Okay, so Dustin (or shall I say Black Francis) doesn't care about our fantasy leagues.  But judging off the multiple LSB leagues that I remember popping up pre-season, most of us around here do care.

ESPN keeper league, started by gossamer:  I actually won!  Followed by jetstream jenny's (??) and gossamer. 

That should make you all ashamed, given that I finished 11 out of 15 on Rangers Boardies FBL B and 11 out of 18 on the mammoth 18 player Lonestarball league (both on yahoo).  I just couldn't field a decent offense in either large league.

How did the rest of you do?  Should we post final standings here for people to see and mock us for?

or why JBImaknee is getting off the 2009 bandwagon and learned to love the trade deadline.

The posts in the morning update are somewhat bothersome to me.  Not because the complaints about where Borbon bats or why Byrd is playing are without merit, but because they are minor and just examples of getting outraged because people are just mad and looking for something to scream about. Where Borbon hits is really irrelevant.  Bat him 4th or 9th for all I care.  Bickering about where a guy hits in a lineup in his first week is silly.  Davis vs Blalock (Josey and Adam's favorite argument) is a waste of time - both are awful players right now.  Why Byrd is playing?  Why does Wash hate Boggs?  Why we should believe Chris Davis has finally turned a corner.  Blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, here is my point.  Once you get to a point where arguing where Borbon should hit or which 4th outfielder should play more, or which horrific 1b option should get the honor of striking out 3 times against lefties, you're basically admitting that there is nothing really to do.

This team is sinking right now.  Fast.  I've never looked at the schedule before and hoped that the All Star Break was closer than it is, but I am now.  This team is in a funk that is about to send them into 3rd place and very likely at or below .500 by the All Star Break.  Furthermore, the Angels are not as bad as everyone constantly says they are, and Seattle isn't going to wilt away like we all would have hoped.  The AL West isn't strong this year, but it isn't the NL West from recent years where a mediocre .500ish club like the Rangers would compete.  Is Josh Hamilton alone going to recharge an offense that is fundamentally flawed?  I don't think so.

So I think that Borbon is the first "Play for 2010" move that we're going to see.  The fact that the team is playing badly gives JD & co. a good rationale to bring up kids, just as they would in a pure rebuilding year.  In a month or so, we'll see Feliz, and soon after probably Smoak (maybe even sooner).

I think that in a few weeks, the debates will be how much the Rangers can get for Kevin Millwood (who may well be the best starting pitcher on the market), whether they can get anything for Vizquel (or whether they should) or Byrd or even Murphy, or if any team will take Blalock or Padilla in August when they'd only have to pay a month or so salary.  Whether this team should finally move on from AAAA types like Mathis and Mendoza, or whether we should give them one last shot to earn a spot in the Rangers bright future.  But that future isn't now.

I'm depressed.

There was some interesting discussion over this last series on what do with LSB's favorite first baseman.  We all know the extreme negative stats:  he's on pace to shatter the strike out record, leading all MLB players with 77 Ks; he has a sub-200 batting average (4th lowest in baseball) and an OBP at .253 (2nd lowest).  He nonetheless has 12 HRs already, giving him a pace for nearly 40 on the season despite not being able to do anything else at the plate.  And his defense has not only been better than expected, but actually a big asset to this club right now.

From what I can tell, the arguments are no longer about whether Davis is helping or hurting the team as he is playing now; but really what is best to do with him.  It boils down to three questions: 1) Can Davis emerge from this slump on his own at the big league level?; 2) Developmentally, is there any long-term harm in sending him to AAA or keeping him in the big leagues?; 3) Who would replace him at the bag? 

I don't want it to seem like I'm beating a dead horse, because I think the arguments from both sides are interesting and convincing (my snide signature aside).  So since we have an off day, I thought it'd be a good idea to have a poll and get some heated, but intelligent, discussion going.  After you vote, specify in the comments why you voted that way, and if you send Davis down, what your plan is for first base.