The Texas Rangers are now 37-44 at the half way point of the season, not a record that I or anyone thought they would have at this point of the season. When spring training began, we all had high hopes for this team. I predicted on The Ranger Report Podcast that the Texas Rangers wound finish the season in third place behind the Athletic and the Angels. I did not predict, however, that they would be battling the Houston Astros for last place in the AL West.
From Derek Holland to Jurickson Profar and Prince Fielder, no one could have predicted that amount of injuries that this team would sustain in 2014, or the amount of rookies that the Ranger would have to employ just to make it through the season. Am I disappointed? You bet I am. Do I think major changes need to come to the Texas Rangers? No, I do not.
This is a team that was a World Series favorite for some of the professionals when it all began, but injuries have shot that prediction down. The Texas Rangers are learning a whole lot about a bunch of young players. Will Nick Martinez be a star? Will Nick Tepesch be a work horse? Can Rougned Odor play second base every day in the majors? Is Robinson Chirinos the catcher of the future? Those questions and more are being answered for the Rangers in 2014.
As sports fans, we all want championships every time our team begins a season, and that is always the great thing about a new season. Every team has a chance to be something special. The Rangers may not win a championship in 2014, but that doesn’t mean that they are not something special to watch. I remember being excited about the 2008 Texas Rangers, watching them allow young talent like Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler being led by veterans like Michael Young. And that team turned out alright.
Yes, the 2014 season is halfway over and the Rangers are on pace to finish the season 74-88, but I don’t think that is going to happen. I think that this young team is going to band together with the help of veterans such as Adrian Beltre and Yu Darvish and I think the second half of the season might just surprise some of you Texas Rangers skeptics out there. Then again, I could be totally wrong, but I will enjoy watching the second half of the season either way!
