THE NEWBERG REPORT -- May 14, 2008

Several things from Tuesday night's game:

1. In the second inning, he walked.

In the fourth inning, he singled.

In the sixth inning, his sacrifice fly gave Texas a 3-2 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Partly because, in the seventh inning, he did this:

 

In the eighth inning, he singled in a run to push the lead to 4-2.

He's long had a reputation for doing the little things that help teams win.  Lately he's getting in the habit of doing big things, too.

He's a fundamentally reliable defender who is hitting .344/.419/.516.

Ramon Vazquez is a Professional Ballplayer.

2. The last time Texas won six series in a row was in 1999, when the club took seven straight sets between July 15 and August 4.  It was the Rangers' last playoff season.

3. December 22, 2007 Newberg Report:

"I love the idea, as I've dreamed repeatedly in this space for years, of having three center fielders patrolling the Rangers Ballpark outfield together.  Add the fact that the starting outfield could boast three plus arms -- Hamilton is possibly a top 10 thrower in the game -- and all of a sudden Texas has a chance to change the way opposing runners behave.  That's a really good thing."

 

Take a sheet of paper out and write down all the center fielders this franchise has had who would have made the catch Hamilton gave us in the eighth - taking into account not only the breathtaking snag but the fact that he beat the ball to the wall in the first place - and for extra credit, jot down all of the ones who even think about throwing to first to try and double up the runner, which Hamilton nearly did. 

Underneath that, list all the Rangers right fielders who would have made the grab that David Murphy pulled off in the seventh. 

Then figure out another way to use your blank sheet of paper.

4. Kason Gabbard deserved better, but the pitch count got him.  Since his brilliant season debut in Anaheim, the lefthander has made five starts, all no-decisions, posting a 2.78 ERA.

5. Through five innings, the Rangers had forced Felix Hernandez to throw nearly 50 percent more pitches than Seattle had coaxed out of Gabbard.  There are so many good things about that. 

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Rangers are second in the league in on-base percentage and in pitches seen per plate appearance.  Whether we consciously appreciate that or not, it makes watching this team play baseball a better experience.

6. Eddie Guardado: nine pitches, nine strikes, first save.  Vintage stuff.  Eddie Money.

7. C.J. Wilson has a 2.25 ERA (three hits in eight innings) in nine save opportunities.  It's 8.31 (11 hits in 8.2 innings) in non-save situations.  He'll be fine.

8. Seattle looks really beaten down.

9. Pay attention to this.

According to Grant, precocious Frisco catcher Max Ramirez (.379/.455/.677) is starting to take ground balls at first base.

10. At the quarter point of the season, Texas is in third place in the AL West but is closer to first (four games) than fourth (five games).

This has turned into a team that, after finding ways to lose to start the season, is now regularly finding ways to win.  Amazingly, if we are able to hold serve this afternoon, we'll have gotten back to .500.  Despite limping out of the gate this year much as this club did in 2007, the Rangers have reached 20 wins 19 days earlier this season than last.

These last four games of the homestand could be pretty cool.

You can read more from Jamey Newberg at www.NewbergReport.com.