Even though the Texas Rangers won last night, it still is not going very well overall for this team right now. This is not, however, the end of the world in my opinion. The Rangers are not strangers to slumping right before the break, in fact, it seems to happen a lot to the ball club.
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If we look back in Texas Rangers history, slumping is just part of it. In 2010, the Rangers had just acquired ace starting pitcher Cliff Lee and were going up against the terrible Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles wound up tagging Cliff Lee and then going on to sweep the Rangers in that four game series. As we all know, the Rangers broke out of that slump and went to their first World Series that season.
In 2012, another playoff season, they had lost five of their last seven games going into the break, and in 2013 (a 91 win season) they lost four
of the last five games going into the break. If the Rangers do nothing but win half of the games they have left in 2016, they will finish the season with 91 wins, which may or may not be enough to win the West, but anytime a team wins over 90 I feel like it is a successful season.
I believe that this is still one of the most talented teams in Texas Rangers history, slumping or not. The injury bug has hit them fairly hard, but also young players like Nomar Mazara, Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar among others are making daily contributions. The question is now, do you try to fix the slumping by trading some players for pitching, or do you hope to hold out until you get some of your starters back.
Counting on young pitchers like Chi Chi Gonzalez and Nick Martinez has not been working, but it doesn’t mean the answer does not lie in the minors. Kyle Lohse gets his shot tonight, and the Rangers will see if he can be an improvement over Chi Chi (8.44 ERA in July) or Nick Martinez (12.46 ERA in July).
Slumping is a part of baseball, and it is a part that no fan enjoys, but it is also not the end of the world. At least not in July. In September, it is a totally different story. Let’s hope that Rangers are not slumping again and can win the division running away.
Lohse was pounded for 5 runs last night including two home runs. He had a noticeable lameness in his right arm. I doubt the Rangers will send him back out to the mound in the future.