NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.
Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.
"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'
"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."
BALTIMORE – The Texas Rangers are changing. The arrival of 22-year-old left-handed pitcher Derek Holland in the majors is merely one of the first signs.
You wouldn't know changes are afoot on a steamy Monday night as Texas wraps up a four-game series against the Orioles. It is hot – game-time temperature at Camden Yards is 89 degrees – but not especially humid. In other words, it is only a small taste of what awaits Rangers pitchers this summer in Arlington, where the heat on the field for a day game often hits triple digits.
The Rangers are already pitching like it is the middle of summer. They are surrendering home runs at a breakneck pace, and Monday night's starter Matt Harrison allows four runs in the first two innings before the Texas lineup, as it has proven so capable of doing, hits him out of trouble.
On Wednesday, Rangers pitcher Darren O'Day wore ex-Ranger Kason Gabbard's jersey onto the field and promptly gave up a hit to end the game. There is precedent for this, of course. During Game Seven of the 1991 World Series, Lonnie Smith's jersey was mistakenly donned by a four-year-old who had just fallen off a merry-go-round.
The Rangers claim that they simply did not have a jersey ready for the newly-acquired O'Day, but I interpret it as commentary. For the most part, the Rangers' pitching staff is a nondescript gaggle of forgettable ball-chuckers, and this occurrence cements the idea that it doesn't really matter who's wearing whose jersey.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Texas Rangers.
Hey, Ron Washington, here's your team: A third baseman who'd rather be at shortstop, your No. 2 home-run hitter gone and a pitching staff that had a 5.37 ERA last year pretty much intact.
Did I mention that this is the last year of your contract?
Washington, manager of the Texas Rangers, might find it hard to put up enough wins to convince team president Nolan Ryan to keep him around.
Every March, The Dugout covers every team in baseball and offers a largely disappointing glimpse of what's to come.
We're kicking things off with the Texas Rangers. Pictured at right, the one-two punch of the 2009 Texas Rangers' rotation: Scott Feldman and a nondescript sheet of drywall. The Rangers possess the worst starting rotation in the history of Mankind. The upside, of course, is that when OPS legend Milton Bradley snaps his ACL in a freak accident, it won't really matter.
Any Rangers fans out there? No? Well, too bad. A Rangers Dugout is after the jump.
Our MLB editor files dispatches from this year's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.
Baseball fans know what the Winter Meetings are. They know what happens every year -- trades, big signings, and plenty of gossip in the lobby of a grand hotel. What they might not have an idea about is what the atmosphere is like inside the Bellagio.
(Full disclosure: This is my first trip to the Winter Meetings, and, frankly, it was a little bit terrifying flying out here. I had absolutely no idea what to expect.)
Let's start with the city. Las Vegas seemed a bit deflated when I arrived Sunday night -- a perfectly understandable feel considering the Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight was the night before. The Winter Meetings are a nice distraction, but Vegas seems to love big prizefights more than anything else.
Still, if my conversation with the cab driver who took me from the airport to my hotel is any indication, the denizens of Sin City seem virtually oblivious to the baseball invasion. He had no idea what the Winter Meetings were or that they were taking place in Las Vegas, but he had plenty to say about the National Finals Rodeo, which are taking place through the end of this week at the Thomas and Mack Center. Go figure.
The Texas Rangers are getting ready to finish another season in which they failed to make the playoffs, but the end of the season for the players will mark the beginning of the 2009 season for Nolan Ryan. Nolan took over the job as King of the Rangers before the season started, but for the most part this year, he kind of stayed in the shadows observing what he had to work with.
That all should change once the season ends, as apparently Nolan didn't like what he saw all that much, and he plans on making some changes this offseason.
For those of us who think it also should be firing time in Texas, all Ryan would say Thursday was, "I'm currently formulating a plan for next season, and once the final decision has been made, we will move forward from that."
"I can guarantee one thing. We are going to change the way things have been done around here."
That can't sound too comforting for both general manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington. If Nolan wants to start building the Rangers in his own image, he's probably going to want to bring in his own general manager and manager, and Daniels and Washington aren't those guys.
As you just saw in the previous post from Eazy E, Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson found himself in a bit of hot water with his manager Ron Washington after tossing the ball to him after giving up a grand slam instead of handing it to him. Little did C.J. realize at the time, but it could be the last time he tosses the ball in frustration to his manager after giving up a homer as the closer for the Rangers.
That's because Wilson was placed on the disabled list with bone spurs in his elbow yesterday, and now Eddie Guardado will be taking over the role.
"Now, being in the ninth inning, there's pressure," Guardado said. "In the eighth, you know there's someone behind you who can pick you up if you do fall. Now, in the ninth, there's nobody behind you, so you have to shut the door."
Guardado, 37, is a closer for the first time since 2006, when he was traded to Cincinnati. He had 36 saves for Seattle in 2005 and compiled 86 for Minnesota in 2002 and 2003.
While right now the plan is for Guardado to only fill in for Wilson while he's on the disabled list, there are some people in Texas who would like this move to be permanent. Wilson has blown four of his 28 save opportunities this season, but more alarming than that are the 35 runs and eight homers he's allowed in 46 1/3 innings of work this season.
Forgive me if this is baseball heresy, but I'm not sure I see the problem with this: After giving up a grand slam to Richie Sexson two nights ago, Rangers closer C.J. Wilson does what you'll see above -- he tosses the ball into manager Ron Washington's hands in a quick little petulant fit of anger. Oh well, right?
Ah, but Ronny has none of that. He makes Wilson step back on the mound and hand him the ball like a big boy, simultaneously burnishing his image as Someone Who Respects the Game and embarrassing Wilson. All in day's work.
But like I said above, I'm not sure I find that much wrong with Wilson tossing the ball at Washington. OK, he probably shouldn't act like a jerk on the mound. Fine. But he did just give up a grand slam, which means he was mad at himself for letting his teammates down -- I'm not sure that's the sort of thing you're looking to punish in plain sight. Oh no! He's being emotive! Quick, squash it with stuffy baseball tradition!
As I mentioned earlier this morning, the Rangers had a very strong month of May and are starting to look like a team that the Angels should start paying attention to out west. The problem in Arlington right now is that though May went very well, June is already off to a bad start.
Texas right-hander Vicente Padilla left the team on Sunday, returning to his native Nicaragua to attend to what manager Ron Washington termed "a family personal matter."
Padilla was scheduled to start Monday night for the Rangers against the Cleveland Indians. Washington said rookie Doug Mathis will be moved up a day in the rotation to replace Padilla.
The Rangers wouldn't comment on what the family matter was, so I've no idea how serious the situation is or how long Padilla will be gone. There could have been a death in the family, someone may be sick, or perhaps somebody has been kidnapped. Whatever's going on, I hope everybody in Padilla's family is safe.
If Vicente is gone for a while, the Rangers plan on calling up A.J. Murray from Oklahoma to take his spot in the rotation.
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
BALTIMORE – The Texas Rangers are changing. The arrival of 22-year-old left-handed pitcher 
On Wednesday, Rangers pitcher 
Every March, The Dugout covers every team in baseball and offers a largely disappointing glimpse of what's to come. 
Our MLB editor files dispatches from this year's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in 
The Texas Rangers are getting ready to finish another season in which they failed to make the playoffs, but the end of the season for the players will mark the beginning of the 2009 season for 
As you just saw in 
As I mentioned earlier this morning, the Rangers had a very strong month of May and are starting to look like a team that the Angels should start paying attention to out west. The problem in Arlington right now is that though May went very well, June is already off to a bad start.
