Rounding Out The Roster: Rangers Release Frank Catalanotto Will Add Andruw Jones

TEMPE, Ariz. – What had been apparent for more than a week became a reality Wednesday evening when the Rangers told Andruw Jones he had made the club and told Frank Catalanotto he would be released.

Catalanotto was placed on release waivers on Wednesday and will clear and become a free agent on Monday. A team could put in a claim for him, but then would become responsible for his $6 million in salary and buyout payments. No team will claim him because of that and once he becomes a free agent, he can sign with a team for the major league minimum ($400,000) and the Rangers will be responsible for the rest.

(more…)

Rangers Roster Moves 4/1

IF Joaquin Arias, OF Brandon Boggs and RHPs Doug Mathis and Tommy Hunter have been optioned to minor league camp. Hunter was assigned to Frisco while the other three are off to Oklahoma City. As Evan reported earlier today, Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland have been assigned to minor league camp and both are headed for OKC.

Holland’s continuing excellence in Cactus League action — he surrendered a solo shot while scattering three hits and a run, fanning four in as many innings today — appears to have moved him to the front of the line to move into the Rangers rotation when the opportunity arises.

Game Report: Rangers 5, Angels 4

In Tempe, Ariz., OF Andruw Jones hit a ninth-inning homer off RHP Matt Wilhite to give the Rangers a win Wednesday and complete a spring sweep of the hated Angels. Jones also doubled to raise his spring average to .293. He is 4-for-11 in his last three games with two doubles and two home runs. The Rangers improved to 19-13-1. They need to win two of their last three exhibitions to match the 1998 team (which won the AL West) for the second most spring wins in Rangers history. (more…)

Press Release For The Eternally Hopeful: Mavs Playoff Tickets Go On Sale

Alternate title: Come See Kobe Bryant!

From the Mavs PR staff, via email and not Twitter, comes this announcement about playoff game tix. Part I like the best: Tickets start at $9. Don’t care where they are, $9 post-season tickets are pretty impresive.

Follow the jump for the release and all the details. Far as I can tell, tickets are on sale at lots of places, just not on Twitter (sorry, Mark: couldn’t resist.)

(more…)

Scott Feldman Unfazed By Bullpen Assignment

TEMPE, Ariz. – RHP Scott Feldman acknowledged disappointment, but said he’d already moved on after the Rangers told him Wednesday he was moving from the starting rotation back to the bullpen.

“I thought I was going to be starting and I wanted to start, but they think I’ll be more helpful to them in the bullpen,” Feldman said by phone Wednesday afternoon. “I’d love to do it, but it’s not going to do me any good to get mad or upset about it. The only thing I can do is go down [to the bullpen] and pitch well.”

(more…)

Rangers Bullpen Setup Relieves Ron Washington

TEMPE, Ariz. – After  a morning full of meetings with his shuffled, but now finalized, pitching staff, Rangers manager Ron Washington arrived at Diablo Stadium less than an hour before his club was to play its final Arizona road game of spring training.

He arrived a much relieved man.

(more…)

Boomer Sooners: Rangers Prospects Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland Headed To Oklahoma City Rotation

A couple of more pitching moves worth discussing:

The club will start prized pitching prospects LHP Derek Holland RHP Neftali Feliz at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Feliz has already been sent to the minor league camp and Holland will be sent over after he pitches in today’ s game. Feliz made 10 starts at Double-A Frisco last year and has just 17 above low Class A. Holland made four starts at Frisco and has just nine starts above low Class A.

Attention Oklahoma City denizens of the Corner: The RedHawks open the season on the road at Memphis on April 9. The way the schedule falls, it appears that if Holland/Feliz are the No.s 1-2 guys in the rotation (and why wouldn’t they be), they wouldn’t pitch in Oklahoma City until April 19-20 against those same Memphians.

Rangers Make It Official: They Have A Pitching Staff

GM Jon Daniels has now had conversations with a handful of pitchers to inform them of their roles with the club:

To wit:

RHP Scott Feldman has been told he’s moving to the bullpen to start the season. … RHP Kris Benson has been told he is mkaking the club and will open in the starting rotation. … RHP Jason Jennings will also make the team and will pitch out of the bullpen. …  LHP Eddie Guardado will make the team as a reliever. … RHPs Dustin Nippert and Dustin Eyre have been told they will probably start the year on the DL with Nippert going to Double-A Frisco to begin a rehab assignment and Eyre going to Oklahoma City. … Also RHP Neftali Feliz has been  re-assigned to minor league camp.

For more about the ramifications of these impending moves, you can go here. Or here.

Our brief summary of this construction of the staff: As much as Scott Feldman deserves a shot at the rotation, this gives the Rangers the most flexibility and the most options in case of injuries or ineffectiveness in the rotation or the bullpen. They didn’t have as many options last year.

Does the Spring Record Matter?

Today’s Feature Email goes a little something like this:

Dear Sports Sturm,

I Noticed the Rangers are currently playing .600 ball in spring training. If they were to win at that pace that would mean a 97 win season. I was curious how previous Rangers spring trainings have translated to the regular season.

James Gilliam

 At 18-13, the Rangers are now sitting at .581 baseball since James wrote me, but you get the idea. So, is there a correlation between the spring training records and the regular season accomplishments?

Without looking, I would say absolutely not. But, let’s take a look:

(more…)

The Finish-Out: Texas Rangers Likely To Add Jason Jennings To Roster Today; He Will Pitch As A Reliever

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Before the Rangers skip out of their 40-day sojourn in the Arizona desert, they are likely to add RHP Jason Jennings to the 40-man roster today and place him in the bullpen to start the season, general manager Jon Daniels said.

Jennings, who could take free agency if not added to the roster today, all but locked up the spot Tuesday with three solid innings of relief against San Francisco, allowing one hit and one run. His 64-pitch outing, which included a number of 89 mph fastballs (the upper side of his range), came on just two days rest after he went 3.2 innings of relief.

In other words, it was a dress rehearsal for the role in which the Rangers would use him to start the season. Not a bad two-day pitching line: 6.2 innings, four hits, one run (earned), one walk and eight strikeouts.

(more…)

The NBA Run-In

Ah, the Race for Seeds 5-8. How do the schedules look? Mira!

Last night, the Mavs won, the Blazers smashed the Jazz in Portland, and the Hornets snuck out of Sacto with a 1 point win.

The key here, of course, is for the Mavericks to get out of the #8 seed to avoid the Lakers. Well, as you can see, that is not going to be an easy proposition. The team closest to their range is the Utah Jazz, who are a very poor 14-22 on the road this season. But, what might save their bacon is the 2nd tie-breaker; conference record, where they hold a huge lead on the Mavericks. That means any tie with Utah goes to the Jazz.

(more…)