Year in Review: Offense and Defense.

The Rangers have always been associated as being a power hitting team with very little pitching, thus explaining their ten year playoff hiatus. This year though, it was a different story. The power was there as far as homeruns go, but as a whole the offense disappointed, and ultimately letdown the Rangers. It's been a common plague that the Rangers have caught and that is that the offense suffers from a great deal of inconsistency. You know the story: one series they're absolutely dead at the plate, and the next they're scoring ten runs a game. The big problem is that they have too many homeruns and strikeouts, and not enough solid contact and patience. It's as if Rudy Jaramillo decided not to teach plate discipline this year.

Going into the season, the Rangers didn't really have any significant changes in the offense from last year. The only real difference was that Milton Bradley was gone and Nelson Cruz was a starting outfielder. Other than that, it was pretty much the same troop, and I think everyone expected the 2009 offense to be every bit as dominant as 2008's. It's not as if they lacked the proficiency that made the 2008 lineup so supreme. It's that some of the hitters suffered greatly for long periods of time, either due to slumps or injuries.

The first big problem was Josh Hamilton, who seemed to suffer injury after injury, limiting him to just 89 games. And when he did play, he was far from the force he was last year. Hamilton did compile 54 RBIs, which isn't terrible, but he only had 10 homeruns next to 54 singles--not exactly what you want from a premiere power hitter.

Another big difference was Ian Kinsler's sudden transformation from the next Ryne Sandberg to the next Adam Dunn. Kinsler had an amazing April (322/.384/.656) but suddenly dropped off in May. Well, okay, Ian's just having a bad month after a blazing start, I thought. But it didn't get any better. After dropping his average below 300 in May, it just went down and down, eventually settling in the 250/260 range for the final months of the season. The only thing that went up for Kinsler was the power numbers. But I, and just about every other Kinsler fan, would give up half of his 31 homeruns for a more consistent approach. Kinsler's final numbers weren't bad; he had 31 stolen bases and 100+ runs scored. But it's just that he could have been so much better. It seemed like he let the Rangers and the fans down this year, both with his numbers and his attitude.

The Rangers also suffered some severe damage at first base. The defense was nearly impeccable, but offensively, Hank Blalock and Chris Davis, the two primary first basemen this year, were almost insufferable. Blalock ended with a 234 average, and Davis with a 238 mark. Not exactly what a productive team is looking for. The power numbers were there for sure, but the high OBP was unfortunately not.

But the entire offense wasn't unproductive. Michael young was having perhaps his bet season yet before going down in September, and Marlon Byrd proved to be a leader on the team, both vocally and by example. Also, David Murphy was a huge hit once again, despite his monstrosity of a start. Another bright spot was the emergence of youngster Julio Borbon, who hit 312 in 157 ABs, as well running out 19 steals.

Though the Rangers finished second in the AL in homers, their lack of consistency, especially when it was needed the most, really took the team down. The pitching was almost always there. The offense only showed its face on the rarest occasions. Still, the hitting supplied some very memorable moments, such as walk off homeruns by Michael Young, Chris Davis, and Hank Blalock. Also, seeing that 11 run innings was as much fun I've had as a Ranger fan since I started following the team.

There's no denying that the Rangers have to do something to improve the lineup for 2010. Even if Marlon Byrd stays, they still need another bat. Someone who can hit for power and average and who gets on base a lot. Otherwise, it might be a while before we see that 2008 offense again.



Defense played a huge part in the Rangers success this year, which was refreshing to say the least considering how wretched it's been in recent seasons. Let's do a quick recap position by position:

Catcher: Between Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden, the Rangers had one of the best defensive catching tandems for the first half of the season. Then Salty went down, but Pudge replaced him and did a stellar job as well. Ranger catchers had one of the best percentages of throwing out base runners in the AL, but even better, they had terrific chemistry with the pitching staff.

First Base. Between Chris Davis and Hank Blalock, only eight errors were made at this position. Both players, while mediocre at best offensively, played terrific defense, saving errors-and runs-on a frequent basis.

Second Base. If there was an improvement in Ian Kinsler's season, it was his defense. He only made 11 errors in 711 total chances, with 451 assists.

Third Base. This position was a bit of a question mark considering Michael Young had never played the position before. Yes, he's good at adapting to new positions, but there is a big difference between playing at shortstop and the hot corner. As expected, his first month was a bit shaky, but after that he looked as if he had been playing the position all his life. He only made nine errors, as well as some dazzling gems.

Shortstop. Going into the season, this was the most exciting position on the team, for newcomer Elvis Andrus, at age 20, had arrived. I think we all expected Andrus to be good, but no one foresaw some of the plays he was able to make. He saved a handful of runs from scoring and made the pitching staff look even better. On the downside, Andrus made 22 errors. But most of them were just lazy pickups or throws that sailed. These are problems that time will fix. Nothing to worry about. Kinsler was the same in his first few years. Also, when Andrus did not play, Omar Vizquel took over and was, of course, just as impressive.

Left Field. This position was occupied by a number of players, including Marlon Byrd, Nelson Cruz, Julio Borbon, and David Murphy. There were plenty of nice plays all around. The entire outfield made less than 15 errors.

Center Field. Josh Hamilton made some terrific plays, but some of them resulted in injuries that spoiled his season. But happily, he was replaced by Marlon Byrd, who proved he was equal to Hamilton's capabilities.

Right Field. Nelson Cruz occupied this spot for most of the season. Yes, he made four errors, but his cannon of an arm proved useful once again.