Take a bite out of pitching There's 162 of these sons of bitches and if you win two of three then you are set. The Texas Rangers finally lost a game Saturday afternoon to the Baltimore Orioles 5-0. Then they beat the Orioles in two straight 13-1 and 3-0.
Series win. That's three straight after sweeping the Red Sox and Mariners. That's all you can ask for. Why are the Rangers killing it? Pitching. The one area that we all thought they were going to struggle with has been their strength, nothing against the offense.
Stat - MLB Rank
ERA - 1
Quality Starts - 1
BAA - 1
WHIP - 1
It will not last. However, the development of Matt Harrison and Derek Holland is unspeakably opportunistic for the Rangers. They're getting the innings and wins.
They're also buying time for the injured pitchers to take their time and get completely healthy. Tommy Hunter, Scott Feldman and Brandon Webb can take their merry time.
Frankly, the very idea of either of those guys going into the rotation (barring injury) seems ludicrous. Neither Holland, Harrison or Alexi Ogando (as of now) deserve to be taken out of the rotation. If nothing else, I think Holland and Ogando are certain future rotation guys in the coming years.
What also makes this difficult is the performance of the bullpen. Aside from some hiccups (Darren Oliver, Mark Lowe) they've been brilliant. They have the fourth-best bullpen ERA in the league (2.66) and the best BAA in the league (.176). Sure, Ogando could help the bullpen. But do they need help?
It's an awesome predicament to be in. I don't think a bad start today in Detroit from Ogando will hurt much.
