Rangers, A Work In Progress.....

by user Bbcnnut

Well it is May and once again Texas Ranger fans have hope. The pitching has been improved, (except for Cordero). Some new Rangers have made a splash. Ian Kinsler broke onto the scene and then dislocated his thumb. Ian was batting .476 when he went on the DL. Hopefully he will begin a rehab assignment next week. Starting pitcher John Koronka has everyone a buzz with his 3-1 record with an ERA of 3.55 and a WHIP of 1.16. His last outing was a reall gem going 8 1/3 while giving up 1 earned run. Akinori Otsuka was brought in to set up Francisco Cordero but is now the closer. Brad Wilkerson has gotten off to a slow start but is coming on. In the last seven games for Wilkerson he is hitting .440 with a couple of homers.

After the terrible start (2 wins 7 losses) the Rangers find themselves in first place in the American League West. This team hits the ball like the Rangers of the past, but the starting pitching is pretty good right now. They just need to get the bullpen straightened out. I think a bullpen is more effective when everyone knows their role.

This weekends series against the Bronx Bombers will reveal even more about this edition of the Texas Rangers. In the first game of the series newcomer Vincente Padilla failed but the bullpen held the line. The Rangers made a run in the 8th scoring 6 runs and forcing Yankees closer Mariano Rivera into the game early. This should make things interesting for the next two games as they touched up Rivera and made him work harder than Joe Torre had hoped.

Date
Fri 05/05/06, 8:35 pm EST