Texas Rangers Collapse ??

      

     I have reported previously that I am NOT a Texas Rangers fan. I was stationed just outside Washington, DC in 1967-68 and would go to Washington Senators games just to see the other teams. Washington was so bad it looked like a minor league team against the opposition. When I was discharged from the Army I came home to Texas and four years later the Senators followed me and became the Texas Rangers. 
    Throughout the 1970's, 1980's and part of the 1990's they played just as they had in Washington. To put it bluntly, they sucked!!  Despite offers from friends and business associates, I refused to make the trip to Arlington to watch them play. Owners of the team came and went after dumping millions of dollars on players over-the-hill and possessing unfounded talent. The last ten years has seen a remarkable turn-around for the Rangers, and I do give them credit where it is due. Back to back World Series appearances without winning it all has spoiled fans in the DFW Metroplex, and last years debacle with Josh Hamilton dropping a routine flyball in the most important game of the season was a clincher. After the 2012 season Texas Ranger players started deserting the sinking ship in droves, and that created a talent problem for Rangers Manager Ron Washington and General Manager Jon Daniels.... BUT I think they did a pretty fair job in creating a team to make it to the brink of the playoffs in 2013. Veteran Lance Berkman was signed to replace the big bat of Hamilton and he got eleven million dollars for almost nothing. A bad knee allowed him to play half a season...We all should have a high paying job like that!  The Rangers came up with a more than adequate catcher in A.J. Pierzynski and when Nelson Cruz was lost for 60 days due to drug suspension, Daniels quickly made a trade for Alex Rios, who in my opinion is a better right fielder than Cruz.
    The 2013 baseball season is over for the Texas Rangers, thanks to a 5-2 complete game win for David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays last night in Arlington. It will be the Rays facing the Cleveland Indians in the Wildcard Playoff instead of the Rangers.

       And already there are some cries for the firing of Ranger manager Ron Washington. Before we send him to the unemployment line let's look at what he had when the 2013 season began. Behind the plate a new everyday catcher in the person of veteran A.J. Pierzynski..

       As it turns out...A.J. not only called a good game..but was super on defense and with a bat...and he had to deal with a pitching staff extremely young by Major League Baseball standards... Yu Darvish was in his 2nd season in America..and rookie Martin Perez was good enough to be rookie of the year in the American League.

      Pierzynski is an aging veteran, but he could play another season or two for the Rangers... At third base, veteran Adrian Beltre again led the team in home runs and batting average.

       Beltre had 40 homers for the Rangers in 2013, but his body is beginning to show signs of age. He played the last two games with a hamstring pull that would have benched some other players... Jon Daniels may want to revamp the team before 2014..  I humbly offer a few suggestions to Mister General Manager for his consideration.
    

       Relief pitcher Joe Nathan will be 40 years old when the 2014 season begins... He has been great for the Rangers, but I say we trade him while his name still has some merit to it. Nathan again recorded over 40 saves in 2013 but he also gave away some key games...Not good for a player only called upon to pitch one inning.
Nathan is not the only player from the bullpen I would send packing.. 

       Nelson Cruz has provided the Rangers with some big hits over the years,...BUT he has shown a lack of talent in playing right field. The performance-enhancement-drug suspension for sixty days should have ended his Ranger playing days, but he was the designated hitter against the Rays in last nights playoff game and proved to be ineffective. Cruz is now a free agent and can sign with whichever team he chooses.

      Another candidate for trade purposes is second baseman Ian Kinsler. It will be a thorny deal as Kinsler is a fan favorite in Arlington, but his hitting has fallen off and he continues to make mental mistakes on the basepaths (above caught in a rundown). His name is still high enough to gain some attention from other teams before 2014.

       With the trade of Kinsler, Jurickson Profar could become the everyday second baseman and also take over the leadoff spot in the batting order. Profar is only 20 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. Last year in minor league baseball he was named the most outstanding player in the country. Now is the time to move him into a permanent position and let him grow.

       Elvis Andrus is the shortstop for the Rangers and he too is a very young player.. The combination of Andrus and Profar would give the Rangers a middle infield that would be together for a long time. Mitch Moreland at first base is also a free agent and could be headed for another team next year.

       In the outfield I am really impressed with what Washington and Daniels put on the field in 2013. When Josh Hamilton dropped that flyball against Oakland last year he went from the penthouse to the outhouse in the eyes of Arlington fans. Leonys Martin took over the centerfield spot and played brilliantly for the most part. Craig Gentry and David Murphy (?) roamed left field, and Alex Rios proved to be a better right fielder than Nelson Cruz.
     So the 2013 season did not turn out the way Ranger fans expected... Join the crowd! My Baltimore Orioles also did not pan out the way I wanted, but what do you expect when you have to battle the high-dollar Yankees and Red Sox.
    While others may holler for their scalps...I am hopeful General Manager Jon Daniels and Field Manager Ron Washington will put together another contending team for 2014.