To Torii or Not to Torii? That (Seems to Be) The Question

After a couple of days of posting rest after the deadline, it’s time to start watching our Young Rangers team develop, refocusing on Tom Hicks’ failed ownership and looking toward the future.

As T.R. Sullivan posted earlier this week, “The number one question surrounding the Rangers for 2008 is if Torii Hunter will be their centerfielder. That’s No. 1.”

So let’s start there.

I’ve thought for a while, that the Rangers should sign Torii in the off-season. Other than pitching, a near consistent need of the Rangers’ has been a CF who can play defense and contribute offensively. According to Wikipedia, “ESPN called Hunter a “daily web gem,” referring to ESPN’s nightly highlight reel. He has won six consecutive Gold Glove Awards for his defensive prowess.” And his production has been consistently around a .270avg/.800 ops (with a bit of a power surge over that in the past two seasons). Plus, he lives in The Colony and is a decent guy.

But now, I’m not so sure.

I don’t like signing guys after they have career years, which is what Torii seems to be having (although after a hot start in April-May, he’s actually been hitting under his career averages).

Second, he’s just old enough to be concerned about whether he’ll be a real contributor when the Rangers window for contention (’09-’12) is open. It can be done (remember that Lofton guy who just left here). But it’s rare for a guy to perform at or above career numbers at 35+ (Torri turns 35 in 2010).

Third, the Rangers are missing a long-term leadoff hitter, and that could also be addressed with a CF free agent. Hunter is more a fit in the middle of the order.

Fourth, with Teixeira gone, the Rangers need a clean-up hitter or better protection for Botts if he proves he can hit cleanup. I don’t think Torri is the answer there.

Fifth, there are a lot of CF free agents this winter, including Corey Patterson, who is 4 years younger, would cost less, plays Gold Glove- caliber D, (UPDATE: suggesting Patterson could lead off was a big oversight on my part. He could be a contributor, but definitely not a lead-off hitter.) could lead-off and steals bases like crazy (which would allegedly fit Washington’s style), and is Lefty whose numbers (which are just a notch under Torii’s) would almost certainly get a boost in the Ballpark and with Rudy Jaramillo’s tuteledge. Plus, we just picked up a promising CF in Left-handed hitting 27-yo David Murphy who should be a September call-up.

So while I’m not ready to say signing Torri would be a mistake. I am backing off my previous position that he should definitely be a Ranger next season and taking a wait-and-see approach.

Besides, I agree with the T.R.’s suggestion that the top question about the Rangers, “really should be … if the Rangers will have the discipline and patience to follow through with what they’ve started…” and see how their young talent can develop. (At least I agree with that on the offensive side of the equation – pitching, I’m not so sure).

Teixeira Traded to Braves in Wasted Opportunity for the Rangers

Looks like Little Jon DanielsHart was just schooled by yet another GM – Atlanta’s John Schuerholz – in a deal, apparently pending only physicals being passed, sending Teixeira AND Ron Mahay to the Braves for C/1B Jarrod (Salty) Saltalamacchia and 18-yo Venezuelan SS Elvis Andrus plus two players to be named later – both likely young, not-major-league-ready pitching prospects (one still rumored to be 21-yo AA Lefty pure prospect Matt Harrison).

If true, this is a massive failure on the part of the Rangers and Little Jon DanielsHart!  Unless the other player-to-be-named is a major-league ready arm (which is highly unlikely), this trade fails to address the Rangers top need – Starting Pitching that has at least begun a successful transition to the major leagues. That is a failure that may well doom the Rangers to mediocrity beyond next year and into the next decade.

Meanwhile, this is a GREAT trade for the Braves. They add a power bat to spark a lineup that needs more production and they improve their bullpen immediately with Mahay’s left-arm in their bullpen.

This deal is worse than the Chris Young trade.  At least with that trade, at the time it was made, we thought we’d get a good ready-to-contribute starter in Eaton (who could have known he’d pitch so few games for the Rangers) and a closer in Otsuka. Giving up Young was short-sighted. He’d have been a major contributor here, although not the phenom he’s become in a pitching-friendly park in the pitching-friendly NL. And at the time, Adrian Gonzalez was blocked by Tex, whom the Rangers then thought would be around a lot longer. So it took a season and a half to fully see how bad that trade sucked.

This trade sucks now. It will suck tomorrow. It will suck next year. And unless the Rangers luck out and one of these very young, need a lot of work pitching prospects become our team ace, it will suck 3 and 5 years from now.

What long-term need does this deal address for the Rangers? Last I checked, we have a great SS who’s locked-up through 2013. Salty won’t be the long-term answer behind the plate according to reports of his defense and game-calling abilities.

When you have the BEST big bat on the market at the trade deadline, you MUST do better than this. Look at what the Rangers gave up for Carlos Lee last year. I guess there just aren’t any owners/GMs who are as stupid as Hicks and Daniels.

This is another deal where you have to wonder who Daniels is working for: the Rangers or the other team? It’s his third major deal (after San Diego and Milwaukee) that will make the trading partner better and do little for the Rangers.

Teixeira to Go to the Braves (or Angels… or Diamondbacks… or Dodgers… or last minute entrant)?

Just more than 32 hours left until the non-waivers trade deadline at 3p EDT tomorrow, and it’s still anyone’s guess as to where Mark Teixeira will go and for whom in return.  Based on various reports across the Internet and TV, here’s how things look at this point (with the contenders listed from most to least likely to grab Teixeira):

1. Atlanta Braves (40% likely) – Local media in Atlanta are reporting the deal as all but done. The deal appears to be Catcher-Firstbaseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Matt Harrison. A sticking point is whether the Braves will also give up Elvis Andrus or Brent Lillibridge in addition to Salty without getting a mid-reliever (they’ve been asking for C.J. Wilson but would take less).

I’m not jazzed at all about this trade as rumored. It’s way too light on pitching in return. I’ve said it dozens of times, and I’ll say it dozens more unless I’m proven wrong. The Rangers can’t develop top-of-the-rotation pitching, they can’t get top free-agent pitchers to sign up to play in The Ballpark, so they’re only real hope to develop a rotation that is championship caliber is to TRADE FOR PITCHING. Teixeira is the last best hope on the radar for the Rangers to acquire stand-out pitching in a trade, and this deal doesn’t do that. 

Harrison is pure prospect. A 21-yo Lefty at AA with a losing record. That’s not going to get the Rangers the rotation they need by ’09, which should be their target for contending.

Salty is over-rated in my book. Sorry. He skipped AAA – in my view rushed to the majors to increase his trade value. He’s done alright in 47 games for the Braves, but he’s not blowing anyone away (.284 avg, .744 ops with 4 HRs). He may be pretty good some day, but that’s a gamble. And for Tex, the Rangers should get a sure thing, not a “we think maybe.” Plus, spelling the guy’s name is a chore!

Elvis is an 18-yo Venezuelan SS playing A ball – and not hitting all that well yet (.241 avg, .659 ops. with 3 HRs in 98 games). If the Rangers are wanting to find Young’s replacement for 2014, I suggest the draft in around 2010 is a more appropriate opportunity.  

Brent Lillibridge is 23 at AAA, but also a SS who’s hitting so far is mediocre (.283 avg., .757 ops with 5 HRs in 52 games).

If the trade goes down Tex for Salty and Harrison, I’d give it an F.  If it goes Tex for Salty, Harrison and Elvis or Lillibridge, it’s a D-. And if the Rangers throw in even Mahay (much less Benoit or Wilson) to get three of those guys, it’s a surefire job-losing F- for Daniels. 

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (30% likely) – I really hope this is the deal that Little Jon Daniels and Tom Hicks are holding out for.  Word has it that 26-yo Lefty SP Joe Saunders and 24-yo lefty 1b Casey Kotchman are already on the table. Compared to the Atlanta deal, just those two (who are major-league tested) represent a better deal that what the Braves are offering. Plus, there’s been rumors that the Angels may add a third prospect (names vary) to the deal.

Saunders is in his third partial season at the major-league level, and he’s a proven winner in the AL West whose improved every year (11-3 lifetime in the bigs, with a 4-0 record and 3.16 era in 7 starts this season). That would immediately put him ahead of everyone but Millwood on the Rangers starting rotation (and yes, I’m saying he’d be ahead of Padilla – right now). 

Kotchman is hitting well and judging by his road numbers and the fact that lefties love the Ballpark, his numbers would get a quick boost as a Ranger (currently hitting .300 with an .858 ops in 89 games).

Tex straight up for those two would be a B++ trade in my book, and if JD gets any other prospect worth anything at all added in, make it an A+!

3. Arizona Diamondbacks (20% likely) – late entrants whose name popped up publically for the first time just this Saturday, Arizona will have to poney up value fast. But what they may be offering is more cloudy than other teams’ probable offers. 

Grade if it happens: incomplete.  Still too many unknowns here, but things could get interesting.  Again, the pitching offered should be the key.

4. Not-Currently-Suspected Darkhorse (7% likely) –  the Yankees losing ways probably killed the chances of them or the Red Sox trading for Tex. But after a trouncing sweep this weekend by the Angels and Cleveland not cooling off, I still won’t be shocked if the Tigers make a last minute play. But since the Mets, Brewers, Cardinals, Phillies, Indians and Twins all have 1b well manned, that leaves only the Mariners as a current contender who could use Teixera’s services but haven’t been heard from. So a last-minute late entrant looks very unlikely.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (3% likely) – a month ago, as Nomar was being moved to third, and Loney and Billinglsly were still human, this looked like the deal to do. But injuries to the Dodgers rotation have shifted there priorities, just as Loney’s performance has shifted there view of their needs while Billingsly has pitched himself into the untouchable range.

Updates to follow as more is learned. 

Rangers Fans Against Hicks!

 

Time to turn up the heat and do all we can to run Tom Hicks out of Tarrant County.  I don’t know the man.  It’s not personal.  But he’s been a terrible baseball owner.  He’s ruining my favorite team. 

The players seem to have had it with Hicks.  Michael Young seems borderline manic at the yo-yo ownership style (wouldn’t be surprised if he demands a trade in a year or two).  Tex wants out so bad he’s acting poorly.  ARod left in a huff because of broken promises Hicks made.  And this is the first season I can remember in which the team was so bad that not one of the Rangers several All-Star caliber players had enough around him to perform at a level truly deserving of an All-Star bid (Michael represented the team well – great class as always – but we all know he wouldn’t have gone if not for the one representative per team clause).

Fans are disgusted with the teams play, their horrible finishes under Hicks and ancillary issues.  The Ballpark is becoming a circus tent, even after that stupid Amerique$t bell is gone.  Now that Hicks owns FC Liverpool, I’m betting the Rangers will be the first team in American professional sports to replace the logo on their jerseys with a sponsors ad.  I can barely afford to take my son to a game while the team’s salary has plummeted despite playing in the nation’s 4th largest MSA.

The organization’s coaches can’t say so, but they must be fed up with all the coaching and related changes at every level of the organization.

The media’s finally caught on.  Not that many of them are very trustworthy, but still, every sports reporter in North Texas has or has come close to calling for Hicks’ head.  And the national media have lambasted the team, making them a national joke.

Free agents aren’t beating a path here, not even hitters who should love to play in The Ballpark.  What does that say about how players across the majors view the Rangers organization?

Rumor has it that Nolan Ryan wants to own one of the Texas team – how great would that be!

So, Tom – pack ’em up.  We’ve had it with your terrible performance.  Seriously, would you not fire someone with your track record?  Sell the team and make some money.  Keep building Glory Park if you must and keep making money from that.  But please turn most of your attention back to Dallas and try not to mess up the Stars or the Mesquite Rodeo anymore.  You can’t live off of one Stanley Cup forever, especially one won in the infancy of your ownership.  And have fun in Liverpool (FC Liverpool fans, you can have Hicks.  Write when you tire of him, and we’ll help you run him out).

For what it’s worth, this post begins a new series dedicated to uniting fans against Hicks in support of any owner more committed to building a championship caliber team than fattening his/her wallet.

If you agree that Hicks needs to go, please state so in a comment below.  If you disagree, please tell us why (and we’ll try to read without laughing).

Anyone interested, please feel free to use the (currently rudamentary but workable) logo above on your blog, Web site, e-mail, posts, etc to symbolize your support of the movement and that you are standing up as a Rangers Fan Against Hicks!

What a Win! But Please Save it for Later in the Season!

Great walk-off win tonight!  But can we save that stuff for August and September? 

Hicks and Daniels may get confused by improved performance and decide to keep trying this season when the Rangers have no chance to make the post-season, every reason to trade Teixeira (who was openly talking today about talking to Baltimore after next year where he’d love to play since he grew up an Orioles fan) and no chance to be a championship caliber team unless they do a major overhaul.

Don’t I want my team to win?  YES! 

But after 27 years as a Rangers fan, I want to finally see them be a championship contender. 

Hicks and DanielsHart get confused too easily, especially when Hicks sees a chance to sell more tickets and add to his $,$$$,$$$,$$$ (10 figures there for a reason). 

More highly exciting wins like tonight and next thing we know, Hicks will have Little Jon trading Botts and Hurley for a 30+ year-old outfielder who’ll be a free agent in the winter just to help Jeff Cogen convince casual fans that they “could use some baseball” and sell more tickets to their charade, saying, “we’re excited by how we’ve been playing, by how this Young team has responded, and think we’re primed to make a late season run, especially when Tex, Kinsler, Blalock and Padilla return.” 

Scary, because I can actually hear that coming out of Hicks’ mouth as they introduce Shawn Green as the next “final piece” to take the Rangers to the playoffs while Botts and Hurley go start great careers as Mets.

And the casual Rangers fans would buy more tickets because… hey the Rangers are “in it.”  And this town – especially the phony, see-and-be-seen crowd predominantly from the Dallas side of the Metroplex – can jump on or off a bandwagon faster than the North Texas Tollway Authority sucks money out of your bank account on the Tollway, 121 or George Bush.

Meanwhile, us true, long-time Rangers fans watch another season tank away while the club is drained of talent.  And those bandwagonners that Hicks milks to fatten his wallet could care less because they’ll be paying full price to go see a pre-season Cowboys game.

Don’t I want to see my team win?  NO!  Not yet.

Announcing the 2008 Texas Rangers 25-Man Roster!

Well, since tonight’s game was rained out and the 2007 season has long been over, I thought I’d finish a post I’ve been thinking about for a while. 

I doubt I’m the only Rangers fan looking ahead to what might be in the cards for Texas in 2008.  If I were GM – and bi-POD Tom Hicks was willing to quit his hypocracy and take some meds for his bi-polar owner disorder to put some smart money where his mouth is – then this is what the Rangers would look like in 2008 (how new additions got here explained in parentheses):

Starters:

• C –  Adam Melhuse
• 1b – James Loney (Teixeira Trade) or Nate Gold
• 2b – Kinsler
• SS – Young 
• 3b – Blalock
• LF – Cruz
• CF – Torri Hunter (FA)
• RF – Marlon Byrd
• DH – Sosa???????

Bench:

•    C – Laird
•   U – Catalanotto
• OF – Botts
•  IF – Ramon Vazquez

Rotation:

1. Mark Buerhle (Free Agent)
2. Kevin Millwood
3. Zack Miner or Chad Billingsley (Teixeira Trade)
4. Padilla
5. McCarthy or Loe

Bullpen

• R – Vasquez
• R – Mahay
• R – Benoit
• R – Eyre
• R – Murray
• SU – Wilson
• CL – Otsuka

The bullpen looks to be shaping up well.  Otsuka will likely be gone, but I’d keep him unless the offers are too good to refuse (and would then sign one of several FAs that will be on the market this offseason).

The rotation is much better with Buerhle taking the top spot and Miner or Billingsley in the middle, putting Millwood at #2 and Padilla at #4, which are spots they’re more suited for.  Buerhle would be my big signing.  I know his velocity is down.  But we need a lefty, and he keeps reminding me of Kenny Rogers (with a better attitude).  The guy just knows how to pitch and win.  Is it a Championship caliber rotation – no.  But it’s a big step in the right direction.

The offense will be better.  I worry about no big bat to replace Teixeira, but if Hunter could repeat his current season, he’d make up for much of the lost production.  Also, Sosa is listed as a question mark.  He’d have to cut down on his K’s for me to keep him.  If he can’t do that, I’d sign an aging power bat to come in, provide some production, and be a veteran presence while contributing to a building sense for winning.  But knowing next year is a stepping stone toward real, sustainable competitiveness, I like the look of the order and the opportunity for some prospects to show if they can bust out.  If not, I’d chase a big signing after the ’08 season.

My expectation would be for this team to finish somewhere just north of .500.  But expectations for 2009 would be to contend in the West, win it in ’10 and make real runs into the playoffs from 2010 – 2012.

BTW, I also happen to think this is Hicks’ plan because it syncs with his business interests, but more on that another time.

Rangers Evidence: WHAT A GAME!

Just had to pop on and say… wow!  Kinsler just hit a homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up again after the Rangers rallied for 4 in the 8th to tie it at 7 but Gagne gave up 2 in the top of the 9th.  Then Super-Byrd pinch hits and homers, Vazquez and Lofton battle but get out, and Kinsler ties with a homer.

Young strikes out to send it to extra innings.  This is why we watch!  Love it!

MORNING AFTER UPDATE – and the 10th inning is why it can be such torture to be a Rangers fan. 

More on the Upside of Failing Fast

A week ago, in a post that included some venting about my frustrations with WordPress, I wrote about the Upside of Failing Fast:

“At least they’re collapsing in May so Hicks, Cogen and DanielsHart can’t string us out until the usual Rangers August-September fade out.  One lesson about risk taking, is that if you’re going to fail, fail fast.  The Rangers have almost always dragged us through a gradual failing.  Failing fast could be the best thing this team has done in years.  It would make Little Jon DanielsHart a seller around the deadline (not that he’s kept a lot to sell – except Tex, but more on that later), and prevent him and Hicks from making some stupid deal that costs us dearly in the long-term just to keep the Rangers close enough that they can keep selling more tickets.  And then the young guys can play. ”

(Hey – if “journalists” can quote themselves sometimes, why can’t I?”)

As the Rangers went 3-3 since that post, I thought more about the concept.  And I found myself worried that they were winning.

Let me explain.

What would the Rangers possibly gain from playing .500 or slightly better ball the rest of the season?  They’re just not good enough, not to mention healthy enough, to make up a 9.5 game deficit against the Angels who apparently OWN them this season (remember Hicks views the Angels as “our partners”).  And if they win just enough to keep us – and Hicks and DanielsHart – hoping against hope, we risk seeing management make some hare-brained trade to try to win now at the expense of the long-term picture/pitching and the further erosion of talent from the system (see previous posts about the could/should-be team comprised of recent ex-Rangers).

Even Dale Hanson got it right on the radio yesterday when he compared the Rangers recent history to that of the Cowboys – where management continues to make moves thinking they can contend now at the expense of longer-term success.

As a 27-year fan of the Texas Rangers, I can wait another year or two for someone to finally put together an organization that is built to win a championship.  And maybe, just maybe, failing fast will be enough for Hicks and DanielsHart to do some things differently now that will help the team in the long term.

AND, in the meantime (if Hicks and DanielsHart are serious about stability), it gives new manager Ron Washington the time to develop the young talent we do have while gearing up our core guys (e.g. Young and Kinsler, and… well, that may be it) for a serious run at championship-caliper baseball from ’08-2010.  It can be done – just look at Detroit (more on that another time…).

So let the young guys get their at bats and throw their innings.  Let’s see if McCarthy, Tejeda, Loe or Rupe can be winning starters in the major leagues.  Let’s see if Cruz, Botts and so on really do have the stuff to have long prolific careers ahead of them.

And, like the Cowboys in 1989, let’s have our 1-15 season so we can build for the future and turn things around in big way!  The Cowboys starting seeing real improvement by the end of 1990, made the playoffs in ’91 and won the first of three-out-four Super Bowls in 1992. 

There are significant differences in how to build a winning football versus baseball organization, but the long-term focus is needed in Arlington.  And with that in mind, let’s root for the real winning to start taking root late this summer giving the Rangers momentum into next year and beyond.

Did the Rangers Season End the Same Night As the Mavericks’?

Or did it start?

Two nights ago, I was sitting in a great sports bar – FX McRory’s in Seattle – watching the Mavericks’s season end in an embarrassing loss.  Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers dropped two in day-night double header at home against the Yankees.

Since then, the Rangers have played better and are well on their way tonight to winning a second straight game since Thursday’s double disaster. 

But while that’s encouraging, here’s what haunts me…

The two losses on Thursday crowned a 5-game losing streak for the Rangers.  Meanwhile, the team hasn’t won 3 straight so far this year.  And while the rotation has me wondering if the team is capable of winning 4 straight all season, the offense and, worse, the bullpen were the culprits in the double-defeat, the 5-game slide and a majority of losses this season.

Both Thursday games features solid starts, and the chance for the bullpen to keep the team in the game.  But Benoit and Francisco couldn’t keep the door closed.

When Jon Daniels is on record as saying the bullpen, “will be a competitive advantage” for the Rangers but even it continues to falter, what’s left?  Yes, Daniels was thinking Gagne would be in the bullpen when he said that, but that was always a risky thought (one I think was worth acting on, but just isn’t working out so far).

So can the Rangers make up for a 5 game slide and an 11-18 start?

Maybe.  There’s still a few variables to play out before that can be answered with any confidence.

If Gagne returns, and contributes the rest of the season with 1 or less additional trips to the 15-day DL, then the bullpen gets a whole lot better and hold on to win a lot more games.  Instead of Benoit, for example, Gagne would probably have been on the bump in the 8th in Thursday’s day game.  If he’s on his game, it’s unlikely he gives up a passed ball and a double to Matsui after a Texiera error that would have put Jeter away.  And with Otsuka fresh, the Rangers would likely have won or at least taken the game into extra innings.

The other variable – three usually steady bats.  Everyone is talking that the Texas lineup is in a complete top-to-bottom slump.  But when I investigated, I was surprised to see that most guys are performing about at a rate to be expected – with the huge exceptions of Young, Catalanatto, and Lofton.  Those three will do better, but when?  If they don’t get things going this month, it will probably be too late.   

The final major variable – an anchor in the lineup.  The Rangers need a powerful, steady bat to anchor this lineup, and Texiera is not it.  He’s a .280, 35-HR hitter.  That’s good, but too much of his production tends to come later in the season and in too inconsistent spurts, which make his contributions just not good enough to make everyone else in the lineup better.  As good as the Rangers’ offense has been for years, they still need a batter that every opposing manager and pitcher circles when they come to town out of fear.  There’s plenty to be nervous about in this Rangers lineup – top to bottom (except Laird) – but not a lot to cause constant fear in opponents all season.  Carlos Lee proved that last year, as he is the type of guy who can do that, and in so doing, make the rest of lineup reach or sometimes exceed expectations.  The Rangers need someone else to anchor their lineup. 

Baseball is a game of thin margins and many variables.  But I think these three will tell us in the next three weeks whether the Rangers season is salvageable.  And let’s hope the two-win streak completed with a 5-RBI performance from Young while I was writing this is the start in the right direction.

Robbers Evidence: Exhibit C: Recent Trade History Part 4 – The Texas Rangers Team We Should Have

In this series, I’ve considered what it says about the Texas Rangers management when recent ex-Rangers could form a team that would be far superior to the current team Hicks / Cogen / DanielsHart are giving us.  The case against the terrible trio in the front office looks worse if you ask what they could have done if they’d made better, “we’re serious about winning” decisions about every current and former Ranger in recent years.

The following 25-man roster is what we really could have today (if you grant me a little poetic license on a couple trades).  While this isn’t fully realistic, it does demonstrate the bad, not-in-it-to-win decisions Rangers management has made:

Esteban German  INF
Gary Matthews    CF
Alfonso Soriano    OF
Alex Rodriguez    3B
Travis Hafner      DH
Carlos Lee            OF
Adrian Gonzalez  1B
Ivan Rodriguez    C
Michael Young     SS
Rod Barajas          C
Mark Texiera       1B
David Dellucci       OF
Kenny Rodgers     SP
Chris Young          SP
Kevin Milwood     SP
Estaban Loaiza     SP
Adam Eaton         SP
Francisco Cordero   C
Akinori Otsuka        SU
Ron Mahay           RP
Bryan Corey         RP
CJ Wilson              RP
Fabio Castro         RP
Darren Oliver       RP
Brian Shouse        RP

Wow!  What a team we could have if only our management cared about winning more than money, realizing that winning would bring them more money than the Rangers have ever seen. 

Robbers Evidence: Exhibit C: Recent Trade History Part 3 – Recent Ex-Rangers Would Make a Better Team – Wrap-up

To summarize the Rangers team that could have been had the trio of Hicks/Cogen/DanielsHart not hemorrhaged more talent than they amassed and been so blatently cheap in doing so, below is a summary of the 25-man Texas Rangers roster that could/shoud have been. 

But first, a key questions… besides Michael Young instead of DeRosa, what current Ranger(s) do you think could steal a job from this depth chart/lineup (first listed is the starter, but there are many possible defensive lineups given the versatility on the roster)? 
C
Ivan Rodriguez
Rod Barajas

1B
Travis Hafner
Adrian Gonzalez
Mike Lamb

2B
Esteban German
Michael Young
Alfonso Soriano
Mike Lamb
 
SS
Michael Young
Alex Rodriguez

3B
Alex Rodriguez
Mike Lamb

RF
Carlos Lee
David Dellucci
Gary Matthews, Jr.
Alfonso Soriano

CF
Gary Matthews, Jr.
David Dellucci
Alfonso Soriano

LF
Alfonso Soriano
David Dellucci
Carlos Lee

DH
Adrian Gonzalez
Travis Hafner
Mike Lamb
David Dellucci
And second, I think more current Rangers could crack this coulda/shoulda been rotation and bullpen – but who do you think they are, in what spot and why?

SP
Kenny Rodgers
Chris Young
Estaban Loaiza
Doug Davis
Adam Eaton

Bullpen

Closer:  Francisco Cordero
SU Bryan Corey
LR Chan Ho Park
MR Fabio Castro
MR Darren Oliver
MR Brian Shouse
MR Aaron Sele
MR Dan Kolb
 

I’ll share my thoughts on the final coulda/shoulda been Texas Rangers 2007 25-man roster in my next post.

Rangers Evidence: First Witness – Michael Young

The original Texas Rangers – the ones on horses who carried six-shooters – worked to uphold the law and protect the peace.  Their unofficial motto, “One riot, one Ranger,” was a testiment to the heartiness and dedication of each man who earned his Ranger badge.

If any player on the Rangers’ current roster embodies the spirit of the team’s namesakes, it is Michael Young.  His dedicated approach to his job – whether the team is winning or losing, in the race or not – conjurs images of a gritty man on a mission with integrity in his soul.  And in riotous times (losing streaks, clubhouse upheaval, the next hare-brained Jeff Cogin promotion campaign, etc.), Young is the one Ranger we can count on to perform and to lead.

He was justly rewarded for his attributes, attitude and achievements this Spring with a new contract extension.  In the face of poor ownership, uncertain pitching, an outfield with more question marks than an IRS form, on a team with no winning tradition and an addiction to annual late summer withering, Michael Young stands tall as the one Ranger who offers hope and justice for Rangers fans. 

He is in a unique position to rally the odd collection of raw, ripe and receding talent that will comprise the 2007 Rangers roster.  And if he succeeds, while continuing his own consistent contributions, maybe we’ll see some real Rangers ride again and make a run well into October.  Wouldn’t that be a riot!