Perspective is everything. The Texas Rangers have had a bad 4 weeks.
No one here or almost anywhere is going to argue that fact.
They couldn’t pitch. They couldn’t hit. They couldn’t field. When they got a lead, fans knew it would be gone shortly.
Frustration set in as it should. Fans were mad, and rightfully so.
I know this will anger some fans, but let’s look at where this team is compared to the past 6 seasons.
A New Level of Bad
The Texas Rangers lost over 100 games in 2o21 and nearly 100 games in 2022. They had absolutely no pitching during that stretch.
They have been one of the worst teams in baseball for over half a decade. They were tough to watch from game 1 to game 162.
The minor leagues had been decimated, and they had to rebuild. They began doing that. As the minor league teams improved, fans began getting some hope.
After spending half a billion dollars before the 2022 season, the results were disappointing, to say the least.
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager looked okay but not fantastic, and the team did not have much chemistry.
A New Level of Good
Bring on 2023. The Rangers, for the first four months of the season, were one of the best teams in baseball.
They could pitch. They could hit. Their bullpen was okay.
Fans got as excited as they should. The 2023 version of the Texas Rangers was one that they enjoyed watching day in and day out. August began with an 8-0 record, and they were ready for the postseason, even without Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.
Then, as they say, the sh** hit the fan. The Rangers lost 12 of the next 18 contests to finish August. Their ERA skyrocketed, and they could not hit with runners in scoring position.
The new level of good the team had produced for the first four months of the season was long forgotten. They were bad, real bad.
Where to Now?
The Rangers are 3-6 in the month of September so far, which means they have won 9 of their last 27 games.
The miracle is that they are still only 3 games out of first place and a half-a-game out of the Wild Card. That seems impossible, seeing how bad they have been.
Am I happy with the past 5 weeks? Absolutely not. It is not time, however, to give up all hope. They have 11 games left with the teams in front of them for the Wild Card spots.
They have 6 games left against teams that are not very good. They can win the division or at least make a Wild Card with just a few more things going their way.
From my perspective, I still have a glimmer of faith that they can win the division and a bigger hope that they will make a Wild Card.
It really all hinges on the bullpen, and that is what scares me the most.
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