Texas Rangers 2019 Thread

I might have to head out the night Beltre's number is retired. I agree with HHD on Michael Young too, he seems an obvious choice that for whatever reason isnt being made as well.
 
The Rangers sign Asdrubal Cabrera to a $3.5 million single season contract to replace Beltre at 3rd. He’s a 12 year well traveled career .269 hitter. JD should be fired for not having a young 3rd baseman ready to take over for an aging 3rd baseman obviously approaching retirement. When is ownership gonna wake up.
 
^Obviously Cabrera is a patchwork signing. We all thought (after Beltre retired) that Profar would be the long-term 3B. I'm still amazed that JD traded Profar after all the years they refused to part with him. And I'm not sure we can see the long-term 3B replacement in AAA or AA. Maybe the Rangers will either trade for a 3B for 2020 and beyond or sign a free agent - either way they'll be paying the same money they would have paid to sign the known quantity in Profar.
 
Not surprising but it is disappointing. Baseball should be played on dirt and grass but our local high school and Minor league teams both play on turf.
 
Not that there was ever any real intent to use grass as too much revenue left on the filed with grass. (Despite what people will tell you, you cannot lay plywood over grass for a concert in an open stadium, much less an indoor stadium. We had to pay to resod Toyoda Stadium after the first concert there.) Hopefully, the D-Backs will work out any issues with the new turf this season.
 
Three catchers showed up; three full M*A*S*H ambulances showed up; and they are still waiting for the first Major League pitcher to show up.
 
Thoughts after a couple of weeks of exhibition games:
  • Taking into account that pitchers have an edge over hitters, Texas at times has shown some offensive ability.
  • K's in critical situations still seem to be an issue.
  • As suspected, Texas pitching is going to be a work in progress. Lynn showed something the other day until the second at-bat.
 
I will be in Arizona this weekend and plan to catch the Rangers Saturday and Sunday so I will definitely post my own impressions once I get back.
 
FWHORN said:
I will be in Arizona this weekend and plan to catch the Rangers Saturday and Sunday
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FWHORN, hope you have a terrific time in Arizona. And when you talk with JD, tell him the Ranger zealots on Hornfans are getting a bit impatient - we're ready to see the Rangers win again! :smile1:
 
HHD If I can corner JD I will have a lot to share about taking for granted this fan base because of the new stadium.

In addition to family stuff the plan is 4 games in 3 days, two of which will be Ranger games and getting to see the spring training stadiums in Surprise, Peoria, Scottsdale and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
 
FWHORN Spring Training Report

I caught Rangers-White Sox today in Surprise as the Rangers got shelled 12-2. 8 of first 10 outs by Ranger batters were K’s. Volquez pitched three scoreless but the first reliever Bird got knocked around for 6 runs in the fifth and the Sox would add 2 more in the sixth to blow game open. There isn’t much to like about this team not even a Bartolo Colon to add entertainment value. Will catch the Rangers and Giants tomorrow and post if they show any encouraging signs.
 
White Sox starter was Lopez and yes the Ranger lineup made him seem Nolanesque. I fear they will help a lot of pitchers strikeout ratios this year.

Incidentally, Surprise continues to be an awesome place for spring training games. The stadium is gorgeous, the parking is free, it’s convenient from the highways if somewhat remote from Phoenix and the people are great. Well worth the trip. Tonight I am going to the Padres-Reds game in Peoria which is just an ugly stadium that charges for parking and is a bear to get to and get out of.
 
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FWHORN Spring Training Report II:

Caught the Rangers B team today against the Giants in Scottsdale. With the exception of Hunter Pence and Carlos Tocci, I was hard pressed to know any of the field players or pitchers who will, with perhaps one or two exceptions, all be toiling in Frisco and Round Rock. Rangers won 7-6 but no one in particular stood out. The Rangers are going to struggle to win 70 games and the Giants fans I sat with are convinced they will struggle to be a .500 team. Neither team showed much today to suggest those predictions will be off base. Scottsdale stadium is very nice but there is no public parking so the gouging began from the parking on. Lawn seats at Scottsdale are as expensive as seats behind the plate at most of the other spring training stadiums and its playoff pricing for seats along the baselines and behind the plate. San Francisco is the only team at that stadium and I guess their fans are used to crazy California pricing but dang I felt taken advantage of today. Spent as much at one game today as both yesterday. My opinion of Peoria rose dramatically compared to the Scottsdale experience. I plan to catch one more game tomorrow before heading home and I am debating whether to see the Rangers again out in Surprise or catch a game at a stadium I haven’t been to yet.
 
I still make the mistake in conversation sometimes. Since the Ballpark will still be in use after the new one opens, I would not be surprised to see either an A or the Rangers purchase a AAA team and move it there. Need a player - send a golf cart around the corner to retrieve him.
 
FWHORN Spring Training Report III

After seeing that the Rangers were rolling out the minor league roster again against the Angels this afternoon In Surprise, I decided to head over to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to see a new park and catch the Rockies and the A’s. I did get to see former Rangers Jurickson Profar now with Oakland and Ian Desmond with Colorado. Salt River Fields is a beautiful park and along with Surprise is by far one of the two best spring training facilities/stadiums I have been to whether here in Arizona or in Florida. Have to head home tonight so my four games in three days extravaganza has come to an end. Regular season starts in just a few weeks.
 
Thanks for your reports FW. Watching the Rangers and Royals play tonight. Looks like they need a few more lights in the outfield (Calhoun hit a ball to center and everyone lose the ball in the darkness).
 
HornHuskerDad said:
^Obviously Cabrera is a patchwork signing. We all thought (after Beltre retired) that Profar would be the long-term 3B. I'm still amazed that JD traded Profar after all the years they refused to part with him. And I'm not sure we can see the long-term 3B replacement in AAA or AA. Maybe the Rangers will either trade for a 3B for 2020 and beyond or sign a free agent - either way they'll be paying the same money they would have paid to sign the known quantity in Profar.
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He made the trade, because our pitching situation is so dire. Over the years, we've traded away pitching and have been crappy at developing the pitchers we've kept. Profar yielded three OK but not great pitching prospects, and some (Bird and Espinal) could help within the next year or two if we don't screw them up.

As for 3B, we're bottom feeding with Asdrubal Cabrera. Anything short of total dumpster fire will be considered a success. However, I think they're hoping that Patrick Wisdom (acquired from the Cardinals) will develop into something. He is a major power threat, but of course, he has a Swiss-cheese swing and strikes out a lot, which means he'll fit right in with the Rangers. Of course none of these guys are worthy to rinse off Adrian Beltre's cup, so both will be a big step down even at their best.
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It is going to be ugly for sure, but that is the way JD wanted it. However, his issue is going to be next season after everyone has been to the new stadium once or twice and crowds of 8 to 10k start showing up to see basically a good AAA team.
 
ViperHorn said:
It is going to be ugly for sure, but that is the way JD wanted it. However, his issue is going to be next season after everyone has been to the new stadium once or twice and crowds of 8 to 10k start showing up to see basically a good AAA team.
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I think the hope is that the 2019 team isn't a total crap show, and frankly, that is possible albeit unlikely. If Lynn and Minor pitch well and a couple of our reclamation projects (Smyly, Miller, and the pitcher formerly known as Edison Volquez) pan out, we could actually have a decent rotation or at least not a total disaster. If that happens, our attendance won't be too bad. Our fans are actually pretty forgiving. If the team doesn't completely suck, they may not draw 3 million fans, but they'll do OK.

Most of all, I think they hope that the minor league talent we do have and view as the long term future will play well enough to foster optimism going into 2020 and start making the team at least an exciting potential upstart that year. If you look at the contracts, we have very little committed in payroll. If it looks like a strong core is in place at that time, the ownership might go after some big free agents to put the team over the top in 2021.

Anyway, that's probably the plan. If we're a mess of uncertainty going into 2020 - no signs of emerging talent, uninspiring play, I would expect that Daniels will get canned. I don't see how he couldn't be. GMs whose plans consistently flop lose their jobs. If he doesn't, I'm going to wonder if he's blowing somebody in the owner's box.
 
Sounds like a fair assessment by Evan Grant in the Dallas Morning News:

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I mostly agree with Grant's analysis. If our younger players (in the big club and in the minors) take the next step, I'll consider 2019 a success even if we lose a lot of games. I'd rather see us lose 95 games but see our minor league pitchers dominate and guys like Odor, Gallo, and Mazara show some consistent plate discipline than to see us win 85 games because our reclamation projects in the rotation worked out but our younger players floundered.
 
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