Tearing it Up
PROPS TO THE KIDS ... The righty/lefty rookie combo of Ryan Glynn and Doug Davis has given the Ranger faithful hope for 2001. After a win Friday, Glynn (4-2, 4.42 in his last seven starts) was all but promised a rotation slot next year by Johnny Oates who said "It would be hard to visualize him not in the rotation, with the way he's pitching. How could you take him out?" Davis, though knocked around a little by KC on Saturday, has been solid since his Aug. 20 complete game victory. What ever happened to that other promising lefty anyway? Oh, right ... the 7.19 ERA has Matt Perisho buried deep in the bullpen.

Slumping
WINLESS ... Back on Aug. 21 in this space, I noted that the Rangers' "other" righty/lefty combo of Rick Helling and Kenny Rogers was second in the AL with a combined 25 wins. Now, nearly three weeks later, they’ve increased that total to ... uh, 25. Helling hasn't won since Aug. 12 and Rogers is winless since Aug. 8. During the stretch since, Texas starters have combined for just six victories: three by Davis, two by Glynn, and one by one-hit wonder Brian Sikorski, who we think used to be with Dexy's Midnight Runners. Still, Helling/Rogers/Glynn/Davis sounds promising for 2001.

At the Plate
FEET OF CLAYTON ... About all you can say for disappointing SS Royce Clayton is that he plays every day. While he leads the Rangers in games played, he's hitting just .242 and has gone 51 games since his last home run. Though he is tied with Gabe Kapler for the team lead in steals with eight, some pre-season projections had him swiping 35-40. The club called up former shortstop-of-the-future Kelly Dransfeldt, but he’s been even more disappointing than Clayton and could be released after the season ... Why is Scarborough Green in the major leagues? He's hitting .125 (5-for-40) over the last 10 weeks.

Probable Starters Sept. 10, D. Oliver @ KC Sept. 12 (1), R. Helling vs. BAL Sept. 12 (2), K. Rogers vs. BAL Sept. 13, R. Glynn vs. BAL Sept. 14, D. Davis vs. KC

From the Rubber
STILL MORE SHELDON ... Those wacky kids maintaining the Rangers Clubhouse page here at ESPN.com have Sheldon listed as the team leader in ERA (0.00). To be fair, his one-third of an inning, one-strikeout appearance was the most dominant performance out of the Ranger bullpen this season ... Much like Glynn and Davis, another young Ranger hurler is carving a niche for 2001. Former first-rounder Jonathan Johnson has allowed just one earned run in 7.2 IP since returning to Texas September 1 ... John Wetteland recently joined John Franco as the only active relievers with eight 30-save seasons.

On the Mend
CATCHING UP ... In the only injury news that really matters to Texas fans, Pudge Rodriguez (The Best Catcher in the World) will have the splint removed from his right thumb next week and then start rehab. He should be ready by Spring Training. In other catching news, Bill Haselman has been slowed by a strained right side muscle, which means more time for spare part B.J. Waszgis and led to the callup of ultimate spare part Randy Knorr ... Darren Oliver made an impressive return from rehab (6 IP, 6 H 1 ER), unfortunately leading some of the decision-makers in the Texas front office to conclude that he doesn't suck.