*A frog for a Prince. In 2010 Ian Kinsler proposed a fantasy baseball trade to Prince Fielder: "Us for him?" Last night there was no "him" - as in Giants' pitcher Tim Lincecum - but there certainly was the reality of "us." The Rangers acquiring Fielder and $30 million in exchange for Kinsler is a complete coup for Texas. Fans in the Metroplex had long tired of Kinsler's pop-ups and he was blocking the progress of Jurickson Profar at second base. Though his power numbers have declined (from 50 homers in '07 all the way down to 25 in '13) and his playoff numbers are abysmal (.196, 1 homer, 3 RBI in 24 games), there's no reason not to think the Rangers' new 1st baseman can't put up 45 homers and 120 RBI whacking away at Rangers Ballpark's short porch in right field. The deal leaves the Rangers with an infield of Fielder, Profar, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre. And the cash means that over the next four years they'll pay Fielder only $4 million more than were going to pay Kinsler. This is a huge win for Jon Daniels.
*Turned out to be a great night for Metroplex sports, because the Mavs are for real. Down 18 to the Rockets and being bludgeoned by Dwight Howard's post play, they rallied behind the dynamic duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis for a pulsating 123-120 victory. That's as good of an NBA game as you'll ever see in November. Dirk was vintage. Ellis was relentless. And, despite being abused by Howard all game, Samuel Dalembert grabbed the game's key rebound. The Mavs will improve to 9-4 (7-0 at home) when they take care of 1-win Utah Friday night.
*Like his stats and persona and life, A-Fraud's temper tantrum yesterday was nothing more than a staged, transparent attempt to win public sentiment in his appeal of a 211-game suspension for his role in the Biogenesis PED scandal. How convenient that just 10 minutes after he "stormed" out of the proceedings his representatives sent out a prepared statement. And when he flatly denies taking steroids or attempting to tamper with witnesses or evidence in the case, I flatly think he's lying. As usual. Sorry, A-Fraud, but for most of us your sideshow distraction won't camouflage the fact that you're a cheater, a liar and, yes, a fraud. If A-Fraud really is innocent, why did it take him this long to say so? And why did he do it on a radio show, and not under oath?
*I said yesterday that the Rangers would miss David Murphy more than Nolan Ryan. Now you know why. Daniels is the organization's baseball brain. And Fielder is the new face of the franchise.
*Considering she's now suffered major injuries in violent crashes twice in nine months, I've about decided that Lindsey Vonn just isn't a very good skier.
*Hot.
*Not.
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