Links from the Junior Circuit, as Bartolo Colon comes closer to earning a spot in the Yankees' rotation…
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun previews the Orioles' Opening Day roster and checks in on some 2010 Orioles who have since joined other organizations.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas asks whether the Rangers made a mistake when they traded Frank Francisco for Mike Napoli. Rangers GM Jon Daniels says Francisco was "very good" out of the bullpen when healthy, but notes that Francisco isn't completely healthy at the moment. The right-hander is set to visit Dr. James Andrews.
- The Indians are almost ready to announce their starting rotation, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Meanwhile, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer says the Indians didn't draft well enough from 2004-07.
As usual with Paul Hoynes.. he has the scoop!!!!!..
The Indians maybe might be possibly sometime in the future could perhaps possibly annoint someone sometime to some position to be named later..
WAY TO GO PAUL !!.. nothing beats this kind of insight….
Even when healthy Frank proved he isn’t reliable as a closer. That’s why he lost the role to Wilson before he became a starter and the Rangers went with the rookie Feliz rather than give Francisco the job again.
No, I wouldn’t want Frank back.
The rangers would be better with Feliz in the rotation and Francisco closing.
The Rangers would be better with Feliz in the rotation and [insert name] closing. It’s the first half of that sentence that matters.
I agree. but for some reason the Rangers staff won’t start Feliz unless there’s someone with “closer” experience in the pen.
Don’t get me started on that. The Rangers’ beloved manager actually once was quoted as saying he’d rather have a closer like Mariano Rivera than an ace starter like Roy Halladay. (I can’t remember if Halladay was actually the ace example used in the hypothetical, but that’s besides the point.)
I respect Rivera as much as the next guy, but come on. Really?
are you serious?
I heard that too, the guys on MLB network were discussing it.
Yes. He really said that. I don’t want to bash the guy too much. He’s not without his positives as a manager. He handles players well, brings tons of energy to the clubhouse and fosters a pretty resilient attitude.
But as a baseball strategist he’s sometimes confounding: He loves to play the infield in in the first inning, bunts early in games, makes strange moves with his bullpen and, of course, prefers closers to aces.
What makes it more frustrating is all he has to do is look at last season. They went to the World Series with an inexperienced closer. And what put them over the top in the AL? Acquiring an ace at the deadline.
When it is late May and early June and we look at how Napoli has hit in Texas, you will see the Rangers go Francisco who?
Will he even have 200 PAs by June? Doubtful.
I feel like Alexei Ogando is just jumping up and down waving his arms around trying to get the attention of Rangers’ management. The guy has had one of the better springs this year by a Rangers’ pitcher, and is still getting overlooked as anything except a setup man
If Wash and the rest of the Rangers management was serious about making guys compete for jobs this spring, Holland, Feliz and Kirkman would be in the starting rotation on opening day with Webb replacing Kirkman when he’s ready. No, Tommy Hunter’s handful of starts last year (and suckage in the postseason) doesn’t earn him a spot this year despite his terrible spring. Ogando would be the closer, and everyone else can fight over the setup jobs. I would think one of Lowe/O’Day/Oliver/Rhodes could potentially be a solid 8th inning guy for the team, and set up men are much easier to acquire by trade than closers/ace pitchers if they falter. They should also be grooming Scheppers for the bullpen this year because his future is probably back there anyway and his stuff is as good as anyone on the staff
How freakin’ difficult is that??