Pretty solid outing for John Rheinecker yesterday, all in all...I still don't think he's suited to be a starter, but he continues to hang in there and give the Rangers some decent innings.
Meanwhile, Willie Eyre's second half struggles continue...Eyre now has an 8.57 ERA since the ASB, and could find himself in the group with Kevin Mahar and Freddy Guzman, as guys who could lose their 40 man roster spot this winter, if he doesn't get back on track the rest of the way.
Evan Grant has a follow up story on the Rangers signing of their draft picks, and their willingness to go over slot to get a few key guys signed. It is disappointing that the Rangers couldn't get John Gast into the fold, but all in all, this looks to be a very solid draft, and they got their top 7 picks inked.
It sucks to be an Astros fan right now, though...not only are the Astros just a half-game better than the Rangers right now, but after losing their first and second round picks (for signing Carlos Lee and Woody Williams), they couldn't sign their third and fourth round picks. Drayton McLane ended up spending less on signing bonuses than the Rangers spent on Neil Ramirez.
Grant also says the Rangers are looking at having Hank Blalock go out on a rehab assignment on August 23, and could activate him before the September 1 roster expansion. Grant also mentions that the team is considering bringing Edinson Volquez up to start on Tuesday, and that Armando Galarraga has been promoted to AAA.
Dave Sessions talks about the struggles of Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla this season, with Mark Connor saying that injuries to both pitchers have had the biggest impact on their struggles.