Not a good outing from Brandon McCarthy yesterday, who couldn't make it long enough to get the win and who once again didn't have his command. Still, decent defense would have gotten him through 5 without allowing a run, and his ERA is now down to 4.79 on the year. The most remarkable thing to me, though, is that a guy who was supposedly way too homer-prone to succeed in TBIA has allowed just 8 homers in 97 innings this season.
Oh, and C.J. Wilson? He's pretty good.
Frankie the Cat, since coming off the d.l.? .290/.363/.473. Reports of the death of his career may have been exaggerated.
I'm going to the game tonight, to see the matchup of Edwin Jackson and John Rheinecker. I'm expecting a pitcher's duel.
This is likely Rheinecker's last start, as Richard Durrett reports that Vicente Padilla is expected to start on Wednesday.
Durrett also discusses the catching situation, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Gerald Laird splitting time equally the rest of the way. Laird isn't thrilled:
"I guess I'm going to be battling for my job, if my job is going to be here next year. For the rest of the season, I'm going to play and do the best I can. It seems like I've always had to battle since I've been in Texas for a chance to play."
I can understand why Laird is frustrated. And I've been one of his biggest advocates.
But he hasn't hit this season. His track record, in the majors and the minors, suggests that he should hit, but he's been terrible at the plate all season. And Saltalamacchia, obviously, will have a lot more value if he can stay behind the plate.
I also have to wonder if the Rangers might give Laird some playing time at first base when Saltalamacchia is behind the plate. He'd probably be better served getting the ABs the rest of the way than Brad Wilkerson.
Durrett also has a feature on Rusty Greer.
Todd Wills has a write-up on Armando Galarraga, who blames his awful 2006 season on elbow problems stemming from overwork in 2005.