gadwall

I was able to visit when the Aggies played there a few years back. A beautiful area and campus. The people went out of their way to be friendly and make us feel welcome. A very sad day.

Why would A&M let him out of his LOI? He obviously has thoughts of getting to the NBA quickly, so he is not going to want to sit the year out and enroll elsewhere. It seems that a lot has been made out of nothing.

I'd like to see the list of pitchers with a better stats over that time period. He may not be Cy Young, but he's a high quality pitcher. He does something that the all teams need. He goes out every fifth day and pitches deep into games. He takes stress off the bullpen and helps keep the pen in their roles. Is he worth that much?? I don't know, but if Adam Eaton is worth 8-9 million for his half a season, where does that put Zito. It only shows the importance of developing some young pitching that you have cost control over. Until the Rangers get some young arms to stick, they will have no choice but to overpay for pitching. All free agent pitchers are over priced or a health gamble (see Gagne, Mulder).

Danny Baez signed a 5 million a year contract and several other average middle relievers have signed in the 3-4 million a year range. And all of these contracts are long term. If Gagne can be 3/4 of what he was, he is easily worth the one year deal. If he is able to reach all the incentives, it will be a steal. Gagne will have to produce to get a long term deal in the off season. He's just 30, and I think that he has had enough time for the elbow to heal.

Mulder certainly is a risk. However, with the price of pitching so high, it is worth it. If he is a .500 pitcher, he's worth an investment just because it won't cost draft pick compensation or young minor league arms. If there are any quality starters aviailable at the trade deadline, the Rangers would have to dramatically over pay in prospects. Chris Carpenter was a similar sign by the Cardinals and I think things worked out for them.

I would like to see the R angers sign him. He won't be ready to pitch until after the all star break because of rehab. But if he comes back, it would be like a huge trade deadline pick up without giving up any prospects. He's got three things going for him: he's a lefty he's a veteran that could help younger guys he's been to the playoffs before Maybe if the Rangers have any money after Zito, or don't get Zito they can get Mulder.

You notice nobody talked about the heat when the Rangers won their division. Half their games are on the road and almost all are at night. It simply comes down to pitching and nothing else. When the Rangers have had decent pitching they have contended. They absolute hottest I have ever been at a baseball game was this past season in ST Louis. Their new stadium is nice, from what I could see with the sweat running in my eyes. And, of course, the game went extra innings.

I read on TR Sullivan's Blog that the Rangers could fit both on the team and find plenty of playing time. Lofton with a one year deal and Payton a two year deal. I guess it just depends on Zito's decision and if they have any money left to spend.

I don't see a lot of whining. I do see a lot of people that are saying the Aggies shot the ball poorly and got into foul trouble. This is sometnhing that beats most teams. Nobody's blaming the refs for the foul trouble and we all agree that Law must play well in big games for the Aggies to win. I have seen Law make clutch plays in big games and really carry the team. I believe that he is a clutch player and will have a great season.

gabehorns, this new coach was the offensive coordinator that had his offense held to 13 points by Georgia. I know it was last year, but it is difficult to find good opponents on their schedule. They lost to Boston College 27-21 in their bowl game last year after trailing 27-0. If they compete with Oklahoma I will gladly come back here and eat a large helping of crow.

There are several really good center field FA next year, and most if not all younger than Matthews. The Rangers should be able to get a good one. I do think that Lofton will have to come down from the 6 million that he reportedly wants. Maybe a contract with some incentives for at bats, games played to protect against an injury.

They didn't have anything to lose last year against Georgia in the regular season, but they still got whooped up on. I think it would be a much closer game, if they were playing fast paced high scoring team like Tech. Kind of like the game that they had with Louisville a couple of years ago. Oklahoma's defense is too strong.

I have no first hand knowledge, but have heard from several people that the Alamo Dome is a terrible place to watch a football game. Anybody know? They say the echo is terrible and some of the site lines are bad. They went to the A&M/ARMY game, so it could have been the Aggies play that night;)

The Aggies did not shoot the ball very well and seemed a little passive to me. To say that three or four teams will finish ahead of them in conference based on last nights game might be a stretch. Who knows what will happen, but this year's team is deeper and more talented than last. They lost to a top 10 team on the road. I don't think that should come as a major surprise. They play UCLA, the top ranked team, this weekend and I would be very surprised if they win. I think Texas got destroyed by Duke last year, but that did not mean they were a bad team. I believe that the Aggies are very good and that Gillespie will have them where they need to be for March

I think the Aggies are much deeper than last season and more talented too. I don't think many teams will out work them either. Kansas is more talented so I would expect us to finish behind them. Texas may have more talent too, but is much less experienced. I would guess second in the conference and maybe a 3 or 4 seed when the tournament comes around. No more bubble watch!!