Breaking the Hambone Their return will spell the end of someone's tenure with the club for now. It'll be either Chris Davis, Endy Chavez, Craig Gentry or Taylor Teagarden.
My gut feeling tells me it'll be Teagarden and Chavez keeping the left-handed Davis and the righty Gentry in the line-up.
Is that the right move? I find it hard to believe they'll keep three catchers (Yorvit Torrealba and Mike Napoli already in tow) and Chavez is a lefty not unlike Dave Murphy, Hamilton and Julio Borbon (when he's back).
No matter who stays or who goes, I think Ron Washington needs to take this time -- as we go into June -- to establish a day-in and day-out line-up.
Even when Hamilton and Cruz were healthy, there were a ton of interchangeable parts to the line-up based on giving guys a day off, getting guys at-bats and loading up with lefties against a righty starter and vice versa.
I see the point. However, I don't think it works. Aside from the first two weeks of the season, the offense has sucked and I can't help but feel that it has everything to do with rhythm. They say swinging a bat has everything to do with timing and when a guy comes up from the minors or is injured for a long period, the period of struggle in their return or call up has to do with timing the pitch from the hand to the catcher's mitt.
How can a guy like Mitch Moreland, Napoli, Gentry, Borbon or Davis really get a good rhythm when they sit for three days and play two only to sit another four days. It doesn't make any sense. You can't really win with 15 hitters that could all be starting, or you think could be starting.
Sometimes, you've got to understand that Murphy and Napoli are best coming off the bench. Sometimes Jason Terry makes more sense off the bench than starting. Sometimes you need that back-up running back for a change of pace, but hardly do you give him 20 carries a game.
Washington needs to establish roles. There are complications. Injuries are one. It should be known that the Rangers could offset making a decision today by placing someone on the disabled list (let's say Napoli gets "shoulder soreness" at some point today).
Borbon's return complicates things, too, whenever that happens.
Also, there is initial talk that Hamilton could DH quite a bit in his return. This puts Mike Young at first base for at least a semi-regular time only and keeps Moreland (someone I consider a big-league hitter) on the bench. Of course, you could put Cruz in left, Moreland in right and Gentry/Borbon/Chavez in center. I hate it, but Washington is prone to do it.
Still, the Rangers need consistency here. At some point Hamilton will need to return to the outfield keeping Cruz in right (far more natural there) and Moreland can play first (Young at first make me feel uncomfortable ... as if something's going to go wrong).
Seems like there's not enough role guys and too many that need 500 at-bats. Doesn't seem healthy.
