Angel in the Outfield; Clear Eyes Ahead

Back in December of 2007, I felt like only a handful of us even cared what was going down with the Rangers.  They had just traded Mark Teixeira for a bunch of young kids and only had Jarrod Saltalamacchia at the major league level to show for it.  The year prior had traded slugger Alfonso Soriano for nothing in return and were shedding payroll like crazy.  In 2007, They hired a first time manager and a no-name (outside of baseball purists) Ron Washington. On top of that, on the 21st of December, General Manager of the Rangers (the kid) Jon Daniels traded one of our prize possessions...a highly touted prospect pitcher named Edinson Volquez for some retread drug addict named Josh Hamilton trying to make a comeback after throwing his career and life away after being the #1 draft choice of the Tampa Bay Rays some 8 years earlier.  I felt like the organization was taking a MAJOR gamble and risk and was wondering what in the world was going on in Arlington headquarters.  This was all before Nolan Ryan became involved with the organization again.

So here comes Josh Hamilton and his story begins to seep out to us seemingly 5 die-hard fans.  Then, his story began to creep into the outer sections of casual Rangers fans.  It began to make it's way into mainstream America.  By the time he had ever played a game in Arlington, he was already making heads turn with his amazing performance in Anaheim in an opening of the season road trip out west.  He dazzled late night Rangers die-hards with spectacular catches and home runs.  It was amazing.  By the time he was announced for the first time in Arlington, he was already seemingly a local hero.  It didn't take me long to realize that he was not only the best Ranger that I'd ever seen with my own eyes.  He was the best ballplayer that I'd ever seen with my own eyes.  I've seen Griffey.  I've seen Bonds.  I've seen Canseco, McGwire, I've seen them all.  This was nothing like I'd ever seen.

His stage and status grew nation-wide in the summer of 2008 at the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in a Home Run Derby in which he hit 28 home runs in the first round.  It was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.  It was something out of a human element.  It was a moment that God shined.  And THAT is breathtaking.  He then had the I Am Second interview which told his story and his faith.  

Who is this guy?  He's incredible?  He's a storybook.  He's freaking Roy Hobbs in real life.  He's Mickey Mantle with a second chance.  He's a true superstar right here in Texas!

Meanwhile, the Rangers kids that were in the Teixeira trade were growing up fast.  They were Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and they all turned out to pay dividends by 2009.  Things were changing in Arlington.  However, the fans (or lack thereof) had yet to pick up on it.  By 2010, they were REALLY good.  Only until the kid (Jon Daniels) made a bold trade at the deadline getting Cliff Lee did people start sitting in seats in Arlington.  After that, it's never been the same.  

We all know the story from here...this is where most of you came in...

On to Josh and the bolt to LA.  The Rangers are now 5 years removed from the trade of Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton.  I would say that was one of the top trades in franchise history (behind the Teixeira trade and maybe a little ahead of the Cliff Lee trade).  But what that and those trades did for the Texas Rangers franchise was this: It bought the respect and trust in the Texas Rangers management for the first time ever.  This is not an organization that is going to sit around and be satisfied with 3rd place, 4th place and so on.  Not this group of owners/management.  We know this.  

On December 13, 2010, Cliff Lee bolted for Philly.  The Rangers front office were mesmerized and shocked.  They regrouped by signing Adrian Beltre.  That signing and that signing alone was the key to getting them back in the World Series for the second straight year.

Two years to the date, Josh Hamilton bolted to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  The front office seemed mesmerized and shocked.  How will they regroup?  Not in the form of a big name most likely.  

You see, this group of management has been foreseeing this moment for years.  They don't think like fans.  They have to have the deep cold hearted assertion of looking at it as a business.  Josh Hamilton will not always be the 29 year-old MVP.  Michael Young will not always be the 28 year-old guy who led the league in hitting with a .331 batting average.  This management group understands more than any team (it seems) that players enter their prime around 27 and are out of their prime by 31.  In very rare cases do players' numbers increase after 31.  It's very rare.  

Dallas Cowboys fans can probably relate to an aging Emmitt Smith who sludged along here trying to get his record and remain a lifelong Cowboy while the team kept him around and went 5-11.  It wasn't good management.  The team was owned by a fan.  Fans will have a $300 million payroll and be broke in two years and always looking for expensive free agents to fill in spots.  You have to be smart.

Back to the Rangers...  Daniels and company have been waiting for this day.  And that's why they're in prime position to still be extremely competitive for a number of years A.J. (after Josh).  They have had the best farm system in baseball for several years stockpiling talent year in and year out.  Even after sending highly touted prospects in trades that helped get to the World Series and make playoff pushes, they are still loaded.  One HUGE chip is Jurickson Profar.  He, along with Leonys Martin will be this year's version of Adrian Beltre or Yu Darvish.  The Rangers steadfast eye to the future have a vision of taking the next crop of talented kids (like they did with Elvis, Neftali, Harrisons) and are preparing to ride them to 31 and blend them over the years with great talent from within and about.  And then, the cycle will once again come around and people will scream that the sky is falling because Jon Daniels has traded Jurickson Profar for a bunch of kids!  


With a quick glimpse of the current position the Rangers find themselves in.  They have the best 3rd baseman in baseball in Adrian Beltre.  They have one of (if not the) best shortstops in baseball named Elvis Andrus (who still makes tiny money).  They have the phenom 2nd baseman in young Jurickson Profar who they control for 6 years and will make hardly anything. They have Mitch Moreland at 1st base who will hit .285+ and 25 HR if they let him play everyday.  They have solid hitting and gold glove candidate David Murphy in left field.  They have the heavily talented Leonys Martin in centerfield along with speedster Craig Gentry vs. lefthanders.  They have old man 32 year-old Nellie Cruz in his last year of his contract (and certainly gone after this season) in right field.  Their DH is Ian Kinsler, who is an offensive threat coming off a horrible season.  Their rotation consists of 3 All-Star starters in Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando plus a high ceiling lefty in Derek Holland and young top prospect Martin Perez.  They have a Hall of Fame closer in Joe Nathan.

The way I see it, this team is lacking heavily at catcher and needs to improve the bullpen (although they received some electric arms in the Michael Young trade).  News flash:  They will compete this year.  They may not win the west.  But they might win the whole dang thing in '14.

If I were to make one bold move, I would look at trading Elvis Andrus, Michael Olt (another highly touted prospect) and Martin Perez to Tampa Bay for 27 year-old Cy Young Award Winner David Price.  With a rotation like that, they could hit like the A's and make it to the World Series, much like the 2010 San Francisco Giants that beat the Rangers.  

The sky is not falling.  The off-season didn't particularly go the way the Rangers had envisioned.  However, thanks to the foresight of the front office, the 2012 collapse and stink job that it was can be the same as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.  No one can see the beauty until you see it unfold.

I hate to see Josh go.  I hated to see Michael Young go.  I won't boo one of the greatest Rangers ever.  I won't mention the weird things about Josh.  The things that make me so frustrated with him.  He can be a pain in everyone's side.  However, he's also the greatest player these brown eyes have ever seen.  But, I've been with this team long enough to know that players don't play forever and they sure don't stay with the same team forever...unless it's a bad team.  

Be thankful that the Rangers care enough to look ahead and not behind.  A 1998 beautiful suped-up Corvette that runs most of the time can seem tempting to some...but it's not a good investment.  And the Rangers aren't into buying used up hot rods these days.

Get ready for the 2013 showroom floor featuring the brand new high performance Jurickson Profar.

Time Doesn't Wait for Young

The whole Michael Young/Texas Rangers story started in June of 1996 when the Rangers drafted a 2nd baseman.  No, not Michael...but the hero of the greatest College World Series ending of All-Time.  The Texas Rangers drafted Warren Morris of LSU.  The drafting of Morris, coupled with the free-agent signing of local Arlington phenom Todd Van Poppel allowed the Rangers to ship both of those guys to Pittsburgh for Esteban Loiaza.  The Rangers used Loaiza until their playoff run of the '90's came to shore and they traded him to Toronto for a young minor leaguer named Michael Young.  I'm still embarrassed that I wanted Frank Catalanatto to be the everyday 2nd baseman instead of Michael Young, but hey, I was wrong.  I was also wrong on Rob Ducey (instead of Rusty Greer), and wanting to keep Vladimir Guerrero instead of signing Adrian Beltre...but, I digress.  

I'm a tad bit saddened to see Michael go.  Yes, I know it's a business and I know it's a move that any GM would make (except Jerry Jones, of course).  But Michael Young is the rarest of athletes.  He is one of the few guys in sports that I feel comfortable telling my sons to emulate.  I remember not too awfully long ago when my 6 year-old wasn't able to pronounce the word "Young" and would scream, "Go Michael Yawn!!!!!"  He has a Michael Young Fathead on his wall.  His little Christmas elf wrote to him tonight saying to please be happy for Michael (while holding a Michael Young card in his elf paws).  

This is what baseball is. It's time passed down from grandfathers to fathers to sons.  From Warren Morris to - Josh Lindblom and a minor league prospect, Lisalberto Bonilla.  It's the fact that you can put time together by just a few guys...such as Jim Sundberg played on the same team as Nolan Ryan...and Nolan Ryan played on the same team as Pudge Rodriguez...and Pudge Rodriguez played on the same team as Michael Young.  Right there, we've spanned nearly the entire lifespan of the organization in 4 teammates.  

I will miss Michael Young.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he hit .300 for the Phillies.  But, I also know Deep in my Heart that he will struggle as an everyday 3rd baseman because time waits for no one.  Not even a man named Young.

So long Michael!  Me and my boys will be there when you're inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame.  Thanks for being someone who's image I can put on my kids wall and feel really good about.

I'm thankful for...

I'm thankful for:

The Father the Son the Holy Spirit for everlasting life; My beautiful wife for her devotion and love; Our two boys that are so very gifted and have huge hearts; A home that is safe to protect my most precious assets...my family; My mom who has given me the burning desire to be the best at everything I do; My dad for giving me the wisdom to do things the right way in my quest at being the best at everything I do; Papaw Walker who shared with me his enormous heart; Mamaw Walker for taking me to church at a very young age; My aunt Pearl Smith for her quiet, stoic nature...and her plum jelly toast, pet milk coffee and hot wheels at Christmas; My aunt Lady who made my soul open when she played boogie-woogie on the piano (and spoiling me to no end); For my job and being a part of the Douglass family-it's and amazing group of people to work for and with; My childhood best friend Chris Garner who I competed against at everything only to most times come up just a little bit short; Tim Smithart for teaching me 6 million things about baseball; Jim Fryar for making me earn my way; Joey McQueen who taught me it's okay to tell your players that you love them; Billy Hill who showed me you don't have to be voted in to be a leader; Bill Harrison who said, "business leaders don't call in sick"; The hard lessons I learned early in life that have shaped me to be I am today; The true heroes that have served our country to make it the best place to live in the universe; For the little things like sharing a hotdog with my son at the ballpark or shooting hoops with my stepson in the backyard; Enjoying the moonlight evening with my wife; For coaching which gives me the opportunity to mold and shape young boys into young men and to keep passing the torch; I'm thankful for 2nd chances and 3rd chances; For positive minded people; for each one of you, who I consider my friend.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Today's world sucks the life out of me

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, and (and countless other cheaters) have helped destroy the thought that there can ever again be a natural great athlete. Thanks to these despicable actions by "role models", there will never again be a Mohammed Ali, Nolan Ryan, or Carl Lewis that won't have to be questioned and harassed. I feel sorry for Lance if he was clean. But if not, what he did was just as despicable as those other losers.

I grew up a little naive in a small town thinking that there are good people everywhere. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt because I haven't been hardened by critical, cynical, well populated, over-crowded societies. But this world has changed dramatically from the pre-internet age. Our generation has grown from a kinder-gentler society in our youth where we own our words, to a mass-transit, mass-media, cynical world where everyone has a smart remark and are at times viscously crude to each other anonymously.

This world today sucks. Cheaters are in the housing industry, in the stock market industry, in the healthcare industry, in the government industry, and yes, especially the competitive sports industry including pro, college, high school and even youth and I'm increasingly concerned about the future of society when the generations that were flooded with values are no longer here and left to run things are the self-absorbed reckless who will step on anyone anytime and be cruel to others to "get the edge"

Baseball and Marriage

In case it has slipped your attention, there are only about 30 hours until Rangers Opening Day at The Ballpark. In my humble opinion, baseball is the best sport in the world but I have found, over the years, fewer people are paying attention to it. Maybe it was the baseball strike many years ago, or the steroids scandal. Or maybe the games move just to slowly for our fast paced society. But baseball has many redeeming characteristics; chief among them is its similarity to marriage.

Observe how the two imitate each other:

Baseball is a game without a clock. In theory, an inning can stretch to eternity. Some marital arguments feel that way too. But so do some of the great times. And marriage, like an inning of baseball, should run to eternity. There should be no “we’ve run out of time” or “we just fell out of love.” In marriage, you gotta play at least till the 9th inning.

Baseball is played as a team and although individual performance is important, no one wins a baseball game alone. No matter how egotistical, no successful baseball player has ever bragged, “I made this team successful all by myself.” They know better. It takes nine players, each functioning in their role, to make the baseball machine run smoothly. Ditto for marriage. Some days, one marriage partner may feel like they’re juggling all the balls and pulling all the weight; but that usually doesn’t last long in a successful marriage. One partner pitches (in), the other catches (up). One’s a long ball hitter, the other hits for average. God puts marriage partners who are different together to complement each other and to play as a team.

Baseball players need managers and coaches—people who have done it before and offer advice about how to do it better. I love watching what happens in the dug out during a game. The manager leans over and talks to the bench coach. The pitching coach gets on the phone to talk to the bull pen and the base coaches flash signals to the runners. Words of advice flow like, “Try to swing level” or “You’re dropping your arm when you deliver the ball.” Good marriages require coaching (or counseling) from time to time also. If we’ll seek some professional advice or marriage mentoring, we can improve our game.

In baseball, you have to touch all the bases. If you miss a base they call you out. The failure to touch all the bases can be deadly in marriage too. We need to pay attention to the importance of physical affirmation through touch. Some of us need it more than others, but all of us need at least some of it. Loving, gentle touches of affection exchanged between husband and wife will put you ahead and keep your winning streak alive.

The baseball season consists of 162 games. And I admit, it is a bit of a marathon for the teams and fans. But it’s the team that does the best over the long haul that’s declared the champion in the fall. Hot teams who start great in April, but fizzle in August, never see the World Series. It takes consistent, faithful play day after day to be a winner. This is true in marriage, of course. You can’t be a great husband or wife for the first year or two and expect to coast the rest of the way. Every day is game day in our marriages and we have to play our best throughout the long season of life.

Baseball, like marriage, is sacred. The Rangers play in a ballpark sometimes referred to as “the temple.” There’s an exhibit in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame called “Sacred Ground." Professor William Herzog II, a New Testament scholar at Colgate Rochester Divinity School says, "People are incurably religious. We have to have some form of religion, and for some people it's baseball. It's only a game, but it has elements that point beyond." So does marriage. Marriage is a sacrament, a gift from God, created by God, to glorify God. Given that, it’s important that we give it our best efforts and treat it with the honor and respect it is due. The New Testament writer of Hebrews says, “Let marriage be held in honor by all”. We can do that best by working hard at our own marriages.

So welcome to the start of baseball season in just a little over 30 hours! And we put the bunting up for our marriage in about 9 hours where we, with coaching and commitment, can make it to the World Series of families.


I found this article, deleted some of it...added to it and made it my own.