Well, it was really forty years ago this month the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, cited by many critics and musicians as the most significant album in rock ‘n roll history.  It’s a Fab Four blog today – so get your “Ticket To Ride” and let’s get started.

“Yesterday”  (This is the week that was): Marcus Lemon’s birthday is in June – he turned 19 a little earlier this month, and he’s celebrating with a hot streak. In his last ten games the Clinton Lumberkings IF is hitting .361 with 8 BB’s to only 7 K’s – for the entire month he’s hitting a robust .341 with a .422 OBP.  Frisco OF Steve Murphy still has no  problems with Texas League pitching – hitting .333 for his last 10 games, and .379 in June.  The most interesting box score line this week: the Rangers second overall pick in the 2007 draft  – RHP Michael Main – had 4 AB’s as the DH in an Arizona Rookie league game – yeah you’re reading that right – he did get a hit. 
“With a Little Help From My Friends” (This is the week that will be): Two of the newly promoted and most promising pitchers in the Rangers farm system try to put mediocre starts behind them. Fabio Castillo starts on Friday for Spokane – then Eric Hurley gets his second AAA start on the road in Omaha on Saturday while Hurley’s teammate Mike Wood and his 2.44 ERA (51 K’s in 59 IP) continue to make a case for a promotion to the big leagues.  Monday is “Smokey The Bear” night in Short Season Spokane. The forecast calls for high temperatures between 109 – 112 in Surprise where the Rookie League Rangers play early morning games – who knows we might even get to see Michael Main do a little of that pitching thing the Rangers drafted him to do.

“Good Day Sunshine” – I’m going to play optimist in spite of the weather and plan a trip to Frisco this weekend for one (or more) of their games with the Springfield Cardinals. There’s no use even trying to guess  who will be on the mound  – I do know John Mayberry Jr. will be there in the OF and German Duran may or may not be still around to play 2B.

“Here, There and Everywhere“ (This Week’s Non-Sequitor):

“I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” -  Marlon Byrd’s is in pretty good groove, I’ve even read some suggestions about signing him to a longer contract – let me tap the brakes a bit on that.  Marlon likes June and July – in 338 AB’s between 2003-2006 he’s hitting .295 with 6 HR’s.  However,  for the other 3  months of the season (April, August, September) he’s hit .240 in 1046 AB’s  - I’m just sayin’.

“I Should Have Known Better” – More numbers (sorry I can’t help myself). As of the evening I’m writing this, the Rangers have played 23 games in June.  What is the biggest reason for the vast difference between their fortunes in the first 11 games of the month and the last 12 games? You already know the answer:

June 1 – June 14
Games: 11
Record: 4-7
Offense: .291 batting average
Starting Pitching ERA in 50 IP: 10.08
Relief Pitching ERA in 48 IP: 3.93

June 15-  June 28
Games: 12
Record: 8-4
Offense:.283 batting average
Starting Pitching ERA in 74 2/3 IP:  4.45
Relief Pitching ERA in 38 2/3 IP: 3.49

The Rangers miss Mark Teixeira’s offense, but they don’t need it nearly as much as they need reliable starting pitching.

“Tell Me Why” – I admit to reading this interesting comparison in the Newberg Forums.  One the many online fantasy sites wrote an article saying Yankees OF Shelley Duncan was better prospect for OF depth than the Rangers Jason Botts.  Really?  Duncan (born 9/79) is a year older than Botts (born 7/80).  Duncan’s career minor league BA is .251 with 103 HR’s and a career minor league OPS of .786.  Jason’s career BA in the minors is .289 with 99 HR’s (almost as many as Duncan) and OPS of .870.  Botts is currently hitting .313 leading the PCL in doubles, Duncan is hitting .302 second in the International League with 19 HR's. Of course the biggest factor in Duncan’s favor – he wears those blue pinstripes that add Yankee hype but doesn’t always translate into reality (see Joaquin Arias).

“Paperback Writer” – There are some excellent books about the Beatles and Beatlemania. I recommend:  Any of the books by Beatles archivist Mark Lewisohn.   Mark was commissioned by the surviving Beatles to listen to all of their master tapes and recordings in order to help them chose the ones that were included on their Anthology CDs.  My personal favorite Lewisohn book is "The Beatles Day By Day"– and I’ve read that he is working on a comprehensive three volume history of the group. The first part of the triology, tentatively titled "FAB" due out in 2009. (Guess what I will put on my 2009 Birthday Wish List on Amazon.com). 

Also, Richard Delillo’s "The Longest Cocktail Party" about the birth and painful disintegration of Apple Corps (and the group) is a fascinating read.  One of the more esoteric tome’s is "Revolution In The Head" by Ian McDonald.  It reads like a graduate school thesis – however he wrote what I consider one the best descriptions of the essence of the Lennon-McCartney partnership: 

“For most of their career, their partnership was a fiction, each writing (and as a rule singing) his own songs.  That said, their close creative proximity generated the electric atmosphere of fraternal competition which was the secret of The Beatles’ extraordinary ability to better themselves; and where they did collaborate the results were nearly always remarkable, ascending on the tension between their contrasting personalities and gifts”

“Do You Want To Know A Secret” – They may not have been the “best” musically – but The Beatles were the most influential group in rock-n-roll.  Every band that sells out a huge outdoor venue needs to remember The Beatles were the first to do that when they played at Shea Stadium. For all the rock stars who attempt to translate their success to the silver screen: “A Hard Day’s Night” was far better than one of those trumped up Elvis musicals – some have referred to it as the first and best music video (although I think the “Eleanor Rigby” sequence in Yellow Submarine deserves that kind of praise).  Speaking of music and TV – let’s not forget that for a number of years The Beatles first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show had the largest audience in American TV history (I was a first grader at Our Lady of Lourdes school in Toledo - yes I saw it and I remember  –  we never missed Ed Sullivan, Mom made sure we didn’t that night).

"The Long and Winding Road" – Forty years later the Beatles music endures. It’s on numerous television and radio commercials and is the centerpiece of a Las Vegas show. Paul McCartney’s latest solo album is #3 on the charts – and Chuck Morgan never fails to play Beatles songs at the Ballpark in Arlington.  They are still the soundtrack of my life.

All you need is glove – Marla Hooch.

Raindrops keep falling on my head.
So, I just did me some talkin’ to the sun
And I said I didn’t like the way he got things done
Sleepin’ on the job.

-- Burt Bacharach - Hal David

The raindrops just keep failing on my head, on my house, and apparently enough of them on Time-Warner’s cable that my Internet connection this evening has been, at best, intermittent.  Additionally, when I was finally able to log onto MLB.Blogs - I couldn't upload the pictures for today's entry. I'm hoping by the time you read this the gremlins at MLB Blogs are gone and there are pictures to break up my incessant rambling.  Brook Benton sang it best:"it must be rainin' all over the world". That's the reason for an exasperatingly short blog entry tonight.

Sunday morning I was driving up to Oklahoma City for the Redhawks doubleheader with Omaha (Royals) when I stopped alongside the I-35 service road near Sanger to pick up a stranger wandering the parking lot of Smokey’s Barbeque. He claimed to be the mysterious “Shroom” – well know among Ranger minor league aficionados for his excellent “Farm Probables” Calendar and nuggets of information posted in the Newberg Report minor league forums. http://my.calendars.net/farmprobs/

It was indeed Mr. Shroom, he supplied the picture in Random Thoughts of what we hope are the anchors of the Ranger starting rotation in 2009.  This was the first time he’d seen the Redhawks. I requested a game report in return for the ride, here’s what he wrote:

“Free Jason Botts”

Okay, I agree but let me throw in a few more comments:

--- An early calculation of the OKC rotation would have Eric Hurley making his AAA debut in the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday.  But deus ex machina also known as the Rangers DL, intervened and late on Saturday we were informed that Brandon McCarthy would be starting the second game, still reason enough to journey north.

--- The two OKC starting pitchers were the undisputable proof of my mantra for the rest of the Rangers 2007 season:  “Get rid of the old guys - give the young guys lots of playing time – they’ll either succeed or prove they don’t belong in the major leagues” 

--- Game 1 – LHP Mark Redman was beyond awful. I don’t know why the Rangers are wasting any kind of roster spot at any level for him. The Royals are 13th in batting average out of 16 teams in the PCL yet Redman still managed to give up 12 hits and 8 earned runs to this very mediocre  lineup – including HR’s to the likes of Bill McCarthy (hitting .250 with 1 HR) and Jorge Padilla (in his 9th minor league season averaging less than 10 HR per season). 

--- Game 2 – RHP Brandon McCarthy was excellent.  I’ve been pretty vocal with my criticism of Brandon this season, Sunday afternoon he shut me up.  63 pitches, 40 for strikes – 6 K’s – a couple of innings he got the first batter out on one pitch and there were K’s on high fastballs that just made the hitters look silly swinging away. 

--- When they do finally pitch to Jason Botts – he will hit. Two doubles scorched down the left field line (who does think he is, Ian Kinsler?) in the second game and a solid single in the first game, wrapped around an intentional walk and pitches so far out the strike zone they were almost in another area code.

--- Looks like Tug Hulett has cooled off enough to open the door for German Duran to move up AAA.

--- OKC Manager Bobby Jones was tossed at the end of the first game for arguing with the home plate umpire – he was not alone – batters from both teams were complaining loudly and showing their displeasure (leaving their bats and balls at the plate after a few questionable calls).  For what’s it worth: there appeared to be a “moving” strike zone – kind of like an amoeba changing it’s shape every few minutes.

Random Thoughts Between Random Power Surges On My PC:

Possibly the best thing we saw Sunday afternoon: after Brandon McCarthy was taken out he spent the rest of the game leaning on the railing in front of the Redhawks dugout with Eric Hurley.  Lest we forget, McCarthy is a little less than 2 years older than Hurley.  It appeared from the gestures that they were discussing pitching motions and probably - hopefully - other assorted pitching "talk". 

I liked Gil Lebreton’s Sunday column:  Yes, the Rangers are winning without Mark Teixeira in the lineup, it has nothing to do with Tex and every thing to do with the pitching: improved starting pitching and the bullpen.  As Eric Nadel noted during Tuesday night’s game – the Rangers were 25 – 1 in games where they led after the 7th inning. It would be nice to keep Tex, his offense will be hard to replace. But the bottom line is and always has been: it’s all about pitching, especially starting pitching.

At what point does Ron Washington and the powers that be realize that Frank Francisco 2007 is not and will never be the Frankie Francisco of 2004? 

Sammy Sosa: hitting .349 with runners in scoring position, hitting .359 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs, hitting .364 with the bases loaded. Surely there is a contender (or even a pretender) team that needs an veteran bat, an RBI producer. He's not a big commitment money wise – sell high JD even if it's just for a couple of fringe prospects. Every time Sammy talks about another contract keep this name in mind: Phil Nevin.

Doing the numbers:  The Rangers have won 9 of their last 12 games – sounds good – but remember they are 13-10 for the month of June. The first portion of the schedule this month – not so good- their record was 4-7.  They are still 13 games under .500, they are still in last place 8 games behind 3rd place Oakland (who’ve lost five in a row).  Just to get back to .500 at the end of the season they will have to go 49-36. That’s .576 baseball, which doesn’t sound all that daunting – unless you consider this:  they’ve had only 2 “winning streaks” this season:  3 games in May, and 4 games in June. All of the sudden .576 sounds a lot more difficult.  Most importantly, I hope the Rangers front office doesn’t start pressuring the baseball operations to hold onto veteran players just because a few W’s might put a few more fans in the seats in July and August. My response to that that kind of thinking is:  do you want to make the financial sacrifice for a few empty seats in 2007 in order to sell alot of playoff tickets in 2009? 

I’m singin', and dancin’ in the rain – Marla Hooch

It’s the longest daylight of the year – at 1:09 p.m. summer begins, a very long summer for Ranger fans.

The celestial heavens are full of mysterious and wonderful phenomena – solar eclipses, meteor showers, the aurora borealis, and even the occasional Blue Moon.  And every once in a Blue Moon the owner of the Rangers does something right – extending Jon Daniels was the right thing to do.

This is the week that was:  More awards for Rangers Minor Leaguers: Frisco OF Steve Murphy was named Texas League Player of the Week – batting .428 (12 hits in 28 AB’s) and LHP Kasey Kiker earned his second Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honor pitching 10 innings, giving up 9 hits, 4 BB’s and 15 K’s.

RHP Omar Poveda took the L for the West in the Midwest League All-Star game giving up 3 runs on 3 hits in his one inning – John Whittleman and Jose Vallejo each had hit, K.C. Herren walked, Chad Tracy caught the entire game – a bit unusual for an All-Star Game. Zach Phillips, Brennan Garr, and Broc Coffman did not allow a runner to reach base in their brief appearances.

Chris Davis (3B) was the sole Bakersfield player in the California League vs. Carolina League All-Star Game, and made the most of it by hitting a HR in the Cal League win.

There will be playoff baseball in the Metroplex this September: the Frisco Rough Riders guaranteed that by wining the First Half South Division of the Texas League with the best record in AA baseball (47-23).

This the week that will be:  The AAA Redhawks are home at The Brick for series with Albuquerque Isotopes (Marlins) and the Omaha Royals (Kansas City) – Sunday’s game is a doubleheader – with a make-up game for an early season rainout.  I’m always looking for an excuse to watch Jason Botts get another walk, which is reason enough for me to drive up for Sunday’s twin bill.   The Rough Riders finish up their series with the Corpus Christi Hooks – then several Riders stay in Corpus for the Texas League All-Star Festivities.

First round Draftee RHP Michael Main and second rounder IF Matt West signed their contracts and head to Arizona to join the Rookie League Rangers who start play on the Friday the 22nd.

This week’s Non-Sequitor: It’s getting hot, and I’m feeling a little cranky – here are a few not so humble opinions, suggestion and proclamations -

If it were up to me….

--- Eric Hurley would be promoted to AAA, but would not see an inning on the mound with the major league team until Spring 2008. 

--- I would make sure during the next Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiation that there would be a provision added putting a hard cap on draft bonuses by round.  If I were the owner’s negotiator I’d point out to the players that big draft bonuses are taking money out of their pockets and giving it to guys who have not yet “paid their dues”

--- I’d pull the new DVD’s of “WKRP in Cincinnati's” first season off the shelves and re-record the songs on the soundtrack.  Many of them are “sound-alikes” rather than the originals.  Viacom, owns the WKRP rights as well as the MTV/VH1 networks, you’d think they’d have a little clout and try a little harder to get the rights to music for the show.

--- I’d get rid of that Tim McMahon guy on the Dallas Morning News Blog – I suppose he’s there for an attempt at flip humor but he’s not funny, he’s not even interesting – I’ve stopped reading the blog because of him.

--- I’d lock Bud Selig in a small closet at MLB headquarters and not let him out until he finds a way to move the Rangers into the AL or NL Central.  I am tired, tired, tired of all those West Coast late night games – the unbalanced schedule has made it even worse.  Plus, Ranger fans are missing out on the rivalry factor – think Dodgers/Giants, Cubs/St. Louis.  Seattle, Anaheim and Oakland just don’t stir up that kind of emotion.   There’s no reason for Ranger fans like me to “follow” the Rangers on the road. Their in division competitors are too far away and and too expensive to travel to for a weekend trip.  There were plenty of Texas fans in Denver for Rockies/Rangers games (I know I was one of them) or at Kansas City for games with the Royals and of course there’s the “Silver Boot” series in Houston.  The Rangers organization is missing out on putting fannies in seats  - even when there’s a bad season true rival teams are always a draw and again with the unbalanced schedule it would be for more than just three games with the Astros – Fox Sports is missing out on better ratings (again late night games – I’m supposing the advertising rates after 10 p.m. are not the most profitable) and most of all Ranger fans are missing out on an chance to experience one of the long standing traditions that make baseball the great game.

--- I’d change Ian Kinsler’s walk up music to the chorus of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”

--- I’d bring back those warm pretzels filled with cream cheese at The Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco – they were delicious – where did they go?

--- I’d mandate reading the pretentious sounding “Friday Happy Hour At The Elysian Fields Bar And Grill” for all Ranger fans, heck all baseball fans.  Mr. Sullivan’s blog is terrific every time he writes – but his Friday entries are by far the best: always entertaining, always informative. 

--- I’d move “Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip” to a cable channel for another season. This show may not have drawn the kind of audience NBC wanted – that kind of audience would be huge on a cable channel and make it a hit.  I don’t care if "Studio 60" was labeled too “talky” too “inside”  -- it poked fun at the television industry (deservedly) and its cancellation is just another example of the dumbing down of America (another rant for another blog entry).

And finally: to Sammy on reaching your big personal milestone – good for you – now go home.

Let the sun shine in -- Marla Hooch

Tired of that 45 minute drive, $12.00 parking, $30.00 tickets for OF seats and another evening of disappointing baseball in Arlington? 

What you need to remember is that baseball can still be enjoyed, that some stadiums are located in urban areas where you can have a little fun before and after the game.  Believe it or not there there is a field of dreams like that a little more than a three hour drive from the Metroplex.  I'm suggesting a trip up I-35 to Oklahoma City to see the Redhawks.

AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, the home of the Rangers AAA team is, in my never humble opinion, one of the best weekend baseball trips that every Ranger fan should think about taking.

Located in the Bricktown district of downtown Oklahoma City, the ballpark is a beautiful piece of architecture that celebrates the history of baseball in Oklahoma.  The streets surrounding "The Brick" are named for   Oklahoma natives: Mickey Mantle, Joe Carter and The Flaming Lips (I'm not making that up).

The revitalized Bricktown area includes dozens of restaurants - incuding the pricey Mickey Mantle's Steak House right across from the ballpark. It's worth walking into the steak house entrance to see the glass case containing The Mick's memorabila.  There are two hotels a block away from the ballpark - a Residence Inn and Mariott Courtyard.  Also within walking distance of Bricktown Ballpark are a Harkins Movie Theatre, Bass Pro Shop and Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar".  Boatrides are available on the small canal that runs through Bricktown. Before the game you can sit on the patio at Coach's located over left field and watch the Redhawks batting practice while enjoying a margarita with some chips and queso.

About 7 block walk south is the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  I've been there during the day and when it's lit at night - the chairs placed in rows on the footprint of the destroyed Federal Building are a stark and moving tribute to those who died on that awful April morning.

Throughtout the Bricktown Ballpark there are reminders of Oklahoma's contribution to baseball lore.  At each entrance: statues of HOF's Mantle, Warren Spahn and Johnny Bench.   Throughout the interior of the ballpark large posters of players and teams that tell the history of baseball in Oklahoma.

The park itself is cozy, not a bad seat or blocked sight line anywhere - the concessions are not minor league in any way.  Look for the carts selling genuine Dodger Dogs, Fenway Franks and Milwaukee Brats. The Hideaway Pizza, a local chain, is also a treat.   Most of all the price is right: tickets behind home plate are just $11.00 and parking across from Warren Spahn plaza is only $5.00

A well-known baseball cliche is "when you're 21 you're a prospect, when you're 30 you're a suspect" - you'll see plenty of both on the RedHawks roster. However, if you need a change of baseball scenery, in a great setting, it doesn't get much better than Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

I've uploaded pictures from the Bricktown area, the Ballpark and the Oklahoma City National Memorial in the photo gallery.

Random Thoughts:

Walk on by - The Pacific Coast league pitchers are onto Jason Botts - they won't pitch to him any more - in the last 10 games they've issued 12 walk to Botts - who is still hitting a very healthy .307

Flying under the radar -  here are a few players who are quietly putting up some nice numbers in the shadow of more high profile of teammates:

High A Clinton Lumberkings: we've all read about John Whittleman, Omar Poveda, K.C. Herren and Kasey Kiker.  We haven't read much about 20 year old catcher Manuel Pina's .333 batting average over the last 10 games (13 hits, 4 extra base hits) and his .349 June BA.  LHP Zach Phillips 2.56 ERA over his last 10 outings is worth noting as are his 55 K's in 56 IP - with only 15 BB's.   

Frankly, the High A Bakersfield Blaze have had a very rough season, like the major league team they have the worst record in their league.  But there are a  couple of bright spots - aside from Taylor Teagarden's monster first half.  3B Chris Davis is hitting .317 over his last 10 games, with a .286 BA for the month of June while OF Truan Mehl has also put up some nice number with a .295 BA for June as well as .317 BA for his last 10 games.

Travis Metcalf and German Duran have been grabbing all the attention in Frisco - but OF Anthony Webster's season continues to improve steadily - he leads the Texas League in stolen bases with fifteen - and is hitting .333 (with four SB) over his last ten games.  Fellow OF Brandon Boggs has also pulled out of a May slump to and is hitting .316 in June.

Promotions -  Normally, the minor league All-Star Break is the time when most teams start promoting players - there's plenty of speculation among the minor league geeks (when will Eric Hurley go to AAA? When will Taylor Teagarden show up in Frisco? Are the Rangers ready to challenge John Whittleman and Omar Poveda by sending them to Bakersfield?)

Don't forget that there are some players who've already been promoted this season - let's take a look at how where they were and where they are now.

LHP Glenn Swanson - from Low A Clinton (2.93 ERA in 43 IP) to High A Bakersfield (3.96 ERA in 36 IP)

LHP Daniel Ray Herrera - from High A Bakersfield (3.27 ERA in 11 IP) to AA Frisco (2.57 ERA in 14 IP)

OF John Mayberry Jr. - from High A Bakersfield ( .230 BA in 244 AB's - albiet with 16 HRs) to AA Frisco (.182 BA in 22 AB's)

And, of course - the biggest and best promotion that all players want - to the majors:

3B Travis Metcalf .280 BA in 200 AB's at AA Frisco - now hitting .235 in 17 AB's with the big league team.

Finally - If you don't want to drive to OKC or even to Frisco there is the Texas Collegiate League.  This is a wooden bat league for college players, much like the heralded Cape Cod League.  Now in it's third season, the TCL has teams located throughout the metroplex including Weatherford, Colleyville, Coppell and McKinney.  Drew Davison of MLB.com wrote a feature story on former Rangers participating in the league - focusing on Rusty Greer who is coaching the Colleyville team.   You can't go to a game without tripping over a scout or two or more - current Ranger minor leaguers 2B German Duran (Frisco) and 3B Chris Davis (Bakersfield) both played in the league during their college eligibility. 

Here's a link to the TCL website:http://www.texascollegiateleague.com and to Drew's article: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070618&content_id=2034026&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

If it sounds like I'm trying to drive you away from the Rangers at the Ballpark - I'm not - they are doing a pretty good job of that all by themselves.

Enjoying baseball - everywhere. -- Marla Hooch

The rows of memorial chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

The Survivors Tree at the Oklahoma City National Memorial

The Oklahoma City National Memorial

The view from behind Home Plate

Looking in from Right Field

Throughout the ballpark there a posters depicting celebrated players and the history of baseball in Oklahoma.

Warren Spahn Plaza - the east side entrance to Bricktown Ballpark

The Oklahoma Baseball "Walk of Fame" - celebrating native Oklahoman's who made an impact in baseball.

Coach's located next to the Mickey Mantle Plaza

Mickey Mantle plaza - the west entrance to the ballpark

The Johnny Bench statue at the main entrance to Bricktown Ballpark

A close up of one side of the mural at the main entrance to Bricktown Ballpark

The main entrance to Bricktown Ballpark is located at the corner of Mickey Mantle Drive and Reno Ave. At the entrance is a mural depicting the history of Oklahoma City and a statue of native son Johnny Bench.

More places to eat, movie theatres, 2 a Residence Inn, and Marriott Courtyard as well as Toby Keith's honky tonk "I Love This Bar" are located across Reno Ave from the Ballpark.

The canal that runs through Bricktown - canal rides are available right across the street from the entrance to Bricktown Ballpark

Sheridan Street - Bricktown Oklahoma City

The worst record, worst ERA and 21st (out of 30 teams) in Batting Average in the major leagues...it's so pathetic, I can't think of anything else to write about the major league team.

This is the week that was - Minor League All Stars:  Three of the four minor league teams all-stars were named this past week.

The Low A Midwest League All-Star game will include eight members of the Clinton Lumberkings: C- Chad Tracy, 3B – John Whittleman, OF – KC Herren, 2B - Jose Vallejo, LHP – Broc Coffman, RHP – Omar Poveda, LHP – Zach Phillips and RHP – Brennan Garr.  The All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday June 19th , at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva Illinois – home of the Kane County Cougars (Athletics).

OF John Mayberry Jr. was named as the only member of the Bakersfield Blaze for  the High A California/Carlonia League All-Star game.  However, John Jr.’s been promoted to AA Frisco. I’ve not heard or read who, if anyone, from the Blaze will participate when the California League All-Stars play the Carolina League All-Stars on June 19th at Stockton, California (Athletics).

Corpus Christi (Astros) hosts the Texas League League All-Star Game on Tuesday June 26th.  Six Frisco Rough Riders are on the South Division squad: 2B – German Duran, OF – Anthony Webster, C-Kevin Richardson, RHP – Eric Hurley and RHP – Doug Mathis.  3B Travis Metcalf was also named to the team, but will likely not participate since he will probably still be with the major league team.  One other Texas League All-Star has Ranger “roots” – RHP Paul Abraham of the San Antonio Missions (Padres) was a member of the 2001 Texas Draft Class and spent 3 years in the Rangers minor leagues.

The AAA All-Star Game between the Pacfic Coast League and International League is scheduled for July 11th in Albuquerque, New Mexico home of the Isotopes (Marlins)  as well as home to my sister Dr. Jeanne and her husband Dr. Brad Guac Richards.   The AAA All Star Team is determined by fan voting – here’s the link: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/asg/y2007/ballot/ballot_reg.jsp.

Old friend RHP Michael Schlact was named Pitcher of the Week in the California League – posting a 2-0 record in 13 IP giving up 13 hits, 2 ER,  0 BB’s and 5 K’s.   This is Michael’s second season in Bakersfield – but he is still the youngest pitcher (age 21) on the Blaze staff –  he’s lowered his ERA nearly a full run in June going from 5.71 ERA to 4.85 in the very hitter friendly California League.

This is the week that will be: The All-Star games mean shortened schedules for both A level teams. The Lumberkings find out how things are playing in Peoria (Cubs)  at O’Brien Field with All-Stars Broc Coffman pitching Thursday’s game and Omar Poveda starting on Sunday.  The Blaze also head into the All-Star Break playing on the road at Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres). Cal League pitcher of the week Michael Schlact starts Friday’s game while C/DH Taylor Teagarden leads Bakersfield offense with a .325 batting average and 1.088 OPS.  The Frisco Roughriders are on an unusually scheduled eleven game road trip taking them to the Texas League All-Star break.  They play three games in Corpus Christi, then on to Midland for four games, and then head back to Corpus Christi for four more games.

With draft completed – the short-season teams begin play next week. The Rangers entry in the Northwest League, the Spokane Indians, first game is slated for Tuesday June 19th at home at Avista Stadium vs the Eugene Emeralds (Padres) while the Arizona Rookie League Rangers begin play on June 22nd at Surprise against the Rookie Royals.

This week’s non-sequitor:  I honestly still can't think of a thing to write about the Rangers today.  I ran across this poem – written by a Red Sox fan – but more appropriate for the dwindling, downhearted Ranger fandom.

This slow start this spring
could mean there are holes, dead spots
in the order, weakness
up the middle, and at each corner
Age. Some of us
are in the wrong position
and with each stretch
the muscles pop and tear.
There is no defense
no great depth on which we can depend.
Our speed is suspect
and power, at best, sporadic.
From the cellar the sky is far away
and possibly false, the mound so high
who can help from falling awkward off?
The arms and hands have no control
and the eye wanders, unfocused
anywhere but home.
Each day we greet the earth, but circle
back between the lines
Alone. The night brings
no relief but tomorrow
and the place where we stand
printed on paper
black and white.
Help is at least a year away
and we are closer to **** than that.
We are stepping in for the last time
going out across the fields.
It is a long season
and we are out of our league.
What can we do
but keep playing, playing
look to the sky, to the sun, a white blur
and pray that the rain comes, that summer is wrong?
--- Glenn Stout

Deep - frustrated - sigh -- Marla Hooch

This is the true story about my friend Greg and the universal bond of baseball fans. 

Greg lives in Toronto, is a rabid baseball fan, loves and curses his Blue Jays as we all do with our chosen team.  Greg and his lovely wife Blandi took a trip this past spring to Cuba.  One of the bellman at the Tryp Cayo Coco Resort where they stay is Jorge (pronounced George) who is a huge baseball fan too –so naturally he and Greg hit it off.  Jorge was anxious to hear as much as he could about MLB – information on American teams is still hard to come by for most working class Cubans – he taught Greg quite a bit about Cuban baseball – Greg even went to a couple of games during his stay. 

Jorge has a 12 year old baseball-crazy son, he asked if Greg could help him buy a baseball glove for his son when got  back home to Canada – apparently baseball gloves are scarce in the smaller, poorer areas –  and there weren’t any to be found in his town. Of course, Greg wouldn’t take Jorge’s money – but said he’d see what he could do.

When Greg returned from his vacation, he asked the members of the Dickie Thon  Fan Club if they could dig around and find any old gloves and baseballs that they weren’t using to send to these baseball lovin’ kids in Cuba.  Shipping them and getting them through customs was going to be a problem but Greg found out that one of his colleague's wife is Cuban, she travels down to the island a couple of times during the year  and she volunteered to take the baseball “care” package to Jorge. The first shipment of 7 baseball gloves and other paraphernalia did indeed make it to Jorge (as evidenced by the picture of him wearing the Blue Jays shirt).   Greg found out that Jorge's son also has some health issues - he has a hole in heart - so Greg was especially glad to help out.  He is still collecting gloves, balls and other baseball goods to send along to Jorge. (If you'd like to send some baseball equipment to Jorge please contact me at the e-mail listed in comments below and I'll put you in touch with Greg.)

It’s not about politics, or even philanthropy – it’s just baseball fans – helping each other out – for the love of the game.

Speaking of the “game” – gas prices went down a few cents, so I fired up the Civic – headed for Frisco and OKC this past weekend.

Saturday June 9 – Midland (Oakland)  at Frisco:  There are many charming baseball traditions – but the “unwritten rules” are sometimes the least charming of those – especially when the umpires get involved.  Last Saturday night Eric Hurley was off to a good start, striking out 5 in the first 3 innings, giving up just 2 hits – although one of them was a HR.  In the 2nd inning Adam Fox, starting at 3rd replacing Travis Metcalf who was called up to the major league team that day, was hit by pitch on the hand –with Frisco already having a lead in the game and a man on 1st –  it certainly didn’t appear intentional – and the runner who moved to 2nd – OF Steve Murphy – scored on a single by Anthony Webster in the next AB.  The third inning passed without incident. Then the top of the 4th – the first Midland batter singled – the next 2 struck out swinging – Hurley threw an inside pitch – and frankly I’m not sure it even touched the batter – but the umpire called a hit by pitch and immediately threw Eric Hurley out of the game.  At first I don’t think anyone realized what had happened until Manager Dave Anderson raced out of the dugout to argue and was promptly ejected too.  I read that even the Midland announcers thought it was a very bad call – but that’s baseball for you – “unwritten rules” and playing “by the book”. 

The game continued as Daniel Ray Herrera came in and pitched 3 innings striking out 4, giving up one walk and one run.  This is first time I’ve seen Danny Ray pitch – he’s not a big guy,  every pitch looks like a maximum effort, but he doesn’t mess around  - doesn’t take any time between pitches and goes right after batters – the Rangers should pair him up with Vincente Padilla – Vincente might learn a few things about speeding up the game.  Herrera was followed by Brandon Puffer for a scoreless inning – Jesse Ingram got a save the hard way by giving up a 2 –run home to Landon Powell – but the Rough Riders hung on for 5-4 win. 

Sunday June 10 – Round Rock (Houston) at Oklahoma:  The Red Cross Redhawks starter was Jamey Wright on yet another rehab start – he pitched a rather unimpressive 6 innings giving up 10 hits and 6 earned runs – and still was credited with the W in the RedHawks 8-6 win.  Down by 5 runs in the 3rd inning – they used the Tom Grieve “peck away” theory scoring 2 runs in the 3rd and 4th innings and 3 runs in the 5th to take the lead they wouldn’t give back.  Everyone except CF Fast Freddy Guzman had a hit, with HR’s from unlikely power hitters Tug Hulett and Dave Matranga – and 2 majestic HR’s from Nelson Cruz – who drove in 4 of the RedHawks 8 runs.  And can someone tell me why Jason Lane is back in AAA with the Express?

Jorge Vasquez, and large human being Franklyn German finished up the game with 5 K’s.    I have to give kudos the PA folks at Bricktown for playing the entire “Rubber Soul” CD before the game – the Beatles at the Ballpark – what a perfect afternoon.

The photo gallery will be updated later this week with pictures from both games.

Random Thoughts:

No, I haven’t forgotten:  Danks vs McCarthy – last 4 starts

John Danks – 20 IP, 27 Hits, 11 ER, 13 BB, 9 K – 4.95 ERA
Brandon McCarthy – 19 IP, 15 Hits, 9 ER, 9 BB, 15 K – 4.26 ERA

Yes, Brandon McCarthy is much better – but I still don’t like the trade – it still says to me that Jon Daniels has made most of his major trades based on some extremely poor talent evaluations.

Duly Noted: Sammy vs Jason – last 15 games played (not including 6/12)

Sosa: 52 AB’s, 11 Hits, 4 doubles, 0 HR’s, 4 BB’s, 20 K’s (.211 BA)
Botts: 45 AB’s, 21 Hits, 8 doubles, 2 HR’s, 16 BB’s, 12 K’s (.466 BA)

The question remains – ticket selling gimmick vs long term (and much cheaper) solution at DH (backup OF/1B too)?  Which would you rather watch?

Names and numbers: My last rant on the draft – until next year’s.  Conventional wisdom says that teams don’t see the true results of the draft for about 3-4 years  when those players should be in the big leagues or knocking on the door.  Adding to that is my never humble opinion that “sure things” like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are few and far between.  No matter what snake oil salesman Scott Boras says – if 22 teams pass on a teenaged high school pitcher – then he’s not even close to a sure  thing. 

Anyone remember Josh Karp –1st round pick in the 2001 draft - college pitcher  signed for $2.6 million by the (then) Expos? You can read all kinds of glowing scouting reports in Baseball America’s archives – 2007 – never pitched an inning in major leagues.  From that same draft – phenom RHP Colt Griffin – signed for $2.4 million by the Royals – 2007 – out of baseball. From the 2002 Draft – RHP Chris Gruler – signed for $2.5 million by the Reds, RHP Clint Everts signed for $2.5 million by the Expos(National)  – Gruler is not listed anywhere in the minor leagues – Everts is still in A ball.  The list goes on an on – but I won’t.  As I already wrote on the Monday Morning Manager – there are no certainties in the draft  - you hope the players they picked stay healthy, are coachable – check back in 4 years and we’ll discuss all those “sure things” from the 2007 Draft.

Finally – I’m glad Greg Rogers is my friend. I am looking forward to seeing him and Blandi during the Dickie Thon Road Trip in August (a story for another day) .  He is one of the funniest men I know – no-one can sing a better version of “Anarchy in the UK” than him, he is also one of the kindest, and I’m glad he let me tell his story on the blog today.  Baseball introduced us, which is just another in long list of reasons why I love the great game. I’ve met some terrific people who I absolutely adore because of baseball, and Greg is one of them.  Plus I needed a reason to put up this picture of Greg from 2004 season when he visited Arlington with the Dickie Thon Fan Club – still have that Laynce Nix jersey Greg?

Viva Baseball! –- Marla Hooch

There were dark skies over Bricktown Ballpark on Sunday, but the thunder was all in the Redhawks bats - meanwhile Saturday night in Frisco there was a storm brewing as Eric Hurley was tossed from the game for allegedly throwing at a Midland batter.

Life and work jumped ahead of baseball this week.  Check back on Wednesday for OKC and Frisco game reports as well as the usual ramblings, rants and random thoughts.

Please  use the link at the bottom to read the Monday Morning Manager on Postcards From Elysian Fields - where you'll find pictures of T.R. Sullivan and Toby of the Sunday Almanac fame attending Sunday's "Dog Day" Ranger game [insert your own Rangers have already "gone to the dogs" joke here] mlblogs.com/trsullivan/2007/06/monday_morning__1.html

Getting my watched fixed, the calendar set and priorities in order -- Marla Hooch

We interrupt our regularly scheduled minor league musings and major league rants to bring you this special edition of “Girls Don’t Know Anything About The Amateur Baseball Draft”.

For a minor league geek like me, draft day is the tension of Final Exam Week mixed up with the anticipation of all the new people you’ll meet on the first day in a new school.  The best part of the day is the Draft Page I’ve been creating for the Newberg Report website – been doing for 8 years – and will be doing to the same this year.  It’s updated as the draft proceeds with information on each draft pick from everything I can find on the internet and get online in a short period of time.  The link to 2007 Draft page is:  http://www.dickiethon.com/eczajka/draft_2007.htm                              

The 2003-2006 Draft pages are here: http://www.dickiethon.com/eczajka/draft_lists.htm

Here’s a look at the Rangers drafts over the past 4 years,  I’ve included where the team picked, who they picked, and who they could’ve picked instead – it’s some eye-opening information.  I did not include the 2006 draft – simply because in my opinion – it’s way to early to judge the results of that draft.

2002 - 10th pick overall

(It should be noted the Rangers forfeited their 2nd thru 5th round picks in this draft due to these stellar free agent signings: Chan Ho Park, Juan Gonzalez, Todd Van Poppel and Jay Powell)

Who did they pick: OF Drew Meyer

Where he is now: a utility IF/OF at AAA OKC hitting .231

Who they missed:  Another “it should be noted” that all of these players were picked in the first round and most now have full time major league positions, or at least significant major league playing time - the number behind their name is where they were picked in round one:

OF Jeremy Hermida (11th)
LHP Joe Saunders (12th)
IF Khalil Greene (13th)
LHP Scott Kazmir (15th)
IF/OF Nick Swisher (16th)
LHP Cole Hamels (17th)
OF Jeff Francouer (23rd)
RHP Joe Blanton (24th)
LHP Jon Lester (57th - supplemental)

They were also drafted by the Rangers in 2002 and where they are now:
10th round – 1B Nate Gold hitting .288 (AAA)
20th round – RHP Kameron Loe. 6.37 ERA (major league team)

2003  - 9th pick overall

Who did they pick: LHP John Danks

Where is he now:  Do we really want to talk about it?

Who they missed: I think Danks was the best pick - they didn't miss on this one until  - and stop me if you’ve heard this one before - they grew impatient and traded him. 

As a Ranger fan do you ever feel like you are Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”?  At least that movie had a happy ending.

They were also drafted in 2003 by the Rangers and where they are now:
5th round - RHP Wes Littleton  3.27 ERA (major league team)
17th round - IF Ian Kinsler hitting .241 (major league team),
13th round - IF Emerson Frostad hitting .281 (AA)
30th round - RHP Scott Feldman 10.13 ERA (AAA) riding the I-35 shuttle between Arlington and AAA OKC

2004 - 10th pick overall

Who did they pick: RHP Thomas Diamond

Where is he now: Recovering from Tommy John surgery - has not pitched above AA

Who they missed: 
RHP Jered Weaver (12th pick 1st round)
IF Steven Drew (15th pick 1st round)
RHP Phillip Hughes (23rd - 1st round)
RHP Houston Street (40th - 1st round supplemental)

They were also drafted in 2004 by the Rangers and where they are now:
1st round 30th pick - RHP Eric Hurley 2.64 ERA (AA)
2nd round - OF KC Herren hitting .326 (Low A) 
5th Round - C Mike Nickeas (hitting .236 at AA) traded to the Mets for Victor Diaz
11th round – IF Travis Metcalf hitting .283 (AA)

2005 - 19th pick overall

Who did they pick: John Mayberry Jr.

Where is he now: OF at High A hitting .231

Who did they miss:
OF Jacoby  Ellsbury (23rd pick 1st round) Boston’s #2 prospect according to Baseball America
RHP Matt Garza – (25th pick 1st round)  Minnesota’s # 1 prospect according to Baseball America
OF Colby Rasmus – (28th pick 1st round)  St. Louis #1 prospect according to Baseball America
OF Travis Buck – (36th pick 1st round) Oakland’s #1 prospect according to Baseball America

They were also drafted in 2005 by the Rangers and where they are now:

2nd round - IF John Whittleman hitting .337 (Low A)
3rd round - C Taylor Teagarden hitting .344 (High A)
6th round – IF German Duran  hitting .307 (AA)
14th round – OF Steve Murphy hitting .277 (AA)

Former Rangers Minor League Director Reid Nichols said that their job was to put players in major league uniforms – the implication being that players they develop may not always wear the uniform of the team that drafted them. Keeping that in mind – I took a look at the last 4 drafts to see how many draftees made it to the major leagues for each of the AL West teams.  For those who follow the minors – the results are not surprising:

Oakland had the most: 12 players – 7 from the ’02 draft, 2 each from the ’03 and ’04 drafts and 1 from the ’05 draft.

Texas was next with 8 – 3 from ’02, 4 from ’03 and 1 from ‘04

Seattle has 5 – 1 from ’02, 3 from ’03, and 1 from ‘04

The Angels with 4 – 2 from ’02, 1 from ’03 and 1 from ‘04

Of course, the players signed outside the draft – like Franscico Rodriguez with the Angels, or Kevin Mahar with the Rangers are not included – we are talking about the draft.

One final thought:

In a season that has most of us counting the days until it ends – the draft is a little ray of hope – fresh faces, new beginnings, re-kindled enthusiasm as we watch young men starting on that exasperating and exhilarating journey to the show.

We’ll return to our regularly scheduled game of picks, pans and opinions from out in left field on Tuesday – draft day is here – the future starts today  -- Marla Hooch

"Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes
School’s out for summer….”

-- Alice Cooper "School's Out For Summer"

The more I hear Ron Washington speak, the more troubled I am about his "learning curve" as a major league manager. 

Here's what he said in Spring Training about working with young players: "We're going to play young players."  "All I want to do is give all the players a chance to be what they want to be.”

Here's what he said about 25-year-old Robinson Tejeda last week: "It has to get better. Pretty soon the scholarships are going to end."
 
And here’s what he said to chastise Kevin Millwood (last 3 starts: 12 1/3 IP, 21 H,  16 ER) and Vincente Padilla (last 3 starts: 14 IP, 19 H, 14 ER) in the same vein:

That's right - nothing at all. 

Last time I checked, the entire starting rotation was the worst in baseball.  Isn't baseball still a team sport? Aren’t Millwood’s and Padilla’s ERA well over 5.00?  Robinson Tejeda is certainly worthy of criticism - but singling him out and pulling his "scholarship" isn't the central problem of the starting rotation of this team with worst record in the major leagues. The entire team – every last one of them - including Ron Washington- is flunking out and deserves to be on double secret probation.

Here are few baseball lessons worth reviewing:

Lesson #1 - "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." 

Sunday June 3: Sky Sox (Rockies) at Redhawks.  Statistics do lie – and Mark Redman is living proof.  Don’t be fooled by the pitching line – 2 ER in 6 IP – Redman gave up hits or walks in all but one inning.  According to my scorebook – he was behind 60% of the batters he faced (giving up a hit to the first battter in 3 innings) the Sky Sox had long AB’s – just fouling off pitch after pitch – by my count highly regarded Rockies prospect Ian Stewart had a 15 pitch AB against him.  This is a 33-year-old veteran who had a hard time getting AAA players out.  It’s no wonder the Braves released him, but with his 11.63 ERA he will fit in well with the underachieving Rangers rotation and certainly under Ron Washington’s tutelage will get the opportunity at Robinson Tejeda’s scholarship spot.

The final score of the game was Sky Sox 2, Redhawks 16 – Sunday was “The Nate Gold Extravaganza” – he went 5 for 5 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI’s – every player in the lineup had a hit – including a HR by rehabbing Jerry Hariston and even a hit for his defensive replacement Kevin West.  Things were going so badly for the Sky Sox in the 8th inning IF Tim Olson came into pitch  - he gave up 4 hits – including Gold’s second HR – didn’t record an out and hurt his arm.  If it had been a softball game – they’d have called the “mercy” rule.

Random Thoughts:

Lesson #2: Patience, patience, patience

Here are two left handed pitchers, former Rangers, that the team, as usual, couldn't wait for and gave up on– as it turns out – a little too soon. How nice would those ERA's look in the rotation right about now?

Jamie Moyer - 72 IP, 21 BB, 41 K, 4.23 ERA
Doug Davis - 73 IP, 35 BB, 55 K 3.05

Lesson# 3: Once again - patience is a virtue

Since the Rangers last playoff game in 1999 they've had 3 General Managers: Doug Melvin, John Hart and Jon Daniels.

The  following teams have all gone to the playoffs, all at least twice since 1999  and have had one GM, the same GM they had in 1999:

Atlanta - John Schuerholz
Oakland - Billy Beane
St. Louis - Walt Jocketty
San Diego - Kevin Towers
New York Yankees - Brian Cashman
Minnesota - Terry Ryan

Lesson #4: - Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it

On this past Sunday's Postcards From Elysian Fields (check the link on the left side menu) Poor Toby said:

"The One and Only: Fifty years from now baseball historians will look back at the Rangers and – promise you on this - say:
* Ivan Rodriguez was the greatest player who ever played for the Rangers.
* How did they ever let him walk away."

Let me tell you why Toby: in 2002 when Pudge’s contract with the Rangers ended owner Tom Hicks had already decided that Alex Rodriguez was the "face of the franchise" for the future, rather than the homegrown fan favorite Pudge Rodriguez.  Then in 2003 the "face the franchise" decided he didn't want to go through a re-building and wheedled his way out of Texas to (insert sarcasm here) a much better situation in New York. 

Interestingly, the new "face of the franchise", as anointed again by Mr. Hicks, Michael Young - said that he too did not want to go through a re-building.  So I’m guessing we can either expect Michael to be traded at some point or likely more of the same as always in Arlington – patchwork Rangers teams made up of poor trades and questionable veterans all in the name of keeping "the face of the franchise" happy instead of building a foundation for a long-term contender.

I admit I will shed a tear when Ivan Rodriguez goes into the Hall of Fame wearing something other than a Rangers hat - and I will never, ever, forgive Tom Hicks for that.

Lesson # 5 – Do the right thing

What Tom Hicks should do: At the end of this season he should say – This was a bad season and we apologize – our star players: Michael Young, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Millwood and Vincente Padilla  all started the season with extended slumps that put us out of contention way too early. We were depending on them - especially the ones with big contracts - to carry the team. Their problems magnified the struggles of some of the younger players who are still getting established like Ian Kinsler, Robinson Tejeda, Gerald Laird and Nelson Cruz. 

We were depending on Brad Wilkerson to get healthy and on veteran free agents like Frank Catalanotto and Kenny Lofton to solidify our outfield – they didn’t. 

We made a questionable trade sending John Danks to Chicago for Brandon McCarthy because our front office made a mistake evaluating the players involved. 

We feel we have the core players to build around – we will address our problems and try to resolve them this off season – but we realize that stability is foundation of a good baseball organization and while we will re-evaluate everyone and everything that went on this season – there will not be any major changes in the front office management and field management of this team. 

Again we apologize and we appreciate our fans – to show that appreciation – we are not raising any ticket prices for the 2008 season,  we are going to reduce parking by $1.00 in all the lots, we are going to have “turn back the clock” concessions for every Sunday game, and more Dollar Hot Dog nights, as well as more discounts available through our corporate advertising partners.  We are working on building strong organization and team that will perennially contend – we need our fans as part of this and we want you to come back in 2008.

What Tom Hicks will do:  He’ll fire someone – that’s what he always does – it’s a “gesture” – not a solution. He might only fire the pitching coaches Mark Conner and Dom Chiti since they were with the previous manager – that way he can continue to blame Buck Showalter for all the Rangers problems. But more likely the GM will lose his job, and once again the Rangers will start over with yet another “plan”, another baseball lesson – not learned.

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward” – unknown

-- Marla Hooch