Articles about claw

Here Are Two Bobcats Screaming at Each Other in A Carrollton Neighborhood

If I’ve learned anything from this video, it’s that bobcats make the worst noise known to man, after every Supertramp song ever recorded. That and I’d probably keep the kids locked inside for a few weeks if I lived in Carrollton.

(h/t CBS 11)

The Texas Rangers’ Jurickson Profar is the Best Prospect in Baseball, According to ESPN

From ESPN’s annual ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball, released today:

Profar is the best prospect in the minors this year thanks to an incredible combination of tools, skills, and baseball instincts rarely found in players who play in the middle of the field. His feel for the game is unusual for a player of any age, much less a teenager, and should put another nail in the coffin of the old saw that American-born players have better instincts.

He has an outstanding approach at the plate that allowed him to make the two-level jump from low Class A to Double-A without losing much production, and he showed more power this year than I expected; his frame isn’t big but he stays upright through contact better now and he does get plenty of hip rotation to drive the ball. At short he has superlative actions with a plus-plus arm and plenty of range in both directions, so there’s never been a question about his position.

A good defensive shortstop who posts OBPs around .400 and hits 15-20 homers a year is a player around whom you can build your roster, and who should help keep the Rangers in contention for the next decade.

The Rangers had three other prospects in the top 100: third baseman Mike Olt (71), pitcher Cody Buckel (90), and pitcher Martin Perez (93).

Six Former Texas Rangers Received Baseball Hall of Fame Votes, Including Aaron Sele, Because Baseball Hall of Fame Voting Is a Joke

One of these men will make the Hall of Fame. One of them will not. Source: NJ Baseball

No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, but six former Texas Rangers received votes. It’s almost impossible that any of them will ever get in.

Players need to be on 75 percent of voters’ ballots to be enshrined; former Houston Astro Craig Biggio was the closest this year, with 68.2 percent. The Baseball Writer’s Association of America (BBWAA, taking a page from Grapevine’s book) had to deal with three (alleged) steroid-users facing the ballot for the first time this season: Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. None received more than 38 percent of the vote. The former Rangers, their vote percentage, and why they won’t ever get in:

  • Sammy Sosa (played for the Rangers in 1989, again in 2007), 12.5 percent of ballots, everyone’s pretty sure he took steroids
  • Rafael Palmeiro (played for the Rangers from 1989-1993), 8.8 percent of ballots, he actually took steroids
  • Kenny Lofton (played for the Rangers in 2007), 3.2 percent of ballots, steals are underrated as a statistic/played on too many different teams, negating his value
  • Sandy Alomar, Jr. (played for the Rangers in 2005), 2.8 percent of ballots, injuries stalled his career
  • Julio Franco (played for the Rangers from 1989-1993), 1.1 percent of ballots, just kinda old amirite?
  • Aaron Sele (played for the Rangers in 1998 and 1999), 0.2 percent of ballots, WHY WAS AARON SELE EVEN ON THE BALLOT?

Josh Hamilton Leaves Texas, Ctd.

So far, The Josh Hamilton (literally his Twitter handle) has been quiet. Others, not so much.

And Hamilton’s new teammate:

To make all you sad Rangers fans happier, watch this video:

Leading Off (12/10/12)

Golf Courses Are the Ultimate Cure-All For Urban Poverty: Here’s another article (paywall) that talks about how Mayor Mike Rawlings is really jazzed about how great that golf course is going to be for South Dallas. But you don’t need to click through. You already know how huge this deal is going to be. Just think about what a major boom Dallas National has been for Cockrell Hill. I mean, can you think of a more affluent and booming neighborhood in North Texas than the island city of Cockrell Hill? It’s like a second Highland Park, which also has a golf course in it. Coincidence? I think not.

Man Tries to Steal $269 Worth of Meat: In order to really appreciate this story about Rodney Johnson’s attempt to make off from a Kroger with $269 worth of meat shoved up under his coat, you have to try and picture just what $269 worth of meat looks like. Then read how he was first tackled by police and then struck in the back of the head before officers finally managed to arrest the hungry thief.

Michael Young Is No Longer a Texas Ranger: Drop your head to your chest, raise your right arm, extend your fingers, and drop a final claw on Michael Young as he heads out the door to Philadelphia. “If there was crying in baseball, I guess I’d cry,” Wash said. But we all know Wash cried.

Cowboys Win Game, Josh Brent Just Loses: What do you say about Josh Brent? Over the weekend he lost his best friend, he lost his career, and he quite possibly lost his freedom for up to the next 20 years (the maximum sentence for intoxication manslaughter). He was released from jail after posting bail that was $10,000 more than his $490,000 2012 salary. “It’s not a good moment for anyone right now,” Brent’s attorney said. I guess that’s all you really can say.

Mike Tyson’s ‘Undisputed Truth’ Tour Is Coming to Dallas, Which Is Funny When You Think of Mike Tyson Saying ‘Undisputed Truth’

Source: Eva Rinaldi

That’s the only joke I have. Thanks folks.

A few programming notes:

1. The Dallas date hasn’t been set

2. But they told us there would be a Dallas date

3. So hold tight for the Dallas date

The whole thing seems to be run through a poorly “liked” Facebook page, which is exactly what I’d expect from a one-man show performed by Mike Tyson.

Update: As I was writing this, the Dallas date was posted. February 19, at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Spring Training Report: The 2012 Texas Rangers Will be Good. No, Make That Great.

Rangers

The 2012 Texas Rangers take the field in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by N.N.)

I just returned from five glorious days of roaming around the Texas Rangers camp at Billy Parker Field in Surprise, Arizona. The first thing I learned: five days in not long enough. There are 15 Major League teams that train in the Cactus League’s ten venues, and they are spread out all over the Phoenix area. The second and third things I learned: renting a car at the airport in Phoenix is a ripoff and traffic between stadiums is horrible.

During my short stay, I managed to see three games, one of which was an intrasquad game pitched by Yu “Y’all” Darvish. (He is a tall drink of water.) After talking with several players, observing batting practices, and eavesdropping on the conversations of myriad scouts sitting around me, I’ve prepared a list of 12 reasons the Texas Rangers will win the World Series in 2012.

Jump for the truth. (more…)

Yorvit Torrealba Has Plenty of Time Now

In something you probably will never see in a Major League Baseball game but probably would love to, Texas Ranger Yorvit Torrealba (who has been playing winter ball in his home country of Venezuela, has been handed a 66-game suspension for letting his hand get in the way of an umpire’s face. Or hitting him, whichever description you’re semantically inclined to adopt.

If you are bad at math, or do not know how long a season of Venezuelan winter baseball lasts, this will keep him from playing for about a season and a half. This also means he will be well rested and possibly gentler with the umpires when he comes back to Texas. According to ESPNDallas.com, Rangers GM Jon Daniels and staff will go over the details of the incident before deciding what if anything they will do about it. Penalties from Venezuelan winter ball (or Honduran, Colombian, Antartican, Panamanian, Arctic, Djiboutian or any other country’s winter ball) do not carry over to the MLB.

Claw! Antlers!

Let’s not pretend anyone is doing a lick of work now. Game 2 in the ALCS is going on, and Derek Holland and his mustache are on the mound. Predictions? Who is going to the World Series? C’mon, waste some time here.

Brett Shipp Assaulted by John Wiley Price, Ctd.

A mole at Channel 8 sent us the video of the alleged and so-called quote-unquote assault perpetrated on Brett Shipp by John Wiley Price. We can’t show you the video. It’s protected by copyright. So we created this reenactment of the confrontation, wherein Price “uses his arm and the heel of his hand to physically remove Shipp from his office” while threatening to “split his throat.” Standing in for Brett Shipp is Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel.

Baseball Reporter Evan Grant Creates Twitter Hashtag Comedy

If you follow DMN baseball writer Evan Grant (Evan_P_Grant) on Twitter, you already know about his hashtag-gate. After the Rangers’ bullpen blew last night”s game in Seattle, Grant innocently wrote:

Now Rangers’ going to 40-year-old interim closer in tie game with 0 outs in eighth and go-ahead runner on third. #bullpenisamess

He told me he didn’t do it on purpose. He didn’t realize the “brilliance” of the tweet until the tweet was posted. Needless to say, it’s rocketing through the Internet.

.

Ron Washington’s Tenure as Rangers Manager in Graph Form

graph

The First Knoxy Clip of the Season

Rangers sideline reporter Jim Knox, for sports bloggers, pays off like a broken slot machine. (While watching the game, Tim and I had a text back-and-forth, unprintable here, based around this idea.) So the clip below (h/t: Deadspin) will likely be the first of many, and he will feature more heavily in the ones to follow. Anyway, the segment I saw him do after the game was probably more insane, but this will do.

In-N-Out Burgers Photographed Guerrilla-Style for D Magazine Cover Story

D Magazine food photographer Kevin Marple went to LA to shoot pictures of an In-N-Out burger. His life will never be the same.

A Child’s Life Will Be Ruined if the Rangers Trade Michael Young

This video was shot last Wednesday night when it seemed more than apparent that Michael Young would not be playing for the Rangers again. I admit I felt just like this kid last Wednesday. I’m just glad someone didn’t have a video camera.