One game in and our worst fears about the Rangers are at least a realistic possibility.
They miss Yu Darvish. Their offense, even with Prince Fielder, can still be meek. Their fielding is average. And their bullpen is a wondrous splash of anonymity and ineffectiveness.
A’s 8, Rangers Yuck.
You know it’s a dastardly debut when the highlight is Ryan Rua’s groundball single in the 8th inning preventing you from being the first team to be no-hit on Opening Day since 1940.
As it was, the Rangers were harmless against Oakland and starter Sonny Gray.
They made as many errors as they produced hits, and starter Yovani Gallardo matched those with two wild pitches in a forgettable Rangers’ debut of four runs in 89 pitches.
Obviously, the Rangers aren’t this bad. If so, their win total of 67 from a year ago would look like Mount Everest.
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But this is undeniable: They haven’t looked so putrid on Opening Day since Charlie Hough started, Ned Yost was his catcher and Buddy Bell played third base. Yep, the last time the Rangers lost by eight runs (9-1) in the first game of the season was 1984, so long ago that to soothe the pain of the loss you probably put Prince’s Purple Rain album on your record player afterward.
Scariest thing about the first game of 2015 was how similar it was to the last game of 2014, a 4-0 loss to the Oakland A’s and a pitcher named Sonny Gray.
It can only get better from here. Right?
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.
