Texas Rangers 2009 Version; Winning The Right Way

I know this is tough to talk about coming off a disappointing series loss to the Yankees.  And I'm not going to talk about the little victories we need to take out of the series.

This article is about how the Rangers are winning games this season the correct way, the right way, the Ron Washington way, if you will.

Currently the Rangers are 27-16, that's still the highest winning percentage in the AL and third in the Majors, behind the Dodgers (33-15) and Cardinals (28-19).

The Rangers are still leading the AL West over the Angels by three games, and still hold the 10-2 record against West opponents.

The Rangers are 15-8 at home this season, which is good for the sixth highest home winning percentage in the Majors.

So far in the month of May the Rangers are 17-8 with four games against Oakland remaining, the franchise has only three years since 2000 that they have more wins than that.  18 wins in May in 2000 and 2005, and then last season the Rangers went 19-10 in the month.  But remember we still have four games at home left in the month.  How would a 20-win May sound?

The Rangers this season are 10-6 in one-run games, there are only two teams in the Majors with more one-run wins, Seattle (12-9) and San Deigo (12-6).

So feeling any better about how the team is playing.  Yes it is true that the players, coaches, front office, fans, and this guy wanted to beat the Yankees in a series.  Especially since we have done that only once in the last 19 series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

But we didn't, time to move on.

You have heard it before and now I will say it again, this is a marathon not a sprint.

This Rangers team has played wonderfully so far this season.  Many, so called experts, have been saying that it won't last, but I tell you it will.  This team is not like the other teams in years past that won games with offense and hoped for so-so pitching, this is a different team.

In the last five years the Rangers one-run game records have been: 28-18, 26-18, 17-26, 24-29, and 24-19 in 2004 when the team finished three games back of the AL West champ Angels.  So far this season the Rangers have won 10 one-run games and 62.5% of those one-run games.

The difference between 2009 and years past.

Think back to years, how many times has this team won games 12-11, 9-8, and even 7-6.  Or had games like 15-3, 11-7, and 8-3, not seeing too many of those this season.

How many times have Ranger pitchers been knocked out of the game in the first three innings, not seeing too much of that any more.  Last Saturday, Vicente Padilla looked terrible in the first four innings, but instead of coming out. he went four more near perfect innings.

Now the Rangers are still going to be suspect to winning and losing high scoring games and pitchers are still going to have early exits, but they are not happening in back-to-back games like years past.

Texas is winning games with pitching, they are winning games playing small ball, they are winning close, one-run games, they are winning games the way Ron Washington and Nolan Ryan won games.

The Ranger ERA has taken a little bit of a hit lately, currently 4.61 which is still good for 8th in the AL.  In years past that was around 5.00+ and 14th in the AL.

The defense has been amazing this season.  Michael Young's switch to third has been near flawless, Chris Davis's ability to stretch at first has saved many outs.  Ian Kinsler looks 100 times better at second than he did three years ago, and Elvis Andrus is quickly becoming a human highlight reel at shortstop.

The Rangers boast a .987 fielding percent, tied for fourth in the AL.  The infield has turned 51 double plays this season, which is the third highest in the AL.  And finally the catchers have caught 24 bases stealers, that's tied for 2nd in AL.

But the best part is that the Rangers aren't hitting the ball well right now.  That's right, they aren't.  Currently the team batting average is .269, that's 10th in the AL.  Texas has scored only 242 runs, that is middle of the pack for 8th in the AL.  It is true that the team is tied for the Major League lead in home runs with the Yankees at 77, but the surprising news is the 40 team steals that's the third highest in the AL.

Analyze that and it is good news.  The pitching has been more than holding their own this season, the defense has been leaps and bounds better than in the past, and the offense will improve from where it is right now.

Put all that together and yes, the Rangers have a legit shot at making some noise this season and winning the AL West.