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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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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What are your opinions.

With the Texas Rangers looking to sign Japanese import Yu Darvish, everyone is imagining this young, yet unknown, hurler as the new ace in the Rangers’ rotation, replacing C.J. Wilson. I’m not as excited about that prospect.

I mean, sure I’d like to see the Rangers get someone like Darvish if he is as good as advertised. He could be an invaluable addition to the Rangers’ rotation. However, I want to take you back to 2010 and the World Series Rangers’ squad. Cliff Lee was the ace of the lineup and Texas lost him to Philadelphia.

Texas didn’t run out and sign a big name starter to replace him. Texas plugged former closer C.J. Wilson into the ace role. See, Wilson moved up and started the entire 2010 season and was the ace until Lee arrived. Wilson proved himself in 2010 and earned his 2011 ace role through his hard work within the organization.

That is where I am getting at here. He earned it by his work as a Texas Rangers’ pitcher.

Now, Wilson is gone and Texas needs a new ace. Darvish could be that man, but I’d prefer to see someone that I feel has worked hard within the Rangers’ organization and deserves the chance to be the new ace of the lineup.

I’m talking about Derek Holland.

In 2011, Holland finished the year with a 16-5 record and 3.95 ERA. Now, I know that ERA is not at Wilson levels but I think this kid has what it takes to be the Rangers’ ace not only this year, but for years to come. He is currently working on a new five-year contract extension with the Rangers, so it proves they are interested in him as well.

I want to take you back to Game 4 of the 2011 World Series. The Rangers were down two games to one and no starting pitcher was playing well for most of the postseason. That is when Holland took the mound and did the unthinkable. Holland pitched 8.1 innings of two-hit shutout ball. Lance Berkman got the only two hits of the game and no one made it home against him. It was the best pitching performance of the World Series.

And, I think it earned Holland a shot at becoming the Texas Rangers’ ace for 2012.

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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Rangers catchere Yorvit Torrealba has been suspended from Venezuela league play for striking an umpire.

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CARACAS, Venezuela — Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba has been suspended from Venezuela’s professional baseball league for 66 games for striking an umpire.

Torrealba was arguing with the home-plate umpire Friday after striking out. He angrily put a hand on the umpire’s mask and shoved him. He was then ejected.

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Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba struck an umpire during a Venezuelan League game on Friday (Dec. 23). In doing so, he not only embarrassed his team, but earned the deserved reputation of being a hot-head that has no self control.

ESPN reported that after swinging at strike three, Torrealba immediately got in the face of home plate umpire Dario Rivera Jr. He began yelling and gesturing at the umpire, but it is unclear if the umpire was saying anything back. A few seconds into the tirade, Torrealba struck the umpire in the face mask. It was obviously an intended attack on the umpire, and it is immediately going to create a lot of controversy.

This story is still unfolding, so it is not clear what Torrealba or Rivera were saying in the conversation, but it must have been something that Torrealba didn’t want to hear. No matter what words got exchanged, Torrealba’s actions crossed the line and it has embarrassed him, his team and all of Major League Baseball as a result.

Maybe the worst thing for Torrealba is that something like this will stick with him for the rest of his baseball career. Everyone remembers how Roberto Alomar spit in the face of an umpire during a game in 1996, and that was something that stuck with him all the way to when he was getting voted on for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most fans weren’t willing to forgive that action and now even more fans are going to see the video of Torrealba losing his self-control.

It’s very unclear what type of punishment that MLB will dish out for this incident or if the Texas Rangers will do something about his egregious behavior. There isn’t a lot of precedent to deal with incidents taking place during games in the winter leagues, and it is hard to project what MLB would do about this. If it happened in a regular season game you could expect an immediate suspension and stiff fine for something like this, but for now we will all have to wait to see what commissioner Bud Selig thinks is a fair punishment.

As for his legacy in baseball, while Torrealba has just been a role player for the Rangers, this is the behavior of a thug that nobody should try to gloss over. He basically sucker-punched an umpire who posed no physical threat to him. The umpire didn’t make Torrealba swing at a pitch in the dirt, and losing his temper like that goes far beyond stupidity.

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Former Russell County, Ala., pitcher Kasey Kiker is among seven minor leaguers the Texas Rangers released Thursday.

Kiker, a left-hander, was the 12th overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, but he never pitched above Class AA. In his past two seasons, he had an ERA of more than 7.00 and walked more batters than he struck out.

Also released were infielder/outfielder Mitch Hilligoss (acquired in a trade with the Yankees for Greg Golson in 2010), pitcher Andrew Doyle, pitcher Juan Grullon, pitcher Paul Strong, infielder Jimmy Swift and catcher Carson Vitale.

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Now that the Texas Rangers have the right to negotiate with Japanese phenom Yu Darvish, the only thing left to do is wait and see if they actually sign the player. Darvish would surely move to the front of the rotation if he comes to Texas and the Rangers would have an ace to replace departed C.J. Wilson.

But what does this mean to the long-term prospects of the Texas Rangers organization.

It took the Rangers many years to climb out of the financial hole that signing Alex Rodriguez put them in, so it is obvious why Texas is not courting super free agents like Albert Pujols. The Rangers hope they can sign Darvish to a reasonable contract, preferably for five years or less. The pitcher is 25 and comes to America with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts in his last season in Japan. He won’t be cheap.

What happens if Texas signs him and he turns into another Daisuke Matsuzaka? Matsuzaka was decent for two seasons but then the overwork in games took its toll on the player and he has not been the same since, recently undergoing Tommy John surgery. Texas would have to limit innings for Darvish to ease him into the American style of play. Luckily, they have Alexi Ogando and Scott Feldman in the bullpen to offer long inning relief if needed.

Of course, there is the chance Ogando resists the move to the bullpen. This would mean that Texas might need to trade someone, either Ogando or one of the other starters like Colby Lewis. It makes more sense to trade Lewis because of his age but his postseason work has been consistently the best on the staff.

Next up, Darvish’s contract will push the Rangers’ payroll and with Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and David Murphy all coming up for arbitration, things could get shaky. If the contract with Darvish is too high, Texas might lose some of their hitting talent.

There are good and bad signs that shine about this deal. As a Rangers’ fan, I just have to cross my fingers and hope it all works out in the end.

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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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.

Surprise Stadium
Public domain

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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