Stick a fork in the Texas Rangers. In the heat of a pennant race, they lost two of three games to the hapless Seattle Mariners, at home. In the second game of yesterday's doubleheader, they managed only six hits and did not score a run. Yes, they faced a good pitcher—Felix Hernandez—but you have to beat good pitchers to make it to the playoffs. The Rangers are now six games behind division-leading Los Angeles and four behind Boston for the wild card. That may not seem like much, but the Angels and Rat Sox are playing well right now, and the Rangers are sputtering. Josh Hamilton has a bad back; Michael Young is out with a hamstring injury; and the team's "ace," Kevin Millwood, is struggling.
I should probably keep things in perspective. The Rangers weren't supposed to contend until next year. That we're even talking about the playoffs this late in the season is somewhat of a miracle. By the way, I've soured on Josh Hamilton. A year ago, you may recall, he took the baseball world by storm. After the All-Star break, things went downhill. He has been injured twice after running into walls and now has a bad back. Even when he was healthy this year, he wasn't hitting. To make things worse, he doesn't socialize with the players. I understand that he has a chaperone to keep him from relapsing into drug use, and that this prevents him from eating in places where alcohol is served. That cannot be good for team morale. Another thing I don't like about Hamilton is that he appears to have no fire in his belly. He shows little emotion. He has no leadership skills. If you want Hamilton on your team, please take him.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 