The Rangers gave up on outfielder Nelson Cruz last spring, but then again, so did the rest of baseball. That may just end up being the Rangers' very good fortune.
Cruz, who hit a pair of home runs Wednesday in an 8-5 win over Cleveland, cleared waivers at the end of spring training last year. He was sent to the minors, where he tore up the Class AAA Pacific Coast League for the second consecutive year. When he got back to the majors for the last month of the 2008 season, he appeared to be a different player. He laid off some breaking pitches and hit .331 with seven homers in 31 games. According to Cruz, though, the transformation began a year earlier when farm director Scott Servais suggested he open his stance a little more to enable him a better view of the pitch. Taking that one small step with his left foot was supposed to help him better recognize the pitch and stay away from those breaking balls. That's one small step for Cruz and perhaps one giant step for the Rangers.
Since that suggestion, counting Cruz's major league time in late 2007, late 2008 and early 2009, he is a .303 hitter with 15 home runs, 51 RBIs, a .368 on-base percentage and a .905 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
"I know now that my approach at the plate and the work that I put in before and after the game are making things come true for me," Cruz said. "When I made the change, I felt like I could finally really see the ball. That helped a lot."
And Cruz, who is batting fifth for the Rangers this season, could help the club out a lot by protecting Nos. 3-4 hitters Josh Hamilton and a combination of DHs Andruw Jones (vs. left-handers) and Hank Blalock (vs. right-handers).
"This is stuff we've known he was capable of doing," Michael Young said of Cruz. "He can do big things for our offense. It would be huge to have another big bat in the middle of the lineup, and we would love for it to be Nelly."
RANGERS 8, INDIANS 5: The Rangers keep trying to turn back the clock. They might just go back to the good old days with one more win. On Monday, they beat Cleveland to win a season opener for the first time since 2003. On Wednesday, the team slugged three homers and a total of seven extra-base hits to hold off the Indians once again and start 2-0 for the first time since 2000. If the Rangers finish off the sweep Thursday, it will be their first 3-0 start since 1996. In Texas, anything that stacks up favorably with the 1996 team is a good sign. That was the first division winner in club history.
"We feel like we accomplished a lot in spring training; we came out healthy and confident and built some camaraderie and team chemistry," said 3B Michael Young, who is 2-0 for the first time in his career. "I think we've shown that in the first two games."
The win put the Rangers in first place in the AL West, a half-game ahead of Oakland. The Rangers hadn't been alone in first place in the division since June 14, 2006.
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