A few days ago, I received my copy of the most recent ESPN The Magazine in the mail and read the article written by Tim Keown describing the current mindset in Arlington in regards to pushing their pitchers physically beyond the comfort levels of the average Major League franchise.

The article is worth reading in its entirety, but in a nutshell Keown surmises that by not coddling their arms with restrictive pitch counts and pushing stronger cardio and long-toss work in the hot Texas sun, the Rangers, led by team President Nolan Ryan’s imposed regimen, have turned around a staff who have for years been considered among the worst in baseball.

But this post is not about the Rangers, and I am only mentioning them because of what the Yankees are currently doing with Joba Chamberlain. By now, I’m sure most of you are aware of the phrase “Joba Rules”, referring to the annual innings limits that the club imposes upon their potential future ace. It is thought that if you allow a young pitcher to increase his workload dramatically from year to year, the risk of future injuries escalates. And in today’s baseball world where the enormous value of quality talent making the league minimum is well understood (yes, even by the Yankees), no one wants to be the guy who ruined a promising career – or, more accurately, several seasons of cheap yet dominant performances.

In 2008, the Yanks limited Chamberlain to 100 innings, and this year, it was already up to 130 prior to his start on Sunday. So what did the Yankees do? Oh, just your average “pull your starter after 35 pitches” routine. That’s right. The Yankees had Joba on a 35-pitch limit, which was enough for three innings (surprisingly). Me thinks they overreact.

It’s certainly understandable that teams want to protect their assets to the best of their abilities. And with the Yankees as mortal locks for the playoffs, they can experiment with this without real repercussions in the standings. However, is this really the best solution?

The most drastic scenario that I hope wasn’t even considered for more than two seconds is to have shut down Joba for the rest of the regular season. The Yankees could obviously use Chamberlain in the rotation come playoff time, and simply shelving him for the next month could very well leave him unprepared for that. Another potential route was the one we initially thought the club would take, which was to give Joba a longer period of rest in between starts than normal. But they scrapped that idea as well and simply decided to start him on normal rest albeit with the stipulation of the 35-pitch count. I suppose that with the rosters expanding in September, that finding relievers to come in after Joba maxes out isn’t much of an issue at the moment (the Yankees now have 15 pitchers in the bigs). But why are they reinventing the wheel?

The most traditionally sensible thing to do was of course simply put him into the bullpen until the playoffs. There really aren’t many truly “high-leverage” situations that the Yanks should be facing with such a cushy lead, but at least the guy could get his work in when he was needed.

So why was this option nixed? This is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if no one in that front office wanted to deal with the worst (okay, maybe not) case scenario – what if he was great in that role? The “should Joba be a starter or reliever” debate should never have even happened (200 innings vs. 70 innings. Which workload do you prefer your best pitchers handling?) but ridiculously, it still is happening in the papers and on talk radio. Perhaps the Yankees simply didn’t want to add fuel to those ridiculous flames. Or, less conspiratorially,  it was simply a case of being able to guarantee Joba routine work. But that’s no fun, is it?

In the end, there really is no easy answer. But I do know this – a month ago, I thought that capping annual innings for young pitchers wasn’t a bad idea. But actually seeing it in practice in such a severe form as this is making me seriously consider the alternatives. Maybe there is something to what Nolan Ryan is preaching. Maybe clubs are coddling their young arms too much which in turn makes them less capable of handling the workload necessary to be the best players possible. At the very least, it is safe to say that there is no such thing as a fail-proof plan. Each pitcher is different and some can handle the workload while others can’t.

So the true question is, how do you know which is which? For the Rangers, you push them to see who doesn’t break. For the Yankees, you impose a gradual process that may never test their limits. I suggest that we all keep a close eye on what’s going on in Texas. If their young pitchers are still effective and healthy in a few years, we may see this approach take hold around the league.

Or maybe expecting every pitcher to emulate the work habits of a legendary fireballer who, despite pitching over 5300 innings over his 27 year career, was still able to throw a 95-mph fastball in his mid-forties, is just bat-shit insane.

As of this writing, there are 19 players in baseball who have hit at least 20HRs this season. One of these guys has sat out the last three games. Is he hurt? No. He’s just fine, thank you. Is he being punished? Not to my or the media’s knowledge, no. Then why is Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers being benched?

Beats me.

Texas Manager Ron Washington is basically stating that he’s playing the hot hand. Because Andruw Jones has been on such a tear of late (5 HRs in the last six games), the skipper wants to pencil him in at DH. And seeing as Jones is slugging .571 so far this year – albeit in only 190 PAs so we are still talking about a pretty small sample size – I’m actually kind of OK with this for the time being. And of course, you have to play Josh Hamilton because, as we all know, the man can now do no wrong and Jesus will kick you in the groin if you disagree. And Marlon Byrd, while an inferior offensive player, has something that Cruz doesn’t – the ability to play a decent centerfield. But then why is Cruz stuck behind David Murphy of all people?

While Cruz will probably never be among the most patient hitters and will always swing and miss more than his share, his power is undeniable. His .266 Isolated Power (slugging percentage minus batting average) ranks ninth in the AL and his home/road splits over the past two seasons haven’t shown him to be merely a product of hitter-friendly Arlington (.563 SLG at home vs. .538 away). While it’s true that his .328 OBP this year has been a hindrance, if  his BABiP returns to normal (currently at an unlucky .276), it shouldn’t be a problem in the future and will certainly be enough to justify having his power in the lineup.

David Murphy simply does not have a bat as potent as Cruz does. Both men rack up strikeouts and neither are exactly known for their ability to walk. But it’s clear to anyone that Murphy’s power does not hold up to a comparison. And you might be surprised to learn that defensively, Cruz is also the superior player. Despite looking like a man that could have been the third member of The Natural Disasters, Cruz has some speed. In 2009, he’s stolen 13 bases in 14 tries and shown good range in the field with a 9.4 Ultimate Zone Rating and leads all American League RFers with 50 plays made outside of a typical fielder’s zone this season.

This is not a man who should be used as the righty-bat in a platoon – especially considering that, oddly enough, Cruz has had better numbers against righty pitchers over his entire career (may well be one of these fluky things, but hey, it’s the truth).

I understand that Ron Washington has a choice to make. He’s got five guys to put into four spots in the lineup.  But are the other players of such a caliber that the guy left in the cold is the one who slugged .609 in 2008 and is now proving that he wasn’t exactly a fluke? I don’t think they are. Not by a long shot.

Cruz has been in this position before. Before coming to Texas, he had already been in two different organizations (A’s and Brewers, though he was initially signed by the Mets out of the Dominican). In 2006, during his tour in the Brewers system, the then 25-year old Cruz had a .907 OPS against AAA pitchting and was coming off of two straight seasons in AA and AAA where he was mashing the ball. But the big league club never gave him a chance. He had a very brief cup of coffee in 2005 (7 PAs) and was shipped off to Texas as part of the Carlos Lee deal in July of 2006. For one reason or other, organizations seem to doubt that this guy is for real.

Look, he’s certainly not the second coming of Albert Pujols. But even with his faults, the guy currently has a weighted on base average of .370 (again despite having a lower than expected BABiP), which is far superior to many guys who receive all the playing time they want. And factoring in his range, the choice should be clear. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

So what am I missing? Why is Nelson Cruz all of a sudden just a part time player?

UPDATE: This is too good. Now the Rangers have an All-Star bench warmer, with Cruz replacing the injured Torii Hunter on the AL roster. So today, Ron Washington will have to congratulate Cruz in front of the media while simultaneously keeping him out of the lineup for the fourth straight day because the Rangers are facing another righty. Awesome.

This past Friday, Nick wrote a post with the simple premise – if you can cut one person from each team in the National League, who would it be? And people got angry. Very, very angry. They called us names. They said that it was “the most pointless story I’ve ever read” and “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read” and other “I’ve ever read” type comments. But they also said that “David Eckstein makes pitchers work so hard to get him out, that alone has value”. So we stopped paying attention after that.

Naturally, we’re back for more with the same premise applied to the American League. And if any of you brings up “leadership” as a reason Player X ought to stay, I swear to god, I will go back to my room in my mother’s basement, create an Everquest character that looks like you and destroy it.

Texas Rangers – Vicente Padilla: Starting off with an easy one here. From the moment the Rangers re-signed Padilla to a 3 year deal worth $33.75MM deal prior to the ‘07 season, it really was only a matter of time until this would end badly. In addition to posting poor numbers overall in Arlington, he’s had a poor reputation behind the scenes for years. The process for cutting him may have already started as the club put him on waivers this past week.

The Angels of The Angels  – Gary Matthews, Jr: Every time Matthews puts on a uniform, the Angels’ chances of winning seem to decrease. Another poor signing from the ‘06-’07 off season, Little Sarge has since posted a line of .248/.319/.386, which would be awful for a catcher, let alone for an OFer with a $50MM contract. If that weren’t bad enough, Matthews is also a sub-par defensive player, which should really make you wonder why the Angels haven’t cut the cord yet.

Seattle Mariners – Yuniesky Betancourt: When you have a starting shortstop who can’t hit, you tout his defense. When you have a shortstop who can’t hit or field, you have a big problem. Not only has Betancourt posted a .302 OBP in his career with little to no pop, he has also had a negative UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) over that span. At 27 years old, we’ve already got a very good idea as to what kind of arc his career will take, and that arc is pretty damned flat.

Oakland A’s – Eric Chavez: It’s always sad when promising careers get derailed by injuries. But it’s worse when it drags on. Chavez has been off the field more than actually on it since 2007 and even when healthy enough to play, his performance has been on the decline since 2005. Having admitted that one more back injury would end his career, it’d be a great story if he were to show that he’s not done yet. Chavez is determined to do so, but one has to wonder if that’s actually in his best interest long term. I’m obviously not in a position to tell a player – especially one that’s only 31 years old – to walk away forever. But as a human being, I would hate to see his condition worsen and I fear that a return to the field will cause just that.

Detroit Tigers – Magglio Ordonez: If you consider this one to be heartless, I can’t really blame you since this is entirely driven by money. Magglio’s contract states that if he makes 213 more trips to the plate this year, his 2010 option worth $18MM becomes guaranteed (there’s a similar option for 2011). At this point in his career, Ordonez is not an $18MM player, nor is he all that close to that. His power is nowhere to be seen as he’s been unable to hit the ball into the air (56% of his batted balls have been grounders). I’m sure that the Players Association lawyers would have a field day with this cut though. Luckily enough, I don’t have to deal with such things (why can’t GMs cut players for financial reasons? I don’t get it).

Minnesota Twins – Alexi Casilla: While neither should be given a bat, both Carlos Gomez and Nick Punto at least have value as defensive replacements. And it’s probably too early to give up on a talent like Delmon Young, who really needs to learn how take ball four. But Casilla? The man has logged over 800 ABs in AAA and AA, during which time he has shown that neither his bat nor his glove is good enough to compensate for the other. His biggest asset as a minor league player was his ability to take a walk (which wasn’t exactly eye-popping to begin with). But thus far in his MLB career, Casilla has only gotten on base 30% of the time while slugging .318. Unless you’re saving dozens of runs with the glove, it’s impossible to swallow that. Sure, he’s still cheap. But there are better options out there for the same cost.

Chicago White Sox – Jimmy Gobble: Gobble has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons thus far in his career and his ERA in those years reads thusly: 4.61, 5.35, 5.70, 5.14, 3.02, 8.81, and 7.00 (so far in ‘09). Them’s ain’t pretty. Presumably, he keeps finding work because he’s a lefty. Problem is, lefties have a line of .266/.323/.460 against him so he’s not even useful against them. So I ask you, why does this man have a job? And for the record, I could have also picked anyone who has logged an inning in CF this year for the South Siders. But I’d be damned if I could pick one.

Kansas City Royals – Jose Guillen: I really could’ve put every Royal who’s 26 years old or over (not named Gil) into a hat for this one. Sidney Ponson? Absolutely. David DeJesus? If the man did not bat lefty, he may not have a job in baseball (kids, learn how to bat from the left side). And while I’m no Mike Jacobs fan (and Kila Ka’aihue is clearly more than ready to replace him as DH), he could at least serve as a cheap power bat off the bench.  Guillen, however, is by far the highest-paid hitter on the team and puts up numbers that simply aren’t good enough to let you ignore the headaches he causes within the clubhouse. And while he’ll continue to be among the top RBI guys on the Royals (which says more about the Royals lineup than it does Guilen) due primarily to his spot in the batting order, his glove gives up as many runs as his bat creates. If I were a Royals player, I’d probably resent the fact that the highest paid guy doesn’t offer much in terms of production nor seems to give a rat’s ass.

Cleveland Indians – Jeremy Sowers: In Single-A, Sowers struck out an impressive 9.5 batters per 9 innings pitched. In AA, that number dropped to a still-respectable 7.7. In AAA, down to a slightly worrisome 5.8. Notice a trend here? Then it really should come as no surprise that in the Majors, Sowers is striking out merely 4.1/9IP in the 300+ innings he’s logged. When you miss so few bats, batted balls tend to find the outfield grass more often (or worse). He had success in his rookie year winning 7 out of his 14 starts to go along with a 3.57 ERA. But his peripherals were poor (3.6 K/9IP, .259 BABiP), and therefore no one should be surprised to learn that his career ERA has been trending down ever since. Sowers just doesn’t seem to have the stuff to consistently get guys out at the big league level. And Cleveland would be better off giving someone else – anyone else – a start in his place.

Boston Red Sox – Julio Lugo: Take it away, Sarah Green!

New York Yankees – Angel Berroa: If you’re a SS, one good season buys you a career of job security as a utility infielder. Back in 2003, Berroa popped 17 dingers and has been living off that accomplishment ever since. Problem is, the man seems to have no idea how to play 3rd base, where the Yankees have been using him as a backup. Lord knows that you’re not keeping the guy around for his offense (career weighted-OBP of .297). So if he can’t do the job you’re asking him to do, why are you keeping him around at all?

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Millar: I initially had Vernon Wells here, but  after posting great numbers upon his return from a hamstring injury last August, he deserves a chance to prove once again that he’s not done (though moving him to LF IMMEDIATELY is a good idea). So I decided to go with a less controversial pick in Millar, a guy who looks to be about done at the age of 37. Sure, he may be entertaining in the clubhouse, but so’s the equipment manager (see enough jockstraps and I’m sure you develop a sense of humor). Millar’s defense is not nearly good enough to justify using him as a defensive replacement, nor is his bat useful enough as a pinch hitter. I’m sure it’s not easy to cut guys you like as human beings. But the point of the game is to win and Millar doesn’t help you accomplish that goal.

Tampa Bay Rays – Troy Percival: With a fastball that barely hits 90-91 mphs these days, Percival’s days as a reliable reliever are gone. In his younger years, his teams could live with him walking roughly 4 batters per nine innings because he struck out so many more. Nowadays, that’s getting harder and harder as his body begins to break down (Now go back and reread this paragraph replacing Percival’s name with Jason Isringhausen’s. Still makes perfect sense).

Baltimore Orioles – Mark Hendrickson: Centuries from now, when historians discover that there used to be a sport called “baseball” (and that there used to be something called “land”, but that’s another topic), I’d like to think that they’ll stumble across Hendrickson’s career numbers and immediately think “Holy %(*@ing mother of God! How the ^!#* did this guy keep finding teams willing to pay him &*($-loads of money?” With Scott Elarton still unsigned, Hendrickson has the highest career ERA (5.10) of any active pitcher who has logged over 800 innings or made 125+ starts. And the NBA community is forever left wondering how good this career 41.6% shooter could have been… (Here’s a hint. Not very.)

Ya got any problems with these, punk? Well, do ya? That’s what the comments section is for. Just remember. I can annihilate you in Everquest.

Nobody expected the Texas Rangers to be dominating the AL West this year, the way they have so far. Yeah, we all know about their explosive offense and their bevy of top prospects, but we also know that their pitching still sucks, and most of those prospects are at least a year away. 2010 was supposed to be the coming out party in Arlington, not 2009.

So how are the Rangers doing it? Well, the offense is just as explosive as ever, especially now that Josh Hamilton is back from the DL, but the pitching staff, which was last in the Majors last season with a horrid 5.37 ERA, is an at-least respectable 6th in the AL this year, at 4.54.

But pitching is not really the story here. If anything, the pitching is actually slightly worse this year. Staff ace Kevin Millwood’s hot start is a mirage of luck with BABIP, and this year’s team FIP of 5.03 is actually *worse* than last season’s 4.83.

The real story is that the Texas Rangers went from dead last in the entire Major Leagues in defensive efficiency to 5th overall this year and 2nd in the American league behind only the Blue Jays.

Betting big on 20-year old Elvis Andrus, who has been a revelation at shortstop and no slouch with the bat either, has allowed the Rangers to shift range-challenged Michael Young over to third base, which had been a defensive black hole for the Rangers last season, which in turn allowed them to shift Chris Davis over to first base, where he is actually a plus defender.

Combined with the luxury of having natural shortstop Ian Kinsler play second base, and some dude named Omar Vizquel on the bench ready to fill in, the Rangers have gone from one of the worst defensive infields in the majors to probably the best, and in the process have gone from a last place finish in the AL West to first place in the division so far this year.

Does this story strike you as familiar in any way? It should, because another team who brought in a new shortstop and then strategically shifted around a few other players, going from last to first in defensive efficiency, was the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, who rode their dramatic turnaround from doormats to dominance all the way to a World Series appearance.

And the Rangers aren’t the only team attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Rays this year. The Detroit Tigers *also* brought in a new shortstop (Adam Everett) and shifted a bunch of other players around to less challenging positions, leapfrogging from 11th in the AL in defensive efficiency last season to 3rd this year, and similarly going from the celler to the penthouse in the AL Central.

All of which suggests that we may still be dramatically underestimating the importance of defense to a team’s success. Especially infield defense.  I remember Rob Neyer pondering the value of defense at one point in the late 90s and estimating that defense was probably 10 percent of preventing runs, with pitching accounting for the other 90 percent, but recently I’ve started thinking more along lines of defense being about one third of winning ballgames, with offense and pitching being the other 2/3.

That number may be too high, and I’m not sure we’ll ever have a way to know for sure, but if fixing a few things on defense (and especially infield defense) can take these teams from the bottom to the top, then maybe teams are really still undervaluing its importance.

Last year, writing the season preview for the Texas Rangers, I was feeling a little, well, limp. So I had to rely on the little-blue-pill of the writing world: the exclamation point! And indeed, in retrospect, the exclamation point was the aptest possible punctuation mark for the 2008 Rangers. Pitching: terrible!!!! Offense: unstoppable!!!!!!

Hamilton knocked in 130 in '08

But ultimately, as amazing as Texas’s offense was last year –  scoring 901 runs for far and away the best mark in the AL — the Rangers still finished 21 games out of first in the AL West. As fantastic as their offense was, their pitching was even more fantastically bad, allowing 967 runs — also far and away the league’s worst mark. Their team also finished dead last in MLB in defensive efficiency.

But if the 2008 season demanded exclamation points, the appropriate mark of punctuation for the 2009 season is: ?

The question mark.

So will this year be different?

In an October article for Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Goldstein listed the Rangers as a candidate to be “the next Rays.” Is that crazy? Well, Goldstein recently ranked their farm system second in MLB. Keith Law ranked them first.

Young and (almost) ready: Feliz was born in 1988, but could be the staff ace by September

Both agree that their system is deep and talented, and flush with young pitching.

When will those young arms contribute? For the two most advanced prospects, Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, it could be later this season. However, they won’t really be ready to assume regular, major league roles until next year.

What about the defense? Will their focus on improving their glove work in spring training pay off? Will the infield defense improve with a corps of regulars – instead of a rotisserie of different fielders? Will Michael Young be any better at third than he was at short? And will I ever understand why they gave him a Gold Glove last year? Will anticipated rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus be able to make the most out of his good arm, speed, and range, while avoiding the errors that plagued him at the lower levels? And will Omar Vizquel excel as Crash Davis to Andrus’ Nuke LaLoosh?

Can the offense repeat last year’s stunning performance? While they lost free agent Milton Bradley — the team’s OBP leader, at .436 over 126 games –  Marlon Byrd is a not-too-shabby replacement (OBP’ed .380 over 122 games) and comes without the ominous emotional forecast (partly crazy, 20% chance of rage). A full season of Chris Davis, and a good year from breakout candidate Jarrod Saltalamacchia, could also soften the blow.

Aging fast: putative ace Millwood seems like he's been around forever, and plays like it too, but is actually only 33.

Was it a mistake for GM Jon Daniels to focus only on minor-league deals, and give up on Ben Sheets? I don’t think so – the Rangers will have enough pitching by 2010 to support their offense. And if they continue to work on their team defense, they might actually start to make their pitchers look good. Or, you know, as good as they can look in Arlington. One thing that confused me, though, was why Daniels was interested in Sheets (of all pitchers) when the Rangers had trouble last year with injured starters. Last year, the “workhorse” of the team was Vincente Padilla, with 171 innings pitched. Otherwise, only Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman crossed the 150 innings mark — and indeed, the trio of Padilla, Millwood, and Feldman were the only Ranger pitchers to cross the 100 innings mark. What these Rangers need is not a fragile genius, but a steady guy who can take the hill every fifth day and give ‘em seven decent innings. If they were targeting anyone, you would have expected them to go for someone like Derek Lowe, whose groundballs might occasionally give their spotty defense trouble, but who at least (theoretically) wouldn’t let too many balls leave the park. Wouldn’t you?

But all in all, this was a fine offseason by the Rangers – don’t you think? They clearly know their young pitchers won’t really be ready until next year, so this winter wasn’t the time to panic or do anything ca-rayzay. They made some solid moves to develop their positional prospects. They signed two former Gold Glovers to minor league deals. The Rangers have a realistic view of their future – and how many teams can you say that about?

Grade: A-?

Added (all on minor league deals): Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, Kris Benson, Brendan Donnelly, Eddie Guardado, Jason Jennings
Lost: Milton Bradley, Ramon Vazquez, Jamie Wright

Lineup:

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B Chris Davis
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
3B Michael Young
LF David Murphy/Marlon Byrd
CF Josh Hamilton
RF Nelson Cruz
DH Hank Blalock

Rotation:

Kevin Millwood
Vicente Padilla
Scott Feldman
Matt Harrison
Brandon McCarthy

CL: Frank Fancisco/CJ Wilson

-Hot Offseason Action Index-

Really, I think this post could end right there.

In fact, I think it does.

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Okay, FINE. I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry.

But the Texas Rangers really do need some freakin’ pitching already. I mean, they were basically first in all the offensive categories, and basically last in all the pitching categories. It doesn’t get much more clear than that.

But fortunately, the Rangers actually have a farm system loaded with pitching, some of which could be ready as early as 2009. I’ll quote Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus here so you’ll believe me:

…the Rangers have one of the deepest and most talented systems in the minors, especially when it comes to pitching. Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland are both high-ceiling power arms who could be ready as early as mid-to-late 2009. The 2007 draft netted top-level high-school pitchers Michael Main, Blake Beavan, and Neil Ramirez, while a recent focus on international talent produced a stunning rotation at short-season Spokane that included Ramirez and lefty Martin Perez. Their 2008 first-round selection, Justin Smoak, fell into their lap and was far better than the 11^th overall pick that they acquired him with.

Yes, even this kind of pitching.

To acquire perhaps even more pitching (or maybe a corner outfielder), the Rangers also have an excess of something that a bunch of other teams need very badly, something that is all too rare: catching. Legitimate, not-old catching. With upside. Aside from Gerald Laird, who’s the old man of the bunch at 29, they’ve got three kids: Jarrod Saltalamacchia (the youngest), and Taylor Teagarden (the eldest), and Max Ramirez (the well-adjusted middle child). Ker-ching, ker-ching!

One other thought: since they have a ton of pitching prospects in the pipeline, it might be a good idea to find a veteran innings-eater while the young guns are developing. Paul Byrd? Jon Garland, who is expected to decline arbitration? Carl Pavano is looking for a place to prove himself — weeks ago, it was rumored that he and Florida had mutual interest, and recently, the Mets were mentioned, but I think Texas might be a better fit than New York. The Rangers are rumored to be among six teams wooing Randy Johnson — he isn’t my definition of an “innings eater” anymore, but the 45 year old would at least put some butts in the seats and give the kids a mentor. (He seemed to relish the role in Arizona.)

Anyway, yeah: pitching. Young pitching, old pitching, fat pitching, thin pitching, one pitching, two pitching, red pitching, blue pitching. That’s what Texas needs.

-What They Need Index-

This is part of a series of posts in which we call out all 30 teams for their wily offseason moves and tragic offseason blunders.

The Rangers have had a Powerball offseason, taking a chance on some big names. The team could hit the jackpot, but will more likely bust.

First, the Rangers signed closer Eric Gagne, formerly the most dominant pitcher in the world, more recently the most injury plagued. But they kept reliable closer Alex Otsuka just in case.

Then Texas lured Sammy Sosa out of retirement in the hopes that his reaction time has increases as a result of spending a year sitting on his ass and eating Ho-Ho’s. How’s that for logic?

Of course, the Rangers’ problem has always been starting pitching. So this season they went out and signed reliable White Sox reliever Brandon McCarthy, who will be converted to a starter. He’ll join Kevin Millwood, Robinson Tejeda and Vicente Padilla (all Phillies cast-offs) in a rotation that won’t dominate, but might just get the job done. Oh, and Texas also signed RHP Bruce Chen, who went 0-7 last season with Baltimore, but reportedly dominated in winterball. He got a minor league deal.

That leaves the Rangers offense. The infield is pretty much set, with Mark Teixiera, Michael Young and Hank Blalock all hoping for all-star years. The big question entering spring training is who will play in the Rangers’ outfield. Kenny Lofton was signed in the offseason to play center field. Nelson Cruz has been told right field is his job to lose. That leaves Brad Wilkerson, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery, in left. If he doesn’t recover in time, Sosa could fill in. Or Frank Catalanotto. If Wilkerson is ready for opening day, Catalanotto shifts to DH. Then the Rangers have to figure out where to play Sosa. If they plan to sit him on the bench, well, I want to be there when they have that conversation.

The Rangers took steps this offseason to improve their starting rotation, bullpen and offense. So it’s not like they were asleep at the wheel. But many of their acquisitions fall under the high risk/high reward category. And those types of gambles almost never pay off.

Offseason grade: B (extra credit is available if Gagne returns to form)

Acquisitions: Eric Gagne, Kenny Lofton, Brandon McCarthy, Bruce Chen.

Losses: Gary Matthews, Jr., Rod Barajas, Adam Eaton.

Projected Lineup, Rotation and Closer:

CF Kenny Lofton .301/.360/.403, 32 SB

SS Michael Young .314/.356/.459, 103 RBI

3B Hank Blalock .266/.325/.401, 16 HR

1B Mark Teixiera .282/.371/.514, 110 RBI

DH Frank Catalanotto .300/ .376/.439, 56 RBI

LF Brad Wilkerson .222/.306/.422, 15 HR

RF Nelson Cruz .223/.361/.385, 22 RBI (41 games)

C Gerald Laird .296/.332/.473, 7 HR

2B Ian Kinsler .286/.347/.454, 14 HR

RHP Kevin Millwood 16-12, 4.52

RHP Vicente Padilla 15-10, 4.50

RHP Brandon McCarthy 4.7, 4.68

LHP John Koronka 7-7, 5.69

RHP Robinson Tejeda 5-5, 4.28

CL Eric Gagne 0-0, 1 SV

- Hot Offseason Action Index -

Don’t look now, but the Texas Rangers are leading almost every single offensive category in the American League. Runs? Check. Hits? Check. Home Runs? Check. Total Bases? Check. RBI? Check. Batting Average? Check. Slugging? Check. On-base plus slugging? Check.

If I were a betting man, I’d put a chunk of change on the possibility that the Rangers make a Texas-sized push for some pitching come trading-deadline time. Because, honestly, that’s exactly what they need. Their team ERA is 5.05 (yep, you guessed it, dead last in the AL), and what’s worse, their pitchers have thrown the second-most innings so far.

So it comes as no surprise that new club president, and pitching legend, Nolan Ryan wants to go back to the days when “men and pitchers finished what they started,” hoping to get more complete games out their rotation. Which makes sense when you take into account that their best pitcher, Vicente Padilla, has thrown a total of 79.2 innings, good for 23d over all.

Beyond Padilla, the Rangers are trying to hold on to hopes that Kevin Millwood can somehow make his $48 million worth anything and have a decent season (he flirted with success this year, but then he’s reverted to good ol’ form and posted a 4-3 record and a 4.65 ERA, hardly proper #2 starter stats; and here’s hoping Padilla keeps it up and doesn’t get affected by trouble outside the diamond – he’s on my fantasy team).

In fact, the Rangers have given the ball to nine different starters; and having recently released Sidney Ponson (who was having a decent season – 4-1, 3.88 ERA), you know they’ll be looking to add an innings-eating #3 or #4 starter.

The relievers aren’t faring much better, having a collective 5.36 ERA and closer C.J. Wilson has been spotty at best, already having blown two saves (as much as last year when he wasn’t closing).

So yea, if there’s a team with a clear mission before the trading deadline, it’s the Rangers: they drastically need a good starter and a couple of good relief arms.

-What They Need Index-