Good news from AZ

1. Neftali Feliz says he would like to stay in the bullpen, that is great news.

2. Ogando throws 3 scoreless innings last night with 4 k's.

3. Webb is scheduled to face live hitters on Wednesday in bp.

4. Chris Davis, not sure if this is good news, but he is hitting .435 so far this spring.

Davis is getting plenty of AB's this spring with Beltre being out, and so far is making the most of his plate attempts. Chris has proven he can handle AAA and AA pitching, but has not been able to bring that success to the big club. First base is Morelands to lose, and with the addition of Napali and Young, being positionless, don't see a spot for the Chris Davis experiment to continue.

Ogando's success last night is nice to see, and going into the spring I expected him to have the best shot of a reliever moving in to a rotation spot. Three weeks away from opening day and the Rangers still don't have any real answers for the rotation. C.J., Colby, and then what? Hunter has one big problem, he throws too many pitches. Holland also has similar issues to Hunter, along with the fact that he is very inconsistant. Webb continues to get stronger and if all goes well tomorrow I suspect he will get his first spring training opportunity early next week.

Spring training is right up there with pre-season football, you see lots of young guys getting a shot to play, but have very little realistic chances to make the big club. What we do seem to know is Ian Kinsler will most likely hit lead-off and C.j. Wilson will most likely be the opening day starter. I admit I fell off the Kinsler band wagon a couple of seasons ago when he decided to become a "power" hitter, maybe hitting lead-off will make him more selective at the plate and get him back to hitting the ball to all fields. Wilson, on the other hand, was the biggest surprise last season, and I hope he doesn't pull a Feldman and fall off the map by the all-star break.

Calling all pitchers and catchers!!

Before we dive in to pitchers and catchers, let's discuss Michael Young. I admit, I am a Young fan, and I would like to see him remain a Ranger. He has been the face of this franchise for the last decade. Young has always been under appreciated by the national media, but the lack of respect, shown by Ranger's management, is a joke. Young is no more a liability at 3rd than Beltre, both had 19 errors last season, and both are comparable at the plate. I believe the Beltre signing was a last ditch effort by management to grab a "big" name since the offseason was fairly lack-luster. Trading Young should not be an option, at $16 mil./year the Rangers will still end up paying the bulk of his salary. The better option to me is to trade Ian Kinsler and move Young back to his natural position. This would probably be of greater benefit to the Rangers as well, I feel Kinsler probably would draw more interest trade wise, and I think Young is way more superior at the plate than Kinsler. Even the NY Yankees understand that sometimes you pay and keep your team leader in place, even if his skills are somewhat on the decline.

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, and there appear to be a lot more questions than answers concerning this staff. Brandon Webb's health and velocity could be the single most important aspect of spring training. A revamped Webb gives the rotation depth and leaves Feliz out of the running for a starting position. Nefty, in my opinion, needs to stay in the bullpen. Truth is, he is a one pitch pitcher, and until he can develop a couple of more pitches I think his talent will be wasted as a starter. Ogando, on the other hand, has multiple pitches and should be able to move into the rotation if needed. Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland both need to show that they can pitch deep into games on a regular basis. Holland has shown flashes of brilliance, but often times it has been followed by big failure. Another wild card will be Scott Feldman, he is coming off a knee injury, and he needs to find his 2009 form. If Feldman and Webb can both revert back to their best form, this could be one of the deepest staffs in the A.L. I realize the chances of that happening are about as likely as the Rangers playing in a World Series, but hey, it did happen once!

Any more moves coming?

Rangers sign Beltre to a six year deal, making Michael Young the DH. I like both aspects of this move, although I don't necessarily believe Beltre is as far supperior at third as the media makes him out to be. I do however like adding another steady .300 + average to the line-up. Heading into next season the Rangers line-up appears to be stronger than last years, but like I said, that's on paper.

The big question in my mind, and most other baseball nuts, is what is the starting rotation going to look like. The rest of the A.L. West has had a pretty quiet off-season which is a good thing for the Rangers. There is no reason the Rangers shouldn't at a minimum repeat as A.L. West champs, but the question that time will answer is will this team have the pitching to make another World Series push or are we going back to gorilla ball of the 90's teams. I still believe that Daniels will make another big pitching move mid-season to try and tighten up the rotation, but we will have no idea who might be available until around the all-star break.

Father Ranger

December 30, 2010: Tom Vandergriff, father of the Texas Rangers, passed away. Mayor of Arlington for almost three decades, Tom Vandergriff spent the better part of a decade lobbying for Arlington and DFW to be home to a MLB team. Finally, in 1972, baseball approved the proposal by Robert Short, owner of the expansion Washington Senators, to move the team to Arlington. Vandergriff also served as a tv broadcaster for the Rangers, without pay, from 1975 - 1977.

Vandergriff not only brought us major league baseball, he was also very instrumental in getting Six Flags, General Motors, and numerous other big businesses to call Arlington home. Only two statues reside in the Ballpark in Arlington, one is Nolan Ryan, and the other is behind centerfield in the area of the park known as "Vandergriff Plaza".

It's only fitting that Mr. Vandergriff got to see the Rangers play in the World Series before his time was up. I would assume the Rangers will honor Mr. Vandergriff and the legacy he leaves behind next season. As a Ranger fan, I would just like to say, " thank you " for your passion and persistence in bringing us the Rangers.

RIP Father Ranger!

Roll with it!!

With Greinke being traded to the Brewers, the Rangers are only left with one real quality pitcher to pursue. Matt Garza is the last quality pitcher on the market, and in my opinion, if they are unable to make that trade work, the Rangers should do nothing in terms of adding pitching. The Rangers will be in the hunt this season, and by the all-star break there are always teams out there trying to unload salaries. I believe they can pick up another quality pitcher, and have the luxury of seeing how that pitcher has been for the first half of the season if they just stand firm with what's in place now.

It looks as though Vlad will be back, it's just a matter of finalizing the details. Considering the other options out there at DH, I can't really complain about bring Vlad back. The Cliff Lee fall-out has Ranger fans around here leaving this team for dead. REALLY? I think this team will win more games this season than last, and if they can pick up another pitcher around the trade deadline, they could be in a position to make another World Series run. I'd like nothing more than to see Cliff Lee pitch in the ballpark this year!! April, could you please come faster!!!

At least that's finished!!

Now that we know Lee won't be sporting a Rangers jersey next season, the task for the Rangers to add quality starting pitching has may get desperate. My hopes are the Rangers don't go out and make another Chan Ho mistake, just paying big money for a name. Matt Garza seems to be the best of the rest available via trade, since Greinke is sounding more like a long-shot trade. I heard Brandon Webb's name mentioned by someone other than me for the first time, but I was only willing to take a shot on Webb if the Rangers would have landed two injury free quality starters first.

The buzz is Feliz and/or Ogando will move into the rotation if the Rangers are unable to secure more starting pitching. While I will agree finding a closer is easier than finding a quality starter, Feliz is a one pitch pitcher, and in my opinion not anywhere near ready to be a starter. Ogando, of the two, I would say is closer to being ready for the rotation. My guess is Frankie would move back in to the closer roll if this is the direction they go.

Now that the Lee saga is over I would expect any moves that are going to be made, will be done rather quickly. Listening to talk radio over the last couple of months, most of "Ranger Nation" are probably declaring the Rangers dead without Lee. Sadly, what the Lee decision may do is send Michael Young elsewhere, and that would be a mistake in my opinion. I may be alone in this thinking, but I think if the Rangers make a serious push for Greinke they may throw in Young just to secure the deal, if that's what it takes. As I said previously, the Rangers will be in the middle of it again next season with or without Lee, and my thoughts on that haven't changed now that we know Lee won't be back.

Cliff: Thanks for your time!!

The Rangers need to pull the plug and walk away from Cliff Lee. Six years $150,000,000 + is crazy talk, and here is why. Sure, we all remember how great he was in the ALCS taking down the Yankees, but do we realize, that as a Ranger, Lee was 4 - 6 with a 3.98 era prior to the postseason. A 3.98 ERA 4 wins 6 losses, just as reference that is the 4th best e.r.a. on the staff. Cliff Lee is only three years removed from being sent to the minors and not even earning a spot on the Indians playoff roster, and he is 32 years old and six or seven years at that price just doesn't make any sense to me.

As brilliant as Daniels was last season getting the pieces in place for the world series run, he has been just as bad this off-season. I will give him some props for at least upgrading at C, Yorvit should be a nice addition. I'm no GM, but I would have absolutely taken a different approach this winter. For starters, I would have made a serious push for Jon Garland and maybe another starting pitcher or two. Lee says he likes it here, well thats great, but I would have showed him the Rangers are serious about being contenders by being more aggressive. I absolutely would have made offers to Brandon Webb and Chris Young, i realize they are both coming off injuries, but they can be had cheap for the potential they bring. As it is, I guess we will be looking at a starting rotation of C.J. , Colby, Hunter, Holland, and probably a revolving door in the five spot.

Scott Feldman: where have you gone? I haven't heard his name mentioned in any of the possible rotation spots for next season. Did we just give him a big contract, and give up on him. My guess is Feldman will bounce back in 2011, maybe not to his 09 form, but at least good enough to find himself back in the rotation.

Hopefully by the end of next week, we will at least get an idea of what to look forward to next season. Don't get me wrong, Cliff would be a great addition, but this team should be in the hunt again next season with or without him!!