MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Top Royals In 11-9 Slugfest

Ugly, ugly, ugggggly.

But a win is a win is a win.

On a day that found the future of the freshly eliminated Dallas Mavericks hanging in the balance, and the sizzling Dallas Stars unable to cap a second-round playoff series sweep of the San Jose Sharks at the American Airlines Center, it was the Texas Rangers that provided a much-needed sports lift to the suddenly downtrodden Metroplex on Wednesday.

And they did it using an old, nearly forgotten secret weapon: the jet stream-aided long ball.

Five home runs accounted for the entirety of the Rangers’ electric 11-run offensive attack on Wednesday evening, including a second-inning lightning bolt from the bat of Josh Hamilton (which is, according to staff reports, emblazoned with the word “Wonderboy”) that landed in the left-center field visitor’s bullpen at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

That lightning bolt was worth four runs, denoting Hamilton’s first career grand slam and expanding an early Texas lead to 7-0. Josh would not reach base again in a 1-for-5 effort; nonetheless, his unconscious month of April concludes with a .330/.379/.591 batting line and six home runs in 115 at-bats, which is ridiculous offensive production at any position but even moreso at a traditionally lighter-hitting spot such as center field.

Dare we ponder how much worse off the Rangers would be right now if general manager Jon Daniels had inked Andruw Jones (currently hitting .165/.276/.259 with 1 HR in 85 AB for the Los Angeles Dodgers) this past winter, rather than dangling Edinson Volquez as trade bait in front of recently axed Cincinnati Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky? With the pitching staff rapidly spiraling into chaos, there isn’t much else currently worth bragging about on this squad.

Well, except for perhaps Brandon Boggs. Everybody’s favorite newcomer to the Rangers’ outfield rotation launched an 88 MPH meatball from Royals starter Brian Bannister into the right field seats earlier in that second inning, marking the 25-year-old’s first Major League home run - less than 24 hours after he had collected his first Major League hit.

Just for good measure, Boggs proceeded to slash yet another hit off Bannister into right field during the very next frame, tying the club record for the most consecutive times to reach base to start a career with five. Though reliever Joel Peralta eventually fanned Boggs with one out in the fifth inning to end the streak, there’s no denying the indelibly strong first impression Brandon has made on the Arlington faithful over the past two days.

And, perhaps far more importantly, the front office.

Right fielder Milton Bradley, center fielder David Murphy and catcher Gerald Laird all laced two-run shots as well, an especially good thing considering what ended up transpiring on the mound for Texas. After six largely effective innings of one-run baseball, right-hander Kevin Millwood finally ran into the proverbial wall, recording just one out in the top of the seventh inning before being forced to depart - but not before four additional runs could be affixed upon his pitching ledger.

If not for Laird’s wind-blown opposite-field blast in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Rangers would have - incredibly - relinquished an eight-run lead, as the relief trio of Frankie Francisco, Jamey Wright and C.J. Wilson just barely secured the 11-9 victory. Though I’m only working off an admittedly unreliable memory here, I don’t believe the Rangers have choked away a lead that great since the unspeakable May 16th, 2006 meltdown at Yankee Stadium.

* * * * *

Between the perplexing April 2003 “Bull Durham” controversy and the fiscal oddities witnessed by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York during his reign as the organization’s president, something about the Rangers’ hiring of Dale Petroskey as their new executive vice president of marketing and community development sends red warning flags a-flyin’ around my head.

Quite frankly, I could care less about the decidedly conservative political leanings of club president Nolan Ryan, or his newest trophy acquisition, the latter of whom served as an assistant White House press secretary during the Ronald Reagan administration. Make no mistake, Petroskey has accumulated some impressive skins on the wall.

But what does concern me - beyond Petroskey’s alleged failure to “exercise proper fiduciary responsibility” as HoF president - is that Ryan has placed a bureaucratic entity, one who seemingly has little to no prior knowledge or familiarity with the Texas Rangers organization, in charge of attempting to rebuild a beleaguered and increasingly apathetic fanbase. I’m not so sure that’s somebody the fans are going to be able to easily relate to.

Of course, this may all prove to be completely moot; it is winning, after all, that reigns king at the end of the day above catchy billboard slogans, price-slashing promotions and free bobblehead giveaways. And perhaps Petroskey does possess the acumen necessary to help construct a highly effective marketing campaign - one that will stimulate a region weary of losing baseball from their beloved hometown team.

But something about this bugs me.

In a somewhat distressing callback to Tuesday evening’s column, Joaquin Benoit apparently hasn’t quite figured out what ails him yet:

“I’m trying to figure it out,” he said after being scored upon for the fourth time in his last six appearances. “I just need to keep pitching and go through my bad games. I didn’t pitch much in Spring Training, but I’ve got most of my strength back. But arm strength isn’t my problem; it’s where I’m throwing the ball.”

It seems that a mild case of right shoulder tendinitis and possibly unkempt mechanics have contributed to his glaring control problems through the first month of the season; nonetheless, the fact that his confidence now appears to be swirling down the toilet is not a good sign.

The psyche of a ballplayer is, after all, an incredibly fragile thing.

And finally, just five days after surrendering nine earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in 0.2 innings against the High-A High Desert Mavericks, Bakersfield Blaze left-hander Zach Phillips tossed seven pristine shutout innings in a narrow 2-1 victory over the Modesto Nuts on Wednesday.

The estimable 21-year-old southpaw has now accumulated a whopping 34 strikeouts in just 28.2 innings pitched in the California League this spring, good for a K/9 ratio of 10.67. That represents his most impressive strikeout rate since 2005, when an 18-year-old Phillips notched 73 strikeouts in 50.1 innings for the rookie-level Arizona Rangers.

* * * * *

Yes, the Rangers are the last team in baseball to reach double digits in the win column. Yes, the Rangers’ defense leads all of baseball in errors committed (30). Yes, the Rangers’ pitching staff once again possesses the worst ERA (5.60) and WHIP (1.73) in baseball.

And yet, I find myself interminably longing for not just the great game, but more specifically, for Texas Rangers baseball. Let us take the dismal on-the-field results of April and shove them into the back of a dusty, dark dresser drawer, not to be seen or thought of again.

Bring on May - and a new beginning.

Major League Quick Hits: Left-hander Kason Gabbard (stiff lower back) completed a 40-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday, and will make a minor league rehab start on Saturday…Milton Bradley left Wednesday’s game with a hamstring cramp, and is expected to start at DH for Thursday’s series finale…former Rangers outfielder Brad Wilkerson was designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday…

Minor League Quick Hits: Double-A Frisco catcher Max Ramirez is now batting .357/.444/.643 in 84 Texas League at-bats…Japanese right-hander Kazuo Fukumori has yet to allow a run in 7.2 innings pitched at Triple-A Oklahoma this year…Single-A Clinton first baseman Ian Gac, originally a 26th-round selection by the Rangers in the 2003 MLB Draft, is now batting .395/.485/.802 with 9 HR in 86 AB in the Midwest League.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 1:25 am and is filed under The Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.