A few notes on the first place Texas Rangers....

-I hear people giving Michael Young  a hard time about not coming through with runners in scoring position. Yes, his average in those situations would make one think he struggles, but I'll gladly take his clutch 9th inning home runs he's provided so far this year instead. Baseball is statistician's game, but sometimes the numbers do lie.

-Ian Kinsler is the MVP of the American League right now. Good thing Ron Washington has finally figured out he does in fact have  a leadoff hitter.  A really good one that's a hitting machine.

-The Rangers' pitching staff has been as good as anyone could have ever hoped for so far. Kevin Millwood is pitching like an ace, even though his record might not reflect that. His ERA does. Matt Harrison, Frankie Francisco, and Scott Feldman have been surprisingly solid. C.J. Wilson and Brandon McCarthy look like the weak links.

-Derek Holland is everything we've heard he is and then some. He'll get his first start in Houston tonight.

-The 'Ranger-red' jerseys are great. A reminder of the only era when the team had any success back in the late 90s.

-Ron Washington is the right manager for this team. He's been touted as a pitching-and-defense-first manager. Both those areas are drastically improved.

-Chris Davis might not work out at first base, unless he can cut down on strikeouts. He's becoming a liability in the lineup. It stinks too, because I think most Rangers fans would love to see "Crush" here for  a long time.

-Marlon Byrd does stuff that doesn't show up in the box score. He does something impressive with his hustle almost every time he plays.

-People are coming out to the ballpark. Funny how winning will solve that problem, huh?

Matt Griffin
KXII.com