Danny Fowler
Founding Partner
Alumnus Staff Writer
Alumnus Staff Writer
Danny is a founding member and the inspiration to start the site. While no longer a writer at SDI, Danny still has an everyday connection and input in the goings-on. If you just need a laugh ,catch him on Twitter @TacoRobber
Below are the articles Danny penned for ShutDownInning
Below are the articles Danny penned for ShutDownInning
Series or Bust?
by Danny Fowler
Hello friends of the program, it has been a long time since I put pen to paper for the SDI team and for that I apologize. I needed some time to recover from what was, to say the least, a heart wrenching loss in the World Series to a St. Louis team that had half the talent and twice the luck of our beloved Texas Rangers. I’m not going to give you a breakdown of rosters or trade possibilities because to be honest I’m not well enough versed on possible moves and second I don’t really care.
Let’s be honest I love the product and I do love watching the Rangers day in and day out, I would like to see them get a first baseman and a very expensive pitcher from the far east but I can’t truly tell you what our chances are with any of those moves. I am however still caught up in the loss and how let down I am that we were a difficult but manageable catch away from being the World Series champions. Baseball is full of what ifs and unfortunately this series will always be a “what if” to this fan base. What if Nelly made the catch? What if Josh didn’t have incredible pain in his man areas? What if C.J. Wilson wasn’t a super douche who is as big game prepared as “wide right” Scott Norwood for the Buffalo Bills?
I will no doubt on opening day ‘12 start to move on from my pessimistic attitude towards last years’ debacle but for millennia to come I will be “what iffing” in my head regardless of what my mouth says. Sports hell is lined with teams that got there but couldn’t finish and I’m hoping from the bottom of my heart that John Daniels has the magic to put together the missing pieces that will allow us to return to the World Series. We have had two trips in a row and that is all you can wish for as a fan of a sports team, asking for three in a row is downright ridiculous. We can all hope that baseball God will allow us a third trip but chances are we may have to wait a while. What can I say?
With all the crazy stuff that goes through my tiny brain you’d think I would just say that we will be there next year but I have to draw the line somewhere. Come April 1st I will completely ditch this rational train of thought and be all in the “Series or Bust mentality” but I wanted to take this morning to throw out the one rational thought this column may ever provide.
Hello friends of the program, it has been a long time since I put pen to paper for the SDI team and for that I apologize. I needed some time to recover from what was, to say the least, a heart wrenching loss in the World Series to a St. Louis team that had half the talent and twice the luck of our beloved Texas Rangers. I’m not going to give you a breakdown of rosters or trade possibilities because to be honest I’m not well enough versed on possible moves and second I don’t really care.
Let’s be honest I love the product and I do love watching the Rangers day in and day out, I would like to see them get a first baseman and a very expensive pitcher from the far east but I can’t truly tell you what our chances are with any of those moves. I am however still caught up in the loss and how let down I am that we were a difficult but manageable catch away from being the World Series champions. Baseball is full of what ifs and unfortunately this series will always be a “what if” to this fan base. What if Nelly made the catch? What if Josh didn’t have incredible pain in his man areas? What if C.J. Wilson wasn’t a super douche who is as big game prepared as “wide right” Scott Norwood for the Buffalo Bills?
I will no doubt on opening day ‘12 start to move on from my pessimistic attitude towards last years’ debacle but for millennia to come I will be “what iffing” in my head regardless of what my mouth says. Sports hell is lined with teams that got there but couldn’t finish and I’m hoping from the bottom of my heart that John Daniels has the magic to put together the missing pieces that will allow us to return to the World Series. We have had two trips in a row and that is all you can wish for as a fan of a sports team, asking for three in a row is downright ridiculous. We can all hope that baseball God will allow us a third trip but chances are we may have to wait a while. What can I say?
With all the crazy stuff that goes through my tiny brain you’d think I would just say that we will be there next year but I have to draw the line somewhere. Come April 1st I will completely ditch this rational train of thought and be all in the “Series or Bust mentality” but I wanted to take this morning to throw out the one rational thought this column may ever provide.
Move On
by Danny Fowler
I don’t like CJ Wilson, I have never hid it nor will I be sorry for saying it no matter where he goes and what he does. It is not his fault he thinks he’s better than he is, a guy that moved in from the bullpen to become the default ace of a staff for a team that is trying to become a repeat visitor to the World Series this year can lay claim to personal greatness if he so wishes and tons of people will support this claim.
In reality CJ is the #1 starting option of a team that has put together one of the best bullpens in MLB and now only has to drive the bus for 5 innings until those guys get the reigns and finish the games off. Even though that is all that is asked of him, he has given up 6 homeruns this postseason, six! Only a short list of guys have done this and with 2 more possible starts, if this thing goes into the World Series, CJ will no doubt be sitting atop the most homeruns ever allowed in a single trip to the playoffs. Yes, the girls like him. No, he is not an ace. He is a talented pitcher with a Romoesque way of going about his business and when he loses it is just no big deal. I want my guys to hurt and hurt bad when they lose. I want players to go out with a personal vendetta that bad won’t happen to them the next time out.
I want to see a guy cry over giving up 6 homeruns in a playoff run. I don’t want his oh-wellness rubbing off on Holland either. They say Holland is emotional and that is his downfall at times, well guess what, good I want him to be pissed and show it. I like when my team hurts like I hurt when they lose, I want it to be personal. I have just never felt like CJ was all in, I thank him for what he has done in a Rangers uniform but I do not want to see him as the ace here next year. If he wants to be a three and take three money please stay, I do not however think that CJ thinks he is a third option in a rotation .
He will always want to be a number 1 and good for him if someone gives him that shot long term, I’m hoping it is not JD and Nolan that give him that money, I’m hoping they too see what the rest of us see. Pitch well the rest of the way CJ, it won’t change my mind, I just hope you don’t hurt this team the two starts you make moving forward and for God’s sake keep the ball inside the park. I hope you are happy in your new home next year CJ maybe they can hang with the unluckiness but I am betting they too shall grow as tired as I have.
I don’t like CJ Wilson, I have never hid it nor will I be sorry for saying it no matter where he goes and what he does. It is not his fault he thinks he’s better than he is, a guy that moved in from the bullpen to become the default ace of a staff for a team that is trying to become a repeat visitor to the World Series this year can lay claim to personal greatness if he so wishes and tons of people will support this claim.
In reality CJ is the #1 starting option of a team that has put together one of the best bullpens in MLB and now only has to drive the bus for 5 innings until those guys get the reigns and finish the games off. Even though that is all that is asked of him, he has given up 6 homeruns this postseason, six! Only a short list of guys have done this and with 2 more possible starts, if this thing goes into the World Series, CJ will no doubt be sitting atop the most homeruns ever allowed in a single trip to the playoffs. Yes, the girls like him. No, he is not an ace. He is a talented pitcher with a Romoesque way of going about his business and when he loses it is just no big deal. I want my guys to hurt and hurt bad when they lose. I want players to go out with a personal vendetta that bad won’t happen to them the next time out.
I want to see a guy cry over giving up 6 homeruns in a playoff run. I don’t want his oh-wellness rubbing off on Holland either. They say Holland is emotional and that is his downfall at times, well guess what, good I want him to be pissed and show it. I like when my team hurts like I hurt when they lose, I want it to be personal. I have just never felt like CJ was all in, I thank him for what he has done in a Rangers uniform but I do not want to see him as the ace here next year. If he wants to be a three and take three money please stay, I do not however think that CJ thinks he is a third option in a rotation .
He will always want to be a number 1 and good for him if someone gives him that shot long term, I’m hoping it is not JD and Nolan that give him that money, I’m hoping they too see what the rest of us see. Pitch well the rest of the way CJ, it won’t change my mind, I just hope you don’t hurt this team the two starts you make moving forward and for God’s sake keep the ball inside the park. I hope you are happy in your new home next year CJ maybe they can hang with the unluckiness but I am betting they too shall grow as tired as I have.
Fan-tastic
by Danny Fowler
I don’t care if you’ve been down since day one with the Rangers and as a matter of fact I hope 500,000 people in the metroplex that have never watched a Rangers game in their life become diehard fans over the next two weeks. While those of us that have watched every Tuesday night game since ’86 will say we’ve been through it all that brand new fan, that 8 year old kid, that guy that lives next door that just changed from a Yankees to a Texas hat is what makes this so great.
I love the thought of that brand new fan base going to a bar next year every Wednesday night to watch a team they never cared about but now can’t live without. This is tradition being built. This is how the Cowboy’s became America’s Team in the 60’s and 70’s. My hope is that it gets to a point that when the Rangers are on the television the city stops down. The Cubs, RedSox, Yankees and one or two other teams I left out have fan bases that have been raised with baseball traditions that I never could really grasp until a team that had a bankrupt ownership and a 12 step center fielder made it to the World Series.
I love it, I will high five every man, woman and child that has a brand new crispy Beltre jersey on over the next month because coming together as an entire community to stand behind a single cause is electrifying. I’d like to thank the Texas Rangers for creating a legacy that will only continue to strengthen. What’s your new Rangers tradition?