Nothing Like a Day at the Old. . .er, the New Ballpark

Simply moving into The Ballpark in Arlington is not going to be enough to give the Texas Rangers a home field advantage.

Some players say it’ll take a half-season to figure out the place. Others say they’ll need all 81 home games. Manager Kevin Kennedy joked it better not take much longer because “we may not all be here if it takes two years.”

But it only took one game -- a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee on Monday -- to point out several areas where they need extra work.

On is fan safety, a must after a woman was seriously injured falling from a rail in the upper deck in right field.

Holly Minter, 26, was in serious condition in a Dallas hospital Tuesday recovering from broken ribs and a broken right arm. Witnesses said she was sitting on the rail posing for a picture when she slipped.

About 46 warning signs will be posted along that railing before Wednesday night’s game and Rangers president Tom Schieffer is discussing further action with city officials, team spokesman John Blake said.

“They’re looking to put signs wherever there might be a potential problem,” Blake said. “We feel this is a safe ballpark, but certainly we’re concerned about this.”

As for the field, the Rangers are trying to get used to the $189 million stadium’s tight foul lines, an outfield wall with eight angles, slick grass and a short right-field porch.

Those quirks might seem like a problem now, but they could eventually give The Ballpark its identity, sort of like The Green Monster does for Fenway Park in Boston, says architect David Schwarz.

“We want The Ballpark to develop its own mythology, like when some regular-season game is lost because someone guesses the ball is going to hit on the wrong side of the carom,” he said.

Schwarz got his wish Monday on a sixth-inning sinking line drive that scooted past charging right fielder Rob Ducey, bounced off a side wall along the line and got stuck in the corner.

The RBI triple put Milwaukee ahead 2-0 and kept the Brewers in control the rest of the game.

The team already has been working on defending right field by having coach Mickey Hatcher hit balls into the corner and along the walls so players can get a feel for how it comes off the wall.

“You can’t really get used to it because it can come off in any direction,” Ducey said. “The only way you can play the ball right is to wait for it to stop rolling then pick it up.”

Another concern for players is the outfield grass that some compared to a golf fairway.

Although there were no footing problems Monday as there had been in exhibition games against the New York Mets on April 1-2, there were complaints that the ball “snaked” in the outfield.

The first game also at least temporarily put aside assumptions that there was a wind tunnel sucking balls into the right field seats and helping others carry toward center and right-center.

“Let’s give it a full season before we label it a hitter’s park,” said Will Clark.