Monday Morning Open Thread: Four Questions

Yorvit Torrealba celebrates the news that Dr. Dre's "Detox" is finally in the mixing process.1. Are you down with the Rangers' apparent plan to roll with David Murphy in left field, Josh Hamilton in center field, and Nelson Cruz in right field for the duration of the playoffs, even though Murphy's late-season surge has still left his numbers looking dreadful against left-handers (116 PA, .208/.267/.226)? Should the ideal approach be to roll with a Hamilton/Gentry/Cruz alignment against southpaws?

2. As far as I see it, the Rangers have 13 position players, four starting pitchers, and six relief pitchers all but locked into their playoff roster. Which two players currently sitting on the roster bubble out of Michael Kirkman, Darren O'Day, Scott Feldman, Yoshinori Tateyama, and Matt Treanor should the Rangers carry to war in the divisional playoff round?

3. Since we last checked in on Mitch Moreland earlier this month, the ill wind that was already blowing around his season has grown stronger; he's 11 for his last 75 with four walks against 25 strikeouts dating back to August 21st, and is now hitting just .260/.321/.415 (95 wRC+; 0.5 fWAR) for the season as a whole, which is threatening to fall behind Yorvit Torrealba's seasonal production. How should Texas use their hard-slumping first baseman in October?

4. Is baseball's current initiative to introduce a fifth wild-card playoff spot -- and the ensuing one-game playoff between the two wild-card teams in each league -- a great idea that adds excitement to the playoffs, or an ill-conceived money grab?