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The Rangers are quietly dominating the AL
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball sees the Rangers in first, George Springer’s tremendous throw, and Ichiro’s moment in history.
Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
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You already read the headline or clicked on a tweet or what have you, so there is no sense in playing a guessing game about who is leading the American League in wins. The Rangers not only have an AL-leading 41 wins, though, but that’s also the second-most wins in baseball, tied with the Nationals and Giants — as the Giants have one more loss than either, the Rangers have the second-best win percentage in baseball. That’s pretty good even before considering that Prince Fielder has been horrific, Shin-Soo Choo and Yu Darvish have been hurt, and Colby Lewis leads the rotation in ERA and is second in innings.
“Quietly” dominating is the word choice here for a reason, though, and it’s not just because you might not have been aware the Rangers were tops in the AL. They’ve outscored opponents by plenty, but not in a lead-the-league-in-wins sense: their +35 run differential should still lead the AL West, but at 36-30 instead of 41-25. A 13-4 record in one-run games -- a mark they’ve managed in part because of a bullpen featuring strong efforts from Sam Dyson, Matt Bush and more -- helped secure those “extra” wins.
Given the problems listed above, though, those wins are only “extra” now. If Darvish can come back 100 percent from his recent neck and shoulder woes, the rotation is going to be frightening. The Rangers have scored the third-most runs in the AL in spite of Fielder’s horrendous .201/.273/.316 line and Choo’s prolonged absence. There are problems, yes, but the Rangers’ youth — Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar, Rougned Odor — are keeping them strong, and even glove-first shortstop Elvis Andrus has managed to help out at the plate. This is a good team that might get even better as the year goes on, and that could be bad news for the rest of the West.
- George Springer’s arm is ... man. Just watch this throw.
- Omar Infante, who has more All-Star votes than almost everybody, was designated for assignment. Please, please stop voting for him, Royals fans. Just pick a different second baseman, you can stuff the ballot for everyone else in Kansas City.
- Does your team need a starting pitcher at the trade deadline? Well, uh, good luck with that.
- An all-star autograph chaser in his younger years, Tim Lynch is now a Yankees' draft pick about to start playing pro ball.
- Ichiro surpassed Pete Rose’s hit total with a pair of knocks on Wednesday against the Padres. Ichiro, of course, collected his first 1,278 hits in Japan, but MLB is recognizing the reaching (and surpassing) of Rose’s career number. That doesn't mean Ichiro has the most MLB hits ever, so you can take a deep breath and chill instead of yelling about that.
- Ichiro totally has the most hits, though.
- Let’s rank the eight teams in the College World Series before it begins play this weekend.
- Jose Reyes hasn’t played a game for the Rockies all season after receiving a suspension after his arrest for domestic violence. He won’t play a game with them, either, as they designated the shortstop for assignment.
- Would you like to read Cal Ripken tell you about the best play he ever made?
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How to talk about Ichiro Suzuki and Pete Rose
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