Rangers Rotation Woes Continue

After tonight's 9-5 loss to the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers starting rotation now has a 14-28 record on the year, with a horrifying 6.44 ERA. To put this in context, the 29th worst rotation ERA in baseball belongs to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, at 5.58.

Yes, the Rangers rotation has given up nearly a full run a game more than the next worst rotation in baseball. Not surprisingly, the rotation is also next to last in innings pitched, ahead of only the New York Yankees.

We're not just talking about typical "Yeah, the Rangers have no pitching" type struggles right now. Texas's starting pitching is performing at a historically bad level.

Below is a quick statistical snapshot of the starting rotation, ordered by their rotation slots:

• Kevin Millwood (7 G/7 GS, 35.1 IP) - 2-4, 6.61 ERA, 1.81 WHIP
• Vicente Padilla (12 G/12 GS, 67 IP) - 2-8, 6.45 ERA, 1.63 WHIP
• Brandon McCarthy (11 G/10 GS, 45.1 IP) - 4-4, 6.35 ERA, 1.65 WHIP
• Robinson Tejeda (10 G/10 GS, 51.2 IP) - 4-5, 5.75 ERA, 1.51 WHIP
• Kameron Loe (13 G/8 GS, 54 IP) - 1-4, 6.17 ERA, 1.52 WHIP

Mike Wood has chipped in four starts with a 5.40 ERA, making him in effect perhaps the team's best starter this year. John Koronka has thrown in a couple of mediocre starts, giving up 9 ER in 10.1 IP, and Jamey Wright...well, we all remember how his only start of the season went.

As for Padilla, he coughed up seven runs on nine hits and a walk in just three innings of work tonight. The Rangers gave him a three year, $33.75 million extension before the season, along with a $12 million club option for 2010. Two thoughts pop to mind here:

1. Hey Vicente, the way you're pitching this year, you can forget about that option being exercised.

2. $33.75 million sure doesn't buy as much as it used to.

Somehow, I missed the news on Monday that Texas signed 2006 All-Star (and that's using the term "All-Star" in its loosest form) pitcher Mark Redman, and assigned him to Oklahoma City.

Despite his struggles this season with Atlanta, and his 5.71 ERA with Kansas City in '06, he may very well be an improvement over the pile of garbage that is the 2007 Texas Rangers starting rotation.

Yeah, this team is bad.