Tearing it Up
WELCOME BACK ... That Juan Gonzalez trade is looking better all the time. Gabe "Kotter" Kapler's club-record 27-game hitting streak -- still in progress as of Monday night -- has launched the muscle magazine cover boy's stats well past respectability. While Juando has hit .286/18/49 in 85 games and 343 AB for Detroit, Gabe is at .290/10 40 in 81 games and 307 AB for Texas. Throw in the fact that Kapler has 6 SB to Gonzo’s zero and is playing a stellar CF -- and don’t forget that Texas also picked up streaky-hot utilityman Frank Catalonotto and promising lefty starter Justin Thompson in the deal.

Slumping
LEFT OUT ... Mercurial SS Royce Clayton is just 2-for-25 (.080) in his last 7 games, while 3B Mike Lamb is 1-for-19 (.026) in that same span. That's an .068 week from left side of the Texas infield ... ouch. Behind the plate, Bill Haselman has come back to earth after fooling fantasy owners everywhere with a .460 explosion after Pudge’s injury; he has just four hits and one RBI (a solo homer) in his last 24 AB to drop to 273 overall. And John Wetteland has exactly zero saves since July 25. Any wonder the Rangers haven't been above .500 since June 9, when they were 30-29?

At the Plate
THE ANTI-MENDOZA LINE ... Kapler, currently hitting .290, is aiming to raise his batting average over .300. If he fails in that quest, the only Rangers with more than 350 AB likely to finish the year over the .300 mark are Pudge Rodriguez (.347) and David Segui (.336), neither of whom will have appeared for the Rangers in the final two months. If Catalanotto continues to DH regularly, he could reach the 350 AB mark; his .359 average would lead the team. In no danger of reaching .300 is Ricky Ledee; despite a grand slam Saturday, Ledee is just 10-for-47 (.213) with nine RBI in 15 games for Texas.

Probable Starters August 15, D. Davis vs. NYY August 16, J. Johnson vs. NYY August 17, R. Helling @ BOS August 18, K. Rogers @ BOS August 19, M. Perisho @ BOS

From the Rubber
GO THE DISTANCE? ... The Rangers do not have a complete game victory this season; in fact, only Kenny Rogers has managed to finish what he started, in a complete game 5-1 loss to the Yankees way back on April 13. The veteran lefty is coming off two typically solid eight-inning appearances; he split decisions with Cleveland and Boston. On the opposite end of the spectrum, young southpaw Matt Perisho got rocked by both the Indians and the Yankees and has lost five straight decisions. He did strike out a career-best eight batters in six innings against New York, but that's nothing to get excited about.

On the Mend
RYAN'S HOPE ... The Texas heat causes many a fainting spell in the dog days of August, but few are as publicized as the one rookie right-hander Ryan Glynn experienced last Friday. After throwing 95 pitches in typical 98-degree heat, Glynn fainted in the dugout after being removed. The Rangers originally thought Glynn would make his next scheduled start, Wednesday against the Yankees, but have instead decided to move him to the 15-day DL retroactive to Saturday. Glynn (3-2/4.70) will miss at least two starts and is likely to be replaced by fellow rookie righty Jonathan Johnson (0-0/2.57 in 7 IP).