Two wins in one day

Okay, I was all excited to see Botts get a shot tonight. And, I guess, he did. But it was extremely abbreviated. He was pulled in the 7th for Broussard. Okay, so Botts was 0-2 with a walk, but three plate appearances, in my opinion, does not count as a fair shot. Grr. It's becoming painfully clear to me that Botts will not be on this team by the end of the season. I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm right, I know the Rangers will regret letting him go. (By the way, I should make it clear that I have nothing against Broussard. I think he's a fine player, and he's clearly been a contributor already this season. I would just like to see Botts get a solid look...sooner rather than later.)

I'm also not sure how I felt about Cat pinch hitting for Byrd in the same inning. Byrd seemed to have just found his swing in the previous AB, and then was sent to the bench. What gives?

Okay, I'm done questioning/criticizing Ron Washington for the night. I couldn't do his job, so I shouldn't pretend I could.

Despite my above gripes, it was a pretty decent game. No errors from the defense, Melhuse had a nice game and C.J. Wilson got his second save of the day (he only needed 17 pitches to get both jobs done, too). Kason Gabbard looked great until that two-run homer. Still, this year's starting pitching is stronger than it has been in awhile. Certainly better than last year. We had a dynamite bullpen last year, but they were overworked. We have a pretty similar arsenal this year, but hopefully they can stay fresh with some help from the front line.

Speaking of the bullpen, I'm not sure who our solid long reliever is. Some might say it's Jamey Wright, but he makes me nervous. Ever since that walk to end a game in Minneapolis last year, Wright's appearance in a game has been less than reassuring. He could still win me over (I used to feel the same way about C.J. and even Kam, but they've managed to get in my good graces), and I hope he does.

KISS: Marlon Byrd. He finally got his first hit and had a fantastic throw to nail Adam Jones out at third.

MISS: I'm trying to think of one, but I really can't. I think I got all my griping out early in this entry.

So, now the Rangers have a two-game winning streak. And speaking of streaking, was there really a streaker during the game? WTF? I like how Michael Young was trying not to laugh during the whole thing. Meanwhile, Wright looked annoyed. Ha ha.

Finally, and certainly worth noting (way more than the streaker), a belated congrats to Chuck Morgan on announcing his 2,000th consecutive major league game. What a phenomenal accomplishment. He does such a great job at the ballpark. It just wouldn't be a Rangers game without him. He's always coming up with new ideas (the Dot Race, Rangers Captain and Six Shooters were all his) and he's more than willing to listen to other people's ideas (I've e-mailed him more than once). He IS the voice of the Rangers, and I look forward to hearing him call his 3,000th game.