An unpredictable staff, a volatile clubhouse and a Murderers' Row -- things won't be dull

By Stephen Cannella

Rocker, who flopped in Cleveland, is one of a slew of new arms Hart brought to pitching-poor Texas.  Chuck Solomon ENEMY LINES An opposing team's scout sizes up the Rangers "Wow, they're going to score a lot of runs, and have a chance to give up a lot. ... Clubhouse chemistry will be very important. How Juan Gonzalez fits in, how Ivan Rodriguez reacts to being underpaid, Gabe Kapler isn't happy about losing playing time -- they have some funky elements. ... I-Rod is the one to watch. His pitchers hate throwing to him. All he puts down with men on base is a 1. How his knee, his back and his psyche respond will be interesting. He's making about half of what some guys like Chan Ho Park are making. How does he feel going out to the mound to talk to a guy making more than him for being little better than a .500 pitcher?... Carl Everett is happy now, and he's a productive player when he's happy, but we'll see how long that lasts. ... Manager Jerry Narron is a classy professional, but he's been given a huge dog to walk. He'll be walking it some, and the dog will be walking him some. ... The pitching staff is going to be interesting. To me, here's the key: They brought over a lot of NL guys to a small hitter's park with a jet stream to right center. The success or failure of all those guys will depend on how they adjust to the league and to The Ballpark in Arlington. You throw 93 mph in the NL and you can overpower most people. In the AL, with the deep lineups, they eat that like Twinkies. But if the bullpen can make the adjustment, this club will get better in a hurry. ... I don't think they have enough to contend, and the fact they play in the league's toughest division works against them. "

The day after righthander Chan Ho Park signed a five-year, $65 million free-agent contract this winter, his new boss, Rangers owner Tom Hicks, drove him around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A few weeks later Park, who in 1994 became the first Korean to play in the majors, returned the favor by presenting Hicks with a framed set of 12 miniature handmade Korean cultural masks. They're similar to Western drama masks, each one representing a different emotion. It was a touching gesture, but Park could have left out the mask showing sadness -- after watching Texas pitch last season, no one would be surprised if Hicks and his Rangers had their faces scrunched into permanent scowls.

For the second consecutive year the Rangers had the majors' worst ERA (5.71). They allowed the most walks (596) and home runs (222) in the American League. Texas also blew a lead in 52 of its 89 losses, a fact that frustrated the Rangers' offense, which led the league in homers and slugging percentage. "Our guys played hard every night last season," says manager Jerry Narron, who took over when Johnny Oates resigned last May. "There were times when they had every right not to."

While the staff may be a literal horror show this season -- volatile reliever John Rocker plays a deranged killer in a low-budget slasher movie called The GreensKeeper -- Texas is counting on Park to turn last year's frowns upside down. They christened him their ace, a significant bump in responsibility for a pitcher who has showed flashes of superb talent in six full seasons with the Dodgers but hasn't proved he deserves the mantle of a No. 1. Yes, he racks up strikeouts with a fastball in the mid-90s and a sharp, back-straightening curve. However, he has won more than 15 games just once (18 in 2000) and never finished among the top five in the National League in ERA. In his career at spacious Dodger Stadium, Park was 42-24 with a sparkling 2.98 ERA. Elsewhere his ERA was a mediocre 4.74, a troubling sign considering he may make more than half his starts at the hitter-friendly Ballpark in Arlington.

Park isn't the only new pitcher on the staff. First-year general manager John Hart, who this winter spent a large portion of his time and Hicks's wealth (the Rangers' payroll will approach $100 million this year) overhauling an atrocious bullpen, invited a club-record 34 pitchers to camp. In addition to trading for Rocker, Hart signed righty setup men Todd Van Poppel, Jay Powell, Rudy Seanez and Hector Carrasco. He also lavished a three-year, $10 million deal on closer Jeff Zimmerman, the bullpen's lone bright spot last year, when he converted 28 of 31 save chances.

The good news for the Rangers is that they have a modern-day Murderers' Row that will trot out future Hall of Famers Ivan Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

The Rangers' clubhouse has the potential to be as explosive as the offense. In addition to Rocker there's centerfielder Carl Everett, who over the last two years with the Red Sox head-butted an umpire and accused his manager (Joe Kerrigan) of being a drunken racist, and righthander Hideki Irabu, who missed a rehab start for the Expos last season because, reportedly, he had been drinking. Ivan Rodriguez, who's disgruntled over the Rangers' reluctance to give him a contract extension, was increasingly grumpy last year. "It remains to be seen if we come together as a team," says outfielder-DH Rusty Greer.

Even Park has stirred up trouble in the past -- he was suspended for seven games in 1999 for kicking Angels pitcher Tim Belcher. The Rangers wouldn't mind seeing their new ace wear his intimidation mask more often, but even that won't be enough to lift them into the playoff race.

Issue date: March 25, 2002