3/9 Noon Update

Texas keeps on rolling.

The Rangers defeated the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, 9-8, and the hated Athletics on Thursday, 7-6. They're now 5-2 on the spring.

A few highlights from the last two days:

- Sammy Sosa has gone 4 for 6 between both games, with two runs scored and three runs batted in, courtesy of a three run HR off Livan Hernandez on Wednesday. Botts only played on Thursday, but went 2 for 2 with a run scored and driven in. Since it's painfully obvious by now that Sammy's going to make the Opening Day roster, I suppose the best we can all hope for now is that he tears the cover off the ball once the regular season begins. Either that, or a disastrous collapse that forces him off the roster in short order. The absolute worst thing that could happen is Sosa starting strong and then falling off, choking the lineup with his mediocrity for an extended period of time until Daniels does something about it. See also: Phil Nevin, circa 2006.

- John Koronka bounced back in brilliant fashion in his start on Wednesday, pitching three no-hit shutout innings. He's still a long shot to make the rotation, but if recent history is anything to go off of, he'll probably end up making at least one start in the majors this year. Padilla got shelled on Thursday, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks in his three innings of work.

- Nelson Cruz was sidelined on Thursday with shin splints, but managed to club a two run triple in a pinch hit appearance. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this guy.

- Ron Washington has pretty much set his rotation - well, for the outfield at least. Washington plans to use a combination of Kenny Lofton, Brad Wilkerson, Frank Catalanotto, Nelson Cruz and Sammy Sosa in a rotation this season.

- Speaking of Wash, Detroit manager Jim Leyland has invited Ron to coach third base in the 2007 All-Star game. Washington has accepted.

- The bullpen situation is beginning to become a little bit more clear. According to Evan Grant, Feldman has been the sharpest reliever in camp, and Benoit has been dominant thus far, which probably makes them the last two pitchers to join Aki Otsuka, Eric Gagne, Wes Littleton, Ron Mahay and C.J. Wilson. Apparently, baseball's new rule change that shortens the amount of time the pitcher has to deliver the ball from 20 seconds to 12 seconds has had a good effect on Benoit, who's notorious for taking his time on the mound. Frankie Francisco appears to be headed for AAA to start the season to work on his command, and Bauer's likely to be traded.

- The Gary Matthews Jr. situation is starting to get very, very nasty. According to today's L.A. Times, the Angels and Major League Baseball have discussed at least four ways of disciplining the center fielder unless he publicly addresses the HGH allegations surrounding him: suspending him with pay, suspending him without pay, converting his contract to a non-guaranteed one, or voiding his contract completely. Given that HGH was not a banned MLB substance in 2004, when Matthews allegedly received it, I seriously doubt the Angels can void his deal, but the organization could probably suspend him. In any event, an MLBPA/Angels showdown appears to be on the horizon, and it is not going to be pretty.

Brandon McCarthy makes the start today for the Rangers, who face the Chicago Cubs at 2:05 CST.

3/6 Rangers Wrapup

Well, that was ugly.

- Texas got throttled by Seattle on Tuesday afternoon, 10-3.

TEXAS            AB  R  H BI
K Lofton cf       2  0  0  0
M Byrd cf         2  0  1  1
F Catalanotto lf  3  0  0  0
T Donovan lf      2  0  2  0
M Young ss        3  0  1  0
M Kata ss         2  0  0  0
S Sosa dh         3  0  1  0
J Arias ph-dh     1  0  0  0
H Blalock 3b      3  0  0  0
D Meyer 3b        1  0  1  0
N Cruz rf         3  0  0  0
V Diaz rf         1  0  0  0
J Sandberg 1b     3  1  1  0
G Laird c         1  1  0  0
K Richardson c    1  0  0  0
R Vazquez 2b      3  1  1  2
D Relaford 2b     1  0  0  0
TOTALS           35  3  8  3
IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
J Wright (L,0-1)                   2   1   2   0   1   1   0
A Otsuka                           1   0   0   0   0   1   0
E Volquez                          2   0   0   0   2   0   0
T Diamond                          1   3   2   2   2   1   0
W Eyre                             2   1   0   0   1   2   0
C Wilson                         1-3   1   5   4   3   0   0
S Rowe                           2-3   3   1   1   0   1   0

There's not a whole lot good to say about this one. The Rangers climbed out of a 4-0 hole with a three run 7th inning, but six runs came across for the Mariners in the top of the 9th inning. Let's start with the good, shall we?

• Aki threw a nice shutout frame, while Edinson Volquez threw two shutout innings himself. I don't like to see those two walks from Volquez, though, because right now his command is the biggest obstacle between him and the Rangers starting rotation.
• Sammy Sosa got a single in his three at-bats. Right now, he's doing just well enough to ensure that Botts ends up back in AAA. Or in another organization.

The mediocre:

• Starter Jamey Wright threw two innings to start the game, allowing one walk and one hit. He allowed two unearned runs, courtesy of an errant throw by second baseman Ramon Vasquez into left field on a potential-inning ending double play.

The bad:

• Thomas Diamond got hammered, giving up three hits, two walks, and two earned runs in his inning of work.
• C.J. Wilson gave up five runs, four of them earned, in 1/3 of an inning. Ouch. Gyroball gone awry? Who knows.
• Texas was held hitless through 5 1/3 innings, before Michael Young's singled.

Texas will host the Diamondbacks in Wednesday's "A" game, with John Koronka taking the mound for the second time this spring. Kevin Millwood will get the start in the "B" game.

- Great news on the Eric Gagne front, as he said that Tuesday's 40 pitch bullpen session was the best he'd "had the last two years." He also had this to say:

"When I long-toss, I don't just play catch. I keep the same intensity. I'm throwing changeups and everything," he said. "I thought I'd be sore today, but there was nothing.

"I really let it go. Not 100 percent but, for the first time, I really trusted my elbow."

Eric's health is still a concern going forward, but it appears that the front office can breathe a little bit easier. However, until Gagne has actually closed out some regular season games, the Rangers need to hold onto Aki. A nightmare scenario of Aki being traded, Gagne getting hurt and the Rangers having to cobble together the dreaded "closer by committee" comes to mind. Texas appears to be going full throttle for a playoff birth in 2007, and throwing the bullpen into disarray isn't conducive to that goal.

- Speaking of the playoffs, it's nice to see at least one member of the national media showing the Rangers some love. From Rob Neyer's marathon 6 hour, 37 minute chat today:

I like the Rangers. I like them a lot. Haven't run numbers yet, but I suspect the Rangers will come out on top of my projected standings.

Evan Grant has declared himself fully on-board the Rangers bandwagon as well, picking Texas to finish first in the AL West this season. Perhaps he's just infected with the blind optimism all us Rangers fans get this time of the year, before our playoff dreams are shattered upon the jagged rocks of reality.

But perhaps this year will be different. Perhaps this is the year.

26 days until Opening Day.

3/5 Rangers Wrapup

Sorry for the lack of a recap of yesterday's events. I was out of pocket and John's off somewhere working on his Sammy Sosa voodoo doll.

After dropping their exhibition opener in Surprise to the Royals, the Rangers have reeled off three straight wins, with the Colorado Rockies being their latest victim in an 8-2 win on Monday afternoon.

 TEXAS            AB  R  H BI
F Catalanotto lf  3  0  0  0
J Botts lf        2  1  1  2
I Kinsler 2b      3  1  2  1
M Kata 2b         2  0  0  1
B Wilkerson rf    3  0  1  1
V Diaz rf         2  0  1  0
M Teixeira 1b     3  0  0  0
N Gold 1b         1  0  0  0
M Byrd dh         3  0  0  0
J Arias ph-dh     1  0  0  0
N Cruz cf         2  1  0  0
F Guzman cf       1  0  0  0
D Relaford 3b     3  1  1  0
R Vazquez 3b      1  0  0  0
M Ojeda c         1  1  1  2
T Donovan pr      0  1  0  0
C Stewart c       1  0  0  0
J Hairston Jr ss  3  2  2  1
D Meyer ss        1  0  0  0
TOTALS           36  8  9  8
IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
R Tejeda (W,1-0)                   2   2   0   0   0   1   0
J Rupe                             2   2   0   0   1   1   0
F Francisco                        1   1   2   0   2   0   0
J Benoit                           1   1   0   0   0   1   0
W Littleton                        1   2   0   0   1   0   0
A Murray                           1   0   0   0   0   2   0
S Rice                             1   0   0   0   0   0   0

It was Texas's first TV game of the season, with FSN Southwest carrying the broadcast, but sadly minus the familiar Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve. Instead, we were treated to the Rockies broadcast team, which I had to mute after a few innings because I just couldn't stand them. (Pronouncing Robinson Tejeda's name as "Tejada" was just one of the reasons). A few highlights from the game:

• Following the continuing saga of the Rangers DH competition, Jason Botts went 1 for 2 with an RBI triple and a run scored. His triple was an opposite field rocket into the left center field gap, bringing home two. As far as his fielding went, Botts misplayed a ball in left field that got behind him, but it didn't cost Texas any bases. Sammy Sosa had the day off, but blasted a HR on Sunday that appears to be one of the most celebrated spring training home runs of all time.
• Nelson Cruz went 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored. This is notable in that Cruz got his first start in center field of the spring; if Cruz proves to be a competent defensive center fielder, he could platoon with Kenny Lofton against left handed starters and possibly create room for Jason Botts on the roster, since it would reduce the need for Marlon Byrd. So how did he fare? Well, Nelson badly misjudged a fly ball to straight away center field, running backwards for about 10 steps before running back towards the infield with the ball dropping in front of him. Cruz did show off his arm moments later, firing a bullet to third base to try and nail a runner, but his throw was slightly off line. My first impression is that Cruz isn't going to be making many starts in center field, but that is subject to change.
• Both of the top competitors for the utility infielder job did well, with Desi Relaford going 1 for 3 with a double and run scored. Jerry Hairston Jr. was probably the player of the game, going 2 for 3 with two runs scored, an RBI and two stolen bases. Hairston's the likely favorite going forward, although the steroid allegations now surrounding him may be a factor in the end decision. Possible backup catcher Miguel Ojeda looked very good, going 1 for 1 with a two run HR, a walk and a great throw to gun down the speedy Willy Taveras trying to steal second.
• Robinson Tejeda and Josh Rupe both threw two shutout frames to begin the game. Not much else to say here, except that they both looked solid. Tejeda's a virtual lock for the #4 spot in the rotation at this point, barring a horrific collapse or injury (knock on wood), and Rupe looks to stay with Kameron Loe in the fight for the #5 spot. Brandon McCarthy was brilliant in his two innings on Sunday, fanning four Royals. Per Evan Grant, his fastball was working in the 91-93 MPH range, his changeup at 78 MPH and his curve at 73 MPH.

The Rangers return to Surprise on Tuesday, with Jamey Wright facing Seattle's Horacio Ramirez.

QUICK HITS

• Speaking of Jamey Wright, pitching coach Mark Connor had some unusually high praise to heap on him:

"Jamey Wright has off-the-chart stuff. It's time for him to put it together and be a big winner but his stuff is electric."

Seems a bit extreme, considering Wright's career 5.14 ERA and very high 1.59 WHIP. Not to mention, age 32 is a bit late to start "putting it together." Nonetheless, T.R. Sullivan says that Wright is one of the three front runners for the #5 starter's job, with Loe and Rupe. No thanks.

• Sullivan also touched on McCarthy and Tejeda, naming them as the "two most important players" on the team because their success could well be the key to the season. Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News chimes in as well, predicting that Tejeda will be better than McCarthy this season due to his greater big league experience.
• Eric Gagne is expected to throw from a mound on Tuesday, and could make his spring debut on March 12th at Milwaukee.

27 days until Opening Day.

3/3 Rangers Wrapup

Texas has their first win of the season. Too bad it doesn't count.

- The Rangers beat the Royals in their second exhibition game of the spring, 8-5, on Saturday afternoon.

 TEXAS            AB  R  H BI
K Lofton cf       2  1  1  1
F Guzman cf       2  0  1  0
I Kinsler 2b      3  1  1  1
R Vazquez 2b      1  0  1  0
M Young ss        3  0  0  0
M Kata ss         2  0  1  1
M Teixeira 1b     3  1  1  1
N Gold 1b         1  0  0  0
S Sosa dh         3  0  1  0
J Arias ph-dh     1  0  1  0
H Blalock 3b      3  0  2  1
J Hairston Jr pr- 1  2  1  0
N Cruz rf         2  1  0  0
M Byrd rf         0  0  0  1
B Wilkerson lf    0  1  0  0
J Botts lf        2  1  1  1
G Laird c         2  0  0  0
S Manriquez c     1  0  0  1
TOTALS           32  8 12  8
IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
V Padilla                          2   2   1   1   1   2   1
R Mahay                            1   0   0   0   0   1   0
A Otsuka                           1   3   1   1   1   0   0
C Wilson                           1   0   0   0   0   1   0
R Bauer (W,1-0)                    1   4   2   2   0   0   1
A Galarraga                        1   2   1   1   1   0   0
F Cruceta (S,1)                    2   2   0   0   1   1   0

Texas jumped to an early 4-1 lead before the Royals tied it in the 6th, but put away Kansas City for good with three runs in the bottom of the 6th. A few highlights:

• Sammy Sosa went 1 for 3 with a first inning single, prompting loud cheers from the Surprise crowd. The other main competitor for the DH spot, Jason Botts, went 1 for 2 with an RBI double and a run scored. Sosa is expected to play right field in tomorrow's "A" game.
• Starter Vicente Padilla allowed one run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts in his two innings of work. He threw 46 pitches.
• Rick Bauer was hit hard in relief, allowing two runs on four hits in his one inning of work, as well as giving up a home run to John Buck. It may still be early in spring training, but with Bauer possibly being one of the odd men out of the bullpen, he needs to step up his performance fairly quickly.

- Evan Grant reports that John Rheinecker's chances of making the Opening Day roster are virtually nil, due to his sore back that will prevent him from pitching for at least another week. Rheinecker has no business being back in the rotation again unless there's a major emergency, but he could come in quite useful as a left handed specialist should something happen to C.J. Wilson or Ron Mahay. Rheinecker held left handed batters to a .197/.284/.212 line in 2006. Grant also says that Ron Washington is granting Koronka a "mulligan" for his horrible first outing, but that he needs to step it up. John's firmly entrenched behind Josh Rupe and Kameron Loe in the battle for the fifth starter's job right now.

Texas plays the last game of their series against Kansas City at 2:05 on Sunday, which can again be heard on KRLD.

3/2 Rangers Wrapup - Back In Action

After nearly five months of hibernation, the Texas Rangers are back on the field. And it feels so good.

- The Rangers and Royals faced off this afternoon at Surprise Stadium in their first spring training game of the year, with Eric Nadel and Victor Rojas calling the game on KRLD 1080.

 TEXAS            AB  R  H BI
K Lofton cf       3  0  0  0
M Byrd cf         2  0  0  0
F Catalanotto dh  4  1  2  0
M Young ss        2  0  0  0
R Vazquez ss      2  0  0  0
M Kata ss         1  0  1  0
M Teixeira 1b     2  0  1  0
N Gold pr-1b      1  2  0  0
H Blalock 3b      1  0  0  0
D Relaford pr-3b  1  1  0  1
B Wilkerson lf    1  0  1  0
J Botts pr-lf     2  0  0  0
N Cruz rf         2  0  1  1
V Diaz rf         3  1  1  2
G Laird c         2  0  1  0
G Quiroz c        2  1  1  1
I Kinsler 2b      2  0  0  1
J Hairston Jr 2b  1  0  1  0
D Meyer 2b        1  0  0  0
TOTALS           35  6 10  6
IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
TEXAS
K Loe                              2   1   0   0   0   0   0
J Koronka                      1 1-3   6   6   6   0   0   1
E Volquez                        2-3   0   0   0   1   0   0
J Benoit                           1   0   0   0   0   1   0
W Littleton (L,0-1)            1 1-3   2   1   1   1   1   1
W Eyre                         1 2-3   2   1   0   0   1   0

Texas took a 2-0 lead in the 4th, but quickly lost it after Koronka imploded and gave up six earned runs in the bottom of the frame. The Rangers fought back and tied it at 6-6 in the 7th, but Wes Littleton and Willie Eyre couldn't hold the Royals, and Texas dropped their first spring training game of the season, 8-6.

There were several highlights, however:

• Guillermo Quiroz and Victor Diaz both crushed home runs, in the 5th and 7th innings respectively. Diaz is a real long shot to make the Opening Day roster, but Quiroz is one of the frontrunners for the backup catcher job, and he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.
• Frank Catalanotto doubled twice, including in his first spring training at-bat.
• Kameron Loe, the game's starter, threw two shutout innings (with five of his six outs coming on groundballs), while Joaquin Benoit threw a shutout frame in relief. Good first impression from Kameron, who could lock up the fifth starter job with a strong spring. Benoit's future with the club is a bit uncertain - he's out of options, so he's either going to make the Opening Day roster or get dealt away.

In the "B" game, Sammy Sosa went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk in his spring training debut. The only time he put the ball in play was a weak foul flyout to right field. Making the start was Kevin Millwood, who threw 11 of 14 pitches for strikes and recorded four scoreless outs. Sosa is expected to DH in Texas's "A" game on Saturday and play in the outfield on Sunday. That should be an adventure.

- Ron Washington said he wants to keep Eric Gagne out of any exhibition games against American League teams this spring, in an apparent attempt to prevent them from getting a look at his stuff. Makes you wonder just how far his velocity has fallen. Gagne had a nasty bout with a stomach virus a couple days ago, and considering he's only expected to throw every third day this spring rather than every other day, he doesn't need any more setbacks. For these reasons, Texas has no business trading Aki until they know what they're getting with Gagne - and even then, I'm not very high on the idea.

- Brandon McCarthy and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen are still at it. Apparently, Guillen's upset that McCarthy told the Chicago Sun-Times over a week ago that he preferred the Rangers' clubhouse to Chicago's. Ozzie, in his ever eloquent way, retorted back:

"It's safe to say I don't think the comment was necessary about the clubhouse," Guillen said Friday. "You hate me, you like me, we don't get along, you don't like the way we handle stuff, I can live with that. But when you talk about negative clubhouse attitude ... One thing about our clubhouse, I think we have one of the best attitudes.

"I keep everybody loose, and I make sure I can get the best out of you every day. I don't have anything against Brandon, no way. Is this thing going to continue to go on and on? No."

Brandon's first start against the White Sox (which is tentatively set for April 17th, in Chicago) should be VERY interesting.

- Looks like Gary Matthews Jr. might not be the only player with Ranger ties to get implicated in the steroids saga. Well, besides Sosa anyway. According to an SI.com story published earlier today, Rangers infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. was reportedly sent Genotropin (the same HGH drug that Matthews is in trouble with) in May 2004 from Applied Pharmacy Services, which was raided in Mobile, Alabama last fall. Hairston is very angry at these allegations, and made these comments to DMN Rangers beat writer Evan Grant before today's game:

"You bet I've got a comment. I have never, ever in my life used steroids or amphetamines or any kind of drug. I have never tested positive. I know what goes into my body and everything I put in there is approved by Major League Baseball.''

Hairston also denied ever receiving a package from Applied Pharmacy Services. At least it's a better response than GMJ's non-answer to the media.

Texas and Kansas City square off again in Surprise tomorrow at 2:05 CST. Perhaps Slammin' Sammy will manage to hit a ball into fair territory this time.

NEWSFLASH: Michael Young extension complete, signed through 2013

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers and Michael Young have agreed to a contract extension that will keep Young in Texas through the 2013 season. The deal will reportedly pay him $80 million over five years and kicks in after the 2008 season, with an average salary of $12.7 million over the next seven years. He'll reportedly have no-trade protection for the entire length of the deal, other than during a two-month window early in the 2011 season. Basically, Michael Young is now a Ranger for life.

One word: Awesome.

We'll have more on this story as further details come out.

UPDATE: A little bit more information has come out on the deal. The first three years of the deal carry the no-trade clause, with Young being at nine years, 134 days of major league service time at the end of that year. He'll have "10-5 rights" once he reaches ten years, which will allow him to veto any possible deal (the "5" stands for five years with the same team). This should sound somewhat familiar to Texas fans, as Rafael Palmeiro used his 10-5 rights to veto a trade to the Chicago Cubs in 2003.

The MLB.com story says an official announcement is scheduled for Friday. Also notable is the mention of "a significant part of the contract" including deferred money, so when taking the time value of money and inflation into account, Texas won't really be paying Young $80 million. Young stands to make $3.5 million this season, with the club automatically picking up his $5 million option in 2008.

Initial reaction from Texas fans seems to be very positive. The Rangers probably overpaid a bit, but to keep a highly productive player and fan favorite like Young in town is a great move, both from a baseball and a PR standpoint. I certainly know I'm excited.

"Every player is at least curious about being a free agent � who wouldn�t be?" Young said. "But I felt like this organization, this team, was due to start winning."

Let's hope Michael's right.

Michael Young extension update; GMJ involved in steroids scandal?

Just over 48 hours until the Rangers play their first spring training game in Surprise. First pitch is at 2:05 CST, and as previously mentioned by Victor Rojas, can be heard on KRLD 1080 AM in the Metroplex.

There's several big stories out this morning:

- Jon Heyman of SI.com reported late last night that the Rangers are close to signing Michael Young to the long-term contract extension that we've been hearing so much buzz about. Apparently, Young and the Rangers are expected to settle on either a 5 year, $80 million deal, or a 6 year, $90 million deal. It does strike me as odd that the article says a deal could be "worked out in coming weeks," considering what Michael said earlier a couple of days ago:

Young said Monday that he would not want to continue negotiations once spring-training games begin; the first game is Friday.

"I absolutely will not let this thing drag on," Young said. "I have a responsibility to my teammates to be ready for the 2007 season."

It certainly seems to me that the time frame for working out this deal is running out, though if there's only a few minor kinks to work out I doubt Mike will kill negotiations if they run past Friday. I don't have a problem with either of the proposed contract values, as the true value of the deal will probably not be great as the announced value after calculating deferred money, possible option years and incentives. It really all comes down to whether or not you feel like Young will be worth that much over the next 5-6 years. Most of you already know my thoughts on this. There is a chance that by age 35 or 36, Young's defense at shortstop will begin to become a problem, but I don't really anticipate it being an issue (if at all) before that. And you don't kill a deal based on the possibility of a player's defense deteriorating years into the future.

Either way, it appears likely an extension will get done very soon. And that's good for everybody involved.

- Former Ranger Gary Matthews Jr. is implicated in a possible steroids scandal. A Tuesday story in the Albany Times-Union reported that Matthews, admitted steroids user Jose Canseco, and heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield were customers of an Orlando pharmacy that was raided on Tuesday in connection with performance-enhancing drugs being fraudulently prescribed over the Internet to past and present MLB, NFL and NCAA players, among others. There seems to be some conflicting details on exactly what's going on, so I won't jump to any conclusions. But things don't look real great for GMJ or his image right now. You can read the latest details of the case here.

Stay tuned for any more Michael Young contract extension updates or any other big news out of Surprise.

UPDATE: New article is out on SI.com concerning the GMJ situation. And boy oh boy, it is not looking good.

SI.com: Gary Matthews, Jr., who had a career year in 2006 and signed a $50 million deal with the Angels this offseason, has already been linked to a customer list of a raided pharmacy. Do you have more information on him?

Llosa/Wertheim: Yes. According to law enforcement documents we've reviewed, Matthews is not just on a customer list, as was reported Tuesday. In August 2004, he was allegedly sent Genotropin -- a brand of synthetic human growth hormone typically prescribed to children suffering from growth failure -- at an address in Mansfield, Texas. We traced the address and it is the residence of a former minor league teammate of Matthews', who told us that he is friends with Matthews.

That is really damning stuff. HGH was not a banned substance in 2004 due to the 2002 collective bargaining agreement still being in place, but was added in 2005. This isn't any type of conclusive proof of anything, but GMJ is going to have a lot of explaining to do. And you can bet that the public's opinion of him will plummet with these allegations out, whether or not he proves his innocence. This is definitely a situation to keep an eye on, especially if more names of MLB players come out.

Quote Of The Week Bonus

Credit Adam Morris of Lone Star Ball for resurrecting this little nugget of quotable goodness. Approximately this time one year ago, this was said:

"Just write it down," Rudy said. "Nevin is back. Quote me. The bat speed is there. The gut he had when we got him last season is gone. He's in top physical shape. I see big things from Nevin. He can hit cleanup if Hank doesn't, but both can be in the middle of the order for us."

That came from the mouth of our hitting instructor, the great Rudy Jaramillo. The man who believes Sammy Sosa will be back.

Look, I'm not knocking the guy. Jaramillo is a coach capable of doing great things with players and he's shown that. Plus he's a man who's successfully fought off cancer, and no players' batting average can tell how great a feat that is.

But untill he gets into an actual game situation, not one that takes place during exhibition games in March, and produces like seemingly everyone on the Rangers seems to think he'll be able to do - I'm not buying a word of it. Any of it. Pedro Gomez can file reports for ESPN all he wants and the media can swarm that ballpark like a hive of bees that you just whacked with a whiffle ball bat, and it's not going to amount to a hill of beans for me.

Show me that the guy can do something. Then, MAYBE, I'll buy into some of the hype.

The Nelson Cruz Factor

When the Rangers traded Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix and Julian Cordero last July 28th to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz, it was universally accepted that Lee would be more crucial to Texas in 2006. The Rangers were only 51-51 going into that night's game, but just 2 games behind the division leading Athletics, and still had their sights set on an AL West title. The front office hoped that Lee would prove to be the big bat that would put the Rangers over the top. Unfortunately, we all know the rest of the story: Texas would go on to finish 13 games out of first place, and while Lee's offensive numbers were impressive, his defense left a lot to be desired. Carlos departed after the season and signed a $100 million contract with the Astros, leaving the Rangers with just one player from the blockbuster trade.

But what a player they had left.

Nelson Cruz, the second player Texas acquired from that deal, is now positioned to be the club's starting right fielder come Opening Day. Despite hitting just .223 in his 130 at-bats with Texas, Cruz showed flashes of brilliance and the raw talent that impressed Jon Daniels and his scouting department so much that they forced Doug Melvin to include him in the trade.

Cruz's story is a fascinating one. Born and raised in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, Nelson was the middle of three children. He signed with the Mets at age 17, and spent his next three years playing in the Dominican Summer League before busting out to the tune of a 1.037 OPS at age 20. He was dealt into the Athletics organization in August 2000, but then his development seemed to come to a grinding halt. Fast-forward 3 1/2 years: Cruz was now entering his age 24 season, yet was still in high A ball in the California League. Things were not looking real bright for Nelson's future MLB prospects. That is, until this happened.

Cruz began to explode, posting a breakout campaign in 2004 across three minor league levels. He was dealt to the Brewers following the '04 season, and continued his string of success, crushing Southern League pitching to the tune of .306/.388/.577. He was promoted to the AAA Nashville Sounds mid-season, and proved to be an integral part of their playoff run. Cruz hit four home runs in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series, including a dramatic 13th inning series-clinching blast, netting Cruz MVP honors and bringing Nashville their first title since 1982. (Fun fact: Buck Showalter played on that 1982 Nashville team. Their manager? Johnny Oates). The Brewers named Nelson their 2005 Minor League Player of the Year, and rewarded him with his big league debut in September.

2006 did not slow Cruz down any. He dominated PCL pitching, hitting 20 home runs in less than 400 at-bats. Oklahoma Redhawks announcer Jim Byers described him as the "best player he'd seen all year." Following the July 28th trade, Nelson was immediately placed on the Rangers 25-man roster and began receiving regular at-bats in right field, which is one of the few smart things Showalter did last year. However, he hit just .223/.261/.385 in his 130 at-bats with 6 home runs. Why, you may ask, is he already being penciled in as the starting right fielder?

Two words: pure talent. Cruz has devastating strength and bat speed, which makes it no surprise that he was chosen as the best power hitting prospect in the PCL by Baseball America in 2006. Like many power hitters, Nelson strikes out a lot, but this concern is lessened by his excellent batting eye: he posted an on-base percentage consistently in the .370-.380+ range in his last three minor league seasons. And obviously, he has the ability to hit for average, hitting over .300 in 2006 with Nashville. One legitimate concern the Rangers have is how well those monster minor league numbers will translate to the majors. Hopefully, his two month audition with the Rangers at the end of 2006 will put him ahead of the curve.

Another concern is Nelson's age: he turns 27 on July 1st, a relatively late age for a player to go through his first full season. While this is an issue, it's not as serious as it sounds. After entering his age 24 season in high A ball, Cruz rocketed through the minors, reaching AAA and the majors in less than two seasons. This leads credence to the belief that Cruz is just a late bloomer, rather than a guy who takes several years at one minor league level before moving on to the next level. I'd be much more worried if Cruz had spent the last three years in AAA and was just now moving to the majors.

While Nelson's major league hitting ability might be brought into question, there's nothing wrong with his defense. He moves very quickly for a 225 pound player, racking up 18 steals between AAA and MLB in 2006. To go along with his good speed is a plus glove and what you might call a "laser, rocket arm" that conjures up memories of Juan Gonzalez. Summing it all up, Cruz is the very definition of a five-tool talent. And that is why the Rangers are so excited about this guy.

Needless to say, it's a good sign that Ron Washington is showing such confidence in Cruz:

"All Cruz needs to do is be himself," Washington said. "He doesn't have to beat out anybody. He just needs to keep improving. Other than Kenny Lofton, he's got the most natural physical ability among our outfielders."

Even though the entire Botts/Sosa DH situation is so frustrating, Nelson Cruz neutralizes some of that frustration. If he can just continue to progress like he has over the last three years, the Rangers are going to have a quality right fielder under their control for five more seasons.

And that would be serious reason for excitement.

Quote Of The Week (2/25)

"Talks have picked up, that's all I can say."

Michael Young commenting on the report that talks involving a contract extension have significantly picked up steam. In fact nobody's really commenting on this: Not Young, not Daniels, nobody. So depending on how you view things, it's either a really good thing that they're trying to keep a lid on things or, at this point, you're paranoid as hell that a massive catfight is about to break out complete with scratching, clawing, and bad name calling.

The only added commentary to this came yesterday when Tom Hicks arrived in Arizona and chimed in that signing the 30 year old shortstop was a top priority and that the Rangers want to make him the face of the franchise.

Yes, Tom. Good. Now say that you're stepping down as owner. That'd be great.

He's Still Sammy

The gang's all here. Practically everybody who should be present and in attendance at Rangers camp in Surprise is there and beginning to go through the annual rigors and workouts of spring training.

The includes, as you probably have heard unless you've been living on some remote island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean like Benjamin Linus and The Others, a man known to some as Samuel Peralta Sosa.

Or simply, Slammin' Sammy. And he hasn't changed since departing from baseball two years ago.

From reading an article by Jim Reeves in Saturday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it's clearly evident of this. Sosa is already walking around camp like a guy who realizes he's the media darling everybody drools over. He acknowledges the fact that he, although he's a non-roster invitee trying to win a spot on the 25 man roster, is the guy getting the most attention. Not Michael Young, who's aiming to get another 200 hit season and is in the midst of contract negotiations. Not Hank Blalock, who through the work of Ron Washington hopes to retain some of the fire and unadulterated anger in his bat and glove that has been there before. Not even Mark Teixeira. Just Sammy.

Ron Washington has stated that Sosa will not receive any special attention from the Rangers "unless he really wants it", and I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that. From some of the stuff he's proclaimed to the masses, it sounds like he's already well on his way.

"Today it's about Sammy Sosa and Texas... I mean it's about the Texas Rangers and Sammy Sosa."

"I'm a little older, but that doesn't mean I can't hit 30 or 40 home runs. You think I'm dead?"

"Here?" Sosa responded. "They love me everywhere!"

Yep. Same old Sammy. And that's what troubles me.

When the acquisition of Sosa first took place, I went through a couple of stages. The first was the Why Are We Wasting Our Time With Him rage. Then after I simmered with those feelings for awhile, I moved on to the It's A Win-Win Situation feelings, and I still feel that way a little bit. If Sosa performs well in camp, wins the job, and keeps on performing like the Rangers had hoped he would - then so be it. And if he fails and we cut him, you didn't waste a lot of money on the guy anyway.

But how fair is this to Jason Botts? I talked with Rangers' radio broadcaster Victor Rojas at Scout.com earlier this week. Victor is sometimes known as a guy who isn't shy about voicing his opinions, and while he too counts himself among the guys rooting for Sammy, he suggested that it would probably be best for the Rangers and for Botts for them both to go their own seperate ways if Sosa ends up making this team. It's sad, but I agree with him.

Botts has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. There's simply nothing left for him to do down there. And if that does happen and Botts must move on to somewhere else, the angry fan in me would like nothing more than to see him return to The Temple in another team's uniform and rip the first pitch he sees into the second deck of the Home Run Porch. The first run batted in of a 5 RBI night. That would be justice.

So the ball, it seems, is in Sammy's court. This is Sammy Sosa's spot to win, not Botts's. That's the most depressing aspect to me.

But don't tell that to Sammy:

"Today I don't want to talk about Joe Blow or anybody else because my life has been too busy lately and I don't want to go into other people's business."

Yup. Still Sammy.

First full squad workout today

Now it's really starting to feel like baseball season.

• The Rangers hold their first full squad workout today, and invariably the huge story is the arrival of Sammy Sosa to Surprise. Sosa, demonstrating his remarkable punctuality, arrived to camp five minutes early. Way to go Sammy! Rangers officials are expecting close to 100 media members for Sosa's 3 P.M. CST press conference today. Hopefully the circus dies down in short order, and the worries of Sosa becoming a clubhouse distraction disappear. But I'm not counting on it.
• Ron Washington has provided some further insight into what his lineup will look like. The plan appears to be what many of us had already assumed - Lofton batting leadoff, Catalanotto second, Young third and Teixeira cleanup. There's several issues here though, one of which I already touched on yesterday: Catalanotto can't hit left handed pitching (career batting line of .248/.341/.348 against LHP). Lofton isn't exactly a world beater against them either. Since the club is only expecting Lofton to play about 120 games, this means the Rangers will need more than occasional help at the top of the order against lefties, and it appears Ian Kinsler will be a top candidate for those duties. Nothing wrong with that.
• Speaking of Kinsler, the Rangers will talk to his agents about a multi-year contract that would allow them to avoid arbitration. Ian's not yet under contract for the 2007 season, but something will get probably get done very soon.
• Brad Wilkerson's reporting no pain in his shoulder after having off-season surgery, and says he should be 100% by Opening Day. I certainly hope that's the case, because Wilkerson's a pretty good bet for a nice bounceback season.

If there's any more developing news out of spring training, you can be sure John and I will be on it.

Analyzing the Rangers DH situation

If only John Hart hadn't dealt Travis Hafner.

It's a popular sentiment among Rangers fans these days, as we are all too familiar with the team's struggles to get quality - heck, league average - production out of the designated hitter spot since Rafael Palmeiro's departure from the team after the 2003 season. Since that point, Texas has shuttled various players in and out of the slot - Brad Fullmer was supposed to be the regular DH in 2004, but played just 76 games due to injury. The Rangers received above average production from David Dellucci at DH in 2005, but he only had 237 at-bats there - leaving plenty of ABs for Adrian Gonzalez, Phil Nevin and Chad Allen to drag the team's DH production down to worst in the American League in OPS+, or on-base percentage plus slugging percentage. Ouch. Of course, joke's on us: Adrian Gonzalez is now a rising star in San Diego.

2006 didn't bring much improvement, as Texas designated hitters jumped to third worst in the AL in OPS+. More mediocre production from Phil Nevin ensued (who was shipped out of town in May), while Hank Blalock and Matt Stairs pretty much stunk up the place. To sum it all up, the Rangers are in desperate need of a quality DH, especially with the lineup not looking quite as good as it did when it boasted Carlos Lee and Gary Matthews Jr.

And that brings us to 2007, where it appears from all indications that retread Sammy Sosa will get the first crack at the DH job. Of course, it's not going to be as cut and dry as that: even though Brad Wilkerson is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and an abysmal season, he's still a pretty good rebound candidate, and he'll have to get at-bats somewhere. Frank Catalanotto will likely get the majority of the starts in left field, but has no business being in the lineup against left handed pitching. And then, of course, there's Jason Botts.

Botts may be 26 years old now, but has scorched minor league pitching consistently since his 2004 campaign in Frisco. He murdered the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2006 to a tune of .309/.398/.582, along with a 1.035 OPS against left handed pitching. Botts was called up in May after Nevin's departure, received inconsistent playing time over the next month and a half from the genius Buck Showalter, and was sent packing back to Oklahoma City. And now, yet again, Botts is having to face the very real possibility of having to beat out Sosa or Nelson Cruz for a big league job. Let's be perfectly clear here: Jason Botts has nothing left to prove in the minors. He needs regular playing time in the majors. Unfortunately, Botts is not known as a defensive wonder, leaving him best suited to DH. And that's where the Rangers seem to balk so heavily with Botts:

"We just want to get him [Botts] serviceable," Washington said. "Make sure he can run down a fly ball and hit a cutoff man. Everybody loves his bat, but we need to get him serviceable as an outfielder."

Either way, Sosa serves as Jason's biggest obstacle to the big leagues. There's no problem with bringing in a veteran guy like Sosa on the cheap to serve as competition for your young players, but I find it rather disturbing how quickly the organization seemed to decide that Sosa would be the frontrunner for the DH job. And it's all based on his past performance, which serves as the ceiling for what we can hope for out of Sammy, but which is likely nothing near what we'll actually get. Sosa hasn't played since his horrible 2005 season with the Orioles, and while he can probably still be a serviceable hitter against lefties (he hit lefties to the tune of .288/.370/.471 in '05), he has no business getting regular at-bats against right handed pitching. And yet, that's probably exactly what will happen, unless Jason Botts has a monster spring and Sosa looks like he's got nothing left. If Sosa shows any type of competence in spring training, he's probably a lock to make the 25-man roster. And that's troubling, because spring training performance is rarely indicative of regular season performance.

Then again, it wouldn't be a surprise for the Rangers to cut Botts loose and watch him flourish in another organization. They sort of have a history with that kind of thing. Just look at Travis Hafner and Adrian Gonzalez.

QUICK HITS

• C.J. Wilson and Japanese baseball trainer Kazu Tezuka spoke for an hour Wednesday about the mystical "gyroball." Apparently C.J. also invented a little pitch last year that he calls "The Cork," which is a splitter/cutter hybrid. At least it's not "The Thing."
• Richard Durrett has a piece out about Buck Showalter's role in the Indians front office. Watch your back, Eric Wedge.

39 days until Opening Day.

Hello everyone

I'm Joey Matschulat, and I'll be joining John Vittas in providing Rangers coverage for the Most Valuable Network. I'm quite excited to have this opportunity to write about the Texas Rangers, a team that I've developed an incredible passion for.

My first baseball experience was in 1996, as a Rangers game came up while I was flipping channels in an Austin hotel room. Sadly, I didn't have much appreciation for what was then the golden era of Rangers baseball, and my interest flipped on and off for the Rangers over the next eight years or so. However, the "miracle" 2004 Rangers campaign turned me from a casual to a die-hard fan, and there's no going back now. Since I live in Tyler, Texas, a good drive from Arlington, I only make it out to perhaps one game per season, but have been to at least 10 games over the years, including the memorable return of Alex Rodriguez to Arlington in 2004.

I've dabbled a bit in baseball journalism, but this is my first regular foray into it, so hopefully I don't disappoint any of the loyal readers that John's great writing has brought in. I attend Tyler Junior College presently, aiming for a degree in business, but hopefully in a career that is associated with baseball. Besides my first love of baseball, I also enjoy hip hop and jazz music, and have had a lifelong fascination with severe weather and tornadoes.

Anyway, that's enough about me. The big news today out of spring training is the Rangers offering Michael Young a contract extension past the 2008 season, although both the front office and Young are keeping quiet about any negotiations taking place. The consensus seems to be that it's going to take at least $60 million over the next four seasons to keep him in Arlington, and will probably cost Texas more than that in both dollars and years. If I had to wager a serious guess, I'd say that the Rangers made him a five year offer worth in the neighborhood of $65-70 million, with an option year tacked on at the end since Jon Daniels likes to throw those in. But is Young worth it?

Absolutely. Although Young had a bit of a down year last year (his OPS dropped 83 points from 2005), he's still well above average offensively for an American League shortstop. If he rebounds back to 2005 type numbers, great. Right now, he's treading the line between "very good" and "elite." His defense is more debatable, however. There are those who swear that Mike's a Gold Glove caliber defensive player, and there are those who claim he's a terrible defensive player with poor range. Measuring defensive ability in baseball is still a very inexact science because the kind of statistics that accurately and reliably measure defense are still under development. There are several statistics, however, that have gained more recognition as far as their credibility goes.

Baseball Prospectus's RAA2 statistic, for instance, measures fielding runs above average over time, or in simpler terms, how many runs that player saves defensively throughout an entire season compared to an average player at the same position. Curiously enough, Young is placed at -16 runs in 2004 and -15 in 2005, meaning that according to this fielding metric that Young was quite below average. However, he inexplicably jumped to a whopping 23 runs above average in the 2006 season. There's several possible explanations for this discrepancy, but the most likely ones are:

• Young just plain got better on defense, through maturation, fielding drills, etc.
• Ian Kinsler replacing Alfonso Soriano after the 2005 season - Soriano's notorious for his poor defense at second base.

I feel like it's a combination of both, personally. BP says there was a 19 run difference defensively between Soriano in 2005 (-22) and Kinsler in 2006 (-3), which has a big impact when the two positions are so closely linked. There's a precedent here, too: Derek Jeter was rated as well below average defensively until Alex Rodriguez and his two Gold Gloves came to town, at which point his RAA2 also rose dramatically.

BP isn't the only place saying that Young's defense is now above average. Chris Dial of Baseball Think Factory did some work with Zone Rating data, which pegged Mike as the 5th best defensive shortstop in the American League last season.

Of course, to my untrained eyes, Young's a fine defensive player. And even though he's now 30, there's a decent chance that he'll get even better: with Kinsler hopefully improving further in his second full season, and the fielding master Ron Washington bringing his vast repository of knowledge, things look bright for Michael Young's future on both sides of the ball.

Let's just all pray that his future is in a Rangers uniform - for 2010 and beyond.

Spring Training Radio & TV

Sorry again about all the quietness around here. Jason Cole of Young Guns and I have been busy over on our new Scout.com website trying to get things in order for the upcoming season. Austin's been pretty quiet as well, but don't worry. Once these games get going you'll have all the daily material you can digest again.

In the meantime, bear with us and thanks as always for being a reader of this fine little hub of internet based sports activity.

Speaking of games getting going, pitchers and catchers report on Saturday. Unless you're living in a cave without any source of television, internet, or a paperboy who stops by your cave entrance everyday yelling out "EXTRA!! EXTRA!", you should already know this.

Anyway, many thanks go to Joe Siegler and Rangers' radio announcer Victor Rojas who responded to an e-mail by Joe with the dates of all spring training games you'll be able to listen to on KRLD 1080 in the D/FW area. Included are also the two television broadcasts that'll be on Fox Sports Southwest. They are as follows:

Fri Mar 02 - vs. Royals

Sat Mar 03 - vs. Royals

Sun Mar 04 - vs. Royals

Sat Mar 10 - at Giants (Scottsdale)

Sun Mar 11 - vs. Dodgers

Sat Mar 17 - at Mariners (Peoria)

Sun Mar 18 - vs. Rockies

Fri Mar 23 - vs. Brewers

Sat Mar 24 - vs. A's - Also on FSN

Mon Mar 26 - vs. Mariners - Also on FSN

Fri Mar 30 - vs. Brewers (Frisco)

Sat Mar 31 - vs. Brewers (Arlington)