Live blogging: Rubber Game Versus Phillies

[If you happen upon this during the game, refresh this page every once in a while to see new posts.]

Rangers win 4-3.  Two nights in a row the Rangers win in the bottom of 9.  Wow.  After the Rangers offense does very little most of the game, the Rangers win in appropriate fashion: Choo drawing a walk with the bases loaded to win the game.  I'll take it.

Yeah, I know it's early but, that was a big win.

And thanks to you guys for the great comments.

Bottom of 9:
Hopefully Papelbon is not that good.  Or the Rangers offense wakes up.  Or both.

Lead off 2 strike single by Beltre.  So you're saying we have a chance.  6th hit of the night for the Rangers.

Double by Moreland.  Beltre just cannot run like he used to and couldn't score on the double.  Runners on 2B and 3B, 1 out.  Adduci can be a hero.

Nubber down the 3B line scores Beltre.  Adduci beats the throw to 1B.  Runners at the corners, 1 out.

By the way, Papelbon has "small mouth."

Martin base hit up the middle, scores Aducci.  Tied game.  Wow.

Now Donnie Murphy can be a hero.  Lots of chin music by Papelbon.

Papelbon walked Murphy.

Choo is up.  Bases loaded.  Now Choo can be a hero.  Choo draws the walk.  Winning run walked in.  Rangers win.  Wow.

Top of 9:
Rosin is still in. (I fixed the innings, somehow got it messed up in the 6th inning.)

Rosin pitches a 3 up 3 down inning.

Rangers have 3 more outs.

Bottom of 8:
Nothing.  No runs.  3-1 Phillies.  Still.

Top of 8:
Rookie Seth Rosin in to pitch.  Please let him pitch as well as he did on opening day.  OK Rosin got them out of that.  6 more outs for the Rangers on offense.

Bottom of 7:
Rangers offense been bad all night.  And of course no runs.  Again, how many games are you going to win putting up zero runs?

Moreland with a 1 out triple?!?!  Yup.

2 out single by Leonys Martin, scores Moreland.  Rangers trail 3-1.  Phillies leaving in Kendrick.  Choice popped out to shallow right.  4 hits all night.  1 run.  That's not going to cut it.

Top of 7:
Tolleson gets the first out in the top of the inning and now it's time time to see (gulp) if Pedro Figueroa can start to fix his ERA from his first appearance (21.60 ERA, is that bad?).  Is it bad to walk the first batter you face on 4 pitches?  I'm pretty sure it's not good. 5 straight balls and counting.  It's a miracle, pitch number 6 is a strike.  And pitch number 7 is a screamer to Prince for a double play to end the inning.  It's an adventure.

Bottom of 6:
All Choo does is get on base when he leads off an inning.  I will take it, even if he reached on an error.  @Joe Mama: Choo Choo! (OK, I regret writing that but won't delete it.)  Rangers waste Choo leading off and again getting on base.  REALLY, REALLY, REALLY would like some offense out the Rangers.

Top of 6:
Yup Robbie Ross is done.  Tolleson is in.

Man, Beltre is just amazing at 3B.  He makes amazingly difficult defensive plays at 3B seemingly every game.  And probably makes it look too easy for us to appreciate how great he is as a defensive player.

OK, no harm done.  Really, really, really need some offense.  Preferably 4 runs or more.

Bottom of 5:
Rangers again put up no runs.  Only 3 hits by the Rangers' offense all night long to this point.  Crap.  They're making Kendrick look like a Cy Young contender.

Top of 5:
Robbie Ross has pitched OK to good, but at this point it doesn't look like he'll get through this inning.  Lead off hit.  Here we go.

And Mr. Robbie Ross gets out of the 5th without allowing any more harm.  How much you want a bet he's done for the game?

And another question, how many games are you going to win scoring zero runs?

Bottom of 4:
Rangers threaten but get no one across the plate.

Top of 4:
Phillies keep on getting on base.  But no harm done this time.  Really wish they had not wasted that chance in the bottom of the 1st.

Bottom of 3:
Watching the ESPN broadcast, little change up from listening to and watching the local guys.  But ESPN has to roll out Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.  Enough already, we get it.  He was drafted by the Rangers for some cheap PR.  93 games in the minors a while ago, .229 BA.

Oh by the way ESPN, the Rangers again did nothing on offense.

Top of 3:
Ryan Howard goes yard, 2 run homer. 3-0 Phillies.  Damn.

Bottom of 2:
Rangers do nothing on offense.

Top of 2:
Nice double play ball to get out of trouble with no damage done.

Bottom of 1:

How good is Choo? Fought off some 2 strike pitches and got a base hit.

And then Elvis moves him over and with the throwing error, runners on 2B and 3B with no outs, brilliant.

Why wasn't Choo running on contact? Curse of Kinsler? Curse of Kolan?

Runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. What a waste if  they don't score at least one run. Waste complete. No runs scored. Damn. 

Top of 1:
Phillies score a run on an error.  Curse of Kolan (Kinsler + Nolan)?

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Live blogging: Boom Goes the Dynamite...

...walk off hit by your best Ranger Beltre wins the ballgame.

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Live blogging: at Game, 2-2, Middle of 8...

...we're wearing sunglasses, have a half a pack of smokes, they cut off the beer, let's roll.

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14-10 Loss, Was That the Cowboys Losing to the Eagles??? *

Glass Half Empty / Afternoon Cloud: * Is that that 2,947th time you've heard someone say something like that?

Pitching. Was. Terrible. Scheppers and Ogando, 2 pitchers upon which this club is going to rely in some role the entire season, were awful.

Glass Half Full / Silver Lining: Offense was not the problem.  At all.  And as a good friend mentioned, today is a testament to the great decision making of John Daniels in NOT overpaying for Cliff Lee a while back.

Thoughts / Observations / Sidenotes: Dear baseball gods, please, please, please don't let the pitching be as bad as it was today for the rest of the season. While we're at it, please don't let it be anywhere near as bad as it was today.  And please let the offense be as good.

1 down 161 more to go.

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So It's Rangers Opening Day Eve

Glass Half Empty / Afternoon Cloud: So injuries huh? Wow. Never seen a team get hit with the injury bug like your Texas Rangers. It's been like the Black Plague version of the injury bug that hit them in Arlington. Yeesh.

Glass Half Full / Silver Lining: Maybe, just maybe the Rangers can play .500 ball or a little better until they get healthy. I guess we'll see, as they say, that's why they play the games.

Thoughts / Observations / Sidenotes: Cannot wait to see instant replay used.

Also, there are many stories that I would like to know more about. Like how it came about that Hank Greenberg was out of the ownership group. Then what exactly lead to Nolan leaving. You cannot tell me the personality and boardroom clashes that might have occurred wouldn't be interesting to read about. Lastly, Jackie Moore was ousted as the bench coach and replaced by Tim Bogar. Moore was said to have been a Nolan guy. Bogar on the other hand has apparently worked with Bill James. Makes me think he's a John Daniels guy. Did Wash even have any input into who would be his new bench coach? I'm interested to see how Bogar and Wash work together and interact. In the little bit of spring ball I've watched it doesn't look like Wash and Bogar speak. In my opinion the body language between them has looked downright icy. I might be wrong. We will see.

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Watching a Baseball Game in the Alamodome Is Like...*

...watching a ballet performed on a pop up stage at a county fair.

...hearing Pavarotti sing at a karaoke bar. 

...seeing the Queen of England shop at Walmart. 

It's watchable but doesn't quite fit or look right. 

*your Texas Rangers are playing some preseason games against the 'Stros at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Alamodome was made only for football and definitely not baseball. The right field porch is about 225 feet (I might be exaggerating). And the Alamodome might be the worst designed sports arena constructed in North America in the last 25 years. 

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You Gotta Be Freakin' Kidding Me, Now Yu Is Injured

This has got to be a record or something for players/starters getting injured in such a short amount of time. There is a chance Elvis' arm is still hurt. Harrison is not healthy and I get the feeling he never will be right again. So again, is it the curse of Nolan or Kins? Or the curse of Kolan (you get it-I combined Nolan and Kins)?

Or can we just go with the old trusty: Way to go Wash!

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So Feliz Was Sent Down to the Minors...

...representing just another kick in the jimmy for your Texas Rangers. So what are we calling this? The Nolan or Kins curse?  Kins did say he wanted them to 0-162. At this pace they won't have any starters left for opening day.

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Here Is My Preview At CardsConclave.com

The good folks at CardsConclave.com asked some Texas Rangers blogger-types 6 questions regarding your Texas Rangers' off-season.  Posts here are usually pretty short and sweet so in keeping with that my answers to their questions were short and sweet too.  By the way I answered these questions before I heard that Yu was injured too.  Here are my answers:

1) How would you grade the offseason?

C-.  And that's being nice. Profar is out, Soto is out. Holland is out. Kins is gone. Sure Fielder and Choo were added but pitching is a huge question mark and little was done to address it. 

2) Will Prince Fielder be just what this team needs?

Does Prince play second? How many different pitches does he have?  In other words no, he's not just what the team needs because there are too many holes for one player to fill. 

3) Which roster battle will be the most intriguing during spring training?

At this point the roster battles are who will play 2B with Profar out for a while. Next would be the battle for the last few spots in the starting rotation. 

4) What rookie, if any, will make the most impact on the team in 2014?

Maybe Rougned Odor at 2B if Josh Wilson doesn't work out replacing Profar at 2B. 

5) What will be the final record of the team and where will they finish in the division?

Just a guess of course with so many question marks. 87-75, they somehow finish second in an evenly matched division. 

6) Which player from your team do you most enjoy watching?

By far Adrian Beltre. From his weird phobia of him getting his head touched by his teammates in the dugout after he belts a homer to him keeping things light in the infield and joking around with Elvis, any base runner on 3B, or an ump, you can tell he enjoys playing the game. And I think this year he's going to firmly take over as a/the leader of the ball club. 

Check out the full preview with everyone else's answers to the preview questions. 

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Yours Truly Was Asked To Contribute To A Texas Rangers Preview...

...by the good folks at CardsConclave.com.  Some other Texas Rangers bloggers contributed too.  Click the link and check it out!

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