That winning surge has provided a sense of optimism and hope going forward under rookie manager Ron Washington after the Rangers got off to such a horrible start.
It also has created an interesting problem for a team that was 19 games under .500 in mid-June and seemingly ready to listen to trade offers for key players such as Mark Teixeira, Eric Gagne, Kenny Lofton and Sammy Sosa.
“We’re behind the eight ball still, but the things that we accomplished to this point, we feel good about,” Washington said. “We feel like when the second half starts, we’ll just continue to play good baseball and see where we stand.”
Without a second-half comeback like the 1978 New York Yankees, though, the last-place Rangers (38-50) will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season. They still have a lot of ground to make up just to finish with a winning record for only the second time since 1999.
Considering those postseason odds, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels has to balance the strides that have been made this season with building for the future - and the pieces that can be added for that by dealing. He already was getting calls from likely contending teams in June.
Even after their 15-8 stretch, the Rangers are still buried in last place 15 games behind the American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels. Their winning streak included going 6-0-1 in their last seven series, their first unbeaten seven-series stretch since 2001. They beat division leaders Detroit and Los Angeles and split a four-game series at the Boston Red Sox, who have the best record in the majors.
“We’re playing better now, but to start off the way we did, it stunk,” said pitcher Kevin Millwood, who has won four of five starts since two stints on the disabled list before June. “Hopefully, we can continue playing the way we have been lately.”
Texas, which lost 50 games before the All-Star break for the seventh time in team history, opens a three-game series today at the Angels. Texas would still be 14 games back in the standings if it wins another series by taking two or three games.
“We know we dug ourselves a really huge hole, but that’s over with now,” All-Star shortstop Michael Young said. “I’m not going to think of records or anything like that. Just continue to play good baseball. Obviously, we want to win as much as we can, but it’s tough to sit here and think of a record goal.”
The 1978 Yankees overcame a 14-game deficit after July 18 to force the playoff game against the Red Sox that included Bucky Dent’s famous homer. Texas is 14 games back in the AL wild-card race.
Unless the Rangers want to try for a miracle this season, they are still in position to be sellers before the trade deadline.
Sosa and Gagne have made impressive comebacks and 40-year-old center fielder Lofton has also had a significant impact. All are signed only through this season and could be attractive to other teams.
Texas is also likely to listen to inquiries about Teixeira, the powerful switch-hitting first baseman who is eligible for salary arbitration this year and can become a free agent after next season - with no guarantees that he will stay or wants to.
When Teixeira returns from the disabled list today after missing 28 games because of a strained left quadriceps, there is a 2½-week window before the trade deadline to prove to other teams he’s healthy. Texas has shown it can win without him, going 16-12 while he was out.
The Rangers have also been winning with third baseman Hank Blalock, second baseman Ian Kinsler and starter Vicente Padilla on the DL.
The biggest question could be whether to deal Gagne and/or setup man Akinori Otsuka. Or they could try to keep both relievers for 2008 behind a rotation that is secured past this season. Texas starters are 11-6 with a 4.33 earned-run average in the last 23 games.
Gagne, 31, was limited to 15 1/3 innings the past two seasons after elbow and back operations but is 2-0 with 12 saves in 13 chances and a 1.32 ERA. Otsuka, pushed back into the eighth-inning role when Gagne was signed, has a 2.51 ERA in 34 games.
After a year out of baseball, Sosa, 38, is eighth in the AL with 63 RBI in 75 games, though he is in a 3-for-23 slump with no RBI in July. His 14 homers match his 102-game total for Baltimore in 2005 and made him the fifth member of the 600-homer club.
Lofton, who has been to the playoffs 10 times with six teams in his 15 seasons, is hitting .301 with 20 stolen bases in 83 games.
