Baseball Talk: Welcome to the Crazy Train Rangers Fans

Welcome to my state of the Rangers blog.  From time to time I will drop a blog about the comings and goings and just overall feeling of fandom for my favorite boys with bats.   

 

Back in 2013 when Josh Hamilton returned to the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington as a California (Los Angeles) Angel, this was the reception he received. 

Friday night he returned to the Texas Rangers once again a member of the good guys.

The fan reaction was very different.   During the weekend his bat spoke for Josh in the times Josh couldn't speak for himself.  He doubled in his first at bat back home at the Ballpark.  He had 2 home runs Saturday night and Sunday, a scheduled off day for Hamilton who missed all of spring training, he came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 runners on, down by one run.   Can you say get the Walk-Off double and the party started, Josh?

When he wasn't hitting baseballs far, he was giving interviews about how happy he is to be back in Texas and doing what he could do on and off the field to mend fences with bitter fans. 

After the game I tweeted a couple thoughts on the game:

Turn Back Time ‏@Lauran0805  15h15 hours ago

Do you think Josh Hamilton is happy to be back in Texas?

Turn Back Time ‏@Lauran0805  15h15 hours ago

I have missed this so much. All last season we didn't have fun. Baseball...it's fun again.

Driving to work this morning, I couldn't help but think about my weekend. I am going to admit a lot of it had nothing to do with Texas Rangers baseball but you don't want to know how I got my haircut or fell on my bottom trying to pull garlic for friends and ended up in a mud fight with myself. You don't want to know how my friends and husband and I spent Saturday night dancing on our deck to music from his phone until 1:30. You don't care about my great chicken scare of 2015 when my sweet little Ries attacked one of my chicks (I believe she was just trying to play with her not eat her, to be fair) and sent the chick into shock. We thought for a good several hours the chick was going to die. She is perfectly fine now and running around the coop like a crazy girl. Ries, however is banned from all chicken activity.

So you get my stunning analysis of baseball. Yay!!

Alright, when Josh Hamilton came back last month, I wrote a blog getting my feelings out about his departure and return to MY Texas Rangers. I admitted through the course of my blog that Hamilton was my favorite Ranger before he left. I also admit after he left, I wrote a couple of blogs, buried in my archive somewhere, about why I was glad he wasn't our (Rangers Fans) problem anymore. Then he came home.

Here is what I decided on my drive in to work. Josh Hamilton IS the crazy train. The thing about the crazy train is that you ride it and get all you can out of it knowing full well it is the crazy train and could do a complete 180 on you at any moment. Josh Hamilton, for all his faults (and who doesn't have them?) makes baseball fun. Josh Hamilton, for all his goofy interviews, gives his team some excitement. Josh Hamilton, for all his crazy-blue-eyes-can't-see-in-the-sun, Jesus told me to stop chewing tobacco, way too honest and completely nuts comments, (It's not that I don't think Jesus doesn't want Josh to stop chewing, it's just that even if he told Josh that, did he also tell Josh to use it as an excuse not to hit the baseball? I kind of doubt that. I am positive Jesus wants Josh to be happy and healthy. He wants that for all of us, I am sure. He is Jesus, for heaven's sake!) gives fans hope.  

What this Texas Rangers team missed last year was fun, excitement, and hope. I am going to be honest here, I had none last season, just a lot of tears over a lot of injuries and this season was starting to look a lot like last season until Hamilton sauntered into town with his crazy train, tossed on his superman cape of many colors, and blew his whistle to shout "Hey guys, it's me Josh, it's going to be different because it's going to be just like it was. I'm back, all aboard my Crazy Train."

Do I think Josh Hamilton is the savior? No, of course not. However, in a season that started with Yu Darvish having surgery and being out for the season before the umpire shouted "Play Ball!" and included Derek Holland's return stint on the DL, Matt Harrison's never ending stint on the DL and a starting rotation that features Colby Lewis the seasoned veteran and always confusing, Colby. Just when you think you can really count on Colby he throws a whopper of a bad game or 4 and you want to know where the brilliance went. Add to the Colby rotation Nick Martinez, Wandy Rodriguez, Yovani Gallardo, and the newest member of Rangers Nation Chi-Chi Gonzalez.

Truthfully, I can't wait until Yu Darvish is back because I really want a starting 5 that includes Yu, Wandy, and Chi-Chi just because...come on, that is baseball name greatness. Seriously, Colby, Derek, Matt and Nick are kind of boring on paper.

So where does that leave my beloved Rangers? Right now they are playing very well but to be fair, they were playing well before Josh Hamilton returned so let's not give Hamilton all the credit. Unfortunately lost in the win yesterday was Adrian Beltre who injured himself on a slide into 2nd and will be out for at least 2 weeks.

The loss of Beltre is huge and it has spurred a lot of 'Bring Joey Gallo' up talk. Gallo, is a huge sensation in AA Frisco right now and the future of Texas Rangers 3rd Base. He also has barely been at AA and while he is tearing the cover off the ball, he isn't exactly Adrian Beltre playing 3rd, yet. He needs time to develop and become a well rounded player. Something more than a month at AA would give him so I am not on the Bring Up Joey bandwagon.

Here is where we stand today:

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
TEAM	W	L	PCT.	GB	RS	RA	DIFF	HOME	ROAD	EAST	CENT	WEST	L10	STRK
Houston	31	20	.608	-	219	197	22	16-12	15-8	5-2	4-6	18-11	4-6	L 1
L.A. Angels	27	24	.529	4	201	193	8	15-11	12-13	5-5	4-3	15-11	6-4	W 4
Texas	26	25	.510	5	233	234	-1	9-14	17-11	10-4	5-5	10-15	8-2	W 3
Seattle	24	26	.480	6½	186	204	-18	12-13	12-13	8-5	2-5	13-12	6-4	L 2
Oakland	20	33	.377	12	222	221	1	9-17	11-16	6-5	3-10	11-18	6-4	W 1

 

Baseball Talk: The things I want Josh Hamilton to know

This isn't a Dear Josh Hamilton blog but it could be.  These are the things I would tell Josh if I could sit down and talk to him.  

I have been thinking about this all weekend.  Josh Hamilton coming back to my Rangers.  Josh said some dumb things when he left.  Even before he left the perception from the fans was he quit on the team.  Josh Hamilton has some fences to mend in Dallas-Ft. Worth.  

Josh was a great player for 4 1/2 years here.  He had the most successful years of his career in a Rangers uniform.   He was beloved by fans.  He was loved by me. He was my favorite Ranger.   

I am a good fan.  I try to see the best in players who wear the Rangers uniform.  I defended CJ Wilson when 98% of Rangers Nation hated him and that was while he was with the team. I tried to support Lance Berkman even though I thought he was a jerkface.  Turned out I was right but, it was the name on the front of the uniform not the name on the back.  I didn't boo him.  It killed me but I didn't.  I have never booed a Rangers player until Josh Hamilton's last game in Texas.  I was frustrated, the fans at the park were frustrated.  Josh clearly didn't care or if he did, he did a good job of pretending like he didn't. 

So we fast forward two years.  Hamilton's world is collapsing.   He has filed for divorce from his wife, Katie.   He and the Angels have had a falling out over his self admitted drug relapse.  He apparently wants to come home.  He  seemingly wants to play for Texas.   He has some work to do. 

First and foremost Josh needs to get his priorities straight.  He needs to quit hiding behind his faith.  He needs to stop making excuses for his bad decisions and take responsibility for his life, his addiction, and his baseball career.   That is the Christian in me talking.  I have a lot of faith too but Josh, at this point, comes off as a hypocrit of the worst Christian kind.  I don't know what his personal struggles are beyond his substance abuse but he obviously has problems.  We all do.  I can't make excuses for my life and neither should he.  He makes his own choices and nobody believes that God told him to go to California to get the big money contract and subject himself to the lure of the Hollywood life.   I don't think that was God talking, it sounds more like Katie Hamilton.  He made a dumb choice so say that.  

I don't need an apology from Josh for calling DFW a bad baseball town.  I don't care what he said.  I chalk that up to him being butt hurt because the Rangers didn't go after him with the crazy money the Angels did. The truth is, this isn't a baseball town.  It isn't a basketball town.  It is not a hockey town.  It isn't even a football town, Sorry Cowboys, it isn't.   Dallas-Ft. Worth is a winners town. Aside from a few fans who support the individual teams come Hell or High Water, the town supports the team that is winning. 

Source

What I need to see from Josh is to see that he cares again or maybe for the first time ever.  I need to see that he is going to give baseball 100% when he is on the field.  I think he plays hard but he makes dumb choices.  I need Josh to play smart.  Baseball came easy for him, he says so in his book.   Baseball probably came too easy.   I don't feel like Josh Hamilton loves the game.  I feel like Josh Hamilton plays because he is naturally skilled athletically and this is the game he knows.   Alright, that is fair.  He can make a ton of money playing a little boys sport but he also needs to respect the people in the stands who do not make a ton of money.   He needs to play baseball the way the game should be played and I am not just talking about hitting homeruns and catching balls.  I am talking about respecting the sport that has given him everything money can buy.  I am talking about making the team he plays for and the fans who cheer him, and Rangers fans will cheer him again, a priority in his life.  Josh Hamilton has become some kind of cartoon figure, spouting religion and talking in baseball circles.  It is time for Josh Hamilton to stop hiding behind his faith and start taking the heat for himself.  He can do that by simply saying he has screwed up publically and that he wants to get his act together....again. 

I want to like Josh Hamilton again but more than that I want Josh Hamilton to like himself.   I want him to be smarter.  I want him to play smarter.  I want him to make better choices in life.  For himself, for his kids, and yes, there is a part of me that hopes he manages to patch up his marriage.  Nobody can do it for him.  Only Josh Hamilton can babysit Josh Hamilton.   He does not need, nor should he get an accountability partner. It is time for Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers, and everyone who is around Josh Hamilton to stop catering to his addiction, personal flaws, and private hell.  It is time for Josh Hamilton to grow up and be the person God wants him to be and the player fans deserve.  Any fans but especially Texas Rangers fans who stood by him when he fell more than once.  It is time for Josh to be responsible for Josh. 

So will I cheer for Josh?  Yes, I will.  Am I selling out?  No, I am not.   Did I want him back?  Not really, but the deal the Rangers have made is too full of potential and too low on the risk side not to give it a shot.   Am I going to dust of my now SHamilton t-shirt?  Probably not.  I will wear that to paint in but I can't take the S off and I am not sure I want to anyway. I prefer to forgive his stupidity when he left in attacking the fans and never forget.   Am I going to run out and buy a new Hamilton shirt.  Nope.  Been there, done that.   Do I want Josh Hamilton to be happy?  Sure, I want everyone almost everyone to be happy.  Do I want him to positively effect the Rangers?  Heck yes, this team is floundering with low batting averages and bad pitching.   Do I expect a lot from Josh Hamilton?  Not really.  

In the end, I am a good fan and I will be there to cheer but cheering a player and trusting them are two very different things.  Josh Hamilton lost the fans trust a long time ago and he has some fences to fix before he should even think about getting that back.  

And that is what I would tell Josh Hamilton, if I could.    

Baseball Talk: Josh Hamilton: Yes I said it

For the last 5 years I have gone to anywhere from 20 to 40 games a year not including post season, parking, concessions, and T-shirts (which I have spent a lot of money on, admittedly) you have to figure I spent somewhere around $600 a year on baseball, minimum)  That's a lot of money for me, I don't  know about you.   When you add post season, parking and the rest in you are in to a few thousand dollars a year for some of those years and maybe more.

During a good period of that time I spent my hard earned money on merchandise with the number 32 on it.  The number 32 at the time belonged to Josh Hamilton.  Hamilton as you may know is a super star with a long history of problems.  He had an epic rise and fall and rise from the number one overall draft pick to drug problems to coming back big with the Texas Rangers.  His last year with the Texas Rangers was filled with struggles, injury, and fan perception that he quit on the team.   However, in the 5 years that Hamilton played for the Rangers I do not believe you would have found a group of fans more in love with a player or more accepting of a man's failures and apologies.  Not when he fell from grace in a local bar and not when he struggled during his contract year.  Not until his final at bat with the team did it finally hit this fan that he truly gave up on this team and the group of fans and did I call him a quitter.   I was done with Hamilton when he walked off the field without trying that last at bat and I have never regretted it.

So why am I writing about him now?   Today Major League Baseball was forced to reinstate Hamilton, with pay by an arbitrator even though he admittedly used drugs.   Hamilton who is forced to take drug tests due to his prior drug history, went to MLB and told them he was going to fail because he used drugs.  Okay.  Whatever.  Here is my problem, we glorify atheletes to a point that is so insane that we make excuses when they repeatedly fail and we let them get away with it.  In no other profession except 'professional athlete' is it okay to repeatedly break the law and still have a job.  If a school teacher, police officer, insurance agent, electrician, truck driver, or plumber failed a random drug test they would be fired.   They would not be give 3 chances to redeem themselves.  They would not be suspended with or without pay and sent to a rehab clinic.  At least not in most cases.  They certainly are not making millions of dollars a year.  Stressfilled, back breaking, agonizing jobs that most Americans have and get paid miniscule amounts for especially relative to athletes and yet repeatedly you see all-star athletes in trouble with the law and nobody cares.

NFL players who have sexual assualt charges that 'disappear', physical abuse charges that are 'misunderstandings', and then there is Hamilton.

Now we get to the Angels statement that Hamilton deserved better than a public trial.   I don't think anyone judged him really but honestly given the amount of money I have spent on his merchandise over the years I have every right to speak my opinon on the matter.  My money spent on tickets to watch him play.  My money spent on his T-shirts when I thought he was being honest about who he was.   My money supporting his book.   I feel duped by him.  I feel lied to by him.  I have a right to express the fact that I do not believe that Josh Hamilton is who he pretends to be and while I hope that someday he does truly find Jesus and someday he truly does get the monkey off his back, I also wish he would stop using his faith as a crutch and stop using his illness as an excuse.   In my opinion, he has used up all my sympathy I had left a long time ago.    I don't honestly care if he plays or not as a fan because he isn't on my team but as a person I think it is a terrible message to send to kids everywhere that it is "OK to do bad things if you are a good athlete."

So if the Angels and certain writers want professional athletes to be treated fairly by the American public, then they need to be treated just like all the rest of us.   Just like the plumber who breaks his back every day and maybe has one joint with his friends for the first time ever on a friday night and fails a random drug test on Monday morning and loses his job and can't support his family.   That would be an actual tragedy.   That would be something to feel a little bit sympathetic about.   Feeling sorry for a rich, athlete who is a repeat offender and falls on his faith as an excuse everytime he fails.  Well, the era of TV televangalism and Tammy Fay Baker is over.  I don't need the fake tears.

Mobile Monday:Opening Weekend Part 1 Plus Challenge

Seriously I took so many pictures this weekend it is INSANE!

Let's start with the home opener on Friday:







Tailgating with Chance and his crew!!  It was really nice of these Young Guns to let an old lady hang with them.  They are fun, sweet, and they like BEER!!!


My Friends were in the HOUSE!!!
Top left: mom and me
Top Right: with Rachel & Monica
Bottom Left: Chance
Bottom right: I finally got to meet Travis! This was totally awesome because he bikes and we talked baseball & bikes! That's a win!


There was some ignoring of Josh Hamilton happening in front of me. There was shopping! I couldn't say no to a very Cubs like Rangers T! I had all of my swag working and I got a free T from Chevrolet!!




They always do such a nice job Opening Day! Here are the giant flag, Robbie Parker and his family were there to throw out the 1st pitch. Robbie grew up in Arlington and is a Rangers fan and used to bring his daughter Emilee to games. His daughter went to Sandy Hook elementary and she was lost in December.
The fly over is always awesome.
I may have had some beer, too!

Saturday:



This is most of my Scooby Gang!!! I love my Rangers Friends.  They make me laugh!
TL: Julie, Rachel. Me
TR: Me. Brandon, Khrystal
BL: one good looking group!
BR: Khrystal took this cute picture of her & Brandon


Me plus some of the Hamilton aimed marketing! Me in my new hat...I had a bad hair weekend going although for some reason, everywhere I went guys were flirting with me all weekend.  I hate my hair curly but I may need to re-examine this!  Hmmmm!  Also, after eating bunchs of junk all weekned, there will be some serious re-examining of the diet.  It is time to let go of the past and live for today and for me and only me!

We won Friday, Lost Saturday & won Sunday. The Rangers fans stepped up this weekend. The park was off the hook loud and the fans were amazing! Rangers fans are just the best in the WORLD! We love our team and we love our baseball and when we are attacked, we fight back. Baseball Town!  This was by far the best Opening Week in my life.  I had more fun this weekend!  It is mostly because the friends I have make it so special.  That and I love my team and I promised myself that this year, I am going to enjoy every moment of baseball and nothing and nobody is going to make me sad at Rangers Ballpark!!!! 

Okay that enough for one blog. I will catch you up on Sunday, today & tomorrow Tuesday & Wednesday.

Today's blog challenge is a screen shot of my lock or home screen here are both:




My two favorite things!
XOXO

Simply,
Laura
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