Opening Day Pessimism

Well, here we are. Opening Day in Arlington, Texas, and hope springs eternal! Sort of.

So, with a little help from Jamey Newberg , I offer you this year’s edition:

the Rangers' Opening Day roster is as follows:

Pitchers (12): Antonio Alfonseca, Joaquin Benoit, Fabio Castro, Francisco Cordero, R.A. Dickey, Scott Feldman, John Koronka, Kameron Loe, Kevin Millwood, Akinori Otsuka, Vicente Padilla, Brian Shouse

Catchers (2): Rod Barajas, Gerald Laird

Infielders (7): Hank Blalock, Mark DeRosa, D'Angelo Jimenez, Ian Kinsler, Phil Nevin, Mark Teixeira, Michael Young

Outfielders (4): Adrian Brown, Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix, Brad Wilkerson

As a point of reference, I believe Benoit, Cordero, Dickey, Loe, and Shouse make up the 5 pitchers left over from last year’s staff. Don’t buy houses if you are a pro athlete.

So, what will happen this season? As much of a homer as I can be, and I can be a big one, I just can’t give you a good prediction on the little red shoed Rangers. Not enough arms yet. But, I will be one of the few to trumpet the trade of Saturday as I love Rob Tejeda. I saw him pitch in person Last August and he knocked my socks off…Obviously, you must ask what the Phillies didn’t like about him, but they are getting a guy coming off a 29HR season in Looch. I like the deal a lot.

Meanwhile, The Rangers decided to give up on Juan Dominguez which was nearly as big a shocker as George Mason getting bounced on Saturday night. They thought so little of the guy that they thought they would even trade him to Oakland. Oakland of all places! So, it reminded me of the last time we gave up on a pitcher and he ended up in Oakland:

Texas was willing to give up on the Duchscherer, a Texan from Lubbock, because he allowed 20 earned runs in 14 innings, including five home runs, in a September cameo appearance.

"Pretty much it was, 'He doesn't throw hard enough to get big league hitters out,'" Duchscherer said. "They didn't stick with me and let me take my lumps and learn the ropes."

It was a career crossroads. Duchscherer wondered if any team would believe in him, but a call from A's general manager Billy Beane eased his doubts.

As Duchscherer remembered it, Beane told him essentially, "We like you and what you do. We know what stuff you have. We don't mind if you throw 98 (mph) or 88. Just get guys out. That's all we care about."

Duchscherer said, "That gave me some comfort that they weren't going to write me off just because I didn't throw hard. That's why Texas got rid of me."

Totally different circumstances, and I am sure there will be a totally different result. But, between Doug Davis and Justin Duchscherer, I am a bit tired of allowing someone else to reap the rewards of the Rangers farm system.

So, in conclusion, give me the Rangers at 82-80, good for 3rd place. That is the best I can do, but how about a 2007 rotation of Millwood, Tejeda, Loe, Volquez, and Danks? There is reason to believe that Daniels is building something worthwhile.

Other predictions:

ALCS = Angels and White Sox
NLCS = Cardinals and Dodgers

World Series = Cardinals beat the Angels

Links:

Mike Wallace on the Tiger Woods story …

Wallace, however, admitted that the two segments devoted to Tiger Woods on "60 Minutes" the previous day was a tank job, with Woods and Co. dictating the ground rules for what correspondent Ed Bradley could and could not ask.)

Worst Final 4 weekend ever? Tonight will tell the story on that. Give me Florida, but really, who cares? Parity looks good on paper, but when it gets down to it, you want Duke, UConn, and the usual suspects on that wall. You need them on that wall or you don’t care, either.

At least we know Yannick Noah had a son now ….



Oh no! Eagles fan cracks back at Terrell Owens …



What ever happened to Winnie? …

All things leprechaun …



What happens when a dude pranks his wife in his Darth Vader outfit? Hilarity …That’s what….

Bribes are cool …

LAGOS, Nigeria - Soccer referees in Nigeria can take bribes from clubs but should not allow them to influence their decisions on the field, a football official said on Friday.

Fanny Amun, acting Secretary-General of the Nigerian Football Association, said bribery was common in the Nigerian game.

“We know match officials are offered money or anything to influence matches and they can accept it,” Amun told Reuters on Friday.

Amun first made the statement earlier in the week to a soccer seminar in the capital Abuja, prompting protests from other officials.

“Referees should only pretend to fall for the bait, but make sure the result doesn’t favor those offering the bribe,” Amun said.

At the seminar, Nigerian league chairman Oyuiki Obaseki reprimanded referees for poor quality match reports, saying that bribery was to blame.

“The quality of your reports have not done our league any good, so please desist from corrupt practices,” he told delegates.

Despite a high-profile campaign to stamp out graft in the impoverished African country, Nigeria consistently ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world -- and soccer is no exception.

I know the links appear to lack any thing timely and relevant, so I might as well admit I posted these Sunday night. But, since I am not working on Monday, I guess this is better than nothing, right?

See you Tuesday Morning….