Game 111: Vlad gets free passes, Rangers pitchers sleep better

Nothing positive to say other than Vlad didn't get a hit (finally!) against Texas pitching.

Koronka didn't pitch very well (for a rookie 5th starter, I guess you live with the occassional bad outing), and the offense was in a funk. Salmon hit a HR which was good to see because he's getting so little playing time these days. Rivera hit another one again, but had a few sub-par defensive plays in the field. And, yah, all those Angels fans went to Hooters for dinner since they scored ten runs off Texas pitching. Given past years when I was eating at Hooters after every Texas game, once isn't bad (let's hope this doesn't start a trend).

BTW, did I mention Vlad didn't get a hit? That's the only thing I'll remember from this game in a week. Think good thoughts going into tomorrow's game... Eaton vs. Saunders.

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Game 110: Salami's for dinner

Dumpmaster hit a grand slam tonight. Padilla pitched really well - again, in constrast to the sub-par performance from the Angels pitching with Lackey. There were far fewer Rangers fans in the stands tonight than there were last night - when DeRosa hit the GS, only about four or five others in RF were cheering. Oh well.

Vlad still drools in delight whenever he sees a Rangers pitcher. It's just unreal. Buck needs to just give him free passes all night long and finish that absurd hit streak.

All in all, a much more pleasant (and less of a roller coaster) game than last night. Most importantly, Hello Win Column!

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Game 109: Departure at Inning 10.5

I left the Rangers/Angels game tonight as the game entered the bottom of the 11th - all knotted up at 6.

Millwood pitched well for 7 and 2/3rds (he was on the road after all!), the offense did their job scoring runs off a shaky Weaver, GMJ had a spectacular throw home to nail the runner. The bullpen - and, probably, more importantly - Buck didn't do theirs. Why not bring in Otsuka in the bottom of the 8th with two out? Instead they throw out roadkill in Mahay and Bauer with Bauer giving up the crushing 3-run shot to Rivera. Angel Stadium turned into a madhouse and I was cursing. Hey, but Buck did pinch hit for Pop-up with Stairs! Miracles never cease.

So, when it hit the 11th, there's just no way I could have kept my sanity if I saw the Rangers blow a once comfy four-run lead. Inevitably, this meant that I didn't see Teixeira continue his climb out of the power pit he fell into.

Hence..

And everything I had to know

I heard it on my radio.

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Go Michael!

Congrats to MY for being the All-Star MVP. Yay. Everyone else gets to see what we do game in and game out.

For kicks, see how the folks over at LSB felt about MY getting the game-winning triple in the 9th. Of course, Jamey also quickly sent a reminder about what he said back on Father's Day about Ozzie Guillen's drooling over Young.

The Rangers are in first place heading into the second half, but it's going to be a wild ride to the finish...let's just hope we're playing meaningful games at the end!

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Game T-4: Go Mavs!

Just four more wins and all those depressing years during the early-to-mid '90s are going to be washed away in sheer euphoria.

This is why you support your team through thick-and-thin through however many years. It's a heck of a lot more fun if you've been there for the dark deep valleys when the glorious summit is in sight...

One of my friends emailed me asking:

Is it safe to declare that Dirk is the greatest Maverick player in history?

My response was:

At this stage, probably so. To round out my starting five, I'd add: Mark Aguirre, Derek Harper, Ro Blackman, and Jason Kidd.

There are a number of folks who you could argue are in the next tier - Finley (who is probably the toughest omission from above), Perkins (who was overshadowed by the others on that mid-80s team), Schrempf (who only gave us a glimpse of what he'd later become), Nash (who only became an two-time MVP after leaving Dallas; but arguably he's still the same player - and Kidd was better by a country mile), Mashburn (who had his moments, but I don't think he ever cared as much as we all wanted), and Tarpley (who sadly never learned how to put down the crack pipe). As for current Mavs, Howard has the most potential of the current Mavs to join this second-tier group. Harris may surprise me though too if he stays long enough.

Prior to the Cuban era, the best Mavs team was probably the 1988 Mavs when they took the Showtime Lakers to the 7th game of the Conf. Finals. The 1987 Mavs, while having a better regular season record, just completely choked in that playoffs.

Just think happy thoughts...

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