Wednesday a.m. Rangers stuff

Yeah, let's just forget about last night, okay?

Jeff Wilson's game story talks about the Rangers not doing much on this road trip so far to reduce their magic number.

T.R. Sullivan's game story has Ron Washington expressing unhappiness with Nelson Cruz's trying to bunt for a hit last night.  Washington and Clint Hurdle had apparently discussed with the players staying within their normal game and not overthinking stuff and trying to do too much, which is the opposite of what Cruz did when he tried to bunt for a hit when he was at the plate as the tying run in the 7th.

Earlier this year, I defended Cruz bunting in the 9th inning with the tying run on deck.  My feeling was (and is) that, since Cruz didn't even represent the tying run yet, the most important thing was him getting on base, and the fact that he was more likely to homer than some other hitters wasn't really relevant since a home run would, essentially, be no different than a bunt single in terms of bringing the tying run to the plate.

Last night, though, was a different set of circumstances, and I think Nellie made a mistake.

Richard Durrett has his post-game thoughts up at the ESPN Dallas blog.

Evan Grant has a piece up about David Murphy's contributions this year, particularly in Josh Hamilton's absence.

Sullivan has a story up on Mitch Moreland, and the likelihood that he'll be the Rangers' first baseman in October.