1. 3 Million. I think the Rangers are better off going with Jermaine Dye if we're looking for old, washed-up DHs who would cost them 15 runs in the field.
2. If the vote was made for Brett Anderson, it's justifiable. Otherwise, Andrus was probably the guy.
3. The Rangers are being uneasonable. There isn't much of a conflict there. I personally like Lewin and don't see why he'd be let go.
4. I think Martin Perez is talked about as a top 5 prospect by the end of the year. I also think Danny Gutierrez and Michael Main both break into the top 100.
5. On the KC Royals' 60-day DL

1) It depends on whether Vlad can play RF or LF vs Lefties. Tatis ( to my surprise) plays all 4 corners well and mashes lefties. I think the DH spot should add flexibility, not be filled by a batter only . It's like the NL in reverse, taking on a player who can't help with the glove. Tatis costs one sixth of Vlad b/c of less rep for not being as great as Vlad used to be. Didn't we even tame Vlad in Arlington last year?

2) I dunno, but (rightly or wrongly?) his pix were sure pitcher-laden!

3) JD is a publically professed NY Giants fan! You & I Packers'! It's fun to be able to differ about the lesser sports while agreeing about baseball!

4) MAX!

5) MVP.

1. Gambling is a tax on the stupid. Honestly, I'd rather use the money on a top flight out field who bats right and move Hamilton to DH

2. He didn't err. He is just a Bi-coastal NAZI. He can't help it his parents raised him that way. It comes from from inbreeding

3. Put Dave Barnett in the TV booth and move Steve Busby in the radio both with Eric Nadel

4. Matt Harrision wins 20 games

5. Three years from now, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is The Rangers starting catcher and has a World Series ring

1. 3.5 guaranteed sounds about right, maybe some incentives for PA's and postseason awards could bump it a bit.

2. Objectively, Andrus should be top tier in any ROY consideration, though choosing a Porcello,, or in my opinion Beckham, over him is legitimate. To leave him off one's ballot altogether is absurd.

3. One factor, baseball announcers more than in any other sport, are seen as the "voice" of the team, and by extension often one of the "faces" of a franchise. More so radio than tv, but it still applies. Secondly, any company has a right to expect 100% focus and loyalty to their organization in exchange for a paycheck. I think the choice for Lewin is, is he a professional generic sports announcer in it for the gigs, one of which is the Texas Rangers tv job? Or is he the face of the Texas Rangers media presence who does a little side work in the offseason?

4. Craig Gentry

5. An all star catcher.

Q. Is it conspiratorial to think that while Ron Washington has earned some security, Ryan/Daniels are likely to have less patience with another April stumble given that Clint Hurdle is on the payroll?

1. Pass on Vlad.
2. Elvis should be in the top 3.
3. Let him do football also.
4. Andrew Doyle is my breakout candidate. He will reach AA next year as a reliever.
5. Three years from now, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is an All-star catcher.

1. Pass on Vlad -- another aging former star like Jones is not what the team needs next year. Same with Dye. Move Hamilton to a corner, play Borbon in center and rotate the DH among the existing players.

2. Elvis is among the top 3. An errort o have omitted him from a ROY ballot.

3. Let Lewin do football and and baseball for another team. He drives me nuts.

4. Not sure -- too much talent to pick one.

5. Starting for the Rangers.

1. Vlad should be Plan D, behind starting Smoak as the DH.

2. Yes. He's top 3. Niemann, Andrus, Bailey/Anderson

3. Yes, but I have no opinion about whether they should move on from Josh Lewin.

4. Tomas Telis

5. a league average catcher with flashes brilliance.

1. Zero, pass on Vlad. Promote from w/in.
2. Elvis should be on the ballot no matter what. Not sure how many slots are on the ballot, but he should be in the running w/ Bailey, Porcello, Beckham.
3. This is nothing more than the Rangers looking for a way to justify cutting ties w/ Lewin.
4. Smoak
5. an average backstop, w/ a little pop.

1. It's not my money. I just want an owner that will listen to his baseball people, and overspend when necessary.
2. Absolutely. Elvis should have been rookie of the year.
3. No and yes.
4. Hopefully, Smoak.
5. A backup catcher in the major leagues.

1) Unless the Rangers's budget increases, the team should not give Vlad more than they gave A Jones;
2) Andrus definitely should have been on the ballot. I think that one can make a good argument for all of the candidates to win it;
3) Yes, the Rangers are being unreasonable in mandating that Lewin drop the Chargers job in order to continue with the Rangers. Josh is definitely different, but he puts some excitement and interest into calling the Rangers' games. As long as he keeps his comments focused on baseball, I'm good with him.
4) Tommy Hunter had the breakout year;
5) In three years, Salty will be a backup catcher, 1B, and DH on another team.

1. Unless they can re-sign Byrd, Vlad is a pass.
2. Yes
3. No Opinion
4. Gentry .
5. Not with the Rangers....depending on what happens with Pudge...good market for catchers..

1. $3 million max

2. Elvis=ROY

3. Move on from Lewin, as long as we don't replace him with "Hawk" Herrelson from the White Sox, it cant get any worse.

4. Neil Ramirez and Micheal Main

5. A healthy, all-star caliber catcher starting for the Rangers

1. pass
2. elvis
3. ??
4. Josh
5. all star

1. Pass on Vlad; the Rangers have too many viable options for DH right now.

2. Excluding Elvis Andrus from the mock ballot -- big error. Andrus should place second to Jeff Niemann as ROY.

3. Bye Lewin...... Would rather hear and see Dave Barnett.

4. Biggest breakout prospect of 2010: Martin Perez. Perez may receive a spot start or two for the Rangers in Sept 2010.

5. Three years from now, after being traded by the Rangers for pitching, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is MLB catcher for a non-contending team.

1. Perhaps I'm the minority and think they should really go for Vlad. I think he'd be an upgrade from Blalock and he freakin' tears it up every time he plays in Arlington. I think if they could get him for 3-4 million it would be a steal... but I wouldn't go for much more than that.

2. Elvis should be the ROTY. I'm not just saying that bc i'm a Ranger fan... I honestly think he was the most deserving player last year. He played the WHOLE season, made some freakin' awesome plays and well exceded expectations with the bat.

3. I'm one of the people on Team Lewin. I like the guy. He makes me laugh. He's just such a dork it makes him a little endearing. I personally hated watching games that he wasn't broadcasting so I'm all for them making him work just with the Rangers. I really hope they settle on a deal with him.

4. Man... I guess I'll say Smoak. If Davis has another rocky campaign... I think we'll see Smoak up pretty quick. Just hope he's had enough seasoning down there...

5. posing for Playgirl Magazine... at least my wife hopes so.

1. pass on them, let bourbon play center and keep hamiliton/ smoak/ chris davis/ marlon byrd in rotation with the out field and dh.

2. Elvis should have been the ROY. if you don't think he had much of an impact. look at the difference in kevin millwoods stats from last year to this year. his strike outs and walks are the same, but his innings pitched and ERA are way better.... thats defense

3. personally i really really like lewin, alot more than tag. tom grieve is boring as shit, and lewin is fun to listen to and he seems to genuinely like seeing the rangers win.

4. I don't know that much about lower level prospects right now cuz its football season and i havent been studying BA, but i think chris davis is much better than what we saw last year.

5. a good, not great catcher who doesnt kill you in the field and bats for a good average.

1. As long as it's no more than 5 million and he plays the field no more than 10 games then i'm fine with him on the squad.
2. Elvis should have been on the ballot.
3. Josh Lewin, whether you like him or hate him, brings energy to the broadcast. He makes Tom better and you can't argue that. Bill Jones didn't make Tom better. Josh and Tom have a great chemistry and Josh statistically knows more than pretty much anybody. Sure he goes off topic sometime but that's what baseball is supposed to be. It's 3 hours. The Rangers are being unreasonable. There's no problem with hiring a guy to do temp work while Josh persues other opportunities. If Josh is let go then the Rangers will regret this decision soon because there are few in the business as well prepared as him and few that bring the excitement and energy that he brings to a broadcast. It's a youn exciting team, and I want a young exciting broadcaster.
4. Main or Perez or Font
5. Starting for the Texas Rangers and a .270 hitter with 20 HRs and 85 RBIs

1. I'd be willing to do about 4 million dollars guaranteed.

2. Well, I think Andrus should win ROY. But, I think a reasonable argument can be made for Porcello, Anderson, Niemann, and Bailey.

3. I feel like the Rangers are doing to Lewin what they did to Rudy. They know he won't accept a deal that requires him to give up his gig in San Diego, just like they knew Rudy wouldn't accept a 1 year deal. I just hope to god we don't get Dave Barnett in the booth. He is absolutely horrible.

4. Derek Holland. I think he surprises everyone and has an ERA under 4, the lowest on our staff. I know that isn't quite a "prospect," but whatever. If I had to pick someone in the minors, I'd say Tanner Scheppers. I think Scheppers will be absolutely dominate at AA next season and he will end up pitching in MLB bullpen.

5. Three years from now, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the starting catcher for Texas, hitting about .280 with 20 home runs a year.

1. skip Vlad...go w/Smoak and let him grow

2. Andrus should be ROY but won't get it...

3. Re-sign Lewin...were he to be replaced, we might find ourselves with a guy we REALLY hate

4. Smoak

5. I have no idea. I don't see him getting much better defensively...his offense remains a mystery.

1. 4MM, but Vlad is a smokescreen to drive down the price of Milton Bradley.

2. Elvis is still The King

3. The Rangers should back down. Don't fix what isn't broken.

4. My top five:

P Wilmer Font

P Michael Main

P Kennil Gomez

P Kasey Kiker

SS Leury Garcia

5. In three years, Salty will be an All Star Catcher.

1. keep money
2,He is my ROY
3. Lewin would go and bring back Dizzy Dean
4.Smoak
5. Catching for Rangers

1. We need to pass on Vlad. I don't believe he will be worth whatever someone decides to pay him. He will end up staying in Anaheim.
2. ESPN "Insider" is garbage. My bias pushes Elvis over Neimann.
3. The Rangers are being unreasonable and could be creating conflict in order to part ways. Keep Josh!
4. Tanner Scheppers
5. Average defensively, Slighty above average offensively, and we will continue to wonder when he is going to breakout. I am still of the opinion that we move one of the three (Teagarden, Salty, Ramirez) for young arms.

1. I wouldn't throw any more than 2 million his way.

2. Elvis should be on every single ballot. I would say he's the #1 rookie hitter ahead of Beckham. I can't say for sure where he ranks compared to the rookie pitchers.

3. It would be great for Lewin to be there for the entire season. However, no Lewin for a handful of games is better than no Lewin at all.

4. Would Martin Perez even count? I'll go with Ross and Erlin.

5. Three years from now, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is finally a decent (not great) starting catcher. Telis is his backup.

Late to the party.

1- I'm torn on signing Guerrero. Not because I don't think he'd help, but because of finances. I hate this ownership problem. I don't think the Rangers can sign a $15M p/y all-star for less than $5M+ heavy, heavy incentives.

2 - Yes. He's 1st in my books. And, yes. It's hard finding sunglasses with little Rangers logos covering the lens'.

3 - Yes. But isn't that how they got rid of Jaramillo? Offering less than acceptable? hmm.....

4 - Neil Ramirez.

5 - Deeply entrenched as the Rangers starting catcher, and talking to the club about a new contract.

1. No deal on Vlad, even though he has a cool name.
5. Buying Clint Hurdle lunch for his hitting instruction help.

Supplemental (question for next week): Do you think it would be dumb to play Josh Hamilton at DH or dumb not to?

1) Yes to Bad Vlad, no to Hurt all the Time Vlad...too many question marks, pass
2) Leaving Elvis off is a lack of respect for what Andrus did this past year...should have been right up there with Porcello and Bailey
3) I really like Lewin and think he brings a ton of energy...let him do his gig with both Rangers and Chargers
4) Smoak, Perez, Moreland, Scheppers, Gutierrez and on and on and on...we are fortunate to have a system like this
5) Overrated...has been from the beginning

I have a huge library of WMA files - almost 20 gigs (they all are from Napster) and I can successfully listen to them at home.
Now I've got a car mp3 player so I decided to burn my music collection to MP3 disks to listen to when I drive. And, of course, I can't do it because files are protected. I've done a swift internet research and found many progs that claim to convert Napster wma to mp3. I've tried some of them, because if I pay for the soft to use MY purchased music - I want to know if it worth the price. I think this is what I need. wma to mp3 (drm-removal.com or whatever, ask me - will find it again) What do you think?
Can you folks advise me another soft?