The Depot: Rangers-Rays Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Discounts on Area Attractions

7:05: 3B Michael Young is hopeful he can return to the lineup on Monday as the third baseman after being limited to one at-bat over the last four weeks by a hamstring strain. Young ran the bases on Saturday without issue. It’s the first time he’s run the bases since aggravating the hamstring injury on Sept. 15. Young said running the bases isn’t a problem, nor is pushing off when he swings. He aggravated the injury by landing on it during his one at-bat.

“When I come back, I need to be able to play third base,” Young said. “Being the DH doesn’t do us any good. That just means somebody else is going to have to sit. Right now Josh [Hamilton] is the DH and Nelson [Cruz] is having to sit down.”

7:16: Manager Ron Washington said he kept Nelson Cruz out of the lineup for a second straight day because he “thought the lineup we put out there [Friday] did a pretty good job and I wanted to keep it like that.” Cruz is in a 4-for-30 slump.

Asked to evaluate Cruz, Washington said he sees a player with a lot more maturity, but one who still has a some distance to go.

“I’ve seen his focus fade a little bit,” Washington said. “It’s been a good lesson for him.”

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Another Saturday Night Homer Pool

Still no Michael Young, but he said he hopes to be back in the lineup on Monday when the Rangers visit Los Angeles for what they hope becomes a more important series. The Angels begin the day six up and with a magic number of four. Here’s what the Rangers will send out against Tampa Bay tonight:

LF Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, DH Josh Hamilton, CF Marlon Byrd, 1B Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, RF David Murphy, C Ivan Rodriguez, 3B Chris Davis and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Kevin Millwood.

Texas Rangers Ian Kinsler on 30-30 Season: “I Have to be a Little More Consistent”

ARLINGTON - It was hard to tell who was more thrilled for Ian Kinsler, his buddy, Michael Young, or his wife, Tess.

As soon as they could, both greeteed Kinsler with big hugs Friday him after he became the second player to have a 30 homer/30 steal season with the Rangers.

“It’s an incredible accomplishment,” said Young, who despite a sore hamstring, beat his teammates to the top step of the dugout to greet Kinsler after his three-run eighth-inning homer put the final touches on an 8-3 win over Tampa Bay. “I’ve played with guys who have had some incredible seasons here, but 30-30 is something special. He deserves a lot of credit. He battled all season long. That’s what separates the great players from the good ones.”

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The Depot: Rangers-Rays Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Greatest Hits Album

7:15: We are live-chatting in the comments section. Join us down there. I’m answering questions and what not.

7:20: Pudge Rodriguez makes sensational throw to get Carl Crawford 1stealing second for final out of first inning. Kept Crawford from reaching 60 steals. Pudge still has it.

9:03: Angels getting ready to host A’s. The Angels magic number is now four. Any combination of Rangers losses/Angels wins that add up to four will give the Angels the division title. The Rangers need to sweep this weekend to absolutely ensure the Angels can’t clinch the division before Texas gets to Orange County. Of course, it could mean the Angels clinch the division against the Rangers next week.

9:33: Question of the night: Ian Kinsler has just hit home run No. 30. It gives him a 30-30 season, the second in Rangers history. So, how do you define his season now. Joining the 30-30 club is, without a doubt, a great season-long accomplishment. But is it a great season? I’m torn over defining this season. I know he struggled in the leadoff spot, but, like I said, it’s a 30-30 season.  So, explain your thoughts.

9:47: One thing that will always haunt Frank Francisco is his poor fielding. If he is going to retain the closer’s job long-term and be a closer on a championship club, he is going to have to make a significant improvement. Francisco dropped a throw from Chris Davis that would have ended the game moments ago.

Home Run Pool Time

The lineup tonight features Josh Hamilton for the first time since Sept. 2. The pain from a pinched nerve in his back has eased up enough to allow him to play again. Here is the full lineup against Tampa Bay’s James Shields:

LF Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, DH Josh Hamilton, CF Marlon Byrd, 1B Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, RF David Murphy, C Ivan Rodriguez, 3B Chris Davis and pitching for the Rangers … LHP Derek Holland.

The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Stunning San Francisco Bay Views

2:30: Though your gmail account may be closed, the home run pool is open.

3:21: Ian Kinsler steals base No. 30. Still looking for the 30th homer. He has been searching for the homer since Sept. 1.

5:46: Well, that was a perfectly good way to waste an afternoon. I did get a lovely nap out of it, however. Scott Feldman was perhaps the worst he’s been all season. The offense did nothing against a left-hander. And Ian Kinsler finished it off with an infield pop up. Just awful

It’s the Home Run Pool!

Here is your lineup for this afternoon’s first day game of autum: 2B Ian Kinsler, SS Elvis Andrus, LF David Murphy, DH Andruw Jones, 1B Hank Blalock, CF Marlon Byrd, 3B Chris Davis, C Taylor Teagarden, RF Craig Gentry and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Scott Feldman.

So have at it. Yes, we know Nelson Cruz is not playing. That might have something to do with his .147 average since he hit his last homer on Sept. 13. Cruz is getting a day off just as Ian Kinsler got one yesterday.

And yes we know Julio Borbon is not playing. Ron Washington just doesn’t appear to have much faith in him against left-handed pitching. Borbon is 2-for-13 (.154) with no walks against lefties since he joined the roster for good on August 8. DH Andruw Jones, who is playing, is hitting .167 (4-for-24) with four walks against lefties (.286 OBP) since Borbon returned. Neither is a very attractive option.

The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Free Award-Winning Cheese Samples

Sorry for the lack of homer pool tonight. We had a little emergency in the Cornerian world. All is OK now, but the Corner had to help out SideDish tonight. Don’t worry, we got some really good cheese and wine for helping out. Bells and whistles coming up.

9:12: In case, you weren’t reading earlier, I suggested there are still some interesting things worth watching over the final 12 games of the season.

9:22: According to Reuters, three groups have emerged as the front-runners to purchase the Rangers. I know very little about two of them, but would still hazard a guess that the group represented by Chuck Greenberg is worth watching. Why? Greenberg helped negotiate the deal that allowed Mario Lemieux to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins. Might Greenberg team up with Nolan Ryan in a deal that would annually earn Ryan some “sweat equity” in the team.  Here is a little background on Greenberg when he first got into the sports ownership business.

9:31: I am starting to like this Greenberg fellow. Love the promotions.

10:26: Elvis Andrus now has 30 steals. Leads team. Ian Kinsler, who is off tonight, is at 29.

12:11: Rangers go to their best defensive alignment for the bottom of the ninth. They have to learn to make that move for the ninth inning  at home, too.

12:20: Well, the Rangers are 6.5 back and I’m gassed from serving cheese and sipping wine (life is sooooooooo rough) at the SideDish event tonight, that I’m calling it a night. Who knows, maybe Jack Daddy is ahead of us all. If the Rangers can cut the lead by another 1.5 games by the end of the weekend, at least the first night of the final week of the season will be important. And then maybe the night after that. And so on and so on.

Dirty Dozen: There are Still Things to Settle in Remaining 12 Games of Texas Rangers’ Season

The Rangers have reached the 150-game mark in the season and technically they are still alive in both the AL West and the AL wild card races. Technically, yes. Realistically? Not so much.

Despite all that, there are still things worth paying attention to over the final 12 games. Here’s a dozen things worth paying attention to over these final dozen games:

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The Home Run Pool

The shipping department here at Home Run Pool central has gotten a little backed-up. Mainly, it comes down to packing the prizes and shipping them off. And, well, I haven’t done a great job of that lately. Promise, your stuff will be in the mail shortly. In the meantime, here’s another chance to grab some goodies before we roll into the offseason.

Tonight’s lineup goes a little something like this: DH Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, LF David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, 1B Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, RF Nelson Cruz, 3B Chris Davis, C Ivan Rodriguez and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Brandon McCarthy.

Texas Rangers: Notes, Quotes, Anecdotes

Folks, sorry for the lack of action from Mission Control here, but internet woes made my home office a swirling cauldron of nothingness last night. Hopefully once game time rolls around, things will be much better here. In the meantime, here are a few sips and bites to whet your appetite:

• Kevin Millwood wins $12 million prize: Millwood locked in his contract option last night. A number of Cornerians wondered why the Rangers would have started him again after six horrible weeks and risk allowing him to reach the 180-inning threshold for securing the 2010 option. The biggest concern had to be the potential grievance that surely would have been filed on his behalf by the Players Association. Perhaps, had the Rangers decided immediately after Millwood’s 3.2 inning outing against Seattle that he had no future with the club, the team could have released him and stood a chance to win such a case. But after the team decided to overhaul his delivery and announced he’d get another start, any chance at winning the case went out the window.

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The Depot: Rangers-A’s Live Game Blog, News, Notes and Tag-Team Extreme Rules Match

8:07: The home run pool is awaiting your visit. Are you ready?

9:14: We are having some lightning/storm-related technical issues, so bear with us.

9:19: The Rangers decision to start Kevin Millwood tonight can’t be interpreted in any fashion other than this: The club apparently doesn’t believe it could win a grievance that would be filed on his behalf if he was shut down at this point and fails to reach 180 innings. Even if the Rangers want Millwood back – and it’s worth noting that it is Sept. 21 and his ERA remains below 4.00 for the  year – it’s pretty clear that $12 million is not 2010 market value for a pitcher of his class. With the Rangers essentially out of the race, using any other younger pitcher (Dustin Nipper or Guillermo Moscoso come to mind) would seem to be more worthwhile than running a tired Millwood out there. It doesn’t make much sense to start Millwood right now. But the club apparently doesn’t have any other options.

9:28: C Jarrod Saltalamacchia had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery today to remove a rib. All went well (it should have, considering the practice surgeons have had with performing the procedure on Rangers players). He should be ready for spring training.  … Also, on the Thoracic Outlet beat, LHP Matt Harrison, who had the surgery earlier this summer, pitched an inning in the instructional league today.

10:33: Kevin Millwod reaches 180 innings with a double play grounder from Mark Ellis in the fifth inning. He’s now locked in his contract option for 2010.

10:37: Folks, you may have to bring this one home on your own. My internet keeps failing at home tonight. AT&T going to be getting a little ringy-dingy in the a.m.. I’ll try to stick with it, but this is quite frustrating as those of you who have dealt with it before understand.

Bayside Home Run Pool

Imagine how exciting it would have been for us all to be sitting around in our jammies for the next three nights, hanging on every pitch of pennant race baseball. Wow. Would have been awesome. Well, the pennant race may be out the window, but you can still curl up with your laptop tonight and join in for a discussion of Rangers baseball. We’re going to focus on the positive side of the season throughout tonight’s game. Call it “Chicken Soup for the Ranger Fan’s Soul.”

In the meantime, here is your Rangers lineup against Oakland tonight: DH Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, LF David Murphy, CF Marlon  Byrd, 1B Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, RF Nelson Cruz, 3B Chris Davis, C Taylor Teagarden and pitching for the Rangers … RHP Kevin Millwood.

The Brunch Time Homer Pool

Or, as an alternate title, the “Can The Rangers Get Back to the Fringes of the AL West Race Homer Pool?”

Or, if you’d like: The “Can the Rangers Clinch Their First Winning Season Since 2004 Homer Pool?”

Anywhoo, here we go: LF Julio Borbon, SS Elvis Andrus, DH David Murphy, CF Marlon Byrd, 1B Hank Blalock, 2B Ian Kinsler, RF Nelson Cruz, 3B Chris Davis, C Ivan Rodriguez and pitching for the Rangers … Jack Daddy’s son, LHP Derek Holland.

Cowboys Time Killing

Since you still have almost 2 full days to wait until kickoff, and since the people at the Today show took the time to send me their segments on the new stadium and such, here you go:

Matt Lauer and Emmitt Smith tour the new Cowboys Stadium