Saturday, April 28, 2018

Game #26 - April 28 - Texas Rangers (10-17) at Toronto Blue Jays (14-11)










Saturday April 2, 2018
4:07PM Eastern / 1:07PM Pacific - Rogers Centre, Toronto
Bartolo Colon (0-0 2.59 ERA) vs Jaime GarcĂ­a (2-1 4.57 ERA)


Fred Mcgriff!  Former Jays legend! For no specific reason!


Game Pre-Amble:

At this point, my darkest impulses are threatening to take over!  The Jays lost another one and are now only three games over .500.  I'm tempted to delete this post, and any of my draft posts that may be on the schedule.  I even considered removing any existing, published posts and leaving the site for good.  I also considered taking all of my post 1976 baseball card collection and burning it to a crisp.

Despite this, i will master my emotions (unlike Rougned Odor) and will complete this post, will publish it, and will stay on the site.  Furthermore, I will continue to watch Blue Jays baseball, now and into the future.  However, should the Jays lose this game, or even threaten to do so, I will be forced to re-evaluate this position!

The Jays are going through a bit of a rough patch.  It happens and should probably be expected.  The Yankees keep winning, the Rays also seem to be winning, and the Red Sox likely aren't going away anytime soon.  Despite this, I think any reasonable, straight thinking individual will realize that Stroman will work his way out of the current mess and begin to pitch like we know he can.  Smoak will continue to hit and hopefully minimize his base-running miscues going forward.  Travis will build on his home run from the other night and return to past form, or close to it, while maintaining his health.  Martin/Maile will put together a decent season between them.  Donaldson will return within 2 weeks and go on a tear.  The end of the world has not yet arrived and there's a lot of baseball left.  Remember - it's not uncommon for teams to not even start playing well until after the all star break and still make the playoffs.

Lineups:

Go Jays!
Booooo Rangers!

Rangers Garbage!

As we all know, the Texas Rangers are one of the worst franchises in league history.  Not only have they been resoundingly unsuccessful and failed to ever win a championship, they have often been staffed by absolute, 100%, certified human garbage!  While this has been a problem in the past, it has reached new heights of outrageousness in recent years.  It is difficult to even stay tuned to the game on TV due to the moral difficulties related to watching this gang of foul miscreants.  For those who can't stomach it, I suggest tuning out and instead listening on the radio.

Alex Rodriguez

"I'm making so much money, maybe I can stomach playing for the Rangers for
a few years.  Maybe I'll really fit in there though!"


Rodriguez was one of the top players in the game throughout his tenure in Texas. The problem was that he signed a then-record, massive contract and his time at Arlingon was marked by personal success but the usual abject failure of the squad to win anything of note.  This signing ended up being nothing more than wasted cash for the Rangers and that doesn't even factor in his poor sportsmanship, rampant steroid use, and general poor character.

Rafael Palmeiro

"I'm not a liar!  Really, I would never tell untruths! Period."


Palmeiro enjoyed a long and successful career, swatting over 500 home runs and attaining the lofty 3,000 hit mark.  He was a multiple gold glove winner and respected throughout the game.

However, there are a number of factors that ultimately worked against him and make him, in my opinion, human garbage!

  • He played for the Texas Rangers for 8 years
  • He played for the Baltimore Orioles for 6 years
  • Playing for both clubs is an extra special stain on any baseball legacy
  • He has the distinction of playing the most games in MLB history amongst those who never won a World Series (that's what happens when you spend so much time with the two most despicable clubs in the league)
  • He was, in my opinion, a dirty, rotten, lying cheater.  Palmeiro said, under oath, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never".  Soon after, he was suspended for steroid use.  He continues, to this day, to deny his drug usage but there is a mass of evidence that proves otherwise
  • He is arrogant enough to believe that he can come back and play in MLB in 2018

Jeff Banister

Good ol' Gibbers telling weak, ineffectual Banister he's a joke.  Gibby drinks good ol' Extra Old Stock by the case and Banister guzzles garbage juice straight from the dump
Not a whole bunch to say here.  Banister has presided over a losing club for a number of years now and it's not clear how he has kept his job.  He consistently has what is, in my opinion, a dumb look on his face and complains a lot.  He's clearly not really in charge of the team and they might as well just make Beltre a playing manager.  Not even worth saying any more.

Rougned Odor

Coward

This is the one I imagine everyone was expecting.  I could write all day but will keep it brief.  Odor has put up numbers during his career that are average at best.  Some would suggest subpar.  His playoff performances have also been less than adequate.  Though just 24, he is in danger of losing his spot to Kiner-Falefa and, when that happens, he will probably be forced to accept a spot in one of the senior independent leagues, where he will toil in obscurity until retirement.

Odor is a rat and consistently makes rude gestures on the diamond, makes inappropriate comments, and famously sucker punched Jose Bautista in "retaliation" for a perfectly clean slide into 2nd base!  This clearly all started with Bautista's bat flip - Odor doesn't have the emotional maturity to play the game like a man so needs to resort to physical violence and juvenile, crude gestures and behaviour.  His machismo is a front that he puts up to try to distract the public from seeing that he is, underneath it all, a scared little boy who doesn't have what it takes to play the game when the stakes are high.  Even his unexpected sucker punch to the face of Bautista wasn't enough to knock the Jays legend down.  Odor is a failure on the field of play, as a man, and could clearly only play for the Texas Rangers.


As has been overwhelmingly proven with these examples, the joke franchise that is the Texas Rangers has been made even worse by their harbouring of a succession of joke, rat players over the years!

Tomorrow, we examine some of the small number of good guys who have played for the Rangers and also quickly view some of the great moments in Texas Rangers history!