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Good times They held the Seattle Mariners to two total runs in four games throwing shutouts the first two games and allowing a run apiece the final two games. They did this facing some pretty good pitchers including getting to Felix Hernandez Saturday night, clipping Doug Fister Friday and seeing old friend Blake Beavan Sunday.
Not like the Rangers were flying high. Most of the games were close at some point only pulling away late Saturday night and nursing a 3-1 win against Beavan yesterday.
This isn't just an 11-game winning streak. It's Texas Rangers baseball. As Ron Washington would say, it's the way baseball go.
It's fantastic pitching (from every starter), superb late-inning relief work (when needed, of course), brilliant hitting, stellar defense and insane, ears-pinned-back baserunning.
The Rangers won 14 straight games in 1991. They finished 85-77 and third in their division, missing the playoffs. I would bet, without remembering or looking, that that 14-game streak was filled with haphazard play and quite a bit of luck. This streak is calculated and precise.
Yes, it's against bad teams with awful offenses, but the Rangers do not pick their opponents. This is dominance and this is the Texas Rangers pulling away and showing that they are one of the top two or three teams in the American League.
I was watching Saturday's game at a party and someone said that they thought the "Rangers should've kept Cliff Lee."
Yes, Cliff Lee, somehow, is still a good pitcher. He'll be good next year too. That doesn't change the fact that A) Cliff Lee and his wife didn't want to be in North Texas; B) that the Rangers aren't an ATM machine; and C) the Rangers aren't looking to win for another year, but another 10.
I hear other rumors and talk of the Rangers looking for a starting pitcher, possibly emptying the piggy bank for a guy like Hernandez (which by all accounts is completely off the table to begin with). I'd counter with "What's wrong with the guys we got?"
If you traded for another starting pitcher, who goes? Who do you send down or expel to the bullpen? Derek Holland and his scoreless streak? Colby Lewis, the horse? Matty Harrison and his 2.91 ERA? The All-Stars C.J. Wilson or Alexi Ogando?
I'll grant you that Holland has been inconsistent as has room for improvement. Lewis isn't always sharp and Ogando's pitched more innings than he has in his entire career.
However, the Rangers are an organization with class and loyalty. They'll stick by guys until the bitter end and they'll definitely not bump someone for the sake of bumping someone. This team we're watching isn't the 2011 Texas Rangers. It's the 2012 Texas Rangers. And the 2013 Texas Rangers. And the 2014 Texas Rangers.
Guys will come and guys will go along the way. I'll never be static and GM Jon Daniels will always look to make a deal and they'll always look to win games. Unlike its fandom, the Rangers are a team of nuance and patience. Thankfully.
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