SB Nation User Blog: PatrickWalz

Four days in July - 1996/2008 (Part 2)

PatrickWalz — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:17:33 -0000

With July upon us, I think it is worth revisiting the summer of 1996. For me, the most anticipated series in my history as a Rangers fan was the four game set versus Seattle from July 4 through July 7July 1996. This Angels series doesn't rank up there, but it is probably the closest thing I've experienced since the first Rangers-Mariners series of 2001.

I set up the series and discussed game one yesterday, and I will discuss game two tonight. I'll keep on going later in the week if folks are interested...

Game 2

Game 2 of this series, July 5, 1996, saw another sellout crowd approaching 47,000 fill the stands in the 95 degree + summer heat. Tonight would see longtime Ranger great and fan favorite Bobby Witt take on Sterling Hitchcock. The Ranger lineup was pretty typical, though with Will Clark on the DL (I didn't realize that he was on the DL when I posted the first part of this recollection yesterday), Rene Gonzalez took over at first.

After spending most of the previous game trying to come back from an early deficit, before Mike Henneman and Dennis Cook torched the place in the ninth, Texas got off to an early lead tonight. Rusty Greer, who was doing everything he could in this series to this point, singled in the first before getting doubled in by Juando, who was in the middle of his MVP season, which was most likely his greatest season.

Witt, who would throw 200 fairly pedestrian innings this year, couldn't hold the Mariners off. Seattle scored single runs in the second, third, fourth, and seventh. Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez each weren't satisfied with their role in the Seattle victory the previous evening and contributed tonight with an RBI single and a solo bomb, respectively. Witt pitched into the ninth, allowing a walk to Edgar and a two-rum shot to Jay Buhner before being pulled for the perennially disappointing Gil Heredia. Witt finished the evening with a prepostrous 143 pitches, allowing 14 hits and 3 walks (17 runners!) in 8+ innings pitched. Jackson would finish the game without allowing a runner.

After getting out to the first inning lead, Texas wouldn't score again until the ninth, when Juando and Mickey Tettleton would go long with back-to-back solo shots to pull texas to within 6-3, but reliever Mike Jackson was able to close out the victory for the M's. Another sellout crowd went home, and Texas' once solid lead in the AL West was down to 4 games.

Four days in July - 1996/2008

PatrickWalz — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:29:22 -0000

With July upon us, I think it is worth revisiting the summer of 1996. For me, the most anticipated series in my history as a Rangers fan was in July 1996 (and really the top five anticipated series' were all from that summer and fall). This Angels series doesn't rank up there, but it is probably the closest thing I've experienced since the first Rangers-Mariners series of 2001.

Number one of all time though, was the four game set versus Seattle from July 4 through July 7. I was a 16 year old Rangers fan at the time, and my entire life of fandom was really the stuff of sport nightmare. Obviously each Rangers fan felt the same way, I was lucky really to only remember the previous ten years or so. The Star-Telegram had a great front page graphic they ran each day charting the series which I can still picture in my head - I haven't been able to find these pages from those dates on their archive, though.

I'm going to setup the series tonight and recall game 1, before finishing with games 2-4 tomorrow.

Texas started off the series 6 games ahead of Seattle for first place. I don't know for sure, but I think this was their biggest lead ever in July. There was a potential to put Seattle away and to pretty much lock up the AL West - a Texas sweep would give us a 10 game lead with 75 games to go. There was also the potential for Seattle to quickly close the gap - a Seattle sweep would pull them to within 2, and possibly crack the team for good.

The Rangers 1996 team lineup should still be familiar to most Rangers fans. Longtime favorites Pudge, Juando, Palmer, McLemore, Rusty, and Clark anchored the lineup, 1996 out-of-nowhere star Kevin Elseter at SS, and Darryl Hamilton, Warren Newson , and Mickey Tettleton helped fill out the rest of the lineup.

On July 4th, I listned to Eric Nadel call the action from the Ballpark in Arlington from my radio sitting next to me at Alliance Airport with my family ready to watch the fireworks. Darrin Oliver would start the game of July 4, 1996. Oliver was still a promising young pitcher, a 26 year old already in his fourth year as a Ranger though the first in which he'd get significant time in the rotation. 1996 would be the first of a two year stretch which was clearly his peak years, he averaged about 185 innings and 14 wins in those years, compiling an ERA+ of about 114 in both years. The lineup featured the usual suspects, though Mickey Tettleton spelled Will Clark at first this night, with Juando getting a bit of rest at DH while Warren Newson filled in at RF.

Oliver would not have his best night, allowing ten runners, and 3 ER in 5.2 innings, putting Texas down 4-1. Anyone familar with 1996 remembers that the bullpen was continuously suspect, however, this night, Mark Brandenburg, Ed Vosberg, and Jeff Russell were able to combine for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, giving the offense time to chip back.

A Darryl Hamilton double, Pudge lineout, and Rusty groundout had given Texas its first run in the fifth. In the seventh, Hamilton doubled again, Pudge lined out to send Hamilton to third, and Rusty singled to pull Texas to 4-2. Juando lined out for the second out, before Mickely Tettleton reached on an error to bring up Dean Palmer.
Palmer was finishing up the fourth of his four really good years with Texas (though he would have the distinction of ending the playoff series with New York by striking out, before being traded in the next season). Tonight, Palmer would take Rafael Carmona deep to left to give Texas a 5-2 lead.

Top of the ninth, Texas up 5-4. Mike Henneman, who had a very solid career prior to 1996 but who would find himself out of baseball in 1997, came in, and most likely all of Rangers fandom was biting their fingernails. Henneman didn't disappoint, allowing singles to Ranger Killer Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner (looking over the lineup, I realize how much I hated the Mariners of that era because I still remember most of their lineup as well). Brian Hunter bunted them to third, before Henneman walked Dan Wilson intentionally to load the basis. Johnny Oates showed how much he trusted his closer by pulling him in favor of Dennis Cook.

If Henneman had poured some 87 Octane all over the Ballpark, Cook proceeded to bust out the Bic and start clicking away, as he hit John Marzano to tie the game up, before serving up a grand-slam ball to Paul Sorrento.

Matt Whiteside would shortly replace Cook on the mound. Before the inning was over, two more Mariners would single, Whiteside would throw a wild pitch before eventually striking out a young Mariner in his first full season named Alex Rodriguez, before Edgar struck out to end the inning. The damage was obviously done as Texas stared at a 9-5 deficit. Texas had the meat of the order coming up, but could do little, as Pudge, Rusty, and Juando were put out consecutively to end the game, and send nearly 47,000 home having seen Texas' AL West lead drop from six games to five.

Padilla to DL, elbow irritation...

PatrickWalz — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:36:42 -0000

Texas has put Padilla on the Dl, citing "elbow irritation" which was affecting his mental makeup.

Adam's projection that Padilla is about to undergo Tommy John surgery probably gets a boost from this decision...

http://tinyurl.com/22ma8u

Hopefully we have insurance, that way Tom Hicks can expand his 24 acre homestead, or at least add something to his 6000 sq ft pool cabana...

Texas - OU today!

PatrickWalz — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 15:38:13 -0000

Texas vs OU today at 3:30 eastern!

I've had two cable boxes break in the past month, so I am without HD for the game, which completely sucks.

As for predicted score, I'm going with Texas 28, OU 17.

Unless Adam adds an official thread, here's a place to discuss...

OT: Yelp.com is a great website

PatrickWalz — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:44:15 -0000

I started visiting yelp.com recently. This site has pretty much changed my dining habits. It has a far, far better system than citysearch or guidelive or any of the other restaurant/activity review sites out there.

It is very popular in the SF Bay area and Austin and is growing now in DFW. I'd highly recommend giving it a try, and you should sign up and add some of your own reviews while you are at it.

Here is my page to see what I think of stuff - if you join up make sure to let me know.

http://patrickw.yelp.com/

Also I know this post sounds really like when people try to get you to be their "friend" on myspace, I assure you that that isn't my intent...

Bought A's playoff tickets today...

PatrickWalz — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:57:10 -0000

Today I bought A's playoff tickets. I will be attending game 1 or 3 with a trio of corworkers and one of their wives. We'll be sitting behind the RF foul pole.

Frankly, I am wondering if I should just switch allegience to the A's. I've liked them for years now, since the Beane era began, even though I am a Rangers fan. My AL West hatred has been targeted squarely at Angels and Seaman fans.

I won't do it, of course, because I am a sadist and I have to root for the Rangers. Nonetheless, my life would be alot easier if I could just cut the cord and follow the successful francise that is located just down the highway from me...

OT: Ann Richards dies at 73

PatrickWalz — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:33:01 -0000

I didn't even realize she was sick.

She was the first govenor I remember. If only she'd been able to beat W. in 1994, we probably wouldn't have GWB in the White House today. That'd be nice...

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/13/D8K4CEOG0.html

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Sept 11 thread

PatrickWalz — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 02:56:04 -0000

So where was everyone on Sept 11? And how did you first hear of the events?

I woke up in my crappy apartment north of Dean Keaton in Austin. I went to my computer and turned it on. My homepage was cnn.com. For whatever reason, it wouldn't load that morning (obviously I soon found out it was because everyone on earth was trying to get on CNN.com.).

The next site I went to was the ESPN Texas Rangers board. There I was greated to a page full of posts about "PENTAGON COLLAPSED" and so forth.

This was at a time when the Rangers board was frequently trashed by Mariners fans, or by Shark, or by any number of 10 year olds, so I wasn't sure at first what was up, but within moments, I saw several "regulars" there posting (I think Texassportsfan was one of them).

I turned on my TV, which wasn't actually plugged in. So I had to do the stupid thing where it scans all the channels and programs the ones that work. As it went through the possible lineup it paused for a split second at each channel, where I was greeted with one disaster after another, including a few of what appeared to be downtown NY with only one remaining WTC tower.

As soon as the channel programming stopped, I went to CBS news for whatever reason, and within 3 minutes, the second WTC building had collapsed.

I hung around my apt for a while before heading to campus, not sure what was going to go on that day.

My first class was a construction engineering class. That class was cancelled by my professor. One girl asked why, but class was leaving by then. I asked her if she had seen the news this morning. She had, but didn't know why we should cancel class.

I walked to the UT student union and had a very, very surreal lunch of Chick-Fil-A.

My only other class that day was a water engineering class. It went on, for whatever reason. I am not sure I learned much.

Anyway that's my boring story.

A's Huston Street put on DL

PatrickWalz — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 15:56:00 -0000

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Oakland Athletics placed closer Huston Street on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a strained right groin.

The right-hander, who is sixth in the AL with 29 saves, was injured while taking the loss in the second game of a doubleheader against Kansas City on Friday night. The move is retroactive to Aug. 19.

This will clearly help Texas. However, as a former Longhorn, I really get conflicted when something bad has to happen to Huston Street for the Rangers to benefit. I don't like rooting against him.

Woo! KC up 5-3 in game 2

PatrickWalz — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:20:41 -0000

This may not deserve its own diary, but as there isn't a KC-Oakland Diary up...

KC just scored 4 in the 8th to take a 5-2 lead. 3 more outs and Texas is back within 5.5 games.

Incredible that KC could be about to sweep a twin-bill against the mighty A's.

diary diary diary

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