Washington endorses Byrd for Gold Glove

Rangers manager Ron Washington believes that one of his players deserves to win a Gold Glove. It’s not shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Washington said Wednesday that center fielder Marlon Byrd deserves Gold Glove consideration.

“I think he has been a Gold Glove center fielder,” Washington said.

As for Andrus, not yet, said Washington.

“He has been good but he hasn’t been Gold Glove,” Washington said.

Andrus made a couple of dazzling defensive plays in the Rangers doubleheader sweep of the Indians on Tuesday. Twice he went deep into the hole, made a backhanded stop, then pivoted, jumped and made a strong throw to first for the out.

They were highlight plays but he also made two errors in two games. He has 19 errors on the season, second most in the American League. Orlando Cabrera leads the league with 21 errors.

Andrus is fifth in fielding percentage but leads all shortstops with 5.02 chances per nine innings.

“He needs to be more consistent,” Washington said.

Chris Davis has also played excellent defense at first but Washington is not ready to endorse him either

“Not yet,” Washington said. “He has been good. He has made the plays but there are a couple of guys that are better.”

A few notes on Wednesday morning…

* Andrus has 26 stolen bases. The record for a Rangers rookie is 33, set by Cecil Espy in 1988.

* Andrus has an 11-game hitting streak.

* Class A Bakersfield opens the California League playoffs tonight. The Blaze were the only Rangers Minor League team to make the playoffs this season.

No scoreboard watching here

When Washington left the ballpark after the Rangers had swept the Indians on Tuesday night, he did not know if the Angels had won or loss. When he got to the hotel, he didn’t bother to find out.

“I turned on the Weather Channel and fell asleep,” Washington said. “I didn’t turn on ESPN or anything like that. If I did, that would have kept me awake. When I got to the ballpark today, I found out the Angels had won.”