This is my second annual “What Success Looks Like,” in which I look at the records of all the American League teams in the Jon Daniels Era—the ten years from 2006 to 2015—to compare how the Rangers fared against the rest of the league. Since Jon Daniels became the general […]
There’s that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” A year ago we were wondering the same things we are wondering now. Do the Rangers have enough to complete? Do they have holes? How can we fill in those holes? Below is where we were last […]
This won’t be news to anyone by now, but Shawn Tolleson avoided arbitration with the Rangers by agreeing to a one-year contract at $3.275 million. Tolleson was seeking $3.9 million. The Rangers originally offered $2.6. In the end, they met halfway, plus another $25,000. Tolleson was, of course, the anchor of a […]
The season hasn’t even started yet and already the story is Hamilton’s knee. He had surgery. It still causes him pain. That’s not going away. So this season will be a steady stream of monitoring his knee to hope it is good enough to allow him to play. All it takes is a […]
Who said you can’t go home again? (Actually, it was Thomas Wolfe, but that’s not important right now.) This winter’s free agent market proved that old axiom to be false. The market was unique for a few things. The first being, there was a ton of premium, game-changing, franchise-defining talent available. More top quality or […]
Q: Which Rangers fielder recorded the final putout of the 2015 season? (Hint: His ability to catch a ball came an inning too late.)
Taking the lazy way out today and letting someone else write this. Here is a really good read from a recent SportsDayDFW.com “Ballzy” podcast about the Rangers losing out on Daniels’s man crush Justin Upton, Delino DeShields, Nomar Mazara, Yovani Gallardo returning to the Rangers, and other things. It’s a great read. […]
Expect a lot of bench clearing brawls this year. New pitching coach Doug Brocail’s first order of business with his pitching staff is going to be to throw inside, challenge the hitters in, back them off the plate. Or, as Brocail was quoted in The Dallas Morning News, they are going […]
It’s the dead of the winter. Everyone is getting punch drunk for baseball. But here is an article from ESPN.com yesterday about something most people would never want to see in the game but I would welcome with open arms. A computer calling balls and strikes. It took a while […]
Now the countdown clock is getting real. The first workout for pitchers and catchers is one month away, February 19. Barring any sort of news happening before that—like a free agent signing or a trade or an injury or aliens abducting Elvis Andrus—there will be few surprises in Surprise. Eleven […]