Berkman still running at half speed

ANAHEIM -- Rangers veteran Lance Berkman, on the disabled list with inflammation in his left hip, continues to progress in batting practice but is still not full strength in his running to the point where he's ready to go out on a medical-rehabilitation assignment.

"It's been OK, but I still have to be able to run and it's still not quite there yet," Berkman said. "I can run half-speed, but I've got to be able to do more than that."

Berkman has been taking batting practice regularly on the road trip. Not only is he dealing with the hip problem but also chronic soreness in his right knee that gives him as much trouble at the plate as anything. He was hoping that he would be ready for a rehab assignment by now and be activated on the next home stand. But that is still up in the air.

"You can't demand your body to heal at a quick rate," Berkman said. "You want to get out there as quick as you can. Not being 100 percent ready to go out on a rehab assignment right now is not what I was hoping for but it's not entirely unexpected."

The Rangers are off on Thursday before playing the Astros on Friday night. Berkman will try running before that game to get a better gauge of where he's at physically.