Rangers Opening Day Roster Taking Shape

With the Rangers just four days away from Opening Night 2013, the Opening Day 25-man roster is starting to take shape.

Jurickson Profar (left) was the latest Rangers prospect to be sent down to the minor leagues, joining Mike Olt.  Profar and Olt were both considered as the front-runners for bench spots on the major league team to start the season, but both will get a chance to play everyday in Triple-A instead of seeing sporadic playing time in Arlington.  I personally think the move is a great one, giving both guys a chance to see more at-bats and more defensive innings at different positions.

The moves to send Profar and Olt to the minors solidified the spots of Jeff Baker and Leury Garcia on the major league roster to open the season.  Garcia has been with the Rangers each Spring Training since 2010, but has not seen game time in the major leagues.  Garcia hit just .222 during Cactus League play in 2013, but defensively he has done enough to earn one of the utility infield roles.

Jeff Baker has been talked about before on this blog, but he is worth talking about again.  Baker will be able to play any spot on the infield if needed, with the exception of shortstop.  Baker led the Rangers with 22 hits (through Tuesday) in Cactus League action, good enough for a .423 batting average and driving in seven runs.  Baker will be entering his ninth major league season, seeing time with the Rockies, Cubs, Tigers and Braves.

So the Rangers infield situation looks like this:

1B - Mitch Moreland
2B - Ian Kinsler
3B - Adrian Beltre
SS - Elvis Andrus
Bench - Jeff Baker
Bench - Leury Garcia

The outfield competition was also fierce during Spring Training, with three guys competing for one starting spot and the fourth and fifth outfield jobs.  David Murphy and Nelson Cruz will be the everyday starters in left field and right field respectively, and it appears that Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin will platoon in center field to open the season.  Ultimately if one of those two would take the job and run with it, the team would be better off, but I do not feel that you can go wrong with either player.

Gentry hit .345 this spring (through Tuesday) with two home runs and six stolen bases, which is one of the biggest qualities he brings to the team.  Gentry had 19 hits this spring, the same as Leonys Martin.  Martin hit .339 during Cactus League play, but struck out 11 times in 56 at-bats.  Martin has the greater upside, and over time will be the most consistent player of the two.  Look for Martin to take job full-time at some point during 2013.  Personally, I am a Gentry guy, so I hope he makes the most of the opportunities he does receive.

The question for the Rangers really is what will happen to Julio Borbon.  Borbon is out of minor league options, so the Rangers will have to either keep him on the Opening Day roster, release him outright or trade him to another team.  The odds are that Texas will trade him, but that is yet to be seen.  Ron Washington has said the Rangers may keep an extra bat until they need their fifth starter, so Borbon could benefit from that.  Borbon hit .333 this spring, and the interest will be high for the 27-year old speedster.

So the Rangers outfield situation looks like this:

LF - David Murphy
CF - Leonys Martin (vs. RHP)
CF - Craig Gentry (vs. LHP)
RF -  Nelson Cruz
Bench - Julio Borbon (for now)

Catching will be a strong suit for the Rangers in 2013, with new starting backstop A.J. Pierzynski taking over for Mike Napoli.  Pierzynski is a two-time All-Star who hit 27 home runs (career high) and drove in 77 runs for the White Sox in 2012.  Pierzynski has been a part of a World Series champion in Chicago in 2005, and the pitchers will learn to love his competitiveness and knowledge of the game.  Geovany Soto, who started 2012 as the starting catcher for Chicago's other team, will spell Pierzynski a couple of times each week.

Lance Berkman will be the designated hitter on most nights for the Rangers, and he can fill in for Moreland at first from time to time.  Berkman is hoping to bounce back to his 2011 form, when he was one of the key pieces of the Cardinals team that beat Texas in the World Series.

With Borbon on the roster to open the season, which may or may not happen, the Rangers will have 14 position players to open the season and 11 pitchers.

The starting rotation is finally set for the Rangers as well, with the fifth spot in the rotation going to rookie Nick Tepesch.  Tepesch went 11-6 in 26 starts in the minor leagues in 2012, finishing with a 3.67 ERA.  Tepesch beat out Randy Wells and Robbie Ross for the final spot in the rotation.

The Rangers starting rotation looks like this:

1 - Matt Harrison, LHP
2 - Yu Darvish, RHP
3 - Derek Holland, LHP
4 - Alexi Ogando, RHP
5 - Nick Tepesch, RHP

Tepesch will not be needed until the second week of the season, so to start the year he will not be on the roster.  The Rangers will carry seven relief pitchers until that time, then option either the seventh arm or the extra position player down to the minors.

The seven guys in the pen should include: Joe Nathan (closer), Jason Frasor, Robbie Ross, Derek Lowe and Michael Kirkman.  The last two spots are still to be decided, as there are three guys competing for two spots.  Josh Lindblom, who was acquired in the Michael Young deal with Philadelphia, is being challenged by right-handed pitcher Tanner Scheppers and left-handed pitcher Joe Ortiz.  My gut says Lindblom and Ortiz will earn the final two spots, with Scheppers headed to the minors.

This Rangers roster is not as power-packed as in the past couple of years, but is still one to be feared.  The starting pitchers will be strong through Ogando, and Tepesch has tons of potential and is a guy I am excited about seeing on the mound.  If the bullpen can finish games, the Rangers are going to win the American League West in 2013.

Baseball Time in Texas... In 5 Days!

If you are like me, you know that Opening Night 2013 is just five days away.  And if you are like me, you know these next five days will be the longest five days of the year.

The Rangers will be taking on the Texas JV team, otherwise known as the Astros on Sunday night on ESPN to kick off the 2013 MLB season.  These two teams are playing in the first game on national television to welcome Houston to the American League West and kick off the newest rivalry in baseball.

Chances are the rivalry will be one-sided over the course of the entire season, because Houston is going to be one of the worst, if not THE worst, team in baseball during the 2013 season.  Houston has traded away every single player of significance, in hopes that rebuilding the farm system will end in long-term, sustained success, much in the mold of the Rangers.

Before the season starts on Sunday, I will definitely be breaking down the series between the two teams, and will even be making my predictions for each division, each league and awards.  This season has the chance to be a great one all around.  Yes, the Rangers are going to be challenged by the Angels and Athletics (and maybe Seattle) in the American League West, but look at the rest of the American League.

The American League East is loaded with talent.  The worst team in the division last year, Boston, has added some pieces that could bring them back to the top of the division, while Toronto went crazy this off-season, adding guys like Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey.  Baltimore was the surprise of the division last year, and they remain almost completely in tact, and they get Brian Roberts back from injury.  The Rays are the Rays, and regardless of who is on the field, they will be in every ball game, and they have the best pitcher in the division (David Price).  The Yankees, one could argue, are entering the season as the worst team in the division.  Injuries have killed New York, with Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter all banged up entering Opening Day.

What about the American League Central?  The Tigers were swept in the World Series last season by the Giants, and you can expect them to be back in action when the 2013 postseason kicks off in October.  But there is no doubt in my mind that it will not be easy for them to win their division with the likes of Kansas City and Cleveland on the rise.  The Royals added starting pitchers "Big Game" James Shields and Wade Davis.  Kansas City is loaded with young position players who are on the verge of breaking out in a big way, like Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez.  Cleveland added quite a few veterans prior to Spring Training, including Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn in the outfield and Mark Reynolds on the infield. If Cleveland can figure out their pitching woes from 2012, it would not surprise me if they won the division.

And I have not even started on the National League yet!  I will get to that another time, as I am getting into that mode where I could talk about baseball for hours.  It would be bad to bore you to death with this post and scare you away for good.  I am excited about the regular season.  I will be sharing posts on this blog, articles from other sites and other interesting things I run across this season.  Please feel free to comment on these posts and tell me what you think about anything I have to say.  When I make predictions on each division, feel free to tell me you think my picks are stupid!  To me, sports are supposed to be fun.  Sports should spark debates and controversy.

I hope you are all gearing up, we are just five days away from baseball time in Texas!

Rangers send Mike Olt to Minor Leagues

The Rangers sent 12 players to the minor leagues on Tuesday morning, with no name on the list bigger than that of Mike Olt.  Olt played in 16 games for the Rangers during the 2012 season, and many expected him to compete for more playing time during Spring Training.  There was lots of talk about whether or not he and Jurickson Profar should start the year in the minor leagues or on the Texas bench, and apparently getting to play everyday in the minors is what the Rangers brass would like Olt to do.

Olt has struggled during Cactus League play, hitting just .194 with two home runs and five RBI in 19 games. The Rangers worked Olt at third base as well in the outfield this spring to see how many ways they could put him into the lineup if he was with the big league team.

With Olt being sent down to the minors, it appears that veteran utility player Jeff Baker has done enough to earn a spot on the Rangers Opening Day roster.

The other 11 players sent to the minors were not as shocking.  The list is as follows:

P Evan Meek
P Jeff Beliveau
P Wilmer Font
P Colin Balester
P Neal Cotts
P Yoshinori Tateyama
C Juan Apodaca
C Jose Felix
IF Brandon Allen
IF Brandon Snyder
OF Engel Beltre

Meek had been considered for the final rotation spot to open the season, but he does not appear ready to face big league hitting at this time.  Cotts and Tateyama have both seen major league time, but are not good enough to make this Rangers bullpen.  Jose Felix is perhaps the next great Rangers catching prospect, but he is still a year away more than likely.  Snyder and Beltre have both spent time with the Rangers in the past few years.

Dominican Calls on "Power of Platanos" to Reach WBC Final

Maybe it is just me, but the picture right above this sentence is the picture I hope I never have to see again.  I cannot and will not deny that the Dominican Republic has the best team in the World Baseball Classic.  Puerto Rico, in my opinion, does not have a shot at beating the Dominican Republic in the WBC Championship game on Tuesday night.

But I am sick and tired of watching Fernando Rodney with his cap turned sideways shooting an imaginary arrow into the center field bleachers while the rest of the morons on the infield admire the imaginary arrow in flight.  Really?  The only thing that I am proud of is that Nelson Cruz is in the outfield and is not close enough to the mound to take part.  I would be done with ol' Nellie if he got involved in this mess.

Regardless, the Dominican used a four run fifth inning to put away the Netherlands on Monday night, earning revenge for the 2009 loss to the Netherlands that knocked them out of the tournament much earlier than they should have been eliminated.  The Dominican is 7-0 in the tournament, and they show no signs of slowing down.

And there is no reason why they should.  They have a lineup that would win multiple World Series in my opinion, and they have a strong bullpen that closes the door on opponents early.

While the now famous arrow celebration is being talked about, we have to mention the "Power of the Platanos" that Fernando Rodney has now started talking about.  During the introductions before the game on Monday night, Rodney was holding the Dominican fruit that he said was shipped to him from his hometown.

I am tired of the celebrations, but they say the Latin leagues are full of this type of emotion.  I love the emotion the players are playing with, I am not saying that I want that to change.  But I would have to find another way to celebrate than shooting an imaginary arrow into the bleachers.

Just saying.

USA Falls Short in 2013 WBC

Entering the 2013 World Baseball Classic, I am not sure if people expected the United States to win it all, but I think most expected them to return to the Championship Round as they had in 2009.  With a new manager who appeared to be focused on winning the WBC (Joe Torre) and a roster that had been compiled more like a team built to win games instead of an All-Star team, expectations were extremely high.

When the United States lost to Puerto Rico last Saturday night, eliminating them from the tournament, immediately finger pointing began on television shows and the question was asked by multiple reporters, "Why has the United States not won the World Baseball Classic yet?"

Me personally, I see two major reasons why the United States has not, and more than likely will not, win the World Baseball Classic.

First of all, the timing is terrible.  Japan and Cuba are at the end of their seasons, and the Caribbean Series ended in February.  The United States has a roster that includes only Major League Baseball players.  That means that every player on the roster is working themselves into playing shape after being off all winter, while players from other countries have guys who have been going for months already.

I know that there are major league guys from other countries who are playing, but there is not another roster that consists of only MLB property players.  The timing of the World Baseball Classic is going to be against the United States each and every year the WBC is played unless they change the time.  There are some who say play it in November, but you will not get any more MLB guys then, because of the grind of a long season.  There are some who say play it in July during the All-Star break, but I would hate to see the All-Star Game taken out every four years.

The truth of the matter is that it is an obstacle they will have to overcome, and you cannot sit back and use it as an excuse if you truly want to win the World Baseball Classic.

The other major reason I have, is that the United States cannot get the best of the best in our country to participate.  I do not want to sit and knock the guys who were willing to go play in the tournament, and I will be rooting for most of them throughout the season because I had a vested interest in their performance in the WBC and now I am going to follow their regular season play.

Guys like J.P. Arencibia, Jonathon Lucroy, Ben Zobrist, Willie Bloomquist, Shane Victorino among the position players on the United States roster are nice players.  They are major league veterans who contribute to their team during the season and I would not be upset if they were on the Rangers and had key parts throughout the regular season.  But, they are not among the best players that our country has to offer.

For instance, let me show you, position by position, the roster that the United States fielded, versus the roster they could have had.

Catchers

2013 WBC Catchers: Joe Mauer, Jonathon Lucroy, J.P. Arencibia

Potential 2013 WBC Catchers: Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Matt Wieters

Once again, nothing wrong with Lucroy or Arencibia on your team during the MLB season, but who would not want Posey and Wieters over those two on an United States team?  I also understand someone had to catch R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball, and that is why Arencibia was there, but perhaps someone else, like Wieters, could have learned how to catch him over the winter.

Infielders

2013 WBC Infielders: Eric Hosmer (1B), Brandon Phillips (2B), Ben Zobrist (2B/3B), Willie Bloomquist (SS/3B), Jimmy Rollins (SS), David Wright (3B)

Potential 2013 WBC Infielders: Prince Fielder (1B), Dustin Pedroia (2B), David Wright (3B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS), Ian Desmond (SS/2B), Evan Longoria (3B)

The issue with some of the guys that COULD have been on the team was injuries.  The Rockies would not have let Tulowitzki play in the tournament, so Rollins is probably the best guy available at shortstop.  Longoria would have been a nice addition to the lineup when Wright went down to injury during the tournament, and could have been in the designated hitter spot.  Pedroia would have been an upgrade over Phillips at second and Desmond would have been an upgrade over Bloomquist in the utility role.

Outfielders

2013 WBC Outfielders: Ryan Braun, Adam Jones, Giancarlo Stanton, Shane Victorino

Potential 2013 WBC Outfielders: Ryan Braun, Mike Trout, Matt Kemp, Andrew McCutchen

The outfield group is probably the one group that you cannot find fault in, as Braun is perhaps the best offensive outfielder in the game, and Adam Jones was pretty solid in the tournament.  Stanton struggled, and Victorino is not really a guy I would even consider for an All-Star team.  But if you would have Trout and Kemp in that lineup, pitchers would have feared the United States greatly.

Overall, the potential 2013 United States batting lineup could have looked like this:

CF Mike Trout
2B Dustin Pedroia
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Matt Kemp
DH Joe Mauer
3B David Wright
C Buster Posey
SS Troy Tulowitzki

Is there any question which lineup would be the best in the World Baseball Classic?

What about the pitching staff?  The United States fielded a solid pitching staff in 2013, but imagine what it could have been:

Starting Rotation

2013 WBC Starting Rotation: R.A. Dickey, Ryan Vogelsong, Derek Holland, Gio Gonzalez

Potential 2013 WBC Starting Rotation: Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Matt Cain

One could argue that Stephen Strasburg should be in the mix as well, but with the way the Nationals handled him last season, there is no way they would allow him to play.  But look at that group.  Find me a better four in the world with the other countries combined.

Bullpen

I will not argue with the bullpen composition for this team, because quite honestly, you need set-up guys and long guys, not just closers.  But there are quite a few guys who could have been out there for the United States.  Papelbon and Joe Nathan are the two guys that come to mind, but like I said, bullpen composition is all about match-ups.  The only guy who was out there that really struggled was Tim Collins, but Joe Torre really liked him against certain guys.

The bottom line is this.  If the 2017 United States WBC roster is not filled out with a little more pop and more athleticism, they will fall short once again in the tournament.  Until then, we will have to wonder what could have been in 2013.

Puerto Rico Rides Hot Streak to WBC Finals

When Puerto Rico ousted the United States from the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night, the analysts on the MLB Network said it was perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, that the upstart Puerto Ricans surprised the world and advanced to the Semi-Finals of the World Baseball Classic while the Americans went back to Spring Training.

If that was the case, what do you call what Puerto Rico did to Japan last night?  Japan had been the only winner of the World Baseball Classic, winning the inaugural tournament in 2006 and then repeating in 2009.  Japan was the favorite entering the 2013 edition as well, even without their major league stars Ichiro Suzuki and Yu Darvish.

But Puerto Rico sent them packing on Sunday night, advancing to the finals to meet the winner of Monday's Domincan Republic/Netherlands game on Wednesday in the finals.

Mike Aviles of the Indians knocked in the first run of the night for Puerto Rico in the first inning, before Alex Rios of the White Sox drilled a two run shot in the seventh inning to give Puerto Rico a 3-0 lead.  Japan was able to scratch across a run in the bottom of the eighth, but that would be it, and Puerto Rico would win the game 3-1.

Puerto Rico lost to the Dominican Republic in the first round during pool play, then lost to the United States in the second round before losing again to the Dominican Republic in the final game of the second round after they had already clinched a spot in the Semi-Finals.

Aviles, mentioned earlier, and Angel Pagan of the Giants have led Puerto Rico during the tournament, with Pagan hitting .367 so far through eight games, and Aviles right behind at .333.  The two biggest stars on the team, the Cardinals' Yadier Molina and Rios, have struggled during the tournament to drive in runs, with Molina yet to knock in a run, while Rios' first two RBI were on the homer in the game last night.

Pitching has really been key for this team, as was never more clear than during the performance by Nelson Figueroa against the United States last Saturday night.  He was able to neutralize the powerful offense of the United States, and so far has pitched 10 innings in two starts and has only allowed two runs.

After knocking off the United States and Japan, Puerto Rico fears no one, and a rematch with the Dominican Republic in the Finals on Wednesday is probably what they are hoping to get.  It will be quite a contest if those two meet, but I am personally pulling for a Puerto Rico/Netherlands final so we can get a nice surprise winner to this World Baseball Classic and really drum up interest for the next one in 2017.

The United States and the Dominican Republic could not have provided us fans with a much better baseball game than the one we got on Thursday night.  True, American fans are disappointed in the outcome, but baseball fans were the real winners on this night.

The United States scored its lone run in the bottom of the first inning when Dominican starter Samuel Deduno walked Eric Hosmer with the bases loaded to score Brandon Phillips.  And it was that first inning that perhaps was a sign of things to come.  The United States was unable to capitalize on a perfect scoring opportunity, and Deduno recovered to pitch four innings of one run baseball, striking out seven Americans in that stretch.

The Dominican bullpen was just as good, as Kelvin Herrara, Octavio Dotel, Pedro Strop and Fernando Rodney finished the game combining to allow just one hit and no walks to finish off the United States.  Offensively for the Dominicans, it was a moonshot homer by Hanley Ramirez that gave them their first run in the top of the second inning.  Ramirez' home run was never given an official distance, but it was estimated around 440 feet.

Nelson Cruz led off the top of the ninth for the Dominican with his second double of the night, before he was advanced to third on a groundout by Carlos Santana.  Erick Aybar entered the game as a pinch hitter, delivering the game winning hit on a single to right field that scored Cruz.  Jose Reyes scored Aybar just a few batters later, giving the Dominican Republic a 3-1 lead that would be held by Fernando Rodney in the final half inning.

The Americans were playing without the heart and soul of their 2013 squad, David Wright.  Wright is battling a stiff back, and will be checked out by Mets doctors on Friday.  More than likely Wright will be out on Friday night when the United States takes on Puerto Rico in an elimination game.

Joe Mauer had two hits for the United States in the cleanup spot once again on Thursday night.  R.A. Dickey was much more effective as the starter, pitching five innings allowing just one hit (the Ramirez homer) and striking out four.  The American bullpen had been strong during the tournament, and Craig Kimbrel was being considered as the best reliever in the tournament.  Kimbrel allowed three hits and two runs in the ninth inning.

Steve Cishek was the guy who impressed me the most on Thursday, entering a tough spot in the seventh inning with two outs, forcing a Miguel Tejada groundout, and then pitching a perfect, seven pitch eighth inning.  Cishek is a guy who could be an All-Star for Miami in 2013.

Moving on from Thursday's game, the United States now takes on Puerto Rico to determine the second team from this group to advance to the Semi-Finals.  Puerto Rico will start Nelson Figueroa on the hill, while the United States will have Ryan Vogelsong on the mound.

Vogelsong was pretty strong in his last start against Italy on Saturday night in Phoenix.

Unfortunately, the United States cannot replace David Wright on their roster until after this round, as Joe Torre says he does not expect to get Wright back for the rest of the tournament.  Wright had accounted for 10 RBI in the first four games.

Willie Bloomquist will make another start at third base more than likely on Friday and then again on Saturday should the United States win on Friday.

Who would replace David Wright in the next round is still in question.