Washington made right call by pulling Harden in no-hitter situation

Texas Rangers right-hander Rich Harden carried a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings on Monday, when manager Ron Washington trotted out to the mound to make a decision.

The outcome: Washington pulled Harden, who walked off the mound to a collective groaning from the fans at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Had I been in attendance, I probably would have been one of the few applauding Washington's decision from the very start. It was the right call, and a painfully obvious one. I was watching the game on mlb.tv at work, and the moment Harden stepped off the mound, I agreed with the move.

Yes, Harden campaigned on the mound to Washington. The mound visit took longer than usual. Harden wanted to be in there, and I applaud his competitive nature. But the move needed to be made.

Harden threw 111 pitches. He could have stayed in the game longer had he not walked five batters, the last of whom Harden put on base on four straight pitches.

Harden was just coming off the disabled list for right shoulder tendinitis. To get through that game, his pitch count would have likely been near 150. Had that been the case, another trip to the DL would have been imminent.

For a guy as fragile as Harden's history suggests, this had to be an easy call for Washington.

Elevating Harden's pitch count any higher could have had unfavorable consequences.

Take Toronto's Brandon Morrow, who flirted with a no-hitter on Aug. 8, for instance. Morrow threw 136 pitches that day against Tampa Bay. His no-hitter was broken up in the ninth, but he completed the game and struck out an absurd 17 batters. He made his next start with added rest (nine days), and still only went four innings.

Another example is Edwin Jackson, who typically is known for his ability to make a lot of pitches. Jackson, then with the Arizona Diamondbacks, threw a no-hitter against the Rays (odd theme there) on June 25 in Tampa, Fla. His pitch count was 150 by game's end. A ludicrous eight walks didn't help the situation. Anyway, Jackson only went five innings in his next two starts.

If there's one thing Harden needs to work on, it's consistency. He's had three games where he's looked rather brilliant this season. He's followed them up with sub-par performances each time. That's a big reason his record only stands at 5-4, his ERA sits at 5.00 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a less than desirable 70/55.

When he's on, he can be well above-average. Harden probably earned himself another start over Derek Holland with his performance against the Twins.

By pulling Harden after 6.2 innings, Washington is giving Harden the opportunity to cement his name in the rotation for the rest of the season. I'd be OK with him as a fifth starter if he can stay healthy and semi-limit his walks (I say that because Harden will never be able to fully eliminate his walks).

He should be able to pitch on normal rest and continue to compete in an exciting pennant race. Harden has no reason to be mad at Washington for last night's move. He should actually thank him.

All-time Avenged Sevenfold songs: Two discs: Still tough decisions made

Avenged Sevenfold's latest CD 'Nightmare' was so good that it makes me think of the band in a historical sense.

My favorite band of all-time? Perhaps.

The best hard rock group since Metallica? Arguably.

If Sevenfold comes out with another album as good as Nightmare, I'd think about them supplanting Metallica as my favorite band ever. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to take my all-time favorite Sevenfold songs over the years and put it on a CD.

Tough decisions.

As I was putting the disc together, it became evident that I wasn't going to be able to fit everything on one CD. Their songs are too long! With that in mind, I made two CD's. Here's what I came up with.

All-time Avenged Sevenfold: Disc One
1. Critical Acclaim (Avenged Sevenfold)
2. Nightmare (Nightmare)
3. Second Heartbeat (Waking the Fallen)
4. Danger Line (Nightmare)
5. Buried Alive (Nightmare)
6. Remenissions (Waking the Fallen)
7. Gunslinger (Avenged Sevenfold)
8. Victim (Nightmare)
9. Sidewinder (City of Evil)
10. Eternal Rest (Waking the Fallen)
11. God Hates Us (Nightmare)
12. Unholy Confessions (Waking the Fallen)

All-time Avenged Sevenfold: Disc Two
1. Chapter Four (Waking the Fallen)
2. Burn it Down (City of Evil)
3. Tension (Live in the LBC/Diamonds in the Rough)
4. Warmness on the Soul (Sounding the Seventh Trumpet)
5. Afterlife (Avenged Sevenfold)
6. Brompton Cocktail (Avenged Sevenfold)
7. The Wicked End (City of Evil)
8. So Far Away (Nightmare)
9. I Won't See You Tonight, Part 1 (Waking the Fallen)
10. M.I.A. (City of Evil)
11. Dear God (Avenged Sevenfold)
12. Save Me (Nightmare)

Watching Josh Hamilton: As good as it gets

Watching Josh Hamilton play baseball calls to mind stories my dad tells me about the great ballplayers of his era.

If Hamilton plays a few more years even close to the level he did Friday night, there's a legitimate chance he'll pop up in the stories that I tell when I'm my dad's age.

In Friday night's 10-9 Texas comeback victory over Boston, I felt like I was watching one of the best baseball players I've ever seen.

That hadn't really hit me with Hamilton in the past.

I always thought of him as a well above-average player when healthy. But injuries prohibited him last year from taking the leap from a memorable 2008 season to elite status.

This year, he's very much elite. Easily should win AL MVP. Could be the best player in baseball. When was the last time someone gave Albert Pujols a serious run for that title?

Hamilton did just about everything fathomable on the field against the Red Sox on Friday in Arlington. The checklist:

• Went 4-for-5 with a home run, double, two singles, an RBI and a walk to raise his batting average to a league-leading .362.

• Stole second base after singling in the eighth inning.

• Made two spectacular defensive plays in center field. The one where he robbed Jed Lowrie of a home run was amazing. I've watched the replay a few times now. I cringed a bit, naturally, knowing Hamilton got hurt last year plowing into a wall in a chase for a fly ball. At the same time, I can't help but applaud the desire to hop aboard his horse and run down that ball. He covered a ton of ground and displayed a great amount of body control.

• In a heads-up play in the eighth inning, made the turn at third base and scored the tying run on Vladimir Guerrero's infield hit. After Hamilton stole second in the eighth, with the Rangers down a run, Guerrero pushed a ground ball back up the middle. The throw to first wasn't in time, with Guerrero going all out and diving head first to the bag. Safe. At the same time, Hamilton broke for third, noticed the throw took some time, and flat-out booked it for home plate. The throw was late and Hamilton slid in safely. I don't know if Josh Lewin's voice was any louder all season than when he yelled "SAAAAFE!" on that play. I can't tell you how fast you have to be to make that turn at third.

Nelson Cruz blasted a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning on the first pitch he saw from Tim Wakefield. Ballgame.

The victory, as everyone who watched that game knew, would not have been near possible without Hamilton, though. One of the many reasons he deserves runaway MVP honors.

Texas enters an interesting situation this offseason. Hamilton and Cliff Lee both will be up for new contracts. Hopefully, the new ownership finds the resources to retain both. If that happens, it suddenly feels like we have the best pitcher and hitter in baseball.

Five quick Rangers hits

It's an unfamiliar time in the life of a Texas Rangers fan right now. Aug. 13, and the Rangers are 7.5 games ahead in the AL West.

Life is pretty good right now.

It's been a while since I've posted anything Rangers related. Been very busy with the Conference Chatter blog at work and writing stories for work. Before I hit the sack tonight, I wanted to share five things that are on my mind with the Rangers right now.

1. Beating the Yankees twice in a row would have been awesome. It should have happened. After rallying on Tuesday in the ninth inning to knock off Mariano Rivera, the best closer of all-time, Texas jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the following game, but couldn't hold on. It was an ESPN game, only the second all season, if I remember correctly. Had a playoff atmosphere and a huge audience. Really would have liked to capture that one.

2. I'm glad the ownership situation worked out the way it did, and it's a done deal. Major League Baseball on Thursday approved Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg as the new owners of the Rangers. Great news, if you ask me. Nolan can continue to have the amazing impact he's had with the club. The duo made it a point to resign Cliff Lee, which would be pretty surreal. I'd probably welcome it. But I think the guys really need to make a point to sign general manager Jon Daniels, whose contract runs out after the 2011 season. The Mets will likely need a GM, and I don't want it being JD under any circumstance.

3. I hope Vlad Guerrero breaks out of this slump sometime soon. I just traded for the guy in fantasy baseball as well. It's awesome having someone smack dab in the middle of the Rangers' order on my fantasy team. I try not to be too biased when I play fantasy, but I needed hitting and had a plethora of pitching. Hopefully, St. Louis' Chris Carpenter, the guy I traded away, doesn't make me look like too much of an idiot.

4. If we win the West and Josh Hamilton stays healthy, he should be the consensus MVP. To be quite honest, this race isn't close right now. Hamilton is hitting .357 (it's Aug. 13!) with 24 home runs, 78 RBIs and seven stolen bases. He's now up 18 points for the league lead on Miguel Cabrera in batting average.

5. These next two series continue to be difficult. Home to Boston for three games, at Tampa Bay for three games. Combine that with the two Yankees games from this week, and we're talking playoff atmospheres for a week straight. I can live with that.

It's about that time, folks. Goodnight and good luck to all.

Music review: Avenged Sevenfold's 'Nightmare' album

I should admit I'm not a music critic, nor do I have a background in playing any sort of musical instrument.

I do, however, have a background in writing. And I've been listening to hard rock music for a long time.

Every now and then, I'm going to make an effort to make music a part of this blog. A few months ago, I shared my thoughts about attending a live HIM concert. Today, I wanted to analyze a new album from one of my favorite bands of all-time — Avenged Sevenfold.

Last Tuesday, on July 27, Sevenfold released their fifth full-length album entitled 'Nightmare.' Eager to pick up my copy, I went to Best Buy and made the purchase for $9.99.

I'm quickly realizing that was 10 of the best dollars I've ever spent.

Admittedly, I didn't immediately connect with the album. I wasn't quite sure what I was about to hear. Before purchasing the CD, I had heard three tracks, and they all sounded relatively different. What would the rest of the CD entail?

I think I have a good idea of the answer now. Lead singer M. Shadows, who writes most of the songs, gives us a personal account of how deeply the band was affected by the passing of drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan. The emotion expressed in this album far exceeds any of Sevenfold's previous work.

Over the years, the band has done a great job of sticking to their image. The death bat. Nighttime rock. Halloween. Occasional light, represented by dueling guitars, cast over mostly dark images. I recently saw Sevenfold described as Tim Burton-rock, a reference to the Batman film director. How perfect is that?

The band has changed its sound, but the guys have kept the image impressively intact. Sevenfold often sprinkles their albums with biblical verses, deep suffering/loss, and emotional stress, but it was almost as if they presented it on a fictional platform. I always thought of a video game, for some reason, when I listened to 'City of Evil.' Remember that Sonic the Hedgehog dark level with the beams of light? That's Sevenfold. And it was awesome. Still is.

Where am I going with this? Put more simply, 'Nightmare' is their most realistic, emotionally-driven album to date. Why conjure up biblical images when the guys have a first-hand account of deep suffering? That's what you get with 'Nightmare.' It's as real as the band has ever been.

That said, they stick to their guns. There's still dueling guitars, face-melting solos and pedal-pumping drum beats. Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy does a fantastic job of filling in for Rev on the recording.

One thing I love about Sevenfold? Their songs are more than 3-4 minutes in length. It may not get as much radio time, but that's probably a good thing. I like the band's popularity where it is now. Mainstream, in a sense, but not as mainstream as a band like Godsmack or Disturbed, for instance.

Sure enough, 'Nightmare' has four songs that are more than six minutes long. The last song, 'Save Me,' checks in at right under 11 minutes.

The songs are brilliantly done. My favorite on the album has to be 'Buried Alive,' which is something I'd be more likely to hear on Metallica's '...And Justice for All' album than anything else. The intro features a melodic rhythm guitar, before progressing to the first verse. The advancement to the chorus is almost akin to Metallica's 'One.' It's like two separate songs in the same production. It's amazing how they pull it off. Gates' guitar solo is incredible. I'd rate this song in the top five of anything they've done.

I noticed a few other influences on the album as well. In 'Victim,' for instance, the intro and outro feature a female voice singing at harmonizing levels. I couldn't help but think of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' when hearing it.

'God Hates Us' is the closest the band has come to recreating a song off 'Waking the Fallen,' the epic 2003 album known as their heaviest ever. Shadows does an amazing job of keeping the wild song controlled, if that makes any sense. It's actually a very controlled, crisp song. It took me three listens to come to that realization.

There are ballads, too, like 'So Far Away,' a song written by Gates, fully dedicated to the Rev.

There's a mix between heavy and ballad in 'Danger Line,' a song that starts hard, only to slow down to a brilliant breakdown at the conclusion. When Shadows utters the words "I'm free," Gates breaks into a solo, which might be my favorite part of the entire CD.

I'm still less than a week into listening to the new CD, so it's tough for me to rank it with their other albums. If I had to guess, I'd say my order will eventually look like this:

• Waking the Fallen
• Nightmare
• City of Evil
• Avenged Sevenfold (self-titled)

That's high praise from me, considering I thought 'City of Evil' was one of the best albums of the new decade.

'Nightmare' takes the listener to a place that we've never been before with Avenged Sevenfold. You can sense what they're going through. And as wrong as it seems to say — RIP, Rev — the result is sheer brilliance.

Grading the moves: Rangers buyers at trade dealine

Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels must have missed the memo about team bankruptcy prohibiting the club from making major moves at this year's trade deadline.

With the team in prime position to capture its first AL West crown in 11 years, JD went after some free agents anyway. He landed arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Cliff Lee. It cost the team one of its best prospects, but JD's live-in-the-moment mentality really seems to be paying off. The Rangers hold a 8.5-game lead in the West.

Here are the moves we've made, with a corresponding grade and some brief follow-up thoughts:

1. Rangers get Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe from Seattle for Justin Smoak and prospects Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson:

Grade: A.

Tough not to give this one an A. Since coming over to Texas on July 10, Lee has made four starts, and lasted nine innings in three of them. He went 8.1 innings in the other start. He's struck out 25 and walked one. The one walk was intentional, so he hasn't really walked anyone. Incredible.

The obvious fear is that Lee becomes a free agent after this season, making him a clear target for big-market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox. The Rangers' ownership situation will be resolved this week, and maybe the Rangers can convince the Benton, Ark., native to stay close to home.

Either way, I'd consider the trade a wild success if the Rangers win a playoff series, something that hasn't been done in the history of the franchise.

2. Rangers get Bengie Molina from San Francisco for Chris Ray and prospect Michael Main:

Grade: B.

Taylor Teagarden wasn't working out. Ditto with Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Matt Treanor found the disabled list with a sprained right knee on July 24. Catcher was a position of weakness for the Rangers and it needed to be addressed.

I've heard various friends and fellow Rangers fans rip this trade, but I'm not going to go that far. I don't love the trade either, but I surely don't despise it.

Yeah, sure, Molina's old (age 36). But you think the Rangers are going to make the playoffs this year? I do, too. Better make sure you have a catcher who can control a game, display above-average defensive skills and work with Cliff Lee.

Admittedly, Molina's offense has been dreadful. Since coming over on June 30, he's hit .196 and only had more than one hit in a game once (in the most random game ever when he hit for the cycle).

I just refuse to lose sleep over giving up Chris Ray, who has 22 strikeouts and 20 walks on the year. Yeah, the guy throws 95 and is supposed to be a power pitcher. But I'm fine with that ratio being far away from Arlington.

3. Rangers get Jorge Cantu from Florida for Omar Poveda and Evan Reed:

Grade: B.

First base was another area of weakness for Texas, which has now sent Chris Davis down to Triple-A two times this season. With the depature of Smoak and the ineffectiveness of Davis, the position became wide open. Mitch Moreland was called up, but he's never been a full-time player in the big leagues. Cantu will become a free agent this season, but his experience could help the team in the short-term.

4. Rangers get Cristian Guzman from Washington for pitching prospects Ryan Tatusko and Tanner Roark:

Grade: B.

Again, another needs-based trade that immediately helps the club. Second baseman Ian Kinsler is on the disabled list with a left groin strain on July 28, so Guzman can step in for the time being.

If nothing else, we're a more experienced team after the Cantu and Guzman trades. Should we make the playoffs, this will be important. I'd rather have a bench of Guzman and Cantu than asking inexperienced guys like Joaquin Arias and Andres Blanco to come up with big hits in the playoffs.

5. Rangers get Chris McGuinness, Ramon Mendez, a player to be named later and cash from Boston for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Grade: A.

The Salty era in Texas was coming to an end. The team gave him ample chances to win the starting catcher gig, but it never worked out. The Rangers got a flame-thrower in Mendez and first-base help for the farm system.