Bullpens are volatile. One year a core group of guys is being called on in critical game situations, the next year they are not even trusted to close out a twenty-run lead. Look no further than Tanner Scheppers. He was reliable in 2013, until he picked a fight in a […]

This is the deepest market for free-agent pitchers I can ever remember. Last year, it was Max Scherzer and everyone else. This year, there are about a half dozen aces available, and another half dozen pitchers who could turn around a rotation. I would be very surprised if the Rangers […]

Left field was mostly a dead zone for the Rangers in 2015. They used a dozen different players in left, most of them failed. Then, when they finally found one who worked, he broke down. I wrote about it back in September when a desperate Jeff Banister inserted Mike Napoli into left […]

Here is the list of free agent shortstops available this off-season. Sadly, some badly needed upgrades could be found, but the Rangers are seemingly not in a position to move Elvis Andrus and his restrictive contract: Joaquin Arias (31) Mike Aviles (35) Willie Bloomquist (38) Asdrubal Cabrera (30) Ian Desmond […]

Here are the Rangers offense leaders for 2015, with where they ranked league-wide in parenthesis. Hits 1. Fielder 187 (3) 2. Beltre 163 (21) 3. Andrus 154 (29) 4. Choo 153 (30) 5. Moreland 131 (57) 2Bs 1. Andrus 34 (16) 2. Beltre 32 (28) 2. Choo 32 (28) 4. […]

The Kansas City Royals return to the World Series as the best contact team in baseball. They are going to need that particular skill set. They are facing a team with arm after arm after arm of swing-and-miss stuff. The team that doesn’t strikeout faces a strikeout staff. Great pitching is […]

It’s going to be a 108-year wait now.

Both Championship Series are 2-0. Kansas City won two at home and heads to Toronto. New York won two at home and heads to Chicago. We’ve seen how quickly two-game leads can evaporate. But for both the Blue Jays and the Cubs, a win in their Game 3s is pretty much a must. […]

  I remember when the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in 1990, they did it because they had the most dominating bullpen in history. In fact, that team created the blueprint for all bullpens since. They didn’t have one closer, they had three: Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers. […]

        Baseball has a strange way of equalizing itself. In the first inning, Adrian Beltre walked. Then, while caught in the front end of a Prince Fielder double play, he slid hard into second base, landing awkwardly on his side and wrenching his back. Unless both of […]