Posted on 3/19/2008 1:41:53 PM

2008 MLB Betting Preview – Texas Rangers

By Dave Golokhov

Starting Pitching:

Starting pitching has been a problem in Texas about as long as the Rangers have been out of contention. That streak is likely to extend another season.

On paper, the Rangers look OK. Vicente Padilla, Kevin Millwood and Jason Jennings are brand names. But at a closer look, you might start to wonder if these brands have expired.

None of them pitched 180 innings last year and none of them had an ERA under 5.16.

Compounding the problems is the fact that Millwood and Jennings are both recovering from injuries.

Brandon McCarthy is supposed to be a prospect on the come up but after his performance last year, that is now debatable. Kason Gabbard is decent as No. 5 starter.

This rotation is held together on shoe strings and duct tape and as is typical for the Rangers, should collapse before the All-Star break.

Relief Pitching:

Sucks to be these guys as the Rangers bullpen will again be one of the most overworked clubs in the American League. The bad news is that they don’t really have any quality arms to handle the workload.

C.J. Wilson enters the season as the closer but that’s like relying on Milton Bradley to keep his cool. Wilson had 12 saves last year in 14 opportunities but he doesn’t look like he has the makeup to be effective long term.

Eddie Guardado is around in case he falter, but Guardado hasn’t been good in about two years.

More importantly, Guardado, Wilson and Joaquin Benoit are all injured already in spring training.

There’s red flags being waved here and flares have been lit. Expect the Rangers to allow a lot of runs this season.

Hitting:

The Rangers have bats in their lineup, but they are not as strong as the days when the Rangers would overcome their shoddy pitching with power.

Frank Catalanotto and Ian Kinsler will hit at the top of the order, with Milton Bradley, Michael Young, Hank Blalock and Josh Hamilton to follow. Young is solid but Blalock’s power numbers have disappeared over the last two seasons. Hamilton is a nice project while Bradley is a consistent bat that might thrive in a hitter’s ballpark.

Ben Broussard, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Marlon Byrd are at the bottom of the lineup, which isn’t particularly inspiring.

It’s worth noting that this lineup doesn’t have a lot of speed.

Regular Season Win Total: 75

All pitching and no hitting potted the Rangers 75 wins last year and considering they return a similar unit, I’d be inclined to take the over.

They were stripped down because of injuries last year missing key parts like Hank Blalock and Kevin Millwood for chunks of the season.

They didn’t lose any key players to free agency, but added Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton, which should bolster their outfield.

Their starting pitching and bullpen won’t be worse than last year, but if C.J. Wilson is in fact a decent closer and Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard do some growing, the Rangers will be better than a 75-win team.

Free Pick: Over 75

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