Texas Rangers Thoughts

Another season come and gone. After going to the World Series in 2010 and 2011 and coming up short both times, the Rangers failed to get past the wildcard playoff game in 2012. With a strong core of talent they led the Division right up until the end and a surging Oakland team caught and passed them in the final few games. So be it. As a fan looking forward I see things that I would change. My thoughts are my own and not based on any inside information or first hand knowledge or familiarity with any of the players, coaches or front office people. In other words, no one should consider me an expert. Not that anyone does anyway. Coaching: Ron Washington is a very experienced and knowledgeable manager. The failures of this season are not due to Ron Washington. Ron knows his players and their capabilities and utilizes them as well as any manager could. The only coaching staff issue I can see is at Hitting Coach. There were several players this year that had down numbers from the previous two seasons, most notably Cruz and Kinsler. The one that could benefit most from a new hitting coach though is Mitch Moreland. Mitch is a large, strong, country boy from Mississippi who has a lot of natural power in his swing. He can hit the ball way up in the upper deck in right. The problem I see with Mitch is that he swings for the upper deck on every swing. If Moreland would dial back the power a little he would gain more control and be able to adjust to the pitches better. Even dialed back many of his hits would carry out of the ballpark. A Home run to the upper deck does not count more than one that barely clears the wall and the resultant increase in batting average, especially with runners on base, would be a huge benefit. A hitting coach should be able to get through to Mitch and correct this easily. Batting Order: There are many theories on batting order. Kinsler in the leadoff, given his down numbers this year, does not make sense to me. I would take a look at moving him to possibly the number 5 spot. Elvis Andrus should be at Leadoff and Michael Young at the number 2 spot. I know this doesn't fit all the stats guys theories but I see Elvis as a guy who can get on base for the big hitters in the 3 and 4 spots. (Again, No One should consider me an expert.) The Hamilton Issue: Josh Hamilton is a free agent. He has been a star on this team without question and has been a major contributing factor in the Rangers success for the last few years. It is well known that he battles addictions. It seems that Josh has periods where he loses focus and loses his fire for the game. I guess everyone does at some time or another. With his overall numbers he should get a huge contract in free agency. If I were the Rangers, or any other team looking at Hamilton I would be very cautious on a long term contract and by long term I mean any thing over 4 years. Josh no doubt will get a longer offer from some team in need of a big bat. The only issue here for me is, Which Josh Hamilton will they get? Profar, Olt and Other Prospects: The Rangers scouting and development system is one of the best. At some point you have to stick some young talent in the lineup and give them a shot. I'm not saying that a 19 year old should be thrown into the lineup and told "You're our guy." Some will excel, others will not. Just give them the shot and support and if needed, move them back to Minor League ball for more experience. Running out and paying huge salaries for free agents to fill holes never really set well with me. Utilize the system and resources you have first, then consider grabbing available veterans. I'll stop for now. I know as the Off Season drags on I'll have more to say.

I haven't blogged in a long while. I guess I just got bored with it or just had nothing to say. Actually, I always have plenty to say, I just have to check myself on who to say it to and when. With all the PC Police running around the internet I just know I'll end up in some digital Gulag somewhere, locked in a cell constructed of 1's and 0's. I can think of things worse.

I ran across an old file I saved on my computer in and old, unused folder. I t was called "Rules of Life". I have no idea who wrote it or where I found it originally. I read through it and realized it made a heckuva lot of sense in many ways. Here it is as I found it:

Rules of Life

11.      Nothing works like it’s supposed to. Get used to it.

22.      Some people just live to make an issue out of everything. Avoid them.

33.      You get older no matter what.

44.      There is no such thing as perfection.

55.      Accepting less than perfection will help you live longer.

66.      Never give up trying to achieve perfection.

77.      Family is your root.

88.      No matter how hard you try, not everyone will like you.

98.      Like yourself. Your opinion of you is what matters most.

110.   Play hard, be serious, love.

I suppose I could go through it item by item and expound on each one. I don't really have that much energy today. Just think about it though. I really can't find fault with any of the list. I'm sure some philosopher or psychologist could spend hours dissecting the words and spinning them into something far more complicated, but the pure simplicity of it is the main message.

It may mean nothing to you. you may have another set of "Rules of Life" you live by or agree with. That is your choice. I just found it clearly simple, amusing and certainly not all inclusive.

Bye Bye Blackberry

I have had a Blackberry Phone/PDA for over 2 yrs. I loved it for it's functionality and ease of use. I had the Bold 9000. My Blackberry moved me from text message based communication and social networking into full function web based modernism. There were a few hiccups along the way. My first unit had an antenna problem that was resolved by exchanging the unit for a new one at the store where I bought it. The next problem was a mail exchange when all external sounds (alerts, ring tones etc.) just quit one day. The third one was a year ago when a Superbowl party resulted in a beer soaking and a cracked screen. Finally, the little trackball that controls everything on the unit gave out. Yes, I cleaned it, many times, it was just worn out. This happened to be about the time that AT&T let me know that my contract period was up and I could upgrade to another phone at a much reduced price. Hello new phone.

After many hours of comparing features and price I settled on an Android phone by HTC. Every time I hear "Android" I think of Commander Data from Star Trek: Next Generation. Android is the operating system offered by Google. Yeah I know. I'm not really not that big of a Google New World Order fan but the Android phones do have pluses. Now if I can master all the new quirky features I think I will be happy for a long while.

The touch-screen is new to me. I have always kind of considered myself a button pusher as far as devices go. The larger screen makes for easier reading by my old tired eyes. This new device also has an 8 megapixel camera. That's some seriously sharp photos. It also can record video in HD.

Applications are abundant. Weather, Twitter, Facebook, stocks and who knows what I have yet to discover. They seem to download and install seamlessly. Now If I can just find where they all went on the device maybe I can use them all. I just need more time to explore, but that's half the fun of a new device. Isn't it?

I'll let you know loudly if I experience any major problems. Right now the honeymoon is still on.

Shirley Shirley Shirley

Shirley Sherrod will no doubt go down in recent history as one of the dumbest people on the earth. To say the least, she had a golden egg and threw it away because she couldn't keep her mouth SHUT.

Shirley was thrust into the limelite when a video surfaced of her apparently admitting to racist activity many years ago. The Whitehouse and the Dept. of Agriculture panicked. They wanted her to resign immediately. The hell with letting her answer the charges or offer an explanation, "QUIT NOW" Shirley was what she was told. She complied. (Mistake number one)

Mistake number two was when she wasted no time going on National News shows and telling all that the order to quit came from the Whitehouse. Shirley should have kept off the television and made NO statements at all except through an attorney. She had a huge wrongful termination lawsuit on her hands. It could have set her up for life. I guess Shirley would rather speak her mind.

Once the entire transcript of the video speech was made public, Shirley was supported and defended by FOX NEWS and Glenn Beck. But that wasn't to Shirley's liking. She again opened her mouth and BLAMED Fox News for the whole thing. Shirley was now starting to look a little silly. She could have saved herself again by just shutting the hell up. But NO! Motor mouth Shirl had more to say.

By now the President was looking bad, the USDA Secretary was looking bad and all they could do was offer apologies to Shirley. But that was still not enough for old Shirley. Now she wanted an audience with the President so she could educate him on how things were in the rural south.

Still, having been apologized to and offered a new job, Shirley was not done yet. She spent some time on the air with Anderson Cooper. To his credit, he let her speak out. And speak she did. It seems now that Miss Shirley may in fact be a racist after all. With a little prompting from Anderson Cooper she opined that Andrew Briebart, who posted the video in the first place, was a racist and probably wanted all blacks to be slaves again. Andrew has his faults. He is an attention whore. He sometimes doesn't think things through completely. But He is not a racist and has no racist agenda.

Yes Shirley. All you had to do was shut the hell up. Now you look completely ridiculous.

Why Hate Sarah?

I find it interesting and quite puzzling that many people profess a hatred of Sarah Palin. Not so much the neanderthal left but many from the right. These right minded, patriotic, conservatives that for some reason spew vile things when Sarah's name is even mentioned. Sarah Palin represents the morals, ideals and tough stance that most true conservatives have longed for in a Presidential Candidate. So why the hate?

I took the time to read Sarah's book "Going Rogue." In it I found strength, fierce patriotism, love of family and God and common sense far and away above what most of our political leaders possess. She shows a passion for weeding out corruption, restoring openness and insisting on HONOR from our leaders. These aren't things to hate.

I can only guess that some are sidetracked by the mid-western voice. Or perhaps the "By Golly' soccer Mom persona. I ask you; are those the things that are really important? Or is the message what really counts? Read the mission statements from your 9-12 Groups. Compare your Conservative values to her message. Look beyond the attractive face and the hype from the Presidential campaign and examine the REAL Sarah Palin.

It is important that we as conservatives don't allow the non-issues to sidetrack us. There is a long and hard road ahead to restore the true American Dream as it was written by our founders.

On this Fourth Day of July, let's re-commit to the values and the message. Leave the pettiness behind.

Is Scott Brown For Real?

Scott Brown stunned the nation with his win over a Democrat in the Massachusetts Senate race. But who is Scott Brown REALLY? Is he a RINO (Republican In Name Only) or is he a true conservative? Does he believe in the fundamentals values of the Tea Party Supporters or is he riding in on a wave of anti-Obama sentiment? We won't really know who Scott Brown is until he is put to the test on a crucial vote.

If he caves to party pressure or accepts a Nelson-esque bribe, then he is no different than any other run of the mill politician in DC. However, if he stands his ground and votes with common sense and a moral conscience then he may in fact be for real.

This country needs representation that is for the people not for the system. We need representation that refuses to accept pork style payoffs in exchange for a vote and knows when enough is enough and is willing to stand up and say so in a LOUD voice.

Time will tell if Scott Brown is for real. In the mean time, we must keep looking for those Independent, truth seeking, moral, constitutionalists that can lead us out of the Progressive Hell that we are headed towards.

Question with boldness!

Bloodbath in November?

I don't see the victory by Scott Brown (R) for Massachusetts Senate as the turning point in the fight against the progressive Liberals. I see it as a warning shot. Conservative Independents have been called names, slandered, belittled and in some cases flat out ignored for months and even years. The Progressives see us as dumb, racist and incapable of free thought and the ability to mobilize effectively.

With the election of Brown some ears perked up on Progressives. They did not expect him to win against the powerful Democratic party in Massachusetts. They did not believe that voters would turn out in numbers with a common goal. They did not believe that some of their own would turn against them. They did not think Conservatives could load the gun, much less pull the trigger. Now they know. The warning shot was fired.

How do they respond? That is the big question now. Do they drop back, assess the battlefield and adjust their strategies? Or do they double up their efforts, forging ahead full throttle?

We already know they lie, cheat, hide behind closed doors and attack in the middle of the night. We know their playbook. They have followed it every step of the way. The next move will be to forge ahead as if nothing has changed. But is HAS changed.

With the election of Brown, Conservative Independents, Tea Partiers, 9-12 Members and just plain common sense people know that if we stand strong, hold to our beliefs and act responsibly, we can make a big difference.

Brown was a warning shot. If things continue on their course with this administration, November will be a bloodbath.