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The Rangers are starting a three game series against the Red Sox tonight and I have some thoughts going into this game. Every now and then I will be posting my thoughts and musings for Rangers fans to read and comment on. Agree or disagree, I hope to hear from you.

Ian Kinsler is the second baseman of the first place Texas Rangers, there is no disputing that. We all k ow the loyalty than manager Ron Washington shows to his veteran players, and it is going to be no different in this situation. That does not mean, however, that Ian Kinsler is the Rangers second baseman of the future. He is not. Jurickson Profar is. In the same vein that Michael Young moved to make room for then young phenom Elvis Andrus, Ian will be doing the same thing. In 2014. Not in 2013. Profar will get sent down upon Ian’s return, but don’t lose heart Rangers fans, he will be back this season.

Leonys Martin has seen most of the playing time in the past few weeks at center field, and for the most part he seems to be relishing that role. So what does that mean for Craig Gentry? Well, right now the Rangers have 5 outfielders: David Murphy, Leonys Martin, Nelson Cruz, Jeff Baker, and Craig Gentry. Cruz will not be back in 2014, and neither will Craig Gentry in my opinion. The Rangers should look to move Cruz during this season and see what they could get for him. The Rangers could use an insurance starting pitcher or a couple of pitching prospects. I think Cruz at the head of a package could bring that. Cruz can bring a huge bat to the middle of a contending line up. If the Rangers plan on moving Kinsler to the outfield, right field would be the most logical place for him, and that means no Nelly. Just something to think about.

The Rangers have a three game set against the Bo Sox, which is underway right now. This is going to be a tough road trip for the Texas Rangers, playing Boston and Toronto, and for some reason the Rangers always seem to have trouble in Toronto. Maybe that will change this season. We will have to wait and see.

Oh look, a fine Associated Press photo

The Red Sox have the best record in all of baseball right now, and the Rangers have been going through a bit of a slump, losing four of their last seven, but they still happen to have the third best record in all of baseball (Yankees are second by half a game). Also, the Red Sox are 8-2 in their last ten games, while the Rangers are 5-5. So, this is a big series showdown to see who is the best team in the American League coming out of this weekend, because one of these two teams will hold that honor once this series is over.

The Rangers send Derek Holland to the hill tonight (1-2, 3.38 ERA) and he has had some  bad luck in his last few starts. Derek is 1-1 with a 4.12 ERA in his last three starts, and he did not have a lot of run support in those games. He is pitching well, and I hope the fact that this game is at home will help Derek adjust and focus and win tonight’s matchup. The Red Sox put Felix Doubront (3-0, 4.24 ERA). Je is 3-0 with a 3.93 ERA in his last three starts. Depending on which Rangers offense shows up, this could be a tough game for Derek to win.

Saturday the Rangers send Alexi Ogando (2-2, 3.38 ERA) to the hill to try to defeat a guy Rangers fans are very familiar with, John Lackey (1-1, 2.61 ERA). Lackey is having a great start to the season, and I hope a trip to Rangers Ballpark will end that for now. Several of the Rangers hitters have good numbers against Lackey, and several of them have never hit against him. Should be an interesting one to watch. Hopefully, the good Alexi will show up and hold down the good Boston Offense.

Sunday will be a great one. Yu Darvish (5-1, 2.33 ERA) will go up against Jon Lester (4-0, 3.11 ERA). Darvish won five games in the month of April and looked really good doing it. Lester has not been that good over his last three starts (2-0, 4.82 ERA), and in his last start he allowed a season high six runs (five earned) against the Blue Jays. Darvish is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his last three starts with thirty strikeouts. This should be a really fun matchup to watch and this game has particular meaning to me because Nathan Hague, the other half of the podcast  I do, will be at the game in the press box and should have some good Rangers interviews for us on our next podcast.

I am not sure how to call this series. It all depends on whether the Rangers offense shows up or not. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter how good the Rangers pitchers do, this is going to be a long weekend for Texas Rangers fans. Lets hope it is not.

Cliff Lee, the guy who appeared to be all but signed on the dotted line in the 2010-11 off-season, came to the defense of Josh and now informs Ranger fans that Michael Young was under-appreciated. Really? He was rewarded with a very handsome contract in 2009. A five year contract for $80 mil. A big contract for its day. Before I tear into this, I want to state that he was Mr. Ranger. He led by example and occasional with his words. He was a player’s player. Between the lines and in the clubhouse he was a team guy. Outside those lines not so much. I will also say that when we signed Adrian Beltre, JD could have probably handled it better with MY. That said, as a fan, he came across as wicked selfish. Did he get moved around a lot? Sure he did. Did it ever come easy for us to watch from afar? Never.  But I will say Young has been above reproach in his post-Ranger comments.

Teammates Again- Cliff Lee and Michael Young
(photo credit: Dallas Morning News)

Management got his back constantly with words of his pride and professionalism. As fans we see a guy getting paid a lot of money to play a game. It’s never easy watching a player in his twilight years. You know it has to be tough. But you would hope there would be some grace in how they handle it. That never came easy for Young. It was painful for me as a fan to stomach. We could all see the writing on the wall after last season, when you could see the ends didn’t justify the means for Young.

That’s the background. Here’s what we have now. Two ridiculously compensated players (Hamilton and Lee) bemoaning their time as Rangers. They all seem quite upset with our ball club  Did they all play a big role in our getting to two straight World Series? Sure they did. But the verve by which they come after the team and us as fans lets me know that we must be doing something right and they really wish they could be a part of it still. How many other teams are you seeing suffer this much vitriol from its former players? Not many, if any. My answer then is simple. We must be doing something right. We have guys who do want to be there and a very simple message is being passed along. We’re not going to play the game like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies. We saw the Marlins try it and burn it down in a year. The Blue Jays are up now. We’ll see.  The Yankees are trying to pare down their payroll. Having one of the highest every year gets them to the post-season but is clearly not the answer.

In the meantime, we have a close knit group of guys, a lot of whom are fighting for jobs and are more than happy to be there. Yes I know we could be in a less comfortable place come July first, but I’ll take my chances.  We have an ownership group with the means, but the discipline to say no. We have a GM who plays everything close to the vest and knows the weapons he has and those that he needs. We have a manager that is a veteran, but still willing to admit he has things to learn.  Say what you will, bitter former Rangers, but you are the last ones to judge what a real team or organization is when you take the biggest paycheck at the end of the day.