After the amazing Cinderella story that the Rangers were living though last season, getting all the way to the World Series. After about a decade dealing with sub par teams, sub par pitching and an owner that had a tighter wallet than Ebenezer Scrooge. We Ranger fans have something to look forward to. Or do we?
The pitching this season is going to look quite a bit different. The main change is not having Cliff Lee. He decided that the Rangers weren't going to be good enough, although they only missed the Phillies' offer by about 200K. His heart belongs to the City of Brotherly Shove and couldn't help but leave it there. But he's not what I'm talking about.
Today looking at the rotation is like looking at trimmed up rottweiler that used to look really angry but now looks like an overgrown poodle. We still have some of our best pitchers in C.J. Wilson, Neftali Feliz, Derrick Holland and some of the other familiars. The addition of Brandon Webb and Tateyama could mean something good, however, Webb has been out for quite a while and the Rangers gave him a deal that would allow us to keep him as long as he proves himself. He's an 11 year veteran that missed the last two years due to shoulder injury that required surgery. Then we have Tateyama, who has never pitched in the bigs. The only experience he has is from the Japanese League.
The main stays of our bullpen are there, and you have to admit that the just about saved our season several times this year. We did lose Francisco when we traded him for Napoli, coincidently started the Young fiasco... Yeah coincidence.
With our no name bullpen and the lack of overpowering awesomeness, stay for a very very few, we have an aging catching crew and a pitching staff. Health and longevity will be the real issues this season. I really hope that the season will help us out.
Until Monday, enjoy the Diversion!
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