Thoughts on a 12-1, and a terrible series

A's 12, Rangers 1

I'm not going to recap tonight's loss.  There's nothing to say.  Everyone was terrible.

When the Rangers got to Seattle, I felt like they'd weathered the storm, and things were on the upswing.  Texas had just swept the A's in Oakland, they were had the best record in the A.L., and perhaps most important, reinforcements were on the way.  Adrian Beltre was being activated.  Matt Harrison was re-joining the rotation.  Colby Lewis was back.  There were still quite a few players on the d.l., but the Rangers had survived that initial part of the season, and with Derek Holland and Jurickson Profar and Geovany Soto due back in early June, you felt like the Rangers were in a good place.

And then they lost two of three in Seattle, with the two losses coming courtesy of 8th inning meltdowns by the bullpen.  Still, Texas came home tied with Oakland for first place in the A.L. West, and they had Yu Darvish, Martin Perez and Robbie Ross going.  Things were looking up.

Instead, all three starters were terrible, the defense was terrible, and the offense was terrible.  Outside of Nick Martinez's work in long relief, I don't think there's anything you can point to from this series that was positive.  And as a result, the Rangers are now three back of Oakland, and heading to Anaheim, with the Angels just a half-game back of Texas.

The Rangers haven't played well in April.  Their run differential for the month is -21.  Nevertheless, they are 15-13, and have the fourth best record in the A.L.  At the start of the season, with all the injuries, we talked about this team just needing to playing .500 ball in April while guys got healthy.  The Rangers did that.  They're still in a good place.

It just doesn't feel real good right now.

Texas has a much needed off-day tomorrow, then three in Anaheim, then four games against Colorado in a home-and-home.  Then its Boston at home, at Houston, Toronto at home, and Seattle at home.  This stretch of schedule isn't bad.  The Rangers can maintain position in the West, get healthy (or healthier), and be a threat.

I keep reminding myself of the cliches...its a marathon, not a sprint.  Its a long season.  There's still a lot of baseball to play.

And I also remind myself about that magical 2010 season, when the Rangers won their first playoff series, won the A.L. pennant, and advanced to the World Series.

That 2010 Ranger team got swept at home, in a four game series, by a terrible Baltimore Orioles team, right before the All Star Break.  And they still ran away with the division.

It is painful to watch this team, the way they've played the last three games.  Its painful to see Yu Darvish not get out of the fourth, Martin Perez hammered, Robbie Ross's poor performance compounded by atrocious defense by the likes of Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre behind him.  I have barely watched this team the last three days.  I can't stand to watch this sort of performance.

But this, too, shall pass.  This team is better than what we've seen.  There's another game on Friday.

Things will be better.  Its a long season.  One where this team will likely be playing meaningful baseball in September.

And hopefully, October.