MVB.
On July 28, the Yankees embarrassed Texas in Arlington, 21-5 — after which the Rangers reeled off seven of eight.
On August 12, Minnesota punished them, 11-1 — and Texas responded by winning five straight and nine of 11.
On August 26, Toronto hammered Texas, 12-4 — and since then the Rangers have won four times without losing.
On Sunday, the Rangers completed a series sweep of the Orioles — their first since May 2010 and July 2011, two seasons that have something more important in common — on the shoulders of Derek Holland, whose eighth career shutout (fifth most in franchise history, and the most of anyone who has appeared for the club at any time in the last 25 years) was not only his first without a base on balls but also featured a career-high-matching 11 punchouts. Every Orioles hitter who played on Sunday struck out. The final 14 that Holland faced were retired.
Just awesome.
After the game, Holland said he watched fellow lefties Cole Hamels on Friday and Martin Perez on Saturday and how they handled the Baltimore lineup, and he incorporated some of what he learned from them into his Sunday gameplan.
So great, on a number of levels.
Holland is here through 2018, as long as Texas exercises its club options.
Hamels, 2019 — with the last year maybe guaranteed, maybe at the Rangers’ option.
Perez, 2020 — if Texas picks up the two option years.
Yu Darvish, 2017. And I’d like to think more.
Tack on Chi Chi Gonzalez through 2021, not to mention Shawn Tolleson through 2018 and Jake Diekman through 2018 and Sam Dyson through 2020 and Keone Kela through 2020 and a farm system that remains poised to deliver more impact talent.
I don’t get into Cy Young votes or Hall of Fame debates or All-Star snubs or any of that individual stuff, but someone asked me on Twitter after Sunday’s game who I thought the Rangers MVP was this year.
My answer: “Could it be the guy who hired Banny, Rule 5’d Delino, and traded for Hamels, Dyson, and Diekman?”
And who, on July 31, had a club that was eight games out in the division and six teams out of the second Wild Card spot . . . but didn’t trade Yovani Gallardo?
Jon Daniels has had a very good year.
That was true even before Texas rattled off a 19-9 record since that date, a mark bested by only one American League team (Toronto) in that span.
In spite of no Darvish and a very little Holland and not much more Perez, and in spite of how little the key bullpen pieces going into the season have given the club, and in spite of Rougned Odor’s first month and Shin-Soo Choo’s first half and Leonys Martin’s failure to put together even one decent month offensively.
It’s been a tremendous season of resilience, and not just in terms of wash-it-off bouncebacks from particularly ugly losses.
Texas is now within three games of Houston — two in the loss column — and a game and a half up on Minnesota in the Wild Card standings.
Today’s updated FanGraphs playoff odds have the Rangers as a 56.5 percent bet to extend their season. Of the clubs chasing the second Wild Card spot Texas now holds down, the Angels are given the best chance by FanGraphs of reaching the post-season — but only at 18 percent.
(The Baseball Prospectus version: Texas at 53.8 percent, with Minnesota next at 18.5 percent.)
It’s August 31, and it’s more likely than not that the Rangers are going to be playing baseball when the playoffs get rolling.
JD’s had a beast year.
The Rangers scored only 4, 4, and 6 runs in the three Baltimore games this weekend, but when your pitching staff holds the opposition scoreless in 25 of 27 innings (including 23 of the final 24), you’ve got a real good chance to stack up some W’s.
This dramatically overhauled bullpen, which too often this season has been asked to give the team 3.2 innings a game, was only needed for 3.2 innings against the Orioles — total.
“These are not April’s Rangers, or July’s,” ESPN’s Christina Kahrl wrote last night. “This is a team with the talent to beat anybody in a short series.” Gerry Fraley (Dallas Morning News) suggests Hamels, Holland, Perez, Gallardo, and Colby Lewis “could turn into the top pennant-race rotation in the majors.”
The Rangers’ longest road trip of the season (10 games) begins tonight in San Diego. Only one team (St. Louis) has been better away from home than the Rangers.
The final seven of those 10 road games are against the division.
After that is a 10-game homestand — all against the West, including four against the Astros.
Which will bring us to the season’s final two weeks: six away (three of which will be in Houston) and then seven at home.
There are 33 scheduled games remaining for Texas, which has won 21 of 30 since that embarrassment at the hands of the Yankees.
Maybe in that span we’ll be talking again about what a genius move JD’s April trade for Josh Hamilton was. Or his March trade for extraneous Cardinals lefthander Sam Freeman. Or his August trade for Mike Napoli or his August trade for Will Venable or his August signing of Drew Stubbs or, maybe, his August trade for whoever might be acquired today in time to be playoff-eligible.
Daniels has had a great year, but this is no time to be reflecting on what has happened in 2015 or who has done what.
There’s still lots of doing to be done.