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:

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.