Spring Training begins...

Before too long we're going to be talking about performances on the field rather than player acquisitions.

Suk-min Yoon is apparently the next big prize, although how good he will be in America is more uncertain than Masahiro Tanaka's outlook...

He posted a 4.16 ERA in 11 starts, and a 3.60 ERA in 19 relief appearances. Yoon was good enough to win the league MVP award in 2011 (while Ryu was still there), putting up a 2.45 ERA, striking out more than one batter an inning, and walking just 2.3 per nine innings in 172â…“ frames. Yoon followed that up with a 3.12 ERA, and similar peripherals through 153 innings in 2012.

The Rangers, Orioles, Giants and Cubs are all interested, although there are some strong reservations about the health of his shoulder and ability to absorb a Major League workload.  The Rangers' interest supposedly increased after the injury to Derek Holland, but I don't see any way Yoon would be considered a replacement for Holland.  Rather, I imagine the Rangers are looking at his suitability as a fifth starter or bullpen piece; which probably gives the edge in this contest to Chicago or Baltimore, who need more pitching help than the Rangers do.

Bruce Chen, one of the better free agent left-handers on the market, has re-signed with Kansas City.  It wasn't a big contract, so I wonder if there are some age or injury concerns.

Lookout Landing implores the Mariners, for the third or fortieth time, to not sign Nelson Cruz:

There isn't any cherry picking going on here because there doesn't need to be. These are the hitters who surround Cruz with the park-adjusted wRC+, and Cruz has been very underwhelming outside of Arlington. So much so that he's barely been above a replacement-level player away from it...

Billy Beane does another head-scratcher; signs Sam Fuld.

When I first got wind of this signing, my first thought was: Why? Why add another speedy, defensive outfielder who can't hit when we already have four speedy, defensive outfielders who can hit as well as a good hitter (Moss) who can adequately play the corner outfield positions? The best answer I can come up with: Coco Crisp insurance.

The problem with that idea is that Craig Gentry is, basically, Coco Crisp insurance.  However, as I've mentioned to a few people (keep in mind Craig Gentry is one of my favorite players) Gentry is a bit injury prone (just like Crisp), which means Fuld will probably see 50 games this year with the big club.

The Houston Astrodome has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It could still be torn down, though, and if you haven't kept up, it's mostly empty and dirty inside.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, formerly Ameriquest Park, formerly The Ballpark in Arlington, is now Globe Life Park.  In wordplay news, before the announcement was made several people suggested that interest in Shin-soo Choo had lead to sponsership by a Korean company like Samsung, prompting a name change to Chan-ho Park.  (ba-dum-tsh)  Also, the Rangers recently signed former top reliever Daniel Bard.  Bard will be attempting to come back from surgery at the Ballpark, which prompted one twitter user to posit that Shakespeare always did well at the Globe.

Eric Reining analyses the ZiPS projections for the Texas Rangers:

As you can see, ZiPS likes Yu Darvish. A lot. As Carson Cistulli notes in the article, Darvish currently checks in as the 3rd-best pitcher in MLB thus far according to ZiPS, behind only Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander.

-snip-

Let’s not be mistaken: the wins from the offense are mainly going to be coming from Beltre, Choo, Fielder, and Andrus, while 2nd baseman, Jurickson Profar and center fielder, Leonys Martin, are healthy bets to take a step forward into the (theoretical) 3-win territory. Factoring in defense and base running ability with, obviously, offensive ability, and the Rangers have one of the strongest starting lineups in MLB.

Speaking of Yu Darvish (again):

Aside from this, Ryan, Johnson, McDowell and Martinez are linked by a more artificial means of recognizing strikeout excellence: from 1916-2012, the only pitchers to have five or more games in a season with at least 14 strikeouts were these same four (they accomplished the feat 10 total times, with Johnson accounting for six). In 2013, that quartet welcomed a new member when Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish had five such outings, captured his first league strikeout title and assembled a truly noteworthy strikeout season of his own.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will definitely be at the Texas Rangers spring training camp.  He probably won't actually *participate*, but he'll be there.  Also, Wilson has been offered a $10,000 charity donation if he'll take part in a game with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Rangers High-A affiliate.  High-A is where Wilson was playing when he chose to pursue football full time.

And that's it for now!

Posted by: Ben at 07:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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