The Rangers were almost ready to give up on Joaquin Benoit before this season.  They are glad they have held onto him as he has emerged as a part time closer for the Rangers after the trade of Eric Gagne to the Red Sox.  Benoit has worked in 66 games this season for the Rangers and he is 7-4 with 5 saves, a 2.65 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  In 78 innings this season he has allowed 62 hits, walked 24 batters and whiffed 84.  Before this season, Benoit had pitched in 159 games for the Rangers and he was 20-20 with 1 save and a 5.12 ERA.  The Rangers are now 70-81 on the season which has them in last place in the American League West, 19 games behind the Angels but only 3 behind the A’s.

It seems as if the players are finally buying into manger Ron Washington’s style of baseball.  The Rangers are now 69-75 which has them 16 games behind the Angels in the American League West.  The Rangers are only 1 game behind the A’s and they have established a goal of finishing .500 which would mean they need to go 12-6 the rest of the way and it’s possible that they can get there based on their play of late.

The Texas Rangers are finally starting to play better as they have won 7 of their last 10 games.  Still, this has been a very disappointing season for the Rangers.  They are 63-74 which has them in last place in the American League West, 18 games behind the Angels.  The Rangers have hit the ball decent despite some of their big players having off seasons.  Shortstop Michael Young is hitting .307 with 69 runs scored, 7 homers, 70 RBIs and 11 stolen bases despite getting off to a very slow start to the season.  Ian Kinsler missed a lot of the first half of the season due to injury but he’s coming on strong now.  He is hitting .267 with 75 runs scored, 18 homers, 53 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  OF Sammy Sosa has made a complete comeback after sitting out last season as he is hitting .249 with 18 homers and 79 RBIs.  The pitching staff has been pretty bad for the Rangers this season.  Only Joaquin Benoit and C.J. Wilson have pitched good all season long for the Rangers.  Benoit is 7-3 with 2 saves and a 2.65 ERA while Wilson is 2-1 with 10 saves and a 2.77 ERA.

The Texas Rangers have been awful the last two weeks as they are 5-8 and have been outscored 87-62!  The hitting has been better lately but the pitching has remained pathetic.  The Rangers entered this week with a 23-40 record which has them in last place in the American League West, 16.5 games behind the Angels.

The Rangers went 1-5 last week as they were outscored 39-33.  The Rangers continue to get bad pitching and it’s dooming their season.  The Rangers entered this week with a 18-32 record which had them in last place in the American League Central, 12.5 games behind the Angels.