that may be their contingency plan and one I’d support if they trade Bradley.

A lot of folks here are dead set against trading Bradley, but he is the 2nd best trade chip the Rangers have (outside of Salty, age, team control for years, health, position, etc.). Trading Blalock is probably going to net next to nothing now even if he comes back and plays well. Bradley is the best hitter in the AL and comes cheap. He’s a rental which mitigates his value a bit, but he’d still bring back a nice piece of the future.

Patience is required either way. Davis will be up soon enough. The catching situation will be resolved soon enough. Feliz, Borbon, etc. will be promoted soon enough, it’s only mid-June.

we cut Cat and keep Boggs up instead if this were to happen. Cat will never be used in the outfield with Byrd and Murphy available and will never be the DH for this team. What if any trade value does he have?

Cat for the unfathomable riches a 750 OPS, non defensive player would bring.

Murphybyrd sounds like a city to me.

Q: Where do you live?
A: I live in Murphybyrd, TX.

Saltylaird sounds like some sort of drink or some weird pretzel type thing.

Q: What can I get you?
A: I’ll have a Saltylaird and a bowl of peanuts please.

you can’t pencil him in every day at RF. At least I’m pretty sure you can’t. Which is fine, it just means that Davis is going to be sitting a bit more than you make it sound

That I really do not know the answer to.

Is Texas currently the most left-handed lineup in MLB? Would it be with this proposed lineup?

Is it possible that Bradley’s value is so high based on performance right now, that it may not be possible to get equal return? This is a though that I had from the pitching thread. If a player is good enough to be of equal return for Bradley, that player is probably considered untouchable, right? So how do you get a value return for trading board game?

Vs. Lefties:
Blalock 3B
Davis 1B
Bradley DH
Boggs RF
Cat Trade/DFA

Is that possible, or are the Rangers pretty dead set on not playing Blalock at 3B at all, even if it would be beneficial to the team in a temporary Vasquez platoon situation?

How much bonanza could well played trades of Saltalamacchia and Bradley get you?

Between Boston, with some injury question marks for both Papi and Manny, and Tampa, which could use some offense, I think there’s a nice market for Milton.

Saltalamacchia’s market I’ve given less thought to.

I’m just luxuriating in the thought of two well executed trades.

after we fall out of the playoff race I want Harrison up here too.

If Bradley’s gone at the deadline or isn’t resigned, does Chris Davis hit clean-up as soon as next year? No one else on that list is particularly awe-inspiring, although I guess you could move Murphy to 2nd or 3rd against righties and drop Josh to 4th.

....past perofmance dictates a bit of the forthcoming here… JD is a big fan of showcasing one year deal talent and flipping it for prospects… i think last year was about getting quantity(though there is some serious quality) and i think this year would be about quality… expect less prospects, but good ones, for guardado and the game… you can’t have milton here long term because you really need to move hamilton over to right and ease the demands on him defensively, and the draw of milton is that he is a capable defensive outfielder… JD would love to move cat and blalock, but can’t possible get enough return to justify it to fans(how many of those old damn blalock tshirt jerseys do u see at the ballpark?)...

I personally would be for waiting until August 1st and callup Davis to replace whomever we have traded. Don’t feel there is any rush. Remember they killed Laird’s trade value by commiting to Salty too early. Shelton and Cat can always go whenever a move is made.

To get pitching, since Tex supposedly turned down an 8 for 140 deal last summer, why don’t we get a deal done with Cleveland IF we are allowed to get Sabathia signed to a 7 for 140 deal.

I also wouldn’t be upset with making a deal with Boston and overpaying for a pitcher or two. They are going to be good every year anyway, so lets try and pry a pitcher or two for our benefit and then meet them for the AL pennant in 2010, 11, 12 and beyond!

I even think signing Garcia would be a nice signing. Give him August and September to get back into game shape then, after getting Sabathia (or Buchholz) you insert Garcia as the #2, Millwood as the #3 and Padilla as the #4.

Because Laird’s value is returning, that is why I would be fine trading Salty as part of any major deal for a pitcher. As far as Garcia, I am sure he will end up in New York or Boston anyway. Just a thought.

From Jamey’s report:

The left-handed-hitting Davis against left-handed AA pitchers in 2007: .229/.308/.543.

Davis against left-handed AA pitchers in 2008: .276/.276/.379.

Davis against left-handed AAA pitchers in 2008: .286/.348/.667.

The sample size at AAA is too small to prove that Davis can now hit lefties.

I fall squarely in the camp of Davis needing more AAA ABs to work on his K and BB ratios. That said, if the Rangers are seriously thinking about competing next year (and I think they are), there is something to be said for Davis coming up after the ASB and getting 200 or so MLB ABs under his belt this year. That way Davis can get through the adjustment period and be ready to roll next year.

I have to be honest, I didn’t think we’d see this much of German and Boggs this soon…and while they’re not dominating, I think they’re holding their own…and major league experience is pretty valuable. So we’ve got Hurley up now, and the Davis call-up thread now…what others can we be looking for:

Matt Harrison – lefties are preferred in Arlington, and he seems to have higher upside than Gabbard – I can’t wait to see if he’s any good

Thomas Diamond – could we see him in a bullpen role at some point later in the year, or are we going to keep him as a starter and see if we can plug him in next year?

Joaquin Arias – any chance he sees the majors in September callups, just to see what he’s got?

Taylor Teagarden – if we trade Laird, any chance he sees the majors towards the end of the year?

Max Ramirez – would it be too fast to elevate him to the majors if he is promoted and rakes at AAA soon?

Nelson Cruz – currently the best minor league hitter in the Rangers organization, which is saying something…does he get a 3rd chance?

John Mayberry – probably another year away…any chance of a September callup if trades work in his favor?