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Monday Morning Texas Rangers Update

The latest news on the Texas Rangers and bullsh--

By ghostofErikThompson
Maybe they'll stop calling him "aloof" now, too
Maybe they'll stop calling him "aloof" now, too
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning. He really shouldn't have had to, but it was awesome to see Yu Darvish addressing the local media, in their own language, to emphatically tell them to get off his nuts.

Yes, as Anthony Andro writes, Darvish spoke with the media in English for the first time and made it clear that the thought perpetuated by some that he quit on the team last year was total nonsense.

Perhaps Darvish was feeling frisky after beginning the Rangers' season with a 1-2-3 inning in the team's intrasquad game yesterday.

Or maybe, if Evan Grant is correct, Darvish's English interview was about taking his new manager's philosophies to heart.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick was there to watch Darvish and writes that though he was explicit in his interview with writers, his tone was "friendly and upbeat." And on actually baseball things, there's this:

"He's ready," Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos said of Darvish. "The way he looked today, he's ready for Opening Day, and we still have 30 days of spring training. That tells you he's going to get better from now on."

Andro notes that Jeff Banister's message for the club yesterday was "play each game as if it was there last" which was inspired by a young fan with cancer that Banister spoke with.

WFAA's Ted Madden profiles Banister's first spring as manager of the Rangers and calls him a perfect match for the team.

While at Rangers camp, Crasnick checked in with Ryan Ludwick on his opportunity to win the wide open left field job.

Gil LeBreton writes that the black hole of left field won't be open for long as Nomar Mazara is barreling his way to Arlington.

With actual games being played, the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation has begun. Sullivan writes that Ross Detwiler is hoping to win the job.

Alternatively, as Grant writes, Nick Tepesch hopes to win the spot and after a bad spring last year, he feels like he knows how to do it.

Stefan Stevenson tackles the notes from camp yesterday and writes that Ludwick and Nate Schierholtz made a good first impression in the left field battle.

Sullivan writes that in addition to pitching inside more, the Rangers' pitchers are working on the art of the "Bull Rush" slide step this spring.

Continuing Adam's "Because it's Spring" series: Because it's spring, we get stories like, Chi Chi Gonzalez's name is not Chi Chi Rodriguez.

Finally, The Legend is here and he was the first Texas Ranger to homer this year:

Have a nice day.

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