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Linkin’ Park: Lurking Around The Web For You

The Rangers started the season much like they ended today: with a sweep of the Cleveland Indians. And while improved pitching has vaulted the Rangers into the midst of a pennant race, Texas’ one and two starters to begin the season haven’t had a whole lot to contribute of late. Vicente Padilla was released a month ago and Kevin Millwood has hit a wall after a tremendous first half, leaving the Rangers’ young pitchers to pick up the slack.

But for a team that gets some of the best value out its players of any team in baseball, it’s no surprise that their biggest most of their biggest contributors are guys with sub-million salaries. After being burned by big contracts over the last few years, the front office is well aware of the perils of the free agent market, which is why they have to carefully ponder what to do with veterans like Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez. And, in the wake of the Danny Gutierrez trade, the Rangers seem to already be looking ahead at who will be on next year’s 40-man roster.

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Post-Game Show: Rangers 10, Indians 0

D-tails
• Boxscore, AL West Standings, AL Wild Card Standings

Story of the Game
RHP Scott Feldman continues to surge towards one of the greatest seasons by a Rangers starter ever.

Feldman pitched seven shutout innings – he’s allowed just one run in 26.1 innings over his last four starts, all with C Ivan Rodriguez – to improve to 16-4. It tied him for the AL lead in wins and was his eighth consecutive road victory. Feldman, who began the year in the bullpen, is now 12-1 on the road this season. No Ranger pitcher had ever won 12 road games in a season.  Feldman should still have two more road starts remaining. With wins in both of them, he’d tie Claude Osteen (Los Angeles, 1972), Jim Palmer (Baltimore, 1973), Phil Niekro (Atlanta, 1982) and Scott McGregor (Baltimore, 1983) for the most road wins by any pitcher since the divisional era began 40 years ago.

Feldman began the year with a sinker and a cut-fastball, but has grown more and more confidence in his offspeed pitches with each start this season. Recently, he’s used his changeup and sinker to help start piling up strikeouts. In his last four starts, Feldman has allowed just 17 hits and one run, while piling up 20 strikeouts to 10 walks. His seven shutout innings lowered his season ERA to 3.46; it is 3.10 as a starter.

Feldman got five first inning runs of support and never really struggled.

The win moved the Rangers, at least temporarily to within 1.5 games of Boston in the AL wild card hunt. The Red Sox play Baltimore Wednesday night. The Los Angeles Angels, who play Seattle Wednesday night, currently lead the AL West by four games.  The win improved the Rangers to 79-60. It’s the most games they have been above .500 in a season since winning the AL West with a franchise record 95 wins in 1999.

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The Depot: Rangers-Indians Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Brunch Omelet Station

10:55: For a limited time – like the next 10 minutes or so – the home run pool is open.

11:06: We open the day with a question: The Red Sox (currently leading the Rangers by two games in the wild card) host the Angels (currently leading the Rangers by 4.5 games in the West) meet for three games in Boston Sept. 15-17. That’s just before the Angels come to Arlington for three games. So, the question: For whom will you be rooting in that series? Before answering, consider these facts: As long as the Rangers win two of three vs. Oakland Sept. 14-16, they are guaranteed of picking up at least a game on one of the two teams ahead of them. Second, though the Rangers are closer in the wild card race, they do have those seven games against the Angels upcoming. And, if the Rangers were to win the West, they’d probably open the playoffs at home; if they were to win the wild card, they would definitely open at New York. So, what do you say?

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Morning Swim at Homer Pool

Very quickly, here’s your lineup as the Rangers try to sweep Cleveland and finish off this 10-game stretch against sub-.500 teams at 7-3, which would be completely acceptable – even with the sting of losing a game that should have been won in Baltimore.

LF Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, 2B Ian Kinsler, CF Marlon Byrd, RF Nelson Cruz, DH David Murphy, C Ivan Rodriguez, 1B Chris Davis, 3B Esteban German and pitching for the Rangers, going for win No. 16 … RHP Scott Feldman.

Remember game time is 11 a.m.

Five Minutes With the Dallas Stars’ Mike Modano

FRISCO - Mike Modano reported to his first NHL training camp in autumn 1988 in Kalamazoo, Mich., home of the Minnesota North Stars’ farm club.

Next week, camp No. 21 will get underway and include a field trip to Central Texas to help kick off the Stars’ new affiliate in Cedar Park. This week, most of the players are participating in voluntary workouts.

The NHL career goals and scoring leader among American players, Modano turned 39 over the summer and decided to at least finish out his current contract, take another run at a Stanley Cup now more than a decade since that late night in Buffalo, and maybe make a fourth trip to the Olympics.

Modano sat down for brief interrogation earlier this week:

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Garrett ‘08 vs Garrett ‘09

There is more than plenty of talk about what Jason Garrett should do with the offense this season. I happen to agree that the number #1 factor for the Cowboys is health this season; but #2 is how well Jason Garrett coordinates his offense.

Honestly, I thought he was poor last season. I thought his play calls were often to appease some; for instance Terrell Owens gets 18 targets (Washington, Week 4) which led to Felix Jones not getting a touch. I also thought he relied on the shotgun and the pass too much when a game began to develop. When you are down 14, sling the ball without regard for caution or care, but when you are down 3 in the 3rd Quarter, there is no reason to abandon your game plan. But, the facts indicate that the Cowboys were too willing to throw the ball early and often and that gets everyone in trouble.

It gets your QB hit too often, it puts too much pressure on your OL, it allows the defense to “pin their ears back” and disregard the running game. And if you review the games in December, you will see the disregard grew.

The Cowboys threw the ball 59.1% of the time in 2008 (579 passes/400 runs) – only 4 teams in football threw more often. Playoff teams in 2008 threw the ball 52.7% of the time. The difference? 64 run plays. 4 a week. The Cowboys averaged 61.1 offensive snaps in 2008, and the average split was 36 passes and 25 runs.

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Race Day: Looking at the A.L. Playoff Races

About the Wild Card Race

Boston: The Red Sox hit six home runs on Tuesday night, five among their first 16 batters. David Ortiz tied Frank Thomas’ record for career DH homers at 269. 2B Dustin Pedroia had his first multi-HR game. Eight of Boston’s nine starters in the lineup came out early. In the last 21 games, the Red Sox are averaging 6.4 runs. RHP Clay Buchholz (5-3) had his sixth quality start.

On Wednesday night, RHP Paul Byrd (1-1, 7.56) gets his third start since being signed. Last time out, he was knocked out in the third inning at Chicago after giving up seven earned runs and 10 hits. He’s 2-4 against Baltimore lifetime with a 4.30 ERA in seven starts. Only one Oriole managed two hits on Tuesday night: rookie C Matt Wieters (high school teammate of Justin Smoak). Wieters, in 71 games, is hitting .268. He has hits in 11 of his last 13 appearances. The Orioles will start RHP Jason Berken (4-11, 6.07). Since going from a four-seam fastball to a two-seamer three starts ago, he’s 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA.

Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, on the disabled list since late June with a bad shoulder, should get his last minor league rehab start on Wednesday. Manager Terry Francona said his goal is for Matsuzaka (eight starts, 1-5, 8.23 ERA) to be ready for Boston’s Sept. 15 against the Angels.

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