Recently in Former Rangers News Category

Former Texas Rangers pitcher Edinson Volquez was suspended today by Major League Baseball 50 games for violating the drug use policy. First up here is the official statement from Major League Baseball. My own statement will appear right after that in picture form.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez has received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension of Volquez will be effective tomorrow, April 21, 2010.

As a followup of sorts to my long list of former Rangers I needed status updates on...

I noticed that the Chicago White Sox released Jason Botts today. He was in camp with them after spending some time in Japanese ball for a couple of years.

In going over my roster pages for the 2010 season, here are some former Rangers whose current whereabouts I can't find accurate (or at least formal) info for. If you know any, please comment below. If you think they've retired, let me have a link, not just "I think they retired". Danke.

• Jason Ellison - Last heard playing in the Phillies system in 2009.
• Franklyn German - Was in camp with the White Sox in Spring 2009, didn't make it, sent down, released July 2009.
• Kaz Fukumori - Our great (failed) Japanese experiment. I believe he was finally released by the Rangers in June 2009. If I had to guess, he went back to Japan.
• Desi Relaford - Became a free agent on Nov 3, 2007. Presumed retired.
• Mike Wood - Signed by the Rangers on Aug 31, 2009. Is he still with us?
• Kenny Lofton - Rangers traded him to the Indians in July 2007. Haven't heard from since, presumed retired.
• John Rheinecker - Granted Free Agency by the Rangers on Oct 1, 2008. Haven't heard from since.
• Esteban Yan - Signed as a minor league free agent with the Marlins on Aug 12, 2009. No idea where he is now.
• Rudy Seanez - Last seen with the Angels in 2009, when they released him Jul 18th. Has he retired finally?
• Victor Santos - Signed a minor league deal with the Giants, was in camp with 'em in 2008, didn't make the cut.
• Kenny Rogers - Filed for free agency from Tigers in Nov 2008. Presumed retired.
• Ramon Nivar - Signed as a minor league free agent by the Dodgers on Jun 27, 2009. Presumed a free agent.
• Craig Monroe - Released by the Pirates Jul 1, 2009. Presumed a free agent.
• Dan Miceli - Last seen playing for the Long Island Ducks in the 2009 season.
• Esteban Loaiza - DFA'ed by the Dodgers on May 24, 2008. Unknown since then.
• Ricky Ledee - Elected Free Agency on Nov 3, 2007. Presumed retired.
• Hideki Irabu - Retired on Apr 11, 2005, then showed up in 2009 with the Long Beach Armada (Independant Golden Baseball League). Their site says he's still with 'em in 2010, but.....
• Ken Huckaby - Signed with the Royals as a minor league free agent on Jan 17, 2008, unknown since then.
• Aki Otsuka - Got hurt with the Rangers, and had surgery. I heard something a year or so ago about him not completely giving up a return. But nothing official. Classifying him as retired.
• Adam Eaton - Last seen being DFA'ed by the Rockies on Sep 10, 2009. Presumed a free agent.
• Terrmel Sledge - Last known being with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2008.
• Rick Bauer - Last known being released by the LG Twins of the South Korean baseball league with an injury. His Wikipedia page says he's in the Rockies organization, but I can't find evidence of that.
• Carl Everett - Last known to be playing for the Newark Bears in the 2009 season. Unknown since then.
• Ryan Drese - Last known to be playing for the Camden Riversharks in the 2009 season. Unknown since then.
• Danny Ardoin - Released by Dodgers after 2009 season. Presumed a free agent.
• Nick Regilio - Last seen being released by the Tigers in May of 2009. Presumed a free agent.
• David Dellucci - Last seen being DFA'ed by the Blue Jays on Jul 23, 2009. Presumed a free agent.
• John Wasdin - Last seen playing for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2009. Unknown current status.
• Erasmo Ramirez - Last seen being released by the White Sox in Apr 2009. Unknown current status.
• Jeff Zimmerman - He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners on Apr 7, 2009. Unknown current status, although it's probably fair to assume he's retired again.

UPDATE #1: Thanks to a friend of mine Dave who is a big Red Sox fan, he found a story showing that Kason Gabbard resigned with the Sox for 2010. It also found that Doug Mirabelli is formally retired now and works as a realtor for Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in Traverse City, MI.

The best shot I thought Blalock had for a starting 1B gig anywhere was with the Mets. They've now signed Fernando Tatis again to platoon with someone else to play first for the Mets.

Wow, they weren't even interested in Blalock? What's he doing, asking for $13 million a season or something? I'm really surprised nobody is even talking about him. The only time you hear Blalock's name mentioned nationally is when someone goes "Man, why is Blalock not being picked up?"

I had heard a rumor about a month ago or so about him maybe going to the Pirates. A quick check online as I write this shows that Baltimore might take a sniff on him, but even that seems odd.

He didn't fall off THAT much at the back end of his time here. So why seemingly no nibbles at all?

Hank's Homies can't be happy about any of this.

If you remember a video I posted last July of Orel participating in a video called "Voices that Care", it was pretty painful to watch. However, I was just emailed one that's even worse. Like the other Orel video, this makes the Super Bowl Shuffle look like Grammy Award winning stuff.

Man, there was some awful crap in the 80's.

Given Andruw Jones has filed for free agency, and the Rangers have said he's not coming back, I can officially categorize this news story as "Former Rangers News". Anyway, I decided to check into his money situation, given he had a quite strange salary situation in 2009. As you might recall..

His total base salary in 2009 was $15 million dollars. $500,000 of that was paid by the Rangers, so he made out like quite the bandit from the McCourt's out in LA. That's just the base. Here's a summary of his incentives with the Rangers in 2009.

• $75,000 - 340 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $75,000 - 380 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $125,000 - 420 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $125,000 - 460 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $125,000 - 500 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $125,000 - 540 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $175,000 - 580 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $175,000 - 620 plate appearances (nope, 281)
• $200,000 - Comeback Player of the Year (nope - well, not yet, but I doubt it)
• $100,000 - MVP (not yet announced, but come on - this is a no)
• $50,000 - All Star Selection (nope)
• $50,000 - World Series MVP (nope, Hideki Matsui)
• $25,000 - Gold Glove (not announced, but come on - this is a no)
• $25,000 - Silver Slugger (not announced, but come on - this is a no)
• $25,000 - LCS MVP (nope - CC Sabathia)

The fun part of this is that he still is owed money from the Dodgers from what I can tell. $5 million of his original signing bonus is due in 2010. Bet they'll still love paying for that.

Saw on ESPN tonight that the Cubs are going to announce in the morning that they've hired Rudy Jaramillo to be their hitting coach.

Story here. Bet you a lot is made about how Rudy is the way out of the Milton Bradley situation.

... or at least he did. ;)

I ran across this video a few months ago, and never put it online. As I'm trying to clear up a lot of "deal with these later" bookmarks in my browser, here goes.. In 1991, a charity song called "Voices that Care" was written "to help boost the morale of U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm, as well as supporting the International Red Cross organization."

It had a gaggle of musicians, and entertainers, not all of which seemed to go together. Randy Travis, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Little Richard, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny G, and Jani Lane from Warrant. There's also others in the "choir" equally as disconnected. Sheena Easton, Sally Field, Don King, Jon Lovitz, Fred Savage, Alyssa Milano, Chevy Chase, and yeah - former Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser.

In an article I read about this thing, Orel had this to say regarding the video:

"It's like someone picking your nose -- you don't want to watch it," Hershiser said. "I see the first frame and I turn away. That might be the most embarrassing thing ever. It's right up there with 'The Super Bowl Shuffle.'"

He's right, it's pretty atrocious. I know it had good intent, but yeesh - do thes people think sap songs like that will LIVEN people's spirits? They're likely go go "Eargh - TURN IT OFF!" Here, look for yourself (Orel appears at 4:10)...

Read tonight where Sammy Sosa has announced he plans on formally retiring. The article doesn't say when exactly, but you have to assume it'll be shortly.

He seems to not want to talk about steroids at all based on the quotes he gave. One of the more interesting quotes is this one:

"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?,"

Makes you wonder - is Sosa a hall of famer? He certainly did a lot in 1998 with Mark McGwuire to help the sport. Whether it's valid or not is another discussion - which I'm sure we'll hear a lot about once he formally becomes a candidate.

What do you think? Should Sosa be in the Hall of Fame?

My brother back in Philly just emailed me and told me that the Phillies officially named Chan Ho Park their fifth starter. Uh-oh. There goes their chance of repeating, which you know as a Phillies fan I really want to do. Screw the Mets. My brother actually told me this.. "He actually pitched very well in ST. Pitched the best out of all of the starters."

However, as a Rangers fan, I expect to see a lot of this from Charlie Manuel.

Former Ranger pitcher Rick Helling apparently now has a job in the MLBPA union with the always vague title of "Special Assistant to the Executive Director". I saw this in a story over on bizofbaseball.com..

Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director, Donald M. Fehr, today announced that former Major League pitchers Rick Helling and Mike Myers are joining the Association's staff. Helling and Myers join former Major Leaguers Bobby Bonilla, Phil Bradley, Stan Javier and Steve Rogers as special assistants to the Executive Director.

"Mike Myers and Rick Helling had long and successful Major League careers, during which they served on the Association's Executive Board and represented the players as members of the negotiating committee in bargaining for our Basic Agreement and Pension agreements," said Fehr. "They are very familiar with the interests and needs of the players, and understand intimately the job that the MLBPA does for its members."

During his 13-year Major League career, Helling served as a member of the Executive Board from 1999-2007, and was the American League Representative in 2000 and Alternate Association Representative in 2003. He appeared in 301 games as a pitcher for Texas, Florida, Arizona, Baltimore and Milwaukee, with a record of 93-81 and 1058 strikeouts in 1526.1 innings pitched. Born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, Helling graduated in 1993 from Stanford University with a degree in economics.

No surprise here. As was pointed out, he has done a lot of union work before, being the player rep for the Rangers if I remember right. Just remember Rick, one is for sugar and two is for ketchup. :)

Will this really be Oil Can Boyd's final baseball card? One would have to think so. Even if he isn't and manages to come back, I think Satchel Paige's oldest pitcher record will probably remain unbroken. :)

There's been so much written in so many places today about this. Not to mention the coverage on MLB Network (Hi Jamey!) and ESPN... There's just so much to digest, I'm only saying this.

The name A-Fraud in the Torre book is getting all the attention at the moment. Perhaps a better nickname for him now might be A-ROID!.

Yeah, OK - everything I'm seeing says he tested positive just once, and there's nothing to say he has since this happened (which is now 6 years ago). However, there was a remark I saw where Gene Orza apparently tipped off Arod in 2004 to a screening. If that's true, then there's a gigantic problem in the Union (shocker, I know). But still.

Arod's a user. Bummer. Perhaps he was using something else when he dumped Cynthia for Madonna. Makes this pocket schedule seem kind of prophetic. 2003. Arod. Fuzzy background. ;)

On Saturday night, Kevin Sherrington of the DMN had an article about the "All Juiced Team", saying Arod here completes it. Check this out. Shows the position and how they became linked to steroids:

CF - Gary Matthews Jr. - Mitchell Report
C - Pudge Rodriguez - Teammate allegation
SS - Alex Rodriguez - Media report
RF - Juan Gonzalez - Teammate allegation
1B - Rafael Palmeiro - Tested positive
3B - Ken Caminiti - Acknowledged
DH - David Segui - Acknowledged
2B - Randy Velarde - Mitchell Report
LF - Chad Allen - Mitchell Report

The amusing thing about this is the first comment left by someone on the DMN site about this. They said "Crazy line up there.....but once again NO pitching!".

That remark made me laugh.

Read tonight that former Ranger Brad Wilkerson has signed on with the Boston Red Sox. It's apparently a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. For a fellow who was the major jewel in the trade away of Alfonso Soriano from the Rangers, he's fallen a long way. I remember being seriously excited about him when he came here. But he struck out more than Juan Gonzalez on a slider down and away. Never did much in the way of making that trade look good.

In what I believe to be a first, Mr. Wilkerson has figured out a way to record an official strikeout during a player signing announcement. How this technically worked out, I don't know, but it's an amazing feat.

Yeah, that was sarcasm about the press release. Shocked?

With the signing of Omar Vizquel this week to a minor league contract, it occurred to me that he might have been the second oldest player to sign with the Rangers. The oldest would be Nolan Ryan of course, but I thought Omar might be second, so I decided to look it up.

Broke out baseball-reference.com which lists the age of players in a calendar year. As I started looking into it, I found some interesting stats about the ages of Rangers players. Here's some bullet points (this also assumes Vizquel will play in Arlington in 2009):

• The oldest player period was Nolan Ryan. He was 46 years, roughly 7.5 months when he threw his last pitch in 1993.
• Omar Vizquel was the second oldest signee for a first time Ranger at 41 years, 9 months.
• If Omar Vizquel plays as a Ranger on his birthday, he will be just the third second player to play at age 42 (the first being Charlie Hough, the second being Nolan Ryan). If he wants to overtake Hough, he'd have to play as a Ranger in 2010, which is unlikely, as Hough was 42 yr, 8 mo, 3 weeks old when he played his last game as a Ranger on Sep 28, 1990.
• The number of players who have played in a Rangers uniform at age 40 or older is smaller than you think. Just eleven. I thought it'd be more than that.
• There were a couple years with more than one 40+ Ranger at a time. Not surprisingly, they all involved Nolan Ryan. They were 1992 (Nolan/45 & Brian Downing/41), 1991 (Nolan/44, Downing/40), 1990 (Nolan/43, Hough/42), & 1989 (Nolan/42, Hough/41),.
• The first player ever to play as a Ranger at 40 was Gaylord Perry in 1980 when he was 41.
• When the team was the Senators, there was never a 40+ player.
• The "youngest oldest player" was aged 34. This happened in four seasons (66-68 & 71). Oddly enough, they were all years in Washington. The Rangers have never had a 34 year old be the oldest player
• Some notable names that appeared on my research as "Top 3 Oldest Players for that Year" are.. Minnie Minoso (37, 1963), Don Zimmer (34, 1965), Frank Howard (35, 1972), Rico Carty (33, 1973), Toby Harrah (37, 1986), Goose Gossage (39, 1991), Mickey Tettleton (36, 1997), Mike Morgan (39, 1999), Sammy Sosa (38, 2007)
• Sandy Alomar Sr (34, 1978) & Sandy Alomar Jr (39, 2005) are the only father/son duo on this age list. :)

Here is the complete list of players who have played as a Ranger at age 40 or higher. Again, this assumes that Omar Vizquel will play as a Ranger after April 23rd.

46 - Nolan Ryan (1993)
42 - Omar Vizquel (2009)
42 - Charlie Hough (1990)
41 - Brian Downing (1992)
41 - Gaylord Perry (1980)
40 - Kenny Lofton (2007)
40 - Kenny Rogers (2005)
40 - Andreas Galarraga (2001)
40 - Tony Fossas (1998)
40 - Rick Honeycutt (1994)
40 - Tom Paciorek (1987)

A caveat about the above information. While bbr is the source for my data below, it doesn't seem to take into account the age of a player if his age changed in the season. I just went with the bbr number, as it would have been far too much work to see what the birthdate of every Rangers player was and figure it out that way. :)

Click through to the full story, as I included the complete research data from the entire franchise here. I chose the top 3 ages for each season, because it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. :) If you're reading this on a feed reader (or one of those sites that steals rss feeds to make their own stories), then you need to visit my site to get the whole thing.

I liked Milton Bradley when he was here. To see him interact with the other Rangers representatives in the Home Run Derby was great, but he was someone I enjoyed watching in our uniform. I'm disappointed he won't be back, but I have to shake my head at what the Cubs gave him. For two reasons.

1) Three years? When on the field, he's great (or was for us), but that seems like more years than we would have gone. I thought we might have taken a stab with 2 years and an option.

2) On the field. Since he's going to the National League, he has to play the field. That was something he didn't do a lot of with us, he was DHing most of the time. I have a hard time believing he's going to stay healthy enough to make it worth the deal. If he does, great - he'll probably help the Cubs alot. But it seems like an odd move, I would have surely thought he would have gone AL.

But he strikes me as a more recent vintage from the John Rocker & Carl Everett mold of free agent we had. Big headcase and reputation before they got here, and were great when they were. I hope he does good, but if he misses time, or gets into problems, he's got a hothead of a manager up there, so I could see the clashes between Bradley & Sweet Lou being epic in scope. :)

This..

Is a long way from this...

One can only conclude this...

For no good reason, here's a funny video from a few years back. Remember that game that Mike Lamb caught (as the starter) and had a ton of passed balls? Forgot about this video. Todd Van Poppel was on the mound. What a mess that was.

From what I've been reading today, it appears Mark Teixeira will sign with the Yankees.

So much for staying home with family (Baltimore / Washington) - or even his wife's family (Atlanta, I believe).

How quickly do you think it will be before his time with Texas and Arod is brought up? At least Pudge isn't still there, that would be worse. Bleargh. I think it is time to bring up this picture again. Might have to photoshop more money in there. I mean, 8 years, 180 million isn't properly shown in the picture! I'm not sure how to visualize his full no trade clause, either.

Saw three former Rangers get new deals today. A few short details..

• Laynce Nix: Laynce takes a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. If he makes the 25 man roster, he'll make $600,000 with incentives to go to $1.1 Million. Probably not a bad kick the tires kind of move. I'm not an expert on the Reds outfield situation, but I know they had a huge logjam there until they moved Griffey last year.
• Jamie Moyer: Jamie re-ups with the Phillies on a two year deal. I remember when he first went to Philly in 2006, it was a last second stop on the back of his baseball card, before retiring. He's done quite well there, topping it off last year with his digging up of the pitching rubber after winning the World Series in October. :) No details on numbers for him, but he made $6 million and $6.5 million the last two years. My guess is somewhere in there.
• Chan Ho Park: The worst free agent signing in Rangers history has started back up the contract list. After making just $600,000 and $500,000 the last two years outside of his Rangers deal, The Ho takes a $2.5 Million deal to sign with the champion Phillies. I know he had a bit of a resurgence last year in Los Angeles. However, he went from LA to a hitter's park once, now he's doing it again. Somehow I don't think he'll match his 08 numbers (4-4, 3.40). His deal includes incentives which could take it up to $5 million.

I hit the ESPN MLB site tonight, and saw their poll, which was simply "Is Pudge Done" with a Yes or No. After I voted no, I saw the current results, which were 54% yes and 46% no.

It did make me wonder - is he done? While he's not off the map, he's not the offensive force he once was, and while I don't think he's a 154 game front line catcher anymore, he certainly can do a decent enough job for someone. I've always felt Pudge would make a token appearance back here at the end of his career to bookend things. He certainly wouldn't be the first player mostly known for being a Ranger to do that.

Where do you see Pudge playing 2009 at all? Please comment below.

Uh, OK.

We're supposed to get two players back as PTBNL, but that could take months, and if Littleton isn't added to the Sox 25 man roster, you know we won't get anything back of value.

An inauspicious start to the offseason moves. Just seems like an attempt to clear out some roster space without really caring what we get back.

Thank you, drive through.

The guys that sat in the front row of (roughly) Section 322 or 323 have to be bummed out now. Word came over the wire a few minutes ago that the career of Kameron Loe as a Texas Ranger is over. The rights to Kam were sold to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan. Apparently Kameron signed a two year deal with them right after that worth a reported $2 million total, which is way more than he's ever made with the Rangers. His max salary was 2008, when he made $410,690.

I liked Kam, it was a shame he never put it all together and stuck around long term. My favorite Kam moment was when he was pitching in the pen late one year, and said "Hey, I deserve a shot at the rotation". He got it, and for a moment at the end of that year, it looked like we had found a great starter - but it didn't carry over into the next year. He will get to play with a legend though, as his manager will be Sadaharu Oh. At least once he's done managing the Japanese team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. No more stories about his snake, or his bald head, or anything like that.

Not that long ago, Rangers bench coach Don Wakamatsu took a demotion to third base coach after he was passed over for the Manager's job. I recall at the time thinking that had to be his last season here, as you don't generally like to stick around in situations where you were actively moving backwards.

So it was with some excitement and trepidation that I read the news tonight that Don was named Manager of the Seattle Mariners. The excitement was easy. When Don was here, he was well liked (at least my memory says that). He was someone I didn't particularly want to see leave when he did, but I can understand why he left. Made sense. So I'm happy for Don that he will get his shot. I'm still pretty happy with the guy who got the shot here in Texas over Don, but I'm glad that Don got his. Which brings me to the trepidation part.

Don is staying in the division. As we'll see him 19 games a year, one has to think that he'll have some small insight into the Rangers. That will help Seattle, although Seattle needs way more help than that. Assuming they don't go panicy, giving in to the fans and sports writers (like the Rangers fans and writers tried to do here in early 08), he should help them in the long term. I always felt he would make a good manager.

So yeah, the bottom line is a good guy who used to be here is getting his shot. Good luck Don. Just not too much luck.

If you want to see what Mariners fans are saying check out this post and this one from ussmariner.com. They're probably the best Mariners blog out there, and perhaps one of the best overall sports fan blogs there is.

It was sad to read about Kevin Foster earlier, but I thought I'd point out a bit of happier news for a former Ranger. It's no secret that I'm also a Phillies fan, so you know Matt Stairs' performance last night was right up my alley. Big moment for him in the 8th in Los Angeles last night.

Former Ranger pitcher Kevin Foster died today after a bout with renal cell carcinoma. If you don't remember him, that's not surprising, he threw just nine games for us in 2001. I don't recall a ton of details about him either, but I seem to recall he was a nice guy from what I can remember. What pops to mind was that he was a good family guy. Assuming his personal info I had for him was still valid, he had a wife and two kids (may have had more kids since his time with us, as I rarely get family updates for former players).

His line for us in 2001 was:

0-1, 9G, 17.7IP, 21H, 14R, 13ER, 6.62 ERA

Not the greatest line, but you always hate it when one of your players passes like that. That makes two players that I can think of from the 2001 team who have now died - the other being Ken Caminiti.

Below is the wire story about his death:

The second one moreso than the first, but as a Rangers fan, these two look really strange.

I realize the second one almost happened in 1997 anyway, but it still looks really REALLY weird.

Not sure I can still root for Pudge anymore now.

He's was just traded to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. Oh well.

Mark Teixeira was traded by the Atlanta Braves today to the Anaheim Angels (screw that new name they have) for Casey Kotchman & AA reliever Stephen Marek.

Kotchman is pretty decent, and I don't know anything about Marek, but you wonder how the draft picks they'd get might work out. I'm sure it's a case of "gotta get something".

The fact that Teixeira is an Angel is mildly amusing given that his agent is considered by a lot of people to be Satan.

Anyone think he'll stay there? I don't.

Arod's been in the press all weekend, because his wife is leaving him. I'm not going to comment on that situation, but I ran across this link a few minutes ago. Thought some people might want to see it.

It's the actual court filing document by Cynthia Rodriguez. An interesting read.

The guy who used to pitch for Texas, not the outfielder for Arizona...

Anyway, I have him on one of my fantasy teams, and decided to look up his status. If you don't remember, he was hit in the face by a batted ball not too long ago, and this is what I found:

May 30 Young has a small crack in his skull and doctors have to wait for it to heal in order to avoid an infection in his brain, according to Padres manager Bud Black in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Advice: Young is also still waiting for the swelling to go down around his nose after being hit in the face with a line drive on May 21. This could take some time for Young to get back on the field, so continue to monitor the developments.

This doesn't sound good at all. My prayers go out to him (none of this "Good Thoughts" crap I see online - they're prayers, people!). May God heal him sooner than later.

Mike Bacsik will probably forever be known as the guy who gave up #756 to Barry Bonds. Locally, he's known for a little more than that. He was up for a cup of coffee with the Rangers in 2004, and his dad (Mike Bacsik Sr) played for the Rangers over parts of three seasons (75-76-77).

There's a good article up on ESPN now at the moment about Mike (Jr). It's surprisingly not behind their "wall of pay content" (like so much of their stuff is). Go check it out.

Obviously, a good deal of it is spent on the Bonds thing. But the main thrust of the article is how Bacsik is trying to get back to the majors. Probably just to have something else besides "756" on his ledger.

Good read.

Oh well, so much for that experiment. In a second tour of duty that rivaled the brief third tour of duty for Rick Helling in 2004, Kevin Mench was traded today.

The Rangers sent Shrek to the Toronto Blue Jays for "cash considerations". Basically, "Dude, you're not good enough for a player, so here's some cash the team doesn't really need". In all fairness, Kevin wasn't really tearing it up, and there are so many more possibilities in the outfield right now that he didn't have a realistic shot to make it back to Arlington with the big league club.

In other Toronto outfield news, they signed Brad Wilkkkkkkerson today to a contract. I'm not entirely sure how this works contractually. Wilkerson was DFA'ed by the Mariners on April 30th. I never saw a followup saying he was actually released as such. Today, the Jays said he was signed as a free agent, which implies he was released. Assuming that's the case, I don't know what he gets as salary. If anyone knows better, please let me know. He was owed $3 Million from the M's, so he's still due the proated for that. Not sure how that impacts any Toronto salary.

I liked both of these guys (even if Wilkkkkerson was a disappointment here). However, for Toronto to get both of these guys at once, they must be hurting for OF depth.

The Seattle Mariners DFA'ed Brad Wilkerson on Wednesday. That was a bit of a surprise. Brad's time here wasn't great, but I figured he had a slot in Seattle. I guess they were tired of his whiffing like the fans in Texas were. Seattle is still on the hook for the rest of his signed salary this year, which was $3 million. He also had $2 mil more in incentives, which he obviously will not get the chance to reach.

I think Brad's uniform number below is the way most Ranger fans will remember him.

It's one of the uglier words in the English language. CANCER.

Former Ranger pitcher Doug Davis apparently has thyroid cancer. I won't try and get in the way with my own words, I'll just copy a few wire stories I read here and here. I will say this, I'll make sure and lift him up in prayer, so I urge the rest of you who are Ranger fans to do the same. Even if you're not a Rangers fan, do it anyway. Doug was one of the nicer guys ever to throw a ball for us.

It wasn't a big deal (for me) seeing him in an Indians Jersey. Or a Tigers. Kansas City was a bit strange, but this just looks weird to me. I can't tell you why. Just a gut thing.

ESPN writer Tim Kurkjian yesterday wrote an article about Juan Gonzalez's comeback attempt with the Cardinals. It's an interesting read. As a Rangers fan who remembers all the "stuff" he did (pointing at the official scorer, the HOF game/baggy pants thing/general moodiness), I wonder how well this will play in St. Louis.

The article says his swing was still there, being described as "long, smooth, georgeous". I wonder if said swing is still susceptible to the low and away slider like it always was. When asked why he was attempting a comeback, he said this:

"I have goals in mind, I came back to finish those goals -- 500 home runs is a goal [he has 434]. But the No. 1 reason I'm [in camp] is to make this team.''

It would be interesting to see him come back, because at his prime, he was someone I did like. It just seemed like there were too many "issues", though. Be interesting to see if he's back in the majors.

Tonight I decided to look around the various camps and see who was in camp that played for the Rangers.

These guys have played at least one game at the major league level with the Rangers. There are others who have been Rangers in the minors only, but I didn't get into those guys (like Ryan Dempster, Aaron Harang, and John Danks who were all minor leaugers, or Glendon Rusch and Brian Anderson who were NRIs with us a few years back). This also covers guys like Terrmel Sledge or Freddie Bynum who were technically major league Rangers, but were really just ships passing in the night.

Guys who are non roster invites have (NRI) after their name. Everyone else listed is on that club's respective 40 man roster. I believe I've gotten everyone that fits the parameters listed above. If you spot someone I missed, please let me know in the comments below, I'll get the article updated.

AL West:
Anaheim: Darren Oliver, Gary Matthews
Oakland: Justin Duchscherer
Seattle: R.A Dickey, Brad Wilkerson

AL Central:
Cleveland: Aaron Fultz, Dave Dellucci, Travis Hafner, Rick Bauer (NRI)
Detroit: Armando Galarraga, Kenny Rogers, Pudge Rodriguez, Marcus Thames
Minnesota: Dennys Reyes, Mike Lamb, Craig Monroe
Chicago Sox: Nick Masset
Kansas City: Ron Mahay, Esteban German, Ken Huckaby (NRI)

AL East:
Boston: Bryan Corey, Doug Mirabelli, Dan Kolb (NRI), Michael Tejera (NRI)
NY Yankees: Alex Rodriguez
Toronto: Rod Barajas, Gregg Zaun, Matt Stairs
Baltimore: Jon Leicester, Guillermo Quiroz, Ryan Bukvich (NRI), Esteban Yan (NRI)
Tampa Bay: Carlos Pena

NL East:
Philadelphia: Fabio Castro, Adam Eaton, Jamie Moyer
NY Mets: Fernando Tatis (NRI)
Atlanta: Mark Teixeira, Ryan Drese (NRI)
Washington: Mike Bacsik (NRI), Rob Bell (NRI)
Florida: None

NL Central:
Chicago Cubs: Mark DeRosa, Alfonso Soriano, Andres Torres (NRI)
Milwaukee: Eric Gagne, Brian Shouse, Gabe Kapler, Laynce Nix (NRI)
St. Louis: Randy Flores, Ryan Ludwick, John Wasdin (NRI), D'Angelo Jimenez (NRI), Juan Gonzalez (NRI)
Houston: Doug Brocail, Carlos Lee, Victor Diaz (NRI)
Cincinnati: Francisco Cordero, Mike Stanton, Edinson Volquez
Pittsburgh: None

NL West:
Arizona: Doug Davis
Colorado: Kip Wells, John Koronka (NRI), Matt Kata (NRI)
San Diego: Chris Young (DAMMIT), Adrian Gonzalez, Marshall McDougall (NRI)
Los Angeles: Esteban Loaiza, Rudy Seanez, Chan Ho Park (NRI), Tanyon Sturtze (NRI), Danny Ardoin (NRI)
San Francisco: Victor Santos (NRI)

In looking over the rosters, I had to do a double take when I was looking at Houston's. They have a 28 year old pitcher named Mark McLemore. I actually stopped, as I was not expecting to see that. :)

Finally read a breakdown of some of the contract numbers for Alex Rodriguez' new Yankees contract. Of most immediate importance to Rangers fans is how much we're still paying the Yankees. I know a lot was made over us saving a ton of money with Alex opting out. He did do that, but we're not totally off the hook.

There was deferred money from the original contract still due. Those payments appear to have been changed, and we are apparently still paying $3 million a year in 08, 09, & 10. The original deferred numbers show a lot more than that $9 million owed from years 2001-2007. The three opted out years from 08-10 of the original contract would tally up to the $9 million. There's deferred money from the actual played contract years of 2001-2003 while in Texas. Got traded to New York, they renegotiated the contract, and there was a change in deferred money from 2004-2007, but we still were on the hook for deferred money from those years (NY had some, too). This money was originally scheduled to be paid starting in 2016, and running through 2022. I cannot imagine all that money (which according to my notes was $26 million) was replaced by the $9 mil I saw in the new contract. I can't imagine we still have to pay the $9 million in deferred money (which was slated for years 2023-2025) anyway (now in 08-10, with interest no less). Can any of the sports writers in the area make sense of that? MY HEAD HURTS!

A little more easier to understand is his salary. $27m in 08, $32m in 09 & 10, $31m in 11, $29m in 12, $28m in 13, $25m in 14, $21m in 15, $20m in 16 & 17. Stupid numbers, but they seem pretty straightforward. Given the amount of total dollars involved, I can't imagine some of THAT isn't deferred too, but I don't see any notes on that.

There's a $10 million signing bonus. $2 million of that was paid at signing I believe (Dec 13, 07). The rest is broken down in $1 million increments due every January 15th from years 2009 through 2013. There's a final $3 million payment in on Jan 15, 2014.

There's a $30 million marketing bonus tied to home run milestones. There's a $6 million bonus for each of the following career home run records:

• 660 (Willie Mays)
• 714 (Babe Ruth)
• 755 (Hank Aaron)
• 762 (Barry Bonds)
• 763 (Barry Bonds)

Yeah, that's right - he gets $12 million just for HR 762 & 763. Technically those last two are "tie current major league record, and break current major league record". That's Barry Bonds of course. It's probably going to be 762 & 763 - I can't imagine Bonds actually playing anywhere in 2008. He's probably done.

I think at this point, it's probably safe to assume that Alex owns one of these things himself.

Seriously, if there's anyone with more detailed knowledge than me about the deferred money situation, I'd love to hear from you. Here's my Arod page, where I have all the notes I've tried to keep since late in 2000 when we signed Arod originally. Thanks.

I don't write much about steroids in baseball, because to be honest, I'm sick and tired of hearing about it. Problem? Yeah. Do I want it gone? Yeah. Do I want to hear about it anymore? HELL NO!

Still, from time to time, one has to pay attention to it, and I ran across a great article by former Ranger Doug Glanville about steroids. Doug has a reputation of being one of the brightest players in baseball (well, retired now, but you get my point). Doug's article from the New York Times this past Wednesday talks about his feelings on steroids, and why players do such a thing. It's a great read, here's a few quotes from it..

In 1998, I was the new kid in Philadelphia, battling Lenny Dysktra for the center field job. Five years later, I was mentoring another new kid, Marlon Byrd, so he could replace me. Faced with that rate of career atrophy, players are capable of rash, self-serving and often irresponsible decisions. Enter steroids.

There is a tipping point in a player’s career where he goes from chasing the dream to running from a nightmare. At that point, ambition is replaced with anxiety, passion is replaced with survival. It is a downhill run and it spares no one.

We’re scared of failure, aging, vulnerability, leaving too soon, being passed up — and in the quest to conquer these fears, we are inspired by those who do whatever it takes to rise above and beat these odds. We call it “drive” or “ambition,” but when doing “whatever it takes” leads us down the wrong road, it can erode our humanity. The game ends up playing us.

It's an interesting thought, and could explain why some players never seem to give up the ghost. Growing up in Philadelphia when I did, the best pitcher we had for the longest time was Steve Carlton. "Lefty" as they called him came to Philly in 1972, and stayed a Phillie until 1986. At that point it was obvious he wasn't what he had been before, but he was a prime example to me of not knowing when to stop. Glanville's article talks about that a bit. After leaving Philly in mid season 86, Carlton was a Giant, a White Sox, an Indian, and a Twin, going into the 1988 season when he appeared in four games with the Twins (1 start, 3 relief appearances). Heard stories he tried Japanese ball after that. Anyway, some players don't know when to stop, and that coupled with what Glanville says about this issue makes sense.

Give Doug's article a read. Thanks to the Phillies blog "Balls, Sticks, & Stuff" for the link.

Ranger names named in the Mitchell Report:

After a quick search of the full Mitchell Report (avilable here) turns up these players who were with the Texas Rangers at some point in their career, although not necessarily when they were with the Rangers at the time.

• Ferguson Jenkins (Page 29) - Then commissioner Kuhn suspended Jenkins for his refusal to cooperate in an investigation into his own arrest for marijuana, hash, & cocaine.
• Jose Canseco (Page 66) - No further comment needed on this.
• John Hart / Juan Gonzalez (Page 98) - I'll just quote.. "By early in the 2002 season, however, Presinal was observed in and around the clubhouse of the Texas Rangers (where Juan Gonzalez was playing at the time). Sign-in records indicate that Presinal was in the Rangers clubhouse frequently that season. The Rangers also reserved (but did not pay for) rooms for Presinal at the club’s hotels that season. The Rangers’ general manager, John Hart, was aware of the October 2001 incident and Presinal’s alleged role in it". Busting John Hart was a bit of a surprise.
• David Segui (Page 150) - He has already publically admitted his use, no surprise here.
• Gregg Zaun (Page 179) - Apparently bought some steroids when he was with Kansas City. He never had that "look" of a steroid user, though.
• Hicks/Daniels (Page 204) - This page says the two had suspicions of Miguel Tejada when there was some talk of acquring him in December 2005.
• Mike Stanton (Page 205) - Apparently bought in 2001 when he was with the Mets.
• Jerry Hairston Jr (Page 207 & 251) - According to this page, he bought in 2003, after being referred to by Segui, and then again in 2004.
• Kevin Brown (Page 214) - According to this, he was referred to by Paul LoDuca when the two were teammates for the Dodgers.
• Eric Gagne (Page 217) - Appears that he bought sometime between 1999 and 2004 (again referred to by LoDuca).
• Gary Matthews Jr (Page 252) - Says what we already knew, that he received a package of HGH in August 2004 at an address by then Ranger minor leaguer Chad Allen.
• Ismael Valdez (Page 255) - Says that he bought $2500 of HGH in Sep 2002 while with the Mariners.
• Steve Woodard (Page 256) - Mentions he recieved steroids & HGH, but does not say WHEN.
• Jamie Reed (Page 299) - Rangers trainer is mentioned as someone who is anti-steroid.

That's my quick scan of the 409 page document for "Texas Rangers". If I missed someone, please comment on it.

Interesting that the report says that John Hart was "aware" of events during his tenure - and Juan Gonzalez is linked to him, too.

UPDATE: In my quick scan I missed a few players. I've looked at a few compiled lists since then, and saw that these guys were named, too.

• John Rocker
• Ken Caminiti - No surprise there, he admitted it.
• Manny Alexander

Rafael Palmeiro & Sammy Sosa are listed, but only regarding interviews; no implication of them "using" that I can find.

Coco won't have to worry about coming back to Arlington any time soon to have his saves record blown again. He signed with the Reds today for an amazing contract. Four years, 46 million with an $12 mil option on 2012 and a $1 mil buyout. (Story here).

Seems a bit pricey - I don't envision Coco as one of the elite closers (aka over $10 mil a year). I also don't envision the Reds as being close enough to contending where they'd need an expensive closer.

The Yankees threw a stupid amount of money at Mariano Rivera, but at least he has a track record. Coco can save, yes - but I don't see him as being THAT good.

What do you think?

Arod will retire in 2015 with 870 home runs, 3,694 hits, 2,499 RBI's, and 2,477 runs scored.

So says a simulation of Arod's career done by IGN on the MLB 2k7 videogame. Check out the full article, it's actually quite an amusing read.

It does say that he remains a Yankee all this time, and that they win one World Series between now and 2015. :)

The Atlanta Braves website has an interview with Mark Teixeira up on their website. While not the most probing thing, it was a nice short read. You can check out the full piece here. A few samples:

CT: You live in Texas in the offseason?

Teixeira: Right. We live in Westlake, Texas, about 30 minutes from Arlington. We're planning to stay there for the foreseeable future. We love where we live. For now, with two little ones, it's too crazy to be moving. We like our home, and we have great friends. So, for now, that's where we'll stay.

CT: Who's your best friend in baseball?

Teixeira: David Dellucci (Cleveland left fielder). I played two years with him in Texas (2004-05). We still keep in contact and try to see each other as much as we can.

Sosa wants $7 million to play in 2008? And he wants to be back in Texas? Not a chance. Not a chance at all. I kind of thought that if the pieces fell in the right order that I wouldn't mind having Sosa return. Not that I think he should be first in line mind you (or even second), but as a fallback plan I wouldn't be opposed. But $7 million for 08? No thank you. Nice to see #21 again last year, but not at that price.

UPDATE: There's a great article called "Sammy Sosa's Dream World" about this by Joey Matschulat over at Baseball Time in Arlington. Check it out.

Rod Barajas spent 2007 with the Phillies after some strangeness in a contract negotiation with the Blue Jays.

Anyway, he won't be back in Philly, as the Phillies declined his $5 million 2008 contract, buying him out for $500k. (link)

I wonder if we'll be hearing talks of him back here - one would think not, but if we move Laird as has been talked about, one never knows what might happen. Anyone think we'll see Guillermo Quiroz or Chis Stewart back in 2008? I would think not.

OK, it lasted two days. I had to say something. :)

Congratulations to former Ranger Carlos Pena who won the AL Comeback player of the year award.

I remember when he was here thinking he was going to be the next big time 20+ year Ranger player, and he fizzled. Didn't do great in either Oakland or Detroit. Of course he has a monster year in Tampa Bay, and his agent is Scott Boras. You think he'll be staying there?

But that issue aside, it's nice to see him figure it out. We're in the market for a regular first baseman, what do you think? :) Shows you how long ago he was here, the mug shot pic I have has him wearing a red cap.

There's an interesting article about Gabe Kapler up on mlb.com here. Talks about his time spent this past year as a minor league manager, and that he might be wanting to make a comeback in 2008.

I don't think he's an option here, but it's still nice to keep up with what some former players are doing. From the article:

"Kapler, now 32, is a .264 lifetime hitter with 64 homers and 302 RBIs in an 850-game career (1998-2006) which has included stints in Detroit, Texas, Colorado and Boston."

He does mention that Boston was the favorite place he played in the piece.

I'll have more to say about tonight's game some time tomorrow. It's late, and I don't feel like writing right now. However, I did want to say this. Really nice to see Rusty out there again. Nice tributes and letters. However, I wanted to post a few pictures I took. I have them up in my photo gallery here.

However, this one was worth noting. After the ceremony was over, and Rusty was taking his "lap around the ballpark", he got near where I was sitting, and he passed Michael Young. Michael Young tipped his cap to Rusty as he drove by. Most folks will not have seen that, but it was a great moment. I almost got a shot of it, but got it just as Michael put his cap back on his head. Here's a thumbnail of that:

Was also nice the folks who made their own "retired number" sign for Rusty Greer in left field:

As the trade was made official, a story popped up on the Dallas Morning News site that said that before Tex was traded to the Braves, the Rangers offered him a contract extension of eight years, $140 Million. That comes out to $17.5 Million a year. He turned it down.

That makes me think that when he hits free agency after the 2008 season, Scott Boras will start - START with a value of $20 million a year, and won't take less.

NOW I think this picture is how a lot of fans will see Mark Teixeira, especially given his choice of agent, and the turning down of this kind of money. That's similar to what Juan Gonzalez turned down with Detroit. Better hope that lightning bolt doesn't hit again.

You know, I keep bringing up the name Mark Clark on my site here as one of the worst starting pitchers we've had in recent vintage. I decided to actually check on his numbers, and how they compare to the 2007 Rangers. It looks like I might need to make one of these guys my new "Mark Clark" on the site before too long.

Check out this comparison between the two seasons Mark Clark pitched with us, and the stats of the 2007 Rangers to date. The number of starts is actually quite similar. Clark pitched some relief in 2000, as did Loe & McCarthy in 07, those stats are accounted for in the overall ERA and WHIP numbers, I don't know a way short of manually calculating based on old box scores to extricate the relief numbers from the overall numbers.

That was far worse than I anticipated. Technically Mark Clark has worse numbers, but man - after looking at the actual numbers it looks like we have close to five Mark Clark's in our rotation in 2007. Heck, Mark Clark would feel right at home this year, our numbers are just as bad as his was with us. To look back, here are my comments from when we signed Mark Clark, and from when we released him. I had forgotten how much I wanted to like him when we signed him.

Which one of our current guys would you nominate as the new "whipping boy" for my blog to represent everything that is wrong with Texas Rangers starting pitching?

Not with the Rangers though, he's working for a high school in Argyle. Here's a story which I read on the WFAA site this afternoon:

Former Rangers reliever John Wetteland, the MVP of the 1996 World Series with the Yankees, has been hired as an assistant baseball and football coach at Argyle Liberty Christian, the school announced Friday.

Wetteland, who is a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, will be an assistant to head football coach Mark Bowles, and become the varsity and junior varsity pitching coach alongside baseball coach Johnny Isom.

Wetteland, 40, made four saves for the Yankees during the 1996 Series.

I still think he needs to be our bullpen coach. No offense to Don Chiti, who is probably fine, but I really want to see Wetteland out there. And Rusty Greer as our hitting coach should Rudy ever decide to retire.

The San Diego Padres signed Chris Young to a four year contact extension today (details), through 2010. The Padres hold a team option for 2011. This would replace his current contract if my math is right, as a four year extension through 2010 would also include the 2007 season. I'm still not thrilled at his not being here anymore, we really could use him, but there's not much this Rangers fan can do about that. I've already gotten mad over this one enough. :(

In the press release, Kevin Towers called Young "one of the elite pitchers in the game". He's a great pitcher yes, but I don't know if he has enough track record to be called "elite" quite yet.

So good for Chris Young that he got a nice payday. Bad for us.

UPDATE: Saw the breakdown of the contract terms, which I detailed on his roster page here.

2011: $8.5 Million (Team option, could be worth more based on performance)
2010: $6.25 Million
2009: $4.5 Million
2008: $2.5 Million
2007: $750,000 (was originally $600,000 before 4 year contract signed on Apr 10, 07)

If Chan Ho Park was griping about starting the season in the Mets bullpen, he's really gotta be steamed now. The New York mets optioned him to AAA today. (Linkage)

There was an article over at SI.com by Jon Heyman about Gary Matthews and the Angels and HGH. The article seems to take the stance that the Angels are more upset than they are publically saying they are. Check it out. The article also briefly mentions Jerry Hairston Jr & Raffy Palmeiro.

One thing that does seem suspicious is that he's hired Bob Shapiro as his lawyer in this matter. That's significant, as he was one of OJ Simpson's lawyers. That alone is an eyebrow raiser.

I'd really like Gary to be innocent. But if he's not, and he is guilty - yeesh. How can someone now be busted for this stuff? I know it happened in 2004, but come on - how can you be that dumb?

Saw this story over at bizofbaseball today about Gary Matthews possibly being involved an an Internet sale of steroids problem.

That's a bit of a surprise. No further commentary at this time.

Most Rangers fans remember Colby Lewis, the hard throwing pitcher the Rangers had for awhile in the majors from 2002-2004. We lost him on a waiver claim to Detroit, and I recall there being a lot of fans up in arms about that at the time. He's not done much since then, in fact, he spent all of 2005 injured with the Tigers, and in 2006, he appeared in three games with the Tigers before being DFA'ed in mid September 2006. I wonder if he got a share of the World Series money with the Tigers. Anyway, I digress.

The Washington Nationals fan site Capitol Punishment just published an article on Colby. Colby was picked up by the Nats this past November 6th on a minor league deal. The CP article on Colby had this to say:

It's hard to say what the Nats should expect from Lewis. He's clearly got a solid track record in the minors, and he showed an ability to adapt post-surgery, but we're left with an ungodly track record of performance in the majors.

Kind of sounds like the same feelings a lot of Ranger fans had when he was here. Great potential, couldn't seem to put it together in the bigs. Check out the article. Also, I have several other teams' fan blogs listed below. Check out the menu on the right side of the page, and scroll downwards. I have some links in there you might want to check out.

Former Ranger Rick Helling retired on Monday. Rick was a great guy, and was someone I was sad to see go after the 2001 season. He came back briefly for a cup of coffee in our minor league system in 2004, but bounced around quite a lot since leaving after Arod's first year in Texas. Rick was with us for a few seasons, making his debut in 1994, and then being traded in 1996 for John Burkett who was instrumental in the 1996 championship team. We reacquired Helling again in 1997, and he remained through 2001, producing these years the second time around.

1998: 20-7, 216.3 IP, 4.41 ERA, 4 complete games, two shutouts
1999: 13-11, 219.3 IP, 4.84 ERA, 2 complete games
2000: 16-13, 217.0 IP, 4.48 ERA
2001: 12-11, 215.7 IP, 5.17

While his ERA and wins didn't keep up with his 1998 campaign, he certainly was durable, putting in a consistent number of innings. In fact, of all his seasons, these were the only four with more than 200 innings pitched. In fact, since leaving the Rangers in 2001, his travels were to the Diamondbacks (2002), Orioles & Marlins (2003), Twins & Rangers again (2004), Brewers (2005 & 2006). He actually signed a minor league contract with the Phillies on Jan 29, 2007, but retired Monday, about a week after that, claiming he wanted to be with his family. I can understand that.

So good luck to Rick in whatever he does in the future, to me the Rangers uniform #32 will always be Rick's.

In reading some other teams' blogs tonight, it would seem that the Phillies have signed Antonio Alfonseca to a one year deal on Sunday. Antonio got a bum rap from fans when he was here, but I rather enjoyed his short time in a Rangers uniform.

It appears to be an incentive laden deal worth upwards of $1.1 Million.

With all the talk about Cal Ripken & Tony Gwynn and the HOF vote, it feels like Pete Rose has released another book this week, as all I hear about when I turn on ESPN or XM is folks talking about Mark McGwire. He didn't get in. Ripken & Gwynn should be all we're talking about, and AGAIN, we're talking about the controversy. Sigh.

Anyway, I decided to see how former Ranger players did on the ballot. Here's a list of all the players on this year's Hall of Fame ballot who ever played for the Rangers and what they got in terms of vote support:

Goose Gossage: 532 votes, 71.2% (just missed)
Bert Blyleven: 260 votes, 47.7%
Harold Baines: 29 votes, 5.3%
Orel Hershisher: 24 votes, 4.4%
Jose Canseco: 6 votes, 1.1%
Ken Caminiti: 2 votes, 0.4%

Bobby Witt was also on this ballot, but did not receive any votes at all. The complete list is on this page which talks about Mark McGwire and this year's vote over at mlb.com.]

In a bit of good news for the Rangers, it appears Rod Barajas has signed a one year deal with the Phillies.

This is a good move for the Phillies, as they have some stud kid catchers, but they're not mature enough to handle the full time job. So a one year is good for the Phillies in that regard, as Carlos Ruiz and a kid with the last name of Jaramillo are apparently the (somewhat near) future.

This is a good move for the Rangers, as it puts to rest that rumour from a few days back that the Rangers were thinking of brining him back. While I liked Rod when he was here (my fav moment was that home run to beat the Yankees at home - I was there), I felt it was time to part. Laird deserves the job, and we don't need him back as a backup, nor do I think he'd want that.

This is a bad move for Rod Barajas, as he... well... He probably screwed himself with the deal in Toronto, that was probably a better deal in terms of years and stature, I would think. As much of a Phillies fan as I am, I would think it would have been better for Rod in Toronto. Of course, I'm just a guy at a keyboard in Garland Texas, I'm not the actual player. :)

Former Rangers infielder Luis Alicea is back in the major leagues. He's been hired to be the first base coach for the Boston Red Sox. I always liked Alicea - who was mentally paired with Roberto Kelley as bench players in the late 90's.

It'll be nice to see Alicea again, who I believe is the last Ranger player to hit an inside the park home run in Arlington. Could be wrong, but I seem to remember it being the last Ranger one.

What's with all the Rangers / Phillies connections the last 12 months? Are there any other teams out there? Did someone forget to tell me the other 28 teams were contracted or something?

According to ESPN, Adam Eaton signed a 3 year deal today with the Phillies reportedly worth $24 million, with a fourth year team option which is supposed to bring the contract value up to $33 million.

Given 2006... Amazing. Just amazing.

A couple of weeks ago, the Rangers hired former A's manager Art Howe as bench coach. He had already been hired by the Phillies to be their first base coach. With former Rangers bench coach Don Wakamatsu accepting a "demotion" to third base coach, that pushed out former third base coach Steve Smith.

Steve Smith was hired today by the Phillies to be their third base coach, which was vacated by Art Howe's departure for Texas.

So it's not a real trade, but a "sorta" trade. :)

From the "no surprise there" department, Carlos Lee has signed a deal with the Houston Astros. Supposedly a six year deal, depending on which story you read, it's either $73 million, $85 million, or $100 million. I guess we'll find out soon enough, the contract is supposed to be signed later tonight.

This will make Jamey Newberg very happy. :) I'm also for it as I also like following the Astros. Plus it will bring Lee back each year to let a few balls drop in front of him for hits in Arlington.

The draft impact for us is now we get the Astros #17 pick, which effectively is a wash against the #16 pick we gave up for signing Frank Catalanotto. Assuming the Astros or Angels don't sign a higher rated free agent, we'll have #17 & #24 in the first round of the 2007 draft, as well as three sandwich picks.

{Homer}Mmmmm.. Sandwich... Awhhhhhhhhhh {/Homer}

UPDATE: Here is an amusing story over at a Cardinals fan's website on the Lee signing. I particularly enjoyed this line: Throwing $100 mil at a corpulent left fielder who has the range of a narcoleptic cow and a career OPS of .835 doesn't quite add up to me..

Well, the shoe has finally fallen. Gary Matthews Jr has gotten a 5 year, $50 million deal from the Anaheim California Angels of Los Angeles of California. I wanted to see Matthews stay as much as the next Ranger fan - but yikes. Not THAT much.

This is another of those off seasons where contracts are way out of whack. Soriano? Pierre? Jeez.

I wonder if Matthews will stay productive that long - 5 years is a long time for a career journeyman until 2006. Good luck, GMJ.

UPDATE: Dave over at USS Mariner has a great look at GMJ's career to date. Check it out.

Apparently Alfonso Soriano signed with the Cubs tonight, a reported 8 year $136 million dollar deal. That's a lot of dough. The Cubs are throwing a lot of money around. I wonder if the curse will cancel all that out. :)

Eek. I was hoping my hometown Phillies would sign him. Oh well.

Well, we don't get to keep Mark DeRosa. That's a shame, I really liked him during his time here, but after last year, I can't blame him for going where a guaranteed starting job is. Unless we traded Blalock (unlikely given Washington's comments about him), I can't see where DeRosa would get regular starting time here. The story is 3 years $13 million. Not bad for the year he had last year. I wonder if his old team (the Braves) made a run at him at all.

UPDATE: I guess it's official now, there's a story about it over on the Cubs website.

Today Jim Bowden of the Washington Nationals signed a ton of players. Twenty one minor league free agents in all. There's several former Rangers on that list:

Pitchers Colby Lewis, Mike Bacsik, & Chris Michalak. In addition, they also signed catcher Danny Ardoin. None of these guys were world beaters when here, although I think most Ranger fans will remember Colby Lewis as a promising pitcher who was taken down by injury and then lost on a roster squeeze to a waiver claim. Colby came up for a cup of coffee with the Tigers this season; makes me wonder if he'll get an AL championship ring. :)

The guys over at USS Mariner had this to say about Lewis in a larger article on the big signing spree by the Nats:

Remember Colby Lewis? He was a big prospect once. He disappeared after rotator cuff surgery, missed almost all of 2004 and then didn’t pitch in 2005. And yet early returns were shockingly good last year. In Toledo, he was a little homer-prone but struck out 111 and walked 38. Next year he’ll be 27, so he’s like… a better Gil Meche? The really interesting twist here is that the Nationals got someone else to pick up the tab on his rehab, saw that he might be one of the few to return to any kind of effectiveness after shoulder surgery, and then they picked him up.

Makes you think Bowden is going for the quantity theory on the basis of you bring in a boatload of players, you might get someone decent out of the lot; fully expecting most of them not to amount to anything. I do admit to some surprise that Chris Michalak is still hanging around.

Nice piece of news from TR Sullivan's blog over at MLBlogs. Former Ranger starter Chris Young is on the All Star tour of Japan. To that end, he is running a blog about the travels.

Check it out here.

Well, today is the first day after the World Series, which means that players are now eligible to file for free agency. Of course some big names filed. Barry Bonds, Nomar Garciaparra, & Frank Thomas. What's been covered elsewhere is the fact that with the new rules from the CBA, you are no longer restricted in talking to your own free agents. Used to be if you didn't offer them arbitration by Dec 7, you couldn't resign them until next May 1. That no longer exists. The exclusivity period still exists, so for the moment only a player's current team can talk contract. That ends Nov 11th, and Nov 12th is when anyone can talk $ with anyone else.

A couple of former Rangers filed for free agency. Not that I think we should really make a move on any of these guys, I'm just pointing it out from a "Former Ranger" standpoint - I try and keep track of where these guys go:

Filing for Free Agency today (the 28th):

Aaron Fultz (Phillies)
Ricky Ledee (Mets)
Doug Mirabelli (Red Sox)
Rudy Seanez (Padres)
Frank Catalanotto (Blue Jays)
Royce Clayton (Reds)

Some other former Ranger player movement in the last week or so:

10/03 - Nationals released Pedro Astacio & Ryan Drese
10/05 - Victor Santos efa from Pirates
10/11 - Phillies released Julio Santana
10/12 - Padres waived Manny Alexander
10/13 - Ken Huckaby efa from Red Sox
10/23 - A's released D'Angelo Jimenez

Here are all the 2006 Ranger players eligible to file for free agency (Jerry Hairston was already placed on waivers back on the 11th, and a quick thought on them by me.

Adam Eaton (might get resigned to an incentive laden contract)
Carlos Lee (most likely will not be back, unless he goes for less $)
Eric Young (probably not back, I wouldn't mind having him as some sort of coach though)
Gary Matthews (better be back)
Jerry Hairston (won't be back)
Kip Wells (if back at all, as a non roster invite in spring training)
Mark DeRosa (would like to have him back)
Rod Barajas (likely won't be back)
Vicente Padilla (wouldn't mind having him back, but not for 4 years. 2 plus option, maybe)

So far I haven't watched many of the playoff games on TV. They've either been on during the day, or at night I haven't had time since my mother has been in town for a visit. Tonight however, I watched from about the fourth inning on of the Tigers / Yankees games.

Wow - that was probably the best pitched game by Kenny Rogers since he made a run at a second perfect game a couple of years ago in an interleague game (against the Reds, I think). He was masterful, and showed way more emotion than I remember him having when in Texas. His curveball was fooling Yankee hitters all night, and he was just brilliant. Congratulations to Kenny Rogers. Was also nice to see the old (not as Pudgy) Pudge out there too with the fists up, and all. Too bad it couldn't have been in a Ranger uniform, but I'm happy for 'em.

Kenny's line:

7.2 innings pitched
5 hits
2 walks
8 strikeouts

Nice followup by Joel Zumaya & Todd Jones pitching 1.1 IP of shutout ball in support of Kenny.

Also, what was Gary Matthews Jr doing on Baseball Tonight after the game? I didn't know he was doing commentary for ESPN. That was a surprise, for sure.

P.S. " If the Rangers disappeared today, would anyone circulate a petition to bring them back? Would anyone sign it?"....

Unlike some frenchie sounding Taylors around here, we do care about our local team. Some of us are not frontrunning only Cowboys fans. Sigh.

Not the minor league player we traded for recently, the one whose pants were too big at the HOF game some years ago. The one with four ex wives by the time he was 30. Yeah, that one.

Anyway, it looks like he's trying to hook on with the Atlantic League Indepedant team, the New York Ducks. This after he backed out of a deal with the Red Sox earlier this season (as well as the A's & Rockies, from what I read). Anyway, here's a story on it.

Isn't this the same team that John Rocker was with a couple of years ago? I really thought Juan had given it up - what's his plan here - to prove he can still play? Good luck running to first on your one at bat. ;)

Seriously, though - it'd be nice for him to pick up the pace there, but I can't see it happening - my gut feeling says he's done for good.

Anyone who knows me knows I was a big Johnny Oates fan. Have been since long before he became the Rangers manager. Anyway, I ran across this story this afternoon about his former college team handing out the first winner of the "Johnny Oates Memorial Baseball Award".

Nice to see his name pop up in the news today. Here's Johnny's page over at the Virginia Tech Hokies site.

Well, I thought I had a handle on the rotation. Apparently not. Juan Dominguez has been traded. I haven't read anything about this yet, so I'm just going to lift Jamey Newberg's update on this, which I just got.

Eric Nadel just announced on the Rangers' game broadcast that Texas has traded righthander Juan Dominguez to Oakland for lefthander John Rheinecker and utility man Freddie Bynum, and then turned around and dealt Bynum to the Cubs for lefthander John Koronka (a former Rule 5 pick of the Rangers) and a player to be named later or cash.

There's also a story about this on the DMN site here.

A couple of former Rangers are in the news the last few days.

First off is Alfonso Soriano. I seem to remember Soriano saying he didn't want to play the outfield in New York. I know he said that when he was in Texas, but he's now taking it to the extreme in DC. Soriano is refusing the play the outfield, a stance that put him on the bench Monday, and if he does it again Wednesday could put him on the disaqualified list. Saying "the player refused to take the field", the Nationals believe that they will be within their rights to put Soriano on the disqualified list. The upside of that is that he wouldn't get paid, and if that situaton ran it's course the entire year, Soriano would not be a free agent, he'd still be Nationals property, as service time doesn't accure if your'e disqualified. I cannot see how Soriano expects to win here, except possibly by forcing a trade. I don't see that happening either - it's a bit late in the game. Of course, anything can happen, but I see most clubs who could take his contract being set already. I'm really surprised he's taking this stance, I can't see how anything positive can come out of this. I have to say I'm glad he's out of our hair if he's gonna act like this.

The other player is former Ranger Juan Gonzalez, who signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox on Sunday. I look at that, and think wow - the Sox must really be hurting to sign Gonzalez. It's been years since he's had a full productive season, let alone two of them in a row. I can't see where he'd be a regular starting player anymore. In the last four seasons, he's had a total of 186 games combined. His appearances in Kansas City and Cleveland (05) were a joke, and his two years in his seocnd go around with the Rangers wasn't that great, either. It's not like I hate the guy, I'd love to see him have some success and put some numbers up, but I think he'll have a hard time getting to 500 HR, which my gut tells me is the reason why he keeps going. He's got 434 now, and he'd have to play I would think 3 years to get that, given I doubt he'll ever be a full time 145-160 game a year player ever again. I used to rag him over the "Baggy Pants" fiasco in the Hall of Fame game several years ago, and his lack of hustle, really. I'm kind of over that - although I still think he's more suspectible to the slider down and away than any other recent hitter I'm aware of.

It was a great sight seeing Sadaharu Oh tossed up in the air when Japan won the WBC tonight. Would the US have done that to Buck Martinez? No way. That's why I like these other countries a bit more than the US, as they're way more into it. The flavor of the latin teams is just something the US can't match. It's one reason why I really wished Chan Ho Park did well here - in his first year, entire sections at the Ballpark would be filled with Korean fans cheering him like you saw in the Venezuela & Dominican Republic games in the WBC. That's the kind of fun that US baseball lacks. The joy that was evident in the Japanese players was great to see. Not that the US players (or any other team for that matter) wouldn't have been happy - but the sheer joy of it is something you don't see much in the US players - or at least I don't.

Read this afternoon that former Ranger reliever Doug Brocail had heart surgery. Something like that is never good. He's two years younger than me, so I don't like hearing stuff like that. Don't like hearing that stuff about people no matter what their age is. I'll have a small prayer tomorrow at church for Doug and his family. If you're so inclined, do that yourself, as he was a nice guy, even if he wasn't our best pitcher most of the time.

Read something pretty amusing tonight. The Cubs are interested in Juan Gonzalez apparently. According to this link I saw tonight, the White Sox & the Red Sox are also interested in him.

Cubs - Juando in the National League where he can't hide behind the DH? I find it hard to believe anyone would take a flyer on him now. If he comes back and hits 40 home runs and drives in 125, I'll say I'm wrong, but I really don't think I will be wrong on that.

From the "I really feel sorry for THAT" department, Alfonso Soriano lost his arbitration case with the Nationals, and will get ONLY $10 million instead of the $12 he asked for. That's a record arbitration award anyway, beating the $8.2 that Andrew Jones of the Braves got in 2001.

More here.

The Texas Rangers are going to win the AL West.
Millwood will win the AL Cy Young

These are a couple of the 2006 predictions by Jim Evans over at Baseball Digest Daily. This is what he says about Millwood in his predictions article..

With all of Texas cheering him on, and Tom Hicks installing a giant fan to counteract the jet stream effect that occurred when he built a luxury box addition to Arlington Stadium, Millwood wins the Cy Young with an ERA of 2.98, and a 23 win season. Johann Santana fans cry foul again, as he leads the league in ERA and strikeouts, but wins 6 less games.

23 wins? 2.98 ERA at our field? A Ranger pitcher a Cy Young winner? Jim, I think you have some bad leftover Egg Nog there. That's way out there. I'm a Ranger fan, and while I like the optimism, I'd be totally and absolutely stunned if anything like this actually happened. Plus the "giant fan" remark kind of makes the whole paragraph seem like a bit of a joke to me.

Minor rant aside, check out Jim's article. Has some intersting names turning up in his predictions.

He also makes a remark about imported players like Ichiro & Jojima from Japan being ineligible for Rookie of the Year starting in 2007. That's a good rule if true - I hadn't heard of it before. Never felt those guys should be eligible for ROY in the first place. Nothing against them, I love Ichiro a lot as a player, but to call him a "rookie" is a bit of a joke.

Seattle on Wednesday signed Carl Everett, the former Rangers outfielder. (Story)

I'll take this chance to say that when he was dealt, he had turned around my opinion of him. He still was unsuited to play center field here, as he's not fast enough for that position, but I ended up being in his camp when he left. One thing I still admire him about is his stance on his children. So many actors, sports guys, etc have no problem with divulging every piece of information about their family and kids. Not Carl. He has five children, but in every team he's played for, he gives no information on their names, birthdates, etc. I admire him for trying to keep his personal life personal. I even wrote him a letter about that when he was playing here and told him so.

Good luck Carl, except the 19 times you play us. :)

Sandy Alomar Jr today signed a one year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to backup their young catcher Dioner Navarro. I thought Sandy did a great job with us in the 2005 season. He hit well when called upon, and seemed to be great in the clubhouse. I was really hoping we'd resign him for another year. I'm not going to lose sleep that our 39 year old catching backup is gone, but I wasn't scared when the backup catcher came in for us; some of the backups we've had have been less than awe-inspiring. He even got a $100k raise with the Dodgers over what the Rangers paid him, although that probably goes right back out the window with the California tax rates. :)

I hope he does well out there in LA - the Dodgers are due for a comeback, it's been awhile since they've been really good. Here's a story on mlb.com about his signing with LA.

That didn't take long. According to this story, Kenny Rogers has signed a two year deal with the Detroit Tigers the night after the Rangers formally cut ties with him by not offering him arbitration. That part is not a surprise, really. The surprise is that it's a two year deal for $16 million. $8 Million a year for Kenny Rogers, eh? Wow.

At least it'll bring back the battery of Kenny to Pudge. Provided Pudge doesn't whine his way out of Detroit.

Forgot to mention this yesterday, but the Rangers formally cut all ties with six players by not offering them arbitration.

The players are: C Sandy Alomar, Jr., RHP Doug Brocail, INF Greg Colbrunn, OF Richard Hidalgo, RHP Steve Karsay and LHP Kenny Rogers.

No surprises on any of them, although there was some noise the last few days saying the Rangers might offer Rogers arbitration. Boor-ass came out and said that it was in his contract that we can't do that, so I don't know what all the speculation was about. I would have liked to have seen us retain Alomar, I thought he did a great job as the backup catcher this year.

Additionally, the following former Rangers were also not offered arbitration by thier respective clubs: Todd Hollandsworth, Jay Powell, Royce Clayton, Juan Gonzalez, Jeff Nelson, Todd Greene, Rafael Palmeiro, Ugueth Urbina, Rudy Seanez, James Baldwin, Carl Everett. Also Danny Kolb was traded back to the Brewers from the Braves for Wes Obermueller.

We avoided a scary situation today when the Colorado Rockies signed Jose Mesa. I really did not want him coming here at all. Having followed him the last 4 years or so in Philly & Pittsburgh... Uh, NO. Thank you Colorado.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the story that Arod frequents poker houses.

In one regard, he should be allowed to do that. I don't know if I agree with Selig's freaking out about it. Sending the wrong message? I think he should worry more about steroids and the fact that most kids and their families can't afford to go to more than a game or two a season, it's just too damned expensive.

I say let Arod play. Let's see if he'll be lining up with Pete Rose to sell autographs down the street from HOF induction ceremonies.

The Rangers lost first base coach DeMarlo Hale to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. He goes to the Red Sox to coach third base. While it might initially be seen as a lateral move, the third base coach has a more presitgious job. Also, Hale has a stonger tie to Boston's club. He was drafted by them originally in 1992, and played in Boston's minor league system for 7 years. Hale managed Texas' AAA club for two years (00 & 01), and then was the Rangers' first base coach from 02-05. Ironically (if I remember my dates right), Hale's replacement as AAA Oklahoma manager was Bobby Jones, who was the Rangers first base coach before him, and is the leading candidate to replace Hale.

While I don't really want to lose Hale, he seemed like a good enough coach and guy, if the replacement is Bobby Jones, I'm OK with that, it just makes the real choice being who replaces Jones at AAA? Click here to view DeMarlo Hale's page on the Rangers site. Click here to view the story about Hale's hiring on the Red Sox site.

Also, Orel Hershisher is talking to the Dodgers about their vacant managerial job this week. If Orel goes, we'll probalby promote Mark Connor to pitching coach, and I'd love to see them make John Wetteland the bullpen coach.

Well, I get to report about this in my "Former Rangers News" category.

Kenny Rogers won't be back in 2006. The Rangers have taken the rather interesting step of saying that they won't offer him a contract in 2006. There's a story about it on the Rangers site.

I find the timing interesting. It could be genuine, or part of a plan to reduce the salary request. If Kenny goes into the off season too far w/o a deal, it might end up with a Twins type of thing where he takes reduced money. If NO ONE takes him, we could bring him back. Remember, John Hart said that we weren't interested in signing Chan Ho, and we did. :) Still, my gut feeling says he won't be back, although where he'll end up, I don't know.

Are there any former Rangers who are still playing that aren't in some sort of trouble or contract squabble or something? Pudge is complaining in Detroit, Juan's still hurt in Cleveland, Raffy's got his steroids fiasco, & now Kenny has his contract situation. I guess Julio Franco's not making any noise in Atlanta. :)

UPDATE: Jamey Newberg has a great writeup on the Kenny Rogers situation, and several issues relating to it. If you haven't already checked it out, do so here.

There's a good article by Jayston Stark on Rafael Palmeiro up on ESPN today. Check it out. In short it wonders why anyone would take a chance on Raffy in the off season, specifically going so far as to say he's likely to be the last free agent signed.

I think for Palmeiro to play in 2006, he'll have to come clean during the offseason about what happened. I think that's about the only way someone will want to take a flyer on him.

There's a story that was posted late last night about Raffy's steroid case. From the article..

Rafael Palmeiro's positive steroid test was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that is not available in dietary supplements, according to a newspaper report.

If that's true, then it seems to appear that he did lie about this, but it also says that the testing was done AFTER his grand jury case, so there's probably no Congressional perjury issue anymore. But wow, does this look bad. If you look at my Raffy posts for the last few days, I sort of defended him, but if this is true, I fail to see how the "never intentionally took" claim can fly, assuming it is this Stanozolol.

Sigh.

After thinking about it a bit, I think Raffy will still get into the HOF, but I'm sure there will be a bunch of doubts. Jason Stark had a bunch to say on this issue in his column on ESPN. Check it out. My favorite quote from him:

Would I vote for a guy with 3,000 hits and almost 600 homers for the Hall of Fame? Yeah, I would. On the first ballot. And every ballot.

It's some kind of commentary on the bizarro world we live in these days that stuff like this is now a subject for serious debate. But steroids have done that for us.

Jason also feels that when it actually is time to vote on Raffy for the HOF, the 5 year period after a player retires will probably cool off a lot of people's thoughts. Right now it's a hot issue, people are passionate about it, but I suspect it won't be that "big a deal" in 2010 (assuming Raffy retires after this year). Although, I wonder what kind of heat a team may take for signing Raffy in this offseason, assuming he wants to continue. His contract is up after this season.

Also, it appears that the Rangers have cancelled a pre-game ceremony meant to honor Raffy when the Orioles visit town this weekend. I can't say I'm surprised by that.

Well, we always wondered when the Major League Baseball drug policy would name a major player. That's finally happened. Up until now it's been fringe major leaguers, or minor league players that the average fan has never heard of nor ever will again. But this time, we got a biggie, and that was Rafael Palmeiro. Raffy was suspended for 10 days by MLB, starting today (Aug 1).

I have to admit, when I saw Raffy in the congressional hearings I believed his "I never did Steroids" claims. The amount of his denial seemed to me to be enough - he was clean of that. Now, I'm not foolish enough to think I know the honest to god truth, but I bought it from him. Was it because he was a former Ranger, one I liked, and I didn't want to believe Canseco's claims? Possibly, I can't really tell. But the bottom line is that I believed him.

So today we get the suspension of Raffy for a violation of the steroid policy. Shortly after the suspension news came down, Raffy released a statement on the matter. In it, he says this..

I am here to make it very clear that I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period.

That's pretty much the same thing he said in Congress, except this time it has the word "intentionally". While I'm no expert on the matter, I'm just a fan, from where I sit, I wonder exactly what constitutes a positive. Is it like getting a DUI - where if you're over "X" in blood alcohol, you're considered drunk? Do these tests look for any existance of whatever it is they're looking for, and you're guilty? Or do you have to have so much over a certain threshold? I have to imagine that at least part of it could be because of the way other things one might take interact with each other causing a false positive. Now Raffy could be guilty as sin, and lying out his ass - I suppose only he will ever know for sure. But like I said above, my gut feeling is that he didn't do what Giambi & Canseco (and likely McGuire, it seems) did, which is inject themselves with steroids. But, the suspension is there. It exists, so something has to have happened.

We'll probably never really know the truth, but I really hope this doesn't start too much of an uproar over his HOF credentials. There's been a lot of talk about Raffy and the HOF, with a lot of national folks saying he's definitely not a HOF player. Feh - he's most definitely a HOF player. Most of the people who said he wasn't are doing it on a "He hasn't won any championships" kind of stance. His numbers are awesome. He should be there on the numbers. But I wonder how this allegation will weigh on writers' minds when it comes time for Raffy to enter Cooperstown. Granted, if you go just on numbers, than Pete Rose should be there too, but that's a whole other can of worms.

So now what? The Orioles are coming to town this weekend, so if the Rangers were planning on anything to mark Raffy's 3000th hit, I have to imagine that's been scrapped. I would have to imagine he'd get booed - who knows? The bottom line is that it's really disappointing to have this come out, whether Raffy stood there on the mound injecting himself, or he has a false positive. Yet another thing I'd rather not have to try and explain to my daughter. Good thing she's only 3.5 months old, and doesn't grasp this stuff yet.

One other thing. In reading around online about this situation this afternoon, I ran across this quote by a Red Sox fan (soxfan@redsox.com, actually). He said..

What I can't wait for is the first player to actually admit to having used steroids when he gets caught. Giambi came the closest, though he was never caught by the league and suspended for it. It's always "an accident," or something like that. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the people who are crummy enough as human beings to cheat at their job are also the ones without the sense of responsibility to actually admit their mistakes.

While I don't think Raffy is lying, it's definitely an interesting take on this situation.

Here's some more reading on the issue:

Jim Evans of Baseball Digest Daily

Baseball Musings (The comments area is where I got the soxfan quote from)

Lone Star Ball

This weekend, DirecTV was having a free preview weekend of the MLB Extra Innings Package. I was taking advantage of that in flipping around some channels, as my wife was working, and my baby was asleep. Stopped on the Mariners Orioles game, and it was right as Raffy was coming up to bat. It was some fortuitious timing on my part, as a few pitches after I landed on the channel, the pitch to Raffy landed in left field near the line for a double - Raffy's 3000th career hit.

I was there in person that Mother's Day a couple of years ago when Raffy hit his 500th home run. I rather liked the fact I managed to see his home run live, and not on Baseball Tonight or some other clip show. I saved it to DVD.

As much as Raffy didn't fit the situation here when he left, I still very much like him, and hope he can stick around long enough to get to home run #600, which is probably the only real plateau left for him I think. As of right now, he needs 34 more home runs to achieve that. A couple of years ago, that was a no brainer, but as his production declines, I would think he'd need all the way through the end of the 2006 season, and possibly into early 2007 to achieve that. I'd be surprised if he's still playing in 2007.

But tonight is about his achievement. He's only the fourth player to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. He joins Eddie Murray, Willie Mays, & Hank Aaron in this club. Bonds could probably do it, he needs another 270 hits to get to 3,000 though.

Congratulations Raffy!

Well, Juan Gonzalez was activated from the Indians' disabled list today. It cost Ryan Ludwick his spot on the roster, as he was DFA'ed.

And guess what? After his first at bat, Juan hurt himself again, and had to come out of the game. As much as my religion tells me it's not nice to make fun of others' misfortune, unfortunately all I can think of to say about this is..

Former Ranger Buddy Bell was named manager of the Royals today. Buddy, as far as I can tell is a good guy, and will probably give the Royals his best shot. However, I don't see 'em doing much of anything anytime soon.

In fact, during tonight's telecast, Josh Lewin remarked that in his previous mangerial stops, Buddy was in charge of some teams that were pretty much in the toilet, and that he might be good at getting players through bad times.

Doesn't say much about his ability to turn it around when folks are talking about how he can keep their spirits up when losing? Yikes. Still, I wish him the best, I hope he can turn it around there.

Read online today where former Rangers pitcher Rick Helling was hurt while pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers' AAA team. Apparently he was "impaled" by a flying broken bat piece.

While the article I read didn't give any specifics as to the exact nature of the injury, the word impaled didn't sound pleasant at all. Haven't seen anything else on this story other than this article. If I find anything else out about this, I'll update.

That didn't take long, found this article which tells some of the details of the injury. Doesn't sound like it's terribly bad, but still - ouch!

Just a reminder - two years ago on Mother's Day, Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th home run at The Ballpark in Arlington. I was there with my wife, it was quite the cool moment. We had gotten free tickets and were sitting in Section 26, a spectacular view of what happened.

I mention this to commemorate the event, and also that I took a lot of pictures that day, if you want to see my gallery of photos from Raffy's historic day, you can do so at this location:

http://www.rangerfans.com/gallery/raffy500.

Travis Hughes, who was designated for assignment as part of the gaggle of roster moves to set the 25 man roster isn't a Ranger anymore. He was claimed on waivers by the Washington Nationals today.

Travis Hughes & Augustin Montero were DFA'ed when we purchased the contracts of Mark DeRosa & Chad Allen on April 2nd.

A couple of days after Juan Gonzalez was named the starting RF of the Indians, he was placed on the disabled list. This is a record for him. He usually plays about 10 games before being "hurt". This time he played zero!

In reading a story about this move today, I read an interesting fact about his (lack of) durability. It said this: For Juan Gone, this is his 11th trip to the DL in 14 seasons, and he has been limited to just over one season's worth of games in the last three years.

In fact, looking back at his career stats, Juan hasn't played what can be called a "full season" of games since 1999, when he was in 144 games. The next closest would be 2001 with 140. He had 115 in his year with the Tigers, and 70/82 in his two years back with the Rangers, and a paltry 33 last year with Kansas City.

It all can be traced back to his baggy pants in the Hall of Fame Game. :)

After trying to catch on this spring with the New York Mets (why a NL team, wouldn't it have been easier in the AL), Andres Galarraga announced his retirement this afternoon.

His time in Texas wasn't the best period in the team's history, but I always liked him. With his cancer issues over the years, and from what I can tell his general likability, he was someone I wanted to see succeed, even when he was playing for the hated Braves.

This spring, Galarraga hit .235 in 17 games, with a double, three home runs and seven RBI. Over his entire career, he was a .288 hitter, playing in 2,257 games. He had 1425 RBI's, and 399 home runs, just one short of the 400 club.

There's more details in a press release by the Mets here.
You can also view my old roster page for Andres here.

Our old buddy, Mr. Baggy Butt himself, Juan Gonzalez was named the starting RF for the 2005 Cleveland Indians. I found this surprising, as Juan doesn't seem to fit into what the Indians are doing personnel wise. They seem to be doing mostly what we are, which is a close knit group of young players who are growing together. Close knit is not something that Juando is really known for. He's known to be moody, selfish, and not a big "team player".

I liked him when he was here, but after he left the first time, and even during his second tenure with the Rangers, he just didn't seem like the same player he was before. I wish him well, but along with most other Ranger fans, I have to wonder how long he will go before being placed on the disabled list with some small injury that he doesn't want to play through.

Here's a wire story about this issue:

Former Rangers outfielder Doug Glanville was released by the Yankees today. He was trying to hook up with them to back up Bernie Williams (who has a great jazz cd), but the Yankees decided his offense wasn't up to par (we saw that in Texas).

I do like the guy, I followed him during his years in Philly. I just don't see him hooking on with someone else. Kind of reminds me of Tom Goodwin, who is still floating around out there. Light hitter, good defender, great clubhouse guy.

Former Ranger pitcher Todd Van Poppel retired this morning. He had been in camp with the Mets, but today decided to walk away and hang up the cleats.

Todd had two stints with the Rangers, neither particularly sucessful. The first time was a brief time in 1998, and then again in 2002 & 2003. He was one of those guys I think folks wanted to do well, since he's a local boy. But it never worked out with the Rangers.

View my Todd Van Poppel page here.

In a bit of news that nobody seemed surprised at, Rusty Greer officially retired this weekend. I think it was a longshot for anyone to actually offer him a position where he could make it onto the field, although I would like to have seen him do it.

He says he wants to spend more time with his family, which I full well understand. What surprises me about this is he also turned down the front office thing, saying he wants to be "just retired" for the time being.

I'm sure there will be a "Rusty Greer Day" at some point this season where he's honored. Would also be nice if they retire #29, but I doubt they'll do that. :)

In a story I've been following for awhile, it appears that former Ranger closer Ugueth Urbina's mother has been found alive. Late last season, the current Tiger reliever's mother was kidnapped and held for ransom. This happened early last September, and has been ongoing till now. Ugueth understandibly had to leave the Tigers to deal with this, and I really had thought a few times she was dead. Fortunately, the story says she's alive, which is very good news. I'm glad for all of them that there was a good resolution to this story.

What bothers me most about this is the fact that it probably could quite easily happen again to others in countries that are so poor, kidnap the rich guy's family and demand money. Think about it.

Here's the full story regarding Urbina's mom being found:

Jose Canseco is trying to get some attention, now that he's totally out of baseball. Several reports this morning say that some claims from his upcoming book "Juiced" say that former Rangers were introduced to steroids by him. Some of the claims he makes were that he introduced Pudge, Raffy, & Juan Gonzalez to steroids when they were all teammates on the Rangers in 1994. He also claims that George W Bush (who was owner of the team at the time) "must have known" about the steroid usage. He also claims to have personally injected Mark McGwire with steroids, and that he, McGwire, & Jason Giambi all did that together while they were all with the A's.

Rangers management over the weekend seemed to make a point that the current administration of the team wasn't around when all this was alledged to happen (they weren't), and the GM at the time (current TV broadcaster Tom Grieve) said on Monday morning that Jose's comments were a joke, and that he's at a new level of embarrassment, also calling the use of George W's name a complete cheap shot. Even Rusty Greer came out and said he never saw anyone use them in his 11 years as a Ranger.

Now I haven't read the book yet (it isn't scheduled to come out till Feb 21st), but it seems to me at this point that he's trying to go "Uh, I did it - everyone else did, so I'm not such a bad guy". Jose hasn't exactly been the model citizen the last few years, and my religion dictates that I should believe people and be nice to them, but it really seems like an attempt to make a few bucks by raising allegations in a book that aren't exactly true. However, I can't disprove them either - I wasn't there, nor I suspect is anyone else who might read these words of mine. It just all seems a bit "out there", even given the current bruhaha in the last 12 months over steroids in baseball. Don't also forget Canseco's old spousal abuse charges from the past - just go to Google and search for 'Canseco "spousal abuse"' - you'll see it.

Here's a few links about this steroid stuff from the various local newspapers this morning:

DMN Article 1 | DMN Article 2 | Ft Worth Star Telegram

2004 Ranger reliever Jeff Nelson returned to the Seattle Mariners today on a minor league deal. This is Nelson's third go around with Seattle, having previously pitched for them from 1992-1995 and again in 2001-2003.

I remember when we signed him, I thought it was going to be a good move. It didn't turn out that way. For the Rangers in 2004, he only pitched 23.1 innings the entire season. He was 1-2 with an ERA of 5.32. Some of his other stats...

H - 17
R - 16
ER - 14
HR - 3
BB - 19
K - 22

WHIP - 1.52

Bottom line - not good. Won't be missed from a baseball standpoint. Would be nice if he does make Seattle's club and then we can bat against those stats. :)

Sad that I have to write about Rusty Greer in the "Former Rangers News" category.. There was a short blurb about Rusty over on the ESPN website this afternoon. It said this:

The Twins have been trying to lure long-time Rangers dynamo Rusty Greer to a spring-training invite. But it appears Greer is leaning toward retirement.

I really wish two things here:

1) We would have extended a spring training invite to Rusty, even if it was only for show. Would have been nice to see him in the Spring Training footage on the news.

2) Rusty really does retire. I'd hate to see him in anyone else's uniform.

Aaron Sele:

Aaron Sele signed a 1 year minor league contract with the Mariners yesterday. He was most recently with the Angels where he spent his time either being hurt, or not pitching very well. So of course, Sele was someone the Rangers were looking at picking up. Seriously, he wasn't as bad as all that, but like Esteban Loaiza, I didn't think picking up one of your former pitching guys was a really great idea. Hey, I hear John Burkett's not doing anything now. ;)

Brian Jordan:

The 2004 version of a Rangers right fielder (Brian Jordan) returned to the Atlanta Braves today on a 1 year deal. I liked Brian a lot as a person. He seemed to be someone good for this team. Unfortunately, he was hurt almost the entire season, and produced next to nothing for us.

Dean Palmer:

Saw today where the Detroit Tigers have invited former Ranger Dean Palmer to spring training. Yikes - if the Tigers are inviting Palmer, who was easily a non factor on the field the last few years of his career to spring training, they must be hurting. Add to the fact that he's retired, and it's a bit of a puzzler to me.

Former Ranger Ken Caminiti has died of a heart attack at the age of 41.

While I personally feel bad when people die, I can't help but feel his was of his own doing. He was consumed by his drug addiction, and it killed him.

Our old friend Mike Lamb was traded from the Yankees to the Astros this afternoon.

• Jamey Newberg's Rangers Report recently had a great paragraph on the trade of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees.  I liked it, and he gave me permission to quote it, so here it is.  It pretty much sums up what I feel about him.
• I gained a lot by watching the clips from Alex Rodriguez's Tuesday press conference in New York. It helped me to see him in pinstripes, smiling with Joe Torre, taking photos alongside Derek Jeter, talking about his good fortune to be part of the Yankee Machine. There was no point in getting angry at the player. He said nothing to make me feel bad about my team. He said nothing that any baseball player or anyone who ever wanted to be a baseball player wouldn't have said about what it means to join the Yankees. He was, as he usually is, appropriate.   I had closure.

• It's done - it was announced by Tom Hicks on the Ticket a few minutes ago that the trade was approved by Selig.   Alex Rodriguez is a Yankee, and Alfonso Soriano is a Ranger.

• In another move announced today, Hank Blalock was signed to a 5 year contract with the Rangers.  Details (like $) haven't been laid out yet - when they will, I'll update.

• If you check out my roster page for Arod, it has the revised terms of his contract spelled out - there's only one issue I'm unsure about in it, so I'm fairly confident the revised terms are correct.

• You know, it's funny.  I said that if Arod wanted to not be here, then I didn't want him here.  That's obviously what's happening, but the thing that frosts me most about this entire fiasco - the absolute worst thing is this.   We're giving money TO THE YANKEES.  That's unheard of.  It's bad enough that we're sending the best player in the game to the Evil Empire.  That's bad.   But to give the Yankees money?  WHY?  They should be giving US money for the privilege of having the best player in the game.  Good riddance to a player who didn't want to be here.  Best player or not, if you don't want to be here, I don't want you.  And that's sad, because I really liked what he did ON THE FIELD for us the last three years.  Off the field he did next to zero, but on the field, you couldn't ask for any better.

• Fortunately, my season ticket package has the game of Friday, May 21st which is the first game the Yankees play here this season.  I normally don't like going to Yankee games, as it brings out a hell of a lot of obnoxious fans to the Ballpark (aka Yankee fans).  However, you can bet your ass I'll be there for this one.

• All I ask out of this is that we put Soriano in center field, and leave Mike Young at second.   Oh, and use some of the money we saved on the Arod trade to tie up Blalock & Young for awhile.

• The funny thing is that at the Mini Plan Season Ticket Holder function on Feb 7th, I got Arod to sign my 2001 All-Star Game unused baseball.  It's still cool, but it seems a bit tarnished today.

• More former Ranger news.  Pudge finally signed with the Tigers on Monday.   Today we traded Mike Lamb to the Yankees for Class A pitcher Jose Garcia.

• Yesterday former Ranger 3B Dean Palmer retired from the Tigers.  He was a player I liked in the past, and it's sad that injuries claimed his career.

Juan Gonzalez signed a 1 year contract with the Royals today.  Thanks for Jimmy Gobble, Mr. Baggy Pants.  :(

Ken Caminiti was picked up by the Braves today. Details and discussion here:

http://www.rangerfans.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000022

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (TICKER) -- The Kansas City Royals addressed needs for a utility player and veteran leader on Friday by signing free-agent Luis Alicea to a one-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alicea, 35, spent the last three seasons of a 10-year career in Texas, where he enjoyed his best offensive campaign in 2000, hitting .294 with six home runs and 63 RBI -- all career highs.

A switch-hitter, Alicea started at second base for the Rangers but became expendable with the acquisition of veteran Randy Velarde from Oakland.

Alicea also can play third base, which is occupied by Joe Randa in Kansas City. He is expected to battle Carlos Febles for playing time at second.

"Luis will be a great addition that will upgrade our utility role for the 2001 season," general manager Allard Baird said. "He is a switch-hitter with a high on-base percentage that will also supply us with veteran leadership."

A native of Puerto Rico, Alicea ranked second among American League second baseman in batting average behind Cleveland's Roberto Alomar (.310) in 2000.

Alicea is a .260 lifetime hitter in 1,134 major league games, also playing for Anaheim, St. Louis (twice) and Boston. He was a first-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 1986.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Infielder Luis Alicea and the Kansas City Royals agreed Friday to an $800,000, one-year contract.

Alicea, 35, can make an additional $400,000 in performance bonuses, getting $50,000 for appearing in 80 games and $50,000 for each additional 10 games through 150.

Alicea, who made $1.15 million last year, spent the last three seasons with Texas, hitting .294 last year with 85 runs, 159 hits, six homers and 63 RBIs.

He has a .260 career average in 10 major league seasons with 42 homers and 367 RBIs.

``Luis will be a great addition that will upgrade our utility role for the 2001 season,'' Royals general manager Allard Baird said. ``He is a switch-hitter with a high on-base percentage.''

• Former Ranger Roberto Kelly signs with the Colorado Rockies - his 9th team.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- One year. That's all Juan Gonzalez wanted to prove he was still one of baseball's best players.

And the Cleveland Indians were more than happy to give it to him.

Gonzalez, limited to just 115 games last season in Detroit because of injuries, signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the Indians on Tuesday.

He'll fill the club's hole in right field and in the cleanup spot created when Manny Ramirez left.

Gonzalez, who has had a history of back problems, passed a team physical before signing the deal, which includes a $14 million mutual option for 2002 and a no-trade clause.

``Last year, I had a lot of health problems,'' said Gonzalez, a two-time AL MVP. ``My production went down a little bit because of the injuries. But I'm going to come back and put up great numbers. I'm excited.''

So are the Indians, who lost 38 homers and 122 RBIs when Ramirez signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox last month.

Gonzalez was a terror to Cleveland pitching as an opponent in Jacobs Field. He batted .344 (45-for-131) with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 30 career games at the Jake. The 12 homers are the most ever by a visiting player at the hitter's-friendly ballpark.

It's scary to think what he might do in a full season there. Sixty homers? 170 RBIs?

Scott Boras, Gonzalez's agent, said he did a double-take when a study factoring in the ballclub's dimensions, Cleveland's potent lineup and Gonzalez's production spit out some scary numbers.

Asked how scary, Boras joked, ''268 RBIs.''

Boras was serious when he talked about Gonzalez's commitment to making things work in Cleveland.

The 31-year-old outfielder struggled with injuries and an uncertain future with the Tigers last season, and hit .289 with 22 homers and 67 RBIs -- less than half his average the past four years.

``Juan's decision to come here was very, very simple,'' said Boras, who said he negotiated with five other teams. ``Juan could have gotten three times the amount of guaranteed money that he took from Cleveland. The reason he came here was to play for a winner.

``He wanted to get back to an environment that allowed him the opportunity to win, and an environment where he felt there was a future. He wanted a winner.''

Boras said the mutual option allows either side to get out of the deal, and added it was unlikely he would negotiate a new contract with the Indians during the season.

``It's like a life boat on an ocean cruiser,'' Boras said of the option. ``You don't use them very often, but it's nice to know that they're there.''

Gonzalez turned down an $143 million, eight-year extension with the Tigers last year and then missed out on a big payday as a free agent this winter while both Ramirez ($160 million) and Alex Rodriguez ($252 million) got long-term deals.

By signing with the Indians, Gonzalez feels he'll have the best chance to re-establish himself as one of the game's premium talents. And if things work out just right, he could finish his career with the Indians.

`You always here about players going for the extra dollar,'' Boras said. ``What Juan Gonzalez will stand for is a player who has turned down the most money to play in a place where he wants to win and is also willing to put forth the greatest amount of risk.''

Before agreeing to the deal, the Indians made sure Gonzalez's back wasn't risky. They gave him a full physical on Tuesday and examined test results provided by Boras.

``His health and his back are non-issues,'' Indians general manager John Hart said.

However, there were some other issues the club needed to sort out prior to finalizing the deal.

Gonzalez has earned a reputation as being a moody player in the clubhouse. And like other high-profile pro superstars, Gonzalez often traveled with an entourage which sometimes included a personal trainer, spiritual adviser and others.

``I can tell you that that has been addressed,'' Hart said. ``There will be no one in the clubhouse.''

Boras said when Gonzalez approached him in August with a list of places he wanted to play, the entourage issue was discussed and put to rest.

``Juan will walk into the ballpark like every other player and he'll leave the locker room like every other player,'' Boras said. ``And anybody that's with him in his personal life will be outside the ballpark. It's something Juan and I took care of. A lot of things are said about Juan because he's shy.''

Except at the plate where the Indians are counting on him to fill the offensive void left by Ramirez.

Gonzalez has never batted in a lineup like Cleveland's. He'll fit nicely into the No. 4 slot behind Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar. He'll also be protected by Jim Thome, Ellis Burks and Travis Fryman.

Playing at the Jake will help, too. He never got comfortable at Detroit's new Comerica Park and reportedly asked the Tigers to move the fences in.

``The dimensions are better, not like in Detroit,'' he said. ``It's too big for anyone. A lot of times, I hit the ball so hard and it didn't jump out of the yard.''

Cleveland gets to defer $2 million of his salary, paying $1 million each on April 1, 2002, and Oct. 1, 2002.

He would get a $500,000 bonus if he is elected AL MVP, $300,000 for finishing second in the voting, $150,000 for finishing third and $100,000 for fourth or fifth.

``This is a very important season for me,'' he said. ``I want to stay healthy, play hard inside the lines fnd everything else will work out.''

ST. LOUIS (TICKER) -- "The Thrill" is gone.

Veteran first baseman Will Clark, who replaced injured slugger Mark McGwire and helped the St. Louis Cardinals reach the National League championship series this past season, announced his retirement today.

The 36-year-old Clark, a six-time All-Star, played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Cardinals in his 15-year major league career.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Clark said. "It was a series of things. First off, 15 years is a long time. I've had three elbow surgeries, and by no means am I getting any younger. But having the experience I had in St. Louis, I thought this was the right time."

A smooth-swinging lefthanded hitter, Clark had a lifetime batting average of .303 with 284 home runs and 1,205 RBI in 1,976 games.

Nicknamed "The Thrill" during his early years with the Giants, Clark batted .345 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 51 games with the Cardinals during the final two months of the 2000 season after being acquired from Baltimore at the July 31 trade deadline.

He also batted .345 in the postseason as the Cardinals rolled to a stunning three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NL division series before falling to the New York Mets in the NLCS.

Clark admitted St. Louis' success made the decision to retire more difficult.

"The temptation was definitely there (to return)," Clark said. "I had a lot of fun the last two months and the fans here are unbelievable. I definitely weighed the decision to come back for a long time."

McGwire recently underwent knee surgery and said he expects to be at about "85 percent" for the start of spring training. However, McGwire's status in no way affected Clark's decision.

"No, I would not reconsider it," Clark said of returning if McGwire was not ready to play first base.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty was stunned by Clark's announcement, and left the door open for Clark to remain with the organization.

"This is kind of a sad day for the Cardinals," Jocketty said. "We were looking forward to having Will come back. What he added in the second half helped put us over the top. We hope he will be a part of our organization in the future."

The second player selected overall in the June 1985 draft out of Mississippi State by the Giants, Clark homered in his first major league at-bat, belting a fastball from Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan over the center field wall at the Astrodome on April 8, 1986.

"My greatest memory is the first at bat home run off Nolan Ryan," Clark said. "Second would be the base hit off Mitch Williams in the 1989 NLCS to put us (the Giants) in the World Series. The third would be the last two months in St. Louis. That was an absolute joy ride."

Clark carried the Giants to the World Series in 1989, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the NLCS. He hit .650 (13-for-20) with two homers and eight RBI as the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs in five games. However, San Francisco was swept by Oakland in the "Earthquake Series."

Clark played the first eight years of his career with the Giants, setting career bests with 35 home runs in 1987 and 116 RBI in 1991.

The Texas Rangers signed Clark as a free agent in 1994. He helped them win division titles in 1996 and 1998, but averaged just 15 homers and 79 RBI in his five years with the Rangers.

Clark signed with Baltimore in 1999, but was hampered with elbow problems that season and played in just 77 games, batting .303 with 10 homers and 29 RBI.

Before he was acquired by St. Louis, Clark hit .301 with nine homers and 28 RBI in 79 games with the Orioles last season.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Nolan Ryan, baseball's career strikeout leader, was in stable condition today after emergency double-bypass surgery.

Ryan was in near-perfect health for a 53-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher. Family history, however, made him a perfect candidate for heart disease.

Doctors were hastily summoned Sunday at Round Rock Medical Center, where Ruth Ryan drove her husband after he felt chest pains and experienced shortness of breath during a morning walk in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. Ryan is part owner of a minor league baseball team there.

``The doctors told us he has the heart of a 30-year-old,'' Ryan's eldest son, Reid, said. ``We feel confident that he is going to recover fully.''

Mark Felger, who performed the two-hour operation to clear an arterial blockage, and Reid Ryan planned a news conference tonight.

An electrocardiogram and blood tests showed Ryan did not have a heart attack, Texas Rangers spokesman John Blake said.

``However, doctors felt like there was blockage of (an) artery and suggested the Heart Hospital of Austin for an angiogram,'' J.J. Gottsch, director of public relations for the Round Rock Express, the team that Ryan and his son own, told the Austin American-Statesman.

When a substantial blockage of the left main coronary artery leading into Ryan's heart was indicated, Felger performed the bypass at 3 p.m.

The surgery was successful, Gottsch said. Ryan is expected to be hospitalized for about a week, Blake said.

``Today was a total shock to our family,'' Reid Ryan, president of the Express, said. ``My dad has been in perfect health.''

But the younger Ryan said the family has had a history of heart-related problems and that doctors indicated that heredity played a large part in his father's condition.

``We feel confident that he ... can continue to lead the active lifestyle he is accustomed to,'' Reid Ryan said.

Ryan was voted into the Hall of Fame in January 1999. He holds or shares 48 major league, American League and National League records.

He struck out 5,714, pitched seven no-hitters and finished his career with 324 victories. Ryan's 27 seasons are more than anyone in major league history.

Ryan played for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas before retiring in 1993.

Story #2:

ROUND ROCK, Texas (Reuters) - Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, one of the most overpowering pitchers in baseball history, underwent emergency bypass surgery on Sunday.

While walking around Dell Diamond, home of the minor league Round Rock Express team he owns, Ryan complained of chest pains and shortness of breath. He was rushed to a local hospital by his wife, Ruth.

While test results showed he did not suffer a heart attack, doctors felt there was a blockage and suggested an angiogram. Additional tests revealed substantial blockage of the left main coronary artery. A double vessel bypass was completed by Dr. Mark Felger, who pronounced the procedure a success.

Ryan was expected to remain hospitalized for a week.

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, Ryan is the all-time leader with 5,714 strikeouts, seven no-hitters and 2,795 walks. He pitched his last two no-hitters after turning 40 with his fastball -- ``Ryan's Express'' -- still humming.

Ryan, who pitched for four teams, had back-to-back 20-win seasons with the California Angels in 1973-74 and led the National League in ERA in 1981 and 1987 with the Houston Astros.

He broke in as an erratic right-hander with the New York Mets in 1966 and won his lone World Series championship in 1969, when he served as a long reliever and spot starter.

Ryan recorded at least 300 strikeouts six times, including a major league-record 383 in 1973. He led the American League in strikeouts nine times and the NL twice, retiring after the 1993 season with a 324-292 record, 61 shutouts and a 3.19 ERA.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Juan Gonzalez doesn't know how he will fare with his new team, the Detroit Tigers. One prediction at a time, and this year's is reserved for his former team.

"I guarantee you, the Rangers will not win this year," Gonzalez said. "If the players there don't like it, I'm sorry. Tell them I'm sorry."

Gonzalez insisted he is not bitter over the Nov. 2 trade that ended his 14-year relationship with the organization. In fact, in joining the Tigers, the two-time American League MVP says he has found "paradise."

But during two days of interviews at his new spring-training home in Central Florida, Gonzalez questioned his former team's fortitude and its commitment to understanding the needs of Latin players. He also said the organization has slipped badly since the resignation of team president Tom Schieffer last April 29.

Gonzalez realized his opinions might upset some former teammates, but he made it clear he only respects the opinions of some, not all, occupants of his old clubhouse.

"I have good friends there, a lot of good friends," Gonzalez said. "But I see [expletive] there, too. A lot of [expletive]. When they see me, face to face, we can talk, no problem. But not behind my face."

The word Gonzalez used, a vulgar slang euphemism for weak-hearted individuals, showed the depth of his disdain for some former teammates. But his strongest criticisms were directed toward the Rangers' front office, which Gonzalez said made him feel pressured and often misunderstood. Former Rangers Spanish-language broadcaster Luis Mayoral, a Gonzalez confidant who resigned to become the Detroit Tigers' first Latin American Liaison, further accused the club of not doing enough to protect the player's image during his sometime-turbulent Rangers career.

"The people working there in Texas don't have good relations with other cultures, people from different countries, in my opinion," Gonzalez said. "They don't respect, a lot, the Latin players there."

Some of Gonzalez's former teammates couldn't disagree more.

"I think this organization treats its Latin players fairly," said Rafael Palmeiro, the Rangers' Cuban-born first baseman. "They have an understanding of our needs. They treat us the same as any American or African-American player. If [Gonzalez] were here, he would not have said those things. I would not have allowed that, because that's not him talking."

"They do great, to me," Rangers catcher and AL MVP Ivan Rodriguez said. "They've always been great to me. They've been excellent."

Rangers infielder Luis Alicea, like Gonzalez and Rodriguez a native of Puerto Rico, said he also believes Gonzalez is mistaken.

"This is the first organization [of four] that I've been in where they do so much to help the young [Latin] players," Alicea said. "I've had no problem whatsoever here.

"A lot of those things are not coming directly from [Gonzalez]. They don't come from his heart. They are not his thoughts, and he is being hurt by them."

Often conferring with Mayoral during one of his two interviews with The Dallas Morning News, Gonzalez also spoke in vague terms of a deteriorating atmosphere around the Rangers since Schieffer's departure.

"Schieffer is a different mind, you know? He has an international mind," Gonzalez said. "When Mr. Schieffer was working in the office, everything was so great. Mr. Schieffer is gone, everything goes down, you know?"

Asked to elaborate, Gonzalez said, "Everything goes down. It's no longer a family. I don't want to talk about names, but everything goes down, in my opinion. Everything in general. The team's going down." Hicks: 'It's silly'

Rangers owner Tom Hicks took exception to that assessment.

"I think Tom Schieffer did a great job, and I think the guys we have now are doing a great job," Hicks said. "Juan has his feelings hurt and I feel sorry for him. But we're certainly committed to having the best young players we can, and certainly a lot of those players are going to be Hispanic. We have our [scouting and development] program in the Dominican, we've reached out with people in Venezuela. We just want to win. And to say we don't support our Latin players . . . it's silly."

As for Gonzalez's prediction of a gloomy season for the Rangers, Hicks said, "We made the decision the team we had last year wasn't capable of winning the World Series. We like the chemistry we have now. I'm not saying anything specifically about Juan Gonzalez, but we want people to be disappointed in our clubhouse when we lose, and that wasn't always the case last year."

Jim Lites, the dual president of Hicks' Rangers and Dallas Stars since last May, also defended the decisions made under his watch.

"The decision to trade Juan Gonzalez was made by the baseball people," Lites said, referring to general manager Doug Melvin and his aides. "We think we improved our team in both the short and long term. We've said nothing but good things about Juan Gonzalez, and there was nothing personal about it."

The Rangers, who owe much of their organizational success to the development of Latin players such as Julio Franco, Ruben Sierra, Rodriguez and Gonzalez, actually are ahead of many teams in assisting foreign-born players. One weekend each spring, the team stages a cultural diversity seminar for its minor leaguers. The Rangers also make available to players special computers and software to help them learn English at an individual pace.

"The Rangers have always been at the forefront of helping Latin players get comfortable," said Omar Minaya, the former Rangers assistant general manager now with the New York Mets. "They have always made a good-hearted effort."

Social obstacles

Not all such assistance was available when Gonzalez was ascending the minor league ladder and breaking into the big leagues in 1989 at age 19. Chicago Cubs superstar Sammy Sosa, who like Gonzalez, spoke no English when the two signed with the Rangers at age 16, found that overcoming the language barrier paid off handsomely in popularity and endorsement opportunities.

"For me, it was hard," Sosa said. "I'm from the Dominican Republic and Gonzalez was coming from Puerto Rico. Neither one of us knew English. We came in and I did the things I needed to do to make adjustments to the language and things. . . . But I kept working and trying hard to learn English to get out of jams."

Gonzalez, 30, already is regarded as one of the game's greatest run producers. He joins the Tigers with 340 career home runs, nine more than Detroit Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and only 60 shy of surpassing the greatest living Tiger, Hall of Fame right fielder Al Kaline.

But Gonzalez's past also is littered with four failed marriages, instances of moodiness and sometimes petulant behavior, and, last year, his poorly received decisions to skip the All-Star Game if not elected a starter and the Hall of Fame exhibition because his uniform pants didn't fit to his liking.

The word Gonzalez's Spanish-speaking peers most often use in evaluating his public persona is "misunderstood."

"He is like a kid," Sosa said. "You have to know how to take him and treat him. He's a really, really sensitive person. . . . If you know how to treat him as a person, he's the greatest."

Palmeiro said, "It's an unfair thing, because [Gonzalez is] not very fluent in English. A lot of times, people misinterpret what he says or is trying to say. It's not right."

Managers view

Rangers manager Johnny Oates admitted he and Gonzalez had their disagreements, but that Gonzalez always respected his authority. He advised new Detroit manager Phil Garner to disregard past reports and start Gonzalez with a clean slate.

"Juan didn't do everything I liked him to do, and Juan and I talked about it," Oates said. "Juan did some of the little things that were perceived to give him an image that wasn't truly him. Juan's a moody guy, and you understand that. But when it comes time to win the ballgame, Juan will be there for you."

Garner, excited by Gonzalez's recent spate of Grapefruit League power, can't wait to enjoy a season with the type of superstar his previous employers in Milwaukee couldn't afford.

"What we're looking for are guys to play and produce," Garner said, "and he plays and produces. He's special."

Trade a blessing

Gonzalez said he was initially shocked by the trade, but has come to count it as a blessing.

"Absolutely," he said. "A very important thing [is] I work for very professional people, sure people. Everybody here in this clubhouse, you see a lot of smiling faces. Everybody's relaxed. It's a big difference here. There was too much pressure [in Texas], unsure people."

Asked where the pressure originated with the Rangers, Gonzalez said, "Oh, probably from the front office, I don't know. There were great fans, some of the best in baseball. But, anyway, it's history. I'm super happy here."

Gonzalez has spent the spring telling inquisitors he is happier now than at any time in his career. He praised Garner, who is allowing Gonzalez to skip spring bus rides and play only home exhibitions. Gonzalez said, "There [in Texas], they treat me good, but not like here. They treat me better here."

The Tigers wish Gonzalez would prove his devotion by accepting the eight-year, $140 million contract extension offer that reportedly has been on the table since the end of January. But despite his proclamations of finding "paradise," Gonzalez has signed nothing more binding than autographs this spring.

"I don't want to talk about contracts. Right now, my mind is on baseball," Gonzalez said. "I want to see the future of the team, my adjustment to the city. My family will go up there to see if they like the city. But I feel so great here.

"I guarantee you I feel happy. I've been smiling a lot here."

Staff Writer Evan Grant contributed to this report.

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -- Catcher Gregg Zaun was traded to the Kansas City Royals from the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday for a player to be named or cash.

Zaun, 28, spent last season with the Texas Rangers as the backup to Ivan Rodriguez. He was obtained by the Tigers in the nine-player trade that sent Juan Gonzalez to Detroit.

The 5-10, 190-pound catcher hit .247 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 43 games for the Rangers. His best season was in 1997 with the Florida Marlins, when he hit .301 with 20 RBIs in 58 games.

To make room for Zaun, the Royals designated pitcher David Lundquist for assignment.

Zaun gives the Royals eight catchers on their roster, including Sal Fasano, Brian Johnson and Jorge Fabregas.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Roger Pavlik, who has not pitched in the majors since April 1998, announced his retirement Thursday at the Colorado Rockies' spring training camp.

Pavlik, 32, was a non-roster invitee to the Rockies' camp. He was an All-Star with Texas in 1996.

Pavlik worked out for four days, beginning last Saturday, and was in the clubhouse briefly on Wednesday morning, the first day of full-squad workouts.

He was missing from Wednesday's workout, leading some to speculate he might have left camp, although he had not cleaned out his locker.

No explanation was given for Pavlik's retirement, although he faced continued rehabilitation from rotator cuff surgery, which caused him to miss the 1999 season.

He was sidelined by a broken finger in 1998 and had elbow surgery in 1997.

``That's kind of unfortunate,'' Rockies manager Buddy Bell said, ``but at the same time it's a decision that he feels very comfortable with.''

The Rockies wanted Pavlik to stay in extended spring training in April.

In 13 seasons in the Texas organization, Pavlik had a winning percentage of .547 (47-39). He went 12-6 with a 3.41 ERA with the Rangers in 1993.

Pavlik was 15-8 with a 5.19 ERA in 1996, when he tied for second in the AL with seven complete games and pitched two innings in the All-Star Game.

This was a curveball the Seattle Mariners weren't expecting.

His deal with Baltimore coming apart over his physical, Aaron Sele quickly agreed Monday night on a $15 million, two-year contract with the Seattle Mariners.

``This thing is like a star falling out of the sky,'' new Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said. ``We're satisfied Sele is as healthy as he was when he finished the season with the Rangers. He underwent a physical on behalf of us with another physician, and our physician talked with that doctor and is satisfied.''

Sele, a 29-year-old right-hander with one of baseball's best curves, reached a tentative agreement last Friday on a $29 million, four-year contract with the Orioles, a deal that contained $8 million in payments deferred without interest.

But that agreement was subject to his passing a physical, and the contract was never completed. The Orioles considered changes after the medical tests and were still talking to Sele's agents on Monday.

In the meantime, the pitcher who lives in Kirkland, Wash., turned his attention to the Mariners, one of baseball's busiest teams this winter.

Seattle spent much of the offseason considering trades for Ken Griffey Jr., but now seems likely to keep him. He is eligible for free agency after the season, and the Mariners considered deals so they wouldn't wind up losing him for nothing next fall.

Instead, having already signed free agents John Olerud, Arthur Rhodes, Mark McLemore, Stan Javier and Japanese reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki, Gillick and the Mariners might be sending Griffey a message that they are trying to win now.

``We do mean business and we do want to be competitive,'' Gillick said. ``As we all know, the Yankees and Cleveland are the cream of the crop in the American League. But you never know what happens. If you win your division and get in the playoffs, you never know what happens.''

Gillick -- a former GM for Baltimore owner Peter Angelos -- began talks after Adam Katz, one of Sele's agents, called him Monday. Just 6 1/2 hours later -- after discussions over deals of two years, two years and an option, two years and two options, and three years -- he completed negotiations to get Sele, who went to Washington State.

The contract calls for a $1 million signing bonus and annual salaries of $7 million, with none of the money deferred.

According to another of Sele's agents, Tom Reich, there was a difference on interpretation with the Orioles on medical tests. Sele has never undergone arm surgery but was limited to six starts in 1995 because of shoulder tendinitis.

``The dealing with Baltimore were very cordial from beginning to end and just didn't work out,'' Reich said. ``To me, Peter Angelos is a good guy.''

Angelos did not return a telephone call seeking comment. After the 1998 season, the Orioles reached a $2.7 million, two-year agreement with reliever Xavier Hernandez, but the deal came undone when the Orioles said he had a shoulder injury. He then signed a $250,000 agreement with the Astros and won $2 million in a grievance.

Gillick said Sele had a new physical Monday in California -- with Angels physician Dr. Lewis Yocum, according to one source -- while negotiations were taking place by telephone.

``There is going to be normal wear and tear,'' Gillick said. ``You really have to rely on your medical people. They know which bumps along the road you have to watch for and which you can work through.''

The Mariners, third in the AL West last season at 79-83, head into spring training with perhaps the top starting rotation in their division, a group that includes Jamie Moyer, John Halama and Freddy Garcia.

``It's great talk in the winter,'' Gillick said. ``You have to do it on the field.''

Seattle tried to sign Chuck Finley, wanting a left-hander who could beat the best AL teams, but the Indians got him for $27 million over three years.

Last year, the Mariners were just 1-9 against New York, 3-7 against Cleveland and 5-8 against Texas.

Sele was 18-9 with a 4.79 ERA with the Texas Rangers last year after going 19-11 with a 4.23 ERA in 1998. In his two years with Texas, Sele missed only one start, and that was because of flu symptoms.

He spent the first five years of his major league career with the Boston Red Sox and has a 75-53 career record.

``I think this is a business where timing is very important. You only have a very small window,'' Gillick said. ``You have to react very quickly. Those who hesitate, as they say, are lost.''

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- The Anaheim Angels today claimed righthanded reliever Al Levine off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

Levine was 2-1 with one save and a 5.23 ERA in seven games this spring. Over 10 1/3 innings, he allowed 12 hits while walking four and striking out one.

The 30-year-old Levine is 2-4 with a 5.30 ERA in 71 games with Texas and the Chicago White Sox. He was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in a career-high 30 games last year, his only season with the Rangers.

Levine likely will start the season as the 25th player on Anaheim's roster. Mike James is out for the season and fellow righthanded reliever Pep Harris is on the disabled list.

LAKELAND, Fla. - The New York Yankees signed journeyman Tony Fossas to a minor-league contract Thursday as they continue their search for a second left-handed reliever. Fossas, 41, will make $410,000 with a chance for $150,000 in bonuses if he makes the major league roster. He has an agreement with the Yankees that he will be released instead of pitching in the minors if he does not make the team.

From Joe: The Rangers had conditionally released Tony a couple of days ago, saying "if the season were to start today, you wouldn't be on the roster". Signed with the Yankees. I don't see them in need of Fossas on the major league level at all.

The team signed utility infielder Domingo Cedeno to a Class AAA contract after letting go of Rafael Bournigal.

Like Bournigal, Cedeno will have the advantage of being able to communicate in Spanish with talented second-year shortstop Miguel Tejada. Cedeno hit .262 in 61 games last year with Texas, starting 25 games at shortstop, but he also led Texas in pinch hits with six, showing he can be of use to Art Howe off the bench.

The team was looking for another righthanded bat, and Cedeno, a switch hitter, gives the club more flexibility in a lineup loaded with lefthanded hitters. Cedeno and rookie lefthander Mark Mulder will go to spring training as two of the non-roster invitees with the best chances of making the team.

NEW YORK -- Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were voted into the Hall of Fame Tuesday, the biggest class of first-time candidates since Babe Ruth and four others were chosen in the original election of 1936.

Ryan, the greatest power pitcher ever with a record 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters, was named on 98.79 percent of the ballots -- one vote short of beating former teammate Tom Seaver's 98.84 in 1992 for the highest total in history.

``It's certainly an honor that I was thought of on that level,'' Ryan said. ``Tom was obviously one of the best pitchers I ever saw throw the baseball.''

Brett, 13th on the career hits list with 3,154, made it with 98.19 percent, the fourth-highest total. Yount, with 3,142 hits and two AL MVP awards, was elected with 77.46 percent.

``I was flabbergasted. It just knocked me on the floor,'' Brett said of his vote total. ``Obviously, I was very, very pleased. But in all honesty, I was just as pleased for Robin.''

``Of all the guys I played against,'' he said on a conference call, his voice cracking, ``probably Robin is the guy I enjoyed playing against the most.''

To gain election, players had to be placed on 75 percent of the ballots cast by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. There were a record 497 ballots cast -- Ryan was named on a record 491, Brett 488 and Yount 385.

``I'm not one that ever takes this kind of stuff too seriously, but my stomach's kind of been in knots for three or four days, so maybe somebody's telling me this is pretty good stuff,'' Yount said.

Carlton Fisk, another first-time candidate, fell 43 votes shy of the required 373 with 66.40 percent. Tony Perez missed in his eighth try with 302 (60.76 percent).

Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson were taken in the first election ever. Since then, never more than two first-timers had been taken, the last time in 1990 when Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan made it.

In all, 29 rookie candidates have been taken since that first election. Mike Schmidt had been the last to do it in 1995.

Joe DiMaggio, Roy Campanella and Harmon Killebrew were among the players who did not get elected on the first try.

The last time the BBWAA voted in three players overall was 1991 -- Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry.

Induction ceremonies at Cooperstown are scheduled for July 25. The Hall of Fame exhibition will be the next day, and it seems fitting that Ryan's Texas Rangers will take on Brett's Kansas City Royals.

The Hall's membership of 240 probably will increase again on March 2 when the Veterans Committee votes in Tampa, Fla. Former manager Dick Williams, Bill Mazeroski, Orlando Cepeda and Dom DiMaggio figure to draw support.

Ryan held or shared 53 major league records when he retired in 1993 after a 27-year career.

Ryan went 324-292 for the New York Mets, California, Houston and Texas, tying him with Don Sutton for 12th in victories. He said his Hall plaque would likely depict him in a Rangers hat.

Though he never won a Cy Young Award, and despite his .526 winning percentage ranking the lowest among all 300-game winners, Ryan's sheer domination landed him a place in the Hall.

Brett was a 13-time All-Star. The third baseman hit .305 in a 21-year career spent entirely with the Royals.

Yount played his whole 20-year career with Milwaukee and won MVP awards at shortstop and center field. He was a three-time All-Star and batted .285.

Not since that 1936 election has a player with 3,000 hits failed to be elected in his first year of eligibility.

Fisk (376 HRs) holds baseball's record for most home runs by a catcher. In 24 seasons, his most memorable homer was the one that won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park.

Perez, who got 68 percent last year, had 1,652 RBIs, most among eligible players not already in the Hall.

Dale Murphy, another first-timer, received 96 votes. The seven-time All-Star hit 398 home runs and won five straight Gold Gloves in center field.

Other players falling short included Gary Carter (168 votes), Steve Garvey (150), Jim Rice (146), Bruce Sutter (121) and Jim Kaat (100).

Mickey Lolich, 217-191 and MVP of the 1968 World Series, and Minnie Minoso, a .298 career hitter, missed in their 15th and final time on the ballot. Minoso got 73 votes and Lolich got 26.

Pete Rose, still off on the Hall ballot because of his ban from baseball, got 16 write-in votes.