The Rangers will finish up either 79-83 or 80-82 this year. Either result is better than what I think most folks expected this year. And it would be nice if the Rangers could sweep Anaheim to finish up the season.
Evan Grant says that, finally, Scott Feldman is out of the rotation, after a solid season and numerous plans to move him to the pen to limit his innings. Feldman says the last few starts killed his ERA, but he was glad to have finished the year with a strong start.
Jeff Wilson has an interview with Nolan Ryan about his first season as team president. Something that jumped out at me:
We have kids who are successful on the minor-league level, and when they come up here, they struggle. We have to change that. We have to identify why that seems to be an issue. I don’t have the answer to that, but we have to start addressing it.
My initial response is "no kidding" -- that's something that we've talked about here quite a bit -- but it is reassuring to see that that is something that has been identified as a problem, and that Ryan acknowledges that he doesn't have the answer to it, but it is something they are trying to address.
Wilson also runs down areas the Rangers are looking to improve or fill next year.
Ron Washington says he needs to improve his preparation next year.
Josh Hamilton is contemplating a change to his swing, to make it simpler.