As many heartbroken fans in Ranger land are aware, the Rangers twice came within one strike of the franchise’s first World Series win last October. If the Rangers fail to win a World Series with their current cast, fans will never forget the night Nelson Cruz came within inches of catching David Freese’s fly ball in the ninth inning of Game 6.
What fans might not remember is Mike Young making two critical errors while playing 1st base in Game 6. Young filled in admirably at all four infield positions during the regular season, but clearly was no longer capable of playing at an All-Star level defensively. To keep Young’s bat in the lineup in a National League park during the World Series, Ron Washington was forced to play Young at 1st Base because the Rangers did not have an everyday type 1st Baseman better than Young at the plate. The result was Young butchering a couple of balls in Game 6 which cost the Rangers a couple of important runs.
Mitch Moreland has shown signs of potential stardom with pivotal home runs in Game 3 of the 2010 World Series and Game 2 of the 2011 Division Series against Tampa Bay. Moreland has also shown flashes of leather at 1st Base which have led many to believe he is capable of becoming a Gold Glove caliber defensive player.
What Moreland has failed to do is show consistency at the plate. 16 home runs and 51 RBI’s in 512 plate appearances in 2011 will not get it done in the big leagues. The Rangers can use Moreland’s wrist injury as an excuse for his second half slump, but starting 1st Basemen have to have a better WAR than -0.2.
The Rangers flirted with signing Prince Fielder in the off-season, but wisely decided to let Detroit give him a 9 year deal worth over 200 million dollars. Instead, the Rangers decided to shop in the bargain bin and sign former All-Star Brad Hawpe and former Arizona Diamond Back Conor Jackson to give Moreland competition at 1st this spring. The Rangers also decided to move minor league prospect Mike Olt over to 1st Base from 3rd Base in what might be interpreted as a long term solution down the road. Mike Napoli can play 1st, but the Rangers want Napoli behind the plate the majority of the time.
While the major story in spring training is the hoopla created by Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish, Ranger fans might want to see how Mitch Moreland responds to the competition created by some of the moves this off-season. This year could be a make or break year for Moreland.
Hooray for baseball!
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