Texas Rangers

With Texas Rangers’ pitcher Rich Harden impressing in his last rehab start on Monday (10 K’s over six innings) in Triple-A, it has been speculated that Harden will take the struggling Scott Feldman’s spot in the rotation. It’s quite possible that Harden could start as early as this weekend for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I think the Rangers are making a mistake. I think the Rangers should use Harden out of the bullpen upon his return. Here are the reasons for my thinking.

Amid intensifying trade negotiations for Florida Marlin Jorge Cantu, the Texas Rangers have reportedly lost interest in Boston third baseman Mike Lowell, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

Texas' fluctuating interest in Boston's oft-injured backup third baseman has been well documented, and this writer most recently covered it in another article primarily dealing with Detroit's reported interest in Lowell.

Fresh off two straight one-run wins against their division rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Texas Rangers have boosted their lead to seven games in the AL West and sport a healthy 57-40 record in 2010.

While some fans have been surprised by the great play from the Rangers in the first 97 games this season, there were a lot of experts out there who predicted a division championship for Texas this year.

No, there is no talk of a new prospective owner of the Rangers moving the team to Cuba. But will the Rangers soon be a Cuban team?

The well-publicized bankruptcy of the Rangers becomes more of a headache with each passing day. Every day this situation goes unresolved is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Yes, they will. Guaranteed.

If I were in Vegas, I'd place my entire savings on the odds that the Rangers will go into the playoffs as the AL West winner.

Living in the Dallas area my entire life, the talk has always been: "next year" or "They'll fade after the All-Star break." And, until now, that talk has always been true and relevant. But, not this year. And here's why:

July 6, 2010. It was another game day in Major League Baseball and a week before the All-Star break. As teams tried to finish the first half of the season on a good note, 20,428 fans entered Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play the Cleveland Indians.

On a day when 84 degrees is not a typical Texas summer day, the weather wasn't the only thing out of the normal on that Tuesday night.

After dealing Justin Smoak and his right-handed bat for Cliff Lee, the Texas Rangers may have increased interest in reviving an offseason trade for Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, according to WEEI Sportsradio Network's Rob Bradford.

Both Smoak's departure and corner-infielder Chris Davis' offensive struggles may force the American League West leaders to acquire a player of Lowell's caliber to at least platoon with the likes of Davis.

With Cliff Lee’s struggles last night against the Orioles, some have declared that Lee cannot continue his All-Star performance for the Rangers, citing all sorts of stats to back up their panic. I say it’s still too early to worry.

The last stop on our trade deadline needs tour is in the American League West. The West has two teams that will be buyers and those teams are the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

We have already seen how serious the Rangers are this trade season as they acquired Cliff Lee from division rival Seattle earlier in the week. Here are the deadline needs for the Rangers and Angels.

Texas Rangers

Record: 50-37, first place in AL West

Needs: Starting Pitching, Backup Infielder