Rangers Ballpark

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas Rangers plan to make all the protective railings at their stadium the same height, raising some as much as a foot to make their stadium safer following the death of a fan during a recent game. Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick said yesterday that the team's intention is for all rails in the front of seating sections to be 42 inches throughout Rangers Ballpark. Architectural and engineering studies are already under way at 17-year-old Rangers Ballpark to determine how to do the work.

The Boston Red Sox honored some of their great players on the field as members of the "All Fenway Park Team. " The pregame ceremony Wednesday night capped a year of celebrations for the ballpark's 100th anniversary. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia and designated hitter David Ortiz were the only players from this year's team on the 40-man roster. Also among the two dozen attending the ceremony were Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens. The team was chosen by the fans, historians, and members of the front office staff.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas Rangers righthander Colby Lewis , who will pitch Saturday in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, has taken the long road back to the major leagues. Through 2007, Lewis had pitched for three big-league teams, including Texas. Then he spent two years with the Hiroshima Carp of the Japan Central League. Lewis was 26-17 in two seasons in Japan before signing as a free agent with Texas in January. The 31-year-old, who went 12-13 with a 3.72 ERA this season, had not envisioned pitching again in Texas, or in the United States for that matter.

Rangers are intent on keeping Lee happy With the team ownership finally resolved, the Texas Rangers still have plenty of unfinished business: Holding their lead in the AL West - 71/2 games over the Angels, with the Oakland A's only a half-game behind Los Angeles, as of Friday night - is more important than ever. The margin may look safe at the moment, but past Rangers teams have been in contention before heading into a terminal slide around this time of year. Also, the Rangers are making it clear that they will go all out to keep lefty Cliff Lee - still a much-lamented loss to Phillies fans - on the bump once he becomes a free agent in the off-season.

Citizens Bank Park was voted the No. 1 ballpark in a recent survey by Sports Travel and Tours, which sponsors road trips and has been doing this survey since 2000. About 1,200 people participated in the survey. Voters could select five ratings: 1, Excellent; 2, Very good; 3, Good; 4, Poor, 5, Very poor. There were 19 survey questions and the Bank received 12 "Excellent" ratings and seven "Very Good" ratings. Here are the criteria and how the Bank fared:  CATEGORY: RATING Parking: Excellent Access to ballpark Excellent Seat comfort Very Good Field view from group seats Excellent Directions (access)

LUBBOCK, Texas - The mother of a Texas firefighter who died reaching to snag a baseball thrown by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton this past summer said yesterday she wants the star player to keep tossing souvenirs into the stands. SuZann Stone said that taking home a game ball is a special memory. Her plea to Hamilton was in a letter sent not long after 39-year-old Shannon Stone died when he tumbled over a railing and plunged 20 feet onto concrete July 7 during a game at Rangers Ballpark.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas Rangers catcher Bengie Molina has caught his share of aces, including the two pitchers who will open the National League Championship Series on Saturday - the Phillies' Roy Halladay and the Giants' Tim Lincecum. Molina spent the 2006 season in Toronto, where he caught Halladay. He played for San Francisco from 2007 until being acquired by Texas on July 1. "This is what it is all about, to see those two guys battle it out," Molina said before Thursday's workout in preparation for Friday's opening American League Championship Series game with the New York Yankees at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Padres lefthander David Wells, known for larger-than-life appetites for food and beer, has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. San Diego chief executive officer Sandy Alderson, speaking at Padres camp in Peoria, Ariz., yesterday, termed the illness controllable, but said: "It's something he'll have to manage and something we'll have to help him manage. It's not unprecedented by any means. " Wells was diagnosed two weeks ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in yesterday's editions.

Sorry, folks! Millionaire athletes who sign gigantic contracts, then play as if they're weighed down by their wallets are among Low&Outside's least favorite people. Which is why we'd like to give Yankees catcher Jorge Posada a symbolic pat on the back. Posada, who has been bothered by a sore shoulder, is headed to the disabled list for the first time in his career. And get this - he apologized to the people of New York for not being able to play and live up to the four-year, $52 million contract he signed in November.

ARLINGTON, Texas - One of Texas' hottest hitters will return to the lineup when the Rangers try to close out their American League Championship Series in Game 6 Friday against the visiting New York Yankees. The Rangers lead the best-of-seven series, three games to two. Texas manager Ron Washington said that Nelson Cruz will play. The outfielder left Wednesday's 7-2 loss in Game 5 with tightness in his left hamstring in the bottom of the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. "Nelly had a little tightness yesterday, and the way the weather was, I didn't take any chances," Washington said Thursday before his team held a workout at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Boston Red Sox honored some of their great players on the field as members of the "All Fenway Park Team. " The pregame ceremony Wednesday night capped a year of celebrations for the ballpark's 100th anniversary. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia and designated hitter David Ortiz were the only players from this year's team on the 40-man roster. Also among the two dozen attending the ceremony were Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens. The team was chosen by the fans, historians, and members of the front office staff.

DEREK JETER had four hits to stretch his hitting streak to 13 games, Alex Rodriguez belted career home run No. 632 and the visiting New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 7-4, Monday night, spoiling the retirement ceremony for former Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star catcher, ended a 21-season playing career spent mostly in Texas. The Rangers honored him with a pregame ceremony that ended with an unusual first pitch. Rodriguez initially went to the mound while Michael Young, the team's longest-tenured player, set up to receive the pitch.

LUBBOCK, Texas - The mother of a Texas firefighter who died reaching to snag a baseball thrown by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton this past summer said yesterday she wants the star player to keep tossing souvenirs into the stands. SuZann Stone said that taking home a game ball is a special memory. Her plea to Hamilton was in a letter sent not long after 39-year-old Shannon Stone died when he tumbled over a railing and plunged 20 feet onto concrete July 7 during a game at Rangers Ballpark.

ARLINGTON, Texas - When the scoreboard stopped flashing, when the smoke cleared, when the Texas Rangers' pitchers wobbled into the clubhouse to receive stitches, Albert Pujols finally dropped his bat. Pujols' work was done for the night. He stopped hitting home runs, stopped making history, and graciously walked out of Rangers Ballpark without destroying what was left of the place. In the Cardinals' 16-7 victory in Game 3 on Saturday, Pujols shocked and awed the Rangers with what qualifies as the greatest offensive performance by a hitter in World Series history.

ARLINGTON, Texas - When Mike Napoli was playing for the other team, Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had a serious dislike for him. Sure, a lot of that had to do with Napoli playing for a division opponent for five years before he became part of a World Series team in Texas. There was also the way Napoli flipped his bat after hitting a home run or how the top button of his Angels jersey was often undone. "I would never tell you last year I would probably enjoy having him in the clubhouse," Kinsler said.

NELSON CRUZ already had his name etched in the 2011 AL Championship Series MVP trophy before he came to the plate in the seventh inning of Game 6. But when you have established yourself as the Texas Rangers' version of Mr. October and carry a "boomstick" and fire fake guns in the air after a big play, you have to leave the fans with something they'll remember in the clinching game. So with the Rangers already leading the Detroit Tigers', 13-4, Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, Cruz got a first-pitch, split-fingered fastball from Brad Penny and deposited it into the leftfield seats.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Nelson Cruz is again swinging his big boomstick in October for the Texas Rangers, who are one win from their second consecutive trip to the World Series. Only 31/2 years ago, Cruz was waived at the end of spring training but went unclaimed and was sent to the minors. It's been quite a turnaround. "That period of time in Nelson's life, he hadn't arrived yet. You know, we all got to experience things before we finally make our way to where we want to be," manager Ron Washington said Friday.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas Rangers plan to make all the protective railings at their stadium the same height, raising some as much as a foot to make their stadium safer following the death of a fan during a recent game. Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick said yesterday that the team's intention is for all rails in the front of seating sections to be 42 inches throughout Rangers Ballpark. Architectural and engineering studies are already under way at 17-year-old Rangers Ballpark to determine how to do the work.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Go to the ballpark and catch a foul ball: It's what every fan wants to do. And so it was for 6-year-old Cooper Stone. He and his dad even stopped to buy a new glove on the way to the Texas Rangers game Thursday night. Even better, their seats were in the left-field stands, shouting distance from Cooper's favorite player, reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton. Maybe, just maybe, he would throw one their way. In the second inning, he did. Hamilton grabbed a foul ball that ricocheted into left field, and tossed it into the stands.

The Texas Rangers put together quite a winning formula: a couple of solid pitching performances, a few more home runs and a couple of 40-something lefthanders saving games. Then again, they always beat the Kansas City Royals at home. C.J. Wilson struck out 10 in seven innings, Adrian Beltre hit one of Texas' three homers and 41-year-old Arthur Rhodes saved it as the Rangers completed a three-game sweep over the Royals with an 8-7 victory yesterday. "As of right now, we're playing great," said David Murphy, who had a three-run double that proved to be the difference.