Friday Happy Hour at the Elysian Fields Bar & Grill

You could go broke offering all the free agents a drink!

Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/

"I think we have a commitment to build within." You think, you better know Nolan. That is what a commitment is- you gotta know, brother. Why won't we just go out there and ask Sheets what he wants? No one knows him better than Maddux, what does he say? One good year from a pitcher like Sheets, can turn this whole staff around. If not him then Garland. We have wanted him in the past, he is there for the taking, the market is down, it will not be here ever again. I would sign both, because, i believe what Maddon says, pitching drives the whole thing, Scioscia taught Maddon well. Too bad we can't realize it. We were last in ERA and we sign Derek Turnbow only? Morning News says health is our key to turning it around and McCarthy is ready for breakout year and he gets spot in rotation because we traded three pitchers for him. Where did the other pitcher come from? Why give them three? Wasn't Danks enough? Masset has already been dealt, but we have another guy up there that could someday contribute to their team. I am sick to my stomach. I don't understand why Daniels won't admit that he blew three deals, Young and Gonzalez for nothing, Soriano for Galarraga which turned into nothing, and Danks and two others for McCarthy. Three deals folks. Anyone else remember when we were told everyone wanted Brad Wilkerson? Well he is free agent and no one and i mean no one is clamoring for him. Daniels has done better when he trades veterans for young players, but he blew those other ones. Danks, Volquez and Young would suit me just fine. DVD, DVD, DVD anyone else remember that? I do and it just makes me sick and angry.

I believe we will get Sheets, but at our price and length of stay. I would do a 2 year deal with him. Why are we so gun shy about a pitcher getting hurt. We have sent record numbers to the disabled list in the last two years. Jennings fleeced us last year. Is he healthy? Rogers hasn't been hurt here, he has hurt others though. Don't be surprised if he re-surfaces. If it is our intent to shop Padilla and Millwood at ASB, what would be the harm in at least get Sheets? We can dump Millwood and Padilla if one of our young guns steps up. The reality is that most young pitchers struggle and the Rangers don't stick with them long enough to let them come out on the other side. Even Feliz and Holland are going to struggle, it is called making adjustments. The only real guy they didn't do this to was Bobby Witt who everyone loves.

Hey Ron, if you can be a manager, then i think they know anything is possible. Just teasing, you are a good guy and have my respect. Now go out there and do everything in your power to prepare your team for March and April. If you start out slow, i think you are going to find yourself in the employment line. So play the players, your core group of guys, let them jell. There seems to be no open spots to begin with. So unless you get rid of Cat, then we have already seen what the lineup is. Play those people together and look at pitchers that you think are ready for the big time.

Congrats on being in the Latest Leaders, TR! You're pretty consistent in that ranking.

Mark/MLB.com
http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com

All we ever hear, is this isn't financially feasible. It costs too much, money, money, money. Well i don't want to complain, but i would like to know just how much it cost for us to change out the uniforms? It wasn't cheap i will tell you. I don't believe it was financially feasible when we could be spending that money on Sheets. Rumor has it they are talking to him hopefully we can get him. Sheets probably wants to settle his situation, know where he is going. A two or three year deal is ok by me. Back to the uniform thing, the implication is if we change the color of the uniform we will win a division title, ha! I am sure that Bingo is happy wherever he is. Bingo come back and play brother, it is your outlet and you have a lot of good things to say. Is there anyone out there who thinks by us signing Sheets that it is going to hurt our development of the young pitchers? You can't count on Alfred E. Newman and the way the others drop like flies. You can never have enough pitching. So gitr done Daniels. Don't balk at what Sheets asks for a 2 year deal is reasonable and don't forget you could of had Danks, Volquez and Young and they weren't getting paid any amount of money and you didn't want them either so get Sheets and then have your season ticket guy call me, i am re-upping. So Sheets probably pays for himself. The last time i remember going to see a Ranger pitcher was when Nolan was pitching it has been that long. Is Clemens lurking????

The Startlegram reports today that Sheets is asking for 2 years @ 9 million per year. 18 million dollars, surely, we can do that? What did we give Jennings last year 4 to 6 Million and for what? Sheets will solidify the starting rotation and hopefully puts McCarthy in AAA until he proves #1 he is healthy. Risk is a part of life, what the league should do is break the union and make the contracts non-guaranteed. We also need a $25 million salary cap per team. This would increase owner revenue and do away with all of this non-sense. Baseball salaries have been way out of whack for years and it looks like the market is adjusting itself. Why would anyone pay someone $25 million @ year to play a game? I think if you asked the players they would tell you if it got down to it they would play it for far less. I made $91,000 last year putting my life on the line and they make millions to play a game? Our ideals and values have been out of whack in this country for years. Maybe, hopefully we are going to get more logic and sense out of this economic adjustment. The bottom line is most people can't afford to drop the kind of money that Hicks wants for his season tickets. A lot of Corporations are cutting their investments in these sports tickets also.

Regarding the best available free agents, I would rank Orlando Hudson above Ray Durham, Joe Crede over Nomar, and Abreu over Gonzo.

Also, Todd Jones rofficially etired and Tom Gordon might have as well.

Vintage stuff, d'god! The Republicans need you in Washington. A d'god filibuster would be well worth listening to...

Do you smell that?... Smells like there is hope for this season. I don't know what's happened this off-season but D'god and I are starting to agree on a lot of issues. I understand why the Rangers are a little hesitant to give money to a free agent and why they are trying to do their homework. They haven't had the best luck on players they have pursued... be thankful we didn't end up with Zito, Tori Hunter or even GMJ. However, you can't ignore what Sheets has done. I think the Rangers should be thrilled to give Sheets 2-3 years of $9 million per year. Even in the worst situation where he only makes 25 starts... isn't that worth the $9 million it would cost? He will win at least 12 of those 25 starts and if you sign Sheets then you have a TRUE ACE! A true top of the rotation guy who STARTED THE ALL STAR GAME LAST SEASON!!!! Come on $9 million per year... get this trash done before one of those dang New York teams gets involved. If we add Sheets then we compete this year. We compliment a great offense with a pretty decent rotation. Harrison will be solid, Sheets is a stud, Padilla is pitching to get his option picked up, Millwood is a little shaky, then you have a handful of young guys that will compete. We can't just throw out 3 young guys into a rotation and keep our fingers crossed that it all goes perfectly right. The time to act is now. The Angels have lost Anderson, Tex, K-Rod, and Garland. The Mariners are a joke and lost Putz, and Ibanez. The A's have traded their closer Street and a couple guys who did pretty well for them last year. They picked up Holiday who will be solid for them but Holiday and Giambi don't equate to Crush Davis, Hamilton, Kinsler, Young, Blalock. Sheets puts us right in the mix to win this division... little less talk and a lot more action.

OK, I want to offer this compelling reason for signing Sheets. He would immediately move into our number 1 starter role, thus taking some of the pressure off of Millwood and Padilla and matching them up against the #2 and #3 opposing pitchers. They both have great years and depart as Type A free agents. We fill out this year's rotation with Harrison and Holland. Next year we add a healthy Hurley. Then, when dwiregod starts chanting "DVD" we can answer with "SHHH"

I am sick and tired of dwittys numerous post and think one post should be enough . Thanks TR for good info

Silasm, rhymes with SPASM, hey i have got too much pent up information. Don't be a hater. I can't help it that i work 4 days a week and have three days to pontificate on the Rangers. I believe they are on the right track, i don't want them to break the bank, but i do want them to sign Sheets for 9 million per year if you please. I agree with skyranch that Sheets will solidify the rotation and Millwood and Padilla will probably be gone by ASB if we don't get off to a good start. So we are gonna save money when those guys get traded, then where will we be. But i say that to say this. I want Hamilton financially taken care of, Kinsler already has been, but if Cruz turns into the player they think he will be then i want him taken care of. I will be patient this one last time, but we have got to keep a core group of players together, this is all i am saying. Hopefully we will hit/develop a couple of starters out of the group of young players, then we will have a team.

Baseball Fever, Catch It. Sounds like a limit on my freedom of speech and expression. Besides silasm, the point is to have as many people/posts on here as possible. Kind of like the newspapers main goal is to have # of readers which creates a desire for advertisers to pay to advertise. If no one posts or merely posts one sentence then TR well probably doesn't have a job. Besides controversy always creates publicity. Someone and i don't know who wrote it, there is no such thing as bad publicity, just publicity..... I personally don't see why anyone would waste their time signing in here only to put one sentence. If you want to thank TR do it privately. This is for people with opinions about the Rangers. You may not like what i have to say, but i am having fun with it. 5 people on this website last year we called it the "cinco" were for rebuilding with youth. I was one of those. The "cinco" asked for a commitment to rebuilding. There were only 5 and it doesn't matter if we were right or wrong but the fact is we were. I still want us to do that, however, i don't want us to destroy the young pitchers. So there needs to be a balance on the pitching staff, signing Sheets will give us that and he is only 30. If we get him and i believe we will, then we can trade Millwood and/or Padilla at ASB when a young pitcher is ready to take the next step. The bottom line is where do you get off thinking that you have the right to dictate to another person how many times they do this or how many times you do that. You need to check your ego at the front door. If you are so tired of what someone else is doing then move along. This age of political correctness is killing this country. I don't like this, he hurt my feelings, he says things that i don't agree with, i am telling mommy......

Perish the thought, d'god, that your posts should ever be limited in content or number! Personally, I find your comments lucid and insightful. Your understanding of roster management and player development is second to none, and you never repeat yourself. Keep it up!

I have mixed emotions about Sheets. On one hand, I say let's get him, but then again, I want to see some of the young arms develop. And, I believe what Newberg pointed out about the one year contract and how that would probably cause Sheets to sign elsewhere. After getting over the shock of the Hurley news, I do feel some hope. You have to love watching Michael Young on the news taking one for the team. You can tell he really wants to stay at shortstop, but he is doing what's best for the team. I love that stuff! Also, someone posted earlier about Young's power numbers not being right for third and they suggested the better move is Kinsler to third and Young to second. If Kinsler's numbers are high for a second baseman and Young's are low for 3b, what difference does it make if they switch in the field. Aren't you still getting the same production? And, this way, as someone else has already said, you have one position switch instead of two. I must say that I love the new uniforms. I don't know about not having "Rangers" on the home uniforms, but we'll see. As long as the team is winning, I really don't care what they wear. One opportunity they missed is bringing back an alternate cap that is blue with a red bill. I still don't like seeing the Cubs and Phillies wearing our old Rangers caps! Those would look great with the new style "T" on them. And, Mr. Hicks it would be a third piece of merchandise to make some money off of. Maybe teams are only allowed two different caps. Come on spring training!!! For D'god a little advice, post one good long rant, wait for a response, and respond back. Two or three rants in a row and you lose me with all the different directions you take. I have a simple mind and according to JeffK, I may be illiterate.

Oops...a d'god double post.
By the way mniblick, your SHHH is the best post of the offseason!

I made the same point on the previous thread, Sullivanian, and you're right to add the additional point about two position changes required with Young at second, Kinsler at third. Only a statistical purist would insist that Young should be at second. Some of the analysis these people produce shows considerable intelligence - but little common sense. And the abuse that is heaped upon any who even question their pronouncements from on high! They forget that statistics is a useful tool, and no more.

Thanks anthony, i value your support, no matter how tongue in cheek they may be. Hey i have an opinion people so crucify me....You too can have your opinion, i may or may not agree with you. It is the banter that i enjoy. I care about the Rangers and believe we are going to do something this year. I agree with whoever said that up there, either sign Sheets or you don't. In this day and age, especially for the rich, get a MRI or something. Those athletes get theirs in one day, we have to wait 6 weeks. So try and make an informed decision. I believe you should reduce your risk that he will be injured as much as possible. But you aren't going to be able to reduce that risk down to zero. There is always risk. The guy could be completely healthy and keel over tomorrow. There are just some things you can't control. Give him a one year incentive laden deal that kicks in if he stays healthy and meets innings pitched. If he does then it becomes a two year 18 million dollar deal. It doesn't look like a lot of teams are after him, so maybe we get him for that. If not go get Garland. We have wanted him for awhile, now is the time to act. We need at least one starting pitcher. Is this really controversial.

By the way, my 8 year old son and i went to fanfest. It was our first year. He went on the field, into the dugout ran the bases and caught flyballs. We went to the clubhouse and looked inside. While the 8 year-old was there Kasey Kiker gave him a MLB practice Baseball. That thing is worth $11.00 so i came out $1.00 ahead. And now this, anyone that was out there surely realizes that Hamilton is now the most popular and face of this franchise, sorry Mike. Which leads me to this question, if you have an autograph line that starts in left field and ends behind home plate, don't you think that you should be getting paid more? Hamilton's line was that long. I personally won't wait in a line for 3 to 4 hours for an autograph, especially when it is 35 degrees, but hey some do. Hey Josh how about this verse, "thou shall have no other Gods before me and thou shall not worship false idols."