Colorado Rockies

Scattershooting ...

Are You World Serious?

A Move Tom Hicks Can Be Proud Of? Believe It

Texas Rangers Making Contingency Plans In Case This Uptick is a Mirage

Your Rangers Officially Don’t Suck

A Christmas List for Jon Daniels

Here in The Sportatorium, every now and then we like to talk baseball. I mean hard-core, balls-and-strikes baseball. By "every now and then" I mean this morning. And by "we", of course, I mean seamhead colleague Sam Merten. Sam, the floor is yours: For those of you distracted by Sean Avery's ... More >>

The Hapless Texas Rangers Turn to their Farm System

Here in The Sportatorium, every now and then we like to talk baseball. I mean hard-core, balls-and-strikes baseball. By "every now and then" I mean this morning. And by "we", of course, I mean seamhead colleague Sam Merten. Sam, the floor is yours: For those of you distracted by Sean Avery's ... More >>

Status Woe

Insane Rangers again take similar path to identical destination

Boy Blunder

Is baseball's youngest general manager man enough to rebuild the Rangers?

Doogie Howser, G.M.

A young dog teaches the Rangers to forget old tricks

The Way of the Gun

Living up to his famous father is a tall order for J.T. Van Zandt

Ball Boys

The return on this Bonds: a lot of interest, very little payoff

Whitt's End: 11.6.09

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Haven't received a return call all week from Greg Williams, which is weird if not troubling. Something's up. Maybe he's merely at his vacation condo in Colorado and temporarily out of pocket. Or m ... More >>

Neftali Feliz and His 101 MPH Arm

​When I was out at Rangers' Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona, I saw Neftali Feliz compliment a 98mph fastball with a 78mph curve. Totally buckled the knees of the forgettable Seattle Mariners' minor leaguer who struck out looking. Humiliated him. But then Feliz hit a batter, wal ... More >>

Would-Be Owner Chuck Greenberg has the Money and Moxie to Lead the Texas Rangers Back to Relevancy and into the Playoffs

​When I was out at Rangers' Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona, I saw Neftali Feliz compliment a 98mph fastball with a 78mph curve. Totally buckled the knees of the forgettable Seattle Mariners' minor leaguer who struck out looking. Humiliated him. But then Feliz hit a batter, wal ... More >>

The Top 10 Greatest Players in the History of Your Texas Rangers

​If you watched Sunday's 7-2 win in Milwaukee, you'd think Texas Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis (two hits, including a key two-run single) is a better hitter than first baseman Justin Smoak (0-5 with five strikeouts). If you've been watching forever, you're convinced it's time to ... More >>

The Case Against Cliff Lee

​Whether free agent Cliff Lee chooses to re-sign with the Rangers because of Arlington's proximity to his Arkansas home or bolts to New York for the extra dough, his decision undoubtedly shapes the future of both teams significantly. Yet in all that's been said and written about Lee, rarely do ... More >>

Do the Rangers' New Owners Have the Money and Will to Build on a Winning Formula?

​Whether free agent Cliff Lee chooses to re-sign with the Rangers because of Arlington's proximity to his Arkansas home or bolts to New York for the extra dough, his decision undoubtedly shapes the future of both teams significantly. Yet in all that's been said and written about Lee, rarely do ... More >>

Werth It? Doing the Rangers' Math as Fat Contracts Swirl Around MLB Winter Meetings.

Photos by Sam MertenDamn. If Jayson Werth commands a seven-year, $126 million deal, how much is this guy worth?​Prior to the beginning of baseball's winter meetings yesterday at Walt Disney World Resort, a flurry of activity resulted in big-name players dealt and fat contracts inked. Predictab ... More >>

Rangers and Yanks Both Lose Cliff Lee Sweepstakes as Southpaw Heads Back to Philly

Sam MertenThanks for the memories, Cliff.​After much procrastination, former Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee has decided to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeting that the deal is for five years and approximately $ ... More >>

Pending Brandon Webb Signing Shouldn't End Rangers' Pursuit of Starting Pitching

Webb is a nice addition, but Texas should continue looking for another starter.​As expected, the Texas Rangers inked Brandon Webb to a one-year, incentive-laden contract reportedly worth around $3 million guaranteed with a potential for the veteran right-hander to earn between $8 million and $10 m ... More >>

Hey Look, The Sportatorium Does Cover Pro Rasslin'!

Snowing like a mother -- yes, again -- as I leave the warm confines of Collin County for Dallas. Tried to be in a grumpy mood this morning, but this video made me giggle. For those of you who are clamoring for Michael Young trade news, only thing new is that the Colorado Rockies have lost interest ... More >>

Rockies 11, Rangers 10: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. Crowd last night was around 8,000, just a couple days after a record 12,000 for Rangers-Giants. As opposed to the Royals-A's on Tuesday, when I swear there weren't 1,000 people here. Nothing like a World Series to crowd the bandwagon. 9. I've said it before and I'll say it again: N ... More >>

You've Got Questions, Ron Washington Has Answers

​Let's make this simple, shall we? Sat down with Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington yesterday here in Surprise and asked him what I thought were some pertinent questions. Allow me to paraphrase, in the spirit of keeping this short and sweet in the wake of last night's 3.5-hour, come-from- ... More >>

Bronze Beltre

​Let's make this simple, shall we? Sat down with Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington yesterday here in Surprise and asked him what I thought were some pertinent questions. Allow me to paraphrase, in the spirit of keeping this short and sweet in the wake of last night's 3.5-hour, come-from- ... More >>

Breaking Down the Texas Rangers Offseason Plans in the Wake of Coming So Close

Photos courtesy Texas RangersNo need to place all of the blame on Nellie. There are plenty of other folks at fault for losing the World Series.​No matter how hard you try to find a scapegoat, the story of the 2011 World Series doesn't have a chapter about its version of Bill Buckner, nor shoul ... More >>