from dal news--
"All eyes are on Dave Burba.
With the Rangers' hierarchy in evaluation mode, Burba will take the mound against Chicago on Wednesday trying to break a monthlong slump that has put his job in jeopardy. The Rangers troika of owner Tom Hicks, general manager John Hart and pitching guru Orel Hershiser will be on hand to watch the start.
The Rangers are committed to two more starts for Burba (3-4), but they won't go beyond that. The start after Wednesday will come during a doubleheader against Anaheim on Monday. Joaquin Benoit is likely to start the other game and could seamlessly move into Burba's spot in the rotation.
"We're looking for the same thing from all of our starters," said Hart, who usually does not travel with the club. "We are looking for six innings and a quality start. We'll be watching the next couple of starts, and we've been watching the Triple-A rotation, as well."
Burba is 0-4 with a 6.03 ERA since beating Detroit on May 11. Should the Rangers decide to go for younger pitchers, a struggling Burba might be the first pitcher jettisoned. He currently has little trade value, and eating the remainder of his contract would only cost the Rangers about $1 million.
Burba said he isn't worried about the potential consequences of his outing. He has spent more time trying to figure out what happened to his split-finger fastball. It helped him ring up 34 strikeouts in his first 332/3 innings, but he has just 19 strikeouts in his last 43 2/3 .
"I'm not a 10-12 strikeout-per-game guy," Burba said. "But I should get five, six, maybe seven. And I haven't been able to do it. Instead of biting like it usually does, it seems like it's just kind of sinking. There's a big difference. Right now, it's very inconsistent."