Another nice win yesterday. I don't know how many folks have really noticed, but Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla have had really nice seasons for the Rangers in 2006. Unfortunately, the team hasn't had the offense or the production from the rest of the rotation necessary to be a playoff contender this year.
As a point of clarification, this post was sarcasm. I don't think John Danks should be traded. I don't think that Mark Teixeira should be traded. I was trying to make a point about the silliness of saying that some player MUST be traded well before he is eligible for free agency, because if he isn't traded, he may leave.
Of course, if the team is several games under .500 at the ASB in 2007, and looking like it isn't going anywhere, then you may want to consider whether Teixeira, Michael Young, and Kevin Millwood should be shipped out for prospects. But that's a discussion to have then.
Richard Justice has a column this morning about the perils of activist ownership, which I mention mainly because it has yet another reference to the Astros landing Carlos Lee this offseason.
Am I the only one who watches Lee, and becomes nostalgic for the all-out, balls-to-the-wall hustling style of Alfonso Soriano?
In other pending f.a. outfielder news, Gary Matthews Jr. says he wants to stay in Texas, but that "I can't get a deal done by myself. It all depends what [the Rangers' offer] is."
My translation? Show me the money. Like Rod Barajas and Mark DeRosa, this is GMJ's first, and likely only, time to cash in with a big free agent contract.