Yesterday was a bad day all around for the Rangers on the field, as they got pounded, 15-5, with both bad pitching and bad defense contributing to the loss.
The one positive from yesterday's game was Chris Davis, who had a 450 foot homer off of Heath Bell, and is now hitting .410 with 4 homers on the spring.
I keep seeing it asked...can't the Rangers find room for Chris Davis on the Opening Day roster? And the answer to that is, sure...if you trade Michael Young or send Mitch Moreland to AAA.
But if you don't do that, then there's not really room for Davis on the bench. Oh, sure, you could send Julio Borbon to AAA, but then your only backup outfielder is Mitch Moreland, and you have no backup centerfielder, meaning you are expecting Josh Hamilton to play every inning of every game in the field.
Or you could cut Andres Blanco loose, but then you have no backup shortstop, and no contingency plan if Michael Young is DHing and ends up having to enter the game at one of the infield positions.
And even if you did make one of those moves...when would Davis play? You aren't likely to use him against lefthanders. Michael Young and Mitch Moreland are going to play against most righthanders. David Murphy is going to get at bats off the bench. Mike Napoli is hanging around.
So what would you even do with Davis, if you kept him on the roster? He'd sit on the bench, play once a week, and give you little value.
Davis needs to go to AAA, keep doing what he's doing, and if Moreland struggles or there's an injury, he'll get his chance.
Anthony Andro has a story about the performance of the Rangers' bullpen this spring, which has not been good, although the team isn't concerned about how the bullpen will do once the season starts.
The bullpen would be better, of course, with Neftali Feliz in it, and T.R. Sullivan writes that the Rangers are coming to the conclusion that Feliz should be the team's closer this season, with the decision expected to be formally made soon.
Gil Lebreton has a column on Michael Kirkman, who is battling to win a job in the Rangers' Opening Day rotation.
The S-T's notes include a Q&A with Rusty Greer and updates on Colby Lewis, Brandon Webb, and this weekend's pitching schedule.
Sullivan's notes talk about C.J. Wilson's pending free agency, Brandon Webb, and Taylor Teagarden starting against the Padres yesterday.