Dallas

When the Texas Rangers slipped in and made the deal for left-hander Cliff Lee, stealing him right out from under the New York Yankees, Ranger fans and players couldn't have been more excited.

They were getting a guy that was a proven winner not only during the season, but also in the playoffs.

However, that's not what they've gotten. Through 11 starts, Lee is 2-5 with a 4.69 ERA and has been nothing short of awful over his last five starts, giving up a combined 25 runs in those starts.

It’s amazing to me that a team that is supposedly in financial ruins continues to add players at the trade deadline.

If there is an early winner from the July 31 trade deadline it has to be the Texas Rangers. First they added Cliff Lee, then they added Jorge Cantu, and now they have added Cristian Guzman. Obviously, the latter two aren’t in the same category as Lee, but they are solid pieces that can be used to help solve the Rangers’ World Series puzzle.

With Texas Rangers’ pitcher Rich Harden impressing in his last rehab start on Monday (10 K’s over six innings) in Triple-A, it has been speculated that Harden will take the struggling Scott Feldman’s spot in the rotation. It’s quite possible that Harden could start as early as this weekend for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I think the Rangers are making a mistake. I think the Rangers should use Harden out of the bullpen upon his return. Here are the reasons for my thinking.

It’s now official: Left-handed ace Cliff Lee, along with injured right-handed reliever Mark Lowe and $2.5 million to pay much of Lee’s remaining 2010 salary, are headed to the Rangers, while the Mariners will receive first baseman Justin Smoak and three minor league prospects (Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson) in return.

Here is what I wrote about the Texas Rangers’ catching situation back in January…

“You know what’s funny? At the end of the 2008 season, the Rangers had Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, and Gerald Laird on the roster, and everyone, including the Rangers, thought they had a surplus of catching.

With the news that the Texas Rangers placed RHP Rich Harden on the 15-day DL with a stained glut, we might have an Oliver Perez Part Deux on our hands.

In case you aren’t following the Oliver Perez reference, I will explain.

The New York Mets were desperate to get Perez off their active roster, so they put him on the 15-day DL with right patella tendinitis. The reality is, they put him on the DL for sucking, which is a no-no by Major League Baseball standards.

When this season started, I had high hopes for the Rangers pitching staff, and for the most part they have delivered.

There have been quite a few ups and downs, but in general I am quite happy with their performance thus far.

I expected Rich Harden to have a decent season and was somewhat skeptical of moving C.J. Wilson to the starting rotation. 

Boy, was I wrong.

C.J. Wilson has been a great success as a starter. Despite a rough stretch of four or five games, he has pitched extremely well. 

It’s bad enough when a player heads to the disabled list, but it’s got to be 10 times worse for that player when his team and his manager rip him a new one for it.

Texas Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday because of upper back stiffness.

Being hurt is nothing new for Saltalamacchia. Saltalamacchia was hurt twice during spring training, once for pain related to scar tissue near his September operation and later with spasms in the rhomboid muscle on the left side of his back.

I grew up and fell in love with a Rangers team that was much different from this one. Back then the outfield was the offensive strength of the team, much like it was for most teams.

I remember watching Juan Gonzalez, Ruben Sierra, and the fan-favorite Rusty Greer. Jose Canseco was also out there for a little while, but we’ll just forget about him.

In recent years, the outfield has been somewhat of a revolving door.

The bullpen may be the biggest group of unsung heroes in recent years for the Rangers.

They haven’t had any big flashy names, but for the most part they have kept games close, and have been able to close them out when given the chance.

When considering the 2010 bullpen for the Rangers it is easiest to start with the givens.