Spring Training Trip Report

My dad, my granddad, and I went on a trip to Spring Training last week. We got there on Sunday, March 14th and left on Wednesday, March 17th. It was a great trip and I had a blast. This week I’ll give a recap of my trip and a report on how the players looked.

Sunday, March 14th:

We had a very early flight on Sunday morning (7:25), so I had to wake up at 4:45 AM so we could leave the house at 5:15. I was tired. Our plane was on time, though, so we landed in Phoenix at about 8:00 AM Arizona time. On Sunday morning we went straight to the workouts, which were fun as always, and got to talk to Jamey Newberg, Anthony Andro, TR Sullivan, Ryan Tatusko, and CJ Wilson. CJ was especially nice throughout the whole trip, and took time to talk to me a lot after both the Sunday and Monday workouts. At the workouts, we got to see Tanner Scheppers throw a bullpen session. I noticed that Tanner has a good change in his velocity.

The game was in Surprise, so we had time to go eat lunch at Red Robin before heading over to the game. Red Robin had good food as always, and I was happy to be able to watch some of the ACC Championship game as we ate.

We then went over to the Rangers/Diamondbacks game at Surprise Stadium. Colby Lewis was pitching and got out of the first inning quickly, with a 1-2-3 inning that included two strikeouts, and he looked really good. But after that he started to leave his fastball up, and in the next three innings he gave up six runs, not even finishing the fourth inning. He lost his control and just got pounded. In the third inning alone, he left four fastballs right at the letters, and even the outs were hard hit balls. He ended up going 3.1 innings, giving up six runs, all earned, six hits (including one homer), and striking out four. One thing I noticed about him is how quickly he works. It’s just one pitch after another, no Padilla-like stalking around the mound five times before each pitch. Ben Snyder came in to finish the 4th inning and didn’t fare much better. He gave up a home run to his first batter, and then gave up two more hits and another run in the 5th. He got hit hard by almost every batter and gave up two runs in 1.2 innings. Chris Ray gave up a run and three hits in his only inning, but he actually looked really good. All of his pitches had really good movement, and he seemed to have pretty good command of his pitches. Kasey Kiker, Zach Phillips, and Frankie Francisco pitched scoreless 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, respectively. Hamilton looked very good at the plate, as on the day he went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI’s. He homered in the first on a ball he got way under, and ended up hitting it over the right-field bullpen. In the third inning he hit a double off the wall in the gap. Vlad hit it solidly in each at-bat, but went just 1-for-3, and Michael Young was 1-for-3 also. Craig Gentry went 0-for-4 and Justin Smoak went 1-for-3. The Rangers lost the game to the Diamondbacks 9-3 with Colby Lewis picking up the loss.

When we got back to the hotel I checked the computer to see what the NCAA brackets were, and I couldn’t have been happier. Texas A&M (my favorite college) was a 5 seed, and were positioned great. They play an easy team in both the first and second rounds before playing the Sweet 16 in Houston, which would be a home game. I was extremely excited about their chances. For dinner we went to NYPD Pizza. They have great pizza there, and we gobbled it up. We got back to the hotel, and both my granddad and I were asleep by 7:30 PM, leaving my dad unable to make any noise until he went to sleep (that’s never fun, I’m just glad it wasn’t me).

Monday, March 15th:

The Rangers had a night game on Monday, so only the minor leaguers had their workouts in the morning, since the major league workouts didn’t start until 2:30 PM. We went to the minor league workouts and saw a few pitchers pitching to live hitters who weren’t allowed to swing. I got to see Martin Perez pitch, and he looked very good, with excellent command of his pitches, as almost every pitch was at the knees. He had a really good curveball. I got to talk to Blake Beavan, Tim Murphy, Rich Rice, and Court Berry-Tripp. They are all incredibly nice people and I would like to especially thank Rich Rice for helping us out while we were in Arizona.

We went to the Reds game in Goodyear and saw them play the A’s. My dad grew up in Cincinnati, so we are also Reds fans (nowhere close to the Rangers, though). We got to see Ben Sheets pitch for the A’s, and that was a lot of fun because he allowed 10 runs and got 0 outs. He got pulled before he even got an out, raising his Spring ERA to 31.15. The A’s defense was horrible, too. On the very first play, Jake Fox, the left fielder, fell down while tracking down a fly ball, then Sheets muffed a grounder on the next play. Later in the inning, the shortstop made an error, and then let the ball lay on the ground as the runner on second took third. The Reds won the game 13-5.

We went back to Surprise for the major league workouts after the Reds game and got to talk to Scott Lucas and also to Court Berry-Tripp and CJ again. CJ talked to me for a long time again. He is such a nice guy.

We went to the Rangers/Giants night game in Surprise at 6:00, and Rich Harden was pitching. He was bad at the beginning and at the end, but was pretty good in between. He allowed two in the first and two in the fourth, but just one other. He needed 80 pitched to get through 3.2 innings, and he allowed 5 runs, all earned, on 5 hits and 3 walks. He struck out three. Like Colby, Harden works quickly, and there’s not much time between pitches. Doug Mathis came in to finish the fourth, and then he also pitched the 5th and two outs in the 6th. His stats aren’t too bad, as he gave up no earned runs in his two innings of work, but his control was off. He walked four batters but only gave up one hit. The box score shows that he gave up two hits and one earned run, but they credited a San Francisco batter a hit on an obvious error by Elvis Andrus. On the play, Elvis muffed a line drive, and on the throw to the plate after catching the outfielder’s throw, he bounced it in about five feet to the left of the plate, letting the run score. Edwar Ramirez came in next, and gave up one run in 1.1 innings, and then Darren O’Day gave up one run in 2 innings. Nelson Cruz hit a moon shot to straightaway center on the first pitch he saw in the 2nd inning. In the 3rd, both Vlad and Matt Brown had RBI’s. Josh got hit by a pitch on the hand, and that was scary, but he’s fine. The Rangers offense really didn’t do anything again until the 8th inning when Max Ramirez and Justin Smoak both drove in runs. The Rangers lost to the Giants 8-5.

Also, I got the chance to talk with Jon Daniels, Thad Levine, and Scott Lucas during the game, which was fun.

Tuesday, March 16th:

Since the Rangers were playing the Cubs in Mesa, which is over an hour away, the major leaguers weren’t doing workouts when we got to the Rangers’ backfields. But the minor leaguers were, so we went to see them. I saw Wilmer Font pitch. He had a good fastball, but his curveball was a little wild, and he couldn’t really control it.

The Rangers were playing a B-game over at the Royals’ complex, so we went over to see that. Esteban German was very impressive in the game, as he made a couple of very good defensive plays at short and also doubled. Luis Mendoza was the opposite of German, as he did not do well at all. Brandon Boggs hit a home run in the game, too.

After that, Ted Price was nice enough to let me be on his podcast to talk to me about what I had seen in camp. His podcasts are always great, and his site is http://rangerspodcast.blogspot.com. It’s called Rangers Podcast in Arlington. Ted does the podcasts with Jamey, and Adam Morris, and sometimes with a guest. It was so much fun to do, and I would like to thank Ted for having me on. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The video should still be available on his site. It’s the March 16th entry.

We then headed out to Mesa to see the Rangers play the Cubs. It was a sold out game, and the traffic was terrible. The Cubs’ ballpark is built in a residential neighborhood, so the streets weren’t meant for thirteen thousand people. The traffic was so bad that Ron Washington missed the first inning. Neftali Feliz started the game, and looked really good in his first two innings, but then really struggled in the third. He was scheduled to go four innings, but he ended up going just three. He allowed 6 hits, 3 runs (all earned), and struck out 4 in his three innings of work. Omar Beltre came on to pitch the fourth, and he used some kind of wacky half-sidearm, half-overhand delivery. He allowed no runs and struck out two in his inning, but a lot of his pitches were low. CJ Wilson came in after Beltre, and he was dominant. He got five strikeouts in his first three innings, and there was not a single hard-hit ball. He was making the Cubs batters look silly. Jeff Baker hit a home run off him in the third, though. In the fourth inning, the first two Cubs batters got hits, to make it second and third with no outs. And CJ didn’t allow either of the runners to score, as he got three straight weak groundouts. He allowed one run in four innings, and he struck out four. The Rangers only got three hits in the game, a David Murphy single, a Taylor Teagarden single, and a Justin Smoak home run (which was the Rangers’ only run in the game). The Rangers lost 4-1. This made the Rangers 0-3 while I was in Arizona.

For dinner, we went to Outback, and I ordered a burger, but I ended up having just four bites, due to an overload of cheese fries.

On Wednesday, we left Surprise to fly back to Dallas, pick up my mother, little sister, and grandmother and then fly to Orlando for 6 nights at Disney World. We stayed in one of the cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness resort. We managed to catch a Grapefruit League game while we were there, seeing the Braves play the Tigers on Friday night. This was my first-ever Grapefruit League game. I was impressed with the Braves stadium (it’s on Disney property). We had a great trip, with basically back-to-back vacations.

Come back next week for my analysis of recent Rangers news and events.

2010 Season Predictions

This week the Rangers acquired relief pitcher Edwar Ramirez from the New York Yankees for cash considerations. Edwar had a 3.55 ERA in 55.1 innings for the Yankees in 2008, but followed up that good year by struggling in 2009, with a 5.73 ERA in 22 innings with the Yankees. Basically, the Rangers get Ramirez for nothing, and I like trades where you get possible contributors and give up nothing in return.
Grade: A-

This week I’ll provide my predictions for the 2010 season.

AL East:

1. New York Yankees: New York won the World Series last year, and as much as it pains me to say it, they’ll probably win the AL East again this year. They have six players starting for the Yankees this year that had 20 or more home runs in 2009. Their pitching is amazing, with CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37), AJ Burnett (13-9, 4.04), Andy Pettite (14-8, 4.16), and Javier Vazquez (15-10, 2.87). They also have Mariano Rivera as their closer. Even though they lost Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Brian Bruney over the offseason, they still improved in my opinion, as they added both Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez from trades.

2. Boston Red Sox (Wild Card): The Red Sox are also very good, and would probably win any division other than the AL East. They have a pitching staff that is just as good, if not better, than the Yankees, with Jon Lester (15-8, 3.41), Josh Beckett (17-6, 3.86), John Lackey (11-8, 3.83), and Clay Buchholz (7-4, 4.21). I think that the Red Sox will be the American League Wild Card this year.

3. Tampa Bay Rays:
4. Baltimore Orioles:
5. Toronto Blue Jays:

AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins: The Twins’ pitching is not very good, as their #1 starter had a 4.27 ERA, which is high for a #3 starting pitcher in a good rotation, but their hitting is incredible, and they just somehow figure out ways to win. The Twins have Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Orlando Hudson, Denard Span, and Jason Kubel in their lineup. If Joe Nathan doesn’t play this year, which it looks like he won’t, it will be much harder for the Twins to win this year, but I still think they will because the AL Central is so weak.

2. Chicago White Sox
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

AL West:
1. Texas Rangers: The Rangers have a good young team, and a very good chance to win the AL West. Their rotation is very good, with Scott Feldman, Rich Harden, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, and Tommy Hunter. I really think that Derek Holland will have an All-Star year this year and will be dominant. The Rangers also have a chance to have a very good offense, if Chris Davis has a comeback year, Josh Hamilton can stay healthy, and the rest of the team doesn’t decline.

2. Seattle Mariners
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (otherwise known as the team with the dumbest name ever)
4. Oakland Athletics

NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies made it to the World Series for the second straight year last year. They have a very good team this year, too, as they have almost all their players returning this year from last year. Cliff Lee got replaced by Roy Halladay in the starting rotation, which might actually be a slight downgrade for this year, but in the future it will be for the better since Lee is a free agent after this year. Placido Polanco is the only new starting position player on the team, and he is an upgrade at third base from Pedro Feliz, who was the starter there last year. And the Phillies closing situation will be better this year, just because it couldn’t have been any worse, so it has to get better.

2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. New York Mets (who I think should change their stadium name from Citi Field to Injury Field)
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central:
1. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals have what may be the best 1-2 punch in all of major league baseball with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Wainwright had a 19-8 record with a 2.63 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 233 innings pitched, while Carpenter had a 17-4 record with a 2.24 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 192.2 innings pitched. And those two have Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday behind them in the field, and that may also be the best group of two hitters in the middle of the order. Just those four players plus Franklin, Molina, and Ludwick are good enough to make up for the somewhat mediocre remainder of the team.

2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Houston Astros

NL East:
1. San Francisco Giants: The Giants pitching staff is amazing and will probably be even better this year with Jonathon Sanchez having another year under his belt. Cy Young Award winner for the past two seasons Tim Lincecum (15-7, 2.48) is the ace of the staff and Matt Cain (14-8, 2.89) would be the ace on most team’s staffs. Barry Zito (10-13, 4.03) improved last year, and actually was a decent pitcher. Jonathon Sanchez (8-12, 4.24) has a lot of potential and could be really good this year, while Madison Bumgarner (9-1, 1.93 in AA and 3-1, 1.48 in High-A) was dominant in the minors last year, and can have a very good season in the majors. The Giants signed Mark DeRosa in the offseason, and that will help the Giants horrible offense, which was basically just Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina, along with a little bit of Freddy Sanchez, and then a few hits sprinkled in from everybody else.

2. Colorado Rockies (Wild Card): The Rockies have a very good young team, with Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta, and Carlos Gonzalez all starting for them. Tulowitzki (.297, 32, 92) really led the offense last season, and finished in the top 25 in the NL in batting average, home runs, RBI’s, slugging percentage, on base percentage, OPS, stolen bases, runs, and hits. Brad Hawpe also had a good season last year, hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI’s while making his first All-Star appearance. Ubaldo Jimenez leads the rotation, and had a solid year last year, with a 15-12 record and a 3.47 ERA.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres

AL Awards:

AL MVP: Joe Mauer, MIN
Runner-up: Evan Longoria, TB

Al Cy Young: Cliff Lee, SEA
Runner-up: Zack Grienke, KC

AL Rookie of the Year: Austin Jackson, DET
Runner-up: Carlos Santana, CLE

AL Manager of the Year: Ron Washington, TEX
Runner-up: Ron Gardenhire, MIN

NL Awards:

NL MVP: Albert Pujols, STL
Runner-up: Joey Votto, CIN

NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, STL
Runner-up: Tommy Hanson, ATL

NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward, ATL
Runner-up: Madison Bumgarner, SF

NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, COL
Runner-up: Bruce Bochy, SF

Playoffs:

ALDS:

Texas Rangers vs. Boston Red Sox: Rangers in 5

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins: Yankees in 4

NLDS:

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies: Cardinals in 4

San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Giants in 5

ALCS:

New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers: Yankees in 7

NLCS:

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants: Giants in 5

World Series:

New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants: Giants in 6

I will be taking next week off. Come back in two weeks for a spring training report.

Spring Training Infielders Analysis

The Rangers have 10 infielders and 6 catchers in major league camp. I did an analysis of all the infielders and catchers in big league camp, gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training, and predicted the infield and catching roster.

Elvis Andrus – Elvis Andrus is obviously going to be on the team as the starting shortstop after he won the Rookie of the Year Award last year. Oh, wait, that went to a guy who got 26 saves, which is less than the number of stolen bases Andrus had. That makes no sense. Anyways, Elvis hit .267 last year with six home runs, 40 RBI’s, and 33 stolen bases. But his biggest addition to the team was his defense, which was incredible, and saved so many runs over the course of the year.
Percentage of making the team out of Spring Training: 100%

Joaquin Arias – Arias was a huge prospect when the Rangers traded for him as part of the deal that sent A-ROD to the Yankees, but now has become just another guy fighting for the utility spot that wouldn’t have even been up for competition if not for Khalil Greene not being able to come to camp. Last year Arias had just eight major league at-bats, and didn’t get on base once, and struck out three times. And he looked even worse than the stats show. He hit .266 with a .295 OBP with Oklahoma City last year and, really, I don’t see why he deserves to be on the team, or even in the race to be on the team.
Percentage: 46.9%

Matthew Brown – Brown is being looked at to be on the Opening Day roster to be a backup corner infielder for the Rangers. Last year with the Angels Triple-AAA team in Salt Lake, Matthew hit .245 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI’s. He has 24 major league at-bats (all with the Angels) and has just one hit, while striking out 11 times.
Percentage: 23.4%

Chris Davis – After having a great rookie year in 2008 (.285 AVG, 17 HR, 55 RBI), Davis struggled at the beginning of last year before being sent down to the minors where he hit .327 with six home runs and 30 RBI’s in just 165 at-bats. When he got called back up he hit much better, and his stats at the end of the year were: .238 AVG, 21 HR, 59 RBI. He will almost surely be the Rangers starting first baseman out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 97.6%

Esteban German – Esteban is going to have a chance to play his way into the utility infield spot on the team’s roster to start off the year. But being a non-roster invitee will make it harder for him to make the team. Last year with the Rangers, German hit .304 and looked really good in his 46 at-bats. With OKC, he hit .319 (.053 better than Arias in Oklahoma) with a .419 OBP (.124 better than Arias in Oklahoma), which is incredible. He also had 35 stolen bases, and I think that he deserves the utility infield spot more than Arias.
Percentage: 50.2%

Ian Kinsler – Ian will be the starting second baseman for the Rangers, and there is no chance that he won’t be. He had a down year for him last year, as he hit just .253, but he was also a 30-30 guy as he hit 31 home runs and stole 31 bases. In 2008, he had hit .319, but with just 18 home runs and 26 stolen bases. If he can combine last year’s power numbers with ‘08’s batting average, he will have a great chance at AL MVP.
Percentage: 100%

Marcus Lemon – Marcus was invited to big league camp after Khalil Greene’s situation. He doesn’t really have a chance to make the team. Last year with Frisco, Lemon hit just .262 and had 25 extra-base hits, as 93 of his 118 hits on the year were singles. That gives him a .333 slugging percentage, which is extremely low.
Percentage: 2.3%

Ray Olmedo – Ray is a non-roster invitee and does not have a good chance to make the team, but does have some major league experience. In his 403 major league at-bats split over five seasons (’03-’07) and two teams (Reds and Blue Jays), Ray has a .228 batting average, two home runs, 26 RBI’s, and six stolen bases. He last played in the majors with the Blue Jays in 2007. With AAA-Durham last year, Ray hit .250 with six home runs and 47 RBI’s.
Percentage: 7.5%

Justin Smoak – Justin probably won’t be on the team to start the year out of Spring Training, although he does have a very good chance to be called up to the team at some point this year, despite not being on the 40-man roster. Last year in Frisco, Justin hit .328 with six home runs and 29 RBI’s, and with Oklahoma City, he hit .244 with four home runs and 23 RBI’s.
Percentage: 17.9%

Michael Young – Michael had another great year last year, hitting .322 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI’s, and if not for a late-season injury, he would have gotten another 200-hit season. Last year Michael showed the power to hit 20 home runs in a season that he hadn’t shown since 2005. He will obviously be the starting third baseman, and there will not be any competition for that position as long as he’s still around and playing well.
Percentage: 100%

Emerson Frostad – Emerson does not have much of a chance to make the team out of Spring Training. Emerson spent most of his year last year with Oklahoma City, and hit just .226 with only one home run and 20 RBI’s. That average is bad even for Frostad, a career .256 minor league hitter. He actually hit more home runs in Frisco (3) in 44 at-bats than he did in OKC (1) in 208 at-bats.
Percentage: 1.2%

Toby Hall – Toby is more for insurance than he is for competing for the Opening Day roster. He is still recovering from right shoulder surgery last May, but is almost fully recovered. Last year was the first year that Hall did not play in the majors since 1999. In his career Toby is a .262 hitter with 46 HR’s and 269 RBI’s, and has spent most of his time with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but has also had stints with the Dodgers and the White Sox. He has a chance at the team, but it is a minor one.
Percentage: 12.1%

Max Ramirez – Max doesn’t seem to be in a good position to be on the Rangers Opening Day roster, but he definitely has a chance at it. He had a horrible year last year, though, hitting .234, well below his .299 career average, with just 5 home runs and 43 RBI’s with Triple-AAA Oklahoma. In his only major league experience in 2008, Max hit .217 with two homers and 9 RBI’s.
Percentage: 21.4%

Kevin Richardson – Kevin finally got a chance to get a taste of major league ball after many years of minor league play, and being great at working with the pitchers. He only got six at-bats, but he got three hits, so he made the most of his opportunity. His hitting is not his strong suit though, as in his minor league career his average is .239. He probably will not be on the team, and probably won’t be up this year at all.
Percentage: 15.4%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – It looks as if Salty will be battling for the starting catching position will Taylor Teagarden this spring, with the loser of that battle backing up the other. Salty had a bad year last year, even without the injuries, hitting .233 with nine home runs and 34 RBI’s. He’ll almost surely be on the team, and my guess is he’ll be starting, but his numbers have to improve from last year to be able to keep that starting spot.
Percentage: 92.7%

Taylor Teagarden – Taylor has a great chance at being the starting catcher this year, but needs to perform better than he did in ’09. Even though he was solid defensively, as always, he hit just .217, and struck out 76 times in 198 at-bats. That means that he struck out in 38% of his at-bats, which is way too high. His OBP was just .270, which is not just an okay number for a batting average. I think that he’ll do much better this year, especially if he starts.
Percentage: 93.1%

Predicted Infield and Catching Roster:
First Base: Chris Davis
Second Base: Ian Kinsler
Third Base: Michael Young
Shortstop: Elvis Andrus
Utility Infielder: Esteban German

Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Back-up Catcher: Taylor Teagarden

Next in Line:
Joaquin Arias

Come back next week for my 2010 season predictions.

Spring Training Outfielders Analysis

On Saturday, my dad, my uncle, and I drove down to College Station to see Texas A&M play Texas in basketball. A&M won 74-58, and I have to say…GIG’ EM! The game was awesome, and I had a blast. After watching A&M dominate, we went and ate at DoubleDave’s Pizza, which is very good and used to be here in Dallas but shut down.

If you haven’t been reading it lately, you should check out Eleanor Czajka’s blog (http://emcmlb.blogspot.com/). It’s very good.

The Rangers have 10 outfielders in major league camp. I did an analysis of all the outfielders in big league camp, gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training, and predicted the outfield roster.

Brandon Boggs – Brandon will be fighting for the 5th outfielder spot along with Endy Chavez and Craig Gentry. Brandon had just 17 major league at-bats last year, and had just one hit, but struck out eight times (striking out in 47% of his at-bats). In 2008 though, he looked good, even though he hit just .226, with 8 home runs and 41 RBI’s. His defense was strong, picking up 7 assists. With Triple-A Oklahoma last year, Brandon hit .268 with 8 home runs and 47 RBI’s. He has a good shot to make the team out of Spring Training.
Percentage chance of making the team out of Spring Training: 33.9%

Julio Borbon – Julio will be the starting center fielder this year. Last year with the Rangers, he went .312 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI’s. He also had 19 stolen bases and looked really impressive on the bases. He also played well with Oklahoma City last year, as he hit .307 and had 25 stolen bases. There is no chance of him not making the team.
Percentage: 100%

Endy Chavez – Last year, Chavez spent his season with the Mariners, and hit .273 in 161 at-bats, and had 9 stolen bases, before needing surgery to repair a torn ACL after getting injured in a collision with Yunieski Betancourt while going after a fly ball. His best year was in 2006 with the Mets, where he hit .306, his only year in which he hit above .300. He doesn’t draw many walks, though, as his career high is 31. The fact that he is not on the 40-man roster will make it harder for him to make the Opening Day roster. He’s likely to start the season in the minors so that the Rangers can fully test his recovery.
Percentage: 43.5%

Nelson Cruz – Nelson had a break-through year last year, as he hit 33 home runs and had 76 RBI’s in just 462 at-bats. He also was a threat on the bases, as Nelson stole 20 bases for the Rangers last year, while being caught stealing just four times. I don’t think that there is any question that he will be the starting right fielder for the Rangers to start out the year.
Percentage: 100%

Craig Gentry – Gentry had just 17 major league at-bats, and went just 2-for-17 in them, but he is very speedy, and a great defensive player, getting named the Rangers 2009 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year. He had a great year with Double-A Frisco, hitting .303 with 8 home runs and 53 RBI’s, and made the Texas League All-Star Game. He had 49 stolen bases with Frisco, and his speed threat and defensive ability are the two reasons why I think he’ll be the team’s fifth outfielder out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 55.4%

Vladimir Guerrero – Last year Vlad had a down year, despite hitting .295. His power numbers dipped from 27 HR’s and 91 RBI’s in ’08 to 15 HR’s and 50 RBI’s in ’09, the second lowest in both categories in seasons where he spent significant time in the big leagues. His only worse season in terms of power numbers was his rookie season, and the .295 average, although it is solid, is the worst in his major league career. Vlad will be the DH for the Rangers, and really doesn’t have any competition for it in Spring Training.
Percentage: 100%

Josh Hamilton – Josh will be on the team to start the year (unless he gets injured) for sure. But the Rangers are moving him to left field, as the injury risk isn’t quite as high as in center. Josh struggled last year, hitting just .268 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI’s, and got injured multiple times, limiting him to just 89 games. That was following a monster year in ’08 in which he hit .304 with 32 home runs and 130 RBI’s. There’s no question whether he’ll be on the team this year, it’s just whether he’ll perform like he did in ’08 or like he did in ’09.
Percentage: 100%

Mitch Moreland – Last year Mitch split time between High-A and Double-A Frisco, and was great at both levels. In Bakersfield he hit .341, and in Frisco he hit .326. He had a combined 16 homers and 85 RBI’s between the two levels. He really does not have much of a chance to make the team, especially since he’s a non-roster invitee.
Percentage: 6.3%

David Murphy – David has played well ever since coming to the Rangers in 2007. Last year he hit .269 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI’s, following a year in ’08 in which he hit .275 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI’s. He will be the fourth outfielder going into Spring Training, and I would be shocked if he wasn’t the fourth outfielder coming out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 97.8%

Chad Tracy – Like Mitch Moreland, Chad doesn’t really have much of a shot at the Opening Day roster, and is a non-roster invitee. Last year with Frisco, Chad hit .279 with 26 home runs and an incredible 107 RBI’s. That number is amazing because the minor league season is one month shorter than the major league season is. He might not have a shot to make the team, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at those numbers.
Percentage: 7.4%

Predicted Outfield Roster:
Center Field: Julio Borbon
Right Field: Nelson Cruz
Left Field: Josh Hamilton
4th Outfielder: David Murphy
5th Outfielder: Craig Gentry

Next in Line:
Endy Chavez
Brandon Boggs

Come back next week for an analysis of Rangers Spring Training Infielders and Catchers.

Spring Training Pitchers Analysis Part 2

The Rangers have 31 pitchers in major league. This week, I analyzed the second half of the pitchers in big league camp and gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training (see last week’s post for analysis of the first half of the pitchers). I also gave my prediction for what the Opening Day pitching roster will look like.

Brandon McCarthy – Sadly, last year Brandon had the second most major league innings pitched in a season in his career, even though he threw just 97.1 innings, and that’s only 4.1 innings away from his career high in that stat category. Last year he went 7-4 with a 4.62 ERA and 65 strikeouts for the Rangers. If Brandon doesn’t get injured in Spring Training, I think that he’ll be on the team at the start of the season.
Percentage: 63.5%

Luis Mendoza – Mendoza is out of options, and so if he does not make the team out of Spring Training, he will go through waivers. That said, I still don’t think he’ll make the team, as two years ago in the majors (he only threw one inning in ’09, and allowed four runs in that inning), he went 3-8 with an 8.67 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP in 63.1 innings pitched. That followed up a 2007 season where he dominated, with a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings. He didn’t really have that good a year in the minors last year, either, going 6-7 with a 4.53 ERA in 111.1 IP for the AAA Redhawks last year.
Percentage: 28.7%

Guillermo Moscoso – Last year Moscoso pitched 14 innings for the Rangers, and did pretty well, with a 3.21 ERA. That was after struggling in Frisco in his first year in the Rangers organization after being traded to Texas by the Tigers in the ’08-’09 offseason, going 3-1, but with a 4.46 ERA in just 42.1 innings pitched. He has a shot to win a spot in the bullpen to start the year off, but I don’t think he will.
Percentage: 33.1%

Dustin Nippert – In his second year as a Ranger, Dustin pitched very well while in the majors. In 69.2 innings pitched, he was 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA. He pitched in 20 games, and ten of those were starts. He had some solid starts, but he also had some very bad starts. He is on the outside looking in on the team right now, but with a good Spring Training he could force his way into either the starting rotation or the bullpen.
Percentage: 35.8%

Darren O’Day – After picking up the loss in his first game as a Ranger in Toronto while wearing a Kason Gabbard jersey (they didn’t have Darren’s ready yet) on the day that the Rangers got him from the Mets, O’Day was brilliant. While with the Rangers, he went 2-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched. His BAA was an incredible .199, and I would be shocked if he wasn’t on the team out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 98.4%

Alexi Ogando – Alexi is one of the two guys from the Dominican Republic who were coming over to the US and got caught up in a marriage scandal, which caused the US to deny them entry for five years. He is just now getting to come over to the United States. He has no pitching experience in the United States, and really won’t have a shot to make the team out of Spring Training. Like Omar Beltre, Alexi will most likely start at Frisco and get some experience before he can get called up to the big leagues.
Percentage: 3.4%

Darren Oliver – This will be Darren’s third stint with the Rangers. He was a Ranger from ’93-’98 and again from ‘00-’01. The last four years, Darren has been incredible, especially the last two with the Angels. In ’08 he was 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 72 IP, and last year he was 5-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 73 IP. The Angels used him in a very large amount of games, as he has pitched in 117 games the past two seasons. This will be his 17th season in the major leagues. There is no way he won’t be on the team out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 100%

Zach Phillips – Phillips is on the 40-man roster because the Rangers wanted to protect him from the Rule-5 draft and does not really have much of a shot to make the team out of Spring Training. He had a great year in the minors last year, with a 1.23 ERA in Bakersfield (44 innings), and a 1.64 ERA in Frisco (33 innings). He pitched in 36 games total, three of them being starts, and amazingly only gave up two total home runs in 77 innings of work.
Percentage: 2.2%

Omar Poveda – Although Poveda really doesn’t have a chance at the team out of camp, he was one of the people Jon Daniels mentioned as having a good shot at making a spot start down the road during the year. He was a Double-A All-Star last year with Frisco, with an 11-5 record and a 4.07 ERA in 130.1 innings pitched.
Percentage: 6.8%

Clay Rapada – Rapada has 27.1 major league innings in his career, and is 3-0 with a 4.94 ERA and 21 strikeouts (and an incredibly high 18 walks, a number even Mitch Williams would think was too high) in those innings. Last year he had a really good year with the Tigers AAA team in Toledo. He went 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings pitched (and 17 walks, which is less than his MLB amount). He probably will not make the team out of Spring Training, a fact not helped by him not being on the 40-man roster.
Percentage: 12.4%

Chris Ray – Chris missed all of 2008 due to injury, and really struggled in ’09, with a 7.27 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched, and was 0-for-3 in his save opportunities. But he was just that good in 2006, as he had a 2.73 ERA and 33 saves in 66 innings. He followed ’06 up with a decent year in 2007, with a 4.43 ERA with 16 saves in ’07. Unless he gets injured, he should be on the team out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 95.3%

Tanner Scheppers – Tanner is not on the 40-man roster and has no major or minor league baseball experience, so he does not have much of a chance to be on the Rangers’ roster on Opening Day. But he has very mature stuff and is close to major-league ready, so he’s probably not that far off on the horizon as far as being on the Rangers active roster goes.
Percentage: 9.4%

Ben Snyder – Ben was the Orioles’ Rule-5 draft pick (Snyder was originally from the Giants organization and was acquired by the Rangers from the Orioles in the Kevin Millwood trade), and so he will almost surely return to the Giants if he is not on the Rangers’ Active Roster at any point during the season. So if he is not on the Rangers out of Spring Training, he will go back to the Giants. Ben has no major league experience, but last year in Double-A Connecticut, he was 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 97 innings pitched. I think he will be on the team at the start of the year because the Rangers will want to keep him in the organization.
Percentage: 65.6%

Pedro Strop – Last year Pedro threw just seven innings with the Rangers, and had a 7.71 ERA in his limited action. He did okay with Frisco last year, as he had a 5-5 record and a 4.38 ERA, along with 48 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. I think he has a chance to be on the team on Opening Day, but it will take a lot of work and a great Spring Training for that to happen.
Percentage: 14.1%

CJ Wilson – CJ had a very good season last year, as he was 5-6 with a 2.81 ERA in 73.2 innings pitched. He had an amazing 84 strikeouts, and he also had 14 saves. Personally, I think that he both deserves and should be the closer to start off the year, and if he’s given the opportunity, I think he’ll be dominant. I just hope they give him the chance to win the job in Spring Training.
Percentage: 100%

Projected Opening Day Pitching Roster:
Starter #1: Scott Feldman
Starter #2: Rich Harden
Starter #3: Colby Lewis
Starter #4: Derek Holland
Starter #5: Brandon McCarthy
Long Reliever: Ben Snyder
Middle Reliever: Neftali Feliz
Middle Reliever: Chris Ray
Middle Reliever: Darren O’Day
Lefty Specialist: Darren Oliver
Set-up Man: CJ Wilson
Closer: Frank Francisco

Next in Line:
Doug Mathis
Tommy Hunter
Dustin Nippert
Matt Harrison
Guillermo Moscoso

Come back next week for my Spring Training Infielders Analysis.

Spring Training Pitchers Analysis Part 1

The Rangers will be opening Spring Training with 31 pitchers in major league camp as long as no more moves are made. This week, I analyzed half of the pitchers in big league camp and gave their chances of making the team at the end of Spring Training. I'll finish the pitcher analysis next week.

Omar Beltre – Omar is one of the two guys from the Dominican Republic who were coming over to the US and got caught up in a marriage scandal, which caused the US to deny them entry for five years. He is just now getting to come over to the United States. In 2003 Omar played for Clinton and went 3-3 with a 2.39 ERA, and then in 2004, when he played for Stockton, he went 4-5 with a 2.45 ERA. He was amazing in 2005, and even though it was in the Rookie League, his numbers are still very impressive. He had a 1.62 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched. He could be a key member of the Rangers pitching staff in the future, but he will almost surely start the year off in Frisco to get some experience before he even has a chance to be in the majors.
Percentage of making the team out of Spring Training: 5.6%

Willie Eyre – Willie is at Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, which will make it harder for him to make the team, since they would have to add him to the 40-man roster for him to be able to do so. Last year he pitched just 18 innings with the Rangers, with a 4.50 ERA in that limited time period. He was great in Oklahoma, though, with a 2.10 ERA in 34.1 innings. He has a fairly decent chance at the team, though, as, even though his stats don’t show it (4-6, 5.16), he had a very good year in the majors with the Rangers in 2007.
Percentage: 19.3%

Scott Feldman – Scott was the best pitcher on the team last year, and will most likely be the number one starter out of Spring Training this year, as last year he went 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA in 189.2 innings pitched. And the amazing this about it is, he wasn’t even a starter the first month of the year, because Kris Benson was starting. His ERA as a starter was below 4.00, and he was incredibly consistent, earning the 2009 Rangers Pitcher of the Year. He had an incredible .250 batting average against, which is right where you want your best pitcher at, as that was 15th in the AL.
Percentage: 100%

Neftali Feliz – Neftali was amazing last year in the majors, with a 1.74 ERA and 39 strikeouts and just 8 walks in 31 innings pitched. Those are amazing numbers for a ten-year-veteran, much less a rookie getting his first big league experience. He had an astonishing .124 BAA last year, so batters weren’t getting anything off him. That combined with just 8 walks gave him a 0.68 WHIP last year. A WHIP under 1.00 is great, so he blew that away.
Percentage: 94.7%

Frank Francisco – Frankie was the closer last year, and he was great…….until late June. He had an ERA well under 2.00……until July. He had an ERA well under 3.00……..until mid-August. He had an ERA well under 3.90……until late September. His breaking ball was breaking…..until mid-August. He started the year great, and ended it horribly. His final ERA was 3.83, with 25 saves and 57 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched. It seems that he’ll be on the team as the closer this year, and we’ll see how it goes from there.
Percentage: 100%

Geoff Geary – Geoff is a non-roster invite to the Rangers Spring Training Camp, and he actually has a shot. Even though he was horrible last year with the Astros (1-3, 8.10), he has had good years. Just in 2008, he had a 2.53 ERA and a .197 BAA in 64 innings pitched with Houston. Two years before that he went 7-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 91.1 innings pitched for Philadelphia, and the year before that, he had a 3.72 ERA for Philly. While I don’t think he’ll make the team, he has a shot at it.
Percentage: 14.8%

Rich Harden – Rich is obviously going to make the team (if he’s not injured) and will probably be the #2 guy. Rich has been dominant when he’s pitched. He has a 3.39 career ERA and has had an ERA below 3.00 in three of his seven major league seasons and has had an ERA below 4.00 in four of his seven major league seasons. His highest ERA was as a rookie in ’03 at 4.46.
Percentage: 100%

Matt Harrison – Due to injury, Matt only pitched 63.1 innings last year, and struggled in them, going 4-5 with a 6.11 ERA. He allowed 104 baserunners (81 hits, 23 walks) in those 63.1 innings, a horrible 1.64 WHIP. He allowed a .316 BAA, after allowing a .300 BAA in 2008. In ’08, Matt went 9-3, but also had a 5.49 ERA. His injury, paired with his big league struggles might make it harder for him to make the team.
Percentage: 33.1%

Derek Holland – Although Holland went just 8-13 with a 6.12 ERA in 138.1 innings pitched, he showed flashes of brilliance, and you could tell he has great potential. That was never more evident than a three-game stretch in August where he threw a complete-game shutout against the Angels, allowed two runs in 6.2 innings against the Red Sox, and allowed just one run in 5.1 innings against the Twins. That’s why I’m not only predicting him to make the team out of Spring Training, I’m predicting him to have a sub-4.00 ERA in 2010.
Percentage: 75.1%

Tommy Hunter – Tommy had a good year last year, going 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA in 112 innings pitched for the Rangers. That was a big improvement (it wasn’t that hard for him to do) in the ERA department, going all the way from 16.36 in ’08 down to 4.10 in ’09. The fact that he only pitched 11 innings in 2008 might’ve had something to do with it, but I’m just saying. His BAA also went all the way down from .404 two years ago to .259 last year. He will definitely have a shot to play himself into the rotation this year.
Percentage: 45.9%

Eric Hurley – Hurley missed all of last year and didn’t throw a single inning due to a shoulder injury. It will probably also keep him from competing for a roster spot out of Spring Training. 2008 was his only major league experience, and he went 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings of pitching in Texas. I would be shocked if he was on the team coming out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 10.4%

Kasey Kiker – Last year Kiker was an All-Star in Frisco and was deserving. Although his record was not outstanding, at 7-7, he had a 3.86 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 126 innings pitched. His control took a major dip from ’08 in Bakersfield. He either walked or hit 36 more batters in ’09 than he did in ’08, while only pitching 4.1 innings. He’s in major league camp so that he can benefit from the experience and is not a legitimate contender to make the team.
Percentage: 2.3%

Michael Kirkman – Last year was a really good year for Michael, especially in his time in Bakersfield. His combined stats between Frisco and Bakersfield were solid, going 9-8 with a 3.48 ERA, striking out 118 in 144.2 innings. With the Blaze, Kirkman dominated, going 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA before getting called up to Frisco, where he went 5-7 with a 4.19 ERA, which, although it isn’t as good as 2.06, still is a solid ERA. They are not looking at him for the major league team yet, and he is only on the 40-man roster so that they could protect him from the Rule-5 draft.
Percentage: 5.1%

Colby Lewis – I cannot find Colby Lewis’ 2009 Japanese stats, but in 2008, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Colby went 15-8 with a 2.68 ERA in 178 innings pitched. Colby dominated in Japan, and apparently got some new pitches, and with the Rangers seemingly so high on him, I would be shocked if he wasn’t on the team. He will most likely be the #3 starting pitcher in the rotation.
Percentage: 94.7%

Warner Madrigal – Warner had a horrible year last year, with a 9.95 ERA in 12.2 innings, and just couldn’t get anybody out. He did this after looking very good the year before, with a 4.75 ERA in 36 innings during his rookie season. His control was horrible in ’09, walking 12 batters and striking out just five in just his 12.2 innings of work. He’ll need a lights-out camp to make the team out of Spring Training.
Percentage: 24.8%

Doug Mathis – Doug looked very good last year, and deserves to make the team but, despite his 3.16 ERA and .244 BAA in his 42.2 innings in ’09, I predict he’ll be the odd man out to make room for Ben Snyder. He’s very valuable, because he can come in and do some good long inning work out of the pen, and he can also make spot starts in case of an injury and be successful in those. I hope he makes the team, and he has a great chance to do so.
Percentage: 48.9%

Come back next week for my Spring Training Pitchers Analysis Part Two.

Newberg Bound Edition Release Party #2

Last Tuesday night, my dad, my granddad, and I went to the second Newberg Report Bound Edition Release Party, at Sherlock’s Pub in Dallas. It was a great night, with Michael Young, Chuck Greenberg (the new Rangers owner), and Jake Krug (Rangers assistant director of player development) answering questions for over two hours. Chuck Morgan emceed the Q&A to make it even better. And there was a charity auction for Wipe Out Kids Cancer that raised over $12,000.

We got there at about 5pm so that we could get a good table and eat dinner before the event. The Q&A session started at about 6:15 with Jake Krug and he was quickly joined by Chuck Greenberg. Michael Young arrived later and started taking questions after the charity auction was over.

Chuck Morgan and Jamey were nice enough to let me ask the first question to each of the three guests. Here are the four questions I asked.

To Jake: Can you please say what the major focus areas are for developing players at each level, beginning with the Rookie level and going to triple-A?
Answer: I think there are a lot of different dynamics to that question. There are different types of players, from 16-year-old Dominican players who have no feel for the English language to 18-year-old high school players that come in many different forms as far as maturity level to your polished college guys, and even then you can have some college guys who need time to mature. Our philosophy is that everyone has their own path and their own timeframe on when they’re going to get there. Some guys move very fast, some guys move very slow, and that’s fine either way. Obviously, we prefer guys to move fast. You’ve got guys like Martin Perez and Neftali Feliz who are special and can skip a level and other guys who go level-to-level or even repeat levels. Every guy’s different and one of our major focuses is to realize that everybody’s different and each guy goes at their own pace and to be patient with them.

To Chuck Greenberg: What ideas have you implemented at the minor league level related to the fan experience that you might suggest implementing at the major league level?
Answer: That’s a great question. I think the fan experience is a very broad subject because it goes beyond the walls of the ballpark. I think the fan experience is about a feeling that exists between a franchise and the community, a feeling that it’s a shared journey, that we’re all in it together, that we have the same objectives, that we care in the same way, and that this is important to us and enriches all of our lives. That’s a feeling that transcends geographic boundaries. In terms of the fan experience within the ballpark, I think it has to do with having an obsessive desire to do everything we can to make the experience perfect, recognizing that it’s impossible to be perfect but it’s essential to strive to be the very best you can be. It’s being open to suggestions, whether they come from fans or from the media or from our business partners. If there’s an idea that can make us better, we want to hear about it because we want to be the best that we can be. We certainly take what happens between the white lines very seriously but we’re not going to take ourselves seriously at all. We’re going to have fun, we’ll always have the utmost respect for the game, and we’re going to do everything we can to try to bring our players to the community. Because the players are great guys. One of the best parts of being involved in baseball is the people in the game - the managers, the players, the scouts, the coaches, everybody. And the more that we can bring forth everyone’s personalities to our fans, the more there is that shared experience between the organization and the fans and the more we’re all one, and that’s the way I try to do things.

To Chuck Greenberg: There’s already been talk about moving the High-A team from Bakersfield next year, so is there a good chance that we’ll see the High-A team in Myrtle Beach next year?
Answer: That’s far too professional a question. In Myrtle Beach, our organization has a great relationship with the Braves. We’re looking forward to this season. All of my attention has been focused on what we need to do to get this (the Rangers deal) done and we’ll turn to that later. Obviously we’ll look at everything with an open mind.

To Michael: Is there anything specific that you’ve been working on this offseason and if so what is it?
Answer: Having a healthy hamstring to start. To be honest with you, really just sharpening up parts of my game that I think are weaknesses. Base stealing is still a weakness for me and I know I can get much better at it. Going in knowing I’ll be working at third base is a huge advantage for me as opposed to last year where I had to get in there and get used to it. I do have a lot of clear goals heading into this year but defense and base running are probably tops on the list.


Here are some of the other highlights from the Q&A session.

From Chuck Greenberg:

- When asked by Jamey why he bought the Rangers now instead of waiting for Pittsburgh to go on the market, he said he believes that the Rangers are the most attractive opportunity on every level in all of sports right now. Baseball’s his favorite sport and he believes the Rangers are the greatest sleeping giant in major league baseball and all of sports.
- When asked how he determines the value of a franchise, he said there’s no science to it. You look at what’s happened with other franchises, revenue of the franchise, and what you think the potential is. He said that this is an incredible market, the largest in baseball to only have one team, and there’s a lot of potential.
- He expects to win the division and wouldn’t trade our roster or farm system for anything. It has outstanding young players and great veterans.
- When asked whether he plans to spend equal to the size of the market, he said ‘absolutely’ but pointed out that it doesn’t happen day one. He said the best role models are the Phillies and the Angels.
- He thinks the ballpark is beautiful but that it needs to be refreshed and updated. The best example is the need for a new video board, which is very dated. We won’t see it in 2010 but he expects to have some changes in place by opening day 2011.
- One of Chuck’s fondest memories is from when he was a kid and went to Photo Day at Forbes Field. He still has pictures of himself with Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Maury Wills.
- He’s in favor of mass transit to the ballpark but hasn’t had the chance to look into it yet.
- He has a mindset that this is the fans’ franchise and he’s just operating it for them.
- Regarding the heat in Texas and how it impacts fans and attendance, he said that if people are connected emotionally to the team, it will be compelling and people will come.
- Chuck feels it’s important for baseball to be fun affordable family entertainment and they’re going to be looking at opportunities to make the Rangers experience even more affordable than it is now.
- When asked who his favorite Ranger is, he said he loves them all equally. He said this team reminds him of the ‘We Are Family’ Pirates of 1979 as far as their personality and character.
- He’s planning to get a copy of Eric Nadel’s Rangers book to help educate himself on the team’s history.
- Minor league attendance isn’t impacted too much by team performance. In 2008, Myrtle Beach had the best record in professional baseball and set an attendance record. In 2009, he thinks they had the third worst record in professional baseball and they set another attendance record.


From Michael Young:

- The biggest difference this year is that they completely expect to win.
- He doesn’t care where he hits in the batting order. His approach will always be dictated by the game situation.
- When asked whether he hated Vladimir Guerrero based on what he’s done to the Rangers in the past, he joked that he didn’t hate him but he definitely disliked him. He said at the All-Star game, he was asked if he had any good Vladimir Guerrero stories and he said he had no good ones but a ton of least favorite Vladimir Guerrero stories. He said that he never hated him but that he expects he’ll love him pretty soon.
- Their excitement level with adding Rich Harden to the team is on the level of their excitement with adding Guerrero.
- He thinks he gets too much credit for moving to third base to allow Elvis to play shortstop. (I disagree by the way - he deserves a lot of credit.)
- He doesn’t believe in days off. If he doesn’t play, it’s because he can’t go that day.
- When asked who his favorite Ranger is, he said he’d go with Ian Kinsler just because he knows how good he wants to be. He thinks Kinsler’s going to have a monster year.
- His experience with A-Rod was great. He also mentioned Randy Velarde and Rusty Greer as veterans who had an impact on him early in his career.


From Jake Krug:

- When asked by Eleanor about his expectations regarding where Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando will start out and what their path will be, Jake said that he thinks both will probably start in Frisco. He said Alexi was more of a bullpen guy and Omar will most likely also be in the bullpen but could be an option as a starter. He said neither of them are far away and both have electric stuff.
- They expect to win the West and anything less than that would be a disappointment. The whole mindset has changed. It’s gone to expecting to win 90+ games. The mentality’s turned and that’s the way it should be.
- We’re eight deep in the rotation, which hasn’t been the case in the past. After Feldman, Harden, and Lewis, there’s competition.
- A fan asked whether Colby Lewis has been penciled in for the number three spot and how confident the Rangers are that his success in Japan will translate to success here, given his struggles in the US previously. Jake said that where he falls in the rotation is still to be determined, but as far as what’s different, Colby has a different delivery and attitude than the player we saw a few years ago.
- Regarding the change from Rudy Jaramillo to Clint Hurdle, Clint’s approach is a little more high energy and in your face and he thinks the players are really responding to it.
- When asked who his favorite Ranger is, he said Dean Palmer.

It was a great night and I would like to thank Jamey, Eleanor Czajka, Ted Price, Chuck Morgan, Chuck Greenberg, Michael Young, Jake Krug, and everyone else involved with putting it on.

Come back next week for the beginning of my Rangers spring training roster analysis.

Fan Fest Review

This week I will give a recap of what my dad and I did at the Fan Fest and a short summary of the Awards Banquet.

The Awards Banquet (Friday at the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth):

Friday night, we went to the annual Winter Awards Banquet. This was the 1st year that it’s been at the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth. They had autograph sessions beforehand with Scott Feldman, Justin Smoak, Michael Young, Craig Gentry, Elvis Andrus, and Martin Perez. It wasn’t the same as in past years, as all the players were at a head table next to the podium, so they weren’t sitting at the tables with us and we weren’t allowed to talk to them. And the food was nowhere near as good as the food at Eddie Dean’s Ranch, where the event was held the last few years. I ended up eating dinner after I got home. I’m glad we went, though. Before the ceremony, I got to give Eric Nadel his Broadcaster of the Year trophy. I sat with my dad, my granddad, and Eleanor Czajka.

Fan Fest (Saturday):

9:00 AM:

My dad and I got to Fan Fest at about 9:20 and there was still a line of hundreds of people wrapping around the ballpark, even though it opened at 9:00. It was freezing, at about 25 degrees in the middle of the day. It took forever to get inside, as everyone had to sign some sheet of paper and get a wristband from one of only about five people before they could get in. We didn’t even need the wristband for anything, as no one ever asked to look it once we got inside. It took over 40 minutes to get inside.

10:00 AM:

We went straight up to the Newberg booth when we got there and I got autographs from Brandon Boggs and Kasey Kiker. They were both very nice. I got to talk to Jamey Newberg and Eleanor Czajka throughout the day while I was at the Newberg booth. At about 10:40, we went outside and waited in the Tanner Scheppers and Zach Phillips line, and I thought we would freeze to death, even though it was only twenty minutes.

11:00 AM

We went back to the Newberg table to get autographs from Tanner Scheppers and Zach Phillips. Like usual, the line-up at Jamey’s table was the best. It was my first time to meet Tanner so getting his autograph was a high priority for the day (he was one of three players appearing during the day that I needed). He was incredibly nice, and so was Zach.

After that, my dad and I went back out into the cold at 11:10 to wait for Justin Smoak and Ben Snyder tickets. This time my dad and I were smart, as we took 5-minute turns going into the heated store. I was happy to find the Louisville, West Virginia basketball game on TV, that Louisville would have won if not for a couple bad calls at the end of the game (Texas A&M made up for that loss Saturday night by beating Texas Tech 85-70).

12:00 PM

I got Ben Snyder’s and Justin Smoak’s autographs, and they were both very nice. I did not have Ben Snyder’s autograph, and so that left Rich Harden as the only player there I did not have. We then went into Rich Harden’s line at about 12:20 and waited in the cold. It didn’t help that they took us up ten minutes after he was supposed to start signing.

1:00 PM

I got Rich Harden’s autograph. He was very, very nice, and he seems like a really good guy. We then looked at the booths in the Diamond Club for a while, and I was disappointed that the Dibs table wasn’t there this year, because they always gave out free ice cream. The Rangers had a table where the players and personnel were making and giving out popcorn, the money benefiting Haiti. I got popcorn from Tommy Hunter, Chuck Morgan, and Tom Grieve. I got to talk with each of them for a few minutes and they were all very nice as always.

2:00 PM

I talked to Mike Ogulnick for a little bit as he walked by, and then went to get autographs from Max Ramirez and Eric Hurley at the Newberg table, and saw Jamey and Eleanor one last time. We then went to the Jon Daniels Q&A session early so we could see the Baseball Comedy Improv that Brad the photographer (really nice guy), and few of his friends put on every year. They did a great job and were very funny as always.

Jon Daniels did a Q&A for about 30 minutes, facilitated by Tom Grieve. During the Q&A, I got to ask Jon one question: What move made by another team this offseason has really impressed you? Jon said that the Mariners’ Cliff Lee move really impressed him, as unfortunate as it is that they made that move.

Here are some of the other comments that Jon made when answering questions:
· Without a doubt this is the best he’s felt about the pitching staff going into spring training. They wanted to have a 7 or 8 man starting staff going into camp and he feels they have that.
· Neftali Feliz will come into the spring on a starter’s schedule. Around March 15th, they’ll make a call with him and other folks (like CJ Wilson) as to whether they’ll be in the rotation or bullpen. Feliz did a great job in the bullpen but they owe it to him and themselves to see if he can develop into a starter, whether it’s this year or in a future year.
· Ideally we won’t see Martin Perez in the major leagues this year. He’s only 19 and they want to put him in positions where he’s most likely to succeed.
· When asked which team he thinks will be toughest to play against in the West this year, he said that both Seattle and Oakland have made some good moves, but you have to say the Angels until somebody knocks them off.
· Guillermo Moscoso will get stretched out this spring but won’t throw a ton of innings because he’s been pitching winter ball and they don’t want to overdo it.
· When asked whether the ballpark’s reputation for not being very pitcher friendly is a big factor in signing free agents, he said it probably comes most into play on one-year deals where the pitcher wants his stats to look as good as possible before going back on the market in eight months. He did point out that in all his years being involved in negotiations, there’s only one pitcher who’s actually mentioned it as a factor in negotiations, although he admitted that other pitchers may have been thinking about it. He finds it encouraging that Rich Harden, a player in that exact situation, chose to sign with the Rangers this year.
· Even though David Murphy may be the fourth outfielder on the depth chart, he thinks he’ll get plenty of at-bats.

Jon gave really good answers as always, and I would like to thank him for always being so open during those sessions.

We left after the Q&A session, at about 3:15. We had a great time as always, even with it being so cold. I would like to thank everybody in the Rangers organization who did such a great job putting on the Fan Fest again this year.

Come back next week for a summary of the second Newberg bound edition release party.

Rangers vs. Angels Comparison

The polling for the Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year finished. Eric Nadel won with 43% of the vote, with Tom Grieve coming in second with 26%, and Josh Lewin in third with 23%.

This week I will compare the Rangers roster, position-by-position, with the Angels roster, and say who has the edge on the other team.

Starting Pitcher #1: Rich Harden, TEX <--- Jered Weaver, LAA
Rich is very injury-prone, but if he can stay healthy, which I’m hoping he will, he is an ace. Jered had a 16-8 record and a 3.75 ERA last year. But since 2005, Rich has had an ERA over 3.00 in only two years, consistently having an ERA in the 2.00’s, which is amazing. I’ll take Rich Harden out of those two.

Starting Pitcher #2: Scott Feldman, TEX <--- Ervin Santana, LAA
This one is obvious. Feldman was 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA last year, and he got those 17 wins without even starting the first month of the season, while Ervin Santana was 8-8 with a 5.03 ERA, which is horrible for a number two starter. I think the Angels rotation is going to be why they finish the season in third place in the AL West.

Starting Pitcher #3: Colby Lewis, TEX <--- Joe Saunders, LAA
I cannot find Colby Lewis’ 2009 Japanese stats, but in 2008, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Colby went 15-8 with a 2.68 ERA in 178 innings pitched. Joe Saunders really struggled last year after a great year in 2008 (17-7, 3.41), as he went 16-7, but with a 4.60 ERA, which is much higher than he wanted. Colby dominated in Japan, and apparently got some new pitches, and with the Rangers seemingly so high on him, I went with Colby.

Starting Pitcher #4: Brandon McCarthy, TEX ---> Scott Kazmir, LAA
Scott Kazmir really struggled in Tampa Bay last year, with a 4.89 ERA, and just a 10-9 record, but after being traded to the Angels, he was dominant, with a 1.73 ERA, and, even though he only pitched 36.1 innings with the Angels, it is still very good. Brandon did better last year than in past years, with a 7-4 record and a 4.62 ERA, but I’d still much rather have Kazmir than McCarthy.

Starting Pitcher #5: Derek Holland, TEX <--- Matt Palmer, LAA
Even though Palmer’s stats were much better last year, I think Holland will have a much better year than Palmer this year. Holland showed his potential last year, but also struggled, as he went 8-13 with a 6.12 ERA, while Palmer went 11-2 with a 3.92 ERA. Even though the stats don’t back it up, I think Holland will have the better year.

Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX ---> Mike Napoli, LAA
Even if you take away Salty’s injury-proneness, Napoli still has the edge, as Mike had a .272 average with 20 home runs and 56 RBI’s last year, while Salty hit just .233 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI’s. So Napoli hits for a better average, has more power, and doesn’t get injured so much, definitely giving him the edge.

First Base: Chris Davis, TEX ---> Kendry Morales, LAA
Even though I think that Chris will have an incredible year this year, based on last year’s stats, Kendry Morales probably will, too. Kendry hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 RBI’s, while Chris Davis hit just .238 with 21 home runs and 59 RBI’s, although after being called back up, he did much better and really improved.

Second Base: Ian Kinsler, TEX <--- Howie Kendrick, LAA
Although Ian hit just .253 last year, compared to Kendrick’s .291, Ian still hit 31 home runs and had 86 RBI’s, while Kendrick just had 10 home runs and 61 RBI’s. I also expect Kinsler’s batting average to rebound this year, and go back up to his normal range.

Third Base: Michael Young, TEX <--- Brandon Wood, LAA
Michael is a perennial all-star and deserves to be. Last year he hit .322 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI’s. If it weren’t for a hamstring injury late in the season, he would have had 200 hits for the sixth time in his career. Brandon Wood had just 41 at-bats this year, and hit .195 in those minimal at-bats.

Shortstops: Elvis Andrus, TEX <--- Erick Aybar, LAA
Although Erick Aybar hit .312 compared to Andrus’ .267, and their power numbers are about the same, you can’t underestimate the importance of Elvis’ defense, which helps the pitchers out so much, and is why he’s better than Erick Aybar.

Left Field: Josh Hamilton, TEX ---> Juan Rivera, LAA
I would not be surprised at all if Josh had a great year and Juan had a terrible year, but after last year there’s no question that you have to go with Rivera. Juan hit .287 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI’s, and Josh hit .268 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI’s.

Center Field: Julio Borbon, TEX ---> Torii Hunter, LAA
I think that Borbon has a great chance to be better than Torii Hunter next year, but last year Hunter hit .299 with 22 home runs and 90 RBI’s, and it’s hard to go with a guy that had just 157 at-bats next year when he’s facing Torii Hunter.

Right Field: Nelson Cruz, TEX <--- Bobby Abreu, LAA
Bobby had a .293 AVG with 15 home runs and 103 RBI’s last year, which are great stats, but he is also old and getting older, while Nelson Cruz is still getting better. Last year Nelson hit .260, but also hit 33 home runs and had 76 RBI’s in 101 fewer at-bats than Abreu.

Designated Hitter: Vladimir Guerrero, TEX <--- Hideki Matsui, LAA
These are two old players, but last year they played very differently. Vlad hit .295, while Matsui hit .274, but Matsui hit 28 home runs and 90 RBI’s, while Vlad hit 15 home runs and 50 RBI’s. But Vlad is going from a pitcher’s ballpark to a hitter’s ballpark and Matsui is going from a hitter’s ballpark to a pitcher’s ballpark, and that’s why I took Vlad.

Team: Texas <--- Los Angeles
Texas has the better rotation (4 to 1), and the better offense (5 to 4), in my opinion, not to mention the better defense. That combination is a good sign that the Rangers are better than the Angels.

Come back next week for a comparison of the Rangers roster to the Mariners roster.

#1-5 All-Time Rangers List

Please vote for the Broadcaster of the Year Award this week. I only got 15 votes last week, so please vote to make the award meaningful.

Mark McGwire came out this week and admitted his use of steroids. But he’s crazy if he really thinks that he still would have hit the same number of home runs without steroids. I’ve got three reasons:
1) He said that he used it to stay healthy, and that’s all. Well, even if it didn’t help him hit home runs, which it did, he still used it to keep off the DL. And, last time I checked, if you’re on the DL, you can’t hit home runs, unless the rules have changed since he retired.
2) Steroids do help you hit home runs, just look at his stats in the ‘90s. That’s all the proof you need.
3) If they really didn’t help him hit home runs, then why did he call to apologize to the Maris family? If it didn’t help him, then there would be no reason for him to have to apologize to them.

Another note, the Rangers signed Colby Lewis. I don’t think he will make the majors, but I guess there’s no loss in the situation.

This week I will conclude my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List, with numbers 1-5.

5. Nolan Ryan: Rangers Hall of Fame, MLB Hall of Fame, 51 W, 939 K, 3.43 ERA, .567 W%, All-Star (‘89), K-Leader (‘89, ‘90)
Nolan Ryan is a baseball Hall of Famer, as well as a Ranger Hall of Famer. He had 51 wins as a Ranger, along with a 3.43 ERA and 939 strikeouts. He broke the 3000 strikeout mark as a Ranger, broke the 300 win mark as a Ranger, threw two no-hitters with the Rangers, and was an All-Star in 1989, as well as the strikeout leader in 1989 and 1990, all as a Ranger. He is one of only two Rangers with their numbers retired, and the only Rangers player to get his number retired in franchise history (at least for now, until Pudge retires). He definitely deserves to be in the top five all-time Rangers, and he is the only pitcher to crack the top 5.

4. Michael Young: 5 straight 200-hit seasons (‘03-‘07), 1662 H (3rd), 720 RBI, 137 HR, 1351 G, 5501 AB, .302 AVG, 819 R, 311 2B, 2470 TB, 43 3B (2nd), All-Star MVP (‘06), Gold Glove (‘08), All-Star (‘04-‘09), Batting Title (‘05)
Michael, by the end of his Rangers career, will probably be number one, but as of now, his stats just don’t quite match up with Raffy (steroids), Juan (steroids), or Pudge. But Michael is all the way up to number four. He had five straight 200-hit seasons from 2003-2007, and would have had 200 hits last year if he hadn’t gotten injured. He is third all-time on the Rangers All-Time hit list, and will almost surely be first on that list after the 2010 season, unless he gets injured early, as he needs just 85 hits be pass Pudge for first. He has 137 home runs and 720 RBI’s in his 5501 at-bats as a Ranger in 1351 games. He has a .302 career batting average, and is second all-time for the Rangers in triples with 43. He was the All-Star MVP in 2006, and has been in the All-Star game in each of the past six years. He won a Gold Glove in 2008, and won the American League batting title in 2005. He is just incredible, and hopefully, he will be a lifetime Ranger.

3. Rafael Palmeiro: 5830 AB, .290 AVG, 321 HR, 1039 RBI, 1,573 G (most all-time Rangers), 958 runs (most), 805 BB (most), .519 SLG (3rd, min. 3000 plate appearances), 1692 H (2nd), .378 OBP (3rd, min. 3000 PA), 321 2B (2nd), 3026 TB (2nd), Silver Slugger (‘99), Gold Glove (‘99), All-Star (‘91, ‘99), 200 Hits (‘91), Hit Leader (‘90)
As I said last week with A-ROD, this list does not take steroids into account. Raffy is third on the All-Time Rangers List, in my opinion. He is second in franchise history in hits with 1,692, is third in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He had a .290 batting average along with 321 home runs and 1039 RBI’s as a Ranger, and hit his 500th home run as a Ranger. He has the most runs all-time as a Ranger, as well as the most walks. He was a Silver Slugger in 1999, as well as a Gold Glove in that same year. He was an All-Star in 1991 and 1999, had 200 hits in 1991, and was the American League hit leader in 1990. Despite disappearing from the face of the planet after lying about taking steroids, he still made an appearance on this list.

2. Juan Gonzalez: 5435 AB, .293 AVG, 372 HR, 1,180 RBI, 878 R (2nd), .565 SLG% (highest (min. 3000 plate appearances)), 1595 H (4th), 320 2B (3rd), 3073 TB (most), MVP (‘96, ‘98), Silver Slugger (‘92, ‘93, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98), All-Star (‘93, ‘98), HR King (‘92, ‘93), RBI Leader (‘98)
Juan was the MVP in 1996 and 1998 as a Ranger, was a Silver Slugger in 1992, ’93, ’96, ’97, and ’98, as well as an All-Star in 1993 and ’98, the Home Run King in ’92 and ’93 and the RBI Leader in ’98. He also set the record for the biggest head in franchise history in 1999 when he decided not to be in the All-Star game because he wasn’t starting in the game. He does have the 4th most hits in Rangers history with 1595 and had a .293 average with the Rangers, along with 372 home runs, 1180 RBI’s, and the highest slugging percentage in team history.

1. Ivan Rodriguez: 5754 AB, .305 AVG, 217 HR, 842 RBI, 1,747 career Rangers hits (Ranger record), 866 R (3rd), .489 SLG, 352 2B (most), 2806 TB (3rd), 28 3B (3rd), MVP (‘99), Silver Slugger (‘94-‘99), Gold Glove (‘92-‘01), All-Star (‘92-‘01)
Pudge, in my opinion, is the best Ranger of All Time. He has a .305 Rangers career batting average, the most hits in franchise history, the most doubles in Rangers history, along with 217 home runs, 842 home runs and 866 runs. He was the American League MVP in 1999, a Silver Slugger in 1994 through 1999, a Gold Glove winner from ’92-’01, tying Johnny Bench for the most consecutive Gold Gloves won at the catcher position, and if you tie Johnny Bench at anything, you’re doing pretty good. He was also an All-Star from ’92-’01. He is so deserving of this spot, and should make it into the MLB Hall of Fame as a Ranger soon.

Come back next week for a comparison of the Rangers’ roster to the Angels.

#6-10 Rangers All-Time List

This week I am beginning voting for the third annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award on the poll (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so please vote to make it more meaningful. Last year Eric Nadel won the award and in 2007 Victor Rojas won the award.

This week I will continue my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List, with numbers 6-10.

10. Fergie Jenkins: Hall of Fame, Rangers Hall of Fame, 90 CG (2nd), 93 W, 17 shut-outs (most), 1410.1 IP, 895 K, 3.56 ERA, .564 W%, 25-Game Winner (‘74), T-Win Leader
(74)
Fergie is a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, and is only one of three people in the Hall of Fame who played significant time with the Rangers. He was tied for the MLB leader in wins in 1974 with 25 wins, and had 93 wins total in his Rangers career. He also had the most shut-outs in Rangers history, and the second most complete games. He had a 3.56 ERA and 895 strikeouts in 1410.1 innings pitched as a Ranger, and had a .564 winning percentage, too.

9. Ruben Sierra: 4580 AB, .279 AVG, 180 HR, 742 RBI, 3 100-RBI seasons with the Rangers, 1 200-hit season with Rangers (‘91), 2 .300 batting average seasons with Rangers, 325 consecutive games played, 90 SB, 645 R, 1281 H (5th), 44 3B (most), Silver Slugger (‘89), All-Star (‘89, ‘91, ‘92), RBI Leader (‘89)
Ruben, even though he played for the Yankees, is in the top ten all-time Rangers list, in my opinion. He only had a .279 average as a Ranger, but had three 100-RBI seasons, one 200-hit season, two .300-batting average seasons, and played in 325 consecutive games. He had 180 home runs and 742 RBI’s in his Rangers career and led the league in RBI’s in 1989. He was an All-Star in ’89, as well as in 1991 and 1992, and was a Silver Slugger in 1989, also. He was also my granddad’s favorite player when he played.

8. Alex Rodriguez: 482 consecutive games, MVP (‘03), best Rangers career slugging percentage, 156 HR, .305 AVG, 1863 AB, Hank Aaron Award (‘01-‘03), Silver Slugger (‘01-‘03), Gold Glove (‘02, ‘03), All-Star (‘01-‘03), 200 Hits (‘01), HR King (‘01-‘03), RBI Leader (‘02)
This list doesn’t take into account steroids (or saying you only took steroids as a Ranger and making the Rangers look bad), waste-of-money years where the Rangers paid a player’s salary after he left the team, or how nice the players are, because, if it did, he would be way down this list. But, as it is, he is number eight. He was the American League MVP in 2003, along with Silver Sluggers in ’01-03, Gold Gloves in ’02 and ’03, Hank Aaron Awards in ’01-03, All-Star in ’01-03, 200-hits in ’01, being the home run king in ’01-03, and being the RBI leader in ’02. That’s a lot of awards and is amazing for just a three year span with the Rangers. He had 156 home runs as a Ranger and hit .305 in his 1863 at-bats. That’s about as good as you can get in a three-year span in Major League Baseball.

7. Kenny Rogers: 528 G (most), 133 W (2nd), 1909 IP (2nd), 1201 K (3rd), .581 W% (2nd, min. 400 IP), Gold Glove (‘00, ‘02, ‘04, ‘05), All-Star (‘95, ‘04, ‘05),
Kenny pitched the most career games as a Ranger in Rangers history, and is also 2nd in wins, 2nd in innings pitched, 3rd in strikeouts and 2nd in win percentage. He also won Gold Gloves in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005, and was an All-Star in 1995, 2004, and 2005. Hated by cameramen, he made it all the way up to #7 on my All-Time Rangers List.

6. Charlie Hough: Rangers Hall of Fame, 130 W (most wins in Rangers history (career)), 1452 K (most strikeouts in Rangers history), 344 G, 98 CG (most), 11 shut-outs (t-3rd), 2308 IP (most), 3.68 ERA, All-Star (‘86),
Charlie Hough is another member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, and deservingly so, as he has the most wins, strikeouts, complete games, and innings pitched ever as a Ranger. He also had a very good ERA at 3.68 career as a Ranger, and was tied for the third-most shut-outs ever, as well as pitching in 344 games, and making the 1986 All-Star Game.

Come back next week for #1-5 of my All-Time Rangers List.

All-Time Rangers #11-15

I had a great Christmas over the break and hope you all did, too. We stayed in town and celebrated with my family. My sister, dad, and I went out to look at a lot of Christmas lights during the break, and I wish the Christmas season didn’t go by so quickly.

This week I will continue my Top 50 Rangers All-Time List, with numbers 11-15.

15. Mike Hargrove: .399 career Rangers OBP (best all-time Rangers, min. 3000 PA), .293 AVG, ROY (‘74), All-Star (‘75)
Mike has the highest on-base percentage all-time in Rangers history, along with a .293 batting average in his Rangers career. He is the only Rangers player ever to win the American League Rookie of the Year (even though Elvis should have won it this year), and Mike was an All-Star in 1975 with the Rangers. He also helped us out when he was the coach of the Mariners, as he was just 192-210 in his stint with the Mariners. He was not a big power hitter, as he had just 47 home runs and 295 RBI’s during his stint as a Ranger.

14. John Wetteland: Rangers Hall of Fame, 150 saves (most), All-Star (‘98, ‘99)
John has the most saves in Rangers history with 150 in just 4 seasons, an average of 37.5 saves per year, and was an All-Star in both 1998 and 1999. He was a Ranger for two of the three years the franchise has made the playoffs. He is a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, and is just a great guy. He had an ERA of 2.95 in his Rangers career. In his four years as a Ranger he was ranked 4th, 2nd, 2nd, and 5th in that order in the American League in saves.

13. Rusty Greer: Rangers Hall of Fame, 3829 AB, .305 AVG, 119 HR, 614 RBI, 643 R, .387 OBP (2nd, min. 3000 PA)
Rusty Greer had 3,829 at-bats with a .305 average and .387 OBP (2nd in Rangers history) in those at-bats. He also had 119 home runs and 614 RBI’s, along with 643 runs in his career. He was a Ranger his whole career. But even though he hit well, his defense was the best part of his game, as he went hard after every ball, made many diving catches. He even ended up ending his career due to an injury sustained while making an incredible diving catch in a game that I was at. He was a fun to player to watch and played the game the right way.

12. Al Oliver: 163 games played in one season, .319 career Rangers batting average (highest all-time), 337 RBI, 49 HR, Silver Slugger (‘80, ‘81), All-Star (‘80, ‘81), 200 Hits (‘80),
Al Oliver has the highest career batting average as a Ranger in history at .319, along with All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger Awards in 1980 and 1981, and had 200 hits in 1980. He hit 49 home runs and had 337 RBI’s as a Ranger and once even played 163 games in a season during his four-year stint with the Rangers. His lowest batting average with the Rangers in a season was .309 and his highest in a season was .324.

11. Gaylord Perry: Hall of Famer, 55 CG (3rd), 12 shutouts (2nd), 575 K, 3.26 ERA (2nd, min. 400 IP),
Gaylord is an MLB Hall of Famer, one of only three Hall of Famers who spent a considerable amount of time with the Rangers. He had the 3rd most complete games in Rangers history with 55, the second most shut-outs with 12, and the 2nd lowest ERA with a minimum of 400 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.26, and he also has 575 strikeouts.

Come back next week for #6-10 on my All-Time Rangers List.

All-Time Rangers #16-20

This week I will continue my Top 50 Rangers All-Time List, with numbers 16-20. My last entry in this series was on November 1st.

20. Mark Teixeira: 153 HR, 499 RBI, 426 R, .533 SLG (2nd, min. 3000 plate appearances), Silver Slugger (‘04), Gold Glove (‘05, ‘06), All-Star (‘05)
Mark is 7th all-time in Rangers history in home runs and 11th in both RBI’s and runs. But his best stat as a Ranger is his .533 slugging percentage, which is second in Rangers history behind only Juan Gonzalez. Mark also won a Silver Slugger Award in 2004, won Gold Glove Awards in both 2005 and 2006, and was an All-Star in 2005 with the Rangers. Even though he did not leave very well, his stats make him the 20th best Ranger of All-Time. Of course, Mark’s greatest contribution as a Ranger may be what we got in return for him from Atlanta.

19. Buddy Bell: Rangers Hall of Fame, 3623 AB, .293 AVG, 87 HR, 499 RBI, 471 R, Silver Slugger (‘84), Gold Glove (‘79-‘84), All-Star (‘80-‘82, ‘84), 200 Hit (‘79)
Buddy Bell is 9th all-time in batting average (with at least 1500 at-bats) with a .293 batting average, and he is also 17th in home runs and tied with Mark Teixeira for 11th in RBI’s. He is 9th all-time in Rangers history in at-bats, and also won one Silver Slugger, six Gold Gloves, was an All-Star four years, and got 200 hits in one season as a Ranger.

18. Julio Franco: 98 SB, .307 AVG (3rd), 55 HR, 331 RBI, All-Star MVP (‘90), Silver Slugger (‘89-‘91), All-Star (‘89-‘91), 200 Hits (‘91), Batting Title (‘91)
Julio won a batting title as a Ranger in 1991 with a .341 batting average, and also made the All-Star game that year. He also played in the All-Star game in ‘89 and ’90 and won a Silver Slugger in all three of those All-Star years. He was the All-Star MVP in 1990 and had 200 hits in 1991. His .307 career Rangers average is 3rd All-Time, and his 98 stolen bases place 5th in Rangers history.

17. Toby Harrah: Rangers Hall of Fame, 122 HR, 143 SB (2nd), 4188 AB, 546 RBI, 582 R, 668 BB (2nd), All-Star (‘75, ‘76)
Toby was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame this year, as he had the second most stolen bases and walks in franchise history, the 11th most home runs in Rangers history, the 7th most RBI’s and runs, and the 7th most at-bats, as well as two All-Star appearances. That gets him up to #17, but he needs better than a .257 career average to go any further.

16. Jim Sundberg: Rangers Hall of Fame, 4684 AB, 482 R, 544 BB (3rd), 480 RBI, 60 HR, Gold Glove (‘76-‘81), All-Star (‘74, ‘78)
Jim is also a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, and he definitely deserves it, even though he hit just .252 as a Ranger. He is 5th All-Time in at-bats (1st when he retired), 9th all-time in runs (2nd when he retired), 3rd in walks with 544 (2nd when he retired), 13th in RBI’s (4th when he retired), and he also won six Gold Gloves as a Ranger, and made it to two All-Star games.

Come back next week for #11-15 on my All-Time Rangers List.

Newberg Bound Edition Release Party

On Thursday night Jamey Newberg held his annual Newberg Report Bound Edition Release Party. It started at six and ended at ten, and it was very nice of the players to stick around since it was supposed to end at nine. It was a blast. It was held at Sherlock’s Pub & Grill in Arlington, the same place as last year. The crowd was the biggest yet, at about 600 people, and the players signing autographs were Scott Feldman, Tommy Hunter, Chris Davis, Derek Holland, Ian Kinsler, and Rusty Greer. They signed autographs and did a Q&A session. They were all incredibly nice and I would like to thank them for being there.

My dad and I got there at 5pm and it was a good thing we did because the people who got there at 6pm waited in line for over two hours to get their autographs. We’ve been going to this event for six years and it’s gotten bigger each year.

After eating dinner and getting autographs, my dad and I sat and talked with Ted Price, who does the great Rangers Podcasts at http://rangerspodcast.blogspot.com/, for a couple of hours while waiting for the autograph line to die down and the Q&A session to start. That was a lot of fun. TR Sullivan also came and sat with us for a while, so we got to talk with him too, which is always great. Eleanor Czajka and her mom were selling the books at the party, and Eleanor joined us at our table for a while too. Eleanor is one of my friends and I always enjoy seeing her (and reading her blog at http://emcmlb.blogspot.com/). I also got to talk with Jamey some while I was getting the autographs. Devin Pike was there too. He started a new website at http://www.redcarpetcrash.com/. Devin helped run the Q&A session and made all the announcements. Scott Lucas also sat with us at our table for a little while and so did Grant Smith, who does sports art (see http://www.grant9smith.com/), and I enjoyed talking to them. All of these people are very nice and it’s always fun to see them at the Newberg events.

Jamey’s book is terrific as always. The forewords this year are by Peter Gammons and Kevin Goldstein. Jamey included his prospect rankings (top 72, plus breakdowns of the players in each position that are on those lists), his breakdown of 2009, what to look forward to in 2010, his 20 players who could break out in 2010, all his reports for the season, the final 2009 statistics, the 2009 draft, and his awards for the 2009 season. And his kids, Erica and Max, did a great job writing the ‘About My Dad’ section again. It is well worth the $25.

The autograph session started at about 6:00 and went until around 9:40. After that, there was a 20-minute Q&A session with Ian Kinsler, Chris Davis, Derek Holland, and Tommy Hunter (Scott Feldman and Rusty Greer had to leave before the Q&A session). Each of the players gave very good answers, and were very nice to stay late to do the session. Below is a recap of the session.

The Marines collected toys for the Toys for Tots charity at the event. Ian Kinsler is the spokesperson of the Rangers’ Toys for Tots drive this year and kicked off the Q&A with a few words about the charity and the importance of helping kids have a good Christmas.

Jamey let me ask the first question of the Q&A.

Me: This question is for Chris. When you tied the California League record hitting streak of 35 games in 2007, were you happy with the tie or were you frustrated that you didn’t break the record?

Chris: To be honest with you, I was really surprised that I tied the record. I mean 35 games is a long time. There was actually one game where I hit the ball in the six-hole and, I mean when you look at me the first thing you think of is not speed, but on this particular day I dove into first base and beat it out to make it 28 games and I was like ‘I’m happy, I don’t even care what happens now’. I was happy to get 35 games and, you know what, I think someone demolished (the record) this year.

Q: How good were you guys in youth baseball (10-14 years old)?

Ian: I was OK. I was good. I was a skinny, small scrawny kid that played shortstop. I wasn’t anything special really. I tried to pitch and got lit up. I stuck at shortstop. At 13 years old, my dad made me choose between being a position player or a pitcher. I decided to be a position player.

Chris: I was awesome.

Derek: I was not awesome. I was the kid in the outfield picking flowers.

Tommy: I was the catcher.

Q: This question is for Derek Holland. When the Rangers play in the World Series in 2010, do you think you can pitch a shut-out?

Derek: (Laughing) I really don’t just think, I know that I can do that.

Q: Do you guys feel more excitement around this off-season compared to last off-season?

Chris: Yes, I do think we have what it takes.

(Ian says something to Chris that we couldn’t hear.)

Chris: You know, it’s really sad when I’m the most educated person up here. I am from East Texas and 2nd grade was very good to me. To answer your question, yes we are very excited about this season. For the last few years, we’ve been saying that it’s a good time to be a Rangers fan, but 2010 is really the season we’ve been setting up for. I don’t want to put any pressure on anybody out here but we look to make a good run on it this year,

Ian: Every year you go to spring training thinking you’re going to win the World Series. Every team does. With that being said, I’m going into my 5th year and this is the most excited I’ve been going into spring training. This is really the year I think we’re going to gel.

Q: This is for Chris. I hear you’ve been working with Clint Hurdle. Can you compare him to Rudy?

Chris: Rudy’s great and Clint is a really good dude. It’s kind of hard to form my opinion yet, because I haven’t spent much time with Clint. As far is Rudy’s concerned, I love Rudy to death. I’m going to miss him. He’s seriously one of the best in the business. Clint’s different in how he approaches the job. He’s a lot more motivational. He’s a very positive person and I think he’s going to be good for our young hitters. I think we’re really excited about working with him.

Q: What did you think about the Mariners picking up Cliff Lee and having to face that one-two punch of him and Felix Hernandez? What team are you most worried about in the AL West?

Ian: We don’t really concern ourselves with that. We as an offense have to produce runs somehow. There really isn’t extra thought that goes into it. When you’re in the big leagues, it’s very difficult to win, no matter who you’re facing. Obviously the Angels are the team to beat in the West because they won it last year.

Chris: I think the AL West is one of the strongest divisions, just as far as pitching is concerned. I know the Yankees have a lot of great pitchers, but the West is very competitive every year because we have teams with great offense and pitching. It’s not just one or the other. The Rangers have been known as an offensive team for a long time but last year we were probably better known for our pitching. But I think as far as next year is concerned, the Mariners have made a lot of moves in the offseason and are going to challenge in the AL West. From our standpoint, our plan as a hitter just needs to be to go out there and execute to the best of our ability.

Q: I have a question for Derek and Tommy. What’s a good age to learn how to throw a curve ball?

Tommy: Fastballs and change-ups is what we threw when we were younger. You don’t need to worry about curveballs until you’re older.

Derek: (Joking) If you’re left-handed, never throw one. All fastballs, down and away.

Jamey: I asked these guys about a month ago if they could do this and they all said ‘What time to you want me there?’ They do this for you guys. They asked what kind of time I needed from them and I said 6-9pm. Well, it’s 10pm now and four of these guys are still here. I want to thank them again for sharing their time with us.

I would like to thank Jamey for hosting this great event.

Come back next week for numbers 16-20 on my all-time Rangers list.

Rangers Moves

This week the Rangers made many moves. The first was a trade with the Tigers in which they traded a player to be named later or cash considerations to Detroit for left-handed-reliever Clay Rapada. They then traded Kevin Millwood and $3 million dollars to Baltimore for Chris Ray and a Rule-5 draft pick that ended up being Ben Snyder. They then signed Rich Harden. Last, they seem to be on the verge of trading Max Ramirez to the Red Sox for Mike Lowell and $9 million. I will cover all of these, even the Ramirez/Lowell one, which isn’t a done deal.

Trade Evaluation (PTBNL or CC for Clay Rapada): Clay is 28 years old and is on the 40-man roster. He has only pitched 27.1 major league innings, and has a 4.94 ERA in those innings. He was 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA with AAA Toledo last year in 45.2 innings. In 2008 with Toledo, he had a 2.31 ERA in 35 innings pitched. This seems like a good trade to me, since we are giving up very little (and possibly nothing but cash) for a good left-handed pitcher. This is such a low-risk trade, there’s almost no way it could end up bad, but could end up very well.
Grade: A

Trade Evaluation (Millwood for Ray and Snyder): Chris Ray was dominant three years ago, as he had a 2.73 ERA with 33 saves and 51 strikeouts in 66 innings. Then in 2008, he had a 4.43 ERA along with 16 saves in 42.2 innings before getting injured and having to go through Tommy John surgery. When he came back from the surgery last year he had a 7.27 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. But it’s normal for players to struggle in their first year back after Tommy John surgery. If he can come back from the surgery to his ’07 form, this could end up being a great trade, since we used the freed-up money to get Rich Harden, but it is also a risky one, because if he can’t come back from his surgery and pitch well, then we basically gave up Millwood for Rule-5 pick Ben Snyder. Ben Snyder, being a Rule-5 draft pick, has to stay on the major league team the whole season, or else he will return to his former team (the Giants). He has never pitched in the majors before, but with AA Richmond last year, he had a 2.88 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 97 innings pitched. He can also be a spot starter, as he started five games for Richmond. But we had to give up a lot, as Millwood went 13-10 last year for the Rangers, with a 3.67 ERA in 198.2 innings pitched. That was after having an ERA over five each of the two seasons before that. The Rangers did a good job with the money from trading Millwood, by signing Harden, and hopefully trading for Lowell, but I wish that they had gotten more for Millwood, and that they didn’t have to act like a small-market team by trading away money to make other moves. All in all, I think this trade was just okay.
Grade: B-

Free Agent Signing (Rich Harden): Rich had a solid year last year, going 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA for the Cubs in 141 innings pitched. That was after having a 10-2 record with a 2.07 ERA between Oakland and Chicago in 2008 in 148 innings. He is very injury-prone, as he has not thrown 150 innings in a year since 2004, but when he does pitch, he can be dominant. This is a very good signing, if he can stay healthy, as he could put us over the top and deep into the playoffs.
Grade: A+

Trade Evaluation (Ramirez for Lowell): If it goes through, this is a great trade, as Max Ramirez’ stock seemed to be dropping, and he didn’t seem to fit into the Rangers plans for the future anymore. He only hit .234 with 5 home runs and 43 RBI’s in AAA Oklahoma City in an injury-plagued 2009, and really seemed to fall out of the plans. Mike Lowell will be a great addition to the Rangers, if he can stay healthy, as he has problems with his hip. He hit .290 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI’s in 2009 with Boston, with almost identical stats in 2008, after having a career year in 2007, hitting .324 with 21 home runs and 120 RBI’s. Lowell can play third, first, and he can DH. It is not clear whether he will start or be a utility man yet next year, but either way this is a great trade.
Grade: A+

Come back next week for a summary of the Newberg Bound Edition Release Party.

Free Agent Outfielders

This week I analyzed the top free agent outfielders on the market, and I determined which teams might be the best fits for them.

OF Garret Anderson – Garrett had a down year last year, as he had the lowest batting average of his career, the least amount of RBI’s in his career, and had less than 15 home runs for the first time since 2004 (his lowest total since 1997). He hit .268 with 13 HR’s and 61 RBI’s. But he still qualified as a Type B free agent. The Braves could use him, but don’t necessarily need him.
Good fits – Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants

OF Marlon Byrd – Byrd had a career year last year, leading the Rangers in RBI’s with 89 RBI’s. He also had a .283 average with 20 home runs. He qualifies as a Type B free agent. The Rangers could really use him back and offered him arbitration, but with Tom Hicks’ money situation, it doesn’t look like he will be coming back to Texas.
Good fits – Rangers, White Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, Cardinals, Giants

OF Jason Bay – Jason qualifies as a Type A free agent, and had a great year last year. He was an All-Star, as he hit .267 with a .384 OBP, 36 HR’s, and 119 RBI’s. The Red Sox need Jason and will be willing to offer him a lot of money to stay in Boston after the way he has played for them in the past one and a half years (after being traded from Pittsburgh).
Good fits – Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Cubs

OF Johnny Damon – Johnny also qualifies as a Type A free agent, as he hit .282 with a .365 OBP, 24 HR’s, and 82 RBI’s last year for the Yankees. Johnny is asking for a three to four year contract from the Yankees, but the Yanks are only willing to go up to two years at this point. But there is still a good chance he will stay with the Yankees.
Good fits – Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs

OF Jermaine Dye – Jermaine is a Type A free agent, but he will be asking for more money than most will be willing to give him, as he is old, at age 36, and he hit just .250 last year with 27 HR’s and 81 RBI’s, which would explain why the White Sox declined his option. He definitely will not go back to Chicago.
Good fits – Yankees, Cardinals, Cubs

OF Matt Holliday – Matt is the best outfielder, if not the best player, in free agency this offseason, so he obviously qualifies as a Type A free agent. He hit .286 with 11 HR’s and 54 RBI’s for the A’s last year, and hit .353 with 13 HR’s and 55 RBI’s for the Cardinals. He will probably want to go to a hitter’s ballpark since he had so much success in St. Louis last year. The Cardinals probably will not resign him since Albert Pujols will be a free agent next year, but there is still a chance the Holliday will stay a Cardinal.
Good fits – Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs

Come back next week for #16-20 on my All-Time Rangers List.