BY PAT DORWIN
SPORTSWRITER
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TRANSACTION.
SUCH IS LIFE WHEN YOU'RE PART OF A PROFESSIONAL SPORTS ORGANIZATION SEEKING AN IDENTITY WHILE TRYING TO LURE NEW OWNERSHIP WHILE BEING RUN BY THE LEAGUE ITSELF.
THE RANGERS BINGE-AND-PURGE MORE THAN ANY ACTRESS UNDER THE AGE OF 30 EVER HAS.
IT SEEMS LIKE INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER DAN RAJKOWSKI IS HOPING PLAYSTATION3 SEASON TWO-2010 WILL EVAPORATE MUCH AS SEASON ONE-2010 DISAPPEARED FROM THE COMPUTER SCREEN.
"THAT'S REALLY NOT THE CASE," SAYS RAJKOWSKI. "WE'VE MADE PLENTY OF OFFERS AND GOT NO TAKERS - IT'S SURE TOUGH - IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE - TO PASS ON GUYS LIKE (FELIX) HERNANDEZ, JOSH JOHNSON AND COLE HAMELS."
HAMELS WAS ACQUIRED MAY 21 FROM ATLANTA ALONG WITH 2B IAN KINSLER AND CATCHER JASON JARAMILLO. GOING TO THE BRAVES WERE HEAVY-HITTING SHORTSTOP YUNAR ESCOBAR, RECENTLY ACQUIRED BACKSTOP YORVIT TORREALBA AND ONCE-PROMISING THIRD BASEMAN ANDY MARTE,
"YUNAR DID EVERYTHING WE ASKED OF HIM AND MORE," SAID RAJKOWSKI. "HE WAS ABOUT TO TAKE OVER THE ONE OR TWO SPOTS IN THE BATTING ORDER."
RAJKOWSKI SAID CONTRACT-LENGTH AGAIN PLAYED INTO THIS DEAL, AS HAS BEEN THE CASE IN MANY PICKUPS. HE ADDED KINSLER MAY SEE TIME AT SHORTSTOP, ALTHOUGH THE EMERGENCE OF ROOKIES EDDY CRAMM AND TOSHIHSHA UCHIDA (CURRENTLY DISABLED WITH BACK PROBLEMS) MAY LEAVE KINSLER AT SECOND BASE, MOVING SKIP SCHUMAKER TO THE OUTFIELD.
THE 16-27 RANGERS ARE EIGHT GAMES BACK IN THE WEST AND NINE BACK OF WILD CARD LEADERS CHICAGO.
"WE'VE HAD A STREAKY MONTH OF MAY," RAJKOWSKI UNDERSTATED.
THE STREAKY RANGERS HAVE GONE 5-1, 1-5, 4-0 BEFORE DROPPING THEIR LAST FOUR GAMES.
NOTES:CRAMM HAS SHOWN AN INREDIBLE KNACK FOR TURNING A DOUBLE-PLAY FROM SECOND-BASE, AND THE 5-FOOT-6, 150-POUNDER IS PONDERING A RETURN TO SWITCH-HITTING. THE 24-YEAR-OLD ABANDONED IT AFTER HIS FIRST TWO PROFESSIONAL SEASONS AFTER HITTING. 303 RIGHT-HANDED BUT 40 POINTS LOWER FROM THE LEFT-SIDE.
"I SAW A SET OF TEAM CARDS IN THE GIFT SHOP, AND MINE SHOWED ME BATTING LEFT-HANDED IN A EXHIBITION HERE AT THE STADIUM WHEN I WAS 19," CRAMM SAID.
HITTING COACH CLINT HURDLE EXPECTS CRAMM TO TEST HIMSELF SOON.
UCHIDA WAS A REVELATION IN HIS SHORT TIME BEFORE STRAINING HIS LOWER BACK, GOING 4-FOR-7 WITH 3 RUNS DRIVEN IN.
"THE EMERGENCE OF HIM AND CRAMM ALLOWED US TO TRADE YUNEL," RAJKOWSKI SAID.
ESCOBAR HAD SCORED ONLY NINE RUNS, WHILE DRIVING IN 17, BUT HAD ONE OF THE CLUB'S HIGHER ON-BASE PERCENTAGES.
STAT STRETCH
(STATS WITH OTHER MLB TEAMS INCLUDED)
AB H AVG HR RBI
JARAMILLO 54 21 . 389 0 6
DOLAN 50 19 .380 1 9
SCHUMAKER 36 107 .336 0 5
BRAUN 54 169 ,320 10 28
CRAMM 5 17 .294 1 1
L ORTIZ 11 38 .289 1 3
MORNEAU 45 158 .285 13 31
SWISHER 31 117 .265 11 23
CRUISE 34 137 .248 8 19
GROSS 3 13 .231 0 1
KINSLER 33 148 .223 10 27
WOOTEN 4 22 .182 0 0
ZIMMER 1 9 .111 0 0 1
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