Wednesday Morning Links

I would like to update the LSB community on "GateGate," which is the buzz-friendly term I have coined for AJM's propensity to hop out of the car at the ballpark gate instead of walking from the parking lot like the rest of the non-infirm and -elderly. Some of you may recall when I asked LSB to weigh in on the etiquette of ballgame ride-sharing. Though Adam was unsuccessful in disembarking prior to parking on that occasion, I regretfully inform the community that he was successful on Sunday... probably because my younger brother was driving and was unwilling or unable to run down a policeman directing traffic in order to make a point. Adam is well aware that is not a mistake I would have made.

Also, the Rangers bagged a pizza win last night, with Rangers who needed to step up stepping up according to Jeff Wilson. T.R. Sullivan says that Kinsler's first pitch homer did to the offense what the mango did to George Costanza's erectile dysfunction on Seinfeld. Evan Grant's postgame story heaps praise both on the offense and on Ogando, who will be starting once again on Sunday. And Todd Wills has his rapid reactions and a postgame story on Ian being Ian.... no, silly, not Ian petulantly arguing a called strike with the ump, Ian going yard on the game's first pitch.

Ron Washington was on 103.3 yesterday and said that he has put his resume up on Monster.com. Jon Daniels says his "full expectation" is that Ron Washington will be back with the team in 2014 but that Washington is "old enough to be an attractive free agent target for Anaheim." Cowlishaw says that this win may not be enough to save Ron's job because the running game is absolutely fracking bananas.

Todd Wills also has a story talking about the team wasting scoring opportunities with overly aggressive and sometimes baffling baserunning.

T.R. Sullivan's notebook deals with whether Ron Washington will soon be looking to spend more time with his family, Cuban defector Jose Abreu, and Nelson Cruz trying to stay sharp in instructional league games.

Evan Grant has a blogpost up about Ron Washington fearing for his job, and Jon Daniels saying he has nothing to worry about. Ron Washington told 103.3 that he's "not pointing the finger at no one," although we all know that a certain pitcher would have four more wins this season if he'd only buckled down when the going got tough and allowed -1 runs.

Todd Wills' buzz column discusses Cruz working out in Arizona, and a 297 plate appearance home run drought that was snapped last night by Ian Kinsler.

Finally, Into Thin Air prompted me to read a slew of books on mountaineering tragedies, including Eiger Dreams and K2: Triumph and Tragedy. I was flabbergasted that people would continue to push themselves amid increasing risks until, almost inevitably, those risks overwhelmed them. I read this fascinating article on Dave Shaw, whose great white whale was a body 800 + foot deep in a flooded cave, and am reminded of Krakauer's account of Rob Hall's lonely final telephone call from the summit of Everest.