Heading into 2014, however, I'm about as comfortable listing the Rangers rotation as I am on the Superman ride at Six Flags. Yeah - eek. The Rangers don't have much of a rotation. They have an infirmary. It led me to thinking on my car ride home from work:
Could this season be a complete disaster?
Consider:
- Yu Darvish's back acted up, forcing him to miss Opening Day.
- Derek Holland is out half the year with a knee injury.
- Matt Harrison needs more time to recover from back surgery.
- Colby Lewis needs more time to recover from hip and flexor tendon surgery.
- Neftali Feliz, unimpressive this spring, is headed to AAA.
- Jurickson Profar is out 10-12 weeks with a shoulder injury.
- Geovany Soto is out 10-12 weeks with a torn meniscus.
The Rangers ideal rotation: Darvish, Holland, Harrison, Perez and Lewis. Hey, one of five ain't bad, right?
I wrote earlier in the winter how any extended time missed by Darvish would be catastrophic, more so than any other player on the roster. This team won't win the division without Darvish starting 25-30 games.
It's not like the Rangers are the only squad battling pitching injuries. The A's will have to deal without ace Jarrod Parker (Tommy John), while the Mariners could miss Hisashi Iwakuma for the first month. It happens. But it just seems like it's happened to the Rangers a lot already.
I don't want to get into questioning the offseason regimen, strength program or any nonsense like that. But I do fear the beginning of the 2014 season.
I fear the offense is going to be put in bad spots, like making up big scoreboard numbers because of an inexperienced pitching staff. Sure, the offense can bash on paper, but it's a new group of guys that may require some time to heat up. If you fall in a deep hole early in the season - paging Anaheim Angels of the last two years - it can be difficult to recover.
Admittedly, I could be overreacting. Darvish, Harrison and Lewis could only miss a turn or two in the rotation. Holland, known as an aggressive rehabber, could give the team a boost shortly before the All-Star break. The offense could gel instantly. But that represents the stars aligning. Forgive me if I have my doubts.
It's not like the Rangers are the only squad battling pitching injuries. The A's will have to deal without ace Jarrod Parker (Tommy John), while the Mariners could miss Hisashi Iwakuma for the first month. It happens. But it just seems like it's happened to the Rangers a lot already.
I don't want to get into questioning the offseason regimen, strength program or any nonsense like that. But I do fear the beginning of the 2014 season.
I fear the offense is going to be put in bad spots, like making up big scoreboard numbers because of an inexperienced pitching staff. Sure, the offense can bash on paper, but it's a new group of guys that may require some time to heat up. If you fall in a deep hole early in the season - paging Anaheim Angels of the last two years - it can be difficult to recover.
Admittedly, I could be overreacting. Darvish, Harrison and Lewis could only miss a turn or two in the rotation. Holland, known as an aggressive rehabber, could give the team a boost shortly before the All-Star break. The offense could gel instantly. But that represents the stars aligning. Forgive me if I have my doubts.
Hoping the offense/bullpen can tread water until Darvish and some of the other starters get back in the mix. Healthy, we're dangerous. But can we compete with this many holes?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Scott! Exactly, I think when healthy, this team should win the AL West. And it's like, OK, Holland out for half the season. Fine, no problem. But Harrison and Lewis still need time, and the icing on the cake with Yu out? Ahh! The offense is going to have to carry us early on, and I just hope we can come swinging out of the gate, because if not, it may be a long first month. I hope the arms prove me wrong, and I'd be so thrilled.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the lineup?
I want to summarize my Rangers fan qualifications: I've been a Rangers fan since 1976 (credit the Red Sox-Reds World Series for getting me hooked) and I spent many a steamy night at old Arlington Stadium while living in Dallas from 1987-1993.
ReplyDeleteIf baseball was won on paper, I'd almost give up. But, it's won on the field. The Rangers aren't the only team with injuries, so the outlook is fuzzy to me. Am I nervous about the patchwork rotation? Absolutely, any Rangers fan who isn't also thinks the Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl every year. But, I'd like to wait and see for the first couple of weeks to see how the offensive chemistry pans out. The Rangers have won the first series with two straight walk-off wins. The bad news is they needed to come back, the good news is they came back. Opening Day was a freakish occurrence with that extreme wind blowing out. Take an inexperienced starter like Scheppers and a fly ball pitcher like Cliff Lee and that's the kind of game you get with those conditions.
I've been a fan so long, I understand this sport is one where you want your team to contend. If you expect World Series titles year after year, this sport will drive you bonkers! I think the Rangers can contend because I believe they can stay in the thick of it until the rotation gets healthy again. I just hope the rush to the majors doesn't ruin Martinez. But, I'll give him a couple starts before I pass judgment.
Hey Tracy, I first want to commend you for your long-time fandom! You are to be respected greatly for decades of Rangers experience. I've been watching the team closely since 2002, so it's not been quite as long. What a roller coaster it has been.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on not rushing to judgment too quickly. In the digital age of spouting off on Twitter after seemingly every at-bat, that's a tough thing to do. Case in point with Mitch on Wednesday. He looked pretty bad in his first two at-bats, including grounding into a DP. Then he hits the huge triple and bangs out another RBI to finish with two hits. Before the two hits, I read some pretty mean stuff towards him on Twitter. Maybe I should just not read Twitter during games!
Out of curiosity, Tracy, how did you come across the blog? Feel free to come back at any time and join in the conversation!
-Eric
Sorry for the long delay in responding. I found this blog from the Texas Rangers group on LinkedIn.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of Rangers fans are Cowboys fans (I'm also a big Cowboys fan) who've found a bandwagon to jump on. In the NFL, every game is more important that every game in MLB, so fans tend to have huge reactions. They are bringing this to MLB and they don't understand that MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. There's going to be streaks. Right now, the Rangers have won 4 straight are now up 4-1 on the White Sox (thank God for SiriusXM radio to listen to the hometown broadcast here in Maryland).
I have given up trying to talk baseball with a lot of "fans" because they just don't understand the game. There are some fans with good knowledge on mlb.com, so I usually have conversations on there.
Nice, the LinkedIn group has helped get the word out and generate awesome conversation. I agree with you on the Cowboys fans. There is a tendency to overreact in baseball to a bad game, or even a few bad days. It's such a marathon season that you just have to stay afloat and get on a few good streaks to bolster your record. You're welcome to post on the blog regularly! I enjoy the conversation.
ReplyDelete-Eric