Napoli is Going Going, Back Back to TEXAS

Photo: Mike Napoli Instagram

First Josh Hamilton, and now Mike Napoli.

Oh yeah, Napoli is once again a Texas Ranger. The deal went down last Friday which will send Napoli back to Texas for cash or a player to be named.

This could be huge for Texas. If you can remember, Napoli was a huge contributor to the Rangers during their road to the World Series in 2011. Although they would end up losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, Napoli’s clutch hits did not go unnoticed.

But hey, props to him, because he did what they couldn’t do over at the Red Sox- Won himself a championship and a nice piece of bling in 2013. 💁💍

Nap has said he doesn’t care where he plays back in Texas, he just wants to contribute to the team and help them win. This year he is batting .205, has 13 HR and 40 RBIS.

But what he can bring back to Texas goes beyond the field. Napoli is THAT guy. A leader with playoff and World Series experience. He knows how to fire up his teammates, as well as the stadium with his badass walk up songs.

Globe Life Park in Arlington will be hearing the chants of “NAP­O­LI” once again.

Love ya Nap, you the BOMB!

– Paige

Hey Now! You’re an ALL STAR, Get Your Game On, GO PLAY!

IT’S HERE YOU GUYS! The MLB All-Star Game!

I know, some of you may not be as thrilled as me, but since the winner of the game (American League vs National League) gets home field advantage in the World Series, you know I’m praying, wishing and hoping the Astros will be there! THIS IS A BIG DEAL!

Not to mention it’s so much fun! I went in 2011 in Arizona…

And in 2012 in Kansas City…

I mean, how can you not have fun?! All of baseball’s biggest stars are there and boy do they put on a show.

This year’s All-Star game and festivities will be held at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, home of the Reds.

There will be events going on all weekend, but the good stuff doesn’t start until Sunday.

Sunday 7/12

ALL-STAR FUTURES GAME 

This is a game played for players in the minor leagues. It allows the greatest prospects to show the world and their team what they’ve got! Some current MLBers who played in this game: Kris Bryant, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Carlos Correa.

LEGENDS AND CELEBRITY SOFTBALL GAME 

Check out former players, rappers, actors and coaches play a little softball. Here’s the roster this year!

I see Snoop D-O-double G on this year’s roster! Can you picture him running the bases?! #LOL.

Monday 7/13

HOME RUN DERBY 

My favorite event! Great hitters hitting bombs. This years contestants are: Todd Frazier, Kris Bryant, Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Anthony Arizona, Josh Donaldson, Joc Pederson and Manny Machado.

Tuesday 7/14

ALL-STAR GAME 

Like I said before, these teams have home field advantage in the World Series on the line aka they actually give a s*** if they win or not. Check out the starting lineups:

American League 

National League 

If you don’t see your favorite player on there, there’s a chance he’s on the reserve list. 

There you have it! It’s time to kick back, grab a drink and enjoy some baseball. You know that’s what I’ll be doing!

P.S. GO AMERICAN LEAGUE!

– Paige

The Newest Mr. 3,000

Mr. 3,000.

I’m not talking about Stan Ross (played by Bernie Mac), although that was a great movie. I’m talking about Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. On June 19^th, Rodriguez became a member of the 3,000 hit club when he blasted a solo home run off of Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander in the first inning.

CHILLSSSSS! Think about what the announcer just said in the video above. Over 18,000 men to play professional baseball and only 29 are a part of this club. Pretty elite, right?!

A-Rod’s name will now go on a list with big names like Rod Carew (3,053), Ricky Henderson (3,055), Cal Ripken (3,184), Willie Mays (3,283), Derek Jeter (3,465), Hank Aaron (3,771) and the famous cheater Pete Rose (4,256).

Let’s talk about cheating real quick.

Everyone thinks about that word when they think about A-Rod– kind of hard not too.

If you can remember back in 2009, Rodriguez held a press conference and admitted to using PED’s. He apologized and asked for forgiveness. He went on to set records and even win the World Series in 2009.

But like they say, once a cheater always a cheater. In 2014, A-Rod was suspended the ENTIRE season for his involvement with Anthony Bosch and the biogenesis scandal.

Well, he suffered the consequences so I’ll leave the man alone, especially since fellow MLB players are still letting him have it.

So where does A-Rod go from here?

Well, he is certainly not slowing down his pace. Almost all fans thought his year suspension would be the beginning to the end of his career. I mean, after all he is pushing 40 years old. But boy were those A-Rod haters wrong.

Rodriguez is a true leader on his team with 69 hits, 15 HR and 44 RBIs. He even has a couple more years with the Yankees. In December of 2007, he signed a 10 year, 275 million dollar deal with them.

He is even up for an ESPY award this July.

Well, keep doing what you do A-Rod – the baseball thing, not the cheating thing.

– Paige

“One, Two, Three Likes You’re Out of the Ball Game”

Pablo Sandoval aka “Panda”, the home run hitting, always smiling, large teddy bear of a third basemen for the struggling Boston Red Sox (sorry Red Sox fans) was benched for liking photos on Instagram during a game, while using the bathroom.

Jimmy Fallon hit it dead on after the instagram fiasco, “One, Two, Three Likes you’re out of the ball game!” YES JIMMY FALLON. YES.

Now I for one can understand how addicting Insta is- a quick double tap in the bathroom, no harm no foul right? WRONG.

Sandoval had to make a public apology to the team, the fans, the general manager, and has been a laughable topic of conversation on Boston sports radio shows and talk shows all week.

People even investigated the time stamp of the likes (approximately 9:20pm) while the Red Sox were batting in the seventh inning aka with Pablo due up in six batters. I now understand why this can be a bad look, not looking invested in the game and could have something to do with the “lax, laid back” vibe that Boston ownership and John Farrell are currently running over there at Yawkey Way.

Which photos did he like you ask? @diva_legacy an Atlanta based woman, and two of her “selfies”.

Barstool Sports’ Jarred Carrabis via twitter first reported the in game slacking.

Not to blow up the dude's spot, but uh…is Pablo Sandoval on Instagram during the game? pic.twitter.com/q8X4HoFDOT

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 18, 2015

And Carrabis kept going…

Diva Legacy sees Pablo Sandoval get pulled from the game and immediately checks her likes. pic.twitter.com/KQ0ni8sV1N

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 21, 2015

Still going…

Recording a new @Section10Pod today. Might hit on the Sandoval story a little bit. pic.twitter.com/sdeR6Wtwbq

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 20, 2015

And the FINALE of just, YES.

This apparently happened. @jimmyfallon pic.twitter.com/PcbDtF5wCp

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 20, 2015

It’s okay Panda, we understand the insta struggle and addiction. Sometimes you just gotta go like a couple selfies on insta… But from now on during games, just keep doing you on the FIELD and not on INSTAGRAM. 😉

– Morgan

MLB & FBI- The Communist Cardinals (SMH)

The 2015 season thus far for the St. Louis Cardinals was almost too good to be true. Clenching 1st in the NL Central and holding the best record in the MLB, they literally had it all.

Oh yeah, until they were hit with an FBI investigation.

And as usual, an animated show predicted it (just like with Bruce Jenner’s gender change). The Simpsons to be exact.

There are accusations that a Cardinals employee hacked into the Houston Astros’ database in attempts to steal the team’s statistics, trades, scouting reports, and the list goes on. Since the initial investigation began, William Dewitt, Jr., the owner of the Cardinals, has been working closely with the FBI to determine if this breach of privacy did, in fact, happen and identify the employee(s) of the Cardinals’ organization who were involved. He has reported that the Cardinals are “committed to getting to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible, and if anyone within our organization is determined to be involved in anything inappropriate, they will be held accountable.”

Jose Bautista took a stab at the Cardinals and even took a stab at good ole Bill Belichick.

Here’s what Bautista said in an interview with Yahoo Sports Radio:

“I’m, though, intrigued to know why the FBI is involved and not just the MLB’s investigations department,” Bautista said. “So, that’ll be interesting to see. But it looks like they just took a page out of Bill Belichick’s book.”

Thank the internet for this photo.

SMH. America you’re doing too much.

Safe to say this little scandal will be all over our radar the next few days. But, in the meantime, hats off to the Houston Astros for still being seen as the team to beat!

– Adrienne

Remember the Name- MLB Players Who Are Killing it

Article published June 10, 2015- all stats up to date as of then

Yes. My favorite thing to talk about.

Baseball is a team sport, but let’s be real, every team has that one player that every fan knows of. With the season rolling along and the all-star game (half-way through the season) approaching, I figured we’d take a look at the big names putting the team on their back, Greg Jennings style.

Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers

Gonzalez is all over the stats board for the Dodgers. He is in the top of all offensive categories with a .324 batting average, 11 HR, 39 RBIs and has an OPS of .985. He is an extra-base hitting machine, delivering doubles left and right in clutch situations. The Dodgers are first in the NL West and can thank their all-star game bound first baseman for his contributions to the team.

Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins

The Twins are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 33-26, just trailing the Kansas City Royals. Brian Dozier has stepped up big time and can be thought of as the best second baseman in the AL. He is batting .265, has 11 HR, 28 RBIs and an OPS of .863. He also leads the MLB with 47 runs. Not only can he perform at the plate, he is great in the field.

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

The question is what can’t Harper do? Not only can he chase down baseballs in the outfield and throw runners out, Harper is a threat at the plate. He is batting .330 and leading the MLB with 20 HR (yes, I said TWENTY) and OPS of 1.187. OW, OW! Harper has also knocked in 47 RBIs helping his team move to first place in the NL East at 31-28. With the numbers to show, Harper has proved this season he can hit any pitch from any pitcher. Harper is playing “put your money where your mouth is” kind of ball.

Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

Talk about an ace! Archer seems pretty much untouchable. He is 7-4 with a 1.84 ERA and leading the MLB with 108 strikeouts. He surely is doing all he can to keep his team in the race, as they trail the New York Yankees by 1.5 games. With Archer’s crazy ability to find the strike zone, you hardly ever see this guy walk a batter. It’s not even all-star break yet and he is already going down in history for what he has done this season.

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros

Can Keuchel pitch every night? He can be thought of as one of the best pitchers in the AL. No, I am not being biased – he has been named the AL pitcher of the month for April and May. He is 7-2 with an ERA of 1.9 and 72 strikeouts. He has been dominant all year and is a big reason why the Astros are in first place in the AL West. Keep your eyes on Keuchel to see if he will be the starting pitcher in this years all-star game.

Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals

Hosmer really emerged last season when he helped his team to the World Series. This season he is looking to do the same, and he is off to the best start of his career. He is hitting .301 with 7 HR and an OPS of .859. Although Hosmer is not always the long-ball hitter, he is efficient at the plate with 35 RBIs. On top of his stats, Hosmer is the backbone of the Royals composure on the field and in the clubhouse – just the type of player you would want on your team.

Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

Last year’s NL Rookie of the Year is off to a great start again. deGrom is 7-4 with an ERA of 2.42 and 81 strikeouts. This season he has taken a perfect game into the sixth-inning and although he could not pull that gem off, he showed everyone what he was capable of. He also has the ability to settle down after a rough start – something all baseball fans want their pitchers to be able to do. The Mets are second in the NL East and look to deGrom to keep pitching well.

Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals

The best team in the MLB (39-21) has many weapons but there’s one in particular. Peralta is leading the Cardinals in almost all offensive categories. He is batting .315, has 10 HR, 35 RBIs and a .900 OPS. He also leads the team with 69 hits. Peralta is the go-to guy to get a rally going, which is what he did recently to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also is great on the field making plays at shortstop look too easy.

Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

The Yankees are in a close race with the Tampa Bay Rays, but Teixeira is doing all he can to keep them in the top spot. He is batting .238 with 17 HR and a .917 OPS. His batting average is not as high as he is capable of, but with 45 RBIs he proves that he can pull through in the right situations.

Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers

Coming back from an injury-ending season, Fielder is on a roll and proving why the Rangers paid the big bucks for him. He is hitting .354, has 10 HR, 41 RBIs and an OPS of .953. Oh, and he has 81 hits. Not too shabby. Fielder has also come up with a couple of walk off wins, helping the Rangers pull within two games behind the AL West leading Astros. Good news for the Rangers that they got this “Fielder” back.

With the first half of the season almost in the books, it’s time for teams to focus on their play-off push. It is a long season but EVERY GAME COUNTS. Look for these big names to hopefully take their team into October and win the pennant.

But let’s be real. Hopefully I will be sipping some World Series champagne – Go Astros!

XO!

– Paige

Mike Napoli aka The Fireman

Mike Napoli is hot. I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that. There is no doubt about it. (Oh, you meant on a hot streak? Not physically striking? Oops. Whatever.) Either way, the first baseman for the Boston Red Sox is doing something right. He even made Bleacher Report’s “MLB Team of the Week”. Like hi, are you single?

If you follow baseball at all, you are well aware of how AWFUL his OPS really was: .533. We’re talking one of the worst hitters in the league. Like okay, even I could do better than that. And I haven’t hit a ball since my dad stuck me in front of a tennis ball machine in the back yard with a helmet and a bat and told me to hit as many as I could, as far as I could! I was maybe 12, by the way. *Hair flip*

But then something changed. First, he watched film and realized he was making several mechanical errors at the plate. And second, a 9-year-old signed his bat. No really, a 9-year-old signed his bat. And the best part is that is where he has attributed some of his successes ever since (can I bring you home to meet my mom now, or…). Now obviously just switching a few minor things around with the way you bat isn’t going to change everything, but obviously having a 9-year-old sign your bat will (duh). But in all seriousness, with a combination of his batting corrections, the faith (and signature) of a 9-year-old, and his hot momentum, Napoli is going off (and up, and not just on Tuesdays, people). Currently, Napoli’s OPS has been raised up to 1.080 over the course of the last few games.

Maybe this correlates with this year being his 9-year anniversary since his MLB debut? Maybe? Probably not.

When batters are on a hot streak the way Napoli is, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. No one wants to face the hot guy, well, except for me. I want to face the hot guy. (Wait, you still mean on a hot streak? Dang!) Still, when a batter is on fire and absolutely killing the game, you want to stay far away from them like the game depends on it, because, well, it does.

So here’s to hoping this hot streak continues!

And Mike, if you see this (and your hot streak has ended, or maybe it hasn’t…but you’re still hot), call me. 😉

– Alexa

Guess Who’s Back.. Back Again.. Hammy’s Back! Tell Your Friends.

As we all know, Josh Hamilton has had his fair share of ups and downs. Perhaps that’s all over now. But who really knows. I guess we’ll just have to watch and see.

Brief recap: In February of this year, Hamilton suffered from a shoulder injury while with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Unfortunately, this injury then led to his relapse into his drug addiction which has been a battle for him in the past. He did report the relapse directly to the MLB, but the Angels still made an executive decision to trade him to  (dah, dahh, dahh) the Texas Rangers.

Right back to where he started.

It should be safe to say that Josh is home sweet home.

Before his first game back in Globe Life Park, he did play with the Rangers in three away games but was a bit rusty. Hamilton’s first at-bat in Globe Life Park was welcoming and heart-warming. The fans gave him a standing ovation.

 

According to USA Today, Hamilton said, “It’ll be a game I’ll remember forever.”

So, in return, Hamilton gave his fans something to cheer even more about: a double past right field.

But he had plenty more up his sleeve. The next day, Josh was listed in the Texas Rangers lineup against the Boston Red Sox once again. Hamilton hit TWO home runs that game.

It looks like Hamilton was ready to run home sweet home rather than walk. Quite the analogy huh? The Rangers ended that game with a win, 7-4.

Hamilton was not listed in the lineup for the series finale against the Red Sox, but with a tie game in the bottom of the ninth guess who gets brought in as a pinch hitter? Oh yeah. Hamilton. While at-bat, Hamilton drilled the third pitch for a walk-off double to win the game.

Talk about a welcome back that might as well be scripted for a movie.

Five of Hamilton’s six hits have come at “home” at Globe Life Park and if that doesn’t show a comfort level for Hamilton, I don’t know what would.

Clearly Hamilton is showing everyone, including his loyal Texas fan folk that he’s back & he’s ready.

And most importantly, Hamilton is showing Texas that their minimum investment is definitely paying off thus far.

– Hailey