Bah. Rangers back in 3rd, albeit just a half game out of first. But also just 2.5 games out of last place.
Tim Cowlishaw talks about the problems Kevin Millwood has had pitching at TBIA. That said, while Millwood wasn't great last night, the guys around him were a lot worse...as Richard Durrett points out, the Rangers embarrassed themselves on national television with sloppy play, bad baserunning, and awful defense.
Adam Eaton starts tonight, causing a ripple effect within the rotation. John Rheinecker is going to go on Wednesday, but the Rangers will then skip a spot on Thursday with the offday, bringing Vicente Padilla back on Friday, and presumably Millwood and Eaton on Saturday and Sunday.
Either Wes Littleton or John Koronka is apparently going to be optioned to AAA to make room for Eaton.
No word yet who would start Monday or Tuesday, but with the trade deadline looming and Jon Daniels shopping for a starter, one or both of those starts could be made by guys who aren't currently Texas Rangers.
Jim Reeves believes Jon Daniels will do the right thing, and will do his best to get the Rangers in a position to win this year without getting stupid.
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says links the Rangers to an Indian reliever:
One of the players the Indians are trying to move is right-hander Guillermo Mota. Texas showed some initial interest, but the Rangers' pen has been pitching well of late.
Mota, like Boone, has not made it easy for the Indians to trade him. Mota, 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA, was acquired from Boston as part of the Coco Crisp trade. He could not handle the setup role, but 10 of his previous 12 appearances were scoreless before the Tigers scored on him Monday night.
Oh, and on the ridiculous decision to have Jerry Hairston, Jr., hit in the 8th with Hank Blalock available on the bench, I've seen nary a word. If someone up in D/FW hears one of the radio folks talk about that, I'd like to know...but otherwise, it seems like another obviously bad decision that no one is really questioning.
Update [2006-7-25 12:48:13 by Adam J. Morris]: -- It has been pointed out to me that Bob Sturm touched on the Hairston pinch hit issue in his blog, so at least there's one person out there in the media who finds this as perplexing as a lot of us do...
Update [2006-7-25 14:1:26 by Adam J. Morris]: -- Richard Durrett also questions the non-move...