Make It Stop!

Game 1: Yankees 4, Rangers 3

Game 2: Yankees 5, Rangers 2

Before Thursday's doubleheader with New York, I had not yet hit the panic button on this Rangers team.

I have now.

With Texas now sitting at 10-18 (.357), here are a few scenarios we're now looking at:

• To finish at 81-81 (.500), the Rangers would have to go 71-63 the rest of the way (.530).

• To finish 87-75 (.537), which would probably be considered the bare minimum to possibly win the AL West, the Rangers would have to go 77-57 the rest of the way (.575).

• To finish at 90-72 (.555), which might be good enough to win the AL West, the Rangers would have to go 80-54 the rest of the way (.597).

• To finish at 93-69 (.574), which would probably win the AL West, the Rangers would have to go 83-51 the rest of the way (.619).

As Adam Morris notes, this is the club's worst start since 1985, when the Rangers began the season with a 9-19 record. Their final record that year? 62-99.

I suppose the real question right now is whether you think this team can play at a .600 clip the rest of the way. I'll be perfectly blunt about my answer: No.

Ironically enough, it was not the starting pitching that failed the Rangers yesterday. Mike Wood gave up three runs (two earned) in his 6.1 innings in Game 1, allowing five hits and just one walk. You can't ask for much more than that from your spot starter. And Robinson Tejeda held the Yankees in check too, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk in his 6.1 innings. Both of these guys gave solid enough performances that the Rangers should have picked up at least one of these games, if not both.

But they didn't.

Despite picking up 16 hits in the doubleheader, the Rangers were only able to score five runs. And the bullpen was unable to keep the game in reach, with Benoit giving up a tie-breaking RBI double to Hideki Matsui in the 8th inning in Game 1 which proved to be the eventual game-winner. In Game 2, Frankie Francisco and Aki Otsuka both gave up runs to widen the lead to three runs for New York. Given this team's offensive struggles, it might as well have been a thousand runs.

Michael Young went 0 for 9 between both games of the doubleheader. He's now back under the Mendoza line, hitting .192/.211/.308 on the year. Victor Rojas says this is the worst he has ever seen Young play - can't disagree there.

Sammy Sosa was hit in the head by a 94 MPH fastball from Brian Bruney in the 6th inning of Game 2, which left him on the ground for several minutes, but it appears that he's OK.

Kevin Millwood's sore left hamstring is not expected to land him on the disabled list, but his next start has been pushed back to Tuesday in Yankee Stadium.

Before Thursday, Texas had not been swept in a home doubleheader since September 7th, 1989, by the Baltimore Orioles.

Club officials estimate that the combination of a bad weather forecast on Tuesday and the postponement on Wednesday cost the Rangers more than $500,000 in lost ticket and concessions revenue. I hate to break it to the front office, but if the Rangers don't turn things around, they're going to be bleeding a lot more ticket revenue than that. Case in point: I was expecting to go to a game in June, but this team has me so depressed right now that I'm having second thoughts. I know I'm not alone here.

Use whatever word you want to describe the Dallas Mavericks this morning: heartless, gutless, chokers. Personally, I think a combination of all three is suitable. If you've been asleep for the last 14 hours and just woke up, the #8 seed Golden State Warriors knocked the 67-win Dallas Mavericks out of the playoffs in Game 6 last night, in perhaps the greatest playoff upset in NBA history.

Yes, it's beginning to look like a long, long summer for Metroplex sports fans. Then again, there's always FC Dallas, or the Fort Worth Cats, or...

Friday, May 4th Game Preview

Toronto Blue Jays ( 13-15 ) at Texas Rangers ( 10-18 )

Tomo Ohka ( 2-2, 5.02 ERA ) vs. Brandon McCarthy ( 1-4, 9.90 ERA )

7:05 PM CST in Arlington, Texas (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington)

TV: FSNSW | Radio: KRLD 1080 AM

Comments

[TX2Step]

Anybody uploaded the "Real Men Of Genius" sketch they did for Jim K-nox?





"Everybody having fun?"

[horsedooty]

answer to your question....no they may not win again. Oh they may split a series with the worst team in baseball The Royals. Now that the Mavs are toast the spot light will be on the Rangers and Jon Boy and Hicks may not like that. This is what you get when you are cheap.





yo soy Horsedooty!

[Joey]

This is the most frustrating Rangers team I think I have ever followed. They are playing so poorly I am actually choosing to watch a syndicated sit com over watching baseball. I haven't sat through a complete game yet.