This is an absolutely amazing article and reading it with the paywall down convinced me to subscribe to your Substack. Looking forward to reading more of your stuff. It’s brilliant…
I fell in love with baseball as a kid watching players like George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Tony Gwynn; players that would constantly put pressure on a pitcher, constantly finding ways to do something. Maybe it’s a walk, maybe it’s just putting the ball in play and making the defense execute.
I fell in love with the rangers as an adult watching players like Kinsler, MY, Napoli, Beltre; players who had that same mentality as my favorite players from the 80s. They would dig a little deeper and find a way when they needed it or the team needed it.
I have become less interested in baseball today, when all offense seems to be is a strikeout or a HR. Players are so amazingly talented at a very specific thing but seem to lack the broader skills required to dig and find a way when the game requires it. Momentum feels like it dies quicker but slumps last longer.
Probably just good old days syndrome that comes from acknowledging the season is over. Also from listening to the amazing interviews with players from the 90s and 2010s that Evan Grant and John Blake have been producing lately. But it feels like baseball needs to have a return to basics from an offensive standpoint. More players that can do all the things that the game asks.
I don't believe that is good old days syndrome at all. Home runs are fun when they are more rare, and have runners on base that have worked hard to get there. We need some batters that remember that they are a team, and are able to do situational hitting. We all have that lament of how many times have we had a runner on 3rd with less than two outs and ended up with nothing this year. They hit fly balls that are caught all year long in their attempts for home runs but can't do it to get a runner home.
Excellent story. As always you capture my thoughts and emotions, even some I hadn’t fully formulated yet.
I also need to say that one of the great things about being a subscriber here is the excellence of the comments from others. I almost never read comments anywhere else, but I don’t consider any of your stories completely read unless I have also read through the comments of other subscribers. Jamey you have amassed an excellent following of well-educated Ranger lovers. Kudos to the community.
Seemed like today was a white flag day. This was great reading Jamey. I look forward to reading future writings on where this team may go. Can you include in Hops or a future writing the free agents and how much $$ that will free up?
Never ceases to amaze me how often you put my feelings into words I could never hope to write. Amazing gift you have and an amazing gift that you provide to us. Sadly I fear the let down feels stronger because we have made it to the mountain top. I swore I would always be grateful and never feel the pain and, yes, disappointment like I did so many times before after they finally did the thing but damn I was wrong. I am still grateful for that amazing journey but now I’m feeling somehow let down to new depths.
I’m sure a lot of us feel let down. I know I do. This was the line that stood out the most: “This isn’t a playoff team. A playoff roster, to be sure. But not a playoff team.” Spot on. Exactly what I keep thinking. And the reason I feel so let down. The underachieving performance of the offense is such a mystery. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I relate to so much of what you said.
Jamey - Excellent article as always! Seager is a great player and I'm not saying I want to do it, but if you could make a huge trade to bring back significant assets to help various areas on the field this team needs to upgrade and you can free yourself of his 30 mil/yr salary, don't you think the Rangers front office has to seriously entertain that idea? This organization is not in a position to stand pat for another off-season. Some difficult decisions need to be made and they really need to think outside the box and see how they can help a lot of areas for this team. I love the Rangers, but we have a lot of holes to fix.
Excellent work as always. Great way to put things in perspective. Sometimes we see only what we want to see. It’s like the stomach ache is really an ulcer. The prospects who are gone are now the bargain free agents that must be signed. Will be interesting to see who stays and goes. I am here for longest of long hauls.
I went and played golf today instead of watching - just needed a break , yet found myself for the first 3 innings checking in and would have pulled out my speaker and tuned in to radio if they had chipped away but as lead increased I didn’t look back but still finished as post game was starting and turned on because that’s what we do !!!! Came from dinner and while preseason is just that , it sure looks like there is a huge gap between two teams ; 2 years ago while THE TEAM in the metroplex is still in the midst of the wilderness, the other 3 were enjoying huge success and just two years later are we drifting back to the dark ages ?????? Man I hope not !
Totally agree. All I can say is dang it. So much talent, just doesn't make sense. And how frustrating to finally how amazing starting pitchers and we appear to have blown it. So frustrating
Perfectly captured my feelings. Today is the first game of the season that I didn’t watch even though I was off work, just couldn’t do it after last night.
Last night was brutal for sure. When Semien hit that home run to bring the lead back to three runs, I really had high hopes that we were going to win that game. So frustrating.
Thank you for this, Jamey. I was furious the other night when they blew the last game to Arizona. I listened to last night's game on the radio, already resigned to the season being over, thinking it was cool they were doing well against Toronto, then almost laughing as it kerploded in the 8th and 9th. I briefly turned on today's game, saw 10-1 on the scoreboard, and turned it off.
The LSB boards are full of vitriol and knee-jerk emotional reactions. "Fire CY. Fire Bochy. Bring back JD." I don't agree with any of it. Firing someone won't save the season, or get 2026 off to a good start. But I do get the emotion. I feel cheated, wronged, and deeply disappointed.
I don't know what needs to be done. I just keep reminding myself that 2023 was not that long ago. Some fans seem to think it never happened.
Many fans are now saying they believe it was a fluke that we won in 2023. My opinion is that a fluke does not dominate in the post season the way the Rangers did in 2023. They were not a fluke. I believe that the reluctance to spend is what started our handicap. If we had owners who were willing to put out the money, we could’ve remained a very good team for several years. I understand the tax implications and everything, but our owners weren’t willing to do that. So we had to chase after some bargains instead. So for example, we don’t have a true closer. But in spite of that, I believe that there’s enough talent on the 2025 Rangers team to make a real run. Like Jamey said, they have a playoff roster, but they don’t have a playoff team. And to me, that is the most frustrating part.
This is an absolutely amazing article and reading it with the paywall down convinced me to subscribe to your Substack. Looking forward to reading more of your stuff. It’s brilliant…
Thanks, man. Appreciate that!
Ditto.
Boy, needed this to crystallize my thoughts exactly.
Bit of a rambling thought from me here.
I fell in love with baseball as a kid watching players like George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Tony Gwynn; players that would constantly put pressure on a pitcher, constantly finding ways to do something. Maybe it’s a walk, maybe it’s just putting the ball in play and making the defense execute.
I fell in love with the rangers as an adult watching players like Kinsler, MY, Napoli, Beltre; players who had that same mentality as my favorite players from the 80s. They would dig a little deeper and find a way when they needed it or the team needed it.
I have become less interested in baseball today, when all offense seems to be is a strikeout or a HR. Players are so amazingly talented at a very specific thing but seem to lack the broader skills required to dig and find a way when the game requires it. Momentum feels like it dies quicker but slumps last longer.
Probably just good old days syndrome that comes from acknowledging the season is over. Also from listening to the amazing interviews with players from the 90s and 2010s that Evan Grant and John Blake have been producing lately. But it feels like baseball needs to have a return to basics from an offensive standpoint. More players that can do all the things that the game asks.
I don't believe that is good old days syndrome at all. Home runs are fun when they are more rare, and have runners on base that have worked hard to get there. We need some batters that remember that they are a team, and are able to do situational hitting. We all have that lament of how many times have we had a runner on 3rd with less than two outs and ended up with nothing this year. They hit fly balls that are caught all year long in their attempts for home runs but can't do it to get a runner home.
Excellent story. As always you capture my thoughts and emotions, even some I hadn’t fully formulated yet.
I also need to say that one of the great things about being a subscriber here is the excellence of the comments from others. I almost never read comments anywhere else, but I don’t consider any of your stories completely read unless I have also read through the comments of other subscribers. Jamey you have amassed an excellent following of well-educated Ranger lovers. Kudos to the community.
It’s a great community. I’m grateful be a part of it. I also read every comment.
Love this. Couldn’t agree more as far as this community goes.
Seemed like today was a white flag day. This was great reading Jamey. I look forward to reading future writings on where this team may go. Can you include in Hops or a future writing the free agents and how much $$ that will free up?
For sure. Won’t do that in today’s Hops, but soon enough. Probably its own story.
Can you also please talk about what the team can do to get below the CBT threshold, either in today’s Hops or separately?
Never ceases to amaze me how often you put my feelings into words I could never hope to write. Amazing gift you have and an amazing gift that you provide to us. Sadly I fear the let down feels stronger because we have made it to the mountain top. I swore I would always be grateful and never feel the pain and, yes, disappointment like I did so many times before after they finally did the thing but damn I was wrong. I am still grateful for that amazing journey but now I’m feeling somehow let down to new depths.
Hey, man, thanks. Really appreciate that.
I’m sure a lot of us feel let down. I know I do. This was the line that stood out the most: “This isn’t a playoff team. A playoff roster, to be sure. But not a playoff team.” Spot on. Exactly what I keep thinking. And the reason I feel so let down. The underachieving performance of the offense is such a mystery. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I relate to so much of what you said.
Jamey - Excellent article as always! Seager is a great player and I'm not saying I want to do it, but if you could make a huge trade to bring back significant assets to help various areas on the field this team needs to upgrade and you can free yourself of his 30 mil/yr salary, don't you think the Rangers front office has to seriously entertain that idea? This organization is not in a position to stand pat for another off-season. Some difficult decisions need to be made and they really need to think outside the box and see how they can help a lot of areas for this team. I love the Rangers, but we have a lot of holes to fix.
I don’t like the idea either, but the front office needs to consider EVERY possibility, including trading Seager.
Excellent work as always. Great way to put things in perspective. Sometimes we see only what we want to see. It’s like the stomach ache is really an ulcer. The prospects who are gone are now the bargain free agents that must be signed. Will be interesting to see who stays and goes. I am here for longest of long hauls.
I went and played golf today instead of watching - just needed a break , yet found myself for the first 3 innings checking in and would have pulled out my speaker and tuned in to radio if they had chipped away but as lead increased I didn’t look back but still finished as post game was starting and turned on because that’s what we do !!!! Came from dinner and while preseason is just that , it sure looks like there is a huge gap between two teams ; 2 years ago while THE TEAM in the metroplex is still in the midst of the wilderness, the other 3 were enjoying huge success and just two years later are we drifting back to the dark ages ?????? Man I hope not !
Totally agree. All I can say is dang it. So much talent, just doesn't make sense. And how frustrating to finally how amazing starting pitchers and we appear to have blown it. So frustrating
This perfectly captures my feelings. I was at the Tue and Wed games. Most brutal back to back Rangers losses I’ve ever been to
Perfectly captured my feelings. Today is the first game of the season that I didn’t watch even though I was off work, just couldn’t do it after last night.
Last night was brutal for sure. When Semien hit that home run to bring the lead back to three runs, I really had high hopes that we were going to win that game. So frustrating.
Thank you for this, Jamey. I was furious the other night when they blew the last game to Arizona. I listened to last night's game on the radio, already resigned to the season being over, thinking it was cool they were doing well against Toronto, then almost laughing as it kerploded in the 8th and 9th. I briefly turned on today's game, saw 10-1 on the scoreboard, and turned it off.
The LSB boards are full of vitriol and knee-jerk emotional reactions. "Fire CY. Fire Bochy. Bring back JD." I don't agree with any of it. Firing someone won't save the season, or get 2026 off to a good start. But I do get the emotion. I feel cheated, wronged, and deeply disappointed.
I don't know what needs to be done. I just keep reminding myself that 2023 was not that long ago. Some fans seem to think it never happened.
Many fans are now saying they believe it was a fluke that we won in 2023. My opinion is that a fluke does not dominate in the post season the way the Rangers did in 2023. They were not a fluke. I believe that the reluctance to spend is what started our handicap. If we had owners who were willing to put out the money, we could’ve remained a very good team for several years. I understand the tax implications and everything, but our owners weren’t willing to do that. So we had to chase after some bargains instead. So for example, we don’t have a true closer. But in spite of that, I believe that there’s enough talent on the 2025 Rangers team to make a real run. Like Jamey said, they have a playoff roster, but they don’t have a playoff team. And to me, that is the most frustrating part.
Thank you Jamey!! Feel absolutely the same way, great article