Friday morning Rangers things

We have a bad game yesterday in the midst of a disappointing stretch for the Rangers. Oh, and we have a Josh Hamilton cover story in Sports Illustrated that just came out that is going to stir up some controversy. Things are never boring with the Rangers...

Jeff Wilson says in his game story that Yu Darvish wasn't good yesterday, and the offense was terrible yesterday.

Anthony Andro writes that the loss yesterday continues their string of poor games in this road trip.

T.R. Sullivan's game story talks about Darvish's control issues, as he walked 6 batters in 5.1 innings.

Randy Galloway's column is about the Josh Hamilton SI story, and how Hamilton, and especially his wife Katie, have made it clear that they are all about the money...a few excerpts:

So with many issues circling around the Rangers, the latest being the disabled list for pitcher Derek Holland, Josh and Katie used the SI story to again lay down the financial ground rules for his upcoming free agency in the fall.

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The quote (from Katie Hamilton) is this:

"Fans and reporters are so far off base with where we are. They'll say, 'Oh, Josh doesn't care about the money.' No, we don't really care about the money so much for us, but we have huge plans for this money, and, no, it's not strictly for our bank account. It is for a hurting world.

"The other thing they keep saying is, 'Josh needs Texas; he needs the comfort of this team.' Uh, we need Jesus. We need God. He goes with us wherever we are. Yes, we're comfortable in Texas. But maybe God hasn't called us to comfort. I mean, he didn't call Jesus to comfort."

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It was also once shocking to think the Rangers and Josh wouldn't get together on a new contract. Got to admit, however, even for those of us who have been saying the Rangers should pay Hamilton the big bucks, it's become increasing obvious the more Josh talks these days, the more he is talking his way out of Arlington.

The way this has played out, it is leading me to wonder if there isn't an element to this where both sides are at the point where they are ready to move on without the other. I wonder if Hamilton isn't at the point where he wants to show that his success isn't because of the environment in Texas and everything the Rangers have done to help him. And I'm relatively certain that the Rangers aren't a team that is going to pay a 31 year old Hamilton maximum free agent dollars, more than any other team would.

Richard Durrett writes that the Rangers have been an average team for about six weeks now.

Wilson has a story on Derek Holland heading to the disabled list.

Andro writes that Holland's injury has resulted in the Rangers' pitching staff being in disarray, with Tanner Scheppers getting called up and Alexi Ogando being pressed into spot starter duty on Sunday.

The S-T's notes talk about Tanner Scheppers' debut, Joe Nathan's all star form, and draft picks signing.

Sullivan's notes talk about Koji Uehara's expanding role in the bullpen, Ron Washington not making any changes to the lineup, and the Rangers signing draft picks.