with best record undecided, the division still undecided, and the conference undecided. They have clinched a home court in the first round and at least a number three seed, but with 61 wins and the best record clinched in franchise history, still much is left to do for this team.

The Dallas Mavericks are only one in two teams in NBA history to have a stretch run of 46-4 over 50 games. They are the only team in NBA history to have three winning streaks in a season of 12 games or more. They set a new team record winning streak at home. They also set a new franchise record this season with the longest winning streak.

Dirk's play in the "tough" games has been concerning, yes, but I still am trying to think of the bigger picture. Is Phoenix better than Dallas? Maybe in a one-game situation. In a seven-game series, I wouldn't count on it. And in a best four-out-of-seven-game series, I would think that would go seven, and I would take Dallas in that every time, at least this season.

Maybe next year, too. Depends on what happens in the off-season. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Will Dallas win 70? They would have to win every game the rest of the way. Can they do it? Yes. Will they do it? No. Why? They don't need to. They just need a hand-full of wins. And so what will happen is Dirk's playing time is going to go down, as well as the rest of the starters, such as Howard, Harris, Jet, etc. and you are going to see more of George, Diop, and others who normally don't play as much day-to-day, or at least are expected to knock down a bunch of points.

How many wins then? It's really hard to say, but for now, the weather-man is leaning more toward 66 wins for the season (That's a 66-26 record, not bad at all). And, domination in the PLAYOFFS. Since the first round is a best of seven series, the maves have to win 16 games to walk away with an NBA Title. The first round is a gimmie. That's four wins. The second round is considerably tougher, however the Mavs will move on, whether it is the Rockets or the Jazz, they will persevere. The Spurs or the Suns series will be extremely entertaining to watch. I don't really care who wins the series (although I would be willing to bet it would be the Suns), I would just like for it to be a full seven EXHAUSTING games for the team who wins out. Should the Spurs advance, the Mavs would have an easier series and move to the Finals. If the Suns win out, which is most probable, then the Mavs are looking at a seven EXHAUSTING games themselves before moving to the finals and playing Cleveland. (That's 12 wins) In an entertaing 6 games, the Mavs become the NBA Champs.

But here's the thing: Dirk as MVP. People have a hard time talking about it. Steve Nash isn't going to be MVP this year. The voters aren't going to let it happen, simply because he has won the previous two. Is Dirk worthy? I don't know. His game is better than it ever has been. And he's still getting better. Isn't that what makes an MVP? He's truly a team player, unselfish, devoted, teachable. And when have you heard of a franchise player being teachable? When I think of the characteristics of a Shaq or Kobe or even Nash, I don't think teachable. And Nash was in Dallas. I still wish he was, or at least part of me does. But I would not want a Shaq or Kobe in here, even on the league minimum.

If I was a voter, I would have to be honest here and simply say I wouldn't know right now who to vote for at this point. James has my attention and Dirk has my attention. Even though Kobe scored 50 or more in four consecutive games, he admitted that he thought Dirk deserved the MVP. That actually scratched Kobe from my mind right there. Up and till then, Kobe had been on my mind. The Mavs beat Cleveland both times they played them, and even flustered James the second time, at least until the fourth quarter, where James collected most of his points.

Even though Nash is actually the most deserving, he is on a team that can't play any defense. They run themselves ragged. Why hasn't the Suns won a championship? They get tired in April/May. Nash can score and distribute the ball, which is what a point can do and he is about as good as they come. This is the tag against him: "He's got the last two, give it to somebody else this year." So what if Nash is still the best?

And here is another thing to think about: Yao returns and the Rockets go crazy with wins. Off the top of my head, I think it's like 17-3, but it could be wrong. I know they are playing great basketball with Yao back, though, which makes him a strong consideration for MVP. So let's take a look at the list:

Dirk Nowitzki:

The GOOD - Team is the best in the NBA

The BAD - Tagged as "chokes" in big games

LeBron James:

The GOOD - Considered the best player in the Eastern Conference
The BAD - Thought as a player who hasn't "fully developed"; In the Eastern Conference

Steve Nash:

The GOOD - Considered the best player in the NBA, at least the best point guard
The BAD - Won the last two MVPs

Yao Ming:

The GOOD - Team is coming up strong since his return from Injured List
The BAD - May not get big consideration due to where his team ranks overall in the standings

So, what does the Weatherman say in all this: which of these four will get the MVP? You know, it could be someone outside of the four, such as Wade... let's hope not. But anyway, I really think that it could go down to these four, and the Forecast calls for Yao Ming. Yep, the NBA loves centers... they love the dunks, and Yao is the guy.

Rangers Starters (the #5 Spot)

The Rotation as of Today:
#1: Millwood
#2: Padilla
#3: McCarty
#4: Tejeda
#5: Wright

Loe is going to work out of the bullpen, as is Chen. I know for Loe, that is going to be OK, since the #5 isn't going to pitch but three times in April, so Loe may get more work from the bullpen than the #5 spot. Also, I know that Loe hates - HATES sitting on the bench and twiddling his thumbs. He'd much rather be pitching. He's told me that he's been torn about pitching from the bullpen and starting in the past due to the bullpen work allows him to pitch in a more "day to day" basis, whereas starting allows him to be more of a leader for the team (gives him a certain feeling of satisfaction).

What has been talked about is since the #5 spot isn't necessary for the next week or so, Chen's contract has been renegotiated to a lower contract which the Rangers picked up. His orginal contract was for 1.1 Million and his new contract is $600,000; a considerable amount less. It also allows for the Rangers to send him down to the minors, although he would have to clear waivers, which might not happen. It would appear the Rangers are going to keep Chen on until April 13th, when they call up Eric Gagne. That is my personal guess. No speculation in the Newspapers. We'll see.

Wright is here for the time being. Since he punched his card the longest of the three, he gets the first call to start, although Loe pitched the best. (I personally think Loe picked his position to start or pitch out of the bullpen for April - I don't know, but I think they might have given him the option and he took the one most attraction to him, the one with the most action and innings.) After April, I am willing to bet to see that Wright will move to the bullpen and Loe move into the starting role. That has been the rumor mill around town, and it makes the most sense. Wright and Loe could also settle into the roles in which they are given and dominate respectively. Who really knows what the season will bring, but the season itself. It does look excited.

I'm so HAPPY baseball is here!!!

Rangers Opening Day

I haven't posted in a while. I've wanted to, but life has withheld me (four hospital stays in the last 32 days). I have easily been in the hospital more than I have been at school. Not a great thing, by the way. What I have noticed is this... even though I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Arizona and seeing a Spring Training game for a first time, I have paid attention to what has been happening. CLOSELY. I don't know if the Rangers seriously have what it takes to grab a ring this year, but I like their chances. I'll tell you why.

First off they have a one in four chance to make post - and their only REAL competitor in my mind is the Angels, who they should be playing any minute now. So, I am going to adjust that chance to a 50% chance. Some believe that Oakland has a real chance, but I really do not believe that they do. They do not have Zito and they do not have Thomas. They have a new manager, one who wasn't taking them to the post season, and it isn't the manager the players were wanting (Ron Washington, Rangers). So that takes out Oakland right there. Oakland made every bad mistake in the off-season, as far as I am concerned.

So, let's say that the Rangers make the post-season. Techniquely, they would have a one in four chance to make the World Series. And to be World Series Champs, a one in eight chance. But if they get their, just a 50% chance. Not bad.

I'm not going to be too judgemental about everything just yet. The season has barely started, and the Rangers haven't even finished a game as of yet. So many things can happen. Trades - Injuries - 50+ HRs - Disappointments - 40+ Saves - Unexpected Comebacks - 90+ wins - 20+ wins - 130+ RBIs - Unexpected Retirement - and the list can just go on. But one thing they say in football: "Any given Sunday..." holds true to baseball, slightly differently, though. Anything can happen when they take the field with heart. Johnny Out.