Rangers' review at Lookout Landing

Jeff Sullivan has scripted a reasonably level-headed review of the Rangers over at LookoutLanding, http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2009/4/3/822135/better-know-a-rival-texas#13718132.

I have appended my response to the piece and his reply, well, just because. As a side note, CJ Wilson's tRA was 3.98 and his tRA+ was 105 in 2006, the year in which he was a FT setup guy, his role this year, and the year Jeff seems to overlook in his critique. In addition, well, his pessimitic arguments about the projected defensive improvements in the infield just don't add up, even if you downgrade Dewin's optimistic assesment, while his opinion regarding Young seems specious. Young was unable to make plays out of his zone, to his left, at SS while making the routine plays. This weakness will not play up at 3B while his discipline and arm will make him an AA defensive third baseman. Seems simple enough, eh?

Nice review Jeff The back end of the bullpen should be a definite strength of the club. You really underestimate Wilson (who really was hurt last year), whose best year was as a setup guy and he has been the best reliever in camp this spring according to Maddux. In addition, Andrus has made the routine plays in camp in addition to some electric ones that defy description. He has shown steady improvement on defense and at the plate, showing more plate discipline than many expected.

Finally, no matter what you think of Young and Davis defensively, and I believe that that they are better than average, the combined improvement that those two represent over last years scrubs borders on stratospheric. When combined with Andrus, the total runs saved at those three positions compared to last year will be dramatic. Dewan estimates that the move of Andrus and Young alone will result in 40 (!) saved runs compared to last year. That’s simply gargantuan – how rarely one gets to use that word in a sentence.

Lastly, I will say that many seem to (mis)underestimate Harrison, who, having added a cutter this year, should improve upon his meager SO/9 ratio and become a league average starter. For some rotations that might not be much to talk about, but for TX, it will be more than enough.

Keep up the good work.

Minor Moosings

by Goyogringo on Apr 5, 2009 2:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs


40 runs doesn't make sense Either Young is a really bad defender or he isn’t. If he isn’t, then Andrus won’t be much of an upgrade. If he is, then he won’t be much of an upgrade at third. I could buy something like 20 or 30, but 40 strikes me as excessive.

As far as Wilson is concerned, his 2007 tRA was below average, and his strike rate was among the worst in the league for relievers. Even when he was good, he was mediocre. I just don’t see him as being part of a strength.

by Jeff on Apr 5, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs


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