Kuzul

As the 2013 Major League Baseball season race reaches the quarter pole, it becomes time to take stock of where teams and players are in terms of production. In the American League West, the Texas Rangers have taken their customary position of being the front runner, largely due to tremendous pitching and consistent power in the lineup. The A's and Mariners have both been largely inconsistent, with the A's scuffling back to .500 since starting the year 12-4. However, the biggest story has been the lack of success in Anaheim as the Los Angeles Angels are not fighting for an expected spot at the top, but trying to keep clear of division newcomers the Houston Astros. In the basement.There have been solid performances from individuals on all five teams. But sometimes, overlapping positions keep deserving players from receiving deserved accolades. This will likely be no exception. So instead of lamenting who is not, ...

It remains to be seen whether Bobby Valentine will be the next manager of the Boston Red Sox, but one thing is certain: If Larry Lucchino and Boston's ownership group are looking for a guy who knows how to bounce back from a tough year, this is their man.Valentine was one of baseball's top prospects in the late 1960s. The Connecticut native with sprinter's speed headed west to USC and was the fifth pick (by the Dodgers) in the '68 draft. Big things seemed in store when he was named Pacific Coast League MVP after batting .340 with 14 homers and 16 triples at Triple-A Spokane in 1970. A shortstop, he was the heir apparent to Maury Wills in Los Angeles.Things didn't go quite so smoothly. Valentine started out slow in the big leagues, partly due to torn knee cartilage sustained playing touch football, but seemed to be hitting his ...

The Texas Rangers farm system got the power outfield bats it had lacked in the form of Nomar Mazara and Ronald Guzman. The Dominican outfielders signed with the Rangers Saturday on the opening day of the international signing period. Mazara, 16, set the record for largest signing bonus by an international free agent at $5 million trumping the $4.25 million that Oakland gave Michael Ynoa in 2008. He is said to be the best power prospect out of Latin America since Miguel Cabrera...pretty high praise. Jason Parks, a writer for Baseball Prospectus, said Mazara has "gargantuan power potential." Guzman, also 16, throws and bats left handed and projects to left field due to his below-average speed and arm. But what he lacks in those areas, he makes up for with his bat. Parks also said, "Just spoke to a scout who said Ronald Guzman was the top positional talent available in LA (Latin America), ...

It's that time of year again. With the draft firmly in the rear view mirror, the Texas Rangers now turn their attention to players that can help them win now via trades. Last year it was Cliff Lee and Bengie Molina who were acquired before the deadline and helped the Rangers reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Who will it be this year? The general consensus is that they will look to acquire some bullpen help and have been linked to names like Heath Bell, Mike Adams and Joakim Soria. If they could acquire one of these three there is no doubt that it would greatly improve the pen—but what if they can't? Do they acquire another old, journeyman reliever to add to their growing stable of old, journeyman relievers? Or what about a reliever with a good history who is just having an off year? ...

Moneyball isn't set to hit theaters until later this year, but it's already creating quite a stir on the web.I've recently read everything from Brad Pitt not being a good fit as Billy Beane to people anointing the flick as the greatest baseball movie ever made—and it hasn't even been seen yet!While the buzz surrounding Moneyball is well-deserved—and it will surely land somewhere on this list after its release—I think it's safe to say it won't dethrone some of the all-time classics atop of the baseball-movie list.In celebration of Americas Pastime, along with all the great quips and immortalized characters we have enjoyed over the years, here are the 25 Greatest Baseball Movies of All Time. Begin Slideshow

The Texas Rangers have outscored their opponents 57-23 in the past eight days, and Endy Chavez has been the unsung hero of this recent hot streak. While players like Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have been hitting balls out of the park, Chavez has been hitting .435 in 13 games while crossing the plate 11 times.The emergence of this new hitting machine has surprised many in the Rangers fan base. Chavez began the year in AAA Round Rock hitting .305 in 30 games. He recently made his first major league appearance since 2009 where his season ended with a torn ACL. He was called up after Julio Borbon was placed on the disabled list but has remained on the roster despite Borbon being activated.Chavez is putting up career high numbers in a lot of offensive categories and in many cases is outpacing the player he was sent to temporarily replace. ...

Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Robinoson Can and Alex Rodriguez could some day be able to say they played on an all Hall of Fame infield. They've all won Gold Gloves and have been known to play pretty good defense as a team over the years.  Committing a bunch of errors, they've recently been janky—unstrustworthy.  But where do the Jankees—I mean Yankees—rank on my list?  Inquiring minds want to start the show.  Let's go...roll graphics...Begin Slideshow

Texas Rangers (2010 record: 90-72) The Texas Rangers won their first American League pennant, but eventually lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Their drive to the Fall Classic was spurred by an MVP season from LF Josh Hamilton, a Rookie of the Year campaign from closer Neftali Feliz, and all-star efforts from five players. The defending American League champions lost southpaw Cliff Lee through free agency this winter. It seems to me that Lee’s loss, in combination with the loss of several quality prospects they traded to Seattle in exchange for him, will be difficult to overcome in the short term. The Rangers needed another starting pitcher after his departure, and while Brandon Webb may prove to be a nice addition, he’s more likely to be this year’s version of Rich Harden. I expected the front office to jump on Carl Pavano once Lee bid them adieu, and I suspect ...

The Texas Rangers are gearing up to defend their American League championship. With the Rangers having questions in their starting rotation,  Neftali Feliz reportedly prefers the closer role.One has to ask, why not? Even manager Ron Washington said, "Your heart's got to be in what you're going to do. If your heart isn't in it, we'll have to make that decision down the line." Last season, you had a guy in Feliz who took over the closer role and didn’t look back after two blown saves by then-closer Frank Francisco. Feliz notched 40 saves for the season and broke the rookie record for saves, bypassing Kazuhiro Sasaki of the Seattle Mariners, who in 2000 set the record with 37saves. In turn, he won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Sometimes, major league managers like to tweak things in order to make things work better for the roster. But for Feliz, will ...

When the Texas Rangers ponied up and offered free agent Adrian Beltre a six-year, $96 million contract, incumbent third baseman Michael Young, the Rangers all-time leader in hits and several other offensive categories, indicated that he was okay with moving to the role of full-time designated hitter. Then, the Rangers acquired Mike Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays, and shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose. Two weeks prior to the start of spring training, the Texas Rangers went public in saying that Michael Young had demanded to be traded, with general manager Jon Daniels saying that Young had a “change of heart” regarding his role as designated hitter and utility infielder. One day later, Young ripped the Rangers, telling Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports: “The suggestion that I had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth. I asked for a trade because ...