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The Depot: Rangers-Angels Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Teary Farewell Thoughts

Well, that’s that. Rangers eliminated from playoff contention.

9:13: In case you missed my announcement from earlier in the day, here is the link. In case you missed our story about Josh Hamilton not playing today and perhaps not again this year, it’s here.

9:22: Michael Young admitted that even though he’s in the lineup, he is not 100 percent. You know what might be the best thing for the Rangers at this point? It might be best if Los Angeles did what seems inevitable and clinched quickly. That way, maybe some Ranger core players could just rest over the final week of the season. Not saying that’s what I’d like to see happen, but I’d hate to see Young or Josh Hamilton try to do something this week and suffer an injury that lingers into 2010. Young doubled in his first at-bat, but he is basically jogging on the bases.

9:31: After Kendry Morales homer, the Angels take a 3-0 lead with two outs in the first. In the time the Rangers have recorded their last six outs, they have allowed 10 runs.

9:53: Dustin Nippert is up in the second inning. It’s the third time he’s been up and throwing in the last 30 hours.

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The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and 90-Day Weight Loss Plan

6:30: The home run pool is up and running. Also, we’ve got words from and video of Michael Young talking about his early return from a hamstring injury.

7:16: The Rangers are pushing RHP Kevin Millwood back to Monday, meaning the veteran won’t pitch against the Los Angeles Angels this weekend.

The Rangers will instead go with RHPs Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman and rookie LHP Derek Holland. Even though Holland has struggled recently, too, the Rangers like the lefty matchup vs. the Angels. Holland pitched a three-hit shutout at Los Angeles in August, but is 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA in his last four outings. Pushing Millwood back gives the Rangers a chance to let him get in two extra bullpen throwing sessions in addition to the two he has already had.  Millwood said he’s “definitely” getting something out of the extra work, but also was disappointed about not pitching in what figures to be the biggest home series of the season.

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The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Complimentary Rain Slickers

6:30: The home run pool is open for your predicting pleasure.

7:07: There have been no decisions made on when Kevin Millwood will pitch again, but manager Ron Washington seems to be pretty steadfast that Millwood will, indeed, make another start for the Rangers.

7:13: The Rangers have released their Fall Instructional League roster. Perhaps the most significant names on the list are  a pair of 16-year-old infielders, Jurickson Profar and Luis Sardinas. The duo, who each received $1.5 million signing bonuses, were the top amateur free agents the Rangers signed this summer. RHPs Michael Main (first round, 2007), Neil Ramirez (supplemental first round, 2007) and LHP Martin Perez (the club’s No. 1 pitching prospect) will all participate.

7:35: Just in case you are wondering on my take on Kevin Millwood, it’s this: I’d start him on Sunday. If there were clear cut choices to move into that spot, I’d have no problem pushing Millwood back. RHP Brandon McCarthy, who will probably pitch Sunday, has  a nice record (7-2), but its not like he has dominated when healthy this year. He’s made two starts since coming back from the DL. He was sharp against Toronto, but allowed Cleveland five runs in 6.1 innings. The other option is LHP Derek Holland and he simply hasn’t been very good since the start of August.

Millwood was a huge part of the Rangers’ early-season success and was the model for the ohter pitchers to follow at the start of this season. That’s a good engouh tiebreaker for me to give him a shot. But it should also be mentioned he has playoff race experience.

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The Corral: Cowboys-Bucs Live Blog

Not sure how much of a regular feature, the Cowboys Corral will be, but, given the weather situation in Arlington, let’s open this up for Cowboys talk.

12:12: The Depot, however, remains open and the great one, Jeff Miller, is on the scene i n Arlington to update on Rangers doings. The possibility exists that Houston could become an option for the Rangers-A’s series that is scheduled to start Monday.

12:14: Cowboys have moved ball well on first drive, but a time out less than five minutes into the season is not encouraging.

12:16: Who had Nick Folk with a 50+ field goal for the first points of the year?

12:20: And who had Jerry Jones opening the season with a $100,000 fine from NFL commish Roger Goodell”?

1:00: For rest of game, I ask you to do this – track positive plays vs. negative plays for Tony Romo.  Give me a final +/- tally after the game. And give me any commentary on plays that stand out one way or another as they happen.

1:04: Also, exactly what does Tony Siragusa do to add to a broadcast? Or, for that matter, to keep his job with FOX?

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Sunday Rangers-Mariners Live Blog, Notes

ARLINGTON - I’ll go ahead and open this with no idea whether baseball will be played at Rangers Ballpark on Sunday. First pitch for the opener has been moved to 2:05 at the earliest.

Will post lineup for Game 1 Home Run Pool when that becomes available. There’s a 50 percent chance that Evan will be here early in a first game. I’ll be happy to keep you updated on Red Sox-Rays Game 1 (scheduled to start in about 30 minutes) if you’d like.

3:30: Looking at starting in about an hour, assuming there’s no more rain before then.

The Depot: Rangers-Mariners Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Flash Flood Advisories

7:22: Hey, what do you know we’re playing. Surprised me. Also, apparently surprised the computer, which gobbled up tonight’s home run pool. I’m blaming it on faulty plumbing.

7:24: First pitch is hit for a double by Ichiro Suzuki. No surprise. He’s now 27-for-66 in his career against Millwood. He has three more hits to go to reach 200.

7:34: Another amateur weather update. It appears that there should be no rain for about an hour or 90 minutes, then light showers for a period of time before it gets heavier. But as long the weather holds up long enough for an official game, the Rangers will have dodged a huge logistical bullet. Then, of course, there is the matter of Sunday when the forecast is better, but still not great.

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The Depot: Rangers-Indians Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Brunch Omelet Station

10:55: For a limited time – like the next 10 minutes or so – the home run pool is open.

11:06: We open the day with a question: The Red Sox (currently leading the Rangers by two games in the wild card) host the Angels (currently leading the Rangers by 4.5 games in the West) meet for three games in Boston Sept. 15-17. That’s just before the Angels come to Arlington for three games. So, the question: For whom will you be rooting in that series? Before answering, consider these facts: As long as the Rangers win two of three vs. Oakland Sept. 14-16, they are guaranteed of picking up at least a game on one of the two teams ahead of them. Second, though the Rangers are closer in the wild card race, they do have those seven games against the Angels upcoming. And, if the Rangers were to win the West, they’d probably open the playoffs at home; if they were to win the wild card, they would definitely open at New York. So, what do you say?

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Post-Game Show: Rangers 11-10, Indians 9-5

D-tails
• Game 1 boxscore, Game 2 boxscore, AL West Standings, AL Wild Card Standings

Story of the Day
Behind a surprisingly resilient offense, the Rangers held off a pair of Cleveland rallies to sweep a doubleheader for the third time this season. The Rangers had previously swept Oakland in May and Toronto last week, both at home.

In the opener, Marlon Byrd went 4-for-4 and his three-run home run in the seventh inning broke a tie after Cleveland had rallied back from 5-1. In the ninth, the Rangers added three more runs to give themselves a needed four-run cushion. OF Julio Borbon homered for the second time in the game and then Byrd began a two-out rally with a single. OF Nelson Cruz and C Ivan Rodriguez each had hits to stoke the rally.

In the second game, the Rangers led 7-0 at one point only to see the lead whittled to 7-5 heading to the ninth. They took advantage of a two-out error that allowed OF David Murphy to reach base. C Taylor Teagarden followed with a single and then 1B Chris Davis hit a three-run homer to left center.

The win helped the Rangers creep within two games of Boston in the wild card race, even though the Red Sox crushed the Orioles on Tuesday.

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The Depot: Rangers-Indians Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Doubleheader Viewing Tips

3:58: The home run pool remains open – briefly.Also, TV watching help: The first game is on FSN; the second on Channel 27 here in the DFW area.

4:08: Couple of earlier-in-the-day posts, I wanted to alert you to – if you are just now coming around. First, as kind of an epitaph on the “DVD” Era, we revisited the Rangers top picks from the 2002-05 draft and what they got from those picks compared to the rest of baseball. Also, it’s worth noting that despite getting very little, the Rangers were able to build baseball’s best farm system in just three years. And, I posted the first Rick Perry Republic of Texas Top 10 football poll. It’s not that much of a poll since right now I’m the only voter, but I did get at least one volunteer this afternoon. I’m always looking for more.

4:12: Josh, please, I beg you: We are headed for six plus hours of baseball, so please, please, please, slow down on the shtick.

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The Depot: Rangers-Blue Jays Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Blood Platelet Injections

5:50: Yes, you can still get in the home run pool.

7:17: Tommy Hunter allows a one-out walk and then a double to Adam Lind – who else? – to score a run. Hunter has allowed runs in six of his last eight starts.

7:23: Ron Washington said he was uncertain who would start on Monday, at Cleveland, the next time the fifth starter’s spot comes up. Both RHP Dustin Nippert (6 IP, 2 R) and RHP Brandon McCarthy (6.1 IP, 1 R) qualified for quality starts in Tuesday’s doubleheader. Both alos have relief experience, though McCarthy has been exclusively a starter since coming to Texas.

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The Depot: Rangers-Blue Jays Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Two Times the Fun

Game 2

Game 1

2:58: The homer pool is open and we’ve tweaked for the doubleheader. And to get you up to date, here’s Jeff Miller’s first installment of Race Day, a look at the playoff races.

4:10: In case you missed the Rangers roster moves for today, there were a slew of them. The club added seven players and DFA’d RHP Thomas Diamond to make room on the 40-man roster. There will likely be a couple more forthcoming in the upcoming week. DH Andruw Jones can be activated from the DL on Tuesday and RHP Willie Eyre is eligible to be recalled tomorrow.  Interesting thing about the moves: The Rangers had a speedy outfielder (Greg Golson) and an extra catcher (Max Ramirez) on the 40-man roster, but chose to bypass both for Craig Gentry, who is considered a better baserunner and superior defender, and Kevin Richardson. Apparently, the Rangers wanted to send a message to Ramirez that his .232 batting average this season was not worthy of a callup.

4:36: Apparently Golson has a left wrist strain. He is not on the DL, however. He left an August 27 game early and didn’t return until last night when he was 0-for-3 for Oklahoma City.

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Road To Arlington: Rangers Farm Report (9/1)

Triple-A: @Oklahoma City 9, New Orleans 4

Despite four strong innings in a spot start, RHP Brian Gordon (7-2; 3.07) didn’t get a win because he didn’t pitch the necessary five innings to qualify. He left with a 3-0 lead after going four innings of scoreless two hit baseball. RHP Josh Rupe (4-7; 6.93) was the winning pitcher despite allowing a pair of runs on two hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. RHP Willie Eyre (0-0; 2.10) got a save after two perfect innings, striking out three.

C Max Ramirez (.237/.327/.335) had two singles and two walks with an RBI, while LF Casey Benjamin (.215/.336/.321) reached base five times with a double and four walks. 1B Royce Huffman (.295/.377/.414) was the only starter to not drive in a run, but he still managed a 2-4 effort, walking and doubling in the process.

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Rangers-Jays Tag Team In-Game Blog, Notes, Etc.

ARLINGTON - While I’m inputting this file, Evan will be at my side and should chime in throughout the evening.

You’ve probably seen Evan’s report earlier that Jarrod Saltalamacchia won’t be ready to rejoin the club on Tuesday and now calls the chance of surgery to correct his bout with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome 50-50.

5:05: Here is your home run pool entry form. The Saltalamacchia story has been updated.

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The Depot: Rangers-Twins Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Airline Flight Information

12:18: The home run pool is open. Bar service begins at 1:10.

1:21: C Jarrod Saltalamacchia played six innings behind the plate last night at Double-A Frisco, picked off a runner and caught a guy stealing. The throwing wasn’t bad at all. What’s a little worrisome is that he left “fatigued” after six.  Makes me thing he won’t be ready to go nine innings behind the plate on Tuesday when he can be first activated from the DL.

2:02: Nick Punto: .400 hitter (8-for-20) vs. Rangers; .192 vs. rest of baseball.

2:10: Michael Young hitting streak now at 17 games.

2:34: The two-run homer Kevin Millwood allowed Jason Kubel in the fourth ended a 19-inning scoreless streak for the Rangers pitchers. They had not allowed a run since the first inning on Friday.

3:27: Denard Span’s ball that ricochets in and out of Josh Hamilton’s glove is ruled a double. Sorry, but that’s not a double. Play didn’t require extraordinary effort. Hamilton simply didn’t close his glove.

The Depot: Texas Rangers-Twins Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Fond Metrodome Memories

5:11: It is really nice out by the home run pool today. And for the girls, we’ve got two words for you: Cabana Boys!

5:19: Coming up in 10 minutes, the show you’ve all been waiting for: Ric Renner and I on TV doing Rangers Pre-Game. And post-game later on. Somebody please alert Ringling Bros.

6:06: Really nice touch to have Ron Washington throw out the first pitch tonight as part of final year ceremonies at the Metrodome. (more…)