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Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers Are Putting Together a Winning, Weird Season

By Richie Whitt Wed., Jun. 16 2010 at 8:37 AM

Categories: Texas Rangers

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Where would the Rangers be without Colby Lewis? And others.

I was at Texas Rangers' spring training out in Surprise, Arizona the day they signed journeyman catcher Matt Treanor. Honestly, it registered a .5 on my 1-10 scale.

The Rangers had their catchers of the future in Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden. Behind them, they had Max Ramirez. Surely Treanor was just a camp body, an afterthought veteran insurance policy just in case.

What do ya know, "just in case" happened. Salty got hurt, then forgot how to throw. Teagarden flamed out, harmless at the plate against Major League pitching. Ramirez proved he wasn't ready for the Bigs, either. A position not long ago considered an embarrassment of riches was suddenly a crippling hole in the lineup.

Enter Treanor.

Surprise indeed.

Tuesday night in Miami the catcher delivered his biggest hit of the season, a two-out, 9th-inning triple that scored two runs and propelled the Rangers to an unlikely 3-2 win over the Florida Marlins.

Treanor is hitting .224. But it's scary to think where Texas would be without him.

Considering that Chris Davis flunked out, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler have spent considerable time on the disabled list, Rich Harden's ERA is 5.68 and targeted leadoff man Julio Borbon was in such a bad funk that he was demoted to No. 9 and almost the minors, the Rangers are pulling off a minor miracle.

On a team that's 36-28, there have been plenty of positive surprises. My Top 5:

5. Ron Washington - Has he mismanaged some games, perhaps turned a win or two into loss? Yep. But I figured his pre-season cocaine admission would be a bigger distraction. Opposing stadiums/fans must have short memories, because it isn't an issue. Wash promised to put the mistake behind him, and I'll be damned if he hasn't done it.

4. C.J. Wilson - The volatile reliever has channeled his energy and harnessed his stuff, making him one of the best starters in the American League. I had my doubts, you?

3. Vladimir Guerrero - I know he's a former MVP, but considering his wobbly knees and declining production even the Rangers didn't expect this kind of season. He leads the team in average and RBI and has injected the clubhouse with youthful enthusiasm.

2. Neftali Feliz - Remember, the Rangers tried him as a starter in spring training. Now he's headed toward the All-Star Game as an elite closer with 16 saves.

1. Colby Lewis - After a long vacation in Japan, he leads the team with six wins and is the first Rangers pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1991 to have four 10-strikeout games.

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Baseball, Colby Lewis, Josh Hamilton, Ron Washington, Vladimir Guerrero

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Hey enough already, wake me up in October and let's see where the Strangers are-at their post-season banquet.
I think like Ken Macha, Wash's personality wouldn't gel in Oakland as manager. He believes in things Beane doesn't, and vice versa. I'm not saying Wash is one of the best managers in the league, but I don't understand the vitriol either. The Rangers were 12 games over .500 last, and in first this season and are just coming off a sweep. My main argument is that the guys in charge, and I do believe this team has never had more savvy baseball people than JD and co. (0bviously Hicks excluded, and his obstacles further proving how well JD/Nolan have run this thing) believe Wash can get the job done. It's June 17th and the Rangers are in first place in the AL West, and like Richie said, Wash deserves some credit.
Mr. Baseball: Oakland passing on Wash when they had an opening is a great reason why the Rangers shouldn't have considered him in the first place. He's a joke. Think about it. If he was fired today, how many teams would jump at the chance to hire him? Try zero. When he's done here, he'll never manage a big-league club again.
Wash's admission was embarrassing, but he deserves credit for helping how the season has gone, and well deserving of Richie's top 5 placement here. Has anyone thought maybe there's a reason Jon Daniels and Nolan kept him aboard while a lot of teams very well may not have if their manager did the same? Or what about last season when the team was off to a poor start and speculation was rampant he'd be fired, but no, nothing happened and they stuck with him and the team finished with 87 wins. Isn't there a reason he's still managing this team? While Vlad Guerrero was a free agent, Jon Daniels and Ron Washington travelled to his home attempting to persuade him to sign with Texas. Vlad pointed to Washington's impassioned sell as a major factor in him signing here, saying how important he made him feel, and the idea he could be an elite slugger again and the anchor of an offense after a sour decline and frustrating end to his career with the Angels. And Vlad didn't mention JD, he mentioned Wash. Certainly that alone must give him some value for this season, right? In 'Moneyball' Ron Washington was featured a fair amount, being the Third Base coach for Oakland at the time. The players loved him and GM Billy Beane championed his work ethic. I remember some As fans being pretty upset he wasn't given a shot to manage there, not that his philosophy meshed with Beane's, but he was a popular figure and one the players seemed to respond to and respect. The manager should be accountable if a team isn't winning, so what's the issue here? 12 games over .500 last season and in first this season. He hasn't been perfect but the results are there, and perhaps the criticism deserves to be a bit more balanced. I do think the cocaine admission is a significant red flag, and have a difficult time believing it was his first time, but the Rangers know the situation better than any of us, and when Wash offered his resignation they said "No thanks." It's easy to be sanctimonious and say what's right for the team, but those in charge, who know better than anyone else, looked at the situation and acted accordingly. That's interesting to me and a rather multi-faceted handling of a serious situation, the fact it happened here right now, where the Rangers' future never looked brighter, makes me think JD and Nolan know what they're doing and perhaps should be given a bit of leeway and some benefit of the doubt. I think Richie's inclusion of him is well worth a top 5 spot, and really a top 10 could be made with how well things have gone this season, even with some so-far season disappointments like Feldman, Davis, Francisco, Salty, and Harden to balance it a bit.
No John Rocker?
Wash is embarrassing. He deserves no credit. How is Hamilton not on here? Or Andrus?
I hate to try and be the voice of reason, but there are 2 things we have to remember. One, the terrible disparity b/c home record and away...at least that is trending UP as of late, so that's good. Two, the Rangers have still been bad against the good teams. Let's hope taking 2 from the Rays last week was that catalyst that the team needed to show themselves they can play w/ the big boys. But, considering how bad they were against Yanks/R Sox/Twins/Jays, it's going to take more than one good series to show the toughness needed. As far as the content of RW's post, agree w/ most of it. I just want to see more success against the class of the AL.
Little Dweeb? Since when does anybody owe you anything? The point is why, if he is all the things you say he is, do you even care. If you don't care for his opinion fine. Just leave and find something you actually like. Have conversations where you say more than "RW is dumb and admit you're wrong."
@Rooster, for once we agree on something, @Kergo, did you take your meds, this has to be your best post of the week Russel is the the blog douche now. The Rangers are playing just well enough. I along with Kergo have been waiting for the Rangers June swoon, but alas, winning is what we do and "that how the game go"
What is happening? They are actually still winning? Pie Traynor looks like a catcher. Corby (Colby) looks like Glavine. Kins is back. They are not relying on Salty. J. Ham is still raking. Vladi looks like a monster at the plate. I've been waiting for the swoon for two weeks. ps-what da bawl do?
@Russell - Dude. Give it a rest. Really.
Imagine if this team had an actual big league manager instead of Washington. I think you haven't seen other teams berating Wash for his cocaine use for the simple fact that, realistically, people just don't care about the Rangers on a national basis. I could be wrong, but I recall a lot more national coverage of the bankruptcy of the Expos way back when than we're seeing about the Rangers right now. If Wash was a manager of bigger stature, or managing a traditional contender, I think he'd would be getting the flak Richie expected. As it is, there's more of a dustup over Joe Maddon's hoodie. Maybe the Rangers need to move to the AL East and then ESPN will pay attention to them.
P1 Jeremy, that's not the point you little dweeb. The point is RW is still trying to claim that the ballparks are playing the song when they obviously are not. All he has to do is admit he missed the mark on it but he continuously refuses to admit he was wrong for calling everyone "dumb."
Well that just shows obvious ignorance on your part for making such an outlandish, ridiculous claim. Then on top of that calling us "dumber than beetle dung" if we didn't think it would happen. Own up to your own actions, especially this one because you have already been proven wrong!
Once again a post with nothing but hate. Why even read it? There were many people who referenced the treatment by opposing teams as a possible distraction regarding Wash. It wasn't just RW. In my opinion the bottom line is winning and as long as that is happening the coke remains in the background. Vlad and CJ are top 2 in my mind. Their performances based on expectation has been huge in keeping this thing where it is. Who would have thought our most consistent pitcher would be our most volatile. Our most consistent hitter Vlad? If you would have predicted that prior to the season, I would have said this thing was going down, and going down fast.
@Russell: I remember boldly claiming I wish you'd go away. And, no, I don't want to retract it.
Let's also not underestimate the power of Larry Parrish and Oddibe McDowell's consistent outfield prowess.
Yes, opposing teams and stadiums have short memories. You are saying that because remember what you said Richie? "You would have to be dumber than beetle dung to think that every opposing ballpark won't play Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" every time Ron Washington goes to the mound for a pitching change." LOL!! Bet you wish you could take that bold, ridiculous statement back huh Richie?? You were WAY off and I knew that you were as soon as you said it. Why did you really think that was going to happen? We still don't get it.
Let's not undersell the resurgence of Josh Hamilton and the relentless consistency of Michael Young - both have been key.