The Catetories:

Innings pitched
Strikeouts
Walks
Hits allowed (most)
Pitches thrown
Tiebreaker: Staff ERA

Go, you have a little more than two hours.

Anyway, you can visit the Dr Pepper facebook fan page . And we’ll have round two of the contest up tomorrow in plenty of time to get your entries in.

The fine folks at Dr Pepper and the Dr Pepper Facebook fan page are all about giving even more free stuff out. So, they had me come up with another contest. So, here’s the deal: For each of the next five weeks, we’re going to give you the opportunity to pick a group of Rangers pitchers who will lead the team in various categories for the week (which will run Monday through Saturday) . It’s simple: I’ll give you the categories and you pick the pitcher who will lead the team. You get the pitcher right, you get a point, you get his total in that particular category for the week right as well and you get a second point. You can also earn extra points (with me, but not in this game) by going to the Dr Pepper Facebook Fan page and registering as an official fan. The Dr Pepper prize pack details are being finalized, but they include many goodies.

Understand the concept? I hope so. But just in case, I’ll give you my sample picks for the week along with the entry form. All picks must be in before the first game of the week, which in this week’s case is 7:05 p.m. tonight:

Innings pitched: Kevin Millwood, 7
Strikeouts: Frank Francisco, 6
Walks: Scott Feldman, 5
Pitches thrown: Millwood, 116
Hits allowed: Brandon McCarthy, 8
Staff ERA: 4.11

Got it? I reserve the right to tweak the contest rules for next week, but for now, you have your rules and your model. Go.

It’s a beautiful day for baseball and if you’re in the North Dallas / Plano / Allen / McKinney / Denton area, you’re just a short drive away from this farm league palace, so get yourselves out to the yard to catch the Riders take on the Arkansas Travelers (first pitch at 4:05 pm).

If you can’t make it, make sure to watch the Riders on Channel 21 (btw, I’ll be joining Scott Garner for the broadcast in the 4th inning).

My daughters cheering on the RoughRiders

Here’s your RoughRiders lineup against Springfield: CF Craig Gentry, 2B Jose Vallejo, 1B Justin Smoak, DH Chad Tracy, LF Dustin Majewski, 3B Adam Fox, RF Steve Murphy, C Manny Pina, SS Marcus Lemon and pitching for Frisco. … LHP Kasey Kiker.

6:35: Kiker is making his Dr Pepper Ballpark debut. Interested to see how he does against Springfield the second time he sees them. Although, it could be argued that Springfield didn’t really see him the first time he pitched. Kiker had five strikeouts and allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings last Friday. In case you didn’t see MJH and I grill Kiker like two Law & Order detectives, you’ve still got time.

6:46: LHP A.J. Murray, coming back from a rotator cuff strain, has been sent to Double-A Frisco after spending the first week of the minor league season at extended spring training. Murray will pitch out of the bullpen. If the Rangers have long-term issues with either LHP C.J. Wilson or Eddie Guardado, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Murray in the Rangers bullpen. Murray replaces Michael Shlact, who was put on the DL with some tendonitis in the triceps area. The injury is not considered serious.  Incidentally, I talked to Schlact today – the interview will be available on the website soon.  Among the topics: How he’s trying to adopt a more Roy Halladay-like delivery. Other video interviews coming up: Tommy Hunter, Johnny Whittleman and Marcus Lemon.

7:07: Kiker’s first pitch: 94 mph called strike.

7:12: Not a good first ininng for Kiker. He allowed three runs on six hard-hit balls, two of which actually were corraled for outs. Lot of first-pitch swinging by the Cardinals. At least they were strikes.

7:22: Riders had back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first, but 1B Justin Smoak grounded into a double-play to squash the rally. Smoak is a very slow runner, but it was only the first double play he’s hit iinto this season. Smoak is considered extremely slow – it is probably the one identifiable flaw in his game.

8:01: OF Craig Gentry ran into an out to end the second inning. Never looked up going from first to third on a single until he got about 20 feet from the base only to see Manny Pina standing there. Gentry’s speed may make him a prospect as an extra outfielder, but guys who are going to rely on speed as their best tool have got to make the right decisions.

8:03: The boys in the office may have some fun with this because it sounds naughty, but it ain’t. If you haven’t been to the lovely Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, I’ve got three words for you: Hot. Bavarian. Nuts.

8:15: Kiker has allowed two walks and has hit two batters through four innings, but he’s managed to hold the Cardinals scoreless isince a three-run first. With two men on in the fourth, he struck out SS Donovan Solano and 3B Brett Wallace to escape further trouble. Got Wallace to chase an unhittable 92 mph fastball off the plate and up.

8:26: Attention Marcus Lemon-heads: Your guy just had a two-run sacrifice bunt. I am not making that up, even though I thought he was bunting more for a hit than to move the runners up. Anyway, he placed the bunt perfectly, forcing both pitcher and first baseman to chase it Afte LHP Justin Fiske picked it up, he threw low to first nase and the ball skipped into the outfield. Steve “Mr. RoughRider” Murphy scored easily from third and Manny Pina scored all the way from first. Lemon wound up at third.

8:31: I’m told Elvis Andrus was here earlier tonight to visit his old digs. Apparently he’s gone now. Yes, Elivs has left the building.

8:37: This is a bit disconcerting. Kiker has walked or hit the leadoff man in three of the five innings he’s started tonight. He walked RF Stevem Hill to start the fifth, then hit Daryl Jones with a pitch. It was the second time tonight he’s hit Jones.

8:54: Kiker done. The line is not good. Five innings, six hits, five runs (all earned), four walks and five strikeouts. He hit three batters. He threw 84 pitches (50 strikes) in those five innings. You would think he had terrible command, but here’s the interesting thing: Last week, when he held Springfield to two hits and one walk in five scoreless innings, he had nearly the exact same balls/strikes total. He also threw 84 pitches in that game, but 51 strikes. When he missed the zone tonight, he missed badly.

9:01: You know, LHP Beau Jones walked the second batter he faced. That’s eight free bases via walks or hit batsment surrendered by RoughRiders pitching. If I wanted to see a bunch of walks, I could have just gone to a Rangers game.

9:08: Steve “Mr. RoughRider”  Murphy leading off bottom of sixth inning. Why Mr. RoughRider? He is the all-time RoughRiders leader in hits (273), games played (265) and doubles (69). He is third in homers, two behind Nate Gold (34) and one back of Kevin Richardson (33).

9:12: Make that 274 hits. Murphy just singled.

9:33: Beau Jones just walked Donovan Solano. That’s the 10th free base the RoughRiders have allowed. What is it with me? Everywhere I go, Rangers’ pitchers hand out free passes like they are, well, free.

10:10: Must. … Get. … Out. … Of. … Here. Now at 10 walks, four hit batters for RoughRiders. I could have stayed home and washed my hair. Oh, wait. I have none.

10:35: Perfectly frustrating way to end a frustrating night. ‘Riders down 11-7 going to bottom of eighth have two runs in, bases loaded and nobody. Chad Tracy fouls out and then Dustin Majewski and Adam Fox strike out in succession.

10:43: I think you all deserted me around the fifth inning. Yeah, but I toughed it out. I’ve been to four games this week and the length of time has increased each successive night, starting with a 3:16 game on Monday night in Arlington. Listen, I love baseball as much as the next Seamhead. But you go longer than three hours and you get a little nuts. Go over 3:30 and, well, you end up like me.

10:50: Springfield 11, Frisco 9: It’s over.  Not a good night to get a real feel for the talent in the Rangers’ system tonight at the Frisco home opener. The pitching was ragged and that’s really what I cam to see. Justin Smoak didn’t do anything fabulous, which was the other thing I came to see. But, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any solid performances in this game. 2B Jose Vallejo was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and SS Marcus Lemon was 2-for-3 with a walk and he had what amounted to at wo-run sacrifice bunt on which he ended up at third.

The steps are simple: 1) Get a Dr Pepper; 2) Attend any kind of sporting event (we are very lenient judges of what constitutes a sporting event); 3) Sip your Dr Pepper and smile (trust us, it comes naturally); 4) Have somebody take a picture of that Pepper induced smile and 5) Upload it right here (or simply click on the picture of our own Kyle Kearbey obviously enjoying the Doc). And feel free to repeat those steps as often as possible. We’ve got the Chicago politics approach here. Participate early and often.

FRISCO, TX – Frisco RoughRiders single-game tickets will go on-sale Saturday, March 21 to the general public at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at Dr Pepper Ballpark’s Box Office or by visiting the team’s website.

The RoughRiders’ home opener is Thursday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. against the Springfield Cardinals at Dr Pepper Ballpark. The ‘Riders will play 70 regular season home games and will also host the Texas League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 1. Frisco will open the 2009 season on April 9 in Springfield, Missouri.

“After months of preparation, Dr Pepper Ballpark will soon be open for business with another exciting season of RoughRiders baseball,” RoughRiders President & General Manager Scott Sonju said. “A few new upgrades to the ballpark, an extremely talented team on the field, and the 73^rd annual Texas League All-Star Game are sure to make  Dr Pepper Ballpark an exciting place once again in 2009.”

The Dr Pepper Ballpark Box Office will be open this Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. throughout the season. For more information on season ticket packages, group outings, or single game tickets, please visit www.ridersbaseball.com or call 972-334-1900.

Erin and Mia are going through a stage where they argue about everything, but there are two things they agree upon. Having a Dr Pepper at Dr Pepper Ballpark is greatness, but having a Dr Pepper at a Rangers game with Evan Grant is even greater.

Don’t forget: You wanna hang with Mr. Evan P. (the P is for “Party”) Grant at a ballgame? Post some pics of you and your wingmen (or wingchicks…or wingkids) digging a Dr Pepper at a sporting event in the Dr Pepper Sports Snaps for a chance to win a family four-pack to cover a Rangers game with Our Leader.