Date: Monday, August 22nd, 2016
Rangers Record: (73-51, 1st place, +6 games)
Magic Number: 33
Opponent: That bothersome seed of doubt
Tonight’s Starters: I'm trying to name a minor league franchise.
It’s a day off, the second in five days, which means that the Rangers are currently in Cincinnati, probably wandering around, I dunno. I know players don’t wear their uniforms when it’s not game time, but it’s a funny visual image to imagine them walking around in a uniformed pack, like a bat-wielding flock of menace, meandering into a Skyline Chili or paying their respects at the Harambe Memorial Zoo.
Today, we have been given an opportunity. Something to pass along to future generations. My friends, today a soon-to-be-rebranded minor league franchise has given us a form to fill out, and asked us to name the team.
And we're going to try to name it Jeff.
All that and more, in the August 22nd Baseball Texas Daily!
MUSIC RECOMMENDATION
Phosphorescent is one of those songwriters that you’ve heard, even if you don’t know it. “Song For Zula” off 2013’s “Muchacho” has been used in no fewer than five movies, most notably during the credits of The Amazing Spiderman 2. But my favorite song from Phosphorescent is called “Wolves” and it comes from his 2007 album “Pride”; a much more lo-fi bedroom-recordings-sounding delve into the unstable and bleak. That album is today’s rec.
(Spotify, Apple Music, Website)
Occasionally these recommendations come from Rangers players, broadcasters, or other people around the team (here’s a complete list). If there’s a player or person you’d like Levi to ask for a music recommendation, shoot him an e-mail threetwoeephus@gmail.com or a tweet here.
BASEBALL STUFF
1. The Rangers lost yesterday, dropping a second straight game, and the series, to the lowly Rays.
2. Derek Holland returns to the mound tomorrow against the Reds. Holland last pitched on June 20th, and has been working his way back from shoulder issues ever since. Also, he's a switch-hitter! So hopefully the Rangers will get to Dan Straily early enough to allow Holland to become the first pitcher to homer from both sides of the plate (please, baseball. please let this happen).
3. So, Carlos Gomez is going to be a Ranger, and not just a Ranger, but likely a starter. And not just a starter, but a starter who is joining the team as they embark on a 7-game homestand against the 2nd-best team in the AL (Cleveland) and their closest division rival (Seattle). The Gomez signing is news from a couple of days ago, but it went from rumor to Actual Thing about an hour after the Daily went to publication. There have been no shortage of words written on the topic, from Gomez’ past success with the Brewers, through his failed stint as an Astro, to the ongoing questions about his clubhouse presence. So rather than add to the noise, I’ll just point you in the right direction: Jamey Newberg already wrote a pretty definitive post about it.
4. If you’re extremely not okay with the thought of the ballpark being torn down, there’s hope, reports the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
5. And now for your quest: The Rangers’ High-A Affiliate is on the move again, back to the Carolina League. The Rangers are no strangers to the league; they were affiliated with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans until after the 2014 season. But in that off-season, Myrtle Beach switched to a Cubs affiliate, and the Rangers moved to High Desert, of the California League. The move has been a disaster, including the city trying to lock the team out of the field. So it was pretty well expected that Texas would be moving.
That became official this week when the California League contracted, eliminating High Desert and the Bakersfield Blaze. That announcement came shortly before the Rangers sent out an e-mail announcing they would be bringing baseball back to Kinston, NC. There’s a website here, which also includes
*deep breath*
...a contest to help name the team.
You guys.
Can you imagine my excitement? We could name this team any old dang silly thing!! Let your imagination go wild!!
Well, I did, and I have come up with the best suggestion. Minor League baseball has a rich tradition of original names. So boot out boring old names like the Bears or the Eagles or the Senators.
But we can’t get *too* weird with it. The Kinston Winstons rhymes, but is probably too evocative of tobacco, which has a strong North Carolina tradition, but is falling out of popularity. Teamy McTeamface would be fun, but it’s also just copying the English boat. Diet Pepis Colla is just too weird. And the Kinston Kunkels is maybe too arcane a reference to late 80s Rangers infielder Jeff Kunkel.
BUT WAIT.
Jeff Kunkel. That’s a good strong name. Let's not throw it away just yet.
What. About. Jeff.
No team that I can find has ever been named Jeff. Imagine if you will, the banner going up over the park. Welcome the 2017 High-A Rangers Affiliate, the Kinston Jeff!
Jeff Banister. Jeff Kunkel. World Series contributor Jeff Francouer. Rangers HOF member Jeff Russell. Jeff Nelson. Jeff Fassero. Jeff Zimmerman. Jeff Robinson. Jeff Brantley. Jeff Bronkey. To a lesser extent: Jeremy Jeffress and Mike Jeffcoat. I believe that is a sufficiently long and well-storied affiliation with the name. Now we just need to get a group of enthusiastic local students on board, and watch the Jeff stock rise.
You can help by clicking here and submitting Jeff as the team name. It only allows you to choose NC as your state, and you'll have to give a reason why the name is relevant to Kinston. I chose TripAdvisor 4/5 star restaurant and local legend: Jeffrey's Seafood. You can make up whatever reason you like.
6. We had a trivia question yesterday: Before this year, when was the last time the Rangers had at least 4 players with 20+ home runs, and who were they? The answer: 2012. Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli, Adrian Beltre, and Nelson Cruz all had 20+ homers.
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
AAA - Carlos Gomez made his Round Rock debut and went 1-for-4 with a double and a couple of strikeouts as the Express lost 3-0 to Colorado Springs. It’s the second time Josh Hader has kept Round Rock in check; this time he went 6 innings, striking out 12, and walking just 1. Former Rangers Sam Freeman and Ben Rowen picked up the non-save, going 1⅔ and 1⅓ innings, striking out 4 & 2 and allowing 0 & 1 hits, respectively.
RECORD: 63-66
AA - Frisco beat Tulsa 4-3, scoring all of their runs in the 6th inning, the big damage done by Andy Ibanez’ 6th home run. Jack Snodgrass got the win to move to 3-0 on the year with a 1.96 ERA for Frisco. Luke Jackson got a hold, but also allowed a run on 2 hits and a walk in his one inning of work.
OVERALL RECORD: 60-65
SECOND-HALF RECORD: 22-34
HIGH-A - High Desert beat Inland Empire 11-7; Scott Heineman had another multi-hit day, going 3-for-4 with a home run to bump his average to an even .300. Jose Trevino also homered, and Josh Morgan went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.
OVERALL RECORD: 74-52
SECOND-HALF RECORD: 31-25
LOW-A - It was a 3-2 win over Greensboro for the Crawdads, as Tyler Sanchez got 3 hits and 2 RBI. Wes Benjamin got a strong start, allowing just one run in 5 innings, but the win was awarded to Christian Torres, who has a sparkling 0.82 ERA in low-A Hickory this year; a stark contrast to his 9.00 in 7 games with Spokane.
OVERALL RECORD: 67-59
SECOND HALF RECORD: 29-27
SHORT SEASON-A - Spokane is now mired in a 1-9 stretch, losing again last night to Hillsboro by a 6-2 score. Each of Spokane’s three pitchers allowed multiple runs, though starter Alex Daniele left with a lead, allowing just 2 runs in 5⅔ innings.
RECORD: 28-34
SECOND HALF RECORD: 9-15
AZ ROOKIE LEAGUE - The Rookie Rangers took an 11-2 loss, but you know who didn’t do badly? Yohel Pozo. 1-for-3.
RECORD 16-32
DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE:
Rangers1
Opponent: Day Off
Result: N/A/ RECORD: 49-17
Rangers2
Opponent: Day Off
Result: N/A / RECORD: 36-30, or something like that.
You can follow Levi Weaver on Twitter at @ThreeTwoEephus, or for fewer puns and more straight-forward Baseball News updates, you can follow us at @BaseballTX, or download the app and get in-game updates and notifications by clicking on the logo below!
