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Less than 50 days until the All-Star game and the endless beating that we'll have to endure about how much history there is at Yankee Stadium.

Lou Gehrig played there. Joe DiMaggio hit there. Mickey Mantle did everything there. Billy Martin drank there. Reggie Jackson preened. George Steinbrenner fumed. Well, you get the picture.

But before all that hoopla begins, can there be any doubt that a Ranger belongs on the AL club as a starter having the best offensive year at his position?

I know you can make a pretty good case for Josh Hamilton, but I was talking about Ian Kinsler.

While Hamilton has thundered, Kinsler has taken over as the most dangerous-hitting second baseman in the AL. And I've got stats to prove it. Let's jump right to the complete offensive index: on-base plus slugging. He leads AL second basemen at .820. On-base percentage? Leads there, too, at .356. And I know there are those of you who don't want to get bogged down in that stuff, you want to know about his batting average. OK, he's second. In the majors. At .305, he trails only Philadelphia's Chase Utley, who might be having as good a year as any player in the majors, Josh Hamilton included.

He ranks fifth among AL leadoff men, regardless of fielding position, in OBP and is second to Cleveland's Grady Sizemore in leadoff OPS.

And did I mention that going into Tuesday night's game, Kinsler had not been caught in 15 attempted steals. Yeah, that leads the majors. Stretch it back to last year and he's been successful on 21 straight attempts. His stolen base percentage of 89.1 over the two-plus years of his career ranks third in that time to Ichiro Suzuki (89.8 percent) and Jimmy Rollins (89.5).

This is all a bunch of numbers, I know. Dry. Dry. Dry. They may be dry as sand, but they are also indisputable. Only thing is, people don't seem to be noticing. Kinsler was fourth among AL second basemen when the second round of voting results was released Monday. He trails Dustin Pedroia, Robinson Cano and Placido Polanco. He is more than 360,000 votes behind Pedroia.

That's part of why the Rangers launched an All-Star voting campaign at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. They are encouraging seasonal employees to vote early and vote often, and they are giving away tickets to fans who vote the maximum number of times allowed (25) online.

The kicker line for this campaign, which centers around Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Milton Bradley and Kinsler, is "They deserve it."

Not really inspired stuff. But in the case of Kinsler, it appears to be simply true.

Q: Two Rangers pitching prospects, Beau Jones and Omar Poveda, have been on the disabled list for some time. How serious are their injuries, and when can they be expected back?

David F. Morris

GRANT: Jones, acquired in the trade that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta, was activated Sunday after missing six weeks with right biceps tendinitis. He is not, however, immediately expected to return to the Class A Bakersfield rotation. He'll pitch out of the bullpen for now.

Poveda, who was diagnosed with right arm fatigue, has been out seven weeks. He has started throwing again but is not expected to return to the Bakersfield roster for at least two more weeks. Poveda pitched more than 150 innings in each of the last two years.

Q: What do you think of the notion that Nolan Ryan has a large influence in the upcoming draft? Because, there is no way Jon Daniels on his own will ever make a selection like Andrew Cashner at No. 11 unless Nolan told him to. That is just not what Daniels has done over the years when it comes to the draft. I do not want to see another power struggle here. So, here is my question: Who has the final say on who gets drafted? Please answer this question. A lot of people want to know.

Rik, Houston

GRANT: Ryan spent nearly four hours with the Rangers' scouting staff over the weekend getting briefed on the board. His thoughts will have some impact, particularly when it comes to pitching. Ryan is not foolish. He won't try to scout off video tape or try to make decisions on players he's seen for 15 minutes on film. As part of the evaluation process this year, I expect he'll watch and observe.

He's let Jon Daniels run his organization as he sees fit. Ryan could have pulled the plug on Ron Washington in April but allowed Daniels to make the decision to keep his manager in place.

Now, to get to the meat of your question: I don't see Andrew Cashner at No. 11. Yes, I know Ryan has ties to TCU (both of his sons were Frogs). But Cashner is a reliever, and I can't see the Rangers taking a reliever with their first selection. You want to get the most bang for your very big bucks in the first round, and a reliever, unless you are sure he'll be your closer for a long period of time, seems like an unwise investment of dollars.

My bet: Eastern Kentucky lefty Christian Friedrich. In this park, lefties are valuable (yes, I know this raises a whole lot of "why did they trade John Danks?" questions, but that's another story for another time). The Rangers are still short on lefties in the system. And they are short on upper-level pitching. Friedrich is fairly polished and might move nearly as quickly as Tommy Hunter (read: At Double-A in less than one full year). Other college possibilities include Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow and Georgia infielder Gordon Beckham, though both had recently been projected as top 10 picks by Baseball America .

But there might be a high-ceiling high schooler who falls to them because of signability issues. First baseman Eric Hosmer of Cooper City, Fla., is one such guy. There are a couple of pitchers who are getting a lot of buzz lately, too: Aaron Hicks (also an outfield prospect) of Long Beach, Calif., and Gerrit Cole of Orange, Calif. Both Hosmer and Cole are represented by Scott Boras.

Q: Will the Rangers pick up Hank Blalock's extension next year if he doesn't play again this year? If he does play well at first this year, do they see him as a better long-term solution than Chris Davis?

Will this team, when it's in second place but six games out of first in the middle of July, trade Blalock for a future player or trade him for pitching this year?

Anthony, Denton

GRANT: Blalock's situation is very interesting. Regardless of the Rangers' situation, he could be involved in a trade. If the Rangers are buyers, a club that underachieved this year but is looking to retool for 2009 might have some interest in him, possibly as a third baseman (Detroit, possibly?). If the Rangers are sellers, he might be the kind of guy a team would want for its stretch drive as a first baseman or DH (Did somebody say the New York Yankees?). Either way, he could be a valuable trade commodity for the Rangers.

I don't think Blalock is in the Rangers' long-term plans, though. Chris Davis will probably be this team's first baseman next year. It's conceivable Blalock could move back to third next year, but the opportunity exists now for Travis Metcalf to nail down the position. And I think the Rangers are convinced that, sad as it sounds, Blalock's best fielding days at third base are behind him.

Q: While every day it looks like the Rangers' positional prospects are getting stronger and stronger (Max Ramirez, Chris Davis, Taylor Teagarden, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, even Nelson Cruz), the pitching still looks a couple years away. Since it looks like there are going to be several players blocked at the major league level, don't the Rangers have to start considering trading some of these guys for pitching. What about a package (maybe Ramirez and John Mayberry Jr.) to the position-player starved Giants for Matt Cain? I think the Rangers should try and capitalize on the hot start by some of these prospects and consider flipping a couple for an established young pitcher. Thoughts?

GRANT: I'm not about to start putting trade packages together the first week in June, but I will go back to what I've said in the last two newsletters: If the Rangers are playing well and in the hunt for a playoff spot (that's a distinction from merely hanging around a race), they are in better position to make a trade for an impact pitcher than on either of the last two occasions they were in the race (2004 and 2006). The system has more talent, and the Rangers might be better able to part with some top-level talent and still maintain a strong farm system.

The obvious position of depth to deal from would be catcher, where Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez are all guys who could either catch in the big leagues right now or by the end of this season. If the Rangers do make a deal for an impact pitcher, I expect it to be headlined by a young catcher and also include a younger pitcher. What else it might include, I'm just not sure. It would certainly depend on the quality of pitcher and the length of time he might be under contract to the Rangers.

Q: With a gimpy Hank Blalock likely out of the picture for third base, what is the Rangers' long-term solution there? Should they wait for Travis Metcalf to mature? Should they move Chris Davis back to third base and bring him up next year? Should they continue to platoon super sub Ramon Vazquez with a minor leaguer who can bat from the right side?

Curtis Marsh, Dallas

GRANT: The Rangers have options at third base. Metcalf has a chance now to win the job for the long-term. Johnny Whittleman, currently at Class A Bakersfield, is a legit third base prospect. Davis could move back to third, but I think everybody in the organization sees him more as a first baseman.

The elephant in the room is Michael Young. At some point, he'll probably be asked to move to third, particularly if Metcalf doesn't succeed and top prospect Elvis Andrus does. If, or when, the Rangers determine Andrus at short and Young at third gives them a chance to compete immediately, the Rangers would probably ask Young to move. I don't think that happens after this season. Andrus is on the DL with a fractured finger and probably won't return to Double-A Frisco until late June. But I just don't think he'll be in position to play shortstop for the Rangers in 2009. It probably will come down to this decision: Will the Rangers be a better team in 2008 with Young at short and Metcalf at third or with Andrus at short and Young at third?

Q: I am curious as to your take on Ron Washington's ability to manage pitching. There have been a couple of times this year I have seen him let his starter take what was a positive outing too long and then face the tying or winning run in the sixth or seventh inning. Most managers seem to have a policy that once you are that late in games, you pull the pitcher at the first sign of trouble and do not let them continue until they see the winning run.

Another example of what I thought was a poor managing job was the big inning Sunday. I understood the move to Jamey Wright after the long half inning prior to it, but when Wright struggled, it seemed to be a poor move to bring in the guy probably rated as the last guy in the pen instead of Eddie Guardado or Joaquin Benoit to extinguish the rally. It was obvious the game was on the line.

GRANT: One thing Washington and the Rangers are tying to do is get starting pitchers to stick around games longer and take some burden off the bullpen. The only method for doing that is by trial and error. You've got to push the starters a little longer than usual at some point. That's all Washington is trying to do.

The decision to bring Robinson Tejeda in with no outs and the bases loaded is one that can be second-guessed. But Benoit had pitched in each of the previous two games and three of the last four. Guardado had pitched in each of the last two, and the Rangers don't want to push him to three in a row. If there had been a move other than Tejeda in that situation, it would have been Frank Francisco. But when Francisco did come in later in the inning, he didn't really do much to extinguish any rallies.

Q: Why is Neftali Feliz still in Clinton? Are the Rangers afraid of rushing him through the system, a la Edinson Volquez? When do the Rangers plan to promote him?

Cory Dugan

GRANT: Feliz has had an absolutely awe-inspiring start at Clinton. Forget for a moment the 4-1 start or the 2.05 ERA and just bask in the glow of the last five weeks in which he's allowed one earned run in 36 1/3 innings. In that time, he's struck out 40 and walked just nine.

But after you are through basking, I'd say, "Hang on a minute, Cory." The guy just turned 20. He's had only 11 starts with a full-season club. He's going to be watched very closely to try and avoid arm problems that might come from too much work. He's still primarily a one-pitch pitcher, though that one pitch, an often overpowering fastball, is really, really good.

Maybe he moves to Bakersfield for a start or two at the end of the season, but I'd rather just see the guy put up overwhelming numbers in the Midwest League and let him move next year. The one thing the Rangers don't need to do is rush minor league pitchers, particularly Latin American kids just out of their teens who didn't have the same high level of competition that college-age draftees have had. Remember: Rushing Juan Dominguez and Edinson Volquez along didn't help the Rangers.

Q: What keeps Max Ramirez from jumping to the Rangers this season? Ivan Rodriguez jumped from Tulsa, and it didn't seem to stunt him. Ramirez is older than Jarrod Saltalamacchia and looks like he could hit major league pitching now. Plus, he is already on the 40-man roster.

Cliff, Fort Worth

GRANT: Hey, what's with all the minor league questions this week? Not that I mind, but you are digging deep. I like it.

It's possible Ramirez gets a shot at the big leagues this year, Cliff. Maybe it happens if the Rangers deal a catcher at the trading deadline. Maybe it happens in September. But the way he's hitting, he can't be ignored. One way or another, I'm pretty sure Double-A will not be Ramirez's highest level this year.

Taylor Teagarden, currently at Triple-A Oklahoma, is the more advanced defensive catcher and might be the Rangers' choice if they need a backup catcher. Teagarden isn't on the 40-man roster, but he's going to have to go on after this season, so putting him on in-season isn't an issue. If Teagarden were to come to the big leagues, though, you can bet Ramirez would go to Triple-A.

Q: I realize that some of us regular folks would like to have seats near the field, because we just want to see the players up close. But guys like you see them up close all the time. So where would you sit to watch a major league game if you had a choice and you aren't paying for it?

Chud, Austin

GRANT: In Arlington? In a suite. With air conditioning. Other stadiums it's a different situation. Would love to watch a game from the Green Monster in Fenway or the right-field bleachers in Yankee Stadium.

Without a doubt, though, my favorite seats ever were just over the bullpen at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. As teenagers, we used to sit there and tease the relievers. This, in large part, is why the Braves' bullpen was never very good. I remember once reading on the back of a baseball card that bullpen coach Joe Pignatano hit into a double play and a triple play in his final two major league at-bats. I believe I may have reminded him of that once or twice. I was a twisted and sick teenager.

Q: Why won't the Rangers give Nate Gold a look up here? Another Jason Botts?

Dick Barron

GRANT: Not even. Gold's batting average has fallen to .205 at Oklahoma thanks to a 3-for-38 slump. He's been passed by Chris Davis on the organizational food chain. Gold has always been a nice organizational player but never really was considered a major league prospect.

Q: The move to call up Robinson Tejeda didn't make much sense. Any insight as to what the coaches and manager were thinking?

Matt, Austin

GRANT: The bottom line was that Tejeda was pitching better at Triple-A than Kameron Loe. The Rangers called Loe up out of necessity two weeks ago, but he was basically the same pitcher he'd been the last couple of seasons: a borderline major league long reliever. His track record suggests he shouldn't face a lineup more than once. And that's what he seemed to demonstrate to the Rangers during his brief time up here.

Tejeda had been dominant over the last month at Oklahoma and has always had better stuff. Basically, the Rangers believe they saw the same old Loe. They knew what they had in him. They want to see if they've got a different Tejeda, as his Triple-A numbers suggested.

Q: Can you explain the logic of moving Hank Blalock to first vs. Ramon Vasquez or another player? Other than health issues, are his skills as a third baseman that subpar? What other factors are the Rangers looking at?

Harry Abrams, Richardson

GRANT: Both Vazquez and Travis Metcalf are superior fielding third basemen compared to Blalock right now. Think that is due to a combination of the toll on Blalock's body from his various injuries and that Vazquez and Metcalf are above-average fielders.

Q: Why did they release Franklyn German when he had the lowest ERA on the whole pitching staff? After the bullpen meltdown yesterday, what are the chances of calling him back?

Ron Salfen, Greenville

GRANT: The Rangers felt German had fallen back into the rut that had marked his career. He had issued 13 walks in 21 2/3 innings and he'd allowed 10 of 18 inherited runners to score. His ERA may have been low, but the club felt he couldn't be trusted in a tight game and he couldn't regularly give them the multiple innings required from a long reliever.

He cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Oklahoma, but he refused that assignment (as was his right since it was not his first outright assignment) and became a free agent. There was some thought he would sign with Pittsburgh, but as of Tuesday afternoon he had not signed with anyone.