The Texas Rangers once again had a season to remember in 2011 as they made it to their second World Series appearance in two years and came within a strike of winning it all. It was a special season, but definitely left many fans with a bad taste in their mouth. The bad taste is understandable, but at the same time there was plenty to enjoy from 2011. Now we sit on the first day of 2012 and for the Rangers it is officially “next year.” The moment game 7 ended the focus was on 2012 for the Rangers, but now it is officially here.

The year of 2011 gave fans plenty of good times. There was the season opening six game winning streak to open the season, the 12 game streak in the month of July and month of September when they went 19-7 to close out the Angels and cruise into the postseason. There was the breath of fresh air that Adrian Beltre brought to the hot corner, the brilliance of Ian Kinsler, the dependability of Michael Young and the rise of Mike Napoli. Then the postseason brought the three homerun game for Beltre, the walkoff grand slam for Nelson Cruz and the maturing of Derek Holland.

The year of 2011 was truly a magical season and the only downside was it finished with many people spending the holiday season still talking about Nelson Cruz not coming up with that ball off of the bat of David Freese and Neftali Feliz being so rattled that he couldn’t come back out for the tenth inning. The clutch homerun from Josh Hamilton and brilliant defensive work of Elvis Andrus were long forgotten and many fans spent the months of November and December in a state of sports depression. It is sad, but the words “game 6″ still cause many to feel like they are still stuck in a nightmare.

The good news is that those days can finally be forgotten as 2012 is officially here and we are a month and a half away from spring training. The offseason is not over, but we know that the Rangers should have a “true ace” on the staff and we know that they will now have a veteran closer. We are just a few weeks away from seeing if Neftali Feliz can be as brilliant as a starter as he was during the spring training of 2011 and if Derek Holland and Matt Harrison can once again raise their game to another level. We can look forward to seeing what Napoli has for an encore and what Cruz and Hamilton can do at the plate if they can stay healthy.

This should also be the year of new rivalries. While there has been a rivalry brewing the Angels over previous years, it should finally be there in full force for 2012 with the Angels pulling C.J. Wilson away and also adding Albert Pujols. Napoli sure did his part to get things started last season, but this year it should be even more intense. This will also be the first year for Robin Ventura to be the manager of the White Sox and how that will make the ballpark a little more exciting does not take any explaining for Rangers’ fans. Let’s just say that opening weekend should be a lot of fun.

For baseball fans the months of November and December can be the hardest to get through during a regular year, much less trying to get through them after the way 2011 ended for the Rangers. However, January always brings a bit of fresh air. Spring training seems close enough to touch and the roster comes fully into shape. The New Year is here and once again it should be a special one for Rangers’ fans.

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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Many fans remember that the Texas Rangers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series despite being only one strike away from winning. After losing the World Series in 2010, I took it well because it was the Rangers first time to play in the Fall Classic. However, after losing the St. Louis, there was a feeling of disappointment. This was a series they could have, and should have, won. And they lost.

Michael Young
Wikimedia Commons

However, it would be wrong to forget about what the Rangers accomplished in 2011.

Mike Napoli

When the season started, everyone wanted to see where Carl Crawford would end up. Crawford was the number one man on everyone’s free agent list and even Texas wanted them. Crawford finished with a .254 average, the lowest of his career. Over the last six seasons, Crawford eclipsed .300 in five of them but fell apart in Boston. In the last five years, Mike Napoli never broke .300. In his first year in Texas, traded from Toronto after leaving the Angels, Napoli finished 2011 with a .319 average for the year. He also hit 30 home runs and 75 RBIs, also career highs.

Pitcher’s Rotation

The Texas Rangers lost their ace pitcher Cliff Lee at the end of 2010 and I wondered what they were going to do to fix that in 2011. Texas didn’t need to do much since Lee was nothing more than a late season addition when they were hunting for the pennant. They came into 2011 with the same ace they started with in 2010, C.J. Wilson. With Colby Lewis, Matt Hamilton, Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando, the Rangers starting rotation finished the season with a 74-40 record and a 3.65 ERA. All the starters won at least 13 games each, with Wilson and Holland leading the way with 16 each.

Michael Young

The most impressive stories in Texas in 2011 involved Michael Young. When the season started, Young asked for a trade because the Rangers signed Adrian Beltre to replace him at third and then brought in Napoli to share the DH position with Young. The Rangers refused to trade him and he responded by hitting a career-high .338. He also knocked in 11 home runs and 106 RBIs. Young ignored the controversy and just played hard, proving to be the heart and soul of the Rangers.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and 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 awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: texasrangers.com

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The Texas Rangers returned to the World Series for the second year in a row, a very tough task to replicate in the competitive MLB. It is also a hard thing to do thanks to the world of baseball injuries. Texas was not without injuries but withstood them to make it to the World Series regardless. Here is a look at the Top 5 injuries for the Texas Rangers in 2011.

1. Josh Hamilton (Sport’s Hernia)

Josh Hamilton’s injury was the worst on the team, happening at the end of the season and affecting his postseason play. For the second year in a row, he came into the postseason injured, this time with an undiagnosed sport’s hernia. He didn’t miss playing but he wasn’t able to hit with power and precision he was used to. Hamilton said it hurt to pivot so he was not the weapon Texas was used to in the World Series.

2. Nelson Cruz (Strained Hamstring)

Nelson Cruz also broke down at the end of the year. He missed almost the entire final month of the season with a strained hamstring. Cruz had been dealing with leg problems all season and this was just the culmination of the buildup. However, he bounced back and tied the postseason all-time record for home runs, so hopefully the injury bug is behind him.

3. Neftali Feliz (Right Shoulder Inflammation)

Closer Neftali Feliz blamed this trip to the IR on the fact that Texas had him play as a starter in spring and he lamented the decision. He missed some time and then returned struggling and almost lost his closer’s job. That is worrisome because he is the new fifth starter in the rotation in 2012 and he can’t let this breakdown happen again.

4. Josh Hamilton (Shoulder Fracture)

In one of the dumbest plays of the season, Texas was leading big and Josh Hamilton tried to steal home. The play call was bad but what was worse was Hamilton sliding into home plate, into a collision, and onto the IR for over a month. It was a dumb move on his part and could have killed the Rangers early in the season.

5. Nelson Cruz (Strained Quad)

What made Hamilton’s injury worse was that Nelson Cruz joined him on the IR and the Rangers’ outfield was depleted of stars at the same time. Cruz’s injury was a bad one and caused him to miss significant time throughout the season. As soon as he was over one leg injury, another part of the leg would go out. It was a never ending cycle.

Source: MLB.COM

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The MLB offseason continues to truck along, one of the few in major sports that allows for little downtime. As the business continues to run, here is a look at what the Texas Rangers are up to right now.

Texas is still looking for someone who can be a solid infielder to provide relief for starters throughout the season. While Mike Olt is in the minors and tore it up in winter ball, he will move to Double-A this season and has some time before he is ready to be called up.

As a result, Texas invited Alberto Gonzalez to Spring Training by signing the infielder to a Minor League Contract. He is a 27-year old right hander who played for the San Diego Padres last season. He scored 18 runs and knocked in 32 RBIs while batting .215 over 102 games.

Gonzalez also played for the Yankees and Diamondbacks over his career. His career average is .242.

The next order of business was to extend offers to arbitration-eligible players by Dec. 12. The Rangers extended offers to seven of their players but non-tendered right handed relief pitcher, Fabio Castillo. This means that Castillo is now a free agent after six years in the Rangers’ farm system.

He pitched in Double-A in 2011 and finished the season with a 6.46 ERA and a 3-6 record. He also had nine saves over his 42 appearances.

The players that Texas did make offers to include Mike Napoli, Elvis Andrus, David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, Matt Harrison, Mark Lowe and Mike Adams. Texas now has until Jan. 18 to make a deal with the players or they go before an arbitrator in February.

Finally, Texas announced they will honor two players for their outstanding contributions. Craig Gentry is the Rangers’ Rookie of the Year after batting .271 with 18 stolen bases. David Murphy will receive the Harold McKinney Good Guy Award. Both will be rewarded on Jan. 12 in Arlington.

Spring Training starts on February 22 in Suprize, Arizona. The Cactus League kicks off on March 4.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and 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 awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

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The Texas Rangers are prepared to make some deals during the winter meetings this week but have not done anything yet. The players on the Rangers’ list include C.J. Wilson(notes), Mark Buehrle(notes), Roy Oswalt(notes), Darren Oliver(notes) and Boston Red Sox utility infielder Jed Lowrie(notes).

Starting with Lowrie, he would fill in a nice need for Texas, to give them some more versatility in the infield and allow them to give some of their more valuable assets more rest throughout the season. He finished the 2011 season with a .252 batting average, with six homers and 36 RBIs in 88 games.

The 27-year old has extensive experience at third and shortstop but is injury prone. He has been on the DL four times over the past three seasons, for reasons varying from wrist problems to mononucleosis to shoulder issues that limited him in 2011. As a utility player and a fill-in for Adrian Beltre(notes) and Elvis Andrus(notes), those injury problems could be a thing of the past.

The concerns of who the Red Sox would want in return are important. Mike Olt is the main infielder in the Rangers’ minor league system, and with his explosive winter ball this season, trading him only to bring in someone like Lowrie would be counterproductive. I’d rather have Olt come up and work as a utility player than trade some prized recruits for a question mark.

Darren Oliver is a name that many fans might not be excited to see on this list. Oliver is 42 and has been with Texas for the last two World Series runs. However, his 2.29 ERA in 2011 was the second lowest for left handed relievers for the season. Yes, he is getting older but he is still playing at a productive level.

I have already given my thoughts on the entire Wilson or Buehrle questions but would take either of those players over Roy Oswalt at this point in his career. I’d keep what we have now over signing Oswalt.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and 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 awaits the year they finally win the big one.

Source: MLB.COM

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It is not very often that surgery for a player can be a good sign, but for the Texas Rangers and Mitch Moreland(notes) that might be the case. Moreland had surgery to remove a bone from his right wrist on Wednesday, with a recovery time that could have him ready for spring training.

Moreland started 2011 out on fire, hitting .287 with 11 homeruns through the month of June. After June, things started to go downhill and he finished the season with a .259 average, 16 homeruns and 51 RBI’s. The low point of his season came in September when he hit .167 and only drove in four runs. His struggles continued into the postseason where he saw limited activity. Moreland was mainly used against right-handed pitchers in 2011 and that was even more so the case during the postseason.

As the 2011 season transpired it seemed that American League pitchers had caught up to Moreland and that was the reason for his decline. While that most likely was part of the problem, it was announced after the season that he had struggled with wrist pain during the second half of the season. His surgery shows that the pain was fairly severe and was partly to blame for his struggles. Due to his wrist issues, the Rangers will not fully know how consistent of a player he can be until much of 2012 is played.

His poor second half had led many people to think that the Rangers might try to sign Prince Fielder(notes) or Albert Pujols(notes) this offseason, with the most likely option being Fielder. The Rangers have continually expressed a commitment to Moreland and hopefully he can rebound after his surgery. Moreland showed great promise at the end of 2010 and the first half of 2011. He adds a great deal of power to the bottom of an already potent lineup and if he can start to show success against left-handed pitchers, could be a fixture at first base for a long time. He is solid defensively and the best option for the Rangers would be for him to be able to play first base regularly which would allow Michael Young(notes) to DH more consistently than in 2011.

There is still a chance that the Rangers could make a move for Fielder, but it still seems to be unlikely. The Rangers have constantly expressed an interest in bullpen help and that does not seem to be changing. However with Jon Daniels, you never really know what is going to happen.

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.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.