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Rangers Statistical Month in Review - JulyAugust 4th, 2008
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Where they Stand: At 56-53, the Rangers sit in 2nd place in the AL West, 12.5 games behind the 1st place Angels. However, they are only 5 games out of the WildCard race.
The Offense: Texas is #1, period. #1 in OPS (On Base plus Slugging) which I consider the composite offensive statistic. #1 in Extra Base Hits. #1 in Batting Average at .282. #1 in Runs Scored with 610, 30 full runs over the 2nd place Cubs. #1 in Hits, #1 in Doubles, #1 in RBI. True, they are only 5th in HRs, and 6th in walks…..but this offense is the best in baseball. The offense is led by Josh Hamilton, of course. His incredible league-leading 104 RBI put him on pace for 156 by season’s end…..the second highest total in club history (Juan Gonzalez had 158 in 1998). While it’s hard to say that Josh Hamilton is NOT the MVP…..he is not doing this alone. He’s only knocked himself in 25 times (Ken, those are the home runs….stop scratching your head). Milton Bradley actually leads the team in OPS at over 1.000. The catalyst of the offense is clearly Ian Kinsler with 91 runs scored, 21 more than the next Ranger and 16 more than anyone else in the American League. Oh, and Kinsler also leads the majors in HITS, and is 2nd in Doubles.
STAT OF THE MONTH: Ian Kinsler is on pace to score 136 runs this season. How many is that? All Time Career Runs scored leader in MLB history, Rickey Henderson, only eclipsed that total ONCE in all his years. Ty Cobb had 136 or more only TWICE…..and all time hits leader Pete Rose NEVER hit the number that Kinsler is closing in on this year.
The Pitching Staff: The Rangers are 29th out of 30 teams in ERA. The Starting Staff ranks 29th…the Relievers are 29th as well. They are 29th in Walks allowed…..29th in Strikeouts….and 29th in Wild Pitches. Simply put, the bases are pretty much a coin operated ride against Rangers. It’s SO easy to circle the bases against Texas, I’m surprised there’s not a “burm” around in the dirt like a Motocross track. Dale Earnhardt Jr doesn’t turn left as many times as batters in a Ranger game. 3 times in the past week, the Rangers have allowed over 10 runs……and they actually WON one of those games.
The Defense: 29th in Defensive Efficiency and 30th in errors committed. Need I say more?
Conclusion: The Rangers are about as one dimensional as a team can possibly be. Historically, teams like this go down in history as “fun to watch” but never get over the hump. Through July, the Rangers are living up to that. But, 5 games out of the wild card was enough to keep them from trading anyone……so put a coin in the turnstile…..and let’s see what happens!
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