Surprise Day 12

Spring training can sometimes hit a lull in late February before games start, so the Rangers and their neighbors the Kansas City Royals participated in a home run contest on Sunday to liven things up. In the final, Rangers outfielder Kevin Mench beat out Alex Gordon, the top prospect in the Royals system, and Ian Gac, a Rangers minor leaguer. Mench had a good season last year, but he is looking to improve on his numbers. He could especially work on hitting with runners in scoring postion, as he was one of the worst in the league in that category last year.

Here we go with the daily injury report. R.A. Dickey was out on Saturday with food poisoning but returned yesterday. David Dellucci worked out and reported improvement after suffering from back spasms. Gary Matthews was forced to skip another workout with a strained rib cage muscle. C.J. Wilson is taking it easy with a hamstring problem.

In other news, Armando Galarraga and Aarom Baldiris have arrived in camp after being held back because of visa issues. Michael Young will play second base for the United States in the World Baseball Classic but will practice only at shortstop while in Surprise. Frank Francisco and Francisco Cordero both threw bullpen sessions.

The Rangers will scrimmage Tuesday and Wednesday and then take on Kansas City in the spring opener on Thursday.