Kirkman: Do you like websites? Mike Napoli -- who runs as if he's treading through three-foot-deep peanut butter -- scored from first on a Elvis Andrus single in the bottom of the ninth inning giving the Rangers a 7-6 win and a series victory over the Kansas City Royals.
The problem: He was out by a country mile. Andrus' hit was not hit extremely hard (which was a big reason it took a little time to get to), but Dave Anderson waved Napoli around anyway. Saving his bacon, Napoli made a savvy move in not attempting to slide around Royals catcher Brayan Pena, he went right at the plate, which wasn't being blocked.
I think what got to Pena, more than anything, was that Napoli was actually coming. Maybe Anderson made the exact right move: He did what the opponent did not dare think he would actually do. Look at the replay. The ball is coming in, Pena glances to his left and his head jerks realizing that dumb, fat Napoli is steaming down the third-base line. In the brief second of confusion, he forgets to block the plate. So idiotic, that it worked.
This isn't Anderson's only snafu. He's had his fair share. But when it works, everyone is cool.
If you blinked this weekend, you probably missed something from the Rangers-Royals, which turned out to be pretty entertaining. There was 11 Rangers home runs, an extra-inning affair, a walk-off play at the plate and 24 home-team runs scored.
Now for some awards:
Biggest Asshole
Brayan Pena
The man has three home runs this season. All three are against the Rangers. He also has 15 RBI on the season. Ten are against the Rangers. All three are three-run home runs. Seeing him spike the ball this afternoon in disbelief was magical.
Best Relief Appearance
(tie) Yoshi Tateyama and Michael Kirkman
Kirkman pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in the series, including two innings today to keep the game at hand. He had three strikeouts on the day. Kirkman's ERA dropped from 27.00 to 10.38. Tateyama pitched 4.1 innings allowing an unearned run and walking no one. Most impressively, he induced 11 groundball outs. What if the Rangers have something in these two dudes?
Worst Relief Appearance
Dave Bush
Friday night, Bush faced eight Royals hitters in getting three outs. He allowed five runs on four hits and a walk. Eight of those hitters hit home runs. Including that asshole Pena.
"Oh-Shit-We-Got-To-Deal-With-Him-For-Another-Decade" Award
Eric Hosmer
It's going to really stink when he's a Yankee.
In The Same Boat Award
Neftali Feliz and Joakim Soria
The debate is still on. Is Neftali Feliz hurt? Is it all mental? It's all a moot point. If Feliz is hurt and isn't telling the coaches, then that's on him. Ron Washington has no other reason not to send him out there to at least figure it out. Seems like Feliz is throwing hard, he's just not locating things very well. I don't care who you are, if you throw pitches down the middle of the plate and the hitter knows its a fastball, it'll get hit. There's no nuance to Feliz' game right now, and that kills him more than anything. Add to the fact that he has zero confidence. Soria's not that far behind. He's had a really bad year and a bad series. Frankly, teams are not out of it if he's on the mound. Considering Aaron Crow's emergence, you wonder how long Soria has.
Best Start
Matt Harrison
Put together another beautiful start Saturday going six innings and allowing no runs on five hits and a walk. A blister ended his night prematurely. For the record, that's four straight pretty good starts and two straight great starts. He hasn't allowed a run in 16.1 innings.
Worst Start
Sean O'Sullivan
Hopefully the bullpen took him out to Cheddar's after the game. O'Sullivan took the beating opposite Harrison sticking around for 5.2 innings allowing 15 hits, 10 runs, five home runs and two walks.
