Back when Lance Berkman was struggling and the Texas Rangers couldn't get anything going in the heart of their lineup, thanks to a big bag of nothing in the No. 3 spot, the Rangers stuck a red-hot Nelson Cruz there, even though he wasn't a prototypical 3-hitter.
The results were great and helped rejuvenate the Rangers' struggling lineup.
When Cruz was popped with a 50-game suspension for PEDs at the beginning of August, the Rangers were in a similar predicament and Ian Kinsler couldn't pick up the slack.
On Sunday, Ron Washington rolled the dice again with a guy that might not be the prototype No. 3 hitter but was hot, nonetheless, and it paid off as newly acquired Alex Rios went 2-for-4 with a homer and a late RBI double to help the Rangers salvage a win and avoid a sweep, and most importantly keep pace with Oakland, which had beaten Houston.
So while Rios might not be the Rangers' No. 3 hitter next season, it certainly can't hurt to put him there now with a few weeks remaining in the regular season and with the Rangers needing all the offensive help they can get.
