And The Beat Goes On: March 5th

Ten years ago today, this was the No. 1 song in America. Ten years later, Ja Rule is in prison on tax-evasion charges, and Ashanti is I-don't-know-where doing who-knows-what:

● Richard Durrett recaps the high and low points of yesterday's forgettable Rangers-Royals debut, and writes that even though Michael Kirkman appears as though he was shelled in the box score, he actually pitched rather well, with Kirkman being satisfied by how well he jammed the lefty hitters that he faced. Jeff Wilson also writes about the game. So does T.R. Sullivan, who says that Colby Lewis is happy with his performance as well. I can't wait until the first time somebody gets clubbed for 6-7 runs and says that they feel as though they pitched pretty well.

● Randy Galloway has a refreshingly even-keeled column about how the Rangers' rotation is built around talent and not established names, which includes these remarks from Mike Maddux on Derek Holland:

"The balance is what we had, and I think what we still have," he said. "We don't have a drop-off. There's not one guy to shoulder the load. One through five, we have an equal chance to win.

"With Derek I don't necessarily look first at the 16 wins, or that Game 4. I look at the nearly 200 innings [198] as the big breakthrough for him. When you are logging those kind of innings, it means you are giving the team a chance to win when you go out there. That was Derek's major move up last season."

Jeff Wilson also has a column up on Holland, talking about how his "goofy" antics do not mirror his dedication to his craft or his seriousness about winning. I'm not sure what it says that there are people who are actually perturbed by his bits to the point of being upset and/or questioning his dedication. I wonder if those people and the body language crowd are kindred spirits at heart.

● T.R. Sullivan writes about an aw-shucks David Murphy and how he's cool with being a fourth outfielder even though he's rather start and how he'd probably be the straw that stirred the Rangers' drink if not for the FOTF. I may or may not be embellishing my description.

● Sullivan's notes include stuff on Mitch Moreland's wrist and Mike Olt taking up first base in addition to his existing gig at third base. Jeff Wilson has some notes on Matt West's rehab, Yorvit Torrealba, and other things.