As the trade deadline passed in 2011 the Texas Rangers were praised all over the baseball world for picking up Mike Adams and Koji Uehara. The weak point for the Rangers in the first half of 2011 had been the bullpen and one of the main problems was finding a setup man for Neftali Feliz. Most felt that the Rangers had completely turned the tables by picking up two of the best setup men in baseball. Once they arrived in Texas, both Adams and Uehara struggled, but Adams was able to work through most of his issues. Uehara, on the other hand, continued to struggle during the regular season and on into the postseason.

Uehara came over from Japan in 2009 and started 12 games for the Baltimore Orioles. He went 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA and moved to the bullpen for 2010. In 2010, he appeared in 43 games out of the bullpen and saved 13 games with a 2.86 ERA and began to establish himself as one of the premiere bullpen arms in baseball. Then 2011 came along and he took his success to another level. Before being traded to the Rangers, Uehara appeared in 43 games and had an ERA of 1.72. At that point he was as dominant as could be and was just what the Rangers needed.

Then he arrived in Texas and everything changed. With the Rangers he only pitched 18 innings, but gave up five homeruns which was only one less than he gave up in the 47 innings he pitched for the Orioles. He actually only allowed 9 earned runs with the Orioles in 2011, but allowed 8 in his short time with the Rangers.

Once the postseason arrived, the trend continued. He pitched in the division series and the ALCS before being left off of the roster for the World Series. He allowed three runs in one appearance in the ALDS while not recording an out and then pitched in two ALCS games where he allowed two homeruns in 1 1/3 innings of work.

Many felt that Uehara was tired down the stretch, but whatever the case was, it was not the type of performance that the Rangers expected. The Rangers gave up Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter for Uehara and while neither of them fit into the Rangers long term plans, they still gave up solid talent.

Hopefully it was a fatigue issue with Uehara and he can rebound in 2012. Before Uehara ever threw a pitch for the Rangers in 2011 he had thrown more innings than he had in all of 2010. There have been rumors of the Rangers trying to move him, but at this point it does not seem like a likely outcome.

If Uehara can rebound, he can add even more depth to a potentially loaded bullpen. The Rangers now have Joe Nathan to close out games and Mike Adams should be his setup man. There is also the possibility that Alexi Ogando could be moved back into the bullpen when everything is said and done, which could allow Uehara to work a right-handed specialist type role that could help keep his innings down as well.

Uehara struggled to the point where he lost confidence in himself in 2011 and obviously fans lost confidence in him as well. Ron Washington would never let anyone know that he lost confidence in Uehara, but that was obvious when he was left off the World Series roster. A productive Uehara would provide one more dimension to a loaded roster and if there is ever a place on the field that a player can rebound quickly it is in the bullpen.

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 (AP) – The Texas Rangers have acquired former first-round pick Brandon Snyder from Baltimore for cash.

Terms of the deal announced Tuesday weren’t released. The 25-year-old infielder was taken 13th overall by the Orioles in the 2005 draft.

Snyder hit .273 in limited action with Baltimore over the past two seasons. He has primarily played first base in the minor leagues. Last season, he hit .261 with a career-high 14 home runs and 71 RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk.

The addition of Snyder gives the Rangers 38 players on the 40-man roster.

The Rangers also assigned utility man Brad Nelson to a minor league deal. Nelson hit .281 with 24 homers and 83 RBIs last year for Round Rock, the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.

By Sports Direct

POSTED: 11:28 am MST January 3, 2012

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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