Texas Rangers Preview

First impression: The Rangers have gone seven years without a playoff appearance, having had the misfortune of catching the New York Yankees at their best in the late '90s. After four years of Buck Showalter got them no better than third place, they've replaced him with Ron Washington and thrown the rookie manager into a Sammy Sosa comeback. Sosa, of course, took a year off after a miserable season in Baltimore and turned 38 in November. Washington already has him at designated-hitter, protecting Mark Teixeira in the middle of the order and even playing some right field. Sosa's career arc reads like a slow shuffle toward middle age – his batting average, home runs and OPS decreased in each of his last four seasons – but, it's a minor-league contract and the Rangers would appear to have little to lose. Forever scavenging and positioning themselves for pitching, the Rangers took their shots at Zito, Mulder and others, and instead traded for Brandon McCarthy and signed Jamey Wright and Bruce Chen to make-good deals.

Competition: Mostly, Washington will spend the spring sorting through starters to round out the rotation behind Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, McCarthy and, probably, Robinson Tejeda. There's a long list of hopefuls after that, including right-handers Josh Rupe, Edinson Volquez and Kameron Loe and lefties John Rheinecker and John Koronka. Wright and Chen also will get their chances. One or two of those who don't make the rotation will fall into the bullpen.

Healing: Brad Wilkerson, who once was a pretty good hitter, is believed to be recovered from shoulder surgery, as is Hank Blalock, who can return to third base after DHing for the last month of the season. The Rangers have handed Eric Gagne the ninth inning, so obviously they're optimistic about his recovery from back and elbow surgeries. Gagne, who blew only six saves in 158 opportunities from 2002-04, is nine for nine since.

Next: While a couple of the Rangers' "nexts" are in Chicago (pitchers John Danks and Nick Masset), 22-year-old shortstop Joaquin Arias was six for 11 in a September look-see with the big club. He's blocked by shortstop Michael Young and second baseman Ian Kinsler, so he could be moved to center field. Jason Botts has made cameos in each of the past two seasons and the Rangers believe he'll become a big-time power hitter.

(I got this from Yahoo Sports)