Minor League Monday - Rob Brown, 1990 Charlotte Rangers Star.

Ok, not a whole lot positive to talk about from last night. The Rangers lost. Ron Washington got ejected on his 60th birthday, and Derek Holland continues to struggle. Sounds like a good time to move along in the 1990 Star Charlotte Rangers team set.

Pitcher Rob Brown appears on card number 2 in the set. Texas picked Rob in the 16th round of the 1989 draft. He played that same year for Gastonia.

1990 would see a small promotion for Brown, to A+ ball. He would play the entire season with Charlotte, appearing in 40 games. Most of Rob's 118.2 innings were thrown in relief as he made just four starts.

In those 118.2 innings Brown struck out 102 batters while walking just 40 in route to a 1.90 ERA and a 0.952 WHIP. Pretty impressive numbers, even for A ball. Those numbers got Rob promoted to Double A Tulsa for the 1991 season. If he could translate even part of his 1990 performance at that level he stood an excellent chance of moving up even further in the Rangers organization.

Senators Saturday - John Schaive, 1963.

Ugly loss last night. The four runs that the Devil Rays were able to plate in the first inning pretty much sealed the deal. It was good to see the Rangers fight back but it was still a loss. Time to take a quick peek back to 1963.

John Schaive didn't play for Washington in 1961 as he spent the season in the minors. He would spend the 1962 season with the Senators. It was back to the minors for most of the 1963 season for Schaive, shown here on card 356 of the 1963 Topps set. The exception was a cup of coffee with the parent club. John pinch-hit three times in three games. He would get no hits and would strike out once. That was it. No play in the field.

Starting the 1963 season with Washington's Triple A team, the York White Roses, Schaive would appear in 67 games and post a very good .321 batting average. It wasn't good enough though. Apparently the Senators sent Johnny to the Indians in an unrecorded transaction. He would finish the season with Cleveland's Triple A affiliate.

1963 was it for Schaive. Those three trips to the plate would mark the final games of his Major League career. Though he would last through the 1966 season in the minors he would never again appear in a Big League game.

Best Seasons: Ken Hill - 1996.

Night off last night. Time to take another look at one of the Top 50 lists.

Number 21 on T.R. Sullivan's list of the 50 Best Seasons in Rangers history is Ken Hill's 1996 performance. T.R. says, "For one brief, shining moment, Hill was a number one starter on a division-winning team, going 16-10 with a 3.63 ERA in 250 innings."

T.R. is right. 1996 was Hill's career year. He tossed the most innings that he ever would in a season and made the most starts he ever would. Seven of those starts ended up being complete games and three of those were shutouts. Both were career highs. Ken also experienced a career high in strikeouts with 170.

That performance made Hill, shown here on card 226 of the 1997 Fleer set, the ace of the Texas starting staff. T.R. is right though, the moment would be brief. In 1997 his ERA would climb and his innings pitched and strikeouts would slip. That would be enough for Texas to send him to Anaheim midway through the season.

I guess every wagon has one.

Great games the past couple of nights. Great to see Darvish getting better on Tuesday and the bullpen cobble together an effective performance last night. Even better to see the series win over the Yankees. Up to nine games over the Angels. Better keep climbing though, the Halos are sure to wake up at some point.

With the last two seasons and the torrid start the club has put together this season the bandwagon is growing. That's to be expected and appreciated. Not to say that it isn't amusing at times though. Just today I ran into a fair-weather fan 500 miles from Arlington.

Stopping by the local convenience store for a drink while at work I was hailed by the owner. "What do you think about our pitcher?" He asked. I stood there trying to figure who he meant. He is a big football fan and rarely has a kind word to say about baseball.

"Which pitcher?" Maybe he was talking about the Royals, after all they won yesterday and today. "The chinaman." Who??? I rolled through the KC roster in my mind. "Who?" Bruce Chen? "The one that beat the Yankees a couple of days ago." Yankees? Darvish. "He's not Chinese but he seems to be doing well. Still take some time to see." Wait a minute, our pitcher? "I thought they signed him out of China." China again? "No, Japan. I didn't know you were a Rangers fan."

"Big fan. Aren't Japan and China the same?" A big fan who doesn't know where Yu is from? "Really? How long? No they're not." Not realizing that Japan and China are two totally different countries? "Oh, I've been following them since the early eighties. I thought they spoke Chinese in both Japan and China." Perfect. "No they don't. Chinese in China and Japanese in Japan." Had to clear that up first. "So, who was Jeff Kunkel?"

Blank stare. He had no idea. Not on Kunkel, not on geography, not on the Rangers. I said goodbye, walked out, drove around the corner and laughed out loud.

First thumping of the season.

Mark Teixeira, shown here on 2004 Skybox Autographics #51, and the rest of the Yankees rolled into Arlington last night. There to greet them was a bewildered Derek Holland who pitched as though he had never beaten a t-ball team, much less the Yankees.

The bullpen did all right and the offense fought back late in the game but it was too little too late. Final score: 7-4 New York. Ugly game.

On the bright side it was the first ineffective start by a Rangers pitcher this season. That's not bad. Dutch just needs to bounce back his next time out and trust his stuff. No need to worry yet.

End of the Pudge era.

Well, I just finished watching the last part of Ivan Rodriguez's retirement press conference from the Ballpark in Arlington. Thanks to MLB.com I missed the first part.

So Pudge, seen here on card 140 of the 1998 Dugout Axcess set, is retired. Seems hard to believe. After all, it was just a few short years ago that my Grandfather and I were discussing this new kid that Texas had just called up in 1991. Reminded him of Jim Sundberg behind the plate, that's what Pop said. My Dad doubted. Sunny was good, very good. There was no way this kid could be that good. Then we saw him play.

He was that good. Every bit that good. Snap throws to first to catch a sleeping runner. Caught the great Rickey Henderson stealing by five feet. Pick offs on third. 13 Gold Gloves (10 as a Ranger). He was every bit that good behind the plate.

Ivan's glove was what got him noticed and kept him on the team. His bat came along later, after he had been in the Majors for two or three years. Then it came. Seven Silver Slugger awards (six as a Ranger). 311 career home runs. 572 career doubles.

Of course the steroids and performance-enhancing drug issues stained I-Rod with the rest of the ballplayers of his era. That caused pain and disappointment. Ivan's vague "Only God knows." answer to the obvious questions only caused more. That ended the player collection but not my firm belief that with or without any type of PED's, Pudge was something special.

14 All-Star games (10 as a Ranger) and the 1999 MVP award showed how special a lot of folks thought he was. My willingness to forgive baseball after 1994 showed how much I thought of him. More that any other player on the field at the time, Rodriguez pulled me back to the sport.

And now it's over. 21 years and 2,543 Major League games. Ivan Rodriguez is done crouching behind the plate and gunning runners down. Two questions yet remain. Will Pudge make the Hall of Fame? Will we see another catcher as good as he was any time soon?

End of the line.

Today marks the end of an era. One of the best catchers to ever play the game has announced his retirement. After 21 seasons in the Major Leagues, Ivan Rodriguez is hanging up the spikes and mask.

Pudge, shown here on card IR of the 2001 SP Game-Used Edition Authentic Fabric set, broke into the Majors with Texas in 1991. For 12 seasons he thrilled Rangers fans with his bat and defense. The cannon arm snuffed out runners about as fast as they could get on base.

Following the 2002 season Texas was foolish enough let Ivan walk. Florida signed him and he helped lead the team to a World Series title in 2003. On to Detroit in 2004 where he played for almost five seasons before being traded to the Yankees. The 2009 season saw I-Rod starting the season with Houston and then making a triumphant homecoming with the Rangers at the trading deadline. Two seasons with the Washington Nationals finished off the run.

I am a little torn to see Pudge retire. Several years ago I would have figured he was a lock for the Hall of Fame. Now I am not sure. His inability to conclusively deny steroid use could block any bid he might make for a plaque. That would be a tragedy. Aside from Bench, Ivan is easily the best catcher to play the game in recent history. For him to allow the specter of steroid use to loom over his career truly makes no sense.

Decisions: Jose Canseco.

Got class today and church activities this evening so this is a pre-scheduled post. Will be back tomorrow.

Number 23 on T.R. Sullivan's Top 50 Decisions that shaped the Rangers is the 1992 trade for Jose Canseco. In return for Jose, shown here on his 1995 Baseball Aces playing card, the Rangers sent Ruben Sierra, Jeff Russell, and Bobby Witt to Oakland.

I have expressed my views on this trade in a previous post. T.R. says it makes the list because it put the Rangers at ground zero of baseball's performance-enhancing drug scandal. That's true. Lots of the guys who played with Canseco in Texas later appeared in his books and in the Mitchell Report. Not good stuff. Kind of makes the bone-headed plays and blowing one's arm out while pitching look like kid stuff.

1975 Topps - Cesar Tovar.

With the Rangers having yesterday off I thought this might be a good time to finish up the 1975 Topps set. Cesar Tovar appears on card number 178 to finish up the Rangers team set.

1975 was a fall off season for Tovar after his bounce back 1974 campaign. After seeing a lot of action in the outfield in 1974 he spent most of his time in 1975 as a designated hitter.

In 463 plate appearances Cesar tallied a .258 batting average and a .306 on-base percentage. Both of those were significant drops from the previous season. His power remained about the same though as he hit 16 doubles and three home runs. He also stole 16 bases but got caught 11 times.

In spite of being primarily a DH, Tovar did see some action in the field. He would play in all three outfield positions and even put in nine innings at second base.

The problem was that Pepito was not producing at the plate the way that a DH needs to and the Rangers had three regular outfielders. To add to his woes, the Rangers fired manager Billy Martin in late July. With his patron gone and the team struggling Cesar was in trouble. On August 31st Texas sold him to Oakland. He would play through the end of 1976 in the Majors before hanging up the spikes.

Hamilton's bat rescues Rangers sweep.

Well, the Rangers moved to 8-2 last night with a 4-3 win over the Twins in Minnesota. Notable game for several reasons.

Josh Hamilton, shown here on card 184 of the 2011 Topps Lineage set, has been pretty hot this season. Last night he was clutch as well. He hammered a two run shot to put Texas up in the eighth. Nice.

Joe Nathan got the save. Encouraging to see that. I think he still bears watching but he seemed to put a few more of the pieces in place this weekend.

Neftali Feliz is human. He held the Twins scoreless through four but then they got to him. After thirteen scoreless innings as a starter he finally gave up a run. Well, three runs. Left the game in the hole but was rescued by Hamilton and the bullpen. Going to be interesting to see his confidence level next time out.

Sweep! First time in Minnesota since 1999. Very good and hopefully a sign of things to come as the team heads to Boston and Detroit.

Special thanks.

My family doesn't have cable, satellite, or any other type of paid TV service. Most of the time I could care less. During baseball season though I occasionally get the itch to see the Rangers play. Not being in Texas that can be a bit difficult.

Enter Mark, Royals fan to the bone. Mark's a good guy. He also has Direct TV. With a sample subscription to extra innings for this week only. Cue the phone. Cue Mark asking if I would like to come see the Rangers play the Twins last night. What kind of question is that? I course I would. Off to Mark's house.

The last time Mark invited me over to watch the Rangers play was last year. Texas got pounded by Houston. Houston! With the Rangers' history in Minnesota I was hoping that the game would at least be close. A win was almost too much to hope for.

Enter Matt Harrison, shown here on card 432 of the 2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Factory Set. After a Minnesota run in the second, Harry shut the Twins down. He left the game after the eighth with a 4-1 lead. In comes Alexi Ogando and struggles through the ninth but allows no runs.

Good to actually see a win. Radio is great but occasionally it's nice to watch it happen on TV. Thanks for the invite Mark! Thanks for the win Matt!

Odd Moments: Group discount.

Making up some ground in T.R. Sullivan's top 50 Bizarre moments list. With one exception the next few moments really don't deal with any specific player. As such, I am posting this queen of diamonds card from the Academy Sports Outdoors deck that was a stadium giveaway a couple of years ago. Ok, on to the entries.

Number 18. The rain delay - On August 12, 1990 the Rangers were supposed to play the White Sox at Comiskey Park. First pitch was scheduled to go at 1:30 in the afternoon. Problem was, it was raining at that time. Rain delay. Eight hours later the White Sox finally called off the game because it was still raining. So much for not wanting to make the game up in Texas. League rules no longer allow clubs to wait that long before calling a game due to weather.

Number 19. Heading for Tampa Bay - On August 26, 1988 the Rangers issued a press release stating that the team had been sold and was relocating to Tampa, Florida. Apparently the deal would have gone through had not Edward Gaylord stepped in and exercised an option to buy the team. Of course, his purchase was not approved by the league and eventually future President George W. Bush ended up as part of the new ownership in 1989. (See number 13 on the Top 50 Decisions list) The team stayed put.

Number 20. With Juan Gonzalez sitting out the game due to a wrist injury, catcher Gregg Zaun was pressed into service in right field during the 1999 Hall of Fame Game. Zaun proceeded to call his own shot by pointing to the right field seats before hitting a home run. Babe Ruth must have smiled.

Number 21. Ameriquest Field. The big bell in left field was pretty strange. Even stranger when it abruptly disappeared during Ameriquest's bankruptcy. Repossessed?

Number 22. The paratrooper. The idea was to have U.S. Army Rangers land on the field prior to the 2010 home opener. Unfortunately one of them ended up hanging from a flagpole at the ballpark. Oops!

Number 23. Las Vegas Night. Larry Schmittou was the Rangers marketing VP in the 1980's and had several crazy promotions. One of them involved a drawing that sent a lucky fan to Las Vegas. Straight from Arlington Stadium. Not sure if they got to stay until the end of the game or had to leave midway through.

A tale of two veterans.

Michael Young, shown here on card number 45 of the 2007 Topps Co-Signers set, came through for the Rangers today in their 5-3 win over Seattle. Michael went 3-for-4 in the game with a run scored and four of the team's five RBI. One of his hits was a fifth inning home run that scored Ian Kinsler as well. Nice to see Young still being dependable and getting the big hits.

Not so dependable has been closer Joe Nathan. He owns both of the Rangers losses and a 9.00 ERA. That kind of thing happens when you give up four runs in four innings. When Texas signed Nathan I was wondering in the back of my mind if he would be able to return to his pre-injury form. Hopefully this is not a sign that he can't. Ron Washington says that he isn't worried about Joe. I am though. Not just panic-level worried but definitely concerned.

Fortunately Mike Adams and Alexi Ogando are in the bullpen as well and both seem to remember how to pitch. Neither has an ERA over two and both have thrown more innings than Nathan. Best scenario is Joe getting it together but it is comforting to know that he might not be the only option.

Feliz arrives in the rotation.

Texas ran their record to 4-1 last night as they downed Seattle 1-0. Undoubtedly the standout player of the game was starting pitcher Neftali Feliz.

Feliz, shown here on his 2009 Topps Heritage card, #545, got a good beginning on his transition to a starter in his first Major League start. Neftali went seven innings and allowed no Mariners to cross home plate. That impressive performance got him the win. It was also the deepest a Texas starter has gone in a ballgame so far this year.

While the long-term performance and consistency are what count, I will say that last night helped to ease a few of my jitters concerning Feliz moving into the rotation this year. If Neftali can keep this up he could be a lot of fun to watch.

Back and catching up.

Ok, so it's been a busy past few days for the Rangers. Now that I'm back from visiting family over the weekend let's take a look.

Probably the biggest news is the signing of Ian Kinsler to a long-term deal. Kinsler, shown here on #67 of the 2009 Allen and Ginter Code set, is now locked up through at least 2017. There is an option for 2018 as well. Seems like a good move to me, if Texas can keep winning. If they repeat their early 2000's nosedive then Ian could find himself on the trade block. Also, is is being reported that Texas mentioned during the negotiations that Kinsler could be asked to move to the outfield at some point in the future. Good move to mention that possibility now rather than waiting for the need to arise and then springing it on Ian.

Four games into the young 2012 season and the Rangers are at 3-1 and sitting in first place. Way early but these kind of starts are always good.

One of the Texas wins came last night for Yu Darvish. The long-awaited debut finally took place. Darvish got rocked for four runs in the first before settling down for the next 4.2 innings. All told Darvish coughed up five runs and would have taken the loss if not for the Texas offense. By the time he left the game in the sixth the score stood at 8-5. The Rangers would later add three more runs. Mitch Moreland, Nellie Cruz, Josh Hamilton, and Ian Kinsler will all be hitting Yu up for dinner after they hit home runs to rescue his first MLB win.

Good to see Nelson's bat show up last night. He, Mike Napoli, Elvis Andrus, and Adrian Beltre are all a bit cool at the plate coming out of the gate this year. Not sure I see any reason to hit the eject button yet on any of them though or even to be all that worried. All are capable of coming around and doing so very quickly once they get on track.

Robbie Ross has also arrived in the Bigs. In spite of wearing a kids cowboy outfit during his walk to the bullpen on Sunday he made good when called into the game. Coming in to start the eighth he worked a scoreless inning. Nice to see some more of the Rangers young arms coming up.

One last tidbit from T.R. Sullivan to close out the post. "Matt Harrison, after six scoreless innings on Sunday night, has a career ERA of 2.91 against the White Sox. That's the third-lowest by a Rangers pitcher with at least six starts against the White Sox. Jon Matlack had a 2.67 ERA and Bert Blyleven had a 2.68." Can't pass up a chance to point out a mention of Jon Matlack.

Minor League Monday - Gerald Alexander, 1990 Charlotte Rangers Star.

In the Rangers farm system of the late 1980's and early 1990's the Charlotte Rangers were an A+ level team. Gastonia, which has shown up in previous posts, was an A level team. Thus, Charlotte was only slightly higher in the level of play.

Today we start off a review of the 1990 Star Charlotte Rangers team set with card number 1, Gerald Alexander. Gerald was a 21st round draft pick for Texas in 1989. He played that year for the GCL Rangers and for Charlotte. In 1990 he would be back with Charlotte to start the season.

Alexander would pitch in just seven games for Charlotte in 1990, all as a starter. In 42.2 innings he posted a 6-1 record on the strength of his 0.63 ERA and 0.891 WHIP. What's really amazing is that he lost a game.

That performance got him a promotion to Triple A Oklahoma City where he appeared in 20 games for the Eighty-Niners. All 20 appearances were starts. That the level of competition had improved is clearly seen in Gerald's 4.10 ERA and 1.441 ERA. In spite of those numbers he still went 13-2 on the season of OKC.

At some point along the way Gerald even got a cup of coffee with the Rangers. That experience was an ugly one though as his ERA skyrocketed to 7.71 in the seven innings his pitched.

Clearly Gerald Alexander needed some more seasoning before making to Arlington on a permanent basis. He needed to make some adjustments at Triple A in order to replicate his success in the lower levels of the farm system. If he could do that then he would be able to take that final step to The Show.

Senators Saturday - Don Rudolph, 1963.

Is it just me or does Don Rudolph look a bit creepy on card 291 of the 1963 Topps set? I'm not sure if it's the lighting, background, or grin but something seems a bit off to me.

Something was definitely off with Don in 1963. After a serviceable performance in 1962 things seemed to really fall apart in 1963. Don was the second lefty in the Washington rotation behind Claude Osteen. Unfortunately he was nowhere close to Claude.

Rudolph made 37 appearances and 26 starts for the Senators in 1963. He won just seven games while losing 19. While some of those losses were undoubtedly due to poor support his 4.55 ERA surely had something to do with it as well.

In 1962 Don had posted a decent 3.62 ERA in 176.1 innings. In just two innings less in 1963 he had seen almost a whole point increase. He needed to figure out how to get that ERA back down if he wanted to remain in the starting rotation in 1964.

And they're off!

At 1305 this afternoon the Rangers will kick off the 2012 season. For the second time they will be leaving the starting gate as the defending American League Champions.

Still not the favorites for a lot of pundits. The Angels seem to have regained their status as the media darlings of the American League West. Nolan Ryan isn't buying though. He thinks the Angels have added a lot in the off-season and that the race will be tighter this year but still expects Texas to come out on top. No win total prediction as of yet from Nollie.

Today marks the beginning of the Rangers 40th year in Texas. As such, part of the opening ceremonies will feature some of the guys pictured on card 668 of the 1972 Topps set, the original team to take the field in Arlington Stadium. Kind of neat to see the milepost. Would have liked to have seen as big a hoopla for the 50th anniversary of the franchise last year but I'll take what I can get. Hopefully that is another A.L. West title and a deep run in October.

Just a quick note, with this being Easter weekend I will be unable to post due to family obligations. Tomorrow's and Monday's posts are scheduled though but they won't reflect the Rangers start to the season. Feel free to leave comments though. Hope everyone enjoys Opening/Easter weekend with their loved ones.

Possible new arrival?

I have a request for anyone who happens to be a Laynce Nix collector or is simply familiar with his autograph.

I sent Laynce this 2005 Topps Turkey Red card in April of 2010 and asked him to sign it. It came back on March 29th of this year. The strange thing was that it came back with a return address label over the top of my address on the SASE that I had sent.

Underneath the address label was written, "Laynce's Grand". When I opened the envelope I found the two cards that I had sent. Both were signed. I also found a small slip of paper with the following typewritten message:

"I put my return address in the event of no delivery I am Laynce's grandmother. Helping him get caught up."

Kind of strange. Makes me wonder if Grandmother is helping Laynce by sealing up the envelopes and running them to the post office or if she is signing the cards for him. That wouldn't be unheard of. I have heard that Don Zimmer's family routinely signs his through the mail autographs. I also remember Pete Rose saying back in the 1980's that he never signed through the mail - he had two old ladies who did it for him.

That leads to my request. Can anybody tell me if this is actually Laynce Nix's autograph? If Grandmother was simply helping out with the logistics that is fine. If she signed it for Laynce then I am pretty sure it won't be going into my collection. Thanks for any feedback you can give.

Best Seasons: C.J. Wilson - 2010.

T.R. Sullivan has C.J. Wilson's 2010 season at number 20 on his Best Seasons list. Of course, the list was made during the 2011 season. Wilson, shown here on his 2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Factory Set card 323, was even better in 2011.

In 2010 Wilson made the move from the bullpen to a full-time starter role with the Rangers. There was some concern as to his ability to deliver in the new role but deliver he did. In 33 starts C.J. tossed 204 innings and compiled a 15-8 record. He also put up a 3.35 ERA and a 1.245 WHIP. He struck out 170 batters but also walked a league-leading 93.

As 2011 started off there was some talk that Wilson might tail off after his then career high number of inning pitched in 2010. No such occurrence. In a league best 34 starts in 2011 Wilson raised his total number of innings pitched to 223.1 and brought his win total up one for a 16-7 record. He lowered his ERA to 2.94 and his WHIP to 1.187. He also lowered his walks allowed to 74 and raised his strikeout total to 206.

Two pretty good performances from a guy who had not started a game since 2006. The fact that both occurred as the Rangers took their first and second pennants made them all the more memorable.

Final roster trimming.

Well, Julio Borbon didn't make the final cut for this year's Opening Day roster. He's started in center field for Texas the past two seasons but was optioned to Triple A yesterday.

Julio, shown here on card 617 of the 2009 Topps Heritage set, had struggled for a large part of Spring Training. If not for Craig Gentry's injury battles, Borbon might have gotten optioned sooner than he did.

Borbon had better get it in gear in Round Rock if he wants to make it back to Arlington. Leonys Martin is also playing for The Express and was looking to be their center fielder. Could be an interesting competition. The end result could be Borbon catching fire and either moving to a corner outfield slot or getting called up as a result of slump or injury. On the other end of the spectrum, he could find himself on the trade block. The latter is a possibility that T.R. Sullivan hinted at on his blog several days ago.

Minor League Monday - Dan Peltier, 1990 Topps Magazine.

One of the things about minor league cards is where they sometimes surface. Take this 1990 Topps Magazine card of Dan Peltier. I can't remember which trade I picked it up in but I never had a Topps Magazine subscription so I know I traded for it. The interesting thing about this card is that Peltier is listed as playing for the Butte Copper Kings, not the Rangers. The Rangers aren't even mentioned until several lines into the write-up on the back.

Even though he's pictured in his Copper Kings uniform, Dan was no longer in Rookie Ball by the time the card came out. After an astounding 1989 season he was promoted straight to Double A Tulsa for the 1990 season.

With Tulsa Peltier's numbers came back to earth. He played in 117 games for the Drillers and made 497 trips to the plate. He posted a .279 batting average and a .345 on-base percentage. He also hit 20 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. Not bad numbers but a definite dip from the previous season when he took batting practice off opposing pitchers.

In 110 games in the field Dan played outfield and posted a .958 fielding percentage.

Well, the Rangers super prospect was certainly struggling with the transition from Rookie Ball to Double A. Only time would tell if he would be able to make the adjustment and continue to climb the minor league ladder.