50/50 auto.

I have quite a few Charlie Hough autos. Some have come through the mail, others through a 50/50 deal I once was part of. This signed 1989 Score card of Mr. Hough is one of the ones I got in the 50/50 deal.

Several years ago I saw a notice on a card trading website I was a member of. One of the other members lived near where Charlie Hough managed for a minor league team. The guy had season tickets as I recall and wanted to build a Hough collection. He was looking for 50/50 partners.

The deal was that I was supposed to send a batch of Charlie Hough cards to the other guy. There were two or three of each card. He would get as many signed as possible and return one of each to me. He was to keep the rest of the cards (one or two of each depending on how many I sent) for his part. Any shipping expenses would be split 50/50.

I gathered up the lot and sent it off. Included were several cards I could only find one extra of and a note telling my trade partner to keep all the cards with only one copy. Now it was waiting time.

In the fall I got an email from the other guy. Yay! My Charlie Hough autos were on the way? No. He had the autos but he hadn't sent them. He needed me to send him money to cover the cost of return postage. This hadn't been the deal before. It doubled my expense. If I didn't send him the money he would hang on to the cards and await developments. I sent him the money.

My signed cards arrived and were as advertised. I figured the cost and found the price per auto was about three times what I would have paid if I sent the cards directly to Hough a few at a time. I was glad to get the cards but have never since even considered a 50/50 autograph deal.

Anyone else ever tried a 50/50 autograph deal on either end? How did it work out for you?

A little luck.

Well, the Rangers got a bit of luck last night to down the Mariners on a Leonys Martin walk-off single. Seattle scored two runs off Yu Darvish, his first two runs given up of the season. That was all they would get though.

The Rangers battled back and managed to tie the game by the bottom of the ninth inning. Two up and two down to start the inning. Then Kevin Kousmanoff got a hit. A Mariners miscue at second kept the inning alive and a wild pitch moved the runners up. That gave Leonys Martin the chance to dump his single into the outfield and get the winning run home.

Nice use of the extra out by Texas. That gives them two wins in a row, a chance to win the series, and a record over .500. All good signs.

In an effort to keep the good times going, I am posting this signed 1988 Score card of former Ranger Charlie Hough. Can't do much better than Charlie when it comes to a good thing for Texas. Maybe it will give the guys a little more luck this afternoon.

Best Seasons: Kenny Rogers - 1994.

Number 32 on TR Sullivan's list of the top 50 seasons in Rangers history is Kenny Rogers' 1994 season.

TR admits he picked the strike-shortened season because of Rogers' perfect game, shown being celebrated on card 315 of the 1995 Score set. In my mind that's really the only reason to include this season on the list.

Rogers made 24 starts in 1994 and completed six of them. He posted a 4.46 ERA and a 1.321 WHIP in 167.1 innings. He ended the season with an 11-8 record. None of those numbers are real eye catching, even for the steroid era. Of course, the perfect game glitters brightly and tends to overshadow Kenny's daily performance.

What I remember most about 1994 was the strike that ended the season and erased the playoffs and World Series. It also started my hiatus from following the Rangers.

1994 was not a sunny time for the Rangers, their fans, or baseball at large. Kenny Rogers brought a ray of light on July 28th. Perhaps for that reason alone he deserves to be included on the list of Best Seasons in Rangers history.

Off-season shake-up continues.

Nolan Ryan, shown here on card 417 of the 1991 Score set, will be gone from the Rangers organization effective October 31st. As part of the deal, two of the other owners have bought out Nolan's shares of the Rangers. The Rangers say Ryan is retiring as team president. Ryan says he is resigning.

That's pretty typical of the past couple of years. It seems that General Manager John Daniels will say one thing only to have Nolan say another. Sometimes Ryan speaks first and then is contradicted by Daniels. The local media has taken to referring to certain members of the rangers staff as "Nolan guys" or "JD guys".

That seems to point to a division within the ranks. Following the announcement of  Ryan's departure, both Ryan and Daniels have released statements saying there isn't any division. Ryan specifically said he has had disagreements with Daniels but those disagreements didn't play any role in his decision to leave.

I hope that's the case. Ryan said he was leaving mainly to spend more time with his family and running his ranch. If that's the real reason I say more power to him. It would be a shame if it's not and he was forced out.

For whatever reason Ryan is leaving the Rangers, he deserves the thanks and applause of all Rangers fans. Nolan brought the national spotlight to the franchise as a player and grew the team to fit that spotlight as an executive. Very few other teams have been fortunate enough to have such a man as part of their organization.

Texas also announced they hired Tim Bogar as bench coach to replace the fired Jackie Moore. I don't really know much about Bogar. He was an infielder in the Majors, a coach with the Red Sox, and a successful minor league manager. Jon Daniels says he's got a great baseball mind. It would be nice to see him work out well with the team.

Moving into the off-season.

The Cleveland Indians head home after losing last night to the Tampa Bay Rays. Both Wildcard games are complete and this post-season is still not catching my interest.

The Rangers off-season moves have started. The team fired long-time bench coach Jackie Moore and first base coach Dave Anderson yesterday. No word on replacements but it would seem that Double A manager Steve Buechele, shown here on a signed 1990 Score card, is an early candidate for one one of the positions. I wouldn't mind that. Boo was a fan favorite during his playing days and would definitely be an asset on stressing defense.

Of course defense isn't what Texas is expected to focus on this winter. Offense is where they are looking to upgrade. There are several free agents out there who might add some pop to the lineup. The question is, how much should the club spend on an established player and how much should be invested in young talent? The eternal quandary for Major League clubs in the era of free agency and big contracts. Nolan Ryan says this could be a very challenging off-season. Hopefully he and the rest of the front office can meet the challenge.

Decisions: #33 - #37.

So the Pirates sent the Reds home last night and either the Rays or Indians will go home tonight. For some reason I just can't get too into these early playoff games.

Decided that the quick walk-through of the remaining items will work for the Top 50 Decisions that shaped the Rangers as well as the Top 50 Odd Moments. Here's the next few decisions from T.R. Sullivan's list:

#33 The Turnover - The Rangers won 95 games in 1977 and finished second in the American League West. Over the next two years they made a dizzying array of trades and free-agent signings to try and get over the top. Bert Blyleven, Gaylord Perry, Toby Harrah, and Mike Hargrove were among the players who left. Buddy Bell, Al Oliver, and Jon Matlack were some of the arriving players. It didn't work and Texas went into decline.

#34 The Merger - After Tom Hicks bought the Rangers, he merged the Stars and Rangers into one entity called the Southwest Sports Group. The SSG sold off property, introduced Ameriquest Field as the name of the Ballpark in Arlington, and changed the red uniforms. Perhaps the only good part was the uniforms.

#35 Hicks buys Liverpool - After creating SSG, Tom Hicks bought the English football (soccer) team at Liverpool. Not sure exactly what led to his fortune evaporating but it seemed to accelerate when he ventured into overseas sports.

#36 Ryan's Return - When Nolan Ryan, shown here on card 686 of the 1991 Score set, was named club president in 2008 it seemed to stabilize things. That gave the club some of the leadership it needed going through the trouble that lay just ahead.

#37 Selig supports Greenberg - Bud Selig's support for the ownership group headed by Chuck Greenberg seemed to sway the outcome of the 2010 bankruptcy sale. Otherwise it seems likely that Mark Cuban would have ended up with the team.

Decisions: Marching Through Atlanta.

Time for another excursion into T.R. Sullivan's Tops Fifty decisions that made the Rangers. Up to number 32 on the list.

The 1988 winter meetings were in Atlanta, Georgia. Texas General Manager Tom Grieve went with the intention of doing some dealing. He was able to make two headline trades.

On December 5, 1988 Grieve pulled off a trade for first baseman Rafael Palmeiro. Pitchers Jamie Moyer and Drew Hall came along as well but Palmeiro, shown here on card 1T of the 1989 Score set, was the centerpiece of the deal. A couple of minor leaguers and four Rangers, including Mitch Williams and Curt Wilkerson, went to the Cubs in return.

On December 6, 1988 Grieve snagged second baseman Julio Franco from the Indians. In return the Tribe got Jerry Browne, Pete O'Brien, and Oddibe McDowell. 

What was significant about these two trades was the change of direction they signaled for the club. The Rangers were about to go big-gun offense. The July, 1989 trade for Harold Baines further solidified the change in philosophy. By the end of 1989 the Rangers scored 58 more runs than in 1988. The team also increased their home run totals by 10.

Within a few years Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, and Ivan Rodriguez would become key components in the Texas offense. For the next two decades the Rangers would try to bomb their way to the World Series. 

Not that pitching was totally ignored, Texas did sign Nolan Ryan on December 7, 1988. However, it wasn't until the arrival of General Manager Jon Daniels and the departure of owner Tom Hicks that pitching would again carry as much weight in Arlington as slugging.

Best Seasons: John Wetteland - 1998.

I guess not posting yesterday cost me the chance to comment on the Rangers Monday win. Looks like I might have a win to comment about tomorrow. On the heels of last night's loss let's take another look at T.R. Sullivan's list of the the Top 50 Best Seasons in Rangers history.

Clocking in at Number 25 on the list is John Wetteland's 1998 campaign. Wetteland, shown here on card number 333 of the 1997 Score set, was the Rangers closer from 1997-2000.

In 1998 John got the call from the bullpen 63 times, he would finish 59 of those games. 42 of those finishes were saves. That's almost half of the team's 88 wins that year.

Wetteland's ERA tallied to 2.03 and his WHIP to 0.984. He struck out 72 opposing batters en route to a 5.14 strikeout to walk ratio.

That's some pretty dominating numbers and definitely helped push the team into the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. Along the way Wetteland was also selected for the All-Star team and garnered some MVP consideration. Unfortunately John saw just one inning of action as Texas got swept from the first round of the postseason.

Decisions: John Burkett.

In an effort to avoid discussing the train wreck in progress that is the Rangers current home stand I will be returning to T.R. Sullivan's Top 50 Decisions that have shaped the franchise.

Number 30 on the list is the August 8, 1996 trade that brought John Burkett, shown here on card 213 of the 1997 Score set, to Arlington. Texas was looking to make a run and sent Ryan Dempster and a player to be named later to Florida for Burkett. Rick Helling made the trip to Florida in September of that year to complete the deal.

Sullivan maintains the acquisition of Burkett was the pivotal move that put the Rangers over the top on their way to the division title in 1996, the first in team history. Much like the Cliff Lee deal in 2010.

Following the trade, Burkett made ten starts for the Rangers while pitching a total of 68.2 innings. In spite of posting a 4.06 ERA and a 1.325 WHIP he won five of his starts while losing just 2. Additionally, Burkett grabbed the Rangers only post-season win until 2010.

Based on John's numbers alone one has to question the validity of his inclusion on the list. However, once the numbers of the rest of the starting rotation are considered the case becomes a bit more convincing. Of the five other Texas pitchers who made more than 10 starts in 1996, three had ERA's over 5.00 and one over 4.50. Ken Hill and his 3.63 ERA were the only bright spot in the rotation. Once that is taken into account a 4.06 ERA looks better and the impact can be seen more clearly.

The impact on the franchise of Texas' appearance in the 1996 playoffs cannot be underestimated. For the first time winning the division and making it to the post-season was not a far-fetched dream, it was reality. The players, fans, and front office got the taste of October baseball and liked it. That would result in two more trips to the post-season in 1998 and 1999 as well as a vision that would lead to the World Series in 2010 and 2011.

Catching up.

So I saw where Nolan Ryan, pictured here on card number 250 of the 1990 Score set, and George Brett exchanged lineup cards during this weekend's series against Kansas City. The idea was to re-create the original exchange of lineup cards they both took part in at the beginning of their final game. 20 years ago. Hard to believe it's been that long.

It hasn't been twenty years since I last posted but it feels like it might be close. Sorry for the abrupt interruption. Switching shifts at work and trying to keep up on things around the house meant the blog got away from me.

While I was gone things just kept rolling. The Rangers kept winning but so did the A's. Oakland has won 14 of their last 16 and whittled Texas' lead to two games. Not much hope Milwaukee will knock off Oakland today so I am thinking the lead will go to a game and a half. Anaheim is 10.5 games back and still under .500. I said Oakland was the team to watch out for.

Ian Kinsler's stint on the Disabled List got extended due to a stress reaction. Not sure exactly what that is but it is serious enough to keep him from playing for a while longer.

Not that Jurickson Profar minds. He's building his credibility and living up to the hype so far. Smashed a seventh inning home run in yesterday's game to put Texas on top.

Yu Darvish continues the strikeout parade and continues to get no decisions or losses. Right now he's on track for over 300 whiffs on the season.

Adrian Beltre is day to day with hamstring issues. Not good since his hamstrings seem to be his weakest link.

Alexi Ogando is slated to start tomorrow. Hopefully he can come off the DL hot and contribute right away. The pitching staff is needing re-enforcements.

I think that's about all the big news. Hopefully now that I'm caught up I can stay on top of things and keep the posts coming.

That Pop-Up scored a run.

Well, the only teams claimed in the spare card giveaway were the Red Sox and the Angels. That saved several cards from an untimely end. Most of the rest of the teams are still available if you missed it and want in. Nothing needed in return.

Bert over at Swing and a Pop-Up shot me a note that he wanted the Red Sox. That was a team I didn't have a large number of but I cobbled together a small package for him and off it went. He mentioned he wanted to send a few cards in return. Bert's got a great blog but he has trouble understanding the word "free". I like guys who have that trouble and I really liked the nice package Bert sent my way. Among a treasure trove of wantlist hits was this 1993 Select Jose Canseco, number 364. This card finished off my 1993 Select set. It was one of three or four sets Bert put to bed. If you get a chance you ought to send Bert free cards, he just might send you back some free cards. I think that's a trade and it's definitely something I'm going to try again sometime.

In to snag the Angels was reader Jeff. Jeff's easing back into the hobby after a layoff of several years and thought the Halos I was off-loading would be a help. Off they went to California. Taking a cue from Bert, Jeff returned several hits from my wantlist in a nice package. (Any package containing multiple Sportflics is nice.) Glad you enjoyed the cards Jeff, I'll let you know when I get some more Angels built up.

What both Jeff and Bert did helped remind me that it's been awhile since I updated my wantlist. Almost a year in fact. Not that it was terribly inaccurate. It just didn't have some of the more recent releases included. That spurred me to spend part of this afternoon updating it. It's still not perfect but at least it's updated and I feel like I'm back in business. Next up: the tradelist.

Changing stadiums.

Sorry about the very poor scan today. These 1994 Score Gold Rush cards don't scan well at all. You can see the important part of card 329 though, Arlington Stadium.

By the time this card came out in 1994 the Rangers had moved into The Ballpark in Arlington. That brings me to the point of this post, moving.

Yesterday I accepted a job in Texas. That means that in the next three weeks I will be trying as hard as possible to get as much done as possible to get the family packed and the house ready to sell. Following that I will be starting a new job two states away from where I now live and work.

Needless to say, that will cause a major amount of upheaval. While I am still planning on posting as often as possible, I will say up front that there will likely be many interruptions due to life. I would ask your pardon and understanding in advance. I am already looking forward to getting back to a regular posting schedule. Thank you for your patience.

One of those days.

It's one of those days. A 1988 Score day. Look at card number 452 in the set and you know what I mean. Nothing against Dale Mohorcic but there's just not a lot of inspiration there. More blah than ha.

That's pretty much the way the day has gone. Feeling run down and dealing with some news on the home front. Nothing too serious but a letdown all the same. The Rangers loss to Toronto this afternoon really didn't help.

Since my motivation level is pretty low I'm going to call it a day. Should be back tomorrow and ready to post again.

Decisions: Trading for Harold.

In 1989 the Rangers were in the midst of a rebuilding stretch. They would end up finishing in 4th in the American League West with a 83-79 record. That was to be expected. What was not expected was the trade that took place on July 29th.

Texas obtained the services of Harold Baines, shown here on card 62T of the 1989 Score set, and Fred Manrique from the White Sox. In return the Sox got Scott Fletcher, Sammy Sosa, and Wilson Alvarez. The trade was a disaster for Texas.

By the time he found himself in Arlington, Harold Baines was a full-time DH. He didn't like playing in Texas and the Rangers ended up trading him in 1990 to the Oakland A's. In return Texas got Scott Chiamparino and Joe Bitker. Neither pitcher ever panned out for the Rangers. Between trades Baines appeared in 153 games for Texas - almost a full season's worth. He hit .288 and managed a .363 on-base percentage and a .428 slugging percentage. Not bad for a position player but short of expectations for a DH.

Fred Manrique lasted through the end of the 1989 season with Texas and played in a total of 54 games. His .288 batting average and .318 on-base percentage were higher and lower respectively than Fletcher's .239 and .323 prior to the trade. The two were about interchangeable in the field. In April of 1990 Texas traded Manrique to the Twins for a career minor-leaguer and cash.

Meanwhile Scott Fletcher played three more years for Chicago and made up for the absence of Fred Manrique. Wilson Alvarez spent all or parts of seven seasons with the White Sox. His combined record was 67-50 and his ERA 3.76. When the Sox finally traded him in 1997 one of the players they got in return was Keith Foulke. Sosa spent just three seasons with the ChiSox. He wasn't anything to write home about with his total .227 batting average and .276 on-base percentage but he was a sight better than what the Rangers got in return.

All in all the trade worked well for Chicago and spelled trouble for Texas. Two promising young players gone with nothing long-term to show for the loss. There wasn't even an immediate return as the team ended 1990 with the same 83-79 record that they had in 1989.

Odd Moments: On camera(men).

Number eight on T.R. Sullivan's Fifty Bizarre Moments is truly bizarre.

On June 29, 2005 Kenny Rogers, shown here on card number 107T of the 1989 Score set, was nearing the end of his third stint with the Rangers. As he walked out onto the field in Arlington for pre-game warmups he spotted two cameramen filming him. Unprovoked, Rogers confronted the two men.

Kenny shoved a Fox Sports Net Southwest cameraman and told him, "I told you to get those cameras out of my face." He then grabbed a camera from a local television station's cameraman, threw it on the ground, and kicked it. Kenny then went after two other cameramen. Rod Barajas stepped in though and got Rogers off the field. As he left Rogers was saying that he would break all the cameras.

What made the incident so odd was that neither cameraman who was assaulted had even spoken to Rogers. In fact, Kenny had stopped speaking to the media following a previous story in the local news that he was having trouble getting a contract extension from the Rangers and might be considering retirement if the extension wasn't granted.

Stories like that are annoying and the media can be a real circus but Rogers apparently had some deeper issues. ESPN quoted Texas General Manager John Hart as saying, "Kenny is having anger issues right now, I don't know what's going on inside. We're responding to something that's very unusual." Unusual is right. Rogers had just missed a start after breaking a finger during an angry outburst and now he had gone after two members of the media. Something was definitely wrong.

The Rangers sent Kenny home and contacted the Commissioner's Office. A suspension and fine were levied. The cameramen filed charges with the Arlington Police and Rogers ended up with two misdemeanor charges and anger management classes. He also had to deal with a civil suit from one of the cameramen.

At the end of the 2005 season Texas did not resign Rogers. He didn't retire either as he signed with the Detroit Tigers and pitched for three more years before retiring. Too bad that one of the last memories Rangers fans have of him is this incident.

Catching up.

Ok, so I was out of town this past weekend and didn't get any posts scheduled to go up while I was gone. Time to do some catching up.

On Friday the Rangers kicked off a three game set in Seattle. The first game didn't go well as Texas lost 4-0. Former Ranger prospect Blake Beavan held the Texas offense scoreless through eight innings. C.J. Wilson had an uncharacteristically rough night as he gave up four runs in his seventh loss of the season. It was an indicator of how the night went that only one of the runs was earned. Fortunately for the Rangers their former teammate Tommy Hunter tossed a loss at the Angels. That meant the Rangers divisional lead did not shrink below 3.5 games.

Saturday was Colby Lewis' turn to start. He stumbled badly as he gave up six runs in 5.2 innings. The offense and bullpen rode to the rescue though as the Rangers pulled out a 7-6 win over Seattle. Anaheim lost that night so Texas pushed their divisional lead to 4.5 games.

Last night was all Matt Harrison. For the third time in four career matchups he out dueled Felix Hernandez to get the win. Harrison lasted 6.2 innings and allowed no Mariner runs to pick up his 13th win on the season. In spite of Ian Kinsler's overturned home run Texas was able to plate three runs against the M's. That's all they needed to come out on top 3-0. Anaheim also won so the divisional lead stays at 4.5.

The Rangers are off tonight - their last off day of the regular season. Tomorrow they start a visit the A's in Oakland. Oakland is where the team clinched last year. With the magic number at six a repeat of that is unlikely but it would be nice to see happen again.

Bleh.

Having one of those days. You know, just like card number 536 in the 1988 Score set. All yellow bordered mediocrity. I think it's probably the last couple of days at work and then mowing in the heat today.

It's all finally catching up with me. Caught myself snoozing earlier listening to the Rangers game. No motivation for composing a post. With the Rangers loss last night I can't even come up with a decent topic that doesn't take a lot of effort. Of course Score had the same problem in 1988.

That's why Paul Kilgus ended up looking less than motivated himself on a yellow bordered card with a pretty boring design. It's the kind of design that I might come up with on a day like today.

Vote Stanley.

Saw an article today from MLB.com updating the All-Star voting totals. Made me consider casting some votes.

Anyone else considering voting for Mike Stanley to start at catcher? Mike's a former All-Star and played for the Red Sox and Yankees. Sterling credentials there and the ones that seem to be truly important. In addition he has only appeared in 14 fewer games than Joe Mauer has this year and Joe's in third place in the balloting with over a million votes.

Let's go Mike!

Nothing.

I got nothing tonight. Kind of like Score with it's 1988 design, as showcased here on card number 67T.

Just don't have it. Kind of like Ray Hayward in 1988.

Can't come up with anything. Kind of like the Rangers tonight as they are in the process of losing the game, series, and first place to the Angels.

Ugh.

Almost time.

John Wetteland's 1998 Score card, number 112, always makes me think about Spring. In reality I have no idea where or when this picture was taken but I prefer to believe that it was during Spring Training. Perhaps John is helping to gather up baseballs for batting practice after his morning throwing session. The sunflower seed bucket is just right for such a chore.

The Rangers loaded up their gear on a truck this morning and sent it off to Arizona. Pitchers and catchers report on February 18th. The first workout is February 19th. I can hardly wait.

My anticipation has little to do with the Rangers' chances of contending (although I think they can this year). I miss baseball and summertime. I miss checking up on the scores and stories. I miss walking by the little league park and hearing the ball ping off the bat. I miss walking into the Big League park and hearing the crack of the bat and the rumble of the crowd. I miss wearing my Rangers jerseys and feeling the heat on my arms. I miss playing catch with Spiff Jr. and working on his hitting. I miss the t-ball games and not caring about the score. I miss listening to the Rangers games and hanging on the score.

It's been a long winter in more ways than one. Time for Spring. I could use some baseball.