Mav3rek Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Arlington, TX -- Today the Texas Rangers have announced the firing of general Manager Jon Daniels. Daniels took over the job for the Rangers in October of 2005 and was made aware that he had high expectations to fill. Aquisitions of Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee have not panned out the Rangers would have likes. While Soriano was shipped out for 3 players in return, Lee was not resigned and left as a free agent to instate rival Houston. "Certainly I am dissapointed, and upset. I know that expectations were high, but I only had one full season as the GM." said Daniels. Keeping with the young GM movement, the Rangers in turn hired widely unknown rookie GM Mav3rek. "I am pleased and excited to be taking over the GM duties of such a great organization." said Mav3rek, "Hopefully we can build on what is currently there and compete in the near future." When asked what his immediate plans were for the Rangers, Mav3rek said he would reveal his plan for turning this franchise around in a future press conference. One possible contributing factor to the dismissal of Daniels could be the lack of talent the Rangers have in the minors. In the recently released Baseball America Top 100 Prospects, the Rangers managed to only have 1 prospect listed, and he was ranked 68th of 100. Time will only tell if Mav3rek can turn the Rangers around. Stay tuned for further details... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJEagles Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 "No Clever Names Here, Just a Rangers Dynasty" - And yet a clever name it is. Good start, I will be following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceBlades Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 "No Clever Names Here, Just a Rangers Dynasty" - And yet a clever name it is. Good start, I will be following. I have to second that, very nice title, and catchy :wtg: I will be reading it along with you my friend :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 thanks for the compliments guys, I appreciate it. I really like the whole cover idea thing too, I'm not sure if I came up with that on my own or if I saw it on here somewhere before and subconsciously thought of it when creating my dynasty. The cutout job though is pretty rough, but I was trying to hurry it up, I wanna start my dynasty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaM813 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Looks good meng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Bristol, Conn. -- In an ESPN exclusive, we have been able to obtain a pre-press conference interview with the new GM of the Texas Rangers, Mav3rek. ESPN -- What were you first thoughts when you learned you would be the GM? Mav3rek -- Honestly I was surprised. I didn't think that the Rangers would pluck me from the unknown and just hand over the keys to me so quickly. I was expecting to have to work my way up from the bottom, but things progressed a lot quicker than I could have ever imagined. ESPN -- What are your plans for this team? Mav3rek -- Well, the biggest concern I have is the lack of young talent in the minor league system. When Baseball America published their top 100 prospects and the Rangers only had one prospect, I believe the owner took that as a slap in the face to his organization. Granted that Baseball America isn't the end all, be all for prospects and it's just their opinion, but they are a very reputable source and shouldn't be taken lightly. Basically I have a plan in place for this team to help build up the minors and get the team set for the future. My plan is to build through the minor leagues and scouting. Build up a solid minor league farm system, and really get the future set straight for this team. I believe we have enough talent on the MLB roster that we can remain competitive for the short term, and I think that by focusing on the minor leagues we'll be able to remain competitive in the long term as well. ESPN -- Are you planning and big time trades or do you think you are going to stay where you are at currently? Mav3rek -- I don't forsee any big time trades in the near future for this team. The only real trades I could see happening would be trades within the minor league system. Fans love the sexy trades, but I don't think that I'll need to come in here and do that to get the job done. ESPN -- Any particular players in mind? Mav3rek -- Well, yes and no. I'd love to get some of the prospects on the top 100 list, but the price tags may be a bit go high to actually make any of those deals work. Probably just looking for solid prospects, or maybe a project player or two. ESPN -- What is your overall impression with your current MLB roster? Mav3rek -- I really like the roster the way it is now. Our rotation isn't the strongest, but I think the 3-5 spots could really be a surprise in the upcoming season. Obviously there are a couple question marks, namely Gagne, and Sosa. But if they both pan out, it could end up being a tremendous lift for our team. Just watching Gagne long toss, and warm up before bullpen sessions he seems to have all of his velocity back. I believe he was constantly clocked in the mid 90's on his fastball. The bullpen is a little suspect, but I think they should be alright. As far as the offense goes, I think we're strong at the front end, but a little weak on the back end. Certainly Sosa could rectify that quickly if he can return to the form he one displayed. I'm very optomistic about this team, and am really looking forward to the upcoming season. ESPN -- One last question before we let you go, what are your realistic expectations for this team? Mav3rek -- Well if it goes the way you guys ranked us, we'd end up 24th in the league. (laughs) But in all honesty, I like our chaces in the West. The Angels are going to be a tough team as always, and the A's will probably be right there as well. And I really think Seattle has improved themselves as well, so it should be an interesting season. Realisticly? I wouldn't be surprised if we win 90 games, but I wouldn't be surprised if we lost 90 games either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pujols Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Love the name. Good start so far, i'll be reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_jefe061 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 thank god, iwas so sick of those pretentious names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Rangers Open Spring With Win Surprise, AZ -- The Texas Rangers opened up the 2007 spring training season today against the Kansas City Royals. Manager Ron Washington used this first game to get a handle on his roster and see what kind of talent he has available. Washington said he would more than likely follow this pattern for the first few games of spring training until everyone gets comfortable. Rangers Pitching: The game itself was an exciting one, going 11 innings before a winner was finally determined. Kevin Millwood got the start and went 2 innings giving up 2 hits and 1 earned run. The run came courtesy of David DeJesus leadoff homerun in the top of the 1st. Robinson Tejada followed Milwood and pitched 1 perfect inning before Vincente Padilla took over. Padilla would last 2 innings as well and was knocked around for 7 hits, but only allowed 1 run to score on those 7 hits. Following Padilla was the much anticipated debut of Eric Gagne. Gagne would get a good workout in by lasting through 2 rocky innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits. Brandon McCarthy and Akinori Otsuka would each go 2 innings and give up 2 hits, with Otsuka getting the win by pitching the 10th and 11th innings. Rangers Batting: The Rangers used everyone on their bench in this game, letting each player show what he has to offer to the team. Hand Blalock had himself one heck of a game by going 4 of 5 with one homer and one RBI. Mark Teixeira only had one hit on the day, but made it count as he hit his first homerun of the spring season as well. Kenny Lofton had a good debut going 2 for 2 in limited action. Jason Botts had a good day off the bench going 2 for 2 also. The much anticipated debut of Sammy Sosa lasted 4 at bats, with Sosa getting a single in his first at bat. Unfortunately for Sosa that would be the only hit he would collect on the day, but did have 1 walk as well. Press Photos: Sammy Sosa's First At-Bat Gagne's Debut: Otsuka makes the final out: The Rangers celebrate their victory: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 New Rangers GM Makes First Move Arlington, TX -- New Ranger GM Mav3rek has officially made his first move as the GM of the Texas Rangers. No it wasn't a trade, but a quite free agent minor league signing. Today the Ranger announced they have agree to terms with free agent second baseman Jesus Charlton. Charlton is widely unknown in the baseball world, and has not yet seen any major league pitching. Charlton was placed in AAA to start the season out, but will have a chance to show his worth during spring training. "Charlton is a guy with great range who should develop into a great hitter," said Mav3rek, "We really like the signing and hope that it works out well for both sides." Terms of the deal were not made available to the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacticsolardust Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 I like this dynasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb23 Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Love the name and the magazine covers. In that Sosa picture, I was wondering what the hell was going on, before I realized that ball was part of the outfield sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 ^^ me too, I didn't realize it until I posted it. I just thought there was a random glitch....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 Rangers Get Knocked Around In Second Spring Game Surprise, AZ -- The Rangers didn't fair so well in their second Spring Training game of 2007, losing to the Royals by a score of 6 to 1. Manager Ron Washington again swapped out pitchers after about 2 inning apiece, but with a struggling offense that had only 1 hit going into the 6th inning, he decided to let the potential starters play the majority of the game. In fact he only made one pinch hitting move, and that wasn't untill the botttom of the 9th with 2 out. Rangers Pitching: Robinson Tejada got the start in this one after pitching 1 perfect inning in the previous game. Tejada didn't fare nearly as well in this one as he pitched 2 and 2/3 innings giving up 4 runs, all earned, on just 4 hits, and allowed 2 homeruns. John Kronka would follow Tejada and pitch 2 and 1/3 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits. Wes Littleton and Scott Feldman each pitched one inning, with neither one surrendering any runs. Gagne pitched the final 2 innings (the 2nd straight day he's pitched 2 innings) and allowed 1 run on 2 hits. Rangers Hitting: The Rangers bats were quiet for the most part, having only 1 hit through the first 6 innings. But the bats finally woke up ending the game with a total of 8 hits. Kenny Lofton had another strong outing going 3/4 at the plate with a stolen base. The only other Ranger with more than 1 hit was Mark Teixeira who finished 2 for 4 with a double. Frank Catalanotto and Sammy Sosa both had one hit as well as Michael Young. Young would get the lone RBI for the Rangers. Press Photos: The first pitch of the game, a homerun for David DeJesus. Michael Young breaks his bat trying for a hit. Sosa caught looking: The Rangers look for answers following a loss: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceBlades Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Looking good Mav, keep it up........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 Ranges End Spring On Sour Note Surprise, AZ -- The Texas Rangers finished up their Spring Training tour today with a game against the Seattle Mariners. Vincente Padilla would get the start and faced Felix Hernandez of the Mariners. The Rangers fell behind early and couldn't catch back up to the Mariners as the fall 5-4. Rangers Pitching: Vincente Padilla took the mound for the Rangers in the final Spring Training game. Padilla didn't fair well in his final outing, lasting just 2 innings and giving up 5 hits and 4 earned runs. Brandon McCarthy would follow Padilla and go 3 innings allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run. Joaquin Benoit pitched 2 scoreless innings for the Rangers, followed by Mahay, and the Otsuka who both pitched 1 perfect inning. Rangers Batting: The Rangers were able to pound out 11 hits against the Mariners, and 3 of those belonged to Ian Kinsler who went 3 for 4. Hank Blalock was the only other Ranger batter with more than one hit going 2 for 4 with one homer. Teixeira, Young, Lofton, Sosa, Catalanotto, and Laird each had one hit apiece, with Young's hit being a solo homer. Young, Lofton, Blalock, and Wilkerson all had 1 RBI each. Clemens Update: Free Agent pitcher Roger Clemens has yet to make up his mind as to where he will go this upcoming seaosn. Clemens says he may still retire, but is staying in shape just in case he decides to sign with a club. It is believe the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and Rangers are among the suitors for Clemens, with a few more teams showing some interest. If new Rnagers GM Mav3rek could pull off a signing of Clemens, it would certainly give him a statement aquisition in his first few days as GM. But don't start reserving your Clemens jerseys just yet Rangers fans. While it is believed that the Rangers are serious contenders for him, Clemens has stated many times that he only wishes to pitch for a team that will ultimately give him the best chance to win a championship and the Rangers GM may have a hard time convincign Clemens that the Rangers are serious contenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaM813 Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hehe... clemens joined mine in my dynasty. ^.^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 Rangers Start 2007 Season On High Note Oakland, CA -- The Texas Rangers officially kicked off the 2007 MLB season today in Oakland with a 8 to 4 victory over Rich Harden and the Oakland A's. Kevin Millwood looked strong going 6 innings, allowing 11 hits and giving up 3 runs. Texas fell behind in the first 1 to 0, but rebounded quickly and tied the game in the top of the 3rd. The score would remain tied until the top of the 5th when the Rangers would push across two more runs to take a 3 to 1 lead. The Rangers extended their lead to 5 to 1 in the top of the 6th, and looked to be in control. In the bottom of the 7th though the A's broke through for 3 runs to make it a 5-4 game. Again, it looked like Gagne was going to get a chance to get his first save of the season out of the way, but Hank Blalock crushed a 3 run homer in the top of the 9th to make it an 8-4 game. Gagne would pitch the 9th inning allowing just 1 hit, but was eligible to get a save. The anticipated debut of Sammy Sosa left much to be desired as Sosa went hitless today. Rangers Notable Hitters: Lofton -- 3/5 Young -- 3/4 Blalock - 2/5 Laird ---- 2/4 Press Photos: Sosa's First At Bat Kotsay's Web Gem Gagne celebrates the Win Clemens Update: Opening Day came and went, and Roger Clemens sat at home watching games on tv. Clemens has said he's not in any rush to make a decision, and wants to make sure his decision is the correct one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 ESPN MLB Update I haven't been able to do a lot of writing lately on this dynasty. So here is a link for all the info you need about the current state of my dynasty. Do not click on any players names b/c I didn't upload player pages yet. Because it would take a year and a half to upload all of those player pages, I'll probably only do the ones for my team. Enjoy. I'm going to start updating after each game from this point forward. I'm 6 games into the season as of now, and I'm 5-1. If you want to know any players stats thus far just ask me and I'll post their info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superciuc Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 great dynasty! I like to see a rangers dynasty (finally) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Rookie Homers Twice In His Debut, But Rangers Fall To A's Link To Box Score Arlington, TX -- Jesus Charlton had a very good debut with the Rangers, but it just wasn't enough as the Rangers were on the short side of a 8-5 score. Texas fell behind in the first thanks to a 2 out 2 run double by Mike Piazza. The Rangers would answer back in the bottom of the 2nd, when Jesus Charlton would step up to the plate for his first at bat of the season. Charlton didn't take long to impress his new teammates as he crushed a 2-2 pitch over the right field wall for his first Major League hit, and homerun. Kenny Lofton would lead off the bottom of the 3rd with his 2nd homerun of the season to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Bobby Crosby would tie the score in the top of the 4th with a sacrifice fly to left. But Mark Teixeria would break the tie with his 2nd homer of the season to put the Rangers back on top 4-3. Ron Mahay would relieve John Koronka in the top of the 6th trying to protect a one run lead, but Eric Chavez would hit his first pitch into the right field bleachers to tie the game. Mark Kotsay would add another run in the top of the 7th off of Mahay with his first homer of the season. The score would remain 5-4 until the top of the 9th when Eric Gagne came in and gave up 3 runs thanks to a Milton Bradley double, and an Eric Chavez single. With the score now 8-4 the A's would leave Kiko Calero in to try and finish the game. But Jesus Charlton would chase him from the game as he hit his 2nd homer of the game. Huston Street would then be brought into the game to get the final out. "I'm just excited to be playing up in the Majors so early," said Charlton, "You never want to be called up to fill in for someone becasue of an injury, but I'm going to make the best of this opportunity, and who knows, maybe we have another Wally Pip situation" Charlton was referring to the famous story of the starting first baseman for the Yankees who sat out a game with a headache, and was replaced by Lou Gehrig who then went on to play in 2,130 consecutive games. Rangers GM makes first trade, aquires Hamilton New Ranger GM Mav3rek made his first trade today by sending right fielder Nelson Cruz to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for former number one overall pick outfielder Josh Hamilton. "I've had my eye on Hamilton for a while," said Mav3rek "I really think that he has put his problems behind him and is going to turn into a very nice baseball player. Certainly this wasn't the blockbuster type of deal everyone had hoped for, but I think this will help our minor leagues system and will contribute to success in the future." Press Photos: Haren With a Web Gem Jesus Charlton Homers In His First Major League At Bat Milton Bradley Watches As Lofton's Homer Leaves The Yard Young Breaks His Bat Fighting Off A Pitch Sosa Watches Ball Four Teixeira Rounds 2nd Following A Homer Milton Bradley Robs Hank Blalock Of A Homer Charlton Reacts After Hitting His 2nd Homer Of The Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 News From Around the League Signings Angels -- (1B) Todd Self, (LF) Shannon Stewart Braves -- (RF) Raul Mondesi Reds -- (2B) Dionys Gant, (SS) Jose Vizcaino, (SS) Sab Brewster Indians -- (SS) Luis Ordaz Rockies -- (3B) Tony Batista Royals -- © Tom Wilson Brewers -- © Keith McDonald, (2B) Junior Spivey Padres -- (SS) Donovan Kearns Mariners -- (2B) Ronnie Belliard Cardinals -- © Benito Santiago, (SS) Jace Brewer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Rangers Beat A's 10-5 Link To Box Score Arlington, TX -- The Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland A's today, 10-5 thanks in large part to 18 hits on the day, and some good pitching from Brandon McCarthy. The Rangers did all of their damage in just 3 innings, but made their work count. Michael Young started the scoring off in the bottom of the first with a run scoring double. It wouldn't take the A's long to respond as Erubiel Durazo homered to lead off the top of the 2nd to tie the game at 1. After a Milton Bradley single in the top of the 4th, Erubiel Durazo struck again, this time with an RBI double. In the bottom of the inning the Rangers would respond with 3 runs of their own, mainly thanks to Frank Catalanotto's 2 run homer. In the bottom of the sixth with the score still 4-2, Catalanotto would set the tone for the inning by leading off with a solo shot to left field, making it a 5-2 game. Lofton would later triple, and after an intentional walk to Michael Young, Mark Teixeira would double home Lofton and extend the lead to 6-2 while leaving runners at 2nd and 3rd. Blalock would follow up with a single and make the score 8-2, with Sammy Sosa stepping up and crushing his first homer of the season and making the score 10-2. Oakland would try and rally in the top of the 7th scoring 3 runs thanks in part to Mark Kotsay's 2 run homer. But the Rangers bullpen would shut down the A's the rest of the way and finish out a solid victory. Press Photos: Young's First Inning RBI Single Sosa Robbed of 2 RBI By Blanton Charlton Making Up For An 0-4 Day At The Plate Teixeira With The Hit That Would Chase Blanton From The Game Sosa Blasts His First Homer Of The Season Sosa's Signature Celebration Gagne Celbrates Finally Having A Good Outing Erubiel Durazo says, "What the crap?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav3rek Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Clemens Update Houston, TX -- With a week gone into in the 2007 regular season, Roger Clemens still has yet to decide about his future. Clemens is still travelling with the Astros minor league system to help out son third baseman Koby. Clemens did state however that he will leave the team in about 3 or 4 days to begin throwing and getting into shape for the season. Clemens still did not give any time table as to when a decision will be made, but did state that a few teams have been crossed off the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceBlades Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Dude, that Clemens cover was sick...........Your creativity is beyond originality, it is definitely something all your own, and I like it. Keep it going, Im following it, and in suspense on the Clemens signing. :wtg: oh and since he made the cover, is it still considered a jinx?? lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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