Sunday morning things

So, the big news is that beasticon Chris Davis is making the jump to Oklahoma, where presumably he'll be playing first base everyday.  This means much less playing time for either Nate Gold or Jason Botts, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Gold cut loose, given that he'll be a six year free agent after the season and doesn't seem to have any chance of being added to the 40 man roster after the season.

I don't think there's any question Davis will hit for power at Oklahoma.  What we'll want to watch are the K and walk numbers going forward...if he can keep his K numbers under control, and draw a decent number of walks, he'll be in Texas before the season is over.

Evan Grant points out that Scott Feldman has gone six innings in all his starts this year.  This was one of these outings for Feldman where he didn't pitch poorly, but he had one awful pitch that pretty well screwed up his night.  He now has a 4.10 ERA as a starter this season.

There are also some injury updates...Kevin Millwood's simulated game went well, and he's expected to be activated for the start on Friday.  No word as to whether he'll replace Doug Mathis, or if Mathis will go to the pen and Kam Loe will be sent down.  Hank Blalock is still not ready to be activated.  Luis Mendoza is going to have at least three rehab starts, and then may just be optioned, depending on the situation on the major league staff, rather than activated and left in the majors.  And Brandon McCarthy has been cleared to start throwing again.

Jim Reeves echoes what we've previously speculated, that the Hank Blalock to first base move is a precursor to Michael Young moving to third base, and that Chris Davis's awesomeness is why the Rangers went for a short-term fix at first base this offseason rather than a longer-term solution.

T.R. Sullivan has some bloggy notes up.

A "manager on the hot seat" story from St. Louis includes this mention of Ron Washington:

Another manager who seemed to have a bull's-eye on his back was Texas' Ron Washington, but the Rangers took him off death row with a recent surge that got them close to .500. But if they fall back again, Washington might fall out of favor with new club president Nolan Ryan, who promises to be an aggressive executive.

Just so you know it isn't only Rangers fans who make ridiculous trade proposals...here's this item from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

Q: Hey, Hoynsie: Can the Indians overwhelm a team like the Rangers to acquire a left-handed bat like Josh Hamilton by offering Jeremy Sowers, Franklin Gutierrez, Andy Marte and Tom Mastny or another lower-level prospect? How about Adam Dunn or Matt Holliday? - Ricky Stehlik, Strongsville.

A: Hey, Ricky: I guess a team could be overwhelmed regarding any players, but what if they don't want to be overwhelmed? By the way, while Dunn can be a free agent after this season, Holliday isn't a free agent until after the 2009 season and Hamilton is only in his second big-league season.

The Erie Times-News has a story about Rangers' third base coach Matt Walbeck.