I realize MLBlogs has a lot of kinks and stuff to work out with the new platform, but I really don't feel like enduring the growing pains right now as the season gets underway. I can't seem to update or edit my link lists, or my "assets" but the real problem I've had is my browser and security settings keep blocking MLBlogs on my computer, and I can't figure out why. Blogging should be fun, and easy - I'm sure the on-field team will provide plenty of headaches for me this season. I don't need to be worrying about just making MLBlogs work every time I go to make a new entry or a change to my site. 

A couple of my fellow Ranger bloggers have already moved to blogspot due to difficulties with the new format - EMC and Micah - so I'm sort of following suit, and moving my site to wordpress.

Here is my new site - I hope you'll join me over there, as I continue to blog about my beloved Texas Rangers.

In the meantime, I wish MLBlogs luck with their new platform, and I regret having to make this move - but I can't help but feel I have little choice at this point. If they ever make it functional again, I might consider returning - but they'll have to figure things out without me.

Regretfully,

Jon, the Lonestar in California

Nippert has been an elite pitching prospect in Arizona's system in the past, but hasn't had much success on the Major League level. He had been having a miserable spring training for Arizona, and was out of options, and about to go on the waiver wire, hence the Rangers where able to accquire him for just an obscure minor league releiver, Jose Marte.

Make no mistake about it, Nippert has talent, though - he's a hard thrower, who has posted some excellent strikeout numbers in the minors (534 K's in 545.1 IP, against 207 BB's). According to this scouting report brought to us by Lone Star Ball's "Zywica" his fastball sits at 92-94, and tops out at 96, and he has an excellent "spike curve" he can throw for strikes. He also has a fairly mediocre, but developing changeup.

He's been used as a starter by Arizona in the past, but spent last year in the bullpen - he could go back to starting at some point here in Texas, but for now, he has won the final spot in the bullpen, settling the battle between Robinson Tejeda and Wes Littleton.

Instead of either of those two making the 'pen, Nippert will fill things out, with Tejeda being DFA'd, and Littleton heading back to AAA, making the bullpen look like this:

• CJ Wilson (CL)
• Joaquin Benoit (RHSU)
• Eddie Guardado (LHSU)
• Kaz Fukumori
• Josh Rupe
• Franklyn German
• Dustin Nippert
• Jamey Wright

So welcome aboard, Dustin - I hope you can find success here in Texas.

I'll have more thoughts on the bullpen, and the final shakeout of the 25-man roster tomorrow, after MLBlogs is updated, and brought back online. Things should look a lot different tomorrow, from what I'm hearing - here's to a quick and easy transition to the new platform.

We all knew this was coming, but it's still dissapointing. I won't go into the whole argument of why I think this is the wrong move again - but Salty was one of the players I was most excited about coming into this year, and it's exceedingly dissapointing that instead of watching Salty take aim at the right (or left) field fence with his sweet stroke, I get to watch what is likely going to be one of the worst, if not the worst offensive catching duo's in the Majors.

But really, my question is this: does this mean that the Rangers have to stop running their "There are no short gym shorts in baseball" ad, which highlights Salty?

In other news, the Rangers have announced that 5th starter Luis Mendoza will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on his right middle finger, but should be ready to pitch on April 12th. By my count, he'll come off the DL on April 11th, so this actually fits right into the Rangers plans, rather than puts a kink in them.

They also optioned Kameron Loe to the minors today, and told Josh Rupe he had made the bullpen, leaving only one more spot in contention. Apparently, Rupe really impressed the Rangers on Tuesday, when he fired two scoreless innings against the Mariners - his appointment over Wes Littleton comes as a mild suprise, as Littleton has been a favorite for the bullpen seemingly all spring - but Rupe's a guy with pretty good stuff, and seems to have taken pretty well to bullpen work this spring after two injury-riddled years as a starting prospect for the Rangers. In my opinion, he could turn out to be a pleasant suprise in his new role this season.

This leaves the final spot up to either Littleton or Robinson Tejeda - and since Tejeda has no options, I'm betting he gets the spot.

As for Kameron Loe, things just don't look good for him - I do think we'll see him later this year, but that's provided he's still even with the organization. Rumor has it that the Rangers may look to move some of their bullpen depth before the season starts, and if that's true, Frankie Francisco and Kam could be the two prime targets. And there's plenty of teams that would love to have either of them to fill out their 'pens - as Joey Matschulat notes in his latest entry over at Baseball Time in Arlington, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim could be one of the teams interested in Loe. There's a repulsive thought if I've ever seen one - Kam in an Angels uniform. Ugh. That would be tough to see.

But in more significant news, the Rangers put the rubber stamp on some roster decisions yesterday. One at least, was no surprise, as CJ Wilson, everyone's favorite blue-gloved lefty, has officially been annointed the Rangers closer. I'm sure it must have killed Ron Washington to make the announcement: "It's down to the point where he's shown me enough and that he's healthy," Washington said. "I just didn't want anybody taking anything for granted. He's thrown the ball well.  He's the obvious choice." Really Ron? Are you sure he has the "experience"?

Another announcement that perhaps was seen in the crystal ball was the fact that Jason Botts has offically made the club. I'm glad the club has finally given Jason a certain vote of confidence here, as he gets a fairly ringing endorsement from Jon Daniels:

"He has always been a productive hitter except his limited time in the big leagues," Daniels said. "We like the way he's gone about it this spring. He is better defensively in the outfield, solid at first base and a right-handed option at [DH]. He has played the game more aggressively and looked more comfortable."

I'm still not sure exactly how many at-bats he's going to get though, as once again, Ron Washington doesn't seem to enthusiastic about this decision, either: 

"That was a hard decision to make," Washington said. "Botts just did what we asked him to do. His game has improved. He worked hard on his game and showed he could improve. He's somebody the Texas Rangers had high hopes for, so we'll see what he can do."

Notice how Ron says "He's somebody the Texas Rangers had high hopes for, so we'll see what he can do." Based on that, I can only assume Ron doesn't share the same sentiments - and unfortunately, he's the one who'll be doling out the playing time. Sigh.

The news was not as good for Nelson Cruz, though. It's also noted in that article that he has been told he's not making the club. This means he'll have to clear waivers if he's to be sent to AAA. Daniels isn't nearly as charitable in his statements regarding Cruz:

"[Cruz is] just [missing] the consistency at the plate," Daniels said. "He's a very good defender and shows the obvious physical abilities. In the role of competing for an everyday job, he just hasn't proven himself."

He's also 28, just a year younger than Milton Bradley, too old to be considered a "prospect" anymore. And with his lack of offensive production on the field (.231 AVG, .282 OBP, and 119 K's to 30 BB's in 442 career AB's) over multiple chances the last two years, it appears Texas is ready to cut bait with Cruz. And that's not something I'm really dissapointed about, either - the athletic potential has always been there for Nelson, but he's just never been able to put it all together. He'll likely be picked up by another team off waivers and given another shot, but I wouldn't say it's premature to file Cruz under the list of Texas experiments who have just never panned out (e.g., Laynce Nix, Marshall McDougal, Ricardo Rodriguez, John Koronka, ext).

Turning back to the bullpen, things are heating up in the competition for those final spots. Franklyn German and Jamey Wright have officially been told they have made the bullpen, leaving just two spots left. Frank Francisco has been sent to the minors, and is out of the picture for now, leaving Wes Littleton, Robinson Tejeda, Josh Rupe and Kam Loe as the candidates. Tejeda seems to have the inside track on one spot thanks to his lack of minor league options (although he didn't impress the Rangers when he coughed up a triple and a walkofff single with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning agains the Cubs Monday). Wes Littleton is favored for the other spot, but Josh Rupe, who tossed two scoreless innings against the Mariners last night, is still lurking as well. Both of them have minor league options, and would likely be sent down to AAA come April 12th when the 5th starter is needed.

It should be noted, though, that the Rangers will have to do some juggling on the 40 man roster with the decisions they are making: Jamey Wright and Franklyn German are both on minor league contracts, and will need to be added to he 40-man roster. Those two spots will likely be opened by the DFA'ing of Nelson Cruz, and by putting John Rheinecker, who is out till mid-season after thoratic outlet syndrom surgery, on the 60-day DL.

But then there's Adam Melhuse, who would be the clubs backup catcher if Jarrod Saltalamacchia is sent to AAA. He could probably be added by putting Thomas Diamond on the 60-day DL, but it's still an interesting situation, because the Rangers haven't made an official decision between Salty and Gerald Laird at catcher (something Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Jim Reeves has recently written an excellent piece on). The general feeling is, Laird will be the starter, and Salty will be sent to AAA (the scenario Salty seems to be reluctantly bracing for). But the Rangers have all of a sudden become strangely silent and noncommital about the whole thing all over again. And Gerald Laird hasn't started behind the plate since Saturday.

Maybe I'm reading too far into this, because I'm willing to cling to any shred of hope that I will not have to watch Gerald Laird spare up the offense for half the season, but maybe, just maybe, the Rangers are second guessing themselves on this. Will they come to their senses? We'll have to wait and see. But if they do, it will be the best news of spring training.

Just one last order of business, and I will end this marathon post: the Kansas City Royals don't have a lot of star players. But one of their guys, at least, has a pretty unique talent: check out Joey Gathright and his pitcher jumping! Could this be baseball's 6th tool?

In an effort to bring in more pitching depth, the Daniels and the Rangers unveiled the man who is about to become their latest LR/HR signing: former Nationals hurler John Patterson.

Patterson was the Nat's opening day starter last year, but has battled elbow problems the past two seasons, resulting in him making only a grand a total of just 15 starts in that time. He was released just three days ago by the Nationals, who where not pleased enough with Patterson's progress in his recovery this spring, as he had given up 7 runs on 13 hits in just 3 spring outings totaling 9 innings. Reports say Patterson was hitting the low 80's with his fastball, as opposed to the 90 mph or so the Nat's where looking for, so Washington GM Jim Bowden chose to cut bait, saying "Obviously, we thought we could get him back to where he was three years ago, and it never happened."

Daniels, however, looked past Patterson's dismal spring and health problems, saw perhaps his next possible diamond in the rough, and swooped into the negotiations with the right-hander, seemingly knocking the cross-state rival Houston Astros out of the front-running for his services. Patterson, who had his career year in 2005 before the problems in his arm developed, was 9-7 that year for the Nat's, throwing 198.3 innings, and posting a stellar 3.13 ERA and 1.195 WHIP, along with a 130 ERA+ and holding opposing hitters to a .233 batting average. He also struck out 185 that year, as opposed to giving up 65 walks.

He was off to a solid start in 2006 as well, going 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in his first four starts when his first arm problems struck. He went on the 15-day DL on April 28th with a "right forearm strain". He wasn't re-activated until June 23rd, and he made just four more starts before again going on the DL July 14th, with another "right forearm strain". He underwent elbow surgery on July 20th of '06, and was out for the season.

The Nat's still made him their opening day starter in 2007, but he was clearly not himself, going 1-5 with a 7.47 ERA in 7 starts before going on the 15-day DL again on May 6th with elbow and biceps soreness brought on by a nerve problem. He would later be moved to the 60-day DL as the problem persisted, and eventually even took a trip up to Toronto to undergo an alternate form of treatment in an attempt to avoid another surgery. It was all for naught though, as Patterson wound up undergoing that second elbow surgery on September 13th, 2007, to decompress the radial nerve in his right elbow.

That's the surgery he's still recovering from this spring, and Patterson knows he's damaged goods. "I didn't progress as fast as they wanted me to progress" he said upon his release. "After what I've been through the past two years, I think it was a risk [the Nationals] where not willing to take."

The Rangers know that too, but Daniels still sees some potental here: "It's no-risk for a guy who's had success in the big leagues. We want to bring him in, get him healthy, and send him [to triple-A]."

I would tend to agree with JD's assessment, too - unlike Sidney Ponson, Patterson is a pitcher with actual potential - in fact the past, he's shown ace potential. And while I kind of doubt Patterson (who turned 30 this past January) will ever completely return to the level he was on in 2005, if he can get close, he can certianly be an asset to the Rangers rotation. And even if he doesn't there's no harm in letting him eat up a few innings down in AAA, especially with the way things have gone pitching-wise for the Rangers this spring. 

Even though the odds are probably not in favor of Patterson actually making an impact on the Major League level this year in Texas, this signing will bear watching - JD has had some good luck in the past with these under-the-radar signings, and you never know when lighting will strike again.

Michael Young and Ian Kinsler each went 3-3, and Hank Blalock, Jason Botts and Kevin Mench all registered 2 hits, Botts also driving in three runs. In fact, every starter in the lineup had a hit except for - guess who - everyone's favorite offensive catcher, Gerald Laird, who was 0-4. Get used to seeing that from Gerry - now that he's sewn up the catchers job, it's about time for him to return to his old chop-bunting self.

Now that my obligatory jab at Laird is out of the way, back to the good stuff.

Jason Botts apparently turned some heads with those three RBI's today - he impressed Dallas Morning News witer Evan Grant, at the very least. In his latest blog entry, Grant says "Trust me on this: Jason Botts made the club saturday". He says that the Rangers saw what they have "been waiting to see all spring", and that's Botts driving in runs.

Not that this is official, of course, but that's good news, both for Jason and the organization. I still think Botts has the potential to hit, I'm just not sure how much of a real chance the Rangers will give him, however. Remember, even though he seems to have made the team, he still has to compete with Frank Catalanotto, David Murphy, Marlon Byrd and Milton Bradley for playing time - and based on what Ron Washington's preferences are, I'd say Jason is likely going to end up on the bottom of that totem pole.

Wash thinks Ben Broussard can play full-time at first base without the need of a platoon partner, so Botts probably won't see much time there, and Milton Bradley is likely to be the DH for the first week or two. That'll leave Botts scrapping with Murphy and Catalanotto for playing time in left field - and since his OF defense is, shall we say, less than special, it's likely he won't get a whole lot of time there, either. Not to crush all the optimisim of Botts making the team - I'm just as excited as anyone - but that's only going to be half the battle for him.

This is one of those times I can't help but think if the 33 year-old Frank Catalanotto (who hit a career-low .260 last year, and is hitting a ******** .207 this spring) wasn't on the roster, things would be much less complicated - not to mention the fact that we would have a much more athletic and versatile bench without him.

Moving on to a few notes about the bullpen now, it seems that the Rangers do indeed want to keep Robinson Tejeda, despite my supposition yesterday that his less-than-impressive performance versus the Angels may have swayed the Ranger management against him. According to TR Sullivan, the Rangers still really like his arm, and don't want to lose him to waivers. I wasn't partucularly impressed yesterday by the fact that he still obviously has problems with his control, but I agree, you don't want to lose a guy who throws consistently mid-90's if there is any possibility at all he can be an asset.

TR also mentions that while Franklyn German has the inside track for the second bullpen spot, although Sidney Ponson and Elizardo Ramirez have been sent to the minors. Based on the indication TR is giving us, it looks like a two horse race between German and Littleton for that second bullpen spot, which likely leaves Kam Loe, Frank Francisco and Josh Rupe on the outside looking in.

Each one has their advantages, as German was recently praised by pitching coach Mark Connor as being the hardest thrower and having the best split-finger in camp. But he is not on the 40 man roster, and Littleton is, so once again, the roster situation could turn out to be the deciding factor here.

Final note for the night: I really don't like the way the Rangers official website was recently redesigned. The new look is messy, crowded, and just plain ugly - and unfortunately, it's the template for all 30 major league teams now, not just the Rangers. So to whomever came up with this new design, I implore you to at least reorganize the page to make it a little cleaner, and easier to read. Otherwise I garuntee you I will be spending much less time there.

- Ramon Vazquez wins the UT infield spot. No suprise there, the Rangers resigned him in the offseason to be the UT guy, and his only real competition this spring was Ryan Roberts.

- The Rangers are waffling between Kason Gabbard and Luis Mendoza for the #4 spot in the rotation now. Both are considered locked into the starting 5 (especially since Sidney Ponson sprained his ankle tonight against the Angels) but the one that is made the #5 starter will be sent down to AAA until April 12th, when a 5th starter is needed. This is probably because of Gabbards horrible spring line - however, Gabbard did throw in an intrasquad game Wensday, and according to Mark Connor looked much better, so we'll see what the Rangers do. It's not like Mendoza has been lights out this spring either, after all.

- The Rangers still haven't decided whether or not to send Jarrod Saltalamacchia to AAA. They still want Laird to be the starter, but they apparently also want to keep Salty's bat in the Majors, as well - but you can't always have your cake and eat it too. Milton Bradley and Frank Catalanotto kind of have the DH role filled right now, and Jarrod should not be sitting on the bench backing up Laird - he really needs to be catching everyday, bottom line, so if the Rangers don't make him the starting catcher, they do need to send him to AAA. I'm for keeping his bat in the majors, but he needs consistent playing time - they can't keep sporadically jerking him around, like they did last year.

- The bullpen is shaping up, too: CJ Wilson, Eddie Guardado, Joaquin Benoit, Kaz Fukumori and Jamey Wright all have garunteed spots. That leaves two spots left, three if the the Rangers carry an extra releiver till April 12th. It should also be noted, though, that Eddie Guardado is now possibly in doubt for opening day thanks to a flu bug, so that could mean up to 4 spots could in fact be open.

With the cuts of Scott Feldman and Jason Davis, the candidates have recently been narrowed down to:

• Wes Littleton
• Frank Francisco
• Franklyn German
• Josh Rupe
• Kameron Loe
• Robinson Tejeda
• Elizardo Ramirez

Let me know if I'm forgetting anyone. My money would be on Franklyn German and Wes Littleton getting those two locked in spots. Earlier today, I would have said Robinson Tejeda, but I watched him tonight against the Angels, and he was all over the place with his command (which has historically been his problem) - he was throwing mid-nineties, but the command was horrible. He still might have a chance though, because of his lack of options - provided the Rangers carry 8 releivers to start the season (which seems like the plan) he'll make the cut. I would say the two biggest longshots are Kam Loe and Elizardo Ramirez - Loe has pitched absoultely horribly this spring (including giving up a home run tonight), and hasn't done much to deserve a spot, and Ramirez isn't on the 40-man roster.

I can't think of much else to report right now - I thought I had something, but it's currently slipped my mind, so I'll leave you with this - check out the caption of the picture: "Josh Hamilton could move to third in the batting order after his strong spring."

Will somebody please cue Bart Simpson: "Um, Duh!"

With a strong outing yesterday against the Oakland A's Luis Mendoza has seemingly all but locked up his spot as the Rangers 5th starter come April 12th. The 24 year-old Mendoza tossed 5 innings Tuesday, the longest outing by a Ranger starter this spring, and gave up one run on just two hits while walking no one and striking out one. Mendoza said the key to his success was using his changeup more against the A's predominantly left-handed lineup: "I have been struggling against left-handers, so I mixed in my changeup, and my sinker was down."

That's an interesting (and encouraging) development, as lefties have been a bit of a problem for Mendoza in the past: they hit .283 against him at AA Frisco last year, as opposed to the .233 line he held right handed batters to. Going back even further, lefties hit .327 against him in 2006 as well (.307 for righties), so this appears to be a bit of an established trend for Mendoza. Not that this is that much of an aberration for a right-handed pitcher, but Mendoza obviously needs to continue to use that changeup against left-handed batters if he's to be successful in the Majors.

That's why it's a very encouraging development that he seems to have figured this out - mark this as perhaps a minor epiphany for Mendoza, who is probably going to get his best shot at establishing himself in the Majors this April. With the caliber of some of the pitchers behind him, such as Eric Hurley and Matt Harrison, Mendoza could find himself quickly passed up if he doesn't make the most of this opportunity - it appears that he may have just made an important adjustment to do just that.

Now we come to this. I'm frankly not too sure what to make of this latest attempt by the Rangers to outline their "plan" (something I thought Jon Daniels did in this recent MLB.com piece). TR Sullivan tells us there's two different philosophies at work here, JD's "3-5 year plan" and Ron Washington, who "tries to think of ways to beat the Mariners on opening day." And yet Sullivan alleges that these two lines of thinking don't conflict - in fact they mesh, as part of "A two axis attack" as a "mid-market team that that can't afford to go checkbook to checkbook with the Yankees or the Red Sox, but also isn't willing to scuttle all hope for winning now."

That, right there, is one confusing statement. What does that even mean? We're not rebuilding? We can't compete with the big market teams... but we're not scuttling all hope of winning now? Huh? Well unfortunately for me, TR does nothing to explain that. He instead moves on to a quote from JD:

"We're going to continue to give opportunities to young players. But we want them to be ready for it. We want them to earn a job, and not have it given to them. We're not going to go with young players before they are ready. We want them to be able to come at their own pace."

So that's what this article is about now? Not bringing guys up too fast? But that's not what we where just discussing really... but okay, let's try and roll with it...

Next TR writes "The Rangers will go with young players. But if they don't feel there is a young player who will fill a particular hole, they will look elsewhere besides the farms system." He talks about how none of the "veteran players" Jennings, Ponson, Bradley, ext got multi-year contracts. He talks about how having Jennings fills out the Rangers pitching depth, and allows Eric Hurley to start the season at AAA.

He talks about how the Rangers wanted Luis Mendoza to "win" the 5th starters spot, and how Sidney Ponson was the insurance if he didn't (this here is about the only time TR actually touches on a real issue of discussion - and he's only half right on it too, as the Rangers had options that are arguably as good as or better than Ponson). He uses this to illustrate his point about the Rangers bringing guys up only when they're ready. Which is feasible. I don't really agree that Ponson was the solution, but I see his point. But next, he starts reaching.

He tells us about first base prospect Chris Davis and how he has only 109 at-bats in AA, and why it's necessary that the Rangers have Ben Broussard keep his seat warm. He tries to tell us "A small market team might have pushed him into the opening day lineup. A large market team might have signed or traded for a big-name first baseman like Mark Teixeira, and forgotten about Davis."

Huh. Really. I don't think there's too many teams, no matter how desperate they are, that would have slotted a guy with only 109 AA at-bats under his belt into the opening day lineup. Furthermore, I don't know of many people that would have wanted to see that. It seems to me, TR is trying to defend things that don't need defending here, instead of addressing the actual issue that he brought up at the beginning of the article: the difference between the philosophies of JD and Ron Washington.

No, it's not wise to rush your young players. I don't want that, I don't think anybody really does. But what you don't want to do is sign veterans, trick yourself into thinking you have a team that can compete, and then ignore your younger talent when it is ready. The Rangers have a track record of doing that. And with Ron Washington at the wheel, thinking he's going to try and compete this year, the prospect of that happening is a very real one.

That's what I'm concerned about here, is watching that history repeat itself. I have no problems with the stopgap veterans - just so long as we don't fall in love with them, and they don't take the place of players that are in fact ready for the majors (like Jarrod Saltalamacchia - who by the way, is conveniently omitted from this article). That's the real issue here - the Rangers refuse to let go of that forlorn hope of winning. They want to rebuild, but they also don't want to hit rock bottom, and scare off all the season ticket holders - so they have their beat reporter write articles like this, and try to duck the issue. That's the one thing that's holding the Rangers back - and if they can't get past that hurdle, they're never going to go anyplace.

First up, I have some required reading for you: Joey Matschulat, over at Baseball Time in Arlington recently penned his take on the Rangers catching situation - and as usual, his stuff puts mine to shame. Great read - be sure to check it out.

Now, a few notes of the encouraging kind: Kevin Millwood, CJ Wilson and Joaquin Benoit all pitched in a minor league game on saturday, and threw without any problems - Millwood will start his first "A" game of the spring on thursday, while Wilson and Benoit will appear in a minor league game on Tuesday. Vicente Padilla also threw in an intersquad game Sunday, and had no problems - he's scheduled to pitch again Friday, probably in a minor league game, but that's because the Rangers don't want him facing the LA Angels, who he will pitch against in his second start of the season. All of this is incredibly good news - the Rangers obviously need their pitchers healthy, and it looks like everone is finally on the road to recovery.

There's an interesting article up on the Rangers website today, by MLB.com writer Mike Bauman. In it, Bauman talks about the Rangers recent talent accquisitions, and the direction Jon Daniels wants to take the Rangers. This seems to be the first time I've actually seen the Rangers publicly say they are actually committed to developing their young players - which is good news, I suppose, even though some of the club's recent actions might suggest otherwise.

The key qote from Daniels that caught my eye in the article was when he said "At some point, you have to commit to people you beleive in. The only way young players are going to develop is if you give them a chance to learn, and sometimes they learn through failure, a little bit."

That of course, is dead on the mark, something I've been preaching myself both on this blog and elsewhere - but so far, the Rangers have yet to actually realize that philosophy. The catching situation is a perfect example of this - not to beat a dead horse, but playing Laird over Saltalamacchia contradicts JD's above statement in just about every way fathomable - unless, of course, the Rangers don't believe in Salty. That seems to be the Rangers problem right now, deciding exactly who among their young players they do believe in. You can preach about playing your young guys all you want, but until you actually do it, you won't know who among your younger crop of talent you can rely on - and playing spares like Laird, Kevin Mench and Sidney Ponson in their stead isn't going to help you figure that out.

I appreciate the stance JD's trying to take here - I just wish the actual on-field squad would actually be shaped according to the same philosphy. Because otherwise, it just seems like more hot air from the Texas management.

Josh Hamilton, who I am convinced is from the planet Krypton, registered another mulit-hit game as the Rangers offense steamrolled the Royals, 10-8, and overcame yet another sub-par effort by Kason Gabbard, who got lit up for 7 runs in 3.0 innings.

Perhaps one of the most concerning things about the Rangers rash of pitching injuries has been the fact that many of those that are still healthy have had more than their share of trouble getting outs. Gabbard, unfortunately, is the perfect example of that, now having surrendured an eye-popping 15 runs on 22 hits (including 3 home runs) in 10.2 innings this spring - his ERA now stands at 12.66. The Rangers keep trying to convince themselves that nothing is wrong, but it's obvious that healthy or no, Gabbard has just not pitched well this spring.

The guys who could be in line for his (and the 5th starters) job have not performed either - Luis Mendoza has a 12.15 ERA (having surrendered 9 runs in 6.2 IP) and AJ Murray, who was just demoted to minor league camp, meaning his run at a rotation spot is all but over, has a 10.80 ERA (6 runs in 5.0 IP). Eric Hurley, who is scheduled to start later today against the Rockies, has a 4.70 ERA, but the Rangers would ideally like to get him more time in AAA before throwing him into the big leagues. That leaves the Rangers focusing on Sidney Ponson as the fast-emerging leader in the rotation race. But as I've already made you aware, Ponson has probably been one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the past 4 years, and it is probably an extraordinarily bad idea to rely on him to pitch at the Major League leavel.

For those reasons, I'd like to introduce you to a couple options for the rotation not named Sidney Ponson.

First up is Elizardo Ramirez (who has been recently christened as "The Lizard" by the posters at Lone Star Ball Edit: as pointed out by Jason Parks in the comments below, "The Lizard" actually orginated over at redreporter.com), a former Phillies and Reds project, in camp as a non-roster invitee. He has been more than impressive this spring, having not surrendured a run in 8.0 innings so far this spring while walking just one and punching out 6, including 4 in today's game. A command and control pitcher, he sports a fastball that hovers around 90 MPH, along with a fairly good breaking ball and changeup. He doesn't have such a great Major League track record, but he's put up some decent numbers in the minors, and Mike Hindman says he's got pretty good stuff this spring, comparing him to "a Dominican Brian Corey" today on LSB. Of course, it's hard to judge just based on six spring outings, but it appears Texas may have caught some lighting in a bottle with Elizardo. Hey, he's outpitched just about everyone else in camp this spring - a starter in the past, he at least deserves some consideration as an option to fill the 5th starter role this April. Because anyone's better than Sidney Ponson.

The next pitcher here probobly doesn't need much introduction - remember Robinson Tejeda? The guy who did this in the home opener last year? The guy whom TR Sullivan says has the best fastball on the Major League club? Yeah, him. He fell out of favor with the organization with a May/June meltdown after his hot April last year, got sent to AAA in July and never returned. He is out of options however, and the Rangers plan was to convert him to relief this spring in an effort to keep him on the roster. Which would probably make a good home for Robbie, considering his blazing fastball and his past control issues - in fact, I wasn't even in favor of putting him back in the rotation at all earlier this spring - but that was before Rangers starting pitching went on the endangered species list.

Tejeda sports a 6.43 ERA this spring, but has not allowed a run in his last three appearances since giving up three on March 7th against the Brewers. Considering the sub-par performances (and youth) of the pitchers "in contention" for the rotation, it only makes sense to give Tejeda another shot as a starter. He's proven he has the stuff to start in the bigs if he can control it, so choosing him to fill in for McCarthy is actually probably the Rangers best option right now. And, again, anyone is better than Sidney Ponson.

Neither of those two are officially being considered by the Rangers as options for the rotation (they're too busy fawning over Ponson) but they sure as heck should be. Even though I doubt my dream will come true, I'm making it official: the "Robbie and the Lizard for the rotation" bandwagon starts here. Because, as I may have mentioned, anyone is better than Sidney Ponson.

This year, following the Rangers spring training camp has been more like watching an episode of "Survivor" than a baseball team (and for the record - I hate Survivor). The spring injuries, mainly those to the pitching staff, have come at a relentless pace - it's almost to the point where it's something I count on like the buzzing of my alarm clock in the morning: "gee, I wonder who it's gonna be this time when I fire up the computer."

Today, it was Frank Catalanotto, removed from todays game after one at-bat today with back spasms. Yesterday, it was Eddie Guardado, straining a tendon in his knee. The day before that, Vicente Padilla was removed from his start against the White Sox with a strained muscle in his posterior.

Fortunately, those injuries are not being termed as serious by the Rangers, but you still have to wonder exactly what is going on. The condition of the Surprise Stadium pitching mound is being blamed for some of the more recent injuries such as Guardado's, while some have perhaps been due to a lack of conditioning during the offseason (like Joaquin Benoit) but it's absolutely dumfounding the amount of bad luck the Rangers have had this spring. Some of the more serious injuries:

On the bright side, however, the injury bug has (so far, at least) steered clear of some of the more important health risks in camp, like Jason Jennings, Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley (hopefully, I haven't jinxed anyone by mentioning that). In fact, the injury to Catalanotto, while not serious, could turn out to be a blessing in disguse if it can get Jason Botts (who is getting absolutely no love right now, despite his red hot spring) a spot on the opening day roster.

But the Rangers need their all guys healthy, particularly their pitchers. With Guardado sidelined for now, the bullpen now lacks a healthy left-handed pitcher, and the starting rotation is still a mess, as TR Sullivan points out in his latest peice. Hopefully, this insane "injury curse" will end here and now, and the Rangers can get on with their actual recovering from it. Because if it doesn't, I may have to consider driving out to Surprise, and dynamiting the stupid pitching mound. Hey, somebody's gotta take some action.

Well, it looks like Gerald needn't have worried. The Rangers are now loudly trumpeting that he will indeed be their opening day catcher, over the young offensive phenom Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Laird, 28, is coming off the worst offensive season of his career last year, when he hit .224/.278/.349, and posted an OPS of 627. This came after his best offensive season in 2006, in which he hit .296/.332/.473 and posted an 805 OPS, platooning with Rod Barajas. Those numbers, however, where largely skewed by the fact that he hit .400/.414/.600 against left-handers - an impressive line to be sure, but his .241/.291/.405 line against righties that year was far more indicitive of what Gerald's limits are.

He's a career .221/.277/.339 hitter against right-handed pitching with a 616 OPS. He may be able to mash the lefties (.307/.348/.467 career, 815 OPS)but unless he has a platoon partner to protect him against the right-handers (like Barajas in '06) offensive years like 2007 are going to be a recurring theme for Gerald.

The Rangers, however, despite the fact that they now have one of their weakest offensive clubs in years, don't seem to care. Instead, they sing the praises of his defense, and his 40.2% success rate at throwing out baserunners:

"He's got a great arm, quick release, and athleticism behind the plate" says former Major League catcher and now third base coach Matt Walbeck. He's able to pick up balls, make sidearm throws, throw behind the runner - stuff you can't teach."

That's great. No, seriously, that is. Gerald is a fine defensive catcher. But the Rangers seem to be forgetting what's at stake here - and it's a heckuva lot more important that Gerald Laird's throwing abilities. It's called development. The Rangers have a farm system loaded to the gills with catching prospects (Mike Hindman can tell you all about that better than I can) - plus Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the offensively lauded, but defensively decried catcher accquired in the Mark Teixeira trade last year.

Salty 's bat is defintely projected to be elite among catchers - Baseball America ranked him as the Braves top prospect in 2007 and the second-best in 2006, while ranking him as the organization's best hitter for average in both years. In his time in the big leagues last year, he hit .266/.310/.422, with 11 HR and 33 RBI, stats that probably would have been much better if he hadn't been made to play the unfamiliar position of first base by the Rangers, where he hit a miserable .203/.236/.346 at, while also commiting 10 errors (in 38 games). When playing as a backstop, however, Salty flashed his offensive potential, ripping .325/.373/.503. Taking that into consideration, one would only expect a player of his talent to improve those overall numbers this time around, if allowed to remain behind the plate.

But that's what Texas needs to find out: will Saltalamacchia's bat and be enough to keep him behind the plate at the major league level? Within a year or so, Taylor Teagarden, who could turn out to be a fine offensive catcher in his own right, with better defensive capabilites than Saltalamacchia, should be knocking at Arlington's doorstep. That means now is the time for the Rangers to let Salty get consistent, full time at-bats behind the plate, at the Major League level, and evaluate whether or not his offense will be enough to outweigh any defensive shortcomings. He's never going to be the strongest defender wherever he plays, although his defense should become servicable in time - but it's his bat that needs to be evaluated, and allowed to develop on the Major League level. Offensively, he's already proven he can hold his own with the big boys - now the Rangers need to find out if he's good enough to carve himself a niche.

Because come 2009, there's going to be another battle behind the plate in Texas - one that won't involve a certain 28 year-old catcher who is all but expendable to the organization in the grand scheme of things. It'll be the two young catchers, Salty and Teagarden, slugging it out for playing time - and Texas is going to have a decision to make. One will have to move to make room for the other - and with the Rangers now commited to developing the powerful Chris Davis as their future at first base, that could mean that one will be departing the organization. But the Rangers aren't making that decision any easier on themselves by insisting that they somehow "need" Gerald Laird and his throwing arm.

With his offensive limitations, Laird is on the fast track to nowhere - especially considering the depth the Rangers have behind him. But why the front office continues to cling to this guy like he's some kind of key defensive catylist in their plans is beyond me. They should be entertaining the offers they are getting from other teams right now, not rebuffing them. Because sooner or later, the Rangers are going to have to break down, and throw Laird aside for the younger player, be it Teagarden or Salty. Why not do it now, and allow Salty to get a jump on his development? A move like that would not only be the better path for Salty, but for the organization - so what's the holdup? Oh wait, that's right - the throwing arm. Gotcha.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080310&content_id=2417708&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

I'm frankly speechless. This might be one of the worst attempts at justifying a horrible signing I have ever seen. Sidney Ponson has arguably been one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the past 4 years - but we're supposed to feel better because Frank Catalanotto and Michael Young say every at-bat against him was "tough" and "a grind". Oooookay.

Tomorrow, he will fly back to Dallas, and receive an injection that will "spin his blood and inject platelets back into the elbow". I'm sure that sounds a lot worse that it really is, and it's certainly not the worst that could have happened - but I think Brandon himself sums things up quite nicely in the following quote:

"Not having surgery is good, but the situation overall still stinks."

Brandon, you have no idea how true that is.

Now that the Rangers know a little more about how long McCarthy will be out, they now have time to get a look at their younger options for the rotation when the season starts - as I documented when the news of McCarthy's injury first broke, Luis Mendoza, AJ Murray and Eric Hurley are all seemingly in the running for the vacated rotation seat. Also included in that list was mention of a guy that I seriously hoped would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Looks like I was wrong.

The Rangers signed 31 year old right-hander Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract today, and added him to the spring training roster. Ponson, who will be entering his 10th big league season this year, saw his career year way back in 2003, when he went 17-12, struck out a career high 134, and posted a career-best 3.75 ERA. Since then, things have just gone downhill for Ponson, on and off the field. He was arrested in his native Aruba in 2004 for assault, and battled a drinking problem that got him picked up for 2 DUI's in 2005 before he went through rehabilitation. Thanks to the drinking, he has had trouble keeping his weight down and staying in shape in the past, and the results of that where obvious on the field, as his ERA has increased every year since and his WHIP shows a similar trend, if you check out his page on baseball reference:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/ponsosi01.shtml

And yet the Rangers seem to think they have some kind of low risk/high reward signing here in Ponson, who has never been better than a fringe-average starter in his best years: "He's thrown all winter, and we've seen him a few times" Says Rangers GM Jon Daniels "He's down 20 pounds from what he was when he struggled the past couple of years. We talked with him about our expectations, and he understands where he is at this point of his career. He feels he has something to prove."

Well, that's nice, I'm glad Sidney Ponson wants to prove he can pitch again. But does he have to do it here? What happened to the youth movement Texas supposedly undertook this winter? It seems that for every youngster we have, we manage to pick up a fringe-average veteran who "has something to prove". When does it end?

Development is all about making the young players step up. Sometimes during development, those players have to step up sooner than expected - but that's when you find out who's got the stuff to succeed, and who needs more time in the minors. But if young players never get that chance to learn and adjust, then they're not going to succeed in the Majors. It's really that simple.

Luis Mendoza and AJ Murray are being presented with a shot here. They should get their chance to run with it - without the added pressure of having a useless spare like Ponson around to muddy the waters. After all, even if they fail, at least the struggles of Mendoza, Murray, or even Hurley would mean something in the long run. The struggles of Ponson, however, would mean nothing but Ranger fans having to watch another bad signing rolling through Arlington.

Brandon McCarthy, the subject of my last post, underwent an MRI yesterday, and the results show "severe inflammation with some fluid in the area." The good news is though, the actual elbow ligament is intact, so Brandon's problem won't require Tommy John surgery, as I had been starting to fear.

The Rangers still don't seem to know what the problem is though, as TR Sullivan reports "McCarthy will likely need a cortisone shot, but the medical staff is still discussing the situation to decide on the proper course of action."

Interpert that as you may.

On a brighter note, CJ Wilson now has a timetable for a return - the lefty thinks he can return to action sometime next week, and doesn't seem to concerned about his condition affecting his run at the closers job, saying "That's the benifit of being a releiver. You can miss a week and not lose too much ground."

Ron Washington, though, might disagree: "We'll see. It's still out there. He needs to show he can throw the ball over the plate. Just like everybody else. He has to show he has stamina. Just like everybody else. But he's got time. We still have 20 days."

Interesting statement, coming from a guy who documented last winter how he doesn't think CJ Wilson (or Joaquin Benoit) has the "experience" to close:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070922&content_id=2224256&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex

All I can do is speculate, but it seems to me that Ron's already gearing up to use this as an excuse to annoint Eddie Guardado (who gave up 2 runs on 3 hits across 1.0 IP in todays 9-5 loss to San Diego) the closer at the end of the month - if nothing else, it looks like CJ should be a little more concerned about his closers job than he seems.

Last call: Hank Blalock was back in the lineup today for the first time since he and his family where rear-ended on Monday while driving around in the area of Phoenix. The DH, Blalock was 0-2 before being replaced by Joaquin Arias. Blalock said his back and neck are still a little stiff, but the Rangers are plowing ahead with his recovery - they plan to use him at DH tomorrow against the Angels, and think he could return to the field as soon as Monday. That strikes me as as little soon - I hope they don't wind up pushing Hank too hard.