While the Rangers have what casual fans are considering an insurmountable 7.5 lead in the win column in the West going down the stretch, I am not yet ready, to quote a famous former Dallas coach in another sport, ‘to apply the anointing oil’ to this team and usher them into the World Series. Until and only when the sacred division magic number is zero, I have many doubts.
SteveHartline
You heard it here first: the Rangers can win it all.
This season.
This year.
They have the players, the organization to support the team, the attitude and better yet the gumption and apparent team chemistry to get done what needs to get done to win the World Series. The only real obstacle will be to win a play-off series, which they have never done.
I will provide a detailed follow-up this weekend, but for now just drink the Kool-aid and jump on the band wagon. The coolers are bottomless and the wagon is big
The Good News: The Texas Rangers are leading the AL West, and look poised to remain in contention through the long hot months of the summer. The Bad News: the pitching it seems does not hold up. Some veteran presence could shape and change that.
The Rangers are winning despite leading the league in men LOB and trailing in the category of base on balls. That is a bad combination but both are irrelevant as they are products of offense. Despite my concerns of small ball, this is how the Rangers play, and is now obvious on how they win. But this is not a formula for post season success. What the Rangers need to do is get a veteran pitcher. Who they need to pursue is Roy Oswalt.
As everyone has heard by now, on June 2nd MLB umpire Jim Joyce prevented Detroit’s Armando Galarraga from garnering a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning against Cleveland by ruling that the Indians’ Jason Donald was safe on a bang-bang play at first. Instant replay of all angles has shown he made the wrong call. Anyone can easily see there was no tie where the defensive player and runner reach the base at the same time (that per the rule book would favor the runner). After the commotion on the field ended and play resumed, center fielder Trevor Crowe made the second 27th out of the game (future trivia question you can bet on it).
So the bush league & fragile Mavericks just lost to the championship caliber Spurs in game 6 of Round One in the NBA play-offs. Are we suprised?
nope.
Once again the Pop managed ‘long of tooth yet short of losing spirit’ Spurs bested the hapless Mavericks, despite an underwhelming regular season record against the Mavs.
As it turns out his resting of Duncan, 6th manning Parker et. al. seems to be effective for the post season. I look for them to advance beyond the next rounds and challenge the Lakers (jumping ahead yes) for the right to represent the West.
On the surface, not much has changed in this the second of 16 installments of Rangers Report card. Over the current 10 game span (games 11-20), the Rangers have compiled a 4-6 record, and find themselves occupying last place all to themselves. During that time they completed an East Coast swing in which they lost a series at New York, lost a series to Boston, and travelled home to begin an eight game home stand hosting Detroit and Chicago. So far they have split with Detroit. Here is a closer look inside the numbers.
I’m late, but I like to review the season in 10 game spans. It’ s a nice breakdown and ratio when it comes to MLB, as there are 162 games in a season, and if you quarter those it breaks down to 40. Quarter those and you look at things in a ten game span.
where are the power numbers
Typically this allows a glance at two starts per starting pitcher. It also gives you a good glimpse at the bullpen and covers three series.
So let’s look at the Rangers during the first sixteenth of the season…
The Rangers entered spring training in 2010 with many question marks about chemistry and makeup of the club that will take the field this season. And with the preseason more than half way complete, most of those remain. As it is every season, pitching is again a big concern. Can those that toe the rubber provide enough to take advantage of the explosive high octane offense? Can the defense, which probably at best remained static due to key arrivals and departures, help prevent too many crooked number innings? And remaining virtually unchanged defensively is no reason to rejoice as Texas finished close to the bottom in over all team defense last year. But this season player’s health may trump all others. These are the burning questions the Rangers face going into the 2010 season.
Most of us don’t know Ron Washington personally. All we do know of him is what has been reported by what former and current players say about him; and what we read and seen during the MLB Season concerning the Rangers. In relation to the former he is well respected, if not beloved. Regarding the latter, he has a quiet disposition in the dugout and seems focused on the game unfolding on the field.
He took over a team that had been the doormat of the AL West for 15 years, and has steered it towards the cusp of being one of the most youthful and promising teams in the American League. From this I understand Washington is a good baseball man.
From the Book of Dallas, the Story of Jones:
The reign of Jones in the Kingdom of Dallas has been filled with tales of many triumphs and tragedies, setbacks and successes. Those days have filled with periods of bounty and dominance, as well as sorrow and suffering. What follows is but a brief glimpse of those early days:
