Texas Rangers in need of Win Streak

The Texas Rangers longest win streak this year tops out at five games. Their longest losing streak is seven games—getting swept by both Boston and Detroit in mid-April.

Since that rough stretch, the Rangers record has been 31-22. In this fan's mind, that's not half bad considering what we went through to start the 2007 season.

Although these young and resilient Rangers have shown the ability to bounce back from a few losses to bring an end to a losing streak—or stop one before it starts—that is not what they need.

If these Rangers want to make a distinction between contender and pretender, they need to reel off a few more than five "W's."

Don't get me wrong. I love seeing these guys win the majority of their series' lately. They just aren't doing this in convincing fashion. They need that overly used "Wow factor."

Are they "wowwing" us with their performances? Sometimes. Are they "wowwing" us with their record? Some might say yes, but I disagree. They are extremely average, extra medium, super mild.

Meanwhile, the division leading "Los Angeles of Anaheim Los Angeles-Southern California?" have quietly put a good distance between them and the rest of the West.

As we stand today, the Angels lead the Rangers by eight games in the division. Nothing too daunting, but let's not kid ourselves by saying it is early in the season anymore. Something with these Rangers needs to click. Actually a lot of things need to click, but we won't get in to that right now.

An attitude needs to change. Too often after a series, when the Rangers win the first two games and drop the third, I hear "Well, we won two out of three." That makes me think of Wade Phillips broken record "We were 13-3."

Ya. So what?

You won two out of three but you didn't send that team home with their tails between their legs because they just got swept by the Texas Rangers.

Can they finish off a team? Can they get them down and keep them down? Can they show the kind of mental toughness to close out a series in the regular season so they can draw on this, cross your fingers, in the postseason?

Once again, it really does depend on the state of the Rangers pitching staff.

This becomes an even more daunting task now that Gerald Laird has suffered a pulled hamstring and is projected to be out four to six weeks.

Can Jarrod Saltalamacchia step in and provide close to the same performance we saw from Gerald before this injury? This could make or break Salty's Ranger career as it times perfectly with the non-waiver trading deadline at the end of July.

Come on, guys. Let's get the brooms out sometime soon.