1. I’m sick of this cold weather and can’t wait until it warms up.
2. The gap between football and baseball seasons makes ESPN tedious to watch.
3. The national media is overly pessimistic about the Rangers.

Well, this is strange. One of the traditions appear to have been broken. ESPN released their Future Power Ratings this week, and it’s safe to say that I can scratch number three off of the list. For now, anyway. ESPN writers Jim Bowden, Keith Law and Buster Olney weighed in to rank the top organizations in Major League Baseball, and the Rangers ranked number one.

Teams were assessed based on their Major and Minor League talent, finances, front office, and roster mobility. The rankings are designed to reflect how well these clubs are set up for the next five years. Texas ranked at the top in terms of Major League talent and management, while their “weakest” category was roster flexibility.

According to Jim Bowden, “Perhaps the biggest issue facing the Rangers will be to figure out on which fingers their World Series rings will go”.

However, Buster Olney may have summed it up perfectly – “The Rangers are baseball’s model franchise these days”.

While I’ll take their optimism with the same grain of salt with which I view their usual pessimism, the positive outlook means there is a decent chance point number two could also be scratched off of my list.

Following yesterday’s Canseco tweet that read, “Back in baseball I knew I would play this year you just gotta believe in your dreams”, the former Ranger followed with a slightly more depressing justification. “Leave on redeye tonite to start spring training with AAA quintana roo tigers tomorrow. Team won league championship last year.”

Quintana Roo won the Mexican League championship last year, and Canseco has a chance to help them repeat. Yes, dreams come true.

Law ranked the Rangers farm system as 7th overall, despite Darvish’s exclusion, and considers the Texas system to be more heavy on ceiling than depth.

Four Rangers made his list of top 100 prospects in baseball. Highest among the four was shortstop Jurickson Profar at 7th. Profar was ranked as the second best shortstop prospect in baseball behind only Manny Machado of the Orioles (4). He ranked Martin Perez 20th, second among left-handed pitchers behind Matt Moore (3) of the Rays. He ranked seven right-handed pitchers above Perez. Mike Olt was 75th on the list, and eighth among all third baseman. Right-handed pitcher Neil Ramirez squeezed onto the end of the list at 99th.

4. Jurickson Profar

Law describes Profar as being a plus-makeup, plus-feel, plus-instincts guy with good hands, great reactions off the bat, and a plus arm. He projects Profar’s defense as plus and feels that he may already be there.

20. Martin Perez

As for Perez, Law notes that he sits between 92-95 mph and works effectively to both sides of the plate. He grades the Perez changeup as plus at 83-85, with good arm speed and hard fading action. However, Law grades his curveball as solid-average, and still has work to do on command and control. He thinks Perez could be an ace, but is more likely to project as a solid #2.

75. Mike Olt

Law scouts Olt as a “potentially plus defender at third with plus raw power”, and has “better-than-expected plate discipline”. He also feels that Olt has “very good bat speed and great extension on his follow-through for power to left and the ability to use the middle of the field”.

99. Neil Ramirez

Law writes that Ramirez sits 93-94 mph, and sports a plus curveball and solid-average changeup. He feels that Ramirez would be a top 50-60 prospect had he stayed healthy last year.

Sleeper – Cody Buckel

According to Law, Buckel has “the ability to mix four pitches, led by an average fastball and a curveball with tight rotation… a lean frame, but is athletic with good body control”.

Rangers top 10 Prospects

1. Jurickson Profar, SS
2. Martin Perez, LHP
3. Mike Olt, 3B
4. Neil Ramirez, RHP
5. Robbie Ross, LHP
6. Rougned Odor, 2B
7. Leonys Martin, CF
8. Cody Buckel, RHP
9. Leury Garcia, SS
10. Jorge Alfaro, C

Earlier this offseason, the Rangers had conversations with Ian Kinsler regarding a “new deal”. Kinsler’s current contract runs through the 2013 season, including a no-brainer $10 million club option with a $500,000 buyout for the final year.

The contract negotiations will make it interesting to see what the future holds for Rangers’ top prospect Jurickson Profar. Profar will turn 19 in two weeks, and could skip High-A and head straight to AA Frisco this season. Baseball Prospectus analyst Kevin Goldstein, among others, considers Profar to be the top shortstop prospect in baseball.

Last year, Goldstein wrote this about Profar:

“With well-above average defense including a very strong arm, average speed and power, a big-league-level approach, and fantastic makeup, he’s the best shortstop prospect in the game, and before you ask, I’m well aware of what Baltimore’s Manny Machado has done this year.”

Of course, a lot can happen between now and when Profar is MLB-ready, but given Texas’ three potential stars and two positions, it is likely that one will be with another organization within three years.

Jackson will add some depth behind Mitch Moreland who is recovering from wrist surgery, and could be behind at the beginning of Spring Training. Additionally, Jackson could fill the elusive right-handed bat off of the bench role for which the Rangers have been void since the departure of Marlon Byrd. Jackson played in 53 games at first base, 31 in right, 23 in left, and 7 games at third base in 2011 with Oakland.

Beimel joins Michael Kirkman as the only left-handed relief candidates set to join the team in Surprise. He is less likely than Jackson to make the Major League team, and could primarily serve as insurance should the Rangers not re-sign Mike Gonzalez.

I was sad to see the Rangers part ways with Lewin in 2010, but given the team’s recent broadcasting moves, there was clearly no way they were going to bring him back. Anyway, I wish Josh luck, and I’m sure his new organization and fans will give him the appreciation he deserves.

America’s punishment for the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction will continue tomorrow when Madonna takes the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show. While Madonna’s relevance in the last decade is largely tied to her public divorce with director Guy Ritchie, temporary British accent, and relationship with Alex Rodriguez, there are questions sports fans want answered.

She seemed taken aback when asked about what concerns sports fans the most at a recent press conference – does A-Rod really have an oil painting of himself portrayed as a centaur? Actress and Rodriguez-ex Kate Hudson first made the claim while discussing his vanity following their 2009 break up. While Madonna neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, she did claim that A-Rod has a painting of her laying on a horse. Still, I’m more inclined to believe that the only painting in the Rodriguez household involving a horse has a mystical component, and that A-Rod’s ego is greater than Hudson’s creativity.

Here is the footage from the press conference:

Josh Hamilton is an alcoholic. That is neither an insult, nor a joke. It’s just an unfortunate fact.

According to a Dallas Morning News report, Hamilton was publicly seen drinking alcohol on Monday night at Sherlock’s in Dallas. This was his second reported relapse in three years since joining the Rangers.

After hearing the news, I could only manage a fleeting concern for the Rangers before the sadness of the situation set in. I personally don’t believe there is such a thing as a “recovering” alcoholic, and I don’t blame Hamilton for losing a battle or two in his lifelong war. I think alcoholism is a disease from which nobody ever fully recovers.

If this was, in fact, just Hamilton’s second relapse in three years, he’s doing a great job. I just worry that there have been many more setbacks that have gone unreported.

I know a little something about this. Just under five years ago, my mother unexpectedly died of alcoholism. While it took the medical examiner a few weeks to technically conclude that her cause of death was a “fatty metamorphosis of the liver”, I knew what happened as soon as I got the call.

She had previously tried to get help. She didn’t want a life plagued by alcoholism. She saw the effect it had and the hardship that it brought about. Unlike the unaffected, she didn’t view alcohol as fun and games, and she would have traded every future sip for an absence of thirst, had it been possible. The weight of alcohol’s burden on her life, combined with the collateral damage it had caused, only made her existence harder and more depressing. In the end, she just couldn’t beat it.

Josh has a wife, kids, teammates, and millions of fans to whom he feels responsible, and possibly guilty. It’s possible that the scorn of the latter will only make things harder on Hamilton and those close to him. Tough-love works for some people. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes, it only makes things tougher.

I truly hope that both fans and the media can be supportive and understanding. While my mother had to live with the monumental guilt of letting her family down, she never had to live with ESPN headlines, pictures shared through social media, and the disappointment of millions. The best medicine we can give Hamilton and his family is support and forgiveness, and we should resist any temptation to contribute anything else.