February in Texas

-Mark Moseley

Ah, February in Texas. The Mavericks are torching the rest of the NBA, the Cowboys just dominated the headlines during Super Bowl week and finally hired a new coach, and UT’s Kevin Durant is becoming more and more drool-worthy every day for the NBA’s bottomfeeders. You know what that means: it’s time to talk Rangers baseball! Owner Tom Hicks has issued his annual decree of optimism, and for once, I think his team can back him up this year. The Rangers have aligned themselves for a breakout year in 2007 and now play in the weakest division in the American League. Granted, the Rangers have given their fan base false hope every season in the 21st century. But this season has a different feel to it, as though the Rangers have finally wised up and figured out what it takes to win in this league. So why exactly should the rest of the league be worried about the Rangers? Good question. Glad you asked.

1. Ron Washington. Buck Showalter lost his players much in the same way Bill Parcells lost the Cowboys this season. Hicks and GM Jon Daniels were quick to pull the trigger on Showalter when the season ended, and opted for someone they believe will be a “players’ manager” in Washington, and rightly so. The Rangers are in a unique position in that their core players (Mark Teixeira, Michael Young, Hank Blalock) are all about the same age, all young, but all with years of big league experience. They no longer need Buck’s micromanagment crawling down their backs.

Washington won’t be alone on the bench. The Rangers smartly hired Art Howe as Washington’s bench coach and right hand man. The tandem of Washington and Howe, who took Oakland to the playoffs three times, should provide a more comfortable playing environment for the Rangers. Besides, everyone knows about the Showalter Corollary: he leaves, the team wins a World Series. It’s foolproof!

2. The bullpen. No, really. This has the potential to be the strongest point on the Rangers team this year. The addition of, God willing, a healthy Eric Gagne gives the Rangers a legit stopper, allowing them to slide Aki Otsuka into the eighth inning setup role. Before Otsuka, the Rangers have Wes Littleton, who was simply unhittable in his rookie campaign, finishing with an ERA under 2. Nobody could figure out his funky delivery. Not quite a sinkerballer, not really a submarine pitcher; his mechanics looked like he was having a mini-seizure with every pitch. And it works. If these three guys are all at full capacity in ’07, the Rangers will have a back three comparable to any team in baseball.

3. Robinson Tejeda. This guy will likely start the season as the #3 starter behind Kevin Millwood and Vinny Padilla, but he showed the stuff of a solid #2 guy last year and will only get better. When Tejeda returned to the Rangers roster on August 19, he mowed down the eventual AL champion Detroit Tigers, giving up only four hits through seven innings against their high powered offense. The Rangers are ready for him to take his place in their full-time rotation. Add to the mix newcomer Brandon McCarthy, who should just now begin to bear fruit, and the Rangers have their first four rotation spots figured for the first time… ever? It sure seems that way. By the way, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thanks to Adam Eaton for wrecking any chance we had last year. If anything else, it forced the Tejeda trade, which is ironic, since we got him from the Phillies, who now have Eaton for the low, low price of 8 mil a year. Good luck, Philly!

There are numerous other reasons why the Rangers will contend in ’07. Brad Wilkerson will be healthy for the first time in his career in Texas and will hit like he did in Montreal. Frank Catalanotto is a major upgrade over Mark DeRosa, and, more importantly, he’s left-handed, which is a tremendous commodity at Ameriq…er, The Ballpark. Kenny Lofton is, well, old. But, if nothing else, he’s been a good luck charm, playing for playoff teams in five of the past six seasons. And, hey, the guy hit .300 and stole 30 bases for the Dodgers last year, both of which will be very valuable.

Lofton, Wilkerson, and The Big Cat, all left-handed, will be part of a dream lineup for the Rangers against right-handed pitching. Add Blalock, a switch-hitting Teixeira, and Michael Young, who hits everybody, and the Rangers are in good shape. When teams pitch lefties, the Rangers will get a chance to use Nelson Cruz, who is prone to break out at any moment, and, yes, Sammy Sosa, who should accept a role as a bench player and not as an everyday presence in the lineup (barring the second coming of Slammin’ Sammy, which will NOT happen). The Rangers really can’t afford to have Sammy strike out three times a game in the middle of their lineup, which is devoid of power after Teixeira. But if the Rangers can squeeze anything out of Sosa and aren’t forced to cut him in June, they should go for it and be grateful for what they get.

Catcher Gerald Laird and second baseman Ian Kinsler should each get the chance to fully prove themselves this year by playing full time. In his limited playing time last year, Laird surprised the Rangers with his bat and essentially chased Rod Barajas out of town. Kinsler fared well in his much-heralded rookie campaign, but injured himself early in the season and allowed DeRosa to cash in on a contract year with a great month of May. That forced the Rangers to keep DeRo in the lineup one way or another, meaning that Kinsler got squeezed out every now and then. The second base job is Kinsler’s alone this year, which should allow him to be completely comfortable at the position where he showed so much promise last year.

The Rangers’ post-A-Rod rebuilding plan seems fully ready to compete in this league in 2007. They have to capitalize on this opportunity now; Teixeira and Young won’t stay around and lose forever, and the AL West is weaker than it’s been in years with the departure of Barry Zito from Oakland and Jeff Weaver’s inevitable post-contract-year slump arriving in Seattle. Rangers fans should come for Gagne and Sosa, and stay for Teixeira, Young, Tejeda, and the young-but-not-inexperienced group of players that can finally get over the hump in 2007.