Winning's my favorite Jon Lester will kick-off the Texas Rangers' 2011 campaign in a couple of hours at the Ballpark.
Here are thoughts:
Darren O'Day scares me. Maybe he rights the ship. But he wasn't right in Spring Training. Has the clock struck midnight? Was it always too good to be true?
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What if Derek Holland's figured it out?
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With all the talk of the rotation, line-up and bullpen, little discussion has been had on defense. Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler present a formidable left half of the infield. If the pitchers can just keep the ball low ...
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Now that we're on the subject, Adrian Beltre's completely fallen off the radar. I think he's a waste of money. What if he proves me wrong?
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I think Mike Young's going to have a monster first half of the season for the Rangers. And a so-so second half of the season for the Cardinals or Rockies.
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Moreso, Young's production at the plate went up when he moved to the less-strenuous third base. As a designated hitter, I think he'll be even better. He's playing angry and he's playing without the strain of defense on those legs.
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I think we see significantly less Darren Oliver this year. I think he and Arthur Rhodes get about 40 innings or less.
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If Nellie Cruz gets 550 at-bats, he's square in the MVP talk. At least 40 home runs, 40 doubles and 25 stolen bases.
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The bullpen seems extremely suspect. Pedro Strop and Mark Lowe make all the worries float away.
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Prediction: Ian Kinsler: 577 at-bats - 35 doubles - 17 home runs - 30 steals - .310 average - .410 OBP.
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I'm not currently worried about the pitching. Remember, this team did pretty well under similar circumstances a year ago before getting Cliff Lee. By July, Chris Davis and Mike Young could be pretty good trade bait for desperate contenders seeking infield help. Some team will be willing to load up on prospects, potentially ones that could help the bullpen or rotation.
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We will fall in love with Yorvit Torrealba. He'll give more at the plate than we think and he'll be great behind it.
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Fascinated by Alexi Ogando as a starter. Wonder now where Omar Beltre would've fit given the current circumstances.
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Julio Borbon will fail. I feel.
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I think we'll see Tanner Scheppers, Brett Tomko, Endy Chavez, Chris Davis, Cody Eppley, Esteban German, Taylor Teagarden and Mike Kirkman in Arlington this season.
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The last back-to-back American League MVP winner was Roger Maris in 1961 and 1962.
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Prediction: 18 wins for C.J. Wilson, 16 for Colby Lewis, 11 for Derek Holland and 10 for Tommy Hunter.
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Potential internal mid-season help: Hunter, Scooter Feldman and Brandon Webb.
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Mason Tobin is Darren O'Day 2.0. Another trash heap find for GM Jon Daniels.
