Wouldn't it be nice if the Rangers could take a big lead into the 9th without then making it interesting? Geez...
Watching Kam Loe on the mound, I definitely see the resemblance to Jeff Nelson.
In Evan Grant's notes column, he says Joaquin Benoit could start Wednesday, but it is still up in the air. He also suggests that Jason Botts might steal some ABs from Richard Hidalgo against righthanders, along with playing against lefties at DH, and says that Dominguez is being activated at AAA today and might start. Apparently, Juan and the organization are at peace again.
Most interestingly, though, Grant says that Edison Volquez is not an option for the rotation right now. That seems to indicate a significant shift from as recently as last week, when Volquez was mentioned as the primary candidate to take Kenny Rogers' spot in the rotation next week.
T.R. Sullivan, meanwhile, says Botts won't play every day. Instead, Hidalgo will be playing regularly until July 31, in the hopes that he'll heat up and they can trade him.
Tim Cowlishaw is advocating trading for A.J. Burnett. He doesn't mention any specific prospects, or any specific dollar amounts involved in extending Burnett's contract (he's a free agent after the season). But Burnett, again, is someone I'd be leery of, mainly because, as I've said before, he's got an ace reputation without having ace stuff. He's basically been a #3 starter thoughout his career, and I don't see a lot of reasons to believe he'll suddenly be a #1 here.