Texas Rangers!!!

[slingshot]

Rolling right now! Have won 8 consecutive series, best record in the AL, 2nd best record in baseball, 17 games over .500 for their best record ever at this point of the season. Colby Lewis took a perfect game into the 9th inning before giving up a run today, still won 5-0 over Oakland. Wow...

[Saggy Aggie]

Yeah, Houston isn't playing bad at all and they're not catching the Rangers. Gah.... Need em to cool off a bit. Y'all are playing great baseball right now

[slingshot]

Yeah, Houston isn't playing bad at all and they're not catching the Rangers. Gah.... Need em to cool off a bit. Y'all are playing great baseball right nowThey'll cool off... but it sure is fun to watch right now while it lasts!

[d0tc0m]

Yeah, baseball ebbs and flows. Eventually they'll slip a bit, you'd think. But with our rotation - especially when Yu is healthy - it's highly unlikely we'll have to endure any sort of long losing streak. And if Prince ever puts it together at the plate, look out.

[waterboy]

It was actually 5-1, but yes, I love watching them play. There's been a few times this season where I had given up on my Rangers, and they came back and won. Just night before last for example, they were down 5-0, getting completely outpitched, and proceeded to come back and win 7-5.

They are just fun to watch!

[d0tc0m]

This team is probably more talented, overall, than the 2010-11 WS teams, especially from a pitching standpoint, and they seem to be having fun, like a bunch of kids, like those teams did. It's definitely going to be a fun summer, and hopefully a fun October.

[slingshot]

Just swept St Loius... on the road. What is this, 8 straight series they've won? Crazy.

[lostaussie]

Just swept St Loius... on the road. What is this, 8 straight series they've won? Crazy.

9........ franchise record

[waterboy]

Their best record ever after 70 games. 45-25

[d0tc0m]

Rangers are playing extremely well. They're winning games you expect championship-caliber teams to win. They've built a nice padding in the standings, and all things remaining equal (i.e. health, relative expected success, etc.), they're going to be hard to catch. If Yu gets healthy, that's another slump stopper, and we've essentially won inspite of Prince through the first 70 games. If he ever finds a way to get hot, that's an impact bat that can carry the offense, at times, through a rough patch.

It'll be interesting to see the trade market this summer and who the Rangers go after. One would assume bullpen help/relief, but sometimes the market dictates the 'needs.'

[coach]

Rangers are playing extremely well. They're winning games you expect championship-caliber teams to win. They've built a nice padding in the standings, and all things remaining equal (i.e. health, relative expected success, etc.), they're going to be hard to catch. If Yu gets healthy, that's another slump stopper, and we've essentially won inspite of Prince through the first 70 games. If he ever finds a way to get hot, that's an impact bat that can carry the offense, at times, through a rough patch.

It'll be interesting to see the trade market this summer and who the Rangers go after. One would assume bullpen help/relief, but sometimes the market dictates the 'needs.'

I bet we go hard after Aroldas Chapman. Wouldn't mind if we got a right handed bat too.

[slingshot]

...another quality starter as insurance in case Yu is out.

[Rabid Cougar]

..are still in front of the Astros by 11 games!

[Necked]

Came back from an early 3-0 deficit to win again 4-3 over Baltimore. These are the good times...

[slingshot]

I know they will cool off... but this is fun! Have won 9 of last 10 games, won 10 consecutive series and have the best record in the AL. Go Rangers!!!

[Tejastrue]

The thing that stands out for me is Fielder's 5 HRs and .200 BA.

[Rabid Cougar]

The thing that stands out for me is Fielder's 5 HRs and .200 BA.

Needs to be traded.

[Tejastrue]

Totally agree..along with that 24m a season. You can throw Choo in there too.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

Totally agree..along with that 24m a season. You can throw Choo in there too.They'll be ok with both down the stretch but yea I agree drop them by trading them in winter meetings. Rangers have good replacements for them.

[d0tc0m]

Well, looks like the trade questions have been answered. Holland on the 15-day DL, and Lewis now shut down for at least a month, probably not back with the club until mid-August. With Yu still out, our rotation is suddenly depleted. Not sure what the starters market is or will be, but it's hard to envision the Rangers not going after a solid No. 3-4 type guy. Probably some bullpen help, too. Doubt they address the offense in-season.

[slingshot]

Good series against the Red Sox, won two of three (should have been a sweep... ) for yet another series win. Rangers have now gone 12-0-1 in their last 13 series... That is impressive. Got to be happy with the job Bannister is doing. Next challenge for the team is the usual July and August heat. Makes it very difficult to keep the players fresh.

[d0tc0m]

Good series against the Red Sox, won two of three (should have been a sweep... ) for yet another series win. Rangers have now gone 12-0-1 in their last 13 series... That is impressive. Got to be happy with the job Bannister is doing. Next challenge for the team is the usual July and August heat. Makes it very difficult to keep the players fresh.


Having 3 catchers on the roster, along with Profar's ability to play anywhere on the infield/DH sure helps in that regard.

[Scoop27]

Can't use the heat as an excuse not to win. The teams they are playing are also dealing with the heat. It's part of the game for teams with outdoor stadiums

[waterboy]

It's definitely a home field advantage when it comes to the heat. Texas players are about as used to it as one can get, and the Boston players looked like they were wilting yesterday.

[slingshot]

The heat is a two edged sword. The problem for the Rangers has always been that the visiting teams have to play in it for 3-4 games... Texas has to play in it every home game. It does indeed take a toll on your body over a long, hot summer. I think they deal with it about as well as one can... scheduled days off, focusing on hydration and electrolyte replacement, etc.
When I was in Med School in Ft Worth we had one of the Ranger's trainers come and give a talk. They had a very elaborate tracking system to keep up with minutes played above a certain temperature for each player and a strict hydration/electrolyte replacement schedule tailored to each player's needs. That was back in the dark ages, couldn't imagine how elaborate it must be now...

[slingshot]

Well... the 'never, ever give up' Rangers do it again! They beat the Yankees and hand Chapman a blown save in NY 9-6 in a 9th inning comeback win after a 3 1/2 hour rain delay. 50 wins now...

[slingshot]

51...

[lostaussie]

Worst loss EVER tonight

[Saggy Aggie]

Starting pitching has been surprisingly good despite the injuries. Rangers biggest need is definitely bullpen. Tough loss

[slingshot]

Bullpen imploded losing a 9th inning lead... curious to see what the Rangers do before trade deadline.

[d0tc0m]

Bullpen imploded losing a 9th inning lead... curious to see what the Rangers do before trade deadline.


It's hard to imagine them not addressing the pitching, as a whole. The starting rotation has been great - Hamels and Perez have been stabilizers. But some of the rotation has been, as Saggy said, a surprise. You can't keep gambling on a surprise, especially when late August and September roll around. There's just no way to know if/when we'll get Lewis back, and what we'll get out of him when he returns. Holland is hit or miss every time he takes the mound. You hope to get Darvish back, because that's a devastating No. 1 and 2 in the rotation for opposing hitters.

I don't think they'll overpay for anything. Daniels learned his lesson - I hope/think - after that awful Matt Garza deal, which was the worst of his career as GM, in my opinion. But if there's a discounted No. 4-5-type starter out there, we could make a move.


As for the bullpen, it's pretty clear we're going to need some relief there. They've been getting taxed, and, like Bannister said, nobody can sustain that torrid workload. The good news is we will be getting Keone Kela back soon, which will help a ton. It's hard to imagine we won't go out and get something to address our bullpen needs, but, I can't see Daniels giving up too much to a big name here.


The other good news is the offense and defense have been good enough to overcome some other shortcomings. And now, all of a sudden, Fielder is heating up. Ian Desmond is having one of the best years of his career, Mazarra is playing like a Rookie of the Year candidate, Andrus is having an all-star caliber season, we're getting crazy production out of our catchers, and the rest of the offense has been consistently producing. All that considered, I think we'll see Daniels bring in some pieces, but nothing with too high of a price tag.

Games like last night are outliers. They hurt to lose, but they don't happen often and I'm not too worried about it.

[Rabid Cougar]

As long as you win more in the 9th inning than you lose, which they have been doing quite frequently.

[Saggy Aggie]

Lose again in the 9th....