What? Only post game threads after a victory. I am not about to look through 400 postings on the gameday thread. So...

Bad things happen when a pitcher throws the ball down the middle of the plate.

When it was 10 -0 is wished the Red Sox would score 31. When it was 12 -10 I said the Rangers would need 20 to win.

Josh Lewin said it best. This game is representative of the Rangers season. Lots of hits and runs. Errors. Bad pitching.

On the bright side, Papelbon had to pitch tonight and Eddie didn't.

So much for getting some much needed ABs. Looks like Duran is out for the year.

The thumb injury German Duran suffered on Wednesday required surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The injury, also known as gamekeeper's thumb, is expected to keep Duran out for six to eight weeks, so it's going to be unlikely that he will get back to the big leagues this season. That kind of stinks. No, it really stinks.

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/

The Tigers have just lost 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks after being swept by the Royals. Leyland is meeting with Dombrowski today to discuss the situation.  Over at http://www.blessyouboys.com/ there is an interesting post discussing the Tigers' problems. The option of firing Leyland isn't mentioned until the last few sentences. Detroit was picked by many to reach the WS. They currently have the worse record in the AL. The Texas Rangers were picked by most to finish in last place in the AL West. After a rough roadtrip and sitting in last place as expected, bloggers, newspaper columnists and grandmothers alike called for Ron Washington to be fired. I haven't checked any Detroit newspapers or blogs to see if they want Leyland fired. But the Tigers' record to date is much worse when compared to their expectations than the Rangers back in late April.

From the StarTelegram:

Rangers president Nolan Ryan met with the media for about 10 minutes Saturday. Here are a couple of highlights from what he said.

"We're in the process of looking at all aspects of the ballclub. If there's anything realistically we can change to make a difference, we're just looking at it. I brought Tom (Hicks) up to date of where we were and what happened on the road trip because he's been in England."

"We have greater expectations than what we've seen so far."

"Ron doesnt' pitch. He doesn't hit and he doesn't field. We have to look at it from the perspective are we doing the things we should be doing to win ballgames or are the guys responding to Ron. The fans are going to have to understand that we're not going to have a kneejerk reaction even though we've gotten off to one of the worst starts this organization has ever gotten off to."

"I think they (the players) are very frustrated with their performance and they feel bad they haven't played better and the focus has gone to him (Washington) more than it has to them. I think that is obviously the tendency."

- Anthony Andro

http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/foul_territory/2008/04/nolan-ryan-spea.html

I like the ability to jump over to another team's SBNation site and post without having to register. Go check out http://www.halosheaven.com/

They have an interesting thread that compares each AL West team by position.

Can someone tell why there is no MLB network similar to the NFL Network? I have DirecTV. I get the NFL Network, 50 espn channels (seems like it), FSNSW, the Big Ten channel, a tennis channel and the NHL channel. And I am sure I missed one. I don't think MLB would have any problem filling the schedule. There is little dead time in the MLB off season.

Baseball Musings has a lineup analyisis for the Rangers. However, they lost all credibility with me when they started with a lineup that had Byrd batting first, Blalock 8th and Kinsler 9th. Why can't these people contact fans such as Adam and ask them what a reasonable lineup would be for a team vs RHP and LHP?

Rangers
Best:5.35
Given:5.28
Worst:5.15

Angels
Best:5.30
Given:5.20
Worst:4.99

http://www.baseballmusings.com/

His excuse will probably be a common one. When does Clemens confess?

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http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-pettitte-hghadmission&prov=ap&type=lgns