THE RANGERS REPORT – July 14

The British Open odds are posted and, of course, the MLB All-Star Game is upon us, so it’s safe to say it’s July. While most of the Texas Rangers catch a breather after some crucial divisional series in recent weeks, a few of your favorites are busy in St. Louis playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Season record: 48-39
AL West ranking: 2
Current baseball odds to win the World Series: 50 to 1

THE LINEUP

One third of the Rangers’ starting lineup is making a splash at All-Star Week in St. Louis. First it was Nelson Cruz. A late addition to the team, Cruz raised eyebrows with some eye-popping blasts in the Home Run Derby before finishing second to Prince Fielder. Rangers manager Ron Washington expressed some concern about his participation after Josh Hamilton may have worn himself out in last year’s legendary display. The Rangers have to hope the Derby doesn’t alter Cruz’s swing, as he was finally finding himself again, smacking four homers in nine games entering the break.

Josh Hamilton was voted in as a starter for Tuesday’s All-Star game and six-time All-Star Michael Young wound up in the starting lineup at third base after Evan Longoria pulled out with a finger infection.

THE ROTATION

Believe it or not, Kevin Millwood leads the American League in innings pitched this season. It wouldn’t take crackerjack handicapping software to predict a swoon given his workload, and that’s just what’s happened to Millwood of late. He has an 8.83 ERA in three July starts after going 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA in June. Washington moved him to the bottom of the post-break rotation to give him some extra time off. The Rangers desperately need Millwood to get his stingy form back, as they dropped three of four games to Seattle to close out the first half and find themselves 1.5 games back of Los Angeles.

THE BULLPEN

After dominating in April and May, Frank Francisco cost himself an All-Star roster spot by posting a 4.50 ERA in June and 7.20 so far in July. He’s still holding opponents to an itty-bitty average, so some of the numbers are inflated by homers. There’s no sign that he’s aggravated his sore shoulder and he’s still missing plenty of bats, so chalk up the skid to bad luck. Expect Francisco to find his groove again and close out several games in a row.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

On one hand, few teams needed the All-Star break more than Texas. However, since several of their players are in St. Louis and didn’t really get a rest, it remains to be seen how much the break will boost the Rangers. If you’re making sports predictions, you can at least expect slumping hitters like Ian Kinsler to benefit from the time off.