As the Yankee Stadium lovefest dwindles and the teams get back to “work”, I had to take another shot at the media. It has always been evident that if you don’t live in BosWash you really are not worthy of the sports media’s time. How convenient that the best story of the All-Star break was Josh Hamilton from our lovely home here in north central Texas. He brought the spotlight on the team and did not disappoint. I just wonder if he would not be the most loved player in baseball if he was playing in Boston or NY. The East coast bias drives me nuts sometimes.

For more statistical analysis: The current Darlings are the Rays and Marlins. Granted that it is good to see the “surprising” Rays and Marlins doing well. Honestly, the Rays getting better is not that much of a surprise. they have been competing in a tough division and improving the team every year, it was only a matter of time until they were competitive. The Marlins for that matter should not surprise anybody. They have 2 World Series titles in their short history and seem to be a very hotbed for young talent. The Yankees have surprised all of those who follow them by the lack of performance. You turn on the TV and you will get a daily breakdown of how surprising all this is. Meanwhile the Texas Rangers are in 3rd in the west and 7.5 games out of first.

Now for the stats- Tampa Bay Devil Rays are 55 -39, with the 2nd to lowest payroll at $43 mil, 0.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. That is good and does deserve some interest, BUT, they stumbled into the break on a 7 game losing streak. Here’s were I get a little worked up about not paying attention to the rest of the league: NY Yankees 50-45 6 games out with the biggest payroll at $209 mil, and the wheels are falling off so much they had to get Richie Sexson off the trash heap. The “surprising” Marlins 50-45, with the lowest payroll at $21 mil, 1.5 games back and impressing everybody with the fine young talent and playing ability.

Your Texas Rangers are 50-46, with the 21st payroll at $68 mil, 7.5 games back in the AL West. Do you see the similarities and notice how the Rangers are under the radar? The A’s are dealing everything they have and I hear how the Yanks have a good shot at the wildcard. The mighty Yankees had 3 players in the All-Star game 2 were started that were voted on by the fans. The Rays had 3, none were voted in but selected which tells me they are getting respect from the league. The Rangers had 4 All-Stars, 1 was voted in and the other 3 were selected. Josh Hamilton, HR Derby, do I need to say more. Ian Kinsler, spectacular play in the field during the game and Leading the league in hitting and a 25 game hitting streak. Milton Bradley, descent performance in the game but a really good hitter that is benefitting from hitting behind Hamilton and producing. Michael Young, game winning RBI, almost game winning RBI, solid in the field and always does what is needed to win.

It gives me great pause to talk good about the Rangers at the break. They are usually better in the second half. They also have a large contingent of young players. Including 3 starters in the rotation at the moment, a 1B, CF, LF, and 2 Catchers, with the DL full of starters trying to get back. I am just asking those in the media to look around once in a while, there is a long way to go and I am excited to see how this all washes out.