Most people look forward to Christmas; Drake looks forward to Spring Training. He could skip Christmas gladly. He hates everything about Santa, presents, trees, lights and decorations, but he loves everything about baseball. While I'm a Christmas aficionado, Drake is a baseball guru. I've never met anyone who knows as much about the game as he does.
Spring Training 2014 kicked off this week. Friday was our first game. The Rangers lost 11-1, and Drake could have cared less. One of his great delights is seeing the 'prospects'. Now, you have to be a die hard to get excited about who is going to be playing on your AA ball club. He also likes to speculate on what he terms the 'reclamation' projects. These are guys who are either ancient or whose careers have been sidetracked by injury, or some self-inflicted problem. This year there are two guys trying to re-enter baseball: Jose Contreras, a 42 year old Cuban defector on the comeback trail, who underwent Tommy John surgery at age 40, and Tommy Hanson who fell into the steroid trap and got caught. Contreras got lit up like a Christmas tree on his first outing, but he was much better on his second when he mixed in his off speed pitches with his somewhat anemic fastball.
Hanson's pitching so far has been mixed.
Speaking of surgery, Dr. Frank Jobe, the innovative surgeon who devised the elbow ligament transplant surgery that saved the pitching career of the Dodger, Tommy John died this past week at the age of 88. In 1965, with Dr. Robert Kerland, he opened an orthopedic clinic which specialized in treating injuries suffered by professional athletes. Their clinic was the beginning of an entire field of careers now under the umbrella of 'sports medicine'. Jobe was associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and in 1974 the Dodger pitcher, Tommy John, was the first player to undergo the transplantation technique now named for him. Dr. Jobe saved the careers of many famous baseball players. When he operated on Tommy John, he didn't have high hopes - estimating a one percent possibility that John would be able to resume his career as a professional baseball player. John astounded everyone by winning an additional 164 games AFTER the surgery. Nowdays, Neftali Feliz, who underwent 'Tommy John' surgery over a year ago, has an 85-92% of recovering his career. Feliz seems to have his speed back, and he is working on his control. Here's hoping.
The high profile new addition to the Rangers, Prince Fielder, seems to be the consummate professional baseball player. He conserves energy until he needs it, and then turns it on like flipping a switch. He hasn't shown any fielding gaffs at first base, and has in fact, made a couple of outstanding plays. Michael Choice, the young prospect that Craig Gentry was traded for, reminds me of Leonys Martin of a few years ago. He's already showing a very mature bat ready for the majors, but still somewhat unsure of himself. The major league batting ability is what separates ballplayers. There are lots and lots of excellent baseball players who will never rise higher than AAA because they just can't consistently hit major league pitching. Frankly, I don't see how anyone can. If you've ever seen a major league pitch from the perspective and speed of the batter, you'd be baffled too.
The big buzz has been Ian Kinsler's ill thought out remarks about the Rangers. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10544839/ian-kinsler-intends-become-elite-second-baseman-detroit-tigers-espn-magazine Having read this, it seems to me to be a classic case of baseball player naivete. Kinsler was unable to adjust to the shake up of the team he loved playing with (Hamilton leaving, Young being traded, etc.), and furthermore, Kinsler was unable to step up to a leadership role inside the clubhouse and maintain field performance. To top it off, he seems to believe be could stay at second base because 'he'd payed his dues' while ignoring the realities of the talent pool of the Rangers. We all need to find a scapegoat when we fall short of expectations, and Jon Daniels was a handy target for Kinsler. Ian Kinsler got reminded of the hard fact that baseball is a business, and as a player, he's really of no more importance to the organization than the guy who works on the assembly line at the Ford plant. In other words, he's replaceable when business objectives change. Club house chemistry doesn't rank nearly as high on the general manager's list of what's important as it does on the player's list.
We have just started ST, and so far the Rangers look right on track. The starting pitching is still worrisome. Matt Harrison was in Texas this week getting MRI's on his back - again. Nothing seems to be wrong, but his back is till giving him fits. Colby Lewis is back on the mound, and his first outing was a disaster. He couldn't even finish out an inning. And don't get me started on Derek Holland - out until mid-season after an accident playing with his dog! On a brighter note, Darvish looks terrific, and Ross, Tanner and Scheppers all are pitching strongly as they vie for a starting job. Drake still thinks we should be trying to trade for David Price to shore up our starting line-up.
Everything else is going well. Players are happy to be back at work. Choo, the new outfielder taking Nelson Cruz' spot, is showing signs of being a terrific lead off hitter. Elvis has tweaked his shoulder - a result of not playing winter ball, I'm guessing. I think he's learned he needs to be a bit better shape coming into ST. Speaking of Elvis, he's sporting a full beard which makes his look about 40 years old. It's horrible, and I've been amusing myself my ragging him about it everytime he hits the on-deck circle. Profar has been getting his batting timing down, and he's also been nursing a minor shoulder injury that's keeping him out of the field. Those two injuries have been giving the guys hoping to be signed as the Ranger's utility infielder a real work-out in front of the coaches and manager, Ron Washington.
The only real annoyance this Spring Training is that we've seen three losses! It seems like when we don't see the game (away from the home park) when the Rangers have an exciting game and win. As Drake points out the casual fan is alarmed by these Spring Training losses. In his opinion, this is of no importance. The team is playing all these pitchers, most of whom are not up to major league standard, but who need the experience or reality check of what pitching in the BIGS is all about. In reality, there are very few open spots on a winning team like the Rangers, and early Spring Training is about the top players getting physically tuned up for the long season ahead, and giving experience and 'look see' at the top prospects in the organization. For Drake the hardest thing is to see these young prospects trying to break into the big leagues, or aging veterans trying to snag that utility spot. They have very few chances to shine. I think he takes their disappointments or successes right straight to his heart. That's what makes it fun to go to the games with him as well as his ability to see and point out what 99% of us miss when we watch baseball. Stay tuned Ranger fans.
