Thursday Morning Rangers Notes

A few things out there this morning that merit some attention going into a more compelling-than-expected four-game set at Cleveland (though the fact that Dave Bush will be making the spot start in place of Matt Harrison tonight doesn't engender great excitement:

- Colby Lewis successfully outdueled David Price on Wednesday afternoon with eight frames of shutout baseball on four hits and two walks against eight strikeouts; since allowing six earned runs in five innings against the Blue Jays on April 25th, Lewis has logged 53 innings across seven starts -- or roughly 7.2 innings per start on average -- while allowing just 12 earned runs (2.04 ERA) with 41 strikeouts against just 10 walks (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

- According to John Perrotto, the Rangers would consider trading David Murphy in exchange for pitching help, but would prefer to move Julio Borbon instead; additionally, one scout said the following of Mike Napoli to Perrotto: "I don't understand why no one will commit to making him an everyday designated hitter. I know he has deficiencies behind the plate and that he tends to be really streaky as a hitter. He has a great eye, though, and when he gets hot, look out. I'd love to see what he could do with 600 at-bats" (Baseball Prospectus)

- After Tuesday night's late-inning bullpen fiasco, Ron Washington says that he plans to revert Arthur Rhodes' role to that of a situational lefty, and will no longer be caught flat-footed without a right-hander warming up behind him: "He has been a guy who has been able to go through a lineup when it is left-right-left-right. But with his struggles, I've got to protect him more. When I bring him in, I've got to make sure I have protection." (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)