Looking good against the Red Sox

The Rangers have looked really good that last two nights against Boston. They have gotten some good pitching from starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Tommy Hunter as well as from relievers Darren O'Day and C.J. Wilson. Timely hitting and solid defense has also helped. Last night Ian Kinsler made two exceptional catches on pop ups in foul territory down the first base line, one in which he slammed pretty hard into the new brick wall that was installed during the offseason.

Now if the Angels would just go on about a 10-game losing streak . . .

Josh Hamilton Update

I went to the Dr Pepper ballpark in Frisco tonight to watch Josh Hamilton take some at bats for the Roughriders in his rehab assignment. Hamilton was the designated hitter and batted leadoff for Frisco. He looked decent at the plate, going 1-4 with an RBI single and a walk.


When Josh led off the game, the first three pitches he saw weren't anywhere near the strike zone. I don't even know the guy's name who was pitching for Corpus Christi, but I couldn't help but think (along with the rest of the crowd) that he was purposefully avoiding pitching to Josh because he didn't want to give up a 500-ft homerun. So, I took the opportunity to do a little heckling and did my best to verbally persuade the pitcher to throw strikes.

On a side note, Josh's wife Katie was about 5 or 6 rows behind us in the stands.

Millwood, Defense Stop Rangers Losing Skid

Kevin Millwood pitched 7 2/3 innings of 5-hit baseball and the Rangers took advantage of several exceptional defensive plays to edge out the Blue Jays 1 - 0. The only Rangers' run came on a sacrifice fly by Marlon Byrd to score Nelson Cruz in the 2nd inning.

Millwood made a couple of the good defensive plays, leaping for a high chopper on one play and knocking down a comebacker with his barehand on another play. Shortstop Elvis Andrus made a highlight reel catch on a pop foul down the third base line as he fell into the first row of seats to make the grab. Ian Kinsler also made an excellent play at second base, ranging far to his left for a ground ball and making a strong throw to get the runner at 1st.

Darren O'Day recorded his sixth hold of the year while C.J. Wilson got his sixth save.

The following definitions were taken from MLB.com to explain what a "hold" is and what a "save" is:

The "Hold": The hold is not an official statistic, but it was created as a way to credit middle relief pitchers for a job well done. Starting pitchers get wins, and closers -- the relief pitchers who come in at the end of the game -- get saves, but the guys who pitch in between the two rarely get either statistic. So what's the most important thing one of these middle relievers can do? "Hold" a lead. If a reliever comes into a game to protect a lead, gets at least one out and leaves without giving up that lead, he gets a hold. But you can't get a save and a hold at the same time.

Saves: Rule 10.20 in the Official Rule Book states:Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: (1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and (2) He is not the winning pitcher; and (3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions: - (a) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or - (b) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces; or - (c) He pitches effectively for at least three innings. No more than one save may be credited in each game.

Rangers Lose First Two to Blue Jays

The Rangers have not been producing runs in these first two games against Toronto like they have for most of the season. They have only scored 3 runs in these two games, and all 3 of them came in the 6th inning of Monday night's game.

Tonight they recieved a royal thrashing, as Doug Mathis was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to get the start for Texas. He gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings. Toronto pitcher Brian Tallet pitched a gem, throwing 7 innings of 2-hit baseball. Those were the only 2 hits the Rangers had on the night as they went on to lose 9-0.

Kevin Millwood goes to the mound tomorrow night for Texas to try to give the Rangers a shot at having a chance to split the series.

Injury Update

Josh Hamilton had surgery this morning to repair a tear in his abdominal wall. He is expected to be out for about 5 weeks, which means he will probably return right after the All-Star break. Fortunately, the Rangers have been playing well without him in the lineup. Brandon Boggs was called up to help out in the outfield while Hamilton is on the DL.

Right-handed starting pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, is going to be placed on the DL as well with a stress fracture in his shoulder blade. He has been a solid starter for the Rangers this season and is on pace to have his best season. It is not certain how long McCarthy will be out, but it is expected to be at least 5 weeks.

Rangers Win 2 of 3 at Boston

Texas took 2 of the 3 games in the series against the Red Sox this past weekend. The two wins allowed them to get back to .500 on the road trip and helped prove that they might be able to hang with the big boys such as New York and Boston.

Nelson Cruz continued to hit the ball well and was only a single shy of hitting for the cycle in Sunday's game.

As the Rangers travel back to Arlington for their longest homestand of the year, they will once again have their hands full with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball.

I think if they can play .500 baseball against those teams they will be in the driver's seat.

Rangers' Radio Voice Sidelined

While listening to yesterday's game on the radio, I noticed that the normal play-by-play announcer, Eric Nadel, was not behind the microphone. I later learned that he suffered a torn retina and had to undergo laser eye surgery, which caused him to miss the game. Nadel is scheduled to miss the entire series with the Red Sox this weekend, but should return to the booth soon.

It was very strange listening to the game without hearing Nadel's voice. He has broadcasted Rangers' baseball for 31 years (all my life), and is in his 14th season as the lead voice of the Rangers. In fact, it has been 20 years since Nadel has missed a Rangers' ballgame, going back to 1989 when he missed 4 games when his father passed away. During that 20 year span he has broadcasted 3,176 consecutive regular-season games. He is the "Iron Man" of baseball broadcasting.
I have very fond memories of listening to Nadel when I was a kid. He was behind the microphone during all of Nolan Ryan's milestones with the Rangers. He and the late Mark Holtz were the play-by-play duo during the 80's and early 90's when I was growing up, and they were one of the best baseball radio tandems I have ever heard.

A little known fact about Nadel is that he is fluent in Spanish. When the Rangers began aquiring more and more Latin players, he decided that he wanted to be able to speak to them and interview them in their native tongue. So he learned Spanish and has even traveled to South America and broadcasted games in Spanish.

Get well soon, Eric! Texas Rangers baseball just isn't the same without you!