Confidence Builder

If you ever feel a little bit stupid, just dig this up and read it again; your confidence will be restored!

'Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country,'--Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC

'Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.'--Mariah Carey

'We've gotto pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?' --Lee Iacocca

'The word 'genius' isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.'--Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.

(On September17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?

Answer: 'I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,'--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

'We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people.'--Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instructor.

'I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body,'--Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.

'That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it,'--A congressional candidate in Texas

'Half this game is ninety percent mental.'-- Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark

'Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.'--Department of Social Services, Greenville , South Carolina

'I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix .'--Dan Quayle

'Traditionally, most of Australia 's imports come from overseas..'--Keppel Enderbery

'Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life,'--Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign .

'If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed, and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there will be a record.'--Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman

TROT COFFEY

(* Trade Rumor Offerings To Chew On For Fun, Even Yuks)

Not to be confused with Brewers journeyman reliever Todd Coffey, the TROT COFFEY is a mailing list-only update on various trade rumblings unearthed, if not hatched, by the media:

• Today’s the self-imposed deadline that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi first announced last week for his club to trade Roy Halladay or decide not to, but he has since called the deadline “soft.” Something could happen today, sure, but don’t hold your breath. Unless traded first, Halladay is slated to start tomorrow afternoon when the Blue Jays take on the Mariners.
• The Nationals have reportedly been unable to move Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, or Josh Willingham to this point largely because of unreasonable trade demands. Willingham (who’d I’d really like to see here) sure didn’t help the rest of the league last night, if the idea is to get Washington to bring their demands down: the .298/.410/.596 hitter blasted two grand slams and a double in 14-6 win over Milwaukee.
• According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Rangers’ top priority is finding a starting pitcher and the club is “very much part of the Roy Halladay sweepstakes.” However, Toronto is insisting that three of the Rangers’s top five or six prospects be included, and “that group is all at either AAA or the majors” (Sherman identifies Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, and Justin Smoak; presumably the description means Elvis Andrus and Julio Borbon make it five, and maybe Taylor Teagarden or Max Ramirez or Tommy Hunter gets you to six, eh?) (no, thanks – unless the three would only include just one of Feliz, Holland, and Smoak – and obviously Andrus is not in the discussion).
• Sherman adds that the Blue Jays refuse to take back a sizable contract like Vicente Padilla’s or subsidize part of what remains of Halladay’s 2009 salary as part of any deal, which could be a stumbling block even if the players were to be agreed upon.
• Sherman also adds that Texas turned down a proposal from Tampa Bay centered on Scott Kazmir. While he doesn’t connect the dots, it stands to reason this could be related to yesterday’s rumors that the Rays were trying to trade for a high-end Rangers pitching prospect to flip to Cleveland in a package for Cliff Lee.
• According to Sherman, the Rangers “were convinced [late yesterday] they were the front-runners to get Ryan Garko from the Indians” and “were surprised when he ended up going to the Giants instead”; the club, says Sherman, “is still trying to find a righty-hitting first baseman.”
• According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, Toronto asked Texas for Derek Holland, Justin Smoak, and Julio Borbon in exchange for Roy Halladay, and Texas (thankfully) said no. Sullivan adds that the Rangers have asked Cleveland about Cliff Lee but nothing appears to happening there. A Boston report (WEEI) late today suggests Boston could be close to acquiring Lee, in exchange for righthander Michael Bowden, outfielder Josh Reddick, and another prospect.
• John Hart said on MLB Network this afternoon that when Texas acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Snare, and Will Smith from the Marlins for Ugueth Urbina in 2003, the Rangers asked for Josh Willingham (then a 24-year-old AA catcher/first baseman/third baseman/outfielder) and Florida refused to include him in the deal.
• According to Roger Hensley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are putting Troy Glaus’s rehab assignment on hold due to continued back pain. Glaus was lifted from AA Springfield’s game last night after just one at-bat.
• While it’s not really a COFFEY note, the Rangers have announced that Bakersfield outfielder Engel Beltre, who has been out of action since July 15, broke the hamate bone in his right hand and is on the disabled list. (If it happened on a hit-by-pitch, the last time Beltre was drilled was early in the Blaze’s game on July 12. In his next two games, he went 5 for 10 with a home run and triple.) While no timetable has been set for his return, it’s the type of injury that could conceivably cost him the rest of the season. The toolsy 19-year-old has hit .227/.281/.317 for the Blaze, a disappointing slash line despite the fact that he’s among the youngest players in the Cal League. David Paisano goes from Hickory to Bakersfield to replace Beltre. (Paisano was part of the Danks trade to the White Sox)

Vicente Padilla:

According to at least one local report, Vicente Padilla is still slowed by flu symptoms and has been scratched from tonight’s start against Detroit. Doug Mathis starts in his place, and according to the report(s), a backdated disabled list assignment for Padilla is a possibility.

Guillermo Moscoso:

The Rangers have recalled righthander Guillermo Moscoso from Oklahoma City,optioning Willie Eyre to the same club. Moscoso is in town and will beavailable to pitch tonight if needed.

Game 97: Rangers vs. Tigers

This game may not be played today. A lot of rainy weather in the area... Detroit has a two game lead over the second place White Sox, which means that in the Wild Card standings, the Tigers are five games back behind the Red Sox, or two and a half behind the Rangers, who have the fourth best record in the American League.

On 7/17/09, the Rangers were 48-39 and have gone 6-3 since. The Angels have gone 8-2 during that same period of time. 6-3 is good. 8-2 is better.

I haven't posted the wildcard standing this season. In fact, I am not even sure if I have ever posted the WC standings. Whatever. The Royals were once first place in their division... boy, have they gone south. A trade for Zack Grienke? I would sure hope the Rangers could pry him away.


If Ben Sheets is a Class A Free Agent, even though it is after the draft, will the Rangers still have to give up picks? Anyone know?

Scouting Report:

Tigers: Galarraga lowered his ERA by more than a quarter of a run in his last outing, thanks to 7 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-run ball. He had a shutout going into the eighth before walking Jack Hannahan ahead of Russell Branyan's two-run homer off Bobby Seay. He has pitched at least 6 1/3 innings with one run allowed in three of his past four outings to revitalize his season, but the Tigers have won only one of those games. He would no doubt love to earn a victory against his old team in Texas, which he has beaten twice since the Rangers traded him to Detroit last year.

Rangers to Watch:

• Marlon Byrd is 3-6 against Galarraga.
• Chris Davis (currently in AAA) is 2-6 with one HR and three RBIs.
• Josh Hamilton is 2-5 off Galarraga.
• Hank Blalock is 1-3 with an RBI.

Rangers: Hunter pitched six innings and allowed one earned run on Tuesday against the Red Sox for his second Major League win. It was his third quality start of the season. He has gone 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA over his last four starts to lower his ERA to 2.16 from 5.06. Hunter produced 10 consecutive batters from the second out of the third inning to the second out of the sixth. This is his debut against the Tigers. In his career at home, Hunter has a 5.01 ERA with a 2-2 record, but a 2.74 ERA with a 2-1 record this season.

Forecast: I have to start this one out like this...

Loser (noun):

• A person, team, nation, etc., that loses.
• A person who has failed at a particular activity.
• Someone or something that is marked by consistently or thoroughly bad quality, performance, etc.
• A misfit, esp. someone who has never or seldom been successful at a job, personal relationship, etc.
• One that fails to win.

Why do I put this in this particular part of the post? Because the Rangers are 0-6 this season against Detroit. The Rangers, as the definition would claim, fails to win against the Tigers. Last season, the Rangers went 3-6 against the striped cats. You have to go back to the 2006 season when the Rangers didn't have a losing record against the Tiggers, when they split the series 5-5. I do not understand the hex against the Rangers, but I am at a point to where the Rangers need to prove something to me when it comes to Detroit. Tigers win this one, 5-2.

Home Plate

TROT COFFEY

(* Trade Rumor Offerings To Chew On For Fun, Even Yuks)

Not to be confused with Brewers journeyman reliever Todd Coffey, the TROT COFFEY is a mailing list-only update on various trade rumblings unearthed, if not hatched, by the media:

• From ESPN’s Jayson Stark in the last couple hours: “The Texas Rangers also are still talking to the Blue Jays about [Roy] Halladay, according to a source familiar with those two teams’ discussions. Texas, the source confirmed, was one of several clubs given a this-is-what-it-would-take proposal by the Blue Jays in the last 72 hours. However, the Rangers have issues beyond their hesitance to give up the slew of top prospects they’ve been asked for. Money is also a complication. So they would need Toronto to pay some of the approximately $22 million left on Halladay’s contract. Plus they’d need the price in players to come down. So they were described by sources as being just ‘semi-alive’ at this point.”
• According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports in the last half hour, although Texas is one of five teams known to be in the mix for Halladay (along with the Phillies, Angels, Rays, and Red Sox), Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi is posturing telling reporters tonight that the chances of a Halladay trade are “very slim.”
• According to Yahoo!’s Gordon Edes, Tampa Bay is trying to get Texas involved as a third team in discussions with Cleveland as part of the Rays’ attempt to acquire Cliff Lee, presumably to add a Rangers pitching prospect to the package they’d offer the Indians.
• Question to ponder: If Kevin Millwood needs to miss a start or two due to his glute injury, does that increase the chances that Texas trades for a starting pitcher? Or decrease them?
• Dustin Nippert’s effort today (7/25/09) after replacing the injured Millwood: Bad Ass.
• Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports add more detail to Jayson Stark’s Sunday report that Toronto had sent Texas a specific Roy Halladay proposal, reporting that the Blue Jays’ demand was Derek Holland, Justin Smoak, and “two other top guys.” (For my thoughts on the idea of including two of Holland, Smoak, Neftali Feliz, and Martin Perez in a deal for Halladay, stop by Inside Corner later this morning for the transcript of a lengthy Sunday morning chat session between Evan Grant, Mike Hindman, Joey Matschulat, and myself.)
• Rosenthal and Morosi add that Washington’s asking price for Josh Willingham is too high, and among the Rangers’ right-handed bat targets are Cleveland’s Ryan Garko and the Mets’ Gary Sheffield, who is currently on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain.
• Adding to the weekend report from Yahoo! Sports’s Gordon Edes that Tampa Bay is trying to trade for a Rangers pitching prospect to flip to Cleveland in a Cliff Lee deal, there are various rumblings on the Web suggesting the Tampa Bay enticement to Texas would be Scott Kazmir or Andy Sonnanstine. Edes reports that Texas would not trade Holland in such a deal with the Rays.
• According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Texas was among eight to 10 teams that were on hand last night to scout Justin Duchscherer’s first minor league rehab outing. Pitching for Stockton in the High A Cal League, the former Rangers righthander was perfect in two innings, fanning two San Jose Giants, coaxing three to ground out, and one to fly out.

Blake Update

July 3rd
AA: Frisco 1, at Springfield 2
Loss: Beavan (0-2, 5.32)
Record: 3-5, -3.0 (36-42 overall)

Blake Beavan was Beavan-esque, walking and striking out one in seven innings and allowing two runs on six hits. 2B Marcus Lemon singled and doubled. The Moreland/Smith/Smoak troika was hitless.

July 9th

AA: at Frisco 10, Springfield 4

Win: Beavan (1-2, 5.65)

Record: 8-5, -1.0

Blake Beavan was democratic to a fault, letting his fielders do all the work by neither walking nor striking out a single batter in five innings. Beavan allowed four runs on eight hits. Lefty Zach Phillips fanned three in two perfect frames.

The entire lineup had at least one hit. 3B Adam Fox walked, singled and belted two solo homers, his 4th and 5th in Frisco. 1B Chad Tracy (.252/.305/.425) hit a two-run shot, his 13th. CF Craig Gentry went 2-4 with a double, walk, and his Texas League-leading 32nd steal.

July 14th

AA: at Frisco 10, Arkansas 7

Win: Diaz (3-0, 3.48)

Record: 12-6, +3.0

Hitless in four previous at-bats, Johnny Whittleman belted the first walk-off grand slam in Frisco history. Whittleman (.230/.362/.374) has six homers in his last nine games after hitting none in his first 64. The results of his plate appearances during that span are astounding: 11 walks, 6 homers, only 2 other hits, a line of .258/.452/.871. Whittleman carried a .305 slugging percentage into his surge.

DH Craig Gentry (.312/.382/.444) walked twice and doubled twice. RF Mitch Moreland went 3-4 with a double and walk, and CF Dustin Majewski had four hits.

Arkansas touched Blake Beavan for 11 hits (though only one extra-base hit, a double) and five runs in six innings. Beavan (5.97 ERA in Frisco) didn’t walk anyone and struck out one.

July 20th

AA: at Frisco 1, San Antonio 2

Loss: Beavan (1-3, 5.49)

Record: 14-9, -2.0

Blake Beavan yielded two runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out one, giving him a total of three walks and five strikeouts in his last five starts (28.2 IP, 127 batters). The former is fantastic; the latter helps to explain his opponents’ .320 batting average.

Zach Phillips (1.1 IP) and Thomas Diamond (1.1 IP, 2 SO) kept it close, but the offense was dormant.

Matt Harrison:

According to multiple local reports, lefthander Matt Harrison has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome in his left shoulder and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Thoracic outlet syndrome, which Kenny Rogers had in 2001 and Hank Blalock had in 2007, occurs when a rib compresses on a nerve, causing pain and numbness.

Vicente Padilla:

The Rangers have disclosed that righthander Vicente Padilla has tested positive for the Type A/H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu." He's the only Rangers player to test positive for the condition and has been sent back to the team hotel in Kansas City. At the moment he's still slated to start Tuesday in Arlington against Detroit.

Home Plate

Game 93: Rangers vs. Red Sox

Wow, the Rangers are about to sweep the BoSox, but they have to go through Clay Buchholz to do it. They send Padilla to answer, and he's about as good a choice as the Rangers could make in this situation.

Rumor mill says that the Rangers are trying to bring up Neftali Feliz to do bullpen work, but they don't have any room in the 'pen for him. What will happen when Francisco returns? You really have to wonder...

According to local reports, Vicente Padilla has been scratched from tonight’s start against Boston due to flu-like symptoms. Dustin Nippert will get the start as the Rangers attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Sox. Nippert threw 45 pitches on Sunday night – expect to see Willie Eyre to get some significant work in relief tonight.

Padilla is now the fourth Ranger to succumb to illness this week. Pneumonia forced Frank Francisco to the disabled list, and Omar Vizquel and Eddie Guardado were unavailable last night.

I'm not going to dig into a lot of things... as I started putting together this post with Padilla in mind and then had to scratch everything... so as it is, I will leave things be... it is now obvious that the starting pitching edge goes to Boston. They are in a losing mode right now, as the Rangers are in a winning mode.

Forecast: Overall, I think the big edge goes more to Boston than it does the Rangers, despite the past several games for both teams. Losing Padilla is a big "uh-oh". Can the Rangers still rebound from the bad luck? Yes. They have responded well to adversity. Rangers pull this one off late in the game, due to a superb bullpen. Look for a score of 6-4.

Home Plate

Game 91: Rangers vs. Red Sox

Probable Starters for this Series:

• Game 1: Millwood vs. Smoltz (QP: Millwood)
• Game 2: Hunter vs. Beckett (QP: Beckett)
• Game 3: Padilla vs. Buchholz (QP: Padilla)

Next Series (@ Royals):

• Game 1: Feldman vs. Greinke (QP: Greinke)
• Game 2: Holland vs. Hochevar (QP: Holland)
• Game 3: Millwood vs. Ponson (QP: Millwood)

Scouting Report:
Red Sox: Smoltz closed out the first half by earning his first victory since April 17, 2008 -- a span of 450 days. The 42-year-old righty tossed five innings of one-run ball against the Royals on July 11 at Fenway Park, striking out a season-high seven. In one career appearance at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Smoltz recorded a three-out save.

Rangers to Watch:

• Omar Vizquel is 4-20 off Smoltz.
• Marlon Byrd is 2-9 off Smoltz.

That is it for Rangers having faced Smoltz.

Rangers: Millwood allowed four earned runs over six innings against the Mariners in his most recent start on July 11. He has run into a rough stretch, seeing his season ERA steadily increase to 3.46 from 2.64 over his past three starts. Manager Ron Washington decided to give Millwood some more time to rest -- he will be going on eight days after his last start. Millwood entered the All-Star break atop the American League in innings pitched and only one-third of an inning behind Adam Wainwright for the Major League lead. He has thrown 110 pitches in 13 of 19 starts this season.

BoSox to Watch:

• Mike Lowell is 18-57 (.316) with four doubles, a triple, two HRs, and thirteen RBIs. If Padilla was pitching, I would say he's a beenball candidate.
• Jason Varitek is 11-27 (.407) with four doubles and four RBIs.
• David "Papi" Ortiz is 8-22 (.364) with three HRs and nine RBIs.

As a team, the current roster is 78-240 (.325) off Millwood. They have eighteen doubles, three triples, eight HRs, and fourty-one RBIs.

Forecast: I like the Rangers in this one. We don't have a mess of experience against Smoltz, but he is not the Smoltz that pitched... well, dominated with the Braves. Despite that, he can still toss the ball like an average pitcher in the Majors. Not great, but not awful either. And, let's be honest... the Rangers pound average pitching. Smoltz may start the sixth inning, but I wouldn't count on him finishing with six innings tonight. And I am not sure if he will even grab down five. On the other side of things, Millwood doesn't do well against the BoSox. And that could keep this game fairly tight. Then again, Millwood hasn't been his usual self this season. And I am counting on more of that than anything else in this game. He should grab six innings, but may not grab a quality start. He will do enough to get the win, however. Score: 8-5, Rangers.

Home Plate

American Association All-Star Game

The All-Star Game Tix for Tuesday. Need some buddies to come along and enjoy the game. Are you game?

Game 88: Rangers vs. Twins

Gosh, I really haven't done much posting on here in a good while. Harper's Island is done. All but four characters died. The killer was revealed. I won't spoil it for those who read this. It's a good watch. I recommend getting the season on DVD and watching it all the way through. Very cool series. The top set is from a month ago. The bottom is coming into today. The Rangers are 11-12 over the last month. The Angels are 15-8 during that same stretch. Seattle is 14-10. And who cares about Oakland.

This is a three game series. The scheduled starters for the series are:

• Game 1: Padilla vs. Perkins
• Game 2: Feldman vs. Baker
• Game 3: Holland vs. Liriano

And then the next series against the Red Sox:

• Game 1: Millwood vs. Smoltz
• Game 2: Undecided vs. Beckett
• Game 3: Padilla vs. Buchholz

Matt Harrison could be starting the second game against the BoSox, although it really is undecided.

Scouting Report (from MLB.com - additions mine):

Twins: A high fever pushed Perkins' most recent start back three days and he came out looking a bit rusty after the extra time off. Perkins lasted just 4 1/3 on Saturday against the White Sox, giving up five runs on eight Chicago hits. The loss came after a pair of quality starts where Perkins went seven innings and notched wins against St. Louis and Kansas City on the road. Perkins is 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA lifetime against the Rangers.

Rangers to Watch:

• Marlon Byrd is 2-6 with a double.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 1-3 with a RBI.

The current Ranger roster is 5-39 off Perkins with a double and a RBI. Young and Hamilton both have hits in six at bats against Perkins. This could be bad.

Rangers: Padilla will be making his first start since July 8, marking just his second outing in 17 days. He went eight days in between his last two starts due to shoulder soreness. Padilla allowed one run on eight hits in six innings his last time out, but had to leave when he tried to barehand a one-hopper. The ball bruised his palm a little bit, but he's fine and should be good to go against the Twins. The right-hander is 3-2 lifetime against Minnesota with a 2.63 ERA.

The Rangers are 7-3 in his last ten starts, while Padilla is 6-2 during that stretch.

Twins to Watch:

• Michael Cuddyer is 5-14 (.357) with a HR and RBI.
• Delmon Young is 4-12 with three RBIs.
• Carlos Gomez is 3-6 with a HR and three RBIs.

The Twins as a whole are 30-124 (.242 - current roster), with five doubles, two HRs, and twelve RBIs.

Forecast: Dang it, I like the Twins in this game. Padilla is a strong point for the Rangers rotation, but Perkins really does own the Rangers, which is why they are starting him against Padilla. You can look at Padilla's numbers historically and it won't give you a realistic indication of what he will do tonight, simply because he is having a better season that what he has does in previous years. Even knowing that Padilla is doing better than normal, Perkins still owns the Rangers, so my prediction is based solely on Perkins and not what Padilla will do. Padilla will more than likely keep things interesting, but Perkins will be the pitcher of the night. Rangers drop this one, 3-1.

And as a side note, I wasn't able to ask my question to Chris Davis. Sorry. I tried. The next "Meet the Rangers" should be coming up pretty soon, and I will post that as soon as the information comes in to me.

Home Plate