Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers may have lost the 2010 World Series, but with a new ownership group and a stocked farm system, it's likely that they won't have to wait another 39 seasons before reaching their second Fall Classic.

Questions abound for the World Series losers as they do for all 29 teams that didn't win the title this season. Will they re-sign Cliff Lee? Will C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis be able to match their solid 2010 campaigns? How long until Michael Young needs to be replaced? Can Josh Hamilton duplicate his sensational season? Will Neftali Feliz move to the rotation? Will Derek Holland get a chance to be a full-time starter?

"I think in general the core of the club is going to be here for some time," said Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. "I think we've accomplished certain goals, but there's definitely some areas we can do better. I mean, the way I look at it is the previous two years Anaheim won 197 games and we won the division this year with 90. I think we're going to have to be better to win the division next year, better than we were this year."

There are certainly other issues with these Rangers, but they possess many of the answers. Daniels created such a group of young kids that he was able to trade away Justin Smoak in a deal that netted Lee and likely was a factor in the team's first World Series berth.

Additionally, the Rangers, who were bought by a new ownership group in 2010 that includes former ace Nolan Ryan, negotiated a new television contract that should allow the club to make big free agent purchases on the open market, creating further competition for the teams on the East Coast. Analysts have long-viewed Lee as a sure-fire bet to be a New York Yankee next season, but it wouldn't be a shock to see him stay in Arlington to be a Ranger.

"I would expect we'll have the ability to be more active than we have been the last few years," Daniels said. "(Our payroll will) definitely be north of where we've been the last couple years."

When Texas traded Smoak for Lee, they created a hole at first base, as Chris Davis was striking out far too often to be productive. They plugged in prospect Mitch Moreland, who hit nine homers and had a .364 on-base percentage in 47 games. In the playoffs, Moreland hit well over .300 in his first pressure-packed situation.

And Moreland wasn't even one of the highly-regarded prospects.

The Rangers, who already have one of the most productive offenses in baseball, could have a star-studded rotation within the next couple years. First is Feliz, who became one of the league's best closers as a rookie in 2010 but could shift to the rotation, where his power fastball could torture AL hitters for years to come.

The 22-year-old Feliz, acquired by the Rangers in the deal that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta, has never started a game in the majors, but went 16-16 with a 3.03 ERA in 79 minor league games, including 53 starts.

"There's no doubt in anybody's mind he can close," Daniels said. "We don't know whether he can start and I don't know that we're going to find out. We've talked about it at some point that we might. We're not going to close that door, but we're also not going to speculate on it any more than is necessary."

Next is Holland, who was used in middle relief in the postseason but has the stuff to become a pretty good major league starter. In Game 4 of the ALCS, Holland relieved Tommy Hunter and threw 3 2/3 innings of one-hit ball against the Yankees, eventually earning his first playoff victory.

Toiling in the minors are the likes of Martin Perez and Tanner Scheppers, both of whom project as above-average major league pitchers. While the odds say that not everyone will pan out, the odds are that one or more of them will.

"A lot of our upper-level better young players have graduated to the big leagues, so I think that next wave coming behind them, there's a few guys at the upper levels, but that next wave is a little bit younger," Daniels said.

So instead of asking the questions about how this team needs to be fixed, we should pose a new set of questions for this loaded group: How many division titles will this team win over the next 10 years? How many league pennants? How many World Series?

"We made a commitment to each other in Spring Training, and a lot of times you say things, but it never happens," said manager Ron Washington. "Well, it happened this year. You know, I'm the leader of the Texas Rangers, but I'm only as good as my followers, and my followers are pretty good, so they made me look good."

So despite the World Series loss this season, all is not lost for the Texas Rangers. They are certainly not a one-year wonder. If anything, this is just the beginning of a long, year-to-year playoff run that their division rival, the Los Angeles Angels, enjoyed throughout much of the 2000s.

105.3 The Fan is the home of Texas Rangers Baseball