Unfortunately, it's hard to wax poetic about the Rangers these days when all you want is a little good news.

Every day it seems someone else gets hurt or leaves town, and the only Ranger racking up strikeouts is Andruw Jones.

Check out some of the headlines Monday at the Rangers' home on MLB.com, which is not a site unfriendly to the club:

"Back tightness sidelines Rangers' Benson" ... "Texas' Hamilton leaves with Achilles' strain" ... "Shoulder strain hampers Texas' Donnelly" ... "Andruw's bat needs spring awakening."

And this from the good news/bad news department: "Andrus' two hits lead Rangers in loss."

Josh Hamilton says there's nothing to worry about. He'll be back Wednesday. Thursday, tops. What's the hurry, anyway?

"Obviously, we have 800 spring training games left," Hamilton told reporters. "These games aren't that important."

Nothing personal, Josh, but that's where you're wrong. Maybe the games aren't important to your season, but they matter to the wounded psyche of fans back home.

A spring training culture primer: Except for guys on the fringe, no one puts much stock in spring training numbers. A career .300 hitter could drop below the Mendoza Line and his manager won't care. And that's as it should be. Hitters and pitchers alike use spring to get ready for the regular season, meaning they do things they normally wouldn't. Everyone has an agenda. After his fastball left him, Jim Bouton's goal each spring was to get a good tan. The thinking was, you'll look 10 years younger and twice as fit.

But spring is also a time to build a little goodwill, especially if you've warped your rickety fan base as badly as the Rangers'.

Case in point: Just last week, Sports Illustrated fired up the locals by suggesting the Rangers could be another Cinderella story, like Tampa Bay. The magazine cited the "best farm system in Baseball" and a "terrific crop of minor league pitchers" and pieces in place for a "fairly quick rebound, with 2010 looking especially promising."

Never mind that it'll probably be the same staff that gave up a league-worst 967 runs last year. Like I said, it's spring. If you can't afford to entertain a little hope now, don't peek at your 401(k), either.

But the Rangers sure haven't done anything to make you re-up your subscription with SI.

On Monday against Cleveland, after Matt Harrison rang up the three best innings of any Ranger this spring, a run on three hits, Thomas Diamond worked his way through the Indians' lineup and came away with exactly two outs.

Now the worst that could probably happen to Diamond this spring is that he won't make the Rangers' bullpen. No top prospect's fate hangs in the balance, nor should it. Frankly, you should probably be happy if Brandon McCarthy doesn't end up in traction.

But would it really be too much to ask for someone to light it up this spring? Leave a veteran hitter muttering? Command a headline or two?

Force the Rangers to make a decision?

My plane gets into Arizona on the 28th. Gives somebody three weeks to get it going. Don't make me come out there and write about what a bad spring it's been. We've got all summer for that.

Nothing special

Fans may be looking for some hope out of the Rangers' spring training after a recent run of mostly mediocrity for local pro sports teams. A closer look:

Team Season Record Notable

Mavericks 2008-09 36-24 Clinging to one of the final playoff spots

Stars 2008-09 29-26-7 Battling for playoff spot but just out of mix

Cowboys 2008 9-7 Finished 3rd in division; missed playoffs

Rangers 2008 79-83 Finished 2nd in division but 21 games out of 1st