Rangers Notes: Marlon Byrd Flies Free and Easy

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Marlon Byrd gave his surgically-repaired left knee its most strenuous test of the spring Tuesday, which is to say he gave it nary a thought while running from first to third on a lazy single in the Rangers 11-5 win over Cleveland.

It was the first time this spring Byrd has gone from first to third on a base hit, a sign his knee is no longer an issue.  That is a significant stride.

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Game Report: Rangers 11, Indians 5

While most of the D Staff was beer snorkeling at The Monk, the Rangers scored 10 runs in the first three innings against 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee, the same pitcher who will oppose them on opening day in Arlington, and cruised to a St. Patrick’s Day win. 2B Ian Kinsler, who is not Irish, and 3B Michael Young, who is half Irish, each reached base three times. (more…)

More Fun With Video: Kevin Millwood Talks Training

Thanks again to the wonderfully talented and quick-working Ted Price of Rangers Podcast in Arlington, we’ve scored another video report. Here’s footage of us discussing the new-and-improved Kevin Millwood with Millwood himself. Also, Millwood, a diehard Duke fan, gives us his (partially) unbiased take on the NCAA basketball tournament.

Is This an Omen?

The Rangers absolutely blasted Cleveland LHP Cliff Lee this afternoon, scoring 10 runs in the first three innings against the 2008 AL Cy Young award winner and their opening day opponent.

The Rangers pounded out 11 hits and 10 runs (nine earned) against Lee in  2.2 innings.  3B Michael Young, who is 9-for-22 against Lee in his regular-season career, was 3-for-3 with a double. Ian Kinsler was 2-or-2 with a walk, a bunt single and a stolen base. Josh Hamilton an Marlon Byrd also had two hits apiece. The guys who are in the lineup today who figure to also be in the Opening Day lineup are a combined 19-for-45 against Lee in his career. Lee was 2-0 against the Rangers lat year  but allowed  eight runs in 11 .1 innings.

The Patrick Division

Given the day’s distinction, let’s cite Patricks of sports note. For some reason, many of them are connected to hockey. Maybe the Canadians aren’t as keen on nicknames. So, following that will be some Pats, too. Feel free to make your own contributions.

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InsideCorner for Your Eyes and Ears: Talking Rangers Pitching, Getting Hassled by Michael Young

Ted Price of Rangers Podcast in Arlington has been at Spring Training for a few days toting around expensive video equipment. We chatted for a bit about the 2009 Rangers on said camera. And the results can be found right here:

Directors note:  While the camera work is outstanding (especially considering the subject), be aware that there is an odd shaking of the frame midway through. Do not fear: Arizona is not suddenly sitting on the San Andreas fault; it was instead the work of a certain Rangers third baseman firing (OK, lobbing) baseballs from a 100 feet or so away. Not sure if he wanted to show off the accuracy of his arm or if he merely wanted to jack with me. I suspect the latter.

Interesting Lineup Today

Here is the Rangers lineup for this afternoon’s game against Cleveland:

2B Ian Kinsler, 3B  Michael Young, CF Josh Hamilton, RF Nelson Cruz, DH Marlon Byrd, LF David Murphy, 1B Chris Davis, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus; P Scott Feldman.

Here’s what is interesting: Cleveland is starting LHP Cliff Lee, who happens to be the same Cliff Lee who will start Opening Day against the Rangers in Arlington. So, is this the opening day lineup? Do the Rangers plan to sit DH Hank Blalock on Opening Day in favor of going as right-handed as possible.

The answer, apparently, is no. Blalock is still nursing a sore left quadriceps. According to Rangers officials, Blalock would play if this is the regular season. The lineup piqued my interest enough to ask Ron Washington if it was possible Blalock would sit against a lefty on opening day. He said absolutely not. Now, whether Washington would leave Byrd in the lineup and sit Murphy hasn’t been answered yet.

Blalock actually has decent numbers against Lee, going 4-for-10 in his career, but so do Byrd (3-for-8) and Murphy (albeit a much smaller sampe at 1-for-3)

Let’s Do This: It’s the InsideCorner NCAA Tournament Bracket Fill It Out and Win Tournament Contest

Last year, the winner received a $200 gift certificate to Texas de Brazil. This year, the winner will win something very cool, too, the exact nature of which will be determined once I can track down our marketing director and go through her prize drawer. (Not a euphemism.)  Rules are simple: Go here and fill out a bracket. (You’ll need a Yahoo account, which is free. The group ID number is 152189. The group name is Bailout Call.) Keep the names clean enough to print on InsideCorner and FrontBurner. D Empire employees cannot win the prize, although we will play for bragging rights. Go. Now.

UPDATE: The winner will receive a $200 gift certificate to any M Crowd restaurant: Taco Diner, Mi Cocina, The Mercury, or Mercury Chophouse. Four words: Suh. Weet. Giddy. Up.

Stars spotlight: Matt Niskanen

This is Matt Niskanen’s time of the year.

Before leaving on the Stars’ current Western trip, he mentioned that he won the team NCAA Tournament pool last year. His secret? “I picked the four top seeds,” he said. Oh. Must be too many guys from Quebec and Europe for him to pick on.

Niskanen is young enough to be a college senior, surprisingly making the Stars’ lineup last season after only two seasons at Minnesota-Duluth. Now it’s time to dissect his sophomore season.

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Tuesday A.M. Stock Report: Joaquin Arias, Warner Madrigal and More

A look at who and what is moving up and down at Rangers spring training:

↑ INF Joaquin Arias: He is seriously making a run at unseating 11-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel as the backup infielder. There is no doubt he’s got better offensive skills at this point (he’s 8-for11 with a homer since returning from his father’s funeral). His arm has looked almost OK at second, but he really hasn’t been tested at short. Thing is: Vizquel’s arm is noticeably weaker, too. Neither has the arm to play third base at this point, which is why the club needs to look at Hank Blalock as a backup third base option. (more…)

Another View: Baseball America’s John Manuel on Handling Promotion of Elvis Andrus

Baseball America Co-Editor-in-Chief John Manuel is a friend and former boss (back when he just supervised the divisional correspondents). Heard him on XM Radio Sunday discussing a subject that has become near and dear to Rangers fans: How to handle promoting on-the-verge prospects. In the radio interview, Manuel discussed how Baltimore might handle the promotion of top prospect C Matt Wieters. In particular, he was asked if the Orioles should do the same thing Tampa Bay did last year and hold Wieters back a couple of weeks to, in theory, create an extra year of control before he’d qualify for free agency.

Sound familiar? Thought so, there’s been a lot of debate around these parts about whether the Rangers should take the Tampa Bay route with SS Elvis Andrus.  My take: Here. But you probably already knew that. You want Manuel’s take. You ask; we deliver. We exchanged emails with Manuel on Monday. (more…)