The Rangers are 67-94

For yet another day -- or hour, depending on the outcome of the Angels-Mariners game -- the Rangers forced the Oakland A's to hold off on celebrating a playoff berth with a 5-4 victory.

Tomorrow, the final game of the season will, hopefully, provide Texas the opportunity to spoil Oakland's season in the same way Oakland spoiled their season on the final day in 2012.

I know Eric mentioned it recently, but I want to reiterate how good Neftali Feliz has looked lately. Not only has his fastball looked consistently better from a velocity standpoint, but his offspeed offerings have been more lethal as well. Tonight, he had his slider working and managed to force hitters to chase. If he can provide something closer to this in 2015, he'll undoubtedly be an important piece of what should be a strong bullpen.

Who's down for seeing some spoilage tomorrow?

2015 Payroll Situation

The DMN's Evan Grant wrote an article a few days ago regarding the Rangers 2015 payroll expectation, saying it will probably remain in the $133 million range that it was on opening day this year. 

Because Texas already have about $105 million of that tied up in nine players -- Prince Fielder ($24 million), Adrian Beltre ($18 million), Elvis Andrus ($15 million), Shin-Soo Choo ($14 million), Matt Harrison ($13 million), Yu Darvish ($10 million), Derek Holland ($7.4 million), Leonys Martin ($3.75 million) and Martin Perez ($1 million) -- it doesn't give them a ton of flexibility to play around with the other $30 million or so which is necessary to fill the remaining gaps. 

If we factor in the arbitration bumps Neftali Feliz (who makes $3 million in 2014) and Alex Ogando (who makes $2.6 million in '14) will receive, it lowers the amount of expected available capital down to roughly $20 million. That is, of course, assuming the Rangers do indeed plan on keeping their opening day payroll around $135 million. 

Of the notable positions Texas are looking to fill once the season ends are designated hitter and starting pitcher (probably two of them), so as much as it pains me to say it, that would probably take premier free agents Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields off the proverbial table. To satisfy their contract demands the Rangers would have to move someone like Fielder (which isn't going to happen), Choo (who is coming off a bad year with injuries) or Andrus, which I'll get into in a minute.

Because of the limited financial resources that comes with so much money already on the books, it's a certainty that fledgling catching experiment, J.P. Arencibia, gets non-tendered for the second offseason in a row, and the likelihood of Mitch Moreland -- who makes $2.65 million in 2014, a figure that will rise this winter -- being non-tendered is more than likely as well. If the front office was in full Scrooge McDuck Mode, these are players they might be able to keep around, because I'm sure they're great in the clubhouse and all that jazz. But business will always be business. 

As the season has progressed, second baseman Rougned Odor has gotten stronger. In September, Odor has generated a .300/.355/.500 (136 wRC+) triple slash line with 2 HRs, 4 2Bs and 2 3Bs, quickly establishing himself as a core member of the Rangers future middle infield. 

There was a thought -- something I admittedly grew more comfortable with as the season progressed -- that Texas could trade Elvis Andrus this winter, save the $15 million AAV he'll make over the life of his new contract, and be able to afford some of the more luxurious starting pitching talent in this winter's free agent class. 

However, with the recent news of Jurickson Profar -- the de facto replacement to Andrus at SS --having more shoulder issues, trading Elvis has become a near-impossibilty. The Rangers simply can't go into 2015 with Odor at second base and Luis Sardinas at short, not if they expect to compete in any meaningful sort of way. Profar's shoulder threw a wrench into what could have been an especially creative offseason blueprint for Texas. 

For the time being, Rangers ownership appears content making 2015 a financial catch-up season. Due to the deficit they've been operating under essentially since they bought the team in 2010, the Fox Sports television revenue -- projected around $80 million annually -- that kicks in starting next year will not be used for any exotic signings, but rather to put the organization in a position where they can increase payroll a year later, in 2016. 

Keeping this in mind, fixing the rotation problem will probably come cheap. With Darvish and Holland firmly cemented as the top two starts, and with Nick Tepesch as the odds-on favorite to assume the #5 spot, the goal is to fill the middle. Colby Lewis seems like a reasonable bet to receive a one-year deal in the $3-4 million range, and without any immediate replacements on the farm the other spot will likely have to be filled via trade. With former assistant GM A.J. Preller taking over the reigns in San Diego, it's a safe assumption that the Rangers will be targeting any of Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross or Ian Kennedy this offseason. Any of that troika would easily fill the need Texas have in their rotation. 

The focus then shifts to the offensive side of things, where the team will need a capable, preferably middle-of-the-order-type bat. Alex Rios is going to get bought out, so right field (or left, depending on if the Rangers decide to put Choo in the less demanding outfield slot) will probably end up as a platoon. Michael Choice, Ryan Rua and Daniel Robertson could conceivably be batting for the club's final two roster spots. 

As for DH, it's anyone's guess at the moment. Should Moreland be non-tendered, the Rangers will have to find some sort of lefty bat with punch on the market. Again, like the other outfield hole, it's possible Texas simply decide to go the cost-effective route and make it a platoon, so a hitter with the versatility to play the 1B/DH/COF would be preferable. At this point, though, it's best not to be greedy. There isn't that much money available. 

As of now, with three games left in the regular season, with October baseball and an entire winter left to contemplate such nonsense, below is a reasonable lineup and rotation for next season:

1. Martin - CF

2. Andrus - SS

3. Fielder - 1B

4. Beltre - 3B

5. Choo - RF

6. DH

7. Odor - 2B

8. Chirinos

9. Choice/Rua/Robertson

Darvish, Holland, Kennedy, Lewis, Tepesch

The Rangers are 66-93

It was Derek Jeter's day, but Adrian Beltre made his own magic on Thursday night in Arlington. 

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th, we may have seen a preview of what to expect at the top of the lineup in 2015. With two outs, Leonys Martin laid down a well-placed bunt for a hit, stole second, and behind in the count 1-2 Elvis Andrus lunged at a breaking pitch and lofted it into shallow left for a game-tying RBI single. 

The game remained tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th, and with one out Adrian Beltre sent a ball just out of reach of Josh Reddick and over the right field wall for the walk off. 

Rangers 2, Athletics 1.

That's five wins in a row and 12 of 13 for the Rangers, who delivered Tim Bogar his 13th win in 19 games as interim manager, a title one can only assume will be lifted for the full-time position sometime during October. 

Texas have allowed exactly one run in 4 of their last 5, and 7 times during this 12-1 stretch. It's really easy to win when you get that sort of pitching. Tonight Colby Lewis capped off his 2014 campaign by going seven innings (without giving up a HR!) on just one run and five hits. I can't wait to see him in a Rangers uniform in 2015. 

We're only three games away from the season being over, and if tonight is the last real highlight in a year full of lows, I'm more than okay with that. As excited as I was to get the #1 pick in next year's draft, now that it won't happen I'm not very unhappy about it. I'm proud of our guys.

The Rangers are 64-93

To suggest the Rangers were capable of winning 10 of 11 games down the stretch wasn't only unconscionable, it was inconceivable.

In less than two weeks, Texas managed to turn a five-game lead on the 2015 #1 pick into a 1.5 game deficit, a 6.5 game swing over the course of 11 baseball games. In 2012, the Rangers owned a 5-game lead on the A's in the AL West with 9 games remaining, and somehow fumbled in what can easily be considered the worst collapse in team history, arguably baseball history. This year is a different bag, but, given the circumstances of the roster, the result may be just as improbable. 

Tonight Nick Martinez pitched brilliantly in 6.2 innings; he didn't allow any runs, and gave up as many hits (5) as he had punch outs. I had to look this up, but this is Martinez's 13th straight start where he's gone at least five innings on the bump. In fact, in Nick's 23 starts in 2014 he's been able to go at least five innings in all but two of them, which surprises me because of how unimpressive I have him pictured in memory. Having gone 6.2 innings scoreless on Tuesday night, it drops his ERA on the season to 4.61 in 134.2 IP. Not everyone can be a solid mid-rotation starter, but for a rookie -- a guy who ideally would have been in Triple-A this season -- it's hard to look at his 2014 campaign as anything but a success. 

After a 1-3 night that included a rare walk, J.P. Arencibia improved his triple slash line on the season up to a whopping .177/.239/.369 (64 wRC+). There was a time when Ranger fans believed he had found something -- this came after he was recalled in July and went on a mini-HR tear -- but since that date (July 18th) he's hit .193/.257/.421 (85 wRC+). For a catcher who offers little defensive value, his bat isn't even remotely good enough to warrant a roster spot in 2015. Look for this to be the second straight year where he gets non-tendered by his club. 

With five games remaining on the schedule, the odds of the Rangers making up two games on Arizona in the loss column -- which is more like three games, since Texas have the tiebreaker advantage -- probably isn't going to happen. We might have something like a 25:1 shot, if we're lucky. 

The Rangers are 63-93, avoid 100-loss season

There was a time, and it wasn't really that long ago, where a 100-loss season seemed like one of the only guarantees the 2014 season would bring. It was only 10 days ago -- before this magical late-season run -- when I wrote this: 

To relinquish [the #1 pick] will require an abundance of W's in their final 16 games, and as it stands they will have to finish the year 9-7 just to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1973, a herculean task for a roster depleted of most of its relevant talent. 

Since then, the Rangers have already covered the 9 wins they needed, and still have six games remaining on the schedule. Weird. But mostly crazy. 

Derek Holland allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in seven innings of work, more or less in line with how he's thrown over his first five appearances. Since baseball is one great stream of worthless, meaningless statistics, Anthony Andro tweets that Holland is just the third Ranger starter in the last 21 seasons to open a season with five straight quality starts. Derek has been damn impressive. 

In other news, Guilder Rodriguez earned his first major league hit after nearly 1,100 minor league games, and his parents were there to see it. Really cool. 

The Rangers won't lose 100 games in 2014, which is a minor consolation I suppose. With the Diamondbacks win in Minnesota, Texas still trail Arizona by a half-game for the #1 pick in 2015 draft.