Blasting back to .500

Sometimes you get beat up good
Drive yourself crazy being misunderstood
Sometimes you want to throw the towel in
But you come out swinging like you just might win

Keep on, keep on keepin' on
Push it on down the line
Keep on, keep on keepin' on
Keep from gettin' further behind

-- "Keep On Keepin' On" by Jack Ingram

Well, the Rangers are back at .500, and they managed to do it tonight against another tough Rays pitcher, hitting Andy Sonnanstine up for 12 runs on 16 hits and chasing him after just five innings.

I guess the boys were a little frustrated after the Kazmir experience. Can't say I blame them. And people always say the best way to judge a pitcher is not by the home run he gives up, but on how he handles the batter immediately afterward. Do you suppose the same could be said for a team? They should be judged on how they rebound from a loss rather than the loss itself? I dunno. It sounds pretty good to me.

Vicente Padilla didn't evoke much confidence in me tonight. He just didn't seem to have it together. He labored pretty hard and lasted just an inning longer than his Rays counterpart. In that time, he gave up seven hits (including two home runs) and four walks. But, he managed to strike out 10. How's that for turning the tables? Everyday Eddie Guardado and Kameron Loe retained the win for Padilla. Guardado pitched one scoreless inning, striking out one and giving up one hit. Loe worked two innings and seemed to have taken a page from his roommate's gameplan by creating a little drama. He loaded the bases with no outs before fanning Hinske and getting two fly outs (one brought in a run). His 9th inning was much easier to watch -- two strike outs and a ground out.

The pitching staff owes some thanks to the offense tonight, namely Josh Hamilton and Brandon Boggs. The two drove in eight of the Rangers' 12 runs. Hamilton had an outstanding night, and ended up overshadowing Boggs' night -- 3 for 5. His average is back to .273. Not sure I'm keen on sending him back down just yet. Also...Kinsler and Young have extended their hitting streaks to 12 and 13 games, respectively. Keep it rolling, boys.

KISS: Once again, it's Josh Hamilton. The Triple Crown threat was 2 for 5 with five RBI. Of course, four of those came on a grand slam.

MISS: I don't really know. The only SLIGHT disappointment was Loe's 8th inning. But he escaped virtually unscathed, so I don't think he deserves the miss. I don't think anyone does tonight.

So Kam is in a Rangers jersey. Padilla is at 7-2. Hamilton is blowing people away with his performance. The Rangers are at .500. Two players have 10+ game hitting streaks. Murphy is on pace to break the Rangers club record for doubles by a rookie.

It's a good time to be a fan.

It's also a good time to have fellow Rangers fans as friends. I was NOT looking forward to heading back to work today, but Craig and the Snake Pit made it well worth my while. Shortly before lunch time, FedEx delivered a package to me. Inside was a C.J. Wilson bobblehead and a David Murphy player tee. A big thank you, again, to the Snake Pit. Y'all have been way too kind to me. I will find a way to properly thank you sometime.