Ex-Hurler: Rangers’ Pitching Staff Needs Starters

While conventional wisdom holds that the Texas Rangers are set with their pitching for now–for a change–some experts like the ever-astute Evan Grant don’t necessarily agree. Grant contends that Texas still needs another “premium” pitcher, and Roberto Diaz, a salesman at the NorthPark Salvatore Ferragamo store, concurs with that assessment–and then some. Why listen to Diaz, a 51-year-old native of Puerto Rico? Because he’s a former relief pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization who’s pals with the likes of Pudge Rodriguez and Juan Gonzales, who also hail from PR. (In fact, Diaz says, he moved to Dallas from Florida because of the connections.) The “Rangers are a pretty good young ball club,” says Diaz (pictured), who coaches kids at occasional baseball clinics in Plano. “But they need a couple more good quality starters, and they should go into the free [agency] market to get them.”