Baseball at the Ballpark in Arlington is upon us. It’s the time of year where sizzling hot dogs leave an aroma that makes your stomach growl, and over 49,000 fans try to pack into the beautiful stadium that the Texas Rangers call home. A large american flag was stretched across the outfield grass by marines and the national anthem sung. The Rangers lined up across the first base line in front their traditional first-base dugout, paying respect to their country. The jets roared above the stadium, passing by in a flash, and then everybody knew it was time to play ball.
The Rangers have a lot to play for this year and a lot to prove. They finished last year with a 93-69 record, but lost in the inaugural Wild-Card game to the Baltimore Orioles. It was almost a given that the Rangers finished in first place, and they claimed that place for a good part of the year, leading the American League in runs scored per game. All that came crashing down on them as they lost the last game of the regular season to the Oakland Athletics, a heartbreaking defeat that forced them to settle for second place in the division.
They lost all-star sluggers Josh Hamilton (.285, 43 HR) and Mike Napoli (.227, 24 HR) to free agency, as well as key members of their bullpen from the past couple years. Relief pitcher Koji Uehara (1.75 ERA, 43 K) and Starting Pitcher Ryan Dempster (3.38 ERA, 153 K) signed with Boston, reliever Mike Adams (3.27 ERA, 45 K) signed with Philadelphia, and starter Scott Feldman (5.09 ERA, 96 K) signed with the Chicago Cubs. They traded de-facto leader and team captain Michael Young (.277, 8 HR), and they are going to rely on a much younger group of players.
They did make some solid acquisitions via free agency, such as catcher A.J. Pierzynski (.278, 27 HR) and Designated Hitter Lance Berkman (.259, 2 HR). Berkman is coming off a shortened season in which he only appeared in They signed veteran relief pitcher Jason Frasor (4.12 ERA, 53 K) to bolster their bullpen, and acquired reliever Josh Lindblom(3.55 ERA, 70 K) from Philadelphia in the Michael Young trade.
The Rangers have decided to go with the young center fielder Leonys Martin in a platoon role with Craig Gentry, and keep rookie infielder Leury Garcia as their utility man. Top prospects Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt are starting the season in Triple-A Round Rock so they can see regular playing time and, barring injury, they could spend a good chunk of the year down there.
When all is said and done, the Rangers are still a contending team and are inching closer to winning their first World Series with every move they make. They have savvy veterans, a young starting rotation, and nice up-and-coming prospects. This should be one of many great years to come.
