Here are my two:

1. Nolan’s “Cowboy Up” edict has worn down the starters (as opposed to the relievers being worn down)

2. The stretch where the Rangers played .600+ ball but could not make ground on the Angels and Red Sox demoralized the team. When your 100% cannot match someone elses 80%…

Easy; the veterans on this team totally failed in the 2nd half. Blalock, millwood, Hamilton, Eddie, jones, and kinsler all let this team down when it mattered the most. You can only rely on 24 year olds for so long before they start acting their age. When the inevitable happens, you have to be able to fall back on you leaders and that just didn’t happen.

I really feel like there is something going on in the clubhouse that the fans are unaware of. They just seem like they aren’t enjoying the game the way they were earlier. It can’t be being without Josh as he has been awful all year with his batting and personal problems. I am sure they miss Michael Young but I think there is some kind of problem in the clubhouse that is causing them not to hold it together.

Tom Hicks

Injuries to Young and Hamilton show that this lineup needs at least one of them to continue. All the people blaming the pitching are off base because pitching is not what is getting the Rangers beat it is the offense you cannot score 1 run in 4 games and expect to win more than possibly 1 game. I know the players LOVE Rudy Jaramillo, but shockingly coming into the season pitching was supposed to be the downfall of the Rangers, yet the bats are what have put this team in there present position had they won the last two games against the A’s they would only be 4 out in the West which was a manageable deficit with the series coming up. Long story short the Bats went south along with the Rangers playoff chances

another thing, they should have tried to get M.B. back here for September. Chicago hates him.

First and foremost – what a gift this team gave us in 2009! They were relevant in August, and had a chance to do something great in September. They were resilient in the face of many obstacles this season, breaking the mold of previous Ranger teams.

They’ve faded because they are tired and have injuries to the only two hitters in the lineup that other teams fear. The younger players are struggling to make the necessary adjustments. Hence the shutouts.

But the biggest reason is Millwood’s terrible second half. He was so good early, and just a loss waiting to happen since the injury. He was not there to put an end to losing streaks.

Some say this team quit. That’s laughable – they are losing becuase they are trying too hard to compensate for the loss of Young and Hamilton. Pressing when under pressure can be a killer. But they will take something from this and be a stronger team in the stretch down the line.

When you go 2-7 v Baltimore, Seattle, & Oakland and score 20 runs (including one run in your last 37 IPs) it’s much more psychological than a lack of talent.

When something is truly rotten in the room you can’t hide it between the lines and there is something really rotten going on with this team.

The flashpoint to this entire season has been how management mishandled Davis/Blalock.

Davis earned his spot on Opening Day based on what he accomplished last year but in the month of May, Davis hit .189 with a .238 obp. It was at that exact time that somebody in management decided to employ a heavy platoon of Blalock (who had an OPS above .850 the first two months of the season) and that Davis would continue to play every day.

There has been a profound lack of respect from the room towards JD since he became the GM. Mench said it this past January…JD wants to make his mark and have players he personally acquired to have the best chances to succeed. No problem with that philosophy if it works – see Tiny E.

Chris Davis was allowed to drown like no player I’ve ever seen. The reason he was still allowed to play in June nearly every day is simply because the GM (that nobody in the room respects) drafted him.

The last time we saw the Rangers anywhere close to this lethargic was in June. Wasn’t it something like their worst offensive month in the history of the team? So what happened on July 1? Hank Blalock goes crazy, hitting a pair of HR’s including a walk-off that gave the club the energy it had been missing. Davis was mercifully sent down 4 days later and with Blalock playing every day the team goes 28-19.

Blalock did quite well in July and had an .847 OPS. In August, he simply became gassed and was either mentally or physically slowing down in dramatic fashion. His play on the field screamed that he get a day or two off a week but there was no replacement.

Come late August, the team brings back Davis (who to his credit made an immediate splash) and Blalock is told he will become “a part time player.” The team splits a roadie with NYY & Minn and then comes home for a game with Toronto. They lose 18-10 but then sweep a DH from the Jays (Blalock, the part-time player, plays in neither game) but lose MYoung to a hammy injury. The big question is, “Who is going to replace MYoung?”

Something strange happens the next day. Blalock plays 1B and has a very good game with a couple of knocks while Davis goes to 3B. Washington reacts very strangely given Blalock’s success and publicly says this line-up is not going to happen very often in the future.

Well, it’s been two weeks and that line-up hasn’t shown up again. Blalock has played one game since that evening and has been effectively buried. Chris Davis has started every game since that evening and is currently rocking an 8 for 46 (.174 average). Since Davis was given the job, the team has gone 11-11.

Follow the dots, Evan. The team went 11-15 with Davis playing every day in June. The team went 28-19 with Blalock playing every day from July 1 to August 23. The team went 11-11 (with several of those games v inferior opponents) with Davis playing every day once again (with Blalock buried).

The team did not react well to Blalock getting buried for a player who is only here because the GM drafted him and not for performance on the field.

Evan, you say you’re stumped? I’m not.

I wish the blaming of Rudy (and often Wash) would stop. They don’t play the game, they coach it. Wash is not a brillant in-game strategist, but he has convictions, goes with his gut, and has the backs of his players. That means a lot to the players and people need to credit him for part of the resilience of this team. Rudy is a great hitting coach – go ask all the former Rangers who tear up the league (ARod and Tex) and players who get fixed when they travel to Texas (Derosa, Ivan Rodriguez). Rudy doesn’t hit – he instructs. The players have to execute.

Of course there is also another thing. Evan started sitting in the booth for FSN and at that precise moment a space/time contingent collided and the Rangers started to tank.

I think youth hit a wall. Young teams can go on adrenalene as long as someone is producing. You gets hurt, Ham can’t go, there are some other bad breaks and the weather all of a sudden, seemingly, it was like a snowball rolling downhill. Some of these guys will learn valuable lessons from this. Others will get ditched. There were some weak sisters all along and just maybe Wash leaked it that management was calling the shots on the field. We already klnow he led Kins down that path. It’ll straighten out. Teams have slumps. This one came at a bad time.

I am absolutely flabbergasted that anyone could blame this swoon on the fact that Blalock didn’t play more..Unbelievable

complex problem, w/many factors being part of the answer. but for me, i think the over-riding thing is that this year the rangers are a very marginal contender. with the loss of young and hamilton and the effective loss of millwood and holland, there was just not enough slack to keep the team from snapping. and boy, has it snapped.

they’re walking dead now and i see no way out for this season.

Hey, at least Ranger fans haven’t quit paying attention. Lots of energy on this post, even if some is mis-directed. The swoon is probably a function of several factors:
–injuries–were able to overcome them earlier, but not now.
–playoff baseball pressure–look how bad all 3 division leaders fared this week, when 2 were playing teams with significantly worse records.
–Rain–all I do is drive to work and it wears me out. Can’t imagine hanging around the ballpark day after day, wondering if you will play or not
–Practice–Evan, you picked up this nugget from Wash. Team hasn’t had pregame batting and fielding practice with any regularity. Baeball players are creatures of habit, and their bodies have been getting tricked lately.
All that said, if they can beat the Angels Friday night, the swagger might return, and they might go on a tear. They are certainly due.

The one plus . . .maybe this will end Rudy’s term as hitting coach. Thanks Rudy, take you overrated self somewhere else.

Nolan, time to fine another stud like Maddox for the hitters.

I just stumbled into something that has always been there that nobody else has mentioned.

The profound difference in Hank Blalock as a DH and as a 1B.

At 1B he had 7 HR & 26 RBI with a horrific .661 OPS.

At DH he had 15 HR 31 RBI and an above average .814 OPS.

I understand why he was taken off 1B but why did they decide to bury him if his performance at DH was this good?

1. Fatigue for young players
2. Angels move to get Kazmir while Rangers stand pat.
(In the back of their minds, even though he was a clubhouse cancer, releasing Padilla and seeing him do well in LA can’t be good for the team in light of the Angels getting Kazmir.)
3. Too many emotional highs/lows have left the tanks empty.
4. Bad weather deflated the momentum of the road trip
5. No Young. No Hamilton.
6. Enthusiasm overtaken by cynicism among fans. Apathy took over among casual fans as football started. Players take note.
7. Evan’s shirts.
8. Bad lineups all year.

I’d like to point out that this is the SECOND major offensive slump. June was terrible, too. This is not a fluke. . . it is a symptom of the chemistry and composition of the team. Streaky hitters, impatient hitters. . . hitters swinging for 5-run homeruns on the first pitch instead of trying to get on base.

here’s my take on my blog if anyone is interested.
http://jeffclark.mlblogs.com/

1) Young got hurt.
2) Hamilton hurt much of the year.
3) The Rangers ability to take good young hitters and turn them into impatient, dead pull hitting hackers – (Blalock, Kinsler, Davis before he was sent down to OKC)
4) Pitchers under extra pressure knowing they cant give up more than a run for the team to win the game. I think the recent meltdowns by pitchers in the 5th or 6th inning have a lot to do with them trying to be too fine and make perfect pitches to keep the team in the game.

No offense to Byrd who is one of the few veterans playing up to and beyond his potential, but any team with Byrd batting cleanup for the majority of the year is a BAD offensive team. If this team wants to take the next step, it has to learn how to be patient at the plate. If Rudy is incapable of instilling that in the young hitters, then they need to find someone who can.

Despite all that, approaching 90 wins for the year is a great accomplishment, and it has been a fun ride!

as for the wonders of Blalock not playing enough? come on! Look at Hank’s career stats, the more games he plays in a season, the lower his batting average gets. So, less Hank means more production for the rest of the team as a whole. More Hank just makes it worse. Take away 2003 and the proof is in the numbers. His best season hitting (sans 03) was 07 playing a total of 58 games. Also the most stolen bases, et al. Give him his papers and send him down the dusty trail.

I feel like the Rangers have struggle vs. sub .500 teams all year. Or teams they are expected to beat. I think this past week or two they played too many games verse those type teams.

I agree, it’s a long season a lot of young players. And the starting pitching may be worn down, but if you look at the rotation only Millwood was in the rotation at the beginning of the year.

(1) Young hurt (Best hitter/Excellent fielder/Team leader).
(2) Hamilton hurt.
(3) Salty hurt.
(4) Milwwod hurt. (S/B DL; playing for contract extension).
(5) Padilla fired.
(6) Grilli hurt (Never came back from DL).
(7) Jennings fired.

That is a lot of guys gone. Now factor in serious hitting declines by “Crush” Davis and “But, I am an All Star” Kinsler and regression to mean Jones.

Basically the wheels have come off the cart.

Now listen to Wash “I didn’t tell him to bunt” and Rudy “It’s not my fault” and you can see the coaches throwing the players under the bus.

That tells me the not have the wheels come off the cart, but it is on fire.

I suspect that considering the effectiveness of last year’s off season firings and replacements by the suits that the beatings should and will continue until the players that survive learn how to win.

Just read Tanner Scheppers signed…not relevant to this post but..just fyi

These are the Rangers, they have 1 playoff victory in franchise history. An explanation would only be needed if they had made it to the playoffs.

Hey a bit of good news we signed Tanner Scheppers today so that is a bit of hope on an other wise dreary past couple of days. There are so many reasons why things have gone wrong but one paticurally that is disturbing is the lack of fight in the club its understandable they are undermanned with two key guys down but having no heart or showing a lack of win is really concerning now and for the future. That is the first issue I would address and then go from there its either they have quit which is reallly scary or they are just not as good as the record indicate which happens all the time in sports. Until you figure out why there is a lack of fight in the team when there is something to fight for then you can on to other issues that nead to be addressed. Until then all things lead back to this one which must be addressed.

I think something is going on in the clubhouse. It reminds me of that time the clubhouse started lacking the fire and desire to play for Buck Showalter. But in this case, I don’t think it is Washington, who oftens respects the starters and bench players. The players love Washington. I think the players are getting fed up with Jon Daniels and his ego. Most of you say that Washington is a lousy game strategist, I disagree. He has a great coaching staff to rely on and these coaches can help him think of a good strategy for the games. I think Jon Daniels is mis-general managing the team. He was a lousy GM in the first place with no vision and clue how to run the team. It is time for the Rangers to clean house and get a GM that the players will respect and play hard for. Let hire Colletti or Doug Melvin back.

Not sure what’s wrong with the team, but I the lack of fan support has more to do with the product off the field.

Lot’s of good and some not so good theories. The Rangers aren’t playing very good baseball right now. In fact, you good say that the Rangers are playing like crap.

Since I’ve been thinking about this and opinions are free to give, I’ll offer a simple one. Lack of leadership. Whether it’s Wash or one of the vet’s someone should step up, motivate and light a fire under those not shouldering some of the load. Leadership.

MY’s loss might have been bigger than we realize.

The other vet’s haven’t done anything for the younger guys to respect. You can lead unless you garner respect.

Wash is a manager but not a leader, which is OK if you have leadership on the field.

Theories

Weather … are you kidding me?

Wash’s lineup morass … sometimes lucky, sometimes not

Blalock … lack of production from 1B is the bigger issue

Fatigue … What? I thought this was professional baseball

Teams are going to face adversity. They just have to work your way out of it. Winners find a way to win. Leaders lead the way. I prefer the Black Hole leadership theory.

And no, I’m not in a Blalockonian trance.

@Chris

I had a very similar injury to my lower back as Josh has… I was in extreme pain for about 4 days, followed by another week of major stiffness. This happened about 4 weeks ago, and I’m just now about 90%. I’m sure I could recover faster if I was in better shape and had professional trainers helping me, but still, that injury isn’t mild.

Simple solution to 1st base- let Smoak play one more full year in AAA. We sign Carlos Delagdo to a year contract with incentives.

The Rangers don’t have a real outspoken leader on the team…someone who will hold them accountable.

MY leads by example, not too often with words.
Hamilton has been hurt, Kinsler hasn’t put it together yet.

Byrd is probably the most vocal leader in the room, but the reality is that he’s a nice #6-7 hitter on most teams, and while he has the respect of his teammates, he doesn’t seem to be real fiery.

I found myself wondering this weekend while watching Seattle and have since heard whispers around the internet…what would this team look like with Milton Bradley?

@Jack Daddy: those are excellent points. If there are reasons beyond simple coincidence, I think you’ve hit them.

2 additional things:

1. it troubles me to speak of games we “should” have won or opponents we “should” have beat. For example, Oakland has a better record than us this month and a much better offense. Cahill and Anderson (who we didn’t face) were both ranked in the top 10 by Baseball America of the top prospects in all of baseball (higher than Holland and Hunter). They are good.

One of the Seattle losses was to Felix Hernandez, who is going to win the Cy Young. We won 2 of the 4 starts vs. Felix this year and should have won the one in Seattle where Franklyn Gut. hit the HR off CJ.

You win the games that you outplay the other team on. There are no gimmes.

2. I completely agree with the posts questionng Rudy. I like Evan’s take earlier this season – he’s like a swing coach in golf or a QB coach. He’s not a caddy or an offensive coordinator. He seems to purely be technician and not a stategist, at all.

Even assuming that’s all complete garbage, at some point, doesn’t accountability come into play?

I blame it on Josey Wales love affair with Hank Blalock….

Any of you pointing the finger at JD are complete idiots…he is on top of everything. He would have made significant upgrades to the team in the winter, again at the deadline, and surely when guys like Kazmir fell into his lap but he didn’t. The Reason? The Giant DBag Tom Hicks

THERE IS ZERO MONEY!!!

Hicks isn’t necessarily a bad guy….he has shown that he is willing to pay. The problem is that he can’t find anyone dumb enough to lend him any money since he can’t pay his current creditors. End of story. End of season.

Reason that makes him a DBag? He bet big and lost and screwed the fans in the process…I will never forgive him. Neither will the players

Physically worn out and broke down plus generally poor mental approach to the game. This “low baseball IQ” has become more evident over time as the season progresses (a return to the mean) and is exacerbated in pressure situations, like pennant race games.

Three are alot of things that have gone wrong this year, but ten times more things have gone right. This team is at least 10 games ahead of what everyone expected they would be this year. Yes it is disappointing the way they have faltered over the last week, but if our record was 10 games worse and we were 15 out instead of where we are then this would just be a blip on the radar of a developing team. Yes I would like a playoff team as much as anyone else. But I would rather focus on the positive.

The emergence of Elvis Andrus: It allowed MY to move to third, solidifying two positions. Is there any left side of the infield in the American League, that you trade for instead of what we have right here.

The pitching staff: Even with getting rid of the pitching chameleon in Padilla, we have the 5th best staff in the AL. Even with our pedestrian offense we are always in games for the most part. When have we ever had that around here.

Chris Davis and Derek Holland: Two young keys to the future got serious big league playing time. Davis bounced back from adversity and showed that he has serious potential to be an impact everyday major league player. Holland is going to be an ace. He has had to learn on the fly and although the road has been bumpy he has more than proven that he has the ability to get the job done.

Mr. Happy: I don’t think the Rangers have had this significant of an addition from the farm system since Pudge. Whether as a starter or a reliever he will be a significant part of this club for years.

Marlon Byrd: Has proven that he is a somewhat legitimate every day player. If he is resigned it gives us a very valuable chip to deal in Nelson Cruz whose value may never be as high as it is now. Hamilton, Byrd and Borbon should be the outfield next year with Murphy as a 4th outfielder.

Scott Feldman: Enough said right there. A legimate ace on this staff. Along with Holland and Feliz the Rangers can have a top three that will rival anyone in baseball.

The only thing that I didn’t see this year that I wanted to is if Justin Smoak is going to be a viable player next year. If he can be our DH I would love to see this lineup go out about 140 times next season.

1. Borbon – LF
2. MY – 3B
3. Hamilton – RF
4. Kinsler – 2B
5. Davis – 1B
6. Byrd – CF
7. Smoak – DH
8. Pudge – C
9. Andrus – SS

We can look at the all negative of this collapse but I am extremely happy where we are as a team. We will contend for the next several years and the future is bright. Most times you have to fail to succeed. Last years cham the Phillies took several years to get over the hump, as did the Red Sox and White Sox in the is decade. We are on the right path. Just imagine if we improve another ten games next year. How would you like a 98-99 team next year? It is very possible.

it’s like all good baseball movies…. there’s always some form of slump towards the end of the movie, the seasoned manager passes on some words of wisdom (or some big rally speech from your leader) as you think the season is lost, and then…… there’s a little hit, or play that changes it all.

This teams too good to go down like this, not saying that they will be going to the post season, but I think there’s still some exciting baseball to come. 162, maybe 163, in this season. It’s not over yet.

We score one run in 4 games. Hank should have been in the lineup at least once ( and I think the guy wastes at bats with his ‘super swing’ all the timne).

Look Wash just hasn’t got these guys to manufacture runs. Kinsler has been watching Hanks video and is swinging for the fence everytime. Davis has been back how long and he is starting to try to flail at every breaking ball. Josh has looked like @#$! swinging at breaking balls out of the zone. With MY gone that leaves only Marlon and Murphy who will just try to get hits (besides the kids who haven’t been screwed up yet.)

Rudy may have some powerful insights into mechanics and power, but no one in the Rangers is teaching patience and bat control. The only guy who seems to get it is the OKC coach(s) who obvioulsy got Andrus, Borbon, German and Davis going.

The tally is in and whether he is a guru or not, Rudy has got to be honorably retired to a consultants position or some such (#$&# and the guy from OKC promoted. Otherwise next year will look like this year.

BTW, I do think arm fatigue has gotten to Millwood some, but frankly TT is a horrible game caller. Thats why Holland gets creamed these days. TT calls for pitches on the edge or out of the zone and does not trust him to throw breaking balls for strikes, gets behind and then Hollands fastball with no lateral movement gets clocked. Hollands slider is plenty good enough to throw for strikes (or at least close) but he wont do it and TT wont make him. Its obvious to me the batters just take until they see a fastball over the plate.

Kid catchers gotta have major talent to play in the bigs to make up for their lack of savvy. When Pudge, a notoriously medicore game caller who barely knows the pitchers and their stuff, is an obvious improvment you know you got a problem. Send TT to OKC and wait a year or two, see if he ever hits.

So basically its all Wash’s fault. Many good qualities but bad lineup choices, not imposing plate discipline and the manufacture of runs and failure to rest key players sufficiently to avoid fatigue and injury. Sorry Wash, learn fast or back to bench coach.

@Doug- It’s very easy to portray it as a loony theory without base, but you know it’s something that has been monitored at LSB & NMLR since the organization inexplicably kept running Davis (who hit .189 with a .238 obp in May) out there in June at the expense of a vet who to that point (and later in July) had played head & shoulders above the kid drafted by JD.
The reason somebody like Evan says they’re stumped is because he doesn’t realize or is not permitted to say The Room Knows about Chris Davis (currently in an 8 for 46) and exactly why he is here.
The play on the field can’t hide the distrust the players have towards JD. Once again, he jacked with the kharma to get one of his guys on the field. Not a problem when they can perform (see Tiny E) but a really big problem when they can’t. That’s why you see historic, what-the-hell-is-going-on streaks of offensive ineptitude sprinkled with epic doses of lethargy in This Thing both in June and (worse) in September.

I. The manager has failed his team.

It is the manager’s responsibility to have his team ready to play regardless of the opponent. Texas clearly wasn’t ready to play Seattle or Oakland last week.

II. The hitting coach is a Blalockian bust.

He can really make a good hitter great, but then, he oversells the powerball aspect and has destroyed two really good hitters (Blalock & Kinsler) who now feel they have to hit the 6-run homer on every plate appearance.

III. The pitching coach is a confused idiot.

Sheesh! No evidence there… this guy (Maddux) has been magnificent so far.

IV. The General Manager has failed to bring in quality players.

Again, the evidence is to the contrary. Although, JD has given up some really good players, none of those (other than Danks – who’s season hasn’t really been all that great – and Adrian – who was replaced by Crush Davis to some extent) are playing at even a respectable level right now.

And, JD has brought in Elvis, Murphy (where’d we be without THIS guy), Omar, Byrd, Feldman, Hunter, Holland, Feliz…. it goes on… and on… and on…

V. The Club President has failed to protect his team from the Big Market bias in the Commissioner’s Office and among the umpires.

This may be the most telling issue. And, although we have no idea the extent Ryan has gone to insure the sTRangers get a fair shake, the evidence shows that, especially in Derek Holland’s case, the strike zone for some of the team’s pitchers is much smaller than those of the opposition causing (in particular, Holland) to bring the ball closer into the hitters sweet spot.

I know the team grades umpires after each game. An especially harsh grade can go a long ways toward getting an umpire’s attention. Maybe zeroes across the board a time or two?

Also, where an umpire shows a critical imbalance between the two teams, a letter to the Commissioner’s Office specifying that umpire not be allowed to officiate sTRanger games for a year or two might bring on the anger of the Umpire’s Union, but it would also gain some attention.

VI. The players are simple bullies who, when they expect to win and the other team doesn’t fold, they run away.

When they KNOW ahead of time they are in for a tussle, they rise to the occasion and actually fare pretty well, but when the other team isn’t that good but still stands up to the sTRangers’ offense, the offense gets frustrated and disappears.

In conclusion, this team has a lot of things they have to overcome to be Champions. They have all of the tools, they just need to get a little more heart.