And The Beat Goes On: July 7th

I've lost track of which songs I have and haven't linked by this point, but here's a pretty chill deep-house track from St. Germain called "Pont Des Arts":

● Richard Durrett and Anthony Andro both talk about the Rangers' triumphant three-game sweep of the Orioles, capped by yesterday's 13-5 throttling, which elicited the following remarks from Elvis Andrus: "Before the last three or four games, our energy wasn't inning by inning. Now everybody is hustling every inning, every at-bat. The intensity we have right now is what we need to play with the entire year." Too bad the Rangers lost their edge already.

● Evan Grant and Durrett both report on the Nomar Mazara press conference and afternoon festivities, which includes some details on the immediate plans for his development (a return to the Rangers' Dominican academy, followed by a trip to the fall instructional league, followed by a pro-ball assignment next spring), and the first disclosure I've seen that the Rangers are about to formalize contracts with Venezuelan lefty Yohander Mendez -- who is in line to nab seven figures -- and Dominican outfielder Ronald Guzman.

● Norm Hitzges talked to Jon Daniels yesterday about the Rangers' international talent acquisition process and his thoughts on the trade market, and the biggest takeaways here are that (a) Daniels is vehemently opposed to multi-year deals for relievers, and (b) the Rangers still crave a front-line starting pitcher, but aren't sure that that kind of guy is out there on the market this summer.

● Gil LeBreton writes about Ron Washington attempting to groom Elvis Andrus for the path to greatness by keeping him properly focused. Andro talks about the Rangers' disappointment at Brandon Webb's season-ending setback. Drew Davison writes that tonight's start will have no bearing on whether Derek Holland remains in the rotation, and that the organization hasn't lent serious consideration to the idea of pulling him from the rotation, while Richard Durrett says that Scott Feldman has to be recalled from his rehab assignment Monday and then activated after the All-Star break begins. Dave Bush was placed on irrevocable release waivers yesterday.