by LeBreton. I still think that between now and ST, Young comes around, makes some conciliatory remarks about doing what’s best for the team, and moves on over.

There will be, however, much kerfuffle and discombobulation when Andrus has the usual rookie struggles. Every time he strikes out or makes an error there will be a chorus of “I told you so” from the Galloway anti-everything crowd and the idiots on talk radio.

if only the Rangers had moved Teixeira to OF to make room for Gonzalez.

Other than that, most of this story is just extremely tiresome by now. Young ain’t going to be traded, because he isn’t worth his contract, and by the time we eat enough to make it worthwhile, we aren’t going to get much in return.

The only question is whether the Rangers have the spine to go Frank Robinson on him this year or next. If they don’t, they probably just ought to fire JD and be done with it.

And I’m already sooooooo tired of it.

But that’s certainly a way to gain acceptance that MY is being acting like a petulant child. I’ve never gotten worked up about how much these guys make, and how they should act differently because of their paycheck. That doesn’t bother me.

I guess what I’m saying is, MY shouldn’t move because he makes tons of money — he should move because:

1. His bosses have asked/told him to
2. He’s supposedly a “team player”
3. Because it’s the right thing to do for both MY and the team.

I’m tired of this now. I think I’ll just wait to see what happens.

Surprise: In supporting this move, Daniels cites one of those lessons, his swap of Soriano to the Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge and Armando Galarraga.

“We took a beating from the media for not moving Soriano to left field before we traded him, and you guys were dead right,” Daniels said. "Instead, we sold Soriano for 60 cents on the dollar, if that. But if we’d moved Soriano to the outfield, it would have been so Ian Kinsler could play second. Who knew what he could do then?

Marcus Schrenker on us, and fake his death and try to run away to play SS in a latin american league somewhere

the “Nazi kids” are now in state custody.

anti Hicks, JD and Wash? Any particular reason? Maybe the writers are just asses?

What a douche bag.

I can’t wish enough bad things on him.

Ken Rosenthal:

He also signed long-term under the premise that the Rangers would increase their overall spending, something that has not occurred.

is forgetting the obvious..

Texas was the worst in all of baseball defensively at 3B. The Dewan’s +/- numbers are by far the worse, and the difference is the largest gap between 30th and 29th in all of baseball.

Moving young helps the MINF defense 3 ways.

1. Replace the worse defensive position in all of baseball with a guy that because of his primary attributes, great arm and soft hands, should make hi at worse league average at 3B.

2. Replace one of the worst defender’s range wise at SS with an above average defender.

3. No more of Kinsler and the rest of the infield having to shade to protect a weak SS. Being in position leads to better overall defense.

And to make those upgrades what does it cost us offensively? It costs the team losing Metcalf’s sub par OPS for a all glove SS’s OPS>

Thanks for the heads up.

I don’t wanna have to go into all the details of what I’m thinking here, but it is relevant to ask why management decided it HAD to go with Andrus. I’m glad he laid it out in a reasonable way rather than to just slam JD as incompetent. It is possible to question his strategy in this situation (and maybe his delivery of his request) and still think he has been a good a GM. It is a very, very unusual move to think that a 20-yo without experience above AA will be of more help to the Rangers in 2009 than a FA 3B or FA SS, and there is no guarantee that Andrus will have a quick ramp up to a championship level by 2010, even with Young’s help. It is very unusual, and it requires a great deal of experience to craft the transition wisely.

It is also relevant to point out that this is still Young’s best option, and he should come to his senses, even if he feels disrespected by not be “asked”. Young’s statement is begging for a followup interview request to learn how he might have reacted if he had been asked. I don’t think it’s out of bounds to ask him that question. They’ve asked JD some hard questions, and he’s addressed them.

Like I said Rosenthal covered the bases well. The Rangers would’ve been much better off if this would’ve been avoided, and there are questionable tactics on both sides.

So, the bottom line is I hope JD can make amends with Young. This is something between them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Young not back down but to take the field as a SS and test Nolan’s assertion that an ultimatum will not be given to Young, but I hope it does not come to that.

The Rangers would love to add a right-handed slugger to hit between Josh Hamilton and Chris Davis, but a trade for the White Sox’s Jermaine Dye is not happening and the team would rather stick with the left-handed Hank Blalock than take a flier on a free agent such as Frank Thomas or Nomar Garciaparra. Blalock, 28, is coming off a big September and should be motivated as he enters his free-agent year …

And this:

Both the Red Sox and Diamondbacks insist that they are not close on a deal that would send D-Backs catcher Miguel Montero to Boston. The D-Backs, lacking an internal replacement, will need to find another catcher if they trade Montero. However, Montero’s value only would drop if he spent another season as Chris Snyder’s backup. He could be an above-average offensive catcher if he plays regularly …

and i appreciated what Rosenthal had to say, as it changes my opinion on the whole matter. I have harped on the importance of communication and the managing of expectations, and Young’s response led me to believe that somehow he wasn’t mentally prepared to eventually make this move. But Roselthal’s comment:

…club officials never hid from Young that they eventually expected him to change positions.

makes it obvious that this is just sour grapes from Young. He’ll get over it, move to 3B, and this will just be another brief, silly chapter in Rangers history.

But I still have two qualms about this whole thing, the first being that the Rangers will potentially look VERY foolish if Andrus is not ready this spring and they don’t seem to have a feasible back up plan (they will undoubtedly ignore my pleas to sign Vizquel to a one year deal), and the second being that I actually agree with Josey in that if we are truly dedicated to letting young players take their lumps in ’09 to compete in 2010, then why not trade Byrd or Murphy and let Borbon come up and man CF from day one.

I would enjoy reading his take on this bru-ha-ha.

But Young, an eight-year veteran, bristles at the notion of losing his job to Elvis Andrus, who has yet to play above Class AA. As one general manager said, what if Andrus hits .150 in April and the Rangers send him to Class AAA? Would Young move back to short, and then back to third once Andrus returned?

I also wonder what would happen if this transpires.

isn’t it true that Michael Young’s greatest value to a major league team is a second base?

no, norm. that’s not true.

he’s a TERRIFIC defensive player.

he is?

I’ve kept quiet the past few days about all this nonsense, but I guess it’s time to get it out of my system. Plenty of you that summed up my feelings so I’m not going to waste my time rambling about the situation. However, I am interested in the effect it’s going to have on the roster.

I don’t expect Young to be traded and I think he will eventually suck it up and move to 3B. However, I do not think Elvis is ready to play Opening Day. I’d like to see him put in some time at OKC, if for no other reason than delay his Free Agent clock. Even if the organization believes he is I’d like us to sign a 1 year stop gap to serve as a safety net. Who are our options? Adam has mentioned J.J. Hardy but Rosenthal doesn’t think he’ll be traded. Orlando Cabrera? I’m drawing a blank on other SS FA’s.

It would make me sick at my stomach if we started Elvis’ clock at the beginning of the year, only for him to put out some of the pathetic numbers being projected (Josey). If he’s ready to be called up around June, CD style, I’d be down for that.

You fucking moron. “This is totally money motivated”. Bullshit! It’s about putting the best talent on the field, and getting a defensive butcher to a less defensively demanding position.

CD at third going forward? Gimme a fucking break.

Ike in LF…what a stupid fucking waste of assets.

Moving MY to 3rd doesn’t save a GD dime, you dumb fucker!

would have signed him to that contract. Anyway, I still feel like they are rushing this. They could be laying the groundwork for this move all year, to be in effect for 2010. Andrus has a solid year in AAA, September in Arlington, and proves he’s ready. Instead they spring it on everyone and predictably egos are bruised.

as a PR tool about improving and putting a competitive team on the field. Even people that don’t know Sheets, it would be something else to talk about than the MY situation.

“We asked Mike to make a move that was best for the organization,” Washington said. “The reaction Michael Young had is expected. Here’s an All-Star; a guy that’s the face of the Texas Rangers; a guy that his teammates love and all the community loves for the good things he does in the community. You can’t just expect a guy to be happy about this.”

I think it’s pretty clear that the team is trying to be sympathetic, but they’re not going to change their mind on this.

So why all this BS about him moving to 3rd, he should stay where he is, better that he is happy in a job he likes, from what i can see this Elvis guy is 2 to 3 years away from being able to hit ML pitching (and likely never will be a good ML hitter) so why the rush, and why all this crap before the season starts, MY may not be the best SS (though try to name one who hits better and also has the Gold Glove) i don’t see the logic in all of this.

he looks to be signing with the Padres.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/40702

Gammons was on ESPN radio in NYC, and ended up talking about Boston’s pursuit of a catcher for a little bit (mostly leading in from the idea that the market is terrible and that Boras has really misread it). Here are the pertinent points:

1. He thinks Tek will get about $1-2.M.
2. It will probably be from the Sox as he doesn’t see Bard catching 120 games.
3. He thinks Boston is more likely to trade with AZ.

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?showtopic=38947&st=100

hi

hello