Sportandfashion-news MLB Preview: Texas Rangers

Here we go. My hope is we are going to start pumping a couple of these out a day. Today is our first one, and then we will continue to run through the current division. If there is something you would like to see added to these previews, shoot me an email: sportandfashion-news12@gmail.com or tweet me: @Sportandfashion-news12, I would be happy to oblige with the people.  

What went right for Texas in 2013: Yu Darvish - What a second year for Darvish. He finished second in Cy Young voting for the American League, and made his presence felt to the rest of the Major Leagues. Darvish's numbers were downright scary as he led the league in Hits per nine innings as well as strikeouts per nine innings plus leading the American League in strikeouts with 277. He came in either second or third in multiple other categories. Darvish is only getting better which is bad news for the rest of the American League.

What went wrong for Texas in 2013: Another September swoon - For the second straight year, Texas hit a spiral like when you decide it is a good idea to do multiple shots of Rumplemintz at 1:30 am on a Saturday night. From August 30th to September 16th, Texas lost 16 of their 19 games including multiple losses to Oakland falling out of first place on Friday the 6th and they would never reach that mountain again. How Ron Washington got an extension is beyond me.

Key Additions: 1B Prince Fielder, LF Shin-Soo Choo, SP Joe Saunders, SP Tommy Hanson, C J.P. Arenciba -  Big splashes around this one for Texas. They add Fielder via a trade and Choo comes over in the free agency. The bats could be back for Texas in a major way.

Key Subtractions: 2B Ian Kinsler, C. A.J. Pierzynski, 1B Lance Berkman, 2B Jeff Baker, SP Matt Garza, LF/RF Daniel Murphy, OF Nelson Cruz, RP Joe Nathan - Things ended like the Biebs-Selena when it comes to Kinsler as things got rocky. Some of these guys got old, and Garza flamed out with Texas.

What to watch: Prince Fielder - I am going on record and saying Prince will have a near MVP season for Texas this season. When this trade happened, I started to wonder about all the bombs he will be able to send out of the Ballpark in Arlington. I am telling you this plays to Fielder's advantage. I think when he was at Detroit, the pressure got to him leading to many times where he pressed for the home run. Fielder will have a huge year.

Population: Breakout: 2B Jurickson Profar - We see this a lot where a prospect gets called up midway through the season, and they do not really come through with as big of a season as some may have expected. People tend to forget he was only 20 years old last season. There is a ton of time to grow and it will happen this year. I think we are leaning towards a fringe All-Star appearance for Profar this season. While ZIP's only has him down for 14 homers at a .261 clip, I see something a little bit more on both end, maybe 19 homers with a .275 average but I could be crazy.

Population: Regression: SP Alexi Ogando -  Quite a career for the young pitcher who went from a bullpen pitcher to a starter back to the bullpen and now it seems he will spend another year starting for Texas. Are we really sure he is a starter? I mean he had a good year when Ogando stayed healthy, but we do not really have any indication he will be a front-line starter like Texas wants him to be this season. For whatever it is worth, the projections have his ERA above 4 with a WHIP of 1.45.

Prospect to Watch: OF Michael Choice - He was the first round pick for Okland in 2010 and got traded away for peanuts essentially. Choice seems to be making an impact in Spring Training where people are starting to wonder if he will get the starting role this season out the gate. Choice is Texas' best prospect option that might make an impact on this year's team with many of their other top notch prospects being a couple years away.

Outlook and Prediction:  Maybe I am putting a little too much faith in Prince and Darvish, but I think they will cure the September blues finding themselves back into the postseason for the first time since 2011. This team has a good makeup and I believe some are not seeing the possibility for this team to really grow throughout the season. I am predicting first in the AL West with about 94 wins. 

Charlie.

Garza Signing Gives Brewers Hope for October

When Milwaukee Brewers signed Mark Reynolds, this very blog made mention how the team had been very quiet this offseason, and it almost felt like they were too quiet. The latter proved to be accurate as Milwaukee signed Matt Garza to a four-deal worth 50 million dollars, but he could earn up to 67 million dollars over five years if things go really well. Garza helps the Brewers in not only adding an high-quality pitcher to their rotation but he also brings a fiery nature Milwaukee has missed since 2011. Brewers are getting closer to make a run at the 2014 MLB Playoffs. 

Throughout the Doug Melvin era, pitching is usually the problem. 2013 might have been the first time in a long time where the hitters were not picking up the slack for the pitching rotation and the bullpen. With Ryan Braun back and the addition of Reynolds plus the emergence of Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura, the offense will be fine, but questions remained about their pitching staff. The addition of Garza gives this team an added element with three number two starters leading their rotation this season. Something Milwaukee has not had since 2011, and that will always be the year people point to until the Brewers can find themselves back into the playoffs. 

Before we look at what Garza's statistics could mean for the Brewers, Melvin did a great job getting Garza at this value given the current market. Additionally, he did not have to give up a draft pick which he would have done if Milwaukee signed Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jiminez. From a management standpoint, this is a good signing for Milwaukee to make if they believe this team has what it takes to make a run to the playoffs. In the National League, it is not out of the question. The combination of Kyle Lohse, Garza and Yovani Gallardo could be pretty special, and if Wily Peralta takes another step as a pitcher, this rotation might be something to be feared this season. 

Unfortunately when the deal was first announced people were quick to their #HOTSPORTSTAKES and made a comparison to Jeff Suppan because he is the last pitcher to get this kind of money from Milwaukee. Now this is flawed and inaccurate. Disregard Garza's .500 record as pitcher as win/loss really does not matter no matter if the pitcher is Sandy Koufax or Bronswell Patrick. Garza is not perfect nor a true ace, but he is only the ripe age of 29 meaning Milwaukee will get him in his essential prime versus when the Brewers inked Suppan he was 32 years heading for the decline. The comparison with Suppan is baseless, and not worth a discussion. 

The one thing to love about Garza is his fiery nature as a competitor. While we cannot excuse his attitude and behavior towards women, Garza's 'f--- the free world' attitude is something Milwaukee lacked since 2011. I made mention of this in October when Boston was on their way to a World Series appearance. This team did not have any badasses. The 2011 team pissed a lot of baseball pursuits off, and it was stellar. But the last two years, this team played without an edge. Carlos Gomez fits what Garza brings as well as a couple others yet this edge, this chip on the shoulder nature was not present. Hopefully with Garza that returns even if we might get a few outbursts at inopportune times. Once again, let's pray he does not make any more comments about women. 

Things to like about Garza is his ERA steadley stays under four. The last time Garza's ERA was over four for an entire season was at age 22 when he broke into the league with Minnesota. Since 2011, Garza's strikeout to walk ratio has been over three, an improvement from the first couple years in the league although his strikeouts per nine innings has been down in the last couple years. This could be a sign that he is pitching more to contact versus trying to strike every player out.  In 2010, Garza walked 79 batters but since then those numbers went down rapidly with in 2012, he went down by more than 50 percent. Whatever issue Garza had with control during his last year at Tampa Bay are over. 

If there is one thing to raise an eyebrow like you were The Rock, it would be Garza's issue with giving up home runs. Garza averages about a home run per nine innings. With the way balls tend to fly out of Miller Park, this could be a problem. It is the same issue with Marco Estrada. This is okay if there are no runners are on or one at the very most. It gets troublesome when there are multiple runners on. The other issue is Garza struggles fielding bunts at time. It is a weird quirk, but he is not a good fielding pitcher. Hopefully, Brewers fans will do some research on Garza therefore they can expect this rather than make wild assumptions... Oh wait they crossed out Ryan Braun's name on shirt jerseys to make a statement. Nevermind, my bad. Garza is a good pitcher, but he does come with some negatives as all players do in any sport. 

Can the Brewers make a serious run at the playoffs?  By March 15th, I will probably be talked into it, but the team has its best chance since 2011. They have as dangerous as a two through six in baseball along with a competent pitching staff with a bullpen that could be improved yet it is not the worst in the Major Leagues. This team might be on the cusp of something big, and Garza is a big reason why, now to see if it all comes together like the Brewers hope it does in the 2014 season. 

Charlie.