Danks and Masset headed for the Windy City

Written by Dan in Texas

In a shocking trade today the Texas Rangers sent number one pitching prospect John Danks, highly thought of reliever Nick Masset and Jacob Rasner in exchange for Brandon McCarthy a 23 year old left-handed starter and David Paisano.

Lets not dwell on Danks potential and just take a look at the highly touted Brandon McCarthy.

Here is the scouting report on McCarthy:

Assets: Mixes a two-seamer and a four-seamer in the low-90s with a strong curveball to garner more strikeouts you'd expect from that kind of stuff. Also boasts terrific command.

Flaws: Leaves the ball up a little too often to right-handed hitters and watches the ball fly out of the park. Needs to improve his change-up.

Career potential: Solid mid-rotation starter.

For you stat-heads out there here are his 2006 big league numbers. He threw 84.2 innings for the White Sox year, starting two games and ended up with a 4.68 ERA striking out 69. He gave up 33 walks and 77 hits over those 84.2 innings (1.30 WHIP). His 2006 overall record was 4-7.

Doesn’t exactly knock your socks off, does it?

I have seen McCarthy compared to Jack McDowell and Barry Zito.

One might also think that the Rangers either are not serious about signing Barry Zito or they don’t feel confident that they can sign him. One could argue that the Rangers do feel confident they will land Zito; though the organization would not likely trade their number one prospect after touting him as the future of the organization in order to gain leverage over Scott Boras.

McCarthy figures to join the rotation immediately behind Padilla as either the third or fourth starter. The 6 foot 7 McCarthy was highly thought of in the White Sox organization, so much so that it was rumored that he was the sticking point in a trade for Alfonso Soriano mid season.

Though, if one puts stock in scouting reports, a pitcher who is susceptible to giving up long fly ball to right-handed hitters does not bode well for the Ballpark.

As far as David Paisano, a likely throw in, he is an outfielder that should be years away from big league service. T.R. Sullivan reports:

Paisano, 18, appeared in 52 games for the White Sox's Venezuelan Summer League team in 2006 and batted .338 with no home runs and 17 RBIs. A native of Venezuela, he played with Chicago's Dominican Summer League club in 2005 and hit .272 with three home runs and eight RBI in 49 games.

Bottom line, this isn’t a great trade nor an awful trade at this point in time. It should be clear to all Ranger fans, this trade has “come back to bite us in the ass” written all over it.

On a different subject, I have felt that Daniels taking over the General Manger position and dictating the direction of the club would be a positive thing. Tom Hicks keeping his hands off the organization and limiting his duties to press conferences and signing checks could only help the Rangers.

Unfortunately, it looks like Tom Hicks has taken over the negotiations with Barry Zito and his agent Scott Boras. The New York Post’s Michael Morrissey wrote earlier this week:

…a source told The Post yesterday that Rangers owner Tom Hicks is helming the charge to sign Zito in no uncertain terms.

Earlier this month, the source said, Hicks walked into a meeting and told his front-office people something to the effect of, "I'm taking over this negotiation now."

Let’s face it Ranger fans, regardless if the Rangers sign Zito or he goes elsewhere, the man who outbid himself to sign Alex Rodriquez to a $252 million dollar contract and gave Chan Ho Park a $65 million dollar deal should not come anywhere near a player negotiation for his club’s own good.

Winter Malaise, Cowboy Fear

By Dan in Texas


Well here we are, Ranger fans. Marlon Byrd, Vicente Padilla, Kenny Lofton, Eric Gagne and Frank Catalanotto. Are all going to be on the roster come April.


Is Barry Zito going to be there too? That shoe hasn’t dropped just yet and Rangers fans shouldn’t hold their breath, he may not sign until January. Time will tell, but for now I don’t have the patience to think about Scott Boras’s motives.


Here’s what’s exciting in Arlington: The Outfield. Now let me say, Vernon Wells talk would have been better, but I really don’t see him walking away from a reported 126 million dollar seven year contract extension. It was a wise preemptive move on the part of the Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. Wells had stated publicly his interest to speak with the Ranger brass about returning to his home town of Arlington. Looks like that’s out the window barring some major change of thinking out of the Great White North. Take off, eh!


(Sigh) Why is the Rangers Centerfielder situation exciting? What’s the big deal about Kenny Lofton and his one year, six million dollar contract? The Rangers will likely head to Arizona with Kenny Lofton as the teams starting centerfielder. Nelson Cruz will be challenged to win that role in Surprise, Arizona. If the kid put’s up offensive and defensive performances as good or better than Lofton, he will be the Rangers centerfielder. I really feel Cruz could be one of the elites in the game in three years. If he can’t, next year the Rangers go centerfielder shopping; unfortunately Vernon Wells will be locked up until 2014.


The acquisition of Eric Gagne via free agency is promising; should Gagne recover from injury and return to past forms, the Rangers have an elite closer at a bargain price and a top notch set up man in Akinori Otsuka. If Gagne is through, Otsuka is a capable closer and the Rangers took a flyer on something that didn’t work out. That deal makes sense; one year at six million is very good for a pitcher with Gagne’s potential.


Not to get off the subject of baseball but if you haven’t seen the artist’s rendering of the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium (the Cowboys apparently really want you to know that it will hold a capacity of 80,000). I drove by the area the other day and the cranes are already up. I really don’t know if this will be good for Arlington. Sure it will get rid of the 12 pawn shops, 45 nail salons and that bar I thought was a salsa bar and almost got killed in. But what will take it’s place? The Rangers never really attracted the same type of crowd as the Cowboys. Are we going to see businesses set up to cater to the cocaine and boob job crowd who attend Cowboy’s games to be seen rather than watch the Cowboys? As always, in the DFW sports world the Cowboys occupy the stratosphere and the Rangers pick up the bread crumbs. Will the Rangers be relegated to their own little corner as Jerry Jones tries to push them into Six Flags? Will Jerry Jones make good on the promises issued when the Ballpark was built? Its 12 years after the place opened and the shops and restaurants surrounding the park are yet to be built.


My hope is the Cowboys and Rangers coexist as neighbors peacefully as neighbors; both reaping the benefits of mutual success, with each others success bolstering its counterpart.


My fear: the Cowboys culture dominates the Arlington area and as usual the Rangers are reduced to second, third and sometimes even fourth fiddle in their home town. The Rangers get the Sunday day game in 105 degree August weather while trying to win the West to make way for the Cowboy Sunday night game watching parties planned for the Cowboys’ second meeting with the Giants in East Rutherford.


In my vision, though it’s my fear, Kevin Millwood throws a no-hitter blanking the A’s through 9 as does Oakland and with two out, Nelson Cruz crushes a walkoff homerun off homerun to secure the West and provide the Rangers with homefield through out the playoffs. The Rangers mob Cruz at the plate. The celebration would be explosive if it wasn’t played before a sweaty crowd of 10,000 spectators, who stand to appaud, though with reservation as they think of the traffic jam the drive home will be as most roads have been changed to facilitate easy access for Cowboy fans.


Oh an mean while, the Cowboys lose 42 – 0 to the Giants before a record low crowd as most in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area are at home glued to the screen watching the Mets clinch the NL East. (It’s comforting, though still my nightmare)


Let's just hope the Rangers win a Championship long before the Cowboys win thier next one.


If you are one of the five readers this week that mistakenly stumbles on to this site durring a fruitless search for midget porn, Britney Upskirts or video of a guy eating Mentos and drinking Diet Pepsi, feel free to share your views on the stadium situation.

And if you are a Cowboys fan, read this, it's funny...

Day one of the Winter Meetings

By Dan in Texas

MLB Radio is reporting the Rangers have come to terms with Vicente Padilla at 34 million for 3 years. I'm sure this will prevent them for going crazy after Zito

From MLB.com:

Zito is the Rangers' No. 1 target as they try to satisfy their off-season goal of adding two veteran starting pitchers.

The Rangers are also looking for a center fielder, and sources said Texas has made inquiries about Toronto 's Vernon Wells, who is from Arlington and can be a free agent after next season.

The question is, can they make such a trade without giving up shortstop Michael Young? Toronto wants a shortstop, but Daniels seems opposed to giving up any major pieces of his team in a blockbuster trade.

"I don't anticipate that," Daniels said this week. –From MLB.com

I think T.R. Sullivan needs his head examined. Why would the Rangers trade Young for a guy with one year left on his contract? They could wait a year and have both players for 2008. Just because Wells is from Arlington doesn’t make the Rangers or Daniels crazy.

Speaking of Zito, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reported earlier today the Rangers have put an offer of 6 years at 102 million dollars. Great start, but I see this number going higher. Now that Padilla is resigned, it's hard to tell if it was only a negotiating tool to get Padilla to the table. We'll see...

Piazza is still out there and the Rangers need a bat to protect Texieria in the order. Big Tex's homerun numbers have fallen, likely due to a shortened swing. Piazza would give Tex more pitches to drive. Stay tuned...

Something big should break tomorrow, there is a buzz that a blockbuster will break sometime on Tuesday.

God, I am ALREADY sick of Manny trade talk in its 4th straight year. Ugh

This just in, MLB radio is reporting the Padres are close to completing a deal with Greg Maddox

jeez.....

wow, you gotta read this! what an article.

Smudgegate?! this guy is a tool. He personally blasts Rogers and Leyland for no other reason than he is a bitter ass. It is somewhat evident that this guy is a homer for LaRussa and the Cards and just pissed off that they lost. How the hell can you say that Rogers does not have a history of putting scoreless streaks together when the guy has a PERFECT GAME....?

Hey look, Rogers may be shady, maybe even a moral trash can...but this tool Jim Litke for the AP in my mind is much worse. Sorry about the Cardinals Jim, this one's for you:

Ranger's management at it's finest....

this just in....Ranger's front office has just indicated that they will not pursue ANY big name former managers.....the quote from FOX SPORTS is this:

"The club will not pursue Lou Piniella or another "big-name" former manager. The club also checked in with former Minnesota manager Tom Kelly, but he declined to interview."

This tells me two things and it is what agitates me as a fan....The Texas Ranger's front office is SO BAD that any manager with half a sack, won't even consider Arlington even in the short term AND the front office (Hicks with a Daniels puppet) won't even consider someone with any MLB experience should they even find such a person.

ya know....for many years Doug Melvin and his totally ridiculous trades and waffling about represented all that was wrong with the Rangers in my mind. Now, after further investigation, I am realizing the problem may not have been at all with his inability to GM his way out of the bathroom. In fact, the only problem with him and his successors, is their inability to say no to an ineffective and greedy owner. Hicks, I hope that this somehow finds you....please leave. You need to take your suitcases full of cash and get the hell out of Arlington. Sell this team to an owner that gives a damn or at least make an attempt to win.

The Off-Season Preview

Posted By Dan in Texas

Those of you who haven’t all but abandon Ranger baseball in its current form, here is a list of the free agents for 2007 from the American League West.

## Denotes a club option


Texas
Barajas, Rod
De Rosa, Mark
Eaton, Adam
Hairston Jr, Jerry
Lee, Carlos
Matthews Jr., Gary
Padilla, Vicente
Wells, Kip
Young, Eric


Oakland
Payton, Jason L.
Sauerbeck, Scott W.
Thomas, Frank
Zito, Barry


Seattle
Meche, Gil
Perez, Eduardo A. ##


Los Angeles Angels
Erstad, Darin
Kennedy, Adam
Romero, J.C.
Salmon, Tim


If you really want to depress yourself Adam Rubin has a list for the entire league here.


After you take a look at either the West or the entire league and see all the players the Rangers don’t plan on getting off their rears to pursue- let alone sign lets pretend a real owner runs the club and the Rangers will actually be a player in the 2006 off season.


Kiss ‘em goodbye


Mark Eaton- Mark isn’t staying. He didn’t want to come to Arlington to begin with and I wouldn’t doubt he benefited from his injury as it clouds his true value. Pitching will be in demand this off-season (it’s kind of like predicting the post office will be busy on April 15th) so the Rangers would end up overpaying him to stay in Texas.


Carlos Lee- Gone with the wind. If Lee hasn’t packed his bags yet he may just Cowboy football. Lee hired Scott Boras to represent him during his contract season. We all know Boras doesn’t give hometown discounts, let alone discounts for teams that picked up free agents to be. The Mets may be interested depending on Floyd’s health and Lastings Milledge’s maturation. The Angel’s are hurting for offense and would love to put Lee on the same lineup card with Vlad. If Peter Angelos doesn’t sell he may try to mend some fences in Baltimore. The Cubs are as stupid with money as the Orioles. And who knows what Georgie S. in the Bronx. It should be obvious to Cashman that the Yankees problems are with the pitching staff but never count on Steinbrenner to let logic get in the way of running his ball club.


Pony up some dough and we’ll talk


Gary Mathews Jr.- 2006 was a career year for GMJ. He had an top defensive play in all of the Majors along with an All-Star appearance and finished strong with a .313 average .371 OBP and slugged .495. GMJ will cost more than he ever has at his career and likely more than he is worth. Mathew’s had as good if not better a year than last year’s batting champion Michael Young. If GMJ likes the confidence his manager placed in him by starting him in Center he may stay. Oh wait- sorry nevermind. The Rangers should have had an idea what Mathews would fetch on the free agent market and dealt GMJ at the deadline in return for some prospects.


Mark DeRosa- DeRosa like Mathews had a break out year after spending his major league career riding the pine in Atlanta. DeRosa (.357/.456/.296 OBP/SLG/AVG) is valuable to any team with his versatility in the field. DeRosa is used to playing in the first round of the playoffs at least and may be eager to move to a team with playoff aspirations. Like Mathews, DeRosa will cost more than ever and likely more than he is worth his off-season.


Vincente Padilla- Padilla was at times the best arm in the starting rotation. Pitching as always is valuable on the free agent market. Padilla is something of a wildcard in regard to his mental state. Who knows what this guy brings.

Likely free agent Acquisitions


I can’t go on, it’s too depressing. Who am I kidding? No one in their right mind is coming.


Barajas, Hairston and Young will likely stick around with deals slightly above the minimum. With what will likely be a vanilla manager selection (looks like the front runner will be Buck’s Bench coach), Texas wont be at the top of any one’s destination of choice list even if Tom Hicks wasn’t a cheap skate owner.


Get your season tickets and mini plans while they are hot, the line forms to the left.

Buck is out....Season is over...Players are pissed...

Holy crap.

The Ranger's number one yes-man is gone. What a fine way of doing so....leave it to Hicks to try and weasel out of paying for the only manager in recent history to catagorically accept every front office decision ever sent to him. This will do wonders for getting the big name manager in Arlington to skipper the way to the post season.

Overall, the decision to can Buck was a good one I believe. Showalter was a good disciplinarian siting the issues with temper tantrums from people like Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano and more... but there can be no excuses made for some of the bone headed decisions made by Buck.

Well.....left to languish in a post season hell with of all teams to watch the Yankees.....

Could there be any news\sports reporting organization that is not prepared to immediately fall to their knees and without hesitation, sloppily service Derek Jeter and company? I will leave it at this... I am sick of how effective the Yankees consistantly perform. I am jealous. There is no player that would not(or hasn't) jump(ed) at the chance to be a part of this organization. There are too many reasons to list as to why this occurs, but it boils down to a front office that wants to profit by winning.

I will wait for another misguided appointee to drive the already tainted image of the Rangers to another lackluster ending of a regular season. Who wants to bet Lou Pannella for manager in 2007? Guess we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I can like so many other Rangers fans hope that Mr. Daniels stays focused and attentive to the goals of the club and stay suportive of the great guys we have playing for this team. We will miss you Rangers it will be a lonely post season without you. It is times like these that I miss the unwavering guidance of Johnny Oates.

Lies, Lies, Lies

By Dan in Texas

I have been a Mets fan since Birth. When I came to Texas I adopted the Rangers as my second favorite team. I have that luxury as the Mets and Rangers only square off about every 5-6 years. Of course it is possible for the Rangers to Meet the Mets in the World Series.

I said possible, not probable.

Evan Grant of the Dallas morning news reported the “Rangers to break even financially” despite decrease in ticket sales in Friday’s edition. I like Evan, I really do, but Mr. Grant I have two words for that headline “Panther Piss.”

Tom Hicks, don’t lie to me through Evan Grant. How dumb do you think people are? These stories are an excuse to raise concession prices or why you can't sign quality free agents.

Notice in the story how it mentions the Rangers are considering “Variable Pricing Schedule.”

Several other teams use that pricing method such including the Mets. Variable Pricing means that a seat at Shea Stadium that costs $25 when the Pirates come to New York costs $35 when the Braves come and $55 for the subway series games.

This story is obviously a test balloon for that method while getting people used to the fact that the Rangers do not plan on even thinking about Zito, Schmidt, Hernandez, etc during the Winter Meetings.

Oh and if Carlos Lee bolts for the money he’s worth then it isn’t Hicks fault, it’s the Ranger fans.

Try and convince me that “Variable Pricing” is just and attempt to cash in on the only series Hicks seems to care about, Rangers-Yankees. Go ahead, I’m waiting…

I don’t believe for a second that Hicks didn’t clear a $68 million dollar payroll this season if you add up:

-Local TV revenue
-Fox game of the week revenue
-Their share of playoff and World Series TV and Radio revenue
-Satellite Radio
-Local radio
-Sponsors
-Advertising sales
-Parking
-Concessions
-Merchandise revenue
-Licensing revenue
-Video game licensing
-Ameriquest naming rights money.

All before you even add up Ticket sales.

I am not crying for Tom Hicks.

I would like to ask Tom Hick these two questions:

“How come we never hear the stories of how much any team profits?”

and

“If you can’t make money with this organization why not sell it? Mark Cuban has made it public record that he will be a player for the next MLB franchise that goes on sale.”

And how come after hearing all these stories no one is shocked when MLB or an organization flat out REFUSES to open its books and show a balance sheet?

I have a friend that told me he is protesting by not going to any games or purchasing Rangers merchandise. Sure it hits Hicks in the only other thing he cares about besides Texas Longhorn football: His check book. Simple and effective but not likely to change current trends. I've never been a big believer in sports apathy.

Anyone care to start a fan base revolt?

Not likely since Hicks has the one thing that has taken his falure's at running a baseball fanchise and bailed him out year after year:

Cowboys Football

If Rangers fans would get as upset about Rangers franchise stratagy as they do about who the back-up quarterback or right tackle is this town just might see a World Series.

Don't hold your breath...

Sometimes I don’t blame Ranger fans for not getting as excited about Rangers baseball as I am about Mets baseball and it is really a shame.

Plenty of room for improvement

Toronto didn't have a good game until the fourth, where either, 1. they started swinging the correct end of the bat, or 2. Koronka began pitching underhand. The rest of the team was not without a little blaim as there were three errors on the evening.

There are some who believe that the remainder of the season can be predicted by the 5th game after the ASB. If this is the case then we may have a bit of a problem. The fellas from Lonestarball made a great reference....." its like the bad news bears out there, minus the kid on the motorcycle who could actually hit." This game was perhaps one of the worst this season in my opinion, complete with pitchers throwing at opponents heads and the threat of a bench clearing brawl. This is disappointing and I hope we can find some talent before we are out of the race.

2/4 with Baltimore

.500 with Baltimore, and Daniels is making noises about buying pitching. As the trade deadline approaches, names like Willis and Elarton are being thrown about. I could be really negative here and say that we have heard all of the song and dance about how the Rangers are going to sign the next Nolan Ryan; and it never happens ending with me the superfan shoulders slumped walking home dragging my oversized foam finger and Rangers pennant. I really think Daniels may have a head full of steam and actually might get something accomplished with starting pitching. I don't think that Dontrelle will come over, but I have a little more faith in this guy than GM's past....we'll see how it comes out in the wash.

Tonight we start a 3 game set with Toronto and then on to Boston. Now would be a great time to heat up. Go Rangers.

My Hero:

To early for magic numbers and playoff tickets?

Posted by Dan in Texas

Maybe, but who cares? Congratulations to the Texas Rangers who beat the Twins Ace to finish the first half of the season tied for first place with Anaheim, er Los Angles, uh, Californ- I mean... whatever- the Angels.

I think Magic numbers are fun, thought you might like to know:

The Texas Rangers Magic Number: 75

*Magic number denotes the amount of either wins by the leader or losses by the closest opponent in the division combined. Any combination of wins and opponent losses equaling the magic number will win the division. i.e. 38 wins by the Rangers and 37 losses by the Angels would place the Rangers in first on October 1st with a record of:

Rangers 83-79
Angels 82-80

NOTE TO READERS- Sorry I have been missing in action the past month or two, I have been currently engaged with my new site, Lonestar Mets. The other Ghost will do most of the posting but I will drop in just to say hello from time to time.

Before I go any further, I would like to say, "Happy Birthday, Lee Stevens!" You were a favorite of the Ghosts of 96.

The Rangers find themselves in a precarious position on July 10th. The Rangers have Adam Eaton coming back shortly to fortify the starting staff and Millwood on the way. What the Rangers do have is ample supply of young arms that should hold up in the hot July, August and September to come. A veteran presence wouldn’t hurt here, especially a front line starter. If the Rangers want to compete in October, they really need to make a move before the deadline. In my opinion the Rangers are holding two valuable chips to deal right now.

No, not perennial trade chip Kevin Mench, I think Mench wont bring back much more than a weak hitting, defensive utility infielder/outfielder. If Jon Daniels feels that’s what the team lacks, fine, pull the trigger.

Now before I start, let me preface that if you heard the sound bite of Daniels on the Ticket stating something to the effect of: “I don’t want to move a valuable chip for a 2 month rental” don’t believe every thing you hear. The Rangers have long been known as a team that says one thing to conceal its intentions. Don’t think that hasn’t changed.

The Rangers have two chips to swap that are in a walk year and, realistically, are at their maximum value right now. Taking a look at the White Sox, Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees the Rangers are going to need another ace if they plan to make a run at the West and have a shot at the best in the AL.

I speak of course of Gary Mathews Jr. and Mark DeRosa.

OBP SLG AVG
DeRosa .384 .494 .332
Mathews .374 .539 .328

If anyone thinks that DeRosa or Mathews will continue to put up those numbers has been sitting in section 301 without a hat for too long. Take a look at his career numbers:


DeRosa .331 .400 .275

Best season? 2002

.339 .429 .297

Since then he has been about a .240 hitter. Will he keep his numbers where they are in 2006? Maybe, and maybe bringing David Clyde to the Majors was a good idea.

On to Gary Mathews Jr., referred to from here on as GMJ. Here is what John Dewan’s assessment of GMJ is from the Fielding Bible.

Gary Matthews Jr. - Matthews picked the ideal time to have his career year, throwing fuel on the fire for contract year believers. He's ranked 8th on defense and has a strong arm. Obviously he's not a true .332 hitter, but the All-Star appearance, The Catch, his defense, and his ability to hit for power make the 32 year-old quite a commodity. He makes less than $2.4 mil this year and will probably become overpaid from here on out.

Let’s take a look at the teams that are rumored to be looking to move pitching:

The Chicago Cubs- The Cubs are sorry. They have an aging Maddox who knows how to pitch and has all the experience in the world. Maddox is the definition a control pitcher so arm problems are not a risk. However the Cubs have stated that Maddox will not be traded anywhere without his consent so a midseason trade to the American League isn’t very likely. If I had to guess where Maddox will go? Philadelphia

The White Sox- The Sox are rumored to have an interest in upgrading their rotation with Jason Schmitt and thus dealing another player elsewhere. That makes Jon Garland, Javier Vazquez and Freddy Garcia available for a price.

The Tigers- Its’ well known that the Tigers are looking to add a power bat. Would they be interested in DeRosa and GMJ? Sure. Who would they make available? The only pitcher is see the Tigers moving is probably Kenny Rogers. I know my counterpart on this sight would love it, but does anyone else think that is a good idea?

The Nationals- The Nats have been shopping Livian Hernandez for months. His numbers this year are far from impressive, despite pitching in a "pitchers park." The buzz around the trading block is the Nats think they can ask a huge price for him. Plus his huge contract expires at the end of next season. Excuse me, I don’t see Hicks raising Beer and Parking prices for Hernandez. I do see Hicks raising Beer and Parking prices for no valid reason, however. (to recoup losses from the NHL strike, University of Texas recruiting “donation” for a quarterback, Hicks still owes Chan Ho Park more money somehow, etc.)

The A’s- Yes, Barry Zito is a free agent after this season and yes Billy Beene would love to get something for him. There is no way in hell he would trade him to the team in competition for the West. I don’t think Zito goes anywhere until November.

The Marlins- Strange things are going on in Miami these days. The Marlins looked content to sell off the talent and start stockpiling youngsters until they reach Las Vegas/San Antonio/Portland. The Marlins are a very good young team. They realistically don’t have a chance to win the east but could make a run at the wild card with the NL in a down year. If the Marlins make the playoffs, all bets are off. However the scuttlebutt is Willis is on the table but I would guess that the Rangers would have to ship out one from category A and one from category B:

A. Danks, Diamond or Volquez

B. Kinsler, Botts or Rheinecker

You don’t think its worth it? Willis is a great pitcher and will probably be an ace for a long time. I would offer the worst of the A list (I don’t know who is best) and Botts. Odds are on member of DVD lives up to the hype. If two of them due the Rangers will be very lucky. All three? Not likely.

Finally, like an old, fatally ill man searching for the fountain of youth, you have the Yankees. As a general rule, anyone the Yankees are willing to trade is either a washed up veteran or an over-hyped rookie. If Cashman calls Jon, don’t answer the phone.

There you have it, anyone that may help is going to be overpriced. I think the best bet is to try and trade DeRosa and GMJ for one of the surplus White Sox starters and hope a change of scenery can get him back on his game. Willis is intriguing and if the Rangers have any doubts about any of the DVD boys, they are never going to be worth more than they are now. If they persue Willis, Botts is a small price to pay. I mean, how times have the Rangers ever really needed another big bat?

Happy All Star Break everybody!

2 out of 3.... not too bad

Teixeira and GMJ went long to beat up the Twins.... and I think it is safe to say that Santana and Francisco Liriano were not given enough credit in previous posts. Nevertheless, Rangers took 2/3 and going into the break this is a good omen. Hopefully we can come back firing on all 8!

Welcome to Arlington......

We are at home and this is a hitter's park so lets hope Rudy's speech had an effect. We're gonna need to shell this guy to gain some confidence. We have a capable pitcher that is pretty damn intimidating, lets see what happens....

Word has it that Harriston is in left and batting second....we need a REAL "get off the pot" moment or two from this guy.

beat their ass Rangers...by the way Dave Chappelle rules.

Come on Buck......are you serious?

Wasdin gets the nod tonight against the Twins who Buck refers to as the "team playing better than everyone else" at this point..... Sure Buck. The Royals just handed them three back to back to back beatings. I say all of this not to really bag on the Twins, but to pull the curtain on our guy Buck that seems a little less than honest. All I'm looking for here is not the canned response he consistantly gives. Is the AL Central tough? Damn right, two of the best teams in baseball are in this division and Minnesota isn't too far behind, but "the best of any team in baseball"???

B.S. - Buck.

I hope Rudy's speech yesterday has a lasting impact, and we can develop some momentum at home. Kinsler is the guy to watch for some fireworks tonight and hopefully the rest of the boys will follow suit. If you guys have any insight on what I have written please give me some feedback. Silly picture time: Who doesn't like Uncle Rico???


P.S. Yankee's suck

THIS JUST IN.....

I just heard Charlie Steiner tell me via XM Radio that Kenny Rogers is now 11-3 for the season, and I figured that I would pass that along......Thanks Hicks, another in a long line of great moves.

Finally one for the win column!

Toronto got smoked, and we took 2/3. Jaramillo did a little motivational speaking and the bats then did the talking. This guy is the Tony Robbins of the batters box! Apparently the discussion was a little heated, and look at the response! Let us hope that we can break free of the slump and beat up the Twins...

It is hard to make the case that the Rangers would be much of a team without Rudy...

Job Promotion

Sorry for the massive delay in posts!! A promotion at work has given me the opportunity to forfeit all of the free time I was acustomed to.... So, here's what I missed apparently:

Rangers lose
Rangers lose
Rangers....lose
Koronka is a beast; yet Rangers lose
Where the hell did Oakland come from (Rangers Lose)
Gary Matthews Jr. = Godlike.....(Rangers Lose)

I think you get the trend...

What happened. I expect this type of behavior AFTER the All Star Break! I have recently spent some time back in the DFW area and my cabinet of friends and other couch authorities describe that the problem stems from management's inability to commit to a certain philosphy (improve farm system or buy a team). Any Texas Rangers fan has notice a significant amount of bumbling around in this area for years, as a matter of fact, we have changed philosophy twice this season alone with statements like:

"We need more arms, we should go after Milwood, Clemens, Zeto and Smoltz. but I can't see the logic in paying one of the leading AL starters any more cash....we better fire Rogers before we actually get a steadfast starting rotation"

OR hang on wait a sec....


We should develop Danks, Diamond.....etc. only to shop them for a forseeably washed up player or two that cost out the rear."

I see this as managments attempt to do just enough to get by. I would like to suggest to management that since it is painfully obvious their intention is only to line their pockets, that creating a post season caliber team entitles them to post season dollars. Post season play leads to a fan base more willing to tolerate post season ticket prices (even in June). All of this banter is leading somewhere I promise....

With this lack of motivation from managment to commit to a philosophy, are we seeing now the team turning to a more "who cares" attitude? Some singular achievments aside it looks like the boys are just tired of this. Buck wouldn't tell the fans/media anything of usefullness as his job seems more and more like a PR excuse maker. I have been to other towns, and I have seen an effort to win by other organizations and comparatively we are marginal at best. Hopefully, the guys can piece together something to knock off Oakland and their winning streak while regaining first in the AL West. I'll be watching....

Happy Memorial Day

Not much to say, went to the game on Sunday against the A's. The Rangers took the game 4-3 and Botts had his first big league homerun. The Rangers take the series 2-1 and hold on to first with a cozy 3 game lead. With the Angels lacking an offensive weapon not named Vlad Guerrero, the Rangers may steal the AL West- not that anyone in Dallas would notice. I don't know how this club stacks up against the Central, East and Wildcard in the playoffs. This team is starting to come together though with Kinsler healthy and Botts a nice suprise. Daniels and Co. need to take a serious look around at the deadline or even sooner if the Rangers plan on making a pennant run. Dontrelle Willis can be obtained at the right price. Zito is probably not attainable as conventional wisdom suggests he is a New Yorker come November and the A's would prefer to trade him out of the division or league. That said Texas is in first for Memorial Day.

Here's some Journey

No more Mr. Nevin

Finally the Rangers are going to address the Phil Nevin situation. Jason Botts has been called up from Triple A.

As Botts is blocked at first by Tex, look for him to split time in the outfield and DH.