Rangers due to be also-rans again
Nolan Ryan returned to the Rangers this offseason as team president. Too bad he can't still pitch for Ron Washington's club since the Texas mound corps will once again be brutal.
In baseball there is a tried and true adage that says good pitching will beat good hitting. And to that we would add that even mediocre hitting will beat bad pitching. The Texas Rangers have been living proof of that for several seasons now.
It’s not for a lack of effort by GM Jon Daniels or his predecessor, John Hart, currently listed as a special advisor to Daniels. It’s just that some of the moves the Rangers have made have either been a case of bad judgment, bad luck, or simply bad timing. Texas possibly addressed some of their mound problems during the winter with the acquisition of a Hall of Fame arm that won’t throw a single pitch for the team this season or in seasons to come.
Well, that might not be true. Nolan Ryan could make an appearance on Oldtimers Day, and he will certainly demonstrate some of the pitches that helped him author seven no-hitters and over 5,700 strikeouts in his career. But hiring Ryan to serve as the club president will involve more than just lacing up cleats every now and then and mentoring some of Texas’ pitchers. Still, you can bet he will be there to help with some one-on-one lessons, and there’s no doubt that Daniels will seek The Express’ input when it comes to evaluating pitchers.
Like their Lone Star counterparts down in Houston where Ryan has spent part of his retirement years in the Astros’ front office, the Rangers and their fans are in for a long season. And I don’t mean long as in they’ll be playing past September.
PITCHING
Unlike their MLB brothers down I-45 in Houston, the Rangers really don’t have a true ace on their staff. And though you often hear about the “bandbox” the Astros play in, the park in Houston is actually friendlier in the long run to pitchers than the Ballpark That Dubya Built up in Arlington, Texas. And that makes manager Ron Washington’s and his pitching coach Mark Connor’s jobs a bit tougher.
Assuming there are no more setbacks for a couple of their starting pitchers, the rotation is set to open the year. Kevin Millwood, limited this spring due to a balky hamstring, should get the ball for Opening Day and be followed in some order by Vincente Padilla, Jason Jennings and left-hander Kason Gabbard. Padilla might slot back behind Jennings after Padilla missed time this spring with a strained hip.
Jennings, like Ryan, made the trip north this winter from the Astros after an awful year in Houston in 2007 he attributed to a bad elbow. The former Baylor product is having a solid spring and hopes to rebound in his home state with the Rangers.
Gabbard has had a horrible spring, but he’ll still open the season in the rotation since Brandon McCarthy was pulled from his only spring outing after an inning with a forearm injury. McCarthy is not expected back until early May, and that means Luis Mendoza will take the fifth and final spot in the order to open the year, though with days off it might not mean he’s needed until the season’s second week.
Down in the bullpen, injuries have also hit the team’s two leading candidates to close games, southpaws C.J. Wilson and Eddie Guardado. Wilson, who took over the closer’s chores after the Rangers dealt Eric Gagne to the Red Sox last July, has been bothered by biceps tendonitis, according to the team’s MLB.com website. Guardado, plucked from the free agent wire in the winter, has been held out of action with a bum knee. Considering he’s managed to work more than 45 innings just once in the past four seasons, not having the one formerly known as Everyday Eddie available is something Texas should get used to.
The only reliever guaranteed to be on the Opening Day roster right now is Kazuo Fukumori, signed to a relatively cheap deal in the winter. With the unknowns surrounding both Guardado and Wilson right now, Fukumori could open the year getting a couple of save opportunities.
Jamey Wright, Robinson Tejeda and Kameron Loe, plus Frank Francisco, should also be among the relievers when the games start for real. Joaquin Benoit could eventually settle in as one of the main setup arms along with Fukumori once Benoit gets his rehabbed shoulder back to 100%.
The Rangers would love to see one of the veteran arms, particularly Padilla, turn in a nice start to the season and have teams inquiring about him via trade around the deadline in July. If and when that happens, watch for the names Eric Hurley and Matt Harrison, with Harrison a lefty and part of the Mark Teixeira deal from Atlanta last year.
OFFENSE/DEFENSE
Only about half of the regular lineup returns this year, including a brand new set of outfielders from the group that started for Texas on Opening Day 2007. That lineup featured Kenny Lofton in center, Sammy Sosa in right and Brad Wilkerson in left. All three are gone, plus Teixeira who started at first last year to begin the Rangers’ season.
One of the newcomers is the always misunderstood Milton Bradley, and once Bradley’s knee will allow, he’ll be the regular right-fielder. Until then, he’s likely going to DH. The regular center fielder will be Josh Hamilton after he was acquired from Cincinnati for pitcher Edinson Volquez in the winter. And right now, Marlon Byrd is listed as the team’s regular left-fielder.
But with Byrd’s poor spring and David Murphy’s hot spring, that could change. The crowded outfield situation currently includes Nelson Cruz, the possible right-fielder for Opening Day, Kevin Mench, Frank Catalanotto and Jason Botts. Obviously not all of them can remain on the club as outfielders, and that’s one reason the Rangers have been giving Botts some time at first base this spring, with Catalanotto also versatile.
Then again, when you have a utility infielder like Ramon Vazquez, and two regulars up the heart of the infield like shortstop Michael Young and second baseman Ian Kinsler, you can afford to carry extra outfielders/DH types.
Hank Blalock is back at third base after a disappointing couple of seasons, with ’07 halted by shoulder surgery in May. He also missed some time this spring after a car accident early in camp, and this could be his last season at third for the Rangers. Several reports have Texas eventually thinking of shifting Young to third once shortstop Elvis Andrus proves he’s ready for the big leagues.
Ben Broussard will get the bulk of the first base time to start the season, but there’s a reason he was inked to just a one-year deal. Big Ben is just a stop-gap to replace Teixeira while the franchise decides what to do with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and awaits the arrival of Taylor Teagarden, their backstop of the future. The Rangers are also eagerly anticipating the arrival of Chris Davis at some point in 2009 to be their regular first sacker.
Texas will probably send Saltalamacchia to the minors to open the season and begin 2008 with Gerald Laird as their No. 1 catcher with Adam Melhuse backing him up. The club would love to pull the trigger on a deal shipping Laird off for a quality arm, in which case Saltalamacchia would take over the primary catching job until they can deal him for another arm and turn the catching over to Teagarden. Got that?
Key Player(s): Middling seasons for Millwood, Padilla and Jennings would go a long way towards this team making a 5-6 game improvement from their 75-win season last year. And I’m betting the team will be one of the big sellers from the trading deadline this July, so that makes several veterans crucial to this team, maybe not for 2008 but for seasons to come in terms of what return the club might get for them in a trade.
Futures: Priced at +1700 to win the AL West at 5Dimes, Texas is listed at +5500 to win the AL and +10000 to win it all. This is a franchise that has made the postseason just three times since moving from Washington DC in 1972, and I don’t expect them to make a fourth appearance in October this year.
TheGreek puts their win total at 74½, listing the Over at -140 and the Under at +120. My sims averaged the Rangers at 77.4 wins, so I do like the Over at TheGreek though I don’t like that price.
Nolan Ryan returned to the Rangers this offseason as team president. Too bad he can't still pitch for Ron Washington's club since the Texas mound corps will once again be brutal.
In baseball there is a tried and true adage that says good pitching will beat good hitting. And to that we would add that even mediocre hitting will beat bad pitching. The Texas Rangers have been living proof of that for several seasons now.
It’s not for a lack of effort by GM Jon Daniels or his predecessor, John Hart, currently listed as a special advisor to Daniels. It’s just that some of the moves the Rangers have made have either been a case of bad judgment, bad luck, or simply bad timing. Texas possibly addressed some of their mound problems during the winter with the acquisition of a Hall of Fame arm that won’t throw a single pitch for the team this season or in seasons to come.
Well, that might not be true. Nolan Ryan could make an appearance on Oldtimers Day, and he will certainly demonstrate some of the pitches that helped him author seven no-hitters and over 5,700 strikeouts in his career. But hiring Ryan to serve as the club president will involve more than just lacing up cleats every now and then and mentoring some of Texas’ pitchers. Still, you can bet he will be there to help with some one-on-one lessons, and there’s no doubt that Daniels will seek The Express’ input when it comes to evaluating pitchers.
Like their Lone Star counterparts down in Houston where Ryan has spent part of his retirement years in the Astros’ front office, the Rangers and their fans are in for a long season. And I don’t mean long as in they’ll be playing past September.
PITCHING
Unlike their MLB brothers down I-45 in Houston, the Rangers really don’t have a true ace on their staff. And though you often hear about the “bandbox” the Astros play in, the park in Houston is actually friendlier in the long run to pitchers than the Ballpark That Dubya Built up in Arlington, Texas. And that makes manager Ron Washington’s and his pitching coach Mark Connor’s jobs a bit tougher.
Assuming there are no more setbacks for a couple of their starting pitchers, the rotation is set to open the year. Kevin Millwood, limited this spring due to a balky hamstring, should get the ball for Opening Day and be followed in some order by Vincente Padilla, Jason Jennings and left-hander Kason Gabbard. Padilla might slot back behind Jennings after Padilla missed time this spring with a strained hip.
Jennings, like Ryan, made the trip north this winter from the Astros after an awful year in Houston in 2007 he attributed to a bad elbow. The former Baylor product is having a solid spring and hopes to rebound in his home state with the Rangers.
Gabbard has had a horrible spring, but he’ll still open the season in the rotation since Brandon McCarthy was pulled from his only spring outing after an inning with a forearm injury. McCarthy is not expected back until early May, and that means Luis Mendoza will take the fifth and final spot in the order to open the year, though with days off it might not mean he’s needed until the season’s second week.
Down in the bullpen, injuries have also hit the team’s two leading candidates to close games, southpaws C.J. Wilson and Eddie Guardado. Wilson, who took over the closer’s chores after the Rangers dealt Eric Gagne to the Red Sox last July, has been bothered by biceps tendonitis, according to the team’s MLB.com website. Guardado, plucked from the free agent wire in the winter, has been held out of action with a bum knee. Considering he’s managed to work more than 45 innings just once in the past four seasons, not having the one formerly known as Everyday Eddie available is something Texas should get used to.
The only reliever guaranteed to be on the Opening Day roster right now is Kazuo Fukumori, signed to a relatively cheap deal in the winter. With the unknowns surrounding both Guardado and Wilson right now, Fukumori could open the year getting a couple of save opportunities.
Jamey Wright, Robinson Tejeda and Kameron Loe, plus Frank Francisco, should also be among the relievers when the games start for real. Joaquin Benoit could eventually settle in as one of the main setup arms along with Fukumori once Benoit gets his rehabbed shoulder back to 100%.
The Rangers would love to see one of the veteran arms, particularly Padilla, turn in a nice start to the season and have teams inquiring about him via trade around the deadline in July. If and when that happens, watch for the names Eric Hurley and Matt Harrison, with Harrison a lefty and part of the Mark Teixeira deal from Atlanta last year.
OFFENSE/DEFENSE
Only about half of the regular lineup returns this year, including a brand new set of outfielders from the group that started for Texas on Opening Day 2007. That lineup featured Kenny Lofton in center, Sammy Sosa in right and Brad Wilkerson in left. All three are gone, plus Teixeira who started at first last year to begin the Rangers’ season.
One of the newcomers is the always misunderstood Milton Bradley, and once Bradley’s knee will allow, he’ll be the regular right-fielder. Until then, he’s likely going to DH. The regular center fielder will be Josh Hamilton after he was acquired from Cincinnati for pitcher Edinson Volquez in the winter. And right now, Marlon Byrd is listed as the team’s regular left-fielder.
But with Byrd’s poor spring and David Murphy’s hot spring, that could change. The crowded outfield situation currently includes Nelson Cruz, the possible right-fielder for Opening Day, Kevin Mench, Frank Catalanotto and Jason Botts. Obviously not all of them can remain on the club as outfielders, and that’s one reason the Rangers have been giving Botts some time at first base this spring, with Catalanotto also versatile.
Then again, when you have a utility infielder like Ramon Vazquez, and two regulars up the heart of the infield like shortstop Michael Young and second baseman Ian Kinsler, you can afford to carry extra outfielders/DH types.
Hank Blalock is back at third base after a disappointing couple of seasons, with ’07 halted by shoulder surgery in May. He also missed some time this spring after a car accident early in camp, and this could be his last season at third for the Rangers. Several reports have Texas eventually thinking of shifting Young to third once shortstop Elvis Andrus proves he’s ready for the big leagues.
Ben Broussard will get the bulk of the first base time to start the season, but there’s a reason he was inked to just a one-year deal. Big Ben is just a stop-gap to replace Teixeira while the franchise decides what to do with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and awaits the arrival of Taylor Teagarden, their backstop of the future. The Rangers are also eagerly anticipating the arrival of Chris Davis at some point in 2009 to be their regular first sacker.
Texas will probably send Saltalamacchia to the minors to open the season and begin 2008 with Gerald Laird as their No. 1 catcher with Adam Melhuse backing him up. The club would love to pull the trigger on a deal shipping Laird off for a quality arm, in which case Saltalamacchia would take over the primary catching job until they can deal him for another arm and turn the catching over to Teagarden. Got that?
Key Player(s): Middling seasons for Millwood, Padilla and Jennings would go a long way towards this team making a 5-6 game improvement from their 75-win season last year. And I’m betting the team will be one of the big sellers from the trading deadline this July, so that makes several veterans crucial to this team, maybe not for 2008 but for seasons to come in terms of what return the club might get for them in a trade.
Futures: Priced at +1700 to win the AL West at 5Dimes, Texas is listed at +5500 to win the AL and +10000 to win it all. This is a franchise that has made the postseason just three times since moving from Washington DC in 1972, and I don’t expect them to make a fourth appearance in October this year.
TheGreek puts their win total at 74½, listing the Over at -140 and the Under at +120. My sims averaged the Rangers at 77.4 wins, so I do like the Over at TheGreek though I don’t like that price.