David Murphy, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd, Brandon Boggs, Frank Cattalanotto, and Andruw Jones. Two of these guys are likely not going to make the roster. Murphy, Hamilton, Cruz and Byrd are locks unless an injury occurs.  That means only one of Cattalonotto, Boggs and Jones makes the team. The salary of Cattalonotto makes him the likely choice, but Boggs had played well so far this spring.

The best hope is that some other team decides that they need to fill a hole and makes a trade for Byrd. Then you could have Boggs here playing very little or at AAA playing everyday and Jones could fill a spot here.

My guess, Byrd is traded maybe along with Boggs for a pitcher and Jones makes the team out of ST.

The Texas Rangers clobbered the visiting Oakland Athletics by the score of 14-4 on Wednesday afternoon. With the ten-run victory, the Rangers took the final two games of the series against the A’s. Great way to finish off the 2008 season at home that is for sure!

The Rangers have been dissappointing for most of the season, but on Wednesday they gave their fans something to cheer about. The Rangers hit three home runs including a three-run shot by Hank Blalock, a two-run blast from Nelson Cruz, and then a solo home run from Travis Metcalf.

Blalock finished the game with a team high four rbi’s. He was followed by Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Cruz and Metcalf who all had two rbi each in the game. German Duran and Michael Bradley finished up the scoring with one rbi each.

On the mound it was Matt Harrison getting the win and improving to 8-3 on the year. Harrison tossed six innings while giving up six hits and two runs. He struck out seven batters while giving up a solo home run. It was a quality start for Harrison and the Rangers scored plenty of runs for him to get the win. Josh Rupe threw two innings and was charged with two runs while Wes Littleton threw the ninth inning to finish up the game.

It was nice to see the Rangers win the final two games at home to give the fans a little something to cheer about. It wasn’t the season they wanted, but hopefully things will improve next time we see the Rangers take the field in Arlington.

Let’s now sit back and see how the team does in Anaheim as they take on the Angels in the final three games of the season this weekend.

Rangers Blog

The Texas Rangers hit three two-run home runs and then a solo home run but they still lost to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon. When you hit four home runs, you expect to win but that wasn’t the case as the Rangers lost the game 8-7 and split the short two game series.

Nelson Cruz, Taylor Teagarden, and Hank Blalock all hit two run home runs and finished the game with two rbi each. Chris Davis tacked on a solo home run as well in the game. The offense did their job however it was the pitching staff that allowed eight runs and lost the game.

Kevin Millwood was tagged for 11 hits and five runs in five innings of action. Milwood took the loss and is now 9-9 on the season. It has been a very disappointing season for Millwood that is for sure. Kameron Loe pitched two innings and gave up four hits and one run as well.

The Rangers will get right back at it on Thursday night as they travel to Oakland for a four game series. Rangers Blog

The Texas Rangers didn’t have any problems beating the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. The Rangers kicked off the three game series over the visiting Royals with a 9-4 victory. The Rangers got great offensive output from Nelson Cruz and Milton Bradley who both had three rbi in the game.

Cruz hit a three run home run in the third inning and finished the game by going 3-5 with three rbi. Bradley also finished with three rbi as he had a rbi single, double, and sac fly in the game. Chris Davis tacked on a solo home run of his own for a rbi while Josh Hamilton had a rbi single and Gerald Laird a rbi sac fly. Great offensive showing against the Royals!

Scott Feldman evened up his record at 5-5 by throwing seven innings and getting the win. Feldman gave up eight hits and allowed three runs to score. Warner Madrigal pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Josh Rupe threw the ninth inning and gave up two hits and one run.

The Rangers will try to take the second game of the series on Tuesday night and we will be back blogging about the team after Wednesday’s game.

Rangers Baseball Blog