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In more than 40 years, the Rangers have only made 3 playoff appearances, all coming in the last 10 years. Each time, they met up with the New York Yankees, and each time, they were soundly defeated.
If there was a stadium created to be a hitter’s paradise, you’d be likely to find it in the form of The Ballpark at Arlington, home of the Rangers. Buck Showalter returns in 2004 for his second season in Arlington. In 2003, Showalter was said to have had some heated conversations with all-world shortstop Alex Rodriguez, and that was part of the reason Rodriguez was sent to New York in the off-season. In exchange for A-Rod, the Rangers acquired second baseman Alfonso Soriano, possibly the only player with in the league with legitimate 40 stolen base/40 homer potential.
The pitching has undoubtedly been the downfall of the Rangers over the years. They signed pitcher Chan Ho Park to an astronomical deal in 2002, and they’ve been somewhat strapped for cash because of it. Kenny Rogers, in his third separate term with the club, will lead the staff. R.A. Dickey and Ryan Drese are the youngsters expected to improve the overall pitching performance of the club.
The Rangers offense is loaded with talent and potential, and playing in a bandbox like The Ballpark at Arlington is certain to help the stats as well. Michael Young will lead off the batting order with Soriano batting in the middle of the lineup where he’ll have protection from Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock. Blalock, a 23 year old third baseman, could end up being the new cornerstone of the team, and Teixeira is the 24 year old first baseman who has the task of replacing Rafael Palmeiro.
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