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Post-Game Show: A’s 9, Rangers 0

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

Story of the Game
RHP Scott Feldman, searching for his 17th win and his eighth in a row, took a one-hit shutout to the sixth inning Monday, then ran smack into a brick wall.

The Rangers tired lineup, which sat through four rain delays in the previous eight day, hit the wall much earlier.

It combined for one ugly loss that eliminated any remaining margin for error on the nine-game homestand against AL West opponents. The loss was the Rangers third in four games on the homestand and dropped them 4.5 games back of Boston in the AL wild card. They remained six back of Los Angeles in the AL West with 19 games remaining.

After allowing just one hit through the first five innings, Feldman retired just four more hitters. The first run scored on a swinging bunt but Feldman complicated matters by allowing consecutive two-out doubles to Ryan Sweeney and Kurt Suzuki before escaping the inning. He couldn’t escape the seventh, however. He loaded the bases before being removed with one out. RHP Jason Grilli allowed all three inherited runners to score.

Offensively, the Rangers did nothing against Tomko. The journeyman – he’s with his ninth major league team in 13 seasons – pitched the second shutout of his career. He allowed just five hits. Tomko took advantage of a Rangers lineup that looked tired and lacking in energy.

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The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Complimentary Rain Slickers

6:30: The home run pool is open for your predicting pleasure.

7:07: There have been no decisions made on when Kevin Millwood will pitch again, but manager Ron Washington seems to be pretty steadfast that Millwood will, indeed, make another start for the Rangers.

7:13: The Rangers have released their Fall Instructional League roster. Perhaps the most significant names on the list are  a pair of 16-year-old infielders, Jurickson Profar and Luis Sardinas. The duo, who each received $1.5 million signing bonuses, were the top amateur free agents the Rangers signed this summer. RHPs Michael Main (first round, 2007), Neil Ramirez (supplemental first round, 2007) and LHP Martin Perez (the club’s No. 1 pitching prospect) will all participate.

7:35: Just in case you are wondering on my take on Kevin Millwood, it’s this: I’d start him on Sunday. If there were clear cut choices to move into that spot, I’d have no problem pushing Millwood back. RHP Brandon McCarthy, who will probably pitch Sunday, has  a nice record (7-2), but its not like he has dominated when healthy this year. He’s made two starts since coming back from the DL. He was sharp against Toronto, but allowed Cleveland five runs in 6.1 innings. The other option is LHP Derek Holland and he simply hasn’t been very good since the start of August.

Millwood was a huge part of the Rangers’ early-season success and was the model for the ohter pitchers to follow at the start of this season. That’s a good engouh tiebreaker for me to give him a shot. But it should also be mentioned he has playoff race experience.

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Rangers Remain Undecided on when Kevin Millwood will Make His Next Start

Weather advisory (6:10 pm): The grounds crew is taking the tarp of the field to start preparing it for play. On-time start expected.

ARLINGTON – The Rangers want their three best starters to pitch against the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. It remains uncertain whether the club currently considers RHP Kevin Millwood in that trio.

The no-brainers are RHPs Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman, who will start the first two games of this series in that order. Then comes the Rangers big decision: Whether to pitch the struggling Millwood or go to RHP Brandon McCarthy. Whoever doesn’t pitch on Sunday is expected to pitch next Tuesday at Oakland.

Manager Ron Washington said nothing had been decided and even though Hunter’s name was etched on the dry-erase board for Friday, he said it was a “hypothetical” scenario. Hunter, however, pitched the first complete game of his career on Sunday. The Rangers are 6-1 in his last seven starts. Millwood is on the other end of the spectrum. He lasted just 3.2 innings on Saturday and suffered his third loss in the last four decisions. The Rangers are 1-6 in his last seven starts, during which he has a 5.97 ERA.

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Home Run Pool Time

Surprisingly enough, it’s raining in Arlington. It is supposed to pass through and we are expecting an on-time start. I’ll advise if that changes.

In the meantime, here’s your home run pool entry form against Oakland RHP Brett Tomko:

DH Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, 2B Ian Kinsler, CF Marlon Byrd, LF David Murphy, RF Nelson Cruz, C Ivan Rodriguez, 1B Chris Davis, 3B Omar Vizquel and pitching for the Rangers, bidding for his 17th win … RHP Scott Feldman.

Series Preview: Rangers vs. Athletics

After dropping two of three in a disappointing weekend series, the Rangers have fallen all the way to four back in the wild card and six back in the division. In need of a sweep to keep things interesting before they head to L.A. on Friday, the Rangers will have the good fortune of a three-game home series with the 64-78 Oakland A’s, who are 12th in the AL in runs scored. The bad news is they’re 6-6 against the Rangers this year and have won five of their last seven overall.

Andrew Bailey has been a big part of their recent success, saving three of their five wins and setting an Oakland rookie record for saves with 24. Bailey’s case for the AL Rookie of the Year award might be hampered by the A’s subpar season, but all the credentials are there, especially after he was named AL Rookie of the Month for August.

Bailey is just one reason why the pitching, as expected, hasn’t been the problem in Oakland. CF Rajai Davis has been electric in earning himself a regular role in the outfield, but he’s one of the few things offensively that A’s fans have to get excited about. Scott Hairston cooled off when he got to Oakland, and Matt Holliday got hot when he left. The defense, although much better of late, has contributed to the A’s allowing the 4th most unearned runs in the league. And it’s all combined to get Oakland mathematically eliminated from postseason contention with their next loss, which could come as early as tonight.

For their own sake, the Rangers hope it does.

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It’s Sweeps Week for the Rangers

Weather update (2 pm): Forecast calls for decreasing chance of rain in Arlington this afternoon/evening.

ARLINGTON - By baseball definitions, a long winning streak is one of six or more games. It means the team has gone more than once through its rotation without a loss. In most cases it means a loss-free week.

The Rangers longest streak this season is seven games in May.

It’s time for them to repeat that.

As ugly as the AL West and wild card standings look after a long, wet weekend that saw the Rangers drop two of three to Seattle, this week provides them an opportunity to reset those standings and to jump back into the thick of one or both races with two weeks remaining in the season. All it takes is one hot week.

Here’s why:

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Weekend In Review

The Rangers’ long, wet weekend finally came to an end with a disheartening 5-0 loss at the hands of Felix Hernandez  last night. And after spending more time waiting out rain delays than actually playing baseball, the M’s departed Arlington having taken two of three from Texas and pushing the Rangers from two back to four back in the wild card standings. The inclement weather not only meant the Rangers had to get creative with rescheduling and rearrange the rotation, but it also left us with plenty of time to contemplate Ron Washington’s decision making.

The weekend also provided quite a bit of injury news, especially regarding Josh Hamilton’s problematic back. After seeing specialist in California and receiving his third shot in a matter of weeks, it was announced that Hamilton would likely miss another week of action and wouldn’t return until Friday’s opening with the Angels at the earliest. While that still seems to be the case, the good news is the most recent treatment appears to have helped significantly, and Hamilton — as well as Michael Young — could be back sooner rather than later.

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Sitting Kevin Millwood Down Would Help Rangers Balance Sheet; Might it Help Playoff Chances, too?

It’s no longer just about the money with Kevin Millwood.

Allowing Millwood to make another start would almost certainly insure the financially-strapped Rangers would be on the hook for $12 million for his seemingly declining services  2010. The only way it wouldn’t is if Millwood makes another start like the one he did Saturday. And if he makes another start like Saturday, it just might sabotage any remaining chance the Rangers have of reaching the playoffs.

So, yeah, the money is a big deal, but the bigger issue right now is whether keeping Millwood in the rotation is the best option for the team on the field, not the one in the front office.

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The Morning After: Dallas 34, Tampa Bay 21

“And 2009 is underway!”

As is the case in 100% of NFL games, there was certainly some good, some bad, and some ugly in the 2009 season opener, but the Dallas Cowboys slowly and surely overwhelmed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and start the season off in the only acceptable way. They beat a team that will struggle this year to win 6 games. And they beat them in a fashion where one never felt the game was in doubt after halftime.

I believe the early theme of the season has been whether or not the Cowboys would be capable of assembling a dangerous offense this year. Would the exit of Terrell Owens diminish the lethal qualities of this offense to a point where they struggle to get to 20? Depends who you believe. But, I have always believed that this current crew of playmakers would be fine. And, I believe we saw enough big plays yesterday – and several more that merely teased (Martellus Bennett, Wildcat) – that we can all prepare for the team to accumulate plenty of points. And they may need to. Because…

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Week 2: Rick Perry Republic of Texas Football Poll

Obviously, these rankings are going over like Kanye West at an awards ceremony. Exactly one person volunteered to be a pollster (and, thank you for the offer). I wasn’t kidding. If you want to vote and you’ve got way too much free time on your hands, like I do, contact me. Also, I could use more email.

We’re moving forward one way or another. It was a big week in the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry. Sure, Houston pulled the big upset, but why can’t Texas A&M (OK, A&M-Kingsville) and Angelo State get in on the act, too?

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

About the Wild Card Race

Boston: RHP Jonathan Papelbon closed Sunday’s nightcap against Tampa Bay to complete the three-game sweep. In his last 10 appearances, Papelbon has an 0.73 ERA through 12.1 innings with 17 strikeouts. In his last 14 games, he has gotten more than three outs five times. C-1B Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to 15 games, during which he’s hitting .358.

After Monday’s off day, the Red Sox will start Daisuke Matsuzaka, Paul Byrd and Josh Beckett when the Angels come to Fenway. That will complete an eight-game homestand. Then it’s on to the final road trip of the season: three at Baltimore, four at Kansas City and three in the Bronx.

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