Texas Rangers: "Steroid Sluggers"

I am growing weary of digging around for Rangers news and finding only clippings about steroids. So I am going to write about all the steroid issues in a single post, and, barring some other future steroid-related embarassment, I'll be done with it.

As expected, the news about Alex Rodriguez has everyone spouting off and casting doubt upon the Rangers teams of the early 2000s. An article, entitled "Rangers Organization at Heart of Scandal" just warms me up on these cold offseason days. Lucky for us, accusations towards the teams of the early part of this decade are easy to shrug off, since those Rangers teams sucked anyway. It was much more difficult to swallow when the buried truths about players like Juan Gonzalez, Pudge Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro started to be unearthed--those teams included the only three playoff teams in Rangers history. To make sure to rub this in, the Dallas Observer comments on the Rangers "steroid sluggers".

Unfortunately, some people are starting to ask questions about players that played with A-Rod. A particular theory out there says that since Hank Blalock played next to Alex Rodriguez and is having a tough time with injuries, that he must be on steroids. This is frustrating to me. Blalock may very well have used steroids, we don't know. But the fact that he's drawing speculation because played 40 feet to A-Rod's right? I don't buy it.

Tom Hicks also claims to be irate, commenting that he is "shocked" about Rodriguez. I think this is a classic case of an owner trying desperately to convince everyone that he was as clueless as the fans about the whole steroid issue. The question is, does anyone really believe him?

Perhaps the most disappointing facet of this entire debacle: we are considered by many to be one of the most steroid-infested organizations in this era, and we don't have anything to show for it. That's it: the Rangers aren't even good at cheating.

Around the Horn: Wednesday (Night)

I'm finding it harder and harder to write in the mornings and mid-afternoons, so I may end up writing most of my daily posts at night. This will give me the chance to comment on news that was published during the day that I normally might overlook.

Mike Hindman takes an interesting look at Marlon Byrd and David Murphy's numbers in an attempt to find the more productive outfielder. While it's clear Byrd is superior, Murphy's advantage lies in the fact that he is under team control for several more years.

Richard Durrett responds to the predictions Baseball Prospectus made for the Rangers, by setting the over/under at 79. BP set the Rangers to win 73, he guesses 78. Better, but still underwhelming.

The Angels steal Bobby Abreu for 1 year, $5 million (read Jamey Newberg's take here). What a deal. Abreu has what Bill James called the traditional "old player skills": patience at the plate, and power. He won't replace Teixeira, but he should complement (and provide an interesting contrast) to free-swinging Vlad Guererro. But hey, we just plucked an outfielder out of the bargain bin who has hit around the Mendoza line two years for just $350,000 . . . that's the same, right?

In other news, former Rangers Ben Broussard and Jamey Wright signed with the White Sox and Royals, respectively. Also, Ben Broussard is a musician and has his own website. Interesting.

Former Rangers President Tom Schieffer is thinking about running for Governor of Texas, as a democrat (don't tell you know who). Did you know that the governor's seat in Texas has been Republican for 14 straight years?

Spring Training in just 15 days!