By Bill Begley
All around North Texas, long-suffering Rangers fans look at the standings and wonder one thing:
When does the collapse come?
Can you blame them? The last time Texas made the playoffs was a decade ago, in 1999, and in the meantime the franchise has stumbled through second-half meltdowns (not counting Kenny Rogers’ infamous camera-spiking meltdown in 2005), a plague of untimely injuries (be careful out there, Adam Eaton) and a purge of prospects thanks a number of illogical deals (hey, didn’t you used to be Johnny Danks?).
Still, through the month of May, despite the on-again, off-again presence of slugger Josh Hamilton and an unlikely rotation lineup, there are the Rangers, in first place in the AL West. And, the scary thing is, a lot of whether things remains that way rests in their hands.
That vibration? The collective shudders of those North Texas fans.
Texas Rangers (30-21)
Texas has managed to hammer its way to the lead in the West despite the extended absences of Hamilton (.240, 6 HR, 24 RBI) and the prolonged funk of slugging first base prospect Chris Davis (.189 average the product of a 3-for-48 skid). That’s a good sign, since it looks like Hamilton could miss up to two months with a strained abdominal muscle. Part of that has been an ever-improving defense, anchored by a gamble that paid off – putting rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus in the starting lineup. Andrus’ .277 average is a bonus. What he really did was allow Texas to shore up its infield – moving Michael Young to third and pairing him with Davis, who has 12 homers despite his struggles and a solid glove at first. That has helped make starters like Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy viable, not to mention youngsters like Derek Holland, and closer Frank Francisco has slammed the door shut, allowing just one earned run while piling up 11 saves.
Heading into the All-Star break: Resurgent Andruw Jones (.284, 5, 14) needs to step up in Hamilton’s absence and Davis needs to become a steady offensive threat. Young (.333, 7, 21) and second baseman Ian Kinsler (.277, 13, 39) will produce. Also, with Harrison battling physical issues already, staff ace Kevin Millwood (4-4, 3.23 ERA) needs to be a leader on the mound.
Secret weapon: Two, actually – Nelson Cruz (.295, 15, 39) has been putting up Hamiltonian numbers, and needs to continue to do that while the centerfielder is out; Vicente Padilla (3-3 5.57) got hammered Tuesday, his first start since coming off the DL, and needs to do better to give the Rangers the arms needed to control the race.
Los Angeles Angels (25-25)
If ever a team had an excuse to fold, it’s this one. Tragedy (the death of Nick Adenhart). Injury (Vladimir Guerrero missed much of the first two months of the season). Loss (closer Francisco Rodriguez is now a Met). And, with a 9-12 record at the end of April, an early fold seemed possible. But, Guerrero (.246, 1, 5) is back, and the Angels have won 16 of the last 29 games to keep the Rangers within sight. Veteran outfielder Torii Hunter (.308, 12, 42) stepped up while Guerrero convalesced, and Bobby Abreau (.294, 1, 21) hasn’t displayed much pop, but has been steady. Jered Weaver (4-2, 2.36) and Joe Saunders (6-4, 3.77) have anchored the makeshift rotation, and Brian Fuentes (13 saves, 5.30 ERA) has filled in admirably as a closer. But, the bullpen – once a big part of the team’s success – has struggled, and that has to change.
Heading into the All-Star break: Guerrero has to start hitting everything within a common zip code out of the ball park, partly because it would fill the power/offensive void and partly because Guerrero hitting one-hop sliders 400 feet is kind of like the Samson’s hair to the Angels’ strength. That, and a less-flammable ’pen combined with the traditions second-half Rangers flameout could make this race interesting.
Secret weapon: Mike Napoli (.270, 7, 20) started off hot, then cooled with a 1-for-24 skid. But, the young catcher will be a key and, with some proper rest and guidance from Mike Scioscia, could be an important cog to this team’s second half.
Seattle Mariners (25-28)
In Hollywood, the former star returns to his old team for one last hurrah and (while hiding the effects of a terminal illness) leads that rag-tag group of youngsters to an inspired run at the pennant before dying in the arms of the true love he had to leave behind. In the real world (and the great Northwest), Ken Griffey Jr. is hitting a punchless .222 (6 HR, 15 RBI). No, “Junior” is not dying, but his playing career is in ICU, and he needs to revive his bat if the lowest-scoring team in the AL (just 205 runs through 53 games) is to make a run in the second half. Ichiro Suzuki (.353, 5, 16) has returned to put up his usual eye-popping numbers, and resurgent veteran Russell Branyan (.323, 12, 25) has been a pleasant surprise. But Adrian Beltre (.236, 3, 22) has been nearly as much a flop as Griffey – all of which has wasted some pretty solid starting pitching.
Heading into the All-Star break: The offense has got to pick up (a minus-28 run differential in the first 53 games) before management deals off solid arms like Erik Bedard (4-2, 2.37), Felix Hernandez (5-3, 3.41) and Jarrod Washburn (3-4, 3.22). As bad as it’s been, a few more runs here and there – with this kind of pitching – could lead to, well, a Hollywood ending.
Secret weapon: Franklin Gutierrez (.263, 3, 19) is young and has plenty of weapons. He has issues (35 strikeouts compared to 18 walks), but displays good speed and potential pop. His strikeout-to-walks ratio, actually, has improved this season. A trend the M’s hope to see continue.
Oakland A’s (20-30)
This has to look pretty familiar to anyone who survived the back-to-back 86-loss seasons in Oakland. Limited offense (.239 team average, 39 home runs, 4.2 runs per game) making every pitch all the more precious, putting pressure on the defense and the youngsters in the rotation. The A’s have scored more than six runs just once in their last 13 games. Big off-season pickup Matt Holliday has been okay (.278, 7, 33), though Jason Giambi’s return home (ala, “Junior” in Seattle) has been a bust — .218 average, with just six homers and 23 RBI. The young starters have been respectable – Dallas Braden (4-5, 3.63, 8 quality starts) has been the best – but that’s not been enough. And, really, probably won’t be.
Heading into the All-Star break: It will take patience with young players and young pitchers – and a Superman-surge by Jack Cust (.253, 8, 28) – to make Oakland pertinent in the second half of the season. Expect GM Billy Beane to begin shopping prospects and young arms within a month or so.
Secret weapon: Andrew Scott Bailey is a closer in training. He is 4-0 with two saves, two holds and a 2.23 ERA. He has 38 strikeouts (and 12 walks) in 32 2/3 innings of work. But, he also has given up three home runs and has blown three saves. At 25, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound righthander has the tools teams look for in late innings.
Previous division overviews:
AL East: Getting back to normal
AL Central: Tigers pulling ahead in mediocre division
