Eat, Drink and Sleep Baseball

Rangers, Napoli avoid arbitration with one-year contract

2012-02-12T08:00:00.003-05:00

The Texas Rangers and catcher Mike Napoli agreed to a one-year contract worth $9.4 million to avoid salary arbitration, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Napoli had asked for $11.5 million and the Rangers had offered $8.3 million.

Although he played in more games in the previous two seasons, Napoli set career highs in 2011 with 30 home runs, 72 runs and 75 runs batted in.

Even more impressively, he hit .320 and he's a career .264 hitter. His previous career high in batting average was .273.

After Cleveland's Carlos Santana and Atlanta's Brian McCann, Napoli is my third-ranked fantasy catcher heading into the 2012 season.

Report: Rangers and Nelson Cruz close on two-year deal

2012-02-09T06:25:00.006-05:00

The Texas Rangers and shortstop Elvis Andrus agreed to a three-year contract worth $14.4 million yesterday.

Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz may be next.

Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers and Cruz are close to a two-year deal, which would eliminate the need for their arbitration hearing next week (and next year).

In each of the past three seasons, Cruz has played in 128 regular-season games or less. During that span, Cruz has 84 home runs, 241 runs batted in and 46 stolen bases in 360 games.

If, a big if, Cruz could stay healthy for 150 games this season and maintain his per-game average from the past three seasons, he would hit 35 home runs, 100 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases.

Cruz is the 10th-ranked fantasy outfielder in our 2012 preseason rankings.

Nelson Cruz heads to the 15-day disabled list

2011-05-07T20:00:00.001-04:00

Two-thirds of the Texas Rangers' starting outfield is now on the disabled list.

Joining teammate Josh Hamilton, who broke his arm sliding into home earlier in the season, Nelson Cruz was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained quad.

Since Cruz last played on Tuesday, the move is retroactive to Wednesday. Naturally, Cruz was disappointed by the move.

"It's not good, not fun. I want to play,'' Cruz said (via Sports Illustrated). "The safe thing is to rest.''

Cruz, who landed on the DL three times and played only 108 games in 2010, is htting .219 with seven home runs, 18 runs batted in and one stolen base on the season.

Texas has recalled Craig Gentry from Triple-A to take Cruz's roster spot.

Nelson Cruz out of Thursday's lineup, too

2011-05-05T19:52:00.001-04:00

Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz left Tuesday's game against the Mariners with tightness in his quad.

"I feel good right now," Cruz said Tuesday, per ESPN's Richard Durrett. "We'll wait until tomorrow and see. Hopefully, it should be just one day."

It's not "just one day" as Cruz is out of Thursday's lineup as well.

Cruz, who hit a home run in each of the team's first four games of the year, has struggled since April 10th.

In the first eight games, Cruz hit .360 with five home runs and ten runs batted in. Since then, Cruz is hitting only .175 (14 for 80) with two home runs and eight runs batted in.

Considering he had hoped he would have returned for tonight's game, it doesn't appear that Cruz will be out any or much longer.

Neftali Feliz to 15-day DL, Rangers to use closer-by-committee approach

2011-04-23T18:37:00.004-04:00

It seems that there have been a greater number of injuries to key players this April than there has been in the first month in recent memory.

Players such as Tampa's Evan Longoria, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman and Minnesota's Joe Mauer are just a few of the elite players that have landed on the disabled list (DL). Two players (Matt Holliday and Adam Dunn) even had emergency appendectomies.

And after already losing outfielder Josh Hamilton for six-to-eight weeks, the Rangers have placed their closer, Neftali Feliz, on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation.

The move is retroactive to Thursday, which means Feliz will be eligible to return on May 6th when the Rangers begin a three-game series at home against the Yankees.

"If this was somebody older, who had dealt with this before, we might just give him a few days off," [general manager Jon] Daniels said, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "But we want to be extra cautious."

Right-hander Cody Eppley from Triple-A Round Rock will take his spot on the active roster.

Last season, Feliz set the rookie record for saves (40) in a season and won the A.L. Rookie of the Year award. This year, Feliz has converted all five of his save opportunities and has a 1.08 ERA.

As far as the interim closer while Feliz is out, it's going to be a closer-by-committee approach. Per Anthony Andro of Fort Worth Star-Telegram, manager Ron Washington said, "We've got no bona fide closer right now."

Alex Rodriguez left game in 6th inning, status for Sunday unclear

2011-04-16T21:18:00.001-04:00

In today's win over the Rangers, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez left the game in the sixth inning due to lower back and oblique stiffness.

And it's unclear whether he'll be able to play Sunday or not.

“We’ll see how I wake up,” Rodriguez said, per Zach Berman of the Newark Star-Ledger. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but hopefully I wake up much better and the weather helps.”

“I’ll listen to him, I’ll listen to our doctors and our trainers about him and if he’s stiff tomorrow, he probably won’t play,” manager Joe Girardi said. “But if he comes in tomorrow and says he’s ready to go, I’ll talk to the trainers and the doctors and see what they think.”

With the Yankees being off on Monday, it may make sense to rest him Sunday and play it safe.

Off to a great start, Rodriguez has hit safely in all 12 games and is currently hitting .385 with four home runs and nine runs batted in.

Nelson Cruz hits home run in fourth straight game

2011-04-05T00:16:00.004-04:00

Heading into tonight's game against the Mariners, Ranger teammates Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz each had a three-game homer streak to start the season.

Although Kinsler did not hit a home run tonight, Cruz did.

That means that Cruz joins Willie Mays and Mark McGwire as the only players in baseball history to begin a season with a home run in each of the first four games.

Last year, Cruz started hot as well as he hit a home run in four of his first five games to start the season.

Of course, the end of the season is more important than the start of the season for Cruz, who has missed a combined 88 games in the past two seasons.

Over the past two seasons, however, Cruz still managed to belt 55 home runs and steal 37 bases, which would be a 162-game pace of 37-25 as I noted in my fantasy outfielder rankings.

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Outfielder Rankings

2011-03-30T06:58:00.008-04:00

Our top three fantasy outfielders in 2011 are the same top three fantasy outfielders that most other sites have in their top three. However, I've seen all three in the top spot at a relatively even split. In an ideal world, I'd like to get my No. 1 outfielder as the third outfielder off the board.

Here are our top 50 outfielders in fantasy baseball for 2011:

1. Ryan Braun, Brewers: Although Braun hit a career-low 25 home runs in 2010, he has 90-plus runs, 97-plus runs batted in and 14-plus steals every year. Plus, he has hit .300-plus in three out of four seasons.

2. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: What a breakout season it was for Gonzalez! Despite missing 15 games, he finished with a line of .336-111-34-117-26. As solid as he was across the board, CarGo played much better at Coors Field (.380, 26 homers, 76 RBIs) than on the road (.289, eight homers, 41 RBIs) in 2010.

3. Carl Crawford, Red Sox: Crawford set career highs in runs scored (110), home runs (19) and runs batted in (90) last year in Tampa. In the past five years, Crawford has hit over .300 four times. And with the exception of his 109-game season in 2008, Crawford has stolen 46-plus bases every year since 2003.

4. Matt Holliday, Cardinals: Excluding his .290 batting average in his rookie season (.290), Holliday's full-year batting averages have been .300-plus every year. While he's unlikely to ever steal 28 bases again (as he did in 2008), Holliday will help in all counting numbers to the tune of roughly 95-100 runs, 100-110 runs batted in, 25-30 homers and 10-15 steals.

5. Matt Kemp, Dodgers: Other than a small year-over-year increase in home runs (26 to 28), Kemp's numbers declined across the board in 2010 from 2009. After three straight seasons hitting .290-plus, his average plummeted to .249. In addition, he saw year-over-year declines in runs scored (97 to 82), runs batted in (101 to 89) and stolen bases (34 to 19).

6. Josh Hamilton, Rangers: When projecting Hamilton's fantasy value, the first thing you need to take into consideration is the number of games you expect him to play. Even so, he can be highly productive when he misses plenty of games as he proved last year by being named the A.L. MVP despite missing almost 30 games.

7. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians: In 2010, three players hit .300-plus, hit 20-plus home runs and stole 20-plus bases: Florida's Hanley Ramirez, Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez and Choo. For Choo, he's done so in back-to-back seasons (his only two where he has played 100-plus games).

8. Nelson Cruz, Rangers: Over the past two seasons, Cruz has missed 88 games but he still managed to hit 55 home runs and steal 37 bases during that span. That's a 162-game pace of 37 home runs and 25 steals.

9. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks: Upton, the number one overall draft pick in 2005, is still only 23 years old and undoubtedly has plenty of upside. Over the past two years, Upton have averaged 21.5 home runs and 19 steals despite averaging only 135.5 games. With good health, Upton should easily reach 20-20 with the potential for 30-25.

10. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: Like Justin Upton, McCutchen was a high first-round pick in 2005 and has plenty of upside. As a 23-year-old, McCutchen finished with a line of .286-94-16-56-33. Since he'll start the season batting third in the Pirates' lineup, McCutchen should see his RBIs increase by a significant amount over last year's 56.

11. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: Since Ichiro won't help you in home runs and runs batted in, his value is tied to how well he performs in the batting average and steals categories. Over the past four seasons, he's had two seasons with .350-plus batting averages and two seasons with 40-plus steals. Only if he could do both in the same season (which he hasn't since 2001 and likely won't) ...

12. Jayson Werth, Nationals: Werth will play half of his games in Washington instead of Philadelphia, which is a bit of a concern, in 2011. That said, I can see a season of .275-100-25-100-15 (or close to it) for Werth.

13. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Although there's virtually no chance that he duplicates his 54-homer performance from 2010, Bautista could hit 35 or so homers with 100 runs batted in. Even better, he also has position eligibility at third base.

14. Jason Heyward, Braves: Heyward, who will turn 22 years old in August, hit .301 after the All-Star break in his rookie season last year. This spring, Heyward has been hitting the ball well (.356 average over 18 games). I see a line of .290-90-25-90-10 for Heyward in 2011.

15. Hunter Pence, Astros: Pence set career highs in runs scored (93), runs batted in (91) and stolen bases (18) in addition to tying his existing career high in home runs (25) in 2010. With a solid average (career .287 hitter), Pence should help in all categories at a very fair price.

16. Alex Rios, White Sox: There were 38 outfielders that hit 20-plus home runs in 2010. There were 15 outfielders that stole 30-plus bases in 2010. There were only two that did both -- Rios and Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs. The worry about Rios is his inconsistency and 15 (of his 21) home runs and 23 (of his 34) stolen bases came before the All-Star break.

17. Andre Ethier, Dodgers: Ethier got off to a hot start (.392 average, 11 homers and 38 runs batted in through 33 games) before fracturing his right pinky finger, which he feels bothered him after he came back too soon from the injury. He still managed to finish the season with a .292 average, 23 home runs and 82 runs batted in despite missing 23 games.

18. Mike Stanton, Marlins: Between Double-A and the Marlins, Stanton hit 43 home runs and 111 runs batted in combined. Stanton has big-time power and could come close to hitting 40 homers in his first full season in the big leagues. (Take our poll on how many home runs Stanton will hit in 2011.)

19. Jay Bruce, Reds: Bruce, who will turn 24 in April, hit .281 -- .338 from August to October -- with 25 home runs last season. As MLB.com's John Schlegel points out, Bruce has hit more home runs (68) than any other player his age and he ranks 41st all-time for most home runs in his first three seasons.

20. Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: As the Red Sox leadoff hitter, Ellsbury should hit for a good average and rack up a ton of steals and runs. If you're a glass-half-empty kind-of guy, he won't do much to help in the power categories.

21. B.J. Upton, Rays: In the past two seasons, Upton has hit .241 or less. On a positive note, however, Upton has stolen 40-plus bases for three consecutive seasons. In addition, he hit 18 home runs last year while setting a career high in doubles (38). Had a couple of those doubles been homers, he would have been the only 20-40 outfielder last season.

22. Delmon Young, Twins: Young, baseball's top overall draft pick in 2003, hit nearly .300 (.298, to be exact) while setting career highs in home runs (21) and runs batted in (112) last year.

23. Chris Young, Diamondbacks: Young set career highs in runs scored (94), runs batted in (91), stolen bases (28) and batting average (.257) while belting 27 home runs. Provided the composition of your team will help you withstand the negative impact Young will have on your team's batting average, Young will help you all other categories.

24. Shane Victorino, Phillies: From 2006 to 2009, Victorino hit .281 or better every season. Although his batting average slipped to .259 in 2010, it was also the only season since 2006 in which his BABIP was below .300. Expect a bounce-back in average for the Flyin' Hawaiian, who has averaged 92 runs, 14 homers and 33 steals over the past four seasons.

25. Drew Stubbs, Reds: While Stubbs won't help any in batting average, Stubbs was one of only two outfielders to hit 20-plus home runs and steal 30-plus bases in 2010, as noted above.

26. Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
27. Corey Hart, Brewers
28. Curtis Granderson, Yankees
29. Nick Markakis, Orioles
30. Carlos Lee, Astros
31. Torii Hunter, Angels
32. Bobby Abreu, Angels
33. Adam Jones, Orioles
34. Michael Bourn, Astros
35. Ben Zobrist, Rays
36. Juan Pierre, White Sox
37. Carlos Quentin, White Sox
38. Vernon Wells, Angels
39. Brett Gardner, Yankees
40. Nick Swisher, Yankees
41. Aubrey Huff, Giants
42. Grady Sizemore, Indians
43. Jason Bay, Mets
44. Rajai Davis, Blue Jays
45. Michael Cuddyer, Twins
46. Carlos Beltran, Mets
47. Chris Coghlan, Marlins
48. Denard Span, Twins
49. Manny Ramirez, Rays
50. Tyler Colvin, Cubs

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

See our fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS - 3B

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Third Basemen Rankings

2011-03-29T19:17:00.010-04:00

Third base isn't exceptionally deep, but a couple of solid options (Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Seattle's Chone Figgins) will earn eligibility at the position in April.

Here are our top 15 fantasy third basemen for 2011:

1. Evan Longoria, Rays: Everywhere you look, Longoria will likely be the top-ranked fantasy third baseman and you'll likely need a top-five to have the chance to draft him. As the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Longoria is still only 25 years old with plenty of upside. In other words, a season of .294-100-33-113-15, which are his career highs, (or better) is certainly possible in 2011. (And hopefully there won't be any more stolen AK-47 stories this year.)

2. David Wright, Mets: After a disappointing 2009 season, Wright was shy of a 30-20 season by exactly one home run and one stolen base. By hitting a career-low .283 last year, Wright ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of hitting .300-plus. In other words, if things fall into place, Wright has as good of a chance as any third basemen to finish with a line of .300-100-30-100-20.

3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: Zimmerman missed 20 games last season, but he set career highs in home runs (33), runs scored (110) and runs batted in (106) while playing 157 games in 2009. Although he won't steal many bases, he will provide a boost in all of the other four categories.

4. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A year older? Who isn't, right? Granted, A-Rod is nowhere near the all-around fantasy stud he once was and he hasn't played more than 138 games in any of the past three seasons. That said, Rodriguez has posted 30-plus homers and 100-plus runs batted in every season since 1998 including in the past three seasons. In my opinion, he's sliding to a point where he could out to be a bargain in most drafts.

5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Although he's not yet eligible at third base, he will be at some point in April depending on your league's eligibility requirements. Here's what I wrote about Youkilis in our first base rankings, where he's No. 7: "Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300."

6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre, who turns 32 years old in April, is now entering his 14th season in the big leagues. Only twice in his 13 years has he hit over .300 with 28-plus home runs and 100-plus runs batted in. Coincidentally, both of those seasons happened before getting a big contract. While he has the skills to do it a third time in his career in 2011, I'd like to see back-to-back strong seasons from Beltre before I'm a buyer at these prices.

7. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista led all of baseball in home runs last year with 54, which is nearly equal to his home run output from 2004 to 2009 (59 home runs total). While a repeat performance is highly unlikely, there's a good chance that he can follow up last year's league-leading performance with 35-40 homers in 2011.

8. Casey McGehee, Brewers: Only two other third basemen -- Longoria and A-Rod -- have more runs batted in than McGehee (149) since July 1, 2010. While he won't steal bases, like most third basemen won't, McGehee will help in the other four statistical categories in standard 5x5 categories at a very reasonable cost.

9. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: Last year, Ramirez hit only .241, which was lowest batting average since 2002. From 2004 to 2009, Ramirez hit .289 or higher every season including .300-plus in four out of six seasons. Although Ramirez only played 124 games last year, he drove in 100-plus runs in all five seasons in which he has played 125-plus games since 2003. Provided he can stay healthy, a bounce-back season seems reasonable.

10. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: Sandoval broke out in 2009 -- hitting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in. Although he had a disappointing season in 2010, Sandoval is only 24 years old, lost a substantial amount of weight in the off-season and shortened his swing. Based on his average draft position of 127 from Mock Draft Central, Sandoval seems to offer more reward than risk this season.

11. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: There's no doubt that Alvarez has tremendous upside and potential. Although Alvarez struck out in 34.3 percent of his major league at bats last year, he combined for 29 home runs and 117 runs batted in between Triple-A and the big leagues.

12. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.

13. Michael Young, Rangers: Young, who is a career .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. While he may or may not hit 20-plus homers in three straight seasons for the first time in his career, Young is one of the more consistent hitters in the game.

14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles: The good news? Reynolds is the only player in baseball to hit 100-plus home runs and steal 40-plus bases during the past three seasons. The bad news? He's hit .234 during that span while striking out an average of 213 times per season.

15. Ian Stewart, Rockies: Stewart isn't going to win a batting title any time soon and missed about a quarter of the 2010 season. But with good health, Stewart has the power to hit 25-30 home runs in an offense that features two of baseball's elite hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

See our other fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Second Basemen Rankings

2011-03-27T14:29:00.006-04:00

The biggest question at second base heading into the 2011 season is what will fantasy owners get from Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.

When healthy and at his best, Utley is elite. He has posted career highs in the standard five rotisserie categories, as follows: .332-131-33-105-23.

The problem is the health, or lack thereof, of Utley's knee, which will likely land him on the disabled list to start the season. From a fantasy perspective, the bigger worry is that improvement in his knee seems to be moving a snail's pace. How soon will he be back? Will the injury linger and affect his performance when he's back on the field?

Here are our top 15 fantasy second basemen for 2011:

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees: With the exception of stolen bases, Cano puts up elite stats across the board at a relatively weak position. Cano, who set career highs in home runs (29) and runs batted in (109) in 2010, has the second-most hits in all of baseball over the past two seasons.

2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: In addition to hitting over .300 for his career, Pedroia gives fantasy owners the potential for a 15-20 season. Despite missing half of last year, Pedroia ranks tenth in the majors in runs scored (286) from 2008 to 2010.

3. Dan Uggla, Braves: At a position where power hitters are less common, Uggla has a been a model of consistency when it comes to power. In each of the past four seasons, Uggla has hit 31-33 home runs and has driven in 90-plus runs including a career-high 105 last season. But will you get his career-low .243 (2009) or career-high .287 (2010) batting average? Although he's a career .354 hitter in his new home ballpark (Turner Field), the answer likely falls somewhere in between that range.

4. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: The biggest knock on Kinsler is playing time (123.6 games per season over past five years). If healthy, Kinsler has the potential to put up elite numbers. For example, when he played a career-high 144 games (2009), Kinsler hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases.

5. Brandon Phillips, Reds: For the first time in four seasons, Phillips failed to have a 20-20 season. In 2010, he finished with 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases. The majority of Phillips' at-bats in 2010 came at one of the top two spots of the lineup after mostly batting cleanup in 2009. The effect? His runs batted in dropped from 98 in 2009 to a five-year low of 59 in 2010.

6. Chase Utley, Phillies: Two seasons removed from a 30-20 season, Utley will most likely begin the 2011 season on the disabled list after missing a total of 47 games last year. If he were healthy, Utley would be second on this list.

7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: Speaking of health, Weeks played an average of 95 games per season from 2005 through 2009 before playing a career-high 160 games last year. Naturally, he set career-highs in runs scored (112), hits (175), home runs (29) and runs batted in (83) in 2010. The only way he approaches those numbers again is if he can stay healthy for two seasons in a row. Before last year, he hadn't done that for one season in a row.

8. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.

9. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: After hitting 14 homers with 63 runs batted in over 103 games in his rookie season, Beckham seemed poised for a breakout season last year. The eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft got off to an incredibly slow start in 2010, but he picked up the pace as he hit .310 after the All-Star break. Beckham, who will bat second for the White Sox this season, is a guy I've targeted in most of my drafts this year.

10. Ben Zobrist, Rays: Like Prado, Zobrist has multi-position eligibility as a second baseman and outfielder (and first baseman in Yahoo! leagues). After a breakout season in 2009 (.297-91-27-91-17), Zobrist really struggled down the stretch last season. After the All-Star break, Zobrist hit only .177 and hit .200 or lower per month from July to October. On a positive note, Zobrist stole a career-high 24 bases in 2010 and will likely have even more base-stealing opportunities as the team's leadoff hitter.

11. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: Not only did Hill have the lowest BABIP (.196) of his career, it was the lowest in all of baseball. Even with the horrible BABIP and batting average (.205), Hill still managed to hit 26 home runs in 2010.

12. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: In his first season with the Diamondbacks, Johnson set career highs in runs (93), hits (166), home runs (26), runs batted in (71) and stolen bases (13) in 2010. Johnson hit .311 with 16 of his 26 home runs at Chase Field last year.

13. Howie Kendrick, Angels: The direction of his batting averages over the past four seasons isn't what you'd like to see: .322 (2007), .306 (2008), .291 (2009) and .279 (2010). That said, he set career highs in several counting statistics: runs scored (67), runs batted in (75), stolen bases (14) and tied his career high in home runs (ten).

14. Chone Figgins, Mariners: Since 2004, Figgins has stolen 30-plus bases every season. In five of the past six seasons, he has stolen 40-plus bases. Figgins is having a good spring (.349 average and four steals in 16 games).

15. Brian Roberts, Orioles: When healthy, Roberts has provided fantasy owners with lots of runs and stolen bases and a decent batting average. Before missing 100-plus games in 2010, Roberts stole 30-plus bases for four consecutive seasons although he went from 50 (2007) to 40 (2008) to 30 (2009).

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

Rangers name Neftali Feliz as its closer for 2011

2011-03-24T16:38:00.003-04:00

Although he was scheduled to start against the Padres today, Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz will instead come out of the bullpen.

Despite pitching well enough this spring to earn a spot in the rotation, manager Ron Washington believes Feliz will be of greater value to the team as its closer.

"That's exactly what I told him," Washington said, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. "Right now, for our organization, we're better off with him in the bullpen. We haven't closed the door on him being a starter. We're just not ready yet."

The Rangers starting rotation will be C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland.

Feliz, who was named the A.L. Rookie of the Year, finished with 40 saves last year.

Kinsler just said 'no' to a day off

2010-05-06T07:54:00.004-04:00

From a fantasy baseball perspective, the knock on drafting Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler in the first two rounds was his history of missing a considerable number of games each season and his relatively low batting average (.253 last season).

Well, after playing five straight days since his disabled-list stint, Kinsler refused a day off on Wednesday, according to Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News.

"It's getting better every day, and my legs are starting to feel better," he said. "I feel like I'm ready to play every day."

Since returning from the DL, Kinsler has hit safely in five of his six games and is batting .292. But he has yet to hit a home run, steal a base or drive in a run.

Even though he missed 18 games in 2009, Kinsler was the only player to finish with a 30-30 season. It's not unreasonable that Kinsler approaches 30-30 again this year provided he stays healthy for the remainder of the season. That's a big if, I know.

But having no steals or home runs as of May 6th could mean that a frustrated Kinsler owner could be willing to part ways with him at a discounted price. It may, at least, be worth testing the waters to see what it would take before Kinsler starts to produce.

Rangers place Nelson Cruz on DL

2010-04-27T22:53:00.004-04:00

The Texas Rangers have placed slugger Nelson Cruz on the 15-day disabled list, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

Cruz left Monday's game in the fifth inning due to a tight hamstring, but he missed either part or all of three games last week.

Proving last year wasn't a fluke, Cruz was off to a hot start in 2010: .323 average, seven home runs, 17 runs batted in and five stolen bases in 19 games.

He was (more than) on pace to back up his 30-30 guarantee.

Last season, he slowed down on the basepaths after suffering an ankle injury and he finished with only 20 steals. With the lingering effects of hamstring injuries, I'm curious to see how much he'll run once he returns.

To take the place of Cruz on the roster, the Rangers have called up Craig Gentry from Triple-A. Last September, Gentry was 2-for-17 with the Rangers.

Feliz (not Francisco) to close for Texas

2010-04-11T15:08:00.005-04:00

I can't say that I didn't see it coming.

In one of our Fantasy Baseball Weekly podcasts in late-February, we discussed relief pitchers (and catchers). Fearing a potential implosion and subsequent replacement by Neftali Feliz, I mentioned during that podcast that I would avoid Rangers closer Frank Francisco on all of my fantasy baseball teams.

That said, it's happened quicker than I thought although manager Ron Washington implied that the transition is temporary.

“That just didn’t look like Frankie,” Washington said Sunday, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We haven’t seen that [closer] guy … and there’s no way we can go through this year without Frankie Francisco.”

If Feliz has more success than Francisco, who has blown two of three save opportunities, however, it's easy to imagine this move being more than just temporary for the 2010 season.

Ron Washington's job security?

2010-04-05T18:24:00.003-04:00

There are some Texas-sized expectations for the Rangers in 2010, especially from those in the organization.

In fact, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton predicted "96 wins."

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asks in his column in the Dallas Morning News this morning, "Is Ron Washington on the hot seat?"

Washington, who is the fourth and final year of his contract, led the Rangers to 87 wins last year and has improved the club in each of his three seasons. (He won 75 and 79 games in his first two seasons, respectively.)

Despite internal debate over whether to fire Washington after he had failed a drug test last year, the Rangers decided to keep him as their skipper. That said, Wilson mentions the "lingering belief" that the Rangers could be looking to fire Washington, at the earliest convenient opportunity (i.e., losing streak, managerial error, etc.)

"That's silly," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Trust me: Nobody here is looking for something like that. We're all trying to work together to help this team win."

Barring a second failed drug test, which seems unlikely, or something else equally embarrassing for the franchise, it's hard to envision Washington being replaced mid-season.

Perhaps if the Rangers take a step back from 87 wins, Washington may not be back in 2011. Otherwise, a fourth straight year of improvement would seem to guarantee his continued stewardship of the club.

(Note: Win #1 is in the books.)

Nelson Cruz now a national pitch man

2010-04-02T08:01:00.006-04:00

Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz is one of eight players featured in the national ads for 2KSports Major League Baseball 2K10, per Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"It definitely was exciting to be part of the commercial," said Cruz. "I got a chance to meet with those guys like Kendry [Morales], [Justin] Verlander and [Felix] Hernandez. I was really happy to have the chance and the opportunity to be there."

Cruz, who will bat fifth in the Rangers' Opening Day lineup, hit 33 home runs and stole 20 bases in 2009.

How to top his breakout season in 2010?

Cruz guaranteed a 30-30 season and considering his sprained ankle last August nearly halted his stolen base attempts, it at least seems possible provided he can stay healthy.

"I see a very confident Nelson Cruz,” [manager Ron] Washington said. "I see a guy that’s been going about his business like a veteran."

According to MockDraftCentral.com, Cruz is the 16th outfielder drafted with an average draft position of 62. Seems like a steal to me.

Kinsler likely to start season on DL

2010-03-30T18:44:00.001-04:00

When the Rangers open the 2010 season, it's likely that second baseman Ian Kinsler won't be on the field.

According to Jeff Miller of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it's looking more likely that Kinsler will begin the season on the disabled list (DL) as he recovers from his ankle sprain.

"Whatever we decide is going to be in the best interest of Ian," manager Ron Washington said.

Kinsler was baseball's only 30-30 guy in 2009, but he's no stranger to the DL. He's averaged just shy of 130 games per season in his four-year career.

Since several fantasy owners may shy away from Kinsler due to his (lack of) durability, this (potential) brief stint on the DL could cause owners to overreact and create a buying opportunity.

In either case, buyer beware.

Ian Kinsler could miss first four days of season, or not

2010-03-28T08:56:00.005-04:00

One of the big knocks on Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler is his ability (or, lack thereof) to stay healthy. (The other major knock is his relatively low batting average as he's a career .253 hitter.)

After all, he's averaged only 129 games per season in his four-year Major League career.

Now Kinsler, who's ankle is feeling better, said he was "95 percent certain" that he'd be ready for Opening Day on April 5th, per Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News.

Otherwise, he could end up on the disabled list making him eligible to return on April 11th.

"If I miss four days, it's a lot better to miss four days than to miss 15," Kinsler said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "It's always fun to be part of Opening Day; you've got the huge flags and the planes, and the stadium is packed."

Although there are several players who have the ability to put up 30-30 seasons, such as Matt Kemp (Dodgers) and Hanley Ramirez (Marlins), only one player had a 30-30 season in 2009.

That was Ian Kinsler, who played a career-high 144 games.

Kinsler is the consensus second player at second base drafted in fantasy baseball behind Philadelphia's Chase Utley and will cost you a second-round pick.

Lackey ejected Saturday, likely to start Monday?

2009-05-17T16:07:00.004-04:00

Los Angeles Angels pitcher John Lackey, who has thrown a total of two pitches in 2009, will likely start Monday against the Seattle Mariners.

"I'm probably going to start [Monday]," Lackey said as he left the field prior to Sunday's series finale against the Rangers. "It will be good to get back out there."

Lackey was ejected from yesterday's game for throwing at Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler. His first pitch was behind the head of Kinsler. His second pitch hit Kinsler in the ribs.

"I was definitely shocked," said Lackey, who missed the first month and a half of the season because of a forearm strain. "I haven't pitched in six weeks, and I was amped up. I was trying to come in on him, but there was no intention at all to hit him or throw behind him."

The question is will Ichiro be ready to duck for Lackey's third pitch of the season.

Jenks admits to throwing at (behind) Kinsler

2009-05-11T21:52:00.002-04:00

Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks didn't beat around the bush. Jenks says that he meant to throw behind Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler to "send a message."

After Rangers pitchers hit six White Sox batters, Jenks said that he was "sick" of it.

"No, I meant to. To send a message. Basically I was saying, 'I'm sick of seeing our guys get hit and hurt and almost get taken out of the game.' I threw it with intention."

"I'm not going to put a guy on in that situation," he said. "I was not going to hit him. I made my point with that pitch and it came across the way I wanted it to.

"I'm not going to go dirty. I was going to keep it low and behind him."

Jenks got Kinsler out and the White Sox won 3-2, but both teams were warned by umpire Lance Barksdale.

The Hot Corner, 4/21 edition

2009-04-21T21:26:00.014-04:00

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann is back in the lineup after seeing a specialist about his blurry vision. He was fitted with a contact, but still says: “Lasik surgery is the best thing I ever did.”

Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady won't need season-ending surgery and his rehab is being measured in "weeks" not "months."

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit will have wrist surgery on Thursday and miss 8-10 weeks.

Oakland A's reliever Joey Devine is out for the season (probably more) after having Tommy John surgery.

After their 5-7 start, Texas Rangers' GM Jon Daniels says Ron Washington's job is safe. "Ron's our manager. I read about some of the stuff, but there have been zero discussions internally to the contrary. We believe in this team. We believe in this staff."

Through Monday's game, Houston's Lance Berkman is hitting just above the Mendoza line. So, he's taking in more BP. “Anytime you’re not hitting the ball like you’d like it’s always a good idea to try to figure out what’s going on to try to get some extra swings,” Berkman said.

Doc Gooden's signature on the Ebbets Club wall will be ~~removed~~ ~~kept~~ removed from where it is and placed in a more "public" part of the stadium. The men's room, after all?

''The first three games of the season in Miami was a lot like spring training for him,'' [Marlins manager Fredi] Gonzalez said [of closer Matt Lindstrom]. "He [is getting stronger] and by the end of the month he should be good to go.''

Tom Browning, dead-beat Dad and pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Reds, is out of jail (for missing child support).

Home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, who was hit in the head with a broken bat, left the Texas-Toronto game on a stretcher.

Doug Waechter was placed on 15-day DL and Brian Bannister was recalled by the Royals.

The rain delays were worth the wait. Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman got his first career win.

Last but not least, Bob Feller will be throwing some high heat at the Inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic game in Cooperstown, N.Y. in June. "About 10 miles an hour," he said in a statement. "I'll be throwing just as hard as ever, but the ball probably won't be going quite as fast."

Kinsler hits for the cycle

2009-04-15T23:51:00.003-04:00

It apparently is the thing for second basemen to do.

Only two days after Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle, Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler did the same.

For Hudson, he became the first Dodger to hit for the cycle since 1970.

Gary Mathews Jr. was the last Ranger to hit for the cycle on September 13th (2006).

In the process, Kinsler recorded six hits and became only the second Rangers' player to do so.

Who's next?

Chase Utley? Dustin Pedroia? Brandon Phillips?

Washington says Kinsler would have won MVP if...

2009-03-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington says that if Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler didn't miss the final six weeks due to injury, Kinsler would have won the A.L. MVP. The award was won by Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox second baseman.

"There would have been no contest if Kins doesn't get hurt," Washington said. "No doubt about it. He would've put some numbers up that nobody would have caught him. He would've continued to score runs. He would've continued to hit doubles. He would've gotten some more home runs. He would've continued to add to his stolen base total without getting caught."

In 121 games, Kinsler posted a .319 batting average, scored 102 runs, hit 41 doubles and 18 homeruns, drove in 71 RBIs and stole 26 bases. Not only did he steal 26 bases, but he was only thrown out twice.

Pedroia played 157 games. In less games, Kinsler stole more bases and hit more homeruns than Pedroia. If Kinsler played the same number of games as Pedroia, his pace was 132 runs (118 for Pedroia), 53 doubles (54 for Pedroia) and 92 RBIs (83 for Pedroia).

However, injuries are part of baseball (and any sport, for that matter). And baseball is perhaps the game where players go through peaks and valleys more so than other sports. So while I think Kinsler probably would have put up better numbers almost across the board than Pedroia (if healthy), I think Washington's assertion that it would have been "no contest" is off.

That being said, it's always good for team morale when the manager (and/or front office) has the players' backs.

From "A-Rod" to "A-Fraud" to "A-Roid"

2009-02-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

According to SI.com, NY Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, his last season with the Texas Rangers.

The tests in 2003 were supposed to remain anonymous and were intended to determine whether or not the league needed to test for performance-enhancing drugs on a mandatory basis.

A-Rod appears on a list of 104 players that tested positive in 2003.

"This is a mess," one Rodriguez associate told the Daily News. "I'm not sure how he's going to take this. He's never had to deal with anything like this before."

Larry Bowa, who was the Yankees third-base coach, was surprised by the report.

"I'm shocked, I really am," said Bowa. "He's the last guy I would've thought would've done anything. Hopefully, this is a mistake."

Mistake? Yeah, he got caught.

Jose Canseco wasn't surprised as he had called out A-Rod in his book.

"I may not have seen [A-Rod] do the deed, but I set the whole thing up for him, just like he wanted. I saw the changes in his body in a short time," Canseco wrote. "Hell, if you ask me, I did everything but inject the guy myself."

A-Rod had previously told Katie Couric that he never took nor was tempted to take performance-enhancing drugs.

However, when asked about the failed steroids test, A-Rod wasn't talking.

"You have to talk to the union," Rodriguez said. "I'm not saying anything."

A-Rod, who is so concerned with his image, has seen his image get battered in the past month by Joe Torre's book and now the SI report.

I'm interested to see whether he lets the damage to how he's perceived destroy his 2009 season. Or if he puts aside his obsession with his image since it's already destroyed and finally just plays baseball, in which case he might have a monster year.

I think it will be a feast or (more likely) famine year for Rodriguez, who has 553 career homeruns and ranks 12th all-time.