On Saturday afternoon when it was announced Nelson Cruz would hit the 15-day DL with a quad injury, a collective deep sigh went out amongst Rangers nation.
True, Cruz has struggled mightily since he opened the season on a home run tear and has more resembled his spring training, when he was not good.
He's hitting just .219 right now, so there's not much productivity taken out of the lineup, but that's not the point.
Cruz being out of the lineup in favor of Craig Gentry — yes, Craig Gentry — takes a lot of the "wow factor" and intimidation out of the Rangers' lineup.
With Josh Hamilton out for at the very least two more weeks, that leaves the Rangers' outfield options at Julio Borbon, who's started to come around at the plate but is far from intimidating, Craig Gentry, David Murphy and at times Mitch Moreland.
Gentry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in his 2011 Rangers debut after starting the season at Triple-A Round Rock, and he's a good player. There was a lot of talk about pulling him up to replace Borbon when he was struggling so much earlier in the season, but ideally, you don't want Craig Gentry playing in your lineup every day.
Rangers fans should just hope this little DL stint can recharge Cruz's batteries and he can get back to where he was last season. It's obvious the Rangers need it.
