Tuesday Afternoon Rangers Notes

Outside of the four impressive innings of two-hit, one-run and no-walk baseball woven together by Jason Jennings, I can find little else of positive note worth taking away from Monday afternoon's dreadful 5-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners in Surprise.

Jason Ellison went 2-for-2, I guess? Yippee.

Jennings dispelled any lingering concerns the Rangers might have had about his velocity on Monday, ramping his trademark sinker up to 87 MPH while flashing a "sharp" slider that has caught the eye of players and coaches alike:

"Jennings was the bright spot of the day," [pitching coach Mark] Connor said. "His command was good, and his velocity jumped up a little bit. I just wanted to see it creep up a little, and it's creeping up there."

The club had previously expressed some degree of concern that Jennings might have to begin the 2008 season on the 15-day disabled list, in order to further improve upon his lackluster velocity. Such a development would have almost certainly forced Jennings to miss his scheduled April 8th start (the date of the Rangers' home opener against the Baltimore Orioles in Arlington), a possibility that the Dallas native was eager to avoid.

Jennings, 29, completed his four innings of work in fewer than 60 pitches, and went on to toss another 17 pitches in the bullpen. He's expected to put in more long-tossing between starts to further strengthen his pitching arm, which should solidify his role as the #3 starter in the Rangers' Opening Day starting rotation.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes that right-hander Eric Hurley is still third in the ongoing competition for the final spot in the rotation behind Luis Mendoza (the current front-runner, per T.R. Sullivan) and Sidney Ponson, but that his chances of breaking camp as a Ranger aren't quite dead yet. Mendoza is scheduled to pitch both today and Sunday, while Ponson is scheduled to pitch Friday; a couple more poor outings from the hurlers could open the door for Hurley.

Grant also writes that the relief quartet of C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis), Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm), Eddie Guardado (strained left knee tendon) and Kazuo Fukumori looks to be on target for Opening Day in terms of health, but that the final four bullpen spots are still up for grabs:

[...] Wes Littleton and Jamey Wright have pitched well in middle- and long-relief roles. The Rangers would like to have one more of each for the start of the regular season. [Robinson] Tejeda or Franklyn German, the most impressive reliever in camp, could be in the mix for the former. Tejeda is expected to pitch again today, and German will go Thursday and Friday. Being effective on back-to-back days is crucial for a middle reliever.

Rupe, Scott Feldman and Kameron Loe could be the finalists for the other long relief spot. Rupe pitched two innings Monday and is expected to be stretched out to three. Feldman has already had a four-inning stint.

Mike Hindman of "Rangers Farm Report" has some final ruminations to offer on his weekend in Surprise, including the following thoughts on hard-throwing right-hander Wilmer Font, whom Hindman believes would have been one of "two or three candidates" to go #1 overall in the 2008 MLB Draft had he grown up stateside:

Font, who turns 18 in late May, is the most outlandishly gifted young pitching prospect I've ever seen.Not only did he show the big, ungodly gas (98 mph), but his breaking ball and changeup are both far more advanced than I'd expected them to be. Moreover, he's a guy who seems to be playing the game on his own time.

What I mean by that is not that he works slow, but that when he's on the mound, you get the impression that he knows it's his ballgame to do with as he pleases. He's the center attention. He's aware of it. And he seems to like it that way. Every element of a true ace resides in the Wilmer Font package, and those elements that aren't yet fully developed aren't terribly far away from being so.

It's hard to imagine that he'll need three more years to flesh everything out. Really hard.

ESPN.com's Keith Law, meanwhile, is similarly optimistic about not only Font, but right-hander Neftali Feliz as well:

Neftali Feliz was part of Texas' substantial haul from Atlanta for Mark Teixeira last summer, but was pitching in the Appalachian League at the time and didn't get much attention when the trade occurred. Feliz has an electric arm, throwing 92-97 mph fastballs without much effort. He has a reliever's delivery, almost slinging the ball from a three-quarter to low three-quarter slot, but takes a nice long stride and explodes forward off the mound. His best secondary pitch is his changeup; he turns the pitch over well and will throw the pitch away to left-handed hitters. His slider is short with a little tilt, but he has little feel for the pitch and has trouble with it backing up on him.

Feliz was just the opening act for the star attraction, 17-year-old Wilmer Font. Font checks in at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds and attracted a crowd of pitchers behind the plate to watch him work. Fitting for a big guy, he has a big fastball, hitting 98 and working mostly at 93-96 mph, with good downhill plane, and he shows good command for a 17-year-old with just 45 innings of U.S. experience. There's an obvious plan to work down in the zone, and he can execute on it well given his age and history. His secondary stuff is still raw; his slider was a little ahead of his changeup, with good tilt but a long, loose break. His arm action is a little long in back, but his delivery is otherwise solid, and his velocity is very easy.

The Hardball Times has published their fantastic "Five Questions" season preview for the Texas Rangers, penned by Lone Star Ball's Adam Morris.

Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram appears to be just a bit too worked up over David Murphy's fabulous spring numbers, all but suggesting that the 26-year-old outfielder should be the club's starting left fielder to begin the 2008 season. Really?

Former Ranger great R.A. Dickey, who tossed three shutout innings against his former club on Monday, is the main focus of Jim Caple's latest ESPN.com Page 2 article (complete with video!)

Rangerfans.com's Joe Siegler has some entertaining thoughts on the current state of the baseball card industry worthy of your perusal, including a few high-resolution shots of the newer "photoshopped" cards.

And finally, Juan Gonzalez is hurt. Again.

Quick Hits: Outfielder Frank Catalanotto (back spasms) went 0-for-3 on Monday, his first game since last Thursday...outfielder Milton Bradley is now expected to bypass the minor leagues entirely, and will attempt to DH in Friday's "A" game...right-hander Michael Main (rib stress fracture) is not expected to pitch before late May, though the Rangers weren't planning to send him on assignment until late May regardless...Baseball America reports that outfielder Julio Borbon will open the 2008 season at High-A Bakersfield.

Rangers Gameday: 3/18 Vs. OAK

Tuesday, March 18th Game Preview

Oakland Athletics (15-5-0) vs. Texas Rangers (10-8-2)

J. Duchscherer (1-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. L. Mendoza (0-0, 12.05 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Webcast

Athletics		Rangers
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
LF	Jeff Fiorentino	2B	Ian Kinsler
C	Kurt Suzuki	DH	Frank Catalanotto
1B	Daric Barton	SS	Michael Young
RF	Travis Buck	CF	Josh Hamilton
DH	Dan Johnson	RF	Marlon Byrd
3B	Jack Hannahan	3B	Hank Blalock
CF	Chris Denorfia	LF	David Murphy
2B	Brooks Conrad	1B	Jason Botts
SS	Gregorio Petit	C	Gerald Laird

Notes: Both C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) and Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm) were scheduled to pitch in a minor league "B" game today. No immediate word is available on how either reliever performed.

Robinson Tejeda, coming off a perfect inning of bullpen work against the Seattle Mariners on Monday afternoon, is expected to pitch in relief of starter Luis Mendoza this afternoon.

Huge storms rolling through north Texas right now. Stay safe, everybody.

Josh Hamilton Vs. Mark Teixeira: A Statistical Study

Tim Cowlishaw's latest piece, found in the Monday edition of the Dallas Morning News, discusses the impact of Mark Teixeira's now-glaring absence from the Rangers lineup, and how the club hopes to fill the gaping void left by Teixeira following his departure from the organization last July.

Of particular note is this paragraph pertaining to center fielder Josh Hamilton, whose extraordinary batting practice exploits have become the talk of spring training:

So to replace Teixeira's power, the Rangers are turning to center fielder Josh Hamilton. He hit 19 home runs in fewer than 300 at-bats for Cincinnati last season. His .554 slugging percentage was better than Teixeira's in Texas last season and higher than Teixeira's career percentage, too.

This, of course, sent the sabermetric gears in my head spinning into overdrive, and raised the following question: just how many of the runs lost as a direct result of Teixeira's departure can be regained through the acquisition of Hamilton?

There are a variety of ways to approach such a question, but I opted for the quick and dirty method - compare their 2007 seasons to each other, and see what findings result:

2007 MLB Statistics
Player	PA	AVG/OBP/SLG	EqA	MLVr	PMLVr	VORP
Josh Hamilton, CIN	337	.292/.368/.554	.294	.245	.231	26.4
Mark Teixeira, TEX	335	.297/.397/.524	.306	.254	.163	26.0

If several of these statistical categories seem daunting, don't worry - though the acronyms are, admittedly, a bit intimidating even to myself, the concepts are relatively easy to grasp. I've provided links to a description of each category, but the latter four, in particular, are worth further elaborating upon:

• Equivalent Average (EqA) - Measures total offensive value per out, with corrections for league offensive level, home park, and team pitching. The scale is deliberately set to approximate that of batting average; a .290 or .300 EqA, for instance, is quite good. League-average EqA is always equal to .260, though keep in mind that positional differences aren't factored into EqA.
• Marginal Lineup Value rate of production (MLVr) - In essence, the number of runs per game the batter contributed to a league-average team beyond what a league-average hitter would produce. Again, positional differences are not accounted for here.
• Positional Marginal Lineup Value rate (PMLVr) - Ah, finally. The number of runs per game contributed by a batter beyond what an average player at the same position would hit on a team consisting of otherwise league-average hitters. Positional differences finally get their dues here.
• Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) - The number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at the same position would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances.

None of the aforementioned statistical categories account for defensive ability or competence; Justin Inaz�s +/- run conversions of The Hardball Times� zone rating data suggest that Teixeira was around 10 runs more valuable than Hamilton last year defensively, but for the purposes of simplicity, this study is limited exclusively to offensive production.

A quick glance at the above table should immediately tell you that Hamilton�s 2007 numbers in Cincinnati compare rather favorably with Teixeira�s 2007 numbers in Texas. But why the discrepancy between their virtually identical raw OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) totals, and their EqA totals?

Simple. EqA assigns 50% more weight to OBP and hit-by-pitches than OPS. Though Hamilton and Teixeira both drew walks at an above-average clip last year, Teixeira�s walk rate (11.3%) handily eclipsed that of Hamilton�s (9.8%).

You might also notice that Teixeira�s and Hamilton�s PA, MLVr and VORP totals are virtually identical across the board. Though the first is nothing more than sheer coincidence, there is some significance to the similarities between the latter two. According to MLVr, swapping Hamilton for Teixeira within the constraints of the above scenario results in a drop-off of just .009 runs per game, an all but negligible difference.

A shift to PMLVr uncovers even more revelations. The discrepancies between their totals in this column (.231 for Hamilton, .163 for Teixeira) are the result of their positional differences; the league-average first baseman would have hit .276/.360/.467 (.279 EqA) last season, while the league-average center fielder, comparatively, would have hit just .272/.340/.423 (.263 EqA). After all, power-hitting first basemen are obviously far easier to dig up than power-hitting center fielders.

There are, of course, several problems with conducting this type of comparison. Not only does the above table exclude Teixeira�s fantastic post-trade offensive numbers in Atlanta (.317/.404/.615 in 240 PA) , but it also neglects Teixeira�s steady record of consistency throughout his five years in the big leagues.

To complicate matters even further, a sample size of 335 to 340 PA, though adequate for the purposes of this study, is something less than totally ideal. League differentials (a move from the AL to the NL is worth roughly 25 additional points in OPS, and vice versa) aren�t accounted for, either.

The most fundamental present flaw, however, is that this study assumes that both sluggers would maintain their same clip of offensive production from 2007 into 2008. Indeed, several highly regarded player projection systems (including PECOTA, ZiPS and CHONE) have forecasted an OPS for Teixeira anywhere from 65 to 115 points higher than Hamilton�s in 2008. If those forecasts become reality, this little exercise will become rather irrelevant.

But Hamilton�s a unique case, a player that the projection systems weren�t designed to forecast. Here�s a 26-year-old center fielder with a questionable injury history, a spotty minor league r�sum� and less than 300 Major League at-bats underneath his belt - and yet, a 26-year-old center fielder gifted with truly singular talent, both in the field and at the plate, whose mere potential alone already renders him a borderline 2008 AL MVP candidate.

Hypothetically speaking, we could take this study even further by comparing the Rangers� cumulative offensive production in center field in 2007 (.281/.343/.423 in 727 PA, for those wondering) to what they might expect from their wonderfully mediocre (but musically endowed) starting first baseman, Ben Broussard, in 2008.

If Broussard manages to cobble together a breakout season, or at the very least, finds a way to somehow conquer his lefty-hitting demons and approach his previous 2006 form (.289/.331/.484 in 465 PA), the net gain might just be enough to offset any offensive value lost in the transition from Teixeira to Hamilton as the club's preeminent power hitter of choice.

Don�t ignore the presence of outfielder Milton Bradley, the limitless potential of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, or the very real possibility of second baseman Ian Kinsler stringing together his own breakout season either.

For those of you who blacked out at the sight of PMLVr and VORP, and are just now regaining consciousness (after the obligatory drooling on your keyboard, of course), fret not - you haven�t missed much. This can all be tied together with a single quote, in reference to the rapidly approaching reign of Josh Hamilton, the new crown prince of the Texas Rangers.

Now come the days of the king. May they be blessed.

Rangers Gameday: 3/17 Vs. SEA

Monday, March 17th Game Preview

Seattle Mariners (7-10-1) vs. Texas Rangers (10-7-2)

Cha Seung Baek (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Jason Jennings (0-0, 1.17 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Webcast

Mariners		Rangers
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
LF	Jeremy Reed	2B	Ian Kinsler
2B	Jose Lopez	DH	Frank Catalanotto
DH	Raul Ibanez	SS	Michael Young
RF	Brad Wilkerson	CF	Josh Hamilton
3B	Adrian Beltre	LF	Jason Botts
1B	Greg Norton	3B	Hank Blalock
C	Jeff Clement	RF	Marlon Byrd
SS	Miguel Cairo	1B	Ben Broussard
CF	Charlton Jimerson	C	Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Notes: Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that today's start is especially vital for Jason Jennings, who might wind up starting the 2008 season on the 15-day disabled list to build more arm strength if his velocity doesn't show a marked improvement beyond the 85 MPH threshold. Jennings had previously been in line to start the Rangers' home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on April 8th.

In light of Sidney Ponson's struggles against a weak Oakland Athletics lineup on Saturday, club management has decided to give top pitching prospect Eric Hurley a second start in an "A" game this coming Saturday against the Mariners in Peoria, suggesting that the 22-year-old right-hander still has a legitimate shot to make the Opening Day rotation. Regardless of the outcome of his start today, Jennings now appears slated for a minor league "B" game start on Saturday.

Right-hander Vicente Padilla threw 75 pitches during a minor league game on Sunday, fanning six but walking four in five innings of one-run ball. Should no residual soreness manifest itself, Padilla will start Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Surprise.

Kevin Millwood (strained left hamstring) has been cleared for a Thursday "A" game start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson, while relievers C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) and Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm) are scheduled to pitch during a minor league game on Tuesday. All three thankfully appear to be well on their way to lasting recovery.

Frank Catalanotto (back spasms), who was yanked from last Thursday's contest against the Colorado Rockies after just one at-bat, returns to the Rangers lineup today.

Rangers Gameday: 3/16 Vs. OAK

Sunday, March 16th Game Preview

Texas Rangers (10-6-2) vs. Oakland Athletics (13-5-0)

Sidney Ponson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Gio Gonzalez (0-0, 2.00 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Municipal Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Rangers		Athletics
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
2B	Ian Kinsler	LF	Chris Denorfia
LF	Kevin Mench	1B	Daric Barton
SS	Michael Young	RF	Emil Brown
DH	Josh Hamilton	DH	Jack Cust
RF	Marlon Byrd	CF	Ryan Sweeney
3B	Hank Blalock	3B	Jack Hannahan
CF	David Murphy	SS	Donnie Murphy
1B	Ben Broussard	C	Rob Bowen
C	Gerald Laird	2B	Brooks Conrad

Notes: Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that right-handers Scott Feldman, Franklyn German, Kaz Fukumori, and Kameron Loe are all scheduled to pitch in relief of Sidney Ponson this afternoon, who will make his first start of the spring for Texas.

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan suggests that Wes Littleton, Jamey Wright and the aforementioned Feldman are the current front-runners for the final three spots in the Rangers bullpen. Frankie Francisco's candidacy for one of those spots was hardly furthered by his shaky outing (0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB) against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon in Surprise.

Rangers Quote Of The Week: 3/16 Plus Edition

Another week, another quote pertaining to the Texas Rangers' still muddled backstop situation. Let's get this over with, shall we?

"I don't want to go to Triple A, and I don't think there's any reason for me to go to Triple A. I've proven my ability in the big leagues as a hitter. Atlanta called me up as a catcher, and I've proven myself in spring training.

"I want to be in the big leagues. I want the starting job. That's my goal, and that's what I want to do."

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, commenting late last week on the bleak possibility of being shipped back to Triple-A Oklahoma to begin the 2008 season. With fellow backstop Gerald Laird seemingly having won the starting job behind the plate, the Rangers can now delegate one of two roles upon their their 22-year-old catcher: everyday starting catcher at Oklahoma City, or backup catcher/right-handed designated hitter in Arlington.

Sounds like Jarrod knows pretty definitively which role he'd like going forward.

Whichever role you feel is the correct role for Saltalamacchia is very likely dependent on whether or not you feel this 2008 Rangers squad has an outside shot at being competitive. Though a prolonged stint with the Redhawks might well aid his long-term development (both offensively and defensively), a catching tandem consisting of Laird and the ever-mediocre Adam Melhuse would probably be baseball's equivalent of a black hole in the Texas lineup, sucking up precious outs while providing sub-replacement level production at the plate.

For obvious reasons, that would be relatively damaging to this team's projected 2008 win totals.

There is, of course, that somewhat dubious possibility of Gerald returning to 2006 form, when he clubbed seven home runs in 260 plate appearances and provided a lovely .296/.332/.473 (105 OPS+) line at the plate. But even then, the vast majority of his offensive value was derived from his work against southpaws, whom he torched to the tune of a Sammy Sosa-esque .400/.414/.600 in 88 PA. Against right-handers, Laird batted a far less appetizing .241/.291/.405 in 172 PA.

Though Saltalamacchia, admittedly, didn't show terribly much in his limited work against left-handers last season (.226/.268/.357 with four homers in 123 PA), a lineup showcasing Jarrod as the right-handed DH would be far preferable to that of one featuring, oh, say, Kevin Mench, in terms of pure entertainment value. But would such an arrangement really help to facilitate the further polishing of Saltalamacchia's improving, yet still rough, defensive game? Probably not.

And herein lies the great dilemma facing the Texas Rangers. With yet another top catching prospect - in the person of former Texas Longhorn Taylor Teagarden - steadily barreling down the minor league pipeline, Saltalamacchia finds himself in a precarious position.

Another strong campaign from Teagarden in 2008, combined with a lack of opportunity (or results, as the unfortunate by-product of inconsistent playing time) for Saltalamacchia at the big league level, could quite feasibly knock the latter down a peg on the organizational catching depth chart, and perhaps even trigger frenzied mid-summer trade talks to ship Jarrod out of town forever.

And boy, would that be disappointing to see. For as much as I like what Teagarden brings to the table, Saltalamacchia's gorgeous, fluid swing and seemingly limitless offensive potential as a catcher have fully captured my imagination. Make no mistake about it, I want to see Jarrod establish himself as the catcher of the future here in Texas.

And when playoff baseball finally makes its glorious, long-awaited return to the Temple, I want to see Jarrod behind the plate, snapping cool, collected throws back to his pitcher, taking control of the game through not just his game-changing bat, but also his refined glovework, throwing arm and battery communication skills.

Watching a player like Gerald Laird - a decent stopgap, but hardly somebody that figures into the Rangers' long-term plans - potentially even dent Saltalamacchia's chances of becoming what I think he can become in Texas is, by far, the most distressing development to come out of Surprise this spring, as far as I'm concerned.

Here's to hoping Jon Daniels and company find a way to properly resolve this situation in a timely manner - and to ensure that Saltalamacchia, regardless of the steps required to make it so, yet becomes one of the undeniable cornerstones of this franchise.

* * * * *

Elsewhere in the baseball realm:

? Top pitching prospect Eric Hurley tossed four quality innings against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon, surrendering a pair of runs on just two hits and two walks while flashing an impressive 95 MPH heater and 69 MPH curve (granted, velocity readings that might have been something less than totally accurate in light of Mark Redman's own bizarre 91 MPH reading).

As the great Jamey Newberg often emphasizes: Patience.

? Kevin Millwood (strained left hamstring), Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm) and C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) were all dominant during their respective minor league outings against Seattle's High-A squad on Saturday, an encouraging step forward for the trio of ailing hurlers.

Mike Hindman of "Rangers Farm Report" has the complete scoop on their performances in terms of pure velocity and movement, noting that Millwood looked "very healthy" and that Benoit "appeared to be nearly back to full strength," but that C.J.'s fastball, which normally sits in the mid-90's, was missing around 5-7 MPH. Not a major concern, but still something worth keeping an eye on.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, meanwhile, sums up the Rangers' new plan for Millwood:

Millwood is scheduled to pitch in his only "A" game of the spring Thursday. His final scheduled start would fall on March 25th when the Rangers play Seattle, but the club doesn't want him to face the Mariners on the 25th and then again six days later on Opening Day.

So, if the schedule remains the same, Millwood would pitch in a minor league game on the 25th. What is still in question is the weather. It is iffy for Sunday and a rainout could push everybody in the rotation back a day. That would then allow Millwood to pitch in an "A" game on Friday and again on March 26th, then have four days of rest before facing the Mariners in the season opener.

? Don't think a tornado could ever hit Rangers Ballpark in Arlington while a game was in progress? Think again. The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF2 tornado swept through downtown Atlanta on Friday night, sideswiping the 71,000-seat Georgia Dome during an SEC tournament basketball game between Mississippi State and Alabama and tearing multiple holes in the dome's roof with 2:11 left in overtime.

One can only shudder to think what kind of havoc such a traumatic weather event might create at an outdoor sporting event, particularly with upwards of 20,000 people in attendance.

? Finally, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan brings us this bit of quotable goodness from the Rangers' minor league offices:

Rangers Minor League officials made a study of their six farm teams over the final three months of the 2007 season.

The officials found when their clubs allowed five or fewer free bases in a game, those clubs won an astounding 91 percent of their games. They also found out that Major League playoff teams are the ones that allowed an average of less than five free bases per game.

"We want that to be the identity of our organization, being good at not allowing the free base," Rangers farm director Scott Servais. "That's something we talk about with our players every day. Oakland's identity is high on-base percentage. The Angels are known for their aggressiveness and putting pressure on the other team. This is what we need to be known for."

Servais said the free base comes in seven different areas: walks, hit batter, passed ball, wild pitch, balk, error and stolen base.

Well, imagine that! Who would have thought that allowing fewer walks and committing fewer mistakes would be conducive to winning more games? Next you'll be telling me that drawing more walks and collecting more hits helps you to...oh, right.

And not to unnecessarily bag on Scott Servais, who is by all accounts a fine baseball man, but wouldn't something as abstract as "being good at not allowing the free base" be something that you would want to inherently strive for anyway, as opposed to something you would want to build your organizational identity around? Just strikes me as a rather odd curiosity, is all.

Fifteen days until Opening Day.

Rangers Gameday: 3/15 Vs. COL

Saturday, March 15th Game Preview

Colorado Rockies (7-8-0) vs. Texas Rangers (9-6-2)

Mark Redman (1-1, 6.75 ERA) vs. Eric Hurley (0-1, 4.70 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Rockies		Rangers
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
CF	Willy Taveras	SS	Ramon Vazquez
RF	Scott Podsednik	2B	Ryan Roberts
DH	Ryan Spilborghs	LF	David Murphy
LF	Matt Holliday	DH	Jason Botts
3B	Ian Stewart	CF	Marlon Byrd
1B	Joe Koshansky	1B	Ben Broussard
SS	Clint Barmes	3B	Edgardo Alfonzo
2B	Jayson Nix	C	Jarrod Saltalamacchia
C	Edwin Bellorin	RF	Nelson Cruz

Notes: Kevin Millwood, Joaquin Benoit and C.J. Wilson are all scheduled to pitch in the minor league game today.

Gabbard Falters, But Rangers Shine In 10-8 Victory Over Royals

Kason Gabbard's candidacy for the fourth spot in the Texas Rangers' Opening Day starting rotation may have taken yet another step backwards on Friday afternoon in Surprise, Arizona.

Sidney Ponson's, comparatively, may have taken yet another step forward.

Texas managed to overcome yet another miserable performance from the 25-year-old Gabbard, who surrendered seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks in just three innings of work, by posting double digits on the scoreboard for just the second time this spring - 10 runs, in fact.

The Rangers' cumulative record on the exhibition season now sits at 9-6-2, planting them firmly within the upper echelon of the 2008 Cactus League standings.

That small triumph unfortunately comes as little solace to the Rangers, who continue to accumulate questions surrounding the state of their pitching staff at an alarmingly rapid rate. Even though Gabbard's horrific lack of effectiveness this spring (12.66 ERA on 22 hits and eight walks in 10.1 IP) hasn't elicited any vocal concern from manager Ron Washington, pitching coach Mark Connor, or even Kason himself, you can bet that all three are beginning to feel, at the very least, a slight pang of uncertainty:

"Gabbard will be given time to find his command, and Jennings will be given time to find his velocity," manager Ron Washington said. "I'm not going to take the ball from them. You know, sometimes guys who can't get guys out in the spring, the regular season starts, and they eat guys up."

The vague reference to right-hander Jason Jennings embedded within the above quote is aimed towards his suboptimal velocity, which is currently sitting at around 82-85 MPH as opposed to the 86-89 MPH the Rangers desire. Over the last three seasons, his fastball/sinker (which has accounted for nearly 4,000 of his 6,861 pitches during that time frame) has averaged 87.5 MPH.

Major League quality hitters will use Jennings for jet stream-aided batting practice at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington if he doesn't find a way to add that extra bit of life to his heater. After all, being able to avoid the injury bug and stay healthy is merely half the battle.

So far, that's the only half of the battle Gabbard and Jennings appear to be winning.

Right-handers Kevin Millwood (sore left hamstring) and Vicente Padilla (strained left gluteus maximus muscle) may mercifully be on their way to winning that same half of the battle, as Millwood is scheduled to throw as many as 60 pitches during a minor league game on Saturday; he'll be followed by fellow rehabbing hurlers C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) and Joaquin Benoit (weak right arm).

Padilla, meanwhile, is scheduled to start a minor league contest on Sunday, the indirect result of the Rangers' festering curiosity in seeing how the newly signed Sidney Ponson will fare against big league hitting. The portly right-hander, who flashed a 92-94 MPH sinking fastball and a "curve ball with bite" during two innings of shutout relief work against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, will start Sunday's "A" game against the Oakland Athletics in place of Padilla.

Outfielder Milton Bradley, participating in his first live game action since inking a one-year deal with the Rangers back on December 9th, went 3-for-5 with a walk during Friday's minor league "B" game against the Royals' Triple-A squad:

"I've had no setbacks. More than anything, I feel some fatigue in the knee after a while," Bradley said. "The swing feels good. The first at-bat it seemed like I was feeling for it, but then I got back in there and was focused. It's just a matter of timing. I didn't hurt my elbow. My swing has always been there."

Encouraging news, indeed.

Might be time to start watching right-hander Elizardo Ramirez (0.00 ERA in 8 IP), who allowed three hits but struck out four during his two innings against the Kansas City Royals on Friday afternoon. Mike Hindman of "Rangers Farm Report" (who, coincidentally, has penned a pair of fantastic pieces from Surprise, chock-full with his personal observations on the Rangers' up-and-coming youngsters) likened the 25-year-old's wiry frame to that of former Rangers reliever Bryan Corey.

SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the Rangers came within a whisker of successfully trading for prized southpaw ace Johan Santana this past off-season, and had in fact completed the framework of a deal with the Minnesota Twins before its wholly unforeseen collapse, which is described in detail below:

At that point, executives involved in the talks believed that the trade was very likely to be consummated if only Santana gave a more enthusiastic response when Twins higher ups quizzed him about whether he'd accept a trade to the Rangers. However, a diplomatic Santana is believed to have told the Twins only that he'd "consider'' going to Texas, an answer that was seen as less than enthusiastic.

It was shortly after receiving Santana's lukewarm response that the Twins stopped pursuing the trade with Texas. People familiar with the talks say they believe Minnesota wanted to avoid agreeing to a trade proposal that could eventually be rejected by Santana, whose full no-trade clause put the power in his hands. Such a scenario could have hurt their leverage in future trade talks.

Word is, Santana actually thought about the Rangers long enough to have quizzed his long-time Twins teammate Torii Hunter, a free agent, about his own intentions. But it appears that when Hunter, a resident of Prosper, Texas, and close friend of Rangers manager Ron Washington, was noncommittal about whether he'd sign with the Rangers (he eventually signed with the Angels), Santana appears to have followed Hunter's lead.

Fascinating.

The St. Louis Cardinals finalized a one year, $4.25 million contract with right-hander Kyle Lohse on Friday, effectively ending any and all speculation as to whether or not the Rangers might swoop in and snag the 29-year-old as a last minute reinforcement to their depleted starting pitching corps. His well-documented inconsistency on the mound and occasional head-case tendencies might have played a major role in the Rangers bowing out of the bidding.

Trade talks persist between the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs on a potential deal that would ship outfielder Marlon Byrd to the North Siders, but the Rangers' steady insistence on receiving young pitching as part of such a trade continues to hold things up. Unless Cubs GM Jim Hendry caves to Jon Daniels' weighty demands (a possibility which I'm strongly beginning to doubt), this deal ain't happenin'.

Make sure to check out center fielder Josh Hamilton's in-depth Friday afternoon interview with the Hardline on KTCK 1310 AM The Ticket, which is available for your perusal, complete with the usual fantastic lead-in by Jamey Newberg, right here:

The Rangers optioned outfielder Brandon Boggs, left-handers Matt Harrison and A.J. Murray, and right-hander Warner Madrigal to minor league camp on Friday, while simultaneously reassigning first baseman Nate Gold and catcher Taylor Teagarden to minor league camp. As a result of these moves, Texas now has 45 players on their spring training roster.

Bold But Potentially Idiotic Prediction of the Week: Brandon McCarthy won't surpass the 50-inning threshold with the Rangers in 2008. Though it certainly pains and even unnerves me to make such a pessimistic proclamation, given the kind of talent the Rangers shipped to the Chicago White Sox nearly 15 months ago for the 24-year-old right-hander, and given how high I still am on McCarthy's ability to develop into a #2 or #3 starter, that's just the general vibe I'm beginning to get.

Richie Whitt's latest Dallas Observer feature piece on new Rangers team president Nolan Ryan is essential reading, if only for his scathingly honest assessment of the organization and its historic lack of success. I may not agree with many of Whitt's Rangers points, but his work always makes for an incredibly thought-provoking read.

And finally, behold the Rangers' new television advertising campaign for the 2008 season!

Eh. C.J. coulda done better.

Quick Hits: Outfielder Frank Catalanotto (back spasms) reported improvement on Friday, though he did not work out...right-hander Thomas Diamond, recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw 20 pitches during a simulated game on Friday...left-hander Eddie Guardado (strained left knee tendon) threw a bullpen session without pain.

Rangers Gameday: 3/14 Vs. KC

Friday, March 14th Game Preview

Texas Rangers (8-6-2) vs. Kansas City Royals (9-6-0)

Kason Gabbard (0-1, 9.39 ERA) vs. Brett Tomko (1-1, 11.37 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Webcast

Rangers		Royals
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
2B	Ian Kinsler	CF	David DeJesus
DH	Kevin Mench	2B	Alberto Callaspo
SS	Michael Young	3B	Alex Gordon
CF	Josh Hamilton	C	Miguel Olivo
RF	Marlon Byrd	DH	Billy Butler
3B	Hank Blalock	1B	Ryan Shealy
1B	Ben Broussard	RF	Mitch Maier
LF	David Murphy	SS	Tony Pena
C	Gerald Laird	LF	Joey Gathright

Notes: Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that right-handers Jamey Wright, Robinson Tejeda and Elizardo Ramirez are all expected to pitch in relief of starter Kason Gabbard this afternoon.

Mendoza Melts Down, But Rangers Tie Rockies 6-6

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Rangers Injury Perspective: Volume 1.

Thursday, February 21st DMN Injury Report

Thursday, March 13th DMN Injury Report

Back on March 2nd, Baseball Prospectus's Jay Jaffe wrote the following on the Rangers' medical staff, which ranked a decent but hardly spectacular 15th in the running for the prestigious Dick Martin Award (handed out annually by the editors at BP to the game's best medical staff of the past year):

The bottom line for the Rangers is that [head trainer Jamie] Reed, in conjunction with team physician Dr. Keith Meister--a proteg� of Dr. Jim Andrews--is committed to making the Rangers a more forward-looking team when it comes to injuries, one focused on being proactive rather than reactive. The team has poured a tremendous amount of money into their health system in the service of those goals. They haven't entirely been realized yet, but they haven't stopped trying, either.

If what has transpired in Surprise, Arizona over the last three weeks is any indication of what's still to come, the Rangers aren't going to be realizing any of those above goals anytime soon.

Of course, many of these injuries (such as Vicente Padilla's "sore hip muscle") are either relatively minor in nature, or are well on their way to being recuperated from, and hence shouldn't be regarded as major concerns going forward. Problem is, several of these injuries are major concerns - particularly in the case of Brandon McCarthy, whose "right forearm inflammation" recalls to mind a report I penned on July 19th, 2007:

Per T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers have placed reliever Aki Otsuka on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 9th), and have called up right-hander Scott Feldman from Triple-A Oklahoma. An MRI performed today revealed that Aki still has inflammation in his sore right elbow, but that there is no structural damage, which is a very good sign.

Eerily similar to what we've been hearing on McCarthy this spring, is it not? Obviously, a clean MRI does not necessarily equate to a guaranteed swift recovery and subsequent healthy return to the playing field, a fact which the Rangers can undoubtedly attest to firsthand.

And you'd be hard-pressed to argue that this organization hasn't badly mishandled McCarthy on at least one notable occasion over the last 12 months; take last summer's debacle, for instance. For whatever reason, Texas has exhibited a bizarre reluctance towards the concept of the precautionary MRI (particularly with Brandon), choosing only to spring into action once the 24-year-old right-hander had already either sustained a second setback, or even more disturbingly, was in too much pain to take the mound.

It's positively maddening. And sooner or later, the madness has got to end - one way or another.

Outfielder Frank Catalanotto became the latest Ranger to join the casualty list on Thursday afternoon, as the 33-year-old was lifted from the eventual 10-inning deadlock between Texas and the Colorado Rockies after just one at-bat due to back spasms. He may rejoin the lineup sometime this weekend, but he's not expected to be available for Friday's contest against the Kansas City Royals in Surprise.

Right-hander Luis Mendoza was perfect through the first 10 batters of his start on Thursday, but self-destructed after attempting to turn to his still-developing changeup the second time through the batting order. The end result? 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR and a HBP.

Not good, unless the back of your jersey happens to reveal the name "Ponson." Then you're probably rubbing your hands together with glee, particularly after giving yourself a generous 50-50 shot of making the Opening Day starting rotation the day before Mendoza's meltdown.

On a brighter note, shortstop Michael Young went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while third baseman Hank Blalock jacked a game-tying three run blast in the top of the 5th inning to knot the score at 5-5.

Starting right fielder David Murphy pitched in with a solo home run of his own to give Texas a 6-5 edge, but right-hander Josh Rupe failed to successfully hold the lead, surrendering the tying run in the bottom of the 8th inning and setting the stage for the eventual 6-6 tie.

If you've got the time to spare, make sure to check out southpaw C.J. Wilson's extensive 20-minute Wednesday afternoon interview with the Hardline on KTCK 1310 AM The Ticket, during the course of which he discussed the status of his health, his personal life and a variety of other issues swirling around the 2008 Texas Rangers (direct link available here):

There's a really cool piece on the growing bond between outfielders Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley by Jeff Wilson in the Thursday edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which I'd highly recommend everybody giving the once-over if you haven't done so already.

Hamilton, coincidentally, has now collected hits in seven of his last nine at-bats dating back to Monday evening's contest against the San Diego Padres, along with a pair of doubles, a triple, a home run, three runs scored, four runs batted in, and a walk. His cumulative batting line for the spring now sits at .577/.607/1.115; albeit, in just 26 AB.

Resting on the opposite end of the spectrum is starting first baseman Ben Broussard, whose 0-for-3 Thursday performance included three strikeouts - two against Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez, and one against reliever Josh Newman. Perhaps he can don that silver sombrero the next time he hits up the Metroplex music scene.

Still, Broussard does have one vitally important thing going for him this spring: his health. And that's a lot more than can be presently said for a fair-sized chunk of this team.

Just seventeen days until Opening Day.

Rangers Gameday: 3/13 Vs. COL

Thursday, March 13th Game Preview

Texas Rangers (8-6-1) vs. Colorado Rockies (7-7-0)

Luis Mendoza (0-0, 10.80 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 3.86 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Tucson, Arizona (Hi Corbett Field)

TV: None | Radio: None

Rangers		Rockies
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
2B	Ian Kinsler	CF	Scott Podsednik
LF	Frank Catalanotto	RF	Cory Sullivan
SS	Michael Young	1B	Todd Helton
CF	Josh Hamilton	LF	Matt Holliday
3B	Hank Blalock	3B	Ian Stewart
1B	Ben Broussard	C	Yorvit Torrealba
RF	David Murphy	SS	Omar Quintanilla
C	Adam Melhuse	2B	Jayson Nix
P	Luis Mendoza	P	Ubaldo Jimenez

Notes: Kevin Millwood (strained left hamstring) tossed a final pain-free bullpen session this morning, followed by some light fielding drills with pitching coach Mark Connor. He's expected to make his spring debut on Saturday, though it has yet to be determined whether he'll start the minor league "B" game or the Major League "A" game against the Kansas City Royals.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed a "mammoth" solo home run during today's "B" game in Surprise, while southpaw A.J. Murray surrendered three runs in three innings and right-hander Kazuo Fukumori gave up two runs in the fourth inning. None of the stats compiled in minor league games count towards the official spring stats.

Third baseman Travis Metcalf underwent successful surgery in Dallas yesterday to repair a torn left hamstring and will return to camp on Friday, but is still expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that right-handers Kameron Loe, Jason Davis, Ryan Rupe, Elizardo Ramirez, Warner Madrigal, and Doug Mathis are all expected to pitch in relief of starter Luis Mendoza this afternoon.

Rangers Top Cubs 5-4, But Lose Guardado

�And another one gone and another one gone, another one bites the dust.�

Shortly after word leaked back on February 19th that left-handed reliever John Rheinecker would miss at least the first half of the 2008 season after undergoing surgery to alleviate symptoms of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, I penned the following paragraph:

Needless to say, this is a significant blow to the Rangers� left-handed bullpen depth. The alternatives begin to look very suspect after the club�s top two southpaws (C.J. Wilson and Eddie Guardado); left-hander Bill White, who was released and subsequently re-signed to a minor league deal in January, can�t be added to the Rangers� 25-man roster before May 15th.

Even before Rheinecker came clean to the Texas Rangers' medical staff about the seriousness of his medical condition, the organization's left-handed bullpen depth going into spring training last month left something to be desired, given the injury concerns surrounding its core members.

C.J. Wilson's susceptibility to opposing hitters, for instance, was amplified dramatically last September (.371/.415/.543 in 8.1 IP and 42 PA for the month) as he surpassed the 60-inning threshold for the season; his previous career high in innings pitched at the big league level (48) was set back in 2005, when the 27-year-old southpaw made six starts and 18 relief appearances.

Fatigue, partly believed to be the result of especially high pitch counts during several of his late-season outings, played a key role in his September struggles, and subsequently raised questions about his durability going forward.

And then, of course, there's Eddie Guardado. Despite now being just over 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery, Guardado's advanced age - he turned 37 on October 2nd - renders him an inherently greater injury risk than most relievers straight out of the chute.

Well, guess what? It's March 12th, C.J. has biceps tendinitis in his left shoulder, and "Everyday Eddie," who had reportedly been battling soreness in his left knee for over a week, has now been shelved indefinitely with what is being described as a strained left knee tendon:

"As I was walking up the tunnel, I'm thinking, 'We are dropping like flies,' " Guardado said. "I've never seen anything like it. I'm wondering, 'What's going on here?' "

Though the injury is not thought to be particularly serious (gee, where have we heard that before?), Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are still likely to withhold him from live game action until early next week, in order to give the inflammation surrounding his knee ample opportunity to subside. No official timetable has yet been set for his return to the mound.

Wonderful. The season opener in Seattle is just 18 days away, and none of the Rangers' top three preseason southpaw relievers are currently available.

At this rate, the odds of lefty A.J. Murray breaking camp as part of the 25-man roster might be rapidly approaching the 1:1 mark.

A faulty pitcher's mound at Surprise Stadium is believed to be the primary culprit behind the sudden rash of non-pitching arm related injuries to strike the Rangers; Guardado remarked after the game that there were "two big potholes" on the mound, created from repeated planting of the pitchers' landing feet into the same two grooves on the front of the mound.

Right-hander Wes Littleton turned his ankle after stepping into one of the potholes during the top of the 9th inning of Wednesday afternoon's contest against the Chicago Cubs, but remained in the game after a quick consultation with manager Ron Washington and head trainer Jamie Reed. Sad when even your home spring training ballpark is conspiring to work against you.

Starting pitcher Jason Jennings surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in three innings of work against a Cubs lineup deprived of regulars, while striking out four; he had been scheduled to pitch four innings, but reached his 63-pitch limit prematurely after firing 30 pitches in the first inning. Right-hander Sidney Ponson, meanwhile, tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Jennings, all while issuing just a single free pass and exhibiting a solid 93-94 MPH heater.

Shortstop Michael Young (2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) and catcher Gerald Laird (2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) both went yard on Wednesday, while utility infielder hopeful Ryan Roberts (2-for-3) and second baseman Ian Kinsler (2-for-2, 2 R) also notched impressive multi-hit efforts on the afternoon. Perhaps Jarrod Saltalamacchia can snag a cheaper hotel rate in Oklahoma City if he reserves his room online.

Outfielder Milton Bradley, who continues to rehabilitate his right knee after undergoing surgery last September to repair a torn ACL and meniscus, might serve as designated hitter in a minor league game as early as Friday. However, he's not expected to participate in an "A" game until sometime next week at the very earliest, and may not play the outfield at all this spring:

"I can play as soon as [today]," Bradley said. "But I know from previous experience, like last year with the A's, when you feel good doesn't necessarily mean you're ready. It's spring training and I don't want to get too crazy. I'm already way ahead of schedule, so I just want to keep progressing and make sure I know I'm ready. I know in my heart I'm ready, but I've got a lot of ton of people from the outside telling me to take it easy and relax."

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan notes that Bradley's questionable status for Opening Day, in terms of being able to start in right field, could thrust David Murphy, Marlon Byrd or even Kevin Mench into that role through the early stretch of the 2008 season. Sadly, outfielders Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz still remain firmly entrenched behind Mench in the open competition for the final spot on the Rangers' bench.

Just imagine the howling that will commence across the Rangers blogosphere if Saltalamacchia, Botts and Cruz all wind up getting the shaft in favor of Laird and Mench. Good grief.

ESPN.com's Keith Law had this to say about Japanese right-hander Kazuo Fukumori yesterday, who has fired six scoreless innings this spring for the Rangers:

Kazuo Fukumori worked a short inning, showing an 89-91 mph fastball with some downhill plane and a "shuuto" at 85-86 mph with a solid late break that's more vertical than horizontal, making it almost like a splitter with a little cut. He has some effort to his delivery, and I don't see plus fastball command. But if he stays on top of the ball and can mix in the shuuto, he should be effective.

Finally, Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail reports that free agent right-hander Kyle Lohse is being pursued by the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, and - you guessed it! - the Texas Rangers, whose purported lack of interest in Lohse merely a week ago may have changed in light of the club's increasingly depleted starting pitching corps. The 29-year-old, oft-noted for his inconsistency on the mound, is 63-74 with a 4.82 ERA (95 ERA+) and 1.432 WHIP in 1,164 career Major League innings.

Though Lohse, a Scott Boras client, was once believed to be seeking a contract similar to the four year, $48 million deal inked by his former Minnesota Twins teammate, Carlos Silva, last December, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Lohse is now expected to commit on a one-year pact for less than $5 million.

Funny how great an impact just a smidgen of desperation can have on your contractual demands.

Or, for that matter, how great an impact a pothole-ridden mound can have on your already woebegone pitching staff.

Quick Hits: Right-hander Vicente Padilla (sore hip muscle) reported improvement on Wednesday and is expected to make his next start...Akinori Otsuka, who underwent elbow surgery in mid-January, was in camp on Wednesday visiting his ex-teammates; he expressed a desire to return to the Rangers in 2009...first baseman Chris Shelton was absent from camp for a couple of days attending the birth of his child, but is expected to return Friday.

Rangers Gameday: 3/12 Vs. CHC

Wednesday, March 12th Game Preview

Chicago Cubs (5-9-0) vs. Texas Rangers (7-6-1)

Ted Lilly (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Jason Jennings (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Webcast

Cubs		Rangers
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
LF	Alfonso Soriano	2B	Ian Kinsler
2B	Mike Fontenot	3B	Ryan Roberts
1B	Micah Hoffpauir	DH	Michael Young
DH	Daryle Ward	LF	Jason Botts
RF	Matt Murton	1B	Edgardo Alfonzo
3B	Casey McGehee	CF	Marlon Byrd
SS	Alex Cintron	RF	Nelson Cruz
C	Henry Blanco	C	Gerald Laird
CF	Sam Fuld	SS	Ramon Vazquez

Notes: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that relievers C.J. Wilson (left biceps tendinitis) and Joaquin Benoit (weak arm) both tossed successful bullpen sessions on Wednesday, and are both expected to pitch in a minor league game on Saturday.

Kevin Millwood (strained hamstring) also threw a pain-free bullpen session, but the Rangers have yet to decide whether he'll pitch in Saturday's minor league contest with Wilson or Benoit, or will make the start in the "A" game against the Colorado Rockies. He'll go through another bullpen session and some fielding drills tomorrow before the club makes the final call.

Sullivan additionally notes that outfielder Kevin Mench is expected to receive some playing time at first base in the near future, a development which is unlikely to boost the odds of Jason Botts or Nelson Cruz making the Opening Day roster. Who didn't see this coming?

Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News reports that right-handers Robinson Tejeda, Sidney Ponson, Wes Littleton and Franklyn German are all scheduled to pitch in relief of starter Jason Jennings this afternoon.

Walkoff 'Cruz Missile' Powers Rangers To 7-5 Win

In his 19 months and 12 days as a member of the Texas Rangers organization, enigmatic corner outfielder Nelson Cruz has belted three walkoff home runs.

The first of those three doses of late inning dramatics was delivered on March 31st, 2007, and singlehandedly propelled Texas to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers during the club's final exhibition contest of the spring.

His walkoff blast would not only promise a exhilarating, joyous car ride home for the 22,385 fans in attendance at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington that evening, but also gave the club an impressive 16-11 record on the spring. Of course, we all remember - perhaps far too well, in fact - how that spring success translated to the regular season, which is to say not at all.

The second came a month and a half later on May 13th, an opposite-field Mother's Day bomb off Angels reliever Scot Shields that was deposited by Cruz into the home bullpen in deep right-center field. Among the 24,847 in attendance that warm, sunny afternoon were Nelson's mother and grandmother, transforming the entire scene into something reminiscent of The Natural.

The third, as you've undoubtedly guessed by now from the title of this morning's piece, came on Tuesday afternoon. But unless things change in a hurry over the next three weeks, it could quite possibly be his last in a Rangers uniform.

With two outs and a runner on second base in the bottom of the 10th inning, Cruz launched a 2-1 fastball - clocked at 99 MPH on the radar gun - from the arm of Chicago White Sox reliever (and #1 overall pick of the 1997 MLB Draft) Matt Anderson beyond the left field bullpen at Surprise Stadium, ending the three hour and 10 minute affair and sending yet another heavily Rangers-flavored spring training crowd, approaching but not quite exceeding 5,000 in size, home happy.

The jubilance of the moment, unfortunately, was somewhat tempered by the harsh bounds of reality. Cruz, 27, may have gone 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored on the day, but his overall body of work this spring - .200/.231/.360 in 25 AB - is unlikely to do him any favors in making the Opening Day roster, despite the meaningless sample size in play. Sadly, those numbers aren't terribly far out of line with his lifetime Major League batting line of .231/.282/.385 in 442 AB.

At this point, it's probably most realistic to assume that Cruz, for all the incredible talent he has flashed on occasion, is not going to receive an opportunity to ply his craft with the Rangers in 2008. His lack of minor league options places the organization in a difficult bind, and ultimately gives general manager Jon Daniels just three choices, once the seemingly inevitable choice is made to designate Cruz for assignment: trade him, release him or try and push him through waivers.

Though it doesn't appear as though Nelson has ever previously been outrighted to the minor leagues (thus preventing him from being able to decline such an assignment), 29 rival Major League teams make for quite an obstacle, regardless of the circumstances. Even as far as Cruz's stock has fallen, there's probably somebody out there in need of a fifth outfielder that can play competent (bordering on plus) defense at a corner outfield spot, while providing above-average power potential.

It's an unfortunate outcome to contemplate, and not at all one that I remotely envisioned coming to fruition around this time last year. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to pin much blame on the Rangers for this case study in player development going awry.

Cruz received the playing time and opportunities necessary to gain a foothold and successfully flourish in this league, but for a myriad of reasons (including, but not limited to, his inability to consistently hit breaking pitches), failed to achieve his otherworldly potential. All the tools were present for him to excel, but the results never did arrive.

And now it looks to be too late.

Right-hander Vicente Padilla, making his third start of the spring on Tuesday afternoon against a righty-heavy White Sox lineup, was yanked after just 3.2 innings of work (and shy of his 60-pitch limit) due to what Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News is terming as a strained left gluteus maximus muscle:

"The arm is perfectly fine," Padilla said. "I just felt something on the high part of the [left buttock]. But it was nothing. It bothered me a little bit. I preferred to avoid further injury, then I wouldn't be able to pitch later on. I asked to be taken out. I told [pitching coach Mark] Connor that I didn't want to risk it any more, and that's why he called [manager Ron] Washington.

"Washington immediately called for another pitcher, to avoid the possibility that I wouldn't be able to pitch during the season."

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan was decidedly more conservative in his description of the injury, describing it as simply a "strained left hip muscle." Yeah, right.

Padilla, according to Sullivan, will "most likely be able to make his next start on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics," suggesting that his status is day-to-day at the moment. Nonetheless, stay tuned.

Though the latest ailment to strike the Rangers' increasingly bereft starting rotation thankfully doesn't appear to be serious, it's not so much the severity of the injury that concerns me as it is the fact that 60% of the former tentative Opening Day rotation - Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Jason Jennings, Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard - has now gone down this spring with some type of ache or pain. That doesn't even begin to factor in the problems endured by Joaquin Benoit and C.J. Wilson this spring.

And when that many injuries all flare up at once, the probability of them all being the mere unfortunate by-product of coincidence, circumstance and bad luck starts to fly out the window. Be it poor pitching mechanics, less-than-adequate conditioning during the off-season or some other unexplained reason, head trainer Jamie Reed and crew are bound, deservedly so or not, to come under some degree of criticism if this absurd rate of injuries doesn't begin to slow down - and soon.

Right-hander Scott Feldman tossed four innings in relief of the fallen Padilla on Tuesday, surrendering three earned runs on six hits and a walk while punching out two.

The Rangers apparently have designs on converting him into a starter if he fails to crack the seven-man bullpen unit coming out of spring training, which would seem to be a far more realistic proposition if not for the fact that he hasn't started a professional game since 2004. On the rookie-league Arizona Rangers. Yeah.

Still, Feldman and fellow right-hander Sidney Ponson (who is scheduled to toss two innings and between 30 to 35 pitches against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday) are apparently being viewed as minor league contingency plans, rather than as legitimate options to crack the Opening Day starting rotation. The former comes as little surprise, but the latter does come as somewhat of a relief.

With Ponson's role seemingly affirmed, sinkerballer Luis Mendoza would now appear to be the uncontested front-runner for the final spot in the rotation picture, rendered vacant by Brandon McCarthy's recent bout of right elbow inflammation. Here's to hoping Mendoza validates the Rangers' confidence in his ability, as the timetable on McCarthy's recovery has been revised from four to six weeks to four to eight weeks. Ouch.

Josh Hamilton, serving as the Rangers' designated hitter on Tuesday, went 3-for-3 with a pair of singles and a rocket home run to straightaway center field at Surprise Stadium. We're witnessing the rise of a truly singular talent in the making here.

T.R. Sullivan notes that though the Rangers are garnering league-wide interest in catcher Gerald Laird, they aren't particularly keen on the idea of dealing him away at this time. This is just another negotiating ploy on the part of Jon Daniels to generate additional trade leverage, right? Please? Somebody?

Well, that's what I'm going to continue to tell myself anyway. Seeing as how the Rangers still have time to set this right, I'm not going to completely flip out.

Yet.

The latest edition of Evan Grant's fantastic "Inside the Rangers" weekly newsletter leads with a brief look at some of the more notable statistical lines emanating from spring training, and suggests, among other things, that outfielder/first baseman Jason Botts has yet to convince the organization of his ability to consistently hit for power over the long haul.

Beyond the obligatory bizarre fan-engineered trade proposal of the week (which suggests trading catching prospect Max Ramirez for Nomar Garciaparra - yuck!), this note on long-departed pitching coach Orel Hershiser caught my eye:

Q: I read where Orel Hershiser made the final eight in NBC's National Heads-up Poker Championships in Las Vegas last weekend. This accomplishment appears to be further indication of Orel's immense talents and intelligence. At one point Orel seemed in position to take over the general manager's duties for the Rangers. You would think that the Rangers would have tried harder to keep a person with Orel's talents within the organization. What happened?

Rob, Frisco

GRANT: Poker skills don't necessarily make a good baseball man. It's still about managing people, talent evaluation skills and showing loyalty.

The truth is Hershiser overplayed his hand with the Rangers. He seemed to be perpetually involved in power plays. First, he aligned himself with Buck Showalter in the coup that ousted Grady Fuson as GM heir apparent in 2004. Then he and Showalter seemed to have a parting of ways during the 2005 season over the decision to waive Ryan Drese. Finally, after the 2005 season, Hershiser lobbied for the job of GM or field manager in Los Angeles while putting the Rangers on hold for far longer than the club was comfortable with.

Hershiser didn't leave here on the best of terms. Wouldn't expect to see him connected with this team so long as Jon Daniels or Nolan Ryan are in top positions. And besides, he'll be busy at the World Series of Poker.

That just about says it all, doesn't it?

SI.com�s Jon Heyman noted on Monday that the Rangers "tried hard" to trade for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier last summer as part of a theoretical package of players for first baseman Mark Teixeira, and then "tried hard again" this past winter after the Dodgers acquired center fielder Andruw Jones via free agency.

As much as I loved the premier bounty of talent that Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was able to plunder from the Atlanta Braves� farm system last July, I�d be lying if I said I didn�t still feel a slight pang of regret over that mythical James Loney/Andre Ethier/Clayton Kershaw package failing to ever materialize. Boy, is Kershaw going to be special someday.

Baseball Prospectus's Joe Sheehan offered the following thoughts during his latest chat session on Tuesday afternoon:

Or (Dallas): Can we expect league-average performance from ANY Rangers starter, or are we in line for more horridness?

Joe Sheehan: I liked the Jennings pickup, and it's reasonable to expect Millwood, Padilla and him to collectively be around league average. Their problem is that they've stopped scoring. The offense has to bounce back, and I'm not sure the personnel is there. Lots of injury cases and position issues.

[...]

RollingWave (Taiwan): PECOTA sees the M's sucking badly... I don't see them doing as well as the bandwagon hypes but last?

Joe Sheehan: I have no idea where the runs will come from and the bullpen is going to regress quite a bit. Really, you can throw the Mariners, A's and Rangers in a hat. They'll finish within eight games of each other.

Two points I'd like to make:

a) All things being equal, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see this team score 850 runs in 2008. There's 900-run talent on this squad. Injuries are, however, a serious concern, and it's only a matter of time before the injury bug starts biting the position players at the same rate that it has been attacking the pitching staff this spring.

b) On top of Sheehan's earlier points on the Mariners, their horrid defense, barring significant improvement, isn't likely to help their cause either. I'm not nearly as confident in the Rangers' ability to finish second in this division as I was before the Erik Bedard trade (though that, as has been mentioned before both here and elsewhere, could well aid the Rangers in the long-term scope of things), but second place does remain within the realm of possibility.

And finally, Las Vegas has placed the over/under win total for the Rangers in 2008 at 74.5 wins.

Despite the seemingly pessimistic mood of this morning's column, I'll still take the over. After all, what else is six weeks of spring training really good for if you can't blindly express your optimism over your team's chances of accomplishing all their goals for the coming season?

Judging by the direction that the Rangers' overall health has trended since the onset of spring training, it's certainly not good for getting into playing shape or anything crazy like that.

Rangers Gameday: 3/11 Vs. CWS

Tuesday, March 11th Game Preview

Chicago White Sox (7-8-0) vs. Texas Rangers (6-6-1)

Gavin Floyd (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Vicente Padilla (2-0, 0.00 ERA)

3:05 PM CST in Surprise, Arizona (Surprise Stadium)

TV: None | Radio: MLB.com Webcast

White Sox		Rangers
Pos.	Player	Pos.	Player
CF	Jerry Owens	2B	Ian Kinsler
SS	Pablo Ozuna	LF	Frank Catalanotto
DH	Jim Thome	SS	Michael Young
1B	Paul Konerko	DH	Josh Hamilton
3B	Josh Fields	RF	Marlon Byrd
2B	Alexei Ramirez	3B	Hank Blalock
LF	Carlos Quentin	1B	Ben Broussard
RF	Brian Anderson	CF	David Murphy
C	Paul Phillips	C	Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Notes: Third baseman Travis Metcalf is expected to undergo surgery tomorrow in Dallas to repair a torn left hamstring, an injury which he sustained while rounding third base during last Friday's 9-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix. He's likely to be out six to eight weeks, making it more imperative than ever that Hank Blalock finds a way to stay healthy at the hot corner. The 25-year-old hit .412/.444/.824 with two home runs in 17 spring at-bats.

Right-hander Sidney Ponson is scheduled to pitch two innings tomorrow against the Chicago Cubs in Surprise, his first game action of the spring.

Catcher Taylor Teagarden (bone bruise, left wrist) hopes to miss just a week after an MRI revealed no broken bones; however, the fact that he can't catch or swing without being in pain isn't exactly what you would call an encouraging sign.

Right-hander Brandon McCarthy (right elbow inflammation) has not yet discussed the results of yesterday's confirmatory MRI with team physician Dr. Keith Meister, but the latest tentative plan calls for the 24-year-old to "rest, let the pain subside, and then try to start throwing again," rather than returning to Dallas for a recovery-promoting injection of his own platelets into the inflamed area.

C.J. Wilson (biceps tendinitis), Kevin Millwood (strained left hamstring) and Joaquin Benoit (weak arm) all reported feeling good today after throwing yesterday. Benoit, in particular, noted that he would "probably" be ready by Opening Day.

Scott Feldman and Kazuo Fukumori, among others, are expected to pitch in relief of starter Vicente Padilla this afternoon.