Chelsea-Birmingham still scoreless 78 minutes in; Fulham-Tottenham the same after 67 minutes. And the day's just getting started! Everton vs. Sunderland next up on FSC at 9 am. Looking forward to seeing Landycakes playing for the Toffees, though I doubt he'll be in the lineup today.

Working on my first cup of Irish coffee, so hopefully I'll be good and toasty by the time Liverpool takes on Wolves at 11...

Game day threads becoming boring for you? Do the daily open threads give you tired head? Well, here's just what you need to keep Lone Star Ball interesting- it's a bingo game, featuring oft-used phrases from LSB's favorite curmudgeon! Just save and print, and you're ready to go the next time The Outlaw goes off on another rant!

Who will be the first to complete their card? Sorry, no prizes awarded, but it's fun to play, nonetheless!

Continue reading this post »

Well, not for the Rangers, but rather, for Liverpool, who is about to sign Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres for 27 million pounds- that's $54 million.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2114541,00.html

I'm sure this will tick off a lot of Ranger fans who don't care about soccer, but as a Liverpool diehard, I'm pretty stoked!

Just got alerted to this by one of my fellow Rotojunkie staffers who is a Rays fan- Tampa has either released or DFA'd Elijah Dukes- press conference forthcoming with further details:

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/dukes-off-rays-roster

If you're JD, do you take a shot on him?

Looks like a heart attack. He was 73.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070515/ap_on_re_us/jerry_falwell

I'll leave the comments to others. Suffice it to say I wasn't a fan.

I love baseball. Baseball is fun. Yay baseball!

Just thought I'd put one up, even though the game doesn't start until 8 pm tonight. I'll be missing the first hour to watch the Sopranos, but this should be a great series.

Nellie can give the Mavs trouble, but I think our boys win in six. After that, it's Houston or Utah, then probably either the Spurs or Suns. Not an easy road, though home court throughout will help.

Go Mavs!

trza asked me to post a review of the Isis show at the Ridglea Theater, which was earlier tonight.

Short version: Totally. Fucking. Awesome.

Long version:

Intronaut and Torche were the openers- both played about 45 minutes. I liked Torche a bit better; they're sort of a harder version of old Black Sabbath (particularly around the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath era) while Intronaut reminded me of early Isis, with a bit more emphasis on the hardcore/thrash elements.

Isis played about 75 minutes; here's the set list, so you know what to expect if you see them in Austin:

Wrists of Kings
Not In Rivers, But In Drops
False Light
Dulcinea
1000 Shards
Wills Dissolve
All Out of Time, All Into Space
Holy Tears
Celestial

If you can make it to the show at Emo's (I think it's later today, the 28th) I highly recommend it.

Dead at 74 from cancer. Most of you probably know him from the AFL, the Kansas City Chiefs (originally the Dallas Texans) and his work with the NFL. But he was also a founder of Major League Soccer, and owner of the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas. Hunt probably did as much as anyone to make both the NFL and American soccer what it is today.

The Rangers lost Alfredo Simon to the O's, and did not make a pick in the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. The Cubs took Josh Hamilton from the Rays; the Yanks took Josh Phelps from the O's.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/news/262980.html

I haven't seen the minor-league picks posted yet.

Looks like the Rangers will pick either 14th or 15th, depending on what they and the Reds do tomorrow.

While it's been another disappointing year, Texas is guaranteed to:

Since I know a few other people follow the EPL, I thought some of you might enjoy this-  Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso scored a goal from his own half of the field yesterday against Newcastle.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7032316303141404085&q=xabi+alonso&hl=en

This is the second time in the last six months Xabi has scored a goal from long distance- he put one in against Luton Town last year from slightly further out, though that one was the soccer equivalent of an empty-net goal.

Just saw this posted online. No word yet on a reason for the firing.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/espn_fires_reynolds_sports_andrew_marchand.htm

Maybe now they'll get rid of Brantley and Kruk, as both of them have even less to add to Baseball Tonight than Reynolds did...

300 character limit sucks.

Just posted on the DMN- Buck had to go to the hospital early this morning due to dehydration. He may miss today's game.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/072406dnsposhowalter.1619fb68.html

Hope he's OK- I'm not his biggest fan, but I don't wish him any harm, either.

Now Ozzie Guillen, OTOH... :)

How about these storms, DFW people?

Hopefully there's no tornadoes on the way. Not that I'd rather live on the coast, where you can face hurricanes or tsunamis, but living smack in the middle of Tornado Alley can be fun!

Has anyone else here actually been through a tornado? I've been through one and seen a second one that we were able to drive away from...

Per Jamey, the Rangers may have Kiker signed as soon as tomorrow. The expected bonus is $1.6 million, and he will be assigned to Spokane.

Glad to see Kiker is ready to get his pro career underway. After Diamond, Danks, Volquez, and Hurley, the Rangers look to be assembling a solid lower-level group of pitching prospects, including Kiker and Poveda. Not all of them will make it, but this is as strong as I've seen the pitching depth and quality on the farm in a long, long time.

Less than 24 hours until the start of the mock draft. Rangers pick at 12, 88, 118, and 148.

Here's my current top 20:

Andrew Miller, lhp, North Carolina
Brad Lincoln, rhp, Houston
Brandon Morrow, rhp, California
Tim Lincecum, rhp, Washington
Evan Longoria, 3b, Long Beach State
Luke Hochevar, rhp, FW Cats
Kyle Drabek, rhp, The Woodlands HS
Max Scherzer, rhp, Missouri
Clayton Kershaw, lhp, Highland Park HS
Jeremy Jeffress, rhp, Virginia HS
Drew Stubbs, OF, Texas
Joba Chamberlin, rhp, Nebraska
Pedro Beato, rhp, St Petersburg CC
Jordan Walden, rhp, Mansfield HS
Greg Reynolds, rhp, Stanford
Bill Rowell, 3b, New Jersey HS
Travis Snider, OF, Washington HS
Matt Antonelli, 3b, Wake Forest
Hank Conger, C, California HS
Kyle McCulloch, rhp, Texas

I don't believe any of the first six will still be on the board at #12. Kershaw and Stubbs are good bets to be gone as well.

Right now, I'm looking at Drabek, Scherzer, Jeffress, Stubbs, Chamberlin, or Beato for the Rangers' first-rounder. I'll probably do best player available for the other three picks, with a strong leaning towards hitters. I generally prefer college players, though not to the extent that would cause me to pass on a high schooler if he's the right guy.

Any and all advice or suggestions welcome. I'll also be using this thread as the official "war room" tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Newsday is reporting that Clemens has agreed to come back this year, and will do so with the Astros.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sprog0530,0,6890705.story?coll=ny-top-headlineshtt p://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sprog0530,0,6890705.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

I'll believe it when I see it, though Clemens choosing to stay in Houston seems the most likely scenario.

Here's a list of 20-plus players I took from the Baseball America draft lists for further discussion:

Drew Stubbs, OF, Texas
Matt LaPorta, 1b, Florida
Chad Tracy, C, Pepperdine
Wes Hodges, 3b, Georgia Tech
Matt Antonelli, 3b, Wake Forest
Max Scherzer, rhp, Missouri
Joba Chamberlin, rhp, Nebraska
Daniel Bard, rhp, North Carolina
Ian Kennedy, rhp, Southern California
Kyle McCulloch, rhp, Texas
Greg Reynolds, rhp, Stanford
Mark Melancon, rhp, Arizona
Dallas Buck, rhp, Oregon State
Clayton Kershaw, lhp, Highland Park HS
Kyle Drabek, rhp, The Woodlands HS
Chris Tillman, rhp, Fountain Valley HS
Chris Marrero, 3b, Monsignor Pace HS
Brett Anderson, lhp, Stillwater HS
Jordan Walden, rhp, Mansfield HS
Hank Conger, c, Huntington Beach HS
Travis Snider, of, Jackson HS

I think all these players will be taken before the Rangers select at #12; still, I thought they were worthy of discussion as well:

Evan Longoria, 3b, Long Beach State
Andrew Miller, lhp, North Carolina
Brad Lincoln, rhp, Houston
Brandon Morrow, rhp, California
Tim Linceum, rhp, Washington

Of this group, I'd like to narrow it down to around 5-10 names that we'll strongly consider taking at #12. If anyone thinks there's a player I left off that needs to be included, feel free to mention him in your post.

The original MOD is here:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2006/5/16/225145/233

Again, picks at 12, 88, 118, and 148.

As some of you know, John Sickels does a five-round mock draft the Sunday before the real one. Rather than make the picks himself, he selects 30 people to serve as the scouting directors for each team.

I'm doing the honors for the Rangers, and as requested by John, have set up a discussion thread for myself and others to mull over draft strategy and who the Rangers should take.

If anyone wants to join in, here's the link:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2006/5/16/225145/233

Fellow Ranger fans:

We have four picks in the mock draft- 12, 88, 118, and 148. No second-rounder.

With pitching always a need, and a draft heavy on college arms, taking a pitcher in the first round seems like a good choice, but the farm is also pretty light on high-ceiling outfield talent. I'm generally a "take the best player available" guy, regardless of position.

I'm also thinking that no second-round pick might free Texas up to take a player or two with some signability questions. Given that Jon Daniels is not afraid to deal with Boras, targeting one or more of his clients might not be a bad idea.

All opinions and input welcome, particularly first-hand player observations!

Out of curiosity, I ran through all the Ranger box scores, and here's how Buck has used his bench so far this season, including tonight:

Pinch hitters: used three times (Blalock, Jimenez, Meyer). Blalock and Meyer came in for DeRosa and Wilkerson, respectively, when those two got nicked during games. Omitting those two instances, Buck's only pinch-hit one time all season.

Pinch runners: seven times (A. Brown 3, Laird 3, Hyzdu). Laird's three pinch-running appearances were all for Barajas.

Defensive replacement: seven times (A. Brown 6, Jimenez). Jimenez' appearance came when Kinsler got hurt.

So other than using Adrian Brown as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement- pretty much the reason he's even on the roster- the adage that Buck doesn't use his bench at all holds pretty true.

I bought Rob Neyer's new "Big Book of Baseball Blunders" today. Lots of items you'd suspect would be there- the Red Sox selling Ruth to the Yankees, the Bagwell trade, the Devil Rays trading Abreu, and even the 10 Cent Beer Night debacle in Cleveland, though strangely enough, not the Baines-Sosa deal.

Turn to page 255, and you'll find a chapter titled "The Buck Stays Here." It's about how Buck helped cost the Yankees the 1995 series against Seattle by leaving a clearly spent David Cone in with both Rivera and Wettleland available in the bullpen.

Interesting quote by Neyer:

"To compound his mistake, even after the fact Showalter refused to admit the obvious. 'That's his game,' Showalter said. 'David Cone is one of those people you trust and one of the people who got us there.'"

Definitely worth a read- both the book and the chapter.

Per Jamey:

Hershiser will remain with the Rangers, but will be taking a role as Jeff Cogen's assistant. Mark Connor is the new pitching coach; Dom Chiti the new bullpen coach.

I'm a little surprised at Orel's decision, but hopefully it works out for the best for all concerned, especially the Ranger pitchers.

Per Jamey's newsflash, which should make many of us very happy:

"The Star-Telegram's T.R. Sullivan is reporting that Jon Daniels will be named General Manager of the Texas Rangers at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon.  John Hart will become a consultant.  Daniels, who is 28 years old, has been the Rangers assistant general manager for two years after coming over from the Colorado Rockies.

More...lots more...in the next Newberg Report."