Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 08:52:42 -0500 Reply-To: Texas Rangers MLB Discussion <RANGERS@TAMU.EDU> Sender: Texas Rangers MLB Discussion <RANGERS@TAMU.EDU> From: Beau Sharbrough <beau@CONNECT.NET> Subject: Is it a hot streak or a good team?
I don't know what to make of these Rangers.
Early in the season, I thought that they were capable of winning 85 games and the west, then falling apart in the playoffs when the hitters slumped against the Yankees great pitchers.
I thought that McLemore was done for with the bat and the glove, and that Ziele was a .250 hitter. I thought that Clayton was a .200 hitter. I expected Palmeiro to play first.
I thought that Rusty Greer would hit .340.
I was sure that the starting pitching would keep them from any extended success. You get down 5 runs, 7 runs, that's the game.
I'm thinking about changing my mind.
Ziele is hitting lights out (over 300 and 3 rbi last night). Gonzalez is in the dugout while they're winning 11 of 12. McLemore is playing like Rickey Henderson at leadoff and like the old Doctor of Defense in the field (7 assists, 3 hits last night). Greer is clearly hurt. He reminds me of Palmer in his last year here -- he knows he won't get better until the winter, so he's showing up the best he can in the meantime. I wonder if we could get by without him long enough for him to get well before October.
The starters ARE bad. Still, we've won the last two games 3-1 and 9-2 and Helling and Sele weren't pitching. Okay, it wasn't Pavlik either.
I hear that a team has to be strong up the middle. With Pudge, Clayton, the rejuvenated McLemore, and Mateo this team looks REALLY strong up the middle. I would compare them defensively with anyone they will play. Better than the Braves in the infield, better than the Yankees at catcher, better than the Indians at catcher -- and overall comparable to those teams.
I looked up today and they are 20 games over .500 and 9 games ahead. I've been wondering if it was their biggest lead ever. Last night on TV Bill Jones said that they had a 9 game lead in 1986 (that dwindled to 1 before it was over). I remember one summer that they had a 9 or 10 game lead at the allstar break, blew a big lead to lose the last game before the break, and went in the tank the second half. I think that Toby Harrah was still playing, that it was between 1980 and 1985. My memories of the game are not in black and white, but it was a long time ago.
From what I can tell, this bunch has really good chemistry. By that I mean that I don't see signs of internal problems that tear a team up. They have come back to win several times this year, and that gives them a bit of confidence. They know that their pitching isn't great so they don't have too much of a swagger.
I liked that 1996 team -- I liked Darryl Hamilton better than Goodwin. I don't know if I'll ever like ToddZ as much as Deano, but I sure like that 5-4-3 thing he does. He seems to be blossoming here.
How many games above .500 will they have to be before we say that this is the best Rangers team ever? What do they need to accomplish? They've gotten the games down to six innings long. They're plus 11 at home and plus 9 on the road.
And if you're Doug Melvin, what would you take away from this team in an effort to get better pitching? With the price of pitchers, and the quality of our minor leaguers (Jamey, that's done more to give a fan hope than anything that happens at the BallPark) I'm ready to say that I'm satisfied with this season and want to sit tight.
Except I'll trade Goodwin for Clemens.
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-Beau
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Beau Sharbrough
www.connect.net/beau
Grapevine, Texas