Two Big Swings and a Lot to Prove | Just Wondering with Norm Hitzges

It's Friday, from January 23rd, and today I'm just wondering about two huge moves made
by Dallas Fort Worth team yesterday.
The Cowboys hiring of a defensive coordinator and the Rangers trade for a starting pitcher.
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The Cowboys have their new defensive coordinator and he's a child star.
He is Christian Parker.
They got him from the Philadelphia Eagles, where he's been an assistant of the Camp Fangio
there and in Denver.
He was coaching the defensive backs in Philadelphia.
He's only 34 years old.
And Christian Parker is highly valued in the National Football League.
He has a really nice resume.
He worked for Fangio in Denver, starting five years ago.
And in Denver, he helped develop solid defensive backs, including, of course, their superstar
Patrick Sertain.
And then he came to Philadelphia and immediately began working with the High Draft Choices
Quinn and Mitchell and Cooper DeGene.
You know, it's not hard to coach those guys up to greatness.
I mean, I'm not sure I'm taking it away from Christian Parker.
But those were very high draft choices in the National Football League.
They should be good players.
But the biggest thing that recommends Christian Parker, to me, five years with Vic Fangio.
This is my personal opinion.
Fangio is one of the three, four best defensive coordinators in the entire National Football
League.
And you will love the scheme he ran that apparently Parker will run here.
Fangio has always run a three, four, three defensive linemen, four linebackers that then
can morph into a three, three, five.
But he brings people from everywhere in order to get pressure.
He'll play too high safeties a lot.
But his defense is confusing because it has zone principles with man-to-man disguises.
Well, you would think that's what Christian Parker's going to play here.
And here's the best part about that.
Defensive linemen, good ones, are very hard to find in the National Football League.
Less hard to find if you're running a three, four defense.
And the Cowboys already have their defensive linemen for a three, four.
They would play at the tackles Oso Odiquizua and recently acquired Quentin Williams.
And the nose tackle would be Kenny Clark.
That is, if the Cowboys can get Clark's contract negotiated, it jumps next year from two million
he made this year to 21 million he's due to make next year.
Now you would think that's right at the top of the list for the Cowboys.
That Clark redone so he can play redone much lower so he can play nose tackle in Christian
Parker's defense here.
But the great thing for me is that the players now here at least they have the beginnings
to fit a Christian Parker potential scheme.
And he worked for Vick and Vick Fangio.
Vick Fangio liked him.
Vick Fangio brought him from Denver to Philadelphia.
That's about as high a recommendation you can have in my book for a non defensive coordinator.
Now what will he need to add here?
Well, if he's got the three defensive linemen, plus people like Solomon Thomas, a good veteran
behind them and maybe James Houston moves inside a bit to play behind one of them.
Well they're defensive linemen, it's going to need another player or two, but backup players
or two.
He now needs linebackers.
He needs lots of linebackers because if you're going to play a three, four, you actually
need about six linebackers because linebackers get hurt, linebackers get tired.
And the Cowboys right now have one linebacker, DeMarviana overshone.
Now the UFAW, the draft choice of a couple of years ago, could conceivably play in a
three, four as a backup also.
But stress the addition in free agency and the draft of linebackers.
That's where the kid's sonny styles, the Ohio State linebacker, if he's at 12, could
be a natural for this defense.
And this defense needs defensive backs.
It needs one solid corner.
Now you could potentially get that at number 20 in the draft.
It needs a solid safety.
Now the best safety in this draft and the only one that will go in the first 20, 25, 30
picks, who goes first round, Caleb Downs from Ohio State, I just don't think we'll be
there at number 12 in the Cowboys pick.
But the key here is they've got their defensive coordinator.
He's young, he's a rising star, and he learned under one of the best in the business.
That's a really good day for the Cowboys.
And by the way, they took him away from the Eagles.
Next, the Rangers who are desperately in need of a starting pitcher make a big trade
to get one.
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I must take you back in my personal professional life about this is perhaps six years ago or
so.
I have a really good friend, Mike Caps, who's broadcast minor league baseball for decades,
but we're such good friends that when Mike gets in an area around here or broadcast games
in Oklahoma City, I go out and do some games with Mike Caps.
Well, several years back, I saw a San Diego Pitchie prospect, high draft planke of Padres,
named Mackenzie Gore, and I thought, wow, this kid's going to be a star.
So why wasn't he in San Diego anymore?
Well, they got a chance to make the deal, the land won Soto, and they had to give up
something really special, the Washington, and they gave up something really special.
If you look at the package San Diego gave Washington, I know Soto's a star, but I'm not
sure I'd give it up all those players.
James Woods alone looks like a superstar outfielder, but anyway, they gave up Mackenzie
Gore in that deal.
And Mackenzie Gore is now pitched in Washington the last few years.
He's only 26 years old still, and he made the All Star team last year.
Yes, an All Star, and the Rangers got him in a deal.
Well, let's talk Mackenzie Gore first.
The Rangers desperately needed a starting pitcher.
Their starting rotation the day before yesterday was Jacob DeGrom, a bit old, Nathan
Uvall, a bit old, Jack Leiter, and let's see, yeah, let's see TBD, to be determined.
He was the fourth and fifth starter for the Rangers.
Now, people are saying Kumar Rocker, what has Kumar Rocker ever done in his years in the
Rangers minor league system and suggest he should be a member of this starting rotation?
I'll give you that answer, nothing, nothing.
There's potential in the young man, but so far Bradford, Bradford look good and handful
of starts last year, but he's been hurt, hurt a lot.
Jake Latz, the reliever, Jake Latz did well, but he's not a six, seven in guy.
Jake Latz is a five in in guy.
And now, maybe another thing about this is Jake Latz could go back to the Ranger bullpen
where he could really help them, but let's go back to Gore.
Yes, he made the All Star team last year.
And then quite honestly, he fell apart after the All Star break.
He was starved for a half.
But then the second half of the season, Mackenzie Gore went two and seven with an
earned earned average in the high fives, bottom line, dreadful.
Okay, the year before, 2024, fast start, swooned in June and July, the year before
2023 ended May with a 3.57 earned earned average.
By the end of the season, that earned on average had climbed almost a full run to a 4.42
because again, he had high periods of ineffectiveness.
Can the Rangers solve this?
Can they make Mackenzie Gore of the first half last year, also Mackenzie Gore of the
second half last year next this year?
I don't know.
If they do, they've got a star.
And there is real potentially in this kid.
Now, one of the Rangers give up for him, a five player package.
First, their number one pick in last year's draft, Gavin Fine.
Gavin Fine's a short stop.
They're probably going to be a third baseman eventually.
He was the 12th pick in the entire draft and a top, top prospect with a power potential.
But then if you're going to get Mackenzie Gore, you've got to give up something special.
So besides, Fine would they give up?
Well, they gave up an outfielder, infielder named Devon Fitzgerald.
He was solid in the lower minors last year, solid.
They gave up a starting picture named Alejandro Rosario.
I think Alejandro Rosario would have been a top five prospect in this system.
Had he not blown out his arm and missed all of 2024 and then came back last year to
pitch in only 18 games, though he was very effective in those 18 games in the lower minor
leagues.
And he is, I believe, already 24 years old.
Then they gave up an outfielder named Uremi Cabrera.
He's 20 years old.
He's a Dominican kid.
He's an outfielder.
But look out here.
Dominican kids can develop way under the radar and last year at A-Ball and A-Plus, Uremi
Cabrera evidenced these abilities.
Even though he was young, he can't hit for some power.
And he can run.
He stole 43 of 47 bases.
Unlike a lot of Latin American hitters, he will take a walk.
There's potential in this kid.
And the last guy they gave up was a Bemelec Ortiz.
He's been in his system for some time.
He's on the Major League roster.
He's 510 and 235.
That's right.
He's built like a fire hydrant.
And as you'd expect, he's got power.
He can hit the ball out of the park.
But he's probably a D-H eventually.
The Rangers are playing him at first base.
That's about all the positions you could get in some D-H.
But eventually, if he makes it, a Bemelec Ortiz is a D-H.
And the odds, he'd be in my mind the least of the prospects the Rangers gave up.
Now what prospects did they give up?
I like baseball America's rankings.
And baseball America said fine was the third best prospect in the Ranger's system.
And Devon Fitzgerald was the eighth best.
And Rosario was the thirteenth best though, if he's well, I believe he deserves a much
higher ranking.
And that young outfielder Cabrera was number 14 the Ranger's system.
Listen, I think Washington did well here.
But Kenzie Gore has two years left before he's free-aged.
I think Washington was concerned with the way he finished last season, in fact, concern
with the way he swooned in each of the last three years pitching for them.
If he swooned again, his value would have fallen considerably.
Now, is there top notch potential there?
Yes, there is.
He steps right into the rotation.
As the number four, Lord knows, number three, maybe even.
And understand that DeGrom and Evaldi are aging.
The Rangers have to look down the road past them.
And what their starting rotation will look like.
And now, it's dressed up some by the presence of Kenzie Gore.
Now, did the Rangers give up potentially a lot of talent in this deal?
Well, from a system that wasn't very highly regarded, yeah, they did.
The Rangers were considered maybe bottom five in the league before the trade, as far as
a farm system rank goes.
I think after this trade, the Rangers probably dropped to the bottom two or three minor league
systems in the entire league.
But they have a key starting pitcher and he will not cost all that much.
And the Rangers truly needed to get something like that.
And they acquired potentially a young solid starting pitcher.
And now a word from our title sponsor.
Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial, Retire Earlier Live Better.
And by Bob's Steak and Chop House on Lemon and Dallas and in Craig Ranch in McKinnie.
Bob's a Dallas tradition for more than 30 years.
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Thanks for listening to today's episode of Just One Ring.
I'm Norm Hitzkiss and know that every day I'll be just wondering about something.
And I'm Mary Hitzkiss and I'll just be wondering too.
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