Quick Hits

- T.R. Sullivan evaluates all 27 Rangers position players who have appeared in 2014, but I found what he wrote of Elvis Andrus and Shin-Soo Choo most interesting.

Of Elvis (emphasis mine): "Three factors shaped the season for Andrus: being on a losing team, a different cast of characters around him and poor offseason preparation." I can't speak for his offseason preparation because I wasn't there, and a new cast of characters shouldn't affect a player's performance, but I've posited before that losing baseball probably saps motivation from veterans. It won't surprise me to see a minor breakout -- more in line with Elvis's 2011 and '12 seasons -- if and when the Rangers are back in contention next season.

Of Choo: "He had a difficult season because of his injuries. Thirty-something outfielders often do." It's not good that Shin-Soo was playing hurt in 2014, but it's encouraging that a prominent beat writer acknowledges his rough year was likely do to that fact. He could provide a 5-win upgrade in 2015. 

- The Athletics have gone in the frigging tank since they traded for Jon Lester and everyone pretty much reserved a spot for them in the ALCS to play the Tigers. They're 16-25 since that happened, after owning the best record (and best run differential) in MLB. 

For narrative purposes, many blame the absence of Yoenis Cespedes -- who was traded to Boston in the Lester deal -- as the cause. I call BS. Cespedes is a nice player and all, but his OBP was only .303 in 2014, which currently ranks 9th on the club for everyone with at least 250 plate appearances. Cespedes had some pop (17 HRs this year), and his arm in the outfield is world-class, but the explanation for Oakland's demise down the stretch is far simpler than being without one hyped bat: Baseball is just streaks. 

The A's have been on a magical run over the last few years, but as Ranger fans we're all too aware of freakish, inexplicable things happening down the stretch. No team is immune. Oakland got better when they acquired Jon Lester, but baseball is a 162 game season and getting "better" doesn't mean very much by the time the games get played. Small samples sizes mean anything can happen; the worst team in MLB can beat the best any day of the week; it stinks for the A's, but it's reality nonetheless.

- At age-35, Adrian Beltre (+5.1 fWAR) is the 10th-most valuable player in the American League according to FanGraphs. In four seasons with the Rangers, Beltre has produced +22.0 fWAR, about 31% of his Hall-of-Fame career output. He's currently hitting .322/.385/.488 (138 wRC+), meaning top prospect Joey Gallo can wait a little longer before he ascends to the throne. 

There will be a day when Beltre is no longer manning 3rd for the Rangers -- perhaps 2016 -- and that will be a very, very sad day. Along with the acquisition of Yu Darvish, and the Mark Teixeira trade, Adrian has been the greatest coup for the Rangers organization during the Jon Daniels Era.

Lowly Rangers Sweep Actual Weekend Series

I feel bad for the Braves. Heading into Friday's tilt in Texas, they trailed Pittsburgh by two games in the race for the NL's second wild card. After leaving Arlington Sunday afternoon, that deficit has doubled. 

The Rangers, the unlikeliest sweepers in MLB, accomplished the feat for just the second time in 2014, and the first since taking a three game set on the road in Oakland at the end of April. Between then and now, Texas have gone 43-84 (.339) -- easily the worst mark in baseball. Unironically, the Rangers now travel to Oakland for a three-game set starting Tuesday. 

It only took 149 games -- 92% of the season -- for Texas to record their most prolific offensive output, at least in terms of hits (18), during the 2014 season. Every Ranger sans Adrian Beltre, by far the best hitter on the team and one of the best overall players in MLB this season, recorded at least one hit on Sunday, and aside he and J.P. Arencibia every starter recorded at least two hits. 

Luis Sardinas went 3-5 with two doubles and 4 RBI, Michael Choice went 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI, and Leonys Martin and Robinson Chirinos recorded three hits as well. It was an awesome display of what I imagine a lineup is supposed to look like when everything is clicking, something the Rangers haven't shown a lot of this season through no fault of the suspect talent on its roster. Aside Martin, Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and probably Chirinos, there's a solid chance everyone else in the lineup is either in Triple-A or a different organization in 2015, except perhaps Ryan Rua who could crack the Opening Day roster as a 4-corners utility man. 

Colby Lewis did what Colby Lewis has been doing during the second half, providing seven strong innings while allowing just a run on five hits. He has been really, really impressive lately and odds are progressively growing that he returns to the starting rotation next year. That makes me happy. 

A sweep is a sweep, which is cool and all, but with Colorado being swept themselves this weekend, Texas's stranglehold on the #1 pick in the 2015 draft is getting weak. With just 13 games remaining on the schedule, they possess a minute two-game advantage on the Rockies -- a tough pill to swallow in wake of arguably the Rangers most impressive series of the season.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty jazzed about Texas winning baseball games again, but I consider myself rational in most instances and the rational in me can't bring myself to root for finishing anything but last place this year. To the layman it's probably not a proper thing to wish for from my favorite team, but as I've written ad nauseam, the incentives are too great to wish for anything else at this point. The Rangers have been too bad for too long that I almost feel like they deserve it. 

Either way, this weekend was probably the last hurrah of the 2014 season, as their final 13 contests come against Oakland (seven times), Houston and Anaheim. 

The Rangers are 56-92

I'm confused, is this what winning baseball looks like? I think I forgot. 

Congratulations to Lisalverto Bonilla on collecting his first big league win in his first major league start, though he owes a hat tip to his offense for providing the deciding three runs after Bonilla had already completed his night the half-inning before. 

With 14 games to go, the Rangers must play .500 ball the rest of the way to avoid 100 losses. In more damaging news, with Texas's sudden/miraculous two-game surge in the win column, their stronghold on the #1 pick in 2015 has lessened. They now lead Colorado by a mere three games for ownership of the worst record in MLB in 2014. 

Should the Rangers surrender the bottom spot -- which for some reason wouldn't at all surprise me -- the collapse would be consistent with the way they operated during September in 2012 and '13. 

I'm kidding, but not really. 

At this point in the season, baseball is on the back-burner. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'm fairly certain most of us just want some resolution with the recent Ron Washington saga; wins and losses don't mean very much. Unless, of course, the Rangers keep winning. 

The Rangers are 55-92

Derek Holland is a sight for sore eyes. 

For the third time in as many appearances, Derek has gone seven innings, with each start displaying an eerily similar stat line:

9/2 vs. KC: 7.0 IP/6 hits/1 run/6 Ks/0 BBs

9/7 vs. SEA: 7.0 IP/6 hits/0 runs/5 Ks/0 BBs

9/12 vs ATL: 7.0 IP/8 hits/1 run/6 Ks/0 BBs

He's surrendered just 2 runs on 20 hits in 21.0 innings of work, with an outstanding 17:0 K/BB ratio. In three starts, Holland (+0.9 fWAR) has leapfrogged every arm on the Rangers staff not named Yu Darvish (+4.2) or Colby Lewis (+1.7) when it comes to Wins Above Replacement, which is both a testament to how brilliant he has been and an indictment on how many inept arms Texas have had on its roster in 2014. (Joakim Soria generated +1.7 fWAR in 2014 -- tied with Cobra for 2nd on the club -- and he hasn't thrown a pitch since mid-July.)

Perhaps more important than anything, though, is that Derek Holland is evidence that in spite of everything else that has gone wrong this season, moving forward the Rangers are not faced with impending doom. These are the types of starts talented major league starting pitchers are capable of. With Holland and Yu Darvish manning the front of a rotation, we're going to like our chances of winning that particular baseball game more often than not. As we glance ahead to 2015, the goal will be to figure out which starters constitute the remaining 60% of the workload. 

Colby Lewis, for instance, has grown stronger as the season has worn on. In his last 9 starts he's held his own with a 3.75 ERA, but more impressively he's made it through 6.0 innings in 8 of them. With a 43:12 K/UIBB ratio in 62.1 IP, to boot, Lewis appears more and more likely to receive some sort of one-year contract from the Rangers following the season. Probably in the same $2 million range he collected from the Rangers before 2014.

Since Martín Perez likely won't be ready to return from Tommy John surgery until around the All Star Break next year (and even if he does return, not much should be expected from him), righty Nick Tepesch would seem another obvious candidate to eat up innings. Nick's 2014 hasn't been anywhere near as encouraging as his rookie year in '13, as his putrid 10.8% strikeout rate (compared to 18.7% in '13) has severely regressed, and his 7.8% walk rate (compared to 6.6% in '13) has taken a step back as well. His earned run average (4.47) is marginally improved -- it was 4.87 last year -- but strictly by looking at his peripherals, he has not been the same pitcher in 2014, and it's tough to bank on fringy 5th starters of his ilk.

This winter's free agent class is strong, which is basically to say it's strong at the top. Max Scherzer is a true top-of-the-rotation starter, and Jon Lester and James Shields easily qualify as sharp #2 options. If the Rangers were to add one of those three to team up with Darvish and Holland, it would matter a lot less which other two guys fill out the starting five. 

I probably shouldn't be worried about 2015 quite yet, but since 2014 has been so abysmal on so many fronts, I'm not really sure what else I'm supposed to be thinking about. 

What I know is, Derek Holland is really good. As Rangers fans, we have a helluva lot to look forward to. 

The Rangers are 54-92

Since Texas began the season 15-9, they've managed a remarkable 39-83 mark over their last 122 games, netting a winning percentage of .320. For the better part of four months, the Rangers haven't only been uncompetitive, but unwatchable. 

Currently five games behind (or ahead depending how you look at it) the next-worst record in MLB (Arizona, Colorado), the Rangers are in a commanding position to lock down the #1 pick in next year's draft. To relinquish that spot will require an abundance of W's in their final 16 games, and as it stands they will have to finish the year 9-7 just to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1973, a herculean task for a roster depleted of most of its relevant talent. 

One player who hasn't folded down the stretch is Leonys Martín, whom I wrote curiously about less than a month ago. Since that article, Martin has been produced a world-beater .373/.407/.508 triple slash line, and has generated roughly +1.0 fWAR. Small sample sizes notwithstanding, it's a positive sign to at least know that type of ability is there in his bat, which has been the only thing that's held him back from being a 4-win type of center fielder at the big league level through his first two years. This is more the player the Rangers were expecting when they signed him back in 2009.

As it stands, only superstar Adrian Beltre (+5.2 fWAR) has generated more Wins Above Replacement than Leonys Martin (+2.7 fWAR) among Rangers position players. 

The season is 16 games from being over, which is sad and not really sad at all.