By Jordan Raanan, MLB Analyst (My Sportsbook)

2002 FINISH (72-90) - Fourth Place (AL West)

KEY OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: Frank Catalanotto (INF); Travis Hafner (1B); Todd Hollandsworth (OF); Hideki Irabu (RHP); Dan Miceli (RHP); Aaron Myette (LHP); Dennys Reyes (LHP); Ivan Rodriguez (C); Kenny Rogers (LHP)

KEY OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: Einar Diaz (C); Ryan Drese (RHP); Aaron Fultz (LHP); Doug Glanville (OF); Chad Kreuter (C); Jim Rushford (OF); John Thomson (RHP); Ugueth Urbina (RHP); Esteban Yan (RHP)

PROJECTED LINEUP: Doug Glanville (CF); Carl Everett (LF); Alex Rodriguez (SS); Juan Gonzalez (RF); Rafael Palmeiro (1B); Mike Young (2B); Ruben Sierra (DH); Hank Blalock (3B); Einar Diaz (C)

PROJECTED ROTATION: Ismael Valdes (RHP); Chan Ho Park (RHP); John Thomson (RHP); Ryan Drese (RHP); Colby Lewis (RHP)

PROJECTED CLOSER: Ugueth Urbina

MANAGER: Buck Showalter

OVERVIEW

Manager Buck Showalter inherits a club that in recent years has spent large chunks of money on aging underachievers. Showalter has been considered the architect of both the Yankees and Diamondbacks championship teams and now hopes to rebuild the Rangers over the next couple of years. Showalter's hopes to rebuild the Rangers over the next couple of years. Showalter's

influence seemed to curb the offseason splurging of free-spending owner Tom Hicks.

Don't expect the Rangers to do this all at once. Rebuilding is a process that takes time and patience, something that Hicks is not known to have. However, you can expect the Rangers to take on the hard-nosed, winning attitude of their new skipper. Showalter will have to work with a thin rotation, a questionable but improved bullpen, no leadoff hitter and minimal speed.

Showalter will do all he can to give his young players a chance to succeed. Texas does have some good young talent to go along with the likes of all-world shortstop Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is the one given for the Rangers. There is no doubt he will provide solid hitting, fielding and leadership. However, the rest of the squad is filled with question marks.

The loss of Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was tough for Texas, which did not want to throw big money at the aging All-Star catcher. Einar Diaz will be a big drop-off at the plate, but hopefully he can help develop the young pitchers.

The starters need plenty of help because last year's 5.15 team ERA was third- worst in the American League. The starters only compiled four complete games, the least in the AL. Overall as a team, Texas pitchers gave up the most walks in the AL (669) and also allowed opposing hitters to post a more than respectable .272 average against. Additionally, the Rangers' bullpen was horrific; blowing a record 33 saves last season. That is the most blown saves accumulated by any team since the inception of the statistic in 1988.

The Rangers can hit, especially for power. Playing in a hitter's-friendly ballpark, which the Ballpark in Arlington is, Texas totaled the most home runs in the major leagues with 230. They hit a middle of the pack .269 and scored 843 runs, good for fifth most in the AL.

INFIELD

The infield is clearly the strength of the Rangers. The duo of A-Rod and Michael Young gives Texas a strong combination up the middle. A-Rod is a perennial MVP candidate and is a model of consistency. Young has Gold Glove potential at second base and combines with A-Rod to form a very solid and spectacular double play combination. The competition for the starting third base job is stiff, and promising youngsters Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock will give Showalter some enticing options for the ample Herbert Perry. Rafael Palmeiro is getting up there in age and might not be able to play in the field on an everyday basis, but he still owns a good glove and soft hands when manning first base.

A-Rod is the constant cog in the middle of the Texas lineup that consistently puts up huge numbers. The 27-year-old hit exactly .300 last season and added a major league-leading 57 home runs and 142 RBI.

Young needs to become more patient at the plate to become the number two hitter that Texas envisions him as. He hit .262 with nine homers and 62 RBI in 2002, his second big league season. Young is only 26-years-old and has worked vigorously as A-Rod's protégé. While he will never amass the power numbers of his counterpart, Young can improve as a hitter with some better pitch selection. He needs to cut down on the 112 strikeouts and improve on the 41 walks he compiled last year if he intends to hit at the top of the lineup. Hitting in front of A-Rod should get him some good pitches to hit and provide him with all the opportunity in the world to succeed.

Palmeiro has compiled eight straight years of at least 38 home runs and 104 RBI. He does not hit for the same average that he once did, but he is still quite an imposing force at the plate. He hit only .273, not quite up to his .293 career average, but still good enough to strike fear into the opposing pitcher.

Herbert Perry and Hank Blalock may both see extended time as the starting third baseman for the Rangers, but Perry will begin the year sidelined with shoulder problems. Perry is trying to ward off the inevitable coming of Mark Teixeira or Blalock. Blalock struggled last season but he is only 22. Teixeira was a dominant slugger at Georgia Tech a few years back and is coming off a fantastic year in the minors. He has hit over .300 wherever he's played and with a good spring might supplant Perry on the hot corner. Perry achieved career-highs with 22 homers and 77 RBI last season and will look to retain the position.

The loss of Pudge will leave a big void behind the plate for Texas. There is no way Diaz, who came over from the Cleveland Indians in an offseason trade, will provide the offensive output that Pudge provided. Diaz is a light-hitting catcher (.206 average and only two homers in 2002) who does a good job handling pitchers, something Pudge was continually criticized for. Diaz also does not possess the arm of Pudge and will not deter anyone from running against him.

OUTFIELD

Rusty Greer is already out for the season due to injury and Carl Everett and Juan Gonzalez have both proven to be injury prone throughout their careers. The Rangers have some talent but a lack of depth does not allow for anymore major injuries in their outfield.

Doug Glanville came over from Philadelphia this offseason and is slated to hit first in the Texas lineup. While he does provide some defensive stability in the spacious centerfield in the Ballpark, Glanville is not your prototypical leadoff man. His on-base percentage was just .292 last year and he walked only 25 times. Glanville also hit just .249 with minimal power (six homers), but did steal 19 bases, more than any Ranger player last season.

Gonzalez did not provide the dominant middle of the order presence he was brought in to provide last season. He had the worst season of his illustrious career and only played in 70 games. He was sidelined with a serious thumb injury and should now be fully recovered and return to his old form. Gonzalez is in a contract year so you could expect 30 home runs and 100 RBI if he is healthy and can stay in the lineup.

Kevin Mench was pretty good in left field last season for the Rangers. He hit .260 with 15 homers and 60 RBI during his rookie season in 2002. The 25-year- old Mench, and the Rangers, can only hope that his second half power outage was an aberration. He will also be sidelined in April because of a strained oblique muscle.

DESIGNATED HITTER

Carl Everett does not like to serve as the designated hitter and has let it be known that he does not embrace the role. Everett might share the job with Palmeiro and occasionally Mike Lamb will see some time as the DH. However, if Mench does not produce in left, Everett will take over the everyday job there. Everett should improve on his .267 average, 16 home runs and 62 RBI he produced last year. He had a terrible first half last season and if he can stay healthy has proven to be a quality major league hitter.

Should Everett play in left field, then expect veteran Ruben Sierra to possibly take over as the DH.

STARTING ROTATION

The Rangers overpaid last offseason for Chan Ho Park and did not receive much in return. Park had a disastrous 2002, posting a career-worst 5.75 ERA. He went a disappointing 9-8 and never seemed to fully recover from the hamstring injury that sidelined him early in the season. Texas can only hope for a better year from Park, who came over to the Rangers as a free agent from the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to last season. Hopefully, Park has adjusted to the change of leagues and can revert back into the pitcher that compiled 13 or more wins in the five previous seasons before coming over to Texas.

Ismael Valdes has had a solid spring and will likely start on Opening Day for Texas. Valdes is a solid pitcher but has never proven to be the ace of any club. He has not posted a winning season since going 11-10 in 1998 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last season the 29-year-old Valdes compiled an 8-12 mark with a 4.18 ERA. He spent most of the season with Texas before being shipped to the Seattle Mariners prior to the trading deadline. Valdes was a respectable 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA in 23 starts with the Rangers before being traded.

John Thomson will have the opportunity to take the ball every fifth day for the Rangers despite never registering a winning record in any of his six major league seasons. Thomson did pitch in the high altitude of Colorado for the first 5 1/2 years of his career before being shipped over to the New York Mets towards the end of last season. Thomson will look to improve on his overall 9-14 record and 4.71 ERA with the Rockies and Mets in 2002.

Ryan Drese won the fourth spot and Colby Lewis has the inside track on the No. 5 starter's job, but will only be used when needed. Drese had an awful second half of the season with the Indians in 2002. Lewis is only 23 and has tremendous stuff and talent. The Rangers are not quite sure if he is ready for the big show just yet, but they believe he can one day be their number one starter.

BULLPEN

The bullpen is vastly improved and after last year's debacle and Ugueth Urbina has been brought in to provide some stability. He gives Showalter a consistent closer to call on to finish off a game. Urbina has even added an off speed pitch to his arsenal despite accumulating 40 saves in 46 opportunities last season with Boston. Francisco Cordero, Jay Powell and Esteban Yan give Showalter a plethora of solid right-handed options out of the pen. However, Texas does not have the same luxury when it comes to bringing in a lefthander. Aaron Fultz is expected to fill the role of left-handed setup man after coming over from the Giants in the offseason.

BENCH

Texas does not possess tremendous depth in the outfield and 22-year-old Laynce Nix will most likely serve as the extra outfielder. Nix has decent speed and some pop in his bat (17 stolen bases and 21 homers in AA Charlotte last season). Chad Kreuter or Todd Greene provides the club with a veteran catcher to bring off the bench and Lamb is a solid utility infielder with a pretty good bat. Lamb batted .283 with nine home runs in 115 games last season.

OUTLOOK

The Rangers seem to be back on the right track by letting their youngsters get some playing time and gaining experience. Showalter, however, knows how to build a team and should be very patient with the youngsters, especially the young pitchers. While the bullpen is vastly improved the starting pitching is thin and brittle. The Rangers will score runs and having Gonzalez and Everett back to their old selves will give Texas one of the most potent lineups in the major leagues. However, A-Rod has struggled in the spring with a back injury and if Texas loses him for any period of time they will have trouble competing. Their division is too tough and their pitching is too weak to compete this year. However, the future is bright and they are finally headed in the right direction.