in the dome again...


back up in the metrodome, I keep laughing at the fact that "the new stadium" won't have a roof.

note to self: please call schedule makers and request no road trips to MN before june


after a few welcome days of rest, it's back to baseball- 

first a few notes on the all-star break:


JoshHamilton.jpg

for me, seeing Josh surprise himself was the best part.    Sure he hit some balls 500 feet, but I get to see that all the time.   We in RangerLand are a bit spoiled with power hitters.

*someone needs to make a "clay council is my BP pitcher" t-shirt.

*if you need the game winning Rbi for the american league, come see mr. michael young.

*I told you guys that milton bradley was cool!

*nothing feels better than cool ocean water on a hot summer day, and it was great to get home to Huntington Beach to kick it with my friends back home, even though I had to hop on a 6am flight to get here yesterday.

 The Second Half Begins
    

       Our current road trip is a critical one- we're facing off against 3 teams that are in playoff contention.   We've got around 65 games left in the season, and a large number of those are against either division rivals or teams in 1st or 2nd place in their divisions- if we can figure out a way to pitch to our abilities, then our offense should really have no difficulty overpowering each opponent.   

   Personally, I'm looking forward to the sprint race towards the end of the season- I'd like to apply the lessons I've learned in this trial by fire.   I get lots of people sending me messages or telling me stuff to the effect of- "thanks for making it interesting"  but I think we all know I'd rather go out and shut people down 1-2-3...it just doesn't always work out how we intend.   This is a really weird job, with very legit consequences when you don't get it right, and often times you don't get a chance to experiment with anything...it's just go right into it and one way or another the game is going to be over.

    I'm a tinkerer by nature, which is good for the flexibility of my style, but sometimes it has a way of taking away from the sharpness of my 'tools' so to speak.    It's a back and forth and when I've given up hits and runs this year, for the most part it's been trying to adjust before it's really necessary.  I'm lucky to have had some really great conversations with other closers around the league, covering all kinds of topics, but I figured that seeking some general info from the guys who've already been through whatever I'll come up against can only help me in the long run.   Specifically, guys like Billy Wagner, Mariano Rivera, and Todd Jones have all taken way more time then I could ask for to answer questions and shoot me straight about how their paths have gotten them to their respective successes.   

     There are a lot of silver linings for me and the team, however- most notable for me personally is that I've got about 2 more weeks before my "1st Birthday" as a closer.   Our team is in a much better position then last year, in so many ways.   Our top prospects have come up to make an impact on our roster already (duran, davis, hurley, harrison, ramirez, teagarden, etc), we've got a winning record, our offensive juggernaut has brought us a lot of tough wins that quite honestly no other team could pull off, and the core group that is bringing our organization so much success is largely here to stay.   




thanks to everyone wishing me and the team success in this second half- your support this year has been stronger than I've ever experienced here in Texas.



On the entertainment front, I was a bit bummed that Dark Knight didn't open last week, as now I'll keep having to tell people apologetically that I haven't seen it yet.   Probably won't be able to until our offday next week between the ChiSox and A's games.


thoughts for the week

random observations:

chris davis (beast) has the chuck liddell mohawk, while mine is a bit more travis barker.

I'm excited to see angelina jolie's next film, Wanted.   It looks like another matrix/equilibrium type action film, which I tend to enjoy.

Interleague play is pretty cool, although 2008 passes without me getting an at-bat.  Again.  I'm  still feeling skunked when Showalter and Hershiser didn't let me face Rick Helling @ pro player in 2005 in my MLB debut.   David Delucci popped up the first pitch.

Weather here in Texas is something I'll never get used to...97* yesterday and tonight we played at least 4 innings in the rain/lightning.

warner "mad dog" madrigal has arrived in arlington.

least favorite thing about baseball season- farmer tans.

we're going to New York to play for the last time in Yankee Stadium...I can't say I'll miss playing there because I'm sure the new stadium won't smell so bad in the tunnels...a random fact- shea stadium smells worse.  kudos to both teams for upgrading.

our generation of players has it really easy- we've never played in old milwaukee, old cleveland, old detroit, old pittsburgh, the kingdome, etc.- all of which enjoy less than stellar reps among veteran guys.

the all-star break is almost here...how many rangers will make it? 5 Extremely deserving guys.

Hamilton- beast
Kinsler- best hitting leadoff hitter in 08
Bradley-leading AL in every percentage/average
Young- deer
Padilla-aka  the flotilla, aka the chief- already has notched 10 wins


we're such a better team than we were last year...I can't wait til we actually get something rolling...

best "walk-out song" used by a pitcher:    east bound and down (smokey and the bandit theme song) used by Ranger reliever Josh Rupe

best "fan group" in a road city:  Lance Berkman's Pumas.   I have no words commeasurate of  their glory.

best "behind the scenes clubhouse thing of 2008": watching Frank "el jugador" Francisco play chess.  some "true player wisdom" that brings joy to my day each time I hear or see it:

"A true player moves likes this...(while attacking)"
"right there?  right there?(when opponent moves piece multiple times before deciding)"
"let me eat this little snack (as he takes a pawn)"
"you gonna lose your horse.  seriously.(obvious)"

easing back into it

I've been on a blogging hiatus for various reasons, but today finds me in Kansas City, and a frequent adventure of mine- where to find breakfast.

But first, how about a bit of pro-ball dining background...

One of the best things about being in the majors is that we no longer have to visit cities like clinton, Iowa or other cities (especially the South Atlantic League) where the best option for dining at any hour is a Waffle House.  In the Florida State League, we got stuck eating Chili's for 4 days in Vero Beach.  Since then, I've never been able to look at queso dip without getting sick to my stomach.

Nothing against waffle house, but after a few years in the minors, you get sick of those type of places...


So back to present day, and it's 78* in KC.   Great day for a walk, but after missing breakfast by six minutes at a local place across from the hotel -"we stopped serving breakfast at 1030"- I decide to go for plan B.

find a coffee shop, get a fruit smoothie, and walk in circles until I can get a Sunrise Quesadilla from Cheesecake Factory, which didn't open until 11am...



-----
sideline notes- 

best investment I've made this season- buying an Optoma portable video projector... so many hotels now have the XBOX/PS3 connection stuff blocked that it's easier to lug a 5lb projector around for our Halo games...coupled with a small iPod speaker dock, we get some intense battles and irritate the neighboring rooms quite well.  

23 Minutes-  that's the time I can go from empty bags and not being packed at all to being out the door, dressed in my travel suit, and lugging my bags to my car.   I'd like to get it down to 20 minutes flat eventually.   The real key is that I set all my shirts down on the bed, lay them flat, then roll them up.   this way they never get wrinkled or creased.   Folding is a total waste of time and for you frequent travelers, you might want to rethink it!

Interleague play arrives!  I realize that as the closer I'll probably never be in a situation where my hitting skills are required, but it was awesome to be able to take a short batting practice on the field in Arlington last homestand.   Breaking up the standard routine is huge during the season to avoid groundhog's day syndrome* Just in case, I'll be swinging one of David Murphy's bats.




*GDS arises often with baseball players and is first noticed with symptoms such as forgetting what day/date it actually is, only knowing what time the game starts.

did we ever need that win last night..."the murph" really came up big in the 10th inning with a sweet stroke to left, and I can't remember the last time I've been that happy at the end of a game...times like that really remind me how fun baseball can be when the team is going well- it's really something to feed off of.

it's a great feeling when you're the home team and the crowd gets fired up like they did last night- the 3rd inning was huge for us...every hit in that inning the crowd just exploded- for those of you that were at the game- we loved it.

after we gave up a few runs in the top of the inning- laird, broussard, kinsler, mike, hamilton, hank, and botts all came out swinging and we ended up posting a 5 in the run column without a homer...for the opposing pitcher, he's gotta feel like he just got ambushed!   Really though we were going nuts cheering in the bullpen and we could tell that the dugout and guys on base were just as psyched as we were.     It puts a ton of pressure on the opposing team when you've got so many guys who can swing the bat- every guy in our lineup had a hit last night!   

that was exactly what we needed as a team...a lot of the reporters were asking before the game what it would take "to turn it around" and my thought was- "hey it could be anything, it might just be one hit, or one play on defense."

turns out that everyone got that hit when we needed it last night...

GAME SEVEN and the home field advantage!

Well with an off-day today, I've been enjoying the creature comforts of my home here in Dallas...Of course it's cool that Tuesday will be our 3rd "opening day" since our 2 previous series were the home openers for the Mariners and Angels- I'm hoping we get some sort of fly-by from an F16 or something.

It's been since just before Valentine's Day since I've been home, and with an entire day to kill, I've been doing all the laundry I never got to in Spring Training, and marvelling at the clarity of my big Apple Cinema display- which is to say watching youtube videos while I surf the web.


The following were my highlights from home:

Winning 2 out of 3 against the heavily favored Angelenos

Hanging out with my brother- Ryan aka Rdub of Take the Crown.  New CD in may...

Getting some grub from the following restaurants:

Taco Loco, Las Barcas, Sugar Shack, Ocean Club

Getting some a cool hoodie and some T's from the awesome people @ Hurley

Meeting up with James and Fabryce to get a tour at GMG Racing

Winning my heats at K1 karting

Rental car tour of Orange County with Jacky, Wayne and Mark from Ruf Autocentre



      all in all, it was an okay trip, some low-spots included a few goofball fans in seattle throwing snowballs at our bullpen and towards our left fielder- albeit with 2 arm strength on the MLB scouting scale.    Also I heard that one of my favorites (charlize theron) was attending the AFI film fest in Dallas while we were playing in anaheim- not a tragedy but a slight disappointment no doubt.  

  Tomorrow is our 7th game of 2008.   It'd be nice to get through it with a win and get above .500... 

see ya at the stadium!






and away we go

tomorrow is our last day in surprise, AZ...pretty soon we'll be getting heckled with 90% unoriginal material from the fans in Seattle...
some typical heckles from behind the chain link fence at the bullpen:

"hey nice glove! did you get it at Kmart?" yeah it's a T-ball glove bro.

"hey you stink, go back to A ball!" yeah nice one pal.

"you better start warming up!" sure thing!


Personally I look forward to the "whoop-woooooooo" from the oakland and twins fans, the actually funny detroit fans, and the guy in tampa bay who just screams at one player the entire game. We really enjoy the tasteful back and forth with certain fans, and love busting out lines like "have another one pal", or the Rick Bauer comeback- "sorry we don't speak idiot, go get a translator" haha.

A kid emailed me on myspace to ask about playing in "big games" and how to get settled in when there are lots of people, scouts, etc all watching. So the next day, a few of us were talking about the mental game, and what it's like to actually be on the mound in front of 20, 30, 40 or 50,000 fans. I really hate to blow the lid off of this, but when I'm out there, there's no voodoo "clear the mechanism" junk. When I'm warming up especially, I've found it's easier to keep it loose and just let the jeers and sounds kinda bounce around, and not give them too much weight. If you try and "block them out" then all you really do is focus on the noises. What works for me is to instead try and focus on the target, and try to narrow my vision to where I want the ball to go right before I throw the pitch. If you're nervous or agitated, then try to laugh about something funny just to relax and get back to your effective level of awareness.

After the pitch is released, then it all kinda slows down, and you really notice everything...you better be paying attention so you don't get smoked by a comebacker. Once the pitch is fouled off, missed, or hits the mitt, you've got a few seconds to replay what just happened and think about any clues to what the opponent is trying to do, or what he just did. Once you decide what to do, it's back on the mound for more.

Last year, whoever yelled "throw the gyrooooo!" in arlington always made me laugh inside. Just enough to keep me relaxed in the tense late innings.

april april april???

maybe one of these days, the season will actually be under way, and the nice warm Texas sun will be roasting the visiting bullpen in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington...
I really do enjoy spring training, I mean, baseball is obviously my dream job- but compared to the actual games and grind of the season- it really does come up short. Being sidelined with a bit of tendonitis for the last 10 days or so has been a bit of a drag, but it's really given me a good chance to get all the goals, plans, and routines ready for the season. This is a big year for our franchise, and we've got a lot of responsibility to perform up to our personal expectations and those from the front office.

The real strange thing about spring training, is that you look around a full locker room on Day one, and by Day Thirty-two, there are less people. I think this year we invited about 60 guys to camp, and those in the know can tell you only 25 of them get to be on the big league team when the season starts...this creates some weird tensions and realities. There are always more than one or two guys who don't make the team but come up later in the year and really give a boost to the squad, but sometimes the AAA pill is hard to handle. I've been sent down 4 or 5 times so I remember how bummed I got each time, but eventually turned that around into a motivating tool.

It's a common misconception that baseball players are untouchable entities without emotions, tensions, or families. It's cool to be "on the team", but the reality is that some of your buddies don't get to play. Whether it's from injury or the old saying "we're gonna go with the other guy for now"- it's not easy to sit behind while the team leaves you in the dust, or the desert.

In 2004, I was recovering from Tommy John surgery, and had hopes of leaving camp at some point to join a squad 4 to 6 weeks after spring training. Due to normal complications, I didn't end up leaving, and didn't get to pitch at all until 2005. It was by far the longest spring training/april/may/june/july I've ever had in baseball. Nobody likes to sit out, especially pro athletes- we're trained to be in motion, or at least preparing for it...and for me it was a really difficult time. I had really next to nothing to do, other than read books and try to get my body as healthy as possible for the next season.

Willie Eyre was one of our bullpen guys last season, and eventually came down with "the not so good elbow", and this year he's rehabbing to get back to full strength as soon as possible. While I was on the shelf with my tendonitis last week, we played catch a few times at 75 feet and 90 feet. Just observing him and watching everyone ask "how's your arm bro?" reminds me a lot of my time in rehab...you get sick of answering the same question all the time, and develop strange coping mechanisms to avoid being repetetive (just like the Blue sniper on Red vs Blue episode one). It's funny because he likes to ask the pitching coaches if he can throw in a game, or "you need any extra guys today?"...

He's taking it all really well, and if you knew him, you'd expect it. His wife got him a T-shirt that says "rehab all-star" and he likes to wear it around all the time when he works out and stuff. There's a sense of pride that goes into being positive all the time, and all the other guys down here would do really well to follow his example. Your mind is a part of your body after all, and if you believe that you'll heal- you probably will. If you stay loose, laugh and joke, eat well, you're gonna be healthier and more capable of dealing with stresses and setbacks that are inevitable in the game.

I'm back to making progress now- the tendonitis is gone after a fortnight of posting up unwanted in my arm. But since Monday- I've thrown two bullpens, and get to pitch in a game on Saturday...so I can finally get back on the horse/bike/bull and get some competition under my belt- that's what it's all about!

a bit glitchy, but nonetheless

I had a really cool afternoon yesterday with two of the newest editions to the Rangers: Ben Broussard and Matt Walbeck. Ben is our new first baseman, which is good for me personally because after he hit a homer off me to right center field last spring, I haven't really enjoyed facing him too much. Matt Walbeck and I both spent 1999 and 2000 nearby the 5 freeway in anaheim- he was catching for the angels and I was in junior college at Santa Ana College aka Rancho Santiago College (name changes are prevalent in orange county apparently). He's now our 3rd base coach.
While grabbing some claritin for my typical spring training allergies, Matt asked if I'd be interested in visiting the Fender Guitar Corporate HQ in Scottsdale, to which I was very quick to accept. One of the regrettable things about spring training is that you rarely have opportunities to do things for the first time, you just generally stick to a routine which typically involves a nap or early dinner. But hey the day before games start, we're done early enough to hit the coolest thing I've ever got to do in spring training.

Currently, I'm a novice guitar player, while Matt has played for about a dozen years and Ben actually releases a CD in 2005 as a Cleveland Indian. You've really got to (or at least I do) respect the dedication and talent it takes to express yourself through art and music- especially when it's not even your first talent. As we were led around by Jason Farrell, we got to meet a lot of people who were genuinely stoked to work for the company. We even got to go into the product testing area while 2 guys were ripping on van halen approved amps and axes.

After about 40 mins of getting shown around various departments and seeing really cool limited edition or one of a kind guitars, they let us go into the "artists studio" to play. Beautiful limited edition or vintage stratocasters, telecasters (my dad's current guitar), and a lot of other guitars from Gretsch were stacked double overhead in a soundproof room with about 50 vintage and classic amps.

Of course on the way out I actually intended to jam a bit since my Gibson SG is back home in Dallas- but the way Ben instantly found a microphone clammed me up a bit- so I just watched while they played together for about an hour, ben on rhythm and vocals, matt on lead. Eventually Jason busted out some drumsticks and it was a full out session. It was so cool to see them having fun, all clicking together with timing and style- being really versatile on an instrument is really difficult and I was totally blown away just watching it all unfold. Hopefully I can pick up some tips and tricks here and there to bust me through a few plateaus in the same manner that my friends at Ruf in Dallas have done with my driving.


on the baseball field today:

AJ murray, Luis Mendoza and Frank Francisco got our 2008 Spring Training pitching off to a really good start today- they only allowed one collective run through the first 5 innings and fielded some grounders and bunts flawlessly as well. Of course since you can't just pitch all day (and we don't hit anymore), all pitchers rejoice when a moundman fields his position well- we do practice all spring!

When we got home to the west side...I made my mad dash to Barnes and Noble last night, and have my 5 books that I hope evolve my game to the next level. Each year I read a ton out here in AZ- it conserves energy and helps give me new ideas for everything from organizing my closet to places I'd like to travel to- time permitting. With our new teammate, Kazuo-san, I thought it would be a cool idea for all the relievers to learn at least one word a day in japanese, so we could exchange more communication from both sides- it would be asking a lot for him to just be fluent in English overnight, right?

So- Instant Japanese! a short little book that can probably fit in our bullpen bag so that we can make time to have little lessons here and there. It's just part of my policy to not only approach the new guys, but offer my services for dining tips. In the minors, I got a lot of practice with my spanish language skills in this manner. Since japanese culture holds a place in my heart it's that much easier. During stretch today, we worked on a few basics, like ohaiyo gozaimasu- good morning. Mizu- water (hey we get thirsty), kudasai- please, and doitashimaste- you're welcome. Without looking, I might have misspelled the last one...

Pitching is an art, and as a novice it's generally a good rule to look for inspiration from every available source. There is a new niche of books geared towards creativity, and the human potential for unlocking that expressive force inside- David Lynch has a small book out that I read last year. This year I was lucky enough to facilitate a book-for-book deal with Matt- I'm presenting him with The Art of Learning (favorite book of last year) and he hooked me up with The Artist's Way. The more work we put into our respective crafts, the more of our true inner spirit comes out...that's the most fun part of developing.

it has begun

dusty sunsets, bell road traffic...35 mph speed limits and drifting in my rental car...
SPRING TRAINING RETURNS!!!!!!


the weather has been cooperative so far, and everyone is showing up in relatively good shape...so all that's left are some random defensive drills to be followed by games, games and more games. A games, B games, road trips to Tucson that everyone tries to avoid...and then the season starts on the road up in Seattle, then heading up to

early notes:

Frank Catalanotto showed up with a beard
Franklyn German is the biggest Ranger ever, he's even bigger than Carlos Lee.
TR Sullivan really enjoys reading my blogs, or at least asking about them...
Bell Road Traffic still stinks
Brandon McCarthy's offseason program worked wonders
Enterprise rents Jettas- which is a cool departure. Just glad it's german, oh and I can sorta turn off the ESP


For whatever reason, the plumbing is weird in our locker room...there is a magic combination of showers that work together to create optimal temperature.


I've thrown 2 bullpens so far, first one was 24 or 25 pitches and today I threw a 30 pitch bullpen. I should end up with about 12 innings assuming weather and arm scheduling cooperate.


I'm looking forward to reading some books, and catching up on some movies while I'm out here, as well as leaving with a sweet tan.


One of the best things (in my opinion) that happens in Arizona is that I get to meet my future teammates. Guys that I've read a lot about on newbergreport.com or lonestarball.com but never seen play- like Chris Davis, German Duran, and Matt Harrison. Josh Rupe is feeling good, which I think could make a huge difference for our team this year. If he's kicking it in the bullpen, not only do we get the benefit of his sense of humor but also his mid 90's fastball and righty killing slider.


time for sleep, early wakeup tomorrow courtesy of Jose and Vazquez and the early conditioning...


youtube fun again

random dancing from youtube...