Minor League Monday - Gerald Alexander, 1990 Charlotte Rangers Star.

In the Rangers farm system of the late 1980's and early 1990's the Charlotte Rangers were an A+ level team. Gastonia, which has shown up in previous posts, was an A level team. Thus, Charlotte was only slightly higher in the level of play.

Today we start off a review of the 1990 Star Charlotte Rangers team set with card number 1, Gerald Alexander. Gerald was a 21st round draft pick for Texas in 1989. He played that year for the GCL Rangers and for Charlotte. In 1990 he would be back with Charlotte to start the season.

Alexander would pitch in just seven games for Charlotte in 1990, all as a starter. In 42.2 innings he posted a 6-1 record on the strength of his 0.63 ERA and 0.891 WHIP. What's really amazing is that he lost a game.

That performance got him a promotion to Triple A Oklahoma City where he appeared in 20 games for the Eighty-Niners. All 20 appearances were starts. That the level of competition had improved is clearly seen in Gerald's 4.10 ERA and 1.441 ERA. In spite of those numbers he still went 13-2 on the season of OKC.

At some point along the way Gerald even got a cup of coffee with the Rangers. That experience was an ugly one though as his ERA skyrocketed to 7.71 in the seven innings his pitched.

Clearly Gerald Alexander needed some more seasoning before making to Arlington on a permanent basis. He needed to make some adjustments at Triple A in order to replicate his success in the lower levels of the farm system. If he could do that then he would be able to take that final step to The Show.

Senators Saturday - Don Rudolph, 1963.

Is it just me or does Don Rudolph look a bit creepy on card 291 of the 1963 Topps set? I'm not sure if it's the lighting, background, or grin but something seems a bit off to me.

Something was definitely off with Don in 1963. After a serviceable performance in 1962 things seemed to really fall apart in 1963. Don was the second lefty in the Washington rotation behind Claude Osteen. Unfortunately he was nowhere close to Claude.

Rudolph made 37 appearances and 26 starts for the Senators in 1963. He won just seven games while losing 19. While some of those losses were undoubtedly due to poor support his 4.55 ERA surely had something to do with it as well.

In 1962 Don had posted a decent 3.62 ERA in 176.1 innings. In just two innings less in 1963 he had seen almost a whole point increase. He needed to figure out how to get that ERA back down if he wanted to remain in the starting rotation in 1964.

And they're off!

At 1305 this afternoon the Rangers will kick off the 2012 season. For the second time they will be leaving the starting gate as the defending American League Champions.

Still not the favorites for a lot of pundits. The Angels seem to have regained their status as the media darlings of the American League West. Nolan Ryan isn't buying though. He thinks the Angels have added a lot in the off-season and that the race will be tighter this year but still expects Texas to come out on top. No win total prediction as of yet from Nollie.

Today marks the beginning of the Rangers 40th year in Texas. As such, part of the opening ceremonies will feature some of the guys pictured on card 668 of the 1972 Topps set, the original team to take the field in Arlington Stadium. Kind of neat to see the milepost. Would have liked to have seen as big a hoopla for the 50th anniversary of the franchise last year but I'll take what I can get. Hopefully that is another A.L. West title and a deep run in October.

Just a quick note, with this being Easter weekend I will be unable to post due to family obligations. Tomorrow's and Monday's posts are scheduled though but they won't reflect the Rangers start to the season. Feel free to leave comments though. Hope everyone enjoys Opening/Easter weekend with their loved ones.

Possible new arrival?

I have a request for anyone who happens to be a Laynce Nix collector or is simply familiar with his autograph.

I sent Laynce this 2005 Topps Turkey Red card in April of 2010 and asked him to sign it. It came back on March 29th of this year. The strange thing was that it came back with a return address label over the top of my address on the SASE that I had sent.

Underneath the address label was written, "Laynce's Grand". When I opened the envelope I found the two cards that I had sent. Both were signed. I also found a small slip of paper with the following typewritten message:

"I put my return address in the event of no delivery I am Laynce's grandmother. Helping him get caught up."

Kind of strange. Makes me wonder if Grandmother is helping Laynce by sealing up the envelopes and running them to the post office or if she is signing the cards for him. That wouldn't be unheard of. I have heard that Don Zimmer's family routinely signs his through the mail autographs. I also remember Pete Rose saying back in the 1980's that he never signed through the mail - he had two old ladies who did it for him.

That leads to my request. Can anybody tell me if this is actually Laynce Nix's autograph? If Grandmother was simply helping out with the logistics that is fine. If she signed it for Laynce then I am pretty sure it won't be going into my collection. Thanks for any feedback you can give.

Best Seasons: C.J. Wilson - 2010.

T.R. Sullivan has C.J. Wilson's 2010 season at number 20 on his Best Seasons list. Of course, the list was made during the 2011 season. Wilson, shown here on his 2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Factory Set card 323, was even better in 2011.

In 2010 Wilson made the move from the bullpen to a full-time starter role with the Rangers. There was some concern as to his ability to deliver in the new role but deliver he did. In 33 starts C.J. tossed 204 innings and compiled a 15-8 record. He also put up a 3.35 ERA and a 1.245 WHIP. He struck out 170 batters but also walked a league-leading 93.

As 2011 started off there was some talk that Wilson might tail off after his then career high number of inning pitched in 2010. No such occurrence. In a league best 34 starts in 2011 Wilson raised his total number of innings pitched to 223.1 and brought his win total up one for a 16-7 record. He lowered his ERA to 2.94 and his WHIP to 1.187. He also lowered his walks allowed to 74 and raised his strikeout total to 206.

Two pretty good performances from a guy who had not started a game since 2006. The fact that both occurred as the Rangers took their first and second pennants made them all the more memorable.

Final roster trimming.

Well, Julio Borbon didn't make the final cut for this year's Opening Day roster. He's started in center field for Texas the past two seasons but was optioned to Triple A yesterday.

Julio, shown here on card 617 of the 2009 Topps Heritage set, had struggled for a large part of Spring Training. If not for Craig Gentry's injury battles, Borbon might have gotten optioned sooner than he did.

Borbon had better get it in gear in Round Rock if he wants to make it back to Arlington. Leonys Martin is also playing for The Express and was looking to be their center fielder. Could be an interesting competition. The end result could be Borbon catching fire and either moving to a corner outfield slot or getting called up as a result of slump or injury. On the other end of the spectrum, he could find himself on the trade block. The latter is a possibility that T.R. Sullivan hinted at on his blog several days ago.

Minor League Monday - Dan Peltier, 1990 Topps Magazine.

One of the things about minor league cards is where they sometimes surface. Take this 1990 Topps Magazine card of Dan Peltier. I can't remember which trade I picked it up in but I never had a Topps Magazine subscription so I know I traded for it. The interesting thing about this card is that Peltier is listed as playing for the Butte Copper Kings, not the Rangers. The Rangers aren't even mentioned until several lines into the write-up on the back.

Even though he's pictured in his Copper Kings uniform, Dan was no longer in Rookie Ball by the time the card came out. After an astounding 1989 season he was promoted straight to Double A Tulsa for the 1990 season.

With Tulsa Peltier's numbers came back to earth. He played in 117 games for the Drillers and made 497 trips to the plate. He posted a .279 batting average and a .345 on-base percentage. He also hit 20 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. Not bad numbers but a definite dip from the previous season when he took batting practice off opposing pitchers.

In 110 games in the field Dan played outfield and posted a .958 fielding percentage.

Well, the Rangers super prospect was certainly struggling with the transition from Rookie Ball to Double A. Only time would tell if he would be able to make the adjustment and continue to climb the minor league ladder.