Rangers vs. Mariners 7-12-09

I'm taking a day off today. Go Rangers.

Rangers vs Mariners 7-11-09

9:25 - I'm a litte late tonight...I was in Hollywood all day. Also had my first experience a the In-n-Out Burger...not too bad. Can anyone fill me on the top of the first??

9:28 - I hate that train

9:31 - Whata play by Mike, I thought that was a hit and a run for sure.

9:42 - I really want to see Millwood have a good start tonight. His last two have been rough, especially his last start against Anaheim where he gave up 9 runs. I do not want to see a negative trend with Milly going into the All-Star break. Also, with Washburn pitching for Seattle, Millwood will need his good stuff for the Rangers to compete tonight. I don't see how the lefties are possibly going to lay off that slider from Washburn....the Rangers are going to have to wait for him to make mistakes, hopefully they will come. It might be another one of those nights where it will take a couple times through the line up for the Rangers to be able to adjust.

9:50 - That slider is tough. I don't see how any Ranger lefty is going to touch Washburn tonight. Ian Kinsler did make Washburn pay for a fastball right down the middle....it was set up by Andrus having a great leadoff style at bat.....

10:03 - Branyon is an easy strikeout if you make your pitches, but he'll kill a belt high fastball just on the inside part of the plate. Millwood still looking good though.

One thing I really like from the Rangers is every hitter runs hard to first on groundballs. That a sign of where this team's effort level is. Hustle is the only thing in baseball that a player can always control. I wonder if that is to the credit of Wash....

10:24 - Good things about the top of the 5th: Nelly and Salty drove Washburn pitches hard the opposite way, Salty's for a double. Also, Andrus drawing another walk....don't you think he HAS to be the leadoff hitter after the break?

Bad things: Your 1 and 2 hitters not coming through with runners in scoring position...if the Rangers go on to lose, you have to look at this inning as a huge missed opportunity to win.

10:59 - First of all, Marlon Byrd just showed what I was talking about with the hustle...if he's not running hard all the way, he's out at first. But then, a crazy play. I don't know what the rule is but it doesn't matter. It was a base running error by Byrd, I don't know why he didn't see that ball fall.

11:09 - That is another sickening homerun given up by Millwood...that is Johnson's 1st of the season....a lot like Mathis' homerun in Millwood's last start when he was hitting .209....why is Guardado up in the pen and not O'Day or Wilson?? A double by Hannahan....Millwood is done in this one, time to get him out. He's been great, but Washburn has been better.

The rule is out on the Byrd play: "if the player retreats for any reason to the base he came from, the force play is reinstated." So there you have it, the fault is all on Byrd. He needs some new cleats, that is the second costly slip by him tonight.

11:38 - Looks like our goose is cooked tonight. Washburn owned Texas hitters and thanks to the sorry Yankees, we are about to lose first place.

Rangers vs Mariners 7-10-09

9:05 - Live blog time! Let's get ready for a Rangers win. Oh, if you are ever in San Clemente, stop by at LaRocco's Pizza...awesome joint.

I picked the wrong outfielder to sit tonight, it's David Murphy instead and Nelson Cruz is in right. I'm finding out now that David Murphy has a strained finger suffered from his diving attempt on Ichiro last night

9:15 - "Ichiro gets more cheap hits than any player in baseball." That is a quote from Tom Grieve, sounds like he shares my frustration. Bad news - Mariners up early......good news - Yankees up 3-0 in the first over Anaheim.

9:23 - Just a thought: if Griffey would have hit a single in the hole, would we be crucifying Wash? Obviously we won't now because it happened to work and Kinsler got the out at home. But what if?

9:26 - That ball HAS to be cut off by Cruz in right, AWFUL angle and it costs the Rangers a run. The Rangers are going to have to pitch Gutierrez off the plate, he's killing us.

Another thing - that play never happens if the foul ball is caught...

9:30 - Brandon Morrow checks his closet at night for Hank Blalock....ANOTHER shot! Could be a tie game if Jones doesn't swing at a possible ball four on a 3-1 count. But at any rate, we get one back. 2-1.

9:35 - Ok, what do you all think about that steal? I think it was a crappy idea....I don't know if that was Cruz going on his own, or Wash's call. But you have Salty up hitting only .247 and he's up 2-0 in the count...3-0 after the pitch Cruz was thrown out on. If he's up 2-0 in the count, let him finish the at bat! A lot of good things happen when a hitter is up 2-0....

9:51 - BIG MIKE! How did that ball get out??? Tom said exactly what I said, he hit one harder in the 9th last night that barley made it to the warning track....oh well, 4-2 Rangers

9:53 - If I was a Mariner fan, I sure wouldn't be booing for walking Hank....that guy is killing Morrow

10:08 - Let's look at Kinsler's 1st 3 at-bats. 1) Morrow pitched him on the outside corner and he drove a shot to center. 2) Laid off bad pitches, again on the outside part of the plate, and worked a walk. 3) First ball swining and flew out to left. He just missed it, it was a fast ball up on the inside part of the plate and Kinsler doesn't see many pitches where he can turn on, so he took a hack at it. So, after 3 at-bats, I give up 2.5 thumbs up.

Pop fly falls between Byrd and Vizquel. That makes 4 bonehead plays in the game so far (pop foul falls, Young picking up a slow ground ball on the chalk line, Cruz stealing, and now the pop up falling)

10:37 - Morrow out. The Rangers did to him pretty much what I expected....played off his lack of control and drew some walks along with crushing some fastballs. Now let's see what we can do against the bullpen....after last night, I'm not comfortable with just a 2 run lead. Feldman is still going strong though

11:02 - wow, 1st strikeout of the game....Feldman really wanted to finish that inning, but if we don't bring in the lefty to get Ichiro, the Mariners could get a serious rally going

Well...the Mariners have a serious rally going....is Ichiro retiring soon?

11:21 - THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT NELLY CRUZ!!! He must be gearing up for the Home Run Derby.....the book on Cruz is "throw him outside and you'll get him out cuz he pulls everything." The first two pitches were outside, but the upper deck shot came on a belt high fastball right over the middle of the plate.....part of that book on Cruz is to NOT throw him over the middle of the plate....6-2

11:29 - I would walk Gutierrez here...

11:41 - Frankie time. Ichiro hits second, it is IMPERATIVE Frankie gets the 9 hole hitter out to lead off the inning

11:54 - BALLGAME! Frankie gets the job done, what a brilliant job pitching to Ichiro...4 fastballs up in the zone, and a forkball to end it...the walk of Branyon made me a little nervous, but he gets the job done anyway. Good game, Good night.

Pregame Stuff

Rangers rely on this guy for a bounce back

TONIGHT......Scott Feldman will take on this Seattle lineup as the Rangers will try to rebound after a tough loss last night. The bad guys will roll out Brandon Morrow...you might remember him from the earlier series in Arlington when the Rangers had back to back walk offs courtesy of Hank Blalock and Chris Davis. That of course was while Morrow was closing games. Since becoming a starter, Morrow has been much better; in his last two starts, he has only given up 4 runs in 10 2/3 innings. He will rely on his fastball, but can also mix in a slider and a change up. Morrow can have control issues, so if the Rangers are patient with him and look to hit the fastballs, they can have success tonight against Morrow. The Morrow-killer in the Texas line up is Hank Blalcok. Hank had a walk off double and a home run against Morrow the last 2 times he has faced him. Over his career, Hank is 3-4 with a home run and 4 RBI. However, I doubt Morrow will give Hank any high fastballs over the middle of the plate tonight.

Feldman will look to stay hot, he is 7-2 as a starter this year with a 3.25 ERA. Whenever I get ready to watch a Feldman start, I have confidence that he will get the job done. He has gone at least 6 innings in 11 of his 14 starts, pitching well in almost all of those starts. Keep an eye on his cut fastball, Joe Morgan was comparing it to Mariano Rivera's cut fastball and it keeps getting better every start.

Here are some things I think you all should keep an eye on tonight:

Rangers' level of play: Though the Rangers have shown no signs of this this season, sometimes a tough loss can linger into the following game. Keep an eye on how Texas is playing in the first 3 innings to guage how last night's loss is affecting them.

Ian Kinsler's at bats: The man is in a serious funk, we all know that. He knows it too, he was on the Bob and Dan Radio show this afternoon on the Ticket and said, "it's kinda hard [to get out of a slump] when you are popping up every freakin' at bat...). Right now what is important is the approach Ian is taking. Last night he had some very good looking swings that he was able to drive to right. None of them fell but like I said this morning, they are promising swings. He will need to continue to take the same approach tonight because no pitcher in baseball is throwing Kinsler inside pitches he can turn on and drive out of the park. For this reason, Kinsler is drawing more walks, which is a good sign, but the Rangers need the guy to hit.

The Outfield: It's crowded right now so pressure will be on Murphy and Byrd to keep swinging a hot bat or they could quickly be replaced by Nelly Cruz. You have to think Wash is under pressure to get Cruz some at-bats after he was named to the All-Star Game this afternoon. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Marlon Byrd was given a night off tonight. Who do you all think should be playing? What would you do if you were Wash?

One other note on Cruz, according to his Facebook he will be participating in the Home Run Derby.

We will be welcoming another contributor - Brad "Madman" Calhoun. Look for his insights coming soon. If anyone else out there is interested in becoming a contributor, let me know.

Join us for the live in game blog tonight. Go Rangers!

BREAKING NEWS

Evan Grant just reported this....

Nelson Cruz Going To All-Star Game

With news today that Torii Hunter is going to the DL, the American League has added Nelson Cruz to the AL All-Star roster. Since Hunter was a player selection, the replacement for him had to be the next person in line among player voting. That would be Mr. Cruz. No word on whether he might be a late addition to the Home Run Derby, but the dude does have 20 homers.

Also, it is still possible that Ian Kinsler could end up an All-Star. Dustin Pedroia’s wife is having pregnancy complications and he may have to excuse himself from playing to be with her. If so, Kinsler and New York’s Robinson Cano would be the most logical choices. But, since Pedroia was elected by the fans, that replacement decision would be in the hands of Tampa Bay and AL manager Joe Maddon.

I guess we know who the players around the league think should be playing in the Texas line up....does Nelly deserve this?

Morning After

Bummer

There are some tremors around Ranger Nation regarding last night's game. "What's up with the Rangers?" "Should be trade C.J.?" "They blew it!" ect, ect...

Look, in a major league season you are not going to win every game. You have to remember that the other team gets paid a lot of money and tries real hard too. Felix Hernandez was great as expected and it was one of those games where the Rangers were fortunate just to have a chance to win it. C. J. Wilson has been outstanding all season, so one bad fastball is excusable because it happens. We should only be alarmed if those bad pitches surface game after game, but even Mariano Rivera has blown a game or two in his career. Despite the loss, there are some positives to take away from last night:

Tommy Hunter - Outstanding again for the second straight start. 6 IP, 0 runs, 4 hits. He kept the Mariners hitters off balance by mixing his breaking pitches well with his fastball. With the Rangers having so many injuries in the rotation this year, Tommy Hunter is a VERY welcome surprise heading into the second half.

Hank Blalock - Stayed hot with two more hits. I heard Hank say in an interview that he has been susceptible to chasing pitches outside of the zone. Well obviously the Hammer has taken his own critism and adjusted because he has only been swinging at strikes and hitting them hard.

Ian Kinsler - I know he didn't get any hits, but I love the fact he drove a couple balls hard to right field. It showes he's not trying to pull everything and hitting the ball where it is pitched. As long as Ian has a good approach at the plate, the hits will fall. He also drew a walk, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch. So even without getting a hit, he made things happen and that is what good players do. Ian will be just fine.

And now some things from around the media world.....

Wash is in a tough spot when it comes to the outfield...Nelson Cruz is not happy, but can you blame him? You can't really blame Wash either.....

Richard Durret of the DMN interviews a blogger on the Mariner's side of the house....interesting look on the enemy

Ian Kinsler talks about missing out on the All Star game


Rangers look to rebound tonight....I'll have a pre game post later this afternoon. Also tonight, keep an eye on the Yankees/Angels game. The Angels made up some serious ground on Texas during interleague play, but have been very very ordinary against the American League.....let's see how the handle the Yankees down here in the OC.

Rangers vs Mariners 7-9-09

9:07 - I'm back tonight after a night off last night. Good job by Trevor filling in. It's game time and let me tell you, I am so glad the Rangers are out of Anaheim because when they are here, I have to watch the crappy Angels broadcast on TV....not tonight, it's all about TAG and Josh.

They showed a stat I missed - Felix Hernandez is 0-5 against Texas...that is surprising, but he does pitch well against them, it's just the Mariners can't hit. Hopefully this is a more plate disciplined Ranger team we'll see tonight....they've been great, and if they can keep it up against the pitchers in THIS series, it MIGHT help change my opinion on Rudy.

9:11 - Cruz out of the lineup again....is he hurt?

9:24 - Ichiro has to be the most frustrating hitter in the league to face....he just slaps several foul balls away until he dribbles an infield hit. It's gotta be like trying to step on an ant but when you pick up your foot, it keeps crawling toward you until it eventually crawls on you and bites you. But Hunter did a good job striking out Branyon and getting the double play.

If the Rangers keep trying to pull outside pitches, it'll be a long night

9:44 - What a play by Andrus. At first I was happy he snagged it to save a run...but then he turned and fired to second to get the out, very nice. Hunter does a good job pitching out of trouble....I haven't watched much Mariner baseball this season, but I imagine lack of execution is a big reason why their offense struggles. With runners on 1st and 2nd nobody out, the bunt has to be laid down...it didn't, and Hunter gets out of the inning.

Salty tries to bunt his way on...it's not a terrible idea, but I'd rather see some pitches against Hernandez so the next time up he'll have a good idea of the stuff he's got. I expect if the Rangers are going to have any success at the plate, it will come after they have seen Felix once, maybe twice and are able to adjust to what he is throwing.

10:20 - What can I say? King Felix can really hurl it. The Rangers can't be at the plate thinking they are facing Ervin Santana with average stuff, they have to take a "contact approach" and not a "power approach."

10:35 - 3rd time through the order for both teams now...maybe we'll see some things loosen up. Good signs as Kinsler walks and Young singles to center.

10:43 - Not sure what happened there....I think that was intended to be a straight steal but Josh knew he was going to be out by a mile so he winged it and tried to stay in a rundown long enough to score Young. It seemed Young was confused and it didn't work out for Texas. But they get yet another run on a wild pitch to strike first. 1-0

11:00 - Tommy Hunter leaves after a very solid 6 innings. Daren O'Day in now, and does anyone else get the feeling that when the bullpen has the game, it's in safe hands? It's the lowest paid bullpen in baseball but they have been outstanding.

11:11 - Ichiro annoys me, but what a hitter. You can't blame Murphy for going for it, he didn't hesitate, he just came up a little short....luckily there isn't a whole lot threat behind Ichiro so Wilson has a good chance of pitching out of this....yes, I am putting my faith in C.J. for once.

11:21 - Ouch. 3-1

11:29 - Can't win em all.....and when Felix Hernandez is pitching, most of the time you aren't going to win. They'll try it again tomorrow night.

Rangers vs. Mariners Preview

The Rangers finish off the first half of the season with a 4 game swing through Seattle. This series will be important for Texas because they want to end a strong first half with a strong finish. Seattle will want to use these games to further real in Texas in the west. With a strong June where they went 15-10, Seattle has moved to 4.5 behind Texas. The Rangers will have trouble matching up with Seattle's starting pitching, but there are several distinct advantages Texas has over the Mariners that should give them the edge in this series.

Starting Pitching: The Mariners' starting pitchers can flat out throw it. Their 3.78 ERA is good enough for 1st in the American League. Felix Hernandez will go tonight for Seattle and he is in the top 10 in all major individual pitching categories in the AL. In his only start vs Texas this year, he went 7 innings and gave up 0 runs. Texas will counter tonight with Tommy Hunter who was brilliant against Tampa Bay, but it is still a young kid trying to make his way in this league. I'll have a more in depth look at the pitching match-ups of the following games as the series goes on.

Offense: I have grilled the Rangers on their on base % this year, but surprisingly they have a higher OBS than the Mariners do....geeeez. The Mariners are slightly ahead of the Rangers in batting average and total hits, but the Rangers have 87 more runs scored so they get the advantage. The key will be to get Ian Kinsler going and for the rest of the guys to stay hot. They will see some very good pitching, but if they remain disciplined they can have the same success as they did against the Angels top pitchers. For Seattle, they rely on Ichiro to be their catalyst. It is important to keep him off the bases.

Defense: Not much you can really say here except Ranger defense - good and improving. Mariners defense - garbage. The reason the Mariners have not been more competative in the west is because of their defense. They are coming off a complete meltdown agaist Baltimore where they made two key errors in the 9th inning to lose that game.


The Rangers are hot right now and they need to keep it up in these next 4 games. Eventually Hank, Murph, Jones, and Marlon Byrd are going to cool off and they will need the steady production of Mike Young and much much improvement out of Ian Kinsler. He got the night off last night and he is no longer in the running for the All-Star team, so maybe he is rested, focused, and ready to contribute to the Texas offense. I'll give T. R. Sullvin the last word on this thing:

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

07/09/09 2:00 AM ET

ANAHEIM -- Ian Kinsler will be back in the lineup when the Rangers open a four-game series with the Mariners on Thursday at Safeco Field.

Kinsler, one of five candidates for the 2008 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote, was given a night off by manager Ron Washington after going 4-for-39 in his last nine games.

Asked if he was tired, Kinsler said, "It comes and it goes. It's something that you have to deal with when you play every day. That's the way it goes. I'm grinding. I'm trying to get ready for the second half and ready for a playoff push at the end."

The Rangers go into the series having seven of their last eight games after taking two of three from the Angels in Anaheim. That left them in first place, one game ahead of the Angels and 41/2 games ahead of the Mariners.

This is only the seventh time in club history the Rangers have been in first place by at least one game as late as July 8. Three of those seasons came in 1996 and '98-99, when they won their three division titles, and in '94, when they were in first place at the time of the season-ending strike.

The Rangers also go into the series with a 17-5 record against the American League West, including a 5-0 record against the Mariners. They took two from the Mariners at Safeco Field on May 4-5 and swept a three-game series in Arlington.

Log on tonight for the live in-game blog, barring any sudden poker tournaments participated in by my buddy the Yankee's fan, I will be back hosting. Go Rangers!

Day After Thoughts

Bombin' Jones leads us to 1st

Busy work today so the post game is coming a little late.

The Rangers came out last night and pounded Ervin Santana and the Angels en route to the top of the AL West. I couldn't do the in-game blog last night, but Trevor did a good job filling in. I did however watch the game, my thoughts:

Andruw Jones - WOW. 3 home runs last night. This guy is not missing mistakes over the plate. He is swinging with full confidence and he's seeing the ball well. On his 2nd at bat, he laid off some very tough pitches before getting a fastball over the middle of the plate (I don't care what Santana says, that was not a "good fastball.") Is he back to the form of his Atlanta days??

Angels effort - Is it just me, or were the Angels very flat last night in a huge game at home? I'm wondering if the effect of Vlad and Torii Hunter out of the lineup plus the Rangers quick start in the first inning kind of took the wind out of their sails from the get go. The Rangers really didn't give them any hope of being in this game, but the Angels didn't show any fight either.

Vicente Padilla - Looked healthy and pitched well. He seemed to struggle early with his command but he definitely found it as the game went on. The strikeout of Abreu was a thing of beauty. He says he is fine after coming out of the game in the 6th, so hopefully he can build on this start his next time out.


Is anyone dreaming about Roy Halliday in Texas? I wouldn't get your hopes up. The Rangers are having madd financial issues and they have come out and said they will not expand their payroll with any trade. It is possible to work out a deal where Toronto would still pay a share of Halliday's contract (see: Arod trade to New York), but I do not think the Rangers are interested in giving away any big peices on their deep farm team. In my opinion, in order to get Halliday you are looking at losing Neftali Feliz, Julio Borbon, and maybe Blake Bevin, and depending on the greed of Toronto, Justin Smoak. I am personally not interested in giving up any of those players, especially Feliz and Smoak. The Rangers could have something in the works to bring a player in before the deadline, but don't count on Halliday.

Interesting read on texasrangers.com about the Rangers top 20 prospects.

If you love stats, particularly those involving the Rangers vs. Angels, check this out.

I will now post this, do some work, and then begin researching this Mariners team....

Rangers vs Angels 7-08-09

10:03 Central

The ILR admin is having some computer issues. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'll do my best to update this game. Here's what's happened so far--

Top 1st:

After Vizquel flies out, Mike Young starts the Rangers off with a single to right. Hamilton comes up and hits a dp ball but hustles it out for a fielders choice. Andruw Jones comes up and hits a two-run blast to the mountains. 2-0 Rangers

Bottom 1st:

Padilla starts the game with a K. He's had good stuff so far. Gets the newest Ranger Killer Juan Rivera to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Bottom 2nd:

Hamilton makes a good diving play to get former Ranger Great Matthews Jr. out. Padilla induces another double play.

Top 3rd:

Omar Vizquel- can't say enough about the guy. Every time he gets put into the lineup he finds a way to contribute. He had started both Ranger double plays, and now he doubles down the RF line, and crosses the plate on two wild pitches by Ervin Santana. 3-0 Rangers

Andruw Jones is on Fire! Second homer of the night. This time hugging the left field line. 4-0 Rangers

Bottom 3rd:

After giving up two weak singles to Aybar and Figgins, Padilla gives up a RBI single to Abreu. Gets Rivera to fly out with no further damage. 4-1 Rangers

Top 4th:

Taylor Teagarden! Teagarden's first homerun of this year. Must feel good to get it against the Hated Angels. 5-1 Rangers


10:35 Central

Wow.. wow. Andruw Jones. He is simply destroying the ball. Another homer for the big guy. This time of reliever Rich Thompson, who replaced the struggling Santana to start the 5th. He is starting to play like his old self again back in his days as a Brave. Hank follows with an off-the-wall double, followed by yet another Ranger shot- This time by the Beastman Marlon Byrd. The Rangers are really layin it on the Angels right now. 8-1 Rangers

10:46 Central

Whoo! Set 'im down! Padilla is pitching an excellent game. He is really staying in control of his stuff and hitting his spots. The Angels are struggling to make solid contact off the guy. Aside from a couple solid shots in the 1st and a couple more throughout the game, the Angels have produced next to nothing. The only Angel run has been the product of two weakly hit bloops into shallow outfield, and a linedrive that dropped right in front of Murphy. Great job by Padilla so far.


10:55 Central

Mike Young! Barely misses the oppo-homer. May have had an RBI if it were Kinsler on the basepaths instead of Vizquel--Kinsler gets a much needed night off. Joining him are two of the Angels' most dangerous players: Torii Hunter and RK#1 (Ranger Killer No. One) Vladdy. If you missed last night's action, Vlad left the game with a strained muscle behind his knee. Hunter, on the other hand, comes as a little bit of a shock. He will undergo an MRI on a groin injury that he suffered during a game against the Giants. We, as Ranger fans, are not missing them at all tonight- but the Angels are just not the same team without em.

Check out this LA Times article for more on Vlad and Hunter:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-angels-fyi9-2009jul09,0,5782087.story


11:16 Central

Andrus needs to pick up the base hits and RBIs if he wants to remain a contender for Rookie of the Year..


11:22 Central

Did anyone catch what Lewin said about the AA on the side of Padilla's hat? Speaking of Padilla, he just took one to the hand.. Hopefully its not serious..


11:25 Central

Looks like Wash is going to play it safe and go ahead to Grilli. Padilla ends the night with close to 100 pitches.

6 innings with 1 ER and 4 K's

Good outing for Padilla


11:40 Central

Rangers haven't scored a run since the 5th. I want to say that 7 runs is more than enough of a lead, but you just never know with the Angels. But the pitching has done it's job tonight so far. Grilli did a good job getting out of the 7th, and now its ol' Eddie's turn-- Who just struck out Abreu looking.

For some reason, I am never comfortable with Eddie on the mound. Guess its better than having Madrigal the Turtle out there though..


11:45 Central

Good job Eddie. Solid inning. Guess I underestimate you. Still not comfortable with him out there though, haha.

So Andruw Jones hits for history now. Very few have hit more than 3 homers in a single game, and no Ranger has ever done it. It'll be cool if he does


11:52 Central

Three more outs and the Rangers stand alone. We got O'Day on the mound. Lets see him shut down his former team and put the Rangers on top!


11:58

BALLGAME!! First place again baby! Missed it. Feels good. Rangers are now 7-2 against the Hated Angels. Thats a great sign. Stop by tomorrow for Jacob's post-game wrap-up. We got the upswing Mariners tomorrow-- catch the ILR pregame analysis with Jacob. Goodnight Ranger Fans. Go celebrate

Rangers vs. Angels 7-8-09

I'm going to be unavailable tonight, Trevor will be filling in. Go Rangers!

Battle for First Tonight....

Well, it most likely won't come down to blows, but I would expect to see a lot of intensity in this game tonight. Both of these teams have a lot of pride and want to hold that number 1 spot.

Vicente Padilla - This will be his first start since June 29th, also against Anaheim, where he was cruising along in that game until the 5th inning where I believe he suffered his injury and began to get hit around in that game. All in all, it's been a solid season for Vicente who has been dubbed one of Wash's "horses." Padilla also had another start against the Angels on May 16th where he went 8 innings only giving up 3 runs. We will get a good idea about how Padilla is feeling by gauging his fastball. When Padilla has his good stuff, his fastball is anywhere from 94-96. Another thing to keep an eye on is the location of his breaking pitches, he must keep from leaving them up and over the plate.,

Ervin Santana - The Rangers will take their swings against another who is coming off of injury in Ervin Santana. Santana normally has electric stuff but is only making his second start since coming off the DL. His start on July 3rd against Baltimore did not go so well. He pitched 5 innings giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Santana has electric stuff when he's on, sporting a mid 90's fastball and an electric slider. Look for him to challenge the Rangers with fastballs early, and then dishing a steady diet of sliders later on.

Keys to the game tonight:

• Padilla. Of course your starting pitcher is going to be a key every night, but tonight especially. The bullpen was taxed for 5 innings last night and the Rangers need their "horse."

• Plate discipline. The Rangers have been doing an increasingly better job of working counts, drawing walks, and hitting the pitches over the plate. If the Rangers start chasing Santana's slider and striking out a lot, they'll give Santana confidence and will be in for a long night.

• Juan Rivera. Like I said last night, welcome to the "Ranger Killer Club," Juan. Check out these stats in 31 at bats: AVG: .419 Homeruns: 4 OBP: .438 SLG: .806 gawww leee! We have to get this guy out tonight.

Take care of these things, and the Rangers should be looking at 1st place all alone. Join me tonight for the in-game blog, we had some good conversation going last night thanks to Trevor....hopefully we can recruit more contributers.

Tied at the top once again

The Rangers got back to business last night after a bad game Monday. Here are some notes, news bits, and thoughts from last night's game.

• Bullpen - Dustin Nippert got his first start and it was mercifully over before it got ugly. He was only able to get through 3.2 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. When he came out of the game, the game was not out of hand and the bullpen made sure the Rangers had a chance. They went the final 5.1 only giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run.

• Adjustments - I have grilled the Rangers in the month of June about their inability to adjust to a pitcher as the game went on, but last night was not the case. After two unsuccessful trips through the order, the Rangers stopped chasing the curve ball in the dirt and they found their timing against the fastball. A perfect example was David Murphy's at-bat in the 5th when he fouled off several tough pitches and laid off breaking pitches outside the zone to work a walk. That was followed by Salty's big hit after he too laid off a curve ball in the dirt and drilled a fastball to right to score two runs.

• Hamilton - The dude is looking awesome. He is 5-8 since coming back and is running the bases great. Mike Scioscia is taking notice of Hamilton's bat as he intentionally walked Hamilton to get to Jones who had a 3 run home run earlier in the game.

• Andruw Jones - Speaking of Jones, he did have another huge homerun as I just mentioned. That gives him 11 on the season, 5 in the last 3 weeks.....he had 3 all of last season.

• Hank Blalock - He looks like a different player ever since getting the chance to play every day. 3 more hits last night and some awesome base running. How much better is this team now that Chris Davis is out and Hank is in?

There seems to be a lot of confusion about Derek Holland going back to the bullpen. here is an article by T. R. Sullivan discussing the issue:

ANAHEIM -- Derek Holland is going to spend the final week of the first half in the Rangers' bullpen.

That will likely be the arrangement in the second half as well, unless the Rangers have another pressing need for a starting pitcher.

As Holland works his way through his first season in the Major Leagues, the Rangers seem torn, knowing that the rookie left-hander's future is as a starter but needing him more as a reliever right now.

"We think Derek's ultimately going to be a starter for us, and a good one at that," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said on Tuesday. "Right now, he may be best able to help the team in the bullpen, given the position we're in, where his stuff really plays up, especially from the left side.

"Depending how things shake out over the next few weeks, he's an option for both roles. A lot of that depends on the health of some other guys and his continued development."

Holland was scheduled to start on Thursday against the Mariners. But the Rangers' rotation was thrown out of whack by Vicente Padilla's strained right shoulder. The Rangers had to insert Dustin Nippert into the rotation for Tuesday night's game against the Angels, with Padilla getting pushed back to Wednesday.

Originally, the Rangers decided to push everybody back one day. That would have meant Holland pitching on Friday. Now the Rangers have decided to keep everybody else in line and use Holland out of the bullpen.

"Right now we need him out of the bullpen," Rangers manager Ron Washington said before Tuesday's game.

And after the All-Star break?

"Right now we're just talking about going down the stretch this week to the All-Star Game with him in the bullpen," Washington said. "Let's let Nippert get through tonight and see where we go from there."

The Rangers currently have four starters locked into the rotation: Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter. They are without Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy, who are likely to be out until August or beyond. If Nippert can hold down a spot until Harrison returns, the Rangers can keep Holland in the bullpen.

"I still have to go out and pitch," Holland said. "No matter what I do, I've still got to pitch well and help the team win. That's what's on my mind."

Holland is 1-1 with a 6.06 ERA in nine relief appearances and 1-4 with a 6.23 ERA in seven starts. The concern -- as with many young Rangers pitchers over the past few years -- is that his secondary pitches are not quite Major League ready. He can get by with a fastball coming out of the bullpen, but he still needs to improve his curve, slider and changeup.

"I'm still working on them," Holland said. "I knew from the beginning they weren't picture-perfect. I'm still trying to get them better. I have better control of my slider, my curveball is coming around, but my changeup ... I haven't been using that much."

The Rangers refer to Holland as a "work in progress," but there are no plans to send him to Triple-A Oklahoma City to work on his repertoire while starting every fifth day. He's staying with the Rangers.

"We know he can pitch effectively out of the bullpen," Washington said. "His upside is as a starter. He has an idea, but we just have to make sure he maintains that progress. It's definitely his secondary stuff that he has to work on. Most young pitchers, that's what they have to develop. They can't go through Major League hitters with just a fastball."

Holland was called up in April after making just one start for Oklahoma City. He spent most of 2008 in Class A before making four starts at Double-A Frisco at the end of the season. He has 221 2/3 innings of Minor League experience, but just 30 above Class A.

He has much to learn, and it appears he'll do much of it while working out of the bullpen.

"We knew we were challenging him by making the move in April," Daniels said. "He's had some games where the changeup is a real weapon, times when the slider and curveball are there -- and other games where they're not and teams are able to sit on one pitch. It's a process, and he's learning on the job."

And then this on Kinsler's fatigue....

By JEFF WILSON

jwilson@star-telegram.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. — It’s too late now to give Ian Kinsler a game off, even though he could use a day on the bench to rest his body and his mind.

The Texas Rangers are in the midst of a critical seven-game road trip against the teams directly ahead of them and behind them in the American League West standings.

They need Kinsler in the lineup.

The All-Star break is less than a week away, beginning as soon as the last out is made Sunday at Seattle.

Kinsler will get the rest he needs then, even if he maintains his lead in the Sprint Final Vote and makes the AL All-Star team.

So, there he was atop the lineup Tuesday at Angel Stadium, riding a 1-for-25 skid but making his 81st start as the Rangers played their 82nd game.

The baseball season is a grind, and a fatigued Kinsler is experiencing it right now.

"There’s no reason to take a day off right now," the second baseman said. "It’s something you’ve got to grind through as a player. That’s it."

He entered the second of three games against the Los Angeles Angels with his average sitting at .253, but had snapped a career-worst 0-for-24 slide in his final at-bat Monday with a two-run homer.

The slump had extended to 1-for-29 at press time Tuesday night with the Rangers leading the Angels 6-4 in the seventh.

A slow bat is the primary cause for his struggles, he said. Sometimes a player can get away with a few hits when his bat lags, but Kinsler isn’t having that kind of luck.

The hope is that his 20th homer off Jered Weaver might be where a turnaround begins.

"It’s just a relief to get a hit. It’s been awhile," Kinsler said. "Hopefully, I can get going. I’d like to be feeling good at the plate before the break."

Said manager Ron Washington: "Every time he goes up there, I think this is the at-bat that’s going to get him going. It’s going to be an experience for him to grind through this, and it’s going to make him better."

Kinsler remains the Rangers’ best option atop the lineup, even though he doesn’t fit the profile of a typical leadoff hitter. He’s more like Cleveland outfielder Grady Sizemore than he is Angels third baseman Chone Figgins.

Kinsler is tied for the team lead in homers and steals, and leads in RBI and walks.

"What is the prototypical leadoff hitter? Are you not allowed to hit the ball out of the ballpark if you’re a leadoff hitter?" Kinsler said. "As long as I’m there, I’m going to do my best to jump-start the offense."

Some in the organization believe the Rangers might be better served in future seasons to have Kinsler lower in the order while outfielder Julio Borbon or even shortstop Elvis Andrus takes over the top spot.

Borbon, who was optioned to Triple A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, is better suited for the spot. He has speed and power, but is more likely to hit the ball gap-to-gap as well as drop bunts for base hits. He also has made it a focus this season to work pitchers more and doesn’t get too rattled when he’s behind in the count.

"If there’s a spot for him to be on the field every day, I’d consider that," Washington said. "That would give Ian a chance to maybe hit down in the lineup, but if you look at the lineup now, come on."

But the lineup now and for the rest of the season will feature Kinsler at the top. The baseball season is a grind, and the All-Star is working to get to Sunday and then through the rest of the season.

"I know it’s a long season and I have to be in it the long haul," Kinsler said. "I just have to look back at the end of the season and say, 'That was a tough season, I grinded through it, and I’m proud of what I did.’ "

Rangers again tied for first. They will look to take the series and win and the division lead tonight.

Rangers vs. Angels 7-7-09

9:09 - Live in game blog time. Can we please move Andrus to leadoff yet?

9:28 - Very good at-bats from Hamilton so far in these past two games, that is a good sign. I'm interested to see what Nippert has in his bag. So far, seems like he throws a 2-seem and a 4-seem fastball with good velocity.

9:35 - I expect Lackey's breaking pitch in the dirt to give the Rangers fits all night tonight. The Rangers have made it a point this season to swing at pitches like that and Lackey has one of the best.

Evan Grant posted a very interesting read about the Rangers statistical comparison from 08 to 09. Check it out - http://insidecorner.dmagazine.com/index.php/2009/07/07/half-time-a-look-at-the-texas-rangers-at-the-seasons-halfway-point-compared-to-2008/

9:44 - Derek Holland is coming off his best outing of his career....his reward? Demotion to the bullpen. A slightly confusing move if you ask me. Assuming Padilla is ok, the Rangers rotation now looks like this:

Millwood
Padilla
Feldman
Hunter
Nippert

I suppose the Rangers want Holland to further develop his secondary pitches. Look for him to help out Jason Jennings in the middle relief / long relief roll. He could also re-enter the rotation depending on how well Hunter and Nippert pitch. Also, McCarthy will be back in August.

9:51 - I hope Kinsler, Jones, and Cruz are watching Hamilton hit. He's laying off bad pitches and not trying to do too much, just solid base hits. From this time last year, the Rangers have 21 more homeruns, but have 42 less runs. That is most likely due to the 30 point drop in on base %.

Rangers with runners in scoring position tonight: 0-3

10:01 - Nippert's ancient delivery to the plate and poor location of his fastball has Texas down 1-0. Figgins will steal second and third if Nippert doesn't speed up to the plate.

10:05 - I really hope Nippert has something other than a fastball....

10:19 - It's going to be a loooong night if the Rangers keep chasing that dang curve ball in the dirt. If you try to do too much against Lackey, he will exploit you with the offspeed stuff.

10:37 - That's all for Nippert. The Angels were sitting dead red on his fastball and Washington knew he was cooked. Now new bullpen guy Derek Holland will get a chance to save this one. The Rangers will have their 3rd trip through the order against Lackey. The first time through, Lackey gave them a steady diet of fastballs and the Rangers were able to get some guys on base. Second time through was a lot of breaking pitches and the Rangers did nothing. I imagine Lackey will be sticking with the curve in the dirt for the most part.

10:57 - wow! What a turn around! Aside from Kinsler, the Rangers adjusted to Lackey beautifully! Young started this thing hustling out an infield hit, Hamilton did what he's been doing, and Jones waited on the curveball. Murphy had a great at bat, Hank with good baserunning, and Satly adjusted nicely and ripped one. So many good things in that inning.....now we rely on the what should be tired arm of Derek Holland. Let's keep in mind, he threw 93 pitches on Saturday.

11:13 - That slider Holland got Rivera on looked strangely similar to a C.J. slider....maybe he's teaching the kid a thing or two?

11:15 - Not sure why Salty didn't turn his body around on that pop up. He "New York Met'd" it....I hope it doesn't come back to hurt Texas, Holland pitched well and now he'll give way to Jennings.

11:19 - Word to Angels' fans: Do not use those stupid thundersticks at inappropriate times in the game. One out and nobody on base is not an opportune time to bust out the sticks. I swear, I was at the game last night and they would pound those sticks at the most random times....HEADACHE

11:28 - A run walked in is probably the most agonizing way to give up a run....doing it after a dropped pop up only makes it worse. But wow, what a relief striking out Abreu. In a game where the Rangers didn't get anything from their starter and are relying heavily on the bullpen, you have to think they will need more runs to win this game tonight.

11:42 - Disappointing O'Day couldn't get it done...well-placed singles by the Angels. C.J. will try it now as the bullpen carousel continues.

11:55 - Rangers dance out of another bases loaded situation.....WE NEED MORE RAIN!!!

12:00 - You never like to see a guy get injured, but I will not miss Vlady in the 8th inning....although GMJ's last at bat against the Rangers was a bases loaded hit....we'll try to get an update on Vlady asap. Time for Kinsler to do something.

12:10 - Thank you Kinsler! Nice to see him finally contribute. The Rangers got some rain that inning....does C.J. come back out for the 8th??

12:15 - I wish every ball was hit to Andrus....the guy is incredible to watch. There have been several discussions about him possibly being the Rookie of the Year...it is definitely something to look into a little more seriously now that we are half way through the season.

12:17 - Vlad: strained muscle behind his left knee. I don't know how serious that is in the baseball world...is there a doctor in the house?? Good job, C.J.

10:31 - Welcome to the Ranger Killer Club, Juan. I'll have stats on him vs. Texas tomorrow. Come on Frankie! It's late.

10:33 - HELLO WIN COLUMN! More on this tomorrow....now that I'm getting comments, I'm more motivated to do a good job with this blog. Goodnight!

Rangers vs. Rays 7-5-09

7:12 - Good inning by Feldman with help from an outstanding play by Byrd in center....Rangers take hacks against Garza tonight who uses the "glove shake" which is pretending like he's getting a funky grip on a pitch only to come with a fastball. Funny stuff.

7:21 - I fully expect that will be the last time Young chases that pitch tonight...he's seen it, he'll adjust. Rangers cookin here in the first as Murph rips one.

7:47 - 36 pitches that inning for Feldman. Ouch. But at least he gets out of it with no runs scored....he'll need some short innings to make it anywhere in this game though.

7:56 - good job by the kids getting the run in.

Josh Hamilton was 2-4 with a double for Oklahoma today...there is a good chance he'll be in the lineup tomorrow night in Anaheim. (I have tickets, booyah)

8:04 - speed, speed, speed......it kills. talk about little ball: hit batter, walk, double steal, sac fly, score on an error. 2-2

8:23 - so Chris Davis, let me ask you something. You're hitting .200 this season and you're up 2-0 in the count.....what on God's green earth are you doing SWINGING? Not a successful inning for Texas as they had the bases loaded with no one out and only get a mercy run on a Bartlett error. Rangers with runners in scoring position: 2-9

8:32 - This next inning will be interesting. Andrus will lead off and this might give us a preview of how the Rangers lineup might look like in the second half of the season. Andrus leading off followed by Kinsler and Young

8:50 - Much better job by Texas of executing this inning with the bases loaded....no game changing big hit, but they did get a couple sac flies. As far as the possible lineup preview, looked pretty good don't you think?

8:58 - Feldman is really having a hard time tonight concentrating with Crawford and Upton running the bases...maybe he should take a lesson from Millwood who's the other extreme. Milly's thought is "you can take second and third, but ya aint gettin home!"

9:18 - Do the Rays understand the fundamental base running rule "freeze on a line drive?"

9:38 - That Jennings sinking fastball is wicked

9:51 - You have to think if the Rays are going to come back in this one, the 8th inning will be where it happens. Upton and Crawford to lead off. This is the 4th time Upton has lead off in this game, each time he has been retired, the Rays haven't scored. The inning where the Rays got their two runs, Upton reached on HBP. Very important to keep him off base

10:02 - C.J. did his job, now it's Frankie time. Kinsler: 0 for last 21...yikes.

10:18 - Rangers sweep. Today is a good day for Ranger fans. Goodnight.

I haven't been able to be online this weekend due to the July 4th weekend, but I'm ready to do the in-game blog tonight. We have Matt Garza vs. Scott Feldman as the Rangers try to sweep the defending AL champs outta the Agg.

BREAKING NEWS.....maybe.....

Lonestarball.com is reporting this....

Breaking News -- Tom Hicks to sell the Rangers to Lenny Dykstra

by Adam J. Morris

An LSB exclusive -- Tom Hicks will be selling the Texas Rangers to surprise bidder Lenny Dykstra.

Hicks reportedly was impressed with Dykstra's claims of having lots of "cheddar." Hicks also had read that "Dykstra has all the money," and obviously, if Hicks needs money and Dykstra has all the money, then Hicks would only be able to sell the club to Dykstra, since no one else has any money, leading to a deal being closed much more quickly.

Dykstra reportedly will be flying to Arlington to finalize the deal on a private plane, as soon as he can find someone to let him borrow a credit card to pay for the jet fuel with.

WOW! I'm skeptical about this because I'm not seeing it anywhere else....but if it's true, wow!

Game Review

HANK!

5 Thoughts about last night's game:

Mike Young: Before the game, I named Ian Kinsler a key to the game but he laid an 0-5 egg. Mike Young had 3 hits including the leadoff hit in the 9th that started the rally. He picked up the slack.

Kevin Millwood: He once again pitched like an ace, at least all the way up to the 7th inning where I think the heat got to him and he lost command of his fastball. It wasn't his best game but he held Angels hitters to 1 run over 6 innings.

Hitting with RISP: Hitting with runners in scoring position is something that has really doomed this team over the past decade. While the offense has been known to be strength of this team, timely hitting with runners on base has been a weakness. Last night the Rangers lineup was 5-11 with RISP, that is excellent.

Angels Baserunning: What can I really say about it? It was garbage.

Franky Fransisco: No command of his fastball whatsoever, I hope it was only a bad game and not a preview of the post-DL Franky.

All in all, it was a good series for the Rangers. They could not get anything going against O'Sullivan in the first game, but they knocked around Joe Saunders and Jarred Weaver pretty well. The Rangers are 5-1 against the Angels and 15-4 against the west, that is what is keeping this team in the hunt and that is what you HAVE to do if you want to be in it at the end.

Several times over the past month, the Rangers seemed like they were coming out of their offensive rut but then fell right back into it again. It will be important for the Rangers to build on what they accomplished in this Angels series and carry it over to the Tampa series.

Rangers vs. Angels 6-1-09

7:44 - Off to a late start tonight, the games come on early here on the west coast. Anyway, I'll be tracking my 3 keys to the game tonight as we go, right now Millwood seems to have his good stuff.

7:46 - Rangers with runners in scoring position: 0-3

8:05 - Vlad kills the Rangers. With his two hits tonight already, he is hitting .346 vs the Rangers....is this guy retiring soon??

8:11 - Kevin Millwood....All Star? I say yes, what do yall think?

8:13 - HANK! 1-0

8:14 - a couple of pitches thrown where Weaver didn't want them....good job by Hank and Nelly to crush them. That is exactly what Texas needs to do, lay off the stuff out of the zone, and crush the mistakes.

8:17 - If I gave up a 2 out RBI basehit to Chris Davis, I'd be awfully upset too....just sayin. But Davis did do a good job of driving yet another mistake by Weaver after Cruz did a good job of getting himself into scoring position with 2 outs. Rangers with runners in scoring position: 1-4

8:25 - My take on why Julio Borbon is not in the lineup for the second straight night: I don't understand bringing up the kid and not playing him, but what probably is going through Wash's mind is the Rangers really need this game tonight vs. the Angels to get back within a half game. Murphy has been the Rangers best hitter in June, Byrd is hot, and Cruz is starting to get his swing back. There just isn't room for Borbon at the moment....look for him to get some time this weekend vs. Tampa or to be sent back down.

8:30 - Time to take a look at my 3 keys to the game

Kinsler - 0-3. non-contributor

Millwood - 5 IP, 0 Runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts. Obviously he is doing what he needs to do

Defense - made a great play in the 2nd to turn an obscure double play. Satly let a ball get by him on a strikeout and Davis made a strange mistake on a groundball but neither have hurt the Rangers.

8:39 - Bad News: Vlad is 3-3. Good News: Rest of Angels 1-16

8:44 - Angels got one there, but they continue to murder themselves on the bases....great play by Byrd! It will be interesting to see if these baserunning errors end up costing the Angels the game. Before the play, my buddy the Yankee's fan predicted a run, I predicted a double play.....baseball is a funny game. 2-1

8:55 - If there is anyone out there NOT confused by Borbon pinch hitting, please explain it to me.....but WOW! Good job kid! clutch hit, first of career for Borbon. 3-1

8:57 - Evan Grant is now reporting Nelson Cruz has a stiff lower back...hope it's not serious

9:02 - Hit the road, Jack! Weaver is chased, Rangers up 5-1. What a quirky game so far with two obscure double plays and two runners reaching on strikeouts. And one thing about Chris Davis that I really like is he ALWAYS plays hard....looks like he got cleated diving into first, but you have to like that out of a player who is struggling at the plate. One thing you can always control no matter what is your hustle.

9:21 - Millwood runs out of gas and it's a ballgame again....the Rangers once again will rely on the lowest paid bullpen in baseball to come through.

9:30 - Vlad is 3-3 with a walk, but he's been an automatic out on the bases. Great throw by Salty to nail him after Hunter snuck into 3rd. The theme of the night is Angels baserunning...where would the game be if they weren't running themselves out of every inning??

9:38 - C.J. threw 27 pitches last night....not sure he has a full inning in him tonight. Seems as though Wash is playing this game as sort of a "must win."

9:45 - What a great job by C.J. to strike out the side! The back to back outings didn't seem to affect him at all, his fastball was hitting 93-94 and he was well in command of his slider.

10:00 - Angels baserunning: laughable. What in the world was Figgins thinking?? In this situation you need baserunners....what is the advantage of being on 3rd instead of 2nd? Crazy. It's good to be aggressive, but if you're aggressive and not smart, it's a disaster....just ask Rangers hitters in the month of June.

10:07 - Hunter injured taking a pitch?? They say in baseball you see something new every game....this game has had several anomalies

10:12 - Juan Rivera....ouch. Millwood: no decision. Frankie: blown save. Rangers....W or L...we'll find out.

10:15 - Ok Rangers....the Angels dug down deep and clawed their way back.....let's see what you have for an answer. Brand new ball game

10:27 - Mike + Murph + HANK = HELLO WIN COLUMN!!!! more on this game tomorrow. Goodnight.

I was unable to catch the game last night, but here is what they are saying in the media...

Kevin Sherrington says exactly what I've been saying for weeks, and then some....

Column by KEVIN SHERRINGTON / The Dallas Morning News | ksherrington@dallasnews.com

• E-ma

ARLINGTON – Here in North Texas every summer, we can assume a few givens.

Your air conditioning will go out. Your vacation will be too short.

Your temper will overheat.

Your Rangers will hit.

Bulletin: Not so fast on that last one.

Even as the Rangers wallowed around in their worst month of hitting since their inaugural season, wasting improved pitching and fielding and squandering a first-place lead in the process, you've been steadily assured that this slump shall pass. Everyone says so. Players, coaches, the manager.

Even me.

Consider me cured of that notion, friend. Not even Tuesday's 9-5 rout of the Angels could persuade me otherwise, either, no matter how many home runs Marlon Byrd whacked or bases Elvis Andrus stole. The fireworks weren't entirely unexpected. Something about the Ballpark gets in the head of the Angels' Joe Saunders, who shows an 11.67 ERA in Arlington and 1.44 against the Rangers otherwise.

Come to think of it, be glad the Mark Teixeira-for-Saunders-and-Casey Kotchman trade didn't go down. Saunders might be in therapy by now.

Anyway, the assumption about a hitting resurgence has been based on the fact that the Rangers always hit, therefore, they always will.

Don't feel bad if you bought into it. Bernie Madoff's clients made a similar assumption, only no one's going to jail for this one. I hope.

The only thing the Rangers hit last month was bottom. Or at least that's what Ron Washington hopes.

Frankly, it should only get better, as indicated by Tuesday's results.

But can you reasonably expect the Rangers to sustain anything close to it?

Not if you look at individual track records, or, more precisely, the lack thereof.

Of the Rangers' regulars, only two, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, are on an upward trend. Three if you count Byrd, who'd played more than 109 games only once before last season.

Nelson Cruz was great for 31 games last season and terrific in May. And that pretty much covers his career highlights.

Coming into this season, David Murphy had played in the equivalent of one full major league season. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, too. Chris Davis had 80 games under his belt. Andrus didn't have any.

Yes, all of the above had impressive minor league stats and projected well, and most looked promising last season. But there may be a reason for that, too.

One Rangers official advanced this theory: When the club's pitching was its usual ineffective self last year, opponents didn't feel threatened. They threw the back end of their bullpens at them. Cushioned by big leads, mediocre pitchers challenged the Rangers with fastballs, and the Rangers pounded them.

But the Rangers' improvement in pitching and defense this season has in some cases worked against them.

Opposing pitchers are more careful. They're not throwing as many fastballs, and the Rangers still have trouble laying off pitches, particularly breaking balls in the dirt.

Case in point: In four at bats Tuesday, Saltalamacchia saw six pitches. Maybe he was just excited.

Of course, if Josh Hamilton were still in the lineup, it would make a difference. For that matter, if Milton Bradley were still here, that'd help, too. Not to mention what it'd do for Lou Piniella's blood pressure.

Without that type of veteran presence – and neither Andruw Jones nor Hank Blalock appears capable of supplying it – it puts more pressure on the kids. Opposing pitchers are forcing them to make adjustments, and they have little experience to call upon. Most aren't used to struggling.

The diagnosis is simple enough: Too many free swingers, not enough patience, too few adjustments, not enough contact.

The remedy? Not so easy. Calling up Julio Borbon and Justin Smoak and giving them at-bats can't hurt, especially if they present a different approach. Sending Davis down seems reasonable.

As for the rest, they'll have to battle through it. Some hitters will make it; others won't. From here on out, let's not assume anything.

This from the DMN Ranger Blog....

Discuss:

• Lineup. Give Ron Washington credit on this one. He put Marlon Byrd at third in the order and look what he did, especially in the fourth. Maybe that's where he should stay until Josh Hamilton returns (at least against lefties).

• Marlon Byrd. He was upset with himself last night for not producing when needed and came back with a great game. Two homers -- his second multi-homer game of his career (Sept. 11, 2007 at Detroit) -- and a real jolt for an offense that needed it.

• Scott Feldman. Wow. He looked terrible for the first two innings and found something. He managed to go six innings despite more than 50 pitches in the second. He located better, got timely ground balls and had an offense hit behind him. He's earned the chance, you would think, to pitch against the Angels next week.

• Offense. They got going tonight. It was the long ball, but this team also had 5 walks and stole 5 bases. It was a good night. They were patient, going deep into counts early against starter Joe Saunders.

• Little things. Andruw Jones stole second base with two outs as soon as a new pitcher came in the game in the fourth. The aggressive approach paid off when Nelson Cruz's single scored another run.

• Elvis Andrus. He had four stolen basess in the game and was on base in his first three at-bats. That was a big boost in the bottom of the lineup. Just the fourth time in Rangers history to steal 4 bases. Lofton did it June 29, 2007 at Boston. Club record is 5. Scarborough Green, Sept. 28, 2000 in Seattle. Only other AL player with 4 steals was Carl Crawford May 3 vs. Boston with 6.

• Shutdown inning. It was a problem in the first inning as the Rangers led 3-0 and then Scott Feldman gave it up in the second. But after the Rangers re-took the lead, they actually did figure out the shutdown innings to hang onto it.

• Strange things. Erick Aybar stepped out of the box and was called out on a sac bunt attempt in the second. That's scored catcher unassisted. And the Rangers didn't finish strong. They loaded the bases in the ninth and the Angels scored two runs off CJ Wilson and Frank Francisco.

At any rate, the Rangers look to close out the series tonight with a win to move them within a half game of first place. It should be a low scoring game, Jarred Weaver vs. Kevin Millwood. My 3 keys to the game tonight:

Ian Kinsler: As Kinsler goes, so goes the Rangers. In June, the Rangers were 5-3 when Kinsler reaches base at least twice, but were only 7-11 when he did not.

Kevin Millwood: He's pitched like a true ace of the staff this year and it's games like this when you need your ace to come through for you

Defense: The Rangers got themselves into a little bit of trouble last night with poor defense at times. This Angels team doesn't have a whole lot of pop, but they are a team that keys off of momentum. Good defense will limit the opportunities they have to get runners on base and start rallies.

GO RANGERS!