Angels Are Making a Mistake with Josh Hamilton - A Bleacher Report Article

The big news today was that Josh Hamilton left the Texas Rangers to sign with the rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

And the news of the future will be how the contracts of Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols will be handcuffing the Angels for years.

 In my latest for Bleacher Report, I break down why this deal will be a dud for the Angels.

 You can read the entire article HERE.



 

Mixed thoughts on Turn Back The Clock Uniforms in Texas

I am a big fan of turn back the clock nights at stadiums. In fact when the A's and Pirates wore retro uniforms, it was not only one of the coolest games of the 2010 but also THE best local broadcast I ever saw.

Today the Texas Rangers turned back the clock against the California Angels. (Hey, when they wear those unis, you can drop all of the Los Angeles of Anaheim nonsense.)

I have some positive and negative things to say about the threads.

The Angels uniforms aren't bad. I wish they would go back to the dark blue crown when they play on the road and wear the red caps at home.

But I had to look up if they were accurate or not. I never remembered them having the lower case a on the front of the uniform.

(Evidently they did in the early 1970s.)

As much as I like seeing the old uniforms, they did make me appreciate the modern version a little bit more.

The lower case letters on the chest look a little odd. Make them capital letters and maybe you have their away uniforms. (And keep the pants with the built in belts.)

The Rangers?

Oh man, this organization just has had a hard time getting their uniforms right, haven't they?

The Rangers were frequently featured in my "Most Forgettable Uniforms of the Last 30 Years."

And which was the very first forgettable uniform I profiled?

The duds the Rangers wore today!

I know they were going for the frontier feel with the letters. But they are just so unmemorable and so bland.

Even a dynamic player like Josh Hamilton looks boring in them. Don't they look like a uniform that a baseball player would wear in a movie where they didn't get the rights for MLB logos?

Then again their current uniforms are pretty dull.


I wrote about this already, but the bland "TEXAS" front is just lazy. Go back to the red Pudge Rodriguez specials and stay there.

When am I ever wrong about uniforms?

  

The loser from Josh Hamilton's 4 homer night

Josh Hamilton became the 16th player to hit 4 homers in one game.

Yeah, the Orioles lost the game but there is a bigger loser tonight.
You know somewhere in the world there was someone who forgot to put Hamilton in their starting line up for their fantasy team.

Or worse yet, someone thinking they would be cute and say "I am putting Hamilton on the bench. I have a hunch he is going to have an 0 fer tonight."

Where those two schmucks are, they lost a 5-5 performance with 4 runs scored, 4 homers and 8 runs batted in.

I don't care what rules your league uses and what stats make up the points.
I am guessing you could use those numbers for one night.

 

The Texas Rangers - A film by Clint Eastwood

The Texas Rangers story this season has unfolded like a movie... but not just any kind of movie.

Specifically it has been a Clint Eastwood film.
I'm not talking about the Spaghetti Westerns, the Dirty Harry films or even the Clyde the Orangutan movies.

I'm talking about the respected Clint Eastwood films of the 1990s and 2000s.
You know, the ones he churns out about once every 8 months. The ones where, even if you didn't like them, you'd think, "Well, at least it was well made."

Bear with me, but the story of the 2010 Texas Rangers would be an ideal film for Clint not only to produce and direct but also to star in.

It is a story like Unforgiven or Million Dollar Baby where Clint is the grizzled old timer brought in to do what he was born to do... and paired up with a partner his age and a young whipper snapper.

Think about it!
You have Nolan Ryan leaving his ranch to save the Rangers.
You have Ron Washington and Josh Hamilton overcoming their drug past.
You have a Rangers team that is filled with cast offs from other teams giving each other antler signs.

And they beat the Yankees! It seems that every baseball movie, with the exception of Pride of the Yankees and The Scout, has the Yankees as the bad guys. Even the Bad News Bears had the evil little league team called the Yankees.

It adds juice to seeing them win the pennant at the end.

Rent your tuxedo for the Oscars, Clint... the movie is tailor made. The script would practically be a Mad Lib.

And let this blog post be one of two things:

1) My pitch, in case anyone at Clint's Malpaso Productions reads my blog.

or

2) A way for people to see I predicted this movie before they even rolled cameras.


The film stars...

CLINT EASTWOOD as NOLAN RYAN

Yeah, he doesn't look like Ryan (as Ryan has clearly discovered the Rawlings All American Grill). But Clint has Ryan's imposing presence. He's the legendary cowboy whose background makes everyone stand at attention. He's the old school hero who wants nothing to do with these crazy new ideas. You can imagine him responding to the concept of pitch counts with a quiet, "Say what?"

MORGAN FREEMAN as RON WASHINGTON

Sure he's older than the real Washington, but this is Hollywood. Stockard Channing played a teenager in Grease for Christ's sake! Besides he can play the instant respect card when he arrives in the dugout. And he can play the troubled side when his cocaine use comes out. Plus let's face it, he could narrate the hell out of the film. Give it the ole Shawshank Redemption - Million Dollar Baby treatment.

MATT DAMON as JOSH HAMILTON

Clint has used Matt in his last few films, and why not? He's awesome. He doesn't really look like Josh Hamilton, but who cares? He can play the many layers of Hamilton. Ryan will inevitably get Hamilton pumped up, reminding him not to throw away his gifts and chance to be a great player. The Rangers are his third team and best shot at redemption. And Clint is big on redemption. Plus, when Washington has the cocaine problem, it can be Hamilton, the young player, who reaches out and helps him. When he stands by his manager, it will bring a lump to the throat like Jimmy standing by Coach Dale in Hoosiers.

HILARY SWANK as CLIFF LEE

Let's face it. Hilary is dying for a third Oscar... and Clint loves her. She's already won an Academy Award playing a woman pretending to be a man. Why not push it all the way? She'll just play a guy! And just treat it as if it is normal. By the end people will be saying, "I completely forgot it was a woman playing Cliff Lee" and BAM! She'll have a third golden guy for her collection.

And there are the supporting roles.

ADAM ARKIN as CHUCK GREENBERG

He's the investor who lures Ryan out of retirement to save the team. He has to visit Ryan at his cattle ranch and no doubt steps his expensive shoes in some cow pies. He has to deliver the inevitable "We need you to come back" speech and tell him he can run the team HIS way. Then later in the film they'll cut to him a lot clapping.

JESSICA LANGE as RUTH RYAN

It's a shame Sondra Locke can't play this role, which will inevitably be thankless. Ruth, Nolan's wife, initially is skeptical about Ryan's going back to the Rangers. She realizes how it will be his last bit of youth sparked again and agrees. Then later in the film they'll cut to her a lot clapping.

GIOVANNI RIBISI as JON DANIELS
Ribisi would be spot on as the super young GM who works well (and shows respect) to Nolan Ryan. And along the way teaches Ryan that the young kids may have a few good ideas in their head. He looks concerned during a lot of the ball game scenes and gives Nolan Ryan someone to growl to.

NATHAN FILLION as C. J. WILSON

The left hander has a great season pitching the Nolan Ryan way... and let's face it. He looks like the star of Castle. And why would Fillion turn down a role in a Clint Eastwood film?

MICHAEL PENA as BENGIE MOLINA

The actor from Crash worked with Clint in Million Dollar Baby. He comes over to the team in mid season and gives the pitching staff a boost... plus when he hits for the cycle and later steals a base in the playoffs, it can be a comical moment.

RYAN KWANTEN as MICHAEL YOUNG

The Aussie does a nice job with an American accent on True Blood, and he's in shape enough to play the versatile Young in the film. Plus he's a nice looking man.

JAIMZ WOOLVETT as MIKE MADDUX

OK, he looks NOTHING like Mike Maddux. But damn it, Woolvett was GREAT as the Schofield Kid in Unforgiven and proved he could handle himself in a scene with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. He should be in the cast, damn it!

TIMOTHY BOTTOMS as GEORGE W. BUSH

The former owner of the Rangers who dabbled in politics will show up from time to time. No, you can't put Will Farrell in this movie. Besides, Bottoms played serious Bush in a 9/11 TV movie and silly Bush in "That's My Bush." He can handle the cameo.

So, come on! You can picture it! Even the poster can say

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER CLINT EASTWOOD

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MATT DAMON

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MORGAN FREEMAN

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER HILARY SWANK

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER JESSICA LANGE

IN A FILM BY CLINT EASTWOOD

(WHO HAS 3 MORE OSCARS NOT COUNTING THE FIRST ONE WE MENTIONED WHEN WE LISTED CLINT IN THE CAST!)

It smells like Oscar bait.

I demand a producer credit.

Don't look for the silver lining, Rangers. It's not there

It's funny. In a strange way, nothing unusual happened tonight.
Sabathia is the Yankees best pitcher and everyone on the planet expected the Yankees to win Game 1.

And they did.
So why does this feel like a watershed moment of devastation for the Rangers?

Because it was all falling into place so wonderfully.
A win in Game 1.
Knocking Sabathia out early.
Taking control of the game and knowing the WORST case scenario had the series tied 1-1 with Cliff Lee on the mound.

Instead... every insecurity the Rangers had is still out there.

They can't win a playoff game at home.
Their bullpen isn't up for the task.
They can't beat the Yankees.
The Yankees are in their heads.

Of course they are.
How else could you explain how they just couldn't make an out in that 8th?
How Hamilton messed up that base hit?
How Kinsler got picked off?!

And now they have to play a day game after a night game. They have to shake off the fact that they had Game 1 in the bag... just 6 outs to go with 3 runs to play with... and they couldn't do it.

Now the Yankees have home field advantage and Sabathia is more than rested to go Game 4 if by some miracle the Rangers win Game 2.

The end result in the playoffs is always what matters.
It doesn't matter if a team wins or loses 10-0 or 11-10. Just win or lose.

But somehow this felt like an exception to that rule.

The Rangers needed this win... and if they had lost 10-0, I have a feeling they could shrug it off. Now they have to wonder... did they spoil their best chance?

I may have to pull out the DeNiro clip from Cop Land.

YOU BLEW IT!

Taking stock of the first 1/2 of the season

Back on May 31st, I took a look at the approximate 1/3 point of the season... took a look at who the playoff teams were and the front runners for the post season awards and a few other observations.

It seems like the 1/3 point of the season is absurdly early to evaluate how teams will pan out... but looking over what I wrote, a lot of the same names are the same.

It is interesting that Edwin Jackson was in the running for Biggest Bust in the NL... and when the year is over he very well might be a bust. But he added a no hitter to his resume.

So let's look at where we stand as we are about to embark in the second half of the 2010 season and compare them to the results at the 1/3 mark.

If the playoffs started today...

AL East Champion New York Yankees
Would have home field advantage over
AL Central Champion White Sox

AL West Champion Texas Rangers
Would have home field advantage over
AL Wild Card Tampa Bay Rays

(The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers would be within 3 games of a playoff spot.)

NL East Champion Atlanta Braves
Would have home field advantage over the Winner of a
Wild Card Tie Breaker Between
Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers

NL West Champion San Diego Padres
Would have home field advantage over
NL Central Champion Cincinnati Reds

(At the 1/3 Mark, The Rays had home field over Oakland, the Twins had home field over the Yankees. The Cardinals had home field over the Braves while the Padres still had home field over the Reds)

AL MVP:
JOSH HAMILTON, Rangers
The batting and hits leader is also in the top 4 of OPS, slugging, RBI and home runs. He is a potential triple crown threat.

In the running:
MIGUEL CABRERA, Tigers. JUSTIN MORNEAU, Twins. ROBINSON CANO, Yankees. KEVIN YOUKILIS, Red Sox.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Miguel Cabrera as the MVP.)

NL MVP:
JOEY VOTTO, Reds
The top OPS and home run man in the league, he is also among the league leaders in RBI and is batting .314. Also has led the Reds to a surprising first place position. People know him now after his initial All Star snub.

In the running:
ALBERT PUJOLS, Cardinals. DAVID WRIGHT, Mets. ANDRE ETHIER, Dodgers. ADRIAN GONZALEZ, Padres. RAFAEL FURCAL, Dodgers.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Albert Pujols as the MVP.)

AL CY YOUNG:
DAVID PRICE, Rays
Leads the league in ERA and wins and has the Rays back on track for a trip to October.

In the running:
JON LESTER, Red Sox. CC SABATHIA, Yankees. CLIFF LEE, Mariners/Rangers. FELIX HERNANDEZ, Mariners.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Jon Lester as the Cy Young.)

NL CY YOUNG:

UBALDO JIMENEZ, Rockies

Sure his numbers are not as superhuman as they were a few months ago. But his 15-1 record, 2.20 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .198 BAA (second in the league) are all eye popping, especially when you consider where his home park is.

In the running:

JOSH JOHNSON, Marlins. ADAM WAINWRIGHT, Cardinals. ROY HALLADAY, Phillies. TIM LINCECUM, Giants.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Ubaldo Jimenez as the Cy Young.)

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
BRENNAN BOESCH, Tigers
Has helped the Tigers to be in or around first place with a .342 average, 12 homers and an OPS of .990.

In the running:

NEFTALI FELIZ, Rangers. AUSTIN JACKSON, Tigers. MITCH TALBOT, Indians. JOHN JASO, Blue Jays.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Mitch Talbot as the AL Rookie of the Year.)

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
JAMIE GARCIA, Cardinals
He has put up solid stats including an 8-4 record, a 2.10 ERA and will give the Cardinals about 200 innings when all is said and done.

In the running:
STEPHEN STRASBURG, Nationals. BUSTER POSEY, Giants. GABY SANCHEZ, Marlins. IKE DAVIS, Mets. JASON HEYWARD, Braves.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Jason Heyward as the Rookie of the Year.)

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
OZZIE GUILLEN, White Sox
The White Sox were 8 games under .500 and heading towards a lost season. Guillen stayed focused and next thing you know, the White Sox are in first at the All Star Break and has a pitching staff that can absorb the loss of Jake Peavy.

In the running:
RON WASHINGTON, Rangers. TERRY FRANCONA, Red Sox. JOE MADDON, Rays. JIM LEYLAND, Tigers. MIKE SCIOSCIA, Angels.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Joe Maddon as the Manager of the Year.)

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
DUSTY BAKER, Reds
The Reds were supposed to be also rans who were going to fade in June. Instead they are in first place at the All Star Break and just need to outpace St. Louis in a two team race.

In the running:
BOBBY COX, Braves. JIM TRACY, Rockies. BUD BLACK, Padres.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Dusty Baker as the Manager of the Year.)

AL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

VLADIMIR GUERRERO, Rangers
Think the Angels could use his bat right around now? He's batting .319 with 20 homers and 75 RBI for you old school baseball followers. He's posting a .919 OPS for you new school kids. And is forming a dynamic 1-2 punch with Josh Hamilton in Arlington.

In the running:
VERNON WELLS, Blue Jays. ALEX RIOS, White Sox. TY WIGGINTON, Orioles.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Vernon Wells as the Comeback Player of the Year.)

NL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TIM HUDSON, Braves
He spent most of 2009 recovering from Tommy John surgery and having people wonder if the one time ace of the A's was done. Instead he became an All Star with a 9-4 record at the break, a 2.30 ERA and a 61/43 strikeout to walk ratio.

In the running:
SCOTT ROLEN, Reds. LIVAN HERNANDEZ, Nationals. CARLOS SILVA, Cubs. BARRY ZITO, Giants.

BIGGEST BUST IN THE AL:
MILTON BRADLEY, Mariners
When the Mariners brought in Cliff Lee to be a 1-2 punch for the pennant with King Felix, someone thought that Bradley would somehow be the center piece to the offense. He's been nothing short of a PR disaster, had to leave the team and his OPS is 1/3 lower than it was in 2008, his lone full season of note.

In the running:
JOSH BECKETT, Red Sox. JOBA CHAMBERLAIN, Yankees. CHONE FIGGINS, Mariners.

(At the 1/3 mark I had Josh Beckett as the biggest bust in the AL)

BIGGEST BUST IN THE NL
CARLOS ZAMBRANO, Cubs
The nominal ace of the Cubs had to get his head straight as a middle reliever. Then his dugout tirade made him suspended from the club. The Cubs would deal him for a flat can of Diet 7 Up.

In the running:
AKI IWAMURA, Pirates. ARAMIS RAMIREZ, Cubs. MARK DeROSA, Giants.


So let's start the second half up...
And I'll check in around Labor Day. Hopefully there will be more Red Sox in these categories (except Biggest Bust.)

Did we all just miss the best game of the year?

Tonight I made dinner for my kids, took them to the local ice cream store and had them run around outside.

Later my wife and I watched American Idol and I saw the highlights of the Celtics game.

And after everyone went to bed, I checked the other scores, including the Oakland/Texas showdown.

Wow.

I mean WOW. I mean I can't wait to see the highlights on MLB.com.
There's no way the A's could have a win that tops Dallas Braden's perfect game... or could they?

Just reading the box score was enough.

Eric Patterson hit a triple to give the A's the lead in the 7th.

Josh Hamilton hit a 2 run homer to give the Rangers the lead in the 8th.

The top of the 9th had an error, a runner thrown out on the base paths and the A's somehow pulling ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the 9th one out from losing the game, Elvis Andrus singled home the tying run.

Daric Barton homered in the 11th to give the A's the lead.

One out from losing again, the Rangers tie the game in the bottom of the 11th on a Julio Borbon single.

In the bottom of the 12th, a relay by Oakland to the plate gunned down the potential winning run.

And in the 13th, it was Barton again this time with an RBI single with 2 outs and 2 strikes that went under the glove of Ian Kinsler.

Once again the Rangers were an out away from losing but had the winning run at the plate in the form of Julio Borbon. But Tyson Ross in his third inning of work got him to pop out to end the game.

The A's won and are now tied for first place with the Rangers.

I am guessing the crowd wasn't that big tonight.
I am betting the TV viewing audience wasn't that great.

Hell, I didn't even watch it... but it read like a classic.

I hate to say it as a Sox fan, but if that were Red Sox/Yankees, there would be documentaries and books made about the game.

Instead it will probably be buried on SportsCenter.

But I doubt there will be another back and forth game with a share of first place on the line like this one!

One question about the whole Ron Washington thing

So Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine... and evidently he did coke at Augusta. (Way to take cover behind the Tiger Woods scandal.)

I admire that Washington didn't try to deny it and I also admire the Rangers didn't show him the door. He's supposedly a good baseball man and shouldn't be put out to pasture for a mistake. The organization has Josh Hamilton on their payroll, so they know a thing or two about giving people a second chance. (No pressure trying to win this season, Ron.)

But what caught my eye is his quote "This was the only time I used this drug."

Wow. That is some rotten luck. You get caught 100% of the times you use a drug!

That brought up my main question:
How people START cocaine at age 57?

Did he look at his "bucket list" and say "Wow, I've never crossed off Act more like Tony Montana"?

Strikes me as a strange time to begin a bad addiction.

Oh what do I know?

It just goes to show you another thing... remember how shocking the cocaine scandals of the 1980s were?

I guess after a decade of sluggers injecting horse hormones into their butt and Manny Ramirez using female birth control, cocaine just seems kind of quaint.

Oh well... let's play ball.