...we are a very basic 10-10. Facing facts, being a .500 ballclub is not bad, but no where near the level of the first 16 games. I have a few assumptions as to why we are only .500 since.

Kinsler. His power numbers are gone. He was a legitimate threat to hit one out at anytime. Lately he is no longer that threat. In addition, his overall numbers are down. If he would have kept up his usual offensive play, we may be two wins better than now.

Young. His numbers with RISP and bases loaded are terrible. He had a few good games sprinkled in there, usually when we are in the miodst of a blow-out, but with the game on the line, the usual "guaranteed" hit is no longer there. Chalk it up to age, dwindling skills, etc. If he would have kept his level of play up, it probably would have accounted for a win or two.

Hamilton. Just consider what may have been if Josh WAS NOT playing at a super-human level. Instead of 23-13, we may be 20-16 or worse.

Moreland. PLAY THIS GUY ON A DAILY BASIS PLEASE!! He will never get better at hitting lefties if he rides the bench. Have faith in him and let him grow. Plus, he is our finest 1st baseman.

I hope we get some streaks going soon. Playing at .500 can be a bad habit to get in to. I have started reading "how good" Chen was, and how good other pitchers have been against us. These pitchers usually get trounced by other teams. We need to get our swagger back. Luckily, the rest of the West is playing at .500 or worse too right now. Lucky for us.

GO RANGERS and turn it around TONIGHT!!

I think a ton of it has to do with the regulars, like you mentioned, and this:

The Rangers have had the bases loaded 45 times and have 8...eight... hits to show for it. 1 of those was the GS from 2 nights ago, 2 were from Napoli in Boston on back-to-back nights (both doubles), and Elvis had one a couple of weeks ago against Toronto.

This team has been pretty awful with the bases loaded. Last year they hit .316. The Babip is also pretty different between last year and this one, which could explain it a little bit.

Ebb and flow, man. It happens. Yeah, Ian and Michael and Murph have cooled off some. But Cruz and Napoli and Moreland have heated up some. Even Gentry's been looking good lately. Elvis and Josh have been amazing, and Beltre's not far behind them.

Our pitching was more the issue. In those last 20 games, we had at least 5 instances where our starter got rocked for a ton of runs, and their starter was normal, so we didn't pile on the runs in return. At least half of those losses can be attributed more to pitching meltdowns than to lackluster offense. The only games we lost in that early stretch were close, 1-run games.

Am I frustrated that the same team that ran up 8 runs on Weaver, possibly the best pitcher in the AL right now, couldn't muster even 2 against a soft-tossing lefty past his prime? Yeah. Quite. But those kinds of things are going to happen over the course of the season. Even an ace will look terrible on occasion, and even a guy like Dave Bush can look unbeatable for a day.

We still have the best record in the AL, and 2nd best overall, and our schedule so far hasn't been the easiest. We've played against most of the other teams doing well right now, and beaten all of them at least once, and only lost 3 series overall.

Apparently, we have trouble beating pitchers named "Chen". We've lost to 2 of them in the last week.

Makes sense, and as far as pitching goes, there have been a few times now, where we tie the game or take the lead, only to give it back in the next 1/2 inning. Killer instinct....swagger....whatever you want to call it, we lost it. We need to get it back.

Stats don't lie - we are playing .500 ball over the past 20 games. That is a good chunk of the season. We need to pick it up.

Wow....really? Ten and 10 over 20 games IS pretty average. But last I checked we also played the teams that either are currently the best teams or the league, or are supposed to be:

Angels
Orioles
Yankees
Tigers
Blue Jays
Indians
Rays
Red Sox

You'll notice an absence of Chicago, Minnesota, Oakland, Kansas City and Seattle. For comparison's sake, last year the Rangers went 28-10 against Seattle and Oakland (18 games over, .734) but only 68 - 56 (12 games over, .548). In other words, exempting Seattle and Oakland, Rangers were an 88-win team.

The point is this...beating up on the little sisters of the mercy is a key component of gaudy win-loss records. The Rangers haven't had many matchups against the sisters this year. Yeah, they had one last night and lost, but I think it's fair to assume that won't happen often.

Play .500 against the big dogs and dominate the little guys and you'll be fine.

Amazed at the level of Cowboys-esque entitlement that has already crept into this fanbase.

have you been watching the games? 4 or 5 of their most recent losses have been due to poor infield defense.

Kinsler is going to struggle away from Arlington. The jet stream at home in the easy mode ballpark takes what would be a harmless flyball/pop out in another park, and makes it a possible HR.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/6197/ian-kinsler

The stats prove his home numbers are skewed because of the ballpark. He is is terrible across the board in away games.

As far as Captain groundout Young goes it starting to look like his age is catching up with him. They should have traded him last year when his value was higher. They couldn't talk anyone into taking on that ignorant contract they gave him last year, so I doubt anyone would take it while his numbers are declining.

you're a moron. the jet stream is occasional and occurs in a very small part of the park. he hit more home runs on the road last year but walked considerably fewer times. that's why his splits are so extreme.

Amen, MrMan and wings of joy.

I posted his number from this year dumbass, and he has struggled on the road.

Home 63 18 21 8 1 4 8 9 0 7 2 2 .333 .417 .683 1.100
Away 86 14 20 3 1 1 10 10 1 10 1 2 .233 .316 .326 .642

Actually, last year Ian hit 16 HRs and 2 triples both home and away. He hit 4 more doubles at home, but the big difference was singles - he hit 54 at home, 34 away. But most singles aren't fly balls. Hence, it seems unlikely the jet stream would make a noticeable difference. That's probably not the reason for his splits being the way they are.

No worry, it'll all be taken care of tonight. Two of our 3 hottest hitters are not playing. Lewis will give up 4 hits, all home runs. KC 4-1.

if im not mistaken the Rangers have had one of the hardest schedules (in terms of opponets win pct.), so i think that can be a big part of it, we will hit an easy bump like we are going into now and get hot. Inter league play is coming up and that has boded well for the Rangers the past few years.

Wash is the problem. I've always been a big believer in trusting the judgement of management, both front office and actual game managing, but recently Washington really irks me. Yes, give the guys rest from time to time. BUT DON'T TAKE TWO REGULARS OUT OF THE LINEUP IN THE SAME GAME! Yesterday it was Kins and Napoli, as well as no Moreland, and today no Elvis and Cruz, two of our hottest hitters. Spread it out, will ya? I honestly think we would have won last night had Kinsler and Napoli started, and if we lose by anything short of 3 runs (which has happened in all but 3 of our losses this year), I will blame it on the lack of multiple starters. And he's playing Beltre as DH today. Just, spread, it, out