.321/.370/.404

That's the line Julio Borbon has in 25 games this season at high-A.

There is, from what I understand, no questions about Borbon's defense -- he's a quality defensive centerfielder.  The questions are about his bat.

Getting this sort of line from a 22 year old defensive whiz in the Cal League has to, I think, at least for now, alleviate some of the concerns that I (and others) had about Borbon.

Yeah, that was exciting.

Richie Sexson apologized for throwing his helmet, but seems to have an unrealistic idea of Kason Gabbard's command:

"I'm 6-8," Sexson said. "What are we talking about here? We're talking about a guy who can hit the corners at will and all of a sudden he's up around my face?"

If Gabbard could hit the corners at will, he'd have more Ks and fewer walks this season.

Jeff at Lookout Landing says what Sexson did was dumb, and also makes some good observations about how dumb baseball brawls make fans act. 

I know lots of people here got bent out of shape about what some of the M's fans said at Lookout Landing about the fight last night, but before anyone gets too high and mighty, remember how many people thought Frankie Francisco throwing a chair into the stands in Oakland was awesome, how many still defend him for doing it, and remember that the Ranger manager at the time wouldn't even come out and say anything critical about the fact it happened until upper management intervened and told him passive-aggressively endorsing throwing chairs wasn't acceptable.

There's a fair amount of discussion about the fight at BTF.

Anyway, the fight overshadowed what was a damn good game for the Rangers, who now have thrown back-to-back shutouts and crept within 4 games of .500.

Evan Grant quotes Jon Daniels as saying the Dallas Observer blog post that claimed Ron Washington's fate is already decided, and that Nolan is deciding between Mike Hargrove, Don Baylor, Jim Tracy, and Jackie Moore as his replacement, is full of inaccuracies, and that Washington's status won't be reviewed until the All Star Break, at the earliest.

On Ben Broussard being designated for assignment:

"I think ideally, what the Rangers would like to do -- and I'm just guessing, I don't know this -- I would guess that they'd like to trade him if they could."

Hope it isn't lonely all the way out there on the end of that limb, Tom...

Note -- I did this before the brawl, scheduling it to post after the game.  Obviously, this is no longer REALLY the Tom Grieve quote of the night.  I guess I should change the title to "non-brawl quote of the night," or something.

David Pinto, who has no dog in the hunt, has this to say about the pitch that prompted Richie Sexson to rush the mound:

Update: Comments from people who saw the pitch say Gabbard did not throw at Sexson. I'm watching the Seattle feed, and they seemed to indicate Gabbard threw at him, although they were a bit ambiguous about it.

Update: FSN Northwest finally showed the replay in the bottom of the sixth. The pitch from Gabbard was head high, but right over the middle of the plate. It was no where near hitting Sexson.

The post-post-brawl thread.

The post-fight thread.

Evan Grant reports that the Rangers have designated Ben Broussard for assignment, and have called up Travis Metcalf to replace him.

Kason Gabbard vs. King Felix, as the Rangers go for 3 in a row...

Go Rangers...

A lot of interesting things out there today...

The latest Ask BA has a Rangers mention, in response to a question about why teams follow the draft slotting recommendations...

MLB generated more than $6 billion in revenue last season, and early indications are that baseball will surpass that figure in 2008. The numbers of teams that are truly dependent on the goodwill of the commissioner, which can result in the awarding of discretionary funds or future All-Star Games, isn't anywhere close to the number of the teams that continue to adhere to slotting. MLB can't significantly punish clubs that break from the ranks, yet most of them toe the line. In 2007, the Nationals, Orioles, Rangers, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees aggressively signed draftees, while the other 24 teams, for the most part, acceded to MLB's wishes.

Keith Law has a chat session up, and says, among other things, the Rangers should call up Nelson Cruz and give him one last look, and that Neftali Feliz has a reliever's delivery and a starter's arsenal...

Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings revisits various offseason trades, including the Josh Hamilton/Edinson Volquez deal, which seems to be panned because both teams are "disappointing" this season...

Buster Olney runs down players expected to be available via trade this summer, with both Frank Catalanotto and Gerald Laird making this list...I wouldn't be surprised if both of those guys are dealt in July, and I think both will bring a pretty decent return...

Nate Silver takes a look at how PECOTA rates third base prospects, and Chris Davis and Johnny Whittleman are both pretty far down the list, although Silver says he likes Davis more than PECOTA does.

Ken Tremendous hates SportsCenter...

And everyone's favorite ChiSox pitcher, Mark Buehrle, flipped out last night...

You know the drill...I post a picture of an opposing team's player, you tell me what they look like they'd be doing for a living if they weren't a baseball player...

Today's subject...Wee Willie Bloomquist...

via l.yimg.com