Featuring the likes of Neftali Feliz, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, the Texas Rangers will play 13 home games and 17 away games during the 2012 Cactus League Spring Training.

Note: All game times for Central Standard Time. Schedule is tentative. (SS) represents split squad game. All games are part of Cactus League Spring Training and home games are played at Surprise Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

Texas Rangers 2012 Spring Training Schedule

Sunday, Mar. 4: vs. Kansas City Royals, 1:05 p.m.

Monday, 5: at Kansas City Royals, 2:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 6: at Arizona Diamondbacks, 2:10 p.m.

Wednesday, 7: at San Diego Padres (SS), 2:05 p.m.

Thursday, 8: vs. Chicago White Sox, 2:05 p.m.

Friday, 9: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2:05 p.m.

Saturday, 10: at Chicago White Sox (SS), 2:05 p.m.

Sunday, 11: vs. Cleveland Indians (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Monday, 12: at Seattle Mariners, 3:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 13: at Cleveland Indians, 3:05 p.m.

Wednesday, 14: vs. Colorado Rockies (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Thursday, 15: vs. Oakland Athletics, 3:05 p.m.

Friday, 16: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3:05 p.m.

Saturday, 17: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Saturday, 17: at Chicago Cubs in Las Vegas, NV (SS), TBD

Sunday, 18: at Milwaukee Brewers (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Sunday, 18: at Chicago Cubs in Las Vegas, NV (SS), TBD

Monday, 19: vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 3:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 20: at Chicago Cubs (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Thursday, 22: vs. Chicago Cubs (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Thursday, 22: at Cincinnati Reds (SS), 9:05 p.m.

Friday, 23: at San Francisco Giants, 9:05 p.m.

Saturday, 24: vs. Los Angeles Angels, 3:05 p.m.

Sunday, 25: at Los Angeles Angels, 3:05 p.m.

Monday, 26: vs. Cincinnati Reds, 8:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 27: vs. San Diego Padres (SS), 3:05 p.m.

Wednesday, 28: at Kansas City Royals, 8:05 p.m.

Thursday, 29: vs. San Francisco Giants, 8:05 p.m.

Friday, 30: at Colorado Rockies, 9:10 p.m.

Saturday, 31: at Cleveland Indians, 9:05 p.m.

Sunday, Apr. 1: vs. San Diego Padres, 3:05 p.m.

Sources:

Texas Rangers Spring Training Tentative Schedule, texasrangers.com

Texas Rangers Spring Training Ballpark, texasrangers.com

More from this contributor:

San Francisco Giants 2012 Spring Training Schedule

New Orleans Hornets 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

San Antonio Spurs 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

Philadelphia 76ers 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

Oklahoma City Thunder 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

Follow this contributor on Twitter @_austinchang.

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Read More: yu darvish, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Texas Rangers may have beat out the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs for Japan’s top free agent, Yu Darvish:

The Cubs have reportedly placed a bid on the 25-year-old righty, but the latest reports suggest the two biggest bids were from the Rangers and Blue Jays.

Olney also suggests the Blue Jays may have not won the bidding because they pushed hard for now-Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Latos recently. Had the Jays won the bid, they would have presumably withdrawn from the Latos trade talks sooner.

The MLB and the Nippon Ham Fighters are expected to announce the winning club Monday night.

For more updates on Chicago sports, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of the Cubs, head over to Bleed Cubbie Blue. Also, check out MLB Daily Dish for Cubs rumors and transactions.

The Texas Rangers have not had an ace pitcher for many of their seasons in Arlington, but they now have another former ace that is employed by the club. Just a few weeks ago it seemed that Mike Maddux might be joining his brother Greg in Chicago as the manager for the Cubs, but now it will be the other way around.

Greg Maddux had worked as an assistant to Jim Hendry for the past two seasons in Chicago, but now he will have a similar role with the Rangers. Maddux was a four time Cy Young award winner and compiled a 355-227 record during 22 major league seasons with the Cubs, Braves, Dodgers and Padres. In Texas, Maddux will work with pitchers during major and minor league spring training and will travel to work with minor league pitchers during the season. Maddux won 18 Gold Glove awards during his big league career and that will be one of the specific areas he will be involved with when working with Rangers’ pitchers, along with the mental side of pitching.

Mike Maddux has become one of the best pitching coaches in baseball and now he will have the benefit of working with his brother on a regular basis. It will not only be nice that they get to work closely for the first time in their respective careers, but Mike will also have the luxury of having his own brother work with young pitchers in the Rangers’ organization. Many of those young arms Mike does not get to see until they are in the big leagues.

The Rangers now have Greg Maddux, Mike Maddux and Nolan Ryan that can work with young pitchers at different times and in different capacities. The Rangers are loaded with young, talented pitchers at the big league and minor league levels. Pitchers like Derek Holland(notes), Matt Harrison(notes), Alexi Ogando(notes) and Neftali Feliz(notes) will greatly benefit to having a mind like Greg Maddux around to help them with many of the small aspects of pitching that turned Greg into one of the best pitchers of his generation. He will also be a great tool in working with minor league pitchers such as Martin Perez(notes) and Tanner Scheppers(notes) who have yet to get over the hump and become ready for big league action.

Greg and Mike may not see each other on a regular basis during the regular season as Greg will be traveling to minor league clubs and returning home to Las Vegas, but the brothers will still be involved with each other more often than they have been in years. As a Rangers’ fan it is nice to see Greg traveling to Texas to work with Mike instead of the other way around.

John Bowman is a lifelong baseball and Texas Rangers fan that loves to ponder the deeper aspects of the game. Some of his first baseball memories involve Arlington Stadium nachos, Charlie Hough’s knuckeball, dirt on Pete Incaviglia’s uniform and the voices of Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel as he fell asleep. Follow him on Twitter @TexasWinColumn.

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ARLINGTON, Texas, Nov. 29 (UPI) — The Texas Rangers said Tuesday they have hired former major league pitching great Greg Maddux as a special assistant to the general manager.

The American League champion Rangers hired Maddux away from the Chicago Cubs, where he had held a similar position for two years under since-fired GM Jim Hendry.

Maddux, 45, a four-time Cy Young Award winner, will be reunited with his brother Mike in Texas, where the latter is the pitching coach under Manager Ron Washington.

“We’re excited to add Greg to our group and look forward to him contributing to the development of our young pitchers,” Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said.

Greg Maddux will be an instructor for both the minor and major league staffs during spring training. He will also work with the Rangers’ farm clubs during the regular season, Daniels indicated.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Greg Maddux is leaving the Chicago Cubs to join the Texas Rangers, reuniting him with his brother Mike.

The Rangers said Tuesday that Greg Maddux will become a special assistant to the general manager, the same role he held with the Cubs the last two seasons.

When asked what drew him to the Rangers, Greg Maddux responded: “Probably the majority of it was my brother.” He also said it was very attractive to work with Hall of Fame pitcher and Rangers President Nolan Ryan.

Mike Maddux has been the Rangers’ pitching coach for the last three seasons. He interviewed to become manager of the Cubs before Dale Sveum was hired this month.

Greg Maddux, a four-time Cy Young Award winner, will be an instructor at major and minor league spring training and will visit farm teams during the season.

“I like being around the game at the highest level possible,” he said. “I will be another set of eyes. I will try to use the experiences I’ve had in the game and just pass those down to the players and coaches, just try to help out any way possible.”

The brothers had first spoken about eventually working together when Greg Maddux took his job with former Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who was fired in August.

Greg Maddux said Hendry’s departure made him more open to see if working with Mike was a possibility now.

The part-time gig also allows Greg Maddux to spent time at home in Las Vegas with his 14-year-old son, helping his team and coaching younger kids.

“I missed the first 10 years of his life, I’m playing catch-up right now,” he said. “At the same time, I want to try to keep my feet wet in the game.”

Greg Maddux pitched 744 major league games from 1986-2008. He finished a 355-227 record and 3.16 ERA for the Cubs, Atlanta, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego. His Cy Young Awards came from 1992-95.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

When Mike Maddux was interviewing for the head managerial job at the Chicago Cubs, one of the things he spoke of was keeping his younger brother Greg Maddux in a prime position as well. It made plenty of sense because Greg pitched for the Cubs at the start and end of his career. Retaining a hometown hero, especially to secure the services of a manager you were seeking, is a win-win.

However, things did not go as planned and the Cubs chose to move in another direction, stating that it seemed like Mike would be focusing more of his attention on his kids in Texas instead of on rebuilding the Cubs. That means the man who made Texas one of the best pitching staffs in baseball would return for another season in Arlington.

On Nov. 29, another announcement was made as Greg Maddux accepted a position in the Texas front-office staff as well. Mike wanted his brother in Chicago and ended up getting him in Texas instead. Once again, it is a win-win for both the Maddux brothers as well as the Texas Rangers organization.

Throughout the ’90s, and part of the last decade as well, Greg Maddux was one of the most dominating pitchers in major league baseball. The Texas native retired with 355 wins in his career, a lifetime 3.16 ERA and 3,371 strikeouts. He was an eight-time all-star, four-time Cy Young winner in the NL and 18-time Gold Glove winner. He won the World Series in 1995 and had his number retired by both the Cubs and the Atlanta Braves.

Now, Greg takes the next step in his career as the special assistant to general manager Jon Daniels. Daniels said that Maddux will help his brother with the development of the pitching staff in the Rangers’ organization. He served the same role in Chicago where he worked as a Spring Training instructor and scout. While Mike Maddux will work as the major league pitching coach, Greg will work with the young players the Rangers hope to add to their big league roster.

It was easily a win-win situation.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has been a Texas Rangers fan his entire life, watching the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate play for over 30 years. While Texas has moved their Triple-A team, Shawn still remains a loyal Rangers fan and dreams of the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

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