Brandon McCarthy started the game for Texas and had the challenge of matching what Harrison, Wilson and Hunter had done before him. A leadoff walk and three hits later the Rangers were in a hole 2-0. McCarthy shook off the runs and retired the next three batters to get out of the first. The leadoff man reached again in the second, but McCarthy retired the Angels without allowing another run. Not bad, but McCarthy’s velocity was only touching the low 90s and it took 46 pitches to complete the two innings. If C.J. Wilson had thrown 46 pitches in two innings he would be roasted by the “Inefficient Mafia”. It’s still too early to make a final call, but after one turn through the order, I’d lean toward Harrison or Wilson to fill out the final spot in the rotation. Better yet, Harrison and Wilson and use Hunter out of the bullpen. It’s hard to believe the Rangers have two fireballing lefties (though only one is considered a “strikeout pitcher”) and are considering using neither one of them in the rotation to start the season.

Speaking of lefties, Derek Holland also made his Cactus League debut. Shaky is probably the best way to describe it. Holland was the first pitcher to fail to complete his scheduled inning(s), managing only one out while allowing four runs (only one earned). Like McCarthy, Holland allowed a leadoff walk and the fun ensued. Again, I say it is to early to pass judgement. Let’s see a few more starts before we put Holland on a bus back to Oklahoma City.

On the flip side, I am ready to give up on the Taylor Teagarden “for starting catcher” campaign. Teagarden was 0-2 with a strikeout today and the more I think about it, the less I have to make me think he can be the everyday starter. Saltalamacchia may need to be pushed and maybe this “open competition” has provided a little extra incentive for him, but I can not foresee the team choosing Teagarden over Salty for 2010. I do believe there is more to the starting catcher than hitting and throwing runners out, but is Teagarden that much better at calling the game to win time from Salty? Just not sure there is enough hard to measure stuff to override what we can see.

What we haven’t seen is much production from Elvis Andrus. Guh… he has just disappeared. He went 0-2 today and only saw four pitches. Andrus also made a throwing error today. No TV, so I can’t see him, but seems like he’s in a bit of a funk since getting called out for lack of focus last week. Still early people… chillax.

Speaking of errors, Joaquin Arias made another one today and failed to communicate with Marcus Lemon on another play. Evan Grant is convinced that Esteban German has moved past him (check out Grant’s game report here).

Enough hate. There were some bright spots.

Tanner Scheppers wowed spectators today in the “B” game sitting mid 90s with his fastball (touching 98) and throwing a few hooks (two of them for strikeouts). Write it down now. Scheppers will help this team in 2010, maybe even before the All-Star break.

Josh Hamilton was back! He went 2-3 with a run scored. Disaster apparently averted.

You also have to like what Colby Lewis did. One run allowed on one hit (a solo home run) in two innings with two strikeouts and no walks (needing only 26 pitches of which 20 were strikes). Solid. He will be at least a league average innings eater and I see him posting better number than Kevin Millwood in 2010.

Rangers hit the road tomorrow. Rich Harden will take the bump for his second turn. His first start was the only Ranger win in Cactus League thus far, hopefully it will be 2 for 2. Go Rangers!

Josh Hamilton was planning to hit leadoff in each inning of the “B” game, which would allow him to get more at bats than in a regular game. Because of the rain his return to the field is delayed another day. There will be a “B” game scheduled for Monday along with the Cactus League game against the Angels. The Rangers would probably like to get him into “A” game action, but may opt to delay his Cactus League debut another day or two.

Sunday was also to be Brandon McCarthy’s first Cactus League action. Jeff Wilson writes in Sunday’s Star-Telegram about McCarthy’s new mechanics and the hopes that it will keep him healthy.  Whether or not McCarthy can stay healthy for the full season aside; the big question right now is whether he can beat out the competitors for a spot in the Ranger rotation. One thing that may be working against him, but that has not gotten a lot of attention is that the current first four (Feldman, Harden, Lewis, Hunter) are all right-handed which means if McCarthy claims a spot the rotation could potentially be without a lefty. In T.R. Sullivan’s latest video mailbag, he answers questions with Nolan Ryan. One of the questions was whether or not he’d prefer a lefty in the rotation and Nolan said without hesitation that he’d prefer to have at least one lefty to make it more difficult for opposing hitters. I am sure the Rangers will take five right handers if they are clearly the best five, but if it is close, a lefty probably has the advantage for the final spot (whether that’s Harrison, Holland or Wilson). As the spring goes along, I think McCarthy may be in a situation where he has to beat out Hunter (or one of the other top three) to get a spot in the rotation and the “current opening” is up for grabs between the lefties.

Speaking of Harrison and Hunter, Keith Law has an insider entry up where he describes what he saw from the two of them. Law sees Hunter as a reliever saying, “I still don’t see what he has to get big league hitters out consistently.” With Hunter’s fastball sitting high 80s to low-90s and an even softer cutter, Law just doesn’t think he has enough stuff to make it as a starter. Harrison on the other hand he believes “could have the stuff to start if his shoulder permits and someone can calm him down.” The “calm him down” remark refers to Harrison’s quick delivery. I’ve read elsewhere that Harrison actually likes the quick delivery and to the extent that it makes him more deceptive (or just more confident) then it may actually help him. The bottom line is that Law preferred Harrison’s 93-95 mph fastball and hard cutter (88-90 mph) to Hunter’s offerings, though he says Harrison would need a good breaking ball and/or changeup to go with it (which Law didn’t see in this outing).

For what it’s worth CHONE Projections prefers both Holland and McCarthy to Hunter and Harrison.

Scott Lucas has a good article up at the Ranger Rundown on whether Michael Young can reach 3,000 hits. He ultimately concludes that Young is unlikely to get there. He would have to have post age 32 careers like Paul Molitor or Craig Biggio to get there (which only those two managed to do at of the 25 players that he compared). I think Young could get there, especially if he finds himself in a Craig Biggio situation. Remember that Biggio wasn’t really very good his last few years, but the Astros continued to play him nearly everyday and he piled up a few hundred hits that he probably shouldn’t have.

Here’s hoping we have games tomorrow. Go Rangers!

“I can honestly say I never looked at one, or if I did I didn’t realize it. As long as they sell it at the convenience store or throw it in front of my house, I’ll look at it. Do they sell blogs at the convenience store?” Team president Nolan Ryan, on how often he looks at baseball blog sites.

And to think, I was just about to get rid of my newspaper subscription. Oh well, at least if I do get rid of it, I can still buy a newspaper at the convenience store. Thanks, Nolan. You may be out of touch with everyone that is reading this blog, but you are still my favorite pitcher of all time.

- Julio Borbon was held out of the lineup today with an injured arm. That gave Craig Gentry a chance to start and show what he can do. Hitting in the leadoff spot Gentry was 0-3 with a strikeout and grounded into a double play. I really like what Gentry brings (energy and defense), but if the Rangers have to bring up another outfielder, Brandon Boggs is probably the better choice at the moment. Boggs would be more likely to hold his own at the plate and while he is probably not as good as Gentry in center field, he can hold his own out there as well.

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia threw out Alex Gordon trying to steal which was a good sign in his effort to regain the starting catching job. At the plate, however, he was 0-2 with a pair of strikeouts.

- Josh Hamilton took batting practice and went through a full workout on Saturday. The plan is to play him in Sunday morning’s B-squad game (although rain may wash out those plans). After that, get him on the field for a Cactus League game Monday or Tuesday.

- The pitching was good. Tommy Hunter started and gave up just one unearned run while fanning two over his two innings. Matt Harrison worked two shutout innings, allowing just two singles which puts the pressure on Brandon McCarthy to perform well in his start Sunday. Darren Oliver had a perfect fifth inning, including a pair of strikeouts. All that said, like the Rangers, the Royals lineup did not necessarily feature the best they had to offer today.

- Joaquin Arias started in place of Ian Kinsler and went 1-3 (and was robbed of a second hit by Brian Anderson. Esteban German had a hit in his only appearance and scored the only run. I still think Arias has the lead over German (unless he totally flops witht he bat), but don’t be surprised if the Rangers opt for neither and make a trade for a veteran at the end of spring training.

- Matt Brown had another throwing error and it directly resulted in an unearned run today. At the plate he had a strikeout and a walk. I am rooting for him, but he doesn’t stand much of a chance if he make many more mistakes in the field

- Leury Garcia (won’t be 19 years old until later this month) got make an appearance at shortstop. He made two errors, but also drove in the run of the game for the Rangers. He’s once to watch in the minors this year.

- The battle at catcher was declared wide open back in January and that was reiterated earlier this week. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a good start at the plate in game one. The game two starter was Taylor Teagarden who went 0-2 with a pair of strikeouts. Yes one of those strikeouts was against Zack Greinke, but the other was against the significantly less dominant Brad Thompson. Advantage Salty.

- The battle for a spot in the starting rotation saw a much more efficient C.J. Wilson need only 24 pitches to get through two innings. He allowed one run as lefthanded hitting Rick Ankiel tripled with one out in the 4th and scored on a sac fly.

- Neftali Feliz also pitched a pair of innings and looked great in his first inning of work, but got in trouble in the eighth inning, loading the bases before allowing two runs to score on a single. His fastball ran up into the mid-to-high 90s but his command was not where it needed to be as he walked the leadoff hitter in the eighth and also hit a batter.

- The offensive spark plug Julio Borbon was 0-3 today. It probably didn’t help that his first two at bats were facing Zack Greinke who was dominant in his three innings. It also didn’t help that he was first pitch swinging to lead off the game and flied out to center field and then bunted on the first pitch he saw for the final out of the third inning. Julio has the tools to get on base and he will have to use them in certain situations, but I’d like to see a more team oriented approach from my leadoff hitter, working the pitcher and maybe extending an at bat with the hope that it will help the team as the game wears on. Borbon’s 0-2 on two pitches was just the opposite.

- The long man role in the bullpen may end up being the best candidate for the starting rotation that doesn’t make the opening day five. On the other hand, it could be Dustin Nippert who filled the role well for part of the season in 2009 and threw two perfect innings on Friday (the only Ranger pitcher that did not allow a run in the game). He’s not being considered a candidate for the rotation, but he could be a key past of the Ranger bullpen.

- A battle is developing between Matt Brown and Max Ramirez for the right handed hitting 25th man on the roster. Brown had the big home run on Thursday and was 1 for 2 in Friday’s game. Ramirez answered with a big hit of his own Friday as he doubled in Brandon Boggs in the top of the 8th cutting the lead to 4-2 in his only at bat of the day.

Lots of good baseball nuggets the last two days and more to come. This weekend Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy will both take the hill as they show what they can do in the competition for the 5th spot in the rotation. Harrison pitches on Saturday, after Tommy Hunter and McCarthy will pitch Sunday. Go Rangers!

- Is it really going to be this easy for Julio Borbon? 2-3 with a stolen base and a run scored… yes everyone looked good at the plate, but Borbon is living up to his tag as offensive catalyst. If he takes a patient approach and can get on base for the guys behind him, this offense will be very good.

- Two home runs for the Rangers today. Both by players battling for a spot. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-3 with a three run bomb (but had a throwing error). Matt Brown also went 2-3 with a three run bomb and, oddly enough, also had a throwing error. The two account for the only home runs and only Ranger errors on the day.

- It doesn’t seem like he has a chance to find a fit on the roster, but Craig Gentry is also off to a quick start this spring. After showing up big in the intrasquad games, Gentry went 2-3 with a stolen base and two runs scored after replacing Borbon in CF.

- Dim spots: Elvis Andrus 0-3 (including a ground out double play), Brandon Boggs 0-3 with a strikeout and six men left on base, Joaquin Arias 0-2 (but scored once).

- Harden work two solid innings, allowing one unearned run while recording one strikeout and one walk. His velocity was just touching 90, but he said he has plenty of gas, he was just taking a little off today.

- Colby Lewis worked and efficient 11 pitch 1-2-3 inning (not sure why he only worked on inning).

- Tanner Scheppers and Alexi Ogando each worked an inning and each fired mid-90s fastballs (touching high 90s) that have been the talk of the beat writers following the game. We knew Scheppers was a player to watch after his performance in the Arizona Fall League, if Ogando (and/or Beltre) can bring something similar, this Ranger bullpen could be very special heading into September and October.

- Chris Davis had a pretty good box score line, but Evan Grant reports that he swung and missed at the first pitch in two of his three at bats. Sure would like to him clean up that approach. He’s always going to strike out a bunch, but he has to make it harder on the pitcher by shrinking his strike zone early in the count.

- Note in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Hamilton says, “Throwing is more painful than swinging a bat.” This “bruise” did not sound too serious at first, but a week later it starting to concern me. Hamilton took his first swings today since last Saturday (off a tee) and shagged balls during BP (tossing them in underhanded).

Tomorrow the Rangers and Royals line it up again with Scott Feldman, C.J. Wilson, Dustin Nippert, Neftali Feliz and Kasey Kiker scheduled to pitch for the Rangers. We’ll see if the offense can look as good against Zack Greinke who is scheduled to start for the Royals.

Derek Holland did indeed throw live batting practice and by all reports looked good doing so. Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison have been throwing very well early in camp and appear to be the early leaders in the race, but Holland could catch up now that he is healthy. And I still say don’t discount C.J. Wilson just yet (puh-leaze don’t tell me your thinking about 26 pitches on Monday). On the bullpen side of things, Chris Ray also threw today after being held out of intrasquad games and said that it went well.

Elvis Andrus was reportedly taken behind the woodshed by manager Ron Washington after some shoddy defensive play in recent days. “We just have to get him focused,” said Washington. Andrus responded by taking extra infield today and vowed not to let any lazy play slip into his performance once games start. Does not sound like a huge issue, but for someone who intends to be a leader on the team, I’d prefer to see him be the hardest working perfectionist on the field. I already perceive a little of that carelessness from Kinsler at times, but these guys have to play loose and easy with a swagger to be winners. It’s worth a mention, but nothing to worry about right now.

Evan Grant writes about this being the year of the prediction for the Rangers after the report came out today that Nolan Ryan thinks 92 wins will be the Rangers total.  I like this team putting pressure on themselves and holding themselves accountable. They don’t seem like a bunch that feels entitled to it like the Cowboys a couple of years ago, but rather just a real confident group of guys.

And finally, T.R. Sullivan tells us that Ranger hitters worked on bunting for 15 minutes today. Clint Hurdle asked Vladimir Guerrero how his bunting was coming along and this was his response:

Actually, this picture was on of several taken by Fort Worth Star-Telegram Staff photographer Ron Jenkins, check out all his fine work at the Foul Territory blog.

Tuesday was in many ways more of the same. Yesterday’s knee jerk reactions are replaced by today’s wish that the other jerseys were a different color (did I mention Thursday cannot get here soon enough). To begin the day <cue news sounder> Josh Hamilton once again did not participate in game activities. The other injury type news of the day was on Chris Ray who did not throw as scheduled do to “general body soreness”. Not the kind of news you want to hear associated with a player that has had injury troubles in the past, but it doesn’t sound too serious (but it seems nothing is ever serious this early in camp unless the word surgery is involved). Borbon once again led off and was 1-2 with a run scored and a steal. Of course with Guerrero and Smoak each stealing a base today, I have to wonder what was going on with the catchers. No home runs today, but the line of the day was 2-1-1-2 by Justin Smoak who was the only player to drive in a pair of runs in the four inning game which ended 4-3. Also interesting was Craig Gentry leading off and playing centerfield for the “B” squaders. He posted a pair of hits and a pair of runs. The only other multi-hit game was by Joaquin Arias. The worst outing today (for those of you eager for some bad news) was Frank Francisco’s two run first inning during which he only recorded one out, allowing three singles and a double. Overall, there were no walks in the game today, but there were eight strikeouts. Read into that as you will (could be good or bad I suppose depending on whether viewed from hitter or pitcher perspective).

In other news: You may have noticed a decline in the mentions of Rocco Baldelli in connection with the 25th man sport. Well there’s good reason for that as it was annnounced today that he will rejoin the Tampa Bay Rays… as a special assistant working primarily with minor league players. Apparently he still is not able to throw the way he would like, but he does not consider himself retired yet.

Tomorrow: Watch for news on Derek Holland’s throwing session which should include live batting practice for the first time since the knee injury.

Perhaps the bigger news Tuesday was that it was picture day. The Morning News has a few shots , as does the Telegram’s blog . Tommy Hunter appearing as the class clown both places. (This picture is by Ron Frederick of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

No real gut busting laughs like the year they tricked Frank Catalanotto into posing with a fu-man-chu…

Now that’s funny! I mean how do you even let that happen?!?

The 25th spot on this roster is most likely going to go to a right handed hitter that can play first base. To that end, we continue to hear chatter about a possible resurrection of the Mike Lowell deal, but Evan Grant now believes that the Rangers will focus on internal candidates and he slots Max Ramirez into that spot in his latest 25-man Mock. Ramirez has been taking infield at first base and might fit the bill for a right handed bat. He doubled in a run in today’s intrasquad game.  Not to be outdone, Matt Brown, another potential right handed corner infielder, hit the only home run in today’s intrasquad game against lefty Kasey Kiker. So it seems we have a real battle on our hands! Seriously though, I liked the Matt Brown signing and personally if that 25th spot comes down to Brown or Ramirez, I think I might prefer to see Ramirez get some more seasoning at Triple-A before he gets tossed into a part-time job. That will be double true if Matt Brown handles himself well this spring and can address the teams needs from that last spot defensively (I feel good about him hitting against lefties).

The 24th spot (for lack of a better term) on the roster is back-up middle infielder (or utility infielder). Joaquin Arias still appears to have the inside track, but there is even more buzz about the Rangers looking externally to fill that slot. T.R. Sullivan’s article this evening names Julio Lugo as a player the Rangers have discussed. Ironically, Lugo is the player the Cardinals brought in last year to replace Khalil Greene when he began experiencing problems with his anxiety disorder last year. I mentioned last week that the Rangers were unhappy with Arias not taking extra fielding practice, but apparently that has since changed. In any case, the Rangers are either truly not satisfied with their internal options or are using the media to light a fire under their internal options to get them to work harder. Arias was 1-2 with a run in today’s intrasquad game and started at SS for Team Moore.

Last but certainly not least, Josh Hamilton did not play in today’s game, nor is he expected to play tomorrow. In fact, he is not expected to play until at least Friday. Panic, Panic, Panic! The Rangers don’t seem worried, they just want Josh to take his time and not rush it. This seems like an awful lot of time for a bruise. It wouldn’t be knee jerk reaction Monday if we didn’t question whether or not Josh would get on the field this season. Would it? Rest assured we will get daily tweets concerning his condition from our fine beat reporters. Knee jerk or not, gotta stick with the optimism that Hamilton will regain what he had in 2008 for 140 games or so this season. Having said that, it is time to start drawing J.D Drew comparisons isn’t it?

More knee jerk reactions* to today’s game:
- C.J. Wilson did nothing to dispell any negative thoughts about his pitch efficiency, needing 26 pitches to complete the first inning (no runs or hits, but two walks and no strikeouts).
- Julio Borbon is the greatest leadoff hitter ever, going 2-3 with a triple, a run scored and two stolen bases
- Mitch Moreland (DH-1B) was 2-4 and drove in the winning run. He has been one of the early talk of camp guys, even got a kudo from Michael Young.
- Also raising the level of optimism following a disappointing 2009, Engel Beltre went 2-2 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base. Another top 100 prospect on our hands!

* These knee jerk reactions are just a fun way to pass along some of the results of the “game”. Nothing more, nothing less.

Evan Grant drew a Michael Young-Paul Molitor comparison this morning, showing the similarities between their early career numbers. Also shown as comparable hitters were Julio Franco, Craig Biggio and Barry Larkin. While we’d all like for Young’s career to follow the Paul Molitor path, but I wonder if his hitting style is really comparable to any of the players on this list.  The one thing that stands out to me is Young’s lower on-base percentage despite having one of the highest batting averages in the group. Throughout his career Young has been a more aggressive hitter that what I think of any of these other players being. Perhaps we will see his approach evolve as seeing more pitches and working the opposing pitcher has been one of the tenets of the “team” approach that Manager Ron Washington and now hitting coach Clint Hurdle preach. While there have been comments to the contrary, I think the approach of the hitters under Rudy Jaramillo was to pounce on the first good pitch because you might not get another one. Young has benefitted from a high line drive rate throughout his career and will most likely need to be more selective as he ages to maintain the level of line drives that have driven his batting average. Another factor, as David Pinto points out, is that all these players played the second half of their careers in an era of increased offense which helped make their numbers look better than they perhaps really were in comparison to their peers.

The other big stories of the day were even more fluffy. Grant questions where the Texas Rangers will find leadership among the players in 2010. This has come up before this offseason and while it should not be altogether discounted, I really don’t think it is going to be an issue with this team. You have a leader like Michael Young and added a veteran that is a good dude in Vladimir Guerrero and we should expect leaders to begin to emerge from the young players as well. There are too many hungry players on this team that have been “raised” the right way with leaders around them for it too fall apart.

The other article was Anthony Andro’s look at Scott Feldman. In the first half of last year, I have to admit that I wasn’t really much of a believer in Feldman. His strikeout numbers just did not warrant much optimism. The thing that has changed is that in the second half of last year he began to get more swings and misses and actually increased his strikeouts. Feldman is never going to be a big strikeout guy and he will always need to play in front of a good defense to be truly effective, but he can repeat his performance from last year given the continued improvement in his assortment of pitches. The amazing thing about the Rangers pitching is the same thing that has been amazing about the Chicago White Sox pitching for many years. It is the cutter, or cut-fastball that more of the Rangers are now throwing. It’s the thing that John Danks learned when he went to Chicago that, in my opinion, enabled him to be as successful as he has been. Now it is working in Texas as well thanks to Mike Maddux and the coaching staff. There may be some regression, but for the most part the pitching should be able to maintain or even improve in 2010.