RANGERS MAILBAG: Talking Nelson Cruz, Kevin Millwood and Jarrod Saltalamacchia By JEFF WILSON [email protected] The Rangers’ offense needs as much punch as possible, and Nelson Cruz has some of the best stats in all levels of baseball at the moment.Why can’t the outfield be David Murphy, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz with Frank Catalanotto, Marlon Byrd and Milton Bradley rotating as the fourth guy and DH? — David, Madison, Wis. The Rangers’ front office, i.e. Jon Daniels, has taken notice of Cruz, whose Triple-A numbers (.359, 11 HR, 32 RBI) are difficult to ignore. But he won’t take the place of Bradley, who has solidified the cleanup spot. Catalanotto will be at first when Byrd comes of the disabled list. Adding Cruz, who was given the chance to impress last season, would also require clearing a spot on the 40-man roster. He might be in Oklahoma for a while. Would anyone take Kevin Millwood at the trading deadline and could the Rangers get anything of future value for him? I just don’t see any fire in the guy. He looks as though he is just collecting his check every month and waiting for the next one to arrive. — Cash, Austin Surely, a team would take Millwood, but there’s no problem with him. Millwood’ s past two starts haven’t been pleasing, but he and Vicente Padilla held the pitching staff together in April. Millwood could easily have three more victories. There’s plenty of fire left in his tank — consider his off-season regimen as an example — and he can be a mentor to young starters the Rangers hope to develop the next few seasons. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia called up, he will see about half of the catching duties. But will he see much time on top of that at first base and/or DH? Also, what do you see for his stats this season? — Craig, Hoboken, N.J. General manager Jon Daniels has been adamant, so has manger Ron Washington, that Saltalamacchia will not play first base. That’s been the company line since the off-season. But he might DH some, as he did Monday against the Mariners. Saltalamacchia’s production should increase once he falls into the rhythm of playing two on/two off. His average and on-base percentage should improve over his 2007 numbers. Why was relief pitcher Dustin Nippert picked up and put on the Opening Day roster when the Rangers have comparable, if not better, pitchers in the system? — Steve Even Nippert has admitted that he was terrible with the Diamondbacks during spring training, and he’s been mostly iffy with the Rangers. But the scouts loved him two and three years ago and believe they might strike on a bargain if he can regain his form. He had a good showing last week in a rehab stint for Triple-A Oklahoma and won’t be discarded just yet. Arlington Stadium and Bobby Valentine. And yet I have never been so apathetic and disappointed with the Rangers organization as I am now. I blame management, and particularly Tom Hicks, for the sorry state of this franchise. Handing the reins to a still wet-behind-the-ears 28-year-old two years ago sounded like a hare-brained idea. Now we know for a fact that it was. This is the season that will make me walk away from the ranks of the faithful. How long do the Rangers have a right to expect the fans to ante up for the ever-rising ticket prices and show them nothing in return? — Julian, Fort Worth Julian, brother, many other readers have had the same reaction. Jon Daniels has had a good year, even if the big-league product hasn’t met fans’ demands. He believes that winning seasons are ahead, and the success of the minor-league clubs is supporting him right now. How long until the prospects are ready? Two more years. Ticket prices go up just about everywhere, but, as tough as it might be to believe, a recent study showed that the Rangers have some of the cheapest tickets in the majors. Hang in there, Julian. --

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