You've gotta belivin' in Yu. For people skeptical, ask your wifves or girl friends and, for those positive, keep up with your intuition. Not or can't telling why I am telling you, though. Difficult to describe which way he would be heading to, like our life. Like who knows which way you are heading to, either good or bad. The same as a hype baseball player like Yu. If he stays as healthy as he did in the last season, I expect him to be one of the best possible Cy young condidates in this coming season. Just only if he remains being in good shape... That is most concerned me after all.

Wtf????

Giants ERA+ last year was 95. They had ONE SP with a ERA+ better than 103. That park makes guys look better than they really are.

Funny, I actually understood Hiro's post... kinda. A Cy Young candidate wouldn't post mid 4 ERA
during a 3rd of season. There's a lot of improvement needed on our staff. If Harrison faulters, which
there's no reason why he should, we're in deep do-do.
Holland is the key at anchoring the 3spot. We can maintain a .550+ with 3 good starters. That certainlly
makes us "buyers" at the ASB. We need to hold fast to our division, by winning at a ,550 winning clip.

PT--you understood Hiro.?

Sounds like a Japanese trying to speak English.

I think he said Yu will be great if stays injury free.

Translation: If you don't believe in Yu, you better start. If you do keep it up. Nobody knows if he will be good or bad just the same way you don't know if life will be good or bad. If Yu stays healthy and in shape i think he could be a Cy young candidate.

OK--i definitely believe in Yu. He could be a top 5 pitcher in the AL this year.

I think Holland is due to rebound this year. He had some physical problems and some mysterious sickness--and was shut down for a while. When he's on--he's a TORP.

Hmmm... I'm not sure I'd put the Yankees rotation anywhere in the vicinity of the Rangers. They only have CC and he's not the pitcher he was his first couple of years there.

As for the LAAoA's, if Weaver goes down (and, with that Roger Pavlik-type delivery, he well could), they're toast. They probably couldn't hang close enough to be buyers at the TD for it to be worthwhile. That offense should rock, but they won't throw it very well.

First of all, allow me trying to participate in the forum like this one despite of the fact that I cannot use English to the same degree as you all do. I hope you are patient enough to listen to or exchange opinions with me.

Then, thank you Fajita for translating my very first post on my behalf. You are a person of insight. I have a question to ask Terry C; how did you figure out I'm a Japanese for whom English is NOT the native tongue (The name of a Yankees pitcher HIROaki Kuroda may have provided you a hint that I guess).

Last, well, let me get on to the topic --- rotation ranking. Not to mention Rangers compete against 4 teams in the division. So it seems essential to compare our pitching rotation with those of the other four teams before we take into account those of the teams in other divisions, such as NY or Detroit, with WS in mind.
That being said, I think I can favorably compare Rangers with Angels (that I believe has the most descent offense and defence in this division). At this point, Harry is #1 starter, followed by Yu, and Holland or Ross or Orgando as #3. Only if Harry in this season is as great as the last season, Yu comes into his own as he did in Japan, Holland is in shape and free of sickness (I believe WBC is a key to his performance this year), and Ross or Orgando moves into higher gear, I think there is nothing to worry about our rotation, which could even prevail over Detroit, let alone Angels.

Hiro--Thank you for your post and welcome to the board.
Im actually in awe of someone who can master another language.
I love having Yu on the team and love having the Japanese fans following the Rangers.

You make an excellent point---we just have to win the west and get into the playoffs.
And our rotation i believe is better than the Angels.
I think Holland is the key to our success and i look for a breakout season from him.

Rankings are usually a crock just giving self appointed experts a chance to stroke themselves and something to do. Most have their favorite teams/players, disliked teams/players, personal approaches, or their own agendas which skews the ranking.

It seems many on here have high hopes for Ogando. I am pretty worried about how he will fair going back to being a starter. I realize he was an all-star (for whatever that is worth) as a starter, but his second half was not particularly strong. Some of that can be attributed to fatigue, but I think it also has alot to do with his lack of pitches. As hitters saw him more, they adjusted and started hitting him better. It seems it would be difficult for Ogando to make a huge adjustment this time around, considering he hasn't really added a new solid pitch (as far as I know, could be wrong). So, I am pretty worried about how he will perform as a starter again.

How does everyone realistically think Ogando will do this season?

nate, I think you voice the same general concern many of us have. However, there is a major benefit to him knowing he was going to be a starter since the offseason began, as compared to 2011 when he earned the spot out of spring training. An entire offseason to work with Maddux on a third pitch (change up) should pay dividends in 2013.

That said, I'm expecting a 3.0-3.5 fWAR season from Ogando. Maybe around 175.0 innings and an ERA between 3.5-3.7.

Agree with eric's assessment of Ogando. If that happens and it's the 4th best performance by a Rangers starter this year, we should be good.

If that happens and it's the 4th best performance by a Rangers starter this year, we should be good.

If it's to be the 4th best performance, the Rangers are probably winning the division.

Exactly.

And that Yu adapted well to the MLB and pitched 2013 like he ended 2012. That Harrison continued at or above the level of the last two years. And above all that, Holland stepped up and maxed his potential. All very possible, but absolutely necessary for the Rangers to get to the playoffs. .

Terry C --- Thank you for your hospitality you extended my posting.

I agree with you saying Holland is the real key to Rangers' success. I personally like Holland as you may do. He is a kind of person who I think makes your enemy your friend. I like the way he pitches. He looks as if taking a fighting pose before he delivers every pitch; as if challenging not merely the batter he faces but also the reflection of himself (I can't tell well in English). Forget it.

Just let's hope that our young rotation will be capable of doing what we all at general expect them to do this come season!

It all depends whether you park adjust or not how good the staff is. The Rangers pitching often gets underrated for the same reason their offense often gets overrated, just due to the ballpark.

Then, how could Rangers pave their way to WS in the past recent years, but not the very last one?

If it all depends on money and the ball park as you imply, there's nothing one can make a point of evaluating Rangers' rotation.

There must be a way to get our pitching staff properly-rated, which almost depens on the skipper, Ronald Washington, though.

It's really all a question of Harry/Dutch. It's one of those wierd things where you probably take Dutch for one game, but Harrison for a season. Let's hope it evens out.

Also, in nearly every metric, I'll bet 10-12.