As a long time Rangers fan, I have never been a huge fan of Josh Reddick. But I do have to say that he made a pretty amazing catch to end the Rangers threat on Thursday night. Hunter Pence was two feet away from a home run that gives the Rangers the lead. Reddick robbed him. The Rangers are playing good ball right now, Mike Minor is still pitching really well. While I was not happy in the moment, it was a pretty good catch.
The Rangers are not playing a bad brand of baseball in 2019. To be sitting at 17-18 after thirty five games is not bad considering what we all thought. Pence has been a pleasant surprise. Joey Gallo is being patient at the plate. Elvis Andrus is having a career year offensively. There are still five months or so to go and the Ranger are not out of the running yet. I thought they would be.
Can they improve? Certainly. Pitching is still an issue. Delino Deshields was sent down due to offensive ineffectiveness. Rougned Odor is still struggling at the plate. Injuries are effecting the pitching for sure. Texas still has a 5.16 ERA, third lowest in the American League. They have given up the most walks in the league (151) whilst striking out the least amount of batters (271). The defense has only committed 19 errors, which is sixth best in the AL, and once again they lead the league in double plays. The Rangers batting average is above league average, but so are strikeouts. Walks and RBI they are second in the league.
In conclusion, if Josh Reddick does not make a great play on the Pence potential home run, we are sitting here today looking at a Rangers team over .500 on May 10. Baseball really is a game of inches. Still entertaining, still competitive, and still fun to watch. 2019 could going to be a good season after all.
