Rangers in prime position to separate themselves in AL West

It's been a long time since I've posted a Rangers-related entry on the Gametime in Arlington blog, so I had to come on today and end the drought. It's been a heck of a last month. Moving from the house I've rented from the past three years to my own apartment. Trips to Florida, Denver and Dallas. Work picking up again with college football season around the corner. Everything, it seems.

But the Rangers remain in first place, and all is well with the baseball world. Texas picked up a significant 8-4 victory over Anaheim last night to take a five-game lead in the AL West. There are three more games against the Angels this week, then three more in Arlington next weekend. If Texas can beat the Angels a few more times, it could really provide separation as we enter the home stretch.

During my aforementioned trip to Dallas, I had the chance to attend a Rangers game with high school buddies Derek Johnson and Stephen Slater. It was a really fun time, except Texas was shut out, 3-0. And by Brett Cecil of all people. The game was dreadful. In fact, Derek labeled it the worst game he had ever seen at Rangers Ballpark. I would have to agree. Thankfully, the company was fun, and I had the opportunity to catch up with some of my oldest friends.



The Rangers remain in great position for their second consecutive postseason berth.

I was looking at Texas' record this season, by month, just for kicks. The results:

April: 15-11
May: 13-15
June: 14-13
July: 18-9
August: 9-4

Clearly, the Rangers are playing their best baseball right now. It's even more impressive when you factor in Adrian Beltre, my first-half team MVP, being sidelined until September with an injured groin.

The starting rotation has been stout all season with our three lefties, C.J. Wilson, Matt Harrison and Derek Holland, coupled with Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando.

What's really picked up lately is the results from the bullpen. Not surprising when Mike Adams and Koji Uehara were added at the trade deadline. General manager Jon Daniels is not afraid to add to the big-league club, especially when it's in contention. We saw it last year with Cliff Lee, and while this year didn't land as big a name, it still proved Daniels is far from gun shy when attempting to improve the club during a pennant race.

I read yesterday that since the Rangers acquired Adams (July 31) and Uehara (July 30), the bullpen ERA is around 1.80. Closer Neftali Feliz has struggled this season, by his standards, and before Adams and Uehara came to Texas, there was legitimate concern about the back end of the bullpen. Not anymore. Feliz has settled down a bit, while Adams and Uehara have provided stability that was not seen from the back end of the bullpen in the first half of the season.

You have to give up promising talent to get promising talent in return, so sure, Daniels rolled the dice when he traded away a few pitching prospects (none of them were in the system's top 3-5, mind you). But look at the result: In a span of two weeks, the team's biggest weakness has turned into arguably its biggest strength. The bullpen is deep and talented.

Adams' K/BB ratio on the season: 56/12, with a 1.12 ERA.
Uehara: 71/9, with a 1.84 ERA.

Yeah, I can live with that.

Let's hope the bats stay alive and the Rangers continue to provide separation in the AL West the rest of the week. These next two series against the Angels should paint a pretty clear picture of the race for the division title.