What Evan Grant would like to see happen in the offseason for the Rangers.

And here is what he has to say about Michael Young...

Time for another one of those awkward talks with Michael Young, which seem to happen every two years.

How to put this: “Michael, we’re going to reduce your playing time. We’re going to reduce everyone’s playing time. We expect you to play about 120-125 games with only 20-25 in the field. We know you had a strong September, but we are going to be proactive with the roster and take extra steps to keep everybody fresher.

“If this isn’t acceptable and you want a trade, we will be happy to try to quietly accommodate you, but we aren’t going to pay all or the great majority of your salary while you play for another team. We think you still have value here, but this is where we are right now as a team.”

And he wants him to bat 2nd in the order in thos 125 games. I don't know if I can take another 500 PAs from FACE next year.

Besides that, he does have some interesting ideas for the Rangers' offseason. I kind of like the Kinsler+Grimm for Arencibia+Romero idea. That is, of course, assuming that Ricky Romero does not walk an infinite number of hitters again this next year.

Grant voted him AL MVP in 2011, defended him all year in 2012 and when he realizes he was wrong (I think he realizes he was wrong about MVP too, but won't admit it), he has to throw out "I know you had a strong September". Sorry EG, that's not enough to bat 2nd and play 125 games.

I'd tell Young 65 games tops if he performs like he did in 2012. Otherwise, youth gets the ABs, all things equal. If he hits is way into the lineup every day, so be it. But I wouldn't count on it.

Grant gets some good scoop, but his analysis is generally worthless.

Grant gets some good scoop, but his analysis is generally worthless.

There, fixed.

^^^ I don't care who you are, that's funny. Cruz should be the DH, period. Young should not be starting except for rest and injuries, and even then should not hit higher than 8th.

The Evan Grant bashing is getting old.

Then Evan should pull back the MY love a little. Batting 2nd? Really? Does he not want the Rangers to win?

Part of me says MY would be good in the #2 spot because its not necessarily a run producing spot. Its a "get the guy over somehow" spot. However, MY, who historically has been really good at the get the guy over aspect, flat out sucked at that in 2012. But most of the team sucked at executing the "get em on, get em over, get em in" method of scratching out a run. If you put elvis in the leadoff spot, where he has a lil more freedom to swing away, and have MY in the 2 spot, where he will (or at least SHOULD) lead the league in sac bunts, and move kinsler down in the order where he has more opportunities to produce runs isnt a terrible idea theoretically (IMO, the best option outside of kicking MY off the roster). But the whole team needs to remember that its a team game and to fulfill their roles like they did infinitely times better in 2010 and 2011.

I want the lead off and #2 spots to be 'obp' spots. Get your butt on base. I could care less how. Making 'productive outs' isn't part of the equation for me.

Every time anyone mentions playing Young at all, they have to pervert common sense.

Bat him second? Why? How about Gentry, Murphy, even Profar or Martin? Use him a a bench player? He gets paid $16 million! Use him as a regular? God forbid! No!

Play him in the field? He is a proven BAD defender! Use him as a DH? He has no power and no walks. My gosh!

Clubhouse leader? Joke! $16 million joke.

Sorry, but Young must go. Bring him back in a few years as a coach if u want to.

How many times did MY even try to bunt in 2012?

How many DPs did he ground into?

What was hit walk ratio?

I think the answer to these three questions will determine where MY needs to be in the batting order.

"Part of me says MY would be good in the #2 spot because its not necessarily a run producing spot."

Tom Tango's analysis of the optimal lineup concludes that the #2 hitter should be the best hitter on the team.

In constructing the optimal top of the lineup, there is a basic a tradeoff. As you move down the order, the hitter generally has more men on base. But he gets fewer PAs. It turns out that contrary to conventional wisdom, the #2 hitter should be better than the #3 hitter b/c the #2 hitter gets more PAs and b/c the #3 hitter hits with 2 outs more frequently than the #2 hitter.

So no, MY absolutely should not be our #2 hitter next year. If he is, I may boycott the season in protest.

Why the hell would you bat MY #2? Did we not see enough GIDP from him this season? Bat him #8 if he must be here. But if he's that far down, I don't see how you justify him being here, as he shouldn't be in the field either, and you certainly don't want your DH batting 8th. MY's time has come...

Also, why is Soto not getting any attention? Grant says we need to go out and get Santana or Arencibia, but Soto is under contract until 2014, unless I've missed something. He is arbitration eligible this offseason. I thought he did an excellent job with our pitching staff and obviously worked hard to learn them quickly. No, he doesn't have the greatest arm, but his bat was serviceable and catching pretty solid. I don't think catching needs to big a big priority, IMO. Pass on Nap, get Santana.

RFan everyone has their optimal lineup and where certain guys fit. I based my assessment on wash's optimal lineup and the fact that MY is probably going to be back with the rangers next year. Thats how WASH sees the #2 spot (as evidence by elvis leading the league in sac bunts) not Tom Tango. The whole point of putting him in that spot hinges on how wash uses an order. You can argue til your blue in the face about whether its the best way or if wash should be back next year. But, we all know wash will be back and MY will probably be back because I dont think anyone will take on his contract. So, assuming MY will be back, and assuming wash will be back, the #2 spot may be the best place to put him (basically, the least of all evils) because wash would give up his at bats to move a runner over. Of course thats also assuming wash will adhere to the defined roles he has placed on different spots in the order (i.e. calling for MY to bunt in possible bunting situations like he has elvis).

Regardless, I think ultimately the best POSSIBLE order doesnt have MY in it at all. He cant hold his own on defense anymore so hes basically a DH which, in todays game, calls for someone who is actually a threat to hit a HR and doesnt belong in the bottom 3rd of the order.

RFan appreciate your analysis re metrics.. perhaps you can explain to me why this year's leaders in GiDPs reads like a "who's who" of guys known to make excetional contact and MY.. seems there must be a reason for this.. or is MY just a victim of bad luck and slow runners on base ahea of him?

Part of it is luck. But the leaders are usually big boppers for 2 reasons: A - they have runners on base in front of them more often than most and B - They generally arent the fastest players.

MYs problem with GIDP were twofold IMO: 1 - a higher than normal ground ball rate for him and 2 - a lower than normal hard hit rating. Just a bad year or slower bat speed? I dunno. Probably a combination of both.

Sidenote: I am a lil surprised to see jeter and cano up there on that list.

@nate

I think Scooby was the first to mention it on here, and it was probably way back in May or June, before any of us really knew it was going to be a season-long decline from Young. What he said was, Michael Young is simply getting old. You get old, your bat slows down, and you have to cheat on fastballs on the inner half. So, often times, Michael Young was so far ahead of the off speed stuff -- because he was getting beaten up with fastballs he couldn't catch up to -- that he ended up rolling over on a ton of pitches.

Michael Young would be the absolute worst candidate on the entire roster batting from the two hole. Every time the leadoff man reached base there would be the threat of a double play. MY just doesn't have gap-to-gap power anymore; he doesn't have line-to-line spray ability. He generally had to rely on BABIP to sneak grounders between the 3-4 and 5-6 holes this past season.

Rangerbourne:
Maybe because Soto hits .190

I dont doubt his bat speed has slowed down. But, some players are able to make adjustments. Some arent. I cant say definitively if last season was what to expect from MY going forward. Could he adjust and try to be more like what jeter is now (primarily singles hitter that is just about bat control and lil flares to the OF)? He could. But hed have to come to grips with the fact that he wont ever hit more than 10-15 hrs in a season again. Is that what you want from a DH? No, not really. But he can still be useful with that type of approach.

I'll give you the lack of gap-to-gap power, but line-to-line spray is still within his ability. Assuming he understands that and embraces it. But, thats on him. If they are planning on playing him they need to make sure he understands his role and what adjustments he needs to make because yes, he doesnt have the gap-to-gap power any more.

@Jim B.

Yeah I just looked up his stats, and I think this is the perfect example of the deceitful eye test... Perhaps I've overvalued his defense, but you're right... His offense has fallen off a cliff since he won ROY in 2008. So what do we do? Trade him off or hold him as a reserve?

nate thanks much as expected still a bit curious why MY's slow hit balls result in dp s when they are most frequently the result of well hit balls.. i know MY is not fast but he isn't molina slow.lol contrary to how it may seem, i am not a MY fan.. i also wonder how Jeter defies everything i know about aging players.. perhaps i have uncovered the conspiracy of the ages.. lol.. i appreciate the help in looking at the metrics.. new meds seem to be affecting my abiliy to focus for any period of time..

Soto would make a good RESERVE

MY sac bunts by year:

2001: 9
2002: 13
2003: 3
Every year after: 0

Heh, anyway, I don't understand why people act like MY batting 2nd is such an odd idea. It is where he has batted most of his Ranger career. He has also lead the team in GIDP almost every year he has been with the team. But I only support him batting 2nd if he is forced to bunt runners over as frequently as Elvis does. I think he has a decent chance of rebounding somewhat offensively next year. But his slowing speed means he will be an even greater DP risk than he was even a few years ago in that spot.

Sure, Evan let's take one of the worst hitters in the game and put him in the most-prized #2 hole.

Sir Stupid, Mr. Grant strikes again.