Newberg Report Special

Neither the Rangers' last number 33, Cliff Lee, nor the Yankees' number 33, Nick Swisher, played in Game One of this series, Lee because he's moved on (even though it behooved him to be a Yankee) and Swisher because he was scratched last night with some sort of illness or a Big Bag, as he's hitting .214/.276/.339 (though he does return to the lineup tonight). I would very much like to see the next Lee-Swisher faceoff, whenever that might be. The Rangers have played 33 games. Won more than they've lost – narrowly, but more wins than losses. All things considered, things could be much, much worse. And they're not. Frisco outfielder Mike Bianucci leads the Rangers' farm system in home runs (8), just as he did last year and the year before, his two full seasons as a pro. He wears number 33. So does Hickory righthander Randol Rojas, who ran his record to 5-0, 3.86 with a quality start that gave him the early Crawdads lead in wins. Neither Myrtle Beach lefthander Robbie Erlin (27) nor Pelicans outfielder Ryan Strausborger (6) wears 33, but combined they do, and they are off to fantastic starts. Erlin has allowed nine earned runs (2.25 ERA) on 14 hits (.115 opponents' average) and four walks while punching out 40 hitters in 36 innings. He will not finish the season in the Carolina League. Strausborger, a run-and-throw type that profiles similarly to Craig Gentry, is hitting .317/.371/.533 thus far, with 16 extra-base hits in 28 games. Brendan Haywood wears 33 for the Mavs, and though he didn't necessarily star last night, every Dallas player gets some love today. I don't know whether we'll get to see Brandon Webb wear number 33 as a Ranger, but we saw John Burkett wear it when he recorded the only playoff victory in franchise history until Lee won the second one 14 years and five days later. The draft is one month from yesterday, and Texas will first select at slot number 33, in what is being called one of the deepest drafts in years. Former Ranger greats (in one form or other) Jim Umbarger, Mike Brumley, Jose Mota, Dave Burba, Marcus Jensen, Brad Wilkerson, and Omar Quintanilla were once drafted 33rd overall. Enough of that. The point is that I'm going to run a special on Newberg Report Bound Editions for the next few days. You can get both the 2011 edition and the 2010 World Series edition for $33 (regularly $40 for the pair). To get in on this, you can (1) send payment to the GJSneaker@sbcglobal.net PayPal account or (2) mail a check or money order to: Jamey Newberg Vincent Lopez Serafino Jenevein, P.C. Thanksgiving Tower 1601 Elm Street Suite 4100 Dallas, TX 75201 I'll cover the postage. I'm going to jump on with Sean Bass and David Newbury on the Ticket (1310 AM or http://www.theticket.com/) at 4:30 this afternoon for a quick Rangers segment. It would behoove you to listen.