The Re-birth of Derek Holland

Tonight is where we saw patience meets success with young players. Holland has been struggling as a starter, but that was all forgotten on a crisp San Francisco night. He was relaxed all evening and still throwing heat late into the game. Hopefully we will look back on this game and say "This is when Derek Holland truly began his major league career".

Holland's line: 7 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 BB, 5 Ks

Having Holland have a quality start keeps Jennings in the bullpen and helps solidify this rotation with Millwood, Padilla, Feldman, and Harrison. The next start will determine if this start was just a fluke. But this should be a start the kid can build on and know that he is making progress in the big leagues.

I can't wait until the next start!

Farm Spotlight: Justin Smoak

One of the hot conversations lately on the talk shows is when are the Rangers going to bench/send down Chris Davis. CD has 97 Ks in only 214 ABs and after hitting a nice home run yesterday, he still struck out twice. Davis is young and letting him break the strikeout record could do a number on his psyche. So what's the answer at first base?

Could be Justin Smoak once he is healthy. He is in AA Frisco right now after being drafted by Texas in the 1st round of the draft last year. He is on the DL at the moment and hopefully will be healthy soon enough because he is a switch-hitting first baseman with power (sounds like someone who is wearing pinstripes that we know). Since joining the organization he has shown why the Rangers like him so much and why all of baseball thinks the Rangers got a steal of a deal last year.

Smoak's stats this season:
.325 avg, 41 games, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 32 BB, 30 Ks

The numbers that should jump out to you is the walks and strikeouts. Anytime a player has more walks than Ks, it shows their patience at the plate (something Davis is lacking right now).

Many experts think that Smoak is not ready and maybe they are right but what is the front office going to do when he is ready? Can Smoak and Davis play on the big league team at the same time? We have had this problem before when he had Tex and Adrian Gonzalez both ready to be the first baseman of the future. We traded Gonzo and now he is among the league leaders in home runs at Petco Park in San Diego!

Management is going to have a tough decision to make: keep Smoak or Davis. Who do you want to keep? It is a good problem to have but one I don't envy deciding.

Rangers had scouts at Red Sox game

According to the Boston Globe, Texas had scouts watching Brad Penny Wednesday night in Sox 6-1 win over the Marlins. Penny's line: 5 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 3 Ks.

Season stats: 6-2, 4.94 E.R.A., 13 starts, 71 IP, 24 BBs, 47 Ks, 1.55 WHIP, .296 BAA.

His E.R.A. is not impressive for the season but he still has a solid record and and he has been solid his last two starts over Florida last night and the Yankees on the 11th. That night he went 6 innings and gave up 0 runs and had 5 Ks.

That being said, do you get excited about Brad Penny and his 4.94 E.R.A.? He is defiantly not Cliff Lee, Jason Marquis, or Roy Oswalt. He is not the kind of pitcher to put the Rangers over the top and what would they have to give up for his mediocre ability. The Rangers need to go out and get a #2 pitcher not a #4 if they are going to make a serious run at the playoffs.

I don't like idea of Penny coming here, but what you think? Do you want somebody or would you want to hold out for something great?

Salty preserves victory!

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is becoming the catcher for the present and the future. In yesterday's game he hit a low and outside pitch 415 feet to straight away center with a flick of his bat. His defense played a key part late in the game when he through a perfect strike to 2nd base to get speedy Michael Bourn.

For the season Salty has thrown out 12 and allowed 34 stolen bases a 26% ratio. That is not Pudge-like by no stretch but it is 8% higher than last season and it was better early on, but base robbers have taken advantage of Millwood and others slow delivery to the plate.

Jarrod still needs to work on his offense but he is still young (24) and yesterday he showed his power potential. The future is bright for this young catcher and for many other young Rangers.

How confident are you in Salty's ability?

Pods hitting .315 after yesterday's game!

Podsednik went 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base yesterday in the White Sox 4-1 win over the Cubs. The RBI was his 14th and the stolen base was his 9th. He is still leading the team in batting with a .315 average and is playing like he the 2005 version of him which went to the All Star game and finished 12th in MVP voting.

Go Scott go!

Kevin Millwood: Legitimate Ace

After the last several years, I never thought I would put Kevin Millwood and legitimate ace in the same sentence but he has proven me wrong this year. After last night's 7 inning performance only allowing a Pudge home run and striking out 6, Millwood (7-4) has won 3 consecutive starts. Not only is he playing like an ace, you can stack his numbers up against Roy Halladay and the other aces in the league:

Millwood: 7-4, 99.2 IP, 55 Ks, 2.62 E.R.A.

Halladay: 10-1, 103 IP, 88 Ks, 2.53 E.R.A.

Any guy that can match Halladay after 14 starts deserves to be called an "ace". He has been the anchor for the Rangers when they needed him most: after losing streaks. He was also the guy that Nolan singled out to elevate his game, he worked the "extra inning" all year, and Kevin provides great leadership for this pitching staff.

Now that we have an ace, we need a legit #2 for this rotation. The solution is Ben Sheets in my opinion. He could be here in August and would be in mid-season form by playoff time. Padilla and Feldman could hold down the #2 and #3 slots until he gets here. Imagine for a second that Millwood, Sheets, and a good Padilla is your playoff rotation with a solid lineup. That would put the Rangers in prime position to win at least a playoff series.

Do you think Millwood and Sheets are front-end playoff pitchers? Who do you want the Rangers to get for the rotation or the bullpen? Give us your thoughts!

Former Ranger Sosa tested positive in 2003

New York Times first reported that Sammy Sosa tested positive in 2003 for steroids. Here is a link to the story on espn.com.

Are you really surprised? My wife and I witnessed Sammy hitting his 600th home run at the Ballpark and I was well aware that there was almost a 100% chance of his steroid use, but for at least that night we enjoyed the moment. When he officially announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago, the media talked like he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame because he was never proven guilty for PEDs. With this story breaking out, it is a guarantee that he won't get in on the first ballot if ever.

What are your thoughts on this news, or is it news at all?Does this change your opinion of Sosa as a player? Share your opinion!

Chris Davis Ks Game--Silver Boot Style

Chris Davis is in the lineup tonight so it is time to play the CD Ks Game. It is easy as possible: just correctly predict how many times Davis will strikeout tonight.

Major League record: 204
Davis year total: 92
Predicted Season total: 240

Tonight's opposing pitcher: Wandy Rodriguez allowing a .213 batting average for lefties.

I predict 2 Ks again...........What do you predict?

4th and Long: Update

Yes, this show is still going on and I am watching every week. We are halfway through this season and Barry Horn, Dallas Morning News Reporter, still feels that WR Andrew Hawkins is the favorite. He is only 5-7 out of the University of Toledo but he has 4.34 speed.

Other Notables:

WR Montrell Jones--6-2, 205 (yeah right), University of Tennessee
Irvin loves this guy but he is slow, lazy, and but does not have a grasp of the English language. He is more like 250, not 205.

DB Donte Gamble--30 years old, 4.32 speed, San Diego St.
Has shown promise at times but was hurdled by WR Speedy Gonzalez which was simply embarassing.
WR Jesse Holley--6-3, 216, UNC, 4.52
He has a lot of athleticism and has never been in the doghouse with Irvin. He also played basketball at UNC.

It is not too late to jump on the bandwagon of this show if you are a die hard Cowboys fan!

Monday Nights at 9 p.m. CT on Spike TV

Big Diesel in Big D?

ESPN has reported the last two days Shaq going to Cleveland but as Tim McMacMahon, Dallas Morning News blogger, pointed out that Phoenix would save more money if they were to trade him to the Mavs. Dallas would give the Suns, Dampier and Stackhouse while Cleveland is dangling Ben Wallace and Pavlovic.

I have mixed feelings, but Shaq played in 75 games last year and never missed a game because of injury. Also add in the fact his numbers from last season: 17.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg. Those stats would instantly make him the best center in Mavs history.

Then there is the other side: injuries and age which go hand in hand. Can you trust Shaq to play 65-70 games? I don't even think he can jump anymore but he can clog the lanes. He is in the last year of his contract, so what if Dallas was to get him for this year and then go after Bosh next season? Are you on board? He has been on record saying that he would love to play in Dallas.

I am going to ponder the Big Diesel in Big D while waiting for your banter.

West Spotlight: Another multi-hit game for Pods!

Scott Podsednik went 2-5 with his 13th RBI of the year as the White Sox defeated the Brewers 5-4. His average has climbed to .311 (team leader) and he has a modest 4-game hitting streak. He also has a hit in 14 of 16 games and 5 SBs in the month of June.

No Chris Davis Game today; The Kid to pitch

Yesterday was the inaugural Chris Davis K's game (though I was the only participant) and today their will be no game because Davis is not in the starting lineup. I correctly predicted that Davis would strikeout twice yesterday (the last was to end the game). The game is simple enough: the object to predict how many Ks Davis will have in a game that he starts. I look forward to more players next time around (probably Tuesday).

Chris Davis' total Ks is up to 92 for the season. He is maintaining a good pace to break the major league record (204).

Other Notes:

• Holland (1-3) is scheduled to pitch the rubber match up against the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley (8-3).

• Feldman has dropped his E.R.A. to 3.70 after his 5 scoreless innings yesterday.

• Kinsler, Young, and Jones all got hits yesterday hopefully putting their hitting struggles behind them.

• Darren O'Day pitched another scoreless inning to drop his E.R.A. to a ridiculous 1.02.