It's obvious from watching the Texas Rangers recently that things just aren't going very well for the club as they now trail the Oakland A's by 3.5 games heading into Friday's three-game set in Arlington with a chance to pull within a half-game of the A's by weekend's end with an unlikely sweep of the A's.
Thursday is the team's final day off this regular season as the Rangers close the season with 17 games in 17 days — 10 at home and seven on the road next week when they head to Tampa and Kansas City to face two teams who are chasing them in the AL Wild Card race.
The Rangers just need a break, probably moreso mentally than physically after losing eight of their last 10 games, including a home sweep earlier this week to the Pittsburgh Pirates that might have done in their chances of winning the AL West crown, given the A's soft remaining schedule.
Now, the Rangers can have their last stand when it comes to winning the West this weekend as they face the A's with the three guys who've been their best pitchers this season going on the hill in Derek Holland, Yu Darvish and Martin Perez.
The AL Wild Card Game is still a likely result for the Rangers, barring an absolute collapse, but the West is still there for the taking. And take solace in this fact, Rangers fans, every time the Rangers have gone through a bad stretch like this, they've come back with a vengeance and rolled off hot streaks of their own. Now would be a good time to start another one.
