Every time I see that mobile phone commercial that involves the guy lifting weights, who has the new "Fall Out Boy" single on his phone that "gets me pumped," I feel old and out of touch, since I have no idea who or what "Fall Out Boy" is.
Another thing that makes me feel old and out of touch...when several Rangers are asked who their first celebrity crush is, Brandon McCarthy lists Britney Spears.
Evan Grant says Ron Washington was displeased with Robinson Tejeda's outing this afternoon, and in particular his control problems. What's more troubling is Tejeda's comment that he doesn't know what the problem today was...
A Robinson Tejeda who can't find the strike zone would create a big problem for the Ranger rotation at the start of the season...
There's a blog entry in the S-T Rangers blog, suggesting that Bruce Chen may be the favorite for the 5th starter spot, because of the ability the Rangers have to option Josh Rupe and Kam Loe to the minors. That dovetails with my speculation this morning, and again, I think there's a significant difference between Chen -- who was a very good starter for the Orioles just a couple of years ago -- and someone like Pedro Astacio, who I've railed about in the past.
Evan Grant says that either Marlon Byrd or Jason Botts will make the 25 man roster, but not both (barring some major collapse by Sammy Sosa or Nelson Cruz). I still tend to believe that Byrd is most likely going to make the team, with Botts traded or to AAA, but a lot of this would seem to depend on whether the Rangers trust Nelson Cruz to play centerfield.
If Cruz can play center, then against lefties, Kenny Lofton and the Cat will sit, with Brad Wilkerson, Nelson Cruz, and Sammy Sosa in the outfield, and Botts at DH. Against righthanders, Cat and Lofton will be in the lineup, with two of the other four outfield/DH types taking the other two slots. Jerry Hairston, Jr., provides an insurance policy for centerfield, as well.
And if you want still more Sammy Sosa stuff, you can check out Joe Sheehan's article on Sosa in the NY Times.