NOTE (Aug 5, 2007): When I moved my 2003 entries over into Movable Type’s blog format in the Summer of 2007, I discovered I stopped writing about the 2003 season on September 12th. I usually leave a note when I skip games, but I did no such thing this time. Don’t know why I ended it when I did. Probably got too disgusted with the way the season was going.

If I locate the games on a server somewhere later on, I’ll add them back in and remove this note. I am curious to see if anyone actually reads this, so if you do, please leave a comment just letting me know you read this. I have to admit to being curious to know if anyone ever looks in my old game recaps at all.

When this game started I figured we’d have no chance. Barry Zito vs. Ryan Drese. However, Drese hung with Zito, and in the third inning we did something unheard of and scored three runs at a time against Zito. Drese stayed with it, and gave up just one run through six innings, and was surprisingly looking like a good pitcher.
Then the wheels fell off in the 7th. We gave up a 5 spot in the 7th, and then three more in the 9th for good measure. We give up 6 walks, a sure recipe for disaster. The shame of this game is that Drese looked good, and pitched well enough for a win, save for the 7th inning. Disappointing, but I can’t say I’m surprised.
At least Anaheim lost, but I think if we rely on games solely against Anaheim to catch up to them, it’ll be bad. We have got to pick up more ground before we play them head to head.
Game notes are here.

Sigh. I watched this game, and we never got anything going. Outside of two sac flies by Arod, that’s all the offense we got, and the pitching was well…. Ranger pitching.
So I repeat.. Sigh. Game notes are here.

I started watching this game, but Wednesday is my bowling league night, and then I had to watch the season premiere of Enterprise last night, so by the time I started watching this, it was already pretty late, so I started zipping through it with my TiVo. The power outage in the fourth inning was fairly funny at least in the reactions and discussions of Josh & Tom to it.
I didn’t miss much, except a frustrating loss. Thomson pitched well, giving up just 3 runs in 6.2 innings. However, Joel Piniero was better (which figures since he’s been bad lately), giving up just one run on a complete game win. The one run was to Mr. Safeco, Raffy, who hit another home run here.
Interesting rumours the last few days that the Mariners might sign Raffy if Edgar retires after this season. I’d like to keep Raffy, but for Raffy’s stats, I see a move to Safeco being pretty good for him.
Game notes are here.

I didn’t watch a lot of this game as I was feeling bad today, I fell asleep early, and did wake up in time to see Raffy’s home run, but that’s almost all I saw, as I went to bed right after that. Game notes are here.

Well, this game started out with a great feeling. A leadoff home run, and some great pitching by John Thomson (perfect through 3+). But that’s about as far as it got. We never got any more runs, and while Thomson was pretty good, we didn’t get anything off the pitcher we were supposed to get in a trade with KC for Juan Gonzalez.
Darnit. The Angels lost, too – we missed a chance to pick up ground. Game notes are here.

I was at this game, and it was great, because I was there on free tickets won by my wife’s appearance on the TV on the Sonic Slam Inning contest. Great seats, Section 15 Row 17. Two foul balls landed a few seats away from us during the game, too. Was really nice weather too – which was a nice benefit.
The game didn’t start off all that great. Ismael Valdes, who appears to have lost it in the second half of the season, and probably eliminated any chance of him returning next year let the Royals get 3 in the first three innings, and we were pretty ineffective in scoring runners (what a shocker!) until the fifth inning when we put up a four spot capped by a Laynce Nix three run home run. We then put up another four spot in the next inning, on two 2 run scoring doubles, giving us our 8.
Cordero came in in the 8th and gave up a four spot to the Royals – we barely hung on to win, but we did get the win. Was definitely a page from the John Wetteland book of saves. :)
My wife also looked pretty good at the game. I always love my wife, but there’s times when your spouse looks better than they normally do. This night was one of those nights.
Game notes are here.

The rain from yesterday still seemed to be here today, as this game was played almost entirely in the rain – we certainly started in the rain.
However, it was a bombs away day, as the bulk of the offense was provided by the longball (there’s a shocker). Well, alright, maybe not, as only three of the runs came from the longball, but a couple more came off of what should have been Texieira’s third HR of the day – he missed a three run HR by about a foot, and drove in a couple more.
Our most schizophrenic pitcher (Colby Lewis) showed us the Dr. Jekyll side of himself again, but I get the feeling next time out Mr. Hyde will be there (or is the the other way around). Either way I’m confused, as I’m sure the Rangers are, because you never know what you’ll get when Lewis starts the game. Kind of a shame, as he should be further along than he is – I just keep hoping. But then again the Rangers keep hoping Justin Thompson will do something too. :)
Game notes are here.

This was a game I didn’t think we’d win. R.A. Dickey was “OK”, he wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t great, and we were behind. It’s odd, though as I look at the summary of the game writing this, we had a great offensive day in many categories, the only problem was that we also gave up 10 runs, otherwise it’d be a great game.
Played mostly in the rain (especially late), we were led by Alex Rodriguez (playing DH), who went 3-3 with his 40th HR (as well as 100th RBI) and had two walks. Hank Blalock was 4 for 5 with a home run. We had a lot of power today (HRs by Arod, Raffy, Blalock, Teixeira, & Jones), and in fact were up 10-7 after a 4 spot in the 7th inning, however, we gave it away, letting the Twins get back in it late. Arod’s HR gives him 6 straight years of 40+ home runs. Only one other player has ever done that before, Babe Ruth.
Einar Diaz was the hero, though. In the bottom of the 9th in a big rain, he had a 12 pitch at bat which finally scored Layne Nix on a single to the left field wall over a drawn in Minnesota team. It was a mob scene at home in the rain, and was a great win to a game that the last three years has told me we should have lost.
Game notes are here and here.

We had yet another starter this night – Mickey Calloway who we picked up off the scrap heap recently. However, he didn’t pitch like he belonged there, he kept the Twins to just two runs over 6 innings, and looked quite good. However, Johan Santana was much better, giving up donut until he had to leave the game with an injury. Hopefully Calloway can continue to pitch well.
I was at this game, and sat through the 1.5 hour rain delay. It was nice, because I talked to a father & son who were visiting the ballpark on one of those “See all the ballparks” tours (not a packaged one, they were doing it themselves). It was nice to talk to some folks who really knew baseball, and didn’t just know “Arod”.
Game notes are here.

This was a particularly annoying loss, mostly because John Thomson was cruising. Going into the 8th inning, we were up 5-3, and Thomson was pitching well. Then the wheels fell off. We gave up a total of 6 runs in the last two innings, we couldn’t shut anything down they tried to do. Ugly, Ugly, UGLY!
On the positive side, Laynce Nix had a monster home run, something that looked really good, and quite honestly looks more “impressive” than most of Raffy’s home runs.
Game notes are here.

This is a game that I felt we were going to lose all along. We were lifeless and pretty much not doing much of anything until the rain delay. When we came back, Arod had this absolute monster of a home run that got us jazzed, and we tied up the game 4-4 with a 4 spot. However, we gave it right back to them in the 8th, to which Arod hit another jack, tying Barry Bonds for the major league lead in home runs.
But then we dropped it in extra innings, which we’re prone to do. Oh well. So much for the good streak, it was more or less wiped out by the bad games in Chicago & Kansas City.
Game notes are here.

Colby Lewis walked the first two batters of the game. That’s about as good as I can get with this one, as it went downhill much faster from that point onwards. Bleargh.

(Skipped a few games, needed a short break).
Well, R.A. Dickey looked good for the first couple of innings, and then was pulled, to which the bullpen surrendered an ugly 6 spot in the 6th, which pretty much was the whole game, other than a Raffy two run home run earlier in the game.
Not much nice to talk about here. Game notes are here.

Well, I don’t think anyone expected us to beat up on Bartolo Colon two starts in a row, and it didn’t happen. Colon was his usual self against us this time, and we couldn’t get much going except some fun midway through the game when Arod & Raffy went yard back to back. Not much else to cheer about except that, really.
If Arod gets another home run on Friday, he’ll set a new record for number of games in a row with a HR as a Ranger – that record is currently held by Carl Everett, set earlier this year.
Game notes are here.

Not much else can be said about this game except RA Dickey was brilliant. A complete game shutout – what more needs be said? It was on my 38th birthday, though. That count for anything?
Oh yeah, Arod got another home run, has taken back the AL lead in HR’s, and we’re tied with the Angels for 3rd after extending our win streak to 8.
Game notes are here.

N/A – Took a break for my birthday which was the 20th. I will say this, though. After several years of trying to enter, my wife finally got picked for the Sonic Slam Inning contest on TV. It was a major shock, I even had to wake her up so she could come out and see. And, being the computer geek I am, I had to take a picture of it. :) No home runs, though – in fact our only baserunner got picked off. :(

Game notes are here.

When this game got into the 9th inning, I was going to write about Detroit pitcher Nate Robertson. He was a kid called up to pitch, and he was spectacular. He looked like he’d been pitching for a dozen years, and was a veteran. He was spectacular, and other than the one pitch to Shane Spencer in the fourth which was a home run, this kid was someone that should have gotten everyone’s attention.
Speaking of home runs.. For a park that is well known for not giving up home runs, all 6 of the runs tonight were the result of a longball. The two runs for Detroit were solo shots, and our 4 runs were two two run home runs. Kind of a surprise that. Anyway, pitching was the name of the game here. Our pitching was superb, only giving up two runs on solo home runs on a total of 10 hits over 16 innings. This was definitely a pitcher’s duel – no doubt about it. Kudos to our pitching staff for this game.
Oh yeah, for anyone who watched the game, thanks kid! I appreciate the help in keeping Detroit from scoring a run. :)
Anaheim also lost, so our 6 game winning streak now has us just two games behind the Angels for third place in the division, and we’re now 9 games under .500.
Game notes are here.

Yeah, not the best pun for a sweep socks title, but its’ the best I could come up with right now. When this game started, I didn’t think we really had a chance of sweeping Chicago. I figured they were too good to lose all three against the Rangers. I guess that’s the kind of mentality one gets after watching their team be in the basement for almost 3 years in a row.
However, we got out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, and it felt good, because there were several doubles in there, not just a 3 run home run. However, Juan “What’s my name this start” Dominguez gave back the three plus one in the 3rd & 4th. So we’re behind. Then nothing much happens in the middle innings there until the bottom of the 6th when Arod jacks a ball onto Greene’s Hill to tie the game again. Actually, something did happen. Jay Powell came out of the bullpen and pitched like the guy we thought we were signing when we picked him up. Three innings, no runs, one hit. That was the longest outing of his career, too.
Arod came up again in the bottom of the 7th with two men on base, and tripled to right field, scoring both runners to take the lead back, and cap the scoring.
One nice moment in the 9th – Carl Everett got a hit, the 1,000th of his career. Too bad he wasn’t still a Ranger, or they would have announced that over the PA. Game notes are here.

This game was destined to be a blowout from the start. While the usual south winds weren’t going as much as normal, killing most of the jet stream (there were three other balls that could have been home runs, but died at the fence), the teams did manage to pile up twenty runs all told. We jumped out to a 5 run lead in the first inning, but coughed it up by giving the Sox a 6 spot in the 3rd. Fortunately, we took that right back, and never gave up the lead again, getting out to a 12-6 lead after the fourth. We never scored again, but did allow the Sox to get two more in the 7th.
Was definitely a night with something for everyone. Lots of offense early, and a bunch of pitching as well (after the fourth that is). I’m kind of surprised we’re beating up on the Sox like this – I expected them to win the series, not us.
Tonight we go for a sweep. Game notes are here.

Not much time to write, but I will say this. Boy, was this a surprise. Esteban Loaiza returned to the ballpark, and pitched pretty much like he did when this ballpark was his home. He had flashes of brilliance, but was more remembered for what he gave up than what he got.
Colby Lewis on the other hand was marvelous. He ran out of gas a bit in the 7th and gave up a few, but he was the first pitcher in several years to strike out 10 in a game, and he looked awesome – can’t say enough about him tonight.
Game notes are here.

I was at this game last night, and I went with a good friend of mine who I always end up talking with during the game, so while I was there, I even managed to score the game, for some reason it didn’t feel like I was there paying attention to the game.
John Thomson went 7 innings, giving up three runs. He wasn’t electric, but he certainly got the job done, and basically pitched us into the win. Fultz & Cordero came on and put up a couple of donuts to seal it out. Also on Thomson, there was a big thing on the Rangers post game show about resigning him afterwards. We got a home run by Shane Spencer, who I’m now thinking might be resigned next year to be the “Veteran outfielder” for this group, as it doesn’t look like Rusty Greer can make an appearance until 2005, if ever again.
One amusing thing, Texas governor Rick Perry threw out the first ball, and when he was doing that, he yelled out “You suck, Perry!” to which the usher in Section 16 (where I was sitting) came over to us and told him “Uh, that is inappropriate language, please do not talk that way, someone might be offended”. Boy, did she say that to the wrong person. While he was not a problem afterwards, it was a major rolling of the eyes after that. I tend to agree – the word “Suck” is offensive? Now if it was a profanity laced remark, I could understand that, but coming down on someone for the word “suck” is a bit of an overzealous usher, I think.
Oops, I said suck quite a few times, I think someone might now be offended. Sorry. Game notes are here.

Not available. Was at Iron Maiden concert, and didn’t see any of this game. Just the total. :)
Game notes are here.

Juan “Don’t call me Jose” Dominguez made his major league debut last night. And he seemed to breeze through the first four innings. In fact, so did Jeremy Bonderman for the Tigers. He did not look like a pitcher who was 5-15. There was some really great pitching on both sides for the first four innings. Then it fell apart in the top of the 5th. Dominguez lost it (right after Tom Grieve said “Buck just wants him to get through this inning and get a win” (or something like that)) and gave up four runs, and the lead. Shouse & Powell combined to give up three more in the sixth, and that was about all she wrote.
Sure the Tigers are a major league team, but I didn’t want to lose to them, especially since the Angels also lost last night, that would have gotten us closer to getting out of last place. Darnit.
Still, it was nice to see Dominguez out there. Nice to see a young pitcher out there instead of all these young position players this season. Great to see young players, but I’d rather see young pitching that does well more than young position players, especially since our young position players now seem to be entrenched (referring to our “Roaring 20′s” infield).
Oh, it was good to see our old buddy Danny Patterson out there again. He looked much better (skinnier) than he did with us, and the Vulcan was still there.
Game notes are here.

Well, my wife and I were at this game. We only actually got to see an inning and 2 outs. It started raining, which was the first rain delay I had to sit through in quite some time. It actually got to the point where I thought they might play. But then while they were tinkering with the tarp, it started raining again. During that Chuck Morgan came over the PA and said you could exchange tickets for this game for any other game whether the Rangers played or not. Given that my wife had to get up before 6AM to go to work, I decided to take ‘em up on that offer, and head out early. They started playing almost before I got back home to Garland, so I checked it out on the TV.
We won the game, as we should against the Tigers, but it didn’t feel like the dominating performance it should have been, even given the score of 9-3. Perhaps it was just me, but I was expecting something like 15-1 or something like that. :) I feel bad for the Tigers, I know I’d be there all the time if I lived in Detroit, I always support my team, but yeesh, that’s a lot of losing. I also felt like we should have capitalized more on the bases loaded no one out in the first inning – we got just one.
I also noticed we had several former Rangers on the Tigers starting lineup (Warren Morris, Craig Monroe, & Carlos Pena). And if I’m not mistaken, there was one other in the bullpen (Danny Patterson), as well as one on the disabled list (Dean Palmer). Would have been nice to see Deano again, since I suspect he’ll retire after this season.
Game notes are here.