Once again, the offense decided to take the night off, although a lot of the focus in the papers today seems to be on Kevin Millwood.
Evan Grant says that Millwood felt good going into the 7th inning, and that he just hung a slider to Rob Johnson to allow the game winning home run.
Ron Washington says that Millwood is someone who, if he had nothing left, would step up and say something.
Brett Perryman wonders if Millwood's recent struggles (and the injuries to Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy) might be the fallout from the "work deeper into games" mantra the Rangers have been running with this year.
The team is, it seems, at least a little concerned about Millwood's workload...rather than having him start the first game after the All Star Break, Millwood is starting the fourth game after the break, meaning he'll have eight games rest between starts.
Dustin Pedroia isn't going to be at the All Star Game. But neither is Ian Kinsler...Joe Maddon opted to add Carlos Pena instead of Kinsler to replace Pedroia.
Speaking of Kinsler, one thing he's shown a knack for is stealing third base...Jeff Wilson has a story up about how he's been able to go 21 for 21 in steals of third in his career.
Nelson Cruz likes his chances in the Home Run Derby. Anthony Andro has a rundown of the top 10 Rangers moments in All Star history.
Gil LeBreton has a column up on Chris Davis, and his efforts to get back on track in Oklahoma. Lots of good quotes, including this:
"The drills we’ve done the last few days are the same drills I did in 2007 and last year," Davis said.
"It was something I had kind of gotten away from, and I take full responsibility for that. I got away from my old routine, and I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I was struggling at the big-league level."
Officially, Davis is 8-for-23 with one home run and six RBI during his week back in the minor leagues.
"I’ve hit a lot of balls hard," Davis suggested. "I’ve really tried to stay in the center of the field, and I think I’ve done a good job of that.
"The at-bats, as far as I’m concerned, have gone really well. I’ve been able to see a lot of pitches and I’m swinging at strikes. I think that’s the big thing."