After seeing this done, in a pair of fanshots at Royals Review, I figured that creating a similar list for the Rangers would be a lot of fun.  So I went through the years, picking out good candidates, for both best and worst, following the same, basic rules.  Today we get the good, probably tomorrow we get the bad.

"1. I only included Major League free agents, not waiver wire pickups or minor league free agents.

2. I only included free agents signed from other teams, not contracts given to players already on the club.

3. I only included the initial contract figure, but not extensions."

10. Will Clark – 5 years, $30 million (1994-1998)
Clark joined the team replacing Rafael Palmeiro.  He might not have matched Raffy's middle of the order production, but he put up several above average seasons in Arlington that included a trip to the All Star Game, and a Top 15 MVP finish in 1994.

9. Kenny Lofton – 1 year, $6 million (2007)/Eric Gagne – 1 year, $6 million (2007)
A pair of bargain basement pickups, these two former all stars joined the team together in 2007 on low-risk, one year deals.  Each performed rather well for the team, Lofton with a 116 OPS+ and over 20 SBes, providing stability to the lead-off spot, Gagne with an ERA+ over 200 and 16 saves in an injury-shortened half season.  However, their performances alone are not what warrants their inclusion on this list.  On July 27th, Lofton was traded from the Rangers to the Indians, where he began his career, for Max Ramirez.  4 days later, Gagne was traded to the Red Sox for Engel Beltre, David Murphy, and Kason Gabbard.  Of those acquired, Beltre and Ramirez are among the Rangers top prospects, David Murphy was a Rookie of the Month last season, and Gabbard has shown flashes of brilliance in his season plus in the bigs.

8. Milton Bradley – 1 year, $5.25 million (2008)
Milton Bradley's talent has never been in question, but his firey temper and ability to stay healthy were when the Rangers signed him to a one year deal before this season began.  Many speculated that the deal, much like Gagne and Lofton the previous season, was made with the idea of trading him for some coveted young prospect if he could rebuild his value.  As the story goes, Bradley reached 500 PAs in a season for only the second time in his career and found a certain sense of belonging and peace in the Rangers locker room.  He then proceeded to tear up the AL, starting the All-Star game as the designated hitter, finishing third in the league in batting, first in on base percentage, and fourth in slugging.  The Rangers, largely thanks to Bradley's play, found themselves within striking distance at the All Star break and unable to deal the switch hitting star.  Bradley finished the season 17th in MVP voting.

7. Mickey Tettleton – 1 year, $1 million (1995)
After the strike-shortened 1994, Tettleton signed with the Rangers a couple of weeks before the 1995 season began.  Originally signed to play DH, Mickey ended up playing all over the field, spending time at 1B, RF, LF, and catcher.  Tettleton ended up arguably having the finest season of his career in 1995, and lead the team in home runs.  Tettleton ended up resigning with the team, and was a Ranger until his retirement early into the 1997 campaign.

6. Alex Rodriguez – 10 years, $252 million (2001-2003)
Stats-wise, you could make a case for Rodriguez at #1 on the list.  In the three seasons he spent in Arlington, he started three All Star Games, won two Golden Gloves and finished no lower than 6th in the MVP voting, winning the award in 2003.  However, with the largest contract in baseball history, you're expected to win, and he couldn't on his own.  When Hicks realized that the contract was an albatross on the day to day dealings of the team, he originally tried to deal Rodriguez to Boston for enigmatic slugger Manny Ramirez, and when the MLBPA refused to rework A-Rod's contract, he was dealt to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias.

5. Tom Henke – 2 year, $7.5 million (1993-1994)
Henke came up in the Rangers organization, but later joined the Blue Jays as a compensatory pick due to a Free Agent signing.  However, when Henke rejoined the team in 1993, he was no longer the kid with a lot of promise, he was an all-star closer who had just come from the World Champions.  Over his two years in Arlington, he amassed 55 saves and had some very solid years, providing stability in the Rangers bullpen.

4. Kenny Rogers – 2 year, $6 million (2004-2005)
In his third stint in Arlington, Rogers joined the team after a decent, but unremarkable 2003 in Minnesota.  Over the next two years, for a team that always needs pitching, he filled the role of #1 starter, going 32-17, making the All Star team and being awarded Gold Gloves both years.  This run is probably remembered more for the cameraman incident than how good Rogers was on the mound.

3. John Wetteland – 4 year, $23 million (1997-2000)
Wetteland came to the Rangers after a very successful career in Los Angeles, Montreal and later New York.  Wetteland almost immediately became the greatest closer in Rangers history, saving more than 30 games every season in Rangers Red, making two All Star teams along the way.  Wetteland still holds the Rangers career saves record with 150.

2. Nolan Ryan – 2 year, $3.2 million (1989-1990)
After a falling out with Houston Astros owner John J. McMullen over a little under half a million dollars, Ryan signed with the cross-state Texas Rangers before the 1989 season.  Although Ryan ended up spending his final 5 years in Arlington, over the initial contract, he went 29-19, made one All Star team and had a Top 5 finish in Cy Young voting.  In addition, he immediately became the face of the Texas Rangers franchise, and reached several key accomplishments: 5000 strikeouts, 300 wins, and his sixth no-hitter.

1. Rafael Palmeiro – 5 year, $45 million (1999-2003)
When Rafael returned to the Rangers in 1999 after 5 years in Baltimore, he played like a man possessed.  Each of the five seasons he hit 39 or more home runs, and drove in over 100 RBIs.  Although in the post-Juiced era, the accomplishments will never be looked at the same way again, he was an absolute force out of first base for the Rangers over the entire course of the contract.

And there's the Top 10.  While I might do the Top 10 Worst over the weekend, Monday seems more likely.

With their being no World Series game tonight, and a lot of baseball news kind of stagnant until the offseason actually begins, I figured it was a good time for an off topic post.

Any recommendations for some recent albums?  Personally, I've been listening to the new Ryan Adams & The Cardinals album Cardinology a lot, and think it might not only be my favorite album of the year, but also the best thing Adams has ever done, top to bottom.

How about upcoming concerts?  I'm seeing R.E.M. this weekend, with Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Mars Volta and a few other bands supporting.  I'm really excited, as R.E.M.'s one band that I've wanted to see for years, but it's just never happened, before now.

And on one final note, something that I think a lot of you out there might dig, MTV is in the process of putting up it's entire video catalog at mtvmusic.com.  Might as well put it somewhere since they don't play them on TV anymore, but even in it's beginning stages where a lot of shit is missing, there is just a TON of music there.

Flash video here.

I'm not in love with the set, I mean, obviously, I think it's an upgrade to what they had, but while before, it felt rather dated and just.. unattractive, with the new set, it seems like they are trying too hard to create a retro look.

In addition, I don't like the way there isn't a primary color between the red and the blue... it feels very mix-and-match, and not in a good way.  I'm also not sold on the primary, with the C being twice the size as everything else in the package.. if you were going to go faux old-school, why not go with the collegiate style or, the style of the White Sox, with OKC cascading down.

As I've said, it's basically an underwhelming upgrade.  I do like the underused hawk head logo, though.

via Jon Heyman:

• Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggested that Rangers president Nolan Ryan will convince club owner Tom Hicks to spend this winter. And that may be so, but I'm told that what Ryan would most like is to convince Hicks to sell -- that is, to sell the team to him. There is no evidence to this point that Hicks is interested in selling, though.

I know Nolan has his share of people who aren't that fond of him out there, but wouldn't he be a damn better owner than Hicks?  I mean, worst case, he can't be any worse.

While watching the YES feed for tonight's game, the announcers kept talking about how hard the infield was to play at RBiA, because of how hard and fast it was, comparative to the rest of the league.

Is there actually something to this, or were they basically just filling airtime?

If it is true, could it be a contributing factor to why we're defensively so bad, especially when we promote ground ball pitchers?  And is there something the Rangers can do in terms of keeping the infield grass that could change it?

Didn't see this talked about anywhere, but per the Rangers blog at Dallas Morning News, Kiko Calero has been signed to a minor league deal and is joining the Oklahoma Redhawks.

I figure that if he can stay healthy, and if the Rangers have an open roster spot, he'll be in the show sooner rather than later.

Even though he wasn't very good at all last year, and with the health concerns, I've always liked him as a player and hope that if given the chance, he can help solidify our bullpen.

(note: when I was browsing around at other blogs on the SBNation site, in order to see about proposing the ASG vote trading ideas we had in an earlier fanpost, I came across Amazing Avenue, which had this idea.  So the credit for the idea, and the name - as I couldn't think of a better one, goes to that blog.)

Here is our 40 Man Roster, and how they came to join the club.

Joaquin Benoit - signed as an amateur free agent, May 20, 1996
Thomas Diamond - drafted in the first round of the 2004 Amateur Draft (10th overall)
Scott Feldman - drafted in the thirtieth round of the 2003 Amateur Draft
Frank Francisco - traded by the Chicago White Sox, along with Josh Rupe and Anthony Webster for Carl Everett
Kason Gabbard - traded by the Boston Red Sox, along with David Murphy and Engel Beltre for Eric Gagne and cash
Eddie Guardado - signed as a free agent, January 11th, 2008
Matt Harrison - traded by the Atlanta Braves, along with Beau Jones, Elvis Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Neftali Feliz t for Ron Mahay and Mark Teixeira
Eric Hurley - drafted in the first round of the 2004 Amateur Draft (30th overall)
Jason Jennings - signed as a free agent, January 17th, 2008
Wes Littleton - drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 Amateur Draft (106th overall)
Kameron Loe - drafted in the twentieth round of the 2002 Amateur Draft
Warner Madrigal - signed as a minor league free agent, November 17th, 2007
Doug Mathis - drafted in the thirteenth round of the 2005 Amateur Draft (399th overall)
Brandon McCarthy - traded by the Chicago White Sox, along with David Paisano for John Danks, Nick Masset, and Jacob Rasner
Luis Mendoza - traded by the Boston Red Sox for Bryan Corey
Kevin Millwood - signed as a free agent, February 26th, 2006
A.J. Murray - drafted in the nineteenth round of the 2000 Amateur Draft
Vicente Padilla - signed as a free agent, December 8th, 2006 (was traded before the season by the Philadelphia Phillies for Ricardo Rodriguez)
John Rheinecker - traded in a three-team trade, along with John Koronka and cash, for Juan Dominguez, who went to the Oakland Athletics.  In addition, Freddy Bynum was traded from the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs.
Josh Rupe - traded by the Chicago White Sox, along with Frank Francisco and Anthony Webster for Carl Everett
C.J. Wilson - drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 Amateur Draft (141st overall)
Jamey Wright - signed as a free agent, January 25th, 2007

Gerald Laird - traded, along with Jason Hart, Ryan Ludwick, and Mario Ramos by the Oakland Athletics for Carlos Pena and Mike Venafro
Max Ramirez - traded by the Cleveland Indians for Kenny Lofton
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- traded by the Atlanta Braves, along with Beau Jones, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Neftali Feliz t for Ron Mahay and Mark Teixeira

Joaquin Arias - traded, along with Alfonso Soriano by the New York Yankees for Alex Rodriguez and cash
Hank Blalock - drafted in the third round of the 1999 Amateur Draft (105th overall)
German Duran - drafted in the sixth round of the 2005 Amateur Draft (189th overall)
Ian Kinsler - drafted in the seventeenth round of the 2003 Amateur Draft (496th overall)
Travis Metcalf - drafted in the eleventh round of the 2004 Amateur Draft (321st overall)
Chris Shelton - traded by the Detroit Tigers for Freddy Guzman
Ramon Vazquez - signed as a free agent, November 17th, 2006
Michael Young - traded, along with Darwin Cubillan by the Toronto Blue Jays for Esteban Loaiza

Brandon Boggs - drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 Amateur Draft (111th overall)
Julio Borbon - drafted in the 1st round (supplimental) of the 2007 Amateur Draft (35th overall)
Marlon Byrd - signed as a free agent, December 8th, 2006
Frank Catalanotto - signed as a free agent, November 21st, 2006
Josh Hamilton - traded by the Cincinnati Reds for Edinson Volquez and Daniel Ray Herrera
David Murphy - traded by the Boston Red Sox, along with Kason Gabbard and Engel Beltre for Eric Gagne and cash

Milton Bradley - signed as a free agent, January 3rd, 2008

Let's play hypothetical.

It's July 15th, and the Rangers are 2 games back.

Who do you kick the wheels of?

I think this team's biggest gap right now is someone right handed who can bat 5th or 6th, breaking up a series of lefties and Milton, whose a switch.

After looking around and thinking, perhaps the most viable option, in terms of what he would cost, is Xavier Nady.

Other options would be Jason Bay, or Magglio, although considering his contract I can't see us making that move.

Nady could play right field regularly, allowing Hamilton in center and Murphy in left to be your general everyday lineup, but also rotate in on days off for Blalock or Davis, whoever is manning first(I assume it would be Blalock unless he is on the DL or decides to move back to third).

Pitching wise, I could see us making a splash for one of the free agents to be, more likely Ben Sheets, if we felt we could resign him and he is healthy.  Those of course are monster sized question marks, but this is a hypothetical.

In the bullpen, we could use a steady guy, doesn't have to be a blow-away guy, with good control.  Quite frankly, I would have no idea who to target there, but I'm sure there would have to be someone on the market who would fit this.

I have no idea what Pittsburgh would want, but I figure Milwaukee would be interested in either Teagarden or Ramirez and a pitcher, especially if they are out of it and don't expect to resign him.

Glad to see he's starting to produce now that Jon Daniels is calling the shots on who should be getting playing time.

Another day, another 0 for 4 with multiple strikeouts.

4 hits, 13 strike outs for the season.

Man am I glad he's a Ranger!

I think most people on this blog could match the .143 he's putting up.

Can we officially declare the Jason Botts: MLB Starter experiment OVER, a massive, massive joke of a failure?

I don't think optioning him, as someone mentioned in another thread, reeks of failure.

I think that it might allow him to get his stuff straightened out, and when he rejoins the team he might pitch better.

This is also a good thing for Rupe, who didn't deserve the option and seemed like the odd man out there for a minute.

Still a question on who we bring back up after sending Feldman down, but for now, at least, in my opinion, the right choice has been made.