A post from July 2006:
Vicente Padilla continues to pitch very well. On Sunday, he lost to Chicago but gave one earned in 7 innings. Padilla has exceeded expectations. He is on his way to winning 15-17 games.
The Rangers are half a game back. I'm still worried about the Angels, who have the best team in the AL West. The division will be settled in September when the four teams go at each other.
Between now and Labor Day, the Rangers need to stay with the A's and Angels. Hopefully, they will add a veteran starter and get Adam Eaton back in the rotation.
Heard a rumor: Vernon Wells to Texas for Kevin Mench and Joaquin Arias, the great AAA prospect. I like Mench but Wells would be a great addition. Besides, Wells is a local kid who attended Arlington high school.
Question: Why would Toronto trade Wells? Makes no sense to me. The Blue Jays are in the thick of the AL East race. Why would they trade All Star Wells for a couple of young players? Makes no sense to me!
Can the Rangers make a pitch for the Braves' John Smoltz? It may take a young player like Hank Blalock but that may be too much.
What about bringing back Soriano? Not a bad idea. Again, at what cost? Soriano is having a career year just in time to negotiate a free agent contract this winter.
ARod and the Yankees are here for 3 games.
Last week, ARod became the youngest player to reach 450 homers. Yet, the talk in New York is that ARod is making too many errors and leaving runners on base. that ARod's best chance to play in the Series was Seattle.
In Texas, ARod was a misfit from day one. He had 3 super years but the team finished in last place. After 2003, he forced the Rangers to trade him to Boston or New York.
The Rangers did and now ARod is a miserable Yankee or so they say in the New York media.
