RANGERS HATS AT THE HOCKEY GAME TONIGHT

WE ARE IN MICHIGAN.

ANY YANKEES HATS?

DON'T BE SILLY!*

*IT IS INTERNATIONAL CAP LOCK DAY TODAY. WHERE YOU BEEN?

So apparently the Rangers were blackmailed

Randy Galloway of the Star-Telegram (Fort Worth) reports that the Texas Rangers were blackmailed by an ex-employee who was fired after the season and made demands on the club in exchange for keeping quiet about his knowledge of Ron Washington's failed drug test.

Per the article:

"Some of his demands were met, but the club balked at personally giving this person a glowing letter of recommendation and also refused at least one other item. By January, word leaked that the former employee was bad-mouthing Washington around north Arlington."

The article goes on to indicate that the team does not absolutely know how Jon Heyman at Sports Illustrated got the information for his story but they have a real good idea.

You know, while fine on paper sometimes that "freedom of speech" thing ain't so great.

If I was the team president Nolan Ryan, I would name the thug. Well, I take that back. Nobody from the Rangers would do it but a local columnist would.

Vicente Padilla sure does not have many friends

It is noted that the Texas Rangers have placed pitcher Vicente Padilla on waivers. Per Jeff Wilson at the Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, here are some reactions from his (now) ex-teammates.

Marlon Byrd: "About time. It's absolutely a positive for this team. We have to get rid of the negatives to make a positive, and I believe this is a huge positive for this team."

Ian Kinsler to GM Jon Daniels when he heard the news of Padilla's release, "Congrats."

Michael Young on Padilla's habit of hitting batters shortly after giving up a home run exposing his teammates to retaliation from opposing pitchers:"I have a lot of good friends on the Yankees, and they were like, 'One of you guys is going to get hurt one day.' No one wants to see that happen, obviously, but it's the nature of the game. A lot of times we felt like we had a bull's-eye on our back."

Marlon Byrd again: "You have to be a good teammate. You have to help teach younger guys the right things. He wasn't a positive influence on the young guys. You started questioning his character and about how much he cared."

I am sure that this just scratches the surface but apparently Padilla also did not show up for meetings and would escape to the clubhouse during games to surf the Internet.

Frankly, he sounds like a jerk.

I bet that this was about the only time you ever saw players lined up to speak to a reporter.

This reminds me of a guy I once knew. I graduated high school with him and he was a nice guy and all but his major character defect was that he absolutely refused to work instead spending most of his time in the basement of his parents' house smoking pot and reading back issues of Playboy. Actually, this behavior and living arrangement continued into his mid-30's when I lost track of him.

A few years out of high school, me and a few friends gathered up employment applications from local gas stations, pizza places and the Army recruiting office and mailed them to him anonymously. He never said anything about it to us but I am sure that he knew who sent them to him. Actually he was too far gone for this to have any affect on him but he got the message.

I think the Rangers players should mail a copy of the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie to Padilla with a note saying "Maybe this could help you".

It probably wouldn't have any affect on Padilla but at least he would get the message.

He wasn't much impressed

Texas manager, Ron Washington sure didn't seem much impressed with Oakland A's starter, Chad Reineke last night.

Per AP, after the game, Washington had this to say about poor Chad: "The guy doesn't have a lot of velocity but he competed and threw the ball over the plate."*

In other words, Washington was not at all impressed and he can't wait until the Rangers face him again.

Oh and by the way, A's! Don't bother including him as a "throw-in" if we ever have trade talks. He's got no velocity, ok?!

*This back-handed "compliment" kind of reminds me of the back of baseball cards of scrub players who never accomplished anything while in the majors; or anywhere for that matter. Under the comments section of the card, it would say something like "Had two hits in a game last April to make the game close" or "Likes to eat fish tacos in his spare time". Those Topps writers probably have the worst job in the company. If no chance for advancement, I would quit.

Swine Flu pitcher faces the Tigers tonight

I note that tonight the Tigers are SCHEDULED to face pitcher, Vicente Padilla of the Rangers just 11 days after he was diagnosed with the Swine Flu.

NOW JUST HOLD ON ONE SECOND HERE!

There is no way the Tigers should be forced to hit or handle Swine Flu-infested balls.* No way!

The Tigers are in first place in the Central Division and we want to keep it that way. They should not be subjected to some "trojan horse" disease infiltration of their team by the crafty Rangers.

If I was Jim Leyland, I would demand an independent medical examination of Padilla. If that is against union rules, at the very least I would demand a "return to work" slip from his doctor; and not a doctor employed by the Rangers. No, we are not falling for that one.

Look at that first photo above of Padilla. Does that look like the picture of health to to you?

Can't be too careful, you know.

*Another thing. Padilla has a reputation as a headhunter. If I was the hitter and he threw at me, there is no way I would charge the mound like Nick Swisher above. Not a chance. We would resolve it some other way.

Vicente Padilla doesn't forget

On June 9, 2005, the Rangers were playing the Phillies and Mark Teixeira of the Rangers hit two home runs off Phillies pitcher, Vicente Padilla; one in the first inning and one in the third. In the fifth inning, Teixeira again came up to bat and was promptly drilled by a pitch from Padilla. Replays show that the pitch was not just "inside". No, the pitch was thrown directly at Teixeira as Padilla blatantly and without apology drilled him.

In 2006 and 2007, Teixeira and Padilla were teammates with the Rangers and Teixeira said that during this time, he had a little talk with Padilla about his tendency to hit batters who had just hit a home run off of him.

He went on to say "There's really no reason for it in baseball. You know, if you can't get a guy out, don't hit him. You know, if you don't want to pitch to a guy, then, you know, put four fingers out there and walk him. And, unfortunately, when I was a teammate, it happened a lot where he would hit guys, and the 3-4 hitters, those are the guys that got hit for retaliation, and I got hit plenty of times."

While Teixeira and Padilla may have had a talk, it does not appear that Padilla ever really "reformed". Yesterday in the game between the Yankees and the Rangers, Teixeira, now with the Yankees faced Padilla twice and Padilla hit him twice. As in 2005, replays show that Padilla was not just "pitching inside"; it was more like "pitching directly at the batter."

Ok, it seems as if Mr. Padilla has a little "I will hit you if you hit a home run off of me" thing going on which I guess is some kind of deterrent "homer-avoidance" strategy of his. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

I do note that Padilla has been in major leagues since 1999 and has given up 148 home runs in his career which really is a lot as he has not thrown that all many innings so this deterrent "homer-avoidance" strategy does not really seem to be working well for him. I also note that Padilla has hit only 98 batters in his career so simple arithmetic will tell you that there are still some players out there that Padilla owes some retribution to.

How does he keep all of these vendettas straight?

Is there statute of limitations at play here when retribution no longer applies? Do batters still owe him from 1999?

If both Padilla and the offending batter find themselves facing each other in the minor leagues, is it still "game on"?

If Padilla gets hit with a batted ball, is that batter now on the list?

Is it a "one for one" thing or is there a formula at play here? Teixeira got hit three times but only hit two home runs.

Is there any way for a batter to pay off a debt short of getting hit?

Does a retired player who has not yet paid his debt need to be concerned off of the diamond?

Vicente, how does this work?