Between helping launch a new website and coming to the defense of Vernon Wells, I’m too tired to write a full article today. But I’m not too tired to cobble together some random thoughts. Monkeying Around to the rescue!
You call that a first pitch? Lazy ass monkey.
- Do you think we’d be as frustrated with Carl Crawford as we are with Vernon Wells? Just to expand a little on my post from yesterday, I think we are losing patience so quickly with Vernon because we never really wanted him. But Crawford, we were dying to get him. He’s been almost as bad as Wells this year, but I feel like he’d have been given a longer rope had the Angels landed him instead, even though his contract would have been just as bad, simply because he was the “chosen one” and Wells was forced upon us.
- I am starting to wonder/hope/pray/beg that Hank Conger might be sticking around for awhile. He’s getting semi-regular playing time right now and his defensive results seem pretty solid, although he isn’t exactly lighting it up with the bat, granted he has had just 12 at-bats. It seems like there is a spot for him until Morales returns, assuming the Angels demote a reliever instead of Conger once Aybar gets healthy. That gives him a few more weeks to make a positive impression, and lord knows Mathis is doing his best to make Conger look good with his overall poor play of late. Of course, that probably won’t happen. Conger will probably be demoted when Aybar comes back since Scioscia is going to want to keep seven relievers since he has no idea what he is getting from Palmer and Chatwood right now.
- Is it me or does Tyler Chatwood kind of look like “That Yellow Bastard” from Sin City?
- So, today is one of those stupid 4 PM games that I still don’t understand. Why start at such a weird time? It is on too early for us TV viewers to catch the whole game without a DVR and the odd start time means most of the game will be played with that weird shadow in between the mound and the plate which generally leads to poor baseball since the batters can’t see. Is this just supposed to make it easier for families to attend? Does anyone like these games at all?
- I’m not going to leave this one alone until it comes to pass, but I want Rich Thompson pitching more, a lot more. He has been nails this season, but only seems to be getting work during long relief/mop-up situations. With Kohn and Jepsen in the minors, should Chopper not be first in line for righty middle relief? Walden closes, Rodney and Downs set-up and then it should be Thompson and Takahashi at the top of the list for everything else.
- 8 at-bats, 6 strikeouts for Brandon Wood. This whole “being nice to Wood” mantra of mine is really being put to the test. Hopefully he does something decent tonight otherwise I might have to declare this little experiment in niceness over.
- How great is it that the Rangers, in the span of a few days, have gone from being anointed the inevitable World Champs to being lambasted up and down in the media? Not only is there the whole Josh Hamilton broken arm controversy (great team chemistry when you call your coach “stupid” to the press), but Ron Washington is now being crucified for not using Neftali Feliz in the ninth inning of tied games on back-to-back nights and losing both games as a result. Not so fun being on top with a big media target on your back, eh, Rangers?
