Glass
Half Empty / Afternoon Cloud: After the crushing defeat in game 6 of the
2011 World Series (twice being 2 strikes and 2 outs from winning the it all)
Rangers fans didn’t think it could get worse.
Then came the monumental collapse down the stretch of the regular season
last year in 2012. And finally, there
was the offseason where the Rangers’ front office brass swung and struck out on
every big free agent out there. And one
of those free agents that got away was the Rangers’ own Josh Hamilton. And to pour salt in that wound he’s now
playing for division rivals the Angels.
Nelson
Cruz is embroiled in a performance enhancing drug controversy and it remains to
be seen if he’s going to face a suspension.
Spots Up
For Grabs: On defense it appears that center field is a competition between
Leonys Martin and Craig Gentry-I would like to see Gentry get a shot at CF
since he batted for average (.304) last year in a 121 GP. And
since starting pitchers Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz will not be ready for
opening day it appeared the 5th starter’s spot was Martin Perez’s to
lose until he suffered a broken bone in his arm during Spring Training. Now that 5th starting position is
maybe not a big question mark but is a question mark nonetheless at this point.
Lastly,
the middle and setup relief is a going to be a huge question mark with, for
example, Alexi Ogando making the move back to the starting rotation and Mike
Adams another free agent that got away.
Glass
Half Full / Silver Lining: The Rangers have a good problem in the
middle infield. With Ian Kinsler
apparently staying put at 2B, they don’t know where to put Jurickson Profar,
the number one prospect from last year.
If Profar doesn’t play his way onto the big club in Spring Training then
they will be keeping a close eye on him in the minors.
New
additions A.J. Pierzynski (C, bats lefty) and Lance Berkman (DH, switch hitter) add lefty bats and some
pop to the lineup as well bring big game experience.
Oh yeah,
the Rangers have this pitcher named Yu Darvish by the way. If he builds on his performance from last
year he could turn into a true ace.
Nathan will be an anchor again as the Rangers’ closer. And Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Alexi
Ogando aren’t too shabby as your 2-4 starters no matter what order you put them
in. Plus, starter Colby Lewis should
come back from injury sometime around early to midseason and should resume his
role as a starter. Neftali Feliz is due
back mid-to-late in the season. Too many
quality starting pitchers is another good problem to have. That means Ogando and Martin Perez, or even
Feliz, could move back to and strengthen the bullpen at some point during the
season.
Thoughts
/ Observations / Sidenotes: Maybe Josh Hamilton leaving will be
addition by subtraction. Here’s why
that’s a possibility: the timing of Hamilton’s slump last year seemed to
coincide with him giving the go ahead to film producers to make his life story
into a movie with Casey Affleck writing and directing it (late
June 2012).
Then, Hamilton batted .223,
.177 and .259 three out the last four months of
the season last year. In other words, it
is yet to be seen which Josh Hamilton the Rangers lost and which Josh Hamilton the
Halos signed.
Mitch
Moreland played last year primarily against right-handed pitchers but, with
Kinsler staying at 2B it looks like Moreland is going to get a chance to be an
everyday 1B. Keep your fingers crossed
when he’s batting against righties.
Finally
Rangers manager Ron Washington is going to have to do exactly what his job
title says: manage. Everyone knows that
his players love him and will run through brick walls for him. However, with so many question marks going
into the season Wash is going to have to be ready to move people up, down, out
of and/or into the batting order as their performance dictates. And that’s something Wash has seemed hesitant
to do, instead sticking with his guys that are struggling and hoping they’ll
work their way out of a slump, like he did last year for example as the Rangers
squandered the AL West Division lead in the last month. The same goes for the starting rotation and
bullpen. At times Wash’s decision making
regarding the pitching staff has been criticized by those that watch every
game. Wash has to demonstrate that he
knows when to make a move and when not to. In the past the Rangers’ offense has been
productive enough to cover up any questionable moves Wash has made with the
pitching staff. That won’t be the case
this year.
My
projected lineup for 2013:
Batting
Order
1. Ian
Kinsler – 2B
2. Elvis
Andrus – SS
3. David
Murphy – OF
4.
Adrian Beltre – 3B
5. Lance
Berkman – DH
6.
Nelson Cruz – OF
7. A.J.
Pierzynski – C
8. Mitch
Moreland – 1B
9. Craig
Gentry – OF
Starting
Pitching Rotation
1. Yu
Darvish
2. Matt
Harrison
3. Derek
Holland
4. Alexi
Ogando
5.
TBD
2013
Prediction: In a very close race the Rangers’ strong starting
pitching and a consistent (although less powerful) offense carries them to an
AL West win.
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