A split at home against the hated Mariners, which, given the AAA lineup we are running out there right now, is probably the best we could reasonably hope for.
The Rangers, at 58-72, are part of a clutch of teams that are clustered within a couple of games of each other in win/loss record. Tampa Bay will almost definitely have the #1 pick, but out of the group of the Rangers, Baltimore, Kansas City, the ChiSox, Washington, Florida, Houston, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco, anyone could end up with the #2 pick or the #10 pick in next year's draft.
Ian Kinsler is now sporting a .266 EQA on the season, 1 point higher than what he had last season. And I've noticed that he's been creeping up the charts in the advanced fielding metrics since coming off the d.l....his ZR and RZR are both going up, suggesting that the improvement he and the team have said he's shown since coming back may be real, as he's become more comfortable with the changes in his footwork that Ron Washington has had him implement.
Evan Grant says Kinsler is also getting more comfortable hitting in the leadoff slot. Kinsler says he was letting what happened in his first AB affect him too much the rest of the game when he first started hitting leadoff, but has adjusted and is starting to feel comfortable there.
Kinsler against the M's this year: .385/.500/.692
Dave Sessions has some Sosa love...and with Gary Sheffield having issues, I wouldn't be shocked if that was Sosa's last homer as a Ranger yesterday, with him going to the Tigers later this week.
Michael Young was resting his stiff back yesterday, in order to give it two days in a row off to try to get back to 100%.
And Ron Washington says that the Rangers are going to go with a 6 man rotation in September. Presumably that means that Edinson Volquez will be called up, and Brandon McCarthy will just join the rotation when he is activated, rather than replacing Kam Loe.