The Texas Rangers have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Early in the season, the Rangers surprised many with their quality play — especially considering the many young players on the roster. However, largely due to injuries and untimely slumps, the Rangers have sputtered to the finish line.
On Tuesday, they were officially eliminated after losing to the Los Angeles Angels by a final count of 5-2. Bobby Abreu homered in the first inning and the Angels never trailed again. Angels starter Sean O’Sullivan pitched five innings to improve his record on the season to 4-2.
With the Rangers out of the …read more

Milton Bradley was signed in the offseason by the Chicago Cubs and was viewed as a potential difference maker. However, less than one year into his three-year, $30 contract, this marriage appears to be over.
On Sunday, the Cubs decided to suspend Bradley for the rest of the season. Reading between the lines, it’s safe to say that Bradley won’t be wearing a Cubs uniform any time soon.
Said Jim Hendry, the GM of the Cubs: “Recently, it’s become intolerable to hear Milton talk about our great fans the way he has. We pride ourselves on having the greatest fans in baseball, …read more

John Lackey has flown under the radar for a long time. The Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher has been very consistent over the years but doesn’t get an abundance of praise. On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners got a first-hand look at how well Lackey can pitch as he lead the Angels to a 3-0 victory.
Lackey went all nine innings for a five-hit shutout. The win was his tenth of the season and his ERA lowered to 3.53. Lackey now has at least ten victories in each of the last seven seasons. As a rookie in 2002, he had nine victories …read more

After the initial shot didn’t help, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton had a second injection on Monday. Hamilton is dealing with a back injury brought on by a pinched nerve.
While Hamilton has talked about missing a few weeks, the Rangers believe he can be back sooner than that. In fact, Texas is holding out hope that their slugger can return by this weekend.
On the season, Hamilton is hitting .270 with ten homers, 49 RBIs and 43 runs. Compared to his near MVP season last year, his numbers this year are disappointing. That said, the Rangers are desperate to get him …read more

Michael Young, the All-Star third baseman for the Texas Rangers, will miss approximately two weeks due to a strained left hamstring. Initially fearing that the injury was going to keep him out the rest of the season, Young was thrilled to hear the 14-day outlook.
“For them to tell me there’s a good chance I’ll be available the last two weeks,” said Young, “that’s great news to me.”
Arguably the best player on the Rangers, Young has hit .322 with 22 homers, 67 RBIs and 76 runs this season. The loss of Young goes beyond the numbers.
“There’s no way to replace Michael,” …read more

John Smoltz, the legendary pitcher who was recently designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, has possible destinations in the coming days and weeks. Rumors are pointing a number of different ways, so it’s difficult to figure out where Smoltz will end up. Here are the most likely John Smoltz destinations:
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers make a lot of sense. They could use help in the starting rotation and they offer Smoltz a chance to play for a legitimate World Series contender.
Texas Rangers
If Smoltz wants to stay in the American League, the Rangers appear to be the team most interested. …read more

For the first time, a professional athlete in the United States has been diagnosed with swine flu. The unlucky athlete is Vicente Padilla, a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
After missing his start on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox, Padilla underwent a number of tests. The surprising result showed that he has H1N1 A influenza — also known as swine flu.
According to reports, Padilla may not be the only player on the Rangers with swine flu. A number of other players have reported flulike symptoms including Omar Vizquel, Eddie Guardado and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
The good news for Padilla and the …read more

Ivan Rodriguez, the future Hall of Fame catcher who is now with the Houston Astros, set the all-time record for most games caught in a career. Fittingly, he set the record on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers — the team he played on for the fist dozen seasons of his career.
With his outing on Wednesday, Rodriguez has now caught 2,227 games. The former record holder was Carlton Fisk. Bob Boone is third on the list with 2,225 games, while Gary Carter is fourth with 2,056 games.
The now 37-year-old native of Puerto Rico originally broke into Major League Baseball when he …read more

The Texas Rangers currently have the best record in the American League. Oddly enough, they’ve done it without much output from Josh Hamilton — who many considered the team’s best player heading into the 2009 baseball season.
Now, the team might be without Hamilton for an extended period of time. Struggling with a reocurring injury to his groin, Hamilton will undergo an MRI on Monday to help figure out the extent of the injury. If enough damage is found, the slugger could be headed to the disabled list for the second time this season.
Last year, Hamilton was one of the best …read more

Dontrelle Willis of the Detroit Tigers has had a tough time as of late. He’s struggled on the pitching mound in recent years and was sidelined prior to the 2009 baseball season after being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. On Tuesday, Willis was able to turn back the clock — for at least one outing.
The former pitching phenom went 6.1 innings against the Texas Rangers and gave up only one hit and two walks while giving up no runs and striking out five batters. He threw exactly 100 pitches in his second start of the season. When he was replaced, …read more