Pretty bleah game last night. Another disappointing outing from Edinson Volquez. He's starting to remind me a little of Aaron Myette...a guy who I'd watch pitch and think, he's got great stuff, a live fastball, good movement...why can't he get more guys out?
Mark Teixeira says he's disappointed in the way the season has gone, in an article by T.R. Sullivan that will probably add fuel to the "trade Teixeira now" fire. A highlight:
"I'd love to win here, no doubt about it," Teixeira said. "There's connection between me and the community, the fans and my teammates. The problem is, I don't want to get used to losing. It makes me jealous of players like Derek Jeter, who is there every year with a chance to win the World Series from Day 1."
The Rangers had that feeling in the late 1990s, when they won three division titles over a four-year period, but that is long gone. An unsettled feeling has replaced it, and Teixeira feels it as much as anybody when he talks about the possibility of the Rangers winning while he is here.
"It definitely could happen here," Teixeira said. "But when you talk about the future, you want to put yourself in the best place to win. A last-place finish and three third-place finishes doesn't leave you with a good feeling. I just don't want four years to turn into 15 years.
"It's not despair, but if you asked me about it two years ago, I would have said we have four years to build a championship team. Now it's down to two years, and a lot of question marks still remain about where this team is going."
That's similar to the sentiments that Michael Young expressed recently...I'm thinking neither of these guys is going to be looking to sign contract extensions this offseason...
Kat O'Brien has a piece on Mark DeRosa's career season and pending free agency, and talks about how the Rangers would like to bring him back in a utility role. We have this quote from DeRosa, on his opportunity this offseason:
"You get a chance to go to free agency maybe once," DeRosa said. "You want to take advantage of it. I love it here, but I loved Atlanta, too. I want to win. I want to play every day. I'm not going to settle. I really want stability, too -- I'm tired of renting. I always dreamed of this opportunity presenting itself. I've waited so long it's like it's not even real."
Jean-Jacques Taylor appears to have moved into a columnist role, and is advocating moneywhipping Daisuke Matsuzaka this offseason.
The departing Gerry Fraley has a new "Just Venting" column up, which, as usual, features potshots at the Rangers, Alex Rodriguez, and Ranger players (in this case, Carlos Lee and Adam Eaton) who don't perform until the pressure is off.
I'm not a big fan of either Lee or Eaton, but Fraley's implication -- that those two couldn't handle the pressure of a pennant race -- seems misguided.
Tim Cowlishaw is doing a chat session at 2:15 today, and you can send him questions ahead of time by clicking here, and can join the chat here.
Evan Grant reports that the Rangers want Joaquin Arias to put on some pounds, and that Carlos Lee wasn't bothered by being booed on Sunday.