- Free-agent catcher Mike Napoli is headed to the Boston Red Sox on a 3-year, $39 million deal.

Oddly the Rangers decided not to make a qualifying offer of $13.3 million to Napoli, so they won’t receive any draft-pick compensation in return.

Napoli hit .227 in 2012, but had 24 homers and 56 RBIs with 53 runs. That was a drop-off from his production in 2011, when he had a memorable second half, hitting .383 and performing well in October.

- Also the Rangers agreed to terms with catcher Geovany Soto last night. The deal is for $2.75 million with $250,000 in incentives. So that gives Texas a backstop, but they still need another. It’s a thin free-agent market, though A.J. Pierzynski is still available. Perhaps the Rangers will look at the trade market. The Blue Jays have a surplus of catchers and perhaps would part with John Buck or J.P. Arencibia.

Napoli crushed the ball at Fenway Park in a small sample size. He has a .306 average and a .710 slugging percentage in 19 games with seven homers and 17 RBIs.

Napoli will be missed, he quickly became a fan favorite. But at this cost and the Red Sox needing him more than the Rangers it makes sense for the Red Sox to push and sign him with the hole they had at first base. 

So that leads to this tweet from Ken Rosenthal earlier today:

@Ken_Rosenthal

(Image via Keith Allison.)

Rangers 3, Angels 1

Darvish continued his streak of great games, going eight innings, allowing only four hits, giving up one run, walking only one and striking out nine. Darvish now looks like the ace the Rangers thought they were getting from Japan this offseason. Darvish killed the Angels with his cutter. Of his 108 pitches, half were cutters (season high 54). 39 of them (72%) were strikes. 10 whiffs.
Also as a frame of reference, that gives Darvish a 13.5 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9. Verlander has a 12.1 SO/9 rate in innings 7-9 this year.

Joe Nathan pitched an uneventful ninth inning giving up only a two out hit.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Soto’s sac fly in the fifth. The Angels tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a Torii Hunter single. Then in the ninth, Young lead off with a single off Frieri and the next batter Beltre hit an off speed pitch into the left field stands for his 34th home run to decide the game.

Another series win for the Rangers, who have lost only two since the All-Atar break.

On Deck Seattle Mariners

LH Martin Perez [1-1, 3.38 ERA] v. RH Hisashi Iwakuma [6-5, 3.39 ERA]

Let’s get this straight…I really hate West Coast games. It’s almost impossible for me to stay up late, watch the game, and be functional at work in the mornings. Even though the Rangers and Angels have always had a good rivalry and today was a huge game with Holland and CJ Wilson on the mound, the Angels just didn’t seem like they could get people in the seats.

I’m pretty sure there should be a rule. If you don’t have a certain number of fans at a game the other team can push the game up to accommodate their fans. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Anyways…the game. I’ve been doing a happy dance over that game last night. Why? Holland took on CJ Wilson. That was fun to watch. Holland looked great last night. It looks like he’s settling in to his post season awesomeness. He pitched 7, gave up 2 runs and 6 hits.

CJ on the other hand only went 2 and 2/3 innings. Excuse me….BWAHAHAHA. Sorry, I’m done. The Rangers loaded the bases in the first but couldn’t get anything out of it…You could tell though it was only a matter of time before they started to hit the ball.

In the top of the 3rd Elvis started us off with a triple and then after Young and Napoli doubles the Rangers were on the board 3-0. Bye, Bye CJ!!!

The Rangers added a couple more in the 8th off a Nelly double and a Geovany Soto bomb to make the score 6-2…That’s how you do it boys. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Pretty simple right?

FINAL: Rangers 6, Angels 2

END OF GAME NOTES:

• Hamilton was still out with the snot rocket problem…Young did a good job of filling the 3 hole though. 5 AB, 2 runs, 2 hits, and 1 RBI…Not bad Mikey, not bad.
• Can I tell you how happy I am Holland beat CJ? Happy dances all around!
• Oakland lost again to the Tigers last night! Whoohoo!

Let’s start with this: Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. Let us never forget. A moment…

Now on to baseball…

When I was little I loved the Indians for some reason. They were my second team behind the Rangers. Why? I have no idea. I think as I got older though, my hardcore passion for the Rangers grew and the Indians got left in the dust.

Here we are in present day as the Rangers came back from an off day to take on the Cleveland Indians at home. Harrison vs. Jimenez. This should be interesting. I talked about it the last time the Indians played the Rangers. Does anyone remember when Jimenez rocked?

Yeah, about that. Now I just kind of want to laugh at him. Don’t get me wrong. I love the fact the boys came in and beat him up (with the exception of Hamilton), but seriously….how does someone go that downhill after being traded? I just don’t get it.

Jimenez lasted 5 innings but gave up 5 runs (only 2 of them being earned runs) , 4 hits and 4 walks. Harrison on the other hand looked pretty good out of the gate. He went 5 and 2/3 only giving up 2 on 5 hits and 3 walks.

The Rangers bats looked pretty good tonight too. Beltre knocked in his 31st ding dong… Kinsler, Moreland and Martin had doubles and Murphy, Martin and Soto had stolen bases. Yes, I know the stolen bases don’t have anything to do with the bats, but the fact that Soto stole a base got me excited. Sorry for partying people!

The Rangers got in a little bit of trouble in the 8th when Mike Adams came in…It was interesting. The Tribe put two more on the board making the score 6-4 Rangers.  Not to worry though. Joe Nathan came in in the 9th and shut it down.

I’m glad the Rangers pulled this one out. The A’s are seriously getting too close for comfort. I know it’s a pennant race, but let’s put some distance between us and them, ok guys?

FINAL: Rangers 6 , Indians 4

END OF GAME NOTES:

• Cruz was not in the starting lineup today. Could it be he’s not boomsticking enough?
• Where is Jurickson Profar? That kid is fun to watch. Let’s put him in more Wash. He’s proven he can play some ball. Plus, any 19 year old that says he ‘acted’ scared to get the same pitch is a hero in my book.
• I still love David Murphy.
• Mike Adams had an interesting 8th inning. I’m not really sure what he was doing. Still thinking about Joe Nathan in a Cowboys uniform? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Look it up…it’s kind of funny.

(Image via Keith Allison)

Well, the Rangers continued where they left off last night…not hitting.  Thankfully, all that ended in the 4th when Josh Hamilton laced his 40th home run, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Saturday’s starter, Yu Darvish, did his best to mimic Derek Holland’s performance from the night before, going 8 strong innings, giving up only 1 earned run on 2 hits with 7 strikeouts.  And like Holland, the rest of the team really wasn’t supporting his strong start. With a man on 2nd and 2 outs, an Ian Kinsler error would let the Rays tie things up in the bottom of the 8th.

However, unlike Friday night, the Rangers offense woke up in the 10th.  A double by Geovany Soto followed by a Jurickson Profar double, would score Leonys Martin (who was pitch running for Soto).  A walk, single and ANOTHER Josh Hamilton hit by pitch, the Rangers would lead 4-2.

Really until the 10th inning, there’s not much else to report offensively besides Hambone’s homer.  The Rays did (purposely?) hit Hamilton in the  top of the 6th, resulting in home plate ump giving warnings to both benches.  Of course, Wash came out to argue since that wouldn’t give the Rangers a chance to retaliate, but isn’t winning retaliation enough?  I think so.

FINAL: Rangers 4, Rays 2

(Image via Keith Allison.)

On a night when both the A’s and Angels were off, the Rangers had an opportunity to gain a little more ground in the AL West.  With the game tied 4-4 headed into the top of the 10th, Ian Kinsler led off the inning with a (nail biting) triple.  Then who else but Michael Young (trollin’ trollin’) would come through with a game winning single to put the Rangers up 5-4?  Joe Nathan came in to finish things off in the bottom of the 1oth.

Scott Feldman, tonight’s starter, had yet another shockingly decent outing, allowing only 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 1/3 innings.  Unfortunately, despite a solid start, Feldman was not eligible for the win after Michael Kirkman gave up the Rangers 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th.

Offensively, the Rangers made quite a bit of noise in the 4th on home runs by Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre (I know, you’re shocked).  They tacked on a 4th run in the 7th on a double by Geovany Soto.  But that was it until the 10th.

Since it wouldn’t be a Laura recap without a little “let’s question a Ron Washington bonehead decision” rant… Top of the 9th, tie ball game, 2 outs, man on 1st.  Wash (WITH AN EXTENDED BENCH THAT INCLUDES ANDRUS AND PROFAR) lets Gentry bat against a RHP.  Sigh.  It’s like he’s decided to do the opposite of what is logical nowadays.  Of course Gentry struck out.  Probably doesn’t help that Gentry never plays either…

FINAL: Rangers 5, Royals 4

Did anyone else start today thinking they needed a vacation to recover from the holiday? I sure did. I love holidays, don’t get me wrong…but the day after holidays is always BRUTAL. The work day seems twice as long, the motivation is lacking, and the Rangers made me wait until tonight to watch them play when I was so used to the day games from this weekend.

Apparently the Rangers had the same jet lag feeling I did today. Second game at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals with Harrison on the mound trying to finally get his 16th win….Wouldn’t happen. They looked awful. Well, it started off just fine, but after Elvis’ homerun in the first and and RBI from Moreland in the second the Rangers went on a downhill slide.

In the third inning Kinsler got picked off third…

Mini Rant: Ian, let me start by saying I love you…you are my favorite player and have been since you started in the bigs. BUT I am getting really tired of trying to defend you to people. Please stop making stupid mistakes and go back to the basics of baseball. No more pops up or pickoffs please. Trust me you’ll thank me for the sound advice. It might save you from some Texas lynch mobs.

After the pickoff Kins decided he would start off the bottom of the third with an error putting Cain on first. A double later and the Royals were on the board. The Royals scored again on a soft sac fly to center, which Hamilton made a great throw on (Soto just couldn’t get the tag down in time)…lame.

Harrison didn’t look bad until the 5th inning. He couldn’t keep the ball down, it looked like he had no control and he paid for it. A two run bomb by Alex Gordon and a double later and Matt Harrison would take a seat on the bench. Poor guy is having a really hard time getting that 16th win.

The Royals got another homerun off Roy Oswalt in the 6th. Does anyone remember the ‘pitcher has a big butt chant’? I’m pretty sure they were talking about Oswalt (yes, I know he’s on my team…I just can’t help singing that chant everytime he comes out).

The Rangers threatened in the top of the ninth when they put runners on the corners with no outs. Young got a sac fly and the Rangers got a run out of it but unfortunately the Rangers couldn’t pull out of the holiday hangover to get the W tonight. Tomorrow we really need to get the win…I really don’t like how close the A’s are getting. Let’s do this boys!

FINAL: Rangers 3, Royals 6

Happy Labor Day everybody! I love today. Celebrating working by not going to work. Awesome. I hope everyone had a great weekend at BBQs, pools, parties, games, etc!!!

The Rangers came to play today when Yu Darvish took the mound against Chen and the Kansas City Royals. Darvish looked awesome today. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 3 hits and 3 runs and struckout 6, but the coolest part was he had a perfecto game going into the 6th inning. He got the first 17 he faced out and was only broken up by a two out walk and a bloop single in the 6th.

Darvish was on today. He looked like he was more relaxed, throwing pitches he knew he was comfortable with, and cut down on his walks. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t give up 6 walks a game.

The Rangers had Darvish’s back and put up 8 runs with 5 bombs by Beltre, Cruz, Hamilton, Young and Soto. Home run happy team!!! That makes me happy.

In the top of the 9th inning it almost got a little dramatic when Royals pitcher, Louis Coleman, plunked Nelson Cruz in the back. He was obviously trying to send some kind of message, I’m just ot sure what that message was supposed to be.

Anyways, Nelly looked like he was ready to charge the mound when both benches were cleared and warned. The drama fizzled out when Michael Young hammered one to left center. That shut everyone up. It was great. The Royals couldn’t catch up to Joe Nathan however and the game would end with the Rangers on top by 4.

Have a great rest of the long weekend everyone!!!

FINAL: Rangers 8, Royals 4

END OF GAME NOTES

• I kind of missed Profar being in the lineup today. Kinsler went 0-5 and was less than impressive. Don’t get me wrong I love me some Kinsler, but with Profar at second that is one killer infield.
• Beltre is still eating his super Wheaties.
• Hamilton is either on fire or cold as ice. He’s either bombing home runs or striking out. There is no in between and it’s starting to get on my nerves. Let’s get some consistency in here people!
• David Murphy is still my hero. Dude is a stud.
• Matt Harrison hits the mound tomorrow to go for his 16th win.

Adrian Beltre. Good at baseball. (Image via Keith Allison.)

5 years to the day after putting up 30 runs on the Orioles, the Rangers put on another offensive show, led by Mr. Beltre.  OK, so they didn’t score 30 runs, but 12 is still a lot, guys.

Adrian Beltre was in the zone tonight.  In the first and second innings, he showed off his defensive prowess, making a couple of nifty plays at 3rd.  He then followed up with a line-drive home run to dead center in the bottom of the 2nd to put the Rangers up 1-0.

The Rangers would quickly lose their lead in the 3rd, but not to worry, they have Beltre (and Moreland and Murphy).

With things all tied up 1-1 in the bottom of the 4th, things got fun.  To start the inning, the Rangers had 5 straight hits, including ANOTHER Beltre home run and a David Murphy double.  Then after a Soto walk, Moreland knocked his first (official) grand slam of his career.  Then a few batters later, Beltre would hit his 2nd home run of the inning, his 3rd of the night.  IN THE 4TH INNING.  10-1 Rangers.

But the offense wasn’t done yet.  2 back-to-back singles in the 5th would set things up nicely for Moreland who hit a sac fly to give the Rangers another run.  A Soto double in the 7th tacked on another.

Derek Holland, who sported the stirrups in tonight’s start, went 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, walking 2 and striking out 5.  All in all, a pretty good outing from the Dutch Oven.

FINAL: Rangers 12, Orioles 3

(Image via Keith Allison.)

With the game tied, 1-1 heading into the 5th, it looked like Scott Feldman had a pretty good shot at getting his 7th win of the season.  Unfortunately, with 1 out, things began to unravel.

A triple (on a play that probably could have been made by Gentry if Gentry ever played…) to center field would give the Orioles a 2-1 lead with only 1 out.  The O’s would go on to score 3 more runs that inning on a double and a 2-run home run.  Feldman, who was actually pretty solid until seeing the O’s the 3rd time through, lasted 5 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned), striking out 4 and walking only 1.

The Rangers mounted a glimmer of a comeback in the 7th, on a Geovany Soto 2-run home run, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Hopefully, the boys can bounce back in today’s rubber match between Derek Holland and former Rangers Tommy Hunter.  Game starts at 7:05pm CT.

FINAL: Rangers 3, Orioles 5