First, I was serious about my wild card chase last year. Was it foolish to trade off two high-rated prospects for two guys that went to free agency this year? Maybe. But, it gave me some decent perspective on what I needed to look for in order to win.
That said, my goal for season nine is .500 baseball. I've gone from destroying this franchise to a decent rebuild. Had I not flubbed the draft last year, I think that I would be in better long-term shape. Stupid formula.
The core of the team is the middle of the field--Rigo Cordero and Philip Miller. Cordero is an all-star who got a nice long-term deal on the heels of arbitration and Miller is on the verge of a breakout. Gene Koehlert in center gives Texas its first top of the order threat in a long time. One of the pickups from last season's wild-card tradefest was Andrew Thome, a nice little hitter out in right. Vic Mercado had a very off year at third, but I'm hoping for big things.
The rest of the team is a retread. Yes, I'm going to trot out Karim Castro and Billy Anderson. They are both solid contact guys with decent splits. Yes, they are both 38 years old each, but gave me more consistent hitting then some other last season (I'm looking at you Mercado).
Pitching. Well, we're old. Rudy Fingers is 28 and is a nice piece. Remove him and the average age of the rotation is 36. Midre Navarre, Tommy Ayala, Benny Pujols and Tom Miller have seen better days, but consistency is still something they bring. The bullpen is okay. Swindell closes and a trio of
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