Yardbarker: Akinori Otsuka

Today's Links-Bears Break My Heart Edition

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:51:06 -0500

Bears lose in a nailbiter. Just kidding everyone, it wasn't a nailbiter. Bears just flat out lost, and it sucks.Akinori Otsuka a Cub? If he has recovered from that surgery it would be perfect. Sorry if I'm not totally sold on Bob Howry 2.0 (Kevin Gregg)Ben Gordon passes Scottie Pippen on the ...

Otsuka Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Jennings To Texas?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:35:39 -0500

Former Ranger Akinori Otsuka undergoes potentially season-ending elbow surgery; Texas closes in on a Major League deal with free agent right-hander Jason Jennings, ticket prices at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington are on the rise once again.

Saturday Morning Rangers Notes

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:21:05 -0500

The Rangers ink right-hander Jason Davis; Josh Hamilton's interview with The Ticket's Norm Hitzges; has Texas fallen out of the running for free agent starter Bartolo Colon?

Gagne To The Dbacks?

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:03:02 -0500

This one doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us with Jose Valverde being named the the All Star squad but rumors are that the Dbacks are one of the top suitors for Eric Gagne's services. Teams are lining up to pluck away the top two members of the Rangers' bullpen, and Jon Daniels is in "listening mode." MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the scoop: the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Red Sox, and Yankees are the top suitors for Eric Gagne. The Mets, Braves, Phillies, Tigers, ...

Fantasy Spotlight: Akinori Otsuka

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:49:47 -0500

RobinSports.com writer Josh Stapleton chimes in on his daily spotlight on attractive fantasy baseball talent. Today's focus is Texas Rangers pitcher Akinori Otsuka! This column is a must-read for fantasy baseball performers looking to get an edge on your competition!

Tom Hicks' Greatest Hits

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:58:22 -0500

Whatever else you want to say about Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, and we'll probably say it a couple of paragraphs from now, the man can blast his former players. When asked about some of his biggest mistakes as owner of the Rangers, Hicks said this: "Juan Gonzalez for $24 million after he came off steroids, probably, we just gave that money away." Aside from the "ZING!" we all immediately thought after reading that quote, this is the kind of honesty fans love out of people intimately involved with professional sports. It's so refreshing to hear an owner throw potentially slanderous comments out there for everyone to hear, especially when many people would agree. Juan Gonzalez is an interesting case from the "steroids era" in baseball. He was an extremely productive player for about ten years, but every single good season he had came before he was 32 and then he completely broke down physically. In fact, he was one of the more feared hitters of the 1990's, but almost never stands out because his career ended so prematurely. Imagine if he'd been able to keep adding on to his 432 career home runs for eight more years. We'd be discussing his Hall of Fame credentials. Check out his stats. We had kind of forgotten how good he really was, despite all the injuries. But Hicks' comments got us thinking. There have been a heck of a lot of bad personnel moves in the Rangers' recent history. Like a lot, a lot. Here's what we came up with just off the tops of our heads.

Teixeira to the Bronx: When, Not If?

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:19:30 -0500

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Texas Rangers have been scouting Yankee prospects in expectation that the Bombers will make a run at acquiring first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Rangers are reportedly seeking rookie pitcher Phil Hughes in return. The Yanks consider Hughes "untouchable" and the Rangers are dreaming if they think he can be had for Teixeira alone. However the conversation starts to get a lot more interesting for both teams when you begin to toss in names like Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka. According to Rosenthal, the Yanks have been scouting both players.

Relief Rumors Begin...

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:50:29 -0500

According to the New York Post, Washington's Chad Cordero and John Rauch, Pittsburgh's Solomon Torres, and Texas pitchers Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka will most likely be on the trading block as the trading deadline approaches. All of these pitchers could make a strong contribution to the Mets bullpen.

Gagne to Begin Season on DL

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 21:09:20 -0500

The glass slipper hasn't fit for Eric Gagne yet, and Akinori Otsuka owners are grinning. For Gagne owners, you have to keep your lips zipped. This could be a blessing in disguise, as the Rangers are intelligently giving Gagne more time to fully prepare for the season. This isn't a health setback?or is it? The AP reports: "The move will be retroactive to Wednesday, meaning Gagne could rejoin the Rangers on April 13 for the start of a series in Seattle. Gagne will pitch for Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma until then, and will make back-to-back appearances before joining the Rangers."

Hello Otsuka - Goodbye Gagne (for now)

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:02:35 -0500

Gagne is starting the year on the DL. But you knew that would happen in December. If you didnt back up Gagne with Otsuka in your fantasy league, shame on you. The Rangers are claiming that Gagne is not hurt but they just want to get him some more work. Thats a good idea since his fastball was about equal in speed to Tim Wakefield's this spring.

Flash Gordon leaves camp with forearm, elbow stiffness

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:08:24 -0500

Not to speculate, but when Gordon is having arm problems, it's usually serious. As the Beerleaguer says "The Phillies brass will try to spin this as a routine exam, but get real." Gordon will meet with team doctor Michael Ciccotti today. Expect to hear rumors of the Phillies acquiring Mike MacDougal, Akinori Otsuka or Scott Linebrink. Even if Gordon turns out to fine, adding veteran arm with some closing experience to back up the Phillies 39 year-old closer makes a lot of sense.

The Great Gagne

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 22:36:06 -0500

Its been two and a half years since Eric Gagne has been able to toe the rubber for the Los Angeles Dodgers while being completely healthy. He'll get his chance again this year, only this time it will be in Arlington, Texas. Gagne and the Rangers finalized a one year deal worth $6 million dollars, with incentives escalating up to an extra $5 million. He has also been named the Rangers closer, replacing Akinori Otsuka and moving Otsuka into the set-up role.

ESPN to Reynolds: "Don't hug it out, bitch."

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 22:46:26 -0500

It will be interesting to see how the Harold Reynolds situation shakes out in the next couple of weeks. I have to say, I am more than a little surprised as I'm sure many of you are. As a long time Mariners fan, I would have expected this kind of behavior from Henry Cotto or Scott Bankhead but certainly not from the best non-obvious-steroid-using second baseman to ever play for Seattle. Granted, very little from the story has been made public, but it seems to be shaping up into an instance of he said/she said. The most scandalous quote that has surfaced came from Reynolds himself: "It was a total misunderstanding, my goal is to sit down and get back. To be honest with you, I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted." I'm 26 years old. I'm estimating that I've given or received some 10,000 hugs in my day and it never dawned on me that each hug had to be interpreted like 19th century French poetry or an Aborigine rain dance. I like to think I have a healthy imagination but I'm having a hard time picturing how an innocent hug can be misconstrued as sexual harassment, unless he gave the woman the same kind of hug that Jim Carrey gave Lauren Holly when she answered the door in "Dumb and Dumber", minus the doves. I hope this situation can be resolved and Harold Reynolds can return to ESPN's airwaves sooner than later. Watching John Kruk sweating like a woman giving birth while trying to pronounce "Akinori Otsuka" only makes for good television once in a while. He's one of the few people on ESPN that I found both knowledgeable and tolerable and I wish him the best, unless of course the woman he hug/harassed turns out to be Rachel Nichols, because if that's the case, I will hunt him down like he's Waingro from "Heat". "You don't know what this is, do you Harold?"