There have probably been worse months in the history of your Texas Rangers.
But I dare you to name one.
When July dawned the Rangers were sliding at 37-45, but still hopeful of righting the ship, getting healthy and possibly adding a player or two at the trade deadline to make a push for an American League Wild-Card berth. But as they close out the month tonight against the New York Yankees at Globe Life Park, their condition is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster.
The increasing heat of July has typically been a rough month for the Rangers. They were 11-15 last season and only 9-14 in 2012. But this year they’ve gone a horrid 5-20 and been out-scored 150-95. They sit at 42-65, worst record in all of baseball. They are 24.5 games behind Oakland in the AL West, their largest deficit in 11 years. This year the 105-degree heat never arrived, but the losses never went away.
This month has seen more injuries (Geovany Soto, Shin-Soo Choo, Alex Rios), losing streaks of eight and four, an embarrassing, sour-grapes rant by Colby Lewis over a bunt single, and ugly slumps by Elvis Andrus (0 for 12) and Leonys Martin (0 for 16). Except when Yu Darvish pitches, on the mound each game feels like open-mike night. And last night the Rangers even managed to waste a 7-RBI game from J.P. Arencibia in a heart-breaking 12-11 loss to New York.
Oh, and the trade-deadline buying? Gone. Now the Rangers are sellers of Jason Frasor and Joakim Soria and perhaps Rios in an attempt to salvage anything – albeit prospects for a better future – out of this gruesome season.
The good news: August can’t be worse. Can it?
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
