Sunday morning Rangers things

Well, that was unpleasant last night.  Derek Holland's command wasn't there, the defense was bad, the bats weren't great, and the Rangers lost, again, while the A's won, again.  Now a game and a half back in the West.

Jeff Wilson's game story says the Rangers were bad in all three elements of the game yesterday, and Wilson appears ready to write this team off, saying that the Rangers are fading out of the A.L. West race in the first week of September, rather than at the end of the season as they did last year.  Which seems an overreaction to a 1.5 game deficit, but okay...

The game story at the Rangers' website hits on the Rangers' poor play all around yesterday, and the team now being 1-4 on the road trip.

Todd Wills has his Rapid Reaction up at the ESPN Dallas blog.

Evan Grant writes that Ron Washington making a change in the leadoff spot is an attempt to get the offense going, with Leonys Martin having struggled of late.

The S-T's Minor League Insider looks at who took steps forward, and who went backwards, in the farm system in 2013.

Anthony Andro has a story on Matt Harrison needing surgery for TOS.

Grant has a blog post on Yu Darvish, his comments about no one being able to judge him, and the extra work he has done in anticipation of his start tomorrow.

Wilson's notes talk about Matt Harrison needing surgery for TOS, Yu Darvish responding to media criticism, and Leonys Martin being dropped to 9th in the lineup.

The notes at the Rangers website touch on Harrison, Martin, and Ron Washington's thoughts on September roster expansion.