Rangers get hot, climb back to .500
Posted 05-24-2011 at 11:48 AM by neugey
The Rangers have won 7 of their last 9, reaching the .500 mark with a 18-18 in a tightly-contested AL West division. The Rangers are only 1 1/2 games out of first place. The last place team, California, is only 3 1/2 games out of first place.
Before the winning spurt, the Rangers also elected to trade OF Bobby Darwin, who started the season serving a 10-game suspension and then slumped badly, for young starting pitcher Jim Slaton, who's currently pitching well for Texas in AAA. Said Executive manager Riley Payton, "I thought when we brought Darwin in, we'd be getting a veteran locker room presence with a nifty bat. Instead, we got a guy who grumbles about his playing time when he can't play much because of his own suspension. His negative attitude and penchant for strikeouts was putting a damper on the team so we feel this was the right call to make."
Texas also continues to deal with various injuries to their bullpen. Also, AAA rookie ace Randy Jones suffered an injury and probably will not be called up until July at the earliest. Unfortunately, veteran lefty 1B Don Micher will be out for 6 weeks after suffering a leg injury in a win over Minnesota.
But despite the injuries, the Rangers are right where they want to be and within reach of the division lead. Asked who has been the biggest suprise, Riley Payton said, "Overall, second baseman Tito Fuentes has really given this team a lift. His speed has changed a few games and he's been getting on base a lot. He's done well for us when we've used him in 1 or 2 spot in the batting order. We knew he was a solid young talent, but he's definitely surpassed our expectations and is earning every dollar he makes. This was really a good free agent signing for us."
Before the winning spurt, the Rangers also elected to trade OF Bobby Darwin, who started the season serving a 10-game suspension and then slumped badly, for young starting pitcher Jim Slaton, who's currently pitching well for Texas in AAA. Said Executive manager Riley Payton, "I thought when we brought Darwin in, we'd be getting a veteran locker room presence with a nifty bat. Instead, we got a guy who grumbles about his playing time when he can't play much because of his own suspension. His negative attitude and penchant for strikeouts was putting a damper on the team so we feel this was the right call to make."
Texas also continues to deal with various injuries to their bullpen. Also, AAA rookie ace Randy Jones suffered an injury and probably will not be called up until July at the earliest. Unfortunately, veteran lefty 1B Don Micher will be out for 6 weeks after suffering a leg injury in a win over Minnesota.
But despite the injuries, the Rangers are right where they want to be and within reach of the division lead. Asked who has been the biggest suprise, Riley Payton said, "Overall, second baseman Tito Fuentes has really given this team a lift. His speed has changed a few games and he's been getting on base a lot. He's done well for us when we've used him in 1 or 2 spot in the batting order. We knew he was a solid young talent, but he's definitely surpassed our expectations and is earning every dollar he makes. This was really a good free agent signing for us."
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