Good morning.
After a pretty bad first day on the job where Rob Manfred caused a stir by saying he'd be cool with fundamentally changing the game of baseball, Kevin Sherrington pens an open letter to the new commish to talk rule changes and getting a roof for Rangers fans.
Anthony Andro writes that Joey Gallo is excited to join big league camp this spring. Gallo has played with the big leaguers in Arizona before. Remember this?
But this will be the first year that Gallo gets to shadow Adrian Beltre for the entire month of spring training. Also, remember when Gallo credited working with veteran slugger Jason Giambi last winter for his improvements? Don't worry, as Andro notes in the article, Gallo is training with Giambi again this winter. And also Bryce Harper.
P.S. Want to feel old? Gallo is a dong-blasting large giant human man and he wasn't even born yet when the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura fight went down.
The DMN has a transcript of Colby Lewis on KRLD-FM 105.3 talking about his strong second half last season and what new rotation-mate Yovani Gallardo brings to the table.
I would link to LSB Facebook's Question of the Week -- where I asked which Ranger past or present you'd most want to meet and chat with -- but science lied about global warming and now the entire east coast is covered in mountains of snow and Facebook is down. Plus, I've already met and/or chatted with Pudge Rodriguez so I'm good.
Big League Stew's Mike Oz chronicles how Alex Rodriguez is trying hard this winter to mend fences and make amends. This concept of an A-Rod seeking redemption made Dan Szymborski voice an idea that I didn't know we needed:
I still say if A-Rod had any self-awareness, he'd go full-on heel. Like miming an injection into his bicep after every home run.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) January 26, 2015
Screw banning the shift, this is how you make baseball less boring. Please, A-Rod, save baseball from horsepoop like clocks and pandering to filthy casuals.
Burn hundos from the on-deck circle. Sign autographs "Anthony Bosch". Grab a comically over-sized pill bottle after reaching base -- whoops! lol it's filled with Mentos. Take out full-page ads in the New York Post thanking the city of New York for always believing in him. Demand that Yankee Stadium be colloquially known as "The House that a Centaur Painting Built". Promise a sick child that you'll hit a dinger and then bunt in every plate appearance.
Absolution will never be in the cards for Alex Rodriguez. The next best thing is him hitting a walk-off home run, intentionally stepping over and missing every base, and then talking about how Derek Jeter has herpes during the post-game interview.
Have a good day.