Fun house.
The Rangers, throwing everyone but Yu Darvish at the Royals, swept four from Kansas City at home.
The Astros, kicking off three against Detroit with Colin McHugh and wrapping that series up with Dallas Keuchel, got swept.
What was 2.5 is now 6.0.
And that’s the second-biggest division lead in baseball, and at 62 the second-highest win total, each a tick behind the Cubs, whose highly improbable comeback win over Seattle on Sunday shoved the Mariners 8.5 games behind Texas.
Welcome to the pennant race roller coaster.
And, in the meantime, the fun house mirror. The non-waiver trade deadline is in a little more than seven hours.
There’s so much speculation whipping around, with the frenzy centered on Jonathan Lucroy and Brewers pitchers and Rays starters and Chris Sale and Vincent Velasquez and Carlos Beltran, and a smaller handful of players whom the Rangers aren’t being connected to.
At least by the national media.
Something involving Texas will probably happen this afternoon (Buster Olney [ESPN] considers Texas second only to the Dodgers among teams “most likely to complete deals today”), and it will be bigger than trading for Dario Alvarez and Lucas Harrell, the latter of whom threw a quality start in his Rangers debut yesterday, an uneven effort that wasn’t the crispest, but one that was enough to allow the offense to do its job and wrap up the club’s first series sweep of the Royals since April 2011 and, more importantly, its first four-game win streak since late June.
Rangers baseball is cooking again.
Off-day today.
Yu tomorrow.
Cole Wednesday.
But today’s not really an off-day, at least for those not in uniform.
It could be one of the busiest days of the Rangers season, and — potentially — one of the most impactful.
Buckle up.
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The rest of this might interest you only if you have a son who will be a 12U ballplayer this fall and next spring, or know of one.
I’ll send something out if (when?) there’s news before the 3:00 deadline today on the trade front. If in the meantime you want to keep up with the rumors that involve Texas, follow me on Twitter (@newbergreport).
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Dallas Pelicans 12U (Majors) Fall 2016 Tryouts:
** TWO TEAMS **
The Dallas Pelicans-Tovar 12U (Majors) Select tournament team would like to announce that it is forming a second 12U team that will be forming right away.
In connection with the addition of the new team, the Pelicans 12U program as a whole will conduct open tryouts for the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 seasons. If your son (DOB 5/1/04 or later) is a frontline ballplayer interested in an opportunity to join one of our two 12U teams, please plan to attend — tryouts will be at (1) 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 4 and (2) 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, at Richardson High School, 1250 W. Belt Line Road, Richardson, TX 75080. It is not necessary to attend both sessions, though it’s optional to do so.
If you have questions or want more details, please contact Jamey Newberg at JNewberg@vinlaw.com or GJSneaker@sbcglobal.net or 214-392-3968.
We have had tremendous success in our three years of play and are looking to build on that. We have our own dedicated facilities at Richardson High School and one of the finest head coaches in North Texas, Mike Tovar, the varsity head coach at RHS. Coach Tovar has 30 years of coaching experience, and his mission as far as select baseball is concerned is to develop our players, starting at this age, into impact high school players, if not more, capable of playing multiple positions. Our pitching coach, Chris Callicutt, pitched four years of college ball and has been a tremendous addition to the Pelicans since joining two years ago.
Jonathan Harrison, who has 10 years of experience coaching select ball at the Majors/AAA/AA levels and is currently overseeing the middle school program at The Greenhill School and serving as assistant varsity coach, will coach the new Pelicans team that is now forming. Coach Harrison played for Coach Tovar in high school and coaches with the same philosophy and objectives that have always been a hallmark of Coach Tovar’s teams.
Because we are forming a new second team, there are many opportunities for ballplayers looking for a new team to join our program right away.
The Pelicans pride ourselves on putting our uniform on good kids from good families, athletes with strong baseball IQ and character and a willingness to work and grow as baseball players and teammates. (Allowances are made for multi-sport athletes who are playing other sports in the fall.) Emphasis is on learning to compete and to play the game right and with respect. Your son will be challenged to reach the next level, constantly.
Once again, for more information regarding our program or philosophy, or questions regarding tryouts, please contact Jamey Newberg at JNewberg@vinlaw.com or GJSneaker@sbcglobal.net or 214-392-3968. If you will let us know in advance that you’re planning to come on Thursday and/or Saturday, it will shorten the process for you once you arrive — if you don’t reach out to us in advance, please consider arriving half an hour early so we can get some information from you.
Thanks.
Jamey Newberg
Dallas Pelicans-Tovar 12U