And The Beat Goes On: Dec. 12th

I've decided that the Rangers probably would have had more energy and swagger this past season if they had dressed like this:

● In case you were blacked out last night and find yourself functionally incapable of scrolling down, a big trade just happened, and indications are this trade has significantly reduced the likelihood of Justin Upton being traded to the Rangers, with Kevin Towers sounding pretty content with his post-trade roster and less inclined to move Upton. That's good if you've been living in a perpetual state of anxiety over the possibility of Elvis Andrus being traded; it's bad, however, if you don't want the Rangers to re-sign Josh Hamilton, and it's not a real great development any way you look at it, because fewer top-market options for the Rangers means less leverage.

● T.R. Sullivan says that Derek Holland met with Nolan Ryan around Thanksgiving to talk about the erratic command and inconsistency that plagued him in 2012, with Holland acknowledging that he needs to step things up "big-time."

● Sullivan also has a piece on Ian Kinsler, which mentions that Kinsler nearly underwent surgery around the All-Star break to address his recurring ankle pain from his 2010 sprain (pain which has since subsided once again), and talks about Kinsler's role within the context of the 2013 roster, which includes this interesting bit:

Young's departure leaves Kinsler as the senior member of the Rangers, as far as continuous service time. Young was also the Rangers' unofficial team captain, leaving a possible void of leadership within the clubhouse.

Kinsler is one of those who will be looked upon to help fill the void.

"It's a little overrated, honestly," Kinsler said. "The goal of the team is not who the leader is. The goal of the team is to win and get back to the exciting style of baseball we had in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Last year it just felt like there wasn't that excitement, that energy. Regardless of who the leader is or who you guys want to say the leader is, it's about getting the energy back in our ballclub. I'm going to do my best to provide that. To be a leader, you have to perform in the field and you have to perform in the clubhouse. It doesn't matter who it is. There's no next in line."

● Zack Greinke says that he was favoring Texas at one point, but "that changed at the end," which I think is the most roundabout way that one can possibly say "yeah, I got moneywhipped into changing my mind."