Does Justin Verlander Know Where Texas Rangers Play?
The rivalry between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros probably doesn’t need any more heat.
But leave it to Justin Verlander to stoke the fire some with a misplaced city name.
Verlander, traded back to the Astros from the New York Mets, apparently doesn’t know where the Rangers play. Well, since we know he does – Verlander previously played for Houston for five years and has been in the majors for 19 seasons – this slip of the tongue when asked about how the Astros were playing feels premeditated.
“I was in another league again, so I wasn’t watching as intently, although I keep up with my friends,” Verlander said, via abc13.com. “But obviously injuries have been difficult, and it just shows how talented the team is to be able to run with Dallas, who’s been really good.”
Dallas? Who calls the Rangers “Dallas”?
Yes, it’s a common misconception to use “Dallas” as the area for all Metroplex teams, even if the Rangers and Dallas Cowboys, for example, play in Arlington. Plenty of folks are saying Messi is playing in Dallas on Sunday, when in fact it’s Frisco.
That use of “Dallas” in that case is understandable, though still not accurate. But no one calls the MLB club the “Dallas Rangers,” so Verlander doing so sounds weird at the least and a possibly a dig at the franchise at the most.
Not sure how that’s a putdown, other than not directly saying the name of your instate rival is a form of insult. Maybe it’s like Texas A&M using “t.u.” for that other big college in the state.
Rangers general manager Chris Young did recently call defending champion Houston the “team to beat” in the American League West. Texas pitcher Max Scherzer, also acquired from the Mets, addressed joining the Silver Boot rivalry last week along with Verlander.
The Astros came into Sunday 2.5 games behind Dallas, err, Texas in the division. Verlander, who lost his Houston reunion start Saturday, expects a fight down the stretch.
“You can look at it two ways,” he said, “it’s nice to run away the division sometimes, but it’s also sometimes nice to have a little fire heading into the playoffs and have to fight for it. And I think it’s pretty clear this year we’re going to have to fight for it.”
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