Rounding up some Rangers items this morning...
Kat O'Brien has a spring training update, although not much new there. The biggest item to me is that Daniels says he's had discussions with Erubiel Durazo's agent about Durazo coming to Texas on a minor league deal.
Durazo was awful with Oakland last year, but has been a very good hitter otherwise throughout his career, and is just 32 years old. I like the chances of him bouncing back in 2006 better than I like the chances of Phil Nevin bouncing back, although since both he and David Dellucci are lefty hitters, and since Durazo is pretty much limited to a DH role, adding him wouldn't really help a DH platoon any. Durazo has also struggled to stay healthy throughout his career.
Nevertheless, the 2003-04 version of Durazo would be a better option at DH than anything else the Rangers have. Going with Mench, Wilkerson, and a GMJ/Dellucci platoon in the outfield, with Durazo at DH, wouldn't be a bad plan at all.
Speaking of Phil Nevin, T.R. Sullivan has a write-up on him today, with Daniels and Showalter indicating that Nevin is supposed to be the DH this season. Hopefully, that's just spinning.
I also have to nitpick a little on one item from Sullivan's column:
At that point, in mid-August, the Rangers decided to give playing time to two rookies, Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Botts, and Nevin was told he wasn't going to play much.
They may have decided to give playing time to Botts in mid-August, but he didn't actually join the team until mid-September. Jason Botts' first appearance with the Rangers was on September 14...he wasn't costing Nevin playing time...
Evan Grant has a new newsletter up, with a few interesting items, including a suggestion that Orel Hershiser may have alienated some within the Rangers' front office with his active campaigning for the Los Angeles Dodgers job, a different look at the Padres trade, and some thoughts on Hank Blalock and Juan Dominguez.
The DMN also has a small piece on my favorite catcher, Rod Barajas, and the number of pitchers he is having to work with this spring.
And finally, over at the Dallas Observer, there is a rather juvenile piece from Richie Whitt on Jon Daniels. Of course, it is in the Dallas Observer, so I guess Whitt is trying to be hip and edgy, to appeal to the piercings and patchouli crowd. But still, the whole thing comes across as rather...puerile...