Frankie Francisco — remember him? The big, hard-throwing righthanded reliever who was a closer for the Texas Rangers for a while? Today is his birthday, I just discovered...and he’s still just 39 years old. I wouldn’t have guessed that.
Frank Francisco, you may recall, came to the Texas Rangers in the Carl Everett to the Chicago White Sox trade. In July, 2003, Everett, who had been acquired prior to the 2002 season from Boston in exchange for Darren Oliver, was a relatively hot commodity. He was slashing .274/.356/.544 for the Rangers, who were mired in last place. The Chicago White Sox, looking for a center fielder who could hit to help them in their stretch run, ended up acquiring Everett…
