Texas Rangers Are Treading Water But For How Long?

Through just about the quarter mark of the season the American League West Division looks to be in a race for the worst division in baseball right alongside, predictably, the National League West.

The Texas Rangers, through 42 games as of Wednesday night, are 22-20 and in a tie for first place with the Oakland Athletics and a half game better than the Los Angels Angels.

Say what you want about how the team has played over the last couple of weeks, at least they are still in the race and not sitting 10 games back. There is always a bright side to everything.

While there has not been a whole lot of good news for this team over the past month, Josh Hamilton going down, Neftali Feliz hitting the disabled list, and the rotation and bullpen struggling to keep opposing offenses at bay, they are doing exactly what they need to be doing at this point.

They desperately needed to tread water while Hamilton was out of the lineup. That is exactly what they have done. They aren’t the same team who got off to a franchise record start at the beginning of the season but sitting where they are at this point should be a positive thing.

With Hamilton coming back in just a few short weeks, this team should be at full strength and ready to really make a push for the top spot in the division.

They aren’t going to out pitch the Angels especially since they don’t have guys like Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, not to mention Joel Pineiro who has been nothing short of dominate through his first four starts. He’s given up just six earned runs in 27.1 innings pitched.

The talk around the water coolers, especially lately, is how to fix the Rangers’ bullpen. There has been more talk about possible trades and names being thrown about in terms of what it might take to land each respective player.

Make no mistake about it, you have to give something to get something. There are those who will make a big deal about giving up prospects and there are others who will give up whatever it takes to get the right guy.

Take the Cliff Lee trade at the deadline last season. The Ranges gave up one of their top prospects, third baseman Justin Smoak, to the Seattle Mariners in order to bring Lee to Texas.

The move paid off as Lee was one of the biggest catalysts for this team getting to the World Series. He didn’t put them over the top but he made a huge impact.

Is there a deal to be made that can make the same kind of impact Lee made on this team in 2010?

There are a few everyone will talk about and there will be so many names tosses around to make you think everyone is available.

It’s hard to know what to address first. Do you solidify the back end of the bullpen especially with Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes having their struggles? Or do you do something with the rotation with Derek Holland and Matt Harrison both having their rough spots over their last few starts?

Those are questions that need to be answered and the speculation will run wild until the trade deadline in late July comes and goes.

The AL West isn’t going to have a team run away with the division. The Rangers can stay at or near the top of the division with what they have now. When the deadline approaches, general manager Jon Daniel and owner Nolan Ryan will look to make the same kind of impact deal they made last July.

But it can’t be just any move, it’s going to need to be the right move to put this team back on top and back into the World Series.

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Texas Rangers' Closer Neftali Feliz Headed for the Disabled List

The Texas Rangers' bullpen was struggling even with a healthy Neftali Feliz at the back end. But, prior to Saturday night's game against the Kansas City Royals, that bullpen took an even bigger hit.

The team put their closer on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation. It's a move the team can't afford because as Rangers' manager Ron Washington says, they don't really have anyone who has the closer's mentality. “We’ve got no bona fide closer right now,” he told the media. “It’s that simple.”

What isn't simple at this point is to find the guy they want to take Feliz's place as the closer. Either that or the team is going to use a "closer by committee" mentality. Something reliever Arthur Rhodes says isn't going to change how the relievers in the bullpen face their roles.

“It’s not going to change our role, because eighth inning and the ninth inning are about the same,” Rhodes told the media. “We’ve just got to go out there and do what we’ve been doing, get guys out. … No mentality is going to change. I’m going to go our there and be Arthur, just do what I do.”

Rhodes has the experience of being a closer so he could be the guy Washington turns to especially since he's a veteran guy who knows what it takes to close out a game.

After Feliz was put on the disabled list, the team called up right-hander Cody Eppley from Triple-A Round Rock and quickly made his big league debut against the Royals on Saturday.

The Rangers have to hope the guys in the bullpen are up for the task of taking over for a young reliever who's been nothing but dominant when he comes in to a game in the ninth inning.

Whether Rhodes assumes the responsibility will not be known until the call is made by Washington. He is not the only reliever the Rangers' manager can call on so do not expect him to go with just one guy for the two weeks Feliz is on the shelf.

With outfielder Josh Hamilton missing for at least two months, an injury to their best reliever wasn't something this team could afford. However, if their offense continues to swat five home runs per night, maybe they won't miss their closer at all because there will not be any drama in the ninth innings.


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Could Brandon Webb be the Answer to the Rangers Bullpen Woes?

The Texas Rangers need an answer to their struggling bullpen, especially in the eighth inning which has plagued them in back-to-back series losses against the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

At this point, manager Ron Washington is counting on guys like Arthur Rhodes, Pedro Strop, and Darren Oliver, but none of the three have the full confidence of the team to be able to hand the ball off to closer Neftali Feliz without coughing up the lead.

Other relievers Mark Lowe and Darren O'Day are also not options so it's leaving the Rangers short on options as to who they can turn to. At this point it's been by committee.

But there could be a light at the end of the tunnel and an answer to the team's woes. They won't have to make a trade because he's already wearing a Rangers' uniform and could come off the disabled list in the next month or possibly two.

Brandon Webb told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that although he would rather be a starter he would take a job in the bullpen if it meant getting back on the mound. "I would rather start, but if it's a chance to pitch, I'd do it," Webb told Sullivan. "Whenever I'm ready to go, we'll re-evaluate it then and where I fit. I don't make that call."

Webb is a former Cy Young Award winning pitcher as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks but hasn't been able to stay healthy for the past two seasons.

While he may not be the kind of pitcher he once was, the Rangers could definitely use someone with veteran presence and a name everyone knows come out of that bullpen to give them at least a little bit of a lift.


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