If Brandon McCarthy  provides a solid effort this afternoon, the Rangers could could start their season off with a series sweep of the Cleveland Indians.

He’ll square off against Carl Pavano, a righty trying to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Pavano won 18 games for the Florida Marlins in 2004, but he was considered a bust while he was a Yankee (a $40 million bust!).

Of course, you could say the same thing about McCarthy’s stay in Texas to this point. Money-wise, he was far less expensive; however, the Rangers traded front-line starter John Danks for McCarthy – which may very well be a bigger loss than the $40 million Yankee bust.

But the evaluation of the McCarthy-Danks trade is not over. If the tall, lanky right-hander can stay healthy and provide the Rangers’ bullpen with some much needed relief throughout the season, the trade scales might not stay so one-sided in Danks’ favor.

And, who knows, this could be McCarthy’s break-out year. Remember, he’s only 25 years-old. I think the best has yet to come from McCarthy. I like the way he competed this spring. He’s more confident, his stuff is still good, and Mike Maddux and Nolan Ryan are pushing him in the right direction. Let’s see how he responds this afternoon…

Thoughts on last night’s game…

Nelson Cruz is welcomed back to the dugout after hitting his second homer Wednesday. (Matt Slocumb/AP)

• I guess superstition prevailed…the Rangers wore their red caps with their home whites. No complaints here!
• I wonder how many fantasy baseballers added Nelson Cruz to their roster last night…
• Vicente Padilla’s excruciatingly slow tempo kills me…and my wife!
• I think Elvis might just make it as a big league hitter.
• Michael Young’s errant throw to first, while high, should have been caught.
• You don’t realize how fast Josh Hamilton is until you see him touch second at the same time the shortstop catches the relay and beat out the throw to third for a triple. Unbelievable!
• Give Dave Anderson and Ron Washington a lot of credit…the infield shift works!
• My new nickname for our beloved set-up man is C.J. “Cardiac” Wilson. He always manages to keep it…interesting.
• Dollar Hot Dog Night could be one of the greatest ideas of all time!

Go Rangers…Let’s get the sweep!