Sports

Rangers Notebook: Let Them Play, Colby Sliders, Pitching Rollercoaster

July 27, 2015 / 4:49 PM CDT / CBS Texas

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Baseball needs to get rid of the "unwritten rules" that prevent fun. If a guy does something good, he and his teammates have the right to celebrate with one another appropriately.

Bat flips, staring at majestic home runs, fist pumps...that's all fine by me. Let the guys have fun.

You're asking for trouble when you stare at the pitcher or into the opposing dugout, or jaw at players rounding the bases. I'm not saying you should get chastised for doing it, but be prepared for retaliation.

I don't care if it is a guy on the Rangers or an opponent. If a guy makes a great play or gets a big hit, let them have some fun with it and ride the adrenaline of getting tens of thousands of fans to their feet.

Baseball is a beautiful sport, but it needs to get rid some of the "old man" and "get off my lawn" leanings.

Playing Pepper (Random Rangers thoughts)

*I love the DeShields-Odor combo at the top of the Rangers lineup and I would not be upset if Choo doesn't become a regular at one of those two spots again.

*I would love for the Rangers to get blown away by an offer for Mitch Moreland to which they just can't say no. His value might not ever be any higher.

*Keone Kela got the nod in the eighth inning during Friday night's win over the Angels. He's viewed in the organization as a guy with the potential to one day be the team's closer. While there is no reason for him to hijack Shawn Tolleson's role this year, I'd love for him to get more exposure in the eighth inning, which is the next best thing.

Quote of the Week:

"Tonight, he was a man on a mission. A wonderful job by him. What a tenacious competitor. What a wonderful feeling [I had] to be able to shake his hand."

-Rangers manager, Jeff Banister, after Matt Harrison's win over the Rockies last week.

Stat of the Week: 52

The amount of sliders thrown by Colby Lewis during his Friday night victory over the Angels. He threw a total of 103 pitches. According to Brooks Baseball, Lewis is one of six pitchers to throw more than 50 sliders in a start this year.

Stock Up/Stock Down: A weekly look at performances of Rangers' players

UP: Rangers starting pitchers who have faced career-threatening surgeries within the last three years. Martin Perez, Colby Lewis, and Matt Harrison helped lead the Rangers in starts last week. They combined to toss 19.2 innings, allowing just 5 earned runs on just 18 hits.

DOWN: Rangers starting pitchers who have not faced career-threatening surgeries within the last three years. The combination of Nick Martinez and Yovani Gallardo threw a combined 9.0 innings, allowing 9 runs on 14 hits.

Elsewhere In Baseball

"Mr. October" lived up to the not-so-pleasant portion of his reputation (read more)

Good Reads

FanGraphs explains how Matt Harrison had success against the Rockies (read more)

Good Listens

Rangers GM Jon Daniels joined Ben & Skin earlier in the week (listen here)