A loss in 23 innings

Dog days

The Texas Rangers' high-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (owned by Chuck Greenberg) lost in fantastic fashion yesterday to the Kinston Indians, 3-2.

It was fantastic because it took 23 innings.

In games like these, you always get some cool numbers. Here are 11:

11
At-bats for Kinston second baseman Casey Frawley. He had two hits, an RBI and six strikeouts.

32
Strikeouts by Myrtle Beach pitchers. Joe Wieland struck out nine in six innings. Eight others came from Chad Bell in five innings of relief.

3
Hits for Pelican leftfielder David Paisano, in nine at-bats.

2
Hits off of Kasey Kiker, the losing pitcher. He got two outs.

14
Straight scoreless innings for the Pelicans going into today's game.

26
Total hits by both teams. In a regularly played game, that's like both teams totaling 12 hits.

387
Minutes of minor-league baseball.

0
Stolen bases by the Pelicans. They were caught once. Meanwhile, the Indians stole seven bases. In 23 innings, you'd think you'd get one stolen base, or try a lot. Press things and make the opponent make a mistake.

0.78
The Indians' team ERA for the game. Two runs allowed in two-and-half games.

15
Total pitchers used.

4
Walks issued by Wieland in 78 innings this year.

Omar Beltre's back and Scooter Feldman's knee

A hell of a backbone

Texas Rangers pitching prospect Omar Beltre has spinal stenosis -- a genetic narrowing of the spine -- and he'll have surgery. Since no one in baseball has had the disorder (to anyone's knowledge) they have no idea how long he'll be out.

Rehab is set for six to eight weeks.

This is a huge bummer for the team and, frankly, for me personally. I love this kid. And I had huge expectations for him this season and for the next 10.

I think he's a big hoss of a pitcher with a good head for pitching and a big arm to back it up. I think he showed a lot in his brief time in Arlington last year and I looked forward to his presence in Round Rock and, probably, Arlington in 2011.

I feel sick for Beltre. This. Last season he tore up his ankle. Before that he had Tommy John surgery. He also was caught up in the infamous visa situation trying to get off the islands.

Hopefully it all works out.

Furthermore, the Rangers will be without Scott Feldman until June or so. He's still recuperating from microfracture surgery on his right knee in November. Other than being Jewish, it's just another thing he has in common with Amare Stoudemire.

In position: Left Field

Jared Hoying: Bringing his lunch pail

Every year over the past three or four, I've gone through the entire Texas Rangers' franchise, position by position in order to gauge the organizational depth. This has especially been important as prospects have progressed and made it to the Majors. It also helps to discover what prospects might prove valuable in trades.

Previous: Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Shortstop and Third Base.

David Murphy
29 - Texas Rangers
Despite seemingly always being relegated to back-up duty, Murphy eked out 138 games last season notching 26 doubles, 12 home runs and 65 RBI. Most importantly, he got better. Logging less at-bats, he just about matched his walk total and whittled his strikeouts down from 106 to 71. I doubt you'll find a more useful fourth outfielder in baseball.

Michael Bianucci
24 - Bakersfield Blaze
His 2010 numbers dipped quite a bit after 62 extra-base hits in 2009. Still, 18 homers and 23 doubles are nothing to sneeze. And I don't know if anyone noticed, but there are zero guys above him that are not in Arlington. I fully expect Bianucci, if healthy, to get a long look at the upper tiers of the system.

Eric Fry
23 - Bakersfield Blaze
Injuries prevented Fry from getting double-digit at-bats (stuck at nine). Still, he showed more than enough in 2009 (20 doubles ... .329 OBP) to be considered in 2011.

Cristian Santana
21 - Hickory Crawdads
A good argument could be made that Santana has as much upside as any prospect in the system. His 2010 was cut short due to injuries, but he managed, still, 11 homers and 22 doubles. He hit .260, his highest average since 2007, his professional debut.

Jared Hoying
21 - Spokane Indians
The 10th-round pick took professional baseball by storm. He hit .325 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs and five triples in his pro debut, stealing 20 bases and collecting 51 RBI. He was named the Northwest League Most Valuable Player.

Travis Meiners
22 - Arizona Rangers
In 111 at-bats, Meiners -- a 40th-round pick -- hit .279 and wound up striking out just twice more than he walked (16-14). A tad older, Meiners surely caught the attention of someone, somewhere.

Braxton Lane
20 - Arizona Rangers
Logged 34 games and hit .239 while doing it.

Michael Young and the Texas Rangers

Behind the scenes

In late January, the Texas Rangers came out publicly to reiterate that they were not trading Michael Young.

A week later, rumors starting flying that the Texas Rangers-Colorado Rockies deal that boiled over during the winter meetings was back in the works.

The question right now isn't who the Rangers get in return or whether or not the trade goes through.

The question: Can the Rangers, at this point, keep Michael Young?

If you want to trade the guy, then don't come out every month and tell us how you're not going to trade him. I think that's unfair to the fans and Michael Young.

It's clear the Rangers are shopping Young. I assume they want to get younger and cheaper for a designated hitter-utility infielder. Why they're still denying it is a mystery.

I think Young wants to be here and I think trying to trade him is a big mistake. You signed him to that contract. Why not play him? You can't have enough reliable bats in the line-up and I think he could have further value mid-season when teams need someone like Mike Young to play any number of positions. Or, the Rangers might actually need him.

At this point, I don't know if the Rangers and Young can really go back. How do you start the season getting constant reassurance, all the while, your employer is trying and trying to get rid of you? Just seems like bad, shady business.

Rangers made trade

That's Napoli between the T and the A

Needing depth at first base, catcher and designated hitter, the Texas Rangers addressed all three.

They sent reliever Frank Francisco (who is more than likely going to go to arbitration) and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for Mike Napoli.

Napoli, of course, was only with Toronto for several days. He was part of the booty had from the California Angels for Vernon Wells' bloated contract.

Napoli is just 29 years old, and he won't be 30 until Oct. 31. He, too, is going to arbitration.

He's a mixed bag. He had his worst hitting season last year with a .238 average. Still, he boosted 24 doubles and 26 home runs while striking out 137 times.

Still, in 2008 and 2009, he hit .272 and .273 with decent power numbers from the catching position. He is what he is. At best, he hits .270 hits 25 doubles and 25 home runs and strikes out 120 times.

And he has a creepy beard.

Otherwise, it's a great move. It first tells us that the Rangers are extremely comfortable with Alexii Ogando, Arthur Rhodes, Darren O'Day and Darren Oliver in the late innings.

I think it also means Neftali Feliz is the closer.

Furthermore, with Michael Young as your DH/utility man, Napoli can share time at first base, catcher and DH. Two kind of super-utility men. Tons of flexibility and an added right handed bat that could help maximize his talent considering he's had injury issues previously.

It provides added pop to the line-up without spending a ton of money to some overpaid, wash-up former slugger.

Not an awful move.

Rhad-ical

Yesterday, the Texas Rangers made official the poorly-kept secret that John Rhadigan, regional sports media icon, is their new TV voice.

Several thoughts:

1. I think John Rhadigan will do fine. Not because he's been around for 30 years, or because he listened to Ernie Harwell as a kid, or because he knows this team inside and out. It's because he's a professional and he does everything well.

2. Baseball broadcast folks have it tough. And I think it's why so many were anti-Josh Lewin (a sentiment I had no idea was so rampant until he was fired) folks. There's 162 games in the MLB season per team. I'd guess a vast majority of those that watch one game, on average, catch probably 20 total. Remember, there's probably a shitload more that watch five games than those that watch 100. Or 115. So the average person catching a game might listen to Lewin 15 times a season. Or less. So all it takes is a stinker, 10-0 loss or nice Rangers-Royals affair where nothing is happening for the random drive-by fan to catch Lewin dishing pop-culture references.

Point is: Lewin didn't issue three pop-culture references an inning. Probably less than one per game. Baseball broadcasters are in a no-win situation unless you get to stick around for 50 years. Then you're just accepted.

3. I was mildly shocked they went with Rhadigan when I thought they were attempting to go a different direction from Lewin. I kind of put both guys in the same arena: Not the typical "baseball" guy, outsiders (although Rhadigan's been around for 30 years ... he's still from Michigan), guys that cut their teeth on pop culture and both are slightly irreverent. I wouldn't be shocked if Rhadigan (unless instructed not to) didn't throw out his own brand of comedy during a random sixth inning.

4. I've heard that folks think Lewin and Tom Grieve didn't have chemistry. I couldn't disagree with that more. I really thought they had a good relationship. I thought Grieve did an excellent job, over time, in playing along with Lewin's humor. I think Grieve is a sweet guy and learned quickly it's a lot more fun drudging through 162 games if you learn how to laugh a little bit. Yes, Grieve was left on an island with some references, but he played an excellent foil for Lewin.

5. I do wonder how Rhadigan will handle the strain. Not to downplay his last 15 years, but doing post-game and anchor gigs at Fox Sports Southwest in the friendly confines of a studio do not compare to 162 gruelling games, rain delays, road trips, blowouts, pitching changes and West Coast first pitches.