Going, gone The Rangers have suddenly won five straight and are playing the the best baseball since their 90 start to the season. Rangers are 6-2 in July and 11-6 in this home-heavy stretch before the break.
A review in six chapters:
Defense
The Rangers aren't merely playing good defense or improved defense. Frankly, for the last week, it's been phenomenal. The bullshit errors are gone, the outfielders are in the right spot and if they're not they're running balls down, and the infield's been at times spectacular. The coincidence of the Rangers running off wins and the defense -- night in, night out -- getting the job done is not serendipitious.
Derek Holland
Holland was great Thursday night tossing a complete game shutout. Allowing four hits, striking out seven. However, naysayers quick to point out that Holland shutout the offensively-flaccid Oakland A's. That's crap. You have to consider that most teams aren't good. Also, if you want Holland to pitch against only good teams, you'll need a different scheduling procedure in the MLB. Also, no one second guesses C.J. Wilson, Cliff Lee, Roy Halliday, Felix Hernandez or Justin Verlander when they face the A's, Royals, Dodgers or Astros. If Holland can beat the bad teams, we're set. Of his 19 starts, 12 have come against .500 teams or worse. He's 6-6 in those game.
The Night After
I attended tonight's game, a day after the tragedy. It was an odd feeling. I think everyone paid extra attention to every foul ball. It was not as well-attended as I thought it would be. There were 37K announced. I thought Friday night, fireworks, C.J. Wilson v. Gio Gonzalez and the game after would pull in 45K+. Not so much. Still, a nice crowd. They picked up Josh Hamilton with some nice ovations. It felt ... ordinary.
Hitting
The Rangers are doing a lot of it. Up and down the line-up card. Right now, you do not want to face them. Period.
Base Paths
I don't know this for a fact or anything, but I'm willing to put a sawbuck on the line to state that the Rangers are the best baserunning in Major League Baseball. They rarely make mistakes. They're healthily aggressive. They regularly go first-to-third and second-to-home on any hit. They're mostly quick and even the slowpokes are smart. For my money, baserunning's become this team's biggest weapon. It's the piano wire they wrap around the opponent's neck and pull.
Unis
Again, absolutely love the red caps with the bright whites with red/blue piping. Love it.
