We Want A Pitcher, Not A Belly-Itcher.
Welcome to Rangers Revolver, the recurring feature that takes a closer look at some of the more pressing issues facing Your Texas Rangers by firing off six notable bullets worthy of your consideration.
A little bit of blues in this week's news: With only nine days until the MLB trade deadline, it was announced that Rangers big gun Colby Lewis is out for the season.
That leaves the Rangers with little time to chase a high caliber front-of-the-rotation pitcher (here's looking at you, Zack Greinke).
The good news? Owners Ray Davis and Bob Simpson have shown little reluctance in opening the purse to put together a championship team.
So let's keep our chins up about it.
• The Rangers' hottest hitter in the last week is Elvis Andrus (.297), who had nine hits and 14 total bases with six runs scored over the course of the week. One of those runs was a solo shot off of Angels ace Jered Weaver. His first homer in 83 games was the team's only run that game, which they'd lose. Still, the Rangers are the only team this season to beat Weaver, which they did in May.
• The AL West-leading Rangers (57-39) are five wins ahead of both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Oakland Athletics in the division race — teams the Rangers have combined to go just 1-3 against since Wednesday. But, in that win, catcher Mike Napoli hit two home runs.
• The depth of the Rangers' starting pitching rotation has been a strength all season, but with Colby Lewis out for good and Roy Oswalt missing time due to back problems, there's now concern. Fortunately, Scott Feldman (4-6) tossed an excellent one-run outing in a win against the Red Sox on Monday, and Martin Perez (1-1) looked great in six innings last night after getting called up from Round Rock.
• Keep an eye on center fielder Craig Gentry. He's shown some great defense and is posting a .339 batting average in 78 games. Plus: He's got legs.
• Here's a fun fact: Rangers infielder Ian Kinsler leads the team with 69 runs scored this season, and he has the most runs scored in the MLB for all second baseman since 2006. Do you know which Ranger posted the most runs scored in a single season? It was Alex Rodriguez (133) back in 2001, who also has the most runs scored among all active players. Hey, how's that left hand, Alex?
• The Rangers made a few notable transactions in the past week. Yorvit Torrealba was reinstated from the restricted list, so Luis Martinez was optioned to Round Rock. The team also recalled pitcher Martin Perez, as Colby Lewis was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 19.