Winter Malaise, Cowboy Fear

By Dan in Texas


Well here we are, Ranger fans. Marlon Byrd, Vicente Padilla, Kenny Lofton, Eric Gagne and Frank Catalanotto. Are all going to be on the roster come April.


Is Barry Zito going to be there too? That shoe hasn’t dropped just yet and Rangers fans shouldn’t hold their breath, he may not sign until January. Time will tell, but for now I don’t have the patience to think about Scott Boras’s motives.


Here’s what’s exciting in Arlington: The Outfield. Now let me say, Vernon Wells talk would have been better, but I really don’t see him walking away from a reported 126 million dollar seven year contract extension. It was a wise preemptive move on the part of the Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. Wells had stated publicly his interest to speak with the Ranger brass about returning to his home town of Arlington. Looks like that’s out the window barring some major change of thinking out of the Great White North. Take off, eh!


(Sigh) Why is the Rangers Centerfielder situation exciting? What’s the big deal about Kenny Lofton and his one year, six million dollar contract? The Rangers will likely head to Arizona with Kenny Lofton as the teams starting centerfielder. Nelson Cruz will be challenged to win that role in Surprise, Arizona. If the kid put’s up offensive and defensive performances as good or better than Lofton, he will be the Rangers centerfielder. I really feel Cruz could be one of the elites in the game in three years. If he can’t, next year the Rangers go centerfielder shopping; unfortunately Vernon Wells will be locked up until 2014.


The acquisition of Eric Gagne via free agency is promising; should Gagne recover from injury and return to past forms, the Rangers have an elite closer at a bargain price and a top notch set up man in Akinori Otsuka. If Gagne is through, Otsuka is a capable closer and the Rangers took a flyer on something that didn’t work out. That deal makes sense; one year at six million is very good for a pitcher with Gagne’s potential.


Not to get off the subject of baseball but if you haven’t seen the artist’s rendering of the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium (the Cowboys apparently really want you to know that it will hold a capacity of 80,000). I drove by the area the other day and the cranes are already up. I really don’t know if this will be good for Arlington. Sure it will get rid of the 12 pawn shops, 45 nail salons and that bar I thought was a salsa bar and almost got killed in. But what will take it’s place? The Rangers never really attracted the same type of crowd as the Cowboys. Are we going to see businesses set up to cater to the cocaine and boob job crowd who attend Cowboy’s games to be seen rather than watch the Cowboys? As always, in the DFW sports world the Cowboys occupy the stratosphere and the Rangers pick up the bread crumbs. Will the Rangers be relegated to their own little corner as Jerry Jones tries to push them into Six Flags? Will Jerry Jones make good on the promises issued when the Ballpark was built? Its 12 years after the place opened and the shops and restaurants surrounding the park are yet to be built.


My hope is the Cowboys and Rangers coexist as neighbors peacefully as neighbors; both reaping the benefits of mutual success, with each others success bolstering its counterpart.


My fear: the Cowboys culture dominates the Arlington area and as usual the Rangers are reduced to second, third and sometimes even fourth fiddle in their home town. The Rangers get the Sunday day game in 105 degree August weather while trying to win the West to make way for the Cowboy Sunday night game watching parties planned for the Cowboys’ second meeting with the Giants in East Rutherford.


In my vision, though it’s my fear, Kevin Millwood throws a no-hitter blanking the A’s through 9 as does Oakland and with two out, Nelson Cruz crushes a walkoff homerun off homerun to secure the West and provide the Rangers with homefield through out the playoffs. The Rangers mob Cruz at the plate. The celebration would be explosive if it wasn’t played before a sweaty crowd of 10,000 spectators, who stand to appaud, though with reservation as they think of the traffic jam the drive home will be as most roads have been changed to facilitate easy access for Cowboy fans.


Oh an mean while, the Cowboys lose 42 – 0 to the Giants before a record low crowd as most in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area are at home glued to the screen watching the Mets clinch the NL East. (It’s comforting, though still my nightmare)


Let's just hope the Rangers win a Championship long before the Cowboys win thier next one.


If you are one of the five readers this week that mistakenly stumbles on to this site durring a fruitless search for midget porn, Britney Upskirts or video of a guy eating Mentos and drinking Diet Pepsi, feel free to share your views on the stadium situation.

And if you are a Cowboys fan, read this, it's funny...