Message Delivered: Mark Teixeira Accuses Vicente Padilla Of Playing Beanball; Yankees Top Rangers

D-tails: Yankees 12, Rangers 3
• Boxscore, Standings
• Hamilton goes on DL with possible sports hernia; Depot live game blog

NEW YORK - Mark Teixeira didn’t care much for Vicente Padilla’s pitching tendencies before he became a Ranger, while the two were teammates or now that they’ve split up again.

Those sentiments became very clear again Tuesday as the Yankees drilled the Rangers 12-3. The only thing the Rangers drilled was Teixeira. Twice.

The first time Padilla hit Teixeira, he simply jogged to first base with a knowing smirk. The second time, he slammed his bat down yelled a few not-so-nice thoughts and stared Padilla down for a moment before going to first. He got his revenge by taking out Elvis Andrus with a hard, but clean slide that prohibited the Rangers from turning an inning-ending double play. The Yankees tacked on five more runs thanks to the extended inning and led 9-3 by the time it was over.

But Teixeira was only heating up.

(more…)

Post-Game Show: Yankees 12, Rangers 3

Three up and three down from Yankees Stadium:

Three up

• RF Nelson Cruz gave the Rangers a brief lead with a three-run homer in the third inning, his 15th homer of the year.
• Though 0-for-4, 1B Chris Davis hit three balls hard, two fly balls to deep center field and one to left.
• RHP Kris Benson had a crisp 1-2-3 inning in relief, his sharpest since moving to the bullpen.

Three down

• Rangers have been outscored by Yankees, 35-13 in four meetings this season. The three Yankees wins have all come by at least seven runs.
• By hitting 1B Mark Teixeira for the second consecutive plate appearance, RHP Vicente Padilla gave every indication he simply had stopped competing and wanted out of the game.
• LHP Derek Holland was roughed up again, allowing three hits, a pair of runs and a homer in 1.1 innings of work,

Rangers Chris Davis Turns To “Magic Thong” To Bust Out Of Season-Long Slump

NEW YORK – One thing you notice about Chris Davis today is that he’s done some styling and, um, grooving. If he takes his hat off, he’ll be displaying the Mohawk he shaved into his head. And any picture of him at first base will make him very much resemble any of the Village People.

Those are easy to spot.

We go further.

Davis is wearing a thong. Or at least he said he would be. A red one.

Davis had a 45 minute talk over the weekend with an A’s slugger he would not name, but he came away with a new perspective on hitting and a new slump-busting trick. By the way, Oakland’s Jason Giambi, when he was with the New York Yankees, turned to a gold thong and a bushy mustache to break out of a slump last year. Several other Yankees admitted to trying the “The Magic Thong.”

(more…)

Texas Rangers Outfielder Josh Hamilton To Disabled List With Abdominal Strain

NEW YORK _ Doctors still aren’t sure if Josh Hamilton has a full blown sports hernia, but they are sure he can’t play for at least two weeks and so the Rangers center fielder is going back on the disabled list.

After having an MRI exam and seeing sports hernia specialist Dr. John Preskitt, it still wasn’t certain if he had sports hernia or a more mild abdominal strain. Either way, Dr. Preskitt recommended a week to two of rest and anti-inflammatory medication. If that doesn’t produce results, surgery could be an option.

“It’s kind of an unknown case,” Assistant GM Thad Levine said when asked where the diagnosis ranked between best-case and worst-case scenarios. “There was no immediate diagnosis calling for surgery, so that’s good. The next two weeks will tell us a lot. The doctors said he could show significant signs of improvement in two weeks. The DL may be just what he needed.”

(more…)

The Depot: Rangers Live Game Blog, News And Notes, Now With A Linescore!

2B Ian Kinsler and  OF Josh Hamilton continue to lead at their respective positions in the latest round of All-Star balloting.

2:15: OF Brandon Boggs is here, but OF Josh Hamilton isn’t. Hamilton is currently seeing sports hernia specialist Dr. John Preskitt to rule out the possibility of such an injury. Boggs is here as insurance.

2:28: Tarp now on field. Expecting a little of the wet stuff I’m afraid. Forecast was iffy for tomorrow night, but no so much tonight. Maybe just an afternoon shower headed this way.

2:35: Vote for Rangers May Player of the Month here.

3:57: Tarp off. Batting practice commencing.

(more…)

Vote Now: Rangers May Player Of The Month

Presented by (this spot for rent).

Voting will remain open until game time tomorrow. Lots of opportunity to cast multiple ballots.

• RHP Scott Feldman: 3-0, 2.70 ERA in 36.2 IP
• LHP C.J. Wilson: 2-0, 4 saves (5 chances), 0.00 ERA in 11 IP
• 3B Michael Young: .364, 1 HR, 8 RBI
• RF Nelson Cruz: .311, 8 HR, 19 RBI

Rangers Have No Official Moves Yet, But Plenty Of Movement

OF Brandon Boggs is in town and not just because he wanted to catch a show on Broadway. He’s here as insurance in case Josh Hamilton is placed on the DL. Hamilton will not be here because he couldn’t get in to see sports hernia specialist Dr. John Preskitt until 2 p.m. CDT. Boy, there must be a real epidemic of sports hernias out there. If the Rangers get word that Hamilton is a no-go, then Boggs could be activated.

Meanwhile, Vicente Padilla is also here and Guillermo Moscoso is not. The Rangers will officially activate Padilla and send Moscoso to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

We will be back with more later.

Why The Rangers-Yankees Series Might Be Better Titled Home Run Derby

USA Today’s Mel Antonen takes a look at the reasons for all the homers flying out of the new stadium. The print version of this story has lots of neat-o graphics, too.

Pitching Profile – May Edition

The following exercise is something I am trying to keep on the side for my own personal use, but then I thought that there might be just enough stat-hungry baseball folks to go ahead and post it up here for you to digest (slowly…there is a lot).

It is basic splits for the 5 starters who have filled out the Rangers rotation for 2009. There have been 50 starts, and to date, Millwood, McCarthy, Harrison, Feldman, and Padilla have made 45 of them. Benson, Holland, and Hunter have made the last 5, but there is not enough data to make it worth running their monthly trends.

But, as we embark upon the month of June, here is a perfect time to show you how the 5 are performing, and perhaps this is something I will update and rerun each and every time we turn the calendar here in the baseball season.

(more…)

Did Alex Rodriguez Tip Pitches While With The Rangers? A Look At The Numbers

So, did he or didn’t he?

In Selena Roberts’ pulpy biography of Alex Rodriguez, which reads like a hardbound version of US magazine, the accusations come fly fast and furious. Stuff like his (lousy) restaurant tipping habits, his visits to strip clubs, his vanity and his insecurity. Pretty clear, he’s not a great guy.

As far as baseball goes, there are only two details from the book that I care about: The accusations he used steroids (which Rodriguez has acknowledged) and the accusations he conspired with other players in a quid-pro-quo pitch-tipping scheme. Rodriguez, the book alleges, would tip opposing batters, usually middle infielders, to what was about to be thrown once games were out of hand. He expected them to do the same for him. Call it slump insurance.

The first accusation makes him a cheater and it doesn’t matter whether it was in Texas (as he acknowledges) or throughout his career. But, based on information that continues to leak out, it wouldn’t make him that unusual; there appear to have been lots of guys out there who were willing to cheat to win.

The second, however, would make him something of a ringleader of gang of guys determined to cheat the integrity of competition, too.

Bad stuff.

(more…)

Road To Arlington: Rangers Minor League Report (6/2)

Triple-A: Albuquerque 4 @ Oklahoma City 2

In his PCL debut, RHP Omar Poveda scattered four runs on five hits and four walks, fanning three. The 22 year old Venezuelan delivered 52 of his 94 offerings for strikes.

1B Nate Gold led another shot effort from the RedHawks lineup, going 2-for-4 with a double while C Emerson Frostad, in his second game back with OKC after nearly a month with Frisco, went 1-for-3 with a triple and a pair of walks to drive in one.

(more…)