EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

A-Rod gives them marquee value, but how many 10-9 games can a team win?

By Stephen Cannella

The big money for Rodriguez bought a sterling glove that Texas expects will pay off by calming its pitchers' fears of ground balls.  Heinz Kluetmeier ENEMY LINES An opposing team's scout sizes up the Rangers "You can make the case that the middle of the Rangers' lineup is as good as anybody's. But I don't think they can contend with Oakland. It's not as if they have the only big offense in the division. It would be different if they were like the '95 Indians and were the only team that could really mash like that.... The other big problem is that there are a lot of rings around the old tree. Rafael Palmeiro , Andres Galarraga , Ken Caminiti , Randy Velarde -- all are 35-plus guys with injury histories.... Rusty Greer is a major question mark because of his ankle problems. He may be on the down side of his career, and he must get on base in front of the thunder guys.... They're going to keep Ricky Ledee as insurance against the other two outfielders -- Ruben Mateo , who they're really counting on, and Gabe Kapler, who's interesting. I think Kapler will do better if they leave him in a corner outfield spot [as opposed to center] and just let him concentrate on his offense.... This staff has only one guy with legit power stuff, and it's Tim Crabtree, and he has an awful lot to prove as a closer. A lot of guys who can pitch the eighth can't pitch the ninth.... Rick Helling and Kenny Rogers are the 1-2 starters when they should be 2-3.... This team is so short on pitching that Pat Mahomes is in the mix for the No. 5 starter spot, and Jeff Brantley and his 83-mph fastball could be a middle innings guy.... Alex Rodriguez isn't running as well as when he came up. He's had some ankle and knee injuries. But he'll push 50 home runs in Texas. That park plays like the Kingdome."

The bulletin board in the Rangers' spring training clubhouse featured a Xeroxed photograph of a zookeeper standing behind an elephant, dutifully catching in a paper bag what had earlier been the animal's lunch. Beneath the photo, a caption read, and you thought your job sucked. Against that backdrop Rafael Palmeiro recently greeted a visitor, offering an answer to a question that had yet to be asked. "Yes," said the Texas first baseman, referring to a certain other elephant in the room, "I am very happy to have Alex Rodriguez on my team."

Palmeiro's Pavlovian response is understandable; no doubt he and his teammates heard A-Rod questions in their sleep this spring. Upon lavishing Rodriguez with the fattest contract in sports history (10 years, $252 million) in December, Texas owner Tom Hicks gushed that the deal would "leapfrog [the Rangers] into an arena where we've never been before." He's gotten his wish. When, for example, was the last time you saw camera crews from CNN and 60 Minutes milling around the team's spring home in sleepy Port Charlotte, Fla.?

Rodriguez will receive the lion's share of attention in this new, zoolike atmosphere, but he's not the only big game to arrive in Texas. After a disastrous season in which they lost 91 times and became just the fourth team ever to tumble from first to worst in its division, the Rangers underwent a makeover that would've been dramatic even without the addition of their star shortstop. Designated hitter Andres Galarraga (one year, $6.25 million) and third baseman Ken Caminiti (one year, $3.25 million) signed hefty free-agent deals, and veteran second baseman Randy Velarde was acquired in a trade with Oakland. "Everyone wants to talk about Alex," says righthander Rick Helling, "but in any other year those other guys would be a big story."

The newcomers, along with holdovers like Palmeiro, catcher Ivan Rodriguez and outfielders Rusty Greer and Ruben Mateo, form a fearsome lineup that features two MVPs (Caminiti and Ivan Rodriguez), two batting champions (Galarraga and Alex Rodriguez) and 21 100-RBI seasons. The Rangers' lumber is so heavy that centerfielder Gabe Kapler, who hit .344 after the All-Star break, will bat eighth.

The anticipated avalanche of runs will be protected by a vastly improved defense. That's partly due to the new blood and partly because the Rangers' fielding couldn't get any worse. Gold Glovers (Caminiti and Palmeiro) will man two of the four infield positions, meaning Texas is unlikely to lead the American League in errors (135) for a second straight year. Last season's shoddy glovework also had a less quantifiable effect: A shell-shocked staff of pitchers wondered why ground balls were no longer their friends. "To an extent all you can worry about is making your pitches," says Helling. "On the other hand, we're in the big leagues, and when the ball's hit to a big leaguer, the play should be made. It's a nice feeling to know that now if I get a key double play ball, it'll be a double play."

Finding base runners to double up won't be a problem since a horrid pitching staff was one area the Rangers ignored this winter. A rotation that had the league's second-worst ERA (5.56) returns virtually intact. The plan is to mask the mound shortcomings with a bludgeoning offense and airtight defense and hope that general manager Doug Melvin can find some arms by midseason. More likely the Rangers will have to wait until next winter, when Hicks can empty his pockets yet again in the free-agent market. "One of the problems this off-season was that we made all those moves kind of late," says Palmeiro. "I have no doubt in my mind that if we had signed Alex and Andres and Ken earlier, guys like Mike Mussina and Mike Hampton would have taken a closer look at coming here."

For now the Rangers will have to content themselves with A-Rod, who confessed to nervousness this spring. "I feel like a rookie," he said. "This team is filled with veterans. I'm just joining the pack."

Until that pack includes better pitchers, however, A-Rod and the Rangers won't be leapfrogging anywhere near a World Series.

Issue date: March 26, 2001

Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.