Which one do you think is the most upset of these 2?
If the Rangers are going to have any chance at winning the division, they must sweep the Angels starting tonight. They are 6 1/2 back with 17 to play, 7 of which are against the Angels.
Rangers can take a last thrill ride, if they stand tall
11:56 PM CDT on Thursday, September 17, 2009
Column by KEVIN SHERRINGTON / The Dallas Morning News | ksherrington@dallasnews.com
When you've scored one more run than a dead man in 37 innings and were nearly no-hit by a last-place team, in effect, playing the most lifeless baseball of an inspiring, improbable season at the worst possible time, it's safe to assume you must be dead men walking. And the Angels lurking about aren't escorts, either.
But these are the Rangers we're talking about, so let's make other assumptions.
Let's say they play to their pattern this weekend, which is this:
The first week of August, they drop three of four to Oakland, then take two of three from the Angels. Or Aug. 31, Toronto drops a monumental, 18-10 embarrassment on them, and they respond with three straight wins over the Jays.
Or the first week of this month, they lose two of three in Baltimore, then sweep Cleveland in less than 24 hours.
Bottom line: These Rangers are a resilient bunch, and the reason we know that is because occasionally they're so awful.
For that matter, if they can suddenly turn around a historically horrific homestand, Six Flags should name its next roller coaster after them. But first they've got to grow up a little, and fast.
One of the more unfortunate consequences of a bad week was that Ron Washington unwittingly provided his impressionable charges an excuse: He complained about the weather. He said his young guys need to frolic in the sun and grass and dirt instead of being holed up in their rooms every day, noses pressed to the glass.
Of course, if I'm not mistaken, it rained on the A's, too, and Bob Geren's kids aren't exactly the Gashouse Gang.
At issue here is make-up. The chemistry in the Rangers' clubhouse has been good for years, mostly because of the laid-back nature. They're good guys. But occasionally it works against them. The manager learned early on not to jump anyone too hard. Everyone's afraid of hurting someone else's feelings, even when it might be necessary.
When the Rangers added Milton Bradley to the lineup last year, scouts raved about the toughness he brought. And they were right. He was immensely popular with teammates early. But as the season wore on and Bradley missed more and more time for a vast array of bizarre maladies, the respect of his increasingly dubious teammates ebbed away.
Bradley's in Chicago now, but, in some respects, the condition lingers.
Josh Hamilton says he won't be available in a now-or-never series against the Angels because he doesn't want to injure his back any further. No one else knows how he feels, and, frankly, I've never been one to question an athlete's injury.
But what's he risking? Just 17 games remain, and he's got an off-season to recover. When Hamilton says he can't play, he doesn't complain about pain in his back. He says it's because of pain sure to come.
Only out of respect for Hamilton's immense talent would I even presume to make a comparison, but let's consider the case of Mickey Mantle, another five-tool player with injury issues and demons of his own. Taped up like a mummy beneath his pinstripes, Mantle gritted it out. As a result, he earned his teammates' everlasting respect.
Most athletes learn that they're never going to be 100 percent. In Hamilton's case, it's looking like injuries will always be an issue. If he's going to come anywhere close to his promise, he needs an epiphany like the one that came to Jack Nicholson's character in a psychiatrist's waiting room. Turning to the other patients, Jack asked, "What if this is as good as it gets?"
Randy Galloway doesn't think they have a shot and thinks it's all Tom Hicks' fault.
Rangers stuck in mire as Tom Hicks gets his soccer kicks
By Randy Galloway
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
galloway As a very good baseball season in Arlington has been quickly reduced to a collapsing finish on the field, heavy clouds are gathering over the ballpark.
No, it’s not about the ongoing rain. These are clouds of uncertainty that the Rangers will face in the coming off-season.
It was heartwarming to read this week, via The Associated Press, that Tom Hicks is very pleased about the financial stability he’s brought to the Liverpool Reds of top-shelf European soccer.
Don’t know about you, but I’ve been kept awake deep in the night highly concerned about the status of the Reds. Granted, the British media and Liverpool fans strongly disagree with Tom on this financial stability issue, but when it comes to Hicks and his hip pocket, conflicting opinions run rampant these days.
Hicks has his version, a version that doesn’t necessarily make sense to anyone else.
Just a week ago, in a report on MLB.com, Tom said outside of "normal" financial limitations, the Rangers are doing just fine in money areas. He admitted the obvious, that Major League Baseball had to front him money (to keep the team afloat), but MLB had no say in what goes on in Arlington, including the failure to sign first-round draft pick Matthew Purke last month, or the failure to add any heavy salary in trades to help what was then a contending team.
On Purke, Hicks termed it "strictly our call not to go above" what he said was an offer of $4 million.
If true, that would mean the likes of Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels suddenly wasted months of detail work in deciding to draft Purke, and then Ryan and Daniels also decided it was OK to look like idiots in not getting the deal done. Who believes that?
They knew from the start it would take at least $6 million to sign the kid. Just guessing, but both Nolan and Daniels are still reeling from the sudden failure of that money to surface.
Another uncertainty is how much money, if any, will be available in the off-season. Will the payroll budget even reach this year’s total of $65 million, or will it dip as low as $50 mil?
No one has that answer. It’s all about Hicks finally selling the team, and for a new owner to surface, but the timetable on that reaches into next season, which doesn’t cover the off-season.
Meanwhile, there is absolutely nothing positive to take from the combined hitting and pitching collapse of the last week, but you can hear ballpark points being made in one area.
As the Rangers have played themselves out of a postseason contending situation, at least it gives no one a false sense of security on how good the team really is.
In a perfect there’s-much-work-still-to-be-done world, the off-season focus would be on acquiring new talent in certain areas. But it’s impossible to do so under these current circumstances.
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