Tearing it Up
BILL'S COME DUE ... What is it about the starting catching position for the Rangers? When All-World Pudge Rodriguez went down on July 24, backup Bill Haselman was hitting all of .244 with no homers and five RBI in just 44 at-bats. Since then, Haselman has exploded to hit .381 (16-for-42) with two homers and 12 RBI and is suddenly an attractive fantasy prospect in the catching-poor AL. Although veteren minor league call-up B.J. Waszgis got his first major league start Sunday and went 1-for-3 with an RBI, he is likely to play about as much behind Haselman as Haselman played behind Pudge.

Slumping
LEADING OFF ... Maybe the fact that Luis Alicea didn't get traded last week had something to do with other teams noticing his 10-for-49 (.204) slide, and the fact that his average has plummeted from .312 to .294. over the course of just 12 games. It’s just the third time since May 5 that Luis has been below .300. Ricky Ledee, who did come over at the deadline, is just 3-for23 (.130) in eight games as a Ranger. Though Ledee has been handed the RF job for the remainder of the season (thus the trade of Martinez), one suspects the former Yankee phenom may be more Ruben Rivera than Bernie Williams.

At the Plate
KAP -N- CAT ... Gabe Kapler continued his blistering pace by extending his consecutive game hitting streak to 20 through Sunday and is now hitting a solid .278. Meanwhile, Frank Catalanotto, who leads the AL in pinch-hitting, is finally getting regular playing time at DH following the trade of David Segui. Unfortunately, Cat’s hitting just .255 (24-for-94) in his last 35 games to drop from .600 to .346; nonetheless, he is eligible everywhere in the infield except SS and could merit a pickup. Royce Clayton extended his own hitting streak to 12 games and bumped his average to .256.

Probable Starters August 7, R. Helling @ CLE August 8, K. Rogers @ CLE August 9, M. Perisho @ CLE August 11, D. Davis vs. BOS August 12, R. Glynn vs. BOS

From the Rubber
WE THREE KIDS ... OK, they're not Hudson, Zito and Mulder (much less Glavine, Smoltz and Avery) but the Rangers are committed to learning about their own three kid pitchers. So lefties Matt Perisho (2-3, 5.83) and Doug Davis (4-3, 7.49) and righty Ryan Glynn (3-1, 4.22) will take regular turns through the end of the season. Davis' ERA is misleading due to a couple of rough early outings, but he is still too erratic for fantasy consideration. The inconsistent Perisho has the highest upside, but Glynn is the guy you might take a look at if you need to fill a rotation slot in an AL-only league.

On the Mend
BLAME IT ON THE PAIN ... Sometimes it's all perspective. Consider that the Rangers have lost Pudge Rodriguez, Ruben Mateo, Justin Thompson, Tom Evans, Danny Kolb, and Mike Munoz for the entire season, and Rusty Greer, Gabe Kapler, Frank Catalanotto, and Darren Oliver for good chunks of the year. (OK, losing Oliver may do more good than harm.) Take your first-place darling Chicago White Sox and remove Frank Thomas, Carlos Lee, Jim Parque, Greg Norton, Kelly Wunsch and Bill Simas, and add injuries to Magglio Ordonez, Chris Singleton, and a couple of others ... and where would they be? Exactly ...