Peace Out, Koji

Per Evan Grant, Koji Uehara has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

This makes me sad. I'm also somewhat perplexed, because I was under the impression that Koji was in line for something more like a two-year deal, and I thought that the Rangers would regard that as something that makes sense for them, given where their bullpen is at this point. (And no, Soria is not a direct replacement -- he's likely not in play until late May, and even then his effectiveness for 2013 is still rather questionable). If they did make a multi-year offer to Uehara and he turned it down because he wanted to be closer to his family in Baltimore, then yeah, I get that, but otherwise ... 

By the way, Uehara's been an absolute monster out of the bullpen save for the two-plus months immediately after he came over to Texas last summer. Over the course of his 54 regular-season innings with Texas in 2011-12, Uehara posted up 1.7 bWAR and 1.0 fWAR with a strikeout-to-walk ratio north of 11.0.

Yeah, I wish he was coming back.

A Few Website Related Matters

First, I'll do what I can about the forum. Promise. It'll get my attention after this week is over.

Second, I've been contemplating sprucing things up a bit as I prepare to move into this next phase where I expect more writers will be contributing and such ... one of the ideas I'm weighing right now is an upgrade to the newer version of Disqus (the commenting system utilized on front-page + Clubhouse posts). You can see here what it looks like in action. 

The primary advantage in making the switch from the old version of Disqus (which is what BBTiA is utilizing right now) to the new version is the resurrection of live-comment updating and a generally sleeker-looking interface. The disadvantage is that the new version is still rather inflexible -- you can't control the location of the posting box (it has to be at the to of the comments string), you can't control the number of posts that show up by default (if there are more than 50 comments on an individual post, you have to click "Load More Comments" at the bottom to see the rest), and you, as the end user, have to tailor the commenting order to your own preference. In other words, I can't select the good ole' reliable default of "oldest comments" first from my end; instead, it defaults to "newest comments first," and the user has to change it if they wish to do so.

Also, to accommodate that change, I'm contemplating an adjustment to the spacing of the website -- specifically, widening the content space from 550 to, say, 600-625 pixels (which also makes sense given the proliferation of newer, higher-resolution monitors ... BBTiA was originally designed with 1024x768 users in mind back in 2008, but now less than 5 percent of all readers visit the website on monitors that size or smaller).

So, basically, I'm curious as to whether the new Disqus platform is more appealing to people than what's in place right now, and as to whether anyone has strong but reasonable objections to these ideas.

Today's Explosive Mike Napoli Poll -- Should TEX Have Matched BOS?

Self-explanatory. I'm curious as to where public sentiment lies here, although I have a pretty strong feeling as to which way this poll will go.

My Favorite Mike Napoli Moments

Game 3, 2011 ALDS, top of the seventh inning, Texas down 1-0 against David Price

2011 ALCS, Game 4, bottom of the 10th inning, Texas and Detroit tied at 3-3

2011 World Series, Game 5

Peace out, Naps. It was fun while it lasted.

And The Beat Goes On: December 3rd (Winter Meetings, Day 1)

Winter meetings week ... one more time ...

● Richard Durrett has a preview of things for us to look for this week. Do you like how I get more and more lazy with these article teasers every time I do one of these posts? Did you like it?

● Jon Paul Morosi says that Josh Hamilton is about to get paid and make it rain hard. T.R. Sullivan has a column on Hamilton's market. I think we're officially reaching the point of tiredhead where most articles are saying basically the same thing, that being "well Josh Hamilton is going to sign somewhere eventually, right, and HERE ARE SOME PLACES HE COULD END UP GOING HEY VANNA TELL JOSH ABOUT SOME OF THESE FABULOUS DESTINATIONS JOSH COULD BE ENJOYING NEXT YEAR"

● The FWST has various news and notes concerning Josh Hamilton and his wife ending up on the same plane with Jon Daniels on the way to Nashville, Jurickson Profar being sent home from the DWL with right forearm inflammation (not believed to be serious, but he'll be checked out all the same), and the Rangers' interest in Japanese free-agent infielder Kensuke Tanaka. 

● Buster Olney said in his winter meetings preview yesterday that if he were Jon Daniels, he'd go all out for Zack Greinke. 

● Jayson Stark says in his winter meetings preview that an increasing number of people within the game believe Josh Hamilton will return to the Rangers, with one anonymous AL executive predicting that he'll re-sign with Texas for four years and $100 million. 

● Quick, someone, ASK ME ABOUT EV/EBITDA RATIOS I DARE YOU

What if the winter meetings are an elaborate sham distracting us from the annual meeting of the Illuminati? Have you ever thought about it?

— Joey Matches (@BBTiA) December 3, 2012

Peace Out, Brad Lidge

He's retiring, per Jayson Stark. Lidge posted a lifetime 3.54 ERA with 225 saves in 603.1 career innings, and, somewhat incredibly, he retires with the all-time major league record in strikeouts per nine innings among all pitchers with at least 600 career innings:

Rk	Player	SO/9	IP	From	To	Age	G	ERA	ERA+
1	Brad Lidge	11.92	603.1	2002	2012	25-35	603	3.54	122
2	Billy Wagner	11.92	903.0	1995	2010	23-38	853	2.31	187
3	Francisco Rodriguez	10.96	720.2	2002	2012	20-30	682	2.70	159
4	Armando Benitez	10.93	779.0	1994	2008	21-35	762	3.13	140
5	Octavio Dotel	10.83	946.1	1999	2012	25-38	752	3.73	121
6	Randy Johnson	10.61	4135.1	1988	2009	24-45	618	3.29	135
7	Ugueth Urbina	10.51	697.1	1995	2005	21-31	583	3.45	128
8	Mark Prior	10.37	657.0	2002	2006	21-25	106	3.51	124
9	Kerry Wood	10.32	1380.0	1998	2012	21-35	446	3.67	117
10	Pedro Martinez	10.04	2827.1	1992	2009	20-37	476	2.93	154
11	Eric Gagne	10.04	643.2	1999	2008	23-32	402	3.47	119
12	Robb Nen	9.98	715.0	1993	2002	23-32	643	2.98	139
13	Troy Percival	9.92	708.2	1995	2009	25-39	703	3.17	146
14	Tom Henke	9.81	789.2	1982	1995	24-37	642	2.67	157
15	Tim Lincecum	9.76	1214.0	2007	2012	23-28	189	3.31	120
16	Dick Radatz	9.67	693.2	1962	1969	25-32	381	3.13	123
17	Brandon Morrow	9.63	648.0	2007	2012	22-27	208	4.10	104
18	Rafael Betancourt	9.57	617.2	2003	2012	28-37	603	3.15	142
19	Nolan Ryan	9.55	5386.0	1966	1993	19-46	807	3.19	112
20	Joe Nathan	9.51	794.0	1999	2012	24-37	647	2.87	153

Three things come to mind when I think of Brad Lidge ... first, there was the Albert Pujols home run that never landed with the Cardinals down to their last strike in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS:

Second, there's this throwback (and appropriately vague) rumor from 2006 where there appeared to be some talk of a Brad Lidge for Hank Blalock trade that never materialized ... Texas did manage to squeeze another 1.2 fWAR out of Blalock from 2007-09, but Lidge, following a disappointing 2006 season, rebounded to enjoy a decent 2007, got traded to Philadelphia in the Michael Bourn trade, and then posted up a monster 2008 season with the Phillies, which brings me to my third memory of Lidge:

Much love.

Adrian Beltre Is The 2012 Texas Rangers Player Of The Year

... per the DFW BBWAA (via John Blake).

Let us rejoice.

Torii Hunter Gets 2 Years, $26 Million From Tigers

Per lots of people on Twitter. There was some talk of the Rangers being interested in Hunter and possibly envisioning him as one of their starting COFs, but there was also some conflicting talk about the Rangers not considering Hunter much of a priority (which, I think, mostly emanated from a Ken Rosenthal appearance on the MLB Network in the last day or two), and it's not clear whether Hunter ever even met with the Rangers before negotiations between his camp and the Tigers intensified. 

Hunter hit .313/.365/.451 (130 wRC+, which is a career best, and 5.3 fWAR, which is also a career best) with 16 home runs in 2012, and his recent track record shows consistent production between 2.5-4 wins ... Detroit, however, is paying $26 million for his age 37-38 seasons, which stands out as the obvious reason for the subdued length/AAV of this deal. I also don't think Hunter is an especially great bet to replicate his .389 BABIP from 2012, considering that his lifetime BABIP is .307.

I ran some preliminary 2013 Opening Day payroll projections yesterday, and found that the Rangers, minus any of their free agents and including their arb cases (with Geovany Soto included at $3 million, since I assume Texas will try to hammer something out with Soto independent of the arbitration process) and $500K league-minimum guys to plug in any holes, come out a tick above $110 million.

They'll still need an outfielder, a starting pitcher, a catcher, and a reliever or two, and I'll be curious to see if they can work within their internal budget constraints while still filling their roster holes to the satisfaction of the fan base (and themselves) ... in any event, Texas signing Hunter at $13 million per year would have taken their total 2013 obligation north of $123 million before addressing the SP/RP/C situation, and I have my doubts that the Rangers were especially keen on committing a $13 million AAV to a player who's on the back end of his 30s, and whose career-best season was so heavily driven by a monster BABIP.

So, Uh, Are The Rangers Getting A Catcher Out Of This Trade?

T.R. Sullivan, in his inimitable cryptic yet knowing style, seems to be hinting that the Rangers may be about to get in on the fallout from this Blue Jays/Marlins megadeal:

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting catcher John Buck in a trade with the Blue Jays.

The Rangers need a catcher. The Blue Jays could flip Buck or trade either Jeff Mathis or J.P. Arencibia to the Rangers.

Stay tuned ...

BRING ON THE JEFF MATHIS ERA. AND SUMMON THE METEORS. 

Also, per the above, the Blue Jays are trading John Buck to themselves. I think that's like dividing by zero.

This Is What Jurickson Profar Hitting A Walkoff HR Looks Like

From last night's DWL match between Licey and Escogido (h/t Gerry Fraley):

THAT SWING.

Dave Barnett Speaks On The End Of His Rangers Career

After word came down yesterday that the Rangers were sticking with their end-of-2012 broadcast teams going into 2013, one of the beat guys on Twitter -- or maybe more than one -- noted that Barnett's contract had expired, and it simply boiled down to the Rangers not wanting to re-up him.

Well, it seems Barnett has some regrets about how everything went down, and how the Rangers elected to handle the end of his tenure in Texas (via Barry Horn):

Dave Barnett said he wishes it had ended differently. He would have appreciated it if someone had called from the Rangers to tell him, rather than inform his agent, that he was through.

[...]

Barnett’s last night on the job for the Rangers was June 18, when late in a game at San Diego, he talked gibberish for 15 seconds. Barnett went on medical leave the next day. He has been through a battery of tests and still has no answer for those 15 seconds, which earned him national notoriety.

“In lots of ways this was the peak of my career,” said Barnett, 54. “This was something I wanted since the Rangers moved to Texas when I was 14.”

Barnett, who was working on a one-year contract, said he had an inkling he would not be asked back. He said the Rangers have been distant since they took him off the road in June.

“I’m not an idiot,” he said. “Am I shocked by this? No.”

John Blake, the Rangers executive vice president for communications, said he had been in contact with Barnett’s New York-based agent for months and believes he was following “proper channels” when he informed the agent that Barnett’s contract would not be renewed. Blake said he would have no more comment on “a personnel issue.”

Barnett said he will pursue other opportunities.

“I’m interested to see what the good Lord has in store for me,” he said.

And so closes another bizarre chapter in the history of this ballclub's announcing teams. I can only wish Barnett all the best, though ... I do feel that things reached a point where many of us were ready to see some sort of shakeup happen with the Barnett/Grieve booth, but I would never wish for such a shakeup to be brought about early by medical problems. It also sounds like the Rangers and Barnett have differing opinions as far as the proper way to inform someone that their contract will not be renewed, so, uh, there's that.

Adrian Beltre Wins 2012 Fielding Bible Award At Third Base

I'm about to commence with a real, concerted attempt to get back on track here, and I suppose the best way to get back on that path is to shout out something like Adrian Beltre winning a 2012 Fielding Bible Award at third base:

THIRD BASE—ADRIAN BELTRE, TEXAS RANGERS (90 POINTS)

Adrian Beltre had some competition from a couple of new kids on the block with the defensive emergence of Mike Moustakas and Brett Lawrie at third base. Beltre edged Moustakas and Lawrie by four and seven points, respectively. Beltre has been tremendous defensively his entire career and is now the proud owner of four Fielding Bible Awards at third base.

The full list of results, and the voting methodology, can be viewed here. I know you all will be shocked and appalled to find that no other Rangers even placed as runner-ups or honorable mentions ... I imagine both Elvis Andrus and Craig Gentry are somewhere around the fringes of honorable mention territory, though. Beltre, however, churned out yet another exceptional defensive season and further solidified his standing as one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball history:

Player	Rfield	From	To	Age	G	Pos	Tm
Lee Tannehill	113	1903	1912	22-31	1090	*56/34	CHW
Gary Gaetti	127	1981	2000	22-41	2507	*53/D67149	MIN-CAL-TOT-KCR-STL-CHC-BOS
Mike Schmidt	128	1972	1989	22-39	2404	*53/64	PHI
Graig Nettles	141	1967	1988	22-43	2700	*5/739D68	MIN-CLE-NYY-SDP-ATL-MON
Robin Ventura	154	1989	2004	21-36	2079	*53/D641	CHW-NYM-NYY-TOT-LAD
Clete Boyer	160	1955	1971	18-34	1725	*56/4	KCA-NYY-ATL
Scott Rolen	172	1996	2012	21-37	2038	*5	PHI-TOT-STL-TOR-CIN
Buddy Bell	174	1972	1989	20-37	2405	*5/986D374	CLE-TEX-TOT-CIN
Adrian Beltre	185	1998	2012	19-33	2115	*5/D64	LAD-SEA-BOS-TEX
Brooks Robinson	292	1955	1977	18-40	2896	*5/46	BAL

[This list is a bit misleading in that it also comprises (Total Zone) fielding runs above/below average compiled at other positions; every player on this list did, however, amass at least 50 percent of their career playing time at third base, and it is evident that most of these names were career third basemen anyway. Case in point: I don't think Brooks Robinson's 47 lifetime innings at 2B/SS have much bearing on his career TZR figure.]

So, yeah, stay hard Adrian. In theory, the defensive aging curve is pretty forgiving to third basemen, so hopefully he can avoid hitting an age-34 wall and continue beasting the hot corner for at least a couple more years. What I'm saying here is that if this ever stops happening, nothing will ever be okay again: