Projected: Bullpen

F. Francisco, Esq.

I read Sports Illustrated's baseball preview and they have the Texas Rangers finishing second behind the California Angels.

Right or wrong, I'm happy they didn't have the Rangers finishing behind Seattle or Oakland, two teams that I think stink, but will no doubt get quite a bit of support to take the division.

In the issue, they mention that the Rangers' team ERA dropped .99, which brought them from the gutter of the league to around the middle. Again, exponential improvement can not be depended upon. But subtle improvement can go a long way.

A key to that improvement was the bullpen. Despite losing Frank Francisco for an extended amount of time, dealing with unknowns (Darren O'Day) and rookies (Doug Mathis, Derek Holland), the bullpen was probably the strong point for the team. Hell, it was the team MVP starting with C.J. Wilson (now a starter) along with O'Day, Mathis and Neftali Feliz.

With the season a week out, here's your opening-day bullpen:

Frank Francisco
People bitch about C.J. Wilson being unpredictable. Give me Wilson just about any day over Francisco. Of course, I'm afraid to say too much lest Francisco toss a bullpen chair at my head. Francisco's had two good seasons. And 30 career saves. I read -- probably Jamey Newberg -- that Francisco is a free agent soon and the Rangers are liable to let him walk. Can't blame them. Should the opportunity arise and the Rangers fall on hard times, could we see the Rangers try to move him mid-season?

Neftali Feliz
There is not a more electrifying element in Dallas sports. A great sign hitting 101 the other day. Rangers are very much depending on him for 65 appearances this season.

Darren Oliver
Great story. Turned a so-so starting career into a fantastic, borderline dominant relief gig with the Angels and, now, the Rangers. A great spring. Should aptly step into the hole left by Wilson and if Holland makes it back, gives the Rangers two very different lefty options in the 'pen.

Chris Ray
With the nature of bullpens and relievers, I think its important for teams to have a decent amount of turnover in this area from year to year. Ray and Oliver are a part of this. Ray was had in the Kevin Millwood trade. Little has been said of his 7.27 ERA last season in Baltimore in hopes that he returns to his 2006 self when he had a 2.73 ERA.

Dustin Nippert
A so-so 2009 paired with a phenomenal Spring Training could prove advantageous for the lil' Rangers. Nippert is one of the few pitchers with a true out pitch. He's also one of the few that can put together a pretty good start or shut down a team for a couple of innings if the starter shits the sheets. A very important guy for the Rangers.

Doug Mathis
For a long stretch in 2009, big, dumb-looking Mathis was damn-near unhittable. I don't get it either. Still, I think he gets the nod here with any number of roles available.

Injuries: Darren O'Day.

Minors: Derek Holland, Willie Moscoso, Omar Beltre, Warner Madrigal, Pedro Strop, Ben Snyder, Brandon McCarthy, Alexi Ogando, Luis Mendoza, Zach Phillips.

(I think we see Strop, Moscoso, Holland, Beltre, Madrigal this season. Maybe Phillips, but only in case of emergency.)

50

The Kidd, at 50

Every year, I make a big deal when the Dallas Mavericks reach 50 wins.

It may be stupid. I don't feel this way. I -- like many, man others -- remember the early 1990s when the Mavericks were the worst team in the NBA and we honestly never felt this team would get better. More or less good.

I always share the memory as a kid of waking up the next morning, rushing to the sports section in the Dallas Morning News and seeking out that Mavericks box score or staying up for the nightly sports and dying to see how the Mavericks did.

West Coast games killed me. Games against the Los Angeles Clippers or Minnesota Timberwolves were anticipated because if they were going to win, it was against two. And vice versa.

With a 106-102 win tonight against the Memphia Grizzlies, the Mavs hit 50 wins.

Wow. It's the 10th straight year with at least 50 wins.

Between 1991-94, the Mavericks won a total of 46 games. Total. In three seasons.

That, friends, is why I get pumped about 50 measly wins and why you should, too.

Notes:
1. Dirk Nowitzki lumbered and labored for 28 points on 23 shots.

2. Twenty-four road wins keeps the Mavs with the most in the Western Conference and third-most in the league (Cleveland, Boston).

3. The Grizzles missed 11 free throws. Good grief.

4. Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo went 21-34. Again, the Grizz give others a blueprint to the beat the Mavs with quick guard play.

5. Erick Dampier had as many fouls as he did rebounds and points put together (4).

6. Caron Butler had 13 rebounds. Dampier and Brendan Haywood had 11.

7. The Grizz bench went 3-15. Jason Terry went 11-24 for 29 points.

The Barber shop

Dive, Barber, dive

In the words of Dale Gribble,"Bait and switch! Bait and switch!"

Rumors that the Dallas Cowboys were quietly shopping Marion Barber on the trade market were promptly "shot down" by the franchise today.

Let's not be fooled here: There was shopping going on, but the Cowboys don't want to look desperate.

There's a really good chance that Barber is still a Cowboy in four months. No doubt. However, the Cowboys would be gigantic idiots not to dangle the former Minnesota back out on the market because A) they've got two other backs that they consider "every-down"; and B) Barber's due a $4 million roster bonus soon in addition to the $3.8 million he's due just for signing a contract.

I'm sure there's a market for Barber, but the Cowboys aren't giving him away and that team will have to fork over the $7.8 million or come up with a new deal for Barber. That's not a cheap affair for any team, especially for a running back without break-away speed, the ability to will himself to a fourth-and-short or the seeming durability to be a 25-carry guy.

JerryWorld makes good

A smart guy

At what point as JerryWorld paid back what its cost Arlington taxpayers?

It's been open about eight months and its hosted nine Dallas Cowboys games, countless college and high school football games, concerts (a Beatle, a country legend and three famous brothers), a monster truck rally, a soccer game, an MMA fight, an NBA All-Star game and more.

Today, it was announced that the Texas Tech Red Raiders of Lubbock will host the Alabama Crimson Tide to start the 2012 football season at JerryWorld.

All of this and the real reason the thing was every built -- the Super Bowl -- hasn't even been played yet.

Jerry Jones is a genius. Arlington's a lucky sack of shit. And everyone else should feel lucky that we live a half hour from the joint.

File this under 'Who gives a shit'

As Badu as she wanna be

Currently, the city of Dallas, who has mismanaged just about everything its gotten its greedy little hands on, is in shambles and just recently got over a bribery case involving a number of city officials.

The Dallas ISD is up to its ears in debt and is run by some of the most inept leadership known to man. It's so bad, the city of Dallas has talked about taking over.

However, the (arguably) greatest musical artist to ever come from this God-forsaken city decides to shoot a video naked and it creates a bigger ado than any of the other stuff combined.

If Erykah Badu wants to get naked, we should roll out the red carpet. Let's spend time and energy fixing the real problems!

Unwelcome

Why spend more when you can Bayless?

The Dallas Mavericks have an incredibly good shot at holding down the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference when the playoffs start in a couple of weeks.

This is good because, should all go according to Hoyle, they wouldn't see the Los Angeles Lakers until the Western Conference Finals and they'd have home-court up until that point.

However, the Western Conference is unlike any other grouping of teams in the entirety of American professional sports.

Whereas the No. 7 seed in the NFL, NHL, MLB or, even, the Eastern Conference is probably a relatively easy out, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference is going to be a bitch.

It will probably either be San Antonio, Portland or Oklahoma City. The latter two have a half-game lead on the Spurs, who are the eighth seed. As it stands this second, the Trailblazers are the Mavs' first-round opponent (the Denver Nuggets are the No. 5 seed and 2.5 games up ... should they fall to the No. 7 seed, then we'd have a story).

A brief look at the potential match-ups for our Mavericks:

Portland Trailblazers
Season Series: 3-0, Blazers
The Blazers have always been a relaly tough match-up for the Mavericks, really, for the last three or so years. Granted, the Mavs have won a lot of those games (up until this year), but it's never been easy. Young, black and athletic big men like LaMarcus Aldridge give Dirk Nowitzki fits on the offensive end. They get in his grill and make it almost impossible for him to get into the flow of the game. Furthermore, bigs like Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood have to contend with Marcus Camby and Aldridge while the Blazers are on offense.

The Mavericks have a clear disadvantage against most teams who have good point guards. Frankly, the Mavs can't guard good point guards. Brandon Roy has never been a huge thorn in the Mav's side, but Andre Miller's hit 60 percent of his shots in averaging 27 points per game against the Mavs this season, including that embarassing 52-point explosion earlier in the winter. Jerryd Bayless is a quick, small guard, who's average 10 points a contest against the Mavs.

I like the Blazers no matter who they are playing. They've been killed with injuries all season (huge injuries) in a super-tough division (Northwest ... with Oklahoma City, Denver and Utah) and could still win 50 games. I want no part of the Blazers unless I have to.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Season Series: 2-1, Mavericks
The only real reason I wouldn't want to see the Thunder is Kevin Durant. He's a top three player in the league and he's 21 years old. He's explosive and domineering and it'd take every ounce of energy from Shawn Marion and Caron Butler to hold him down. Still, my fear of the Thunder as abated over the last month. For one, I realize that the Mavs have held Durant to 29 percent shooting over three games this season, but he's still averaged 22 points.

The Thunder have zero presence in the frontcourt outside of Jeff Green and he's not a guy you have to worry about carrying the team to a series victory. A presence, but not anything that Haywood, Damp or Dirk can't handle. Russell Westbrook is a shooting guard in a point guard's position. A good player, but not a guy who will go for 35 a game in a series. I just don't think the Thunder are a tough guard.

Furthermore, as the Blazers I think have an answer for Dirk, I don't think the Thunder do. Green did a good job in their last game, a Thunder win, but overall, Dirk has averaged 30 points, eight rebounds and three assists a game against Oklahoma City.

The other issue with OKC is their youth. They're on the verge of 50 wins and a first-ever playoff appearance outside of their days in Seattle and certainly with the new guard. On one hand, maybe they're too young to know better. Or maybe they don't know how to pull an upset. Remember, the Mavericks were once a wayward organization with a young nucleus that upset a veteran Utah team. We've seen this before.

X-Factor: James Harden's beard. Rookie of the Year.

San Antonio Spurs
Season Series: 1-1
I'm going to be perfectly honest: Maybe no other guy outside of the San Antonio city limits has had more respect for the Spurs than me. There is little doubt that they are one of the best franchises in professional sports over the last decade. Their brilliance on the court, in the draft rooms, in free agency, trades and talent evaluation and development is remarkable. It's been an honor battling with them over the last 10 years.

Yet, I couldn't think of a better match-up for the Dallas Mavericks.

Tony Parker is yet to return to action with a messed up finger. Although his wheels aren't broken, his ability to shoot might. Manu Ginobili is suffering his annual case of the back spasms. He's always a threat, but nothing that Butler and Marion can't handle with size.

Famously, the Spurs have little to no recourse for Dirk Nowitzki. He's killed them over the last five years and gone for 32 per contest this season. The Spurs can not guard him.

The Spurs do not impress. Not that they can't flip the switch if there's a switch to flip, but Richard Jefferson, George Hill and Antonio McDyess are not guys that give you some kind of strategic edge from game to game. They're not nearly as deep as they used to be. There aren't any defensive stoppers that give you fits. They're not nearly as scary at home. It's an aging team that hasn't changed a lot over the past three seasons. The Mavs beat them last year, and they certainly can do it again.

A mile high at sea level

And for his next performance, Dirk Nowitzki in Swan Lake

It was the biggest game of the year for the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets.

To the winner goes the tiebreaker. This, essentially, was for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and home-court advantage should the two teams meet again in the post-season.

This was as big for the Nuggets as it was the Mavericks.

And I thought the Nuggets would win.

It's a big game and the Nuggets have guys that show up for big games. The Mavs, too, hadn't been playing so well lately. It was a game the Mavs have lost in the past.

Naturally, the Mavericks blow them out of the water, 109-93.

The Nuggets starting five go 11-42. Dirk Nowitzki goes for 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Big players show up for big games.

Notes:
1. Mavs, 27 assists. Nuggets, 12 assists.

2. Roddy Beaubois, a ho-hum five points, one assist and three steals.

3. Caron Butler and Co. hold Carmelo Anthony to 10 points on 3-16 shooting.

4. Any time J.R. Smith is the lead scorer for the Nuggets, it's a good sign.

5. A sight for sore eyes: J.J. Barea -- DNP-Coach's Decision

6. Very efficient nights from Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood.

7. Win puts Mavs 1.5 up on the Nuggets. Half game up on the Jazz.

8. Why do you want away from Denver in April? Nuggets are 30-6 at home. Just 18-21 on the road.

Projected: Rotation

No. 3

With the season a week away, here's how the rotation will fall out.

No pressure.

Scott Feldman
He was the No. 1 aside from his seven shutout inning yesterday. Still, I found it odd that Feldman wasn't the No. 1 even with Rich Harden. For one, Harden doesn't need any more pressure than he already has. Two, Feldman won 17 games last season and when the Rangers needed a win last season, he was the guy to get it for them. He deserved the opening-day start.

Rich Harden
Not a great start:
17.2 IP - 19 hits - 18 ER - 15 BBs - 17 Ks.

That, friends, is a quintuple double.

C.J. Wilson
Say what you will, but he had a better spring than Brandon McCarthy, Neftali Feliz, Colby Lewis and Harden. Needless to say, I'll be glued to the TV when he pitches on that third night.

Colby Lewis
Pitched better late in the spring. Struck out 12 in 11 innings, but still gave up nine runs.

Matt Harrison
McCarthy, Harrison, Wilson and Feliz needed good to stellar springs in order to make the rotation. Harrison was the only one to step up. That is a good sign. He shed a middle schooler from his midsection. His fastball has three added miles per hour. It makes all his other pitches look better. He struck out 10 and walked one. I'm pumped.

In the Stars

The odd nature of the Dallas Stars over the past two weeks is that, at times, they play some of the best hockey of their season.

Two nights later, they look like a 10-and-under club from western Pennsylvania.

I think there are a series of "simple" things that can happen for the Stars to be good again, but that's kinda for another day.

The Stars will not make the playoffs despite impressive 4-1 wins over the Los Angeles Kings like on Saturday night.

Frankly, the whole "end the season on a roll and hope it carries over to 2011" is pretty old. In fact, bottoming out might be ideal.

But the Stars can't bottom out. For all that's gone wrong, they've got too many good players to merely quit and even at their very worst, guys like Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro, Brendan Morrow, Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas and others are better than the guys on the other side of the ice.

There's something missing that prevents them from winning five straight. Again, a later date.

What they can do is play their tails off and see what they've got to go on next year. What needs to stay, what needs more ice time and who needs to leave?

The Stars need someone to make some tough decisions and tough cuts. However, maybe the cuts ain't so tough if you know Jamie Benn can come through next season. Or if Richards is your best player, good for 90 points a season.

Roddy B

Beaubois

I've not hidden my opinions about Roddy Beaubois nor have I painted myself to have been a huge fan of the guy when the Dallas Maverick drafted him last spring.

In fact, I hated the pick. But I'll be damned if I go down with this sinking ship alone. No one liked this pick. People in France didn't like this pick.

At the time, it was reminiscent of the Dallas Cowboys taking Quincy Carter. Sure. He had the tools and the physical traits to be good. But you picked a guy playing in a lesser program, who wasn't playing well if he was playing at all.

If this first season is any indication, Beaubois' future is much brighter than Q-Car's.

To my defense, it didn't take me or a number of Mavs fans long to get interested in the guy. It started in the Vegas Summer League, where he turned heads by scoring a whole lot, looking faster, bigger and more explosive than everyone else.

Once the season began, and he actually played, it was clear that Beaubois had something.

Saturday night, he had 40 points in a 111-90 win over the Golden State Warriors. A win that could save the Mavs season if getting the No. 2 seed is all its cracked up to be. Right now, there isn't a Maverick playing worth his weight in pixie dust and unicorns. Sine the 13-game streak, everyone's sucked.

See Beaubois go off for 40 and save the game was refreshing. But it was still a life preserver for this team that is stagnant and sad looking.

Beaubois is the second most electrifying offensive player on the team. And most nights he plays five minutes if he plays at all. Against Portland, he had 45 seconds.

This should change. It should've changed months ago. I see the goofs by Beaubois, a rookie, as much as Rick Carlisle and everyone else. He's a kid. However, they are no more worse than the mistakes and deficiencies from J.J. Barea and Jason Terry. The only difference is that Beaubois has the physical assets to make up for his mistakes.

If a guy blows past Terry or Barea, it's probably a dunk. A guy blows past Beaubois, it may still be a dunk. But more than once this season, I've seen Beaubois go after the guy and get a block from behind.

Beaubois just doesn't need Barea's minutes. He needs Terry's minutes, too. Or some of them. He can play the point or the two-guard. You can sic him on a team's opposing guards for a change of pace from Caron Butler or Jason Kidd. Beaubois needs throwaway minutes and important minutes.

He needs to play in the post-season. He is quite literally their only hope because this team isn't beating anyone in April.

Visiting the Procter-tologist

That pin you heard dropping was at Valley Ranch.

It's a good month and a half into the NFL post-season and the Dallas Cowboys have been as quiet as a church mouse.

We could assume Jerry Jones has it all figured out, but when has that notion been readily believable?

Cory Procter was the first Cowboys free agent to re-sign, as he'll get about $1.8 million next season.

Procter is a solid back-up. He can play several O-line positions. But he can probably only play one or two at a halfway decent level. However, considering Marc Columbo and Kyle Kosier's ability to be out for long amounts of time and Flozell Adams' being 500 years old, depth at the O-line is vital.

Speaking of, Doug Farrar at Yahoo! Sports thinks the Dallas Cowboys are possibly a new left tackle away from making the Super Bowl.

Keys to the Season: Steady improvement

Looks like that hurts

Before the start of last year's season, I commented that the Texas Rangers didn't need exponential change in the individuals' performances, but subtle improvements in a number of areas in order to succeed.

Say what you will about 87 wins, but I consider that success considering the state of the team and the reatlive circumstances surrounding who they put on the field.

With that, look at the individual numbers. Also, look at their play. The Rangers may or may not have gotten lucky for a second-place finish and 87 wins, but they most probably got lucky in good to great years from Elvis Borbon, Scott Feldman, C.J. Wilson, Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd, Ian Kinsler, Darren O'Day, Frank Francisco, Tommy Hunter, Neftali Feliz and others.

But also got dud years from Chris Davis, Josh Hamilton, the catchers, Brandon McCarthy, Matt Harrison, Hank Blalock, Jack Benoit and others.

The point is this: What if the 2010 Rangers can get 500 at-bats out of Vlad Guerrero; 32 homers and a .300 average from Josh Hamilton; a sub-3.50 ERA from Chris Ray; 180 innings from Rich Harden; 25 wins between Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis; a complete season from Chris Davis; and something -- anything! -- from the catcher's position.

I'm not talking big, insane numbers. Harrison doesn't need to win 20. Josh Hamilton doesn't need a 30-30 season. Ray or Harden don't need to shut down opposing hitters.

What if the hitting improves 10 percent. The defense, 25 percent. Guaranteed: 95 wins.

Sports is often viewed as being a entity where seachange needs to happen at the drop of a dime or failure ensues. This may be true for golf or the NFL. But baseball is a marathon. It's grueling and unkind. It is suicide for a typically poor franchise to hope for three Cy Young candidates and four 40-home run guys in the line-up. It'll never, ever happen.

However, hoping for less strikeouts and poor at-bats from your line-up or less walks or forced pitches from your pitchers, is very, very reasonable.

To get better, to win, a batter doesn't need to go from .250 to .330 or a pitcher from a 5.50 ERA to a 1.50 ERA.

As Billy Beane noted, "Hope is not a strategy." Improvement by even the smallest degrees is something to reach for. It's accessible. But even the smallest of changes are not always easy.

Fear the Blazer

On a Roy

As the NBA season winds down, we start to look forward to the playoffs: Seedings, match-ups, et al.

There are a number of teams the Dallas Mavericks should fear. Honestly, the Los Angeles Lakers are the least of their worries.

Public enemy No. 1 is the Portland Trailblazers.

The Mavs are 0-3 against the Blazers after last night's ass-whipping, 101-89.

This is simple. Well, most Mavs losses are simply. Rarely do you come away scratching your head, thinking, "What went wrong?"

First, effort. Then, defense. Of course, I think both are one in the same. If you give the effort then the defense is just a fraction of that.

With six minutes left in the third quarter, the Mavs had one (1!) free throw. The Blazers had 16. Case closed.

If the Mavs are unwilling to put any effort into not settling for long jumpers on the road (a decade-long problem ... when they're not going in), then they will lose.

They attempted nine free throws and 22 three pointers. Lose, lose, lose.

The Blazers' bigs (Aldridge, Batum, Camby) took the Mavs' bigs (Dirk, Damp, Haywood) out behind Paul Allen's woodshed and tanned their hides to high holy hell. It was a massacre.

And this is why I don't want to see the Blazers in the playoffs. Aldridge historically has given Nowitzki fits. Camby, Aldridge and the youngster Blazers an out-athlete the Mavs bigs. This kills because the Mavs' defensive strength is their big guys because their guard play on D is horrendous.

The best thing the Mavs can do is get the No. 2 seed and let the Lakers get the Blazers in the first round.

Ejection seat

A Tuesday night drive

Often there are "good" ejections that tend to light a fire underneath the players on a team.

Dirk Nowitzki getting kicked out of last night's 106-96 win over the Los Angeles Clippers was not a "good" ejection. Typically, a "good" ejection doesn't involve the most important player for any one team. Often, it's the coach. And as important as we think coaches are, they have nothing to do with a player making the right pass, blocking out on a singular shot or making the basket.

No, Nowitzki needs to keep that firey Teutonic attitude in check. Because the Mavs could've easily lost that game. Easily. The Clips were down early and tied in the third quarter. If not for the heroics of Jason Kidd, Roddy Beaubois and Brendan Haywood, this could've been a third-straight loss.

Nowitzki, Kidd, Jason Terry or Caron Butler should not be making statements and getting the boot. Just get J.J. Barea to jump on the ref's back and ride him like a bucking bronco.

Notes:
1. A very nice 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks from Haywood, who had struggled the last two weeks.

2. I see the mistakes that Beaubois makes as well as Rick Carlisle or anyone else. But the fact is that he needs minutes. There was a noted difference with him in the game guarding Baron Davis and Eric Gordon.

3. The Mavs created nine steals and seven blocks.

4. Think Drew Gooden was making a statement?

The AL Central

The Minnesota Twins won the American League Central division last season with 87 wins, one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

Got a bad case of the baseball amnesia. Don't remember this in the least. I thought the Tigers had taken the division and had lead almost the entire season.

I do recall the Twins coming on strong late. Was there a one-game playoff involved? Sounds familiar.

The AL Central is super interesting. You've got two Cy Young winners with a social disorders. Four straight Cy Youngs and five of the last six have come from the division. The reigning AL MVP. Two of the last five or six World Series contenders are from the division. One of the most polarizing managers in the last 50 years.

All from a division that didn't have a 90-win team all of last year and are all mostly considered low-budget compared to the East and West.

Detroit Tigers -- 91-71
I get sucked in by the Tigers due to the name power. I think they've upgraded their outfield (Clete Thomas and Ryan Raburn sit on the bench where they belong with Austin Jackson and Johnny Damon) and their bullpen Jose Valverde in lieu of Fernando Rodney at closer. The rotation could be an issue, but when Dontrelle Willis is your sixth starter, it could be worse. I'll bank on those names to deliver yet again.

Chicago White Sox -- 85-77
Added Andruw Jones, Alex Rios, Juan Pierre, Mark Teahan, Mark Kotsay and J.J. Putz. I honestly don't know how good any of those guys are. I suspect Teahan, Putz and Pierre are useful. Jones is a downgrade from Jim Thome and Alex Rios is either mediocre or needed a change of scenery. They are without Thomas and Jermaine Dye. We'll see. First full year with Jake Peavy. His transition to the American League could be interesting.

Minnesota Twins -- 81-81
I really like this team. I like the J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson duo up the middle. Love the young, speedy outfield. Love Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. Love the bullpen. Love the new ballpark. What I dislike is Joe Nathan going down and all those soft-tossing starters (Scott Baker lead the team with 162 strikeouts; Nick Blackburn was third with 98). I'm convinced Pat Neshak needs to rebound and that Francisco Liriano should do the same to be the top-of-the-rotation talent we thought he might be four years ago. Did you know Jason Kubel had 103 RBI last season? How useful is that guy?

Kansas City Royals --78-84
I dislike the ass-end of their rotation. Otherwise, I think they can compete. If you want a sleeper fantasy pick and possibly a guy that could be in the MVP discussions in June, go with Billy Butler. He'll turn just 24 years old in a month. He had 21 homers, 51 doubles, .301 average and a .362 OBP last season.

Cleveland Indians -- 70-91
It think we get a snootful of Matt LaPorta sooner than later. Overpaid for Russell Branyan and are still hamstrung by Travis Hafner. For the rotation, they've got five "shit-or-get-off-the-pot" guys that need to straighten their careers out now. As for the bullpen ... well, they might be good enough to surprise folks, but there's little to guarantee that they'll be any good.

Predictions
NL East
NL Central
NL West
AL East

Addition by injury

Vlad the inhaler

The Texas Rangers rotation quandary got a bit clearer with big Tommy "Big Game" Hunter hurting his rib cage and probably being out out of the first couple weeks of the season.

Hunter, I think, was penciled into the No. 4 spot with Brandon McCarthy, C.J. Wilson, Matt Harrison, Willie Moscoso and Neftali Feliz battling out for the No. 5 spot.

Things have gotten clearer there, too:

Matt Harrison
Barring injury, he's your No. 4 starter. He looks fantastic. Ten 10 strikeouts, one walk and two earned runs in nine spring innings. Everyone of his pitches look great. Pumped about his 2010 season.

C.J. Wilson
Evan Grant seems convinced he's your fifth starter. Tend to agree. Based on his performance and the performance of others. And the sheer fact that if the Rangers can count on him as the No. 5 starter with injury-riddled players like Harrison, McCarthy and Harden in the depth chart, they can breath a little easier. Yesterday, with crappy stuff, he was rocked in the first inning only to turn around and throw just 53 pitches to get through four innings. Again, without his best stuff. That's what a starter needs: The resolve to battle through adversity without the natural ability to blow batters out of the water.

Brandon McCarthy
I think he starts the season in the bullpen. Not an awful thing. Considering his tendency to be injured, maybe working short stints every fourth day will be good to hone that new delivery we've heard so much about. Big Mac will get his turn, sooner or later.

Neftali Feliz
Simply hasn't been very good. I think the Rangers were leaning on him being in the bullpen anyways.

Willie Moscoso
A dark horse in this race. Could start in Oklahoma City as a starter or in the Rangers bullpen. Has struck out eight and walked just two in seven spring innings. Has given up two home runs and four earned runs.

Notes:
1. Colby Lewis, despite a 7.15 ERA, has struck out 12 and walked two in the spring.

2. I can only assume that Joaquin Arias' past arm issues prevent him from playing shortstop. Still, he's hitting .278 with a .357 OBP.

3. Very pumped about Vlad Guerrero. Has upped his average to .278 after bottoming out early this spring. Leads the team in spring doubles.

4. Dustin Nippert: 0.00 ERA, nine strikeouts, zero walks.

5. Chris Davis: .375 average, 10 RBI.

6. Darren Oliver looks like a steal early: five innings, five strikeouts, no runs.

7. David Murphy: 11 strikeouts, 1 walk.

8. Matt Brown is hitting .391. Seems to not be able to play a lick of defense.

Consistantly inconsistent

A bad sight

Just when we thought maybe we shooed away the pesky New Orleans Hornets, they go and remake their basketball team.

The Hornets drafted Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison last season. It probably won't result in a playoff run (no thanks to a lengthy stay on the bench for Chris Paul), but it does mean the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will not be alone in the coming seasons.

The Mavs got a crotchful of it last night as Paul, Thornton and Collison gave the rest of the league a blueprint as to how to be the Mavericks. The question and answer are still the same.

The Mavs are ultimately beatable every night if you have a point guard (or, better yet, a set of guards) that can impose their will. Meaning, if you're guard is quick, you can win.

The Mavs have a steady stable of point guards: Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Jason Terry and Roddy Beaubois. But none of them can play a lick of defense. I mean, combine the defensive talents of all four into one player and they still couldn't cover Paul or Collison.

Compound the fact that for long stretches, they run Kidd or Terry at the two-guard. If the opposing shooting guard is worth their weight, they'll punish that match-up.

Furthermore, you won't find a more disgusting, putrid Mavs team in any given quarter or any given eight-minute stretch. The Mavs don't look bad in any given game. But they look bad in any given minute.

The Hornets were down eight before they went on an insane 23-0 run to go up for good by 15. It took a matter of minutes for the Mavs to lose that game.

I've got a sick feeling for the Mavericks. As good as they've played, which is hopeful, they seem to have the same crew and even the new parts seem to get lulled into the idea that they can lose a lead in a manner of minutes and then it's all gone.

The Mavs got 12 games left. They're a game out of the No. 2 seed. Getting that is imperative. They can not afford to get San Antone or Oklahoma City in the first round only to have to go to Utah or Denver in the second. Home-court is everything.

Notes:
1. Brendan Haywood was a little better: 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks.

2. The Mavs lost shooting 51 percent and going 8-16 from the three-point arc. On the road. Ouch.

3. The Mavs attempted 13 free throws, missing six. Haywood and Dirk Nowitzki didn't attempt a free throw.

4. The Mavs would go 0-82 if Nowitzki should never hit a free throw.

5. Eighteen Maverick turnovers.

6. The Hornets shot 54 percent. Hit 50 percent of their three pointers. Twelve in all.

7. Jason Kidd's gone 29-78 in March. That's 37 percent. Old legs late in the season?

Billy

Poster boy of downfall

For those smart gamblers out there that put money on Kentucky to win the NCAA basketball championship when their odds were 7-2 are sitting pretty.

With Kansas out, Kentucky is the odds-on fav at 2-1 ahead of Syracuse (7-2, still). They have Cornell next and, potentially, Washington should the Huskies pull the upset on West Virginia.

Kentucky is an exciting team filled with a bevy of young, talented freshman, who, if they all stayed, would win two or three more championships.

And John Calipari is their coach.

This isn't about Calipari or, necessarily, the Kentucky Wildcats' chances at a national title.

It's about Billy Gillispie. Watching John Wall and Demarcus Cousins all weekend made me think about Gillispie a lot. I thought about where he was. Whether he was watching games. Or just struggling to get his life in order.

In the fall, Gillispie was arrested for his third career DUI. Pretty significant when you consider that he has only four trips to the NCAA championship tournament. Gillispie may never coach another Division I team again. It's still worth considering that he's one of the most fascinating people in college sports.

In 2002, Gillispie was hired as the head coach of The University of Texas at El Paso Miners. In the 1960s, the Miners made history by not only winning a national championship but beating Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky team (the Miners being the first to start five black guys). UTEP was no slouch.

His first season, Gillispie's Miners went 6-24. Then he hit the recruiting trail. The next season, they were 24-8 and won the WAC title. They played in the NCAA tourney for the first time sine 1992.

With that kind of press, Gillispie received massive national attention including from Texas A&M University, who was seeking a messiah for their horrid basketball program.

After years of neglect thanks to throwing money and attention at the football program, the Aggie basketball team hit rock bottom losing all conference games in 2003-04 going 7-21 overall.

Gillispie snapped up the opportunity. Naturally, he led the Aggies to a 21-10 overall record in 2004-05. That season, they won two NIT games. Their first post-season wins in ... wait for it ... 23 seasons. Yowza.

The Aggies continued to improve under Gillispie going 13-3 in the Big XII in 2006-07 and getting to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament before getting beat by Memphis, coached by John Calipari.

Thus, the beginning of the end. The floundering Kentucky program wooed Gillispie with visions of grandeur and Gillispie left for big promises, better recruits and the stage of Kentucky.

In two seasons, he went 40-27. Kentucky boosters soured, Gillispie apparently copped an attitude and he was unceremoniously dismissed.

In a span of six years, he had revived two programs (with an 14-game and 18-game set of swings) and catapulted himself on the biggest and baddest stage in his sport. All three of Gillispie's teams played in the NCAA tourney over the weekend. They went a combined 3-2.

Then he pissed it all away. Now, Kentucky could care less about him, Texas A&M has flourished without him and no one will really mention his name for the next two weeks.

Unless, of course, Kentucky wins it all.

Barking up the wrong tree

Smokes with cigarettes

Many want Ron Washington fired due to his snorting coke last summer.

Fact: About 20,000 people a year die of drug overdose every year. This includes use of heroin, meth, cocaine and every other drug.

Fact: About 40,000 people die in car accidents every year.

Fact: About 300,000 die every year due to obesity, diet or standard of living.

Fact: About 500,000 die due to disease brought on by smoking.

Summary: Washington should instead be fired for smoking cigarettes. And driving. Not cocaine use.

The dance

Down and out

After 15 hours of watching college basketball, it is quite obvious that coaches have entirely too many time outs.

Work in eight TV time outs per game, play is stopped about a dozen different times during a game.

Late, when the score is tight, when emotions are running high, most teams have two or three time outs to burn. This sucks the entire life out of the affair and slows it to a stubborn crawl.

What's more frustrating than coaches ruining a perfectly good basketball game is a talented set of players so focussed on their unrealized professional career that they are unable to give even 50 percent to a particular game in order to win.

There is no way Temple should have lost to Cornell. Kansas to Northern Iowa. Villanova to St. Mary's (and almost to Robert Morris) or Georgetown to Ohio.

Don't give me the argument that maybe Cornell is better than their ranking or maybe Kansas isn't as good as thought. Kansas at 50 percent should be better than Northern Iowa at 90 percent. They're just better. You don't beat everyone in your conference and then lose to Northern Iowa only to have everyone say, "Well, Kansas wasn't that good." Bullshit.

Those players got lazy and the coaches let them. If I were a fan, booster, AD or coach, I'd go down to that locker room and punch those players square in the nuts. It's ridiculous!

Hit a fucking free throw. Go after a loose ball. Simply take your superior skills and dominate teh pasty white guy trying to go mano y mano against you. Aside from a handful of nice finishes, that was an atrocious weekend of basketball. Now I'll have to watch Northern Iowa and Cornell next weekeend.

Teams I Like
Baylor
I have them in the Final Four. I do not regret that.

Texas A&M
Despite the loss to Purdue, A&M looked really good. If I were Brian Davis, I would've delivered an ill-meaning elbow to that Kramer kid's face in the first minute. That doucher was prime to get jacked as he regularly got in the way. Davis, by the way, looks really good. There is no wasted motion when he has the ball in the lane.

Syracuse
I think everyone had them in the Final Four. Deservedly so. They do a lot of things really well including getting as close to the basket as possible before taking a shot.

Maryland
Were ousted yesterday against Michigan State. No crime in that. Loved watching them against Houston. Very smooth and sound. Take care of the ball. A bunch of guys with touch around the basket.

St. Mary's
An extreme pleasure. Simply play the game like it ought to be played: With grace. Take care of the ball. Hit free throws. Give me a team with at least some athleticism and the willingness to practice free throws and I'll give you a Sweet 16 team every year.

The AL East

The dominance of the AL East should not be underestimated. The Red Sox, Rays and Yankees are responsible for three of the last several World Series titles and four Series appearances.

From year to year, all three teams compete on a pretty high level and the Yankees and Sox are continually pushing the envelope in terms of finding new ways to get better.

We can hate both teams all we want. It doesn't take away the utter feeling of jealousy. If our teams spent as much as the Yanks or BoSox did, we'd be happier than pigs in shit.

Boston Red Sox -- 97-65
Improved the left side of their infield with Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro. John Lackey's their No. 2 starter giving them a salty front three with Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. Josh Bard will need to anchor those middle innings and David Ortiz will need to retrench for the BoSox to retake the division.

New York Yankees -- 93-69
There's little arguing that their rotation is the best in the league. The acquisition of Javy Vasquez as the No. 3 starter just makes them even better. Still, they lost the savvy veteran know-how of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui and I wouldn't know a soul from that bullpen not named "Mariano" from Adam. It should be noted that Vasquez was shelled his last year (2008) in the American League. Also, Curtis Granderson is a talent, but this numbers have fallen off two straight years and despite all that ability, he's a bottom-of-the-line-up guy.

Tampa Bay Rays -- 85-79
Honestly, and I know the Rays nor their fans want to hear this, but the Rays could gain a lot by putting together three straight pretty good to great seasons. As remarkable as their 2008 was, three straight years of contending and playing competitive baseball is just as impressive. The core is back. A collection of off-the-chart seasons from a number of guys (B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields, David Price) and the Rays probably find themselves square in the division race. But they'll need some help.

Baltimore Orioles -- 72-90
Better. Miggie Tejeda and Garrett Atkins are the corner infielders. Kevin Millwood will bolster the rotation and Mike Gonzalez and Cla Meredith could settle that bullpen a little. However, they'll depend entirely too much on young starters and unproven bullpen arms to actually contend.

Toronto Blue Jays -- 70-92
The Blue Jays depended on two things last season: Break-out seasons from Adam Lind and Aaron Hill. This season, they'll depend on the same, but they'll need some of those arms to work out. Getting Shaun Marcum back for 200 innings, getting two or three of their other youngsters to pan out and for someone to define relief roles are vital. The Jays go as their pitching does. You can't win in the AL East without it.

Predictions
NL East
NL Central
NL West

Because my NCAA bracket is far my interesting than whatever you're doing right now

My Elite Eight and more. Counting down the minutes.

Kansas Jayhawks
Again, they do what everybody else does and even do what everybody else doesn't do.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Arguably the best player in college basketball. Sound program. Played a tough conference sked winning the conference tourney. Have won seven straight, 13 of 14 and 16 of 18. Of everyone, might have the easiest first three games than any one or two seed.

Syracuse Orangemen
I'm a big believer in good coaches in the NCAA Tournament. I love me some Jim Boeheim.

Kansas State Wildcats
I waffled on the Wildcats the last week. I've seen them play at least a half dozen times, and I liked them a lot. But I didn't like going with the one and two seed again. But I have zero trust in Pitt or Xavier giving them a fight. I guess I'm going on their three tough and well-fought games against Kansas. I very well could get burnt here. Hopefully it's next week.

Kentucky Wildcats
I love their edge most of all. Young and brash. I love that they have the cockiest, dirtiest coach in college basketball.

West Virginia Mountaineers
Marquette may be their downfall, but I love that they won their conference tourney and that they have beat Georgetown (twice), Villanova and Notre Dame all in the month of March already. Probably deserves a No. 1 seed.

Texas A&M Aggies
Yowza. Picked them early. Went back and bought into the Utah State hype for about eight hours and then came back around. Got lucky because Purdue is at half strength and I think Duke is gone in the Sweet 16. Ain't no way the Aggies are scared of the Blue Devils.

Baylor Bears
It should be noted: the South bracket heads to Houston for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight next week. Meaning, A&M and Baylor will both have relative home-court next week against Duke and Villanova. Love the Bears.

Final Four: Baylor, West Virginia, Kansas and Syracuse.

Championship: Kansas vs. West Virginia.

Shining Moment: Bill Self gets another championship. Roy Williams sits at home.

Evan Grant and his genius

My final word until something else breaks on the Ron Washington-cocaine front: Evan Grant summed things up nicely with the most level of heads without giving Wash a complete pass.

It is a must read before NCAA games start in an hour.

Taking the Bulls by the horns

The man in the plastic mask

I might have said this the last three weeks, but I don't think I've seen the Dallas Mavericks play any better this season than against the Chicago Bulls last night in a 113-106 win.

Several days after getting their pants pulled down by the New York Knicks at home, the Mavs looked refreshed and at ease.

They imposed their will. Controlled the game from the outset -- from pace to placement. They dominated on both ends of the floor.

The rebounded well. Defensively they were in the right place. Passes were crisp. Spacing was perfect. Everyone contributed. Shots were drained. Jason Terry was masked.

Like I said, the Mavs have looked good before, but rarely have they made it look this easy like last night.

On paper this morning, it doesn't look as good. The Bulls wound up shooting 52 percent and made it a seven-point game. But all of that happened as the Mavs inserted their bench with the game was well out of hand. Good times.

Notes:
1. Nice to see Texas A&M great Acie Law get minutes.

2. The Mavs bench went 18-31.

3. The Mavs attacked early and often. Felt like they were at 25 free throw attempts by half time. Wound up with 31. Caron Butler had 16.

4. Dirk Nowitzki with his ho-hum 26-point, seven-rebound, five-assist, three-steal night. Whatever.

5. Erick Dampier looked awesome. Fluid.

6. Brendan Haywood, in five March games where he's played at least 10 minutes, has averaged 6.6 points and six rebounds. In 123 March minutes, he has 30 rebounds. I'm telling you, watch out for this guy. Injured or no.

Book Review: "When March Went Mad"

When March Went Mad:
The Game That Transformed Basketball
Seth Davis

It's widely regarded that what propelled the World Wide Web into the beast that it is today is pornography.

Without porn, the Internet would not have evolved at the pace that it has -- from speed, memory, design, navigation and everything we take for granted.

In Christiandom, the messiah -- the Son of God, the world's savior -- was born in some ragtag town in a barn.

Porn. Jesus. (That's right ... I went there.) Often phenomena are borne from the most innocuous and unlikely of sources.

Who knew that 31 years ago basketball as we know it today was made possible thanks to a middle-class kid with a shit-eating grin from Michigan and a morose, blonde hillbilly from the boondock side of Indiana.

Who knew that I wouldn't be filling out some inane bracket with millions of other nerds today thanks to two coaches who fell bassackwards into a job at schools that had no business even sniffing the Sweet Sixteen, more or less playing in the national championship game.

When Michigan State played Indiana State in Salt Lake City in 1979, it laid the seed for the modern game we know and celebrate today. It defined the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, college basketball, television programming and, a year later, the NBA.

College and pro basketball needed Magic Johnson and Larry Bird more than they needed college or pro basketball. Still, both guys would be lost souls without the game.

Seth Davis may be best known (maybe) as a commentator with CBS Sports' college basketball TV coverage, but it's important to note that he's an accomplished journalist most notably with Sports Illustrated.

Books like When March Went Mad need the journalist's touch. They need someone with the patience to trawl through hours of game tape and microfiche. To cull useful observations and quotes from yellowed newspaper clips. To seek out the voices -- from journalists, TV execs, et al. -- to complete this story.

Davis makes it a point to extricate himself from the story, letting the story that doesn't need embellishment to breath and grow.

The truth is, Bird and Magic are the stars, but they may be the last people you'd want to help paint the picture of the 1979 college basketball season.

The NBA -- post-merger -- was dying. College basketball was mildly popular, but nothing to sneeze at.

Bill Hodges, then an assistant, went out and grabbed a wayward Bird from his grandmother's house following a disastrous short stint at Indiana, his father committing suicide and general malaise.

Somehow, the underdog Michigan State Spartans lured the hometown superstar, Johnson, away from the mighty Michigan Wolverines. And thus the stage was set.

Indiana State -- now under Hodges -- goes 33-0. Michigan State weathers its fair share of ups and downs in the Big Ten only to hit their stride late in the 1979 season and through the NCAA tourney.

Today, we finger the media top stories often before the media reports on them. Important discussions ensue before the Super Bowl or NBA Finals about the potential "dream" match-up for league officials. The general public thinks like public relations and marketing professionals on our blogs, bar stools and couches.

We couldn't imagine 1979 today. Watching tape-delayed Finals games. No ESPN. And the Internet! Like the Stone Age.

It was Bird and Magic, unknowingly, that paved the way for all the money, endorsements, media, coverage and participation on the fan level. It changed everything.

Thanks to Bird, Magic and Internet pornography, my friends and I can fill out our online NCAA tournament brackets with ease and having seen at least 90 percent of these teams.

Maybe I don't think cocaine is that big of a deal

Wash

First and foremost, I wanted to counter the belief that Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan is totally clueless about drug use or cocaine. Let me tell you something: Outside of Pablo Escobar, no one's probably seen more coke in his life. He played in New York in the late 1960s, Los Angeles in the 1970s and Houston in the 1980s. Ryan might have never tried it, but he knows what it is.

Yesterday, I posted about Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington's admitted use of cocaine in July 2009.

Honestly, I thought the story would have some legs but after a couple of days, it would fade away as the season crept closer.

I really felt that way.

I've been floored, shocked and awed at the response from media and fans. At worst, they're equally as confused as to why Washington still has a job.

Right now, I get the aching feeling that Washington will be forced to resign or the Rangers handcuffed into firing him before or during the 2010 season.

All of this disdain and controversy, I went back and read three different versions of the story to make sure I didn't miss anything. Maybe he shot up a baby with heroin. Maybe he punched a hooker. Clubbed some seals. Voted for Barack Obama. Pulled down his pants and helicoptered a girl's school.

Nope. The story hasn't changed. Washington did some blow last July. He quickly admitted as much to Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers knowing he'd fail a drug test.

Local yokels ain't into forgiveness, second chances or the general thought that cocaine isn't all that bad. It's bad. But let's face it, there's a lot worse.

Forgiveness
If you want to have Washington fired, fine. Do it. But right after, I need Donte Stallworth, Vince Neil and Leonard Little to have the hammer of justice brought down on them. Ray Lewis will need to testify about that murder. R. Kelly and Rob Lowe need to answer for sex with underage girls. Stallworth, Neil and Little killed people while drinking and driving. Yet, how quickly we forget and next thing you know, we're watching them on TV or buying Dr. Feelgood.

Lewis knows something about a murder. Michael Irvin was into so much shit while a Dallas Cowboy and we've never seen a guy skate like he was wearing a Dallas Stars sweater. Deon Anderson and Anthony Spencer were both involved in police brouhahas the last year.

How many chances did we give Darryl Strawberry, Steve Howe, Dwight Gooden, Roy Tarpley or Lawrence Taylor?

Are we sure all of that is as harmless as a line or two of coke?

Second Chances

This time last year, photos of Josh Hamilton at an Arizona bar with women he's not married to, drunk as a skunk and doing whipped cream body shots off flat stomachs. Shirtless. Hamilton immediately evoked the sweet name of Jesus and seemed honestly sorry for the incident. The guy with a past of drinking and drug problems was immediately forgiven and enveloped into the fold as a tried and true Christian and good man who had lost his way.

A year later, Washington falls into a similar trap and we're reading to throw the blow-snorting son of a bitch out of town. Washington could've hidden behind the shield of religion, but he didn't. There's a very real chance that this is race driven. Would we have the same reaction to Johnny Oates dropping acid? Yes, it's a silly example, but, frankly, I would've never imagined this incident with Washington. This is uncharted territory.

The critics have it right: No way the Rangers could've fired Washington after the life line they tossed Hamilton.

Cocaine Isn't All That Bad
I am not a drug user. I'm not some hippie liberal. I do know people that have and do use cocaine as a recreational drug. Meaning, maybe once or twice a year, they'll do some coke and not touch it for another eight months.

All drugs and chemicals can be addictive and destructive. Chances are, you'll die of a heart attack at age 52 before Washington dies of a drug overdose due to some bad blow. There will be countless drunk driving incidents tonight in Dallas-Fort Worth and we'll not blink an eye.

Professional sports refuses to address steroid, HGH, amphetamine, marijuana, alcohol and drug use to the fullest of their ability or true desire. As noted above with Stallworth and Little, Washington would've been better off getting drunk and running over someone in July 2009 than doing coke. And getting caught.

That, I think, is at the heart of this rage against Washington. If it were you or me testing positive for coke, we would probably most assuredly lose our jobs. Washington didn't and that kinda makes us mad.

Furthermore, not to say that we're all racists, but another big reason Washington still has a job (outside of his team performing well) is because he is black. He's one of four black managers in baseball. His race does play a part. That double standard also rubs people the wrong way.

At no point did Washington hide nor did he deny what had happened. With MLB and the Rangers, he was forthright. I think he deserves the benefit of whatever doubt there is pertaining to the length and breadth of his drug use last summer.

I think we can forgive. Because in two weeks, it'll all be forgotten.

Boiled goose

You've listened to a dozen worse songs today.

Ron Washington and cocaine

Blow

Somewhere out there is leftfield. And that's exactly where this story comes from.

According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine.

No, not in 1985. In 2009. Last year.

Are you kidding me? I'm speechless.

Washington, frankly, saved his ass by handling this the best way that he could. Knowing he was going to fail, he contacted the league and the team admitted to the transgression. Apologetic, the Rangers stuck by their skipper assuming he'd stay away from rolling $10 bills and snorting off a ball girl's ass.

He's under stricter testing and hasn't failed yet, and Washington admits it was a one-time deal not trying to explain it away or make excuses.

However, I tend to think that if Washington tested position early in 2008, he would've been canned in a heartbeat. The Rangers were faltering and were dying to get rid of the guy before the Rangers went on a run. In 2009, with the way the team played, it would've been a risky move.

Washington's lucky to get a second shot. Still, the craziest story of 2010 by far.

The Ceej is underway

Wrap this guy up in packing peanuts

For that final rotation spot, C.J. Wilson and Neftali Feliz needed near-perfect springs.

Both had screwed the pooch early, struggling with command.

Yesterday was a tell-tale outing for both as Wilson got four innings and Feliz, three against the Chicago Cubs. And one came out smelling like roses.

Wilson went four innings allowed just one run, walking none and striking out five. Out of his 12 outs, five came by groundball and strikeout.

Feliz, on the other hand, was better than he had been going three innings, striking out four, walking none, but allowing three runs.

I think the Rangers want Wilson to succeed as a starter and are willing to wait on Feliz. therefore, I think yesterday goes far for Wilson to make the rotation.

However, I think Wilson is battling two other variables: Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison. Both Harrison and Wilson are lefties. Harrison has been lights out all spring, but the Rangers don't want to overload the ass-end of their rotation with lefties. However, Lewis was penciled into the No. 3 spot over the winter, sight unseen (really). And he's sporting a 9.95 ERA during Spring Training.

What if Lewis continues to stumble and Harrison and Wilson improve. Would the Rangers have Harrison as the No. 3 starter and Wilson at No. 5? Very possible if all falls into place. But I think it's Harrison's and Wilson's to win, not necessarily Lewis' to lose.

Of course, there's Tommy Hunter and Brandon McCarthy to consider. But at least one lefty makes it. I think.

Notes:
1. Justin Smoak hit is first spring dinger yesterday. He's hitting a sour .250 so far.

2. Rangers pitching this spring: 107 innings - 88 strikeouts - 29 walks.

3. Good news for the middle of the order: Nellie Cruz hitting .385. Chris Davis, .483.

4. C.J. Wilson has allowed one walk in nine innings.

5. Rangers have collected 10 stolen bases in spring games.

6. Think Mike Young's ready? Probably: .455 average, .545 slugging.

7. In 10 innings, Matt Harrison and Tommy Hunter: 1 earned run, 0 walks.

8. Please let Josh Hamilton make to April in one piece.

Star bright

Showing some fight

I was prepared to come on here this morning to officially bury the Dallas Stars.

After pounding the San Jose Sharks 8-2 I backed off.

Until I looked at the standings again. The Stars aren't completely dead, but I'm here this morning to put the nail in the coffin.

Seven points out of the eighth seed with three other teams to leap, the Stars are not making the playoffs.

Job No. 1 should be to securely place Kari Lehtonen in as goaltender.

Job No. 2 is to start looking at the off-season. See what you got and see what needs to go. This team needs an enema.

Safe to say they can start with defense. Lehtonen fought off 47 shots on goal last night including five power plays.

From game to game, one stat I notice is opponents shots on goal. Seems like the Stars' goalies face a lot of them and clearly even the greatest goaltenders can't fend off 50 shots a game and still win a lot.

For the season, the Stars have allowed 2,147 shots on goal, 12th most in the NHL. The Stars have allowed 211 goals, sixth most in the NHL. There's your problem. Stars' opponents are scoring at about a 10 percent clip, about 9.8 percent of all shots on goal go in. The Stars average 31 shots allowed meaning about three of them go in per game. So the Stars are down 3-0 before the puck's dropped.

I don't think goaltending is the only problem here, although it is a factor. The Stars have a lot of young defensemen and the rest covering the blue line are spare parts had at a discount in free agency. The Stars aren't spending anything on their blue line. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

Notes:
1. Before last night, the Stars had netted six short-handed goals. The Sharks had allowed six. The Stars had two.

2. Mark Fistric is a +17 in his first semi-full season.

3. In seven games, mid-season pick-up Brandon Segal has eight points and a +6. So far, 45 percent of his shots go in.

4. With 76 points, Brad Richards is approaching career numbers -- best since the 91-point affair in 2005-06.

A starting point

Dutch Oven

Dig deep and you'll find some salty characters in the long, long list of Rangers starting pitchers in the system.

They make Scooter Feldman and Rich Harden look boring and run of the mill. It's exciting -- the most exciting time for anyone who's ever followed the franchise these 25 years.

Scott Feldman
27
Texas Rangers
Seventeen of his career 24 MLB wins came last year. He allowed as many hits (178) last season as innings he had pitched in one season (151 in 2008). The most unsuspected great pitcher the Rangers have had.

Rich Harden
28
Texas Rangers
Has a career .220 BAA. For 25 years, Texas Rangers pitchers have dreamt of a .220 BAA. By far the biggest risk of Jon Daniels' career.

Matt Harrison
24
Texas Rangers
Very easy to forget how young he is. Could not escape injury last season. Apparently has lost 35 pounds and added four or five miles per hour to his fastball.

Brandon McCarthy
27
Texas Rangers
Seems like it was yesterday that he was 27. Still, he's 27. It's super tough to just give up on a 27-year-old guy that was a great prospect with the Chicago White Sox and who hasn't been able to get healthy. Like Harrison, was really good in spots last season.

Derek Holland
23
Texas Rangers
I feel good about Holland. Granted, a year at Oklahoma City probably is the standard operating procedure. But I'm frankly tired of watching these guys career in the minors without really seeing them at the Major-League level. The Rangers had to have known he was able to take his lumps and learn from them. At moments, he was great.

Neftali Feliz
21
Texas Rangers
Who needs High-A minor leagues anyway? Daniels and Co. hit it right when they skipped Feliz to Double-A and then to Arlington late last season. He's the most electrifying player the Rangers have ever had.

Tommy Hunter
23
Texas Rangers
The hulking Alabama alum was pretty good in his fullest season with the Rangers winning nine games and being generally good from start to start. His ability to pitch strikes, get outs and battle is intriguing. His inability to strike anyone out (64 in 112 innings last season) is disturbing as the big fella gets worn out with long innings.

Colby Lewis
30
Texas Rangers
He was apparently great in Japan. A ton of pressure to be a top-of-the-rotation guy.

Tanner Scheppers
23
Frisco RoughRiders
He hasn't thrown a pitch as a member of the Rangers organization so I can only assume he'll start at Frisco. Maybe at Bakersfield, at the lowest. But considering his age, experience and two great pitches (curve, fastball), I don't think he'll have much trouble. Injuries are an important thing to watch.

Kasey Kiker
22
Frisco RoughRiders
A really good 2009 (120 K in 126 innings) probably starts him in Oklahoma City this season and if all goes well, he might be a bullpen replacement, if needed, with the big-league club.

Guillermo Moscoso
26
Oklahoma City RedHawks
Right now, he's a starter. Probably a better fit in the bullpen for long relief, possible late-inning work.

Eric Hurley
24
Oklahoma City RedHawks
Once upon a time, Hurley was the Rangers best pitching prospect. Today, he wouldn't be in the top 10. Still, he's coming back from a torn labrum and could be in Arlington later this summer.

Michael Kirkman
23
Frisco RoughRiders
Was 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA in Bakersfield. A promotion to Frisco resulted in a 4.19 ERA with 64 K versus 43 walks. Kirkman will get a shot to prove himself in Frisco to start this season.

Luis Mendoza
26
Oklahoma City Redhawks
A source of frustration. Pitchers well enough in the minors. Spits the bit in the Majors. If he ever figures things out, he can be very useful. I just don't know if that day will ever come.

Omar Poveda
22
Oklahoma City RedHawks
Gone for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Martin Perez
18
Frisco RoughRiders
If Martin Perez can't get you excited, nothing can. Had a cumulative ERA of 2.90 between Low-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco with 119 strikeouts against 38 walks. Yummy.

Jared Hyatt
25
Frisco RoughRiders
Fell back to Earth after a tremendous 2008. Skipped between Bakersfield, Frisco and Oklahoma City. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, never got entrenched last year.

Michael Ballard
26
Frisco RoughRiders
A guy that couldn't put it together in time. Is about to be eclipsed by some up-and-coming guys. Maybe a factor had he not spit the bit last season in Oklahoma City resulting in his demotion to Frisco.

Blake Beavan
21
Frisco RoughRiders
Struggled in Double-A, but was still adequate with a 4.01 ERA. Still gets out even if they don't always come easy. Considering his steamlined route through the system, struggling should be expected.

Tanner Roark
23
Bakersfield Blaze
Went 10-0 in Bakersfield fielding a 2.70 ERA although he started just nine games.Allowed just a .217 BAA in High-A. A promotion to Frisco should be in order.

Richard Bleier
22
Bakersfield Blaze
Dominated Hickory. Hit a slight wall in Bakersfield last season. Lefty is a groundball machine inducing more than two for every flyball.

Michael Main
21
Bakersfield Blaze
The mystery illness short circuited his 2009. Main needs to make a move, a healthy move, in 2010.

Tim Murphy
22
Bakersfield Blaze
Another solid lefty prospect. Took many lumps in 2009 sporting a 6.80 ERA in 135 innings. Maybe he learned something from his struggles last season.

Kennil Gomez
21
Bakersfield Blaze
Struck out 126 in 135 innigs. Gets almost two groundballs against every flyball.

Andrew Doyle
22
Hickory Crawdads
I think Doyle will move up fast. He went to a major college (Oklahoma) and took his pro debut by storm (2-0, 1.89 ERA, 33 K, six BB) before a brief and unsuccessful stint in Hickory. Considering his numbers were significantly better in the pros versus college, I see him moving to Bakersfield for better competition.

Wilmer Font
19
Hickory Crawdads
Big, tall kid went 8-3 with a 3.49 ERA. Averages about a strikeout per inning and a .231 BAA. One of the top five pitching prospects for the Rangers. Could be a true break-out this season, a la Martin Perez in 2009 and Neftali Feliz in 2008.

Neil Ramirez
20
Hickory Crawdads
Needs to get and stay healthy. Ramirez didn't have crazy numbers last season, but did just allow a .235 BAA in 18 games in 2009.

Wilfredo Boscan
20
Hickory Crawdads
Buoyed a salty Hickory rotation along with Ramirez, Font and Pimentel. Could see all four make a move to High-A Bakersfield.

Carlos Pimentel
20
Hickory Crawdads
Dominican had a 2.93 ERA with 101 strikeouts versus 35 walks last season.

Robbie Ross
20
Spokane Indians
Set hair on fire in 15 starts with a 2.66 ERA with 76 Ks in 74 innings. Also induced about three groundouts per flyball. Very excited about Ross.

Trevor Hurley
22
Spokane Indians
Went 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning. All in just 20 games. Another guy to watch this season as he builds off last season.

Braden Tullis
20
Spokane Indians
The 2009 draftee quietly put together a sweet pro debut. A salty 3.04 ERA along with allowing just one home run in 68 innings.

Edwin Escobar
18
Arizona Rangers
Struck out 48 in 45 innings. A smallish lefty standing at 6-1 and 185 pounds.

Carlos Melo
19
Arizona Rangers
Came over in the Gerald Laird trade. A dubious beginning to his Rangers career allowing a .317 BAA.

Ezequiel Rijo
19
Arizona Rangers
A long, tall Dominican. Stands at 6-4 and a very lean 190 pounds. Didn't strike out many last season and walked too many.

Richard Alvarez
17
Arizona Rangers
A so-so start with a 5.49 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 41 innings. Still, at 17, I was smoking menthol cigarettes in the woods.

Past Editions
First Base
Second Base
Shortstop
Third Base
Left Field
Center Field
Right Field
Catcher

Skateboard man or how The Ticket got really old, really quickly

If you listen to Dallas-Fort Worth's only decent sports talk radio station -- The Ticket -- you know that there's been some kind of edict from management to try to appeal to or attract a younger demographic.

Did the British Empire stop at North America? No. They went to Africa and Asia. The sun didn't set on the British Empire. The Ticket management doesn't want the sun to ever set on its radio station. It already rules the rest of the age demographics. They can only get younger.

They refer to Generation Y -- those born, generally, between 1980 and 2001. Give or take. Basically, they'd like to hit up the latter part of that demographic, like those born in or around 1988. To The Ticket, they are called "Skateboard Man."

Honestly, I don't know how hosts and producers approach this. Nothing has changed about any of the shows, so if they were missing out on Gen Y before, they're making no real changes to capture them now.

And that's OK. Like when an athlete hurts his foot, but still plays. But while playing, he overcompensates for the injury and ends up hurting something else. That's what The Ticket risks doing by altering things -- screwing up relative radio dominance.

Thinking about this, I fully realized just how old The Ticket is.

The Musers' favorite band is U2. The Hardline celebrate the catalogues of Tom Petty, Neil Young, Dokken, Merle Haggard, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

There's a total of three cover bands (Petty, The Doors, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and two regular bands (both, country). Everyone's at least 35 with Norm Hitzges being the elder statesman and the youngest being in the late 30s or early 40s.

Most of the hosts treat new media as if the Internet would go bankrupt next week. They all watch entirely too much TV, play barely any video games and there's band publicity photos of at least two members of the line-up in the 1970s and/or 1980s.

The Ticket is old.

Here's how they can get younger. Or, better yet, seem younger:

Hire Someone Competent To Build A Website
Christ almighty. The disaster located at www.theticket.com is unconscionable. It's hard to believe that any site built after 2001 could ever look like that. It looks like Rainbow Brite vomited into Dreamweaver. Looks like someone's daughter learned PhotoShop through a continuing education class. Too much going on in ever square inch of the site promoting shit that A) no one really cares about (Ken Hitchcock on The Hardline ... wait, is it 1999 again?) or B) is completely not relevant two weeks after the fact. The hillbillies going there now aren't clicking on anything and most of them are just trying to listen online.

While we're at it. Every program needs a webpage updated regularly. You wanna blog? Do it regularly and about things people care about. It wouldn't hurt jumping on the Facebook bandwagon while it's still rolling, no matter how cool you think you actually are.

Bit Things Up
In general, the concept of The Musers, Hitzges and The Hardline hasn't changed in quite a long, long time. Bits come and go, but you can depend on Muse in the News, Gordo's Corner, the Observation Deck, Nose in the News, The Ron Washington Show, Rick Gosselin, Jean-Jacques Taylor, Community Quick Hits and Entertainment News at almost the same time every day for the last decade or so. Booooorrrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggg.

BaD Radio is the only show to keep things lively. In fact, I'd bet they appeal the most to the younger generation. New bits roll in (Guest Booking League, TiVo, Homer Call, 1920s Reporter Guy, bet pay-offs, stream of guests, Ghetto Jeopardy, BaD Radio Reports, et al.) and stick around or fade away. But they seem to always invest in new things, foster old ones and maintain some form of edge and white-guy nerdiness. Even if they have the only black guy on the station. Plus, BaD Radio was the first to put up and take care of a webpage, podcasts, Twitter and all that junk. Sometimes, the action doesn't result in massive payoff, but it's the effort that counts.

Attempt Not To Appear To Be 45 Years Old
The Musers shouldn't quit listening to Joshua Tree, Closer, Disintegration and War and start listening to Of Montreal, Animal Collective and Lil' Wayne. But any time U2, Petty, Neil Young, Paul McCartney or the Stones fart, tour, belch or release an album, we don't need to really know about it or hear it. Every stinkin' classic rock station in town has shut down for a reason.

Also, don't talk about how actually out of touch you are on air. How do you know when you're old? When you bitch about how young everyone else is.

Inject Some Youth Into The Equation
Wouldn't hurt, would it? When the ultra-cool Bohemian Rant was executed on Saturday mornings, it collected a fanbase unlike what was maybe listening during the week at 9 a.m. Now, we get the Train Station (yes, there is a show with that title ... and they wonder why no one under 30 listens to them), The Tee Box and the Orphanage, the latter which features two former Dallas hipsters seeking to throw enough innuendo, apathy and super-cool modern pop culture references to be too cool for school.

Don't get me wrong, I personally enjoy some of these shows. They're not bad. But The Ticket shouldn't assume they're young either.

Realize That Most Of What You Talk About Is Centuries Old On The Internet
Not everything, but many things discussed on The Ticket is about four to five days old on the Internet and blogosphere. This is fine for the 45-year-old dad who works the eight-hour job or drives a truck or fixes air conditioning units. However, realize that 70 percent of your content was read about, watched and commented about a billion times on the Internet by the very demographic you're trying desperately to reach.

Don't Act Nonchalant About Desperately Trying To Reach A Younger Demographic
Seems desperate.

The NL West

The NL West was the ugly girl of Major League Baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers took the division with 84 wins two years ago.

Four years ago, the San Diego Padres took it with 88 wins. Year before, they won it with 82 wins.
It was an ugly division. Now, it's one of the toughest. And, really, most exciting. It's full of young superstars (Matt Kemp, Tim Lincecum, Justin Upton, Clayton Kershaw, Troy Tulowitzki). Plus, it's the West Coast and the three top teams in the division are definite World Series contenders. It's exciting times in the west.

Los Angeles Dodgers -97-65
Just a young, stacked team. They haven't changed much at all from their 95-win team from last season. Russell Martin's health and ability is a concern. I believe he's dinged up right now and his numbers last season wavered.

San Francisco Giants -- 90-72
Rotation is as good as it gets. For the line-up, they added Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff. At his best, Huff is a prime No. 5 hitter. He hits for power and gets on base at a fair rate. DeRosa is very useful. He's a puck mover in the line-up. Like a tight end on a football team, if you need to keep a inning alive or get a runner over, DeRosa is more than reliable. Two very savvy pieces added to an already good team.

Colorado Rockies -- 87-75
Getting Jeff Francis back. However, I think the Rockies' season depends on Ubaldo Jimenez and Jorge De La Rosa. Both had gargantuan years last season, both finally blossoming into the Major-League pitchers we and Rockies thought they were. Anything Francis or Aaron Cook can do are gravy. Still, I think the Giants get a tad better and overtake them.

Arizona Diamondbacks -- 69-93
The Diamondbacks are a enigma. There's no reason why they shouldn't be a team coming into it's own by now. Instead, they went under the operating knife again and came out with a batch of new faces. However, there are still entirely too many question marks. Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson look steady. Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson are now the right side of the infield. Stephen Drew, Chris Young and Conor Jackson are still untapped talents. Pitchingwise, Brandon Webb's health is up in the air. The bottom half of that rotation is a potential sinkhole. Don't see them getting better any sooner.

San Diego Padres -- 63-99
Kevin Correia, Chris Young and Jon Garland are a scary 1-2-3 punch in the rotation. Scary for the Padres, that is. Not exactly inning-eating aces. Or inning-eating middle-of-the-rotation guys. And the offense ain't scoring.

Predictions
NL East
NL Central