AMERICAN LEAGUE UPDATE: YOUNG STAYS COOL IN TEXAS HEAT.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer KANSAS CITY Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Mo. - Just outside the dugout at Ameriquest Field, Kenny Rogers is pushing around a cameraman. Inside the clubhouse, Michael Young could not be further away from the chaos that is about to ensue. Young is the quiet, steady leader of the Texas Rangers Texas Rangers, mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans. , the club's replacement for Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975 in New York, New York), commonly nicknamed A-Rod, is a Dominican American baseball infielder. He is the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees, after having played shortstop for the Texas Rangers and Seattle at shortstop, the approachable and level-headed unofficial spokesman for the club reporters go to after virtually every game, win or lose. Baseball is very important to Young; it's his livelihood, but it is secondary to him right now. Young became a father on June 22 when his wife gave birth to a son, Mateo. It's difficult going on the road so often and leaving his wife and newborn son at home. But somehow, one gets the impression Young will manage just fine. ``Every time I leave we have someone help out,'' Young said. ``My wife's a great mother; it's no problem at all. We're making it work.'' That gives Young the opportunity to focus on his game, despite the fact there are plenty of distractions right under his nose. After a slow start, Young is back where he belongs, hitting .320 (sixth in the league), getting on base and scoring runs from his No. 2 spot in the batting order Noun 1. batting order - (baseball) a list of batters in the order in which they will bat; "the managers presented their cards to the umpire at home plate" lineup, card , ahead of sluggers like Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock Hank Joe Blalock (born November 21, 1980 in San Diego, California) is a Major League baseball third baseman who currently plays for the Texas Rangers. Hank Blalock has recently been diagnosed with Thoracic outlet syndrome. In some circles Hank is known as "The Block. and Alfonso Soriano. ``I can't say why or how,'' Young said of a start that had him hitting .251 on May 18. ``But I wasn't going to make any changes at all. A lot of guys over-adjust. I did a couple minor things here and there, but I didn't make any physical adjustments at all. I stayed confident and trusted my approach.'' It worked. In the month of June, Young hit .389. Now only if his teammates could handle adversity so well. Even before the Rogers incident, the Rangers were in a bit of upheaval, in recent weeks releasing 40 percent of their starting rotation (Ryan Drese and Pedro Astacio) and going with youngsters C.J. Wilson and Ricardo Rodriguez. With Rogers out for a while, journeyman John Wasdin has joined the rotation. All the while trying to snap out of a funk that saw them fall 8 1/2 games behind the Angels in the American League West The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. . ``Especially the thing with Drese, I think a lot of us were caught off guard,'' said Young, who noted that he and his teammates have watched Drese pitched well for the Nationals. ``A lot of us were scratching our heads with that one.'' The Rogers incident has taken on a life of its own Memory Burn A Life Of Its Own was released by Noise Kontrol in 2002. Memory Burn is made up of several high profile musicians who came together to create this special work. , with accusations coming out that Rogers used the hairline fracture hairline fracture n. A fracture in which the fragments do not separate because the line of break is so fine. Also called capillary fracture. in his right (non-pitching) hand as an excuse to avoid making starts against the Angels and Red Sox. How it affects the Rangers the rest of the summer remains to be seen. How Young is affected, however, is no mystery - he won't be. --Desperate move: It's no shocker shock·er n. One that startles, shocks, or horrifies, as a sensational story or novel. Noun 1. shocker - a shockingly bad person bad person - a person who does harm to others 2. that Young was surprised the Rangers released Drese, who won 14 games in 2004. Especially considering the Rangers were desperate enough to sign a Dallas police officer. The Rangers have signed former Rangers pitcher Tim Crabtree to a minor-league contract. He hurt his shoulder and left baseball in 2001. He had surgery on the shoulder in 2002 but decided become a policeman. He'd been working at the Dallas airport when he contacted the Rangers about a tryout, which they gave him. Crabtree is now working out at the Rangers' spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz. --Milestone chase: Angels center fielder Steve Finley and St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. outfielder Reggie Sanders are both trying to become the fifth player in major-league history to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases in a career. Finley has 311 stolen bases and 293 home runs. Sanders has a little further to go, with 288 homers and 296 steals. The current members of the 300-300 club are Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds and Andre Dawson. Joe Haakenson, (626) 962-8811 joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) AROUND THE HORN COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE WEEK IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL "MLB" and "Major Leagues" redirect here. For other uses, see MLB (disambiguation) and Major Leagues (disambiguation). Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. - Rich Hammond (2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS - Matt McHale |
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