In a Friday staple, we'll discuss who's in a groove and who's in a rut for the Texas Rangers.
Who's on?
Lance Berkman — Berkman is 6-for-10 so far in a Rangers uniform with a double and three RBIs. He's also drawn three walks, which is Berkman's calling card — getting on base. Granted, those first 10 at-bats came against his former team in his hometown, but it was a good start, nonetheless.
Nelson Cruz — This one is a bit surprising. Cruz has been hot in the first three games, going 6-for-12, also with a double and three RBIs. Cruz is a streaky player at the plate, but it's nice to see him come out of the gates on a hot streak.
Elvis Andrus — Andrus had two triples the other night, tying a club record for triples in a game and is hitting .308, but he's also "on" off the field after making his eight-year $120-million contract extension official on Thursday and saying all the right things in regards to his wanting to be a Ranger for a very long time.
Yu Darvish — 26 up, 26 down. Duh.
Who's Not?
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Matt Harrison — Harrison had a pretty rough spring and that carried over into Sunday's season opener as he battled with control problems despite striking out a career-high nine batters. Harrison took the loss in what might have been a perfect storm, going up against an awful Astros lineup playing out of its mind with all the hype surrounding their AL debut.
Mitch Moreland — Needing a big season to perhaps keep his job as the Rangers' everyday first baseman, Moreland isn't off to a good start despite having a torrid spring at the plate. The trimmed down Moreland is 0-for-11 to start the year with three strikeouts.
Leonys Martin — An early favorite to get the majority of the playing time in Ron Washington's center field platoon, Martin has gotten off to a rough start in his two starts out of three games. He's 0-for-6 with two strikeouts.
