For the past 2 months, I have hoped the Rangers would find 5 guys out of the mix that would eat innings and keep this team in the ballgame.  Obviously that has not happened and Texas over the past week has fallen to 11 1/2 games out of the wild card.  When a pitcher gets called up or someone comes off the DL, another gets hurt.  At this point of the season, if a team’s rotation is not solid, it typically means the bullpen is over worked.  I think this bullpen is very talented and capable of taking a team to the playoffs.  But guys have had to change roles, (such as Wright having to be the eighth inning guy and Guardado stepping into the closer role) others have had to start games (we had one game that was started by the bullpen), and it can only go on for so long before it catches up.  It is now mid-August and Rangers starters have averaged only 5 1/3 innings per start for the season and the bullpen is completely worn out.  For now lets see if we can get guys healthy and finish the season.

Good news is Kinsler will likely not require season ending surgery.  It is unfortunate because this is the third straight season he has missed significant time due to injury.  If he did not play another game this season, he could still win the batting title since he has enough at-bats to qualify.

If Chris Davis can play third base, I think this is an excellent situation for the Rangers.  Although Vazquez and Metcalf can play third, Texas does not have anyone that can be a regular at the hot corner.  The Rangers have many options at first base (Max Ramirez, Blalock, Catalanatto).  Some think Davis is too big to play third but this was his original position in the minors.  If this works, it gives the Rangers depth and will really play into their ability to make a trade this off-season.

Brandon McCarthy starts on Saturday after pitching 13 scoreless innings in his AAA rehab starts.  I am sure he will be at a pitch limit, but lets hope he is healthy and can be the solid starter we traded for.

In Chinese mythology a group of deities called “The Eight Immortals” are legendary for having many mysterious powers, and are extremely revered by Chinese Daoists. So in honor of the Olympics being held in Beijing, I present to you the “Eight Immortals” from the first half of the Olympic Games:

1) Zhang Juan Juan, Archery: China

Zhang (not to be confused with former Maverick Wang Zhi-Zhi), who was competing in front of her home fans, defeated three straight South Koreans en route to her first Olympic gold. A South Korean had won the Olympic gold every year since 1984.

2) Usain (Lightning) Bolt, Track and Field: Jamaica

Bolt relaxed his body, held out his arms in celebration, and pumped his chest… with fifteen meters left in the 100m dash. His 9.69 broke the world record, and it could’ve been even faster if he had actually sprinted the entire way. The crazy thing is that this wasn’t even his best event. Bolt had to beg with his coach to let him run the 100m and will probably break records in the 200m and the 400m.

3) Dwayne Wade, Basketball: USA

Wade leads the “Redeem Team” in ppg (16.2) and steals (12), is shooting 72% from the floor, and consistently infuses team USA with the energy and explosiveness that caused Mavericks fans to hang their head like Charlie Brown just two summers ago. With Wade playing the ultimate 6th man role, this team should continue to dominate from here on out.

4) Misti May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Beach Volleyball: USA

May-Treanor and Walsh have dominated the competition once again at the Olympics, and have to this point cruised to the gold medal match, already assured of at least a silver. They have now won 107 straight matches. Even more interesting is the fact that May-Treanor still feels the need to carry on the tradition of sprinkling her late mother’s ashes in the sand before each match. Whatever works I guess.

5) Nastia Liukin, Gymnastics: USA

After watching Shawn Johnson out-duel Liukin on beam Monday night, I struggled with who would make the list. They both have an individual gold, as well as a team silver. While I would like to say that I added up all of the scores, and picked the one with the best overall average, my decision was mainly based on the fact that Liukin will be attending SMU in the fall. Oh…and looks.

6) Ara Abrahamian, Wrestling: Sweden

This guy went against everything the Olympics stands for when he reacted to a referee’s decision by throwing his bronze medal to the floor during the medal ceremony…And I loved every minute of it. It can be seen here.

7) Jason Lezak, Swimming: USA

His come from behind leg of the mens 4×100m Men’s freestyle relay didn’t just win his team the gold medal, it did something much more important… It shut up the French. Oh yeah, it also paved the way for our final immortal, the only one that really matters…

8) MICHAEL PHELPS, Swimming: USA

Phelps won every event he swam at the Beijing Olympics, and will return to Baltimore later this month with enough gold to re-build El Dorado. In breaking both records held by Mark Spitz (overall number of gold medals as well as gold medals in one olympic games), Phelps finished 8 for 8 in the games which so conveniently started on 08/08/08 at 8:08 pm. Coincidence? maybe. Greatest Olympic performance ever? Definitely.

POWER FORWARD

1992: Karl Malone & Charles Barkley

Much of today’s NBA game is built around the pick and roll but no one’s done it better than Karl Malone and John Stockton. As one half of this unit, “The Mailman” will be remembered for revolutionizing the PF position. Sir Charles has made a name for himself as the most controversial NBA analyst on the block. Focusing on their game, this combination is tough to beat. Does it matter who starts? The effort & intensity that Barkley played with was the perfect compliment for Malone’s strength and agility.

2008: Chris Bosh & Carlos Boozer

Toronto’s Chris Bosh has proven to be all about hustle in these Olympic games. Hidden in NBA obscurity by playing north of the border, Bosh isn’t too well known by casual hoops fans. Dallasites, however, have closely followed him from Dallas Lincoln HS to Georgia Tech and now to the Toronto Raptors where he’s a perinial all-star. Carlos Boozer has a game with very little flash. He’s efficient but not showy. He’s probably best known the way he bolted on the Cleveland Cavaliers for greener pastures in Utah. At this point, Jazz fans hope that he and Derron Williams (also on the Redeem Team) are the second coming of “Stockton to Malone” but that has yet to be seen.

Advantage: Dream Team

Another no-brainer. Again, this may be a product of the changes in the international game because Bosh’s production as a center in Beijing has been incredibly valuable but he would lack the strength to defend either Malone or Barkley in the post. Boozer’s minutes during the Olympics have been minuscule because his game is played closer to the basket and the removal of a three second violation in the international game lessens his value. In the open court, give me the Redeem Team but in a half-court game, this unit from the Dream Team would dominate.

Other positions:

Centers: Ewing & Robinson vs. Howard

It must also be mentioned that in 1992, Malone had a profitable wrestling career ahead of him…

Malone and DDP

It’s been said that sports fans will always remember players & teams from their childhood as better than the day’s current version. Ignoring the fact that players are getting much bigger, stronger, and faster, the “good old day syndrome” will point to better coaching, fundamentals, and team-first concept believed to have been present in the past. I do have an HSO on this phenonmenon but that may be better addressed on its own.

With the 2008 US men’s basketball team set to begin the metal round of play tonight against Australia, it seems like the perfect time to begin the debate for basketball supremacy between the 1992 Dream Team and the 2008 Redeem Team.

Now, the Dream Team of 1992 has long been referred to as the best basketball team ever assembled. In fact, their display of hoops greatness on the Olympic state in Barcelona is responsible for the improvement of the international game. Basically, the Dream Team created the need for a “Redeem Team”. If we were able to suit up the teams led by MJ and Lebron for a winner takes all showdown, who would come up victorious? Basketball IS a team game, but we’ll go ahead and evaluate positional matchups to see where advantages lie.

This process is made a bit difficult due to the fact that changes in the international game caused the 2008 Redeem Team to construct its roster differently but for comparison’s sake, we’ll evaluate the teams based on players’ NBA positions beginning with the center position.

CENTER

1992: Patrick Ewing and David Robinson

I have to admit that I was never a big fan of Patrick Ewing. In his lone NBA finals appearance, Ewing was proven inferior to Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon prompting me to wear my Rockets #34 jersey weekly for several months. Thanks to MJ, Ewing wouldn’t get another chance. NBA accomplishments aside, in 1992, Ewing was easily one of the top 4 big men in the game. Accompanying him on that list would have been his Dream Team running mate David Robinson. The Admiral’s game was incredibly versatile posessing the strength to beat you on the block and the athleticism to step away from the paint. The one-two punch of Ewing & Robinson would make a coach sleep easily at night.

2008: Dwight Howard

I can’t think of a better comparison for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard than David Robinson. Not only are they built identically, but their games are similar as well. Howard still, however, lacks the mid-range game that made Robinson such a threat to slower opponents. Physically, Howard is a freak standing 6′11″ and weighing 240 lbs. With these dimensions, he’s a nearly impossible guard in the post due to his strength and demonstrated his athleticism by winning the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Advantage: Dream Team

Where Dwight Howard may excel in athleticism, he lacks in pollish when compared to the bigs from the ‘92 squad. A comparison between Howard and either Dream Teamer individually would favor the old guys since they were in their prime and Howard’s still developing and due to the fact that the ‘08 roster has only one legitimate center in Beijing and there’s a decided Dream Team advantage at the 5 spot.

Check back for the break down of the other positions:

Power Forwards: Malone & Barkley v. Bosh & Boozer

The ‘92 Cowboys enter the Super Bowl undefeated.

The ‘93 Cowboys have revenge on their mind.

Two nearly identical teams.

One trophy to win.

The results… after a word from our sponsors.

• 1992 Dallas Cowboys 30
• 1993 Dallas Cowboys 20

“How ’bout them Cowboys?” The ‘92 Dallas Cowboys are the undisputed greatest team in franchise history. They built a 21-3 lead halfway through the second quarter and never looked back. ‘92 Troy Aikman finished 20-29 for 260 yards and two scores; earning MVP honors.

Maybe we’ll play this out again next year with a sixth team in the league.

Yes, A.I. I know we’re talking about “practice.”  But I feel there’s still reason for small amounts of concern following the Dallas Cowboys first two preseason games.

Every year the debates comes flying out of each NFL city as to whether or not the preseason results really matter.  Some will say that as long as you enter the regular season without any substantial injury it was a successful preseason.  Others want to see their team enter the “real” games with some swagger.

Statistics, and I like statistics, have proven that preseason records do matter, somewhat.  Our friends over at Two Minute Warning put together a breakdown of these trends a couple years ago.  But regardless, the fact remains that these two games have sopped up all of the Kool-Aid I had been drinking and I’m in need of another glass.

Your encouraging comments are appreciated.

The Texas Rangers signed both Justin Smoak and Robbie Ross yesterday, with Smoak signing just before the deadline. Both were represented by the same agent Dustin Bledsoe and were the top two picks in this summer’s draft. Signing both players was a huge success for Texas. Originally, Ross was the labeled as the more difficult sign because it was believed he was requesting more money than usual for his draft position and he had already committed to the University of Kentucky. Most draft picks out of high school tend to have more leverage since they are younger and have the option of going to school instead of playing professionally. Ross, a left-hander that went 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched this year ended up agreeing to a signing bonus of 1,575,000.

“I’m very excited,” Ross said. “It was a long wait, seems like it has been forever. It’s exciting to get an opportunity to play for the Rangers. It’s unbelievable to me. I’m just excited to get the opportunity to go and play baseball again. It will be great to get out there and play ball. I really want to get up here and play in Arlington. That would be amazing. This is a great ballpark.”

As for Smoak, I have to admit I was beginning to get frustrated the longer it took to get him signed. At 21 years old, he is not in the same position that Ross is. He holds numerous school records at the University of South Carolina and has nothing left to prove at the collegiate level. If he is wanted to pursue his career professionally, there is no reason to return for his senior season, and as the 11th pick in the draft there is little opportunity to improve his draft position for next year. Smoak batted .333 in 739 at-bats with 62 home runs, 53 doubles, 207 RBIs and 88 runs scored in his three-year career at the University of South Carolina. He is the all-time leader at South Carolina in home runs and RBIs. He agreed just 15 minutes before the deadline to a signing bonus of 3.5 million.

“I’m very excited, very excited right now,” Smoak said from his home in South Carolina. “I’m going 100 miles per hour.”

Texas also signed 33rd round pick Ben Petralli out of Oral Roberts University. Petralli is the son of former Ranger great Geno Petralli, who was the starting Ranger catcher before Pudge Rodriguez took over.