The Texas Ranger offense -- perception and reality

One of the odd things that has stood out for me so far this season -- and in particular, during the Rangers' recent disappointing stretch of play during their 7-12 run -- has been how much criticism the offense has come under. 

Yes, it has been acknowledged, the bullpen has been shaky, and Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis have had their issues, but there seems to be an attitude among some fans, and some in the media, that the pitching is okay, but has been let down by the offense.

And yet, that's not borne out by the reality of the situation.

Just looking at the raw stats, the Rangers are first in the A.L. in runs scored, third in batting average, fourth in OBP, second in slugging, and second in OPS. 

If you look at the FanGraphs data, you see that, even adjusting for home park, the Rangers are dominant offensively.  The Rangers have used 14 positional players.  Of those 14 positional players, 10 of them have a wRC+ of greater than 100 (which is average).  Of those under 100, Chris Davis has a wRC+ of 99; Elvis Andrus, much criticized for being an all-glove no-hit guy, has a wRC+ of 95; Julio Borbon, also a whipping boy for dragging down the offense, has a wRC+ of 85;* and Taylor Teagarden only has 5 plate appearances.

*  Interestingly, Andrus and Borbon have almost identical slash lines on the season:  .257/.316/.343 for Elvis, .259/.313/.345 for Borbon.  The difference in their wRC+ is due to Elvis adding a ton of value on the basepaths, going 8 for 8 in steals.

As a team, in the Rangers are 4th in the majors in wRC+, which indicates that, even adjusting for their home park, the offense has been one of the best in baseball.

So have confidence in the offense.  Even without Josh Hamilton, the offense has been doing its job.