Kuzul

The Texas Rangers are looking for their first playoff series win in franchise history, and last week, it looked like they would get it. The Rangers took games one and two in commanding fashion, giving up only one run. Starting pitchers Cliff Lee, and C.J. Wilson dominated both games, leading Rangers fans to think a sweep was in order. The sweep, however would not be so, leading 2-1 in the late innings of game 3, Ron Washington made some questionable decisions with the bullpen, and they could not finish the job, losing 6-2.

In game four, the Rangers could never get going and they were dominated by the Rays 5-2. The bats of star hitters, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero have been nonexistent this series. The trio, who were expected to lead the Rangers to victory, have been nowhere to be found.

The Rangers missed an opportunity to close out the series at home, and now must return to Tropicana Field to close out the first series win in franchise history.

Here are four reasons why Rangers fans should be confident of a win in game five.

1. The Play of Elvis Andrus.

This is a strange way to start off this list, Andrus does not hit for power, has never played in a post season, and is only a second year starter. How can he possibly be a factor in the Rangers winning in game five? The answer is Andrus has been nothing short of spectacular in this series.

He is batting .316 in this series with though he only has one RBI. He has been a force on the base paths, stealing bases, forcing the Rays to make bad throws, and generating run producing innings. He has done an outstanding job at the lead-off position, working high pitch counts to start the game, and making things happen for the Rangers.

In the field, he has also been outstanding, making spectacular plays that belong on the highlight reel, as well as making numerous plays to save runs.

If he can keep this up in game five, the 22 year old will be a main part of why the Rangers will win their first division series in franchise history.

2. Josh Hamilton Remembers How to Hit.

Josh Hamilton had an MVP regular season. He posted a .359 batting average, with 32 Home Runs, and 100 RBI’s. Hamilton is the main reason for the Rangers first post season birth in eleven years as he’s been fantastic. His play in the field was great, and he has had several game saving plays, both in the field and at the plate.

In the post season, however, Josh Hamilton is no where to be found. If the Rangers are going to win this series, Josh Hamilton will have to play a major role in game five.

Josh Hamilton has put this team on his back and led them to victory before. Trailing 8-2 against the Red Sox on August 13, Hamilton put the Rangers on his back in a way never seen before. He made plays in the field, at the plate, and on the base paths in a game the Rangers would win 10-9.

Hamilton needs to have another take over game if the Rangers are to win game five.

3. Cliff Lee.

Cliff Lee is Mr. October. He has never lost a post-season game, going 5-0 in his short, but very successful career in the playoffs. Last year with the Phillies, Lee won both World Series games that he started, but the Phillies would still lose the series 4-2. Should the Rangers win and face the Yankees, Cliff Lee boasts a 6-1 record with a 2.76 ERA against the Bronx Bombers since 2007.

In the post season, there is no one else you would rather have on the mound than Cliff Lee, and the Rangers are starting him in game five. This is the reason the Rangers traded for Lee in the first place. The Rangers are in a win or go home situation facing elimination, and they will hand the game ball to Cliff Lee and say “put us on your back.”

Cliff Lee beat the Rays and all star pitcher David Price in game one. If Lee can do it again, the Rangers will be headed to their first American League Championship series in franchise history.

4. Cliff Lee, Again.

When you just get down to it, the fate of this game rest solely in the hands of Cliff Lee. If he brings his usual playoff stuff, the Rays can kiss their season goodbye. If however, Lee does not shown up in the post season for the first time ever, the Rangers will be looking at yet another one and done.

Rangers fans should have faith though, because when has Cliff Lee not been ready for a post season game?

The ball is in your hands Cliff Lee.

The Rangers put all of their hope in you.

For questions regarding the article please comment, or send me an E-mail.

Paul Ferguson is an intern at bleacher report.

Follow him on twitter at: @paulwall5

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The earliest of Sunday’s three MLB Division Series matchups will be between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, after Tampa notched a comeback win in Game 3 of the ALDS. Trailing 2-1 entering the eighth inning, the Rays got big hits from (among others) Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena en route to a season-saving win.

Game 4 on Sunday will pit two disappointing young starters, Texas’s Tommy Hunter and Tampa Bay’s Wade Davis. Though each posted decent numbers in traditional statistical categories (Hunter went 13-4 with an ERA south of 4.00, while Davis finished at 12-10 and had a 4.07 ERA), neither man was especially impressive.

Davis had just 1.82 strikeouts per walk issued, a pedestrian figure, and gave up 24 home runs. Hunter surrendered 22 bombs in only 133 innings, and struck out fewer than five per nine innings. In fielder-independent ERA (FIP), each ranked among the 20 worst hurlers in baseball with 120 or more innings pitched according to FanGraphs.

The season may hang in the balance for each squad. Tampa’s season would end with a loss, but the Rangers (51-30 at home this season) can hardly afford a defeat that would send the ALDS back to Tampa Bay for a decisive fifth contest.

In an ideal world, each manager would send out his ace for such a crucial game, but both David Price and Cliff Lee are being held in reserve for a potential Game 5 start on long rather than short rest.

Therefore, Davis and Hunter will take the mound Sunday, and the game will likely be decided by the teams’ respective offenses.

That makes for a highly unpredictable outcome in Game 4. Neither team has an offensive attack that can be fairly labeled as consistent (witness the Rays falling victim to two perfect games in two years, and the Rangers’ 59 games with three or fewer runs scored), yet each has explosive potential with batters (Texas’s Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton, Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria) capable of hurting an opposing hurler in myriad ways.

Carlos Pena Ain’t Dead Yet

One key advantage for Tampa Bay is that first baseman Carlos Pena responded excellently to being benched in Game 2, notching two hits and three RBI on Saturday night. Pena had struck out three times and walked once in the opening contest of the Series, and manager Joe Maddon elected to start Desmond Jennings in Game 2, moving Ben Zobrist in from right field to first base and bumping Pena from the lineup.

Pena, who batted just .196/.325/.407 this season and struck out 158 times, could well have pouted over being relegated to the pine. Since the start of 2008, Pena’s 98 home runs are good enough for ninth in baseball. Instead, the notoriously easy-going left-handed swinger took the temporary demotion in stride, and had the key game-tying single for Tampa in the top of the eighth inning on Saturday. He then cracked a two-run home run in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Pena is unlikely to return to the Rays next season, given the team’s well-publicized designs on payroll reduction and his $10.125 million salary for 2010. How much longer Pena remains a Ray, then, may hinge upon how well he hits in Sunday’s contest with Hunter, against whom he is 3-for-10 lifetime with two doubles and a home run.

The Impaler Cometh

Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Texas Rangers this winter in a generally unheralded move. Guerrero was coming off his worst big-league season, having failed to reach 20 home runs, bat at least .300, and slug at least .520 for the first time in more than a decade.

The 2010 season has marked a modest renaissance for the future Hall of Famer, once a cat-like outfielder but now relegated to designated hitter duty. Guerrero batted .300/.345/.496 for the season, swatting 29 home runs and driving in 115 runs for the Rangers.

Guerrero is just 35, but with a mutual option on the table for next season and big raises due to Hamilton, Cruz, and others, Texas may be forced to address other needs this winter. Cliff Lee would command a huge sum to stay in Texas, while the Rangers must also shore up their bench: Jeff Francoeur, Bengie Molina, and Cristian Guzman all are free agents at season’s end. Guerrero’s primary suitors if he left Texas would include non-contenders like the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.

If this is the swan song for Guerrero’s playoff career, expect him to go out with a bang. The slugging Dominican is one of his generation’s underrated superstars, a .320/.383/.563 career hitter who could well reach 500 home runs. In his five previous trips to the postseason, however, Guerrero has slugged just .375 with two home runs, and his team has never reached the World Series.

Texas needs its cleanup-hitting slasher to come through in a big way sometime over the next two games if they hope to advance further into these playoffs, as the organization has never won a playoff Series of any stripe.

A Battle of Wits

By the end of Game 4, expect to see both skippers empty their benches and bullpens. Both Maddon and Texas manager Ron Washington have made frequent use of pitching changes and pinch-hitters during the ALDS, taking advantage of two of the league’s deepest benches.

For Maddon, this sort of chess match is a comfortable setting. No junior-circuit team deployed more pinch-hitters than the Rays this season, and overall, only the Yankees had the platoon advantage more often at the plate than did Tampa Bay.

Washington spent much of the regular season forgoing such micro-management: the Rangers used narrowly more than half as many pinch-hitters as Tampa Bay, and had the platoon advantage less often than all but one AL team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Intriguingly, though, Washington used his substitutes in more important situations than all but one other manager, with an average leverage of 2.12 in pinch-hit at bats: Tampa registered a league-low 1.19 leverage.

On the pitching side of the ledger, Maddon and Washington have much more convergent styles. The two men made more pitching changes than any other American League managers, and were less hesitant to go to relievers who had been used the previous day than any other skippers.

Again, Maddon somewhat over-managed at times, making more pitching changes without allowing a reliever to record at least three outs than any other skipper. He also made more moves while ahead and with runners on base than any other skipper. Washington, ever the chooser of spots, made a league-best 184 switches in high-leverage situations, and led the league in pitching changes during tie games. Though each will try his best to control Sunday’s clash, the execution of their players will decide this one.

Matt Trueblood is a student at Loyola University Chicago and B/R College Writing Intern. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Texas Rangers clubbed the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 Thursday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their ALDS matchup. 

The Rangers have never won a postseason series in the franchise’s history, but that looks like it will change in 2010. Are they just a fluke, destined to burn out in the ALCS, or something bigger and more promising? 

Here are 10 reasons why the Rangers a trustworthy this October. 

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With their thrilling 4-3 victory over the A’s in Oakland on Saturday, the Texas Rangers have finally made their long-awaited return to baseball’s promised land, earning their first postseason berth since 1999.

While it was nearly a foregone conclusion that they would eventually clinch the AL West, considering their significant division lead, nothing in baseball is ever set in stone until the other potential outcomes are mathematically eliminated. The Rangers were able to erase any lingering doubt, claiming the American League West division crown with a week’s worth of regular-season action remaining.

The ability to clinch with a week left should not be underestimated. Although their rotation has been set-up for postseason action for the last few weeks, the Rangers now don’t have to rely on dramatic “must-win” scenarios for at least a week, easing the burden on their staff.

Relievers can also be used judiciously, keeping them fresh for baseball’s “second season,” while still giving them the proper amount of work to keep them sharp and ready. Similarly, position players are now afforded the opportunity to heal their weary bodies, and opportunity that their opponents, Tampa or New York won’t have.

In baseball, it pays to adhere to the age-old cliches of “taking one day at a time” or “never looking beyond today’s game,” but now the Rangers can actually look ahead somewhat, with their clinching victory rendering the remainder of the regular season meaningless in terms of playoff ramifications.  

Texas knows that since the Rays and Yankees hail from the same division, they are unable to play each other in the first round of the divisional playoffs, so one must play the Rangers, and the other, the Twins.

Currently, with the Yankees and Rays embroiled in a tight division race, only separated by a half-game, the AL East battle is likely to go down to the final day of the season. As it stands today, the Rays lead the East with the best record in the league, and would therefore play the postseason entrant with the lowest winning percentage, the Rangers.

That could all change over next few days if the Tampa and New York were to exchange places in the East standings, in which case, the Rangers would then face the Yankees in the Division Series. Although the Yankees have been a strong team, and are the defending World Series champions, there are many factors that may contribute to that being a match-up that the Rangers would actually prefer, if given the choice.

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Barring an epic, Texas-sized collapse over the remaining 12 games of the regular season schedule, the American League West-leading Texas Rangers are poised to return to post-season baseball for the first time since 1999.

Of course, nothing is yet set in stone, but with their magic number still standing at six after last night’s second consecutive loss at Anaheim, any combination of Ranger wins or Oakland losses equaling six will guarantee them a berth in the playoffs. With a seven game lead in the division, the odds favor Texas heavily to gain entry into October playoff baseball once again.

They still won’t know who awaits them until possibly the last day of the season, as the Yankees and Rays are still locked in a ferocious battle atop the tight AL East standings. It will be either New York or Tampa, however, as neither of those teams are able to face one another, due to hailing from the same division. Whoever settles for the Wild Card between those two will face Minnesota, with the East winner taking on the Rangers.

Regardless of their opponents, the Texas Rangers still have questions to ask of themselves prior to entering the fray of October playoff baseball. Let’s take a look at three of the most significant issues facing the Rangers as the regular season winds down.

Can They Win Away From Arlington?

Throughout 2010, the Rangers have been a force to be reckoned with at The Ballpark at Arlington, with their home record standing at 48-26.

Over 74 home games, they currently rank second to only the Yankees in runs scored at home, their collective .291 home batting average leads all AL teams, and their team home OPS of .810 is also second only to New York. Offensively, they present a formidable challenge in Arlington for even the most resolute of visiting pitching staffs.

For a park renowned as a hitters’ haven, the Rangers’ pitching staff has also performed well at home. Their staff ERA of 3.61 in their ballpark ranks them fifth amongst AL clubs, only trailing Oakland, Seattle, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay, most of whom play in parks that tend to favor pitchers far more than Arlington does.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, as things stand currently, they would not possess home-field advantage in any series throughout the post-season. Unless they can go on a miraculous run, aided by a complete collapse by Tampa Bay, they will finish with the worst record of any American League playoff club, assuring that they will play the role of visitors more than that of hosts.

This is not particularly encouraging news for them, as Texas has, by far, the worst road record of any AL playoff-bound club at 35-41. It gets even worse upon closer examination, as the Rangers have not won a single ballgame in 2010 while visiting Yankee Stadium, Target Field, or Tropicana Field. They are 0-10 when playing at any of their likely playoff foes’ parks, a trend that must be reversed if they hope to progress deep into the playoffs this year.

As a pitching staff, the Rangers see their collective ERA rise from 3.61 at home, to 4.25 on the road. Not a significant increase, but when you consider that total includes many innings against the Angels, Mariners, and A’s—all in the lower half of offensive scoring in their own parks—then it becomes more acute of an issue. The Rangers won’t be so fortunate in October, as the Yankees and Twins rank first and fourth respectively in runs scored at home.

Offensively, the Rangers are not nearly the threat away that they are in Arlington. Ranking only eighth amongst all AL teams in road scoring, their team-wide slugging percentage of only .387 drops them to tenth out of 14 clubs. Similarly, their .709 OPS also ranks them tenth.

Although they won’t hold home-field advantage, the 2010 Rangers have seen plenty of success at home against their likely playoff competition. At 2-1 versus Tampa, 3-1 versus Minnesota, and 4-1 against the Yankees, including a three-game sweep just two weeks ago, the Rangers will feel confident in their own ballpark. However, they’re going to have to overcome their lack of success on the road, particularly against their three American League opponents, if they hope to escape the first round of the 2010 playoffs with victory.

How Serious Is Josh Hamilton’s Injury?

Yesterday’s news regarding Josh Hamilton’s two fractured ribs provided some relief to the star outfielder, since he finally has a reason for the mysterious pains that have plagued him since September 4.

He has not played since crashing into the wall at Target Field that day, and team doctors have had trouble diagnosing the particular issue that has kept him sidelined. They finally discovered the injured ribs and have begun treatment, but Hamilton is still out indefinitely, and not involved in any baseball activities for the time being.

Of course, the Texas lineup is not entirely dependent upon Hamilton, as they have proficient hitters throughout, but the absence of one of the AL’s leading MVP candidates cannot be underestimated in the post-season.

Not only is Hamilton leading all MLB hitters in batting average at .361, but his slugging percentage of .635 and OPS of 1.049 are also tops in the league. He leads the Rangers in almost every offensive category, with his .414 on-base percentage and 31 home runs  pacing the club, and his 97 RBI trailing only Vladimir Guerrero.

Statistically, Hamilton’s formidable production is obviously missed, but his absence affects the balance of the predominantly right-handed Texas lineup as well. Aside from Hamilton, only David Murphy, Julio Borbon, and Mitch Moreland, among the regulars, hit left-handed, so there could be a gaping void in the heart of the order, which would serve to make match-ups easier on opposing managers.

Considering that Hamilton is tearing up right-handed pitchers in 2010 to a scorching .405 batting average, with a monstrous 1.175 OPS, versus a .271 and .789 against lefties, he would clearly force foes to burn through left-handed relief in an effort to subdue him late in games. If he’s not able to play regularly, that concern is not nearly as pronounced, since Vlad, Kinsler, and Michael Young are all more productive against left-handed pitchers and wouldn’t require opponents to make as many moves to their bullpen.

Of course, players like Murphy and Moreland can help to alleviate the balance issues, but they’re not nearly the offensive threat that Hamilton is that would require bullpen moves on a constant basis. Against a team such as the Yankees, this becomes even more of a consideration, since they have only one left-handed reliever in their bullpen, Boone Logan.

If Josh Hamilton is to make a significant impact for the Rangers this post-season, he must improve enough to play regularly in the outfield. Normally, the designated hitter role could be used to ease Hamilton into playing time and, even if he wasn’t fully healthy, to keep his potent bat in the lineup.

However, the Rangers’ second-most powerful bat, that of Vladimir Guerrero, resides nearly full-time in the DH spot, so that isn’t likely an option for Hamilton. Vlad has played a handful of 2010 games in right-field, but the Rangers have no desire to re-visit that defensive configuration, for the good of the defense, as well as helping to preserve Vlad’s health.

With apparently no set timetable for a return, and the regular season quickly dwindling, the health of Josh Hamilton is becoming a greater concern by the day. If the Texas Rangers hope to progress beyond the Division Series for the first time in franchise history, the status of their star outfielder must be resolved soon. Otherwise, fans in Arlington may have to wait another long off-season before getting the chance to urge the Rangers on once more.

Will the Lack of Adversity Down the Stretch Make It Difficult to “Turn It On” Come October?

After trudging through a mediocre April in which they bottomed out at 10-12, finding themselves in fourth place in the AL West on April 29, all the Rangers needed was a three-game winning streak to vault them into first place by May 2.

They continued to turn it around in May when they went 15-12, despite a run differential of only plus one. The modest improvement in their fortunes was enough to keep them in first or second for most of the second month of the season, never dipping more than a 0.5 games out of first through the end of May.

One last day of second place, on June 7, a half-game out, the Rangers then went on a tear over the course of the month, posting a stellar 21-6 record in June. That tremendous hot streak helped them to finish June at 47-30, 4.5 games up in the division. Then they turned on the cruise control.

Despite posting unimpressive monthly records of 14-13 in July, 13-15 in August, and 9-9 in September, the Rangers saw their lead in the West balloon to 10 full games on September 18. Somehow, although they’ve played baseball at a 36-37 pace since July 1, they have not held less than a 3.5 game lead during that span.

A division race that was expected to be a thrilling fight from April through September, the AL West has, in actuality, been anything but. Mike Scioscia’s always-tough Angels saw their season derailed by a few key injuries and maybe a couple mistakes on player personnel decisions.

The Mariners, after bringing in Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Milton Bradley, became a trendy pick to challenge the perennially favored Angels for the division crown.

Oakland, despite their small market financial constraints, continually find ways to maximize their modest resources to remain competitive against their wealthier opposition.

The enthralling drama that was expected to take place never actually occurred. By the July 31 trading deadline, with the Rangers leading the West by 8.5 games, the only action of interest was the slew of veterans that Texas would pick up to solidify their position.

There is always the fear that a team with a significant division lead can become complacent without the everyday tension of a close race to keep them sharp. With such a seemingly insurmountable lead, games can take on the feeling of “meaningless” as the team easily breezes their way toward the post-season.

Of course, a sizable lead does afford a team certain luxuries as well, such as resting key players down the stretch to keep them healthy, and setting up your rotation in the final weeks, so that it is aligned precisely as you wish for the post-season run.

It’s never simple to determine how a team will react to a lack of competitive adversity down the stretch. Will they be able to reignite that fire that saw them claw their way to the top of the heap in the first place? Or will the shock of the postseason be too much for them to bear, once the level of intensity proves to be far greater than what they had grown accustomed to for several months of the regular season?

If the Rangers are to advance deep into October, they need to step it up a notch now, so they aren’t caught unaware once the playoffs begin.

Let the Games Begin

With less than two weeks of games left before baseball’s “second season” begins, time is running out for teams to put the finishing touches on their 2010 campaigns.

It’s often said that getting to the playoffs is the ambition, and that once there, anything can happen. If the Texas Rangers are blessed with a healthy Josh Hamilton, if they can find a way to win on the road, and are able to step up their game after months of running away with their division, the talent is there to finally bring a World Series championship to Arlington.

The time to answer those critical questions lurks just beyond the turn of the calendar into October.

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In baseball, the art of being able to recognize and take pitches out of the zone is key to success. Although hitting statistics like home runs and batting average are glorified, walks greatly contribute to wins.

Here are the five least disciplined hitters, based on their O-Swing % (the amount of pitches out of the zone at which they swing). For some players, however, this strategy yields success (i.e. Vladimir Guerrerro)

Here’s the Five Most Disciplined Hitters

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The answer is absolutely not.

The Bleacher Report editorial staff asked me my opinion of the designated hitter. Do guys like Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers and David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox help the game, or is their specialization bad for baseball? I consider myself a baseball purist (I dislike artificial turf, 12-man pitching staffs, innings limits, pitch counts, and the Wild Card) but I do like the DH.

Certain hitters in 2010, such as Ortiz and Guerrero, were thought to have been done as major league hitters. The Angels made the hasty decision to believe Hideki Matusi’s heroics in the 2009 World Series would translate over to 2010. The Halos signed him instead of re-signing Vlad.

However, Guerrero and Ortiz have had a resurgence in 2010 and are big reasons why their teams are in playoff contention. If there were no DH, then these players would likely have not had the same type seasons, if they were playing at all.

Since the April 6 game in 1973 when Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees was the first ever DH to have a plate appearance, this position has allowed many players to further their careers in the comfy confines of the “half player.” 

Those early days included DHs like Orlando Cepeda (who could have been the first DH), Frank Robinson of the California Angels, Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins, Billy Williams of the Oakland A’s, Harmon Killebrew of the Kansas City Royals, and Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Brewers.

These players were all former 1960s hitting stars (most are Hall of Famers) who were near the end of their careers, but while slower in the field, could still be productive with the bat.

For instance, Robinson hit 30 home runs in 1973 as DH, and Oliva, who was often injured and had terrible knees, extended his career by a few years.

The game at that time was not in a boom period. Pitching dominated. Runs were at a premium, and the AL owners (who voted 8 to 4 in favor of the DH), wanted to boost run production and attendance. It was the second time within the last five years that baseball made rules changes for improved run production.

After the 1968 season, affectionately called the Year of the Pitcher, the height of the mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches.

And young fans (such as myself at the time) were able to see big time former stars (such as all-time home run king Aaron), able to still play baseball. We wanted to see Aaron hit. Most of these DHs still played the field a little bit, too, but probably would not have a roster spot and forced into retirement if the DH were not in effect.

In 1973, several young players also got the opportunity for more early career at bats. Oscar Gamble (23) of the Cleveland Indians likely had his career kick-started a little earlier with the help of the DH. Even though Gamble already had major league time accumulated, the increased frequency of his plate appearances were the result of the DH. Others, like Carlos May and Hal McRae, played more often because of the DH position.

The DH has now evolved into not just a full-time position, but also a rotating spot in the lineup. For example, the New York Yankees regularly give one of their position players a “half day off” by letting them DH in a game to give them a break.

This is another example of what baseball has always loved, seeing the big stars play more often. Who wants to go to their first baseball game (a day game following a night contest) and not see Alex Rodriguez or Vlad Guerrero in the game? The DH spot allows for this star player to still play.

The great Joe DiMaggio retired early because he wasn’t at his best in 1951, his last season. DiMaggio primarily meant his play in the field. If the DH weres present and in full swing in 1952, DiMaggio could have still had a few more productive seasons with the bat while a young Mickey Mantle assumed full-time duties in center field.

And maybe a few more young fans today would have been able to say they once saw Joe DiMaggio play for the Yankees. 

This is similar to the All-Star Game played every year. It does not matter how good Alex Gonzalez played for Toronto in the first half, the fans want to see Derek Jeter start at shortstop. If some National League first baseman were having a “career year” in the first half, sorry Charlie, but Phat Albert is playing at the first sack.

Since the game (and people’s jobs) are so determined by wins and losses, if an aging DH is not producing, he likely will not keep his jobs. That is why managers with not a whole lot of tenure will only play guys who are productive, not being able to afford to sit on a certain player.

Guys like Harold Baines, Hal McRae, Edgar Martinez, and Paul Molitor all succeeded at the DH position because they were still productive. Frank Thomas was the same way, and when he stopped hitting, he was “retired.”

Of that group, only Molitor is currently in the Hall of Fame, although Thomas will probably get in quickly. Pushes for Baines and Martinez (although eligible only one season thus far), have fallen on voters’ deaf ears. While Martinez still may have that Bert Blyleven push if he continues to struggle, it shows that only the “best of the best” at any postion will make the hallowed Hall.

It is not like a bunch of aging veterans are hanging on to accumulate Hall-ready numbers. Even if Ortiz produces a year of two more, he is not Hall-worthy, while Guerrero probably would be as he was a better all-around player for his entire career.

The game is about winning and only the good players will play.

Ask former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu how quickly things can change when your team does not play well. Where Wakamatsu had not built up any “winning tenure,” a manager like Boston’s Terry Francona can weather the David Ortiz storm a little longer, hoping he breaks out of his early season malaise. But most managers need to win now.

And it was good for the game overall to see Big Papi become a threat once again, as it was for Vlad Geurrero. Two stars who the fans want to see, not because they are “padding their stats” but because they are productive players who are helping their teams win games now.

Don’t the Angels wished they had Vlad back this season?

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Let’s call the American League West for what it is, over. Pull out the white flag, hook it up, and raise it to the top of the flag pole and let it fly proudly.

That’s the note that I would write to the front office of both the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It’s time for these two teams to call it a season, pack it in, and start planning their off season capabilities.

So, let it be known, on this 10th day of August 2010, that the AL West was declared for the Texas Rangers (insert the sound of crickets here). Where is everybody? Where is the champagne, where is the celebration?

Oh wait, the fans here in Dallas are waiting for one of the most monumental collapses in sports. They’re waiting for the Rangers to fall on their face like they’ve done so many times before.

Let me soothe you Ranger fans. Let me put your fear at ease. The AL West is a wrap. At no time has a Texas Ranger team held an eight game lead two weeks into the month of August, the second to last month of the regular season.

This is not the team that has fallen in seasons past. These are not the same players that have quit on each other because they didn’t know how to handle a division lead, or a divisional race for that matter.

While the Ranger fans work their way out of hiding, I’ll talk to the other baseball fans whose teams wish they had an eight game lead in their division. They would love to be breathing a little easier at this point, just ask the fans of the White Sox and Twins who are in a dead heat in the AL Central. Ask the fans of those two teams if they wouldn’t love to have that kind of lead and be able to call their division, over.

The Rangers are doing all this despite Vladimir Guerrero hitting .232 after the All-Star break with just a single home run after hitting 11 prior to the break. During the first half of the season, Guerrero struck out just 30 times in 323 at bats.

So far, through just 82 at bats, he has almost half that number (13).

The first three months of his time with the Rangers, it looked as if they had gotten a diamond when all the Angels saw was a guy past his prime. He hit .333, .330, and .356 from April to June respectively. However, those numbers took a huge fall as Vlad hit just .210 in the month of July and had his second highest number of strikeouts (12) that same month.

Not only has Vlad struggled, but they’ve been without second baseman Ian Kinsler who was put on the disabled list on July 28th with a left groin strain.

One guy that they have been getting production from is outfielder Nelson Cruz. Prior to the All-Star break, Cruz was hitting .299 with 11 home runs and 41 runs batted in through 174 at bats. Since the break, Cruz is hitting .344 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in.

However, that’s not the most telling stat. Cruz had struck out 44 times in those 172 at bats but has just 15 in 90 at bats. If he keeps that up, he would have cut down on his strikeouts considerably.

The hottest Ranger of them all since the All-Star break, a guy who’s making one heck of a case for the American League’s Most Valuable Player award, is outfielder Josh Hamilton. While his numbers in the first half of the season were more than respectable, hitting .346 with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in, his numbers post All-Star break have been nothing short of astounding. Hamilton is hitting .395 with a .457 on base percentage not to mention hitting .454 in June and .418 in July.

Two players can not carry this team, especially if they hope to make a serious run through the playoffs. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz can’t carry this offense on their own.

Michael Young (.247), Elvis Andrus (.258), and Benjie Molina (.232) are all guys that they need to step up as the team reaches October, each of three haven’t exactly been impressive since the All-Star break.

However, it’s not the hitting that will make or break this team in the next two months, it’s their pitching. Rich Harden, just this past weekend, showed just how much the team can’t trust him as a starter down the stretch. His five walks and one hit batter through two and a third innings was not what manager Ron Washington was hoping to see.

The best move the Rangers made prior to the trade deadline all but guaranteed them a playoff spot. That move was landing left-hander Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners, a guy that most thought was about to be traded to the New York Yankees.

Since his arrival to the Rangers, Lee is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA. While he’s going to be instrumental for this team over the last few months, his previous playoff experience will prove to be exactly what will help this team come October. There’s no substitute for having a guy anchoring your rotation that knows what it’s like to get to the World Series. Not only that, but he knows what it’s like to pitch in those games.

Outside of Lee, the Rangers have been getting big performances in their rotation from Tommy Hunter (9-1, 3.01) and C.J. Wilson (10-5, 3.30) not to mention Colby Lewis (9-8, 3.37). Aside from those four, when the starters can turn the ball over to their bullpen and not worry about a lead getting squandered, it helps their confidence that much more. Darren Oliver (2.33), Darren O’Day (1.18), and Alexi Ogando (1.19) have been nothing short of solid when they get the ball in the late innings. Though Oliver has struggled of late, giving up six earned runs in his last five appearances (4 1/3 IP).

What every team needs is a guy that can come in to the game in the ninth and shut the door. The Rangers have that guy in young right-handed flame thrower Neftali Feliz who has racked up 29 saves this season and has blown just two save opportunities all year.

So, for all you Ranger fans who are afraid to come out of the woodwork and believe that this team has it wrapped up, you can come out of hiding and wear your Ranger colors proudly. Sure the Cowboys are almost a month away from kicking off, but there’s another team in Arlington that might have their best shot at a championship this year.

Doubt all you want, question if you must, but admit that this is not the same team or the same players that have let the fans down in the past. This is a team that is gearing up for October.

So, as Brian Dalgin says so well…Let’s go!

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On Thursday afternoon, the Texas Rangers made another move geared toward their run for the postseason, trading for Marlins’ 1B/3B Jorge Cantu.

So far this season, Cantu is batting .262 with 10 home runs and 54 runs batted in. Those are pretty good numbers for someone who will likely end up batting seventh.

With second baseman Ian Kinsler recently going on the 15-day DL, Cantu will likely see a few games at second base. On other nights, he will be splitting time at first base with the recently promoted Mitch Moreland.

When Ian Kinsler comes back, imagine a lineup that looks like this:

1. SS Elvis Andrus

2. 3B Michael Young

3. 2B Ian Kinsler

4. DH Vladimir Guerrero

5. LF Josh Hamilton

6. RF Nelson Cruz

7. 1B Jorge Cantu

8. C Bengie Molina

9. CF Julio Borbon

You have loads of speed, with Elvis Andrus and Julio Borbon being the most obvious ones. Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, and Ian Kinsler are all excellent base runners and have great speed for their sizes.

Michael Young and Vladimir Guerrero are no slouches either. I have seen numerous times were Guerrero was very aggressive and took an extra base on a base hit.

Molina is quite a base clogger, but he isn’t being asked to do much with the bat, focusing rather on his defensive responsibilities.

Everyone knows how potent the top five hitters in the Rangers order can be.

Elvis Andrus gets on base often and is always a threat to run.

Michael Young is Michael Young. One of the most consistent hitters in the game.

Ian Kinsler is seventh in the American League in OBP.

Vladimir Guerrero is having an MVP caliber year with a .307 BA, 20 HR, and 80 RBI. The only reason he won’t win MVP is his own teammate.

Josh Hamilton is threatening for the American League triple crown.

Nelson Cruz has had two different stints on the disabled list, but he still has 14 HR and 57 RBI, and has a .330 batting average.

Cantu would slot in very nicely in the seventh spot in the batting order.

Cantu’s 54 RBI were good for second most on the Marlins, but on the Rangers, he would only be fifth.

Adding Cantu’s RBI total would give the Rangers five players in the top 29 in the RBI category, more than the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays, three teams regarded as main challengers for the Rangers in the American League.

Though he isn’t having a great year batting average wise, he is a career .276 hitter and should see plenty of RBI opportunities batting behind Guerrero, Hamilton, and Cruz.

Cantu also has hit well in Arlington, with a .350 batting average in nine games, including six doubles.

Finishing the rest of the season playing in Arlington will do wonders for his numbers.

The lineup the Rangers can put out every day has an excellent blend of power and speed.

They have to be considered the best lineup in baseball.

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Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the 2010 Texas Rangers. Or should I say, the first-place Texas Rangers, and we’re not just talking about the first few games of the season.

We’re almost to the month of August and instead of most of the radio stations, and the fans, already deep into conversations surrounding the upcoming season for the Dallas Cowboys, the Rangers are still very relevant, and for good reason.

No other time in the team’s history have they had this kind of record this deep into the season (58-41) and no other time in the team’s history have they looked like a legit World Series contender.

What is funny about that, at least to me, is the fact that the local radio station here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area continues to get texts and e-mails asking the stations to stop talking about the Rangers.

You’d think fans would be excited about the fact that this team is finally a legit contender. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I had a conversation, though a short one, with a close friend of mine who is not ready to “drink the Kool-Aid.”

While I’m fine with that, his reasoning was a tad off. He made point that this team doesn’t know what it’s like to challenge for a division title or a pennant for that matter.

To that point, he is somewhat correct. However, what he failed to mention is the fact that they have three players who absolutely know what it takes to get to the World Series, and two of them know what it takes to win.

Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero and catcher Bengie Molina were both members of the Anaheim Angels when they won the World Series over the San Francisco Giants in 2002.

Pitcher Cliff Lee, as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, made it to the World Series in 2009 before losing to the New York Yankees.

So while this team, as a whole, may have not challenged for a pennant before, they have guys that can teach the rest of the team just what it takes to win.

What this team also has, thanks to the addition of Cliff Lee, is an ace at the top of the rotation, especially in a best-of-five series, something the Rangers haven’t had since Nolan Ryan wore the uniform.

With Lee anchoring the rotation, they also have two guys who have been as solid as any in the big leagues this season.

Right-hander C.J. Wilson (9-5 3.03 ERA) and right-hander Tommy Hunter (8-0 2.09 ERA) have been two guys that have kept the Rangers in front of the Angels for the majority of the season and are two reasons why they currently hold a seven-game lead in the AL West.

Outside of Lee, Wilson, and Hunter, the back end of the rotation gets a little cloudy. Matt Harrison, Rich Harden, Scott Feldman, and Colby Lewis could round out the last two spots in the rotation except for the fact that Harden and Feldman haven’t exactly been what the Rangers had hoped at the beginning of the season.

Offensively, they have the weapons to put up runs against even the best pitchers in the game right now. Outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz, along with designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero have combined for 56 home runs and 200 runs batted in, while all three are also hitting .300 or better.

Next to those three, you’ve got guys like third baseman Michael Young (.301/15/58) and second baseman Ian Kinsler (.301/6/38), who also make for legit offensive weapons.

Imagine, if you will, being an opposing pitcher having to face Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, then having Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, and Vladimir Guerrero still waiting in the wings.

Those five guys alone would be enough to make me wonder who I should and shouldn’t pitch to.

This isn’t the team that has faltered year in and year out in the late part of the season. This isn’t the team that holds a slim lead in the AL West and tanks before the month of August is even over.

While Texas grabbed left-hander Cliff Lee out from under the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Angels responded with the addition of Dan Haren.

It’s only a matter of time before we know just how much help Haren will be for the Angels. With the Rangers up seven games, it might be too little, too late.

While there are those who won’t believe in this team until they are named the AL West champions, there are others who would rather stop talking about baseball altogether for no other reason than the Dallas Cowboys started training camp this past weekend.

But why people want to give more attention to something that couldn’t be more meaningless, like NFL training camp, instead of a team who’s deep into a divisional race, I’ll never know.

I know Texas is a football state and I know that most would rather go to a Cowboys game than a Rangers game regardless of how good, or bad, the Cowboys are.

The Rangers have earned the attention to this point because they continue to prove themselves night in and night out.

While they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles prior to the All-Star break, I think they more than made fans forget about that with series wins over Boston and Detroit on the road, as well as three out of four against the Angels in Arlington.

The road only gets rougher for the AL West leaders. The month of August is where this team will prove itself once and for all.

After road trips to Seattle and Oakland to start the month, the Rangers play series against the Yankees, Red Sox, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Minnesota, and Kansas City.

Those series alone will make or break the remainder of the AL West chase for the Texas Rangers.

This team has a chance to do something no other team in its history has done. They have a chance to go to the World Series, and more than that, they might have a legit chance to bring home the biggest prize in the industry.

While Rangers fans want the media on their side, it’s unfortunate that the football fans in the area outnumber them.

Even if the Rangers bring home the World Series trophy to North Texas, the Cowboy fans will still make the argument that they have more championships in their trophy case.

It’s the same argument that Yankees fans make to every other baseball fan of every other team there is.

The Rangers deserve the attention right now. They’ve had the kind of season that deserves the spotlight.

The football fans want them to fall on their face for no other reason than to have the spotlight all to themselves as is usually the norm this time of year.

While me, personally, I’m not a Rangers fan. But I’m hoping they keep fighting all the way to the AL West championship and the ALCS. That way, the football fans will have to endure baseball talk for another few months.

The Cowboys are fighting for nothing more than a roster spot while the baseball team in the area is fighting for something that actually means something.

So, as long as that remains true, the spotlight should stay on Rangers’ Ballpark and the Texas Rangers baseball team.

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