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.

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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?