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Okay, now I know that the first month did not end well, and I also know that the Rangers have slowed down a bit from that 9-1 start, but its not all bad. But a lot of it is. Let’s look at the good and the bad from the first month and see where the Rangers need to go from here to improve and get back on a winning track.
The Good: The Rangers started the season at a amazing pace, sweeping the Red Sox and then the Mariners to go 6-0. They still finished the month of April with a 16-11 record, the best under manager Ron Washington, and still only 1 game below .500 since the 6-0 start. The starting pitching overall has been better than expected (maybe not Harrison the past few starts) and the bullpen is doing better than expected with all the injuries. Colby Lewis looked more like the Colby Lewis of old in his last start, and really impressed me with his command. Maybe he is back to stay. The Rangers sure need him to be right now. Ogando is way better than anyone expected him to be, and Holland is holding his own. The Offense has shown some signs of being amazing, with Michael Young and Adrian Beltre leading the way in that category, and the defense has been good, great at times. And, a the end of the month, the Texas Rangers were leading the American League West.
The Bad: Matt Harrison has completely fallen apart, only lasting 1 and 2/3 of an inning in his last start while allowing 6 runs. He needs to get it together or get gone. Simple as that. Dave Bush has looked good (I know a lot of you do not like Bush, but I think he has potential) and Tommy Hunter should be ready in the next few weeks. Ian Kinlser has looked like a guy who does not want to be there at the plate lately. He has that upper cut swing back lately that drove fans crazy a couple seasons ago. He is going for home run or nothing, and coming up most of the time with nothing. He and Nelson Cruz could use a couple days off in my opinion. Nelson is also pressing too much at the plate, and it is becoming hard to watch the both of them without getting mad. They are supposed to be the answer to a struggling offense, not the main problem. The defense has been weak of late, and the will change, I just hope it changes fast. It will help when Josh is back, and the bullpen will get better when Nefti is back.
Overall, the first month was better than I expected it to be, but there is still room for a lot of improvment. Can’t wait to see how the second month plays out!
