Texas Rangers Ticker Notes

First, a big giant thanks to all of you who visited The Corner last night and kept The Depot game blog up and running at full strength even while my computer suffered a huge meltdown, which paled in the comparison to the meltdown I suffered. Nevertheless, you guys played like champs. You adjusted. Thanks for your participation and your support.

From the clubhouse today: LHP Matt Harrison is not going to make his next scheduled start due to soreness in the front of his left shoulder. The Rangers are not yet publicly discussing a DL assignment, but it is a possibility. If they want to, the Rangers could wait as long as next weekend before making a decision on Harrison. …  As we discussed here yesterday (before the computer breakdown), RHP Brandon McCarthy will be pushed back a day to start Saturday. While it gives McCarthy an extra day of rest after his 124-pitch outing at Houston on Sunday, the more significant reasons are because of Harrison’s soreness (which the Rangers were aware of Tuesday) and because it better allows the Rangers to manipulate the roster during Friday’s doubleheader. … GM Jon Daniels said the Game 1 starter for Friday’s doubleheader remains undetermined, but did acknowledge the club could all up either RHP Tommy Hunter or purchase the contract of RHP Doug Mathis. My bet: Hunter gets the start with Mathis available to be added between games as a long reliever. Adding Mathis, however, would require creating room on the 40-man roster. That might require cutting ties with RHP Kris Benson, particularly if he were to pitch – and struggle again – in long relief on Friday.

RHP Vicente Padilla (shoulder soreness) will throw a rigorous bullpen session on Friday. If that goes well, he’ll be in line to be activated either next Tuesday or Wednesday at New York. How the starting rotation would be tweaked largely depends on the health of Padilla and Harrison.

DH Hank Blalock is absent from the lineup for the fourth time in the last six games. Even though two of those missed games were in an NL park, it’s starting to look like Blalock is no longer an automatic for the lineup. The Rangers possess a strong bench and they are going to use the guys who are performing well off it. That might mean more playing time for Andruw Jones in the DH spot and less for Blalock. … Jones is the DH tonight. He is 9-for 32 with three HRs and 12 walks against Yankees starter A.J. Burnett for a career .478 OBP. Blalock is 1-for-10 against Burnett.  … More to come if the wireless network, my computer and my hair-trigger temper allow.