What is going on, Rangers? You are in the middle of the playoff hunt, the closest to making September relevant since 2004 [and making the first postseason appearance since 1999] and you pick this moment to stop swinging the bats and play lackadaisical defense. I know we have a lot of young players to contend with on this year's squad and injuries have kept our key players in our rotation, but this is not the time for excuses.
If you can't tell by my tone, the Rangers lose again to the A's; they have now lost 3 in a row and 4 of the last 5, while the Red Sox have won 6 in a row...it is not looking good for our Rangers unless they can get this ship turned around.
- Brandon McCarthy did not look confident tonight and clearly had no confidence in his fastball and resorted to off-speed stuff. It left McCarthy struggling to find the zone and out after just 3+ innings. Not good.
- Where is the offense? With the exception of the solo home run by Murphy tonight, the Rangers have gone scoreless in the last 27 innings. I know we don't have Hamilton or Young in the lineup, but where is the rest of the team? We don't even need homeruns, we need timely hitting, aggressive running, and scores. It is very frustrating to watch, especially since we are playing at home.
- Hello and Goodbye Michael Young. He returned to the lineup tonight but lasted just one at-bat,before Nelson Cruz replaced him. The report from the Rangers was that Young didn't have a physical setback. He just decided that it was best if he waits another day or two before returning.
- Errors. The Rangers made two of them in the first inning and it proved costly. Pudge Rodriguez's throw hit Rajai Davis as he tried to steal. The ball went into center field, allowing Davis to go to third. He scored on a ground ball. Esteban German cost Brandon McCarthy some pitches when he couldn't glove a ground ball with two outs.
Red Sox beat the Angels tonight, which helps and hurts our cause [depending on how you look at it]. The standings are:
AL WEST
Angels --
Rangers 6.0
AL WILD CARD
Red Sox --
Rangers 5.5
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Errors: Let's not forget C.J. Wilson's odd throw into center field, instead of to second base. This mistake could have turned into a double-play, and gotten him out of the 8th with only 13 pitches. Luckily he made it out of the 8th with no earned runs.
ReplyDeleteCome on, Rangers - PLEASE turn it around!