But they won’t be this bad much longer. We’re all a little more prone to hit the panic button because they’re in first and we’re scared to death they’ll blow it, but I think we need to tap the brakes a bit.

These are the same guys that hit well enough in April and May to build a 4.5 game lead and get to 10 games over .500, so we know they can put up runs. These guys didn’t just all forget how to hit all of the sudden. If we change a bunch of personnel now and start rushing guys to the majors because we’re convinced that guys like Byrd, Murph, AJ, etc. will never get out of their slumps, then we might as well do what the A’s did last season and just look ahead to 2010.

Davis is the most frustrating aspect of the whole mess in that you have to wonder how much longer he can take his failures at the plate and maintain some form of confidence that he’s a legitimate big league player. As much as I hate to say it, I think he needs to go to AAA and get his confidence back. When he’s at the plate you can almost see him thinking “Just don’t strike out, Chris.” That kind of mental approach is murder to a batter. As to who they call up, I don’t know that there is anybody in the minors ready to step into the starting 1B role, so you probably have to plan on Hank and AJ platooning over there, which should give Boggs some more opportunities to play. I think you bring in either a utility guy like Arias or Duran—somebody that won’t expect much playing time—to hold a spot until Hamilton gets off of the DL.

I would still like to see Kins hitting 3rd. It looks like he’s getting back into a groove and he’s the team’s best hitter. I’d stick Young in the leadoff spot and leave them that way until Hamilton returns. If Young is getting on base consistently in the leadoff role, then you move Kins up to 2nd and bat Hambone 3rd when he gets off of the DL.

If they end up winning the division, fine. If not, then we’re still on schedule to win in 2010 and haven’t sold the farm for short term help.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 33% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-four percent (34%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -1. Today is the second straight day the President’s rating has been below zero (see trends).

Among those who are politically liberal, 64% Strongly Approve. So do 40% of moderates. However 61% of conservatives Strongly Disapprove (see other recent demographic highlights).

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates also available on Twitter.

Most voters still place the blame for our nation’s economic woes on the Bush Administration, but a growing number say it’s Obama’s economy now. The number blaming Bush has fallen to 54%. That’s down eight points from a month ago.

Consumer confidence, while still up since the beginning of the year, has retreated to its lowest level in two months. For the latest polling updates on other topics in the news, please visit the Rasmussen Reports home page.

Overall, 54% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance so far. Forty-five percent (45%) disapprove. For more Presidential barometers, see Obama By the Numbers.

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Americans remain evenly divided as to whether or not health care reform should wait until the economy is better.

Check out our weekly review of key polls from last week to see "What They Told Us." You might also try our Daily Prediction Challenge to predict the results of upcoming polls.

When comparing Job Approval data from different firms, it’s important to keep in mind that polls of likely voters and polls of all adults will typically and consistently yield different results. In the case of President Obama, polls by all firms measuring all adults typically show significantly higher approval ratings than polls of likely voters. Polls of registered voters typically fall in the middle. Other factors are also important to consider when comparing Job Approval ratings from different polling firms.

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A Fordham University professor has rated the national pollsters on their record in Election 2008. We also have provided a summary of our results for your review.

Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The margin of sampling error—for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters—is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Results are also compiled on a full-week basis and crosstabs for full-week results are available for Premium Members.

Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large (see methodology). Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process. While partisan affiliation is generally quite stable over time, there are a fair number of people who waver between allegiance to a particular party or independent status. Over the past four years, the number of Democrats in the country has increased while the number of Republicans has decreased.

2 HR, Triple vs. AZL rookies last night… if he continues this when he gets to Frisco he might be an option

I’m currently studying for the July Texas Bar Exam and just a little while ago, I had a brilliant idea (or disturbing, depending on how you want to look at it). I was trying to find a way to memorize the elements of negotiability and taking as a holder in due course for the Commercial Paper section (trust me, it’s even more entertaining than it sounds). And then it came to me: I have all this knowledge about Rangers prospects floating around in my head, why not put it to good use creating some mnemonics.

And so, after about ten minutes worth of work, I came up with these, and voila, I have the elements of negotiability and taking as a holder in due course memorized. I’ll spare you what the mnemonics abbreviate, because I doubt you’re interested in that:

Negotiability: We Saw Unbelievable Feliz, Main, & Perez Pitch No-hitters

Holder in due course: I Predict Awesome Poveda Grounder-fly & Walks

I’m not sure what this says about my priorities, my brain, or my life, but since it worked, I won’t question the madness.