SI MLB Preview: Rangers

by phina on Mar 31, 2008 10:11 AM CDT

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2008/previews/rangers.html

Nothing too new, Jason Botts left off of the team in favor of Kevin Mench.

Who is the most valuable unsigned free agent of the off-season? After Barry Bonds, it's former Braves and Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone, who would be a good fit in Texas. In addition to his well-documented success for more than a decade in Atlanta, Mazzone was more effective in his two seasons in Baltimore than the club's poor record during that time would indicate. Under Mazzone's tutelage, Erik Bedard became a Cy Young candidate and Jeremy Guthrie went from Indians castoff to baseball's best first-year starter in 2007. Mazzone's insistence on pitch-efficiency would be especially helpful to Vicente Padilla and the rest of the Rangers' highly inefficient staff, which walked 668 batters last season, second-most in the majors.

This is the best advice I have seen in a while, does anybody know why he left Baltimore?

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Well

One of the reasons he went there was because he was buddies with Sam Perlozzo. Once he got fired, I'm sure some of his enthusiasm waned.

And with the 22nd overall selection the Dallas Cowboys select Jonathan Stewart.

by TheBZA on Mar 31, 2008 10:41 AM CDT reply actions

I don't know

what Bal expected from Mazzone -- that he would turn every pitcher into a cy young candidate. Maybe the fact that Daniel Cabrera still doesn't get how to pitch is why he's gone.

You can't build for the future when you don't have the talent and you have an owner and gm that are the hardest to deal with when trying to make deals.

Wait 'til the year after next

by NothinG on Mar 31, 2008 2:02 PM CDT reply actions