Rangers avoid arbitration with Andrus.

MLB.com is reporting that the Rangers have avoided arbitration with Elvis Andrus, seen here on card 89 of the 2009 Allen and Ginter set.

While the official announcement won't come until tomorrow, the word is that Texas has signed Andrus to a three year deal worth $14.5 million. That buys out the rest of his arbitration years and keeps him in a Rangers uniform through the 2014 season.

I have to say that I like the deal. Three more years of Elvis is ok by me. There are some who wince at Andrus' error totals but it pays to remember that his range is significantly higher than most other shortstops in the Majors. That means he makes (and sometimes fails to make) plays that other middle infielders wouldn't even try to make.

Elvis also provides some speed on the base paths as he has over 30 stolen bases in all three of his Major League seasons. Add to that the improved on-base percentage each year and he is increasingly becoming an offensive factor. There are those that take issue with his lack of home runs in 2010 but with the Rangers current lineup they need speed more than power right now.

All in all Elvis seems to be improving his game each year. Locking a 22-year-old up for three more years doesn't seem like a bad move to me. Especially when that youngster can turn a breathtaking double play, lay down a picture perfect bunt, and steal a base or two in the same game.

1975 Topps - Joe Lovitto.

1975 was a rough year for Joe Lovitto, pictured here on card 36 of the 1975 Topps set. Injuries stalked him that season and he ended up being put on the Disabled List several times.

The trips to the DL limited Joe to just 50 games and 123 plate appearances. In those appearances he posted a .208 batting average and a .289 on-base percentage. That was a pretty significant drop in batting average but a slight uptick in on-base percentage.

Joe's limited playing time meant that he was unable to retain his starting center fielder job. That resulted in a jack-of-all trades season for him. He did put in 174 innings in center though and didn't muff a single chance. He also put in 69.1 innings in left field with only one error. There were also nine innings at first base without an error and even one game where he was put in as catcher but didn't see any action.

1975 had definitely been a setback season for Joe Lovitto. The injuries, lowered offense, and crowded outfield had combined to place his future with Texas in doubt.

Minor League Monday - Timmie Morrow, 1990 Best.

Getting back to Minor League Monday today with Timmie Morrow. Timmie appears here on his 1990 Best card, number 284 in the set.

Morrow was a second round draft pick for Texas in the 1988 draft. He played for the Gulf Coast League Rangers in 1988 and the Butte Copper Kings in 1989. Both of those years are reflected on the back of his card. What isn't there is the one inning he pitched for Butte in 1989. It wasn't pretty.

In 1990 it was on to Gastonia for Timmie. He would play in 105 games that season and make 424 plate appearances. In those plate appearances he would post a .206 batting average and a .275 on-base percentage. Those were not good numbers for Single A ball. Add to that the fact that he struck out 99 times in 1990 and it was clear that Morrow was struggling.

Timmie didn't have a good season in 1990. For a second round draft pick in his third season of professional baseball it was really bad. The Rangers weren't quite ready to give up though and neither was Morrow. If he wanted to make this work though he would need to start hitting and cut down on the strikeouts.

Senators Saturday - Steve Hamilton, 1963.

Steve Hamilton is shown here on card number 171 of the 1963 Topps set. In 1963 he played for the Senators slightly more than Bud Zipfel did.

Very slightly, two innings worth in three games to be exact. In those two innings of relief he faced 13 batters. Steve's ERA ran to an astronomical 13.50 and his WHIP came in at 3.500.

Hamilton was clearly not starting the season off on the right foot. That didn't seem to matter to the New York Yankees though. On April 21, 1963 they sent Jim Coates to Washington in exchange for Steve. In less than a year Steve Hamilton had arrived in Washington and left again.

Bummer...

Well, Josh Hamilton had a news conference today to address rumors from the past couple of days that he had been seen drinking in a Dallas bar. What he said is that he did it, lied about it to Ian Kinsler, and regrets having failed to stay sober.

I've talked about Josh's failings in a previous post and have little to add to what I have already said on the matter. I am glad that at least this time there were no drugs involved.

As a fan I find this to be a bummer on a couple of fronts. It's always a downer to see a key player on your team fail, especially a comeback story like Hamilton.

From another aspect this incident is discouraging because it puts the contract talks on hold. That would be the talks that were supposed to result in a contract extension by Spring Training or be cut off. Looks to me like this will result in the latter. If that happens then Hamilton, shown here on card 53 from the 2008 Stadium Club set, will be a free agent next off season. I'm having a hard time seeing Texas re-signing him at that point. Seems like Josh may have stumbled his way out of being a Texas Ranger beyond the 2012 season.

Odd Moments: Inside back-to-back.

Number 14 on T.R. Sullivan's list of the top 50 Bizarre Moments in Rangers history involved one of the best teams Texas has ever fielded. The 1977 Rangers were quick, had some power, and had a little pitching. They put it all together to notch 94 wins - third best in team history.

On August 27th they were in New York playing against the Yankees. By the top of the seventh inning Texas had a 4-2 lead. Ken Clay was on the mound in relief for the home team as Claudell Washington led off with a ground out to second base. Designated hitter Willie Horton then singled. Sandy Alomar ran for Horton. Dave May singled. Runners on first and second as Toby Harrah came to the plate.

Harrah, shown here on a signed 1987 Donruss card, launched a ball deep to right field. Not deep enough to leave the park but deep enough to evade Lou Piniella. As Sweet Lou scrambled for the ball, Alomar and May scored. Toby kept running and came in as well. Inside the park home run! Three runs at that.

Up next was Bump Wills. Wills sent a ball deep into center field. Once again it wasn't deep enough to leave the park. Once again it got past the Yankee fielder - this time Mickey Rivers. Wills had speed, lots of it. Rivers had a weak arm. Not a good combination for Ken Clay and the Yankees. A second inside the park home run! Back-to-back jacks with a twist - neither ever left the field of play.

That was it for Clay as he was pulled immediately after Wills' homer. It was also it for the Evil Empire that day as the final score went down 8-2. Half of the Rangers runs had come on inside the park home runs.

Decisions: Will Clark.

Number 17 on T.R. Sullivan's list of 50 Top Decisions in franchise history is the signing of Will Clark. Clark, shown here on card 350 of the 1994 Upper Deck set, was signed by Texas on November 22, 1993. He would stay with the team until being granted free agency in November of 1998.

T.R. says that Clark "single-handedly infused the Rangers with a team-first winning attitude." I'll have to think on that a bit but I do know that with Clark on the roster the team started winning and made their first two postseason appearances. Not sure if Clark was the only difference maker there but he was most assuredly a huge one.

Maybe Sullivan is on to something there though, Rafael Palmeiro played first base for Texas prior to and following Will the Thrill's tenure. With the exception of 1999 the team never did quite as well during those two stints as it did with Clark manning first.