Supposedly Darvish is supposed to return in the next week or so. But that dude hasn't been able to stay healthy for a couple years. Unfortunate, because he has ace stuff when healthy.
Rangers are tied with the Cubs now for most wins in the Majors. They are really good. I don't see a collapse in them.
They're also the luckiest team in baseball...a lot has gone their way. They are a very solid team, no doubt...but they will slow down as the season wears on. Not sure if they will slow down enough for us to catch them, but that's mostly because we royally screwed ourselves to start the season.
Their manager and 2Bman are also 2 of the biggest jackasses in baseball. I don't wish bad things upon people, but I don't mind them either.
Here's hoping we get some luck in regards to Rangers. Haven't had much in recent years... Best Historical One-Run Records Since 1901 Texas are currently No. 1 All Time. This article also goes through all the statistics of how it is extremely random and not repeatable year-to-year (and hopefully month-to-month/day-to-day) One-Run Game Performance is Unsustainable
good to hear charlie p do a complete turnaround on Altuve. I'd rather it had beeen Hodor that went on the DL, lewis is a classy guy.
The Royals have one of the worst starting staffs in baseball. They have been much better at home, but I would not be happy with 1 of 3.
By that same measure, the Astros winning streak could be considered largely lucky. The Rangers are playing above their run differential, the Mariners below theirs, and the Astros right at theirs (after playing below it last year). Most of these things do even out but that doesn't mean the Rangers aren't a very good baseball team, lucky or not.
How have the Astros been lucky? We are exactly 13-13 in one run games. The Rangers don't suck, they just aren't anywhere near as good as their record.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:28.125% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG-UsW1CLZ1/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Nothing like a 435-foot triple. </a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A video posted by Houston Astros (@astrosbaseball) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-06-22T22:38:20+00:00">Jun 22, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
I actually like their manager, he's got a fire about him and his team follows his lead. I kinda wish Hinch had some of that fire in him. I dont mean that to be a knock on Hinch, I think he's done an above avg job, but I like Bannisters style of managing better.
I like plays like that... I don't think they should change the dimensions. Get rid of the hill if its really a safety hazard. (thats in addition to my concerns that putting a lot of crap out in CF is going to change the batters-eye significantly, and will basically force our hitters to adjust to that as well).
The Rangers luck goes beyond 1 run games and run differential. They are 3rd in runs despite being 6th in OPS. They are 6th in ERA at 3.99, but 13th in FIP at 4.53, dead last in Ks, 14th in xFIP at 4.57, and dead last in SIERA at 4.48. The Rangers aren't a bad team, but they aren't close to the 100+ win team they are currently on track to be. Of course, we can't just automatically assume that they will average out. Statistics only estimate the future. Luck is stored in the bank. Much like a coin flipping 10 times straight on tails doesn't change the odds on the next 10, the Rangers can't magically be assumed to give back games. All we can do is go out there and win games. 90 wins should be the goal, and that will require winning 60% of our games the rest of the way.
They are 25-8 at home. Getting a win there, and two wins at Los Angeles would mean a road split. Then take care of business at home.
