I know this is going to sound like a bad idea, but he's already in the organization (kinda sorta) and the club's two leaders -- Mike Young and Josh Hamilton -- both owe their major league careers to the guy.   

"Cincinnati maneuvered to get [Hamilton]  through the Rule 5 draft. The one caveat: The Reds had to keep him in the majors all season. It was a gamble. But in Reds manager Jerry Narron, who once fought to keep an unproven Michael Young on his Rangers team six years ago, Hamilton found an advocate. "

He traces back to the "glory days" of Johnny Oates  and maybe he'd choose one of  Johnny's one-time young projects (Rusty) to be his bench coach.  

Beats the hell out of Art Howe if you ask me.

Thoughts?

http://rangersfarmreport.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/04/what_have_they_done_to_brandon.html

Why the difference in the stride, and do you think that might have something to do with his elbow problems?

Looks strange.   Almost 100% arm.  How can he possibly be getting any power from his lower half?

What do you guys think is going on here?     Are they trying to get him to  "stay tall" and pitch downhill more?     Wouldn't the extremely short stride also reduce velocity?   

C:  Laird / Ojeda
1b: Tex
2b: Kinsler
SS: Young
3b: Blalock
LF: Cat (Botts vs. LH)
CF: Lofton (Hairston vs. LH)
RF: Cruz
DH: Sosa

UT: Kata
UT: Hairston
OF: Botts

S1: Millwood
S2: Padilla
S3: Loe
S4: Wright
S5: Tejeda

CL: Gagne
SU: Aki
LR: Mahay
LR: Wilson
RR: Benoit
RR: McCarthy
RR: Frankie

Notes:  The more I  think about it, Wilkerson is the one wasting Botts's place on the roster;  they could use a lefty killer and Botts is that....  Loe not only won the #5 job, he won the #3 job if you ask  me....  Yeah, it sucks having Jamey Wright as your #4 starter, but that's the reality:  this is still the Texas Rangers....  Go figure:  One guy can't throw strikes with consistency and gets shipped out to Bakersfield;  another can't throw strikes with consistency and gets a guarantee as the #3 man in the rotation.

Thoughts?

Maybe Loe will end up as McCarthy's co-starter since it seems like McCarthy is going to have trouble making it through five innings on a regular basis.

Anyone else notice how inefficient McCarthy is?   And it's not a "spring problem" either.  He was one of the most inefficient pitchers in the AL last year.  

The guy needed 4.11 pitches per plate appearance last year and only four big league starters were at 4.00 or more.   He needed 17.2 pitches to get through an inning (only three MLB starters needed more).  

McCarthy has talent, to be sure, but at this point  I'd say that any club that has someone like this penciled in as a #3 starter doesn't really have "rotation stability."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-et-deforest22mar22,1,6979392.story?coll=la-ce lebrity-news&ctrack=1&cset=true

Letterman sidekick Calvert DeForest dead at 85
By Dennis McLellan, Times Staff Writer

Calvert DeForest, the roly-poly character actor with the black-framed glasses and seemingly clueless delivery who developed a cult following as Larry "Bud" Melman on "Late Night with David Letterman" in the 1980s, has died. He was 85.

DeForest, who continued appearing with Letterman under his own name after the late-night comedian moved to CBS in the early 1990s and last appeared on the show in 2002, died Monday in a hospital in Babylon, Long Island, N.Y. after a long illness, said a spokesman for Worldwide Pants, which produces "The Late Show With David Letterman."

"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself--a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement Wednesday. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/five-questions-texas-rangers2/

check it out....

Nice job  Adam.   .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... ................

John Danks yesterday:  3 IP, 2 H, 0 R
(6 IP; 5 H, 1 R overall in ST 2007)

By Dave van Dyck, Chicago Tribune
March 9, 2007, 9:41 PM CST

TUCSON, Ariz. -- He may not have started a game this spring for the White Sox, but John Danks might start the season in the rotation.

Danks, acquired from the Rangers in the Brandon McCarthy trade, leaped to the forefront in the fifth starter battle with three scoreless innings Friday against the Diamondbacks.

He faced the minimum of nine hitters and 16 of his 23 pitches were strikes.

In three relief outings this spring, Danks has allowed five hits, no walks and one run in six innings.

"This kid is really, really, really impressive," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think every outing we send this kid, (he) makes you open your eyes a lot. He's one of the guys who throws the ball the best."

Only 21 and with just 14 games at Triple-A, Danks was slated for Charlotte until he started getting outs--and more outs. Now a spring start could be in his future.

"[Saturday] morning, there's going to be a long talk about him," Guillen said. "I expect we'll have a long talk about that kid to see what we plan to do with him and [Gavin] Floyd and the guys for the fifth spot."

Danks, himself, wasn't all that impressed with Friday's effort, calling it "a little iffy. It wasn't as sharp as I'd have liked it to be."

But he knows what's at stake if he continues to pitch well.

"I'm going to try to make a name for myself, kind of put the pressure on them," he said. "I don't have any control over who they pick. I just have to go in there and keep getting outs."