Ranger Rowdy Report - July 31, 2008

I thought finding out that Mark Teixeira going to the Angels was about as bad as it could get.

Boy was I wrong.

The guy who may be the greatest to ever wear a Rangers uniform is now wearing the most hated uniform in all of baseball. When the New York Yankees come to the Ballpark next week, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez will be behind the plate.

Let's get to some good news, and that would be the end results of the past two days. On Tuesday the Rangers grabbed a 9-3 lead on the Mariners by the fifth inning, with Byrd driving in four including a three-run blast in the third. Then they surrender five in the next two innings, commit five errors and watch CJ blow the save for the second straight time to fall behind 10-9. And they still pull it off in the end. After Byrd and Laird get on, Vasquez, whose third error of the game allowed the go-ahead run, doubles both of them home for the win.

Padilla takes the mound Wednesday, and for much of the game, it's looking like a repeat of Monday as they have to keep tying the score but can't get out in front. Willie Bloomquist drives in Seattle's first run in the second then scores on Jeremy Reed's hit. Our guys immediately respond with solo shots from Hamilton and Boggs. The Mariners get the lead back in the fifth when Jose Lopez brings in Raul Ibanez. In the bottom of that inning, after a long delay trying to dry the ground behind the plate thanks to the intermittent rain, Salty leads off with a hit and tries to score on Kinsler's double. It didn't look to me like he went full speed until rounding third, and he was barely thrown out at the plate.

In the sixth, with first and third, Boggs tries to steal second. For the second time that night Kenji Jojima made a bad high throw from behind he plate, and this one goes into center field, allowing Murphy to score and tie it.

In the eighth Arthur Rhodes comes in for Seattle and completely loses it. He walks the bases loaded, all on full count pitches. Then Young, who did play last night, comes on and gets the first pinch-hit RBI of his career to bring home Murphy again. CJ almost made it interesting again in the ninth, giving up a two-out infield hit to Ichiro and going 3-1 to Reed. But he gets Reed to hit one back to him, and Chuck Morgan can cue up Pat Green.

Have I mentioned this team is fun to watch? And they're now only four and a half back in the Wild Card.

By the way, Blalock's back on the DL again. The one silver lining is his replacement. For the first time, a UTA Maverick will wear a Rangers uniform, as Ryan Roberts has been called up.