Rangers activate Blalock, move him back to 3B

Tag : Power Switch
The Texas Rangers came out of the All-Star break on Friday with a familiar faceplaying a familiar position.
Hank Blalock was activated from the disabled list and returned to his originalposition of third base.
Blalock, a former All-Star at third base who has played thatposition his entire career with Texas, was scheduled to make theswitch to first base when he returned from the DL.
But Chris Davis has emerged as a power threat at first base for the Rangers, withsix homers and a .655 slugging percentage in 58 at-bats. So theRangers asked Blalock to return to his old position, and Blalockwas back at third base for Friday night's game against the Minnesota Twins .
"I hope it will be easy. I can't predict how I will play overthere," Blalock said. "I know I've played plenty of games overthere, to where it is a comfortable position for me. I'm going towork hard to get the rust off, and go play the second half justlike I never made the transition."
Blalock first went on the disabled list after tearing his lefthamstring while running out a double against the Twins on April 25.He also had surgery to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome in his righthand, and his stay on the sidelines was extended when he had asetback during a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma.
The return of Blalock, who has hit .299 with three homers and sevenRBIs in 22 games this season, is a big boost for the Rangers. Theyare 43-30 since April 25, the third-best record in the majors overthat span, but still trail the Angels by 7.