Hello Everyone!!!

So it has been a while since my last post - just checked and the basketball season hadn't even started yet.  That said I am very excited about the way the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings went for the Texas Rangers!  One thing is for sure, the Texas Rangers are a better baseball club than they were a week ago.

If you didn't already know, every year after the season has ended team executives and player agents get together to talk trades and free agents.  It is in a different location each year and will actually be held in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole in 2011.  All potential free agents have either decided to accept arbitration or declare free agents at this time.

2010 has always been the year Texas Rangers management has pointed to for big time contention because of all our blooming young talent and the fact that many of the players already in the bigs will be in the prime of their careers.  This is not to say it is a one and done year like the Florida Marlins like to do, but more so the beginning of winning seasons for years to come.  I don't think anyone could have predicted the Rangers would have had the year that they did last year - coming as close as they did to making the playoffs and level of play they exuded.  Being the optimist that I am about our young talent I can say I did (hope you have a sense of humor... oh and Windows 7: my idea).

So what happened?  Well it started with us trading our veteran ace, if you want to call him that, Kevin Millwood to the Baltimore Orioles for 28 year old relief pitcher Chris Ray.  Being in the financial crunch that they are in with all the ownership issues they are having it was thought perhaps this move was just a salary dump because Baltimore picked up $9M of the $12M owed to Millwood or maybe this was a preliminary move to another.

If you said maybe then your are correct.  The Rangers then went and signed a legitimate ACE in Rich Harden.  Harden has a history of injuries but is determined to prove himself.  When not injured he is one of the best pitchers in the game.  Not offered arbitration (he would have been Type A which would have forced the Rangers out of a 1st round pick in next summer's draft) Harden comes relatively cheap.

Side Note:  Also recieved Rule 5 draft pick from Baltimore which netted the Rangers lefty specialist Ben Snyder.  Won't get into that one for now.

Rumblings and Bumblings:  Close to deal for Red Sox 3rd basemen Mike Lowell for one of our minor league catchers Max Ramirez.  I really like Max Ramirez but the move to get Lowell's bat in the lineup as part time DH/1B excites me.  A veteran presence who has played with winners.  This lineup sure could have used him last year.

And for, in my opinion, the best Texas Rangers coverage on the planet check out "www.newbergreport.com" - subscription to his newsletter is FREE!

I'm SO EXCITED for Rich Harden!

On the Eve of Mav's Madness

Lookin' forward to surpassing everyone's expectations for how the Mavs will perform this year. The last couple seasons its been a slow start then a bang followed by consistent play. Change that this year and its a whole new ballgame, but I guess that can always be said going into the start of any season. Like they say... "The great thing about opening day is that your teams in first place."

So here's my Mavs lineup once Howard comes back - should be about 2 weeks.

PG - Jason Kidd - J.J. Barea - Roddy Beaubois
SG - Josh Howard - Jason Terry - Quinton Ross - Barea - Matt Carroll
SF - Shawn Marion - Howard - Humphries - Singleton
PF - Dirk Nowitzki - Gooden - Kris Humphries - James Singleton
C - Erick Dampier or Drew Gooden - Nowitzki - Humphries

Congratulations DeMarcus Ware on the contract extension! I'm PUMPED!

Do You Need Star Talent? 1st Edition

There's a lot of talk about whether the Rangers need to go out and trade for some superstar talent with the depth they have in the farm.  One side says "heck yes! Let's win now!" - and the other side trusts the youngsters.

Do you go out and try to get a Greinke type player (not just because he's a pitcher but because he's an uber-talent) at whatever cost?

I'll delve into this at another time.  If you happen to catch this post feel free to discuss or just ponder.  This is just a fun sports blog for me.

C.J. Wilson Video Diary Episode 1 - 2

Oh, the life of a ballplayer...

2010 Texas Rangers

25ish Man Roster

After listening to "Rangers Podcast in Arlington" a good point was brought up on payroll next year and how it could affect the Rangers' arbitration eligible players.  This "25ish" man roster isn't even necessarily 25 players - just something fun I'm doing to work on my understanding of the game.

NOTE:  Players that are "striked through" are players we do not have control over.  Any player with stars (*) next to their name are not currently on the 25 man big league roster and I will rate them on a 5 star scale.

(*) - consideration
(*****) - great consideration.

Catcher

• Jarrod Saltalamachia
• Taylor Teagarden
• Pudge Rodriguez (38)**
• Max Ramirez**
  

Infield

• Elvis Andrus
  
• Ian Kinsler
  
• Michael Young
  
• Chris Davis
• Justin Smoak*****
• Omar Vizquel (43)**
• Esteban German**
  

Outfield

• Josh Hamilton
  
• Marlon Byrd (32)**
  
• Julio Borbon
• Nelson Cruz
• David Murphy
  

Pitching

1. Feldman
   
2. Hunter
   
3. McCarthy
   
4. Holland
5. Millwood
   
6. Harrison***
7. Wilson
   
8. Hurley***
9. Feliz
   
10. O'Day
    
11. Moscoso***
12. Fransisco
13. Ben Sheets (31)****
14. Rich Harden (28)*
15. John Lackey (31)***
16. Randy Wolf (33)*
17. Octavio Dotel (36)*
18. Grili (33)**
    
19. Eddie Guardado (39) = "Everywhere Eddie" asst. Coach
    

What a Start to the Season!

I am in shock. I don't know what to say. Is this for real? Did we just sweep the Mariners and the Angels back-to-back? The redemption project? The mentor project? The King? The great-hambino? So much for the Michael Young transition to 3rd base. So much for our S**T pitching staff. So much for 2010 being the year. So much for "the bank" and Cruz's exaggerated Septembers. So much for the Rangers?

RED JERSEYS???

Have a good day and God bless.

Redemption Project

Andruw Jones

What a redemption project this would be.

..........................................................................

I said last time I would write more after dinner.

Here's the best video I found:



That's 17 and counting...

My Ben Sheets Rule

"The Ben Sheets Rule" states that a team over the luxury tax limit cannot sign a player on an incentive laden contract and must sign a player to a minimum of 3 years fully guaranteed and no option years. The rule also pertains to if the incentive laden contract were to put the team into that tax realm; the contract would have to then be guaranteed.

This proposed rule comes after the Yankees showed that if they wanted to they could swoop in at the last minute and "steal" a free agent by offering more money than other teams could. With Ben Sheets though, no team wants to offer him too much guaranteed money. Teams would be willing to say give him $5-8 million guaranteed plus incentives that could bring it from anywhere in the $14-18 million total. If the Yankees wanted to take on $16 million/3 years guaranteed that would be their deal. Other teams though would be permitted to work any deal out for him that they could including incentives and option years.

Would this prevent teams of the Yankees nature from taking the low risk/high reward players from teams on the lower end of the team salary spectrum? Hope so. What if a player really wanted to play in a "New York? " My advise... sign early.

Here's another thing that was brought to my attention from no one else but myself. That makes sense, right? I guess I should say I was just thinking. C.C., Tex and Burnett each signed huge contracts this offseason, all with the New York Yankess. They are proven players and they deserve the money. None of those three have injury histories and they all deserve the money they "won." My point: This rule does not prevent big signings past the luxury tax line, but prevents them from stealing players like Ben Sheets who a cheaper team couldn't keep up with when the price goes up and would then also prevent teams like the Yankees from driving prices up.

I'm sure Red Sox fans are still bitter about how the Texiera situation turned out, not to mention the Orioles and Nationals, so I had to talk about why that was fair to an extent.

Feedback appreciated.

Jeff Kent Says Goodbye

Any bad feelings I had about watching Jeff Kent's decline in performance the past couple years I now regret. Jeff Kent officially retired from Major League Baseball today. As I watched some of his press conference I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. You could tell how much it hurt him to hang up the cleats after years of playing and changing the second base position. He was very emotional.

Jeff Kent did change second base. He brought power to the position. It wasn't Barry Bonds or Jose Canseco power, it was clean drive the ball 400+ ft. and strong gap shooting line drives. He was a prototypical clean up middle of the line up kind of player. His offense wasn't the whole story either. Watching him move around the infield with his range and reach made for some spectacular plays.

The way he approached the game was nothing short of professional. He respected the game. He respected baseball's history and its heroes. He will be a Hall of Famer for sure, first ballot. Then people will start looking back on him and showing him the kind of respect the legends of the game get.

I don't think this will be the last we see of Jeff Kent around baseball. Whether its in a booth, on a bench, or just at all-star games being honored, baseball will never leave Jeff Kent.

Eric Hurley and the Ongoing Ranger Pitcher Curse

I'm so bummed by the news we got today. Before the Rangers acquired all the players they did in the summer of '07, the Rangers had one exciting pitching prospect that was close to the majors and that was Eric Hurley. Not only do I love his name but I loved watching him on the mound last year. He pitched great. To watch a pitching prospect come up from the minors and have success, in the Ballpark mind you, was very encouraging. Hurley was not expected to be an ace. Hurley was a solid young pitcher.

I can name you a lot of number 3 and 4's that made a solid rotation, but I'm not going to waste my time doing all the research. 3 and 4's win World Series and that's what Hurley would have been. I loved it when the Rangers brought him up last year and then later when they brought up Matt Harrison. Neither would have been an ace in a good organization, but both would have been solid pitchers. I could see each winning 15 or more a year. Harrison is still healthy and I'm glad the lefty has shown some success in the majors. More will come from him, but to lose Hurley, a Ranger home grown, kind of bothers a Ranger fan more than Harrison's success.

I'm not speaking for everybody because you have to love the fact that Harrison, remember left handed, is having success. Hurley put up a better ERA though in his brief healthy stint as a Ranger, not to mention it was all while the Rangers were still in a playoff race (Shocker).

I think JD & Co. have figured out how to handle their young talent and having Nolan Ryan as a mentor to young pitchers, majors or minors, gives Rangers fans hope for the future. Funny how Ranger bats end up dominating (thank you Jaramillo) and the pitchers all end up getting hurt or roughing it through Arlington.

Have an open mind to the Ballpark's pitching conditions. It may be hot, it may be a hitter's park, and it just might have all those breezes so often talked about, but remember Nolan figured out how to pitch in Texas with success. That in itself proves injuries and heat exhaustion can be avoided.

Figure out how to win in Arlington and your offense will provide the V's.

What A Day For The NBA

Basketball from 12 to 12. Its been an all day extravaganza for me and the NBA. Of course I was working for half of the big event, but I did get to catch most of that ridiculous 4th quarter and was stunned at the way the Mavericks had to pull off a Dirk buzzer beater just to avoid overtime. Interestingly enough, the talk of the game was the throw in 7ft'r I talked about in an earlier post. Ryan Hollins, too early to say what a throw in? He made a bigger impact this game than Diop has made all year! Now that's not to say that Diop had all the opportunities in the world but more that I'm liking what I'm hearing.

Two things I heard over the airways that I think caught mine and the rest of the DFFL crowd were the block shot, which I heard he went up like 20ft. to get, and the ally-oop he slammed home from Kidd. I don't think I can read too much into this quite yet, but it is fun to talk about. Matt Carroll by the way logged 3 minutes.

And now my night is coming to an end. The last and probably the biggest game is being played in Los Angeles tonight in a match-up of the Lakers tm and the Lebrons tm. There's nothing like a good game when your winding down. So that's what I'm going to do.

See you in Nacogdoches.

Will the Cowboys sign Ray Lewis?

St. Louis Hires... Not Jason Garrett

At least I wasn't the only that thought all signs pointed to Jason Garrett being hired in St. Louis. This sure does change things from... what, a day ago. Now do we drop T.O.? Will T.O. and Garrett figure out how to work together. If Garrett is anything of a head coach he will be able to find a way to get through to T.O. that the "me first, win first" attitude isn't as good as the "win first, team first" attitude (notice the wording, that's definitely a Rob Traegerism if I do say so myself).

Interesting Day

Quite a day indeed. Sports seem to have picked up since I've started writing this here ole blog, Dallas sports at least. Let's run down what news we got today:

1. Brian Stewart fired (Cowboys Def. Coordinator)
2. Mavericks trade Diop for Matt Carroll and some other 7ft looser
3. Jason Garrett might be going to St. Louis (he's on his way, probably there now, but it has to do with employment)

Bout time we kicked Stewart's ass out of Dallas. He sucked! Just goes to show you how much potential and talent this team has when Wade Phillips took over the defense.

Diop for Matt Carroll?? Questionable though it does save some money in the long run. Longer contract, contract decreases in value as the years go on when Diop's increases. Carroll is supposed to be a great 3 point shooter though his 3pt. % is a quite a bit down this year. I'm thinking Wally Szcerbiak? Maybe?? I'll take a Kidd dish out to a wide open Czcarbiak.



Send the 7 footer to Shawn Bradley day camp.

I've always hoped Jason Garrett would get hired elsewhere. Good for him. I didn't want him to necessarily go because he was a bad coach though I questioned him this year. I was really just hoping he'd go to shake things up in Dallas. After this last season it needed to happen. Hopefully the Cowboys gained something by being forced to subtract something. Is that going to be Mike Shanahan or Gruden? I don't know. They need to demote Wade to D-Cor. I don't think even Wade thinks he could do much better. "Wade, we are still paying you butt loads of money, just focus on the defense from here on. We're bringing in Mike."

Michael Young: A Texas Ranger (cont.)

So, yes, Michael Young will continue to play for the Texas Rangers. It was a situation that caught me a little off guard but I'm glad it was resolved quickly. He will start at 3rd base next year.

The story was that Michael and GM John Daniels had breakfast together one morning when Daniels told Young that they wanted him to transition to 3rd base. After winning a gold glove and having already made the transition to short stop from 2nd base after the Alex Rodriguez trade, Young wasn't too happy. He asked to be traded. News reports and blogs had a hayday with the report. Well after a couple days of thinking and talking to friends, baseball players and Nolan Ryan, Young decided he would make the switch.

Did Daniels and Co. really think Young would react the way he did. No way. Young has always been the ultimate team player. He is the face of the franchise. The Rangers didn't sign him to his giant contract just because he was a great baseball player. They signed him because...

1. He's a great baseball player (hits .300 and gets 200 hits a season).
2. He's a leader. Everyone in the organization has an amazing amount of respect for him.
3. Like I said, he's the face of the franchise. Though all the seasons of not making the playoffs, Young has stuck by the Rangers side and is an encouraging force within the organization.

I think Young realizes what's best for the organization and really wants to be a part of this club when the club breaks through. He also has been quoted saying he thinks it could happen soon, something I believe strongly in.

Put aside the bad moves made in John Daniels' managing. He turned a new leaf last year so all the Ranger haters need to get a grip. Look at what they are doing now with the calling up of Elvis Andrus. The future is coming and it won't all be dealt. Deals do make sense sometimes and the way they are taking care of the system right now they have me conviced that they can handle it correctly.

GO RANGERS!

Michael Young: A Texas Ranger

Michael Young has rescinded his request to be traded and has agreed to move to 3rd base. Love it. More to come.

Count It

Here is a way to score HUGE in the upcoming NFL draft. Who's going to take my advise? Maybe some desperate NFL GM is searching the web right now and stumbles across this post. He says, "Hey, not a bad idea. I know this selection is early in the draft, takes away some potential at another position and is a big risk, but... This could work.

Go draft QB Mark Sanchez (still to be determined if he decides to enter the draft but bare with me). Aaron Rodgers who? What are the chances this guy ends up being a legit NFL QB? If you were to take a "waiver" on this guy early enough in the draft even if your team does not need a QB you set your team up for the future.

I wish every player on the Cowboys was 27 years old. What good would Mark Sanchez be for the Cowboys? Well, they do need a back up quarterback. Sanchez could take over if Romo got injured or started sucking. Ok, now here's the big one - Potential Trade Bait.

What could Aaron Rodgers have netted a team this year if Brett Favre could have played 5 more seasons? Answer: A first-rounder and then some. That could mean two first-rounders meaning close ages.

Could Mark Sanchez's situation be similar?

It's Official and Almost Official : 2 Separate Topics on #1's

1. Its official! It was confirmed by a Baseball America official that Texas will indeed be pronounce the #1 farm system in baseball. This is very exciting news for Ranger fans.

• The point is being proven that JD and co.'s plan is working. The idea of rebuilding is starting to come full swing. Every year that goes by these prospects that already make up this #1 group will make their way to Arlington.
• It sounds like Elvis Andrus will get his shot at short stop this year, a pivitol position in baseball. The timing is interesting, which I happen to like, in that he can take his lumps in the bigs now while we are not considered a contender. Having a short stop who can really play his position as well as he is said to is a critical to contending.
• Two of our top pitchers, Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, could make their debut later in the season. The way they have been pitching in the minors you can hope for the best. These guys were both graded (A) when last year only 5 prospects in the whole league were graded (A) or better.
• Lastly, it will be interesting if we ever are contending to make a play for a player through trade with this deep farm. I'll take a proven young stud pitcher for a couple young stud prospects if it doesn't destroy the future of the ballclub.

2. Its almost official! Sam Bradford is going to play at OU for one more year. Bad news for Texas, good news for QB Matthew Stafford.

• There's a better chance of Stafford going number one now even if it is to Detroit. I really hope they trade that pick now...
• I always thought Stafford was better anyways, but now we don't have to worry about how the draft turns out as far as those two guys go.
• Bradford probably looked at too many mock drafts and decided against the draft. Who knows, might be for the best.

Rangers #1???

From an ESPN chat session that Baseball America editor in chief John Manuel participated in this afternoon:

Chris (Newport Beach, CA): Jim, great chat as always! I was wondering when you were doing the minor league top 10's, which orginization [sic] did you have the most trouble with in terms of their top three prospects? Marlins, Braves, other??

John Manuel: (2:25 PM ET) Neat question that I'll answer even though I'm not Jim. The Braves was very tough -- we went back and forth between Jason Heyward and Tommy Hanson; Hanson's AFL performance and scouting reports were so loud and outsized, and he's so much closer to the majors than Heyward, that we switched at the last minute. The Rangers top list and the Marlins are also interchangeable, and to me, you could argue Mike Stanton over Cam Maybin easily for the Marlins No. 1, K rate be damned! Those kinds of things tend to happen to strong organizations, and Texas and Florida rank 1-2 in our Org Rankings in the Prospect Handbook, which is at the printers now.

--------------------------->>>>>>>

This is about as close to a guarantee that the Rangers will have the top farm system in baseball. Its always been speculated that it was going to come down to Texas and Oakland. It is very surprising that Oakland is not a top 2 even though the margin of difference could be minimal.

One thought too... Does "Texas and Florida rank 1-2" actually mean in that order? I sure hope it does.

Welcome!

It is way easier to think of something to write about when you have something nagging at you. For instance, just today I could have written probably ten good 100-200 word posts with all the crazy Rangers' Young issues, the Mavericks trade rumors, my frustrations at work, my sense of accomplishments at work, my take on fantasy basketball or just my distaste for the game going on right now (remember, I said ten).

Dirk is a great shooter. I may be one of the only people left in Dallas that still believes the Jason Kidd - Devin Harris trade was good for the Mavericks. Almost a year later, it still seems like you can't have a basketball conversation with anyone and not hear someone talk about how bad the Mavs got screwed. All the arguments you hear are statistics based, thank you Billy Beane (random baseball reference, get it?) , and not enough substance. Now where have I heard that before... anyways.

Here's why I like it:

1. The Mavericks have Dirk. You now have a veteran guy, whom I believe could play 5 more productive years though maybe years 4 and 5 could back up, that is one of the smartest players in the history of the game. He hustles, gets people the ball, can hit the occasional wide open three, and will be a great teacher to a young Maverick point guard (my favorite 0f all).

2. Summer of 2010... Kidd has an expiring contract of $22 million. That puts the Mavericks in a great situation to sign a big name or two and perhaps Kidd again during that summer.

The list includes: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh (from Dallas), Amare Stoudamire and a couple other big names.

I hope they bring Kidd back to a smaller contract.

3. Free agency in general. Can anyone deny the way Mark Cuban treats his players. Didn't you see him at Dirk's MVP award acceptance? Have you heard about the Xbox's and flat screens in the lockers? Is that for real???

Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitski have way more pull on free agents because of the respect they have around the league. Jason Kidd was a true leader for Team USA when they finally prevailed and won the gold.

Hotty Totty! Let's Go Mavericks! Rangers - go sign Ben Sheets!