I'm the eternal iconoclast eager to debate your ass off... and it's that time of the year... So what the hell.

Having successfully celebrated the underrated dominance of pitcher Matt Harrison, it's now time to explore other myths and skewed legends that have grown up around Ranger nation...notions known to flood even the elevated halls of BBTIA during heavy torrents of exuberance...or despair.

Without any additional preface I'll jump in:
SUBURBAN LEGEND, RANGER MYTH 104: Texas has a Great Offense.
It's simply impossible for even the knowledgeable Ranger fan to accept just how inflated and hollow this teams' offensive accomplishments are...year after frikkin year. Our ballpark creates such a convincing holodeck for offensive shock-and-awe that over time we are all seduced by the simulations. All those Arlington homers and doubles and runs... they must be real!

Ian Kinsler will lead off with a home run. Mitch Moreland might notch a tape-measure shot. And In the heart of murderer's row up step Josh Hamilton...Adrian Beltre...Nelson Cruz. Each can launch bombs that take the breath away. The media and sports journalists often further distort the picture, as they reiterate the artificial numbers that are achieved in what is one of the most run inflationary venues in baseball. This team is stacked 1 thru 9, we are told.

But alas...It isn't true. Urban myth. Suburban tomfoolery.

The home/away numbers tell the discerning fan a revealing story.
Away from Arlington in 2012...Texas scored less than each AL West rival did in their road games. Less than L.A. Less than Oakland. Less than Seattle. The Rangers were 6th in the AL when they had to pack their bags and mash in parks other than the one they call home.

Try telling people that the Rangers have the worst offense in the AL West. Try to get them to believe it. That's my task. And I will succeed.

I downloaded a bunch of data and pulled it into my database to generate some info you won't readily find anywhere but here on this BBTIA exclusive. (Double splits and particularly double splits with custom date ranges are almost impossible to find online).

As you may recall the Rangers enjoyed a meteoric start, while our rivals struggled to get out of the gate. I was interested to see the following: After the first 60 games...if you isolate road games...how does the scoring compare? What are the trends we should be watching, going forward. The answer:

Texas...runs per game (final 47 road games)...4.0 per game
How about LAA...Seattle...Oakland? Tune in tomorrow and I'll tell you!