AT THE BREAK!

 

The 2022 Major League All Star Break is upon us, the Mid Summer Classic as some once called it, and for what it is worth, it’s the time of year that Major League Baseball usually celebrates the STARS of the game.

Well with that being said—in recent years, not so much. I mean this is when MLB gets to bring out NEW uniforms so they can sell them and make some extra schekel out of the public, because Lord knows, how the average fan will go out of their way to purchase a jersey that doesn’t even look the ones that they wear on an every day basis at the ball park.

They are off white for the home team (National League) or Charcoal Gray for the Visitors (American League)—and GOLD writing across their breast. SO now this is not what your teams colors are at all, and we take away that look when they do this. Its NOT TRADITIONAL!

Alright so that being said, locally the Texas Rangers finished up their 10 game homestand, and in doing so, they lost to the Seattle Mariners by a final of 6-2, with leaving 10 men on the bases for the game and if that’s not bad enough they left the bases loaded in the 4^th inning—and that just blew up in their faces.

Not sure what the Rangers are looking to do in the 2022 MLB Draft- it will be up to the front office to pick the right players and are they going to be Impact players at that.

IMPACT! There’s a word that for the last several years, if you’re a Ranger fan, have not been anything! Truly—they can explain some of this away, but YOU, the average fan, not since the Ryan Era of owning this team, has this Ranger franchise done anything to increase their on the field value.

Even when Jeff Bannister was the Manager of this team, and yes they took TWO Western Division titles in his tenure, but never getting out of the first round of the playoffs. Again go back to the Ryan era, they had something there—there was a little bit of heat going on, when we say HEAT, we mean that they were a hot Team!

Yes Jon Daniels was the GM in those days too, but lets face it, if you sit at the knee of a man who has the MOST strike outs in the History of MLB, and the most NO-Hitters (7) and over 300 career wins, I would listen too!

Remember in his time as the owner of the Rangers—they won not one but TWO American League Pennants, and appeared in TWO World Series, then on top of that, they were one strike away—one OUT away from taking the Commissioner’s trophy home to North Texas!

But alas, that was not the case—as the old Poem goes—“The Might Casey had struck out” and the clock struck 12 on the Cinderella team for Arlington.

Here we are 11 years after that, we lost that manager – Ron Washington, hired Jeff Bannister, was here a few years, again 2 Western Divisions under his belt but nothing else to show for it, anow we have a young man who was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, including a World Series run, and he is managing this ball club, and from the seats that we are in, there is a lot of questions that have to be answered, before we can go forward.

Question one! Is this the RIGHT person for the team as a leader, they explained that “He can relate to the players” because he is young—and that he understands their mindset, and so on, or “Woody is capable of working with the young players and get the most oof them”, is that really the case? Truly, is a manager that relates to players because of their age that important, or is it more important to have a manager who will work your tail off and make you better because HE knows how to make you better, not because he understands what TIC-TOC is, or Twitter, or whatever challenge or trend there is on the internet.

Truthfully, the ball club needs an infusion of arms and youth, that know the game of baseball from the fundamentals, running, catching, throwing, and hitting. Pitching is so scientific now, it didn’t use to be, it used to be throw the ball until your arm fell off, I mean look at the old guys when there weren’t that many teams, and NON on the west coast in the 1800’s through the 1950’s. The furthest west club in those days was the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now you have the Rockies, the Royals the Astros, the Rangers, and all the California teams and the State of Washington.

Can’t expect a starting pitcher to go pass 120 pitches in a game, and most of that is through the first 6 to 8 innings depending on their arms.

NOT many pitchers will give complete games, and not many of them will throw over the 120 mark (some will, but most won’t!)

So here are—MLB Draft 2022, and once again we will await who will draft what and see if any of these players will make in impact. For the record, the Rangers are at the break with a record of 41-49 8 games under .500, and dog paddling in 3^rd place in the American league West division, with the Astros leading with a pretty good head of steam.

Its time for the Rangers and the front office to do something right or wrong—DO SOMETHING!

Just a thought