It's a fun and exciting time to be a Texas Rangers fan. There is so much for the fans to look forward to. Tonight in the first inning of their game with Toronto, Hank Blalock, the terrific second year player, hit a homer. Palmeiro got a hit a couple of batters later and then heralded rookie, Mark Teixeira, hit a two run homer. A revitalized Shane Spencer hit a single and then the Rangers' newest phenom, Laynce Nix hit a two run homer.

R.A. Dickey, another rookie for the Rangers, picked up his sixth win and new closer, Francisco Cordero, picked up his seventh save. Yes, this is an exciting and promising time to be a Rangers fan.

I hope Palmeiro declines the trade because the youngsters need veteran professionals to lead the way and you can't do better there than a future Hall of Famer like Rafael. If anyone crucifies Palmeiro for turning down the trade like they did Gonzalez, then they are pointing at the wrong guy. As I have said before, Texas made the deal with the no-trade clause, now they have to deal with it. Who can blame a guy for not wanting to upset his family's stability at the end of his career.

Buck Showalter deserves all the credit for letting the young kids play. Showalter could have played with his veterans and played for a .500 record. Instead, he played the kids and stuck with them through the young mistakes and the too-many strikeouts. His patience and intelligence has ensured a great future for the team. Which is logical as he did the same things for the Yankees and the Diamondbacks.


I might have to eat my words on the Armando Benitez/Jeff Nelson trade. Two days ago, I cried, "DOH!" at the trade but after two straight Nelson holds and Rivera saves, it's beginning to look a lot like 1998 again. Time will tell. The other story of the game was Nick Johnson who makes the Yankees' offense work. Tonight he was four for five with five RBI including a grand slam.

Bill Mueller had a tough night for the Red Sox. The Red Sox most valuable player (Nomar fans might disagree) went 1-9 in the double-header loss to the tough new Orioles and made a critical fielding error that cost the second game. Ouch.