So. as we sit here tonight, the Rangers are in second place, just a half-game out of first.
We know the offense can be potent. We know that there are issues with the bullpen. The defense has looked great at times, and has looked like 2008 at times. The starting pitching has been okay.
Realistically, looking at the pitching matchups for the Detroit series, the first two games looked favorable for Detroit, tomorrow's game favorable for the Rangers. If the Rangers win tomorrow, they come home 4-2, and with a stretch of 7 straight home games against teams that aren't expected to be playoff contenders.
Even with a loss tomorrow, the Rangers are sitting at 3-3, a result that I don't think is empirically too terrible after one week, but that would seem like a pretty big let-down after the season opening series sweep.
The main thing that worries me about this time right now is the bullpen, the same thing that has appeared to be the biggest question mark for the past 6 weeks or so. I'm hoping that Willie Eyre gets healthy soon and justifies the organization's high hopes for him, and that Thomas Diamond or Guillermo Moscoso or someone along those lines opens some eyes and blows some guys away and can come up in early May and help nail down the righty setup man role. Because the pen, as situated, looks problematic.
Nevertheless...things don't look too terrible. I feel good about my 83 win prediction before the season. And if the Rangers can find a live arm or two to solidify the bullpen, they could find themselves in a divisional race this year.