Sunday morning Rangers things

The third to last and penultimate football games of the 2012-13 football season are today. Then there's the Super Bowl, which, of course, means that baseball is right around the corner.

Which is a good thing. I'm ready for this tedious, unexciting Rangers offseason to come to an end.

Evan Grant writes that the Rangers' bench needs a makeover after the team collapsed late in 2012, a collapse that appears to have been exacerbated by Ron Washington's refusal to rest his regulars.

Barry Shlachter has a story this morning about Nolan Ryan Beef winning the contract to provide hot dogs at Rangers games.

Jeff Wilson has a story about the Rangers' rotation being the backbone of the team, and among other things, there's quotes from Derek Holland about toning down his schtick and focusing more on pitching.

Gil Lebreton has a column on Elvis Andrus and his contract situation, saying that the Rangers need to lock him up long-term, but that they also have to contend with the Boras factor.

At ESPN, Jason Martinez writes that, over the next five years, 2014 is the Rangers' "optimal" year for contention.