The NHL needs some business training

Who'd want to see this guy anyway?

I have always felt that second-tier sports (hockey, NASCAR, golf) should quit trying to become a top-tier sport and, instead, focus on becoming the very best second-tier sport.

Soccer, for example, tries so hard to become a rival to baseball or football when they're not nearly as popular (on a professional scale) as car racing or hockey.

Reaching the upper-echelon is pretty impossible. But there's little wrong with becoming the best at what you really are in the United States.

With that said, the NHL is super retarded for basically trying to make their sport as unpopular as possible.

The NHL is ironic in that they focus so much on becoming a top three American sport, but they have such a purist/loyalist cadre of fans and league officials that want to keep it for Canadians and people from Minnesota and Michigan.

The NHL schedules were released yesterday and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are not playing in Dallas.

When we say "Penguins" and "Capitals," we're referring to Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the two uber-studs of the NHL. Part Lebron, part Gretzky, part Ted Williams. The NHL goes as those two go.

Unfortunately, those two are going to places like Montreal, Toronto, Long Island, Florida and Carolina 100 percent more than they're going to one of the biggest media markets in the nation, Dallas.

The NHL has had this scheduling glitch for a while and I thought it was fixed, as evidenced by the many visits by Florida, Boston, Islanders and Toronto this season.

But not Crosby or Ovechkin.

It's said in business that putting your best product in front of as many people as possible is overrated.

Not all our exes live in Texas

John Danks: Breaking Rangers hearts one quality start at a time

It's impossible to ignore the former Texas Rangers around the league.

Some left for big money. Some were traded. Some were seemingly given away. Others never found their way in Arlington and yet blossomed elsewhere.

Here's all the coulda-wouldas.

Mark Teixeira
New York Yankees
How do you put value on excellence? Is Mark Teixeira overpaid? Maybe, especially if you're going to consider teachers, janitors and ditch diggers. However, it's impossible to ignore the output: 21 homers, 23 doubles, 63 RBI. Yes, the average is low (.275) and he dipped into his patented early-season slump (so familiar for Rangers fans), but he's probably still the most consistent guy in the Yankees line-up.

Francisco Cordero
Nick Masset
Danny Herrera
Cincinnati Reds
Could you imagine Herrera and Masset in the Rangers bullpen with Frank Francisco, C.J. Wilson, Darren O'Day and Jason Jennings? The trio have combined for 107 innings, 85 hits, 27 runs, 42 walks and 87 strikeouts. The highest ERA is with the shortest player -- Herrera -- at 2.78. Of course, Masset was involved in the John Danks-Brandon McCarthy trade, Cordero was in the Nellie Cruz-Carlos Lee trade and Herrera was involved in the Josh Hamilton trade with ...

Edinson Volquez
Cincinnati Reds
Has just started nine games all year due to elbow tendinitis. And he wasn't that good to begin with collecting 32 walks in 49 innings.

John Danks
Chicago White Sox
Still, this trade is biting the Rangers in the ass probably more than any other screwy trade GM Jon Daniels has made. Danks followed up a lackluster April and May with a brilliant June lowering his ERA to 3.91, winning three of his final five starts. And Brandon McCarthy is hurt again.

John Mayberry Jr.
Philadelphia Phillies
No matter what, JMJ was probably never going to break into the Rangers outfield and probably neither will Greg Golson, the guy the Rangers traded JMJ to Philly for. He has nine Major League hits and four of them are homers. He's hitting .184 in extremely limited action.

Jamey Wright
Kansas City Royals
Basically doing for the Royals what he did for the Rangers last season except with a lower ERA, WHIP and BAA. Kinda thought the Rangers should gone after him, but Jason Jennings is kinda erasing his memory.

Tug Hulett
Kansas City Royals
Seemed like a nice Quadruple A guy as a Ranger. Has one hit in 14 at-bats this season. Looks like one in Kansas City, too (.283 with 16 doubles in Triple A Omaha).

Chris Young
San Diego Padres
Has started just 14 games due to injury. Even still, he was awful with a 5.21 ERA, 40 walks and 12 homers allowed (he had allowed just 13 all of last season).

Kason Gabbard
Boston Red Sox
His minor league line: 0-3 - 19.64 ERA - 7.1 IP - 14 hits - 14 walks - 6 K - 3.82 WHIP. As Ranger or BoSox, he has never been the same since Richie Sexson charged the mound last season.

Armando Galaragga
Detroit Tigers
Probably the second biggest boner by Daniels. Not near as good as last season. He's got a 5.09 ERA and has allowed an astounding 17 home runs. Still, I'd rather have him than Jason Jennings last season.

Gerald Laird
Detroit Tigers
His average is about 35 points down from last year. Probably is who he is: Good defender, .250 hitter, at best.

20,000 Summer Leagues under the sea

Mickael Gelabale wants to be on your basketball team

I was actually one day away from being in Las Vegas when the NBA Summer League kicked off July 10.

I love the Summer League because nothing in American sports gets more overhyped and has become such a huge deal like the Summer League.

Nonetheless, it's a genius move by the NBA in not so much helping youngsters get their foot in the proverbial door, but to also start building up that hype for Blake Griffin and the other 100 or so guys drafted this June.

The Dallas Mavericks of the Summer League is officially 1-2 so far with a win against Phoenix and losses at Milwaukee and Houston. But the final score could mean less than in any other pre-season part of major sports in this country. Unlike pre-season baseball or football, the Summer League has looser rules. Basically, they're wanting guys to play streetball for 40 minutes and put up insane dunks and 40 points a game.

Here's a look at the development of some of the Mavericks players, all but two you may have heard of:

Rowdy Roddy Beaubois
Before injuring something or another, the Frenchman enjoyed a 34-point effort against Houston and 16 against Phoenix. In the 34-point game, he hit seven three pointers and dished out eight assists. Honestly, I don't care where the guy is come training camp, he has to start the season on the bench getting 10 minutes a night, for better or for worse. The Mavs can't send another draft pick to Europe.

Shan Foster
Speaking of ... Foster, Dallas' 2008 second rounder, has one DNP and one 1-7 night. He did mix in a nice 13-point night going 5-7 from the field. Again, sink or swim, the Mavs might want to find out about these guys. Set them on bench if need be.

Herbert Hill
A name that sparked a memory going back to the 2007 draft. As I remember, he was rumored to be a guy on the Mavs' big board during that draft before Utah got him with the 55th pick. He's 6-10 and led the Big East in scoring while at Providence. Very interesting guy.

Luke Jackson
I remember him more from Oregon with those fun Duck teams teamed with Luke Ridnour. Unforatunately, he hasn't transitioned well to the NBA. Or at all. Is averaging 10 points a game this summer.

Mickaël Gelabale
Had gotten nice minutes as a Seattle Supersonic. I remember him slightly (mostly for the hair), but clearly he didn't have a lot going for him. Would not be shocked to see him as a 12th man.

All-Starred

Hall-of-Famer to be, Mariano Rivera with the ungolden Arch

There is no doubt in my mind that the MLB All-Star extravaganza is the best (or at least my favorite) sporting exhibition in modern times.

If I could trade every other exhibition in every sport for the MLB All-Star game, I would.

There is no greater celebration of a sports around. Nobody cares about the Pro Bowl or NHL All-Star game. The NBA All-Star game is fine, but it's more about scoring than the all-around game.

If you watched last night's 4-3 American League victory, you realize that this dumb, mid-season exhibition means more to those guys than the NBA game means to them. The MLB All-Star game isn't batting practice. Roy Halladay, Jon Papelbon, Trevor Hoffman, Joe Nathan, CoCo Cordero, Heath Bell and every other pitcher that took the mound last night was just as intent, if not more, to getting those batters out as those batters were intent in hitting the ball.

A 4-3 MLB All-Star game is like a 95-93 game in the NBA All-Star game, which would never happen because it's about the offense, not defense.

Plus, you have a sport that's tipping its cap to its current crop of great players and to the guys that came before, which is still my favorite part. I just sat watching and waiting for Bob Gibson to rip off the red blazer, go to the mound and pitch three perfect frames for the National League.

I realize that home-field advantage in the World Series seems so distant and unrelated to 99 percent of the players playing, but you can't tell me that every dude out there (except for David Wright's errant throw in the first inning ... thanks for trying, David!) wasn't giving it their best in trying to win.

Notes:
1. Brian McCann's beard is so ridiculously awesome.

2. What a good at-bat from Adam Jones before he hit the game-winning sac fly. That was as big-league and professional from such a young kid as you'll get in an exhibition.

3. It was odd seeing Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay struggle.

4. Ryan Franklin's beard is just ridiculous.

5. Do you think St. Louis Cardinals fans were happy about Dan Haren and Jason Marquis coming back as All-Stars?

6. Matt Cain is awesome, but he looks like a giant hillbilly.

7. It's shocking the National League garnered five total hits.

8. Although it was important, Carl Crawford's MVP catch wasn't that impressive. I think he'd even tell you that.

9. Dudes I'd have on my team anyday, any price: Joe Mauer, Curtis Granderson, Hunter Pence, Jason Bay and Justin Upton. Those dudes look like players.

10. I am particularly partial to Pence. If those guys genuinely love playing that game, Pence shows it more than any of them.

11. Sadly, no Texas Ranger heroics, although that was a nice grab by Mike Young on Albert Pujols.

12. Did you count the ex-Rangers? I counted four: Carlos Pena, Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez and CoCo. It's still shocking the legacy at first base the Rangers have had.

13. I think the Rangers should go ahead and sign Mariano Rivera's two sons.

14. Not that he needed it, but I think Barack Obama won the re-election last night. Has there been a more likable president?

More catching up: Ben and Skin out

Still catching up on the many high jinks that took place while on vacation.

Ben and Skin and 105.3 The Fan have divorced.

Not very surprised in that their show was largely unlistenable because it went 100 mph. Any references were either too obscure or bordering on dick and fart jokes ... opposed to actually playing fart drops like The Ticket.

Kinda wondering what The Fan's really thinking. Not that it was a bad move, but it looks like they wanted to make The Ticket Lite, then went to a sports talk format (see: calls from listeners) and the two really don't mix. Now, I guess they're going straight sports talk and hoping all works out.

I also think it's interesting that they're basically hiring print journalists at this point. Maybe that's the problem.

'Buy a bottle of suds for you and everyone'

Jenny Lewis "See Fernando" from Team G on Vimeo.

The incredibly sexy Jenny Lewis with an incredibly good music video for a pretty rad song.

Derby

Second place is the first loser

Nellie Cruz narrowly lost the MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby last night.

This world will be better when Texas Rangers are not participating in that swing-killer.

By the way, Mike Young's now a starter.

Waiting for Gortat

Kareem ... uh, no ... Gortat

That low, disconcerting rumble you hear is everyone overreacting to the Orlando Magic matching the Dallas Mavericks' offer for Marcin Gortat.

It is a kick in the nuts. I mean, no one thought the Magic would shell out five years, $34 million for a guy that had one good game last year, but then that would make the Mavs crazy, too.

Also, it comes on the heels of the Magic stealing "Brandon Brass" (nice copy editing Dallas Morning News!) away.

Don't get me wrong, this puts the Mavs in kind of a lurch in that they have to keep Erick Dampier now and they'll have to search the trash heap for a back-up. Then again, wasn't Gortat a member of the trash heap before he impressed everyone with his eight minutes a game in the playoffs?

If Orlando wants to overpay Gortat, then let them. That's why some teams are bad a lot of the time. Except for this last season, that's what Orlando was and without Dwight Howard, they still would be.

This isn't Bill Russell or Bill Walton here. Gortat's biggest asset was that he was young with a lot of upside. That's about it. He's has unproven as Ryan Hollins or any other spare post guy you can find out there (frankly, I see nothing wrong with Chris Wilcox).

Considering the Mavs just traded Jerry Stackhouse's corpse for Shawn Marion, I would think fans and media would be mildly surprised at best at the Gortat development.

This city is aching to find another Steve Nash (a white guy with little cred to make it big) that it's sickening.

Texas Ranger Needs: Reliever

Heath Bell in the Padre throwbacks

The MLB trade deadline is July 31 and it finds the Texas Rangers in an odd spot.

Yesterday, I opined about the trade possibilities of Hank Blalock. The Rangers may be the only contender who could trade MLB talent and yet buy parts to compete for the division and/or wild card.

One position of relative need is bullpen help. It's sounds odd, but it's true. Considering the seasons of C.J. Wilson, Frank Francisco, Darren O'Day, Jason Grilli and Jason Jennings, you'd think the Rangers would be ... wait for it ... set up in the reliever department.

However, all is not well. Francisco's health is a liability. Wilson hasn't always been the most reliable dude in the room. O'Day and Grilli seem like week-to-week propositions. Eddie Guardado looks a mess. Jennings missed all of last season due to injury.

Plus, the Rangers don't need to break the bank to get quality help and they could get guys that'll help them the next two years. Quality, young guys.

Here's what I'm talking about:

Cla Meredith
The San Diego Padres are in the doldrums and could sell soon and often to start the rebuilding process. Meredith is a young righty (26), who peaked in part-time duty in 2006 with an insane 1.07 ERA in 50+ innings. Since his numbers have dwindled (4.29 this season), but mind would too if I were a Padre. Plus, he's a cheap $431K this season.

Heath Bell
Having a phenomenal season with 23 saves and a 1.69 ERA and no homers allowed in 37 innings. Frankly, he's been one of the best relievers in the game the last three years. At $1.3 million he's extremely affordable and under control through 2011. With Bell, Francisco and Wilson, you're not going to get beat in the eighth and ninth innings. But he'll be pricey.

Takashi Saito
Was rumored to be coming for Hank Blalock yearlier this season before Josh Hamilton went down. Is having a reasonable comeback year at 3.52 ERA and about a strikeout per inning. He's cheap at $1.5 million this year and an option for 2010. He is 39 and was injured last season.

Juan Cruz
Has a 4.08 ERA for the Kansas City Royals, who got Cruz, 30, on the cheap after he lingered on the free agent market over the winter. Despite high walk numbers, opponents are hitting .201 against him. He was super good for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He's due $2.25 million this year, $3.25 million next and a $4 million option for 2011.

George Sherrill
The Balitmore Orioles closer is 32 and holds a 2.41 ERA during a $2.5 million, one-year deal. He's a lefty and that might not help the Rangers with Derek Holland, Wilson and Guardado in tow.

Matt Capps
A 25-year-old closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who's getting the shit hit out of him this season with a 6.21 ERA and a .313 BAA. I wouldn't want the guy to close for me, but he was really good the last two seasons. A set-up role could do him some good.

There's calculated break-ups and then there's this

No more fun with this for Tony Romo

Are we to believe it is pure coincidence that Dallas Cowboys heartthrob quarterback Tony Romo and his singing sassy girlfriend Jessica Simpson broke up (or the news thereof) on the absolute slowest sports news day of the year? 

MLB is hosting its Home Run Derby. NBA and NHL on the midst of a free agency stalemate. The NFL ain't clicking. British Open ain't here yet nor is there big tennis or NASCAR. 

Yes, nothing's going on and the story breaks that the pair aren't together breaks. 

Coincidence? I think not. 

I don't know the reason they would break this today. As Jerry Jones has said, the only bad publicity is no publicity. Maybe it was happenstance. Maybe not. Maybe they wanted all the sports headlines and for People and TMZ to talk about them to set up some grand reunion or somesuch. I don't know, and frankly I don't care. 

Is not being with Simpson gonna help Romo hit open receivers, read defenses and not fumble? 

Whatever. Details are that Romo broke up with Simpson the night before Simpson's 29th Barbie-themed birthday bash. The party, sadly, was cancelled. That's kinda sorry of the guy. 

Other Internet rumors note that Romo cheated on Simpson with Crystal Kasper. Shouldn't more Dallas athletes steer clear of chicks named Crystal? 

Not surprisingly, Kasper is hot. 

No Simpson. No TO. No excuses. 

Starry eyed

Karlis Skrastins: He'll punch your mother and kiss your sister

Between the Texas Rangers rolling, the Dallas Mavericks dealing and the Dallas Cowboys defrosting, there's been little focus on the Dallas Stars despite free agency and the draft coming around.

I'm not even going to comment on the draft. I don't know who these kids are and we're lucky to see them in the big leagues in five years, so why waste our brain power thinking about Scott Glennie.

Let's talk about today. Let's talk about this season.

The Stars did re-sign Mark Fistric to a three-year deal. I like Fistric. I think he has something. Still extremely young (23) and could be a nice player. They also threw one year and $1.5 million at Jere Lehtinen.

The biggest move, however, came with the acquiring of goaltender Alex Auld. He's only 28 and should serve as a more-than-capable back-up for Marty Turco and someone you can probably roll with long term should injury come into play. What I can't figure out is why he's been with six NHL teams already. Is he that awful? Or not worth the trouble.

Further strengthening their blue line, the Stars inked defenseman Jeff Woywitka to a two-year deal worth about $1.3 million and Karlis Skrastins to a two-year, $2.75 million deal. Woywitka is only 25, so joins the other youngsters on the blue line for Dallas with not much more experience than Fistric, Matty Niskanen and Trevor Daley.

Skrastins represents to me what Joe Nieuwendyk is trying to do to this club: Toughen it up. Skrastins is 34 and played 80 games for the Florida Panthers last season. Along the way, he was ninth in the league in blocked shots, something you always saw those 1990s Stars doing while they were winning.

Finally, the Stars also inked center Warren Peters to a one-year deal. He's 26, further getting this team younger and younger.

In sad news, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed winger Chris Conner. All 5-2 of Conner will be playing in the East this season. This is only weird because Conner was the Stars' best prospect for years and once he played they realized he didn't have much since he was three foot tall.

The booty: Two defensemen, a goalie, a winger and center.

The cost: About $8.5 million and a draft pick. That's dollar store shopping for you.

Who wants Hank Blalock?

Hammer time

Two weeks ago, I questioned the trade value of Hank Blalock only because he was playing so sparsely and then hitting so poorly.

Because that's what Blalock's about these days: hitting.

Maybe he was always about hitting but for a while you could depend on pretty good glove work at third base. Now, he's relegated to DH and first base duty. Honestly, he should be a pretty good first baseman because of his experience manning the hot corner. There's also the question of whether Blalock could in fact play third base and maybe the Rangers are protecting his health by storing him away at first base. But whatever.

I consider the Rangers partial sellers and Blalock a good trade chip, especially with his current stroke going on. The Hammer is a free agent after the season and is on the books for $6 million this season. By July 31, he should be only due half of that and, even so, he's off the books at the end of the season.

Teams that might need the Hammer:

New York Mets
The Mets have the least homers (50) in the league and the third lowest slugging (.387). They're 6.5 games out of first place in the NL East and who knows if they're going to go for it, wait for injured guys to return or pack it in for next season. They do have former Ranger third baseman Fernando Tatis manning first base, which probably ain't ideal for the Metropolitans.

San Francisco Giants
The Giants are in the same boat as the Mets: the fourth lowest slugging (.392) and the third lowest homers (62). How they differ is that the Giants have 49 wins and are in control the wild card spot at the moment. Plus, the Giants are notoriously looking for the middle-of-the-line-up bat and have the pitching to get that bat. Hell, the Rangers might do a package deal for the Giants to get a couple of bats.


St. Louis Cardinals
Offensively, the Cards are a middle-of-the-pack team. What they need more than anything is a big bat to fill out the middle of the line-up to help protect Albert Pujols. I don't know if the Cards are the best swapping mates because they might have other places to service if they want to make a move. Plus, I don't know where they stick Blalock with Pujols in at first and Blalock's ability to man third being in question.


Detroit Tigers
The Tigers and Rangers have been good trade partners as of late. If Magglio Ordonez is on the outs as they suggest, the Tigers could use a DH or a lefty bat. Like the Cards, the Tigers might have bigger fish to fry.


Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees
I consider the Red Sox and Yankees in on every deal. I mean, I watched the Yankees-Angels game Saturday and they're talking about how the Yankees might be interested in trading for a starting pitcher. The Red Sox are allegedly in on Roy Halladay. Like they need him. I think Blalock fits a tad better in Boston. A lefty bat could be useful and a guy that can play first (nothing against Aaron Bates). Blalock's a loaner so he's not going to get in anyone's way. The Yankees went out and got Eric Hinske. They've got lefties up their ying-yang and already employ Blalock's former buddy Mark Teixeira.

Walking wounded

High five

Losing three of four in Seattle was probably not the way the Texas Rangers wanted to end the first half of the 2009 campaign.

Then again, finishing 48-39 was probably the exact way they wanted to start the season. Picking nits after losing three by a total of seven runs as the offense continues to sputter here and there is not the solution.

The biggest question I have is why we're freaking out about the fifth starter. Dustin Nippert started yesterday. What's the deal here? Why is Derek Holland not starting? Yeah, he's been roughed up, but he's a rookie for crying out loud. Give me Holland over Nippert any day of the week.

With that said, I think Nippert could be extremely useful, if healthy, in the bullpen because he's a big righty with a good out pitch. But let's suspend this belief that Holland isn't the answer and Nippert or anyone else is.

Notes:

1. Hank Blalock is absolutely crushing the ball since Chris Davis' trip to Oklahoma City and the Hammer playing everyday. He had 11 hits on the road trip. I wonder, considering Davis' struggles, if the Rangers are apt to trade Blalock.

2. I'll be glad to not see Franklin Gutierrez ever again.

3. C.J. Wilson will be glad not to see Seattle ever again.

4. Marlon Byrd's single-season mark for doubles was 28. He hit No. 28 for this season Saturday night. He's on a clear pace to crush about every hitting mark he has.

5. Jason Grilli has allowed no runs and three hits in his last 9.1 innings. As a Ranger, Grilli's ERA is 1.46.

Texas Ranger Mid-Season Report Card

Elvis is king

Over the past week, the Texas Rangers crossed the midway point of the season. 

Just need to speak for everyone: The Rangers are playing 1,000 times better than we could have imagined in early April. 

No one saw this coming. 

If you say you did, you're probably lying. If you actually did, good for you. 

At 48-37, the Rangers are riding high 11 games over .500 and the division lead as the rival California Angels put their two best hitters on the DL heading into the All-Star break. 

All the numbers are good and strong. The Rangers really aren't bad at anything nor are they great at anything. As it stands, being good at several things will win you games. 

For the season, the Rangers have won 17 series, sweeping five and a shocking 18-6 record against American League West bunkmates. 

That, friends, is quality baseball. Let's bask in the glow of a Rangers first half straight from the bosom of heaven. 

Grades: 

Jon Daniels -- A+

Darren O'Day. Andruw Jones. Jason Jennings. Elvis Andrus. Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Derek Holland. Scott Feldman. Jason Grilli. Tommy Hunter. Nellie Cruz. Doug Mathis. Julio Borbon. Omar Vizquel. All of these guys have been or are a Ranger thanks to our general manager. All of this plus the best farm system in professional baseball that's seemingly getting better. The players are still playing. The managers are still managing. But none of them are here without Daniels. 

Ron Washington -- B+

His in-game decisions are still suspect and will probably be suspect for his entire tenure as Rangers manager. But there is not much to deny his ability to light a fire underneath his guys and to milk the very best out them. For the second straight year, Washington's job was saved mid-season thanks to a surge in play and the standings. I don't know what he does, but he does it well. Let's just ride it out. 

Team MVP

Elvis Andrus -- A 

Somewhere there's a sabermetrician that has calculated how many runs Andrus has saved thanks to his stellar play at shortstop. The Hardline has already named him the greatest shortstop in Rangers history. There is little argument for this. His .259 average, 16 steals and ability to not be a complete hole in the line-up is just gravy. This team thrived without Josh Hamilton and Frank Francisco. Almost everyone else has let the team down at one time or another. Andrus brings it every game with the glove and the bat. This team is lost without him. 

Hank Blalock -- C 

At least he's been healthy. He's already eclipsed his games played mark from the last two seasons and will probably crush his at-bat totals for those years soon enough. His power (18 home runs, 13 doubles) is still there. He can't play third base and his relegated to first base and DH. If there's a guy that may not be a Ranger in a week or two, it might be Blalock. 

Marlon Byrd -- B

Having a stellar contract year. Leads the team with 27 doubles and his power numbers are up. Still, his walks are down and like every Ranger he's been prone to stumbling at the plate. But at least twice this season, Byrd was the best bat in the line-up. I also wonder about his tenure with the team come trade deadline time. 

Nelson Cruz -- B+

Two years ago, we were OK with releasing the guy. In fact, he was outrighted and passed through waivers, I believe. All he needed was a little time. He's an All-Star now. And once we didn't even want him. 

Chris Davis -- F 

Poor kid. We took his 2008 for granted assuming he was perfectly ready for Majors when he clearly wasn't. He'll be back. 

Scott Feldman -- A

Could not believe in the pre-season when Feldman was sent to the bullpen in lieu of Kris Benson. Behind Kevin Millwood, he's been by far the Rangers most consistent starter and probably the best. Of the 14 games Feldman's started, the Rangers have won 10 (Feldman's 7-2). 

Frank Francisco -- B+

Was obnoxiously dominant before the injury. Is a big reason the Rangers are winning a lot of games. 

Jason Grilli -- B 

Another brilliant bullpen find for GM Jon Daniels. Hasn't allowed a run in his last eight appearances. 

Eddie Guardado -- D 

The most misused player on the team. I don't think he has a lot left. The problem I have is that he's best suited in situational lefty spots late in games. That's how he was used initially and then he wasn't and his wheels have never big aligned since. 

Josh Hamilton -- F 

He's been hurt. But he's been absent on several levels. His transition to DH needs to begin posthaste. 

Matt Harrison -- D 

Remember, he carried this team on his back for four straight starts. That doesn't explain away the awful beginning and awful end before injury, but nonetheless, he's had his role on this team. 

Derek Holland -- C 

The kid's learning how to pitch. Still, there are 10-year vets in this league who looked more overmatched than Holland does. What I like most is his control just allowing 17 walks in 57 innings and just three in his last 21 innings. 

Jason Jennings -- C 

I'm a huge critic of Jennings. Just drives me crazy sometimes. However, his effectiveness in long relief and keeping games in control with huge shutdown innings can not be disputed. It probably took a lot of guts for GM Jon Daniels to re-sign the guy after he stole $5 million from the team last season. Like Grilli and some others, he's been part of a very effective bullpen. 

Andruw Jones -- C+

We're watching a guy re-make his career before our very eyes. Maybe. Jones needed this as much as the Rangers needed Jones. His power is seemingly back to a nice standard and his on-base percentage is up to his peak years and his strike outs are way down. 

Ian Kinsler -- B 

No one roots for Kinsler more than me. Despite the massive funk Kinsler's mired in, his value is still real. Thanks to staying injury free, Kinsler is going to set season marks for every statistical category on his baseball card. He hits for power, steals bases and draws walks. He's not meant for the lead-off spot, but the development of Andrus or Julio Borbon could remedy that. 

Brandon McCarthy -- C 

It broke my heart seeing McCarthy hit the DL with a stress fracture in his shoulder. He had been effective all season. Despite high hit totals, he's kept his team in games and pitched big innings. The Ranger need him back, healthy. 

Kevin Millwood -- A 

If the Rangers were going to be 11 games over .500, Millwood would need to be good. Instead, he's been great with only one bad start (the last one, against California). I suspect little else from Millwood the rest of the way. 

David Murphy -- C+

Another personal fav. Like Feldman, it drove me crazy that Murphy was not starting when Spring Training broke. I think Murphy has a lot to offer in the field and at the plate. It's been great to see Murphy rebound from a disgusting start to raise his average up 200 points along the way. Murph is a keeper. 

Darren O'Day -- A+

Without him, I'm convinced the Rangers are scratching away around .500 and punching the Mariners in the face for second place in the division. What a gigantic, season-defining find for GM Jon Daniels. That's a move that good teams make mid-season that almost magically work out for them. 

Vicente Padilla -- B 

At times, as good as he gets. Other times not. It feels that we get the latter more and more, but you can't argue with winning games and pitching well despite tossing junk. Placing him on waivers looks like a genius move. 

Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- B 

The bat still isn't there, but I would argue that there hasn't been a more clutch hitter on the team. Salty's story begins with defense. Always considered the lesser defender compared to Taylor Teagarden, we were regaled with tales of Salty working his ass off in the off-season to improve on this part of his game. It worked. He looks great back there. 

Taylor Teagarden -- D 

I love watching Andrus and Teagarden play. TNT looks like a genuine, old-school catcher back there. He works well with pitchers, the defense is just about complete. At times, he's not even a black hole in the line-up. I can't imagine the Rangers moving forward without either swapping Salty or TNT to another team. 

Omar Vizquel -- B+

I was initially weary of Vizquel's signing because I thought he was direct competition for Andrus at shortstop. This misconception is why I'm a dorky blogger and guys like Jon Daniels runs a Major League baseball team. Vizquel wasn't Andrus' competition, but his mentor. A fellow Venezuelan, he could teach Andrus anything and everything about defense and executing at the plate. Plus, he's a most valuable utility infielder and hitting .295. I felt Milton Bradley brought more to the plate last season other than a bat. I thought he brought leadership. I think Vizquel is doing the same. I don't know if he get the same quality of play from Ramon Vasquez or German Duran. 

C.J. Wilson -- B

A shaky start had everyone calling for Wilson's head. Not I. I am convinced Wilson has the stuff to be a pretty nice pitching in the Majors. Lately, he's been the Rangers best reliever and a most satisfactory replacement when Frank Francisco went down with injury. 

Mike Young -- B+

I thought Young acted like a complete dick about moving to third base. Just grandstanding and posturing for the media whilst demanding a trade while holding onto an untradeable contract. I can now only think that it was a gut reaction to a bad time. Since, he's switched to third base where he's been good (All-Star good) and his bat his back. His power is  coming back (maybe because of playing a less stressful third base) with 11 home runs and 27 doubles in a half season. 

Catching up

Marion and his super-hairy armpits

A week away from a computer and, still, the Dallas sports wheel continues to spin. 

The newest of episode of "Extreme Makeover: Dallas Mavericks Edition" continued as the Mavs made a huge deal in getting Shawn Marion and Greg Buckner for Jerry Stackhouse's corpse, Antoine Wright and Devean George. 

Already, this team is looking a little different. Maybe not better, but different. 

Marion, I believe, gives the Mavs some options with match-ups. He gives them length and athleticism, something they desperately lacked against the Denver Nuggets. 

I'm not a Marion fan. Probably a bit of a whiner. I don't know what motivates him. I feels it's not always winning, but what do I know. I do know the Phoenix Suns had to deal the guy to Miami just to save their lockerroom. 

But the Mavs have got bigger fish to fry. 

The Mavs could put Marion at power forward or small forward. He's long and big enough to play bigger, but quick enough to stick with a speedy swingman. 

He's got edge. He plays D. He can score without setting camp beyond the three-point arc. 

Like I said, I don't know if it's a move that remakes this team into a legit contender. My initial thought is that it doesn't. Then again, who would you rather have Wright, George and Stack or Marion? Yeah, me too. 

Although, I would've liked to see the Mavs avoid flippin' Greg Buckner. Talk about retreads. We should release him and then sign him again for grins. 

****

With Marion and possibly Marcin Gortat coming, Brandon Bass is probably going. 

Orlando offered him a 4-year, $18 million contract. Way too much for a guy who's too small to play power forward and too big to guard a swingman. He's a really nice player to have, but he has to play his guts out every minute and that has to wear on a guy. 

Considering I consider the Mavs a team of bench and role players, seeing Bass, Stack, Wright and George go is a little comforting. 

****

And Jason Kidd is back. Again, how did a team that once drafted Jason Kidd, had a pre-MVP Steve Nash and Devin Harris screw up the point guard situation so badly? 

Anyway, the deal is three years, $25 million. I guess they felt they had to do it and giving him the years was the biggest way to get him back. I do question just how much play Kidd got in the free agent market. Allegedly the Knicks offered three years and $19 million. And that's all I've seen. Alas ... 

Roster moves

Not 10 minutes ago, I blogged that Josh Hamilton's return might mean a demotion for Chris Davis to Oklahoma City. Maybe I should check out T.R. Sullivan's blog more frequently.

In fact, Hamilton is back and Davis is now a RedHawk until further notice. 

Still, this leaves the Rangers with six outfielders (Hamilton, Nellie Cruz, Dave Murphy, Marlon Byrd, Andruw Jones and Julio Borbon). 

I see Jones platooning with Hank Blalock at first. Hamilton will mostly DH, Cruz might get some days off during day games (it's Evan Grant's theory that most, if not all, of Cruz' struggles defensively come during day games) and Borbon will come off the bench and pinch run. I'd like to see Borbon remain. 

****

Vicente Padilla's started has been pushed back from Tuesday and Dustin Nippert is being called up to start against the California Angels. 

Nippert's been out all season with a bad back. If Padilla isn't seriously injured, where does Nippert fit? Right now, the Rangers ain't touching a thing in the bullpen. 

****

The Rangers have apparently signed five international players. 

They've inked Jurickson Profar, Chris Garia, Luis Mendez, Luis Sardinas and Daniel De la Torre. 

Profar, Mendez and Sardinas are shortstops, although Profar has a 92 mph fastball and good curve. Garia is an outfielder and De la Torre is a lefty pitcher. 

We probably won't see these guys on any level for a while, but just look at the rosters for the Spokane, Hickory and Arizona minor league teams and just look at the international guys that have transformed this franchise. 

****

Oh, and Justin Smoak is in Oklahoma City and it'd be shocking to not see him in Arlington by September. Hell, he might be starting at first base by the trade deadline. 

Welcome back, stranger

Kidd got Mark Cuban money ... iPhone money

In the vein of changing things around the organization, making a push for the future and somehow evolving the attitude and look of the franchise, the Dallas Mavericks have re-signed a guy they drafted 15 years ago and then traded for 30 sheckles of silver. 

Point guard Jason Kidd has orally committed to returning to the Mavericks to a 3-year, $25 million deal. Apparently, his other serious suitor, the New York Knicks, offered three years, $19 million. 

I was always very doubtful about the Knicks. The impetus behind this rumor -- you know, other than the negotiations that took place -- was that Kidd really liked New York. And who wouldn't. New York City! Broadway! Manhattan! The lights! Woody Allen! The Apollo! 

New York is actually probably a really cool city to play in. But not for a 36-year-old point guard, who seeks nothing more than to win, win, win. 

With Mike D'antoni or not, the Knicks ain't winning nothing, even in that paltry division. 

The Mavs have a better shot of winning. Better, but not great. So if you add in a 3-year deal, $25 million and the chance to play with Dirk Nowitzki for a team that will be winning the next three seasons, I don't see any real point in Kidd playing for the Knicks. It's actually pretty stupid when you think about it. 

Kidd's rich now. He can fly to New York any time he wants. 

Sweep

Dive, Byrd, dive

A week ago, many had the Texas Rangers buried. They couldn't score, the starting pitching look shaky. I felt wary as anyone. It could've gone downhill quickly.

Instead, they've run off five straight, swept the Tampa Bay Rays and play the Angels this week for the division lead. Good times.

What I loved most about the series-clinching 5-2 win was how the Rangers scored.

There were five total runs. Three were by sac flies, one a fielder's choice and the fifth a Marlon Byrd single.

Yes, the Rangers made four outs and scored four runs along the way. That's execution on an extremely high level. Instead of trying to cream a ball into Tarrant County, the Rangers choked up, made contact and plated the run.

Mix in effective pitching, shutdown relievers and some defense and that's 45 wins in the books.

The death of the Rangers has been exaggerated.

Notes:
1. It was Scott Feldman's ninth quality start. It wasn't his greatest start. He did 3-hit the Rays, but he gave up four walks and a hit batsman. Still, six innings and two runs. Umm, we'll take it.

2. When Josh Hamilton returns, who sits? Marlon Byrd? Dave Murphy? Nellie Cruz? Hank Blalock? Two of those four are the Rangers hottest hitters. Cruz may be the team's most legit power threat. Blalock's come back around. Could this spell a trip for Chris Davis to Oklahoma City?

3. Ranger bullpen: 3 IP - 0 hits - 0 ER - 0 BB - 3 K.