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2012 is fast approaching, if for some reason you did not know. Just a heads up for you there. And with that, I wanted to share with you, Ranger fans, what my top 10 wish list for 2012 is for my Texas Rangers. But first, now that the sting of game 6 has subsided ever so slightly, lets look back at the full body of work and say that the Rangers had an outstanding 2011 season. They won the AL West for the second year in a row, they won a franchise record 96 games, they had 5 starting pitchers with 13 wins or more (1st time the Rangers have done that since 1983, I might add), they won the AL pennant for the second consecutive year (first team to do that since the Yankees won 4 straight in the late 90’s/early2000’s), they went to the World Series and competed in one of the best World Series of all time for the first 5.8 games. We all will always remember how the World Series ended, but lets not forget what a great season it actually was for our Texas Rangers.
The Rangers were then strangely quiet during the winter meetings leading some to believe that they were just content sitting back and doing nothing, not really making a play for Mark Buehrle, C.J. Wilson, Albert Pujlos or Prince Fielder. Then, they won the bidding on Yu Darvish, the Japanese phenom who may just be the Rangers ace before it is all said and done, and they are now considered the front runners for Prince Fielder, according to sources you can look at here. So, what do I, a long time Rangers fan and short time Rangers blogger, want to see the Rangers accomplish in 2012? Well, let me tell you.
10) Decide what to do at First Base. The Rangers were committed to Chris Davis at this
position, until they were not. Then the Rangers were committed to Mitch Moreland, which now seems to be a waining decision. I would like for the Rangers to decide who will be the first baseman of the future. I am tired of hearing that it is this guy or the other guy, that it is definitely Moreland but the Rangers are the front runners for Fielder, etc. The infield is set at every other position, it is time to make a decision on the future at first base.
9) Get The Extentions Done. The Rangers writers and players have been rumbling about some players that the Rangers would like to lock up for the future, and the ones I would like to see locked up are as follows, and I would like to see them locked up before the start of the 2012 season.
a) Josh Hamilton – 
I debated in my own mind back and forth if the Rangers should consider giving Josh a long term extension seeing that he is injured every season, and I came to the conclusion that they should. Josh is a threat in the middle of a great lineup, and even when he is injured, he is an encouragment to his teamates. Josh is a fan favorite and a teamate favorite, and he was, in fact, the AL MVP in 2010. I think Josh has some really great years left in him, and I would love to see the Rangers get it done.
b) Ian Kinsler – Ian is very consistant, and his defense is better than most people think it is, He also
passed the injury test in my book, making it through his first full season as a starter with out an injury in 2011. Ian is a great second baseman, and if it wasn’t for voters in NY and Boston, he would be an all start every year, especially the years he has had better numbers than the northeast guys that went in front of him. He will be good for a long time, and I think the Rangers should lock him down.
c) Derek Holland – 
Not just because I have had the opportunity to interview him on 3 seperate occasions, and not just because he is a great guy, but because, if the Rangers don’t land Darvish, and heck, even if they do, I see Derek being the ace of the staff by the end of the season. His numbers from last season proved to me that he is ready to take on that roll, and we do not want to see anothergood Ranger pither off to the Angels, Yankees or some other team where he may hurt us. Derek needs to be a Ranger for a long time, so, make it happen J.D.
d) Elvis Andrus – Elvis had a great 2012, except for the errors. We tend to forget how young this
guy is, and how many great years he has ahead of him. With Beltre already locked up for another 4 years at 3rd, it is time to make that side of that infield a long time thing. Elvis needs a extension and he needs to be paid what he is worth. I think the Rangers are going to step up and do just that, and I think they would be crazy not to.
e) Mike Napoli – it is pretty clear what Napoli meant to the 2011 Texas 
Rangers, and I think they would be almost foolish not to work on extending a contract with him going forward. He was the MVP of the World Series, no matter what David Friese did! Mike needs to be Ranger for a long time to come, and I think he will be.
*This is by no means an extensive list, but the most important ones to this Ranger fan.*
7) Bullpen Help. The Texas Rangers had a pretty good bullpen last season. They lost Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation and gained Joe Nathan as the closer. They still don’t know if Oliver is going to be a Ranger or not, so they need help in the lefty department. There are still some names out there, like Oliver, Gonzo (both Rangers in 2011), Brian Shouse and so on. It will be interesting to see what the Rangers will do to solve this problem in the offseason. They also have some internal lefties on the 40 man such as Michael Kirkman, Martin Perez, Miguel De Los Santos and others that they could promote, so we will see what they decide to do. I think I may be okay with a internal soultion, but I will have to wait and see. I would not be angry if they got Gonzo back, I will tell you that!
6) The Outfield – I didn’t know how to exactly approach this one, but I will tell you that one of my favorite Ranger players is David Murphy. David Murphy has been the 4th outfielder for the past few seasons, and although he has historically started slow (because of lack of playing time in my opinion) he has been a very important part of both World Series runs the Rangers have made. The Rangers are stacked in the outfield. They have Murphy, Hamilton, Cruz, Gentry and Borbon who could all be starters in the major leagues. They also have Engel Beltre and Leonys Martin on the 40 man roster. So where do they all fit in? We will have to wait and see, but Iwould like to see Murphy get his chance to shine somehow in 2012.
I know you can’t wait for part 5 through 1, coming tomorrow right here on the Ranger Report!
