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The Rangers moved to a robust 3-7-2 in Cactus League action with a win yesterday. That is good enough for worst among all American League teams. Good thing Spring Training is ultimately stupid and pointless.
What isn't stupid nor pointless is, as T.R. Sullivan writes, Jurickson Profar hitting his team-leading second home run in the Ranger win.
Speaking of Profar, Richard Durrett pegs new full time second baseman Profar as a Ranger "X-Factor" player heading into the upcoming season.
Yu Darvish pitched in yesterday's game and was able to go five innings in his allotted 60 or so pitches. As Drew Davison writes, Darvish's goal this season is to be more efficient and pitch further in games.
Gerry Fraley writes that the Rangers want Darvish to become more Greg Maddux-like rather than Nolan Ryan-like on the mound.
Sullivan writes that Darvish has spent the offseason searching for the will to win and thinks he has found it in fastball command, inducing weak contact, and going deeper in games.
Fraley notes that Ron Washington is aware of a special kinship between Darvish and Geovany Soto and therefore plans on Soto being Darvish's personal catcher in 2014.
Despite Leonys Martin hitting .279 out of the lead-off spot, WFAA.com's Patrick Despain discusses the effect that Shin-Soo Choo can have on the lineup as one of baseball's best lead-off hitters.
Tim Cowlishaw is the latest of the local writers to freak out about a Ranger bullpen that was really good last season and returns mostly everyone.
Dale Hansen interviewed Jon Daniels to find out what he thinks about being a sleazeball, and, more importantly, what he thinks about the 2014 Texas Rangers.
Ron Washington was on the Ticket yesterday and said that he isn't mad at Ian Kinsler for his comments, he's just disappointed.
Sullivan's Notebook covers Matt Harrison's enthusiasm for making his mound debut, Profar's progress, and Joe Saunders' first A game start, among other items.
Lastly, Dave Brown of Yahoo!'s Big League Stew presents the best new baseball uniforms of 2014.
