Dirty Dozen: There are Still Things to Settle in Remaining 12 Games of Texas Rangers’ Season

The Rangers have reached the 150-game mark in the season and technically they are still alive in both the AL West and the AL wild card races. Technically, yes. Realistically? Not so much.

Despite all that, there are still things worth paying attention to over the final 12 games. Here’s a dozen things worth paying attention to over these final dozen games:

1.90 wins: The Rangers now need to play .667 baseball (8-4) to reach the 90-win mark for only the fourth time in club history. At the start of the month, it looked likely. Now? It’s going to be really difficult. Nine of the final 12 games are on the road, including two more at Oakland, which just happens to be one of the hottest teams in the AL right now. Also, the Rangers are just 3-5 in Oakland this season. After three games against Tampa Bay in Arlington, they go to Los Angeles for four and Seattle for three. The Angels series may mean nothing by the time they get there, but Seattle is a different story.

2. Second place: Why is the trip to Seattle a different story? Because the Mariners, who won two of three from the Rangers in Texas at the start of this swoon, enter the day just 3.5 games back of the Rangers. If they can shave another two games off that lead in the next week, the final series of the season might come down to a battle for second in the West. Three weeks ago, was there any way you could imagine the Rangers falling to third? Now, that might take the shine off this otherwise fabulous year.

3. A 20-game winner: RHP Scott Feldman, who starts Thursday in Oakland, figures to also start Tuesday at Los Angeles and the season finale at Seattle on Oct. 4 if the Rangers keep him on his current schedule. Winning out would make him the fourth 20-game winner in club history, allowing him to join Ferguson Jenkins (25 in 1974), Kevin Brown (21 in 1992) and Rick Helling (20 in 1998). Feldman isn’t going to win the Cy Young award, but winning out might make him the first 20-game winner in MLB history who didn’t begin the season in his team’s rotation.

4. ERA Amendment: The Rangers arrived at the 150-game mark with a 4.31 ERA. If they can get through the next 12 games averaging less than five earned runs allowed, they should finish with an ERA below 4.50. It would mark the first time they’ve gone below 4.50 since Nolan Ryan retired. The Rangers finished Ryan’s final season, 1993, with a 4.28 mark then moved into Rangers Ballpark. In the new stadium, they haven’t had anything less than a 4.53 ERA (2004).

5. The 30-30 Club: 2B Ian Kinsler entered September with 28 homers and 28 stolen bases and becoming the second player in Rangers history to reach 30-30 seemed a foregone conclusion. It’s not such a foregone conclusion anymore. Kinsler has one homer and one steal in the first three weeks of the month. He hasn’t homered since Sept. 1 and stole his first base of the month on Sept. 19. He’s sitting at 29-29 right now. Kinsler has three RBIs to get to 80 for the year with 89 runs scored.  Of the 53 30-30 seasons in history, only eight have happened with fewer than 90 RBIs and only 10 with fewer than 100 runs. Only three have included less than 90 RBIs and less than 100 runs.

6. West supremacy: The Rangers are 27-21 against the AL West. Since the AL split into three divisions in 1994, Texas has never won more than 31 games inside the division. Going 5-4 in their AL West games would get them to 32-25 to set a new high. It would also represent the best intradivsional record for any team in the West.

7. Road Warriors: Going 5-4 in those nine AL West games, all of which are on the road, would also get the Rangers to 41-40 on the road this season. It would be the sixth winning road record in Rangers history and only the second since 1999.

8. Special Ks: The Rangers now lead the AL in batters’ strikeouts – by one over Tampa Bay. With 1,167 strikeouts through 150 games, they are on pace for 1,260. That would surpass the previous team record for wind power. The current mark of 1,224 was set in 2007. The Rangers struck out 1,207 times last year. They are the only two 1,200 strikeout seasons in club history.

9. Thievery: The Rangers, currently with 139 steals, need a stolen base a game to surpass 150 for the first time in 30 years. They had 196 in 1978 after 154 in 1977. 2B Ian Kinsler and SS Elvis Andrus (both with 29) have shots at 30-steal seasons. And if the Rangers can maintain their current rate of success, they will set an AL record for stolen base efficiency among teams have run at least 150 times. The Rangers currently are at 81.8 percent for 170 attempts.

10. The Low Point: As we mentioned yesterday, RHP Darren O’Day has the lowest EA in the majors (1.65) for pitchers with at least 50 innings of work this season. That counts his brief audition with the Mets before the Rangers grabbed him. Only one Ranger pitcher has ever had a season of at least 50 innings and a sub-1.70 ERA: Jim Kern (1.57 in 1979). O’Day’s current opponents batting average is .176 (with the Rangers). Only three players in club history have had better marks: Jeff Zimmerman (.166 in 1998), Nolan Ryan (.172 in 1991) and Mitch Williams (.175 in 1987 – though he did allow 94 walks in 108 innings). O’Day’s season stands to go down as one of the best in club history by a reliever.

11. Fielding/Pitching combo: The Rangers have allowed 35 unearned runs. They’ve allowed fewer in a season just once – in 1981 when they allowed 34 in 105 games played due to a strike. In a full season the Rangers have never allowed fewer than 50. What all this says is that the club’s attention to pitching and defense has paid off in huge dividends. The Rangers are on pace to allow 731 runs this season. That would be a reduction of 236 runs over last year and 113 over 2007. That is significant improvement in the one statistic the Rangers most significantly needed to improve.

12. Rookie Watch: Tommy Hunter, who starts tonight against Oakland and possibly twice more this season, has a chance to set the Ranger rookie starter record for ERA (at least 100 innings). Steve Comer currently holds the distinction with a 3.12 mark in 1978. Hunter enters tonight’s game at 3.25 and with an 8-4 record. Hunter and Scott Feldman have been the Rangers’ two best pitchers over the second half of the season. That Hunter, who had a 16.36 mark for three starts in 2008, has dropped to his current level for 2009 says a lot about him. He has established himself as a regular member of the rotation for 2010. Hunter can get the mark by allowing four or fewer earned runs in a total of 18 innings (thanks for the edit, Mr. Newberg). That would drop him to 3.06.

So, yeah, the playoff chase may be over. There is still plenty to watch.