...Showing Up Isn't Enough

What a wasted night.  More or less like what feels like a wasted weekend for me.

I realize Memorial Day is supposed to be about remembering our fallen, but for some reason my son's little league chose to schedule the end of season tournament when people normally go out of town.  They did nothing to commemorate the weekend for veterans other than those umpires who would turn around and thank those who served (Bravo!).

So, last night Adrian Beltre had the opportunity to finish a game in the ninth inning with a routine grounder and throw to first.  Eduardo Nunez was on second and went around him, reportedly so he could make a clean throw, but Beltre chose instead to attempt to tag Nunez who then made it safely to third and the batter to first.  What?!?  Why would you even consider this play as an option?  Needless to say, the Rangers went on to load the bases and then lose the game on a fifteen foot dribbler off the end of the bat of a AAA call up.  The whole thing was a comedy of errors that reminded me of my weekend.

This weekend our little league team found a way, well via more Errors than innings played, to give away three winnable games.  We went up against one team that had the same record as us and our 3-4 hitters decided that sttriking out four times in four at bats was the way to win a game.  In the second game against one of the top teams in the league, we led 6-1 going into the third when our second basemen decided he would stop playing because he wasn't behind the plate.  That's right, you are ahead in a game and you allow five runs on errors.  The elimenation game Sunday was more of the same.  After falling behind a higher seeded team, our 7 hole hitter punched one into the outfield for a double.  Our eight hole struck out, but could have run to first on a passed ball.  Instead he froze not realizing what to do (hence, you show up on time for games and find your way to practice now and then...read Dianne's talk for more).  So we have one out, down two, and Dodge is sure to get up.

Our nine hole hitter who has one hit all season somehow gets on base on a bobble at short stop.  He even steals second before almost getting caught out on the base paths half stealing third.  Dodge hits him over and gets himself on base.  Now what?  Well, I get yelled at for telling nine hole kid to call time because Dodge isn't in scoring position.  (Dodge is yet to be caught stealing this season and routinely steals home.)  The dad who yells at me then watches as his son pops up and he doesn'd hold his runner on the bag who dashes home only to be doubled off third.  End of game...end of baseball weekend.

Look, I don't care about your kid's ability.  As one of the coaches I will work with them...IF you will.  Yogi Berra said "Little League is a good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets."  If only that were true.  Instead of working with their kid on their chosen craft, the team was scrambling minutes before game time to figure out would we have nine to play with.  (I gave up the beach for this?)

I know it sounds crazy, but your kid can't pitch because he doesn't know how to throw from the outfield.  No, your kid can't play first because he can't catch the ball during warm ups.  He is still using a glove from teeball.  This isn't to be rude, but when you sign your kid up he needs to be ready with the right gear and the right mindset.  As an example, let me show you kid B.  Kid B has played one season previously.  He started the season in right field after basically being kicked off a pseudo-select rec team.  He wanted to learn though.  In four games he went from playing right field to being our starting third basemen.  Why?  Because he would stop grounders and threw across the diamond.  He put his body in front of the ball as we taught him and when he had success he celebrated, when he didnt have success he would ask "What can I do different?  Show me a different way coach and I will change what I am doing."  I can barely get my kid to change his deal.  He wanted to pitch so we gave him a basic drill - which he did on his own.  The season wore on, but you know what?  He pitched in the end of the season tournament for us.  His first game: 2/3 inning, 0.00 ERA with a strikeout.  He was coachable and I hope my son gets to play with kid B for a while because he is a great example of how to get better.  He shows up before time, puts in effort, and wants to help...the team.

Like the play last night...take the easy out.  Play strong fundamental baseball because showing up isn't enough.

No No-Hitters Here, Only Curses

So a dinner party this evening interrupted what would have likely been a night of watching Disney Channel with my eldest daughter.  If somehow I had not been watching Charlie or Austin & Ally or whatever other show she had on, I might have found my way to the Red Sox - Rangers game.

Why blog about it though?  Well, when I started flipping channels and saw the possible no hit bid was in progress it was in the middle of debate between Harold Reynolds and co-anchors on the MLB Network.  Would Yu Darvish finally get a No Hitter?

The question that existed was whether or not a hit or an error had occurred in the seventh inning.  So does rule 10.12(A)1 apply in this case?  I guess I would say it does, but it doesn't.

For me, the important issue in this game is not the no hitter, but the providence of the Baseball gods as it were.  We here the phrase all the time, but it was mentioned, I believe by a Reynolds co-host that if the seventh inning ball that dropped was meant to be a hit to break up a Perfect Game, then another hit would happen; if not, Darvish would complete the game.

As fate would have it, Darvish went all the way to the last out against David Ortiz - the same player who had hit a ball that either fell in for a hit or should have been caught and an error was assigned earlier.  Truly the baseball deities would have a chance to weigh in and they did.

With two strikes, Ortiz belted a ground ball past two infielders (three were there for a common defensive shift we see all too often) into right field.  For a ground ball to make it past all three, I have to believe that the baseball deities who were watching deemed Darvish just a little short of perfection that night.

I might also note that Mac Engel of the For Worth Star-Telegram had a great piece on the Rangers and a possible curse brought on by their former team President Nolan Ryan.  I wonder if these results are from that curse.  In any case, this reminds me of another baseball axiom: Nothing is impossible, but nothing is easy.

Are You Finished Or Just Starting?

As we head into Super Bowl Sunday and the drama of whether or not Peyton Manning will take home a second title ring I heard a recent discussion about Michael Young and whether or not he belongs in the Ranger Hall of Fame or even the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  (The quick answers to those two issues are who cares and absolutely not.  I can't even believe a "journalist" would refer to Michael Young as a borderline Hall of Famer with a hits total of under 2400 and home run numbers under 200.  Perhaps ESPN 103.3 doesn't believe in drug testing its employees.)

The primary discussion centered around does Young belong in the Rangers Hall of Fame since he went to the Phillies and then the Dodgers.  The absent mindedness of the fact that the Rangers traded Young to Philadelphia is somewhat disheartening, but what was Young to do?  Stop playing?  Simply because he wasn't a Ranger anymore?  You have to be kidding right?

The discussion then moved to how the Dallas Metroplex was unhappy with Emmitt Smith continued to play football after the Dallas Cowboys no longer wanted him.  I realize the picture of Smith playing in a Cardinals jersey had to horrify Dallas fans back in the day, but as I recall he started fifteen games for the Cardinals and nearly ran for 1000 yards in 2004.  Why is it he should give up playing just because Jerry Jones wasn't smart enough to want to keep him around?

Right now, the Cowboys would kill for a guy who was a consistent 1000 yard rusher and a quarterback smart enough to hand the ball off to him.  (Given DeMarco Murrary's injury history I am not ready to pronounce him a true heir apparent to Mr. Smith, but he might be, though I doubt with Tony Romo and his five offensive coordinators, he will ever get to show it.)


Another great example of a guy who didn't know he was supposed to quit was Nolan Ryan.  I know it's a scary thought, but you will remember, even the great Texas Ranger Nolan Ryan wasn't a Ranger.  Not until the END of his career.  Before that he played for the Mets, Astros, and even the California Angels.  Was he supposed to stop playing because the team he started with no longer wanted his services?

What about Willie Mays?  Some say he was the greatest ball player of all time.  I argue that because I never saw Mr. Mays pitch, but having started his career in New York with the Giants, he ended it in New York also...as a Met.  Remember that?

I don't bring up all these examples, not to mention Mr. Manning, for any other reason than this is a child's game that adult men get to earn a living playing.  In general, their careers are short lived, perhaps four or five years if they are really good.  That being the case, why would anyone begrudge a player for taking those extra contracts to play a game?

There is a lesson for the rest of us in their pursuit.  When you find that which you are passionate about...run after it.  Go get it...seize that day.

Robin Williams character in Dead Poets Society was dead right...make your lives extraordinary:

Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You’ve walked past them many times. I don’t think you’ve really looked at them.

 

They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it?

 

[whispers] Carpe.

 

[whispers again] Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.

 

 

What are you waiting for?  Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.  Go get it.

 



Why Western lawmen are no good on a sinking boat…

WHY?!?  Why me?  Why do I have to be the one person stuck defending Ron Washington?

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex started its week trying to decide if they were Nolan guys (and girls) or JD (Jon Daniels) guys…that was before the reported fist fight between the team CEO and its General Manager.  Gone are Jackie Moore – a guy with fifty years of baseball experience – and Dave Anderson, only one year removed from his demotion from third to first.  Ron Washington meanwhile sits on a one year deal waiting to see if Jon Daniels renews him or not, but the issue is sitting right there in the General Manager’s office.

I know, I know…Jon Daniels is a baseball God.  He knows more about baseball than most people who played the game for fifty years because his vast experience involved with the little league game fully prepared him to play the stats geek to the high school players who were about to be drafted, but let’s look at the year and understand the Rangers over achieved.

 

First off, I predicted 86 wins and no playoffs.  The team hit 90 wins and while not in contention to do anything in the playoffs, was on the cusp.  Remember, they didn’t have Neftali Feliz in the rotation, i.e. who should have never been there.  Matt Harrison went out early and Colby Lewis was never ready from injury.  Between the three, I have to imagine they would have found at least five extra wins, but let’s face it, they didn’t need five extra, they needed one regular season win more and they would have been in the post season.  With all three, I think you have to wonder if the AL West doesn’t end a little different.  Certainly, Cleveland or Tampa Bay comes to Arlington.  So, it was a rough season.

At least Jon-boy as there.  He was good enough to bring us Lance Berkman.  Hey, I can’t lie.  Nothing says dedication like begging a guy from his hospital bed to come play for your team like JD apparently did with Berkman.  And for $10 measly million dollars we got an over-the-hill 1B/DH who produced a wannabe ginormous six bombs and a .242/.340/.359 slash line while he joked about bombing Wrigley Field less than twenty–four hours after the Boston Marathon bombing.  Brilliant pick up there JD…no power, no average, and just like school in July, no class!

I know JD is supposed be the Greek god of Baseball GMs, but let’s look at the career.  This was Daniel’s first year as GM on his own.  Every other year he has had the leadership of Nolan Ryan looking over his shoulder guiding him.  Everyone brings up the Elvis Andrus trade where the Rangers got Andrus and everyone else for Mark Teixeira, but who was looking over his shoulder making sure that the trade wasn’t a Livan Hernandez for Mark Teixeira trade?  Also, while we give JD all kinds of credit for deals like that, what about Adrian Gonzalez who was sent to San Diego for…who?

I know, I know…what’s in the past is in the past, but JD did zero for the team this year.  Alex Rios was an okay pickup at best and Matt Garza was a net negative. 

Alex Rios did at least add another six homers in almost half as many as Berkman and hit a respectable .280/.315/.457 while only drawing a $13M dollar salary.  Meanwhile, Garza made only thirteen starts for the Rangers and could only win four of them, while losing five, and drawing no decisions in the other four only requiring $10.25M per.

The granddaddy of all bad decisions though had to be forcing Jurickson Profar up to the majors and playing him all over the place while he contributed almost zero to the team.

Everyone calls Profar the next Jose Reyes, but in his first 300 at bats, he hits only .234/.308/.336 while making eight errors.  Really?  Everyone was talking about trading him straight up for Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton.  Ha!  It would appear now that, you couldn’t get a healthy Brian Roberts for him – as maybe he aint that special – yet JD had to force him up and expose it to everyone.

For Rangers fans, I think you might want to consider that you missed the playoffs this year and have some giant holes to fill.  First, designated hitter, and a catcher if AJ Pierzynski departs for the press box.  Then there is the question of can the rotation do again what it did this year, i.e. I am hoping no one is buying World Series tickets for next year or the year after because I think you are in full blown rebuild mode at this point.

To the questions, can the rotation repeat its success, I am guessing no, as even Mike Maddux is looking for a reason to leave and is considering the job he wouldn’t interview for a few years ago.  Keep in mind that as good as the pitching was, they were only ninth best in batting average against and tenth best in ERA.  As far as Quality Starts go, they ranked twenty-fifth, only allowing three or fewer runs in the first six through less than half their games.  There are only thirty teams.  What?  Hello?  Do you hear the phone ringing there JD?  I am guessing it is the bullpen phone with that kind of performance out of starters.

Meanwhile the team batting average was a very good .262, seventh best in the majors, yet were still behind the Los Angeles Angels.  For some reason they could not deliver when they had to yet the excuse was always if only the offense would score more runs.  Well, they did score runs, but the overall team was wrong.

The game belongs to Wash, but the team to JD.  Who messed up the stew Mr. Daniels?

This would be what we call bad: no ‘when it counts’ offense, no plate setters, and no pitching to go with.  All of that makes it very difficult to claim your personal greatness Mr. Daniels, when the results are anything other than a World Series win.  Let's face it, if you don't win the last game of your season, it isn't a good season.  No matter what.

This is all before we get to the middle infield issue of Kindler-Andrus-Profar.  Well, the Rangers decided it was a good idea to pay Ian Kinsler $15M a year for a guy who wasn’t that good a 2B, then signed Andrus long term to play SS all while having Profar in the wings who now plays…where?

The answer to the question above: why western lawmen (aka Texas Rangers) are no good on a sinking boat…because they don’t even tread water well, except when they are on their high horse which for the Rangers I just don’t see anytime soon.