The Texas Rangers had a very dreadful April, going a dismal 7-14 in the month. They had Rangers fans thinking that they may have their worst season in franchise history, and they may lose well over 100 games. I for one thought that the season was a total loss. No Yu Darvish, no Derek Holland, no Martin Perez, no Matt Harrison, and of course those guys were replaced by guys like Ross Detwiler and Wandy Rodriguez.
May rolled around, and things started looking up for this team. Wandy was pitching much better than expected, Nick Martinez was having a great season, Prince Fielder finally started hitting, Mitch Moreland came back, and the Rangers got Josh Hamilton back for mere pennies on the dollar. And then there was the play of Delino DeShields Jr. They started winning, in fact they won 18 games in May after winning only 7 in April. At the end of May this team had a record of 25-25, looking to get over the .500 mark for the first time in a very long time. Then Beltre and Hamilton went down, and once again we were worried about this team, but they just keep winning.
Now that the calendar has turned over to June, this team just keeps winning, now boasting a record of 31-27, just 2 games behind the first place Astros, still without Darvish, Holland, Perez, Harrison, Hamilton and Beltre just to name a few. And they have a new closer in Shawn Tolleson who is a perfect eight out of eight in save opportunities. This team is beginning to make a believer out of me, and they should be making a believer out of you as well!
So what is with the complete turn around? I think it has some to do with team chemistry, some to do with the new manager Jeff Banister and some to do with the adage a former Texas Rangers manager used to use, “That’s the way baseball go.” Will this team continue to win at the blistering pace they are now? Probably not. Holland, Perez, Harrison, Hamilton and Beltre will all be back before the end of the season, so one would think that their return would make the team better than it is right now. While I am not ready to call the Texas Rangers serious contenders to be playing late into October, I think they will be in the mix come October, and that is way more than I believed when the season started and especially when April ended.
So even if you are not as optimistic as I am, sit back and enjoy the run that your Texas Rangers are on right now, and remember that this is some of the best baseball that we have seen since mid 2012. Texas Rangers fans near and far need to make the trip to the Ballpark to enjoy watching some very exciting baseball, hopefully it will last for the remainder of the season!
If you happen to be an out of towner who would like to enjoy a trip to Dallas, I believe Texas Rangers fans from around the country can create an entertaining baseball getaway by visiting Globe Life Park using Hipmunk.com for Dallas flights, which can be reserved through most major airline carriers. Hotels in Dallas can be booked near the airport, which will have fans within 30 minutes of Arlington, Texas. Lets Go Rangers!
