Phil Rogers’ baseball rumors and tidbits

Texas went 12-11 in a stretch of games against teams with winning records. The Rangers believe if they were going to collapse, that’s when it would have happened. But they aren’t taking a playoff spot for granted, not with the Angels still close and the teams set to play a season-ending series in Anaheim. . . . Nyjer Morgan is having a blast in Milwaukee with his “Tony Plush” persona, but he’s not likely to have staying power if he continues to call out guys like Albert Pujols. Morgan’s act already would have gotten old if the Brewers weren’t on such a fun ride. . . . One reason the Tigers are so tough — Miguel Cabrera is hitting an AL-best .402 with men in scoring position. . . . The Cleveland Indians continue to disintegrate. They won’t have Carlos Carrasco in 2012 because he is going to need elbow surgery. He has been inconsistent but was their best starter in some stretches this season. . . . Pittsburgh Manager Clint Hurdle is pushing the Pirates’ front office to re-sign Derrek Lee, who has been driving the ball despite suffering a broken wrist when a pitch from the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol hit him. Hurdle loves Lee’s quiet leadership. . . . When Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton hits his next home run, he and Arizona’s Justin Upton will become the first pair of brothers to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Six other sets of brothers have had 20 homers in the same year — Aaron and Bret Boone, Brian and Marcus Giles, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Carlos and Lee May, Bob and Irish Meusel and Joe and Vince DiMaggio.