The Texas Rangers only show up during Jacob deGrom’s starts. The lifeless joke team that won the World Series two years ago has been running it down all season. They have the integrity and honor to show up for the best pitcher in baseball. They do less and little on the other days. They play one uncompetitive series after another, winning one game off of pitching alone. This has been the standard build order for the Rangers all season. They have done this build more consistently than Innovation opening fast 3 Command Center with hellions against Zerg.
Even within the context of boring, wretched Rangers baseball this season has been especially awful. The Rangers have managed to not only be incredibly disappointing, but immensely boring. They check out of games and mail it in during most of their performances. The team shows zero life and fight. The hitters look careless and unengaged. The consistent, grating nature of this makes games unwatchable.
The Rangers are a team that has bad vibes. This is your stereotypical team of 26 guys that take 26 different cabs home. Austin Hedges was the Rangers backup catcher during their title run. Hedges is a comedian with the bat and average at the plate. So why was he on the roster? VIBES! Hedges was kind and amiable. He rallied his team around him. He made them feel like a unit. They let Hedges walk a couple seasons ago and the team has never been the same. This is a group of guys that cares less and little about each other. Skipper Bruce Bochy has the pitchers humming. That is his job. He is the sort of skipper that treats his players like men. Bochy’s even-keel and mature approach works with true veterans. It does not work with selfish players who lack team unity. Bochy is not the sort of guy to light sage and practice group meditation like Phil Jackson. He is not the sort of guy to scream at his players until they hit their peak rank. Bochy is doing his job. The offensive coaches, Justin Viele and Bret Boone, are dim frauds worthy of contempt.
The Rangers continue to bleed out as the season marches on. They look uninterested and checked out. Josh Jung was insanely hard in the opposite direction, pressing so hard he was grinding the bat to sawdust. He was sent down to AAA for a reset. He is aware of the injustice around him and was trying to stop the atrocity from occurring like Brandon Stark. The insane peak level of Josh Jung from a few seasons ago before breaking his wrist seems like another life. Wyatt Langford is hitting well. So is Corey Seager. Marcus Semien woke up. Jake Burger and Adolis Garcia have been disappointing.
The Rangers will send Jacob deGrom to the All-Star game coming up in a week. Jake has been their lone bright spot all season. Never forget the cadre of dopes who went out of their way to run Jake down because of his injury history. Those people are as cowardly as they are dim. Jake is a true warrior. The Rangers would not have won the World Series without him. They needed every win to squeak into the playoffs. He was a great teammate and helped younger pitchers after blowing his arm out.
The Rangers are on the 2018 Mets Arc: They cannot score and the only games worth watching are the ones Jake starts. This team is utterly lost. They do not care about winning or each other. Well, Josh Jung does, and he pressed so hard he is no longer on the MLB team. This is an utterly grotesque season. It is the sort of season that sours one of baseball entirely.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
7/7 – @Angels – 8:38 p.m.
7/8 – @Angels – 8:38 p.m.
7/9 – @Angels – 8:38 p.m.
7/10 – @Angels – 8:38 p.m.
7/11 – @Astros – 7:10 p.m.
7/12 – @Astros – 6:35 p.m.
7/13 – @Astros – 1:10 p.m.
