How the Rangers fell apart

[Swordsman78]

Nice work Bochy.  Given every tool available, huge lead in the West,  and poof.

 

On June 23, the Rangers led the AL West by a season-high 6 1/2 games. By Aug. 15 that margin was down to 3 1/2, but the Rangers’ record was still an impressive 72-48. They had won 12 of 14 games since acquiring pitchers Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton and catcher Austin Hedges at the deadline. Their playoff odds were a near-lock 95 percent.

And now?

In their biggest series of the season, the Rangers have dropped the first two games to the Astros by a combined 27-7. They have allowed 11 home runs in the two games. Hedges, bless him, has been their final pitcher in both, twirling a combined 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Rangers trail the Astros by two games and the Mariners by one in the AL West. They are a half-game behind the Blue Jays for the third AL wild-card spot. Their playoff odds, according to FanGraphs, are down to (55.6) percent, and that might be generous.

The team’s biggest issue, as it has been all season, is its relief pitching. The Rangers’ bullpen ERA during their 4-14 stretch is 7.68. Remember when they jumped the trade market on June 30 to acquire Aroldis Chapman from the Royals? Chapman’s ERA in his last six appearances is 7.94. The pitcher the Rangers traded for him, left-hander Cole Ragans, has a 1.51 ERA in eight starts with his new club.

Chapman, at least, did not require much of a financial investment; his remaining salary was under $2 million. The Rangers’ past two offseasons, though, amounted to serious spending sprees. They dropped a combined $556 million on free-agent shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien and right-hander Jon Gray before 2022. They invested another $263.65 million in free-agent pitchers Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Martín Pérez and Andrew Heaney prior to 2023. And deGrom, who accounted for $185 million of that outlay, lasted only 30 1/3 innings before requiring a second Tommy John surgery.

https://theathletic.com/4838326/2023/09/06/texas-rangers-mlb-playoffs-shohei-ohtani-the-windup/

Edited September 8, 2023 by Swordsman78

[arch stanton]

Couldn't happen to a nicer team

[REDneck]

The unfortunate thing here is that the West at this point could of been very winnable for the Angels.

It's not like your trying to chase down elite teams like the Braves, Dodgers and O's.

[TroutField]

7 minutes ago, REDneck said:

The unfortunate thing here is that the West at this point could of been very winnable for the Angels.

It's not like you’re trying to chase down elite teams like the Braves, Dodgers and O's.

Yup, the season full of what could have been… 

 

the pieces were there, but luck, injuries, and depth…. 

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, TroutField said:

Yup, the season full of what could have been… 

 

the pieces were there, but luck, injuries, and depth…. 

And an owner who doesn’t believe in infrastructure investments like adequate prevention of yearly injury bug.

[Swordsman78]

14 minutes ago, REDneck said:

The unfortunate thing here is that the West at this point could of been very winnable for the Angels.

It's not like your trying to chase down elite teams like the Braves, Dodgers and O's.

Correct.  If the Angels chose to be "sellers" at the trade deadline, then the fans saw the Rangers collapse, Perry would have been excoriated on social media.

The decison to go for it was the correct one, but fate had other plans.

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, Swordsman78 said:

Correct.  If the Angels chose to be "sellers" at the trade deadline, then the fans saw the Rangers collapse, Perry would have been excoriated on social media.

The decison to go for it was the correct one, but fate had other plans.

Minasian has some work to do to improve his making of trades.

Need better MLB scouting too.

Who gives up two top prospects for an extreme gopher ball pitcher and a decent reliever.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Angel Oracle

[Swordsman78]

4 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Minasian has some work to do to improve his making of trades.

Need better MLB scouting too.

Who gives up two top prospects for an extreme gopher ball pitcher and a decent reliever.

Good point.   The decision to "go for it" was not executed very well.

[Taylor]

Remember the "Rangers Team Cruise" thread?

[Lazorko Saves]

1 hour ago, Swordsman78 said:

On June 23, the Rangers led the AL West by a season-high 6 1/2 games.

Only on the Angels message board is the above considered relatively no big deal.

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

Remember the "Rangers Team Cruise" thread?

Vaguely. 

What I really remember was Stamm.

[jsnpritchett]

[Kevin]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

Remember the "Rangers Team Cruise" thread?

I could be wrong but I believe that was the Red Sox team cruise thread after their 2011 collapse.

 

Damn I wish we had all the HOF threads from the old board. 

[Taylor]

1 minute ago, Kevin said:

I could be wrong but I believe that was the Red Sox team cruise thread after their 2011 collapse.

 

Damn I wish we had all the HOF threads from the old board. 

Hmm, you might be right. 

And yes, so much A+ content lost forever.

[Blarg]

3 hours ago, Swordsman78 said:

Nice work Bochy.

Texas .547 winning percentage

Angels .461 winning percentage.

 

[Angel Oracle]

5 hours ago, Kevin said:

I could be wrong but I believe that was the Red Sox team cruise thread after their 2011 collapse.

 

Damn I wish we had all the HOF threads from the old board. 

Must have been lots of beer and chicken?

[Angel Oracle]

I’m amazed the Halos record is only 1.5 games worse than Cleveland’s.

AL West much tougher division

[Swordsman78]

Rangers lost again, 4-16 in last 20 after leading the West.

Not seeing the Bochy genius.   May'be I'm missing something.

[jsnpritchett]

[BTH]

29 minutes ago, Swordsman78 said:

Rangers lost again, 4-16 in last 20 after leading the West.

Not seeing the Bochy genius.   May'be I'm missing something.

Not seeing the Nevin genius either. Never once saw it.

At least I saw the “Bochy genius” before their collapse.

[Swordsman78]

21 minutes ago, BTH said:

Not seeing the Nevin genius either. Never once saw it.

At least I saw the “Bochy genius” before their collapse.

Please review the injury thread.   Then read the OP on this thread.  Bochy has no excuses. 

Also not sure why you are so positive about a rival manager who is 4-16 in last 20, and actually defending said rival manager.  smh.   Now we  know who the real fans are.

[jsnpritchett]

[Swordsman78]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

Except you, since you have posted here 3 times in less than 11 hours, and most likely clicked on the thread many more times to get info.

[Chico]

Not sure this is a total collapse yet though it hasn't been looking good lately, and they just lost to the A's. The Rangers still have 22 games left and are only 1-2 games out. Maybe something will wake them up. The division is still winnable.

[BTH]

14 hours ago, Swordsman78 said:

Also not sure why you are so positive about a rival manager who is 4-16 in last 20, and actually defending said rival manager.  smh.   Now we  know who the real fans are.

I’m not positive about Bochy, nor am I defending him.

I think it’s funny seeing the Rangers collapse.

My vote in the poll had nothing to do with Bochy, and everything to do with Nevin.

Not saying Bochy is good. Just saying Nevin is worse than Bochy.