Don't forget about Juan

There was once upon a time, that the Rangers needed pitching. 25-year old Doug Davis took the hill 30 times for the Rangers in 2001. He had his good outings and his poor outings. I thought he was the type of guy that this team should be building their rotation around, and the Rangers thought he was worth releasing early in 2003 because Hart and Buck did not care for his work. I was right and they were wrong.

In 2004, 28-year old Ryan Drese took the pill 34 times and appeared to be an anchor for this rotation for several more years. He was gone before Father’s Day. They might have been right since he looks pretty pathetic in Washington, but we won’t know for a while.

What did these two pitchers have in common? They were young, they were cheap, they were somewhere between frustrating and promising, and they were not the type of guy Buck and Hart liked.

So they were gone, and in another team’s rotation.

So, here is Juan Dominguez dazzling in another start . He is 25 years old, and from all indications, he is a tough guy to figure out, has questionable work habits, and does not have it between the ears. Trouble is, all of those indications come either from Hart, Buck, or people who listen to Hart and Buck.

Clearly, Juan is not Buck’s type of player. He doesn’t appear to be a guy who will run through a wall for the team. He appears to simply be a guy with a great arm, and potentially great stuff. Then why, is he less regarded than Benoit, Wilson, and Loe, let alone, Danks, Diamond, and Volquez? Why am I convinced he will be making 30 starts for Doug Melvin soon if the Rangers give up on him?

Give him the pill every 5 days here. At least convince me that he can’t pitch. He may be a strange dude. So is Pedro Martinez. He may be a guy you have to babysit. So what? If he can pitch then you cannot afford to take him out with the trash. You have no pitchers! Let’s see more of him.

Revo says the players should thank Buck, not quit on him …

…if Showalter has become the target of that frustration, then they're missing their mark.

"Guilt by association," said one player, while admitting that's probably unfair.

Grossly unfair, actually. I've never met a manager in my life who didn't want to win every game he managed. You think Showalter likes having to start unproven pitchers four out of every five nights?

I can assure you, he doesn't, but what he isn't going to do is pull a Lou Piniella and publicly lambaste his owner or general manager either.

"Those are my bosses," Showalter said. "Am I supposed to be pounding the table here and telling the players they're [being shortchanged]?

"I don't do that. Do I respect John and Tom? You damn right I do. I didn't know there was another way."

It is almost a cliche to say that a team has quit on the manager. What's even worse is that it is taken now as some sort of indictment of the manager instead of the players.

Jen Floyd debates Biggest busts in DFW …not that kind of bust…

Matt Pinto to the Clippers …

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that veteran NBA broadcaster Matt Pinto has been named the team's new radio play-by-play voice on the team's flagship station, KTLK 1150 AM, for all televised games. In the situation that a game is not televised on either FSN West 2 or KTLA, "The Voice of the Clippers" Ralph Lawler and former Clipper Michael Smith will shift over to radio to handle the play-by-play and analyst duties respectively.

So, he is leaving the Mavericks to be the PART-TIME radio voice of the Clippers? Pardon the cynicism, but something tells me he needed a job. No word from the Mavericks that they told him to seek work elsewhere, but I have my doubts…Cha-Ching a Clippers money ball…

Meanwhile, Hacksaw gets demoted …

Jacob Rogers is released once and for all …



Gosselin on Rayfield Wright's quest for Canton …

Don't forget about the dunk tank photos below....