Rangers seek to remain in playoff race

The Texas Rangers suffered a major blow when Cliff Lee left for the Phillies of Philadelphia. They began searching the free agent market for a powerful pitcher. Brandon Webb, who has missed most of the last two years with a shoulder injury that required surgery, caught their eye. Webb pitched in only one four-inning game in 2009, in which he gave up six runs in a no-decision. However, in 2008, Webb won 22 games and was edged out of the Cy Young award by Tim Lincecum in the first of Lincecum's two straight. Brandon looks to be the fourth starter on a Texas staff that is manned by C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hunter, and Colby Lewis. Although Derek Holland held the 5 spot on the rotation last year, he is expected to be challenged by Michael Kirkman and Matt Harrison, but Scott Feldman will not be ready by spring training.

Trivia
Brandon Webb won the Cy Young award in 2006, and he has pitched with the Arizona Diamondbacks in all seven full seasons of his career.

Trades and free agency

The Red Sox have made several moves to bolster their left-handed hitting and their bullpen. This was imperative since by the time they made their first move, Victor Martinez was gone, signed by the Detroit Tigers. Boston's first move was to trade three prospects to San Diego in return for left-handed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. This means that it is almost certain that Adrian Beltre will not be re-signing with Boston, since Kevin Youkilis can play third base. Next, the Sox signed archenemy Carl Crawford, who has played the outfield for Tampa Bay for all nine years of his career, to add even more left-handed pop.

Before they made another move, tragedy struck baseball. "Rapid Robert" Bob Feller died on December 15th at the age of 92. The Cleveland legend was claimed by leukemia. Baseball fans all over America bowed their heads in reverence. In the wake of this tragedy, Boston signed a hard-throwing reliever from Chicago named Bobby Jenks, who had been a great closer for the White Sox before his myriad injuries. Two days ago, they signed Dan Wheeler, a relief pitcher, who, like Crawford, came from the Rays. Wheeler had spent 7 of his 11 seasons pitching with Tampa.

Meanwhile, the rest of baseball was trading strong. The Minnesota Twins signed Japanese middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka. The race for Cliff Lee was strong between the Yankees and the Rangers before Lee signed with a third party, the Phillies. The Milwaukee Brewers are closing in on a deal with Royals ace Zack Greinke, the 2009 Cy Young award winner. Finally, Red Sock Adrian Beltre is close to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

So, the Red Sox should look like this:
Starters: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka
Setup: Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima
Closer: Jonathan Papelbon, Bobby Jenks
Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jason Varitek
First Baseman: Adrian Gonzalez
Second Baseman: Dustin Pedroia
Third baseman: Kevin Youkilis
Shortstop: Marco Scutaro
Backup infielder: Jed Lowrie
Left Field: Carl Crawford
Center field: Jacoby Ellsbury
Right Field: J.D. Drew
Backup outfielder: Ryan Kalish

Trivia
Buchholz finished second in the AL in ERA last year, while Lester was third in strikeouts