The A.L. West is going Super Nova...and the Rangers are about to be eclipsed. While we in Ranger Nation were blissfully sleeping mid 2012...distant fires grew. militias formed...an arms race sprung up.

And the Texas Rangers suddenly seemed old. Flat footed. So very vulnerable.

As the calendar is poised to tick into 2013...A War of the Worlds battle is coming to our door step and we aren't prepared. But it is not a time for desperation, rather for Solomonic wisdom.

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 

A time to be born and a time to die. 

A time to plant and a time to harvest. 

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh. 

A time to grieve and a time to dance. 

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. 

A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 

A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 

A time to love and a time to hate. 

A time for war and a time for peace.

As I will argue in this thread...for the Texas Rangers...in December of 2012...it's a time to rebuild.

Beginning in July 1st the Oakland A's played like anything but a small market, undermanned team. The won 56 and lost only 26, a blistering .683 win percentage. And they were beating everyone in seeming every venue. The constant was a torrent of young arms.

Consider that the A's were still winning games at the end of the season with an All-Rookie staff. Now ponder the likely trajectory of all those good young team-controllable arms. If you think that team was a complete fluke...I think you are crazy.

They may seem like a group of no-names, but I hasten to think we'll begin to learn--and respect--those names now that they have earned our attention.

From July 1st to the end of the season....they outplayed our boys by 13 games.

The War of the Worlds is at hand. And we are unprepared.

For a second there I thought you were doing a Byrds remix.

Oakland and Baltimore are due for major regression. The Astros now play in the AL West. Seattle still can't hit. The Angels may or may not have enough pitching to compete for a full season. Detroit has neither defense nor depth. The Yankees are breaking down, and the Red Sox are near rock bottom. And you suggest we try to rebuild now? This is as good a time as any to make a charge. Am I proposing the front office deal away the farm for a bunch of expiring contracts to increase the odds of winning in 2013? Of course not. The playoffs are too random to make such a risky investment. But the Rangers as they currently stand are in position to win multiple division titles in the next five years. As random as the playoffs are, there is no good reason not to try to contend for the division title every possible season, and the Rangers are set up to do just that.

Rome and Carthage
Athens and Sparta
Hellena and Persia
The U.S and the USSR.

When a Ranger fan thinks of it's chief nemesis it is the L.A. Angels.

One year ago today, December 9th, the Angels signed Albert Pujols AND CJ Wilson. It appeared to many baseball analysts that the balance of power had shifted.

Of course the season didn't turn out that way when both Pujols and the Angels staggered out of the gate. Then fell completely on their face. On April 27 they sat at 6-14, already 9 games back.

On that same date something happened named Mike Trout. A bit later Pujols started to hit a little. Though the Angels seemed to underperform throughout the 2013 campaign...let's not forget: From the day they brought up Trout...over the course of 142 games...they were 5 games better than our Rangers.

Along with the A's, mark it down: The Angels WILL contend for a title in 2013

The War of the Worlds is at hand. And we are unprepared.

The A;s had a major luck mojo going last year. they got career years out of 3-4 hitters at once and had a couple of SP going way over their heads. I'd bet for a nice regression there. Seattle is still missing an offense. The Angels are the real question mark, well and us. A good top 2 starters and then 3 questions. If Hanson returns to being the guy he looks like he was becoming then they are really dangerous. If Hanson continues sliding or just holds stationary then that rotation is going to stink. They do have an improved bullpen going into next year.

I'm going to hold out and see what both us and the Halos do between now and ST before I go out on any limbs.

What the hell are you talking about? (Norm voice)

Hey Profar, can you tell me again how great the Angels starting 5 will be? I mean, they've upgraded from Haren and Santana right? And didn't they sign that Greinke kid? And I hear Vernon Wells is going to come back and have a Torii Hunter-esqu career year along with Albert Pujols who is only getting younger.

The Halos went all in for 2012 and fell on their face.

I also agree witht he guys about Oakland & Baltimore regressing. The rule of large numbers says you shouldn't win that many 1 run games no matter how good your bullpen is.

The competition is getting better on paper, but last I checked we haven't played a game in 2013.

akaDrSmack opines, The Astros now play in the AL West
The Astros will serve as kindling fire for the War of the Worlds.

akaDrSmack continues Seattle still can't hit
Ah....Seattle...the third team for me to discuss...another surprising entant in the AL Best War of the Worlds.

Can't hit? Do you know the Mariners scored more runs in 2012 away from their run deflationary park than we scored away from our run inflationary park?
Mariner 2012 Road Runs: 362
Ranger 2012 Road Runs: 361

And do you forget that the Mariners outscored Texas 87-72.

But here is the kicker about the Mariners. They are one of the youngest teams in the league at 25.8 per player average.

The War of the Worlds is at hand. And we are unprepared.

akaDrSmack argues, The Yankees are breaking down, and the Red Sox are near rock bottom. And you suggest we try to rebuild now?

We are in danger of becoming an old, salary burdened team like the Yankees and Sox. If we take a season and a half to reload...we could be dominant for 5, 6 years.

I'm glad Greinke didn't happen. I say no-no on $140 mil contracts.

The Henchman contends, "The Halos went all in for 2012 and fell on their face."

They did fall on their face...for the first 20 games. They then outpaced the Rangers by 5 over the balance of the season. With Trout the Angels were better than us.

Offensively, the Angels led all of baseball with 37.4 WAR.

The War of the Worlds is at hand. And we are unprepared.

@Profar - I thought you were boycotting the forum. Is that still happening? I think I might have liked it.

I would rank the trade of Michael Young as one of the best moves by any team this offseason.

In one stroke we added 2 WAR while freeing up $6 million in salary. Bravo, JD! I argued vehemently for Young's departure last offseason, but understand how JD faced political issues that delayed that happening. A year later he's gone....And Daniels recouped a good deal of that salary than I expected. I stand. I applaud.

But why stop there?

We have improved the team via the timeless principle Addition by Subtraction. Now...How about we move on to multiplication?

Trust me, I was relieved that we let the Dodgers overpay for Greinke. Yes, Seattle outscored us least year, but that run differential can be accounted for in two back-to-back blowouts. And it doesn't matter how well they hit on the road if they can't score runs where they play half their games. We don't have the salary commitments the Yankees do and the Red Sox did. The Rangers will be competitive for the next five-plus years because the front office is smart and the funds are there.

The Rangers led the AL in runs scored in 2012 despite down years from nearly everyone and a coordinated RISP slump in late June that has about the same probability of happening again as the Orioles have of winning 15 straight extra-inning games next year. All we needed last year was a real fifth starter in the second half to win the division by four games. The fixes needed for this year are clear and not necessarily difficult.

I don't know exactly what you mean by a War of the Worlds, but what I see coming is increased parity. There will be no dominant teams or dynasties in five years because the playing field is becoming increasingly level. What I'm saying is that 2013 will be the easiest year for the Rangers to win the AL West - and even get home-field advantage in the playoffs - in the foreseeable future. It would be a shame to waste that opportunity.

Heck, I'm not even sure that I could trust Wash to manage a rebuilding process based on his awful use of the bench last year.

Profar retorts: Offensively, the Angels led all of baseball with 37.4 WAR.

You didn't prove your argument. They lost Torii Hunter who played well above career norms and was a huge part of that offense. Trout had MLB #s better than his minor league numbers. Pujols turns at least 33 in a month. Trumbo and Morales don't really have positions. Their rotation is a mess. The bullpen still has questions. They have no farm system to make deadline deals. What have they done to get better in 2013?

The Angels went all in for 2012 and fell on their face. Your move.

Republicans today show little appreciation of environmental sustainability. That's not good. Meanwhile Democrats are demonstrating utter contempt for economic sustainability, strip-mining our fiscal future. That might be worse.

I want my sporting teams to do the same as I wish from our political leadership:
Give me a program that doesn't torch the earth... have one eye on today and another on our future. Let's prosper...over the long term. And...with whatever we've got on the field...let's go kick some ass again this year. COM. PETE.

Here in Alaska we had some brilliant people in charge back in 1976. They decided to invest oil tax revenue into a fund, where the principal was untouchable by any government body.

Over the past decades each and every citizen gets a check each year...derived entirely from the interest and investment profits of that fund. The fund has grown from 730k to 42 billion dollars. Compare that with the pillage and burn approach of federal spending and the trillions we have/will be paying in INTEREST.

I'm ever so grateful we have new ownership with deeper pockets and a willingness to spend deeply. But I still argue that the principles of investment and sustainability will ultimately prevail.

Prospects, baby!

akaDrSmack: Trust me, I was relieved that we let the Dodgers overpay for Greinke.
We agree on that central point....Now follow that logic. Further.

akaDrSmack: it doesn't matter how well they hit on the road if they can't score runs where they play half their games..
Have you checked to see how opponents score when they visit Seattle? (next to nothing) Seattle and Texas parks have entirely different currencies. It should be factored into every assessment. Trust me, that's a team on the rise.

akaDrSmack: We don't have the salary commitments the Yankees do and the Red Sox did.
Even with new owners and a new contract we don't have their budgets. If we'd signed Greinke/Hamilton we'd be approaching their payroll neighborhood. I say: Let's not.

The Rangers led the AL in runs scored in 2012 despite down years from nearly everyone
Look at road run production, comparative to other teams. It tends to better filter out the park differences. We've been generally in the middle of the pack in scoring for 3 years in a row.

akaDrSmack: All we needed last year was a real fifth starter in the second half to win the division by four games.
Strong point. I agree. But we likely won't start the season next year with such a huge head start. And...we'll have no Colby, no Felix...likely no Adams.

akaDrSmack: I don't know exactly what you mean by a War of the Worlds
What do I mean? During the last 1/3 of 2012 the AL West went nuclear. The division is going to be scary good.

akaDrSmack: Heck, I'm not even sure that I could trust Wash to manage a rebuilding process based on his awful use of the bench last year.
This will be a topic to revisit in this thread. In The War of the Worlds...I don't see current management as competitive.

Nomptom squirms, "What the hell are you talking about? (Norm voice)

Nompton you are one of this forum's brightest. So why are you afraid of me? Engage in the dialog, my friend!

It's hot stove season. The holidays. Enjoy. Take a drink. And throw down your best.

"A TIME FOR WAR" ... grab your BALLS, buck$ and bats ... for every season ... TURN, TURN, TURNstiles 2013

If the team merely resigns Hamilton, brings in Shoppach, and rolls with the Yu/Harrison/Holland/Ogando/Perez rotation with Lewis coming back midseason and Feliz, Ross, and Grimm as emergency options we'll be more than alright. They'll need another veteran bullpen piece or two, but dropping MY and providing more at bats for Gentry and Murphy, while phasing in Profar and Martin and keeping Cruz and Hamilton fresh with the newly opened DH spot and some capable CFers improves both our offense and defense.

Additionally, the lack of proven arms as well as the aforementioned phase in period for our younger position players will inevitably allow us to evaluate what we have and what we don't have - and make the appropriate moves accordingly. Kinsler and Cruz should have bounce back years (especially the latter being in a contract year) while I expect Elvis' slight improvement to cancel out Beltre's slight regression. I feel with a new hitting coach, Moreland may finally put the pieces together against lefty's and take a big step forward. There's no denying that Profar, Martin, and Olt are prepared to make significant contributions to a major league club.

As it stands the other 4 teams in the AL West will tell you both who they realistically plan to be looking up to in the standings and who they fear most...believe me that team ain't on the west coast and it sure as hell ain't in south Texas.

Bravo! Mr Joseph

man, that was refreshing

Personally, I think we roll with a combination of Perez/Grimm/Ramirez as the #5 starter. Play Gentry/Martin in CF, Profar at 2B and either resign hamilton to play LF move Murphy/Kinsler to RF and play Moreland/Kinsler at 1B then Cruz is your DH. That is as close to rebuildign as I am willing to go. Unless you trade Cruz for soem prospects them man is in decline and his defense is atrocious, as proven in the last couple of years. But that is jus tmy opinon.

Nah. THe Rangers will add a few pieces, but there's no need to rebuild. There's nothing wrong with a rotation of Darvish, Harrison, Holland & Ogando.

The Mariners signed Jason Bay. Nuff said.

I don't see anything that resembles a plan for the Angels in 2013 other than moving on from Haren/Santana.

The A's present a consistent threat....if Parker, Milone, Griffin, Blackley turn out to be this generations Zito, Mulder & Hudson. We will see. They had two guys with a decent OBPCT. But was it it. I don't see anything on A's roster beyond Cespedes that I would want.

The key to the WEST may rest with Hamilton's signing, with the Rangers or Seattle. With the Rangers, a 90+ win team remains, but if some unlikely event Seattle signs Josh, a NEW ORDER may be realized. Sometimes a team completely changes with one player, it has happened before in Seattle. iIF the Rangers want a 5th starter, call the DODGERS: CAPUANO, HARANG, LILLY are all available now after adding GRIENKE and RYU, But a better target would be JOSH BECKET, who the Dodgers no longer need at his current 4/$64 through 2014 salary, and may be acquirable for 2nd tier prospects. EVEN THE DODGERS NEED TO BE COST ACCOUNTABLE, and have a weak farm system.