WBRS Sports Blog: And Now, An Easy Minute

WBRS Sports Blog: And Now, An Easy Minute

WBRS Sports Blog: Officiating

WBRS Sports Blog: Officiating

Blog Change

Hey guys,

I am closing the blog down it has been a fun ride. I am currently posting on another blog, www.brssports.blogspot.com If you would like to check it out and even leave a comment that would be great!

Thanks.

wbrs

Vinatieri to the Colts

Can't you just envision a cold night in Foxboro....AFC Championship game....2 minutes left and Peyton Manning drives the ball down the field and Adam Vinatieri hits a 44 yard field goal in the snow to give the Colts the 1 point lead. Then Tom Brady in Tom Brady fashion leads his team down the field only to set up a kick that sails wide left as time expires and New England is eliminated. I am sure this is the dream that will haunt the majority of New England fans this off-season, as Adam Vinatieri has agreed in principle with the Indianapolis Colts.

I think this move is great for the Colts, as not only is Vinatieri a great kicker but he brings a winner's mentality to the team, a post-season winner's mentality! Expect this deal to be one of the best signings of the off-season, but that will only be evident once we get to the playoffs (remember Vandjeragt holds the highest kicking percentage in NFL history). I imagine the Colts will find themselves in a similar situation as they did a season ago, but expect that sideline to be a lot more comfortable with Vinatieri trotting onto the field for the game-winner as opposed to Vanderjagt.

As for the Patriots, "Shame on you!" What are you thinking Mr. Kraft for not shelling out the few extra bucks Vinatieri demanded? I am pretty sure he deserved it, hell I am pretty sure the foundation of the Patriots dynasty consisted of Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri. I am going to have fun watching the Patriots try to "plug" someone in to the kicking position, a tactic that Belichick has been praised for doing at other positions in the past. Clutch kicking is a rarity in this league, and come playoff time the Patriots will realize the mistake they made by letting Adam go.

Link of the day: Have fun in prison

Also, I was asked if I would publicize this competition, so take a look. WBRS Wax-Off DJ Competition

Site Under Construction

This site is temporarily under construction...we will be back shortly (a improved and upgraded site), check back for updates.

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Rangers vs Twins noon

The Rangers take on the Twins today in a day game at noon. Chris Young goes up against Brad Radke. Young's innings pitched is now being monitered, and he will surpass his innings pitched total last season in today's start. The Rangers are playing like a playoff team lately, especially in regard to their starting pitching....however it is too little too late. Texas is 9 back in both the AL West and the AL Wildcard, with 23 games remaining.

My Playoff Predictions

Here are my playoff predictions for the AL...I will do NL tomorrow. Please comment whether you agree or disagree.

AL West
LA Angels

AL Central
Chicago White Sox

AL East
Boston Red Sox

AL Wildcard
New York Yankees

AL Playoffs

NY defeats Chicago
I like the White Sox starting pitching to be able to somewhat contain the potent Yankees' offense, but their bullpen lacks playoff experience and their offense is mediocre at best. The Yankees starting pitching has been inconsistent all season, but the signing of Shawn Chacon has given the Yankees a valid #3 starter and the Yanks will be too much for Chicago. Yanks win 3-1.

LA defeats Boston
The Champs fall. Schilling has not been pitching well at all since returning from his injury and the bullpen is weak with a questionable Keith Foulke. The Angels have the starting pitching and bullpen...it all depends if their offense will be good enough and I think it will. Angels win 3-2.

LA defeats NY
The Angels advance to the World Series as they get past the Yankees. The rotation of Colon/Washburn/ and either Byrd or Lackey will be great for them this postseason. Either Byrd or Lackey will join the league's best bullpen to make it even stronger. Expect Chone Figgins and Casey Kotchman to have big postseasons helping relieve some of the offensive pressure off Vlad's shoulders.

Ponson released

Sidney Ponson was finally released today by the Baltimore Orioles. Hart and Showalter are really high on Ponson and if the Rangers sign him and call him their big offseason move I wouldn't be shocked.

Fin Stays in Texas

Michael Finley won't be moving to the Eastern Conference after all....while most experts predicted he would end up playing with Shaq and Wade in Miami, Michael Finley ended up staying Texas, inking a deal with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Although the specifics aren't announced yet it is most likely a 1 year deal for $2.5 mil or at most a 2 year deal. A few quotes from Finley:

To be a part of a championship team, I'm excited. This is the closest I've ever been to a championship. I'm looking forward to the challenge of helping this team repeat.

In a nutshell, they're already a championship team but they have room for improvement. And I feel my game can help them in the areas where they need improvement.

I give Finley a lot of credit considering he took less money to sign with the Spurs. I am saddened to see him in a Spurs uniform and know this will only hurt the Mavs chances. Finley will bring a lot to this Spurs team and I expect him to play big minutes. I know Cuban has emphasized that he won't drastically alter the roster this season, but I wonder if this will spark Cuban to make some sort of move.

If True...We are the Worst Cheaters of all-time

After Texas' 7-5 victory on Monday over the Chicago White Soxs, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle claimed the Rangers cheated by stealing signals and relaying them to batters through the lighting in the stadium. The Rangers are 37-30 at home, giving them the eighth best AL record. Overall Win-Lose percentage, the Rangers are 10th overall, so I don't think there is much validity to this. If the Home and Overall records were extremely off then you could make a case. The reason why the Rangers hit so much better in Texas isn't because they are stealing signs but because the ball travels further in the Texas heat and because the ballpark is a hitter's park. If the Rangers were really stealing signs there would never be great pitching performances by opposing teams' pitcher but there have been many, just ask Rich Harden.

Out of Town

Hey guys...I haven't had time to write a post as I have been out of town the past few days without internet access. I will be back in town tomorrow and will have access to a comp then.

Rangers' starters

The Rangers rotation of Kenny Rogers, Chris Young, Juan Dominguez, Joaquin Benoit, and Kameron Loe have produced of:

Chris Young 12 ip 1 er
Juan Dominguez 6 ip 1 er
Joaquin Benoit 7 ip 2 er
Kameron Loe 5 ip 0 er
Kenny Rogers 6 ip 0 er

AN ERA OF 1!!!!!

I am not sure if this has ever happened anytime in the Rangers franchise....folks we are witnessing something historic. Keep it up guys.

Who are these guys?

Over the last four games the Texas Rangers haven't looked like the Texas Rangers. Starting pitching has combined to allow just four runs in 23 innings, giving them an ERA of 1.56. Kameron Loe outpitched Kyle Lohse last night to give the Rangers the victory. Loe, who has been a reliever all year, was obviously given a pitch limit. He went 5 innings and was extremely efficient throwing only 50 pitches, while giving up just five hits and striking out five as well. Loe, like Benoit and Dominguez did the previous two days, pitched extremely well and made a case for himself in the backend of next year's rotation. It is great to see the young pitchers starting to pitch well...as long as Hicks decides that they are pitching so well he doesn't need to go out and get a few pitchers this offseason.

Big Time Game Tonight

Kameron Loe takes on Kyle Lohse...a lot of story lines in this game tonight. Loe makes his first major league start this season. Loe did start several games in the minors. Including 26 games in 2004, 18 in AA and 8 in AAA. He had a combined 3.27 ERA. Loe wants a chance at next year's rotation and he is getting a shot tonight. For the Twins, Lohse was the centerpiece in a rumored deal with Texas for Alfonso Soriano. It seemed the trade rumors didn't phase Lohse...this month in four starts he has posted a 2.39 ERA going 1-1. Both Benoit and Dominguez have pitched well lately hopefully Loe can do the same.

Today's stuff

Great article by Ben Rogers in "The Sportspage Weekly". In regard to the Cowboys, Rogers gives his impressions about the team after their preseason win over Seattle. He still isn't sold on Drew Bledsoe and is also concerned about Matt Hasselbeck's success against the Cowboy's first team secondary, who "is currently scheduled to do most of the heavy lifting this season". He is high on Julius Jones though and predicts 1,500 yards and 14 TD's. I think that is a bit optimistic but I do believe Jones easily has the potential to be a top 10 back in the league.

Rogers also goes on a rant about the Rangers and specifically Tom Hicks...

How embarrassing is this thing going to get? What an absolute disaster. If Hicks had any brains left in his sunburned melon, he'd figure out a way to fire himself, Showalter and Hart. Even if he just suspended himself from the park, and from the business, that would be a start. I think it is unrealistic to assume that he'd ever sell the team because he's making too much money sending out a pathetic payroll, yet watching the Arlington faithful roll in each night. Hicks damn well better extend his alligator arms this off-season, locate his man wallet, then go out there and overpay for A.J. Burnett.

Rogers also steals my term calling the DVD the "saviors"! It's okay I'll let him borrow it. And like myself he insists the DVD isn't as close to MLB-ready as we think. He also proposes the idea of trading Hank Blalock for starting pitcher, then moving Tex to third and starting Adrian Gonzales at first. Although I am a big Hank Blalock fan, if I were the Rangers I would consider a move like this. I am not sure about Tex's defensive skills at third but if they are adequate I think this is the best way to get a good starting pitcher. If you can get a solid pitcher for Blalock then also get a Burnett, your rotation would be much improved for next season.

In other news, after recently getting a DUI, making that his second since January, the Baltimore Orioles are trying to find a way to void Sidney Ponson's contract. The Rangers have had an eye on Ponson for some time. Ponson has struggled all year going 7-11 with an ERA of 6.21 and a 1.71 WHIP. If Ponson's contract is voided he will become a free agent this offseason and the Rangers will probably be looking to sign him to a cheap deal.

Cowboys trade for kicker Seth Marler. In return, the Jags receive an undisclosed 2006 pick. Hopefully one that is conditional on Marler making the team. Marler spent the past season on injured reserve. The season before he was 20-33 on field goals for the Jaguars which doesn't sound awful, but that is before looking at his breakdown. He was 10-11 from 20-29 yards, 4-8 from 30-39 yards, and 5-12 from 40-49 yards, and 1-2 from 50+ yards. Bottom line Marler is going to really have to impress the Cowboys in for him to make this team, especially considering Cortez is 4 for 4 on field goals in the preaseason.



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POLL RESULTS

Thanks to everyone that voted in the poll. The questions was where will Michael Finley end up. Miami led the way with 4 votes, while Phoenix had 2, San Antonio got 1, and other got 1 as well. It shouldn't be too long before we find out. Over the past few days representatives of teams have flown to Chicago to try and persuade Finley to sign with their perspective teams. I only hope Finley ends up in the Eastern Conference, but no matter what uniform he is wearing I will be a Michael Finley fan.

Fantasy Football

Sorry about no post yesterday...I spent most of the day researching for my fantasy football draft which was last night..Here is a look at my team

Starters
QB1: Matt Hasselbeck
QB2: Brian Griese
RB1: LaDanian Tomlinson
RB2: Jamal Lewis
WR1: Javon Walker
WR2: Darrell Jackson
WR3: Chris Chambers
WR4: Jimmy Smith
K: Sebastian Janikowski
Def/ST: Colts

Reserves:
QB: Patrick Ramsey
RB: Fred Taylor
RB: Mike Anderson
TE: Alge Crumpler
WR: Keenan McCardell

If you have a draft coming up and want to talk fantasy football just leave a comment.

Dominguez makes a case for himself in second career win

Juan Dominguez got his second career victory tonight as the Rangers defeated the Mariners 8-1 at TBIA. This was Dominguez's third start of the month and his only three starts this season for the Rangers. In all three of his appearances he has been more than adequate. Dominguez isn't just one of the five pitchers in our rotation "pitching the season out". Rather, Dominguez is trying to secure a spot in the backend of next season's rotation. If the Rangers do actually go out and sign a few pitchers this offseason there will be heavy competition for one of the final spots in the rotation.

A look at Dominguez's first three starts:

New York 7, Texas 5= Dominguez get's a no decision as he goes 7 innings allowing 9 hits and 1 walk while giving up 5 earned runs and striking out 10, a career high. To go into Yankee Stadium on your first start of the year and pitch like Dominguez did says a lot about his mental toughness. Although he did give up 5 earned runs, considering it was versus the potent Yankees offense I would consider this acceptable.

Tampa Bay 2, Texas 1= Dominguez lowers his ERA from 5.59 to 5.11 as he allows only 2 earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. However, he takes the lose as the normally high scoring offense looks impotent.

Texas 8, Seattle 1= Dominguez goes 6 innings only giving up 2 hits and 1 earned run. He does have some control problems as he issued 5 walks. This time Dominguez lowers his ERA to 4.40.

Dominguez has been solid in all three of his starts this year. Dominguez, the one-time top rated prospect in the organization, has solid stuff but has never been able to excel at the Major League level. Juan Dominguez is one of the few reasons I still watch Rangers games. The better Dominguez pitches this year, the one less hole the Rangers have to fix this offseason, and the more optimism I have for next season year.

Funny Story

Kinda funny that this will get you 6 games when first time steroid use only gets you 10 games.