September 7

You folks know me, by now.  I'm the guy who keeps posting stats and trend lines of stats saying things like Derek Holland isn't actually a very good pitcher anymore, Tony Barnette is, and Delino Deshields, Jr. shouldn't be a starting Outfielder.

I also haven't been shy about saying that I don't think the Rangers are going to do so great this year, although that was mostly before they made some good moves to bolster the pitching staff down the line.  Other moves I wasn't too thrilled with, but most of my analysis was based on the idea that, as far as I can tell, the Rangers have been very lucky the last two years.  And luck isn't quantifiable.

Having said all that...chill out, people.  In the era of Double Wild Card Wildness, which has worked out for MLB beyond their wildest dreams, you can't eliminate any but the worst teams until well after the All Star break.  Hell, trading away some of your best players before the trade deadline hasn't kept teams from contending for another six weeks, at least twice now.

All of us want the Rangers to relive 2011, without the oops.  We want Texas to run away and hide like Lewis Hamilton on pole, making the clear statement that the season is theirs to have; at least until the playoffs.

That's not going to happen.  Even when it *feels* like it happens (the 2012 Rangers were talked about as one of the best teams in baseball history for a while, remember?), it doesn't *actually* happen.  The most wins in MLB history is still 116, and in the modern era that means your team loses 7 times per month.  That's a week.  The Rangers would spend A WHOLE WEEK losing baseball games every month, to be tied with the best in history.

That's a lot of losing.  Or is it?  Perspective is an asshole.

September 7, 2017.  Going into this off day, the Rangers will have played 140 games, if I counted right.  The preceding two weeks of games will have been against the Angels, A's, Houston, and Atlanta.  That should give them a span of games that will either pad their record, cover some deficiencies, or expose the rotten core.  I think we'll know on September 7th what the Rangers' season will look like.

And not a day before.