Texas Rangers
 

Before the 2001 season began, the Texas Rangers made big news signing shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a record contract, and then added some aging veteran position players in an effort to shore up the offense.  The Rangers were never heard from again.  Not only because most of the veterans broke down, but because the Rangers neglected an important part of the equation for winning: pitching.  This offseason, the Rangers doled out a heap o' gold and rustled up some arms to go with their bats.
 

Hitting

The Rangers really didn't have any trouble on offense last year, finishing 3rd overall in runs scored.  ARod was as good as advertised and should have run away with the MVP vote.  It's hard to imagine what this guy has to do to win the hardware.  In 1996, he won the AL batting title and led the league in total bases, tying a 40-year old record for total bases by a shortstop... didn't win.  In 1998, he became the third player in history to have a 40 homer / 40 steal season and led the AL in hits... didn't' win.  Last year, he became the first shortstop ever to hit 50 or more homers, leading the AL in home runs, total bases and runs scored... didn't win.  And he's accomplishing all of this as one of the top defensive shortstops in the majors.  Am I missing something here or are the voting writers too busy watching Three's Company reruns to pay attention to the game for a minute.  At 26, he's the best player in the game and still on track to finish his career as the all-time leader in homers, runs and RBI, and has an outside chance at the hits record as well.. and yet still might be looking for his first MVP award.

ARod isn't the only one who gets less respect than he deserves.  1B Raphael Palmeiro doesn't much respect either, despite averaging 42 homers, 124 RBI and an OPS in excess of .900 for the past 7 years.  He's perhaps one or two seasons away from topping 500 homers and 1500 runs and RBI for a career, but when people talk of potential Hall of Famers, his name rarely comes up.

Not all the Rangers hitters are under-appreciated though.  OF Juan Gonzales gets more than his fair share of positive press.  Yes, he has good power, having topped 40 five times in his 13 year career.  And yes he does a good job of driving in runs, topping 130 in 4 of the last 6 years.  But he hasn't exactly been an on base machine, so it's not like he sets his teammates up to drive in more runs.  Make no mistake: he's a very good hitter; just not one who's deserved either of his MVP awards.

C Ivan Rodriguez has been compared favorably to the best catchers ever.  That may very well be true when you consider his all-around game but, like Gonzales, there's room for improvement.  Namely, his eye at the plate is not very good.  While it's impressive that a catcher stole 25 bases one season, he really didn't help his team as he also got caught 12 times.  His batting average is nice - .304 lifetime - but it'd be much more impressive if he accompanied it with more than 25 walks a season, something he hasn't done in 3 years.

The Rangers boast a line-up with four Hall of Fame talents and might be adding a 5th this season if rookie sensation Hank Blalock lives up to his advanced billing at third base.  Blalock came to spring training having never batted above AA, but played his way into the starting job with solid defense and consistent, occasionally spectacular hitting.  He has a terrific eye for balls and strikes and considerable power.  He has the talent to match Albert Pujols' impressive rookie campaign from last year.

Second base will be manned primarily by Mike Young, with Frank Catalanotto getting spot starts when he's not DHing or playing the outfield.  Young has decent power, but struggled at the plate last year, striking out 91 times and walking just 26 times in just 386 at bats.  Catalanotto is a much better hitter but lacks Young's talent with the glove.  Prospect Jason Romano is the future at second, but will probably not see significant time in the majors this year unless both players struggle.

Four players are vying for playing time in center and left field: Catalanotto, Rusty Greer, Gabe Kapler and Carl Everett.  Greer's injuries the last several years may relegate him to DHing primarily in order to keep him healthy.  Everett is coming off knee surgery and a season filled with controversy and in-fighting in Boston.  He starts anew in Texas, but his history of disciplinary problems on and off the field are still of some concern.  Injuries have slowed Kapler's rise, but with a new exercise regimen this offseason to improve his flexibility and endurance, he hopes to stay healthy enough to fulfill the promise of his 30/30 talent.  

The Rangers come into this season with no real weaknesses on offense other than health concerns.  They are not the greatest on base team, but if they stay healthy, they have enough guys who do get on base to provide ample opportunity for a line-up that features 9 players capable of hitting at least 20 home runs.
Rating: 75
 

Pitching

GM John Hart was given a signed blank check this offseason to get pitching and started with one of the premier arms available: Chan Ho Park.  Park is a strikeout pitcher, which is a skill that will be very useful in a hitter's park like Arlington.  There are some concerns about his home and road splits coming from LA.  While his career ERA is 3.80, his ERA away from spacious Chavez Ravine is 4.74.

Hart didn't stop there, using seine net to land 3 more starters who've shown some quality in recent years: Dave Burba, Hideki Irabu and Ismael Valdes.  Valdes suffers from the same home/road split away from LA that Park does and has had trouble staying healthy in recent years.  He's made more than 27 starts in a season just once in the past 4 years.  But when he's been healthy, he's been a very good 6-inning pitcher.  Irabu had a much publicized bout with alcoholism, but seems to have gotten his life in order this offseason.  He played in the Puerto Rican League this winter and pitched brilliantly in the toughest of the Caribbean Leagues.  His performance this spring did nothing to diminish the optimism of a solid comeback.  Burba got a bad rap in Cleveland last year, as then-GM John Hart left him hanging in the wind all season concerning his contract renewal.  Burba pitched poorly and didn't get an invite to return.  Kind of ironic, then, that it was John Hart who signed him in Texas hmm...

The Rangers have two members of last year's rotation returning: Doug Davis and Kenny Rogers.  While both pitchers showed some flashes of quality last year, neither promises to be more than average innings eaters.  Waiting in the wings are hard-throwing prospects Colby Lewis and Joaquin Benoit.  Lewis had a strong spring and may start the season in the bullpen.  Should injuries thin the starting ranks, he'll be the one first called and could be a very pleasant surprise.  He features a moving fastball that reaches the mid-90s and a hard curve, but needs work on his offspeed stuff.

The bullpen also got some offseason upgrades.  Hart signed several hard-throwing set-up men - Jay Powell, Rudy Seanez, Todd Van Poppel and John Rocker - to set up closer Jeff Zimmerman.  At least, on the surface that was his intention.  Last year, Hart traded for Rocker to supplant Tribe closer Bob Wickman, only to see the experiment fail and Rocker return to set-up.  This spring, Zimmerman's elbow has landed him on the DL, so Rocker will again get his chance to close, at least for the short term.  All of these guys throw in the low-mid 90s.

Similar to what the Phillies did with their bullpen last year, the Rangers have loaded up their entire pitching staff with a bunch of guys who've performed well at one time or another but have fallen on hard times recently.  If a good number of them can recapture their past magic, the Rangers will have the pitching necessary to mash their way to the playoffs.
Rating: 60
 

Defense

ARod and Ivan Rodriguez are two of the best defenders at their positions.  The rest of the infield is at least decent, if not above average.  Carl Everett can be a good outfielder if his knees hold up.  Juan Gonzales is no threat to win a gold glove, but he's not a liability either.  Kapler is actually a pretty good outfielder and all three guys have decent arms.
Rating: 55
 

Management

Hart has done a fairly good job of assembling the talent, although he's made some squirrelly trades this spring in an effort to provide depth.  He dealt a decent starting prospect (Justin Duchscherer) to his division rival for a decent closing prospect (Luis Vizcaino), then dealt that guy for a journeyman situational lefty (Jesus Pena) who might not make the team this season.  He also has a reputation of not making the big trades that put his team over the top.  In Cleveland, his team was one quality starting pitcher short of being able to knock off the Yankees, but he never made the trade to do it.  Instead, he wasted numerous quality young hitters - Sean Casey, Brian Giles, Richie Sexson, Jeromy Burnitz - acquiring mediocre starters, spot relievers and Dhs on their last legs.  Second year manager Jerry Narron has the unenviable task of trying to take a team with a huge payroll (but a somewhat slapped together make-up) to the playoffs in a division that is home to 2 of the best run and thoroughly solid organizations in baseball.  He'll be helped by pitching coach Oscar Acosta, who rejuvenated the Cubs pitching staff last year before leaving due to a conflict with Cubs' manager Don Baylor.  Acosta worked wonders with reclamation projects Jason Bere and Julian Tavarez, and helped mature young pitchers like Kerry Wood and Juan Cruz.  So it would not be at all surprising for him to mine five quality starters from this staff by the end of the season.
Rating: 55