Michael Young Announces Retirement

Posted on January 31, 2014 by colonelsportsnation

Yesterday Michael Young announced his retirement. It came as really no surprise to those who saw him struggle these last two years. His swing was slowing and he was limited defensively. I don’t want to remember him for that though. That was just a product of age catching up with him like it does everyone. I want to remember him as the guy who was the heart and soul of the Rangers during the down turn in the 2000’s and then the inspiration for the team when they were making their World Series appearances.

Young was a very consistent hitter. He had over 200 hits in 5 consecutive seasons. He won the batting title in 2005. He won a gold glove at SS in 2008. He finished with a .300 career BA. He was the model of consistency for several years. He was willing to do whatever was asked and or needed of him to help his team win. He was definitely a manager’s player in that respect. That is probably why even when he was struggling Washington refused to sit him. Lets remember the player he was, not the player he ended up being.

Normally most guys like him are associated with just one position, but Michael Young played all four infield positions and I am sure he would have played outfield if they needed him to. He started out his career really in 200l. He was coming up to replace an injured Randy Velarde. It was supposed to be just short-term, but his performance kept him up from then on. They ended up trading Velarde that season and gave Young the full-time spot at second playing next to Alex Rodriguez. He went on to play that position for the next 2 seasons, that is until Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano. Going into Spring Training in 2004 the question was who would play second and who would play SS, but instead of a competition Young volunteered to switch positions to make room for Soriano. From 2004-2008 he was the Rangers SS and with help from Ron Washington he would go on to win a gold glove at the position in 2008. It was at that point though that the Rangers decided to make a move and bring up Elvis Andrus to be the opening day SS in 2009. Elvis was acquired in the much talked about Mark Teixiera trade in 2007. He had worked his way up from A to Double A ball and the Rangers felt like he was ready to come up. At that point Young requested a trade, but after soothing things over with management he agreed to move over to 3rd base. He made the transition pretty well. In 2009-2010 he was the starting third baseman. He played the position well, but again in the offseason of 2010 the Rangers made a move and acquired Adrian Beltre. Once again Young was on the move. This time he would be splitting time at first and DH with Mitch Moreland. He accepted this move, but it was at this point his age started to show. He didn’t pick up first as well as he had the other positions. His bat though bounced back. He hit .338 and once again had over 200 hits. Michael Young was back, but it didn’t last long. He followed that up with a disappointing 2012 that saw the Rangers collapse down the stretch and in the offseason he was traded to the Phillies.

Overall though, he was the face of the franchise for many down years. Yet, he brought his effort and hard work into every game and every season during that stretch. He was one of my favorite players and a guy I loved to root for. He didn’t have the natural tools that others had. He didn’t possess raw ability. He had to work for everything he had. Hopefully one of these days his number 10 will be retired. As of right now, he is the Rangers all-time hits leader. Rangers will always remember his ability to drive balls into the gap or just to dump them over the second baseman’s head. Hopefully we see him back in baseball in some aspect in the next few years, whether as a manager or a hitting instructor. He would be great in either role.

Rangers Acquire Pedro Figueroa

Posted on January 30, 2014 by colonelsportsnation

Yesterday the Rangers acquired hard-throwing left hander Pedro Figueroa on a waiver claim from the Tampa Bay Rays. Figueroa is an enigma so far in his career. He throws in the 97-98 mph range, but doesn’t have much control. He is 28 years old, so he has that going for him, but this will be his third team. He spent most of last season pitching for the Triple-A Sacramento team. He pitched mainly in their bullpen and he went 3-4 with an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.523.

The Rangers are mainly looking at him as low-risk high-reward guy. If they can get his control problems fixed then they may have a guy who can really contribute to that bullpen and give them another power arm out there. If Robbie Ross makes the rotation out of Spring Training then they will have a need for another left-hander in the bullpen. The pitchers competing for the left handed spots in the bullpen right now are: Michael Kirkman, Neal Cotts, Joseph Ortiz, and Figueroa. Cotts who was their best left-handed reliever and who Ron Washington counted on in the second half figures to make the team. So the competition will really be between Kirkman, Ortiz, and Figueroa for that second left-handed spot. If Figueroa gets his control problems figured out he will have a good shot, if he doesn’t then the Rangers will send him to the minor leagues and hope he can figure them out there. Whatever happens this is a no-lose pick-up for the Rangers.

Why I Love Baseball

Posted on January 29, 2014 by colonelsportsnation

by Michael Sanders

Our lives are very fleeting. They are filled with moments and events that we will never forget. For me I will never forget events like proposing to my wife, graduating from college, and getting the phone call that told me I had been hired as a video editor. Those are events that are etched into my memory. My life has also revolved around sports. With each big moment that happens to one of my favorite teams I can tell you where I was and what I was doing when it happened. The best events have happened when I experienced it with others. I have always believed that sports is better experienced in a communal environment. That could be at the stadium or arena, with a group of friends at a bar, or just at someone’s house for a watch party.

I will never forget being at my church watching the 2001 Orange Bowl and seeing my beloved Sooners capture their 7th national championship. We had probably 50 people there and none of could believe what we were seeing. With each quarter that went by the anticipation started building and the tension in the room continued to increase. Then in the 4th quarter when Quinton Griffin scrambled in for the touchdown to make the score 13-0 the room exploded. Everyone was on their feet screaming, clapping, and high-fiving all the people around them. It was an unforgettable moment.

That is what sports is, but to me, nothing tops baseball. Baseball is a team sport built around individual battles. It is the pitcher going up against the batter, each of them trying to figure the other out. The pitcher has a scouting report on the batter and the batter has one on the pitcher. When the batter steps into the box though all that is gone and it is just mano e mano. Each of them trying to bring their best stuff for that appearance. To me the only things that match it in sports is in basketball when they clear it out for the superstar to try to make a play, penalty kicks in soccer, or shootouts in hockey. Unlike the other sports the battle between a pitcher and batter occurs to start every play in baseball.

As a fan, my favorite moments has been when the complete unexpected has happened. I will never forget being in my dorm room at college watching the 2004 Texas Rangers go up against the Oakland A’s in September. Going into the series the Rangers needed to take all three to have any shot at the division going into the final week. They took the first two games, but in-game three it looked like the A’s were going to take it and shut the door on the Rangers season. It was 4-2 after the A’s had put a run in the board in the top of the inning. Dotel was coming into the game. All he had to do was get three outs and the Rangers would be practically eliminated. He gets the first out, then boom, Blalock hits a home run to make it a one run game. Michael Young then with a double, Teixiera with the intentional walk to try to set up the double play, and Brian Jordan then beats out the throw to stop the double play. So, two outs, and I am on my feet in my dorm room on this Thursday afternoon. David Dellucci comes up and 2-2 count, then he pulls one to deep right field and Jermaine Dye is heading to the corner trying to get it, and he dives and the ball shoots by him. Michael Young scores and Brian Jordan, running as if he was ten years younger, beats the throw home. I am jumping up and down screaming my head off, and not caring who was around. That is a moment that I will never forget.

In my life, baseball has provided me with many moments like that, whether it be good or bad. I remember the game where the Rangers beat the Orioles 30-3 in the first game of the doubleheader. It was a game where most of the starting lineup was full of people who no one would be able to recognize in a game that nobody would care to watch. I will remember the 2010 ALCS game 1 against the Yankees where the Rangers had established a big lead heading into the late innings, only to see the bullpen blow it. Then, the thoughts about if this was going to happen again, are we really going to lose to the Yankees again. Of course they didn’t and they made their way to the World Series for the first time.

Baseball is a funny game, you never know what you are going to get. You know that there is going to be at least 27 outs for each side. Other than that, the rest is a mystery until the umpire says, “play ball”. That ultimately is what I love about baseball. I love the day in day out storylines that it provides. The hitter who is on a hitting streak, the pitcher who can’t seem to lose, the team who is on a winning streak, or the young player who is having a breakthrough season. I love all of that. I love seeing someone I have followed from the minor leagues on up start to realize their potential. That is what being a baseball fan has been like for me. It started when I was 7 years old and continues to this very day. Every year around this time I start to get fired up, because soon pitchers and catchers report, and soon after that the games get started. I hope this has given you insight into what life as a baseball fan and sports fan has been like for me.

This blog will be….

Posted on January 25, 2014 by colonelsportsnation

This blog will be a few things. First off, you are probably wondering why it is called Colonelsportsnation. My name is Michael Sanders and for as long as I have worked at my TV station people have called me the Colonel. That is because of the famous Colonel Sanders from the KFC ads. I accepted it when I started working there to fit in, and now I have embraced it. When thinking of a name I couldn’t think of any better name than to call it The Colonel Sports Nation.

Now that we have that settled, lets get on to what this blog will be. It will be a place to discuss the latest sports news, big and small. I will give my thoughts on the stories people know of and the ones that aren’t getting as much coverage. Those stories are just as important. I may not be an expert, but the opinions I do have will be well thought out and well researched as well. If you have an issue with a certain opinion let me know and we can discuss it. It will also be a place where from time to time I will post interviews with different sports figures. I hope through these interviews I can learn more about them and their craft.

Now about me. My name is Michael Sanders, I am a married 30-year old video editor at a local TV news station. I have always been around sports. I played baseball and basketball when I was younger. I love watching sports on TV and being there in person. My favorite sport is baseball, but I also love watching basketball, football, soccer, and golf. My favorite teams are the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Oklahoma City Thunder, and OU Sooners. I have been watching sports since I was born practically. From all these years, I have experienced many highs and many more lows. Yet, I keep coming back and keep holding onto hope. That in my opinion is the life of a typical sports fan.

The reason I am creating this blog is because I want a forum to discuss my thoughts that is more than just a Facebook status or longer than a tweet. I want a place to go into detail what my thoughts are. I want to have a place where sports fan can come in and find good and interesting content to read. I will try to post stuff about 2 or 3 times a week in these next two months and then when baseball season starts I will attempt to post every day. I will also be posting video blogs as well, when there is a topic that I feel is better discussed over video rather than with writing.

Finally, I know that there are many sports blogs out there, but none of them will have my unique takes and opinions. I hope that this also provides you a forum to air your thoughts about sports or about life in general. Remember, sports are to be fun and in my opinion the discussion of sports should be fun as well. Will we disagree? Yes we will, but we don’t have to yell and scream at each other about that. So, come here for unique content, interesting topics, and great sports fan discussion. That is what Colonel Sports Nation will be.