Texas Rangers baseball isn’t fun now, not for players and definitely not for fans
Nine straight losses. Two straight winless road trips. Fifteen straight Ls on the road.
Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young said on Wednesday that the team was braced for a swoon like this one, though maybe not this bad, with a roster that wasn’t built to contend and is filled with players trying to establish or re-establish themselves.
It’s what rebuilding teams do, Young seemed to imply, and the Rangers have made no secret the past 10 months that they are building for the future.
But it’s not any fun, right now and in the big picture, for the players or the fans watching.
Veteran infielder Brock Holt, in fact, said Wednesday night the Rangers aren’t having fun. Manager Chris Woodward said the players need to find joy in every day even when nothing they seem to do on the field is working.
The loss Thursday, 11-6 to the Colorado Rockies, was the worst of the bunch. Rangers starting pitching Mike Foltynewicz didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, and the offense had its worst performance on the road trip until scoring four in the ninth.
The good news is the Rangers’ next game will be at Globe Life Field. The bad news is the five-game homestand will be against the Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants, who as of Thursday morning were a combined 70-43.
The Rangers have been saying they have to play better. There’s no help coming, either from the minor leagues or from the schedule, though Kyle Gibson will come off the injured list to start Friday.
Woodward made it a point in his pregame Zoom call Thursday to talk about how hard the Rangers are working each day. He pointed to catcher Jonah Heim, who was behind the plate for four wild pitches Tuesday and Wednesday on balls that could have been blocked.
Heim spent more than an hour Thursday morning working on blocking drills.
All other Rangers are just like him, Woodward said, so fans should stick with this team before jumping ship the rest of this very long season.
No one has mailed it in, Woodward said, though Thursday sure felt like it at times.
But fans can’t see the hard work behind the scenes.
They can see the standings, which show the Rangers falling further and further behind the rest of the pack, and they want to see the Rangers win — even if only occasionally.
The nine straight losses are part of a broader slide. The Rangers have gone only 4-18 since hitting the .500 mark May 9. They are playing themselves into the top part of the 2022 draft.
There is no joy in picking at the top of the draft, Young said. The Rangers have the No 2 overall pick next month after their dismal 22-38 season last year. They are 22-36 this season, which would be worth the fourth overall pick next year.
All signs point to the Rangers improving their draft position.
Again, no help is coming. Top prospect Josh Jung (foot surgery) is only running bases and is two weeks away from heading to a minor-league affiliate. Delino DeShields didn’t opt out of his minor-league contract Tuesday, but there’s no indication he will be promoted from Triple A despite his terrific month at the plate.
So, fans need to brace themselves for more of this. They need to enjoy baseball, enjoy the roof at Globe Life Field, enjoy returning to normal after a year of being locked down by a pandemic.
The Rangers are going to win again this season, eventually. Players are going to do good things on the field. The hard work Woodward insists is happening will pay off.
But it’s not any fun, right now and in the big picture.
