“ A little roller down to first base, behind the bag, It GETS THROUGH BUCKNER, here comes Knight, and THE METS WIN IT!”
This call by the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, during game 6 of the 1986 World Series, describes one of the most infamous plays in baseball history: Bill Buckner, first basemen for the Boston Red Sox, in the bottom of the 10th inning makes an error on one of the most routine plays in the big leagues (a softly hit ground ball) to let the Mets score the winning run and advance to a sudden death Game 7. The Mets ended up winning that Game 7 to give them their second World Series championship and to heighten Sox’s fans frustration about the so called curse of the Bambino. Ask any Red Sox fan the feeling they experienced after seeing the ball trickle through Buckner’s leg and into right field, and they will respond singularly with one word, disappointment, disappointment in seeing their beloved franchise one out away from reaching the metaphorical mountain of baseball, a World Series crown.
Fast forward 26 years, Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, the Texas Rangers facing the St. Louis Cardinals in what had been a well-played and exciting series so far. Bottom of the 9th inning, same situation, two outs, tying run at second base with David Freese at bat. With the count 1-2, the Rangers one strike away from their first crown, Freese drives a slicing line drive to right field. Nelson Cruz starts in but then begins sprinting back towards the right field fence, and at the last second leaps and extends his left hand…. but to no avail as the ball strikes the bottom of the wall and Albert Pujos scampers home to tie the game.
Every baseball fan knows how this nightmare ends, as David Freese would go on to crush a walk off home run in the bottom half of the 11th to force a must win Game 7, a game in which the Cardinals would go on to win. An eerie coincidence between these two plays for sure: both teams were playing away, both were an out away from winning the elusive championship, both dreams were crushed on plays that could have been made. Now I am not saying that Cruz’s play was on the same level as Buckner’s; for sure not, as any fan well versed in the nuances of the game, knows that they are clearly not on the same level of difficulty. However what I am implying is that the same level of disappointment felt by those Red Sox’s fan, exists in the hearts of the Rangers fan, myself included. The image of what could have been, if Cruz had made that play, has been replaying over and over again in my mind this past couple weeks as the MLB postseason has gotten under way.
Since that play in the 2011 World Series, the Rangers have fallen off as franchise, losing the division in an epic collapse to the Oakland A’s last year and then losing to the upstart Baltimore Orioles in the wild card game. Changes were made after this disappointing season, as Rangers stalemates: Mike Napoli, Michael Young, and Josh Hamilton and pitchers Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, and Ryan Dempster were suddenly gone. The Rangers added some pieces in that off-season in A.J. Pierzynski, but mostly were relying on pieces from within the system such as Martin Perez, Leoyns Martin, and Jurickson Profar. This idea started out working fairly well early in the season as the Rangers jumped out to a 17-9 record in the month of April. However, then the injury bug hit, taking pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, Alexi Ogando, and Colby Lewis hostage, and suddenly only Yu Darvish and Derek Holland were left in the rotation. The Rangers were forced to bring up young pitchers Nick Tepesch, Justin Grimm and Josh Lindblum to try to steady the ship.
With a young and inexperienced pitcher staff, the Rangers suffered through a mediocre May and June, neck and neck with Oakland A’s for first place in the division. As the summer temperatures rose however and the calendar turned from June to July, the Rangers bats went ice-cold, and they dropped to 7 games back from the A’s. Making matters worse, Nelson Cruz was suspended as a part of the Biogenesis scandal, leaving the Rangers an outfielder short. Luckily Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels came through in the clutch and traded for Alex Rios from the White Sox, while also picking up pitcher Matt Garza from the Cubs. For me, this was the highlight of the season, as I became huge believer in both these guys. With the additions of these pieces the Rangers started to get hot in August and quickly erased the deficit separating them with the A’s and ended up taking control of the division. Then came crunch time, September, where the Rangers needed to rise up the occasion and take the AL West. Instead they did the opposite, as they went 12-17, eventually tying for the second wild card spot, forcing a tiebreaker game. Yet they lost to the Rays, 2-5, sending them home for the season.
Now it’s the ownership’s turn to sit back and make some decisions this offseason. With success comes expectations to duplicate this success, so after going to the World Series back to back years, fans are demanding a return to glory. First they need to focus on the offense side of the ball. Nelson Cruz is a free agent this winter, and personally I think the Rangers should lock him up with 5-6 year deal. He has hit more than 20 home runs in each of his last 5 seasons, has a cannon arm from right field, and at age 30 is at the prime of his career. Give him 6 years, and $100 million dollars to play right field for the Rangers for years to come, and JD will make me a very happy man.
In centerfield, the Rangers should stick with Leonys Martin. He impressed me a lot in 2013, showing a great combo of both speed and power, and plus defensive skills along with his 36 steals. If he develops better plate discipline he should be the perfect lead-off hitter. Moving over to the seven spot, as much as I love him, his Christian walk-up songs, and his blue-collar work ethic, I think it’s time for David Murphy to move on. After a year in which he hit a horrid .220 and a laughable .152 against lefties, it would be a bad move for the Rangers to bring him back.
Instead I propose that they make an effort to keep mid-season acquisition Alex Rios, shifting him from right field to left field. Rios brings middle of the order run production into an organization that desperately needs a bat to take advantage of the hitter friendly Ballpark In Arlington. At 6’5 he moves surprisingly well for a big man, and gives the Rangers lock down defense at the other corner outfield. Rios gives the Rangers what they lost from Josh Hamilton: an uncanny combination of speed, power, and defense. This leaves Craig Gentry on the bench giving the Rangers a designated late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner, as well as a right-handed bat to throw in against tough lefties.
Moving to the infield for 2014, third baseman Adrian Beltre and shortstop Elvis Andrus provide arguably the best defensive left side in the majors. Beltre was undoubtedly the Rangers MVP last year, as he set a career high in hits at 199, and in batting average at .315 while also smacking 30 homeruns and driving in 92 runs. Additionally he will probably win his second straight golden glove at third this year, as his ability to pick the ball from third is unrivaled. Without a doubt, Beltre will duplicate these numbers next year as he has become Mr. Reliable for the Rangers. That brings us to Elvis, the Venezuelan Vacuum as I like to call him. Incredibly smooth at short with a great arm and quick release, Elvis is incredible in the field; however his bat lacked this season. His speed, inside out swing, and ability to bunt makes him a perfect fit for the number two spot in the order for Manager Ron Washington, but last year his bat just didn’t suffice as he hit a mediocre .271 with a career high 97 strikeouts, a number far too high for an on-base percentage guy like Elvis. In order for the Rangers to return to glory, Andrus needs to make an effort this off-season to work on his swing, and improve on his on-base and strikeout percentage.
One of the most interesting moves of the 2013 season by Ron Washington was the August decision was to move second baseman Ian Kinsler to 5th in the order instead of the leadoff spot. I believe he should stay there for the 2014 season for a couple reasons: his dead pull swing is perfect for driving in runs with shots to left field, he will see more fastballs lower in the order, and finally he will provide protection for Cruz in the clean-up spot. This brings us to the weak spot for the Rangers, in first base. Mitch Moreland served there last year, and frankly he didn’t cut it, he seemed overmatched at the plate and played okay defensively. After two disappointing full seasons on the job, his days with the Rangers seem numbered.
CAUTION TO MY READERS: this is the part of the article where I make a bold statement, so if opinions make you nervous and angry this is the time when you click to a different article. You have now been warned. This is my brilliant idea for the Ranger’s first base predicament: move Ian Kinsler to first base and put Jurickson Profar at second base. Kinsler has really soft hands at second base, so a transition to first base would be fairly easy for him, and allow for him to really focus on the offensive side of his game. Profar, rated as the #1 prospect in all baseball last year, is way too talented to be a utility player, or suffer another year at Triple A, and has the athletic talent to be an above average big league second baseman. It would also give him a chance to be mentored by another previously high regarded shortstop, his double play partner Elvis Andrus. For me, this move makes perfect sense, a win win for both the players and the franchise. The Rangers will be shopping for a catcher this off season as both Geovany Soto and A.J. Pierzynski are free agents. I wouldn’t totally object to bringing back A.J. again, but frankly I think he would demand too much money for a player who is on the decline in his career. I think the pitching staff will be a strength with Darvish, Holland, Harrison, and Perez returning and the 5th spot up for grabs within the system. The bullpen should be fine again, with Feliz, Ogando, Ross, Nathan and Soria giving the Rangers many options for the late innings.
It will be an interesting off-season for the Texas Rangers, and surely an important one as well. The time is now to decide whether the Rangers will return to the mediocrity that plagued the franchise for 30 years or ascend to glory and finally capture the franchise’s first World Series.
