The next community projection is for Gerald Laird...

Project what he will do this season, in terms of average/OBP/slugging and plate appearances...

No major league game yesterday, so it is pretty quiet on the spring training front...

Evan Grant's story this morning talks about how there is an epidemic of practical jokes that has erupted in the Rangers camp...

Richard Durrett discusses the catching situation, and he also mentions the possibility of Taylor Teagarden making the team as a backup catcher.  I've yet to hear one person make a decent case as to why a guy who only caught a handful of games last season, and who has played less than 100 games the past two years, and who had a pretty scary spike in his K rate after moving to AA last season, should start the year as a backup catcher in the majors.

Personally, I'm okay with a Laird and Melhuse tandem.  Saltalamacchia's bat was a disappointment after coming over in the Teixeira trade last season, and his defense isn't a strength.  He's just 22.  I don't have an issue with him spending a couple of months in AAA, and having Laird catch regularly in the majors.  

I think the option many have urged -- dumping Laird now for whatever you can get -- is short-sighted.  I might be in the minority, but I still think Laird can be a nice major league starting catcher, and if he puts up a .250-260 EQA or so, he's going to have value, whether to the Rangers or another team.

Jeff Wilson says there was praise for Kason Gabbard's performance in the minor league game yesterday, with Mark Connor saying that Gabbard looked much better (and like the guy they had last season before his injury).

T.R. Sullivan has a new mailbag column up...

Today's lineup is up.

Update [2008-3-19 16:22:0 by Adam J. Morris]: -- Doh! That's yesterday's lineup.

I'm going downstairs to play more blackjack.

He comments on this today at his blog:

In summary, this team still has not beaten an above .500 team since the Jason Kidd trade. And since I mentioned Kidd, could we point out that he had 1 point, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists in a critical contest? Is there still talk of him being Dirk's equal for leading this team? I guess I expected his stamp on the game in much bigger ways. I also expect that Mark Cuban feels the same way.

http://sturminator.blogspot.com/

If Cuban does feel the same way, isn't it about time he starts taking a hard look at his coach and de facto g.m.?  If this team flames out again, I'm hard-pressed to understand why Avery should stick around.

So you know...the transition to the new platform should occur before the weekend is up.

Five solid innings for Luis Mendoza yesterday, and that's apparently allowed him to pretty well lock down the 5th starter job, at least until Brandon McCarthy returns (although that also assumes everyone else stays healthy).

Mendoza is what he is, a relatively low-ceiling guy who may have a future as a back of the rotation starter or middle reliever.  I'm fine with sticking him in there as a placeholder for now.

Evan Grant says C.J. Wilson and Joaquin Benoit each pitched an inning yesterday, and should be good to go to start the season.

Grant also has a new newsletter up, that addresses the catching situation, among other things, and speculates that Jason Botts is going to end up winning the battle for a roster spot that is going on between him, Nelson Cruz, and Kevin Mench.

Grant also says, as part of an essay explaining why he thinks Gerald Laird starting the year in the majors and Jarrod Saltalamacchia starting in the minors makes sense, that he thinks Salty is the long-term catching answer, and as part of that explanation, says that "Taylor Teagarden may be too fragile to stay behind the plate."

If that's the case, that's troubling, because if Teagarden can't stay behind the plate, he really doesn't have a major league future.  

And T.R. Sullivan talks about the inherent tension between Ron Washington's goals and Jon Daniels' goals, with Washington wanting to win now and Daniels looking more long-term.  Sullivan also explains why a rebuilding team has added guys like Ben Broussard and Sidney Ponson on short-term deals...

Okay, folks, time for another round of community projections...

Tell us what you think Josh Hamilton will do this year -- average/OBP/slugging and plate appearances...

THT's Five Questions on the Texas Rangers is up...

Some good news for the rotation this morning...Evan Grant says Jason Jennings 4 inning outing yesterday saw improved velocity from Jennings.  There has been concern about Jennings' fastball, but Jennings said yesterday that he's now around where he was in 2006, when he had his best season, and it looks like the concerns that he might have to start the season on the d.l. have been put to rest.

Grant also says that Eric Hurley is probably 3rd in the race for the 5th starter slot (a job that is, hopefully, just temporary anyway), behind Luis Mendoza and Sidney Ponson.

Gil LeBreton is on the David Murphy bandwagon, and doesn't understand why Murphy hasn't won a starting job.

Ron Washington thinks that, despite their slow starts, Marlon Byrd and Ben Broussard will hit once the season starts.

Of course, neither of them have a real extensive track record of hitting well, so...