Between now and September 18, the Texas Rangers play only AL West opponents. This includes seven against the Mariners and six against the Astros. The AL West can be won by the Rangers over that stretch. At least it can be put away.
Right now, the Texas Rangers (76-54) have a 7.5 game lead on both the Mariners and the Astros, who are tied at 68-61. The Rangers also have the Angels and athletic during that stretch. So what has to happen over the next few weeks?
1. Who are Martin Perez and Derek Holland? The Texas Rangers need to have an answer to that question before October rolls around. Both have been sparatic at best. If I had to choose right now, I would take Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish and AJ Griffin as my top three. And hopefully Colby Lewis comes back healthy. But the Rangers need to know if Holland and Perez have anything left to give.
2. Can Carlos Gomez be a team player? If he is to be the everyday left fielder, he needs to be selfless. If he is off and Jurickson Profar needs to come in, he needs to not fall apart and whine about it. I think he can. Winning baseball seems to solve a lot of personality problems.
3. Health. This is the same for almost any club out there, but the Rangers need to stay healthy to win the AL West. They need Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor, Ian Desmond and the rest to be at their best. It is by no means a given the Rangers will win the division. Health is the key.
The Rangers have an opportunity to really take hold of the AL West over the next two weeks. I really hope they find the way to take advantahe of that opportunity.
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