Why Is Texas Struggling?
The city of Dallas might be rejoicing in the NBA, but the baseball team is reeling. The Rangers have lost 10 of their last 14 and have slipped two games back of the Angels in the AL West, barely above .500 at 18-17. Is this the consequence of losing Josh Hamilton and Neftali Feliz to the disabled list. Is the loss of Cliff Lee from last year starting to take its toll? Or is the problem elsewhere?
As good as Hamilton is, I find it hard to place the blame for this kind of performance on his absence. Texas is still third in the American League in runs scored, second in slugging percentage and second in home runs. Generating offense hasn't been the problem for Ron Washington's club.
The pitching ranks eight in the AL in ERA, so we can safely start here when it comes to breaking down the difficulties. In the starting rotation, the Rangers have done an admirable job filling the void left by Lee. Alexi Ogando has been everything the team hoped, as he's sporting a dazzling 2.17 ERA and stuff that tells you it's no fluke. C.J. Wilson has settled in and has a solid 2.92 ERA. Matt Harrison has been at least adequate. The problem comes in the 4-5 spots of the rotation, where Colby Lewis is not pitching well, struggling with an ERA over 5. Derek Holland's numbers are also in the same bloated category, as he's really struggled since shutting out Baltimore in early April. Is the rotation a problem? I don't know that I'm ready to go that far. How many teams don't have problems with the back two spots of the rotation? And even the ERA numbers themselves are going to be higher considering the hitter's park this team plays its home games in. So while the starters as a group need to be better and are capable of doing so, it can't explain this kind of slide.
Now we come to the bullpen. Neftali Feliz was off to a blazing start, closing all six of his save opportunities and posting an 0.96 ERA. With his departure, the Rangers have blown five saves, the same number as the White Sox, whose bullpen problems are a reason they're buried in last place. Texas' save percentage is 10th in the AL--and that's including Feliz's 6-for-6. I think it's safe to say we've identified the problem.
Texas has a group of competent setup men, from Darren Oliver to Arthur Rhodes to Pedro Strop. But none of them overwhelm you and they're at their most valuable when Washington can mix and match to create matchup advantages. They aren't the kind of pitchers you just hand the ninth inning to and relax. But without Feliz, that's what Texas has had to try and do. Depth has also been hurt by Darren O'Day's long absence from a hip injury. He's eligible to come back from the 60-day DL at the end of June and the early reports are that he'll be able to do so.
More importantly for Texas, Feliz's return is imminent. So it's been a rough stretch for the Rangers, but their fans can take heart. Help is on the way.
*I talk baseball on Prime Sports Network every Wednesday at 4 PM ET with Greg DePalma. Scroll halfway down the page for the link to archived podcasts which are posted every Wednesday evening.
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Dan Flaherty is the editor of the Sports Notebook Family, published through the Real Clear Sports Blog Network, offering daily commentary on baseball .
