I’ve done a couple informal studies, and the results are overwhelming:

If Darth Vader had a favorite baseball team, it would be the New York Yankees.

In an unrelated story (as far as you know), every time I hear someone talk about the Yankees, I hear this.

So how our plucky little Rebels – the Texas Rangers – going to take down the Galactic Empire, er, New York Yankees?

Find out after the jump.

Luke Skywalker (Cliff Lee) takes down Darth Vader (Derek Jeter) and Emperor Palpatine (Mariano Rivera) – The character closest to jumping to the New York Yankees must be considered Luke. Good thing for the Texas Rangers that he’s already a full-blown Jedi. I’m not quite sure if I could be a bigger Cliff Lee fan at this point, but it’s still unbelievable that one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball pitches for the Texas Rangers. It’s still not quite real. Kinda like the hologram at the end of Return of the Jedi that’s now Hayd———-.

Ooooh. Let me just stop right there. Painful subject.

But Cliff is going to strike at the heart of the Yankees (their offense) just like Luke struck at the heart of the Empire (the emperor). Plus I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cliff Lee’s arm turn into a green lightsaber by the end of the Series.

Han Solo (Josh Hamilton) and Chewbacca (Ian Kinsler) lead the invasion on Endor to destroy the shield generator (bludgeon the starting pitching) – We’re just going to pretend like the Ewoks aren’t really around. And that last series Josh Hamilton was still shaking off the effects of being frozen in carbonite. Anywho, Josh gets his mojo back early in the series with a couple of big hits against Sabathia (taking down Boba Fett, and what Jabba the Hutt joke? I don’t see any Jabba the Hutt jokes around here…) then leads the Rangers’ offense to enough runs to beat up the starting pitching and get into the soft underbelly of the New York Yankees (the bullpen before Mariano Rivera).

Admiral Ackbar (Ron Washington) and Mike Maddux hold off the Star Destroyers (deflect all criticism) – The media was all over these two guys for their handling of the bullpen in Game 3 of the Tampa Bay series, which was pretty undeserved in my opinion. Yeah Ron had a couple of quick hooks on a couple of guys, but a lot of the bullpen just flat struggled on Saturday night. Most of the time, that doesn’t happen. They’ll be just fine. Plus, it’s funny to think of Admiral Ackbar and Mike Maddux in the same ship.

IT’S A TRAP!

(Sorry, had to get that in. I’m good now.)

Biggs (Colby Lewis) and Wedge (CJ Wilson) cover Luke on the first strike on the Death Star (Games 1 and 2) – These are key games for the hopes of the Texas Rangers. If they can win at least one of the first two games (and pick up the first home playoff win in franchise history), their hopes for the series jump up a notch. That sets up Cliff Lee to win Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead. If the Texas Rangers get one of the following three games, they’re guaranteed to see Cliff in Game 7 at Rangers Ballpark. And, if you’ll let me shift into generic commentator mode for a second…

You know, if the Rebel Alliance hadn’t taken down the Death Star, the whole SERIES would have been different!

Lando Calrissian (Nelson Cruz) and Wedge Antilles (Michael Young) take down the Second Death Star (win the ALCS) with clutch hits – So what if Wedge was already used? He was promoted. Cruz was on fire during the ALDS, despite his unfortunate decision to admire his near homer in Game 5 (kinda like Lando’s unfortunate decision to trust Darth Vader). I expect that run to continue. I would certainly expect to see some late-inning heroics from the Boomstick in this series for the Texas Rangers. Michael Young didn’t have a huge role in the Division Series win, but the three-run homer in Game 2 sure was big. Somehow, he’ll find a way to have another big knock.

Prediction: The Rebels win, of course. In how long? Count the number of movies. (Even the prequels.)

Darth pic: http://deathstarpr.blogspot.com/2010/09/darth-vader-behind-mask.html

Cliff Lee will be on the hill for the local nine as they go up against their first non-Yankees playoff opponent ever. The Tampa Bay Rays posted the best record in the American League this year (96-66), but it was only six games better than the record of our favorite claw-wielding players.

It really is a shame that this playoff series is going to be banished to the middle of the afternoon. This should be a VERY exciting, tense, no-no-no-no-YES, oh-my-god-how-did-he-do-THAT series between two of the most exciting teams in Major League Baseball. So how do the Texas Rangers stack up against their opponents from the Sunshine State? Hit the jump like you’ve got seven at a blackjack table to find out.

Lineup: It appears that Evan Longoria has overcome his quadricep injury (or will in time for Wednesday) and will be back in his cleanup spot for Tampa Bay. That should be an advantage for the Rangers, although it seems more so like that will be a wash considering Josh Hamilton is coming off a longer injury as well. Still, both offenses are pretty similar in that they are focused on only a couple of players. Crawford and Longoria are the heart of the Rays offense, while Cruz and Hamilton fill those positions for the Rangers.

What will be key will be how the rest of the lineups perform. Can the Rangers get good production out of Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero and Michael Young? What will Carlos Pena do? Can the Rangers contain Ben Zobrist? How many baserunning plays will affect these games? Can Bengie Molina avoid hitting into too many double plays? Will Elvis Andrus have his Ozzie Smith moment? Call me crazy, but I think the Rangers have a couple more weapons than the Rays do.

Slight Edge: Rangers

Uniforms: The Rays do have nice baby-blue uniforms that they wear as alternates, although they have ugly dark blue ones they wear on the road as well. I expect the red uniforms out for the home games for the Rangers, although I still have a tough time getting over the fact that they don’t have a uniform that says ‘Rangers’. The deciding factor here is that Tampa Bay can’t decide on what exactly they are. Are they Rays of the sun? Are they Rays of the sea? Make a decision.

Edge: Rangers

Pitching: The starting pitching matchups for all four of these games all could favor the Texas Rangers. At the very least, they certainly are a far cry from the days of Rick Helling and Esteban Loaiza starting playoff games in the late ’90s.

Here are the matchups (Ranger pitcher listed first):

Game 1 – Cliff Lee vs. David Price

Game 2 – C.J. Wilson vs. James Shields

Game 3 – Colby Lewis vs. Matt Garza

Game 4 – Tommy Hunter vs. Wade Davis

Game 5 – Cliff Lee vs. David Price

Those are really competitive matchups. The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays certainly are close in the starting pitching department.

At the end of the game, the Texas Rangers are going to have their hands full with the Rays’ three-headed bullpen monster of Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour and former Ranger Joaquin Benoit. I understand that Benoit was talented and had a couple of good years for the Rangers, but it’s still a little hard for me to get over the fact that Joaquin Benoit is a major contributor for one of the best teams in the American League.

The Rangers’ bullpen is no slouch either, however, with Neftali Feliz looking like a lockdown closer considering he’s only blown one save since June 1. Darren O’Day, Darren Oliver and Alexi Ogando have been key cogs at the back end as well.

All in all, the pitching staffs are just as even as the lineups. The Rangers trailed the Rays in team ERA by only .15 this year (3.78 to 3.93), trailed in team strikeouts by only 8, but also permitted 73 more walks. Not a good sign against the team with the most walks in baseball.

Starting Pitching Edge: Rangers

Bullpen Edge: Rays

Ballpark/Fan Experience: Ha.

Massive Edge: Rangers

Defense: The Rays are a VERY good defensive team. Extremely athletic and talented at just about every position. The Rangers would be better off defensively with Borbon in center, Hamilton in left and Cruz in right against righties, but that’s not going to fly against lefties. We all know about Michael Young’s struggles at third, but Elvis and Ian are quite good as a double-play combo. The biggest question for the Texas Rangers will be how do they control the Rays’ running game? If the Rays don’t completely run rampant on the bases, it will be a success.

Edge: Rays

Notable fans/celebrity power: Not a ton between the two teams, so I think it has to come down to Nolan Ryan vs. Dick Vitale. And, I mean, come on.

Edge: Rangers

FINAL CALL: This is going to be a tough series for both teams. It’s far from out of the question that the winner of this series could win the World Series. The offenses are very similar and very good – the matchups earlier this year featured a lot of offense. The bullpens are both good, although the absence of Francisco tips the scales towards Tampa Bay. The starting pitching favors the Texas Rangers, especially considering Cliff Lee is the kind of pitcher that gives the Rays fits (i.e. left-handed and pounds the strike zone).

**Groundbreaking point coming**

The team that wins will be the team that makes the fewest mistakes. As long as the Rangers don’t give away outs and make the Tampa Bay Rays hit their way on, they should be able to win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

The pick? Rangers in four.

It’s Time.

Cliff Lee pic: http://bookieboss.com/blog/?paged=3

Texas Rangers

The Rangers will be aiming to take the rubber match of their three-game set with Oakland at home, wrapping up a week in which they took three of four against the Los Angeles Angels at home last weekend.  Michael Young went deep three times for the Rangers last week, hitting .318 with four RBIs, while Nelson Cruz batted .417 with a pair of homers and four RBIs.  If the Rangers can continue to prove that their lineup isn’t just Josh Hamilton and Vladdy Guerrero, who struggled last week, their MLB betting odds will improve.  Cliff Lee continues to be a monster for the Rangers, going 1-0 in two starts last year, tossing 17.1 innings, and he struck out 17 batters….without walking a single one.  Neftali Feliz was perfect in three save opportunities for the Rangers, who have another important week coming up.  The Rangers head out on the road for a nine-game trip with teams from the West, beginning with a three-game set in Los Angeles against the Angels this weekend, following by a visit to Seattle, Lee’s former team. If they can manage to at least split their six games in the next week, the Rangers should be sitting pretty in the West.

Dallas Cowboys

NCAA football betting players know that Dez Bryant had a tough time at Oklahoma State, missing virtually all of last year because he lied to NCAA investigators about a meeting with Deion Sanders, and it’s things like these that caused him to slip in the draft (some folks call them “character issues”.  Then, Bryant made a fuss earlier this week when he refused to carry the pads of Roy Williams, who many people feel Bryant will replace in the starting lineup.  Bryant then said he wasn’t aware of the tradition that has been going on not only in the NFL, but in most professional sports, for years.  Rookies, no matter how highly touted or where they were drafted, are usually counted on carry pads, buy dinners, and be generally subservient to the veterans, and it’s not like they were trying to tape him to goalposts or anything.  Of course, the media took and made way too big of an issue, but Bryant is going to have to learn to be more humble and realize that he’s part of a team now.  Little things like that can mess with a team’s online betting odds.

The most recent move by the Rangers was trading catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Boston Red Sox for right hand pitcher Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and cash considerations. The move was done because they were disappointed in Saltalamacchia’s performance, but it was also done to bulk up their roster as they make a serious run for the post-season.

Getting to the post season in Major League Baseball is probably more difficult than other professional sports such as the NHL or the NBA, so making deals that help a team in short-term is commonly accepted. However; are the Rangers hurting themselves in the long-run by parting with a catcher who has the potential to be one of the best in the league? Will this move join the list of regrettable trades made by the Texas Rangers?

Saltalamacchia was part of one of the greatest trades in recent Rangers history: The Mark Teixeira Trade. Mark Teixeira is one of the greatest players in the game today, but in Texas he was unhappy. He was loathed by fans, his team mates, and radio talk show hosts. He even turned down an eight year $140 million contract. So the Rangers cut bait and traded him to the Atlanta Braves for players that included Elvis Andrus, Netali Feliz, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I do not have to explain how these players have impacted the Rangers. The team’s current record and competitiveness explains it enough.

Saltalamacchia was a great player in Atlanta and has had some great moments here in Texas. Despite the accolades, Saltalamacchia’s stint with the Rangers has been difficult at best. Since arriving in Texas, he has lost and regained the starting catcher position, been sent down to the minors on several occasions, but most importantly he has spent most of his time on the disabled list (DL). This season he has only played two games for the Rangers and has spent the rest of the season on the DL or in Triple A Oklahoma.

It’s understandable that the Rangers were tired of the inconsistency, but when he did play Saltalamacchia showed signs of potential. His career averages runs like this: 23 home runs, 94 RBIs, and a batting average of .251. Although those numbers are middle of the road, Saltalamacchia has a lot of intangibles that do not show up in the box scores. He is an excellent defenseman, a leader in the club house and is clutch when you need him.
Not only does he have potential, he deserved an honest chance to develop it. Although he has been hurt most of the last two seasons and has supposedly kept injuries to himself, he really deserved the chance to play an entire season with the Rangers. In this author’s opinion, the Rangers should have given their investment a little more time to grow before cutting their losses.

You do not need to look too far into the past to see how the Rangers parted with future investments too early. Most notable is White Sox Pitcher John Danks and Giants Ace Barry Zito. There are many other examples, but the list is long and we would be here all day. Although it’s hard to say if Saltalamacchia is going to turn out like these players, the Rangers will be kicking themselves in the teeth if he does.

Another concern is who the Rangers plan to fill at the catcher position. Bengie Molina has done a great job this season for the Rangers, but he is 36 years old. How many years does he really have left? Gerald Laird had a lot of potential too, but he has moved on to bigger and better things in Detroit. Parting with Saltalamacchia might leave a huge hole at catcher for the next couple of seasons when they are ripe to be contenders. We can only hope there are some great prospects coming up through the farm system.

In the end, the Rangers have to make moves that they think will get them to the post season. If they really thought Saltalamacchia wasn’t their answer at catcher then they had to make the move. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be a bad one.

Before we start this discussion, a little back ground on the series is needed. The series began in 2001. It’s a six games series and the winner is awarded the Silver Boot – a 30-inch tall display of a cowboy boot cast in silver. To date the two teams have played sixty games. The Texas Rangers lead the series with seven silver boots and thirty three wins. The Astros have three silver boots and twenty seven wins.

Over the years there have been some memorable moments, but is this series on par with the classic cross-town inter-league rivalries we see in other baseball towns? Does the Lone Star series fuel a competitive fire between the two teams that spurs fan interest?

There are many cross-town rivals/series that do. The Freeway Series (Angels vs Dodgers); the Windy City Show Down (Cubs vs White Sox), The Bay Bridge Series (Giants vs Athletics) and the Subway Series (Yankees vs the Mets). These series generate fan interest and create atmospheres similar to Texas-OU weekend.

The reason these series are so successful is because of two key ingredients: a rich history and both teams being located in the same city or metropolitan area.

Unfortunately, the Lone Star Series does not share these characteristics. Although they are the only Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in Texas, they are in separate leagues and hardly play each other. Moreover, they have never met in the World Series. Both teams have also never been dominant winning franchises. The Astros have only been to the World Series once and the Rangers have only had three play-off appearances – with only one play-off win. They also do not share a long storied history like the Cubs and White Sox for example, who have been around since 1902 and 1894 respectively. The Astros have only been around since 1965 and the Rangers relocated from Washington D.C. in 1972.

Furthermore, the series is a victim of bad timing. We never got to see the famous Roger Clements pitch in the series and almost always one of the teams was not in contention for the post season. For example, the Rangers have been terrible for most of the series history. While they are finally playing well, the Astros are now in the cellar.

With all that said, it has given me an idea on how to ignite a spark in this series and the solution involves MLB realignment. Recently, baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, created a fourteen member committee to address realignment in baseball. My recommendation to the committee would be to place the Astros and the Rangers in the same league and most importantly, the same division.

I realize this would prevent a Lone Star World Series from ever occurring, but how often could that have happened? The White Sox and Cubs only met once in 1906 and the New York and San Francisco Bay Area teams met once over the last twenty years. The Angels and Dodgers have never had the pleasure of facing each other in the great contest. Unless, we like holding our breaths, I think placing them in the same division would be a better option.

First, the Astros and Rangers would meet roughly twenty times a year. This would give the teams and their fans a chance to really get to know each other – a key ingredient in any rivalry. Second, the games would really count for something. A late September match up could mean the division and could result in some pretty exciting baseball. A prime example is the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association. Playing in the same division has created a nice heated rivalry between the two teams. Their fans can attest that the last decade between Dallas and San Antonio has been an exciting one.

This leads to my third point, both teams would increase their chances of meeting in the post season. Yes, it wouldn’t be in a World Series, but a match up in the American/National League Championship could not be bad for business.

Finally, the Rangers and Astros currently play in lop-sided divisions. Almost all of the divisions in MLB have five teams except for the Astros and Rangers divisions: the NL Central (6 teams) and AL West (4 Teams). Placing the Astros and Rangers in the same division would appear to be the most logical way to balance out MLB. It would also allow both teams to play closer to home and reduce travel times. I know Ranger fans would be more apt. to a 7:05 p.m. start than the usual 9:30 p.m. first pitch against their division opponents on the west coast.

Although this is probably a fantasy, it would be nice to see a true intra-state rivalry that would be competitive, heated, and something everyone would look forward to. Due to their historic and geographic circumstances, this could only be accomplished if the Rangers and Astros played in the same league and division. In the meantime, we’ll try and be content with our six game series and a Silver Boot.

Perhaps this is a loser’s mentality. Perhaps I shouldn’t be as thrilled that the Rangers are 15 games above .500, and have a 3.5 game lead in the AL West.

But I can’t help myself. I’ve been waiting for a team like this for so long, I just don’t know what to do with myself.

Keep on reading for some thoughts on each part of the Texas Rangers.

Offense: Last year, strangely, the offense was the problem for this team. Multiple positions on the field were struggling and in turmoil, which contributed to the Texas Rangers falling short of the playoffs yet again. This year? No such problems. Vlad Guerrero leads the American League in RBIs, Josh Hamilton is back to his ’08 form, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus are getting on base at great rates and Michael Young is continuing to be a very solid performer at third base.

Not to mention where this team would be without the contributions it got from Nelson Cruz in the first month of the season. It’s a shame that Nelson has missed so much time with those balky hamstrings – he clearly doesn’t have the timing he had earlier in the year. Still, it doesn’t seem like a problem that is impossible to fix. Those are the first six hitters in the lineup. No problems there.

Julio Borbon started very slow, but has been better lately, and has been just fine in a position, center field, that requires a better glove than bat. Bengie Molina and Matt Treanor are just fine as your catchers. Defensively solid, veteran guys that will occasionally do something positive for the offense. Fine there.

Justin Smoak is only two years out of college. This guy only had a little more than one full season in the minors. He is STRUGGLING right now. Am I saying he should be sent down? No, but I’m trying not to lean that way. I want Justin to give me a reason not to lean that way. If he could hit .250 the rest of the way with his normal plate discipline, I’d be thrilled.

Defense: Sometimes I think people forget that the Texas Rangers are a very good defensive team. The outfield is blessed with very good speed and strong arms in the corners (Julio’s leaves a little something to be desired). The infield has very good range. Well, except for Michael Young. Mike’s a defensive liability over there. But I don’t want to do anything with him – his offense more than makes up for his defense. Besides – he can’t get worse, right?

Starters: The starting rotation for the Texas Rangers has not been horrible. Colby Lewis has really been a godsend, with 104.2 IP and a 3.35 ERA. He’s striking out more than eight batters per nine innings, a very nice number. He’s not walking all that many hitters either. But people are worried about him breaking down, even though the point of getting Lewis was for him to be an innings-eater. If he needs some extra rest like he did last week, that’s fine, but I don’t understand why everybody’s so worried about him wearing out. He’s got another start on Wednesday, then he gets some time off for the All-Star break. He’s a nice #2-#3 guy.

So is Tommy Hunter. The guy is 5-0, with a 1.98 ERA in six starts. Will that continue? No. But this is still a guy who has a career ERA of under 4.50 at 24 years old, doesn’t walk guys (averaging about two per nine innings this year) and has shown to be fairly durable. Maybe he’s just another #3 type, but he sure can be a valuable member of a rotation.

C.J. Wilson sure started strong, but has fallen back of late. He’s got good stuff, but needs to take a lesson from Tommy Hunter on how to throw strikes. Plus he’s got the factor of his innings total to deal with as well. If he could quit nibbling, he would be able to go deeper in games and save the bullpen a little more. What is clear is that he MUST cut down on the walks. At all costs.

Omar Beltre has good stuff but is filler right now, waiting for Rich Harden and Derek Holland to get back. Matt Harrison has been sent down to AAA, but was the definition of mediocre before he was bumped down to the bullpen.

Rich Harden has been bad, but the Texas Rangers have too many dollars sunk into him to give up on him. Derek Holland has really good stuff and could be a GREAT addition to this rotation in the second half.

But Scott Feldman? Sorry. Right now he can’t be a part of this rotation. He’s got his last start before the break Friday, but if Harden and Holland are eligible to come off the DL, Beltre and Feldman should be bumped out of the rotation. Feldman has an ERA of over 5.50. Seriously.

Bullpen: They’ve been great. Feliz, Oliver, Francisco, O’Day, Ogando all are great coming out of the bullpen at the end of the game. Dustin Nippert? Not so much. But Pedro Strop has good stuff, and is better than Chris Ray as the last guy in the bullpen. Still, worries persist that this bullpen is going to wear down. Eventually Ogando will give up a run. But nobody in the Wolfpack is on pace to pitch 80 innings this year. I’m not real sure where the angst comes from regarding these appearances.

The Texas Rangers probably could use another arm out of the bullpen (although Pedro Strop really could be that guy), but that’s low on the list of needs. What the Rangers really need is Derek Holland and Rich Harden to get healthy, CJ to cut down on the walks and Justin Smoak to hit .250 the rest of the way.

Does the schedule get tougher? Yes. But will this team make the playoffs? I believe they will. Keep the top six of that lineup healthy and this team will be able to hang with these teams.

And Cliff Lee? I’ve got a feeling he’s coming here, and a lot of people will be unhappy with what the Texas Rangers gave up. And they’ll forget about it once Lee gets the Texas Rangers back to the playoffs.

Except for guys who can’t throw strikes. They need to be dreaded.

The Texas Rangers‘ bullpen had a bad April. It was full of guys who gave up too many hits, couldn’t throw strikes and generally just sucked.

In May, they’ve been much better, locking down a lot of leads in a seemingly endless string of close games.

But are there reasons to be concerned? An explanation after the jump.

- The Rangers have played 18 one-run games, including an amazing six on this homestand alone. They went 4-2 in those six, a fine mark. They’ve played the most one-run games in the American League, with only Dusty Baker’s Cardiac Reds matching them for most in baseball.

- What does that mean? It means that the best bullpen arms for the Rangers have to be relied upon a lot. A LOT. It’s as if each member of the bullpen is a weightlifter and each game is five pounds that gets added on to the barbell. Sooner or later, they collapse. Also known as “Jamey Wright syndrome”, this collapse occurs when a pitcher is overworked in the first half of the season and proceeds to have an ERA in the neighborhood of 8 over the last couple of months.

- Only two pitchers for the Rangers last season had as many as 60 appearances: C.J. Wilson and Darren O’Day. Both had stellar years out of the bullpen, and O’Day has continued that (Saturday notwithstanding) with Wilson moving into the rotation with great success, despite struggling lately. All things considered, the Rangers bullpen was pretty solid last year, especially once Neftali Feliz joined the fun.

- This year the Rangers have five players who already have more than 20 appearances, with Dustin Nippert sitting at 19. Doug Mathis has already been shipped back to AAA, and Guillermo Moscoso earned himself a return ticket to Oklahoma City after Thursday night’s display in the blowout of Baltimore. So Ron Washington has pretty much been forced to go with a six-man bullpen this year.

- Is this such a bad thing? Of the five main pitchers in the pen (Feliz, Francisco, Oliver, Ray, O’Day), only Darren Oliver is averaging more than 1 inning per appearance. (Feliz is at 23.1 IP in 23 games, but that’s close enough to 1.) The question is whether these pitchers will wear down from continuous use or overuse. While all of them are on pace to average in the mid-80s in appearances, none of them would be close to 90 innings pitched on the season if they keep their current averages.

- In the end, it’s probably a moot point. If we are still worried about these pitchers being overworked in August, that means they will have remained healthy for the entire season. That bodes well for the fortunes of this club, because the bullpen has been just fine in the month of May. It’s not a coincidence that the Texas Rangers are 15-8 in the month of May with the stabilization of the bullpen. All five of the most-used pitchers are pitching well right now, and I feel pretty comfortable with each of them in the game.

- There are reinforcements coming. Matt Harrison reportedly will replace Guillermo Moscoso on Friday when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list Friday and serve as another left-hander in Ron’s arsenal, with Dustin Nippert moving to more of a long-relief role. The less stress that has to rest on the 39-year-old arm of Darren Oliver, the better.

- Tanner Scheppers and Alexi Ogando will see time in Arlington this year, although it would be better for both if they spent a little bit more time in AAA. Scheppers is now reportedly being stretched out to become a starter, which is what he was in college and last year with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association. Ogando is a power righty arm that will come out of the bullpen. Can never have enough of those guys.

But what will really save the bullpen? More innings from the starters. Right now the starters are slumping a little bit, but it happens over the course of a long season. Hitters slump sometimes. Pitchers slump sometimes. The key is not having both slump at the same time.

Harrison pic: http://www.daylife.com/photo/01krbzy3Qwd38

What a difference a year makes. Julio has looked nothing like his 2009 self. With every passing day he looks increasingly lost at the plate. Through 119 plate appearance Julio is carrying a .221 avg, (which drops to .157 with RISP) and a K/BB ration of 18/2. To compound the issue, his woeful on base percentage (.246) has lead to a significant drop in stolen bases. One of the truly telling moments of this season for Borbon came in an early May 7-6 loss to the A’s. Down by one with Gentry on second and no outs, Ron Washington took the bunt off and allowed Julio to swing away against Andrew Bailey. This resulted in a shallow fly to left that left the tying run stuck on second. It left me with the feeling that the club has no faith in Julio’s ability to drop down the most basic of bunts. The most fundamental weapon for any speedster.

Defensively, Julio has been fine. His sub-stellar instincts in center are generally quelled by his speed, allowing him to make all the routine plays. It’s well chronicled that his arm is nothing short of a noodle, but that is a problem that can be worked around (Think Johnny Damon in his Red Sox days). To date, he has a UZR/150 rating of -1.7 (explanation here). Nowhere near a “liability”, but still not what you dream of from an every day center fielder. Especially one with his speed.

The Rangers have shown no signs of wavering from their commitment to Borbon, and that is admirable. You don’t want to destroy a young mans confidence, and possibly change his baseball future forever. Julio could easily turn out to be the every day CF they need. Baseball is a streaky game, and the man could easily light on fire. But the Rangers are in a very winnable division, and have a very talented team. That means if his numbers don’t improve, their hand will become forced and something will have to be done. Especially since there are very tangible benefits to having him on the bench. He would be an incredibly valuable 4th outfielder in case of injury, with the added bonus of being a phenomenal pinch-runner in big spots. I’ve decided to take this opportunity to brainstorm hypothetical outfield fixes if Mr. Borbon keeps up his horrid start.

1. Move Josh Hamilton to CF, Murphy to left.  It has worked before, it can work again. David Murphy has capitalized on the increased playing time he has received with Nelly on the DL. If the struggles continue this scenario seems obvious enough. The biggest plus to this plan is that it’s free. The Rangers love free about as much as i love pie. That’s a lot. Why? Because pie is delicious (or because the Rangers are broke, depending on what you were inquiring about). The downside is that Josh Hamilton is a very streaky fielder.
2. Trade for an every day center fielder. This is without a doubt the sexiest of the options. Every fan loves when their team acquires a shiny new toy. When dealing with the Rangers, the biggest concern is money. The team is virtually broke, which makes taking on salary rough. If the Rangers were to dig deep into shallow pockets, it would most likely be for an every day catcher. However if they were able to enter the market the first and most likely spot to look would be to the Royals. All of their outfielders (Ankiel, Dejesus, Guillen, Podsednik) come off of team control at seasons end, so they are all easy enough to acquire. Jose Guillen is pretty much a full time DH these days and carries a mammoth contract. Thus, he is not at all an option. The other three, however, are certainly possible. Podsednik is far and away the most appealing. He has a batting average of .296, an OBP of .352, and has swiped 14 bags. Combine that with the fact that he makes a very manageable 1.65mm, and he becomes a pretty dreamy option. On the flip side, Dejesus and Ankiel both come with major concerns. Ankiel is aging, injury prone, and not at all playing well. He is batting only .210, and comes with a higher (2.75mm) price tag. Dejesus is a solid contributor, but comes with a 4.7mm price tag that I am not sure the Rangers would be thrilled about picking up. However, if the deal were right any of the three are possible. Outside the Royals, acquirable everyday center fielders are scarce. If the Mets fire Omar Manaya, they could start moving everyone. That would make Angel Pagan an interesting option. Now that Roy Oswalt has helped the Astros realize their need to wave the white flag on this season and next, there is an outside chance Michael Bourn could be available. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reported that, “There are 25 guys on their roster, and none of them are untouchable.”. This is of course the best of best case scenarios, as Michael Bourn is one heck of a ball player. Offensively, he is on the same pace as Scott Podsednik. However, he is an exceptional defensive center fielder and is much younger. It’s not a likely scenario,but, armed with massive amounts of pitching prospects and Chris Davis, it’s not an impossible one either.
3. Trade for a left field upgrade and move Josh Hamilton to CF. If the Rangers don’t love the idea of playing David Murphy day-in-day-out there are two intriguing LF options that are sure to be available come the trade deadline. The first, and in my opinion most appealing, is the Nationals’ Josh Willingham. Willingham is almost always amidst trade talks, and he is a consistent offensive contributor. He is not rock solid in left, lacks tools, and comes in at 4.6mm. But I believe his offense would overshadow those issues in the Ballpark At Arlington. Another LF option could be Conor Jackson of the Diamondbacks. While not often mentioned in direct trade talks, his time with the Dbacks is expiring and they could certainly use some prospects to fuel a rebuilding effort.
4. Acquire a utility outfielder: A scenario that comes to mind is in a deal with the Tigers. They have a ton of depth in the outfield, and also have a wealth of LH relievers (Coke, Fu-Te-Ni, Thomas, and Schlereth) that the Rangers could be interested in. They have to be terrified that 39 yr old Darren Olvers arm will fall off with a full seasons workload, and their bullpen is suspect to begin with. The Rangers may kill two birds with one stone and acquire a lefty and a utility man in one deal. Ryan Raburn seems like a likely candidate, as he was mentioned in trade talks this spring. If the Mets do end up in an “everyone must go” situation, then the Rangers could inquire about young utility man Daniel Murphy.
5. Await the return of Endy Chavez. Endy Chaves will be coming back from injury soon, and likely serve as the Rangers 5th outfielder. However, elevating him beyond is a little terrifying. It’s probably not a good idea to rest many hopes on an outfielder coming off of a knee injury who hasn’t played a full season in nearly two years.
6. And finally, Promote an outfield prospect from the minors: No. I’m kidding. There are none. Neither of the Rangers top minor league prospects are ready yet. Mitch Moreland is batting .240 in AAA Oklahoma City, and Engel Beltre is still playing A ball.

I think it is probably too early to panic, but that doesn’t mean panic is far off.  I would give it until mid June, but no longer. The last thing a contender needs is an average fielder who looks like he is swinging a garden hose at the plate.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers rebounded from a sweep in Toronto to take both of their games at home against the Los Angeles Angels, and they took the first game of their two-game set with Baltimore on Wednesday.  Nelson Cruz led the way with nine RBIs over the last week, while Vladdy Guerrero added a homer and six RBIs.  Starters C.J. Wilson and Rich Harden struggled over the week, but Naftali Feliz converted both of his save opportunities.

The next week brings a visit from the Chicago Cubs, and MLB baseball betting odds should favor the Rangers at home, where they were 16-7 as of Thursday.  Then, the Rangers will head to Kansas City for a two-game set with the lowly Royals.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are still trying to figure out if they have cap room this year, as Dirk Nowitzki has a player option for $21.5 million this year.  It’s highly unlikely that the Mavericks will be parting ways with their star, who has spent all 12 of his NBA seasons in Dallas, but their major mission would be to get rid of Erick Dampier, who is slated to make $13.1 million next season, which is outlandish.  Caron Butler’s contract is also expiring like Dampier’s after next year, but the thing with him is, he can be productive.  The Mavericks may try and re-sign Brendan Haywood, who took Dampier’s job after he was traded from Washington with Butler.  The Mavericks likely won’t be a major player in this year’s free-agent bonanza, but they should have plenty of cap space for 2011, when there will be an impressive list of players on the market.

Dallas Stars

NHL betting players saw Dallas decline to offer another contract to long-time goalie Marty Turco, who will be looking for a new team after eight years with the franchise, and the Stars instead signed Kari Lehtonen to a $10.65 million contract over four years.  The Stars picked Lehtonen up from Atlanta in February, and even though he played just 12 games in Dallas, it was enough to make him the No.1 guy going forward.  Lehtonen is 26 years old, so he’s heading into the prime of his career, and he has career numbers of a 2.87 GAA, and a .912 save percentage.  Those are decent numbers when you consider that he played behind some pretty awful defenses in Atlanta.  With Lehtonen between the pipes, the Stars could be a solid betting darkhorse next season.