Why You Treat Him So Bad?

The Texas Rangers had a great run this past season.  All of their key players will return to a team talented enough to win the West this year and be competitive in the AL for yeas to come.  That’s what is being reported by nearly every baseball pundit from ESPN to the MLB Network.  But what I fear is that upper management, including the Great? Nolan Ryan and John Daniels have started to believe the hype as well.

Nearly two weeks removed from the Super Debacle and the Thunderdome seating scandal, when we should still be talking about the forthcoming lawsuits or perhaps the Mavs resurgence or even the Rangers attempt to return to the post season; all those things have taken a back seat to the idiocy that has developed at the Ballpark.  Of course I’m speaking of the Michael Young issue.

Since the winter meetings, there have been serious rumors involving the team’s all-time hits leader and his future with the only team he has ever known.  When the team attempted to improve the hot corner, they asked Young to move to DH in order to make room for a significant upgrade in Adrian Beltre.  That’s when I believe they started thinking the press clippings describing how smart they were were in fact gospel.

They heard how vastly improved they were at the position and in the lineup and suddenly someone got the bright idea that Young was expendable.  They discounted the fact that he is a .300+ hitter and is clutch to boot.  He has moved three times in his career here in Texas to make room for others for the good of the team.  He has sacrificed in the field, having to hear many calls for his head in regards to his defensive limitations that come from playing in an unfamiliar position.

Sure he complained when he moved from second to third in order to make room for an error machine in Rafael Soriano.  Then he switched again when Elvis entered the building.  Now that Beltre is on board, combined with the fact that the Rangers openly flirted with Jim Thome and Vlad Guerrero before finally landing Mike Napoli, Young had had enough. 

I personally love the move to DH.  I think it will improve his batting average and his overall numbers.  We have heard the local media talk about the drop in his performance yet they don’t see the tie in to him playing error filled ball in an uncomfortable position.  

I believe Young is such a perfectionist and a professional that when he makes a mistake in the field, he carries it to the plate, hence his production slips because the last play is still in his mind.

I also have a problem with the locals that yell about the athletes and their loyalty, yet isn’t Young the epitome of what we want and expect?  Isn’t he the guy that has stayed on a losing team for nearly 10 years while he heard promise after promise that the team would be ready to compete next year?  Isn’t he the guy that we have never had to question his heart or his drive or for that matter, his leadership? 

If you said yes to any of the above, then as fans and media, don’t we owe this guy a bit of slack when he does open up and admits something isn’t right?  I wonder why all of a sudden we have taken the word of Ryan and Daniels over Young.  They don’t play on the field.  They make gambles, take risks and hope things work out in their favor.  It’s the manager, coaches and players that really make everything go.

I have been a lifelong Rangers fan.  And I, like many, have endured our fair share of losing, controversy and, did I mention losing?  What I can’t understand is when we finally reach the pinnacle of our sport why do we begin acting like the Yankees or Cowboys?  We have a penchant for throwing away talent for the sake of proving we can win without them.  And I never thought the Rangers, who were becoming Texas’ version of the Cubs, would go the same route.

  If the Rangers are serious about competing this coming season, then they have to table all discussions on Young and move forward.  You wouldn’t do this to Ryan if he was still playing and he played in Texas for only five years.  But if the Rangers want to continue down this path of silliness for the sake of egos, and vilify the guy that is Mr. Ranger—the one constant on the team and the player all players look to and respect then they also risk destroying the chemistry that the team has built. 

And if you don’t know what that looks like, look across the street from the Ballpark just over the lines of attorneys.  See how that worked out for that guy.

It's in Arlington, Dammit!

I have had a growing sense of anger in the past few weeks.  Actually it has been since January 23rd, when we all discovered who would be participating in the Super Bowl and it seems no one is trying to correct it.

And while I can understand the penchant for equating a team name with a town, it is about time the local media corrects the national media on something: the Super Bowl is in Arlington not Dallas.

I know this seems like a petty grievance, but we taxpayers here in Arlington have carried the burden of The Thunderdome and it would be somewhat appeasing if we could get the credit for where the biggest sporting event in America will be played.

It didn’t bother me at first when during the players’ elation at winning their conference championships they all proclaimed that they couldn’t wait to get to Dallas.  It felt good as the host city to be looked upon as the center of the sports universe for one full week.  Our culture and heritage would be on display (not to mention the Confederate Flag that ESPN panned to while showing the Stock Yards) for all to see.  Cavender’s and Justin would be raided for Cowboy hats, belt buckles and Wranglers.  Barbecue joints would have to deal with lines stretched out the door as people would look to get a taste of authentic Texas brisket and ribs. 

Don’t get me wrong, all this is good for the metroplex as we could desperately use the money.  But all I want is the city to be recognized because in approximately five days when the hoopla is over and we have to clean up after the tourists and social maggots (The Kardashians), I want people to remember they came to Arlington, Fort Worth and Irving.  They did not go to Dallas.

When vacationers decide to descend on North Texas in the future and want to know where the Steelers stayed for the week or want to know where Ben R. took his teammates to dinner and possibly contemplated pinning another unsuspecting young lady in the bathroom, I want them to know it was Fort Worth, not Dallas.

When people equally want to know about the Packers and their uneventful seven days, they need to be directed to Irving, not Dallas.  There is no one staying in Dallas save for the media.  There is no football in Dallas except for the Red River Rivalry that will surely be moving to Arlington in the next few years.

There is no team in Dallas—hasn’t been since the 60s and thanks to former mayor Laura Miller, won’t be any significant sporting events there for quite sometime.  And pretty soon the only thing worth going to Dallas for is to pay bills, watch the Mavericks inevitably flame out, go to the fair and get robbed.  Actually you can combine the last two just to save time, usually without your consent.

The local media could go along way in addressing this yet they seem to either not care or are too intimidated by the Fox-like bright lights that ESPN and the NFL bring.  But they’ve set idly by and let the national media and the athletes tell the rest of the country they were playing the big game in Dallas, or North Texas for the geographically deficient. 

It’s high time we Arlingtonites unite and correct this injustice being perpetrated by nincompoops.  It makes us look bad and hurts our tourism in the future.  It also gives Dallas more credit than it deserves.

Remember; when Dallas wins we all lose.