After Hot Start, Texas Rangers are Cooling Down
At the start of this season, the Texas Rangers were on fire.
It’s as if they had something to prove after their heart-breaking, soul-stealing loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the World Series after being just one out away (twice) in Game 6 from capturing their first-ever crown. What’s worse is that it was the Rangers’ second consecutive World Series loss, falling to the San Francisco Giants the season before.
Moving forward, the Rangers had their best start to the season in franchise history, going 17-6 this April. They led the MLB in nearly every offensive category, and their pitching staff combined for one of the best staff ERAs in the Major Leagues. They had the best record in baseball, and things seemed to be going extremely well for the defending American League champions.
As sports fans, however, we all know that no one can stay hot for long.
In losing their first series of the season to the Tampa Bay Rays during the last weekend in April and following it up with another series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s safe to say that the Rangers have cooled off quite a bit.
Sure, they are still at the top of the league when it comes to offensive stats and yes, though their pitching has dropped off somewhat, they are still in the top 8 in terms of team ERA. However, we all know that in reality, the only numbers that matter are the ones in the win-loss column.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, with their 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians Friday night, they are currently in the midst of a 3 game losing streak–their first losing streak of the season.
So, was their hot start just a fluke? Should Ranger fans panic?
Absolutely not. To both questions.
The Rangers have the best offensive team in the league. And in fairness, two of their best hitters, Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre were both sidelined for three games until last night.
On the other side of the ball, with Yu Darvish seeming to be be exactly who we thought he was, they appear to have a solid pitching staff as well, even if it has had to weather a few storms of late.
They will be fine.
Don’t think of it as them being in a slump; think of it as them coming back down to Earth.
It’s a long season. Losses happen. Losing streaks happen. There will be highs and there will be lows. Ron Washington put it best when he (not so) eloquently reminded us that, “That’s the way baseball go.”
Sometimes, we as fans, tend to forget that bit of wisdom.
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