BC-BBA–2012 Texas Rangers Schedule,09522012 Texas Rangers ScheduleBy The Associated PressAll Times EDTApril 6 Chicago White Sox, 2:05 p.m.

April 7 Chicago White Sox, 8:05 p.m.

April 8 Chicago White Sox, 8:05 p.m.

April 9 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

April 10 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

April 11 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

April 12 Seattle, 2:05 p.m.

April 13 at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.

April 14 at Minnesota, 1:05 p.m.

April 15 at Minnesota, 2:10 p.m.

April 17 at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

April 18 at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

April 19 at Detroit, 7:05 p.m.

April 20 at Detroit, 7:05 p.m.

April 21 at Detroit, 1:05 p.m.

April 22 at Detroit, 1:05 p.m.

April 23 N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

April 24 N.Y. Yankees, 8:05 p.m.

April 25 N.Y. Yankees, 8:05 p.m.

April 27 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

April 28 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

April 29 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

April 30 at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

May 1 at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

May 2 at Toronto, 12:37 p.m.

May 4 at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m.

May 5 at Cleveland, TBA

May 6 at Cleveland, 1:05 p.m.

May 7 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

May 8 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

May 9 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

May 10 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

May 11 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

May 12 L.A. Angels, 1:05 p.m.

May 13 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

May 14 Kansas City, 8:05 p.m.

May 15 Kansas City, 8:05 p.m.

May 16 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

May 17 Oakland, 2:05 p.m.

May 18 at Houston, 8:05 p.m.

May 19 at Houston, 7:15 p.m.

May 20 at Houston, 2:05 p.m.

May 21 at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

May 22 at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

May 23 at Seattle, 3:40 p.m.

May 25 Toronto, 8:05 p.m.

May 26 Toronto, 3:05 p.m.

May 27 Toronto, 3:05 p.m.

May 28 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

May 29 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

May 30 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

June 1 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

June 2 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

June 3 at L.A. Angels, 3:35 p.m.

June 4 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

June 5 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

June 6 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

June 7 at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

June 8 at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

June 9 at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.

June 10 at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.

June 12 Arizona, 8:05 p.m.

June 13 Arizona, 8:05 p.m.

June 14 Arizona, 8:05 p.m.

June 15 Houston, 8:05 p.m.

June 16 Houston, 7:15 p.m.

June 17 Houston, 3:05 p.m.

June 18 at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

June 19 at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

June 20 at San Diego, 6:35 p.m.

June 22 Colorado, 8:05 p.m.

June 23 Colorado, 3:05 p.m.

June 24 Colorado, TBA

June 25 Detroit, 8:05 p.m.

June 26 Detroit, 8:05 p.m.

June 27 Detroit, 8:05 p.m.

June 28 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

June 29 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

June 30 Oakland, 7:15 p.m.

July 1 Oakland, TBA

July 3 at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m.

July 4 at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

July 5 at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.

July 6 Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.

July 7 Minnesota, 7:15 p.m.

July 8 Minnesota, TBA

July 13 at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

July 14 at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

July 15 at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

July 17 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

July 18 at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

July 20 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

July 21 at L.A. Angels, 4:05 p.m.

July 22 at L.A. Angels, 3:35 p.m.

July 23 Boston, 8:05 p.m.

July 24 Boston, 8:05 p.m.

July 25 Boston, 8:05 p.m.

July 27 Chicago White Sox, 8:05 p.m.

July 28 Chicago White Sox, 8:05 p.m.

July 29 Chicago White Sox, TBA

July 30 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

July 31 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 1 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 2 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 3 at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Aug. 4 at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 5 at Kansas City, 2:10 p.m.

Aug. 6 at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 7 at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 8 at Boston, 1:35 p.m.

Aug. 10 Detroit, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 11 Detroit, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 12 Detroit, 3:05 p.m.

Aug. 13 at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 14 at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 15 at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 16 at N.Y. Yankees, 1:05 p.m.

Aug. 17 at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Aug. 18 at Toronto, 1:07 p.m.

Aug. 19 at Toronto, 1:07 p.m.

Aug. 20 Baltimore, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 21 Baltimore, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 22 Baltimore, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 23 Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 24 Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 25 Minnesota, 4:05 p.m.

Aug. 26 Minnesota, 3:05 p.m.

Aug. 27 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 28 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 29 Tampa Bay, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 31 at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 2 at Cleveland, 1:05 p.m.

Sept. 3 at Kansas City, 2:10 p.m.

Sept. 4 at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Sept. 5 at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Sept. 7 at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Sept. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1:40 p.m.

Sept. 11 Cleveland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 12 Cleveland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 13 Cleveland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 14 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 15 Seattle, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 16 Seattle, 3:05 p.m.

Sept. 18 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Sept. 19 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Sept. 20 at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Sept. 21 at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Seattle, TBA

Sept. 23 at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

Sept. 24 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 25 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 26 Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 27 Oakland, 2:05 p.m.

Sept. 28 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 29 L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 30 L.A. Angels, 3:05 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

Oct. 2 at Oakland, 10:07 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

By SportsDirect

POSTED: 7:19 am MST March 1, 2012

Before the 2011 season started, Michael Young and the Texas Rangers looked to be on their way to a nasty divorce. The problem was that it really looked, from the outside, like Texas continued to disrespect the long-time Ranger great. It is easy to see why Young was getting frustrated.

Michael Young
Wikimedia Commons

Young came to Texas in 2000 as a second basemen. In 2002, he led all second basemen in batting average (.306) and ranked second in fielding (.988). Young was one of the best players in all of baseball at his position. Then, Texas traded for Alex Rodriguez and the team moved Young to shortstop.

In his first year at the new position, he ranked second in the AL in hits (216) and ranked second at his position for RBIs (99). In 2005, he won the batting title (.331) while hitting 24 home runs. By 2008, he won a Gold Glove for playing shortstop. Once again, he was one of the best in the league at his position.

In 2009, Texas promoted shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus and moved Young to third base. That season, Young was named the AL starting third baseman for the All-Star team. In 2010, he moved into first place on the Rangers’ career hit list, passing Ivan Rodriguez. However, his defense dropped, leading the AL in errors at his position (19). The Rangers signed Adrian Beltre and asked Young to move to designated hitter.

Young agreed to move to DH but then Texas traded for Mike Napoli, who they said would share the DH position as well as play catcher for Texas. Young, angry, demanded to be traded because it looked like Texas was fazing him out. He remained a Ranger, though, and ended up hitting .338 for the season and played DH, first base and third base.

Young did that while angry. Now, in 2012, Young seems happy again. He said he is excited about becoming a utility infielder for Texas as well as serving as DH. Young will play some shortstop again this year and said it is exciting to head to the clubhouse and see what position he would play in that game.

With Young happy and available at just about any position they plug him in at, he is more valuable than ever.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Texas Rangers fan his entire life, watching the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate play for over 30 years. While Texas has moved their Triple-A team, Shawn still remains a loyal Rangers fan and awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

So you want to keep in touch and see what your favorite Texas Rangers players are up to?

Social networking has been a way of life for internet users for the past ten years. For a while sites like classmates.com helped people reconnect with old friends. Then there was the MySpace boom that began in the mid-2000′s. That was soon followed by Facebook and, eventually, Twitter.

If you actually still have a MySpace page then I implore you to move on. It has seen its best days.

When it comes to the world of sports there is no social media site bigger than Twitter. Virtually every sports writer in the country has an account and uses it in vain in order to be the “first” to break the latest news. It does his have its pratfalls, however, when many fake accounts pop up and report false information that the public eats up as being real.

But on the more positive side Twitter allows fans to connect with their favorite players in ways that have never been seen.

When it comes down to Facebook or Twitter when wanting to connect with your favorite player I can tell you that Twitter is the way to go. I can’t tell you how many of my friends have told me that they’re “friends” with Josh Hamilton on Facebook. If you are one of those then let me fill you in on something: Josh Hamilton doesn’t have a personal Facebook page. You are merely “friends” with a fan page. However, until a couple of days ago, his wife Katie did have a Twitter account where she shared what was going on in their lives. I’m sure she deleted it from harassment over Josh’s recent relapse. That’s just speculation though.

Several players themselves, though, have verified accounts on Twitter that anyone can follow. By “verified” I mean that Twitter assures people that these accounts actually belong to the athletes and celebrities whose names adorn them. And if you’re lucky they may even answer your questions.

So which members of the Texas Rangers are actually on Twitter? It’s taken me well over a year to seek them out and here are the most notable players and their Twitter handles.

I’ll start with Yu Darvish (@faridyu). Keep in mind that most of his tweets are in Japanese but you can use any online translator to decipher what he says. Neftali Feliz (@NefFeliz) joined earlier this year. Derek Holland (@Dutch_Oven45) won’t shy away from responding to fans. Fan favorite Mike Napoli (@MikeNapoli25) tweets regularly. Even newly acquired closer Joe Nathan (@JoeNathan36) can be found though he hasn’t tweeted in a while.

One of the more personable Texas Rangers on Twitter is Josh Frasier (@Frasier66). If you don’t know who Josh is then you are not a true fan. Josh is the bullpen catcher and will talk to virtually everyone. Just ask him who his favorite country music artist is and you may have a friend for life.

Would you like to follow some of the Rangers’ top prospects? Then look no further. You can find such future stars as Mike Olt (@molt2222) and Jake Skole (@JakeSkole15).

I have spoken with and verified all of those accounts and there is a much larger list here that not only contains the players with Twitter accounts but other people associated with the ball club as well, such as Jim Sundberg (@backstop10) and the radio voice of the Rangers, Eric Nadel (@nadeler).

So if you are a die-hard fan of the Texas Rangers and don’t already have a Twitter account then I highly suggest you get one and start following your favorite players. It will make the season even more enjoyable.

Until next time, I’ll see you in the cheap seats!

James Holland is a lifelong fan of baseball and his hometown Texas Rangers. You can follow him on Twitter @MLBJamesHolland.

Sources:

http://twitter.com

http://clawandantlernation.com

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

It looks like it might be a soap opera for the Texas Rangers throughout all of Spring Training and that is unfortunate because Josh Hamilton and his teammates might just want to start working on making it to their third consecutive World Series. However, the Hamilton relapse story continues to rage on into the preseason.

Josh Hamilton
Wikimedia Commons

When Hamilton arrived at Spring Training, the Player’s Union was not far behind. Everyone from the Rangers to Major League Baseball wants to make sure to give Hamilton the assistance he needs to make it through his battles. In exchange, Hamilton said in an interview with the press this week that, even if the Rangers do not sign him before the season starts, he will still give them the first chance to sign him when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

See, Hamilton said he will not personally negotiate an extension once the MLB season begins. It is the same thing Albert Pujols said last year and the reason that the St. Louis Cardinals fans knew they needed to enjoy him while they still had him. Pujols and the Cardinals never reached an agreement and now he plays out west.

However, that is something Hamilton said that Rangers’ fans don’t need to worry about. He even added a new twist to his contract talks. He said that if his agent and the Texas Rangers’ organization want to continue to discuss contract extension specifics once the season starts, he will welcome that as long as he does not have to take part in it.

Hamilton, much like Pujols last season, wants to concentrate only on his game on the field and not the business off of it. It worked for Pujols, who put his contract on the backburner and helped his team win a World Series. However, I don’t think Pujols ever planned to return to St. Louis when they did not give him a new contract to start the season.

Josh Hamilton said he loves it in Texas and I believe him. I think he wants to return as a Rangers’ player in 2013 and think if Texas can make the numbers work, Hamilton won’t be going anywhere.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Texas Rangers fan his entire life, watching the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate play for over 30 years. While Texas has moved their Triple-A team, Shawn still remains a loyal Rangers fan and awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The question marks coming into the 2012 MLB season for the Texas Rangers include two of their five pitching rotation spots. Yu Darvish comes over from Japan and hopes to prove he is the new ace pitcher that Texas hopes he can be. Neftali Feliz moves from the closer’s spot into the starting rotation and hopes to prove he can last deep into innings in his first year as a starter in the majors.

Neftali Feliz
Wikimedia Cmmons

From the first week of Spring Training, it looks like a case of so far, so good. Darvish has been highly impressive with his work on the mound and in the clubhouse. Teammates say he is catching on quick and he seems ready to translate his game to America. The first opportunity everyone will get a chance to see Darvish in action comes on March 7 against the San Diego Padres in Peoria.

Feliz starts the next day against the Chicago White Sox. At the moment, it looks like Feliz is sitting in the fifth spot in the rotation but he us competing over the spring with Alexi Ogando for that spot.

The good news is both men are coming along very well and have impressed Rangers’ manager Ron Washington. Washington said he knows of at least three pitches in Darvish’s arsenal, all variations on his fastball. He believes there might be even more the hurler hasn’t shown yet.

Feliz is currently working on developing his arsenal. As a closer, Feliz had one of the best fastballs on the roster. However, as a starter, he will need to work on his breaking ball and changeup. So far in camp, Feliz has impressed with his changeup. He struck out Josh Hamilton on Monday but gave up a homer to David Murphy. While Darvish is a lock, Feliz seems to be a work in progress.

Next up for Feliz and Darvish is another batting practice session on Feb. 29 and then Texas has them both scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game on March 2. It is almost time to see the 2012 Texas Rangers take the field for the first time this year and it can’t come soon enough.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Texas Rangers fan his entire life, watching the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate play for over 30 years. While Texas has moved their Triple-A team, Shawn still remains a loyal Rangers fan and awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.