AL East

Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys Feels a Responsibility to Sing About Unions

In what has become a yearly tradition, the Dropkick Murphys make their way through town just before St. Patrick's Day. Their date in town is usually near to the dates of the Flogging Molly Dallas stop and to the North Texas Irish Festival. No one can ever claim that Metroplex residents wait until Ma ... More >>

The Great Bratbino: A One-Pound Brat in Honor of the Rangers' Josh Hamilton

The Texas Rangers announced yesterday that soon you'll be able to upgrade that Boomstick dog to a combo meal, which includes two one-liter bottles of Coke. And, in fairness, since Nellie got a hot dog in honor of his hot bat, Joshie gets one too: The Great Bratbino. John Blake with the Rangers tel ... More >>

Evan Abeele of Memoryhouse Talks Sub Pop, Hockey and Philip Glass

Back in the '90s, Canada's Memoryhouse were one of those bands you would never expect to release an album on Sub Pop. But over the past decade, the Seattle-based label has diversified so much that just about anything goes, including the dream-pop of Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion. Driving through ... More >>

Rangers-Rays Game Four, the Open Thread

​Back, by popular demand, is today's ALDS Game 4 open thread as the Rangers try to finish out the Rays following last night's epic nail-biter -- so nerve-wracking even Nolan Ryan said it was "as stressful a game as I've sat through." Before we get to first pitch, once more we turn our attention to ... More >>

Begin 2011's Post-Season Play By Reliving Texas Rangers' 2010 World Series Run in MLB Spot

​Thanks to my 8-year-old son's intense but not at all unpleasant love affair with baseball, I've spent way too many evenings in recent days glued to the MLB Network watching Tampa Bay and/or Boston slug it out to see which team lands the American League wild-card spot. Because if the Rangers beat ... More >>

The Real Rangers' Race is in Detroit, Not Anaheim

​Nothing like a good baseball pennant race. Too bad this year there ain't one. No divisional "race" is closer than 5 games in the season's last week and even the Wild Card is producing nothing more dramatic than a two-game edge. With another Angels' loss Monday the Rangers inched closer to a ... More >>

Hold On: The Ten Best Singalong Scenes In Film

"Someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye..."​Twenty-one years ago today, Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" shot all the way up the Billboard charts to become the No. 1 song in America. Somewhat adorably, the honor came 25 years after two-thirds of the vocal group's father, Bri ... More >>

Whitt's End: 12.10.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *In the ALCS, the Rangers beat the Yankees in six games. In the pursuit of Cliff Lee, looks like the Yankees will beat the Rangers in seven years. *I've been rough on the Rangers, who at one point ... More >>

Cliff Lee is Going, Going, Going ... Gone?

​This doesn't look good. The New York Yankees make free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee an offer of six years between $140-$150 million. (UPDATE: How about a seventh year?!) Lee's agent, Darek Brauneker, puts the offer in his briefcase, leaves baseball's winter meetings early and flies to Arkans ... More >>

Do the Rangers' New Owners Have the Money and Will to Build on a Winning Formula?

Five Reasons Why Your Texas Rangers Will Keep Postseason Badass Cliff Lee Next Season

Photos by Sam MertenCliff Lee tosses in the outfield on July 11 following his first start with the Rangers.​Ever since New York Baseball Digest's Frank Russo posted his "Five Reasons Why the Yankees Will Sign Cliff Lee" on Monday, it has made the rounds, and several of my fellow Texas Rangers ... More >>

Back, Back in the New York Groove?

​Writes Mike Lupica in the New York Daily News: "The Yankees showed up on Wednesday in Game 5, they did, hundred percent. Now they have to do it again in Texas, or they become another big, bad Yankee team of this decade that got hit somewhere before the World Series and never recovered. You know w ... More >>

2010 ALCS - Rangers-Yankees: Game 6 Preview

Is tonight THE night? ​The lights are on. Clouds are circling but so far nothing but sprinkles. The wind is howling in from the south/right field, which means -- as evidenced by Josh Hamilton's extra-hitting session right now -- the jet stream out to right-center is in full effect an ... More >>

Damned Yankees

​Groans Erik Boland of Newsday: "All the elements that put the Yankees in a three-games-to-one series hole materialized Friday night, ensuring they wouldn't be able to completely climb out of that hole. It was another night of ragged starting pitching, ineffective relief pitching and next to nothi ... More >>

For Now, At Least, a Fairytale of New York

​Sums up George A. King III in this morning's New York Post: "The Yankees arrived last night deep in the heart of Texas with a pulse. Faint, for sure, but enough of a beat that the ALCS stethoscope detected it. Can the pump tick long enough to get the Yankees to the World Series? That's not the wa ... More >>

2010 ALCS GAME 5 - Yankees 7, Rangers 2: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. The better team didn't win Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, but the more desperate team did. The Rangers are on a magical, unprecedented playoff roll, but asking them to be good enough - to be mature enough - to sweep the 95-win defending champions in New York was unrealistic. Those of ... More >>

2010 ALCS Game 4 - Rangers 10, Yankees 3: My Top 10 Observer-ations

This guy is the Yankees' only hope. In other words, 'tis over.​10. And that, my friends, is why I wanted the New York Yankees. Between CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera, this is a flawed pitching staff. Just ask the Rangers, who in this series have posted 5, 7, 8 and 10 runs in building a comm ... More >>

Hard Times in New York Town

​Writes Mike Lupica in this morning's New York Daily News: "So it has come to this for the Yankees, after the Texas Rangers threw them down another flight of stairs, trying to throw them all the way out to 161st St., all the way into next season. It has come to CC Sabathia trying to keep them aw ... More >>

2010 ALCS - Rangers-Yankees: Game 5 Preview

Can it end right here? Right now? Abso-friggin'-lutely!​Pssst, I'm not supposed to talk about this. Like a no-no in the 7th inning, baseball's unwritten etiquette says you're not supposed to whisper a word about celebratory plans. Especially when you're on the enemy's fabled field. But ... More >>

Rangers vs. Yankees: The Mismatch is, Ironically, a Mismatch

​As expected, this thing is a blowout. Not even close. Think about it: The New Yankees entered the American League Championship Series with 41 AL pennants; the Texas Rangers 0. The Bronx Bombers play in Yankee Stadium; the Rangers in a ballpark once controlled by broke-ass bum Tom Hicks. The ... More >>

2010 ALCS - Rangers vs. Yankees: Game 4 Preview

​The Texas Rangers lead the ALCS over the New York Yankees, 2-1. In Monday night's Game 3 they waltzed into fabled Yankee Stadium and laid an 8-0 whupping on the Bronx Bombers. The Rangers have dominated the series, out-scoring New York 20-8 with five of the Yankees' runs coming in that epic ... More >>

Yankee Stadium: Is It Really So Great?

​I was prepared to be in awe. To be mesmerized. To shrink in the midst of baseball's ghosts and glory. But, I gotta tell ya, new Yankee Stadium is just a ballpark. Can't believe this place cost more to build than Cowboys Stadium. And can't believe people actually pay for seats waaaay up wher ... More >>

2010 ALCS - Rangers-Yankees: Game 3 Preview

​Look at it this way, if Cliff Lee beats the Yankees here tonight in Game 3 of the ALCS they'll have to beat the Texas Rangers in three consecutive games or else face him again in Game 7 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Saturday. Advantage: Rangers? Of course to take a 2-1 series lead the ... More >>

2010 ALCS Game 3 - Rangers 8, Yankees 0: My Top Observer-ations

About 90 minutes after this pic, Josh Hamilton went deep to start a Rangers' romp in The Bronx​10. How dominant was Cliff Lee tonight? I sat in the right-field seats of Yankee Stadium in the middle innings and I swear fans were wildly cheering foul balls managed by Nick Swisher. Any contact ... More >>

About Last Night, The Texas Rangers Feel Really Bad About ... the Overpriced Parking Problem?

Rally towel or the white flag of surrender?​For seven innings, the guy wearing the Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers jersey in Section 314 taunted the young man in the Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees jersey sitting but one row back. A lot of: "Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" And: "You're on steroids! You' ... More >>

2010 ALCS GAME 2 - Rangers 7, Yankees 2: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. I've never seen a scarier, more intense 5-run baseball game in my life. With closer Neftali Feliz flying 98-mph fastballs all over the joint in the 9th, the tension felt as though it were 3-2 instead of 7-2. 9. I know Elvis Andrus gets credit for manufacturing a 1-0 lead with his "A ... More >>

Rangers-Yankees: You Ready For History?!

​We're about two hours from Pitch 1 of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. I'm at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington where Nolan Ryan is talking to the national media, Josh Hamilton is taking batting practice and the glorious sun i ... More >>

On An Unprecedented Sports Sunday in Arlington, It's Not Just The Rangers Who Go Down Swinging.

2010 ALCS: Yankees v. Rangers Position-by-Position Breakdown

​Gleefully, I was wrong about Rays in 5. In accordance, take this synopsis with a pinch of salt, a hint of lime, a chug of a six pack, then wake up Friday night and watch for yourselves. ALCS rosters won't be set until Friday at 10 a.m. so there could be some tweaks to the Rangers- Yankees b ... More >>

Rangers-Rays: GAME 5 Preview

​History isn't on the Rangers' side. But everything else is. When the Texas Rangers face the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at 7:07 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, they'll do so knowing they've never won a playoff series and that no 5-game baseball series has ever been decided via five wi ... More >>

GAME 5 - Rangers 5, Rays 1: My Top 10 Observations

For all of those who suffered through losing seasons in this joint ... here's to us!​10. Antlers > Rays. Ironic that the Rangers - who for years and decades floundered playing feast-or-famine baseball founded on the home run - scored their first three runs via speed. Think about it, the ... More >>

Why Are We Harder on Tony Romo than Josh Hamilton?

​In the aftermath of a stinging season-ending loss in Philadelphia in 2008, Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo shrugged his shoulders and infamously offered: "If this is the worst thing that ever happens to me, well, then I will have had a pretty good life." In the wake of a stinging pla ... More >>

GAME 3 - Rays 6, Rangers 3: My Top 10 Observations

​ ​10. 'Twas an occurrence about as rare as Halley's Comet this afternoon out here at Rangers Ballpark. In the Rangers' 39-year history they've played 3,092 home games in Arlington. Game 3 was only the fifth playoff contest. Texas is 0-5 all-time in home playoff games. 9. In ... More >>

Whitt's End: 10.8.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *A sentence I thought I'd never live long enough to type: The American League Championship Series -- Texas Rangers v. New York Yankees -- starts one week from today at Rangers Ballpark in ... More >>

Rangers-Rays: Game 2 Preview

​We waited 5,100 days in between Texas Rangers' playoff wins. Might we suddenly get two within 24 hours?   As dominant as Cliff Lee was in the Rangers' 5-1 Game 1 victory on Wednesday, I like the matchup of C.J. Wilson over Tampa's James Shields even more in Game 2 today at 1:37. You ... More >>

Game 2 - Rangers 6, Rays 0: My Top 10 Observations

​10. I know the Rangers banged two more homers and generally roped the ball around the park, but I think Josh Hamilton set the tenor with his back-to-back superb catches -- one diving -- in the second inning. 9. As expected, Tampa starter James Shields was, well, James Shields. In the third i ... More >>

Rangers 5, Rays 1: My Top 10 Observations

​10. Going up 1-0 in a best-of-five series is always nice, but an even better sign to me was the effective, aggressive play of Josh Hamilton. He singled in his first at-bat, cut loose a throw ambitiously behind a runner after a fly ball and even stole second base with a head-first slide. If h ... More >>

Texas Rangers v. Tampa Bay Rays: An ALDS Preview

​Be careful what you ask for. For the most part, seems like baseball fans in our parts feared the New York Yankees. Household names like Jeter and A-Rod and Pettite and Rivera and the 27 World Series have a way of intimidating opponents. Oh yeah, and the 1-9 playoff history against the Bronx ... More >>

Texas Rangers Fans: Let's Go Yankees! Clap ... Clap ... ClapClapClap!!

​I've seen Mavericks' forward Popeye Jones inadvertently tip a jump ball into his own basket, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers two points. I've seen Cowboys' defensive lineman Leon Lett inexplicably attempt to recover a blocked field goal on an icy Thanksgiving field at Texas Stadium, handing t ... More >>

Who You Want: Yankees or Rays?

​I spoke too soon. Maybe you thought it too. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that if and/or when the Texas Rangers made the playoffs they'd face the New York Yankees. NY would win the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays would win the Wild Card and the Minnesota Twins the Central. A ... More >>

Counter Attack

Blue Jays 8, Rangers 5: My Top 10 Observations

​10. Even for cup-runneth-over-in-red-flavored-optimism fans, this ain't good. Your Texas Rangers have lost five in a row (outscored 37-19) and eight of 10, and in the last two nights in Toronto have surrendered a whopping seven homers. Looks more like a slow-pitch softball game with all the ... More >>

Rangers Reeling, But We're Not Worried. Yet. Right?

​The Texas Rangers haven't won a game since last Wednesday. They've dropped four in a row - including a 7-2 Labor Day thrashing at the hands of the Blue Jays in Toronto and one of the wildest, worst endings to a game you ever did see on Sunday in Minnesota - and seven of their last nine. Pitc ... More >>

Sock It To The Sox

It's All In The Timing

Whitt's End: 5.21.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Where's Greggo? Be here Monday morning for the official announcement. As a bonus, I'll also reveal another familiar local radio voice(s) returning to the air on 105.3 The Fan come June 1. In the b ... More >>

With a 22-Game Taste, Let's Circle the Bases: Last-Place Rangers Have First-Place Potential

Ian Kinsler makes his season debut tonight against the Mariners and lefthander Cliff Lee, who's also making his first appearance of the year. ​While Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has cryptically blamed the refs yet again for his team's fourth first-round exit from the playoffs in the last seven y ... More >>

Balls Deep