Time Machine

Remember those time machine things we did as kids where you would put stuff that you liked or were popular that year in a box and open them many years later to reminisce? Well, here's my time machine for the Texas Rangers, consisting of all their top prospects. Seeing as the Rangers have probably never had this much talent in their farm system in the history of their franchise, I thought a list of all of them would be a good idea. Hopefully, we'll be able to look back on this years later and say "Wow!"

I've listed the Rangers prospects by position in a rough order of future impact and raw potential.

* - Players who have already seen substantial playing time this year in the majors

Catcher

1. Taylor Teagarden: Defensive difference-maker
2. Max Ramirez: Offensive difference-maker
3. Jarrod Saltalamacchia*
4. Cristian Santana: Only 19, but much ahead developmentally of Teagarden at the same age.
   
5. Leonel de Los Santos

Corner Infielders

1. Justin Smoak: The entire package - monster power from both sides of the plate and flawless defense. In other words, Mark Teixeira's replacement.
2. Chris Davis*
3. Travis Metcalf*
4. Johnny Whittleman
5. Matt West
6. Mitch Moreland: He probably should be on the list for pitchers; he is being converted to a reliever because his path to the majors is blocked by Smoak.
   

Middle Infielders

1. Elvis Andrus: At worst, he'll be an Edgar Renteria type player. At best, who knows?
   
2. German Duran*
3. Joaquin Arias*
4. Jose Vallejo: One of the fastest prospects in the system; he will probably become a super-utility infielder like German Duran.
   
5. Marcus Lemon: Son of former big-leaguer Chet Lemon
   

Outfielders

1. Julio Borbon: A speed demon with decent power
2. Engel Beltre: No ceiling to this 18-year old's potential; he could be a superstar. He plays like a young Griffey Jr.
3. Brandon Boggs*
4. Nelson Cruz*: This 28 year-old "prospect" tore up Triple A before tearing up the majors the last month of the season. His time is now.
5. John Mayberry Jr.: He's still toiling in the minors after being drafted in the 2005 first round. Considering the Rangers passed over better outfielders like Jacoby Ellsbury and Colby Rasmus to draft him, he can be considered a bust now. Oh yeah, he was a John Hart pick. (On a side note, the Red Sox had a ridiculous draft that year. They drafted Ellsbury, Craig Hansen, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, and Michael Bowden all between picks 23 and 47. The first four have all had success in the majors, while Bowden is the Sox's current #2-rated prospect. That is how you build a baseball team.)
   
6. Miguel Velazquez
7. David Paisano
   
8. Miguel Alfonzo
   
9. Chad Tracy
10. Joey Butler
    
11. Tim Smith: If we're lucky, he will be a Rusty Greer-type player with less power and more speed
    
12. Juan Polanco

Starters

1. Neftali Feliz: One of the top prospects in the nation, but still has a bit to go developmentally
2. Derek Holland: Absolutely dominant; a case can be made for Holland as THE #1 prospect for the Rangers
3. Michael Main: He is the complete package, both physically and mentally. He also played the outfield in high school, and he would be a top-5 outfielder prospect if the Rangers switched him. There are comparisons to Adam Wainwright.
   
4. Martin Perez: The last pitcher besides Martin Perez to debut in the Northwest League (mostly reserved for players with at least 2 years of pro experience) right after turning 17: Felix Hernandez; Perez is often compared to Johan Santana.
5. Eric Hurley*: Mentally tough innings-eater
6. Blake Beaven: His big, flamethrowing arm matches his big mouth.
7. Matt Harrison*
8. Kasey Kiker: Will most likely end up as a closer or set-up man
9. Neil Ramirez
10. Wilmer Font
11. Wilfredo Boscan: Had a ratio of 70 strikeouts to 11 walks this season..
12. Omar Poveda: The signs point to him being a durable power pitcher - over 150 innings pitched each of the last two season, and he averages a strikeout an inning
    
13. Tommy Hunter*: Of all the pitchers drafted in 2007, only Hunter, David Price, and Brett Cecil had success at all three levels of the minors. Only Hunter and Price made appearances in the bigs.
    
14. Robbie Ross: The Rangers are excited about this lefty, who they drafted in the 2nd round this year.
    
15. Zach Phillips
16. Joe Wieland
17. Thomas Diamond: The only part of the heralded DVD trio left in the Rangers system (Danks-Volquez-Diamond). Also the only part of the DVD trio that is a bust.
18. Mike Ballard
19. Michael Schlact: Chien-Ming Wang starter kit; or a really poor man's Roy Halladay
    
20. Carlos Pimental
21. Fabio Castillo
22. Kyle Ocampo
23. Tim Murphy: There are Andy Pettitte comparisons, but he could also be a late-inning reliever.
24. Luis Mendoza*
25. Beau Jones
26. Doug Mathis*
27. Tae Ahn: The Rangers' first significant signing from Asia. He was one of the hottest pitchers in Korea last year before he had a rough senior year of high school in 2008.
    
28. Johan Yan: The Rangers are trying this former third-baseman's Adrian Beltre-like arm on the mound

Relievers

1. Pedro Strop: Strop and Madrigal are both converted position players who the Rangers acquired due to roster move mistakes by other clubs. More importantly, they will compete to be the Rangers' future closer. Strop was once ranked as the Rockies' #9 prospect.
2. Warner Madrigal*
3. Andrew Laughter
4. Kea Kometani
   
5. Brennan Garr
6. Corey Young: Projects to be a lefty specialist
7. Ryan Schlecht
8. Jared Hyatt
   
9. Reinier Bermudez
10. Joseph Ortiz

Pitcher is definitely the Rangers' deepest position from top to bottom, followed by catcher. The Rangers' infielders are a bit weaker, but compared to other teams, the Rangers are still loaded in the infield. Outfield is definitely their weakest position. Besides Borbon and Mayberry Jr. most of the other top Rangers outfield prospects are still considered developmental projects - they have no outfield depth at all. However, the current wave of outfield prospects - Marlon Byrd, Nelson Cruz, Brandon Boggs, and David Murphy (you could even add Josh Hamilton to that group) - show enough promise that I think the Rangers will be fine at outfield until the next wave.

Have faith in Jon Daniels, and keep a close watch on the Rangers. There is a bright future for this franchise.

On Brett Favre

This entire Brett Favre situation is unreal; it's unreal what Favre has done to tarnish his legacy. I don't understand the people who put any sort of blame on the Packers' management.

First off, the Packers have to view the situation from a football standpoint. Who gives them the best chance to win? Although Favre is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the answer is not clear. Aaron Rodgers has shown flashes but is still basically a rookie while Favre is way past his prime. Regardless, the Packers have a decent team that just needs a proverbial "bus driver," which Rodgers and Favre are both more than capable of being. Thus, we come to the public relations part of this unfortunate situation.

Let's say that there's a married couple named Bob and Cindy. The couple has been married for a good number of years. One day, Cindy gets tired of her dull husband and files for a divorce. Bob is obviously upset, but respects Cindy's decision. He knows that he has always been a decent provider for Cindy through the millions of dollars he brings home each year from his job on Wall Street. However, Bob also has noticed that Cindy has been restless as of late since he has been so busy with work. He therefore reluctantly goes through with the divorce, crying himself to sleep every night for a month. Bob, though, is a resilient man. After a few months, Bob begins to recover from the loss of Cindy, moving on with his life and entering the dating scene once again. He finds a nice young lass called Erin who he really likes and proposes to her (she accepts).

Just as Bob and Erin are beginning to make wedding plans, Bob receives an unexpected call from his ex, Cindy. She suddenly has had a change of heart and wants to re-marry again. A couple of months living the single life made Cindy realize that she was not ready for it, and she begs Bob to take her back. What is Bob to do? Having been married to Cindy for many happy years, he obviously still has feelings for her, but he has already proposed to Erin. Bob tries dissuading Cindy from re-marrying him again, but to no avail. He even tries paying her $20 million to reconsider and find a husband, or whatever one does with $20 million dollars. My guess is that Bob will probably end up filing a restraining order against Cindy and happily marry Erin (all while thinking to himself, "Boy am I glad that I got rid of that mess of a woman!")

As you have probably already guessed from my grossly extended metaphor, Bob = Green Bay Packers, Cindy = Brett Favre, and Erin = Aaron Rodgers. Who is at fault in this story? Cindy, obviously. You can't just go around randomly divorcing your spouse and then changing your mind. Favre can't go around randomly retiring and un-retiring on a whim either. The Packers can't give in to Favre every time he changes his mind.

No single football player is greater than his team. Not even Brett Favre.

tim kurkjian

skip to the 1:45 mark

Peter Gammons Rocks

300 Spears Purple Rain in Season Opener

From wire reports

June 12, 2008 - In the first game of the ABA season, 300 defeated Purple Rain 77-52. 300 compensated for its lack of interior defense with lights-out 3-point shooting. Both teams were sloppy throughout the game, showing signs of rust after a long off-season. Even the referees contributed to the preseason atmosphere of the game, making questionable foul calls on many occasions while neglecting to call obvious fouls at other times.


Hindered by numerous turnovers and traveling calls, Purple Rain could not overcome an early deficit caused by an uninspired start. Despite not being able to stop 300's hot shooters with a 2-3 zone, Purple Rain started clicking on offense in the second half, aided by the realization that 300 played a very lax man-to-man defense and the return of team superstar Michael Allen. At halftime, Allen had dramatically returned from helping inner-city kids with eye disease learn to swim. Nevertheless, Purple Rain's late surge was not enough.

Purple Rain's marquee free agent signing in the off-season, Jimmy Jen, led the team in scoring with 18 points and started in place of Timothy Pang, the incumbent starter at point guard. Pang is serving a two-week suspension after failing his second drug test in the off-season. Forward Farouk Kolaghassi bounced back with a solid game after a disappointing rookie season last year. Purple Rain's other much-hyped rookie from last season, Aaron "Choo Choo" Tyler, was traded at the annual GM meeting in December for a washing machine and cash considerations.

When asked about the team's inauspicious start to the season at the post-game press conference, Purple Rain guard Karson Chang replied optimistically. "Worried? I'm not worried. It's just early-season jitters. We'll be fine once we settle down and get Tim and Mike [Jagielski] back. I'm more worried about our washing machine. It's starting to leak water and make weird noises."

Even though players like Chang are optimistic, the end result was still the same for the beleaguered Purple Rain. After a tumultuous off-season in which the franchise relocated and changed its name from the Earthquakers to Purple Rain, the team is trying to use its new identity to get a fresh start this season and erase memories of a disappointing last-place finish in 2007. After tonight's loss, Purple Rain's fresh start will just have to wait one more game.

I'm Happy Too, But....

I know how happy Dallas Cowboys fans are about Pacman Jones being allowed to practice, and inevitably being able to play in the upcoming season. We will again have a picked up a pro-bowl player for chump change. His sheer talent and athleticism will awe us, as our cornerback position will finally become stable, and even really good. But....

There is a reason we were able to pick up this amazing player. He comes with lots of baggage. And although many of us, including myself, are happy to have this amazing specimen on The Dallas Cowboys roster, if you have the time, please read this article-http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111516/1/index.htm-by Rick Reilly, formerly of Sports Illustrated. It might give you the grain of salt you've needed.

Evening Chat With the G's

Here again with everyone's favorite Ranger's parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.

Mr. G, how's it feel to see your son get the win in your home state?

He pitched horrible, but his team picked him up. Henry from down the street won't let me hear the end of it though. Who the hells gives a damn if his son is a mid-level manager in that big building with the big red key on it. But my son is still a gosh darn good major league pitcher. Excuse my language dear.

Mrs. G, who do you like in the Indy 500?

Well, this is really the one race you can't really predict because of the wide range of conditions. But the lack of practice time really gives the advantage to the veterans. The eleven rookies this year don't have a chance. My personal favorite is Helio Castroneves, so I'm going to go with him. He's won it twice already along with Dancing with the Stars. So I say Helio will be climbing the fence again on Sunday.

Mr. G, the French Open is coming up, can Federer break through?

It's hard to go against Nadal, and Federer hasn't been amazing this year. So I'm going to say no.

Mrs. G, any random basketball thoughts this week?

• Kobe should grow out his half-fro again.
• Michael Jordan's leather jacket and single loop gold earing really draws parallel to a retired bull.
• The Seattle Storm have 6 MVP awards on their team. (Sheryl Swoops 3, Lauren Jackson 2, Yolanda Griffith)
• Rudy Fernandez is going to be awesome next year for the Trail Blazers.
• The Nuggets and Mavericks really need to make a trade this summer.
• Hopefully the Mavs can bring back Diop and Finley
• This draft is going to be awesome

Mr. G, who are you picking in the UFC fight this Saturday?

B.J. Penn. He's a better striker and a better grappler, so it doesn't matter that his wrestling isn't as good because his takedown defense is enough.Iif you want to use a logical fallacy to prove it, you can say that Matt Hughes beat Sean Sherk in 5 rounds; B.J. Penn beat Matt Hughes in 2 minutes.

Mrs. G, so are you guys going to round the bases tonight?

[awkward silence]

Thanks again for your time, it's been fun. See you next time.