That is the look Byrd now sees on the face of Michael Young. And the results he sees coming off Young’s bat.

As the Rangers prepared for The Biggest Series of The Year (Episode No. 12 or 13), a three-game weekend visit to AL West-leading Los Angeles, Young got the Rangers focused again with more big contributions in Thursday’s win over Oakland. Young’s 18th homer of the season tied the game and extended his current hitting streak to 13. A single in the fifth drove home the go-ahead run. And with that, the Rangers put a three-game losing streak behind them and headed towards Anaheim.

“He is operating at another level,” Byrd said. “What [Thome] did for us in 2003, Michael is doing for us right now. He’s not our team leader for nothing. Sure, he’ll talk to guys when he needs to, but all his talking is done on the field. People think Josh Hamilton is our superstar; no, Josh is a talented player, but Michael’s our star. He’s carrying the team. And I don’t think there is any thought in his mind that he has to do this or that. He’s just going out there and doing what Michael Young does.”

Lately, that means he’s blistering pitchers. The two hits Thursday and the hitting streak are just an extension of what he’s done since first of July. That’s about the time the season starts to drag for some quick starters and it’s the time when Young traditionally terrorizes tired pitchers. Young takes a .364 average since July 1 into the Angels series. It’s fourth in the AL. He leads the league in the total offense index of on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) at 1.060.

He’s done it while the rest of the team has slumped even more deeply. The rest of the team is hitting .235 since July 1, which means he’s gotten no real protection in front or behind him. With Ian Kinsler on the DL and the struggling Josh Hamilton hitting in the bottom half of the order, Young has done it all even while opponents have identified him as the one Ranger they don’t want to let beat them.

For most of his career, the accepted measure for trying to contain Young has been to throw the ball in and not let him hit it to right field. But this year, asked to produce more offensively as a corner infielder, Young has started pulling the ball when necessary. Or, in the case of Thursday’s homer, hit the ball to the middle of the field. Young’s homer cleared the center field wall Thursday.

Young chalks all of this up to one thing, and one thing only: His desire to reach the postseason. Only once before has he experienced a pennant race, in 2004 when the Rangers still ended up third in the AL West.

“I’m hungry to win,” said Young, third on the games played list among active players without a post-season appearance. “All I’ve thought about throughout my career is winning; it’s all I care about on the baseball field. This has nothing to do with anything I learned from 2004 or any other year. I’m hungry to win. I’m hungry to do it now. And we’ve got a good enough team to do it.”

But there is something Young did learn from his lone pennant race experience that he’s trying to pass on to his teammates.

“I learned how much fun it is to play when something is at stake in September,” Young said. “But I don’t go up there every at-bat thinking about September. I go up there thinking about that at-bat.”

Young’s answer provides advice for his teammates on two fronts: Don’t put so much pressure on yourself that you forget to have fun, but don’t think about any at-bat or any game’s impact on the pennant race.

If they do that, the Rangers might find their way out of the offensive slump they’ve struggled through this season.

Which leads us right back to something else Byrd learned from watching Thome in 2003.

“We’ve got to put some pieces around him,” Byrd said of Young. “He’s carrying us right now, but the longer one guy carries you, the heavier the load gets. We just need to keep filling in more pieces around him.”

If they don’t, they’ll likely end up just like Byrd’s 2003 Phillies and Young’s 2004 Rangers.

Both failed to make the playoffs.

“Everybody can play hard, but you’ve got to play smart,” said Harrah.

Sounds about right. In 17 big league seasons, Harrah never hit 30 home runs, never had 100 RBI, never managed 200 hits, never cracked a .500 slugging percentage.  His lone season with a batting average over .300 came in 1982, long after he had departed Arlington for the Cleveland Indians. But Harrah played hard. And he always played smart. Steve Busby, who pitched for Kansas City while Harrah was with the Rangers, said scouting meetings for Texas would usually end with one common conclusion: don’t let Toby Harrah beat you.

The Rangers honored Harrah and Ruben Sierra at the Alumni Legacy Luncheon on Friday as the team prepares to make the duo the 11th and 12th members of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Harrah, the first All-Star in Ranger history, played 9 seasons in Texas and ranks second in franchise history in walks and steals. He also spent 6 seasons as a coach and manager in Rangers’ system, including a 32-44 stint as interim manager after Bobby Valentine was fired in 1992.

“It’s really a privilege to be a part of this whole thing,” Harrah said.  “I’ve lived here since 1972, since the original Rangers baseball team. It’s been my home and I love Texas. I’ve had 15 years in a Ranger uniform and there’s a lot of pride there.”

Harrah started his career as a shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1969 and came to Arlington with the franchise three years later. After starting 522 games at short from 1972-76, the Rangers moved him to third base in 1977 and traded him to Cleveland for Buddy Bell just two years later.

“That first year for me was tough because every time I missed a ball, they’d say to me, ‘Buddy would’ve caught that ball. Buddy would’ve made that play,’” Harrah said.

After five years with the Indians and one with the Yankees, Harrah was traded back to the Rangers in 1985, playing two more seasons before retiring. In the summer of Harrah’s final season, the Rangers called up a toolsy 20-year-old Puerto Rican kid with superstar potential and a nickname to match: “The Franchise.” The kid, Ruben Sierra, had lofty expectations, but he wasted little time living up to his moniker.

Texas played Kansas City on June 1, 1986 in then-Royals Stadium. With the game tied 0-0 in the 4th, Sierra launched a 3-run homer in his second major league at bat off Royals lefty Charlie Leibrandt, who had come in 5th in the AL Cy Young voting the year before.

“He tried to surprise me with a fastball, and I surprised him,” Sierra said.

Over the next 17 years, Sierra had three separate stints with Texas. As a Ranger, he played 1,190 games, made three All-Star teams, and finished second in the 1989 AL MVP voting as a 23-year-old. It was around that time he earned another nickname — El Caballo — and it stuck.

“I remember when Ruben was first in the big leagues when he came up, being a switch hitter, power from both sides of the plate,” said Harrah. “I enjoyed watching him hit a double or a triple as much as a home run because you could watch him run. And Ruben could fly.”

Sierra was traded to Oakland for Jose Canseco in 1992, but returned to Texas for two seasons from 2000-01 and part of another in 2003. He played three more years with the Yankees and Twins before bowing out in 2006, but even in retirement, Sierra connected with the Rangers once again when they drafted his son, Ruben Sierra Jr., in the 6th round of the 2009 amateur draft.

“That was part of my dream too,” said Sierra. “Just to have him sign professionally, and even more to sign with the Rangers, where I started. So two dreams came true.”

Sierra grew up idolizing another Puerto Rican great, Roberto Clemente, and even wore his number 21. But while Sierra had to admire one of baseball’s greats from afar, Harrah had a chance to play for a few of them. Ted Williams was the Senators manager in 1971 and stayed on for the Rangers first year in Texas in 1972. Another Hall of Famer, Nellie Fox, was the infield coach for those teams. Fox was a 12-time All-Star and won three Gold Gloves, an award that didn’t exist until he was 29-years-old.

“Having the privilege to play for the greatest hitter to ever live, Ted Williams, and to be under him for two years and listening to him talk about hitting, I think it laid the groundwork for me to play 17 years in the big leagues,” said Harrah. “And Nellie told me, ‘If you want to be able to play in the big leagues, you’ve got to be able to bunt, you’ve got to be able to take pitches for the guy in front of you, steal bases, you’ve got to be able to hit behind the runners…’ They left an impression on me that kind of carried over all those years.”

Harrah, now the hitting coordinator for the Detroit Tigers, said he still passes on lessons he learned from Williams and Fox to the players he works with today. And even though he’s employed by an AL rival, he still holds a soft spot for the place he spent most of his career.

“I was proud to be a Ranger for the 15 years I wore the Ranger uniform and I’m excited for Texas. I want to see them do well,” Harrah said. “Except for when they play the Tigers.”

The Murphy Family (from left, David, Madison, Faith and Andrea) are all smiles now after David recovered from an early-season swoon (Photo: Amber Sustala).

ARLINGTON - David Murphy admitted Monday night’s two-run home run that provided breathing room in the Rangers’ 6-3 victory over Boston was like homering against your brother or your best friend. That’ll happen when you’ve spent hours playing cards on buses going to and from Sarasota and Portland with Pedroia and Lester and Papelbon.

It has been almost two years since the soft-spoken Houston native was dealt by the Red Sox to the Rangers at the trading deadline. Starting about 60 percent of the time this season, he’s leading the club in OPS (.386) while being shuttled around the lineup from second to seventh. All this following the oft-referenced 0-for-23 start.

“My timing was a little off,” Murphy, 27, said of his ’09 start. And the timing of his trade in ’07 affected much more than baseball.

Boston starter Jon Lester recalls Murphy as a great guy and a hard-working teammate from the two and a half years that they played together in the Red Sox’s system. But they really didn’t get to know each other that well, he said. “We all had girl friends or were single, and he had different priorities,” Lester said.

Murphy’s priority is the former Andrea Hill, whom he met at a gathering at his off-campus apartment when they attended Baylor. They were married New Year’s Day 2005, two and a half years into his minor-league career.

Murphy was Boston’s first-round draft pick in 2003 after his All-American junior season at Baylor. But in four years in the organization, he hadn’t cracked the big-league outfield, only playing 20 games with Boston as a late call-up in 2006 and a handful of games in June 2007.

On Aug. 31, 2007, Murphy was playing with Triple-A Pawtucket club in Columbus, Ohio when, only half paying attention to the TV, he heard was to be included in the package for Texas reliever Eric Gagne. Once at the park, manager Ron Johnson filled in the details.

Among that first wave of phone calls from Rangers officials, player development director Scott Servais told him that he needed to head to Fresno, Calif., to meet up with the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks. Murphy mentioned something that changed Servais’ timetable.

Andrea was pregnant with their first child and due within days. Murphy was instead allowed to return to Rhode Island, and Madison Murphy was born three days later in nearby Boston. He caught up with the RedHawks a few days later in Sacramento, Calif.

“That was a struggle, balancing my baseball life – even though there were only a few months left in the season – with becoming a father for the first time,” Murphy said. “Wanting to get my rest. Wanting to make a good first impression to put myself in a good position going into 2008.”

And that first trade cuts deep despite knowing it happens to almost every player. Especially as a minor-leaguer. Especially in mid-season.

“When you leave your first organization, it’s a shock,” Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd said. “Guys that get traded in the off-season, it’s easy for ‘em. But during the season, your family has to move. Going to a new organization. Not knowing anyone. I was lucky when I got traded; I’d been in the big leagues a couple of years so I knew guys [on his new team].”

A .280 hitter that year for Pawtucket, Murphy played only a couple of games for the RedHawks and finished the season in Arlington. He indeed made a good impression by hitting .340 in 40 games. In 2008, he’d made 100 starts in the outfield split between left and right until the two-car collision with Pudge Rodriquez at the plate on Aug. 6 ended his season with a sprained right knee. Batting fifth most of the time, Murphy hit 15 homers (more than in any full minor-league season) and ranked eighth in the A.L. in RBIs when his season ended.

Murphy basically credited his production to hitting behind Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley: “Hitting fifth behind four All-Stars makes your job a lot easier.”

Nothing came easy early this season. A long 0-for in June or August doesn’t attract the same attention as an 0-for-23 that nearly lasts into May. The burden was eased by his home life, which now includes Madison’s little sister Faith.

“My wife was incredible during that stretch,” Murphy said. “We would talk about it. Some nights it would be frustrating; other nights it wouldn’t. And having kids is awesome for a baseball player. Having an almost 2-year-old daughter and a 10-month daughter – all they care about when I walk through the door is seeing me. They have big smiles on their faces, and they’re happy.”

Teammates were encouraging, too, though a slump doesn’t affect daily interaction.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re hitting .800 or nothin’; you’ll be treated the same way,” Hamilton said. “You may throw a couple extra words of encouragement every once in awhile, but he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t able to hit.”

Starting with the fifth-inning home run off Baltimore righty Brad Bergesen on April 26, Murphy has hit .319 to pull up his average to .284. His monthly totals are .097, .290, .296 and now .412 two-thirds through July. Hitless on Monday night going into the sixth inning, his 2-for-4 marked his fifth multi-hit game of the month. Three of his five three-hit games this season have come in July.

He has played a solid left field – when he can see the ball. On the Kevin Youkilis hit that he never saw in the early evening sun on Monday: “It’s not like you can work on that particular play; we’re always playing at 7 o’lock. It’s not like the ball passes through the sun and comes out. The sun was covering the entire left field. I’m praying that it’s going to have some air under it.”

Guys who were in the other dugout on Monday are happy Murphy has capitalized on his chance to play in the majors, though they’d obviously rather his hits and homers come against others. Pedroia is the one Boston player who still keeps in touch with Murphy and appreciated getting a text from him a few weeks ago when his own pregnant wife went through difficulties that prevented him from going to the All-Star Game.

“Our outfield at that time was stacked,” Pedroia said. “He seemed like a young guy who needed to go play. I think we were all excited for him. We’re happy for him.”

Said Murphy: “I know I can play this game. I know I can play at this level. It’s just a matter of trusting myself.”

Those are easy to spot.

We go further.

Davis is wearing a thong. Or at least he said he would be. A red one.

Davis had a 45 minute talk over the weekend with an A’s slugger he would not name, but he came away with a new perspective on hitting and a new slump-busting trick. By the way, Oakland’s Jason Giambi, when he was with the New York Yankees, turned to a gold thong and a bushy mustache to break out of a slump last year. Several other Yankees admitted to trying the “The Magic Thong.”

“There was actually no mention of a thong during my conversation,” Davis said. “Was my decision to go this way inspired by it? Maybe.”

The conversation centered on baseball and how to break out of a long slump.

“He was just reinforcing some things about his approach and how to stay focused when he’s struggling,” Davis said. “He told me whether I believe it or not, the guys in this clubhouse, the guys in other clubhouse and the guys all around the league know I’m a big leaguer and I belong. He told me he loved the way I played baseball. It was just good to hear.

“He said it’s a learning opportunity and that I’ll be so much better for going through it. And I didn’t really have much failure in the minors. So this will give me something of a foundation or a base to fall back on when I have a slump in the future and it will hopefully help me get out of things more quickly.”

Davis entered Tuesday’s game hitting just .194 and with 77 strikeouts. He didn’t play in the final two games of the Oakland series after going 0-for-7 with six strikeouts in a doubleheader on Friday.

One thing you have to say about how Davis has dealt with the season-long slump: He hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

“There is no point in beating myself up over it,” Davis said. “I’ve been mad and frustrated, but I need to learn from this.”

Brownwood RHP Shelby Miller takes two playoff shutouts into Saturday's Region II-3A semifinal against West.

BROWNWOOD, Texas - Shelby Miller got used to all the radar guns staring back at him from behind home plate late last year as a hard-throwing junior right-hander. When he first took the mound for the Brownwood Lions this spring, more than 40 major league scouts were aimed at him out on the mound like paparazzi. And that was for a scrimmage.

But when Miller and the Lions faced Seminole High last week in the area round of the Class 3A playoffs in Abilene, one visitor caused a particular stir without any extracurricular equipment. Though he tried to go incognito in a baseball cap, khaki shirt, blue jeans and boots.

“As incognito as Nolan Ryan can,” said Mitch Miller, Shelby’s father.

“I guess he was scouting me,” Shelby said. “I didn’t know he was there until my coach told me right before the game.”

That’ll happen when you’re a 6-4, 206 with a fastball that hits the high 90s. And it might happen again in Mineral Wells on Saturday afternoon, when Miller is scheduled to pitch against West High in the one-game Region II semifinal.

A couple of major league general managers have traveled to the “Big Country” to catch Miller’s performances this season, and his father said the scouting director for the Braves (picking seventh) has seen him pitch three times. According to Dad, Ryan is the only team president. Just a coincidence that Mitch grew up an Astros fan about 60 miles west of Houston and reveled when getting the opportunity to watch Ryan pitch.

Shelby doesn’t profess to have a favorite club. (Dad notes he has a Rangers team on his Xbox360.) He does have a baseball scholarship to Texas A&M. It’s debatable whether he’ll be available when the Rangers step forward with the 14^th pick in the June 9 draft.

Miller is considered one of the top right-handed high school pitchers available. The state also boasts one of the top lefties coming out of high school, Klein’s Matt Purke. “It’s hard to tell when and where I’ll be picked,” Miller said. “Whatever team drafts me, it’s going to be a blessing.”

Miller’s record is 9-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 31 walks in 66 innings, and he has pitched two four-hit shutouts in the playoffs. In the win over Seminole, he struck out 14 and walked one – with two out in the seventh and final inning. Last weekend in the regional quarterfinals, he struck out nine and walked two in a win over Lubbock Cooper. He hit 96 mph, and coach Scotty Nichols mentioned Miller was focused on keeping the ball down for ground balls. The regional semifinal is being played in one game instead of best-of-three and on Saturday because both schools had graduation on Friday night. And because Nichols wanted just one game, with Miller on the mound, to determine if the Lions (17-9) will reach a region final for the first time since 1990.

Mitch Miller said Ryan didn’t talk to Shelby or his family after last week’s game against Seminole. But dozens of big-league representatives have dropped in this season at the Miller home, located just a few blocks from the high school campus.

The draft for so long seemed like something far off in the distance. Now it’s a week and a half away, and Shelby and his folks will have a decision to make.

“It’s kind of unbelievable that it’s your son doing it,” said Mitch, a member of Brownwood’s fire department. “We’ve mostly left it up to him. If it’s there and he wants to do it and it’s worth skipping college right now, then I think that’s what he’ll do.”

The family is being advised by Gavin Wright and Peter Vescovo from Select Sports Group in Houston. Wright was Miller’s summer league coach last year with a team called the Austin Slam. (Since December 2004, Select Sports Group has been affiliated with the Sanders Morris Harris Group of Houston. As in Don Sanders. As in Ryan Sanders Baseball. As in Nolan Ryan.)

Brownwood senior first baseman Parker Taylor has been Miller’s teammate since youth baseball days and has an opinion on what his longtime pal should do.

“I would tell him to just go to the pros ’cause you’re going to have enough money, if you get hurt you can go back to college,” said Taylor, who is headed to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on a football scholarship. “But he doesn’t need my advice.”

Taylor also said he doesn’t need those fancy radar guns to tell the speed of Miller’s fastball.

“I can tell how fast it is because I’ve been there for so long. It’s so much faster the last two years,” he said. “Ever since we were little, he’s been able to throw the ball faster than every other kid.

“But he still can’t strike me out.”

Miller has a 12-to-6 curveball that usually reaches the mid-70s. This season, he said he has tried to work on his mechanics and, at the suggestion of scouts, his change-up. He said he had control problems early this season, in part because of the scouts, at least a dozen of them at every game. “Now, I don’t even notice them,” he said.

Miller is one of only three seniors on this year’s Lions team, which dropped down from 4A in the most recent UIL realignment. Brownwood’s other two starting pitchers are sophomores in their first year of varsity play. After a rough start in non-district play, the Lions went unbeaten in District 2-3A and have won 15 straight.

Brownwood doesn’t have a fall ball program. Miller played football last fall as a senior and was named all-district receiver and all-state punter (averaging 41.3 yards). With that arm, a pass out of punt formation could be a post pattern.

Remember all that fuss a month so ago about Patrick Schuster, the high school pitcher in Florida who threw four straight no-hitters? Miller wasn’t too far from doing that as a junior, when Brownwood was in 4A. He threw three straight (the third was a perfect game) after pitching a one-hitter.

“Gave up a homer to the No. 9 man,” Miller said, shaking his head in disgust. “I think I threw a change-up, and he kind of got a hold of it.”

Fox and Family: Adam Fox and wife Kristy have spent parts of the last five seasons in Frisco, the last three with son Gunnar. (Photo: Eric Hurley)

FRISCO – Adam Fox has seven years in the Rangers’ farm system and 10 gloves in his locker at the Dr Pepper Ballpark. “Some are game ready, some getting ready,” he explained.

Fox was drafted as a third baseman out of Ohio University in 2003, a 10^th-rounder between John Danks in the first and Ian Kinsler in the 17^th. He has worn a RoughRiders uniform at least part of every season starting in 2005.

“Could run for mayor,” he said with a laugh.

Fox, 27, has never hit above .280 at any of his stops, which included limited time the last two seasons up at Oklahoma. This is the third consecutive season that he has begun the season at Frisco, where he has started half of the 38 games through Thursday. At 5-11 and 200 pounds, he still hopes to reach the majors and believes his versatility in the field can get him there since he can play third, short, second and both corner outfield positions. He has even pitched twice for the RoughRiders.

“There are a lot of good hitters in the game. How many good defenders who can play everywhere do you see out there?” Fox said (.220/.267/.329). “That’s a big part of the game, more than people know about. My bat hasn’t always been there [rolls his eyes]. I think that’s one of the things that have kept me around.”

That, and probably that 2-year-old ball of energy who pinballs around the Riders’ clubhouse and perks up in the stands when he hears a certain name announced over the P.A.

“Adam Fox!” Gunnar Fox repeated.

There are few moments at a minor league baseball game without some magnet for a fan’s attention, by design. One half inning, it’s the hula hoop contest. There’s the t-shirt donning competition. The human dot race around the back of the infield.

“I’ve seen ‘em all,” Kristy Fox noted.

Kristy is Adam’s wife of four years, a courtship that began when the two all-district high school basketball players in north central Pennsylvania showed up for the shooting of the team photos by the local paper. Was she ever impressed when he rolled up her driveway for that first date in a sharp Audi. No need to mention he’d borrowed his coach’s car for the evening.

“Next time, I showed up in a 1982 Pontiac 6000 with the front end smashed in,” he said.

Adam – Foxy, she calls him – hit third and was the star shortstop and No. 1 pitcher for St. Marys Area High School. Classmate Tony Azzato, the second baseman, said the team went 18-2 and won the school’s second district championship.

Fox said he attracted interest from some major baseball schools in the East and Southeast. But he was concerned that he wouldn’t play much at any of those and the scholarship offers weren’t as good as what came from Ohio U. As a junior there, he hit .366 and led the Bobcats in doubles, homers and RBIs.

He was then drafted by the Rangers and sent off to rookie-ball Spokane along with Kinsler, Danks, Wes Littleton and the rest of the newly minted draft class.

“That team got along great,” Kinsler said. “You’re not nervous, but you don’t know what pro ball is going to be like. Don’t know what the managers and coaches are going to be like. It was a lot of fun playing with him.”

The team got along great, and why not, winning the Northwest League championship. Fox loved the park and the fans. He and Kinsler, playing third and short, then headed to instructional ball in Arizona and shared the same apartment and affinity for drive-through cuisine.

“He introduced me to In-N-Out Burger,” Fox said.

Fox was sent to high-A Stockton, Kinsler to low-A Clinton. “I was hoping we’d get to play together again,” Fox said. “I think we learned a lot from each other in the beginning.”

Kinsler hit .402 at Clinton and took the fast track to Arlington. For Fox, hitting has been more of a struggle. Then after starting the ’06 season at Frisco, he broke his left thumb after nine games and returned in June to spend the rest of the season back in the California League. He has begun each season since as a RoughRider and got some taastes of Oklahoma in 2007 and ’08.

Chris Davis played with Fox at Frisco in parts of the last two seasons: “Foxy’s one of those guys that you want on your team. I think when you’ve been in the minor leagues for a long time, you’ve tried a lot of positions, it’s really easy to get frustrated and down on yourself. And that’s something that he definitely stays away from. He’s a real positive guy.”

Adam Fox has pitched in wherever needed, even on that rare occasion when pitching in meant pitching. (Photo: Frisco RoughRiders)

Fox has even answered the call when the RoughRiders needed an emergency arm. He first pitched for them at home against San Antonio in 2007, when Kristy did a double take looking down at the bullpen: “Is he warming up?”

Three up, three down. And when he was needed again last season at Corpus Christi, same result.

“Fastballs and sliders – don’t think I mixed in any changeups,” Fox said. “I think I can still pitch, but I have too much fun playing every day. I don’t want to sit around.”

(Note to RoughRiders: If and when you’re far ahead or behind in the division race, let’s see Fox play all nine positions. Bring back Scott Sheldon to throw out the first pitch – from eight positions.)

If a ballplayer must spend parts of five seasons in one minor league port, Frisco is a better-than-average location. The Foxes live not far from the park, in a one-bedroom apartment. Like most RoughRiders, they’re granted a monthly lease in case of a sudden call-up. Kristy sees girl friends of the other Frisco players during homestands but is pretty much by herself when the team is on the road.

Gunnar (his first name is Brayden, but most folks refer to him by his middle name) has become a real ballpark boy. When Kristy drives to the mall, she tries to take a route that won’t allow him to spot the tall light standards above the park. “If we go by and don’t stop, he cries,” she said.

Gunnar is on a ballplayer’s schedule – to bed at 1, up at 11 – and is a frequent visitor to the clubhouse. New Frisco shortstop Marcus Lemon is one of Gunnar’s top playmates but has him confused with the Riders’ previous shortstop.

“I say, ‘How ya doing, Gunnar? And he says, ‘Elvis! Elvis!” Lemon said. “We’re still working on that.”

This season, first-year Frisco manager Mike Micucci has started Fox at second, third, left field and right field. “Just to be able to come out and play a number of different positions .. but play them well,” Micucci said. “Every time you move around a lot, it becomes tougher. He really is a great team leader, in the clubhouse. He helps me out as far as helping out our younger guys, tell them what this league’s all about.”

Said Lemon: “He treats me like a brother. He welcomed me with open arms.”

The Foxes return to Pennsylvania during off-seasons. St. Marys is a town of about 15,000 (birthplace of Chuck Daly) whose major industry is powered steel, closely linked to auto manufacturing. Azzato said unemployment there in Elk County is at about 15 percent, resulting in the governor referring to it as “ground zero” of the state’s economic woes.

Azzato was Adam’s best man at the wedding and keeps in touch with the Foxes just about every week. He coaches his alma mater’s baseball team and works for his father’s insurance agency. He and his father have talked to Fox about taking a stab at the insurance business this winter. On the road, he’s studying for the insurance license test.

He’s also planning to get his college degree since he left Ohio after his junior season. Fox would seem like a natural for a position in the Rangers’ organization after his playing days are over, but that’s not a topic that he wants to discuss now.

“Once you start thinking about that, you start thinking about the end of playing, and I don’t want to think about that,” he said.

Scott Servais, the Rangers’ director of player development, noted there are a number of Adam Foxes sprinkled throughout the organization’s rosters. “A number of those guys make the big-league roster. They’re not just good soldiers,” he said. “We put a premium on that group. We talk a lot about creating the right environment for all of our players. We want a team that’s capable of winning plus young players see how their work ethic plays out day in and day out.”

“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” Fox said. Then he looked over at Gunnar and added: “I want to play this game long enough where he can realize what I’m doing.”

After the jump, I’ll empty out my notebook of thoughts and observations on who stood out and why during my four days in the desert.

■ My top lower-level breakout candidates for 2009 are nineteen year old RF Guillemo Pimentel and ninteen year old lefty Geuris Grullon (whom I wrote about extensively on Saturday). I hope the Rangers haven’t pigeonholed Grullon as a reliever.

■ Pimentel is as toolsy as any outfield prospect in this system right now, and that includes Engel Beltre. I didn’t see the pop in his bat that Beltre possesses, but I did see some quality at-bats and solid line drives. He appeared to have a better idea at the plate than Beltre does right now. While his speed is a tick below Beltre’s, it’s still very good and his arm appeared to me to be every bit as strong as Beltre’s, perhaps better. This kid looks like he could become a serious prospect.

■ If I was a scout, one of the things I’d always put in my reports would be something along the lines of an answer to “What would he look like pitching in front of 50,000 screaming fans in October?” And for Martin Perez, the answer would be “right at home” or “in his element.” He’s arrogant and charismatic, but not an obtuse jerk and everybody seems to like him. The other thing that struck me about Perez was how mentally engaged he is in what is going on. During infield drills on the morning he was scheduled to start in the afternoon game, he spent the morning leaning against the batting cage watching what everybody was doing. He cracks the occasional joke and has some fun, but he’s tuned in to the process.

■ Former Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor, who was re-hired as a minor league instructor, is much more of a presence in minor league camp than I thought he’d be. He appears to be very involved mentally and he’s very hands-on in his teaching. I’ve been hyper-critical of Connor in the past — probably unfairly so — but the one thing I can’t ever say about him after seeing him in action this week is that he doesn’t work hard.

■ I think that LH reliever Corey Young will open in Frisco and could see Arlington this year.

■ I enjoyed watching new Frisco hitting coach Brant Brown work with players. When the time comes for Rudy Jaramillo to call it quits, it would be nice for the organization if Brown was still around.

■ I’m still pretty stunned at how hard Marcus Lemon hit the ball all weekend given his size. Solid gap power and his ability to square the ball is as good as anyone’s in the system.

■ Caught two innings of Michael Schlact on the mound in the Double-A game on Sunday. Six up, six down, five ground ball outs. Even when hitters fouled balls off of him, they were snake killers.

■ Caught just one inning of Wilfredo Boscan‘s second spring outing. Reports from his first outing weren’t good. The day I saw him, he lived up to the scouting reports. I was also struck with his presence. I think his supposedly ordinary stuff will play way up because of his intelligence and his presence.

■ The more I see Chad Tracy, the more I like him. For one thing, I like his attitude. He’s serious about the game, but realizes that it’s supposed to be fun. The 2006 third rounder has not had an especially distinguished career as a professional, but he seemed to be coming around last year. Tracy hit .326 / .398 / .528 for Bakersfield in June, .292 / .368 / .542 in July and .417 / .440 / .875 through the first week of August before earning his promotion to Frisco where he put up a .344 / .386 / .505 line through the final month of the Texas League season. He appeared to be dialed in this week as well. Tracy is likely to split time at 1B / DH with Justin Smoak for Frisco, and with Chris Davis ahead of both of them at first, I don’t know if there’s a place for him in this organization but I think he’s a bit of a sleeper.

■ All future-manager club:
1b: Chad Tracy
2b: Marcus Lemon
3b: Adam Fox
SS: Elvis Andrus
C: Kevin Richardson
OF: Truan Mehl
OF: Julio Borbon
OF: Marlon Byrd
P: Martin Perez
P: Ryan Tatusko
P: Wilfredo Boscan

Said Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux: “He’s aggressive. He works quickly to go right after people. He has conviction, believes in himself and his stuff.”

Funny thing: Maddux wasn’t exactly talking about the profile for a setup reliever following the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to Kansas City Friday in a split-squad game. He was talking about right-hander Warner Madrigal.

They may, however, be one and the same.

Even though manager Ron Washington didn’t see the performance first hand because he was at the team’s other split squad game, he was sure to hear a lot about it after he returned. Madrigal, called the “Mad Dog,” by teammates,  plowed through the Kansas City lineup with a fastball that ranged from 92-94 mph and a split-finger offspeed pitch that burrowed into the dirt.

It took Madrigal just 11 pitches to finish off his perfect inning. That followed an eight-pitch inning on March 7. He needed 14 pitches in the outing before that. In all, he’s gone four innings, allowed a run (it came in the first outing), struck out three and – perhaps most importantly – walked zero.

“It’s too early for me to tell you who he reminds me of,” said bench coach Jackie Moore, who managed the team that played in Surprise. “But I know he reminds me of somebody with a real good arm. I’ll tell [Washington] he went out there and took charge, which is what we are looking for.”

When it comes to constructing a bullpen, the Rangers have some issues. There are eight guys for four open spots, including two long relievers and two middle/setup relievers. The Rangers have two left-handed setup men in Eddie Guardado and C.J. Wilson, but they haven’t settled on a right-hander who could pitch in that role when needed. They have Brendon Donnelly and Derek Turnbow, both experienced in late-inning situations, in camp. But both are on minor league contracts and neither is promised a job.

Right-handers Josh Rupe and Dustin Nippert both appear to be better fits for long relief than as set up men.

That leaves an opening for Madrigal to squeeze through. A year ago, the fire-hydrant shaped converted outfielder might not have been able to squeeze through such a hole, but there is less of Madrigal now. He dropped about 12 pounds over the winter and that’s helped take some strain off his back. In his rookie season, Madrigal was used mostly in middle and mop-up relief.Madrigal, who could be sent to the minors more easily than any of the veterans in the competition, is nonetheless aiming to take the next step.

“I worked hard,” said Madrigal, who made his major league debut last year after not pitching above low Class A in 2006 and 2007. “I feel much stronger. I had too much weight last year. I couldn’t make it through all of our sprints. Now, I’m able to finish everything. I feel very comfortable right now. I faced major league hitters last year and I know I can get them out.”

He demonstrated some of his new found quickness on Friday. He used a split finger fastball to get Kansas City’s Ross Gload to beat the ball into the ground. Madrigal jumped off the mound with ease, fielded the roller and sprinted to first for the unassisted out.

Maddux isn’t about to start slotting the relievers into different roles. That job belongs to Washington and general manager Jon Daniels.

But ask him if Madrigal could fill that role and he’s much more likely to provide an answer.

“From what I’ve seen thus far, he could,” Maddux said. “He’s doing everything we could ask.”

Double-doubles may be fine accomplishments for basketball players, but never for a starting pitcher. This is spring training, however, and, in general, results don’t matter quite as much. In particular, this is Millwood’s spring training, and only two things matter:

• He left the game healthy.

• His pitch-count kept marching upward; this time to 63.

Millwood made progress on both the health and endurance fronts,  a departure from his previous spring trainings with the Rangers in which muscle tweaks sometimes outnumbered innings pitched. In each of his last two camps, Millwood, the Rangers opening day starter, has pitched less than 10 innings in “A” games. His performance during the season has suffered because of it.

This spring he’s piled up eight innings in three starts and with five more outings left, he should approach 30 innings for the spring. By the end of camp, he could have a 100-pitch outing, on par for a regular-season game.

“If we stay on the program we’re on, we’ll absolutely be ready to go,” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “It wasn’t his day, but he went out there and executed and kept extending himself. That’s the most important thing.”

Millwood has started the season opener in all three of his seasons with the Rangers. He’s never made it past 91 pitches. He’s been the loser in all three games. His opponents have averaged an extra third of an inning in the openers. And each of them has gone to at least 96 pitches in the outing.

Millwood said he had problems getting pitches to the bottom of the strike zone Monday.

“I threw strikes,” he said. “Just not quality strikes.”

“Yeah, he was getting the ball up,” manager Ron Washington acknowledged, “but the big thing is that he got three innings in, he got his pitches in and he’s ready to be pushed a little further next time.”

Millwood labored through a long second inning in which Los Angeles scored seven runs. He was hurt by Andruw Jones’ misplay of a fly ball to center that became a two-run triple. Millwood then had a hard time getting the third out.

Long innings can be even more stressful on a pitcher than high total pitch counts. The Rangers were encouraged to see Millwood go back out for the third and get three more outs.

It also should be noted that Millwood was hit on each hand by grounders, but stuck around to extend his pitch count.

“He keeps doing this, his endurance will be there come opening day,” Washington said. “Even after that long second inning, he wasn’t gassed. That was good to see.”

He arrived at spring training last month determined to make the curve a thing of the past.

Hoping to avoid the injuries that have plagued his first two seasons in Texas and hoping to become a more efficient starter, McCarthy decided to exchange the curve for a slider. Though it’s not quite as pretty as the big curve, a slider, which sweeps away from right-handed batters, can be easier to control.

“It’s something I’ll evaluate as I go along,” McCarthy said after throwing 60 pitches in a “B” game against Kansas City Friday morning. “But the slider allows me to expand the strike zone and it helps with my consistency. The curve ball simply has not been good enough. If I don’t have that good command and consistency with the pitching, I’m going to get hurt by it.”

The Rangers weren’t that concerned about the slider going into Friday’s outing. They were more worried to see how McCarthy responded after he had a bit of shoulder soreness earlier in the week. As a precaution, the team moved him from the regular exhibition to the more controllable “B” game environment.

McCarthy gave them nothing to worry about. After a lazy changeup was smacked for a leadoff homer, he buckled down for an 11-pitch at-bat against major leaguer Willie Bloomquist that eventually ended with a foul pop to third base. The rest of the way, his fastball was lively and the new slider was effective. He got a called third strike on Billy Butler with a slider.

“It really opened my eyes today,” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “He threw it to get strikes and he used it to get outs. I was impressed.”

Not that Maddux was pessimistic about the development of the pitch. He just wants to insure McCarthy doesn’t shelve it completely. Maddux believes it’s entirely possible McCarthy has grown a bit gun-shy about throwing the more physically-taxing curve because of the arm and shoulder injuries he’s sustained the last two years.

“I know I’d be a little bit gun-shy,” Maddux said. “It’s a tool we still have. But sometimes when you sustain an injury on a pitch, it can make you a little more hesitant about going back to that pitch.”

If there is one thing the Rangers want to avoid with McCarthy, it is injuries. In two years with Texas, he’s pitched a total of 121 innings. Compare that to former first-round pick John Danks, for whom McCarthy was traded; Danks threw 195 innings for the Chicago White Sox last year. Danks won 12 games for the White Sox; McCarthy has won six in his two years in Texas.

McCarthy missed the first four months of last season with shoulder inflammation, made five appearances and then partially tore a tendon sheath in the middle finger of his right hand. That injury ended his year two weeks before the Rangers ended the season. His fragility has made McCarthy an oft-belittled figure among Rangers’ fans on the internet.

“Hey, if I’m looking at it from the other side of the table, like a fan, I’m probably looking at it the same way they are,” McCarthy said. “I can certainly understand that when a guy with a history of injuries like I’ve had has a bit soreness early in spring, it frustrates people. It’s frustrating for me to read about, but I understand where they are coming from.”