A Look at the Road Ahead

by bstair on Aug 6, 2009 10:07 PM CDT

Stating the obvious: The Rangers really missed a chance in this series in Oakland. Not only because of the two Angels loses but because of the schedule that both the Rangers and the Angels face from this point forward.

After today's game I was looking for that nugget of hope to hold onto and figured that the remaining schedules would somewhat favor the Rangers. I was ready to get excited again after the team laid the proverbial egg in the first three games by the bay. Here's what I discovered:

Opponents	Rangers	LAAA
Each Other	H -3, A-7	H-7, A-3
Days Off	4	3
Yankees	A-3	H-3, A-1
Boston	H-3	A-3
Rays	H-3, A-3	H-3
Tigers		H-3
White Sox		H-3
Twins	H-4, A-3
Blue Jays	H-4	A-3
Mariners	H-3, A-3	H-3 ,A-3
Orioles	A-3	A-4
Cleveland	A-6	A-3
A's	H-3, A-4	H-7, A-3
Royals		A-4

Vs. Contenders	H-13, A-16	H-19, A-7
Vs. NonContenders	H-10, A-16	H-10, A-20

Vs. West	H-9, A-17	H-17, A-9

Right off the bat things looked challenging with the 10 games remaining against the Angels being played mostly in their park. Plus the Angels play 6 more games at home than the Rangers for the rest of the season. I figured I could find reason to hope in the opponents we faced. The Angels do have one more game against the Yankees than the Rangers do but they get 3 at home while the Rangers play the Yanks at their place. Of course, the Rangers don't face the Tigers any more and the Angels have them for 3... at home again. The Rangers do have Boston at home while the Angels face them at Fenway... for those straining for a nugget like me. All in all of those contending for their division or the wild card the Rangers play 29 games (13 at home) while the Angels play 26 (19 at home). (I did count the Twins as contenders in their division).

Basically what I got from my search for grounded hope was a lot more to worry about than to hope for... especially if we've seen the Rangers road mentality the past 4 day which is also reflected in their season mark of 23-26.

The only nugget I could find was the Angels record against the West, 14-17 vs. 22-12 for the Rangers. If that holds true then the Rangers shot is legitimate. But the past 4 days have done nothing but make me question the validity of that split. Plus the difference in the home/road is exactly reversed... in the Angels favor.

It's not over but it's an uphill battle all the way to the end of the season. The Angels are bound to cool off offensively and surely this isn't the real Josh Hamilton. Plus Ian should be better when he gets back right??? The Rangers can still win this but they better take care of the Angels head to head and start beating the teams they're "supposed" to beat. And with that GO RANGERS! ... even if nuggets of hope were impossible to find.

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Comments

well nothing worth anything in life is easy

i guess

"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"

by blalock84 on Aug 6, 2009 10:19 PM CDT reply actions

I dont think the schedule is that bad.

7 of the “contender” games are against the sub 500 twins.

Take out the angels and its not a particularly bad set of games the rest of the way, and tough team or not when you are 4.5 games back you should be asking to play the team in front of you.

the preceding post was a great success.

by DShep on Aug 6, 2009 10:52 PM CDT reply actions

maybe so

the twins always seem to play us well though, especially at the metrodome

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by studcrackers on Aug 7, 2009 1:10 AM CDT up reply actions

I can remember a time...

when we swept the season series with the Twins… and that was during the balanced schedule… so for like 12 games.

by JShoe on Aug 7, 2009 10:07 AM CDT up reply actions

Think they will rollover for us

like they did the Angels?

Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
Mitch Moreland -Tom Grieve Rangers Minor League Player of the Year
Martin Perez - Nolan Ryan Rangers Minor League Pitcher of the Year

by RangerMad on Aug 7, 2009 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions

To me

a lot of it comes down to the Angels series. Lose the series, and its likely over. Sweep the series and its a very competitive horse race.

"I saw a soldier try to dig a foxhole with his bare hands. He didn't notice that he'd torn off all his fingernails. I got him out of there quickly; not for his sake, but for ours. Fear is poison in combat...destructive, contagious." - Band of Brothers

by DJCahill on Aug 7, 2009 7:49 AM CDT reply actions

To win the West

the Rangers need to win 7 or 8 of their remaining contests against LAA. Even if they sweep this weekend, they’ll still need to take care of the Angels next month as well. If they tank this weekend it looks pretty bad unless the other wild card teams stumble badly.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Aug 7, 2009 10:24 AM CDT up reply actions

I have this team finishing

88-74.

My formula: Going through the rest of the schedule and deciding how many game we will take from each series. SCIENCE!

by cmkelly29 on Aug 7, 2009 10:29 AM CDT reply actions

I flipped a coin

and came up with 92-70. I think your science may trump mine.

Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
Mitch Moreland -Tom Grieve Rangers Minor League Player of the Year
Martin Perez - Nolan Ryan Rangers Minor League Pitcher of the Year

by RangerMad on Aug 7, 2009 10:51 AM CDT up reply actions