Rangers make roster moves

With the trade deadline tomorrow at 3:00, the Rangers have made 3 moves in the past 2 days to boost production from the infield. Texas has now made 2 deals: one with Florida and Washington, and 1 significant call-up. These moves should stabilize the right side of the infield during the stretch run. 

Mitch Moreland debuts at first

Thursday morning the Rangers made a surprising statement that Kinsler was going to the DL with a strained groin and Mitch Moreland would be getting re-called from Oklahoma City. Moreland, hitting .289 with 12 homers and 69 RBI's, is a 24 year old out of Mississippi State with an advanced approach at the plate. Moreland has 47 walks and only 63 K's this year, which is in line with his previous numbers. Moreland was hitting .320 for July with 6 homers. Moreland is extremely hot right now, and the Rangers deemed him a better option at 1B offensively than Davis was. Last night, in his debut, Moreland proved why. Moreland was 2-4 with 2 singles. Moreland's most impressive hit ball though was a blast to dead center that was caught against the wall. It was the type of blast the Rangers have been waiting on Davis to have. 

Moreland has a great eye at the plate, and rarely swings at bad pitches. He routinely squares up the baseball, and has good power. He played OF for all of the year until 3 weeks ago when Smoak was dealt. Moreland is a versatile player who can play multiple positions. I expect to see him in Arlington for a long time. After the game Davis was sent back AAA to create a roster spot for another 1B: newly acquired Jorge Cantu.

Cantu joins the Rangers

Thursday afternoon reports started coming in that the Rangers were closing in on the Marlins 1b/3B Jorge Cantu. The Rangers have been linked to Cantu for the last 3 or 4 weeks, so it didn't come as a surprise. News broke in the late afternoon, during the 8th inning of the Marlins-Giants game, that Cantu was going to become a Ranger. Cantu, 28, is hitting .262 this year with 10 homers and 54 RBI's. Cantu fills a massive void the Rangers have had all year- a right-hand hitting 1B. Cantu is not having nearly the year he's had the past 2 years, but he is still a good player. The only issue with Cantu is he doesn't have favorable splits vs lefties. He's only hitting .256 in 90 AB's against lefties this year, although his career numbers are better than that. 

Cantu is a solid addition for the Rangers. He gives us a solid bat who can platoon with Moreland at 1B, spot MY at 3rd, and be the right-hand pinch hitter we've been searching for. Cantu didn't come at too high of a price either. The Rangers dealt Minor League pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda. Reed is one of my favorite relievers in our system. He throws a mid-90's fastball with an average slider. If he can improve the slider he could be a back-end bullpen guy for the Marlins down the road. That being said, he's a 3rd tier prospect for the Rangers and dispensable. Poveda had an excellent year last year in AA as a 22 year-old, but this season ended for Poveda before it ever started. Poveda underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, and will face an uphill battle to reach the majors. Neither are major pieces to the future puzzle for the Rangers. The fact that we were able to get a guy like Cantu for 3rd tier specs emphasizes why its great to have a deep farm system.

Guzman to fill in at 2nd

With Kinsler going on the DL Thursday, the Rangers suddenly became involved in the 2B market. This afternoon a source announced that the Rangers agreed to deal 2 pitching specs to Washington for 2B Christian Guzman. Guzman, 32, is hitting .282 with a .327 OBP in 89 games this year for the Nationals. Guzman does not have any power to speak of but he is a good contact hitter who is a legitimate starting 2B. This shows me that the Rangers are concerned about Kinsler's groin injury nagging him down the stretch. This gives the Rangers another option to start everyday at 2B so Kinsler doesn't have to rushed back onto the field. Guzman is an upgrade over either Arias or Blanco, and should make at least one of them dispensable. There is very little chance that Arias and Blanco stay on the roster when Kinsler comes back. It wouldn't surprise me if one is gone by tomorrow at 3:00 either. 

Guzman cost us more in terms of prospects than Cantu. The Rangers deal 2 AA starters to Washington. Ryan Tatusko, 9-2, 2.97 era, and Tanner Roark, 10-5, 4.2 era, are both projected to back-end rotation guys or relievers. Both guys have an opportunity to make an impact in Washington in 2011 or 2012 that would be much harder to get in Texas. Again, these are 3rd tier prospects for Texas and makes them expendable with such a deep system of prospects. I have seen both Tatusko and Roark pitch in Frisco. Tatusko is a strike-throwing ground ball pitcher, while Roark is more of a strikeout/fly ball pitcher. I think both of these guys have the stuff to be average big league pitchers down the road, but this was a deal the Rangers needed to make. It would be difficult to sustain our division lead without a starting 2B for 2-3 weeks. 

I believe all 3 moves improve the Rangers chances of being a championship contender. Cantu and Guzman are obvious upgrades over their replacements. It will take some time to determine how much of an upgrade Moreland really is over Davis, but it would appear that he will be better offensively. His defense is rated as average, but should be offset by his offensive production. The Ranger's front office is doing a great job of not sitting on a lead and coasting into the playoffs. Daniels is doing a great job of seeing where the weaknesses are and fixing these problems, no matter how small. The Rangers are not preparing for a September inter-division battle with Oakland and LAA. The Rangers are loading up for an October battle against the Yankees. This time it might just be enough.

Rangers push towards playoffs: Cowboys start camp

This weekend was a great weekend in the world of sports for Dallas fans. The Rangers put over 170,000 fans in the seats for the 4 game series vs the Angels and the Rangers did not disappoint. The Rangers took 3 out of 4 to extend the AL West lead to 7 games. The Rangers used a style that we haven't often seen in Arlington to win- great pitching!!

Cliff Lee started off the series on Thursday with a dominating 8 1/3 innings before turing the game over to Feliz for the final 2 outs. Lee is going to be a major difference maker down the stretch for us. He's very, very good and reports are our other pitchers, mainly CJ and Big Game Hunter, have been learning everything they can from him. CJ is apparently a quick learner. CJ topped Cliff's start by throwing 8 shutout innings and only giving up 4 hits before, once again, turning it to Feliz for the save. CJ was completely dominant Friday night, and has been lights since the break going 14 2/3 innings giving up 1 run on 7 hits. Saturday Feldman turned in his best start in a month or so, but it still wasn't at a 2009 level and the Rangers fell in a rather uneventful game 6-2. Sunday, Big Game Hunter followed Cliff and CJ by putting up another dominating start. Hunter threw 6 1/3, giving up 3 runs on 2 home runs, but only 3 hits in all. Feliz got his 3rd save of the series and continues his domination of the Angels. Angels hitters are a combined 2-22 lifetime off of Neftali. 

Our offense was exactly destructive in the series but it was enough. MY, Nellie, and Hammy all had good series and showed why they are all all-stars. MY homered in the first 3 games, while Nellie hit 7-15 in the series. One guy I was impressed with this series was Chris Davis. He had good at bats throughout the series and drove the ball well a few times. Davis went 4-11 with 2 walks and 2 doubles in the series, and looked better than he has in a long time. Hopefully he is beginning to turn a corner and can be a productive 1B for us down the stretch. 

The Rangers have a tough schedule ahead with the majority of our games coming on the road and 8 more games against the Yankees and RedSox. Our schedule is much tougher than the Angels the rest of the way, but a 7 game lead and a team playing this well gives me confidence in our chances the rest of the way. 

Cowboys in Camp

The Cowboys kicked off the start of pre-season camp on Saturday with as little fanfare as they have had in a long time thanks to the Rangers. The beginning of camp is mostly insignificant, except it means that football is just around the corner. There are a few story-lines leading up to camp that had significance. 

The first is that Dez Bryant and Sean Lee signed contract in the days leading up to camp and will be in camp for the duration. Bryant is the only 1st round pick who has signed a deal so far, and that's a big thing for the Cowboys. Most people believe Dez was a top 10 talent, and will start in the slot for the Cowboys this year. This is a viable option with him getting in camp on time. Bryant said from the get-go that he wanted to get in early, and play football. Bryant was itching to get on the field, which makes sense with him not playing since last September. Bryant was suspended for the season for having improper contact with Deion Sanders in the off-season. Bryant is the most talented, young receiver the Cowboys have had since Michael Irvin (he's also #88), and they can't wait to get him on the field. 

The 2nd big story out of camp also deals with Dez Bryant. Reports today are that Bryant refused to carry veteran WR Roy Williams pads after practice. This is a rookie rite of passage that all young players go thru. Bryant believes Williams was trying to "punk" him into doing this, and Bryant declined. Their are many different thoughts to this. Some believe that this proves what many scouts thought initially, and he has a bad attitude and will never be a team player. I don't buy this. I think Bryant will be a great player for us. I think he has some ego, and didn't like the idea of having to do grunt work just because a veteran player said to. I realize this won't win him a lot of friends right now amongst the media or with fans, but once Bryant starts making acrobatic catches and scoring touchdowns all will be forgotten. I think this story is being blown out of proportion due to the fact that there are very few stories coming out of camp right now. This will be a non-issue very, very soon.

The next 2 months are going to be exciting for Ranger fans as they look for their first division title since 1999. The Rangers are in great position to, not only make the playoffs, but have a legit chance at advancing once they get there. The Cowboys will be kicking off their season during the stretch month of the Rangers season. I love watching Cowboys football. It's what I look forward to every weekend during the Fall. But hopefully this year, at least during September and October, Dallas fans can focus on their other championship caliber team- The Texas Rangers. 

Mavericks solidify roster

The Dallas Mavericks have been busy this off-season creating a roster that they believe can challenge the Lakers in the West. After re-signing Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood to multi-year contracts in early July, the Mavs pulled off a deal last week with the Bobcats to obtain Center Tyson Chandler and 7-foot Frenchman Alex Ajinca for Eric Dampier, Eduardo Najera, and Matt Carroll.  Later in the week the Mavericks signed another 7-footer from France, Ian Mahinmi. The addition of 3 more big bodies will help a Mavericks team that has had problems with more physical teams in the past. 

Chandler is the prize of the group of new players. Chandler has never fully reached his potential as the #2 overall pick in the 2001 draft by the Clippers (traded to Bulls on draft day). Chandler may not be the superstar some expected, but he has turned into an above average big man. He boasts career averages of 8.1 points, 8.8 boards, and 1.4 blocks per game. His best year came in in 2008 with the Hornets when he averaged 11.8 ppg, and 11.7 rbg. 2008 was also the Chris Paul's break out year, not coincidentally. Chandler is at his best when he is working a high screen-and-roll with a good point guard. Unless the Mavericks plan on using Roddy B to run the screen-and-roll this year, the Mavericks don't use this set up all that often. This may limit Chandler's offense production, but the Mavericks should have plenty of scorers. His biggest contribution will most likely come on the defensive end and with rebounding. Chandler is an excellent rebounder who uses his athleticism well. 

Chandler, at worst, will be an upgrade over Dampier. The combination of Chandler and Haywood should cause other teams big men trouble every night. This team is a completely different with these 2 holding down the inside compared to what we had at the beginning of last year. The athleticism, skill, and rebounding have obviously been upgraded. I believe this is the year Mavs fans can finally stop complaining about having a capable big man. 

The other 2 acquisitions are projects. Ajinca is expected to be traded by the Mavs, and hasn't actually played in the states yet. He has been productive on a winning team in Europe, and shows a lot of promise. It would be a big surprise, however, if he ever dons a Mavericks uniform. Mahinmi will help the Mavericks this year though. He showed good ability the past 2 years with the Spurs, but it is still raw. He will be the 3rd string Center. Mahinmi averaged 4 ppg, and 2 rbg last year in 26 games. Mahinmi, 23, is long and pretty athletic for a big man, and may develop into an above-average Center. He's a great guy to take a chance on as a 3rd Center. 

The Mavericks also have multiple players in the Las Vegas summer league right now that bear watching. 2010 1st round pick Dominique Jones has shown exactly why I sang his praises in an earlier blog. Jones has averaged 16.5 ppg, 4 rbg, 2.5 apg, and 9.5 free throws per game thus far. Jones has excelled in the summer league and has easily been the 2nd best player behind Roddy B. Beaubois has struggled some with his shot and decision making while learning the point guard position. The Mavericks are working on converting Roddy into an all-around point guard from a score first shooting guard. Roddy is still averaging 14 points and 4 assists a game, but also 4.8 TO. I'm not worried about Roddy struggling right now. He's trying to learn new things, and develop his PG skills. He still has shown the promise he has. 

A few young guys who haven't been on the radar have stood out in the summer league as well. Both Jeremy Lin, Harvard, and Saint Mary star Omar Samhan have stood out, and should expect contract offers. Reports are already out that the Mavs are in negotiations with Lin to play PG for their Frisco D league team. Lin, averaging 9.5 points and 2.5 assists in only 18 minutes per game, is strong, quick point guard who is a very smart player who reminds me some of JJ. Samhan is a big man who is very strong and knows how to score in the post. He could be a viable option down the road for somebody. 

The Mavericks have made some small renovations to the roster, adding Jones, Chandler, and Mahinmi, that should help push us closer to the Finals. The Lakers are still the unquestioned kind the West, but the Mavs have closed the gap and should be the 2nd best team in the West again. 

Cliff Lee is a Ranger!

The Rangers have officially acquired 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners. Lee, 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA this year, instantly becomes the best Starting Pitcher the Rangers have had since Nolan Ryan. Lee has been the best pitcher in the American League this year and was named by ESPN the winner of their mid-season Cy-Young award. Lee has been as un-hittable as any pitcher can be this year in Seattle. He currently leads the league in ERA, Whip (.95), CG (5), k/bb ratio (14.83-2nd place is 9.5), opponents OPS and OBP. He's been the most dominant starter this year without a doubt. 

This deal immediately makes the Rangers legitimate contenders to win the American League. Not just the division- the ENTIRE LEAGUE. A playoff rotation of Lee, Lewis, Wilson, and Harden, Hunter, or Holland rivals any team's rotation in the AL. Who has a better trio or foursome than that? Yanks? Redsox? I'll take the Rangers 3 at this point. Everybody saw the incredible way Lee dominated the post-season last year including the Yanks in the Series. Lee is a big game pitcher who has been there before. Don't discount how much that experience can mean to a young team. 

With Lee in the fold, our rotation now matches our lineup and bullpen amongst the tops in the league. ESPN, who is in an everlasting love-knot with the Yankees, admitted today that the Rangers have the best lineup in all of baseball right now. With the best lineup in the league and now one of the top 4, if not top 2, rotations in the American League, its hard not to consider the Rangers one of the favorites to come out of the AL. Obviously bookies, analysts, and even common fans will never admit that the defending champion Yankees aren't the favorites considering that they are, after all, the Yankees. But when you look at the numbers, and break things down, its hard not to believe that the Rangers aren't at least looking eye-to-eye with the Yankees right now. 

Obviously to get an ace pitcher you have to give up something. The Rangers payed a hefty price to get Lee for the rest of this season. The jewel of the deal is Rangers 1B Justin Smoak. Smoak had been hyped coming into the year as a top 10 prospect in all of baseball. Many people see a Justin Morneau type hitter in him. A guy who will consistently hit 310, be extremely patient while being amongst the league leaders in walks, and hitting 20-25 homers per year. Smoak, however, has been pretty awful so far this season. Smoak is hitting a measly .209 with 8 homers and 34 RBI's in 70 games. I believe Smoak is going to be a good player, but I'm not on the bandwagon that he is the next Justin Morneau. I believe he will be a solid, patient hitter. But I think he's a guy who will hit around 280 with 20 homers, and be a very good 1B for a long time. With my point of view in mind, I believe it is the perfect time to deal Smoak. I think Davis can be put up very comparable numbers to Smoak and play great D at 1B. He will strike out more, walk less, and put up bigger power numbers. He was the 1 of our big name prospects (Perez, Scheppers, Holland, Feliz) I was willing to give up to get Lee. Apparently the Rangers front office agreed with me. 

The rest of the package included one of my favorite prospects, Blake Beavan, a hard throwing AA relief pitcher, Josh Lueke, and a possible future utility player who's having a good year at AA, Matt Lawson. Lueke and Lawson are mostly organizational depth for us, and expendable. Beavan is a guy who dominated AA this year, 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 17 starts with only 12 walks.  Beavan was a flame-throwing pitcher out of Irving, TX when the Rangers drafted him, but has become a finesse pitcher. He works in the low 90's and wins based on precise location. Beavan ceiling is that of a #3 or #4 pitcher, which is nothing to scoff at, but something the Rangers still have plenty of.  Beavan is a guy that the Rangers may come to regret losing. His style will work very well in spacious Safeco Field, and could put up some very good numbers in his best years. Think Derek Lowe type numbers. 

The Rangers gave up a nice package of players, but it's not a crippling deal. We still have a young 1B with promise, Chris Davis, and we have multiple mid rotation ceiling starters. And a little food for thought for all the Davis haters. Mitch Moreland, hitting .279 with almost a 1:1 BB/K ratio, has always been a 1B before shifting to the OF this year to find a spot for him, is still a very nice backup option. We still have hope at 1B. 

I believe this is a great deal for the Rangers. I'm sure all the Braves fans thought the same thing when they acquired Teixeria for some low level minor leaguers too, but we are in a better position to win than the Braves were that year. We are a playoff team without Lee. We could be a championship team with him. The Braves weren't even a playoff team with Tex. 

I know a lot of people are going to bash the deal since we gave up so much for a rental. Even if Lee does not sign, which is not out of the question no matter what ESPN says ( look at what they said this morning regarding Lee), but if he doesn't we will still net 2 draft picks. A 1st rounder and a supplemental rounder depending on how some things go (it's a complex system). Trading Smoak and Beaven for Lee, a playoff series win or 2, and two 1st round talents doesn't sound as bad now does it?

Maybe I'm getting overly excited about what acquiring Lee could mean for the Rangers this season, but I don't think so. I guarantee their are quite a few upset front offices across the league right now that Cliff Lee is a Ranger (although not as many as their would have been had Lee become a Yankee). The Rangers have become a team to pay attention to across the league. This is going to be a great summer going forward for all Ranger fans. Cliff Lee makes his debut tomorrow night against the lowly Baltimore Orioles. This is going to be fun!

NBA Free Agent Frenzy

Well a week into free agency we now know a couple of things. We know that Dirk and Haywood will remain Mavericks. We know that the West is going to be a little weaker with the Suns and Jazz looking major players. And we now know who the favorites will be going into next year- the new look Miami Heat. Lebron announced this evening that he would join Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in South Beach and create the greatest trio to ever play on one team. 

Most people are already trying to determine which route the Championship parade will take next June. While the Heat may have the best trio in the NBA, I'm more hesitant to start calling them the odds on favorite just yet. The Heat still have a lot of work to do. The Heat's roster is barren outside of the big 3. They still have Chalmers and Beasley, but they may have to move Beasley to create space to sign Lebron. The entire bench will have to be composed of minimum level guys. The big 3 will have to play 40 minutes a night and carry the team every night to have a chance. 

Honestly, a healthy Lebron, Wade, and Bosh in the Post-season is an extremely scary match-up for anybody; if they are healthy. An injury to any of these guys kills any hope of a championship in my mind. I don't think Lebron, Wade, and a bunch of D leaguers can beat the Lakers or the Celtics or the Mavericks and maybe a few others. Health will be a key component to their hopes of winning. 

I also have serious questions about whether or not Wade and Lebron can co-exist. It will be very interesting to see who takes over in late game situation. It will take longer than most people think for the chemistry on this team to mesh. The worst case scenario for the Heat- A relapse of the 2008 Olympics when neither Lebron or Wade were willing to take over the final game with so many superstars on the court. Kobe eventually decided he wasn't going to let them lose and took over in the 4th quarter. What happens late in games when Lebron thinks Wade is going to take over since, in his own words, "its his team", but Wade thinks Lebrons taking over and neither do. It will be extremely interesting to watch their season progress as they figure out the order of things. 

Now what does this chaos mean to the Dallas Mavericks? Essentially, it means nothing. Obviously it would be a difficult match-up if a 2006 Finals re-match happened, but that's not even worth thinking about at this point. The Mavericks have been very steady this off-season. Not making any headlining moves but doing what they needed to do. Dirk agreed on Saturday to sign a 4 year deal worth $80 Mil, which is $16 Mil under the max deal Dirk could have gotten. Dirk's agreement to take less than what he could have gotten shows a tremendous team first attitude.  Let's just hope the Mavericks can use the extra money to improve. 

Today the Mavericks signed Center Brendan Haywood to a 6 year $55 Mil deal with an agreement that he will be the Starting Center. This was a deal the Mavs had to get done. Haywood is a top 10 Center in the league. He gives the Mavs a athletic, defensive presence in the middle that we haven't had in a very long time. He is an obvious upgrade over Damp and a full year on the team should improve his numbers. 

The Mavericks really don't have to many more options. The guy I wanted, David Lee, is reportedly going to be sent to Golden State in a sign-and-trade deal for Anthony Randolph and Ronny Turiaf. There really isn't much left out there after that. Shaq was an option before the Haywood sign. There's 3-point specialists JJ Reddick and Mike Miller. Their are some intiguing restricted Free Agents in Luis Scola and Tyrus Thomas but don't expect either to move. The only option the Mavs have is to attempt to work out a deal using Dampier's 1 year $13 Mil contract. An expiring contract can be a valuable trade piece in the NBA, and Damp's should have decent value. The key is just finding the right match. 

There are still  a few teams who may look to create more cap room for next year to go after Tony Parker and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks and Bulls are 2 teams I think could be prime targets for Damp. The Bulls, looking to dump Luol Deng's contract (4 years and about 45 Mil left) could be a possible trade partner as the Mavs aren't going to have cap room available for 2 years anyways. The Knicks could be a possible trade partner but I'm not sure who we would get back that would help us. Anthony Randolph? Ronny Turiaf? Wilson Chandler? I'm not sure I really see a fit there. 

This off-season will be one of the most talked about for many, many years. Unfortunately, the Mavs aren't going to be a main reason why. We re-signed Dirk which, as I wrote in an earlier blog, was pretty much a done deal, and re-signed Haywood which we needed to do. But the fact is we never had a great chance to make a big splash in the free agent market as much as Cuban wanted to. The most important thing for Mavs fans to be watching this off-season is taking place right now in Las Vegas: the continued development of Roddy B and Dominique Jones. 

Rangers acquire veteran Catcher Molina

The Rangers believe that they have solved their catching issues- in the short term at least. This afternoon a deal was finalized to send RP Chris Ray and Minor League Pitcher Michael Main to the Giants for 35 year old Catcher Bengie Molina. Molina gives the Rangers a veteran presence behind the plate, as well as the stability they've lacked. Molina has proven to be a superior defensive catcher, and one of the top game callers in the National League. His greatest asset should be helping this young pitching staff progress forward similar to the way Pudge was expected to help last year. 

Molina, a career .275 hitter, has dropped off offensively this year significantly. He is hitting only .257 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI. Molina has hit at least 15 home runs in each of the past 5 years with an average over .270. Although Molina's power and average has dipped, his K/BB ratio has remained consistent. His 19/14 ratio is consistent with his career ratios, and is one of the best contact hitters at the catcher position. Molina, 5'11" 225 Lbs, is also amongst the league leaders every year in GIDP's. 

Molina is an obvious upgrade over Treanor or Max Ramirez at the Catching position. He provides excellent defense with advanced game management skills. Even with his .257 batting average he still provides a significant improvement offensively over the light hitting Matt Treanor. 

Molina is an upgrade at Catcher but what did we give up? Chris Ray was the first piece that was mentioned in the deal. Ray is a completely dispensable reliever. He was a favorite of most fans to get optioned to AAA yesterday to make room for spot starter Omar Beltre. Ray has decent numbers- 3.41 ERA, 7 holds, but had a 16-16 K/BB ratio and a 1.25 Whip which aren't promising signs. He is not a guy who holds down a vital role and can be replaced immediately with Alexi Ogando who has looked extremely good in his first 10 innings with the big league club. Ray is a league average relief pitcher who I'm not unhappy to see go. 

The other piece in the deal, the Player to be Named Later, I am more upset to see leave the organization. Michael Main, a former 1st round pick by Texas in 2007, has an immense upside that was just now beginning to show. Main has been slowed by injuries in his first few seasons, but has been healthy all year putting up good numbers for hitting heavy California league. Main, 5-3 with a 3.45 era and a 72/21 K/BB ratio, was promoted to Frisco on Tuesday just before he was announced as the 2nd player of the deal today. Main's biggest issue has been the long ball, 14, but in the Cal League thats not that unexpected for a fly ball pitcher. 

Main has a chance to be a very good MLB pitcher. He's been mentioned as a top 10, if not top 6 or 7, Ranger prospect ever since he was drafted. Main is considered by most to have a #2 or #3 SP ceiling. 

This is a lopsided deal in terms of talent. An aging, declining 35 year old catcher on a 1 year deal isn't worth a league average reliever and a high-upside prospect like Main. The only reason the Rangers were forced to move such a high-upside guy is our lack of money. In order to convince the Giants to pay the remaining portion on Molina's contract, the Ranger were forced to give them a legit prospect in return. This is unsettling to most Ranger fans that we were forced to give us such a quality prospect to rent Molina for the year. It's not a good situation to be in as a team, but finding a quality Catcher for a playoff run is very important. 

I have been on an emotional roller coaster since the trade was announced as a close last night. My initial emotion was excitement. I loved the idea of having a veteran catcher like Molina for the stretch run. It seemed like a perfect fit. This afternoon, after finding out Main was the PTBNL, my emotions turned to disgust. I couldn't believe that we dealt such a good prospect for a rental catcher who, although he is better than Treanor, isn't an All-Star caliber player anymore. Now my emotions have evened out and I'm ok with the deal. I know Main has a lot of ability and what looks to be a bright future. However, that description fits a large number of Ranger pitching prospects. Does Main really have more upside than guys like Beaven, Wieland, Font, Kirkman, Pimental, Boscan, Alvarez, Thompson, Erlin, Ross, Tullis, or Roark? I'm sure most people would say yes to some of those guys, but my point is that the Rangers have a plethora of good pitching prospects with high ceilings. The Rangers have built their system to a point that losing a guy like Main doesn't hurt as bad as it should. Main may blossom into a superstar and we will all curse Jon Daniels for another horrible deal. But I know Molina is going to help us this year, and I have a feeling that we will have plenty of pitching coming up over the next 5 years to offset the loss of Main. I think this was a smart move by Daniels knowing what he had on the farm and what he needed in the Bigs. Now let's welcome the eldest of  the Molina brothers to the Jet-stream we like to call- The Ballpark in Arlington!