I didn't see a designated landing spot for the collected internet musings on the Senior Bowl practices, so I thought it might be nice to have one. If I missed it, I will gladly take this down.

To start us off, a hat tip to the Great Blue North Report for collecting these four links in their latest update:

As we wait for Wednesday’s practice sessions to get underway, here and here and here and here are several observations from yesterday’s Senior Bowl practices.

Okay guys, let's use this thread to consolidate chatter, rumors, links, scouting reports, etc in the days before Monday night's first round coverage.

Today saw two different mocks emerge from BA, an expert's draft compiled by four of their writers that has us taking Joe Ross, and a true mock compiled by Jim Callis that has us landing Swihart. Be sure to check out their top 200 rankings as well.

I'll try to compile some other links as I find them. 

MLBBonusBaby

MinorLeagueBall

LSB's thoughts on Brandon Nimmo

LSB's thoughts on Josh Bell

Hat tip to Longhorn for bringing Frankie's top 100 list to our attention.

***Updated links***

Frankie's June 5th mock

Goldstein's latest mock

Goldstein's draft chat from Friday, June 3rd

We didn't have one for 4-15, and that's too bad because Erlin and Olt did notable things. 

But we will definitely have one for 4-16, because that's a hell of a lot of pitchers for one day on the farm:

HIC-6:00- Grimm 
MYR-5:00- Loux
FRS-2-DH- Brig/MDLS 
RRE-6:00- Scheppers 

********

HIC-4:00- Melo 
MYR-1:00- Ross 
FRS-4:00- Pimentel 
RRE-2:00- McClung 

Thanks as always for the good work that Shroom does here. And since I haven't hit my word limit, I'll just say that Mike Bianucci seems different this year. Let's hope that sticks around.

BA just posted their top 200 prospects and admitted that after a pretty clear top few prospects, this could be one of the most fluid top 200 boards in recent memory.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/draft-preview/2010/2610039.html

I just posted this on Andy's site as well, but I wanted to post it here to allow for a more Rangers-centric conversation. It looks like a pretty good draft for 3B and C and a pretty weak draft for up the middle prospects and LHP, which plays well into the areas of strength/need for the Rangers. I'd love to see them grab at least one 3B and C at some point in the single digit rounds, but yeah, BPA, a no duh.

I can't read many more articles about this whole creditor imbroglio. I am appreciative of the updates that Maury and others provide and that AJM diligently links, but come on. The Rangers play baseball, a game that has always been my purest form of escapism. When I'm stressed or bored, in moments when others might feel compelled to smoke a cigarette or close the books on their Lost fan site, I come read LSB and sink into Rangers baseball news and opinions. Reading about battles between an ousted ownership group and creditors spewing rhetoric like "This is now war" is a horrible, ugly distraction from the game itself, and while it gives me some degree of tired head, it gives me all the degrees of sad head.

This topic may have been touched upon in last night’s epic off-day thread, but I didn’t see it, so I’ll drop it here. Is anyone going to a music festival in the coming months? I’ve got two on my slate, Sasquatch up in Washington coming up this weekend, and Houston’s quaint little Free Press Summer Fest the next weekend (now with 100% more Wayne Coyne).

I know there are some music heads among us, so if you feel like taking a look at the Sasquatch lineup and opining on who I should see, I would certainly be obliged.

http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/#/lineup

Did anyone go to Coachella? Is anyone going to Bonnaroo or Lolla?

Dallas Basketball Ltd., which does business as the Dallas Mavericks, had a net loss of $50 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, the lawsuit said. The team has lost $273 million since Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban took over as majority owner in 2000, Perot alleged.

DMN link

(edit: I sort of buried the lead, but Ross Perot Jr is suing Mark Cuban per the article)

I know the situations are different, even if these allegations are true, but it is troubling none the less because I doubt Mark Cuban can sustain losses like this for too long even if his joint venture with Girls Gone Wild...goes wild.

Also, I apologize if this has been discussed elsewhere already today.

The intermingling of Cowboys and Rangers draft talk in the earlier fanshot seemed unnatural, so I decided it was time to pull out the NFL draft talk into a separate thread now that the NFL draft is fully upon us. Here is my opinion on the matter. 

In the first round, I could easily see this team taking a versatile offensive lineman like Iupati or Pouncey if they are still on the board. Jared Odrick, a 3-4 DE out of Penn State, is another likely option given the lack of depth at that position on the roster. There are two names I really trust leading up to the draft, the DMN’s Rick Gosselin and dallascowboys.com’s Mickey Spagnola. Gosselin has us taking Iupati in one of his mocks and has Dez Bryant slipping to us in another, but those two guys are 10-19 picks in almost every other mock I’ve seen, so I won’t hold my breath. Pouncey seems like the ideal realistic target, although Spags heavily indicated that the team would look at a DE early, which is why Odrick is now very much on my radar. He hasn't gotten as much hype as the much lauded DTs expected to be taken among the first handful of picks, but he was the Big East defensive player of the year and I could get behind a pick like that.

Ultimately, I could see the team trading up to snag Bryant if he falls out of the teens, staying put to draft Pouncey or Odrick, or trading out of the first round if all of those names are off the board and targeting FS Nate Allen or OT/OG Rodger Saffold in the early second round. I don’t think the team has much interest in Taylor Mays, but that could be classic JJ smoke screening there.

If the team gets Pouncey in the first round, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them target someone like DE Alex Carrington in the second round, a guy who dominated lesser competition at Arkansas State (Aggies like me know him well), or Tyson Alualu. If they get Odrick in the first, I could see them targeting Morgan Burnett, a FS out of Georgia Tech who seems to be getting a lot of pre-draft hype, or perhaps stopping the fall of DT Terrance Cody, who seems to be plummeting these days.

The fact that we didn’t target a guy like Ted Ginn (I personally really wanted us to offer our fourth round pick for him, thereby securing our return game and adding an interesting deep option to our receiving corps) makes me think Jerry doesn’t see WR as a serious need, so all of those people who want Jordan Shipley (or any other WR) in the third will likely be disappointed. That said, we all know JJ loves playmakers, so perhaps Javier Arenas in the third round is a realistic target. 

This may be a little early on to do this, but I'm riding a post-opening-day-come-from-behind-walk-off-win high, so I thought I'd throw it out there...

I was wondering if there would be any interest in a gathering of Rangers fans before one of the three Rangers games during the weekend of June 18th through the 20th down here in Houston. I know this isn’t an incredibly novel idea, but I will be leaving the state at the end of July and this may be one of my last chances to talk about Rangers baseball in a face-to-face gathering of real human beings. The warm glow of LSB on my computer screen can only fill that primal need for connection up to a certain point, ya know...

I don't know how many Houstonians are on this site, but it seems like there are enough to facilitate a gathering. We could meet at one of the bars in the downtown area beforehand, enjoy a few beverages and then head over to the game. Saturday night’s game seems like the optimal choice because there might be fans coming in from out of town who would like to join in the fun.

Any interest? If there are enough takers, we might even be able to do a group ticket pull.

I have seen a lot of hand wringing over this Milton Bradley to the M's business. Is $15M a year for Milton a better deal than $12M a year for Carlos Silva? Yes. But it is still $15M a year for Milton Bradley, who has NEVER LEFT A TEAM ON GOOD TERMS IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE. As much as we've all made of Lowell's veteranocity, whatever MB has in that category has to be counted as a negative on his total value.

But that's not the purpose of this thread. I would like to direct everyone to this article:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dh-jobs-becoming-scarce

There simply aren't many teams still looking for DHs now that the Angels signed Matsui, the Yanks signed Johnson, the Orioles signed Atkins (and have Luke Scott) and the Mariners traded for MB (and have Griffey). So guys like Thome and Vlad and Glaus are no longer legitimately "looking for two year deals" or the "best fit". They are looking for jobs. Guaranteed major league paychecks. That's it. And we are one of the only teams that still can find a use for an offensive weapon with no defensive home. I know JD is averse to pure DHs. But if we are looking at Vlad for $4M or Thome for $2.5 (and even those numbers may be high at this point) then of course we take on a true DH.

And let's face it, there's a better than decent chance that Vlad gives us a lot more for $4M than MB gives the Mariners for $15M.

It looks like Jack Z may not be the only beneficiary of happenstance this offseason.

pending a physical...

story here

It says it will be a one year deal for about 5.5M. Doesn't this sort of set a cap on the rest of the DH types on the market? If Johnson can only get one year at 5.5M, how can guys like Vlad and Dye expect to get any more? This is one of the first signings this offseason that's been lower than I expected, or at least about what I expected...

These may not be fanpost worthy, but I figured that they might help distract from the Hicks imbroglio and help start or continue a few conversations we are having elsewhere regarding our offseason targets. Please forgive me if these have already been posted in old fanshots.

Continue reading this post »

The Surprise Rafters' season ended today, and with it so did the stateside winter play of many of our beloved prospects. As a parting gift, many were active on its last day and most ended with a flourish. Lemon began his 2009 regular season on an amazing run, and appropriately bookended it with a strong stretch of games. He finished his season on a 17-40 run that included four HRs, which is neat until you realize he only hit one all year with Frisco, and then it becomes astonishing even in a hitter friendly environment like AZ. Mitch Moreland, on the other hand, was pretty consistent throughout the regular season, and continued that in the AFL, winning over many scouts and pundits along the way. Taylor Teagarden, part of a cache of young catchers that has failed to click at the big league level, had two solid games to end the season to save his bat from utter embarrassment. Gutcheck (a name I have given Gutierrez given his issues) gave up three runs today in three innings but struck out six and walked zero, so I won't write him off just yet. Scheppers rebounded from his worst professional start and threw a scoreless inning, and Harrison struck out three during three scoreless innings, so he finished with six scoreless and only two baserunners in his final two outings. I think he ends up being a very valuable member of our bullpen next year.

Other things to note: The Nationals are probably okay with their draft haul right now, finishing with the league leader in saves and ERA (Storen) and wins (Strasburg). Those stats are useless, but on the whole both pitchers apparently pitched quite well. Some kid named Robbie Weinhardt, an Okie State alum in the Tigers' system, put himself on my prospect map by striking out 29 hitters in just 18 innings, and Andrew Cashner dominated every start in which he didn't face Surprise...unfortunately three of his six starts came against the Rafters so he posted pretty pedestrian numbers overall.  

If you want to spend some time looking through statistics and perhaps share greater insights than I am capable of, then be my guest...

Despite our still being in it, I have been conditioned over my years as a Rangers fan to start thinking about the upcoming offseason by this time of year (and honestly, usually well before this time).  One of the weirdest things about this season, beyond truly caring about the outcomes of games in August, has been how hard it has been to identify specific areas to upgrade on this team, both for this year and going forward.  This is mostly because the rotation has been the default setting for that category for so long.  

At the trade deadline this year, outside of an obvious candidate like Roy Halladay, any other target would have felt like a small and insignificant upgrade at any one position, despite the obvious problems this team has had offensively, and that sort of extends into this offseason.  For example, despite the likely loss of Andruw Jones and Marlon Byrd, does this team really need to go after an OF with Cruz, Hamilton, Murphy, Borbon and Boggs hanging around?  Does the team want to invest in a DH long term with Davis, Smoak, Max Ram and Moreland all still hanging around?  An ace would be nice, but with rotation depth next year potentially including Millwood, Feldman, Hunter, Holland, Feliz, Harrison, McCarthy, and Hurley, you’d really need to target quality over quantity.  But if they do decide to shop from the top shelf this offseason, they picked a poor time to start drafting in the back half of the first round.

I have included a toolbag of links from the luminiferous aether to hopefully help stimulate some conversation on what our 40 should look like and which FA or trade targets we should pursue.   

We have some major contracts coming off the books (Padilla at 12m, Blalock at 6m, Benoit at 3.5m, Byrd at 3m, and Guardardo at 1m would equal 25.5, less the 1m that adds onto Millwood’s salary next year and the arb cases).  Is this enough to make a run at a guy like Lackey?  Could we also afford to bring in a guy like Abreu on a one year deal?  I think they are both currently projected as type B free agents, although both are on the fringe between B and A.  The obvious added bonus in signing either player is the damage it does to the Angels, while also addressing our greatest needs (legit TORP and OBP minded DH). 

Scott Lucas' Rule 5 eligibles...

Scott Lucas' Rangers Organizational Depth Chart...

BBTiA's June 40 Man Roster Opinions...

Cot's Rangers Contracts Page...

MLBTR's List of 2010 Free Agents

Jayson Stark just posted a story about trade deadline myths.  A lot of it we already know (wherein "we" is assumed to include people who read Jamey, the Jasons, and most any other local educated baseball commenter) but one line particularly stood out, and was duly noted on mlbtr, stating that Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. 

What?  Really?  Matt Holliday hasn't shown a ton of power this year, but i would think a team wouldn't mind adding his plus defense and solid plate discipline for the simple cost of his salary.  In fact, I would venture to guess that even the Rangers may place a claim, if he fell to them, if for no other reason than to foil the hated A's.  The same almost certainly applies to Washburn (why give up prospects for Lee if Washburn could be had for a waiver claim?).

I know Stark isn't exactly Professor Baseball, but he is employed by ESPN and he is probably fairly plugged in.  So this comment kind of blows my mind.  It also makes me want to take back my arguments with AJM about Millwood's trade value, because if these guys are probably going to "zip" through waivers, and if decent names like LaRoche and Betancourt are being traded for lower tier prospects, then this is definitely an extreme buyer's market.  I'm just glad the Rangers' 2007 didn't try to happen in 2009...

I have nothing substantial here, but as July gets closer, my mind tends to wander this way.  I keep reading over and over that this is such a seller’s market, which amazes me because, with the financial situation as it is, I figured teams would be more willing to move guys.  I am starting to wonder if the Rangers can pull off a dual “buyer/seller” mode over the next month and move some guys who may not be able to help after this year while also keeping their team strong for a playoff run.  Of course, it would help if every position player at the big league level wasn’t mired in suck right now.

Still, I love proposing deals, so I’d figure I’d throw some shit at the wall and see what sticks.

Continue reading this post »

I think we're about to lose the previous draft post and subsequent conversations from the main page, so let's get this party started...again.  Here are all the links that were included in the last thread:

Andy's most recent first round projection over at minorleagueball.com...click around and check out Andy's previous projections.

The Sporting News has some interesting articles up about Crow, Volz, and the college closer trend on their mlb draft page.

Some early prep profiles from Saberscouting...RIP, we hardly knew you...

Check out milb's draft profiles to familiarize yourself with some of the top names, and then check BA's updated draft tracker to see how these guys have progressed throughout the year.  Here is their general draft page, with some great stuff for everyone and lots more behind the pay wall.

Here is the link to Brewerfan.net's top 30 as another point of reference (although their top 30 is already looking a little outdated in this year's very fluid first round).

Another useful resource during draft season is PG Crosschecker, although you either have to pony up for a subscription or root around for scraps of free information.

A new (and somewhat questionable) source of data this year is Real Baseball Intelligence.  Their top prospects list includes some eyebrow raising locations for more than a few familiar names.

And here's an early first round mock from the Sporting News as well as one from mymlbdraft.com.

Since this is my thread, I'll go ahead and link the player bio of my personal cheeseball, current UNC LHP and future Ranger great Brian Moran.

If you have more helpful links, throw 'em up here.

Well all right! Let's commence the jigglin'!

We've tiptoed around it long enough and flirted with it in various threads, but to this point there is not a catch all spot to discuss the upcoming draft.  Andy Seiler has done a great job covering the draft over at minorleagueball, but its time we had our own spot to bounce ideas over here at LSB.

For starters, check out milb's draft profiles to familiarize yourself with some of the top names, and then check BA's updated draft tracker to see how these guys have progressed throughout the year.

Then head over to the aforementioned minorleagueball and check out Andy's most recent first, supplemental and second round mocks, as well as his Ranger's draft preview and his MOD thread.  You'll find each link in the recommended fanposts because apparently every Rangers thread over there is rectacular.

I'll kick off the conversation tonight by saying I have a new draft crush (or personal cheeseball, as BA would say) should the Rangers miss out on the many sexy arms projected to go at the top of the first round, and his name is Bobby Borchering.  He's a prep third baseman who is an advanced hitter from both sides of the plate.  While the Rangers would love to see him stick at third (though scouts seem mixed on that) I think he has the bat and the arm to make him a strong option as a left fielder.  He may not be the top prep position prospect, but he seems to have the top prep bat, and he has 13 HRs in 107 appearances so far on the year.

UPDATE:

Here is the link to Brewerfan.net's top 30 as another point of reference (although their top 30 is already looking a little outdated in this year's very fluid first round).

Another useful resource during draft season is PG Crosschecker, although you either have to pony up for a subscription or root around for scraps of free information.

And finally, a new (and somewhat questionable) source of data this year is Real Baseball Intelligence.  Their top prospects list includes some eyebrow raising locations for more than a few familiar names.

Okay, this may come off as piling on after this four game debacle we all just witnessed, but this actually stems from a conversation I had with some friends here in Houston at an Astros game when the Rangers sat at 2-0 on the year.  As you may imagine and/or have witnessed yourself, a person can take a fair amount of shit for being a transplanted Rangers fan, but lately I have been quick to come back with the retort that our farm system ranks number one in baseball and that our organization is clearly trending upwards.  Anyway, our conversation quickly turned to trying to identify the most futile, hapless franchise in baseball history over the course of each respective team’s lifespan.  Ultimately, it was decided that it depends on if you want to allow a franchise to count prior cities and identities (as with the Rangers and the Senators), but for the sake of this conversation, we decided not to include past iterations because a fan base regenerates with each move (Nationals fans don’t care about the Expos’ struggles). 

Without the Senators (and possibly even with their efforts), I was unable to give any good reason why the Rangers would not be the worst franchise in baseball.  This may have been obvious to some, but it caught me off guard.  It didn’t seem this clear 4 or 5 years ago, but with the relatively recent success of the Astros, Rockies and Rays, I think it has become pretty clear.  In the AL, the Mariners were the closest with three division titles and no WS appearances, but that 107 win season gave them a slight nod.  A team like the Expos would have been our best chance to avoid the basement, but if you look only at the work of the Nationals, then the sample size is too small.  Even long suffering teams (at least in my 25 year life to date) like the Pirates and Orioles had enough success earlier to slide comfortably above the Rangers.  It was a sad realization, but ultimately, a small source of pride.  I think we may be the best fans in baseball, because we have the greatest labor of love. 

Did I forget anything that may change this dubious status? 

Guys!  It's opening day for our four full season minor league affiliates.  As great as the first two Rangers games have been, baseball season doesn't really start for me (and many of you, I'm sure) until I get to open three game day trackers and scan and rescan 5 box scores at the end of the night.  I don't know when our parent team will suffer its first loss this year, but I am sure glad they were able to hold out long enough that the sting can now be mitigated by the juggernaut that is our farm system.

So be sure to check Shroom's site for the probable starters and read over all the great stuff in your inbox from Jamey and Scott, and be sure to count your blessings that you were born a Rangers fan and have a bazillion resources at your disposal to help you follow all our affiliates.  

Jimmy Gobble's numbers last year were ugly.  8.81 ERA, 27:23 K:BB ratio, 1.96 WHIP. On the surface, he seems like the sort of pitcher this team should stay away from.  But looking a little deeper, he could be exactly who this team needs.  

I have recently opined at length about our bullpen, and it was admittedly mostly fretting. Frankie is a lock in the 9th inning role, and Wilson will hopefully return to be the 8th inning guy.  If his blister problems linger, it's looking like two of Turnbow, Eyre, or Madrigal would be asked to step into the 7th and 8th inning roles.  The long reliever will be either Nippert or Rupe.  What the bullpen currently lacks is a loogy.  

As horrible as Gobble was last year, he was pretty dominant against lefties.  His BAA vs lefties was .200, vs righties it was .382.  His OPS against vs lefties was .580, vs righties it was 1.193.  His K:BB was 18:4 vs lefties, 9:19 vs righties.  He is the textbook definition of a loogy, and he can be had for next to nothing.  With the current instability among our crop of bullpen lefties, he seems like exactly the sort of player to take a chance on.

For the most part, this has been a spring of pleasant surprises.  The rotation has received a number of effective and efficient starts from its younger members and Millwood has already thrown more “A” game innings than I can ever remember him throwing as a Rangers pitcher.  Our veterans in the lineup look to be rounding into shape and the core group has had a strong spring.  Our young catchers have only increased their value, and our young OFs have displayed their tantalizing physical tools.  Most important, the injury bug has stayed away (vigorously knocking on wood). 

But I am still worried, because without a strong bullpen, this team is destined to fail.  The formula for winning in Texas was well established by Melvin’s late 90’s teams and revisited and reconfirmed in 2004: a good offense, a decent and efficient enough rotation, and a strong bullpen.  We don’t exactly have a rotation full of established workhorses.  Rather we are asking many pitchers to either establish new professional career highs after setting doing the same last year (Harrison, Feldman) or to reestablish themselves as effective 180-200 inning guys after a couple of years of falling pathetically short and with a contract situation acting as some sort of carrot-on-a-stick/elixir (Millwood, Padilla).  But even if we get significantly more innings from our starters (and it is almost impossible not to after last season), we will still need an effective bullpen in order to compete and, some might argue, to grow as a team, as nothing causes clubhouse strife and managerial second-guessing like late inning losses.

It would be heartbreaking to see the team finally assemble a decent rotation, only to see a weak bullpen prove to be the Achilles heal of the team.  But as of right now, we are looking at only three bullpen locks in Francisco, Wilson (whose status as a lock is now in question because of a blister injury that could linger and will certainly cause him to miss a significant amount of ST) and Eddie Guardardo (who has been utterly hittable since last July).  Beyond that, the best bets are probably Nippert (whose lack of options and strong spring have all but assured his spot as resident long man) and Warner Madrigal.  But Mad Dog is a guy who, going into ST, most agreed would benefit greatly from more time in the minors. 

Josh Rupe is beginning to near Loe/Littleton territory in his frustrating stuff/results quotient and his lack of control and player options, and he is coming off a year in which his arm was abused.  It would be a huge help to the org if he stepped up and looked sharp from here on out and then proceeded to remain healthy, but that is hard to bank on.  Our wildcards, Donnelly and Turnbow, still look like wildcards, and at this point are probably behind Willie Eyre because Eyre is already on the 40.  Guys like Diamond, Torres and Gabbard, three quality arms who could have laid claim to a spot with a strong, healthy spring, have taken themselves out of consideration.  The 40 man roster and player options will undoubtedly have a large effect on our ultimate assembly of arms, possibly to the detriment of the team.

Granted, it would only take three or four strong outings in a row by someone like Rupe or Turnbow to drastically alter the projection, but as of right now, with so few sure things, I just don’t see a way this collection of guys can congeal into a strong bullpen unit.

Sorry for the length.  Can anyone give me "reasons to believe"?

Here.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

I know nothing about the Mavericks. I know nothing about the Mavericks.

As many of you know, the Nationals have joined the Tigers and Reds in the pursuit of Gerald Laird.  Could this guy be on the Rangers' radar? But that is hardly the only significant rumor mill fodder to come out recently. 

JD Sullivan adds that the Giants and Rangers will discuss Big Bank Hank and Jonathan (Dirty) Sanchez.  Sanchez and the Giants have been tied to Cantu and the Marlins and Encarnacion and the Reds, and both of those players have been healthier, more productive, and are under control longer, making it seem like the Rangers would need to significantly sweeten the pot to make such a trade happen.It is worth noting that the Giants could use some middle infield talent, an area in which the Rangers enjoy some depth.  Still, the Giants have been tied to Blalock for a while now, so their interest seems legit.  They have Sandoval, who profiles better defensively as a 1B, so a lot could hang on how confident the Giants are that Blalock can return to third, his previously stated preference.

Also, there are reports leaking that Jason Varitek will reject arbitration, which seemingly takes away a little of the leverage from the Red Sox should they and the Rangers continue to discuss a young catcher for pitcher swap.  It seems that many around here have grown to like the idea of keeping both Teagarden and Salty and continuing to let both high-upside players develop, but I still think dealing one of these two for a significant young pitching return would be ideal, as the market will probably only become more saturated with young catchers as the glut of minor league talent works its way up to the major league level.  Perhaps this is a good place to note Salty's continued domination of Dominican Winter Ball.

Because things are still pretty slow, I thought I would link Baseball Analysts' Rule 5 previews for pitchers and position players.  Of course, as of right now this is pretty much irrelevant for Rangers fans...

Not that it matters, but if I was looking to find a cheap way to fill out my bullpen, I would take a long look at RHP Eduardo Morlan in the first round and perhaps LHP Ryan Mullins in the second.  Morlan has pretty legit stuff and is only available because of the amazing depth of the Rays farm.  I would think he is one of the first guys off the board.  Mullins has an underwhelming fastball but a legit curve and solid loogy splits.  He is 6'6" so perhaps a mechanical adjustment and/or a move to the pen could squeeze a little more out of that fastball. 

Another possibility is Texas. Sheets lives in Dallas in the offseason and has a strong working relationship with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who just came over from Milwaukee a week ago. Texas needs to upgrade its rotation, and Maddux is a self-professed Sheets fan who has stayed in touch with the pitcher since the end of the season.

 

"I would love to have that guy on my team regardless of where I am," Maddux said in a phone interview.

 

One thing is a virtual certainty: Sheets' name will come up in conversation when Maddux meets with general manager Jon Daniels, assistant GM Thad Levine and the rest of the Texas front office Friday.

 

"I understand why general managers have concerns," Maddux said. "But as somebody who was close to him, you say, 'It's just a bump in the road.' A healthy Ben Sheets pays his dividends. He's pretty darned good. He started the All-Star Game, and that's not a mistake."

***link***

For what it's worth, this it he guy I hope the Rangers really target.  while he is easily the second best pitcher on the market this offseason, I could see him getting total guarenteed money below guys like Perez and Dempster, especially if he is willing to sign a three year deal.  Plus, it would certainly give us some leverage in trades, and we might finally stop hearing (or at least hear less of) the "Rangers should trade (good, young asset) for (generic back of rotation guy) because any pitcher is an upgrade for them" talk.

also worthy of pulling from the article:

He has a better career strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.85-to-1) than Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay, and a lower career WHIP (1.20) than Josh Beckett and Brandon Webb.

A couple of quick notes to point out (and they could have already been mentioned in the comments of other threads)…

The Rangers are on the verge of having 5 of the top 30 prospects in baseball according to the fervent fans over at minorleagueball, and that doesn’t even include the greatness of Michael Main.  I am not asking anyone to run over there and stuff the ballot box, but I do like the idea that Rangers prospects are no longer underrated by general baseball fans, and may even (gasp) be overrated at this point.

Also, Tim over at MLBTR has posted his own speculative version of “Where Will the Free Agents End Up?” and he has the Rangers signing none of the top 50 FAs this year, which I find a little hard to believe.  While I expect the major move to be the addition of a pitcher via trade, I still expect this team to sign someone.  If we are going to build a team entirely through trades, that will be a misallocation of resources.  But after looking over the list a few more times, there may not be a FA that makes a ton of sense for the Rangers on that list outside of the upper tier.  So maybe he's right...

There was some heated discussion around these parts last winter regarding the value of Marlon Byrd, especially when it became known that the Cubs were interested.  At that point I think most of us were surprised that a 4th OF like Byrd could pique any team's interest and most agreed that his apparent sea change at the plate was more of a "wait-and-see" change. 

But 2008 only seemed to confirm his transformation into a viable starting OF.  Beyond the Boxscore recently posted a ranking for all CFs in 2008 and Byrd showed up 10th, behind one current Rangers CF and in front of some very eye opening names.

I think it is possible that Byrd gets taken for granted around here, although I admit he is not without his faults.  His OPS was about .200 lower away from Arlington this past season and he can be a very streaky hitter, but realize that Byrd finished last season with a line of .298/.380/.462 while showing the ability to play all three OF positions.  And he is cheap and controllable for a couple more years (I think). 

Because of all this, I could see the Cubs rumors coming up again this winter, along with the Yankees and really any other team looking for an OF upgrade, especially an OF who has the ability to play CF.  Teams that value OBP will certainly take note of the increase in walks and decrease in Ks that Byrd exhibited this year. 

I agree that he is not a player this team should be actively trying to trade, but with an OF cast that already includes Hamilton, Murphy, Cruz, Boggs and possibly Borbon in the near future, Byrd is a bit of a luxury, and if he can be parlayed into something of greater value both this year and in the future, it is worth a look.  So what is Byrd's market value?  I'd like to throw out the name Sean Marshall as a benchmark, a solid LHP for the Cubs who I think projects as a solid middle of the rotation starter if given the chance. 

Is that reasonable?

The future of Michael Young is one of the greatest enigma's facing this team.  He is commonly credited with being a strong veteran presence and given credit for setting a tone that has been followed by many of the team's younger players.  This past year he experienced a drop off in his offensive numbers, and while he may not be the next Paul Molitor, it would not surprise me to see him get back up to .300 and stay there for another four or five years.  His defensive limitations, however, are more alarming, and it could easily be argued that improved range at SS could help our pitching staff tremendously. 

Everyone around here knows all of this, and they know about his looming contract.  His tradability and his market value has long been debated.  But I wonder if he still could present value to another team in a different situation than the Rangers. 

Namely, the Dodgers. 

The Dodgers are about to see a huge sum of money come off their books with Manny, Lowe, Penny, Maddox, Blake, Furcal and others leaving via free agency.  They still have a glut of young talent, and they appear to be headed to at least the second round of the playoffs this year(and with their pitching staff, quite possibly beyond).  But a team losing this much talent, veteran experience and player name recognition will be looking to replace those things this winter.  Especially a team with the financial resources the Dodgers enjoy.  While it is possible they look to keep some of the previously mentioned players, Furcal stands to be one of the most sought after FA's this winter and may be difficult to retain.  The Dodgers had a slew of injuries hurt their middle infield this year, with Furcal and Garciaparra missing a lot of time.  Young's durability is taken for granted around here but probably not in LA.  All of this leads me to believe that it is possible the Dodgers could place a higher value on Young than the Rangers next season and beyond.  That he happens to be from southern California is not a huge factor, but is something to consider. 

The Rangers would not, and could not, ask the world for Young.  Guys like Kershaw, Billingsly, Ethier and Kemp should not be realistically considered.  But what about a package like LHP Scott Elbert, LHP Hong Chih Kuo and SS Chin Iung Hu?  Elbert no longer looks to be a future front end starter because of his injuries, but he could easily settle in as a dominant left handed reliever over time.  Kuo made huge strides this year in their bullpen and but he has started in the past and could do so for the Rangers, meeting a dire need for a left handed starter, and Hu could step in and give the Rangers a plus defensive SS for a year or two while Andrus continues to develop (his offensive limitations are easier to forgive with a team like the Rangers than with a team like the Dodgers).  I know that is three guys currently on the 40, and that is something to consider, but I didn't feel like mining their minor league pages for other names...

Is such a deal possible?  Am I asking for too much, or too little?

I have seen this on here before, but i thought i would float the idea again to see how the opinions range.  RJ is going to be a FA after the season, and while he no longer qualifies as an ace, he still seems capable of consistantly delivering quality starts  (at least in the weak NL West).

The Rangers have a number of young starters on the verge, but many, including Harrison and Hunter, are probably better served starting next year in AAA to continue to work on their command and offspeed offerings.  At the same time, the team should probably avoid signing a pitcher to a long term contract unless it is someone like Sabathia (I am weary even of Sheets).

Bringing in a guy like Johnson on a one year deal to start every fifth day and mentor our young pitchers seems like a good idea to me, especially if we fail to land a big name pitcher.  As a bonus, it seems unlikely Johnson would be a type A, so the Rangers would not have to forfeit a pick for him.  I would also think he has a decent relationship with Nolan, who I think wants to compete sooner, rather than later.  Johnson could help us compete next year without blocking our young pitchers long term.

Here are his stats on the year. He has pitched much better of late, after starting the year injured. Thoughts?