Rangers are now 1-2 for the spring. Clearly, the season is over. Fire Daniels, fire Washington, fire Maddux, burn down TBIA.
Scott Feldman wasn't good yesterday. Luis Mendoza was, though. Meanwhile, Jeff Wilson says Andruw Jones looked fine defensively in center field, but ran his strikeout streak to six before getting an infield single. Jones might start again today, while Marlon Byrd will sit before making his spring debut tomorrow. And Derrick Turnbow is set to make his spring debut today, as well.
Wilson also writes on Brandon McCarthy's need to stay healthy and productive this year, with some quotes from McCarthy and talk about the mechanical adjustments he has made and the weight he's put on.
Randy Galloway writes about Chris Davis being part of the first wave from a promising Ranger minor league system, but also makes a John Danks reference and whines about Doug Melvin getting fired. And credits Melvin (incorrectly, I think) with building a great Milwaukee farm system...Melvin, in reality, inherited a strong farm system in Milwaukee, much like he inherited a bunch of talent in Texas.
BBTiA has a projected Frisco roster up, and it is pretty nice collection of talent.
Nelson Cruz is heading out to play in the WBC, but Ron Washington insists that being gone for 3 1/2 weeks won't impact Cruz's spot in Texas.
T.R. Sullivan says Mendoza's outing yesterday was a step towards winning a roster spot. Personally, I don't want to see Mendoza win a roster spot...I want to see him spend the year, or at least the first several months of the year, pitching in AAA, working on his breaking ball, and getting his confidence back.
Ron Washington is emphasizing defense this spring. Of course, it seems like every team at this point in the spring is emphasizing defense, but clearly, this is one of the biggest areas for improvement between last year's Ranger team and this year's Ranger team, and if they are going to finish above .500 for only the 2nd time in the last 10 years, the defense has to get better.