Ranger things...

Red is back in the Rangers life...


This past Friday the Texas Rangers unveiled there new alternate uniform that will be worn on Saturday home games and special occasions, such as this upcoming Opening Day in April.


The club also unveiled new home uniforms, the main difference is on the front of every jersey it says Texas rather then Rangers on the home uniforms. The club has also gotten rid of the sleeveless jerseys (which I was a fan of.) Here's a look of some of the players and manager Ron Washington modeling the new uni's.



They're all pretty snappy, I would like for the home jersey to say Rangers on them because it is devoid of that on every one of the jerseys but aside from that they're good. I think the new red alternate looks good, personally I'm glad they didn't make the full transition back to red, blue in my opinion looks better, but seeing how I am very superstitious and red is the only color we have ever made the playoffs in it's nice to see it back. It's even better that they'll be wearing black cleats because I always thought the all red uniform (including red cleats) years ago looked awkward.





Now the real problem I have is the batting helmets, these things are attrocities on the level of the Chicago White Sox thinking shorts were a good idea for a baseball team and camoflauge jerseys for the San Diego Padres. Just look at these things



It's hard to form a coherent sentence thinking about who the dumbass is who thought these were a good idea. Blue and red are solid colors apart but when they form to go ontop of a hat? What the hell is that! This has to be a gag right? I pray these go the way of the Dallas Mavericks failed silver jersey and never see the light of day again after the backlash for these things will be, HUH!?! I would sleep better knowing the person who made these helmets never receive another job again, at least until he releases a full apology for this heinous creation.







But enough about that let's talk about this. Michael Young moving to 3rd base. This is the right move, I think most people who follow the Rangers farm team and have a decent idea about Elvis Andrus figured this move was going to come sooner then later. I honestly thought it wasn't going to come to 2010 but the Rangers of the last year or 2 have pushed and challenged there top talent (Chris Davis jump to the Majors, Tommy Hunter in the big leagues and Neftali Feliz going from Low A to AA skipping High A altogether. These would just be a few examples) This move makes Youngs gold glove which he won in November look all the more worthless (which it was stupid for him to win) But it may have actually made Young think he was a top tier defender. I don't want to make this a bash Young thread because if he can get to balls he's normally pretty solid with his strong arm but I have seen so many times balls slowly go past the pitcher up the middle or see him half flailing for a ball to his right as it slow dribbles past him into left field causing 2 runs to score. If Andrus is as great defensively as we all here then we are in for a treat. Sure he will make mistakes early on but he will also get to balls Young could only dream of and him and Ian Kinsler could help to form one of the best double play combos this franchise has ever seen.



And some people think it's a dumb move to make the "savvy vet" change positions especially when Andrus had 32 errors last season. Just as a point of reference minor league fields are no where near top condition when it comes to playing surfaces (though I would expect Frisco to have some of the better playing conditions in the minor leagues) Adam Everett and Edgar Renteria are 2 of the top defenders at the SS position, in 2000 and 20001 Everett had 49 errors in 137 games. Renteria was in AA in 1995 he had 33 errors and in his rookie year 1996 only had 11 errors in 106 games. I expect if Andrus is up the entire year he will have around 20 to maybe even 25 errors but you know what, it's ok because I know he'll be able to get to more balls and save some runs so I can deal with the growing pains (along with the problems at the plate he will likely experience) And not to mention all throughout spring training he has one of the greatest defensive short stops of all time to turn to for advice in Omar Vizquel. This kid supposedly has the makeup to be a phenomenal player and a great leader and I for one am excited to see him for years to come, with Young to his right and Kinsler to his left.



This team has to sign Ben Sheets and there is really no way around it, only reason they shouldn't is if reports say he won't pitch until the All Star break. The Rangers rarely if ever have had the opportunity to land a #1 starter especially at this bargain basement price. Tom Hicks, you bitch about not spending money because the fans won't go out to support the team well if you want a chance to rejuvenate some interest around the metroplex and keep the damn media from bashing you and stop talking about the latest Cowboys screw up sign him. The AL West is as weak as it's been in a long time, the Angels have questions on offense and there best offensive players are another year older on the wrong side of 30. The Oakland A's are going for it this year with a rotation almost as bad as the Rangers with there only proven starter is a converted reliever who threw a career high 154 innings last year. And unless they get great production out of Jason Giambi, Jack Cust and Matt Holliday that offense is as big a mess as there lackluster defense. I mean you have to realize that one of Jack Cust or Giambi will have to play the field everyday, that's funny. Billy Beane sees that they have shot to possibly steal the division this year and you should do the same and it starts with signing Ben Sheets to a cheap AFFORDABLE contract.



You already have arguably the best offense in the league, a league average pitching staff (and a little luck) can win this division. You sign Ben Sheets to a 2 year 20 million dollar contract and you have a solidified front of the rotation guy who's been as healthy as your top 2 pitchers the past 2 years. Another positive is you bump down Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla a rotation spot AND they're going to be pitching in a contract years. Technically they both have another year on there contract but Millwood's contract becomes non guaranteed if he fails to pitch 180 IP's (which he hasn't the past 2 years) and Padilla has a team option following this season. Add a guy like Matt Harrison and possibly healthy (crosses fingers) Brandon McCarthy who has apparently put on 25 pounds this off season and you have a decent pitching staff. And if Sheets goes unsigned you're back to being branded as a band of mediocrity with little to no fan interest. I'll of course be interested because I'll always support the team and understand if we don't sign him there is still help on the way but not that many people know that nor have the patience to watch Texas build a winner. The time to act is now and then go for it all in 2010 and 2011.



As documented by baseball blogger over at the Dallas Morning News Mike Hindman he talks about Ben Sheets injury history over the past 4 seasons: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/the-ben-sheets-medical-file.html

He states in 2004 he missed 3 months due to dizziness caused by an inner ear infection. In 2005 it appears to be documented by many that he had shoulder problems (a big red flag) but it was actually a muscle tear called the latissimus dorsi, which causes you to move the shoulder. In 2006 he was very limited only pitching 106 innings removing scar tissue from his latissimus dorsi. The article goes on to state he has had 0 structure damage done to his shoulder or rotator cuff and no ligament damage to his elbow. Really just a bunch of muscle pulls and odd injuries, seemingly a bit unlucky.

I see no reason why we can't give him 2 (and I'll even give a mutual option for 3 if that's what it takes) and a bunch of incentive type stuff to get him signed. Really I think the club is doing all there homework they can so they don't sign a guy who pitches 12 times a year and has to be shut down, but even if he only pitches 12-20 times a year he'll still be our best pitcher in those appearances, so why not take the risk. And of course everybody knows if we fail to sign him he will prove the doubters wrong and win a CY Young somewhere, that's what happens when you're a Rangers fan.


Gil Lebreton has this to say about the potential Sheets signing: http://www.star-telegram.com/284/story/1163343.html




Finally I want to get to Eric Hurley and the Rangers minor league system. 4 days ago it came out that Eric Hurley was going to miss the entire 2009 season to repair a torn rotator cuff. In 2007 he was ranked by Baseball America as there #68 prospect and the Rangers system was ranked 28th in the major leagues. The year before that the system was pretty barren with only Thomas Diamond, Edinson Volquez and John Danks to hang there hat on. Had Hurley gone down and missed all season in one of those years those who follow the minor leagues would have been crushed because of the amount of pressure and stock that has gone into him. And while it still is a huge blow and I will miss watching him progress this year it's not as big a deal as it once was. Because for the 1st time they have depth.


Baseball America and Keith Law from ESPN have come out ranking the Rangers as both having the top systems in baseball.


http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9091200/Farm-system-gets-top-ranking--


In this article Editor in chief for Baseball America states, "Other teams had great pitching or great hitting, but the Rangers had the best of both"



And here is a quote from ESPN's Keith Law, "The Rangers have far and away the best farm system in the game right now, with impact prospects, lots of depth (particularly in very young pitching) and plenty of prospects close enough to the majors to help the big league club in 2009 and 2010."


To read a little more of what Keith has to say click this link: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3848691&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d3848691



In Keith's rankings of the top 100 prospects he lists 5 Rangers in the top 40 and 9 in his top 100 (not even including a guy like Eric Hurley) The amount of depth this system has is simply amazing, from guys who are ready or close to being ready (Elvis Andrus, Max Ramirez or Derek Holland) for the big leagues to guys who are just starting (like 17 year old Martin Perez or Engel Beltre) and the depth this team has will cause to lose players to the Rule V draft and will force Jon Daniels to possibly make a mistake or 2. But he's put together some fantastic drafts and some of the best scouting money can buy in Latin America and the last couple years in the Pacific Rim around Korea or Japan. This is why you should get excited about the future of this team, because it truly is the most exciting time in the franchises history.




Until next week where I will write about the Superbowl, and hopefully be able to give my top 10 movies of the year, though i still need a to view a couple more. cya...