I guess my next order of business is to talk some baseball.  And, again, since I'm smack dab in the middle of the Lone Star State, I might as well start there.

Texas Rangers:  Since this year's winter meetings in Dallas were only a twinkle in the youthful eye of new GM Jon Daniels, all they promised was, "pitching, pitching, pitching."  Which was music to the ears of Rangers fans, who have been long denied that one basic principle of baseball.  They haven't had a solid, signature, opening-day hoss of an ace since Nolan Ryan.  They've limped along with the streaky Kenny Rogerses and Ryan Dreses of the world, trying to hold a rotation together long enough to get to their equally inconsistent bullpen.  They've had solid hitting for the last 10 years, from the I-Rod and A-Rod days to today's tandem of Young, Teixeira, and Blalock.  And in Francisco Cordero, they've finally gotten a closer who is a adequate at worst, and flat-out nasty at best.  So what's the final piece?  Pitching, pitching, pitching.  Past Ranger front offices have promised pitching as an off-season priority, but none have fullfilled that promise.  And they haven't this year, either.... yet.

Pitching aside, I'll admit I was disappointed by their failure to get Juan Pierre.  I'm a Juan Pierre guy.  A Pierre-head, maybe?  How about "Pierre-iot"?  The Rangers are lousy with outfielders, all "B+" players:  Delucci, Nix, Mench, Hidalgo, Matthews, Jr., all basically good players, and basically interchangeable anywhere in the outfield or in the 5 through 8 spots in the batting order.  But in Juan Pierre, they would have had a proven, upper-echelon center fielder and solid leadoff hitter with a World Series ring.  Granted, he had a down year last year in almost every category, but I believe that can be chalked up to a bad team with no direction.  But by all accounts he has an impeccable work ethic, a great attitude, and can be a clubhouse leader.  He has amazing speed and base-stealing ability.  He does lack home run power, but has become a true leadoff hitter in the last two years, drawing walks and hitting the ball to all fields.  He lacks arm strength, but his speed in the outfiled makes up for a great deal of that.  In Juan Pierre, they would have gotten a solid, potentially great player, a team leader, and a dynamic personality that would have put fans in the seats.  All they would have had to give up was one of their two best pitching prospects, and we all know how predictable those "hot prospects" can be.  They always turn out to be effective and profitable, right?  Sure.

So, failing that, what did they do?  They traded Alfonso Soriano -- good idea -- for Brad Wilkerson -- bad idea.  We all knew Soriano had to go, and the hope was to put him & his contract in a direct trade with an equally valuable starting pitcher.  But what did they do?  They traded an A+ player and got in return another B+, interchangeable outfielder along the lines of Delucci, NIx, and the rest.  Also in the trade for Wilkerson, they got yet another B-level outfielder in Termel Sledge, and a pitching prospect.  OK, maybe Wilkerson can hit leadoff.  Maybe.  We'll pretend he didn't hit .248 last year.  The thinking of the Rangers front office is that, by saving money on this trade (about $5 million) and adding to their dirth of outfielders, that will allow them to go harder after a solid #1 pitcher.  Maybe.

The problem is, the options are dwindling in an already thin herd of available starting pitchers.  They've looked at the aging and injury-prone-but-effective Matt Morris.  The Great Marlins Fire Sale '05 is apparently over, so Dontrelle Willis is out.  Josh Beckett is already with the Red Sox.  The Rangers are apparently looking at Kevin Millwood (back issues), Jarrod Washburn (arm issues), and Jeff Weaver (mental issues).  All guys who are decent #2's in a rotation, none of whom are solid aces.  In trading Soriano, their very best trading card, for anybody less than an ace pitcher, they lost any hope of getting one.  You think the Giants will take Laynce Nix and a Triple-A infielder for Jason Schmidt??  Neither do I.  How about Richard Hidalgo, Gary Matthews, Jr, and a Double-A bat boy to the Cubs for Mark Prior?  Not gonna happen.

Piching, pitching, pitching... right, Mr. Daniels?  Right?  Right?  We're waiting.

RCW