A phrase like “exceptionalism made easy” could accurately describe Josh Hamilton’s incomparable baseball talent. His powerful and beautiful swing, combined with his see-pitch-hit-pitch approach, and the fact that he spent three years away from the game would definitely lend credence to this description.

However, the phrase I lifted from Baseball Prospectus’ 2012 annual refers not to Hamilton, but the Rangers front office.

An excerpt:

It’s an easy (and often fun) exercise for fans to comically assume that members of their favorite team’s front office are a bunch of fools, making decisions that you either know to be foolish or assume will end up looking foolish a few years down the line. You might even surmise that you could run a professional organization with more success, especially given the fact that you aren’t as prone to foolish decisions as the front office in question. The converse might also be comical if you blindly assume that the front office of your favorite team is filled with intellectually superior beings, those blessed with not only brains but also balls, to put it rather crudely. Baseball, like any other business, has its stars and its slouches, and the reality of that construct does in fact allow for some teams to be run by fools while other teams are in fact run by people who are very smart and very astute in their chosen vocation. While it’s not pleasant to be made aware that your favorite team happens to be run by people who aren’t that exceptional, it is quite refreshing to be told that your favorite team is under the leadership of people who do possess exceptional qualities. For fans of the Texas Rangers, allow us to offer that form of refreshment, as the front office for your team is in the top tier in the game.

While we as fans will never cease to debate the moves and approach the front office pursues, the track record of Jon Daniels, Thad Levine, A.J. Preller, and company has taken most of the fun out of the management questioning & critique exercise.

Even though high regard of the front office has become commonplace among fans, the Rangers faithful have still questioned a number of their decisions as recently as the previous offseason.

Let’s take a quick look back at a few of the major decisions they made over the winter.

There was a large contingent of fans who wanted to see the Rangers re-sign C.J. Wilson, and were nervous to see the team’s best pitcher walk after Texas made only a low-ball offer to bring him back. Wilson was the team’s game one postseason starter in 2011, and it is rare to see financially capable teams let their “ace” walk while continuing to try to improve their team. Wilson has been great for the Angels, going 5-4 with a 2.90 ERA and 1.15 WHIP so far this season in Anaheim, but still doesn’t qualify as what most would consider to be a true ace of a pitching staff. Instead, the Rangers gambled on Yu Darvish, despite the shoddy track record of Japanese imports coming to the U.S. Darvish has immediately become one of the most dominant starters in all of baseball, and one whom fans should feel confident in starting in a game one or seven postseason situation.

Many observers, including myself, wanted the Rangers to sign Prince Fielder with the intention of letting go of Hamilton following the 2012 season. Texas opted to go with a cheaper option in sticking with Mitch Moreland. While Moreland isn’t the player Fielder is, he is certainly providing significantly more value so far this season. A comparison through May, 26th:

The public opinion pendulum regarding closers has swung a little too far. In recent years, it has become trendy for fans to bash the role and criticize teams for offering up more than a bag of balls for a closer. Needless to say, the Rangers decision to give aging Joe Nathan a two year $18 million contract was not well received. Still, Texas opted to take a chance on one of the most dominant closers of the last ten years, despite the fact that he was coming off of Tommy John surgery and a couple of poor seasons in Minnesota. Nathan appears to have regained the form that enabled him to save 260 games with the Twins, touching 96 MPH with his fastball and demonstrating pinpoint command. In 19 ⅔ innings so far this season, Nathan has struck out 24, walked just 2, saved 10 of 11 opportunities, and managed an ERA of 2.41 and WHIP of 0.96.

Furthermore, Nathan’s addition essentially amounted to adding a starting pitcher for the same price, as it allowed Neftali Feliz to move to the rotation.

Yes, it is refreshing to know that the Rangers have an exceptional and intelligent front office. It is also empowering to have discovered an easy way to look smart – simply agree with everything they do.

Also born on May 16th:

Megan Fox
An Estonian Footballer named Taavi Rahn
The Lone Ranger
Tracey Gold from Growing Pains
Rapper Special Ed
And of course, yours truly.

The Rangers are going to make the playoffs. A bold prediction? Hardly. You’ll have to search far and wide to find someone who disagrees with this projection. Rather, the question now is whether or not they finish 2012 with the best record in the American League, and where the team’s final tally will line up among the great teams of recent memory.

The incentive to finish the season with the league’s best record is the highest it has been since divisional play began in 1969. The team with the best record will secure home field advantage, and have the opportunity to potentially play the league’s fifth best team, and a team weakened by pitching its ace in a one game wild card playoff.

Despite a recent “slump” that left them on the losing side of series against Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Cleveland, the Rangers are currently on pace to win 106 games.

The Rangers play a very favorable schedule from here until the All-Star Break. Their opponents combined for a .472 winning percentage in 2011. Furthermore, their schedule is heavily weighted towards the laggards, including two series a piece against Houston, Seattle, and Oakland.

In other words, it’s time for the Rangers to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the American League, and move a step closer to finishing their unfinished business from 2010 and 2011.

A personal aside:

In the middle of March, I accepted a position with a Google Apps for Business premier partner, and I officially changed careers on April 2nd. I will remain a partner of the Philippines call center I started in ‘07, but will no longer have an active role within the company.

I moved into a great new home on 4/14. I have steadfastly attempted to keep a promise to my wife that I would handle the entire process.

And last but not least, to say the least, I expect to become a father sometime within the next week. My wife’s due date was yesterday, and it’s looking like she won’t go too late. With good luck, my daughter will arrive this weekend.

All this while I have been able to enjoy watching probably the best Rangers team in history.

Life is good.

Rangers fans saw a welcome and familiar face on Monday night: Trent Williams. He’s not a player, or an individual involved in the game in anyway, but a fan who often appears at the team’s best moments. Williams is a regular at Rangers Ballpark, and seems to catch just about every home run hit onto the centerfield lawn. He celebrates when he catches a Ranger homer, and has shown off a pretty impressive arm when throwing back those of the opposition. After catching a bomb off the bat of Josh Hamilton last night, Williams debuted a new home run dance in front of potentially millions of fans around the world.

1. Season tickets are still on sale.
2. 159 regular season games still remain.
3. The 2012 Rangers are probably the best team in the franchise’s 40 year history.

The Rangers have improved their record in every season since they went 75-87 in Ron Washington’s first season as Rangers manager in 2007. It looks like the trend may very well continue despite their franchise high of 96 wins in 2011.

2011 marked the first time in my memory that the Rangers didn’t really need another starting pitcher. When July came around, the Rangers attention was instead directed towards adding bullpen depth.

In 2012, it doesn’t look like the Rangers need to add anybody.

Don’t get me wrong, this team isn’t perfect, and can always get better. They could use a star first baseman and a right handed bat off the bench. But that’s probably nitpicking.

I’m not overreacting to a small sample size of the season’s first weekend. After all, they did lose a game on Saturday to the lowly White Sox. Still, it’s hard not to look at the team’s October configuration implemented in April, and quickly realize just how special this team has a chance to be. Josh Hamilton in centerfield makes the offense significantly better, and probably baseball’s best. The rotation depth gives the team a chance to win every day. The presence of Mike Adams and Alexi Ogando in middle relief gives Ron Washington the opportunity to choke off opponents’ rallies with a wave of his right arm.

Nothing lasts forever. The Rangers should be able to withstand the impact of several key players hitting free agency at the end of the year. But in 2013, the team that might be MLB’s best won’t be the same. Fans should appreciate what they’re witnessing, savor and enjoy the 2013 season, and try not to miss a minute of it.

The Rangers take on the White Sox today in Arlington. I think you know what that means.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

Well, sort of disappointing so far this Spring. When judging whether a team improved year over year, most commentators simply look at what moves were made during the offseason, and forecast a team’s future accordingly. However, when considering the Rangers, the biggest improvements may have been put in place last July. Despite its March struggles, the Rangers bullpen should be another team strength throughout the season.

In the opening months of 2011, the Rangers bullpen featured Dave Bush, Brett Tomko, Mason Tobin, Arthur Rhodes, and Ryan Tucker. Darren Oliver was temporarily the team’s closer when Neftali Feliz hit the disabled list in May. Mid-season trades for Mike Adams and Koji Uehara improved the pen, and the postseason move of Alexi Ogando to the bullpen created a dominant force in the late innings. Scott Feldman is healthy and should be one of the better long relievers in the game.

The American League Champions’ roster is mostly intact, and now that Texas’ short flings with Conor Jackson and Brad Hawpe have met their bitter end, we can look at some of the bullpen questions in more detail.

A few question marks:

Joe Nathan

Nathan lacked velocity and struggled early in Spring Training. This week, he pitched back-to-back days for the first time this spring and reported that his arm felt stronger in his second outing. Nathan’s velocity was also up and ranged between 92-94 MPH. It seems unlikely that Nathan will return to his Mariano Rivera comps of the last decade, but should do a sufficient job closing out games.

Koji Uehara

Uehara’s dominance in Baltimore enticed Jon Daniels into trading Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis for what was supposed to be a critical piece in the postseason bullpen. In 43 games and 47 innings with the Orioles, Uehara walked only 8, struck out 62, and posted an ERA of 1.72. The team believes a few bad outings upon joining Texas shattered his confidence, and he was left off of the World Series roster. The Rangers had hoped that he would have put it behind him during the offseason, but things have only gotten worse. In 8 ⅓ innings through Thursday, Uehara has allowed 11 runs, including four homers. I’m starting to seriously doubt that Uehara will be a Ranger come October.

Mark Lowe

Is it just me, or does Lowe cough up a long-ball in each of his trips to the mound? It’s not just bad World Series memories, either. So far this Spring: 8 innings, 4 runs, and 2 homers. It’s hard not to question the $1.7 million Texas gifted Lowe this Winter.

Robert Ross

Robbie Ross has created an interesting dilemma for the Rangers. Based on his ceiling to potentially become a middle to back-end left handed starter, MLB.com ranked Ross as Texas’ fifth best prospect, and Baseball America listed him 14th. However, if the Rangers convert him to the bullpen now, his overall value will decrease, and there may be no turning back. The reality is, Ross isn’t likely to ever penetrate the Rangers rotation. His value as a starter would be as a trade chip, and the Rangers traded similarly talented starters Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to San Diego for Mike Adams last summer. If the Rangers value a dominant reliever over two middling prospects, than Ross’ ability to stand out should answer any questions regarding his future.