Rangers Recap

This week I will do a recap on the Rangers overall season and every category of it. First, I would like to wish health to Tom Grieve, as he has prostate cancer and will need to have surgery.

Note: pitching stats are as of 5/24/08. Hitting and fielding stats are as of 5/25/08.

Rangers Overview: The Rangers were awful at the start of the year, bottoming out at 9-18 on April 29th. At that point we were already 7 ½ games out of first, only 27 games into the season, and had a .333 winning percentage. At that point we had the worst record in baseball, had allowed the most runs in all of baseball, and had only scored more runs than 4 AL teams. In 27 games, the Rangers had allowed 49 more runs than they had scored. That’s an average of losing by 1.81 runs per game, which is awful. At that point we were 4-8 at home and 5-10 on the road. Since then, we have been playing very, very well. We’ve still allowed the most runs in all of baseball, but now we’ve scored the most runs in our division, the 2nd most in the AL by one run, and the 3rd most in all of baseball. Our winning percentage is now up to .500, going 16-7 since starting off 9-18. The Rangers have the best record vs. the West in the West, and now have a winning record at home and vs. righties and are only one game under .500 on the road. In their last 23 games, the Rangers have an average of a win of 1.61 runs per game and are now on the year only averaging a loss of 0.24 runs per game. They’re also the only team in the West to have a winning record in 1-run ballgames. Now the Rangers are only 4 games back of both first place and the wild card and are only 1 ½ games back of second place.
Team’s grade so far this year: B

Rangers pitching: The Rangers’ pitching has struggled this year, allowing the most runs in all of baseball. We only have one pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 and six with ERA’s under 4.00. Vicente Padilla is the only member of the original starting rotation who hasn’t been injured and is leading the team in wins with six. Our closer, CJ Wilson, who started the year on fire, now has a 4.79 ERA. Sidney Ponson has a 2.95 ERA, and is leading the team in that category. I would say that Jamey Wright has been the star of the bullpen and Vicente Padilla the star of the rotation.
Pitching grade so far this year: C-

Rangers hitting: The Rangers hitting has been very successful so far this year, scoring the most runs in the West, the most in the AL, and the 2nd most in all of baseball. The Rangers have the 2nd best batting average in the AL, the 2nd best slugging percentage in the AL, the 2nd best OBP in the AL, the 2nd most walks in the AL, the most total bases in the AL, the most RBI’s in the AL, the most home runs in the AL, the 2nd most doubles in the AL, the 2nd most hits in the AL, the most runs in the AL, and the most at-bats in the AL. The team is batting .280 with 60 homers and 259 RBI’s. They are batting incredibly well with a team OBP of .355 and even 26 stolen bases. They have been caught stealing the second least in the AL, only 5 times. They have succeeded in stealing 84% of the time. The Rangers’ only down-point on hitting is striking out 362 times, the most in the AL. The Rangers might have an MVP and Rookie of the Year on their offense this year. The hitting is doing great, but the pitching is letting down.
Hitting grade so far this year: A+

Rangers defense: The Rangers’ defense has really struggled this year, but has gotten better of late. The Rangers have the worst fielding percentage in the AL, the most errors in the AL, but do lead the league in both assists and double plays, so it’s not all bad. The Rangers already have seven players with 3 or more errors, including Ian Kinsler with 9. The Rangers have 26 players with fielding percentages under .980. The Rangers’ defense has been better lately, but has struggled overall this year.
Fielding grade so far this year: C+

Results of last weeks poll:
Who do you think is the best player that the Rangers traded for in 1990?
Jeff Huson – 61%
Cash – 27%
Scott Chiamparino – 11%
All others – 0%

Come back next week for my May Awards. Have a good Memorial Day!