Wednesday: Overshadowed

The news of Ron Washington’s contract being exercised (cheered by some, begrudged by others) was somewhat overshadowed by Josh Hamilton’s surgery and Brandon McCarthy going to the DL. Despite his tendency to disappoint Ranger fans, I’ve always been a McCarthy fan, and I was really hoping that he could stay healthy and produce this season. Well, that’s not happening exactly the way I had wished, though his injury (a stress fracture in his shoulder blade) could have been much worse. Of the starters, Padilla, Benson (who has been assigned to AAA to make room for the newly acquired Jason Grilli), Harrison, and now McCarthy have been on the DL this year. The good news is that it hasn’t taken a toll on the team—at least for now. Kevin Millwood is the only pitcher from the original rotation who hasn’t suffered an injury. I wrote a while back about how keeping a healthy team will be vital for the Rangers this year. Well, so far that hasn’t been the case, which leads me to the offense side of the injuries, namely Josh Hamilton. Hamilton has missed more games than he’s played this year, and with the surgery, he likely won’t be back till around the All Star break. So much for the predictions, folks. But it doesn’t seem like Hamilton’s presence has been missed, thanks mainly to the production that Nelson Cruz has provided. So, injuries have riddled the Ranger’s season, and yet they’re still in first place. That’s because the Rangers have depth on their roster, something the Angels did not have when they struggled early on due to their excessive injury list.

After losing the first two games to the Blue Jays, the Rangers may have a tough time climbing back, especially since they play the Dodgers over the weekend. But if the Rangers could take 2 of 3 from Boston, then there's no reason they can't do it against LA, too.