[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qWGxzFmJLk]
Texas Rangers
In Arlington, Dirk Nowitzki throws the first pitch as the Rangers battle the Mets.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jx8acXXy5U]
Today the Rangers can lock up the West Title with a win and an Oakland loss.
It’s about time!
So break out the champagne as we celebrate!
Regardless though if not today or tomorrow or the next if and when they clench, the Rangers will lock up the Division, so please prepare to bust out the confetti and toasts!
Let the boy’s party and Michael Young gloat in the limelight as the team celebrates the first Texas Division Title Win in North Dallas.
KUDOS!
Last night the Rangers tried to stop the bleeding that has gushed forth lately in Camden Yards against the Orioles by sending out Ace Cliff Lee to follow up a mercurial performance by C.J. Wilson. The previous night Lewis performed at a personal best level in terms of strikeouts and completely shut down the Oriole’s bats and did his part to put an end to recent woes in Baltimore.
After dishing out a 30-3 epic shellacking still in recent memory at Baltimore, the Rangers have become endemic of late when in town, and cannot seem to put together what it takes to get consecutive wins and close out a series.
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.
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.
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…
