West Spotlight: Pods update!

Scott went 3-4 with a double and 2 runs scored as the Sox beat the Royals 5-0 to improve to 4 games above .500. Podsednik has raised his average back up to .317 which still leads the team. Here is a great article written recently on Pods resurgence with Chicago by MLB.com

Rangers Spotlight: Frank Francisco

Should he still be the Texas Rangers closer? Before his injury, he had only given up 1 run in the first two months. But since coming off his stint on the DL, Francisco has given 5 runs in 5 outings. His last outing he did the most damage when he gave up a game-tying home run against the Angels on Wednesday night.

His E.R.A. was a meager 0.48 on June 3 but now is 2.28 which is still solid but I wonder if he is completely healthy?

I believe C.J. Wilson should be the Rangers closer again. He has only given up 1 run since that game against the Yankees on June 4th and that 1 run was in mop-up duty the other day in a win against the Angels. His E.R.A. now has dropped to 2.73 and he struck out the side in Wednesday night's game against the Halos.

How about the Rangers drop Francisco to the 8th inning for now and keep Wilson in the closer role? What do you think?

Rangers dominate the West

After winning 2 out of 3 against the Angels, the Rangers are 15-4 against the AL West this year. The first place Angels are only 10-14 against the West and Texas is the only team in the division with a winning record.

If Texas can manage to play .500 or ball or slightly better against the rest of the American League this season and continue to play like they do against the West, the Rangers will have no problem winning the division. For some reason Texas struggled against the NL in previous weeks but were doing fine against the AL.

7 of the next 10 games are all against the West and on the road. It will be crucial for the team to go 4-3 against Seattle and LA. And based on the numbers so far this year, we have no reason not to believe that they go and have a winning record on that road trip. Hamilton is supposed to come back this weekend and will automatically put fear into opposing pitchers again like he was doing earlier in the season.

So Ranger fans have no fear for games against the West are here!

NBA Free Agency about to begin

At 11:00 pm CT the free agency period will begin and Mark Cuban will be in New York mucking it up with Jason Kidd. The Mavericks have made it clear that Kidd is their #1 priority with keeping Brandon Bass #2. Kidd has a very good chance of staying while their will be a lot teams wanting to snatch up Bass and being able to offer him a larger contract.

Let's say the Mavs keep Kidd but lose Bass, that would mean Dallas still has their Mid Level Exception to use on one good player or two or three sub-par players. Possible players for the MLE could be Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, or Anderson Varejao.

Out of those 3 players who would you want the most?

Keep in mind, the Mavs still have Stackhouse's and Dampier's contract to dangle to teams for trade bait.

***Marquis Daniels could be a possibility for that MLE if the Mavs were willing to bring him back.***

Hunter's performance wasted in 2-0 loss

Tommy Hunter had an incredible spot-start that was all for naught as the Rangers lost to the Padres and Chad Gaudin, 2-0. San Diego won a series for the first time this month and put Texas 1.5 games behind the Angels.

Hunter's line: 6.1 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, and 3 Ks.

Is he worthy of keeping in the rotation after this start?

The Rangers bats went cold again against Gaudin, managing only 1 hit.

What does Texas need to do with the lineup? Do we need to add another bat? Nick Johnson is still available from the Nationals.

The Rangers rotation woes

Though the Rangers hitting is far from perfect, it has begun to show life in the last 4 or 5 games. Chris Davis has seen his average climb back over the right side of .200 and Kinsler is also having more success at the plate.

At this moment, the top 3 in the rotation are solid with Millwood, Padilla, and Feldman but Holland and (insert 5th starter) are no guarantee to get the job done. Tonight, Tommy Hunter takes the mound in Harrison's spot after he went on the DL again. We were told that Jason Jennings would be the next guy to take a rotation spot the minute one was vacated and I hope that is the case. I think Hunter fills in tonight because it was on short notice and I see Jennings filling in from here on out. He wants the opportunity again to prove he can be starter and this could be it.

What about Derek Holland? He had one good start in San Fran, but struggled last night against a weak hitting San Diego team. He hammered fastballs into the zone over and over again and the Padres made him pay. It seems that he still thinks he can overpower players with his fastball but he needs to command his secondary pitches if he is ever going to be a starter in this league.

Do you think Holland should still be in the rotation? Who should be in the rotation? Who do you want the Rangers to trade for?