Following a World Series appearance, the Rangers are now under greater pressure to perform. Baseball, for the first time in DFW, has dominated the sports talk world, even in the offseason. Interest in the Rangers is at an all-time high, this years spring training has been covered more in depth by more people than I can ever recall. Some things never change though, and with that said, pitching is, as always, the number one thing on people's mind heading into this season. Unfortunately, spring training has provided more questions than answers on the pitching forefront. The bullpen looks like a piece of Swiss cheese, mostly holes, with a couple of thin, solid pieces. Lowe, Rhodes, and O'day all have ERA's north of 10, and Feliz could be moving into the rotation. Darren Oliver has the best ERA of the pen crew, but can we really rely on a 40 something to anchor the bullpen? I tend to think. that by mid-May we could be looking at a bullpen of young unproven kids from the minors to carry the bulk of the load, and at this point that seems like a better option.
Now, for my AL predictions. Let's start in the East, I think Baltimore may be the most improved team this year in the AL, but it won't be enough to break through in this division. Boston, if Youk and crew can stay healthy, is my pick to take the East. Tampa Bay is heading back to the basement after pulling a Florida Marlins type unloading in the offseason, and Toronto will probably have another decent year that will land them 4th in the race. The Yankees dominating days I believe are over, this team is getting older, and pitching could be a problem. So, here is what I think:
1. Boston
2. Baltimore
3. NYY
4. Toronto
5. TB
AL Central: Minnesota appears to once again be the class of the central, and KC will probably continue to be the anchor that will remain planted at the bottom. Detroit, will be slightly better than .500, and Ozzie's days in Chicago will come to an end this season. Cleveland has nowhere to go but up, but I don't see them going up very far.
1. Minnesota
2. Detroit
3. Cleveland
4. CWS
5. KC
AL WEST: The Rangers have the support of the metroplex for the first time, but i'm expecting the worst here. They have the best offensive line-up in the West, but as we saw in October, good pitching beats good offense most of the time. Oakland is the SF Giants of the AL West, if this team can find a way to score 4 - 5 runs they will tough to beat. Angels coming off a quiet offseason, will be in the mix and their pitching is much deeper than the Rangers as well. Mariners have two great pieces, Ichiro and King Felix, outside of that I think they will once again struggle to be competitive.
1. Oakland
2. LAA
3. Texas ( unless pitching is added )
4. Mariners
expecting the worst, hoping for the best
I never understood how such a rookie as myself has always known the Rangers suffered from a lack of stellar pitching. Always.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't this message seem to resonate with ownership?
Nuts.
Great choice of blog music - Fogarty!
ReplyDeleteThe Man!
Expectations for this team are way to high!!....The "average" basebaal fan, i guess you can say, does not understand that this team has no pitching...The Rangers released their rotation today, and that rotation blows!...For real, you cant contend with a starting staff like that....They pitched great in the post season last year but how many times do you see that happen in baseball??..It happens every year with a bunch of no name guys that make a "splash" in the post season, then next season they come down back to reality...I will say it again, the Rangers front office made a huge mistake not getting another top pitcher in the offseason....Once they realize this, Ranger fans can say "good bye" to Michael Young cause he will be traded for pitching...
ReplyDeleteIf you look only at the line-up, expectations should be high, but this team looks similar to the good 90's teams. If they are in the chase at the all-star break they have a shot, because they will make moves if they are in contention. If Colby, Hunter and C.J. can repeat last season, and that's a big "IF" this rotation can be good enough to make a playoff push. The bullpen is the bigger question to me, Feliz is the only one out there that had a good spring.
ReplyDeletethats what i meant...if ya look at their lineup, yeah i would say they are heading back..i saw Webb couldnnt even get loose enough to throw the other day....not a good sign for your boy!...haha...gonna give ya hell bout that one till he proves me wrong....waste of money and time in my opinion...go get someone that can pitch!
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