Texas

Texas Rangers GM Chris Young sees ‘aptitude’ in red-hot rookie Wyatt Langford

Published

5 months ago

June 25, 2024

Texas Rangers GM Chris Young sees ‘aptitude’ in red-hot rookie Wyatt Langford

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young appeared on the GBag Nation show on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) to discuss the returns of Max Scherzer, Josh Jung, and more.

Here are some of the highlights, edited lightly for clarity.

What was your biggest takeaway from the first series sweep of the season?

Chris Young: Most importantly, I thought we showed signs of life from our offense. Really we strung together four or five straight games where we felt like we had really good quality of at-bats. We scored runs. We had timely hitting and certainly our pitching this this weekend with two back-to-back shutouts was outstanding. So I love the way we played. I love the way we competed. I think it’s something to build on. We’ve got a tough road trip ahead of us this week in Milwaukee and Baltimore. But I thought I saw signs of what we have to be successful. I’m hopeful it continues

What did you think about Max Scherzer’s debut and how is he feeling today? How will you manage his workload going forward?

Young: He said he’s feeling good, feeling normal. He said the next couple of days will determine kind of how he bounces back. He didn’t have a normal spring training. He didn’t even have a normal rehab, so to speak. We’re still learning a little bit how he’s going to recover how he’s going to bounce back. He’s still building up strength and endurance as well. So we are going to monitor him closely this week to make sure he recovers well.

But yesterday he was outstanding. It was so fun to watch him. I know that his stuff isn’t what it used to be in terms of when he was in the prime of his career. But watching him pitch and compete yesterday, it just felt like he was a step ahead of the hitters. It is really kind of a lost art in today’s game in terms of seeing a guy who could recognize swings, see what the opponent was trying to do and make adjustments on the fly. Despite the scouting report, it was vintage pitching.

The reality is [Max Scherzer] is 39 years old, he’s turning 40. I know how my body felt at 38 years old when I retired and every day was a challenge. He has kept himself in phenomenal shape. He’s really a freak when it comes to his recovery, the way he’s been able to recover from the surgery and the way he’s gone through his rehab. But we do have to be cognizant of the age and really that’s why we built the pitching staff that way we have. We have, at this point, a surplus of starters. We’re going to need them all. We’ve got starting pitching depth, assuming we stay healthy. It gives us some flexibility to be able to monitor Max, or the other guys, and build in extra rest or bullpen days or, even at some point, skip a start to keep them fresh and healthy throughout the year.

What have you seen from Wyatt Langford as he’s turned the corner and figured things out?

Young: I’ve seen a great aptitude from [Wyatt Langford] in terms of his ability to make adjustments. He obviously had a great spring training and then got off to a cold start here. But I think that should have been expected to some extent with how fast he got through the minor leagues and just adjusting to the quality of big league pitching. We’re seeing it all across the league, offense is down. The pitching in today’s game is so good, and to think that he was in college baseball last year. Now he’s seeing the best pitching in the world on a nightly basis, and you’re starting to see him make adjustments and really feel confident at the plate. The performance this month has really reflected that. It just shows what what a high aptitude Wyatt has for making adjustments, for learning how talented he is, and the hard work that he puts in. I think that the hitting coaches deserve some recognition here as well for identifying a couple things in his swing that have put him in a better position to really handle major league pitching. Collectively they’ve all done a great job, and we’re seeing the results of that.

Josh Smith has been great for the Rangers at third base in Josh Jung’s absence. What’s the plan when Jung returns from his injury?

Young: First of all, Josh Jung is probably not going to be able to play every day as he comes off this. This is a major surgery and to ask him to go out and play every day would be irresponsible. I think that Josh Smith will still get plenty of third base reps. I think that Josh Smith will see time at DH, he can play left field, center field, he can play shortstop, obviously we can spell [Corey Seager], or DH Corey Seager while Josh Smith plays shortstop. Josh Smith has played so well. He’s going to be in the lineup on a daily basis. Where that is position-wise, we’ll figure out. Bruce Bochy is brilliant at moving guys around and keeping guys fresh. We’ll figure out how to get all these guys in the lineup. But the reality is we need all of them going well together, at which point I feel like we’ll make a good run.

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TCU Volleyball Dominates Texas Tech on Senior Night

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

TCU Volleyball Dominates Texas Tech on Senior Night

A common theme for No. 22 TCU has been their complete dominance on their home floor this season. The Horned Frogs finished the year 14-1 at Schollmaier Arena. On Friday night, in front of over 3,000 fans, TCU swept Texas Tech (25-14, 26-24, 25-11).

The four seniors honored by TCU were Melanie Parra, Cecily Bramschreiber, Stephanie Young and Ashlyn Bourland. All four players found ways to contribute as Parra finished with 14 kills and seven digs. Bramschreiber filled up the stat sheet with four kills, four aces and seven digs. Both Young and Bourland got an ace.

Both teams traded points in the early going, but Bramschreiber sparked a 7-2 run to give the Frogs a 16-9 lead. TCU hit .417 in the first set and dominated the first set capped off by a Becca Kelley ace.

In set two, Texas Tech made things much closer jumping out to a 8-5 lead. A 4-0 run from TCU put them back in front. This set included multiple runs and it was Tech that got it to set point leading 24-22. TCU was able to end the set on a 4-0 run courtesy of kills from Jalyn Gibson and Parra paired with aces from Bramschreiber.

Trying to keeps things alive, TCU wasn’t met with much resistance from the Red Raiders in the third set. The Frogs kept up the pressure with multiple runs to build a massive 17-8 lead. Bourland picked up her first career ace and an attack error ended things.

It was a fun night for the seniors that played in front of the TCU crowd for the last time. The 14 wins at home tied the school record for most wins at home in a single season. They also picked up the most wins in a season since 2015. What Jason Williams has done for this program in such a short time has been remarkable to watch.

The Frogs move to 19-7 overall 11-5 in conference. They still are fifth in the Big 12 standings with two games to go. They will travel to Morgantown on Wednesday to take on West Virginia at 6 p.m. and then to Cincinnati on Friday at 1 p.m.

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Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana

Published

15 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit Thursday targeting the blue city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalizes marijuana.

Paxton alleges that Proposition R, which “prohibits the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure,” violates state law.

The attorney general argues in the lawsuit that the ballot measure is preempted by Texas law, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana. Paxton also claims the Texas Constitution prohibits municipalities from adopting an ordinance that conflicts with laws enacted by the state legislature.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a statement. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them.”

Paxton called the ballot measure “a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution” and threatened to sue any other city that “tries to constrain police in this fashion.”

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A flower bud of marijuana. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

The lawsuit comes after interim Dallas Police Department Chief Michael Igo directed Dallas police officers not to enforce marijuana laws against those found to be in possession of less than 4 ounces.

Ground Game Texas, a progressive nonprofit group that campaigned in favor of the ballot measure, argued it would help “keep people out of jail for marijuana possession,” “reduce racially biased policing” and “save millions in public funding.”

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A mature marijuana plant begins to bloom under artificial lights at Loving Kindness Farms in Gardena, Calif., May 20, 2019. Paxton has sued the city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” said Catina Voellinger, executive director for Ground Game Texas.

“Judges in Travis and Hays counties have already dismissed identical lawsuits filed there. The Dallas Freedom Act was overwhelmingly approved by 67% of voters — this is democracy in action.”

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Since January 2024, Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana possession, arguing these policies promote crime, drug abuse and violence.

Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

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Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic

Published

23 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic

The Texas Longhorns are heading back to Austin with some early-season tournament hardware in hand.

Tre Johnson battled through another poor shooting night but closed the game out for Texas once again, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Longhorns to a 67-58 win over Saint Joseph’s at the Legends Classic championship round in Brooklyn Friday night.

Transfer guard Julian Larry sparked the Longhorns late, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Arthur Kaluma added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds.

The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming, who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Xzayvier Brown added 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

The Longhorns jumped out to an 11-6 lead after seven early points from Kaluma. St. Joe’s started out cold from the field but controlled the game with hard-nosed defense and the occasional press while dominating the offensive glass. This was highlighted by a possession where the Hawks got four consecutive offensive rebounds but only scored one point as a result.

Johnson stayed aggressive on offense for Texas but was off on his shot and was impacted by the on-ball defense of St. Joe’s.

Mark, Pope and Johnson all hit a triple for Texas in about a two-minute span ahead of halftime to give the Longhorns their biggest lead at 32-26 but the Hawks responded with a free throw from Haskins 3-pointer from Brown before halftime to cut the lead to 32-30.

The defense from the Hawks ramped up even more, as the Longhorns were stuck in the mud on offense and had little to no ball movement. St. Joe’s was hardly much better, but its defense continued to set the tone and eventually swung the momentum.

Larry then hit back-to-back triples as the two teams traded buckets on five straight possessions. Consecutive dunks from Ajogbor and Fleming but the Hawks in front 50-46 with 8:25 to play, but Larry continued to take over. He hit 1,000 career points with a driving layup before finding Kaluma for a corner triple to put Texas back in front at 51-50.

It didn’t stop there for Larry, who found a cutting Shedrick for a dunk before diving on a loose ball down at the other end to secure possession for Texas, which had built a 55-52 lead with 3:13 left. The Longhorns used the momentum to put together an 8-0 run, which essentially sealed the win in a game where scoring felt hard to come by.

Johnson then closed the game out with six points in the final 4:11 of action, including a pullup jumper at the foul line to put Texas up 63-55 with 1:19 left.

Texas will host Delaware State on Nov. 29.

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