2014 Offseason

[saddles]

If I know anything, I know it's that I cannot predict Jon Daniels.

Now if you're asking me what my priorities would be, #1 is most definitely a starting pitcher. Now, considering how ridiculous free agency has gotten, especially for pitchers, im most likely looking to trade My first target is the Reds. They'll need to open some payroll to give to Cueto and Chapman. They've got a couple pitchers that would slot nicely as our #3. Since they pitch in a hitter's park I know I can trust their numbers.

Second would probably be a catcher. I'd be happy to have Soto back, but Walked is an interesting option too.

I'd be having Fielder as the primary DH, and moving Rua to first at least half of the time. This means I need at least a part time left fielder. That might take some work, but it's doable.

Lastly, I'm looking for bullpen pieces that won't cost me an arm and a leg. JD is great at this, so I'm not too worried about it.

That sounds remarkably close to being exactly what JD indicated in his interview this afternoon.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Watkins knows nothing about baseball. After that shit he wrote about Darvish I refuse to read a single word he writes.

Remind me, what did he write about Darvish?

 

[ESPN Refugee]

WHAT THE HELL DOES ONE DO when their is no baseball?

Luckily I'm well very into hockey, football and basketball and since I've adopted an EPL team that consumes the rest of my time. I love sports but admittedly I probably love it too much.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Luckily I'm well very into hockey, football and basketball and since I've adopted an EPL team that consumes the rest of my time. I love sports but admittedly I probably love it too much.

Who is your adopted EPL team? I've got a club I've cheered for for about 7 or 8 years now.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Who is your adopted EPL team? I've got a club I've cheered for for about 7 or 8 years now.

I adopted Arsenal. I know it's one of the big ones but I figured being in the states the best way to follow a team and watch the most matches possible was probably going to be an Arsenal, ManU, LFC etc. I wanted to adopt a team with the eventual hopes that I'd be able to travel there to attend matches and I effing love visiting London and it was the most feasibile when traveling there. By no means have I invested the team as I first wanted to and anticipated but I guess you can say I'm a Gooner and slowly but surely I'm getting more invested in it.

I did consider Manchester City at first but I figured adopting them would have been like adopting the Miami Heat so I stayed away from that.

For the record I've always been a big soccer fan but with so many sports to consume me here and the lack of soccer related things until the last 5-7 years or so it was tough to follow but I've always been a fan of the game.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I adopted Arsenal. I know it's one of the big ones but I figured being in the states the best way to follow a team and watch the most matches possible was probably going to be an Arsenal, ManU, LFC etc. I wanted to adopt a team with the eventual hopes that I'd be able to travel there to attend matches and I effing love visiting London and it was the most feasibile when traveling there. By no means have I invested the team as I first wanted to and anticipated but I guess you can say I'm a Gooner and slowly but surely I'm getting more invested in it.

I did consider Manchester City at first but I figured adopting them would have been like adopting the Miami Heat so I stayed away from that.

For the record I've always been a big soccer fan but with so many sports to consume me here and the lack of soccer related things until the last 5-7 years or so it was tough to follow but I've always been a fan of the game.

That's cool. I considered picking Arsenal as my team for some of the reasons you listed. I wanted a team based in London so I could easily go to some matches when traveling over there. But when I read that Bin Laden was a huge Arsenal supporter, I couldn't bring myself to cheer for the same team he did. Plus they've been involved in some pretty underhanded stuff over the years, like intentionally food poisoning their opponents. So I picked their Northern London rivals Tottenham Hotspur as my team. I was a big Robbie Keane fan and I like their club's history. They remind somewhat of the Texas Rangers, a side with long-suffering fans but usually good enough to place near the top of the table but tragically flawed enough not to win it all. Steve Nash is also a big Tottenham fan too. They play at White Hart Lane, which is a really cool stadium.

But Arsenal's cool with me. The only clubs I really can't stand are Man U (essentially the Yankees) and West Ham (large anti-Semitic following in their fan base which has been warned and fined multiple times by the league for racial hate chants and crimes).

 

[donaldson79]

If I know anything, I know it's that I cannot predict Jon Daniels.

Now if you're asking me what my priorities would be, #1 is most definitely a starting pitcher. Now, considering how ridiculous free agency has gotten, especially for pitchers, im most likely looking to trade My first target is the Reds. They'll need to open some payroll to give to Cueto and Chapman. They've got a couple pitchers that would slot nicely as our #3. Since they pitch in a hitter's park I know I can trust their numbers.

Second would probably be a catcher. I'd be happy to have Soto back, but Walked is an interesting option too.

I'd be having Fielder as the primary DH, and moving Rua to first at least half of the time. This means I need at least a part time left fielder. That might take some work, but it's doable.

Lastly, I'm looking for bullpen pieces that won't cost me an arm and a leg. JD is great at this, so I'm not too worried about it.

I wouldn't mind seeing Soto back either. But I'd like to see us pick up Russell Martin, although I view that as a wish list option for this team. Martin for 100+ with Chirinos for the rest would be a dynamic duo.

I see the BP in pretty good shape myself. Feliz, Klein, Mendez, Patton, Tolleson have a spot reserved IMO. There also seems to be a real interest in bringing back both Cotts and Baker. Then Claudio, Ross, West and - know you're gonna hate this - Kirkman will probably get a good look as well. And I'm probably forgetting someone too.

 

[saddles]

Minor league catching coordinator Hector Ortiz expected to join Texas Rangers staff | Dallas Morning News

 

[saddles]

“I started training two weeks ago, and I lost seven pounds already,” Andrus said. “I want to lose three or four more and I want to get to where I was my rookie year, so it will help me with my speed and agility, range and everything.”

Elvis Andrus slim down, focuses on 2015 - Dallas Texas Rangers Blog - ESPN Dallas

 

[donaldson79]

Minor league catching coordinator Hector Ortiz expected to join Texas Rangers staff | Dallas Morning News

Interesting turn of events. But it seems like Ortiz is ready and capable.

Really liked what I saw outta Molina last year, although I was probably giving him some of the credit Ortiz deserved.

 

[saddles]

Smolinski has a line of 359/.457/.816 in 70 winter ball at bats. He has 3 HRs.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

“I started training two weeks ago, and I lost seven pounds already,” Andrus said. “I want to lose three or four more and I want to get to where I was my rookie year, so it will help me with my speed and agility, range and everything.”

Elvis Andrus slim down, focuses on 2015 - Dallas Texas Rangers Blog - ESPN Dallas

Glad to see Elvis showing some drive here after what happened last off season.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Smolinski has a line of 359/.457/.816 in 70 winter ball at bats. He has 3 HRs.

It would be great is he just kept moving forward like this and turned into a really awesome ball player. Hey, it has happened before where players perform better at the MLB level than they were doing in the minors.

 

[darrylgann]

9m9 minutes ago[/ame] MLB Future Power Rankings [URL="http://t.co/JLdVWzx2WP"]http://es.pn/1nW3h2t


Anybody an insider?

 

[darrylgann]

@StevensonFWST: #Rangers to announce coaching staff changes about 4 p.m. today.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

9m9 minutes ago MLB Future Power Rankings http://es.pn/1nW3h2t


Anybody an insider?

Rangers are 15th.

The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.

The Overview
The front office went into the offseason believing that a turnaround could happen quickly following its "Murphy's Law" 2014 season. But Yu Darvish and Derek Holland will have to be healthy, and Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo must prove they aren't money pits. -- Buster Olney

The Dilemma
The Rangers need to improve a starting rotation that finished 28th in the majors with a miserable 4.75 ERA. Yu Darvish and Derek Holland anchor the top of it, but the team needs at least three more reliable and productive options to follow them. -- Jim Bowden

New guys
Nomar Mazara raised a lot of eyebrows when the Rangers gave him $5 million in 2010, but he was one of this year's biggest breakout prospects, hitting .271/.362/.478 between low-A and Double-A, and he won't turn 20 until April. -- Keith Law



1. Dodgers
2. Cardinals
3. Red Sox
4. Cubs
5. Nationals
6. Pirates
7. Yankees
8. Giants
9. Orioles
10. Mets
11. Royals
12. Angels
13. Tigers
14. Mariners

 

[saddles]

Rangers are 15th.

The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.

The Overview
The front office went into the offseason believing that a turnaround could happen quickly following its "Murphy's Law" 2014 season. But Yu Darvish and Derek Holland will have to be healthy, and Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo must prove they aren't money pits. -- Buster Olney

The Dilemma
The Rangers need to improve a starting rotation that finished 28th in the majors with a miserable 4.75 ERA. Yu Darvish and Derek Holland anchor the top of it, but the team needs at least three more reliable and productive options to follow them. -- Jim Bowden

New guys
Nomar Mazara raised a lot of eyebrows when the Rangers gave him $5 million in 2010, but he was one of this year's biggest breakout prospects, hitting .271/.362/.478 between low-A and Double-A, and he won't turn 20 until April. -- Keith Law



1. Dodgers
2. Cardinals
3. Red Sox
4. Cubs
5. Nationals
6. Pirates
7. Yankees
8. Giants
9. Orioles
10. Mets
11. Royals
12. Angels
13. Tigers
14. Mariners

Now the question is, how do we get from #15 up to #1? That is very hard to do without a rebuilding plan and this team doesn't want to rebuild.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I pay very little attention to these rankings or what these analyst have to say unless it relates to trades about to happen. They are about as good at ranking and predicting things as we are. When you go back and read what they said 12 months ago to what they may say now many times it is a 180.

 

[saddles]

The Rangers announced that they have declined their $13.5MM club option on outfielder Alex Rios in favor of a $1MM buyout. Additionally, the team has outrighted infielder Ed Lucas and right-handers Nathan Adcock and Alfredo Figaro to Triple-A Round Rock. Adcock has elected minor league free agency.

Rangers Decline Rios' Option; Outright Adcock, Lucas, Figaro

 

[saddles]

I pay very little attention to these rankings or what these analyst have to say unless it relates to trades about to happen. They are about as good at ranking and predicting things as we are. When you go back and read what they said 12 months ago to what they may say now many times it is a 180.

That's funny. I feel that way about them when they are talking about trades or possible free agent acquisitions for the Rangers. The Rangers almost never let real trade or free agent gossip leak out and yet these guys all think they have the Rangers next moves figured out. They are almost always wrong unless something is imminent. I am a lot more inclined to pay attention to what they say about the Rangers future outlook as a team than am about what they say about possible Ranger trades and free agents.