Texas Rangers 2005 Season Preview

by Charles Curtis

Imagine this: there's a team that ignored the old saying that starting pitching wins championships. They had a 40-year-old ace at their helm and a handful of kids at the back of the rotation. They also had a top-five offense with the best young infield in baseball that will only get better, along with an outfield that had a couple of breakout performances waiting to happen. And here's the kicker: they fought to the last week of the season for a spot in the playoffs... and almost made it.

That was the story of the 2004 Texas Rangers, who finished the season three games behind the Anaheim Angels in the tight AL West. You would have figured that GM John Hart would go out and try to make a splash and sign a staff ace younger than 41 to complement an offense-first team. Instead, we see the name of Pedro Astacio on their 40-man roster. All the hot stove news came from Hart chasing after outfielders to come play for a club that finished fourth in runs scored. And yet, after seeing Kenny Rogers and Ryan Drese win a combined 32 games, you would think that this team needed someone better than the well-traveled and oft-injured Astacio to improve their staff ERA. But what if I told you they finished ahead of the New York Yankees in team ERA? Surprised? I was too.

This year's Rangers have a similar squad to last year's also-ran team with a few adjustments. Their lineup is led by the potent combination of two young guns who came up through the Rangers' system: third baseman Hank Blalock and first baseman Mark Texiera. Both players, along with impressive shortstop Michael Young and Alfonso "the man traded for A-Rod" Soriano, give Texans a muscular core that can even give Randy Johnson the jitters. If that quartet doesn't scare you as they get another year of experience under their belts, then Kevin Mench and offseason signing Richard Hidalgo should. Hidalgo revived some of his career when he was ushered out of Houston and traded to the Mets for David Weathers last season. The Ballpark at Arlington is friendly to hitters like Hidalgo and he won't be asked to carry the Rangers' offense, so he should be able to improve on last year's numbers. Mench enjoyed a breakout season last year with a surprising .539 slugging percentage and should get even better this season. 25-year-old centerfielder Laynce Nix turned some heads with a handful of good games. Even David Dellucci, a career utilityman, showed that he could step into a power-packed squad and have an influence.

That offense is exactly what should carry the Rangers beyond August as they compete in the AL West, but it's the Texas pitchers who will benefit the most from run support. Rogers will attempt to match his career high of 18 wins from last year in this, his eighteenth year in the majors, but at his age, he may not have a lot left in the tank to get close. The rest of the Rangers' rotation includes Drese, whose 207.2 IP went along with some solid, not particularly overpowering, performances in September. The rest of the rotation may include Ricardo Rodriguez, who is best known for throwing a chair into a crowd last season and Chan Ho Park, who has been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball after signing a lucrative contract with the Rangers in 2002. If George W. Bush's favorite team wants to push itself over the top in 2005, the Rangers will certainly need to put some stronger arms into their rotation.

However, the saving grace of this pitching staff is its bullpen, led by 49-save man Francisco Cordero. The middle relief was spectacular last year, as Brian Shouse, Ron Mahay, and Frank Francisco all ended the season with ERAs below 3.45. Texans will be praying that they'll repeat their performances again this year.

Now may be the time to make a move in the AL West, as the Oakland Athletics retooled their pitching staff (though if the past five years are any indication, they'll still be competitive) and the Seattle Mariners are slowly recovering from last season's power outage. The only team standing in their way is the even more improved Anaheim... excuse me... Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Will they be able to compete with a lesser staff and a monster lineup? If this year's Rangers can repeat and improve on last year's run, they'll be in the thick of a division and Wild Card race down to the last couple of weeks. Now, John Hart, get on the phones and see who will be available to your rotation in July!