Texas Rangers Weekly Report: The tide is rising around the Rangers

I had another title that I could have used for this week's Texas Rangers Weekly Report, but it was too harsh. This is the worst stretch of baseball that I've seen the team play this entire season. I don't think any of the team deserves to be ranked on the Who's Hot list this week. The entire team is on the bottom list this week.

The bats couldn't get any offense generated, and the closing pitchers were just flat-out terrible. I felt bad for Jordan Montgomery as he pitched an eight-inning gem against the Diamondbacks. The offense couldn't help him out as they failed to generate any offense for him.

This is the worst time for the Rangers to "blow a flat tire" during the season. With the way that the Seattle Mariners have been playing lately, they passed the Rangers in the standings and hold a one-game lead over them. The Rangers are now tied for second place with the Astros. I hope Chris Young jumpstarts this team this week by calling up their number one prospect Evan Carter. Something needs to happen to get this team back on track.

I know the Rangers still have that Achilles heel with the relief pitching, and that's what the main issue has been this season. Chris Young did a good job of trading for some back-end pitching to close out games before the Trade Deadline. However, there are some players like Josh Sborz who have been inconsistent in that role.

Closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman has gone from a fan favorite to not one in less than a week. He is 1-4 in closing opportunities for the Rangers. Will Smith is right with him as he's lost the dominating command he had at the beginning of the season. A baseball team can't make the playoffs if they can't close out games holding a lead.

I'm not ready to signal DEFCON 1 just yet for the Rangers this season. There is still have a lot of baseball left, as they are entering the final month of the season. They still have tons of games against the Mariners in the month of September (seven). The Rangers could end up passing them in the standings and win the division if they can get within striking distance by then. There is still a lot of work to be done and I know the Rangers can do it. They need to do it starting with the New York Mets this week.

Texas Rangers Weekly Report: The tide is rising around the Rangers

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