Well, as a fan of the Texas Rangers I became a huge Mike Napoli fan last season and it wasn’t too far after the All-Star break that I was fine watching C.J. Wilson walk out the door. I guess actually Wilson did have the door opened for him and a car waiting, but I sure didn’t shed a tear when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason. Now, I have even more reason to feel that way.

Apparently at some point this offseason Napoli said he was looking forward to hitting homers off of Wilson and Wilson decided to retaliate in a manner that only he could. He turned to Twitter on Saturday night to send out a message that appeared to give Napoli his new cell number, but instead was a prank where he was giving away Napoli’s number. Call me old fashioned if you will, but that does not seem like something that would go over too well in any clubhouse.

I have never been in a big league clubhouse and for certain do not understand the intricacies involved, but I would expect that all ballplayers understand the spotlight they are under and the world where some things just need to stay private. There are some reports that it was an old number of Napoli’s, but regardless that does not seem like the best way to deal with a situation.

Napoli also does not quite understand what Wilson was thinking and said, “If I have a problem with somebody, I’m going to call them. I just think it was uncalled for.”

Napoli added “I don’t even remember saying I want to take him deep, but as every power hitter, you’re always trying to take pitchers deep. So I’ll say it now, I’m going to try and take him deep.”

I have sure heard athletes say worse things than wanting to hit home runs off of a pitcher that will be a divisional rival, but then again maybe Wilson is still a bit bitter as to the way things were handled with him and the Rangers this offseason.

I am definitely biased and I am going to stick by the Rangers and Napoli. Give me a ballplayer who talks about hitting home runs and worries about getting ready for the season any day than someone who can’t pitch in October and is more concerned with racing cars, photography and Twitter pranks.

It may have started in a strange manner, but this rivalry is starting to heat up. It may not ever be the Yankees and Red Sox, but the Rangers and Angels are preparing to have some very interesting games over the next few years. They will meet for a few games this weekend and while the games will not mean anything, it will still be interesting to actually see both of them on the field facing each other. They will meet for the first time in the regular season on May 11^th in Arlington and that day cannot come soon enough.

John Bowman is a lifelong baseball and Texas Rangers fan that loves to ponder the deeper aspects of the game. Some of his first baseball memories involve Arlington Stadium nachos, Charlie Hough’s knuckeball, dirt on Pete Incaviglia’s uniform and the voices of Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel as he fell asleep.