Odd Man Rush

Box

Positives

• Once again, the offense got going early.  The Rangers didn’t trail all series.  That’s got to take a lot of pressure off the staff.
  
• Here’s how good the offense has been so far: I haven’t even mentioned Ian Kinsler yet, and here are his stats: 7-14, 1 HR, 6 RBI, good for a SLG of .929 and an OPS of 1.429.
• Every hitter scored at least 1 run.
  
• Andruw Jones went 3 for 5 in his debut.  He had just 33 hits in 75 games last year.  I’m not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet, but is there any denying that Rudy Jaramillo is the Hank Haney of hitting?
• 5 RBI’s for Marlon Byrd today.
  
• Omar Vizquel contributed on both sides of the ball, making several key defensive plays as you might expect, but also by driving in and scoring a run.
• Brandon McCarthy was mediocre overall, but he debuted his new slurve, and it was filthy.  He relied on it to collect 7 K’s in 5 IP.  You can also say this for McCarthy: He went for 105 pitches.  That’s 3 starters in a row to go over 100, and Rangers starters are now 3-0.
  

Negatives

• The Indians hit 5 home runs, and that accounted for 7 of their 8 RBI’s.   
  
• Scott Feldman was the long reliever today, and he was not good.  After allowing a leadoff hit in the 8th, the camera focused on his face and he had one of those "Here we go again" looks.  You weren’t the only one, Scott.
• Chris Davis went 0 for 4, which means he’s now 1 for 11 with 5 K’s.  He also left 4 on base today.
  

Does anybody know where I can get text-only box scores without all the fancy graphics?  I’d love to just be able to copy and paste.

Box

Positives

• Vicente Padilla was one out away from a Quality Start.  You would like to see him get more innings, but once the Rangers took the lead, Padilla kept Cleveland at bay.  He got himself into some trouble in the fourth, hitting Ryan Garko with the bases loaded, but then he got himself out of the jam.
• The offense was on again, and the best part is that it’s not coming from just one or two sources.  Five Rangers drove in runs.
• Nelson Cruz hit two home runs.  Breakout season?
• Elvis Andrus used his speed to beat out an infield single and drive in his first run, then hit a solo homer.  I’m starting to like this kid.
• Francisco made it a little interesting in the ninth, but ultimately got the save on a strikeout. 
• Have I mentioned I love the red unis?  The Rangers wore white with blue letters tonight, but the red hats were a great touch.  It was funny to watch the commercials with last year’s footage and the blue uniforms.
  

Negatives

• Defense.  Michael Young and Elvis Andrus each had throwing errors.  So much for that tight defense on the left side.  I really do think it will be better, but it’s a little early for errors, right?  C.J. Wilson added one of his own.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia left the game with "lightheadedness."  Uh, what?  Taylor Teagarden was already scheduled to start tomorrow (day game after a night game), so hopefully Jarrod has enough time to, er, recover.
• It took Padilla 109 pitches to get through 5 2/3.  He’s going to have to be more economical in the future.  He also had 7 flyouts versus 5 groundouts, which will not be okay in July.
• I question bringing in Eddie Guardado for 1/3 of an inning.  Why not let leave him in for the 8th if he’s already in the game and warm?  He only threw 10 pitches.  It seems like Washington was maybe being a little slavish to the predefined bullpen roles in this case.
• Only 23,000 in attendance?  Come on, guys.
  

I hope to post recaps of all 162 games this season.  I realize this is ambitious, so don’t expect to see recaps on the same day or even the next day – but I will get around to them.  They will be short and sweet – a link to a box score, 3 (or more) positives from the game, and 3 (or more) negatives from the game.  Of course, I reserve the right to call an audible, but that’s how I see this going.

Box Score

Positives

• Kevin Millwood pitched 7 innings and only gave up 5 hits, all of them singles.  He threw 113 pitches and said afterward he could have kept going, so I guess there’s something to Nolan Ryan’s conditioning program.  It’s nice to get an ace performance from your ace.
• The defense.  Pitching has always been a problem for the Rangers, but a significant improvement in defensive play will obviously help the Rangers as they try to avoid posting a league-worst ERA two years in a row.  Michael Young was tested in his first game at third base, and he passed.  He had to charge two balls, and he looked like he’s been doing it his whole career.  Similarly, Elvis Andrus turned two double plays and even made an amazing diving stop behind second base.
• Hank Blalock hit a 3-run homer, proving in my mind that he can be effective protecting Josh Hamilton or Nelson Cruz (depending on the handedness of the pitcher) in the lineup.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his first home run since June 3.  More importantly, he was in sync with Millwood behind the plate and kept the pace moving when things were going well.
• Michael Young is back.  Last year, he played with a broken finger on each hand.  Today, he looked like the player that’s accustomed to collecting 200 hits a season.
• Josh Hamilton didn’t have to be a hero, but he was effective at the plate and in the field.
• C.J. Wilson and Frank Francisco each pitched a perfect inning in relief.
• Those new red uniforms looked fantastic.  I love the Rangers in red.

Negatives

• You really have to pick nits to find something.  It says a lot when only one player went hitless.  That player was Chris Davis.  Nothing to worry about here – Chris is going to be fine.
• The one run was caused by a Millwood wild pitch that Saltalamacchia maybe could have stopped.
• Frank Francisco’s entrance music/scoreboard montage was TERRIBLE.  One or the other (preferably both) needs to be changed.