I would venture to say that the majority of us who follow Texas closely have fallen into the trap of saying we need to upgrade at first base if we want to take the next step and win a World Series title.
Mitch Moreland has been under-appreciated since he arrived with the Rangers full time back in 2011. In fact, most of us forget the homer Moreland had back in the 2010 World Series against the Giants that led Texas to their lone victory in Game 3 of that series.
Don't get me wrong, I do not think Moreland will be a 40 home run type of guy, nor will he drive in 100 runs in a season. But Moreland has played great defense for the most part while hitting the ball well in spurts. Moreland hit 16 home runs in 2011 and 15 bombs in 2012. If the theory is true that the third year of a player's career is the year in which they really start to shine, then Rangers fans will be satisfied with Mitch Moreland at first base. He will get to hit low in the order, more than likely in the bottom third, and will see pitches to hit as teams will not want to walk the bottom of the order to prevent the lineup from rolling over.
Moreland has hit two home runs in the last two days for the Rangers, launching a two run blast on Friday against Seattle. So far this spring, Moreland is hitting .308 in 13 at-bats.
Now, for the rest of the story behind Friday's 8-6 loss to Seattle.
Two of the outfielders looking to win the starting center field job had hits on Friday, as Leonys Martin went 1-2 with two walks and a stolen base while scoring two runs in the game. Julio Borbon also went 1-2, with an RBI double and a walk. Craig Gentry did not play again on Friday, nursing an injury, and is falling behind Martin and Borbon with each day he misses time.
Ian Kinsler, David Murphy and Mike Olt each went hitless in the game, with Kinsler drawing a walk and Olt striking out two times. Geovany Soto led the way for Texas in the hit column with his two base knocks, while Elvis Andrus and Leury Garcia each had doubles for their lone hits. Jurickson Profar also registered a base hit for the Rangers.
Pitching issues were the problem once again for Texas, as the Rangers gave up 13 hits in the game, including five from starter Randy Wells, who pitched two innings and gave up two runs while striking out two hitters.
Cory Burns and Neal Cotts were the next two arms out of the bullpen for the Rangers, and it did not get much better, as the pair allowed six runs combined, including three long balls. Each of the pitchers allowed two hits, with both of the hits off of Burns being home runs by Jason Bay and Michael Saunders. Michael Morse hit the homer against Neal Cotts.
Evan Meek had a much better performance on Friday, going 1.2 innings and allowing just one hit while recording two strikeouts. I ripped Meek on Twitter after his five hit, five run performance in one inning against the White Sox on Tuesday, so I will be willing to give him his due credit for a fine performance on Friday. The last pitcher to take the hill for Texas was Michael Kirkman, who pitched a pair of scoreless innings to finish the game.
The biggest news of the day however was not the game, but the health scare involving Nelson Cruz. Apparently, Cruz woke up Friday morning with soreness in his chest, and team doctors did not waste any time getting him to a Surprise hospital. Cruz took a battery of tests, all of which came back negative, so he will be back in camp and ready to compete in the World Baseball Classic next week.
Next Up: The Rangers will be back on the road Saturday, traveling to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to do battle with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks enter the game with a 3-3 record, and were 6-2 winners over the Cubs on Friday. Texas will start Matt Harrison in the game, while Arizona will counter with Wade Miley, who will be making his first start of the spring.
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