Down is up and up is down for the confusing Texas Rangers. Starting pitching is great, then it’s not. Joey Gallo leads the league in walks, but also in strikeouts. Nick Solak has seven home runs by the beginning of May. Kohei Arihara is unhittable then unmissable. this team is confusing to say the least.
What have you done for me lately
The most recent confusing thing was the Boston series. Offensively the Rangers had no quit. They came back to win the last two games of the series. Joey Gallo and Chris Woodward were ejected for who knows what in Sunday’s game. More on umpiring later in another article I’m working on. The Rangers pitching and offense was really good over the weekend. Taking three from any team is tough. Boston came in hot and the Rangers cooled them off. Brock Holt had a big hit. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is playing really well. The bullpen has been really good. It was a fun weekend series.
Consistently Inconsistent
Consistently inconsistent is the the one phrase that describes the Rangers in 2021 so far. They travel to Minnesota (10-16) next for a four game set. They should be able to take care of business there, but I have trouble trusting them. Arihara will be replaced by Hyeon-Jong Yang in his next scheduled start. The Korean born pitcher has been really good in relief so far. Sometimes they look great as a club and give us hope, other times they are not good at all.
All in all the Rangers so far are who we thought they were. Better than 2020, but not quite there yet for contention in 2021. To me personally, I see some hope for the future and I am encouraged by some of the things I am seeing on the field in 2021. Bad stretches are still ahead. So are good stretches. We just need to hang with this team and enjoy the good and expect the bad. If we as a fan base can do that, this could wind up being a really fun season for a inconsistent team.
