Back in the win column

I got a little greedy in New York. I wanted the sweep so badly that I had trouble appreciating a series win. But I put the game behind me (for the most part) and looked forward to Baltimore. Camden Yards just isn't nearly as intimidating of a venue as Yankee Stadium. I thought for sure my boys would be a little frustrated after game three with the Yankees and really come out swinging. Wrong. Vicente Padilla crumbled either from injury (strained neck muscle and bruised thumb) or ineffectiveness. Probably both. And Jeremy Guthrie seemed to have all his good stuff for our offense. The 10-4 loss was pretty tough to swallow. Thank goodness I had a Gimikk performance and fireworks to salvage my 4th of July and help me forget.

Today's game helped too, although the beginning wasn't so pretty. Scott Feldman looked like he was in trouble during his first swing through the Orioles' batting order. But then he settled down and kept it together, churning out another quality start and holding the O's to just three runs in six innings of work. His buddies in the bullpen -- Frankie Francisco, Eddie Guardado and C.J. Wilson -- helped him get his third win of the season by holding the orange birds scoreless.

Meanwhile, Scott finally got a little run support. There have been too many games where Scott was throwing well, but the bats just weren't going. But Kinsler lead off with a double and then Young singled him in to give the Rangers a first inning lead. They surrendered it temporarily in the bottom of the first, but they surged back in the 6th when German Duran hit a two-out double and then Kinsler followed up with a souvenir shot to left field. That was all they needed to secure the win, but they added another insurance run in the 8th as Max Ramirez crossed the plate when Michael Young hit into double play with no outs and the bases loaded.

Max Ramirez wasn't even supposed to be in the game, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia had to leave the game in the middle of his at bat in the top of the 6th. Turns out he has a strained right groin. Hopefully that won't keep him out for too long. We're already down one catcher (Laird) and our options for backup there aren't great. Don't get me wrong -- I think very highly of Ramirez and Teagarden (arguably our top catching prospects), but I do not want Teagarden leaving AAA (where he's playing nearly everyday) to come up to the bigs and sit on the bench. It's bad enough Ramirez is doing a lot of that now. If the call has to be made for another catcher, I sincerely hope the Rangers bring up Kevin Richardson instead. He's been in the system a long time, and most of the pitchers are very familiar with him. I remember once reading from C.J. Wilson that K-Rich calls the best game he's ever seen. C.J. doesn't dole out praise that's undeserved. At least not in my estimation.

Speaking of C.J., I love the version of him we've seen on this roadtrip. He is simply lights out. Whatever he did to get his mechanics and technique sorted out, I love it. He's working fast and getting strikeouts. Now that's a closer. Our closer.

I can't forget to mention German Duran. He said he got to the ballpark early today to work with Rudy Jaramillo. It was a much-needed session as Duran had been struggling at the plate lately. Although part of that is due to his extended time on the bench behind the hot Ramon Vazquez. Coming into tonight's game, Duran was just 4 for his last 24. Tonight, he went 3 for 3 with two runs scored. Keep it up, kid.

KISS: Ian Kinsler. He extended his hit streak to 17 games (though he'll probably have to double it to get much attention from that sports network) and went 2 for 3 with two RBI. It was his home run that made all the difference in the game and his penchant for lead-off doubles is hot.

MISS: Byrd, Davis and Saltalamacchia. All three of them have BAs in the lower-.200 range. Tonight, they were a combined 0 for 12. Davis' outing tonight really doesn't concern me too much. I do worry about the other two. I loved Byrd's contributions last year and I still want to see Salty really break out. I think he's capable of it, he just hasn't managed it yet.

TBS will announce the All-Star Game starting lineup tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST this is during the Rangers/Orioles game, so I'm not sure how I'll keep up with both (I guess that's what DVR is for, but I want to watch both LIVE!!). If you believe the New York Post's article, the lineups have already been leaked. I can't find the link now, which makes me think it's a hoax. Of course, I don't want to believe it, but I'm sure it will prove to be true. If it is, Kinsler failed to beat Boston's Dustin Pedroia out for the start at 2B. Absolute crap. Stupid east coast bias. I'm so sick of it. Kinsler is the better player. Hands down. He'll be there either way. That much, I'm sure of. And if he doesn't start, it means just one thing -- when he replaces Pedroia late in the game, he'll have the game-winning hit and win the ASG MVP Award just like Young did a few years ago. That's not such a bad consolation prize.

We all know Hamilton and Young will likely make this year's roster. I'd like to see Milton Bradley go as well. The guy's been such a contributor to this team. On the National League side, I, of course, voted mostly for Cubs. They are my NL team, afterall. I still love DeRosa like he's a Ranger, and I'm absolutely giddy over the season Geovany Soto is having as catcher. I watched him for a long time in Iowa, wondering when he'd get the call-up. The Cubs infuriated me by continuing to try and find other catching options (Jason Kendall anyone?) when their gem was biding his time and tearing up AAA. I guess he's showing them now. He's currently sitting on a .291 batting average with 14 dingers and 51 RBI. Not too shabby for a rookie!!!