Notes: Tough travel day for Texas

07/19/2006
TORONTO -- Rain, The Big Dig and international law should make for an interesting and weary day for the Rangers on Thursday.
Thursday was supposed to be a day off in Chicago. Instead the Rangers have to fly to Boston for a one-game makeup of a rainout from June. The game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT at Fenway Park, where the Rangers have already had three rainouts in two separate trips there this year.
The Rangers are planning to spend Wednesday night in Toronto and leave their hotel at 8 a.m. ET Thursday. According to traveling secretary Chris Lyngos, the Rangers are hoping to take off by 9:30 and get to Boston by 10:30. It will take them 45 minutes to clear customs, at which point they will get on a bus and receive a police escort from the airport to Fenway Park.
They are hoping to be at Fenway two hours before the game if all goes well.
"I'll be glad when we are on the ground," manager Buck Showalter said.
The Rangers also have to deal with The Big Dig, the new central artery tunnel that goes through Boston and is the most direct route between Logan Airport and Fenway Park. A woman was killed driving through the tunnel last Saturday, causing mass controversy, some chaos and a number of delays.
That's why the Rangers have arranged for a police escort.
"They told me they aren't having any major problems," Lyngos said. "But having the escort is going to assure me of getting there on time."
After the game, the Rangers have to go back to the airport, hop on their private jet and head back across the country to Chicago. If all goes well, the Rangers are hoping to be in Chicago by 9:00 p.m. CT.
Only problem is, there is rain in the Boston forecast as Tropical Storm Beryl heads toward New England. A tropical storm warning has been posted for southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
It won't get there until Friday but there is a 30 percent chance of rain in the Boston area for Thursday afternoon.
Starting pitcher John Rheinecker, who didn't make the trip to Toronto because of a lost passport, flew to Boston on Wednesday and will meet the team Thursday.
This is the first time the Rangers have played three games in three different cities since July 29-31, 2001, when they played the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Arlington, then played one game in Baltimore before flying on to play the Yankees in New York.
Big Unit, followed by Moose: The Rangers are scheduled to face Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Jaret Wright during their three-game series with the New York Yankees that starts on Monday at Ameriquest Field in Arlington.
Johnson has made 31 starts in his career against the Rangers and is 15-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 206 1/3 innings. He has struck out 245 and only Roger Clemens, with 281, has struck out more in his career.
Among active pitchers, Johnson is tied for fourth for the most wins against the Rangers. Clemens has 18 wins against them while Bartolo Colon and Barry Zito have beaten them 16 times.
Mussina is 14-12 with a 3.81 ERA. The losses are second most among active pitchers. The Rangers have beaten Tim Wakefield 13 times.
Monday's game has been moved up to 6:05 p.m. CT so it can be shown nationally on ESPN. It will be shown locally by KDFI/Ch. 27. The Wednesday game is also a national ESPN broadcast but will be shown in North Texas on Fox Sports Net.
Laird starts vs. right-hander: Because of the travel schedule, backup catcher Gerald Laird got a rare start against a right-handed pitcher on Wednesday. With a day game on Thursday against the Red Sox and Curt Schilling, Laird was going to catch one of the two games.
Showalter chose Wednesday because Barajas is 2-for-6 off Schilling in his career.
Showalter said Laird will catch Friday with left-hander Mark Buehrle pitching for the White Sox and then Barajas on Saturday and Sunday.
Hillenbrand may interest Rangers: The Rangers will at least discuss the possibility of acquiring Toronto Blue Jays infielder Shea Hillenbrand, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday after getting into a dispute with manager John Gibbons.
Hillenbrand can play third and first base, but if the Rangers decide they are interested, it would be as a designated hitter and a bat off the bench. Hillenbrand is hitting .301 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs. The Rangers initial reports are Hillenbrand is somebody who can hit good pitching, but they still want to do more homework on him.
Showalter on Ameriquest: Showalter was among the Rangers contingent who met with the ballpark consultants on Tuesday and said one thing hit him about Ameriquest Field in Arlington when watching the demonstrations.
"It's a great facility," Showalter said. "It's one of the best in baseball. It's a great place to coach, manage and play. The only thing we're trying to do is separate the facts and see if we can make it better for the fans.
"Every time I go in there, I think of what a great place it is. I get my dander up a little bit when they talk about the heat. It's summer. Baseball is played in the summer. It's hot everywhere. When I was with the Yankees I thought it was a great place and I still do."
Briefly: Michael Young entered Wednesday's game with a career batting average of .356 against the Blue Jays. Only Ichiro Suzuki (.370) has a higher average among active players. ... The Rangers went into Wednesday's game having gone five games without a home run. That's their longest such streak since June 13-19, 1995.

Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/