Realistically, what do we see out of our beloved Rangers?
There's still too many "ifs" to be overly confident, but if Elvis Andrus pans out, if Chris Davis keeps hitting the way he did last year, if Kinsler can play a full season, if Hamilton doesn't wear himself out at the Home Run Derby, and if the pitching staff stays reasonably healthy.....I see anywhere from 83-89 wins this season, possibly a WC spot or maybe maybe maybe we can take the AL West.
But this team is still a year or two away from being real contenders.
I honestly don't know what to think of the team this year. They could surprise and give the Angels a run for their money, or they could just be mediocre like last year and finish a distant 2nd. But I am excited to see the new guys play, by Septemeber I think we will see a healthy amount of really high-cieling farmhands being called up. Should be interesting.
The rangers are headed in the in the right direction but this will not be the year..I expect 75-80 wins and as already mentioned, alot of prospects will make debuts for the rangers in the 2nd half. I am looking forward to 2010 rangers with alot of lousy contracts coming off the books, present young rangers havng another year under their belt, and one of the best farm systems plugging holes..
Supposedly we have the best farm team in baseball so at least we can look forward to that. Still no major improvements to the pitching staff so I wouldn't expect anything but the same old from this team.
Too many people are suckin' the A's nuts...I expect the Rangers to be slighty better this season. Look for Holland to come up mid-season and Feliz in September. The key to this season is not getting off to a terrible start like the past few years. Realisticly though this team will compete for the divison crown starting in 2010 and for many years after that. It wont be very long before all the bandwagoners will jump back on.....
Actually, the major addition to the pitching staff is health. If they can hang on to that, I expect a record above .500. Maybe only slightly above, but it would still be better than last year and something to build on for next year.
this year will be like the drays of two years ago no real threat but lots of promis
are they on the radio here is satx
I'm really hoping Hurley pans out. But yeah... Millwood and Padilla need to stay healthy for us to have any chance at a winning record.
We won't know about Hurley until next season, he had a torn rotator cuff in the offseason and will miss all of 2009. In terms of health, I was talking about the staff in spring training who, for the most part, have been very healthy. A little soreness here and there and one blister, but other than that the rotation has held up. Should be Millwood/Padilla/McCarthy/Harrison and either Feldman or Benson in slot 5.
Everyone seems to think that Davis is going to rake.
As someone who has Davis on his fantasy club, I hope they're all right.
He was my next pick that same round before you took him.
Yeah, I think he is gonna rake. He was awesome during the playoff last year for me, really helped me dominate.
That's a shame, I wasn't aware of that. With Loe in Japan now I think the 5 slot is up for grabs. I haven't seen enough of Feldman or Benson to know better though. Might be worth it to test the free agency for a possible gem.
I'm all for moving Young back to SS and Metcalf at 3B. Am I the only one who thinks this experiment with Young at 3B and a virtual rookie at SS is a disaster waiting to happen? Having one of the best short stops of all time as a back up is nice, but Elvis hasn't proved anything yet. I don't think Andruw Jones is going to make the team but they took Sosa, so who knows.
Are you saying that Young is one of the best SS's of all time?Please tell me that is not what you meant.
I'm talking about Omar Vizquel sillyAre you saying that Young is one of the best SS's of all time?
Last year my estimate of the impact of Nolan Ryan was early...this year it isn't. This year we will see his impact on the pitching staff. This year he is pro-active and is working the younger pitchers and giving them tips.
I know this sounds like an over-estimation of Ryan's abilities, but you know how they say the great ones can't explain how they do it? They can't teach it?
Nolan can...if they've got the stuff, he can show them what to do with it. And it's not that hard to see why...he turned himself from a typical hard thrower into the a pitcher that lasted 27 season. Yeah he never turned into Greg Maddux in the control dept, but he did improve exponentially in that area and he learned how to pitch. He's a power pitcher t hat made the journey, it's a very difficult journey, and the advice of one of the few to have made it cannot be understated.
He spent a few minutes with Randy Johnson and turned Johnson's career around...Bobby Witt was a typical wild thrower then got some tutelage from Nolan and made the jump from tons of potential to having an amazing season(before blowing his arm out)..
It's all about the pitching with the Rangers, and it's going to be good with Nolan running the show. He'll get the most out of the power pitchers by showing them the things it would normally takes years for them to learn themselves, if ever. And they'll listen to him.
And he wants to win...he still wants that because he didn't get enough of it as a player.
We'll win the AL West this year.
Last edited by whottt; 03-28-2009 at 06:42 AM.
Oh yeah...one other thing that I am truly amazed no one ever notices....the Rangers have been around basically for 37 years...they've worn white with blue as the primary color for 31 of those 37 years...
They have not made a single playoff appearance in the 31 years blue has been the primary color.
They've worn white uniforms with Red as the primary color for 6 of those 37 years. In that time, in those 6 years, they've either made the playoffs or finished the season leading the division 4 times, including the very first year they wore them, and the last.
Welcome back Red Unis...even if it's only part time.
The pitching and the Uniform color are the important stuff...the hitting is not.
Last edited by whottt; 03-28-2009 at 06:43 AM.
I think Jones and Vizquel have a lot to offer the team even if it isn't as every day players...and that park'll be good for their hitting too. I'm not crazy about Young at 3rd...but he made the transition from second to short pretty effectively.
Andruuw Jones is only like 31-32 years old or something...he's still got some baseball left in him I think. Ought to have one good season left if nothing else.
Haha, sorry I misinterpreted what you said.I'm talking about Omar Vizquel silly
I am all for the move of Young to 3b. The reason is that sooner or later, Andrus is going to be ready for big league service. He is unproven, sure but so is the entire farm system, you gotta take a chance sometime. Here is the thing ... I would rather Andrus get his learning curve in 2009 when the team isn't expected to compete rather than in 2010, when the team is supposed to compete.
The AL West already has players who wear red, the Angels. I don't want us looking like those mother ers!!!! I can't stand this correlation between uni colors and winning ... cus if the ing color of a jersey is what you are hanging your hopes on as a Rangers fan, then you should just turn in your fan card now. Seriously, it is stupid as . There are dozens of reasons why the Rangers didn't compete in those 30+ years and not one of them had to do with the color of their ing batting helmets.
Oh, and another thing ... can I just say how much I HATE the fact that Jones is likely to make this team? He is going to take at-bats away from guys like Boggs and Cruz who need them. It is make or break time, especially for Cruz, who is out of options. We need to situate him in the OF instead of giving up some of his playing time to ageing veterans who are broken. Enough with the reclamation projects! We have enough of those on the pitching staff. We need to start getting the kids ready to compete, not relegating them to the bench in favor of one season of a guy who does not figure into the long-term plans.
I think we can push the angels for the division. I think that's our only shot at the playoffs because an AL East team will grab the WC. I say 80-85 wins if the pitching is good and stays healthy. This team is an exciting one. I can't wait to go out to the re-done ballpark and see what they can do.
I'll be rooting for the Rangers to win the West.
And someone slap that smirk off his face. He went 0-5 last night with multiple strikeouts and every time he has that eating grin on his face. I seriously doubt he will make this team unless he does something to dazzle the managers in the next week.
Unmitigated balderdash...supers ion is as much a part of the game as shagging fly balls.The AL West already has players who wear red, the Angels. I don't want us looking like those mother ers!!!! I can't stand this correlation between uni colors and winning ... cus if the ing color of a jersey is what you are hanging your hopes on as a Rangers fan, then you should just turn in your fan card now. Seriously, it is stupid as . There are dozens of reasons why the Rangers didn't compete in those 30+ years and not one of them had to do with the color of their ing batting helmets.
IT's real simple...
From 1972 to 1993 they wore blue...and were a clueless moribund franchise. No playoff appearances or division les. Ton of second half fades.
From 1994 to 1999 they wore red and finished the season first in the division or won the wild card 4 times.
In 2000 they went back to blue and posted a losing record, returning basically the same team. In short, they again became a clueless moribund franchise, as they always had been previously in blue.
I think there's more than just supers ion at play here...blue is a darker color than red and absorbs more heat...red is a more aggressive color.
There's your science if you need it...
Maybe that color making a hot place to play hotter has something to do with the Annual July and August fades.
Meanwhile I've got overwhelming evidence in a mere 6 years of the mojo of the red unies...while you've got nothing in 31 years of blue.
It's a fact that the Rangers do better in red. I don't even think they've ever had a losing record in red in a full season.
As for the Angels...yes they wear red, not that I really care...but they also are the perennial top team in the division...maybe there is a correlation?
Don't hate the color Mel...hate the team.
I don't need a history lesson, I have been a fan for over 20 years and I am aware of the history with the colors.
I am also aware of the fact that despite three playoff appearances in red uniforms, they still only won ONE PLAYOFF GAME the entire time. If you are satisfied with that result, then fine. Let's go look like those effing Angels and get all the way to the playoffs only to get swept.
By this logic, let's just go ahead and start wearing purple. That is a mix of red and blue, maybe that is the magical combination of uniforms needed to not only make the playoffs but win a few games while we're there. Since according to you, the fact that the Rangers had a decent pitching staff and Juan Gonzalez and Pudge, et. al had absolutely nothing to do with their success during that time. It was all about the uniforms. I say, let's just switch the color up every year until we find one that is a winner. If purple doesn't work, I vote for burnt magenta next.
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