Texas Rangers proving they still have a long way to go

The Texas Rangers drop three of four to the Indians and prove just how big the gap is between the American League’s best and those in the middle.

Let me first start by saying that I do believe the Texas Rangers have what it takes to make the playoffs. But in this modern age of baseball where two teams make the Wild Card game in each league, there’s a bit of a watering-down that has taken place.

Before they lost to the Indians 5-1 Wednesday afternoon, Texas stood just two games out of the second AL Wild Card slot. While most wouldn’t consider that ideal, many wouldn’t exactly call it dire straits, either. That’s why the Rangers will likely compete most of the season for a playoff spot, and still have a fair shot at getting one. But this week’s four game set in Cleveland proved they still have a lot of work ahead of them.

They have to beat the best to be the best

The Rangers are 9-14 this season against teams that currently sit in first place. If we include teams that hold Wild Card slots, that record gets even worse at 10-18.

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Sure, that means they have a 29-22 record against teams outside the playoffs. But beating the not-so-good teams is only half of it. I suppose we could also take the Astros out of the equation as well and show Texas with a 36-33 record against “Not Houston.” But, that’s the kind of math Astros fans have done for the last two years. It wasn’t valid then and it isn’t, now.

To be good, you have to beat the middle-of-the-road and flat-out bad teams. But to be great, you have to beat the good ones, too and at least compete with the great ones.

But Houston has the best record in the American League, and the Rangers don’t even appear to be IN their league at 3-7 head-to-head. That’s why the Astros are running away from the rest of the West with a 12 1/2 game lead over Los Angeles/Anaheim.

That’s also why Texas now sits 14 games behind Houston. If the Rangers to make up any ground, they’re going to have to start playing like they’re the best. But to do that, they have some changes to make.

They have to quit striking out so much

While it’s true that outs are generally bad no matter what, there is something extremely defeating about getting an out without putting the ball in play. Other than the double play ball (or the rare triple play for that matter), there’s nothing helpful about a whiff.

At least ground balls to the shortstop or third baseman give the chance to move runners. Fly balls promote the opportunity to tag up sometimes. And of course, both put pressure on the defense to make a play and leave the possibility of errors. The only real value in striking out is that it’s not a double play.

The Rangers entered Wednesday’s game behind just four teams in strikeout percentage, which is honestly amazing. It’s amazing because it feels like they’re the league’s worst. As far as AL teams, they’re the third worst. But factor in their “ball in play percentage,” and they sit tied with four teams for second-worst.

Texas fans can take solace in their healthy walk percentage, which sits at 8.7%. But ultimately, what it all boils down to is that the Rangers need to start getting the bat on the ball more often.

They have to get more from the bullpen

Of course, the other glaring issue is the bullpen. Once the backbone of this team over the past two seasons, the Rangers relievers now struggle for outs.

Those wondering why can look at inherited runners. Texas trails just five teams as far as allowing the highest percentage of inherited runners to score at 36%. They’re the second-worst AL team on that list and surprisingly trail only the Houston Astros, who’ve let 39% score.

Let’s look even deeper, though. Texas Rangers starters have left the game with 124 runners on base. Of those 124, a whopping 49 have scored. That gives them a percentage of 39.5%. That’s well above the league average of 32.2% Sure, the late relievers have struggled, but middle relief seems to be the Achilles heel for this team.

Take away the Sam Dyson‘s early season troubles, and the closers and setup men have been okay. But the place the Rangers have experienced the most difficulty is when they’ve tried to protect a lead and get it to those setup men and closers.

So how can this all change? Coaching is the first part. This isn’t mean to diminish anything about Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister, who’s proven he can take a team to the playoffs. This is more about the staff underneath him in hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and pitching coach Doug Brocail.

Next: Cole Hamels deserves some slack

It all starts and ends with coaching. This doesn’t mean the players aren’t to blame, but if the coaches aren’t working well with certain players, then one of the two need to make a change. It’s all about the right fit and finding the coaches that can get the best out of the players here.

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