Rangers weekly scoreboard: 4/12 - 4/17

I don't really know where to begin.

I guess I could roll out the old cliche "it was just one of those weeks..." but that wouldn't really be true. The results the Rangers have put up this week (outside of Wednesday's bash-fest anyway) have been depressing and abnormally horrible thanks to a combination of gaffes, bad luck and plainly sub-par bullpen - with some truly mystifying management sprinkled in for good measure. So let's just get on with it, and see what we've learned from this miserable week:

Sunday: Tigers 6, Rangers 4

Kevin Millwood was every bit as superb in Detroit Sunday as he was on opening day, scattering 4 hits and striking out 6 (while walking no one) in 7 shutout innings against a Tiger offense that had obliterated Ranger pitching for 19 runs in the first two games of the series (okay, so 15 of those runs came in game 1, but you get the point: the Tigers had been hitting well). Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler had each slammed 2-run HR's off Edwin Jackson that allowed the Rangers to enjoy a 4-0 lead through the first 7 1/2 innings.

So what happened? Well, in short CJ Wilson and Warner Madrigal managed to invalidate all that good baseball with one inning of extremely bad baseball in the bottom of the 8th. Wilson would up credited will all 6 of the Tiger runs (3 earned, thanks to an Elvis Andrus error) but it was Madrigal who came in and gave up the go-ahead 2-run single to Brandon Inge (who had started the inning with a home run off Wilson). The Tigers wound up with a series sweep and the Rangers went back home at 3-3 with their tail between their legs as Ranger nation once again cried out in frustration at their enigmatic setup man.

Monday: Orioles 10, Rangers 9

Speaking of enigmas, how about Vicente Padilla. By some metrics, the 2008 Padilla was the Rangers best starter last year (and by others, not so much). What we saw Monday however was more reminiscent of 2007 Padilla: 3.1 innings, 11 hits (4 of which where doubles), 7 earned runs and an obligatory HBP. Of his 70 pitches, 10 of them where hit for line drives and another 13 where hit in the air (or popped up). Hey, at least he only walked one guy.

The Ranger offense wasn't exactly quiet either (they did actually lead 4-2 after 3, until Padilla surrendered 5 of his 7 runs in the 4th). Chris Davis, who hadn't even been scheduled to play Monday, broke out of his slump with a homer off the soft-tossing O's starter Koji Uehara in the second and Michael Young cranked his first bomb of the season in the 3rd. Even after the O's tagged Padilla in the 4th, and got to reliever Scott Feldman for 3 more in the 5th, the Rangers rallied to within one thanks to a 3-run 6th and a 2-run homer by Andruw Jones in the 7th. That was as close as they got though, as they failed to get the tying run home in the 9th after Ian Kinsler (who doubled leading off the inning) failed to tag up at second base when Michael Young hit a deep rocket to right that was somehow flagged down by Nick Markakis. If he had, the Josh Hamilton flyout that followed might have tied the game, but alas, it was not to be.

Tuesday: Orioles 7, Rangers 5

If it was the pitching that was irksome in game 1 on the O's/Rangers series, it was the offense that was irksome in the second. It started out okay - Michael Young, Nellie Cruz and Chris Davis all cranked solo shots in the first two innings off O's starter Alfredo Simon (who abruptly left immediately after surrendering the third homer with elbow soreness). After that though, the bats went on to go just 2-9 with RISP - they wouldn't score again until another failed rally in the bottom of the 10th.

The O's meanwhile pecked away at a solid-but-hittable Brandon McCarthy, who showed some much-improved fastball command in comparison with his first start (although the stellar breaking ball he flashed in his previous appearance was substantially less effective). He gave up single runs in the second, third and fourth innings of his 6-frame, 92 pitch outing, allowing the O's to knot the game at three. It would stay that way until the 10th, thanks to some aggressive bullpen management by Ron Washington, who threw CJ Wilson (who recovered from blowing the lead in Detroit to toss 1.2 scoreless innings) and Frank Francisco out for multi-inning outings. The offense however remained nowhere to be found despite the fact that Wilson and Francisco allowed zero hits in 3 innings between them, and Texas was forced to call upon Eddie Guardado in the top of the 10th. Guardado got rocked for 4 hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning, a 2-run homer and a 2-run double being the highlights. The resulting 4 run defacit proved to be too much to surmount as the Rangers offense fell short for the second straight night against Baltimore closer George Sherrill (who extricated himself after allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th).

Wednesday: Rangers 19, Orioles 6

Wednesday night was this week's trip to the amusement park for Ranger fans. Not only did they exact some serious revenge on The Birds after somewhat embarrassing losses the two previous nights, but Ian Kinsler made sure everyone would remember it by stamping his name into the record books. Going 6 for 6 with a homer, 2 doubles, a triple and 2 singles, Kinsler became the fourth Ranger to hit for the cycle, and the first to ever have 6 hits in a 9 inning game. He also tied a club record with 5 runs scored and came within one of the club record for total bases with 13. Oh yeah, and he had 4 RBI too. Can anyone say "career night"?

Almost completely overshadowed by Kinsler's mind-blowing performance was the fact that the rest of the club racked up 13 hits (for a total of 19) and plated 15 runs. Among the other notables where Marlon Byrd, who went 5-6, Nelson Cruz, who racked up 6 RBI (thanks to a game-breaking grand slam in the 4th) and Elvis Andrus who went 2-3 with a triple, 2 walks and 4 runs scored.

Though it didn't seem like it, they inflicted all that damage after being behind after the first two innings. Kris Benson wasn't great in his second start in a Ranger uniform, but he wasn't bad either, managing to soldier through 111 pitches and 6 innings after giving up 3 runs in the first two frames. It wasn't very pretty performance, but as long as you can kill innings without giving up a zillion runs you've been of great service to this currently-beleaguered Ranger staff. Of course, it does help when you have a 9-run lead to work with, too.

Friday: Royals 12, Rangers 3

Any good feelings from the record setting pick-me-up the Rangers enjoyed on Wednesday where quickly erased on Friday, however. The Kansas City Royals, who came into the game dead last in the American League in runs scored jumped all over Matt Harrison in a 12-2 romp. Harrison, who held the Tigers to 4 runs despite giving up 9 hits and 5 walks but in his previous 5.2 inning outing in Detroit tried to put on the same show second time around and found himself out of luck. Posting a remarkably similar line to his first start (8 hits and 4 walks allowed in 5 innings of work) Harrison got tagged for 6 runs, all earned. In just 2 starts (10.2 innings) Harrison has given up 9 walks and 17 hits while striking out just 5 - good for a dismal 0.56 K/BB ratio and a whopping 2.44 WHIP. Note to Kason Gabbard: could you please return the real Matt Harrison to us posthaste and remove the "Goonies" mask?

Anyway, Willie Eyre and Josh Rupe combined to provide the Royals with another 3 innings of batting practice (3 ER apeice) while in a bizzaro 9th inning, Eddie Guardado spun a scoreless frame, actually striking out 2 (!) batters. Hank Blalock, Marlon Byrd and Jarrod Saltalamacchia also jacked solo home runs in the 8th and 9th innings - maybe for Blalock and Salty those will be the start of something, as they've been a bit cold of late (to say the least). I don't really have anymore to say about this one, except BLECH.

Fun (and not so fun) stats of the week:

- Not that it's a real newsflash by now, but Ian Kinsler is just ridiculous. In more ways than one. He's hitting .476/.532/.905 through 10 games, but his BABIP is - get ready - .531. No, that's no typo, 531.

- More fun with BABIP: Nelson Cruz is hitting .284/.356/.718, but his BABIP is just .240. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that 5 of his 11 hits are home runs (don't think homers are counted in BABIP).

- Now for a not-so-fun stat: Josh Hamilton has swung at 93.6% of all pitches he's seen in the strike zone so far this year. He's also swung at 45.8% of pitches out of the zone - meaning he's swung at a whopping 67.9% of all the pitches he's seen. After going 0-3 with 2 strikeouts last night, his OPS is down to 758 on the year. It's probably a little too early to press the panic button on Josh just yet, but he desperately needs to calm down and start working the count.

-Remember the Cleveland series, when Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3-7 with a HR and 3 RBI (before wobbling off the field in game 2 with an inner ear infection)? Well, since then Salty is 2-24. Until the homer in the 9th last night, he'd struck out in 4 straight plate appearances, and his line has plummeted to .161/.188/.387. I've been a Salty believer since before it even looked like he was coming over from the Braves, and I still am... but there's no way around the fact that he needs to get the bat he had in spring training going again. And soon. If not for his sake, then for the Rangers, because I don't see Taylor Teagarden (who has looked just as bad, if not worse at the plate, albeit in only three games) riding in to save the catchers position from an offensive production standpoint.

I'll end this post today with a question (I promised myself I wouldn't get into this when I started writing tonight, but what the hell): after seeing Ron Washington pinch hit Omar Vizquel for Michael Young with the bases loaded and 2 out in the 7th, and effectively kill a rally - for no other apparent reason than he wanted to get Vizquel into the game - am I the only one who wouldn't rather see this losing streak continue just long enough to finally get Wash canned?