Detroit Tigers

Big Thanks To Minnesota

Tigers by the Tail

In the World Series Match-Up Between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, Don't Dismiss the Impact of Tony La Russa

St. Louis CardinalsTony La Russa on the field at Busch Stadium yesterday afternoon.​For whatever reason, my relationship with baseball went from casual to deeply committed bordering on obsessive during the 1986 baseball season. Like most kids growing up in North Texas, my father taught me to l ... More >>

Albert Pujols Better Than Joltin' Joe? Say It Ain't So!: Texas Rangers-St. Louis Cardinals World Series Preview and Game 1 Open Thread

Texas RangersGives you that warm, fuzzy feeling inside, doesn't it?​It's finally here. Pinch yourself. Your Texas Rangers are back in the World Series, and this time feels much different than last year's playoff run. There's a confidence flowing through my body that just wasn't there before, a ... More >>

The 10 Best Moments at This Year's Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase

Mike BrooksMind Spiders on the rooftop of The Bone.​ It's tough to look back on an event like Saturday night's Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase and try to come up with a conclusive best-moments list. With 52 bands playing 10 stages over the course of a ten-hour period all throughout Deep Ellu ... More >>

Memo to Ron Washington: It's the, Um, Postseason, Just In Case You Forgot

Photos by Sam MertenPerhaps more than any of his players, Ron Washington needs to break out of his postseason slump.​After the Texas Rangers fired Buck Showalter following the 2006 season, general manager Jon Daniels interviewed five candidates. Of course, there was Ron Washington, a longtime ... More >>

Forever Young: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 4 Preview and Open Thread

Photo by Sam MertenElvis Andrus and a beardless Michael Young haven't hit their strides yet at the plate, but that's about to change. ​As depressing as it was, I believe Game 3 of the American League Championship Series was an anomaly, much like Game 1 of the ALDS. Nothing seemed right. And w ... More >>

Shark-Infested Waters: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 3 Preview and Open Thread

via​Wow. What an amazing start to the American League Championship Series for Your Texas Rangers. Two close games. Two incredible wins. Now Detroit has to win four of the next five games to get back to the World Series for the first time since they fell to St. Louis in 2006. Ain't gonna hap ... More >>

Fear the 'Stache: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 2 Preview and Open Thread

Back in February 2009, I penned a cover story about the Texas Rangers' new philosophy of relying on kiddos from their farm system instead of throwing big money at the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Chan Ho Park and Kevin Millwood. The youth movement was in full swing that spring as Elvis Andrus took over ... More >>

Heritage to Sell a Dallas Eagles Jersey. So Let's Talk to an Ex-Eagle Turned Revered AL Scout.

​Just got off the phone with a gentleman who's also keeping an eye on Texas-Detroit: Alex Cosmidis. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is pulling for the Tigers -- surprising, since Cosmidis once played baseball in Dallas and in Fort Worth, first as an Eagle in 1955 and '56, then as a Cat th ... More >>

Verlander, Smerlander: ALCS Preview and Rangers-Tigers Game 1 Open Thread

[Editor's note: At the request of a few regulars, we're going with a rare weekend-night open thread to celebrate the Rangers' second straight appearance in the American League Championship Series. Will we do this again tomorrow? Hard to say. Let's see how tonight goes. I'll be in and out, but tonigh ... 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 >>

Rangers-Angels Take Baseball's Center Stage. Or at Least They Should.

​There are only two division races in baseball. And only one with playoff implications. As we play the regular season's final month the Tigers, Phillies, Brewers and Braves each have leads of at least 7 games with only 20 remaining. In the AL East the Yankees lead the Red Sox by 2.5, bu ... More >>

Mike Adams Flops in His Rangers Debut. Even Worse Than Cliff Lee Flopped.

Welcome to Texas?​The Titanic. Waterworld. Joey Galloway as a Cowboy. The Dallas Wave. And now, finding his sheepish spot among the worst debuts in the history of ever: Mike Adams, Texas Ranger. Ugliest opening act on our baseball team since waaay back, well, actually, since Cliff Lee stunk ... More >>

Texas Rangers Got Themselves an All-Star Pitcher, a Controversial Hall of Famer, Lots of Draft Picks, a New Hitting Coach and Another Player on Baby Leave. Whew.

The real deal?​Lots of Texas Rangers' catch-up to spread around today ... *Back in spring training we all watched how Neftali Feliz would react to being stretched out as a potential starter. While Feliz wound up back in the bullpen, Alexi Ogando became the team's oh-by-the-way No. 5 starter. ... More >>

Josh Hamilton Breaks His Arm: My Top 10 Observer-ations

Uh-oh.​10. With Josh Hamilton it's always when, not if. And now you know why a lot of us were cringing and complaining when we saw him sliding on the rain-delay tarp in Baltimore last Friday night. He's one of the best players in baseball, but also one of the most injury-prone. 9. And do I ... More >>

Even Ron Washington is Making the Right Calls During Rangers' 9-1 Start

​The Rangers are 9-1, their best start in franchise history. They've outscored their opponents a ridiculous 60-26. They've beaten the aces of Boston (Jon Lester), Seattle (Felix Hernandez) and now Detroit (Justin Verlander). They're hitting homers, getting immaculate starting pitching and winn ... More >>

If the Rangers Can Beat Justin Verlander in Detroit, Watch Out

​Two more homers. Another win, this one 3-0 over the Baltimore Orioles. Three consecutive series victories. Everything, it seems, is going boffo for the Rangers. With 18 dingers, 58 runs, splendid starting pitching and an 8-1 record, they are both the talk of baseball and the best team in ... More >>

A Rangers Repeat? History Suggests Odds Are Long.

One Hit Wonders

The Problem With... Far East Movement's "Rocketeer"

Y'know, the East Asian-American group Far East Movement had a pretty good hit last year in "Like A G6." It was probably the only electronic-sounding pop song of last year that I wouldn't be ashamed to mix. In fact, the track was so good, I can even overlook their making up the word "slizzer'd" for t ... More >>

Let's Get This DH Situation Addressed: Rangers Should Re-Sign Vladdy or Risk Getting Worse

Sam MertenVladimir Guerrero​While the Texas Rangers waited for Cliff Lee to make up his mind, the best options to fill the team's hole at designated hitter flew off the board. The Chicago White Sox snatched up the two best fits, re-signing Paul Konerko for three years at $12.5 million per season a ... More >>

Hey, Look, it's a UFO! No, Actually, it's an Even Weirder Sight: Mike Modano, Detroit Red Wing

​Hell hath officially frozen over. In Arlington, the Texas Rangers are still playing baseball. And in Dallas, Stars fans are now cheering for the Detroit Red Wings. Well, at least one of them. The Stars, off to a 2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 start or whatever the hell it is these days in the NHL, play ... More >>

He Isn't MVP, but Ian Kinsler is a Critical Ranger

​It's common sense that Ian Kinsler should not have been suspended. It's also becoming pretty clear that he's vital to the Texas Rangers' post-season success. Loved me some Andres Blanco. He filled in with OK defense, scrappy base-running and even some pop in his bat. But in  ... More >>

How - and When - the West Was Won

​"It's Time", meet "It's Over." With an 11-4 thumping of the Detroit Tigers last night - combined with the Oakland A's loss in Kansas City - the Texas Rangers won their first American League West division championship since 1999. I know the magic number is 10 and there are still 18 games rema ... More >>

Fat Lady May Be Warming Up, But Rangers Haven't Won The West ... Yet

​I'll say it, Texas Rangers' fever is at an all-time high. Sunday night's 6-4 win improved Tommy Hunter to 8-0, allowed the Rangers to win three of four from the Anaheim Angels and pushed their lead to seven games with 63 remaining. More than 160,000 fans went to Arlington Thursday-Sunday. Wi ... More >>

News & Notes: Test Scores, Grocery Stores, Modano a Red Wing? and a Peek at the Plans for the Continental Building

Carla Ranger​A few items of interest with which to belatedly kick off your work week (lucky):On Thursday we noted that Dallas Independent School Board trustee Carla Ranger has found a new obsession: banishing the minimum-grade policy that disallows teachers from handing out grades lower than 50. T ... More >>

Mike Modano: OUR Star Could Become THEIR Star

​After saying that he's 75-percent leaning toward not retiring and playing hockey again next season, all-time star of the Dallas Stars Mike Modano is now thinking the unthinkable - putting on the sweater of another team. Mike Modano, Detroit Red Wings? Criiiiiiiiiiinge. It's still a situ ... More >>

Whitt's End: 4.23.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Cowboys fans rejoice. First of all you have Dez Bryant. Secondly, you're not the Denver Broncos. The same team that traded for Brady Quinn has now traded up to draft Tim Tebow. To - get this -&nbs ... More >>

October Baseball: Commence Daydreaming

​All this hubbub over those feisty Minnesota Twins and those dramatic Detroit Tigers and the dawn of the baseball playoffs slapped me sober this morning. Ponder this, Rangers fans: Texas' 87 wins would've been enough to win the American League Central Division. As I detail ... More >>

Mowed Down in Motown

I Millwould've yanked Kevin in the 8th. You? Well, you were warned. Actually, the Texas Rangers played decent baseball in Detroit this week despite a three-game sweep. Just not so sure they played smart baseball. Especially in this afternoon's 4-3 loss to the Tigers, their franchise-record 11 ... More >>

Wrapping Up Jon Daniels' Third Year As Rangers GM

Armando Galaragga was the only thing of value Jon Daniels was able to get from the Alfonso Soriano trade. Then he gave him away for a player the Rangers released. Whoops. You want more hot-stove baseball talk from Sam? Merry Christmas ... As mentioned yesterday, Jon Daniels is entering his fourt ... More >>

A Christmas List for Jon Daniels

Here in The Sportatorium, every now and then we like to talk baseball. I mean hard-core, balls-and-strikes baseball. By "every now and then" I mean this morning. And by "we", of course, I mean seamhead colleague Sam Merten. Sam, the floor is yours: For those of you distracted by Sean Avery's ... More >>

Pitch Perfect

The Grand Prairie AirHogs are willing to do whatever it takes to make you a fan. And that includes win.

Sports Notes Almost as Long as An 11-Run Sixth Inning

They Killed Kenny! (Or Not)

How the West Was Lost (Hint: It Rhymes With "Suck")

Mean Guys Finish First

Gossage a Ranger! Well, Different One.

The Texas Strangers

Heaven Help Us

When watching sports, is God a passive observer or a meddler?

Holy Crap, They Killed Kenny!

Hello, Larry

Pull the Plug

Our intrepid correspondent gets punked like a girly man on the video gridiron

Fools Rush In

Who needs a pitcher when you don't have a catcher?

The Moses of baseball

Hank Greenberg documentary hits a home run

Pitcher's duel

Schmaltzy and then some, For Love of the Game is still mighty persuasive

Journeymen of summer

Root, root, root for the home team -- whoever they are

The Moses of baseball

Hank Greenberg documentary hits a home run

Do over

Todd Van Poppel doesn't have to be great anymore, just good enough

A bush league of their own

Long before the Texas Rangers, major-league baseball was played in Dallas by a minor-league team called the Dallas Eagles