Unless the Texas Rangers suddenly fall back off the wagon and drop five of their final six games, we gave them too little credit in our proclamation a week ago that the Rangers would avoid 100 losses and finish the year with 98 setbacks.
Then, we suggested the Rangers would finish the year with a 64-98 record. Now, with six games left, they have a 63-93 record after winning nine of their last 10 games.
With the way things are going right now, it's hard to believe the Rangers will tank to 98 losses, and that's a testament to interim manager Tim Bogar and his rag-tag group of what essentially amounts to a Triple-A lineup. Take a look at Monday night's lineup when they beat the Astros, for instance. Only Leonys Martin and Adrian Beltre were in the Rangers' Opening Day lineup. The rest of the lineup was a bunch of guys who had no intention of being in Arlington this season.
There are some folks out there clamoring because the Rangers no longer have possession of the worst record in baseball and the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft that comes with it, but winning games is more important, especially in baseball where No. 1 draft picks are far from a guarantee and even if they are of the can't-miss variety, you usually don't see them in the majors for three or four years.
Enjoy this final week of the season, Rangers fans, and cross your fingers the four-game set to close the season against Oakland impacts the A's postseason hopes in a negative way because, well, that'd just be fun.
