BY PAT DORWIN
SPORTSWRITER
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
LET'S MAKE A DEAL.
AND ANOTHER.
AND MAYBE ONE MORE TO BOOT.
AFTER OPENING MAY WITH FOUR WINS IN FIVE GAMES - TEXAS FOLLOWED UP IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION - DROPPING FOUR OF ITS NEXT FIVE GAMES.
THEN THE VAULT OPENED UP SOMEWHAT AS THE THE RANGERS ADDED PITCHERS FELIX HERNANDEZ AND JOSH JOHNSON OVER TWO DAYS (MAY 12 AND 13) AT A COST OF ICHIRO, JAY BRUCE, ROBINSON CANO, DAVID FRESE, TIM WAKEFIELD AND CASEY McGHEE.
PITCHER BOTH "KING FELIX" AND JOHNSON - PERHAPS THE BEST REAL MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS - ARE IN THE INITIAL SEASONS OF 5-YEAR CONTRACTS, WITH HERNANDEZ (2-4) EARNING $9.5 MILLION IN 2010 AND JOHNSON (3-3 AND 4.13 ERA) GETTING $8.8 MILLION.
TEXAS ALSO PICKED UP MINOR LEAGUE CATCHER JUDSON BANKS AND ARE RUMORED TO BE STILL LOOKING FOR STARTING PITCHERS DESPITE KEEPING JASON VARGAS (2-0, 3.48) IN THE ROTATION AND ADDING PROSPECTS BILLY BUCKNER AND MADISON BUMGARNER - THEIR SECOND SHOTS AT STAYING IN THE ROTATION.
"YES, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF TURNOVER," SAID INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER DAN RAJKOWSKI. "BUT I THINK THAT WAS TO BE EXPECTED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ADDRESS THE ROTATION WELL ENOUGH IN THE FREE AGENT DRAFT FOR SEASON TWO OF 2010."
MAT LATOS REPLACES WAKEFIELD AS THE TEAM'S LONG RELIEVER BUT WON'T BE THERE LONG IF BUCKNER OR BUMGARNER FALTER.
WITH MLB RUNNING THE RANGERS (13-23) IN THE WAKE OF THE FORTHCOMING SALE OF THE TEAM, TEXAS ADDED TWO VERY SOLID STARTERS, RAJKOWSKI SAID. THE MINOR LEAGUERS CALLED UP AFTER THE DEALS OFFER AVERAGE (OF BRETT GARDNER), POP (FIRST BASEMAN DERREK WILEY AND VERSATILITY IN ANDY MARTE AND TOSHIHISA UCHIDA ADDING THE VERSATILITY AS THEY CAN PLAY ALL OVER THE INFIELD BESIDE CATCHER, WHICH WILL TAKEN OVER BY YORVIT TORREALBA, ACQUIRED FROM THE NATIONALS.
TORREALBA (.361, 4, 13) COST TEXAS A TOP BACKSTOP PROSPECT IN NELSON MYLES BUT HAS BEEN GETTING LITTE OFFENSE FROM THAT SLOT.
"THIS WILL GIVE GUYS LIKE SKIP SCHUMAKER (2B-OF) AND GRAHAM DOLAN (OF) MORE OF A CHANE TO BECOME EVERYDAY PLAYERS," RAJKOWSKI SAID.
HERNNANDEZ GAVE UP THREE FIRST-INNING RUNS FRIDAY, MAY 14 - INCLUDING SOLO HOMERS BY CAN0 AND TROT TULOWITZKI - BUT WAS THE BENEFIICIARY OF AN EIGHT-RUN RANGERS EXPLOSION IN THE FOURTH INNING FRIDAY, MAY 14 TO PICK UP HIS THIRD WIN.
SCHUMAKER, RYAN BRAUN AND YUNEL ESCOBAR EACH HAD THREE OF THE RANGERS' 19 HITS.
LOSING ICHIRO ($13.3 MILLION IN THE FIRST OF A 3-YEAR CONTRACT), CANO ($2.2 MILLION ON OPENER OF A 2-YEAR DEAL), McGHEE ($420,000 IN HIS WALK YEAR), BRUCE ($410,000, WHO IS JUST 22 YEARS OLD AND WILL BE LOOKING FOR A BIG FREE AGENT DEAL), FRESE (STUCK IN THE MINORS WITH A $400,000, SINGLE-SEASON CONTRACT), AND WAKEFIELD (MAKING $1 MILLION IN HIS ONLY TIME IN TEXAS), SHOULDN'T HURT TOO TERRIBLY.
ICHIRO, NOW 36 YEARS OLD, NEVER GOT IT GOING OFFENSIVELY AND BRUCE WAS STRUGGLING AS WELL, ALTHOUGH THE PAIR'S STELLAR DEFENSE WILL BE MISSED.
NICK SWISHER REMAINS SIDELINED WITH LOWER BACK PAIN.
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