The Rangers have placed Vicente Padilla on the 15-day disabled list with right triceps irritation and he likely won’t return until after the All-Star Break.  Padilla has said that he’s been pitching hurt for a while this season and that might explain some of his bad numbers.  Padilla has started 15 games this season and he’s 3-8 with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  He has thrown 80.2 innings this year and he’s allowed 111 hits, walked 35 batters and whiffed 47.

Frank Catalanotto has been awful so far this season for the Rangers.  He missed a little bit of time due to injury but that’s no excuse for a career .293 hitter to be hitting as poorly as he is right now.  In 36 games this season, Catalanotto is 21 for 114 (.184 avg, .539 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs.  Look for Catalanotto to get hot soon because he’s too good of a hitter to keep hitting like he has been.

The Rangers have placed Brandon McCarthy on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on his right middle finger.  He has pitched in 12 games (11 starts) for the Rangers this season and he’s 4-4 with a 5.90 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.  He has thrown 50.1 innings this season and he’s allowed 54 hits, walked 25 batters and whiffed 31.  Kameron Loe has been recalled to start in McCarthy’s place the next couple of times around the rotation.  Loe is 1-6 with a 7.40 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP so far this season for the Rangers.

Marlon Byrd has been hot with the stick lately.  In his last 6 games he’s 13 for 25 (.520 avg, 1.196 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 3 RBIs.  His recent hot streak has improved his season batting average to a gaudy .407 with a .921 OPS.  Look for Byrd to keep playing as long as he keeps hittting like he is now.

Michael Young has been on fire lately with a bat in his hands.  Over his last 6 games, Young is 14 for 27 (.519 avg, 1.145 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 7 RBIs.  His recent hot hitting has improved his season average to .284 and his OPS to .744.  Look for Young to continue swinging a good bat as he got his groove back.

The Texas Rangers have been awful the last two weeks as they are 5-8 and have been outscored 87-62!  The hitting has been better lately but the pitching has remained pathetic.  The Rangers entered this week with a 23-40 record which has them in last place in the American League West, 16.5 games behind the Angels.

The Rangers have demoted Kameron Loe to the minor leagues and he deserved to go.  In 15 games (10 starts) for the Rangers this season, Loe was 1-6 with a 7.40 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.  In 62 innings, he has allowed 84 hits, 9 homers, walked 20 batters and whiffed 35.  The Rangers haven’t decided who will replace Loe in the rotation but it probably will be righty Jamey Wright.  Wright started one game for the Rangers this season and he only lasted 2.2 innings and allowed 5 earned runs and walked 3 batters.  But Wright has pitched pretty well on his rehab assignment.  In 3 starts in the minors, Wright is 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  Don’t expect Wright to be much better than Loe.

The Texas Rangers have placed Mark Teixeira on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps muscle.  He will be impossible to replace for the Rangers.  Frank Catalanotto and Brad Wilkerson will probably split playing time at first base until Big Tex is ready to return.  Teixeira has played in 61 games this season and he’s 67 for 222 (.302 avg, .959 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 12 homers and 41 RBIs.

This was a move that was definately a needed one.  Chris Stewart has been pathetic so far this season as he often looked lost behind the plate.  In 105.1 innings behind the plate, Stewart made 2 errors and had 3 passes balls and that’s simply not acceptable in the majors.  In 17 games he was 9 for 37 (.243, .597 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs.  Melhuse is definately an upgrade on defense as Gerald Laird’s backup and he’s a better hitter than Stewart is too.  He hasn’t played much in Oakland this season and he has only played in 12 games.  In those 12 games, Melhuse was 6 for 26 (.231 avg, .602 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.  Melhuse played in Oakland when Ron Washington was the coach there so he’s probably going to comfortable in Texas.

The Rangers have started 8 different pitchers this season and only one has an ERA of under 6.28 this season (Mike Wood 5.40).  I figured I should list all of these guys so no one gets left out so here they are:  Kameron Loe, Brandon McCarthy, Robinson Tejada, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Jamey Wright, Mike Wood and John Koronka.  Millwood and Padilla are proven major league pitchers that are just off to bad starts and the Rangers think they will get turned around at some point.  Brandon McCarthy is a highly though of young pitcher that the Rangers traded two good pitching prospects for so he will get a chance to work through his current problems.  But, Kameron Loe and Robinson Tejada are both walking on thin ice as far as the Rangers are concerned.  But what could the Rangers really do here?  Mike Wood and John Koronka are no better than what they currently have in their rotation and Jamey Wright is hurt.  It’s time to panic about the Rangers starting staff because they aren’t giving the team a good shot to win ballgames.  They need to make some trades to bring in help and sooner rather than later or the season will be over soon.

The Rangers starting rotation has a 14-30 record with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP on the season between the 8 of them.