Hello Win Column!

The Rangers lead the A.L. West!

The Texas Rangers kicked off their season in style on a cool, breezy Monday afternoon. They really know how to start the season right! They honored the military in the pregame festivities with the National Anthem, bringing out the largest American flag I have ever seen (it nearly stretched across the entire outfield). Two B-1 bombers flew over the stadium during the anthem (a little early) and shook the entire house – I couldn’t imagine being an enemy and seeing those things coming at me! Former President Bush threw out the first pitch (a strike). He received the loudest ovation of the day – and, no, I didn’t hear any boos. It was a fantastic way to start the season!

Now on to the game….

The Ranger offense was in full swing, beating up the 2008 Cy Young winner 9-1. Rudy certainly earned his paycheck! Every Rangers starter had at least one hit, except for Chris Davis. He looked a little uncomfortable at the plate, but it could have just been Opening Day jitters. I’m not worried about him just yet.

Kevin Millwood was the Man of the Day! He went 7 innings, giving up one run on 5 hits with 5 strike outs. He had everything working for him. He challenged hitters by throwing a lot of strikes and trusting the defense behind him. If he pitches like this throughout the year, Rangers fans could be in for something special come October!

The Ranger defense, ranked dead last in 2008, was in top form, especially the left side of the infield. Elvis Andrus had an incredible big league debut, making a play deep in the hole behind second base, turning a couple tough double plays, and doubling in his first major league at bat. Michael Young’s hard work at third base in Spring Training paid off on Monday. He made some tough plays on slow rollers. While he may have had limited range as a shortstop, he showed Monday that he has great range at third. He cut off a ball nearly behind the pitchers mound and gunned it to first for an out. I realize that there will be some growing pains for Andrus and Young this season, but I feel really good about the tandem.

A few thoughts from Monday….

• Ian Kinsler is a fantastic leadoff man.
• I’m really glad the Rangers didn’t trade Marlon Byrd.
• Josh Hamilton can cover a lot of ground in center field.
• The Boston Red Sox made a big mistake by not trading Clay Buchholz for Salty.
• Nelson Cruz is no longer a AAAA player.
• We are going to hear a lot of Elvis music in the Ballpark this year.
• Hank Blalock can still swing the bat.
• C.J. Wilson now has a blue glove AND and red glove!
• The new scoreboards and ribbon panels in the Ballpark look good!
• I like the red uniforms!

Headed to the game again tonight….

Go Rangers!