The Texas Rangers may have lost their ace in C.J. Wilson to the rival Los Angeles Angeles, but the Rangers have plans to fill that void with arguably one of the most talented Japanese pitching prospects in quite some time—Yu Darvish.
It was announced Monday night that the Rangers were the highest bidders for Darvish. However, sources say that it cost the team $51.7 million, but that was just for the right to sign Darvish. The club has 30 days to negotiate with Darvish and his representatives, meaning that the total investment for the Rangers will easily top $100 million. Read more...(290 words, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton had surgery today, Friday, to repair an abdominal hernia that has plagued him the entire post season. Hamilton had said that he thought he had a sports hernia during the playoffs and this was confirmed with an MRI and subsequently operated on today.
Hamilton underwent the surgery by Dr. William Meyers. This is the second such surgery that he has had in the past 3 years. In 2009, Hamilton had a partial tear of his abdominal muscle and had surgery. This injury was to his left side.
Hamilton will be back in Texas by Saturday and expected to make a full and complete recovery before the start of spring training in February. Read more...(183 words, 1 image, estimated 44 secs reading time)
When Josh Hamilton hit his towering two-run home run in the top of the 10th, it had all the makings of a storybook ending. Hamilton, the guy with the incredible redemption story, the guy who had literally been to hell and back, the guy who has done squat for the majority of the postseason as a result of battling a hampering groin injury, was able to give his team a 9-7 lead, putting them three outs away from their first championship in franchise history.
And yet, the Rangers managed to fall to the St. Louis Cardinals 10-9 in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, even though Hamilton was told by God that he would hit that home run. Read more...(311 words, 2 images, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)
I don’t generally like to throw those words around because it’s such a big statement. To me, the best ever means of all time, for all time, nothing surpasses. The best ever is being used quite a lot today after last night’s World Series game.
I don’t know if last night’s game 6 was the best ever. That’s just too big of a statement and would require that I know and research all the World Series games ever played and all the game 6 games ever played. I’m not going to do that. So I’m not going to make that statement. I will say that it is one of the best games I’ve ever personally watched or seen. It ranks right up there at the top for some of the best baseball I’ve ever been able to witness. And to think, it was one of the lowest rated and least watched of all time. That is truly, truly sad. Read more...(625 words, 1 image, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)
There is no question that Mike Napoli was the hero for the Texas Rangers Monday night in their 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. However, his tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning may have gotten some help from an unlikely source: the 51,459 screaming fans at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Napoli’s clutch hit came off Marc Rzepczynski, bet Rzepczynski wasn’t even supposed to be on the mound at the time.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he called down to the bullpen earlier in the inning and wanted Rzepczynski and closer Jason Motte to get ready. Instead, bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist heard only Rzepczynski’s name. La Russa called again to ask for Motte and this time Lilliquist heard “Lynn,” as in reliever Lance Lynn. Read more...(369 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)
After being three outs away from taking a 2-0 lead in the World Series against the Texas Rangers, the St. Louis Cardinals now find themselves heading to he Lone Star State tied at a game apiece.
“It was almost a great story for us,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “Turned out to be a greater one for them.”
There is always a great debate on the topic of momentum and whether or not it plays a major factor in a postseason series. Regardless of your view on it, there is no denying that the Cards lost some momentum following their Game 2 collapse.
So what do the Cards need to do in Game 3 to get back in the series? Read more...(320 words, 2 images, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)
It doesn’t take a baseball analyst to see that Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has been playing through quite a bit of pain lately. The groin injury that has actually plagued the slugger for the better part of the last six weeks has only gotten worse since the start of the World Series, as evidenced by Hamilton’s grimacing after nearly every one of his swings in the Fall Classic.
But it sounds like even if they had to wheel Hamilton on a wheelchair out to home plate, he would still take his at-bats.
“I’m going to let pain be my guide,” Hamilton said. “I’ve talked to the trainers and they’ve said, ‘Trust that. Don’t push it past that point.’ Me, knowing there’s just six games left, wants to push it past that point. But at the same time, I also want to finish the six games.” Read more...(342 words, 2 images, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)
Get your throwing arm ready, Dirk Nowitzki, it turns out you are throwing out the first pitch at one of the Texas Rangers home games for the World Series.
It’s hard to believe, but the Dallas Mavericks star was actually told by Major League Baseball that they didn’t want him throwing out the first pitch.
In the World Series, throwers of the first pitch must be approved by the league office. The Rangers confirmed to ESPN Dallas that they had submitted Nowitzki’s name, but that he had been rejected, for reasons that MLB did not specify earlier Wednesday. Read more...(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)
Thanks to a lucky bounce and a double play, the Detroit Tigers are now heading back to Texas.
With a solid, but by no means super-human-like performance from ace Justin Verlander, the Tigers were able to stave off elimination with a 7-5 victory over the Rangers in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.
Delmon Young hit two of Detroit‘s four homers and Miguel Cabrera had a tiebreaking double in the sixth inning—thanks to that bizarre bounce off third base.
“I have that bag in my office right now. And that will be in my memorabilia room at some point in my life, I can promise you,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. Read more...(326 words, 2 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
I don’t generally like to throw those words around because it’s such a big statement. To me, the best ever means of all time, for all time, nothing surpasses. The best ever is being used quite a lot today after last night’s 
