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No Longer Hamstrung: Michael Young Returns to Rangers Lineup as DH, Batting Second

ARLINGTON - Shutout in consecutive games, the Rangers sure could use a shot of energy.

Well, Tuesday night, they’ll be Young again.

Just two weeks after suffering a significant left hamstring strain, Young is returning to the Rangers lineup. He will bat second and play DH today against Oakland. He intends to be back at third base on Friday when Los Angeles arrives in Arlington for a key three-game series.

“There is a sense of energy and a sense of excitement,” CF Marlon Byrd said. “His presence does that. You can only go so long with out your big bats in the lineup and when we saw his name in the lineup today, there was a spark of energy that everybody felt.”

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For Texas Rangers’ Julio Borbon and Elvis Andrus, It’s as Easy as 1, 2 … Well, 1, 2

ARLINGTON - Amateur statisticians Julio Borbon and Elvis Andrus said it never happened when they hit first and second in the 50-something games that they played together last season at Double-A Frisco. Never did Andrus homer with Borbon on base as occurred Wednesday night in the fifth inning, putting the Rangers ahead for good in a series-clinching 6-4 victory over Toronto.

“And that’s what makes it so special,” Borbon said. Not to mention the win moving the Rangers within 2.5 games of the Red Sox in the A.L. wild-card race and within 3.5 games of the Angels in the Western Division.

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Chris Davis’ Promotion Causes Ripple in Lineup

NEW YORK – The Rangers sent a tremor through their lineup with the callup of 1B Chris Davis.

After nearly two months at Oklahoma City working out the kinks in his swing and the mental blocks in his head, Davis returned to the Rangers Tuesday and the move impacted a handful of players. It sends Andruw Jones, the team’s primary DH the last two months, to the DL and 1B Hank Blalock to the bench for the first time in his career. It also means the Rangers might consider C Ivan Rodriguez an occasional right-handed DH, particularly in September when rosters can be expanded.

Asked how he sees using Davis, manager Ron Washington replied in fairly blunt terms:

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Rangers’ Lineup Conundrum; Play Manager Again

From the very easy-to-navigate Tampa International Airport, I bring you this dispatch. It’s another version of last weekend’s exercise in which I asked you to figure out the lineup. Well, things have changed now with Chris Davis getting set to rejoin the club. For the time being, we’ll leave discussion of who goes to make room for Davis (can’t see the Rangers shifting to six relievers, so it most likely must be a position player) for later.

In the meantime, how would you organize your lineup against New York’s Joba Chamberlain for Tuesday’s series opener. And remember, you better be ready to explain why. Here’s my proposal:

DH Julio Borbon, 3B Michael Young, RF Josh Hamilton, CF Marlon Byrd, LF David Murphy, 2B Ian Kinsler, 1B Chris Davis, C Ivan Rodriguez, SS Elvis Andrus.

My reasoning for key moves:

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Chris Davis Returning to Rangers Lineup

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The progression of manager Ron Washington’s comments over the weekend, combined with three pickoff throws to first that ended up in the right field corner apparently means 1B Chris Davis will be returning to the Rangers lineup when they face the Yankees in New York Tuesday.

Washington was asked each day during the Tampa Bay series about an impending Davis return. On Friday, he said the Rangers had discussed it, but had not yet found the right way to bring him back before Sept. 1 when rosters can be expanded. By Sunday afternoon, Washington was smiling in response to the question.

“Maybe,” Washington said. “Maybe not.”

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Rangers-Twins In-Game Blog, News, Notes

ARLINGTON - Don’t worry. I think Evan is just catching up on his laundry before heading out on the next road trip. He has already been busy  from his palatial estate, confirming that Triple-A Oklahoma’s Jose Vallejo is the player to be named later sent to Houston in the Pudge Rodriguez trade. And he linked to the Houston TV report in which the Purkes addressed their perspective of the recent draft negotitations.

And we’ve gathered some notes here at Rangers Ballpark regarding the activation of Nelson Cruz, what could happen at DH and at first base.

For Thursday night’s series finale with the Minnesota Twins, no Justin Morneau or Jason Kubel in the lineup against Derek Holland.

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Kids Do Darndest Things as Texas Rangers Even Wild-Card Showdown with 7-2 Win Over Bosox

ARLINGTON - Little known record set at Rangers Ballpark on Saturday night: a sellout crowd of 48,201 took in a “futures” game.

An apt description for a 7-2 Rangers victory over Boston in which Julio Borbon and Elvis Andrus raced around the bases like kids on a playground. (You can’t catch me!) Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz hit the target like the dunking booth at the fair. Quarterbacked by Taylor Teagarden, the greybeard of the Rangers rookies at 25, who will step in behind the plate for most of the next two weeks and maybe longer.

Thanks in great measure to the youngsters, the Rangers pulled back within one-half game of the Red Sox in the wild-card race. “We’re not afraid to bring our young kids up here and let ‘em play,” manager Ron Washington said. “I think the whole organization gets a pat on the back for that.”

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Vicente Padilla Scratched Again

RHP Vicente Padilla is healthy but “still somewhat weak” from battling the flu, according to Rangers PR department. RHP Doug Mathis has been summoned to replace him for tonight’s start.

UPDATED: Rangers Josh Hamilton Hitting Seventh

UPDATED at 4:53 p.m.

ARLINGTON - Josh Hamilton is back in the Rangers lineup today after a day off, but he has lost the No. 3 spot for now. Hamilton is hitting seventh tonight. LF David Murphy will hit third again.

Manager Ron Washington said he simply wanted to take some pressure off Hamilton, who is hitting .203 since returning from the disabled list earlier this month.

“I think he’s just trying too hard,” Washington said. “I just want to give him a little break to hopefully get him back going. I don’t want him to feel like he’s got the weight of the team on his shoulders.”

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DHing And Batting Sixth, No. 29, Julio Borbon

ARLINGTON - Julio Borbon usually doesn’t miss calls to his cell phone. But he missed three during dinner last night in Nashville, Tenn., with his family. Then he noticed they were from Oklahoma RedHawks manager Bobby Jones.

“Which is not a common thing, so I knew something was up,” he said. Up, indeed. Called up to the Rangers and hitting sixth tonight against the Angels as the DH.

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To Be The Best, You Have To Beat The Best: Texas Rangers Continue Struggle Against AL Contenders

D-tails: Yankees 9, Rangers 2
• Boxscore; Standings;  Depot game blog
• Ticker notes: Harrison scratched; Blalock sits again
• Against Yankees, Holland’s cheese is not so good, eh

ARLINGTON – Even after being throttled by the hated New York Yankees for the second time in three days, the Rangers remain in first place in the AL West and holders of the league’s best record.

By almost any measure, they are currently a very good team.

The exception: Their performance against other very good teams. By record, they are a contender. By them, they are a contender. But by the other contenders, they are no contender.

After Wednesday’s 9-2 loss to the Yankees, the Rangers had played a dozen games this season against teams that started the day five or more games above .500. They are 2-10 in those games against the Yankees (1-2), Toronto (1-2) and Detroit (0-6).

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Texas Rangers Lineup Mystery: Maybe or Maybe Not

Manager Ron Washington said today’s lineup could end up being the one that takes the field against Cleveland’s Cliff Lee on Monday, but said he’s still undecided on whether to stick with his left-handed hitters or to include right-handed Marlon Byrd and Andruw Jones over David Murphy and Hank Blalock.

“That lineup could end up being what we use, but I didn’t put it up there with any intent that it would be our Opening Day lineup,” Washington said. “I will ask all our coaches for their input and then I will sit down and compare everything before we make a lineup.”

Washington did allow, however, that when Jones plays, he’ll hit cleanup. Washington likes the experience Jones has in the spot. Jones has 1,538 at-bats as the cleanup hitter, more than double the total of the other cleanup candidates (Blalock and Nelson Cruz).  Jones has averaged a home run every 13.5 at-bats in the cleanup spot. It is the best ration among active right-handed, cleanup hitters.

“I like hitting there,” Jones said. “Even when he had all the big guys there like [Gary Sheffield] and Galarraga, I got to hit fourth when one of them was out of the game. I’d always come in the clubhouse and say ‘Look out, I’m going deep today. And mot of the time I’d end up hitting a home run. It’s a psyche thing there. I like it. I know I’ve got to drive in the runs. And I know [hitting instructor] Rudy [Jaramillo] will keep me focused.”