The Numbers
	2002 record: 72-90, .444 (23rd overall) Runs scored: 843, 5th in AL Runs allowed: 882, 12th in AL Run differential: -39 (18th overall) Starters' ERA: 5.26, 13th in AL Bullpen ERA: 4.96, 11th in AL Payroll (Opening Day): $105.3 million (3rd overall) Attendance: 2.35 million (15th overall) 3-year record: 216-270, .444 (24th overall)

2002 in review
What went right?
Led by Alex Rodriguez (.300-57-142) and Rafael Palmeiro (.273-43-105), the Rangers scored 843 runs, fifth-most in the American League. Right-handed pitcher Francisco Cordero, considered one of the game's top relief prospects since 1999, finally broke through as a major leaguer, posting a 1.79 ERA in 39 games.

What went wrong?
As good as the Rangers' hitters were, their pitchers were worse. The rotation was a shambles, as only Kenny Rogers (13-8, 3.84) managed to win more than nine games. And with Jeff Zimmerman out of action with a blown elbow, the Rangers auditioned, with disastrous effects, John Rocker (2-3, 6.66) and Hideki Irabu (3-8, 5.74) as their closer before Cordero finally took the job and converted 10 of 12 save opportunities.

In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Signing Chan Ho Park. It was bad enough that he pitched so poorly -- 9-8 with a 5.75 ERA -- but his arrival gave the Rangers a false sense of security when the season opened. And when he flopped, there was nobody around to pick up the pieces.

2. Signing Juan Gonzalez. Everybody points to the contracts of Park and Rodriguez, but what about Gonzalez? Prior to last season, the Rangers gave Gonzalez $24 million for two years -- granted, some of the money was deferred -- and then he spent more than half the season on the disabled list while suffering from various injuries.

3. Giving Michael Young another shot at second base. He didn't play well as a rookie in 2001, but he'd been decent in the minors so the Rangers sent him out there for 156 games in 2002. He responded with excellent defense but reached base barely 30 percent of the time. And now the Rangers are supposedly toying with the idea of shifting third baseman Hank Blalock to second, a la Jeff Kent.

Looking ahead to 2003
Three key questions
1. When will Mark Teixeira be ready? The best hitting prospect in the minors hasn't yet played in Triple-A, and the Rangers already have plenty of 1B/3B/DH types. But he's expected to reach the majors in 2003, and now the only real question is when.

2. Who's going to pick up the slack? With Ivan Rodriguez gone and Kenny Rogers testing the free-agent waters, the Rangers have lost one of their best hitters and might lose their best pitcher. With no obvious replacements on hand, the Rangers need somebody to step up.

	Kevin Mench Outfielder Texas Rangers Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM AB R HR RBI AVG 110 366 52 15 60 .260

3. Who's in first? We've penciled Kevin Mench into the leadoff slot, but he's nobody's idea of a leadoff hitter, and the Rangers reportedly have interest in signing Kenny Lofton or perhaps even 44-year-old Rickey Henderson. The problem with this plan is that acquiring one of the available leadoff men would push a more productive hitter -- Herbert Perry or Hank Blalock, for example -- to the bench.

Can expect to play better
Carl Everett opened last season with a bum right knee, and struggled terribly in the first half. But after the All-Star break, Everett batted .327 with 10 homers and 42 RBI in 61 games, and a whole season of that production will make a very good lineup even better.

Park will "earn" $13 million in 2003 and is at least a decent bet to top the nine victories of last year, especially if he can avoid the hamstring and blister problems that contributed to his poor performance in 2002. Gonzalez is likely to play more than 70 games this time around.

Can expect to play worse
Ready for the best news in this Hot Stove Heater? The Rangers don't have a single key performer who's likely to play worse in 2003 than he did in 2002. Oh, Ismael Valdes probably won't post a sub-4.00 ERA again (though he probably will win more than six games). And Palmeiro might start to show his age (though there have been exactly zero signs of decline thus far). Bottom line, the Rangers remaining from last season's squad will be better than they were last year.

Stats Corner
Rafael Palmeiro (above) hit 43 home runs in 2002 and sits just 10 homers shy of 500 for his career. Not a single runner tried to steal second base against Gold Glove winner Kenny Rogers. Kevin Mench's 60 RBI ranked second among AL rookies. Chan Ho Park finished first in the AL with 17 hit batsmen, fifth with 78 walks and ninth with nine wild pitches. In his last (for now) season as a Ranger, Ivan Rodriguez led the club with a .314 batting average.

Projected lineup
LF Kevin Mench
CF Carl Everett
SS Alex Rodriguez
1B Rafael Palmeiro
RF Juan Gonzalez
3B Hank Blalock/Herbert Perry
DH Herbert Perry/Ruben Sierra
C Einar Diaz
2B Michael Young

Rotation
Chan Ho Park
Ismael Valdes
John Thomson
Colby Lewis
Joaquin Benoit/Ryan Drese

Closer
Ugueth Urbina

A closer look
It's been a good three years for the American League West. Except for the Rangers, that is. Below are the four West clubs from 2000 through 2002, listing their total payrolls (in millions of dollars) and their total wins, with division ranks in both categories.

          Payroll  Rk    Wins  Rk
Rangers    $260     1     216   4 
Mariners   $235     2     300   1
Angels     $175     3     256   3
Athletics  $120     4     296   2

From 2000 through 2002, the West grabbed six postseason berths, the maximum possible: three division titles, along with all three wild-card slots. The A's have reached postseason play all three years, the Mariners made it in 2000 and 2001, and of course the Angels went all the way in 2002. Everybody's made it ... except the team that spent the most money. Also striking is the Rangers' absolute lack of progress. In 2000, they won 71 games. In 2001, they won 73. And in 2002, they won 72. There have been few teams in the history of the game to spend so much money (relative to their opponents) with so little (positive) effect.

But will it soon be the Texans' turn?

At this moment, the Rangers boast the game's No. 1 minor-league prospect, third baseman Mark Teixeira. He's slated to open the season in Triple-A, but he's also expected to reach the majors sometime in 2003, and the switch-hitter should annually bat .300 and hit 40 homers once he's got his sea legs.

In addition, Hank Blalock, though he didn't play well as a rookie in 2002, is still only 22 and figures to become a star in the not-so-distant future. That would give the Rangers two outstanding young hitters at positions -- first base, third base, DH -- where you want outstanding hitters if you hope to score enough runs to compete.

But of course, the Rangers have been scoring enough runs to compete. The problem is preventing enough runs to compete. And the Rangers still have a fair piece to travel in that area. A year ago, they figured they could spend their way out of that problem, signing Chan Ho Park to a five-year, $65 million contract. That move might pay off down the road, but after one season it must be considered a disaster, as Park has always found the going tough when away from Dodger Stadium. Kenny Rogers was the Rangers' best pitcher in 2002, and he might not re-sign with the Rangers for 2003.

The Rangers have two excellent pitching prospects in Colby Lewis and Ben Kozlowski, but neither is a sure thing and the club will be fortunate if even one of them eventually becomes a league-average starting pitcher.

If Rogers returns and if Park shaves a run from his ERA and if Lewis or Kozlowski develops real, real fast ... if all those things happen in 2003 or 2004, the Rangers have a pretty decent shot of taking third place, or perhaps even second (if the Mariners' age shows and the Angels' wings melt) all for themselves.

But a postseason appearance? Unless George Steinbrenner swaps teams with Tom Hicks, the Rangers are a few years away. They play in the game's toughest division, and Hicks is no longer interested in trying to spend enough money to get better in a hurry. Buck Showalter is a great manager, but he's not a miracle worker.

Senior writer Rob Neyer, whose Big Book of Baseball Lineups will be published in April by Fireside, appears here regularly during the season and irregularly in the offseason. His e-mail address is rob.neyer@dig.com.