Texas Rangers Ready To Get Worse

[untbowler]

I just read they are thinking about dealing Michael Young b/c he does not want to move to 3rd Base to make room for a new rising star from the minors.

Go ahead Rangers send Young off and you can guarantee years of underperforming and losing, just like we expect.

[Monkeypox]

I just read they are thinking about dealing Michael Young b/c he does not want to move to 3rd Base to make room for a new rising star from the minors.

Go ahead Rangers send Young off and you can guarantee years of underperforming and losing, just like we expect.

Reality is Young is a likeable but not elite player with questionable defense at SS and an albatross of a contract. Moving him to 3rd base is the best thing for the team, but if the Rangers can find someway to unload him, they'll be better for it in the long run.

[Censored by Laurie]

Reality is Young is a likeable but not elite player with questionable defense at SS and an albatross of a contract. Moving him to 3rd base is the best thing for the team, but if the Rangers can find someway to unload him, they'll be better for it in the long run.

Just like Pudge

[Green Mean]

I realize he is starting to see signs of decline but he is only 32 years old and he has a good 3-4 years left in my opinion. I don't want the Rangers to deal Young because he really is the face of the franchise and he has been here through the thick and thin without ever really complaining. I can see why he is upset because apparently they never asked him, they just told him. With Andrus being only 20 years old cant he make the switch to 3rd for a while and see how that goes? When dealing Young you are not only dealing the face of the franchise but dealing a leader on the field that leads with example. Please Rangers dont EFF this up.

[Quoner]

Tom Hicks and team wanting to save money and creating a situation that could paint young into a corner as a bad guy? Discuss.

i loved what I saw of Andrus - especially live - in Frisco this year, but this makes no sense to drop the hammer unless San Francisco is really going to give us Sanchez for Blalock.

[UNTLifer]

Reality is Young is a likeable but not elite player with questionable defense at SS and an albatross of a contract. Moving him to 3rd base is the best thing for the team, but if the Rangers can find someway to unload him, they'll be better for it in the long run.

And an All-Star that is respected by his peers.

[Guest JohnDenver]

I agree with Quoner's implied analysis.

Young being traded would be crazy talk.

[Monkeypox]

Just like Pudge

Actually, NOTHING like Pudge, who was a plus defender at C, so even at his diminishing offensive abilities, he was worthwhile. MY was an outstanding 2B who they foolishly moved to SS for Soriano's lead glove. He profiles much better at 3B, where his footwork won't get him into as much trouble, but he can still take advantage of his arm strength, and it's currently a need for the Rangers. Also, Pudge's contract was coming up, and he felt he should be paid like an elite C. After coming off of knee surgery, Pudge was demanding A-Rod money and a contract that they'd still be paying on today. What he got in FA was a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins for half that. Yes, he won a World Series with them, and he's still an outstanding player and person, but he's not a player which you should be paying $15-20 million for today. His offensive skills have diminished substantially, and if they had given him a long-term contract for that kind of money, they'd still be under it today.

Michael Young is a guy they overpaid to extend (which wasn't the case with Pudge, who gave them a nice hometown discount) and are now stuck with. His defense is poor and his offense is simply serviceable.

Then you get to the point that Texas is FINALLY sticking to a true rebuilding plan and that, despite a number of early boneheaded moves by Daniels, has managed to put together a top farm system, and just one of those elite prospects is knocking on the door at SS right behind MY, and this type of move makes sense.

Note that it ISN'T the Rangers wanting to trade MY. They want to move him to 3rd where he can best help the team. A spot which they have open and into which he can fit. He doesn't want to and has asked to be traded, which is easier said than done, since you're looking at a 32-yr-old SS who put up a .741 OPS in a hitter's park last year.

[Monkeypox]

I realize he is starting to see signs of decline but he is only 32 years old and he has a good 3-4 years left in my opinion. I don't want the Rangers to deal Young because he really is the face of the franchise and he has been here through the thick and thin without ever really complaining. I can see why he is upset because apparently they never asked him, they just told him. With Andrus being only 20 years old cant he make the switch to 3rd for a while and see how that goes? When dealing Young you are not only dealing the face of the franchise but dealing a leader on the field that leads with example. Please Rangers dont EFF this up.

Why the hell would you move a plus defender at a position in order to placate a bad (defender)/aging/declining one?

[Monkeypox]

Tom Hicks and team wanting to save money and creating a situation that could paint young into a corner as a bad guy? Discuss.

I think it has more to do with having no good options at 3B, a rising star at SS, and a serviceable but overpaid and aging SS in MY who profiles much better at 3rd.

[Green Mean]

Why the hell would you move a plus defender at a position in order to placate a bad (defender)/aging/declining one?

Ok so he had a bad year in defense but generally he is pretty good all around. I am not denying Andrus' ability but are we ready to crown him the superstar of this franchise just yet? It is baseball and busts happen every day. This isn't just a regular player but he is rather the face of the franchise who has been here quite a long time and around mediocre at best teams with ownership. He is what the fans like. At some point you have to cater the fans willing to to drive all the way up to Arlington for a baseball game. When I suggested of maybe trying Andrus at third, I was thinking if he is a primo defender then he will be a great defender at 3B also. 32 is old but for baseball its not that old. A player can be really really good til about 35 or 36. Personally speaking I love what the Rangers are doing in that they are building the farm but in this case I think they need to reconsider if they are going to just trade Young for a couple of kids who may or may not see the light of the day in the majors or do they want to keep his leadership on board and who can still give you a solid 3-4 years of good production. Just my thought.

[Censored by Laurie]

Why the hell would you move a plus defender at a position in order to placate a bad (defender)/aging/declining one?

OK...sorry...but Michael Young just won a Gold Glove at shortstop. Elvis Andrus committed 32 errors in 118 games at shortstop...at double A. Andrus has a very high ceiling...but lets not crown him the next Ozzie Smith

-why am I even in this discussion, my baseball off-season is going swimmingly, picking up nice, cheap complimentary parts and now a nice little Jim Rice cherry on top.

[Monkeypox]

Ok so he had a bad year in defense but generally he is pretty good all around. I am not denying Andrus' ability but are we ready to crown him the superstar of this franchise just yet? It is baseball and busts happen every day. This isn't just a regular player but he is rather the face of the franchise who has been here quite a long time and around mediocre at best teams with ownership. He is what the fans like. At some point you have to cater the fans willing to to drive all the way up to Arlington for a baseball game. When I suggested of maybe trying Andrus at third, I was thinking if he is a primo defender then he will be a great defender at 3B also. 32 is old but for baseball its not that old. A player can be really really good til about 35 or 36. Personally speaking I love what the Rangers are doing in that they are building the farm but in this case I think they need to reconsider if they are going to just trade Young for a couple of kids who may or may not see the light of the day in the majors or do they want to keep his leadership on board and who can still give you a solid 3-4 years of good production. Just my thought.

Actually, Young is not pretty good all around, and never really has been as a SS. Defensive metrics show him being below average, and that's fairly generous. More fans will drive to see a winner than they will to see Michael Young. Period. And this team is no more likely to win with him at this point than they are otherwise. Nobody's saying you crown Andrus a superstar, but for a team not likely going anywhere in the next few years, committing to MY at his current position when he's (1) Not very good there and (2) potentially blocking a young prospect you need to develop, this is a no-brainer.

And, again, they don't WANT to trade MY. They want to move him to 3rd base. He would rather be traded somewhere where he can still play SS. I don't know if there will be many takers on that. In terms of moving Andrus to 3rd, you are significantly decreasing his value as a player, and his value to the franchise. SS defense is more of a premium than 3B defense. These are basic principles.

This is a smart move by the Rangers, unpopular though it may seem.

[Green Mean]

OK...sorry...but Michael Young just won a Gold Glove at shortstop. Elvis Andrus committed 32 errors in 118 games at shortstop...at double A. Andrus has a very high ceiling...but lets not crown him the next Ozzie Smith

-why am I even in this discussion, my baseball off-season is going swimmingly, picking up nice, cheap complimentary parts and now a nice little Jim Rice cherry on top.

Gagree with the first part of your post.

And baseball is a talking sport sir.

[Censored by Laurie]

And baseball is a talking sport sir.

I am always apt for talking baseball...just noting that I'm not a Ranger fan, rather the Red Sox...and they have pieced together the exact off-season (save for dumping Julio Lugo on...well...anybody) that I hoped they would...Baldelli, Kotsay, Smoltz, Penny, Saito and Bard...all for less then 15 mil. Resign Tek cheaply and I'm set for another red banner on Yawkey Way.

[Monkeypox]

GG is a popularity contest. No one is crowning Andrus the 2nd coming. I believe the only way you must believe that is by thinking Michael Young is Baseball Jesus.

[Green Mean]

Actually, Young is not pretty good all around, and never really has been as a SS. Defensive metrics show him being below average, and that's fairly generous. More fans will drive to see a winner than they will to see Michael Young. Period. And this team is no more likely to win with him at this point than they are otherwise. Nobody's saying you crown Andrus a superstar, but for a team not likely going anywhere in the next few years, committing to MY at his current position when he's (1) Not very good there and (2) potentially blocking a young prospect you need to develop, this is a no-brainer.

And, again, they don't WANT to trade MY. They want to move him to 3rd base. He would rather be traded somewhere where he can still play SS. I don't know if there will be many takers on that. In terms of moving Andrus to 3rd, you are significantly decreasing his value as a player, and his value to the franchise. SS defense is more of a premium than 3B defense. These are basic principles.

This is a smart move by the Rangers, unpopular though it may seem.

I know the Rangers don't want to trade him but until you get a winning team here, you still need to sell something to your fans. With me the Rangers don't have a problem because good or suck, I will watch every game and try to make it to some games every season. But most people don't need to do that anymore....they can just leave as we saw it this year. Sure winning changes everything but the Rangers need to get there first. I am not crowning Young baseball Jesus or anything but personally I am a huge fan of Young. Maybe that is why my stance may be a little biased. Andrus has a lot of potential but are we certain that they will rush him to the majors this year? I know that is their plan but what if he is really really raw still during spring training? All in all I think Young is probably just frustrated with the whole situation and telling him to move to third base without consulting with him first I think was out of line. Sure people can bring up real life world scenarios on how employees will just do as their told but this is just a different animal.

[Monkeypox]

I know the Rangers don't want to trade him but until you get a winning team here, you still need to sell something to your fans. With me the Rangers don't have a problem because good or suck, I will watch every game and try to make it to some games every season. But most people don't need to do that anymore....they can just leave as we saw it this year. Sure winning changes everything but the Rangers need to get there first. I am not crowning Young baseball Jesus or anything but personally I am a huge fan of Young. Maybe that is why my stance may be a little biased. Andrus has a lot of potential but are we certain that they will rush him to the majors this year? I know that is their plan but what if he is really really raw still during spring training? All in all I think Young is probably just frustrated with the whole situation and telling him to move to third base without consulting with him first I think was out of line. Sure people can bring up real life world scenarios on how employees will just do as their told but this is just a different animal.

It's perfectly in line. It's a different animal, indeed, bc we're not getting paid millions of dollars on a guaranteed contract. Even as it is, if your boss tells you to do something, you do it or hit the bricks. That's your choice. Saying "well, it's bc they TOLD me to do it instead of ASKING me to" makes you sound like a spoiled child. That's what I believe it comes down to, as MY has been a vocal critic of any attempts to rebuild (and understandably so).

I believe the reason they are asking him to move is that they indeed wish to rush Andrus, and, perhaps, more to the point, they have absolutely no answer at 3rd and there's nothing worthwhile in free agency. They're kicking the tires on Joe Freaking Crede. If the options are a) 3B Crede/Metcalf/Spare + SS MY OR 3B MY + SS Andrus, i think it's an easy choice.

I'm not on board with rushing Andrus, personally, but the decision makes sense from an organizational standpoint, and most within the organization feel Elvis' MENTAL makeup is ready, even should he come up and falter.

I just think MY wants out of the rebuild. Gonna be hard to move him, though, without giving up more than you like or taking on salary. I think the best case scenario is to do what the Nats did (and we should've done) to Soriano. You can play where we tell you or you can not get paid.

[woody82986]

Personally, I think they jumped the gun here by a year or so. I like what I have seen from Andrus, but the kid has never even swung a bat or fielded a grounder at the AAA level. I like Young. He's by far not a favorite player of mine, but I respect his leadership abilities. There are much better bats and much better gloves on this team than his. I saw this coming around the all star break when someone asked him about eventually moving to 3rd to accomodate a younger guy at SS. His answer was no, absolutely not even a chance anytime soon. I think the move would benefit the ballclub... in 2010. If they do trade him though, they better get at least a .275 hitting 3rd baseman and one hell of a rotation pitcher, because anything less than that would be purely stupid. I'm a die hard Ranger fan, but darn it they really make me scratch my head sometimes.

[Monkeypox]

Personally, I think they jumped the gun here by a year or so. I like what I have seen from Andrus, but the kid has never even swung a bat or fielded a grounder at the AAA level. I like Young. He's by far not a favorite player of mine, but I respect his leadership abilities. There are much better bats and much better gloves on this team than his. I saw this coming around the all star break when someone asked him about eventually moving to 3rd to accomodate a younger guy at SS. His answer was no, absolutely not even a chance anytime soon. I think the move would benefit the ballclub... in 2010. If they do trade him though, they better get at least a .275 hitting 3rd baseman and one hell of a rotation pitcher, because anything less than that would be purely stupid. I'm a die hard Ranger fan, but darn it they really make me scratch my head sometimes.

I hope you're kidding about the return. You won't get near that for Michael Young. You're talking about a 32-yr-old shortstop of average capabilities entering a 5-yr, $80 million contract extension. You get a B prospect and you hope you don't have to eat too much of the salary. That's why the idea that this move is a money-SAVER (as some have implied) is simply ridiculous. They're on the hook for this contract the same they were for A-Rod (except, of course, A-Rod was the best player in baseball). They're not doing this because they're ready for Andrus. They're doing this bc they have no options at 3B but a lot of young talent at SS and moving MY was gonna happen eventually one way or another. Also, they think (mistakingly, IMO) that the club will be in competition mode in 2010, and you won't do that if you're breaking in a whole lineup of young guys, so they'd like to get more guys acclimated to the bigs this year, with the expected growing pains.

What the Rangers SHOULD do is tell MY they will attempt to trade him, and that they will wish he reconsiders a move to 3rd base. Say it as sweetly as possible. And when he refuses AND you can find no suitable trade offers (both highly likely), you sign yourself a solid defensive stopgap SS and you pencil him in at 3B. He plays or he's out millions of dollars.

It all comes down to this. The Rangers crowned MY the FACE OF THE FRANCHISE for whatever reason, and as a PR move signed him to an ill-advised contract extension that many rightfully thought would come back to bite them in the butt. It has. Now, people want them to, in ANOTHER PR move, keep MY at a position to which he is ill-suited so they don't hurt his feelings. Well, I for one would like it if they would start making sound BASEBALL moves and forget about PR, and that means moving MY to 3rd base and either signing a stopgap SS (much better options out there than 3B) and/or letting Andrus get his feet wet in a year where there's really no pressure.

[woody82986]

I'm not kidding... That's what the Rangers need to get (won't be able to) for MY, or the trade simply isn't worth it. They backed themselves into a hole on this one. They might as well do their due dilligence on trading him and then go into Spring Training and see what happens.

[ntsumgspe]

Just like Pudge

Carlton Fisk ?

GO MEAN GREEN !!!

[Green P1]

Baseball Jesus said it's time for Michael to go and I will defer to his judgment.

[yyz28]

Who are these "Texas Rangers" people you keep talking about?

[e-bone ver2.awesome]

I kind of like what the Rays are doing with their young players. If Young doesn't want to move to 3b to help the team then trade him for some more prospects. I like Mike, but he isn't an Emmitt or Dirk or anything.