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Would love to have Thome. Great DH.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/0...jim-thome.html
The Rangers may have missed out on their top offseason target, but they signed Adrian Beltre and they aren't done yet. Texas is pursuing Jim Thome, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
Any team looking to add thump against right-handed pitching is likely salivating over the .294/.430/.617 line Thome has posted against right-handers in his 20-year career. Last year was better than usual, as the slugger hit 25 homers and hit .302/.455/.698 against righties. But as productive as Thome is at the plate, he wouldn't fit effortlessly in the Rangers' lineup because he's left-handed and doesn't play defense.
Michael Young has a history of handling lefties better than Thome, but he probably wouldn't be available to spell Thome against southpaws. Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis both hit from the left side and struggle against southpaws, which makes Young a likely candidate to play first base against left-handers regardless of which first baseman wins the everyday job.
If Young plays first base against lefties, the Rangers would likely rely on Thome to DH, though he is nothing special against southpaws (career .763 OPS). Outfielders David Murphy, Julio Borbon and Engel Beltre all bat from the left side, so the Rangers wouldn't gain a platoon advantage if they were to DH Josh Hamilton against southpaws and replace him in the field.
A right-handed DH like Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Troy Glaus, Marcus Thames or Andruw Jones would allow the Rangers to DH Hamilton against some right-handers while a lefty-hitting outfielder like Borbon or Murphy played the field. The Rangers could DH Hamilton against righties even if they sign Thome, but not without depriving Thome of the chance to demolish right-handed pitching.
This is not to say that Thome isn't a fit in the Lone Star State. He is coming off a remarkably productive season and if he can repeat his 2010 performance, lineup shuffling would be secondary for the Rangers. Plus, the offseason isn't over. The team could sign Thome and adjust its lineup accordingly by making a secondary move or two.
Would love to have Thome. Great DH.
they must be wanting to move michael young to 1B full time and have Thome as the DH. i wonder if they are looking to use Moreland in a trade?
So they're spending all offseason either grossly overpaying for contract year s, or going after steroids era hitters well past their prime?
It's like Tom Hicks never left.
I think he'd be a really good pick-up for the Rangers. 25 HRs last year in 276 official ABs? That's ridiculous. He would rake in Arlington.
I think not keeping Cliff Lee makes any other move feel extremely underwhelming. If Lee re-signed, any move would just feel like gravy.
Thome would be a good pick-up if they sign him.
The guy had 25 home runs in a HUGE ballpark and played IMO sparingly and wasn't used well at all.
Seriously come on.
Exactly, with that right field porch, he would KILL.
The only problem is, the team goes to a VERY lefty ball club, and when they face a lefthanded starter two of Moreland, Murphy, Borbon would have to play.
So your saying Thome is on roids? You have proof, evidence? It seems you have difficulty understanding the dynamics of how the business side of baseball works. When your a contender like the Rangers, you do go after players like a Thome, who BTW, is not chasing another multiyear contract like your applying. How is it gonna hurt to sign Thome to a one year deal?
No, I said his best years were in the steroids era. Learn to ing read.
Don't need it. Learn to ing read.
Why, because their pitching rotation is so stacked they can waste this money on another hitter?
I said no such thing about Jim Thome. It seems you have difficulty understanding the dynamics of the English language.
It won't. How is it gonna hurt to spend that money on a pitcher?
+1
While Cliff Lee would have been fantastic to have, people forget that this team pretty much did everything to get into the playoffs without Cliff Lee's help. The small part of the regular season that he did play in, he wasn't very good, and had a record of something like 4-6. And they did it with Hamilton missing a month, and both Kinsler and Cruz missing 2.
IMO health, along with finally having playoff experience should most definitely help this team out for another run to and through the playoffs. Colby Lewis showed he can take his game to another level in the playoffs which was great to see. Hopefully CJ pitch at the same pace he did last year. And another year of experience should only help Tommy Hunter. Another good starting pitcher would definitely help, but to me, the team proved they can win 90+ games without a guy like Cliff Lee.
tbh how many good pitchers are available at this point? right now, it might be best to stock up on solid hitters and such to give themselves some room to make a trade sometime during the season, like they were able to do for Lee last season.
Seriously, if this was 5 years ago, every one of you would be blasting the Beltre and Thome deals as being the work of those dumbasses Hart and Hicks. Now that it's Nolan Ryan calling the shots, everything he does is genius
This deal won't be nearly as bad as the Beltre deal, but it's still money poorly spent when the team has other bigger needs.
That was the mentality for at least 20 years in Arlington, and that's why the team had one playoff win in franchise history until last season.
True to an extent. They likely would have had a few more playoff wins if they didn't have the misfortune of running into the Yankees each year right off the bat though.
But the problem is, after Lee was signed, and Grienke was traded to KC, there wasnt much available on the market. Probably gonna just have to wait until the trade deadline to see what happens.
No. The Rangers could of traded for Matt Garza, but TB wanted Moreland. Rangers said no.
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/ar...nce-to-tr.html
Look dumbass, the Rangers went the route of trying to sign FA pitchers. Chan Ho Park, Kevin Milwood ring a bell? There is no #1 pitcher out there to sign.
Moreland is pretty good. I'm not sure if Matt Garza is enough to warrant trading Moreland. It would need to be someone better than Garza.
Personally I would rather keep Moreland though. He is young, and I think possibly has all-star ability.
You can't be this ignorant. Your implying that Thome was on roids, since his best years were during the steriod era. GTFO if your not trying to link Thome to roids.
Whose out there can the Rangers sign that is better than CJ Wilson? If you read the various Ranger news, T.Rangers.com., ESPN Dallas, DMN, etc..., you would know the Rangers are looking for starting pitching. The Rangers attempted to land Garza in a trade, but they didn't want to give up Mitch Moreland, so the trade fell through. Theres also the trade deadline in which the Rangers can potentially acquire pitching. The Rangers are looking at every conceivable way to improve their team, be it pitching, and/or hitting. Did you not see the World Series, where the Rangers offense went dead? The Rangers need to upgrade both pitching and offense.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...26&postcount=4. So who do you mean by "contract year s" that the Rangers are going after?
They signed Brandon Webb. You have a particular pitcher you would like the Rangers to sign?
I just stated a fact, nothing more. You're the one making implications.
Carl Pavano
And you're ing re ed if you think CJ Wilson having one good year as a starter means he's gonna be automatic from here on out.
Not hard enough.
Then they're idiots.
The Rangers have only signed one contract year so far this offseason. I'll let you figure that one out, champ.
Yeah somebody who has done better than pitch FOUR INNINGS IN TWO ING YEARS.
If you're penciling Brandon Webb in as anything more than a marginal fifth starter on this team, assuming he can stay at all healthy, then you're even dumber than I thought.
Moreland is a prospect who had a good couple of months. Nothing more. Can he be All-Star level? Yes. Will he be? Nobody knows.
What we DO KNOW is that Matt Garza is a very capable and proven Major League pitcher.
I'll take a proven 2nd/3rd starter over a hot 1B prospect any day. The I took 5 minutes ago had a hot 1B prospect in it.
Cartoon avatar, cartoon brain, tbh.
Thanks for admitting I'm right.
I don't disagree with that, but I can at the same time understand why Texas would be reluctant to trade him, considering how he was perhaps the most consistent player for the Rangers through all the playoffs. Constantly made very nice plays and catches and hit quite well.
Does anyone think Feliz is capable of being a starting pitcher?
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