Overall I think they had a good off season, there weren't many big time free agents and Jon Daniels signed a bunch of low risk contracts where if they sucked or were a problem it was no big deal because they were only going to be here for a year or less. The team didn't go out and overpay for Torii Hunter which I was fine with and I think Josh Hamilton will be a better centerfielder then him anyways. There weren't any standout pitchers that were free agents, the only huge contract for a starting pitcher I saw was Carlos Silva getting 48 million over 4 years from the Mariners. I think he'll be a decent fit in that ballpark.
Additions:
Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Jason Jennings, Ben Broussard, Eddie Guardado, Kazuo Fukumori, Dustin Nippert and Kevin Mench (currently in AAA). Recently released John Patterson was picked up by the Rangers but right now all plans point to him rehabbing and if healthy could help the rotation.
Losses: Edinson Volquez, Brad Wilkerson, Sammy Sosa, Jerry Hairston and it looks like the club will loseRobinson Tejeda soon since he was designated for assignment. If they aren't claimed or traded then he'll likely be forced back to AAA.
Perhaps the best news of the off season was that A-Rod opting out of his current deal let Texas off the hook for 21 million dollars that would've been owed to Rodriguez. Perhaps we'll spend it when a worthwhile free agent comes around here (unlike Torii Hunter which we stupidly offered $15 million per year over 5 years, thankfully the Angels were dumber and gave him 18 per year)
To continue on my Torii Hunter diatribe, I hope he ends up being a complete bust (which he most likely will as he gets older) He resides in Dallas and he gave some lameass answer that he didn't want to sign with the Rangers because his son said kids at his school would make fun of him for his dad being a Ranger. Torii your son sounds like a huge pansy with no self esteem or friends, though he's probably set for life with your money. He's also probably gay and wets himself, when he comes out you will not know how to handle it and most likely abandon him. It's ok better that he didn't sign with us because he doesn't get on base enough and his power and defense will only get worse and worse and this signing might end up being dumber then the Gary Matthews Jr. signing from the year before. It's weird how the Angels could be such a well run organization and the make 2 moronic signings 2 straight years from guys who play the same position. I don't get why they held on to all these stud prospects they had when they aren't going to see the field behind older vets like Garrett Anderson or Darrin Erstad (I'm aware he's no longer with them)
But this is the 2nd straight year the Rangers have tried to sign a guy for huge money who is merely an abover average player. And while I do love Jon Daniels and the direction he's going with the franchise I'm a little concerned that he and Tom Hicks have tried to sign Hunter and Barry Zito to long term deals when there best years are in there rearview mirror. Hunter I can sort of understand since he lives in the metroplex but Zito isn't an ace type pitcher but a #2 or #3 on a contender, and those type of pitchers never ever deserve a contract longer then 4 years (Just ask the teams that signed Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, *gulp* Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort)
The next thing I want to get to is the Josh Hamilton trade. This trade could become the trade that makes or breaks Jon Daniels and could possibly cost him his job. We traded Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez for what turned out to be a bust in Adam Eaton. But I will never back down from my belief that Young would be this good in Texas, that park in San Diego does wonder for a pitcher, especially a fly ball pitcher like Young.
Then there's the John Danks and Nick Masset for Brandon McCarthy trade. A trade I was in favor with at the time but McCarthy can never stay healthy and won't be back with the team until May 29th AT THE EARLIEST! Some people are wearing thin on Daniels unloading homegrown guys for others peoples property. Mainly the morons like Randy Galloway who is all shtick and no substance and just looks on the surface, why Daniels still talks to him after calling him publicly to be fired I have no idea, just shows the kind of stand up guy he is and isn't afraid of media pressure unlike our last GM who lived in a cave when he wasn't playing at Dallas's finest golf courses.
Anways I think the Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton trade could work out for both parties. As bad as the Rangers pitching woes are perceived to be, we've never had a consistently great centerfielder. Gary Matthews Jr. 2006 season might have been the Rangers best season of the last 30 years at centerfield. But Hamilton for the time being will change things. The guy coming out of high school was projected to be the next Griffey or ARod and what it sounds like, he could have been them, he can hit for average and power, take a walk, has a cannon is fast and can cover all sorts of ground in the outfield, a prototypical outfield in the Mickey Mantle mold. And now that he's done doing crack or cocaine he's ready to start living up to his potential. He flashed some of it last year and there's no reason to think he won't get better, the only thing slowing him down will be injuries. As for Volquez as long as his control is good and he can keep his walks down and flyballs (because the Reds ballpark is also an extreme hitters park) he can seriously be a legit ace and I'm not exaggerating his changeup is absolutely filthy just like Pedro Martinez (which is why he was given the nickname little Pedro some years back because of the devastating changeup.)
I've watched 5 games of Josh Hamilton and have already fallen in love with his game, and normally I hate seeing opposing teams win trades with the Rangers but I wouldn't care if both of these players turning into stars.
My 2nd favorite move of the off season is the signing of Milton Bradley, this guy has won and succeeded wherever he's gone, a good defensive outfielder who has a good On base percentage and has good pop in his bat. His problem is his temper obviously and his inability to stay healthy, only playing more then 100 games twice and 96 games or more 4 times and one of the times of over 100 games was just 101 games. He's been around Ron Washington before and if it works out this year I'd really like to resign him even if we do suck this year he'd be a piece I'd keep and build with. The last couple years I've really been impressed with his ability to work the count and take walks, the last 5 years he's had an OBP or .402, .370, .352, .370 and .362. Of the Rangers with at least 275 AB's last year only Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Marlon Byrd, Kenny Lofton and Mark Teixeira had higher then a .350 OBP (and the last 2 were traded)
As for the rest of the acquisitions:
Ben Broussard - He's just warming up the seat for future 1st baseman Chris Davis who's currently in AA and looks to be possibly promoted to triple A soon if he continues his tear from last year. Decent signing if the Rangers think Davis is ready around the trade deadline they might trade this guy for a decent prospect. Has looked OK on offense with 2 Hr's including a Grand Slam today. The better Ron Washington finds out he can't hit left handers the better, he looked awful on Opening Day.
Kazuo Fukumori - was perfect all spring and had a shaky debut with 2 "wild pitches" but they both looked like catcher Gerald Laird could've done a better job at blocking the balls. Looked to be in much better control tonight vs. the Angels, but he was pitching with a 6-0 lead, I want to be able to count on this guy in pressure situations and once he gets situated I think we will.
"Everyday" Eddie Guardado - maybe making Eddie pitch everday wasn't such a good idea because it nearly killed his career. He's 37 and he'll be the lefty out of the bullpen and setup man with Joaquin Benoit. Nice cheap signing and if we're out of it and he's succeeding in the bullpen we'll be able to receive a pretty decent package for him because relievers are always at there peak value near the trade deadline.
While we're on the subject of trading relievers I love the Eric Gagne trade more everyday. David Murphy looks better and better everytime I see him and has some real gap power and Gabbard shutout the Angels for 7 innings tonight. And if 17 year old CF Engel Beltre blossoms into what one scout said possibly the next Griffey this could be one of the most one sided trade of the last 10 years.
Jason Jennings - The Astros sure did sell the farm last year to bring this Baylor product back to Texas and boy did he flop. He was hurt all year and tried to pitch through it and it didn't work. Now again another cheap signing by Jon Daniels that can't hurt us because if he flops it's only 1 year so theres no loss. He looked OK from the little I saw Wednesday, he just made 2 mistakes, and they resulted in a solo and 3 run homer. Again could be trade bait or if he works out may resign with us for cheap since he is a Mesquite product.
Dustin Nippert - He was gonna be waived by the DBacks and we gave up a piece of crap for him, no biggie if he sucks Robinson Tejeda was in the same situation. After seeing him pitch tonight, unless he gains confidence overnight I'd rather see Scott Feldman pitch and that's saying alot because I hate Scott Feldman. He came in with an 11-0 lead and couldn't get 3 outs to close the game. The Rangers caught the ball on the warning track to win 11-6 (The homerun would have made it 11-9)
Couple other thoughts from the 1st 4 games and mainly some gripes from the 1st 2 games. This team needs to fix it's infield defense and fast, 4 errors by Michael Young and Ian Kinsler and 3 wild pitches that partly cost us the game on Opening day and nearly cost us the next day had it not been for Josh Hamilton's heroics in the 9th inning off JJ Putz. Did I mention I love the guy? He made 2 fantastic defensive plays in Seattle including running down a ball that probably about 3 other guys in the league could run down.
One has to wonder when the Rangers starting rotation will start to let up but so far the look damn impressive.
I'm going to guess a .500 year for this club and that will hopefull be progress, no one expect this team to contend and with the Angels sudden injuries and the Mariners lack of offense there's a slim shot we make the playoffs if nearly everything goes right for us. But I'm just looking for development of young talent in the minors, seeing guys like Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton take the next step and establish themselves as top players at there positions and maybe see Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Eric Hurley and Chris Davis come up sometime after the All Star break and hold there own against major leaguers.
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