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Ian Kinsler Plays Seven For Frisco

In his first game of what should be a two-day rehab assignment, 2B Ian Kinsler played seven innings for Double-A Frisco in a 10-9 loss to Tulsa. He was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. He was replaced by Renny Osuna, but not due to injury. According to an email from GM Jon Daniels, there were no health issues.

He is expected to play again on Thursday and would likely be activated for Friday’s game when the Rangers return home to Arlington.

Post-Game Show: Rangers 5, Indians 0

D-tails
• Boxscore, AL West standings, Wild Card standings

Story of the game
What a year it’s been for RHP Tommy Hunter. Nearly, one year to the day since the start that embarrassed him right out of the major leagues, Hunter pitched 7.2 innings of shutout ball to continue one of the best rookie seasons by a Rangers pitcher in recent history. On August 14, 2008, Hunter allowed nine baserunners (all of whom scored) in just 1.2 innings at Fenway Park.  On Wednesday, 364 days later, Hunter got out of some first-inning trouble thanks to a double-play grounder. In the third, he erased another leadoff runner with a double play. When that inning was done, Hunter was in complete control.

Hunter has a 2.26 ERA in nine starts this season, but it is 1.84 since July 1 when he joined the rotation for good. That leads all AL pitchers and ranks fourth in all of baseball. He is holding hitters to a .200 batting average since July 1, which ranks third in the AL and seventh in baseball.

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The Depot: Rangers-Indians Live Game Blog And Watching Party From Pappasito’s In Dallas

5:46: The home run pool is open, but we ask that you put your swimming togs away before showing up here. No shirt, no shoes, no service. Hey, the Health Department does have some regulations.

6:10: Julio Borbon leads off with a walk, meaning I’ve got to take my first shot of Tequila.

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Jump In The Home Run Pool, Dip Into The Queso

Just about 100 minutes to game time and 70 minutes to the first Pappasito’s watching party kicks off. Before you rush out of your house to get to Pappasitos in Dallas (Lombardy Lane in Dallas, near I-35E and NW Highway), make sure to get into the homer pool. Because that way, you could get a deal on fajitas, meet Rusty Greer and maybe even win something super special! Or possibly something incredibly ordinary.

Until I get a pesky lineup for tonight’s game against Cleveland, you can enter blind.

Also, I plan to do my part to encourage the lineup to be disciplined. For every walk the Rangers take tonight, I plan to toast them with a shot of Tequila. Yes, you heard it here first. That alone, is worth the price of admission. Which, by the way, is free.

UPDATED, 5:41 p.m.: Here is your Rangers’ lineup tonight against RHP Fausto Carmona: LF Julio Borbon, 3B Michael Young, DH David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, RF Josh Hamilton, 1B Hank Blalock, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2B Omar Vizquel, SS Elvis Andrus and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Tommy Hunter.

Linkin’ Park: Lurking Around The Web For You

When news of Vicente Padilla’s release came Friday night, nobody seemed more surprised than he did. But after a seemingly failed attempt to catch his attention by placing him on waivers in June was followed by a bloating ERA and antics in Oakland two months later, the Rangers’ decision to continue their youth movement seems to make sense.

So Dustin Nippert, a former top prospect in the Diamondbacks system, took Padilla’s spot as a starter. And while the peripherals were good in Nippert’s first start while solidly entrenched in the rotation (6 H, 0 HR, 10 Ks in 6 IP), the end result was not, leaving the Rangers to scratch their heads in befuddlement as to why they’ve struggled against sub-.500 opponents.

But that’s a risk you run when you commit to youth. Sometimes the results are bad. And sometimes, they’re really, really good.

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Reminder: Rusty Greer, Mike Bascik, Fajitas, ‘Ritas And Rangers-Indians Tonight At Pappasitos

If you didn’t check the blog yesterday, you missed our announcement about a quickly-organized Rangers watching event at Pappasitos in Dallas (on Lombardy Lane near I-35E and Northwest Highway) this evening from 5:30 until whenever. I’ll be there, but you knew that. Rusty Greer and Ticket host/former Rangers reliever Mike Bascik will be there. As will former Rangers Rich Hand and Ken Suarez. Fajitas for two are HALF PRICE! We’ll have the Rangers-Indians game on. I’ll be live blogging (so you can see how much blood, sweat and tears goes into this). If a waiter knocks a tray over, I expect Rusty will make a diving catch to save the guacamole.

So, hope you can make it. And if you can or think you can, please let me know here or via email because, you know, I just want to plan for it.

Hope you can make it.

Chatting Soccer with Bobby Rhine

It is a big day if you love the beautiful game today: First, you are seeing the first-ever All Soccer blog entry in the history of Inside Corner. I am sure it will be met with some level of resistance, but I can take it.

But, the 2nd reason for happy soccer time is that today is another chance for our beloved United States of America National Team to get their first ever win in Mexico City (3pm, Telemundo – Channel 39). We seem to have plenty of success on our home soil, but when the US heads south of the border, they have managed just 1 draw in 72 years of matches in Mexico City.

So, I wanted to mark this special day with a soccer chat with my buddy, Bobby Rhine. Chances are if you follow soccer in the area, you are quite familiar with his fine work – which includes well over 200 MLS matches for Dallas and now he is a member of the FC Dallas front office.

We will bounce around various soccer topics, and chances are, we will do this again soon. Enjoy:

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Cowboys ’08 – Week 17 at Philadelphia

This is the end. You have made it to the end of a 16-day review of the 16 games that made up the 2008 Dallas Cowboys season.

In a year of disappointment and defeat, nothing quite compares to the collapse in Philadelphia in a “win and you are in” showdown with the rival Eagles. They had everything on the line, and were pounded to the tune of 44-6.

I recall it like it was yesterday, and re-reading my notes this morning was interesting from the standpoint that the Cowboys heeded my advice on some items, and completely ignored it on others.

Tomorrow, the Dallas Cowboys open their 2009 Exhibition season in Oakland, and we can finally forget about the 2008 season. Sort of. I am pretty sure we will never forget the 2008 season entirely. Nor should we. It is the greatest demonstration ever that chemistry does matter, and your final results are not always a sum total of your talent. You must play and play well. In 2008, the Cowboys did anything but that.

From Week 17, December 28, 2008, here are my morning after notes from the final nail in the Cowboys coffin:

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Road To Arlington: Rangers Farm Report (8/12)

So said our own MJH on August 3rd:

I’ve noticed that they don’t like to subject their top pitching prospects to Bakersfield for very long, if at all. My guess is that Martin will spend no more than 4-6 weeks there at some point and may skip it altogether. So there’s really no rush to get him to the Cal League. I’d bet he’ll be in Frisco no later than mid-to-late May, 2010.

Guess who’s tentatively slated to start against the Tulsa Drillers tonight?

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