The other thread is getting pretty large, and I think we will see a lot of activity today (especially once the BCS bowls are set this evening).

Lots of people speculating that OSU could potentially jump Alabama after last night's performance. Alabama has a razor-thin lead in the Coaches poll, and most are assuming that will be the same in the Harris poll. If the computers favor OSU, we might be seeing a big surprise later today.

And then there's this:

SPORTSbyBROOKS SPORTSbyBROOKS Multiple sources, including one inside UT football program, told me today Mack Brown will likely be forced out at Texas

Huge weekend of college football action to discuss as some dominoes started to fall (Stanford, Boise State).  Lots of possible scenarios out there with regards to the National Championship game and the BCS bowls in general.

Here's my prediction of the BCS bowls (assuming LSU beats Arkansas/Georgia and Oklahoma State beats OU):

• BCS National Championship - LSU (#1 BCS) vs. Oklahoma State (#2 BCS)
• Sugar Bowl - Alabama (replacement pick #1) vs. Houston (at-large pick #2 - top non-AQ conference champ)
  
• Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma (replacement pick #2) vs. Stanford (at-large pick #1)
• Orange Bowl - Clemson (ACC Champ) vs. Cincinnati (Big East Champ)
• Rose Bowl - Oregon (Pac 12 Champ) vs. Michigan State (Big 10 Champ)
  

Teams projected to be in the Top 14 of the BCS standings that won't be eligible for BCS selection: Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas State, and Georgia

At-Large teams in the Top 14 of the BCS standings that will be left out: Virginia Tech, Boise State

One thing I just realized that shocked me was that if Houston loses one of its final 3 games, TCU will most likely become an automatic BCS selection as the top non-AQ conference champion in the top 16 of the BCS standings (currently sitting at #19).  They would also have to remain ahead of the Big East champion in the BCS standings (seems likely).  That would be shocking to me considering the fact that this TCU team has two losses and is simply not a great team.

Here are a couple Texas Rangers quizzes I created yesterday for those who are having slow days at work or want to waste some time during their lunch hour.  I'm interested to hear how smart every one is when it comes to their Rangers.  There are definitely some guys I would never have guessed even if it wasn't a timed quiz (10 mins).

How many of the Texas Rangers Opening Day starters (1991-2009) can you name?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/William/rangers_lineups_91_09

For those of you who like a tougher challenge, how many of the Texas Rangers Opening Day starters (1972-1990) can you name?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/William/rangers_lineups_72_90

Pretty good article on everyone's favorite prospect (at least...these days). 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2008/8/27/602324/where-did-this-guy-come-fr

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD

WORD WORD GO RANGERS WORD WORDWORD WORD WORD

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD

WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD

This is based on the current MLB team Page Depth Charts. Discuss it all in the Comments please.

Here's the link to the same thread before the season started.  Some of the comments left there seem pretty comical now (i.e. Kendrick over Kinsler, Guerrero over Bradley, Bedard as the best in the AL West, Putz over K-Rod, etc.).

 http://www.halosheaven.com/2008/3/24/318300/story title

I did include Figgins as the 3B despite not being on the depth chart due to bereavement.  I also replaced Harden with Gallagher in the A's rotation.  I added Rowland-Smith as Seattle's 5th starter.  I also pushed Hamilton to RF where he has been playing, moving Murphy to LF, and Byrd to CF.  Lastly, I included Padilla and Hurley in the Rangers' rotation as they are set to start in the 1st series after the ASB.

My picks:

C A's

1B Angels

2B Rangers

SS Rangers

3B Rangers

LF Rangers

CF Angels

RF Rangers

DH Rangers

SP1 Angels

SP2 Angels

SP3 A's

SP4 Angels

SP5 Angels

Setup Angels

Closer Angels

Let's see who can guess the final order of the field.  Let's let tiebreakers for players that will not have a "swing-off" (i.e. #'s 5-8) be the player's longest HR in the contest when deciding on the order of players for our purposes.

Remember, only 4 of the 8 contestants advance to Round 2, and then 2 finalists will face off.

Total HR listed

1. Josh Hamilton - 23

2. Lance Berkman - 21

3. Ryan Braun - 12

4. Grady Sizemore - 10

5. Dan Uggla - 4

6. Chase Utley - 4

7. Justin Morneau - 3

8. Evan Longoria - 3

http://www.rotowire.com/roto_to_gnews.htm?ID=241714&sport=mlb

It looks like Daniels made a good move not to offer him arbitration.

http://www.blessyouboys.com/story/2008/1/10/114427/182

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http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/news/top50/y2008/profile.jsp?t=p_top&pid=462101

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/news/top50/y2008/profile.jsp?t=p_top&pid=457922

No other Ranger prospects listed so far in the countdown (only #21-50 posted so far).

I thought this was pretty neat until I saw the reference to "Tulsa" in Andrus' writeup.

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My question:

I'm not that familiar with the Braves prospects (seems like a LOT of B+'s and B's), but where would Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Beau Jones, and Neftali Perez rate on this list if they were still in their system?

1. Jason Heyward, OF, Grade B+
   
2. Jordan Schafer, OF, Grade B+
   
3. Brandon Jones, OF, Grade B+
   
4. Tommy Hanson, RHP, Grade B+
   
5. Joey Devine, RHP, Grade B
   
6. Brent Lillibridge, SS, Grade B
   
7. Gorkys Hernandez, OF, Grade B
   
8. Jair Jurrjens, RHP, Grade B  (worried about his health)
   
9. Cole Rohrbough, LHP, Grade B
   
10. Brandon Hicks, SS, Grade B
    
11. Jeff Locke, LHP, Grade B-
    
12. Steve Evarts, LHP, Grade C+
    
13. Jamie Richmond, RHP, Grade C+
    
14. Jose Ortegano, LHP, Grade C+
    
15. Kris Medlen, RHP, Grade C+
    
16. Julio Teheran, RHP, Grade C+ (all hype and scouting reports at this point)
    
17. Tyler Flowers, C-1B, Grade C+
    
18. Chad Rodgers, LHP, Grade C+
    
19. Jose Ascanio, RHP, Grade C+
    
20. Cody Johnson, 1B, Grade C+

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/wires/10/31/2010.ap.bbn.padres.cameron.suspended. 0305/

__________________________----------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ ----------------------------- -------------------- ------------------

Here's a funny anecdote I got an email about from a good friend who works at ESPN:

"met Tim Kurkijan for the first time in person tonight and he is one of the most legit dudes out there we were just shooting some sheeze and I said I'm from TX and he told me something I'd never known, that he was Beat Writer for the Rangers from 83-85 and then he lived in Dallas during the early 90s while writing for SI so anyway I said something along the lines of "oh yeah, the Igor Era....fightin' for them RBIs..." and he just goes OFF into this long tale about his days interviewing Bobby V and how Bobby always had to deal with the jealousy between Ruben and Juan....so much so he actually had to stick Kevin Reimer after Ruben in the order cause if Ruben knew Juan was right behind him and there was a runner on third and less than two outs, he'd swing at (quoting Tim quoting Bobby V) "Any crap they throw up there" desperate for a Sac Fly instead of taking pitches and walking like he should....all because he just didn't want Juan to get the RBI!! Quoting Timmy K again (in an incredulous voice) "Sierra didn't care if Reimer got the Sac Fly behind him, he just didn't want it going to Gonzalez!!"'

Perhaps an additional reason why Sierra got shipped out?

I'm really intrigued by the quality of catching depth that the team has at this time.  Where do you think these players will be in 2008?  I put my guesses in parentheses.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (starting catcher)
Gerald Laird (non-tendered...just a hunch)
Chris Stewart (backup catcher)
Guillermo Quiroz (OKC)
Taylor Teagarden (OKC)
Salomon Manriquez (Frisco)
Max Ramirez (Frisco)
Chad Tracy (Clinton - again? or Bakersfield)
Cristian Santana (Spokane?)

Am I being too optimistic?  It just seems that a lot of them are performing extremely well at their current levels and could merit the jump next season.

When the Orioles pursued a trade for Texas Rangers slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira, the Severna Park native who is reportedly headed to the Atlanta Braves, they were told it would take ace pitcher Erik Bedard and nothing less, according to two team sources. The Rangers' asking price had dropped from last year, when they asked for Miguel Tejada and Bedard for Teixeira. However, the Orioles, who have Bedard under contractual control for two more years after this season, still felt the 28-year-old pitcher was too steep a price for Teixeira, who appears primed to test free agency after next season. There also remains a hesitance to trade enigmatic starter Daniel Cabrera, especially when his struggles have lowered his trade value. -- Baltimore Sun

________________

1st time I had heard this...sorry if it was posted before.  Bedard would have been awesome if the Rangers could have persuaded the Orioles to part with him.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2007/5/11/161628/354

It's pretty depressing seeing how promising Mateo's minor league numbers were and how highly he was thought of by people like Sickels.  It's really a shame how his injury just caused him to fall apart.                                                                                                                                                  

Lots to choose from, but I'll put up a poll.  

What is the most depressing stat you see when you look at the Rangers individual stats thus far?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

He's in, and Monk is still out.  Let the griping and whining commence!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   .

Continue reading this post »

based on insightful commentary/stories/speculation only.

I'm interested to hear you guys views, particularly since I live in Houston and probably don't even know a few you will mention.

I'm guessing Adam, Jamey Newberg, and T.R. Sullivan are up near the top?

Evan Grant?

The others?

I'm not even sure who the others are...Sherrington, Engel, Galloway, Hitzges, etc.

That seems strange to me...Indians already have Sabathia (L), Lee (L), Westbrook (R), Byrd (R), and Sowers (L).

Who would get bumped from that rotation once Mulder is ready to pitch? If it's Byrd or Westbrook (I can't see it being any of the other 3), 4 lefties in one rotation would have to be a record. That seems like overkill to get Thome out of the opposing lineup.

Seriously though, does anyone know what Cleveland has in mind for Mulder?  

Do you think this is a possibility?

With the recent rapid increase in salaries this offseason, I have to think that AROD may be trying to determine if he can opt out of his deal and make more in the long run.

I think Hicks would still be on the hook for the deferred money related to 2007 and prior years, but any portion of his $27M salary for 2008, 2009, and 2010 that he owes AROD would be wiped off.

A-Rod and Soriano, for example, are about the same age.  If Soriano can get an 8-year, $136M contract, A-Rod should be able to do a hell of a lot better than that just 1 year later, considering he's a much better offensive and defensive player at a premium position.

It wouldn't hurt if the Yankees struggled a bit this year.

Think any team would offer AROD an 8-year deal worth $160M?  If so, that would mean that he would have to get a 6-year/$80M deal after his current contract expires (at the age of 35) for him to beat this hypothetical deal.

Thoughts on any likelihood of this happening?

Heard on Houston sports radio this morning that Richard Justice (Houston Chronicle writer) thinks that Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens will both retire.  He also wasn't very optimistic about them going the Zito or Schmidt route.

This seems to be one more team that will be trying to compete for the Ted Lilly/Vicente Padilla/Jeff Suppan/Gil Meche/etc. tier of pitchers this offseason...along with the Rangers, Mets, Cubs, Mariners, etc.

A rotation of Roy Oswalt, Woody Williams, Jason Hirsch, Fernando Nieve, and Taylor Buchholz is pretty crappy.

per the Astros' website.

6 year deal!

Looks like a best-case scenario for the Rangers!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

He'd come pretty cheap, and he might be willing to sign an incentive-laden deal to get his career going again.  

Local kid headed home kind of story.

Any interest at all?

I'd like to slot him in the #4 or #5 spot to go with the Tejeda and kids group.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Apparently, this guy thinks so.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjkxWCS0pRaTFr9z_fP353URvLYF?slug=jp-awards092806&prov=yho o&type=lgns

Wow.  I don't think he's as brutal as a lot of you seem to think, but I have no reason to believe he's the best either.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Coco's ninth inning tonight (Brewers won, 1-0):

 Bottom 9th: Colorado  

What are your prospective thoughts on Tex's year-long funk?

His numbers aren't horrendous, but for a player that most people pegged to be a .280/40/120 player, he's been quite a disappointment of course.

Is there good news that he now becomes cheaper in the long-term?  

Most of me wishes he'd get his act together, but a small sliver of me is intrigued by the fact that Boras & Co. won't rape this franchise again.

Not Ranger-related, but baseball-related.  For some reason, I've always wondered what would happen in the following situations.

1. A team that is horrible (i.e. KC Royals) trades their only player named to the All-Star team AFTER the lineups are revealed, but BEFORE the All-Star game.  What would MLB do (in relation to the every team must be represented "rule")?

I know the Tigers came close to doing this in 2002 when they traded Jeff Weaver in this "window", but for some reason, Robert Fick got the Tigers' lone spot while Weaver was probably more deserving.

2. A team that is out of the playoff race decides to trade their biggest trading chip (i.e. Carlos Lee) who is a free agent after the season.  Is it allowed/possible for the Brewers to negotiate a contract extension under the table (giving Carlos Lee a couple extra million for agreeing to play the next 2 months elsewhere), trade him away (netting a nice prospect/player package), and then resign him in the offseason to the "extension" that was agreed to beforehand?

Think anything has ever happened like this?  Would it be possible?