A rainbow appeared over Camden Yards on the day Matt Wieters arrived, a black cloud hangs over the Colorado Rockies at a time when they've changed managers, and the Chicago Cubs managed to finish a game without destroying a drink dispenser (that we know of). All of these flickering lures drew our attention Friday away from a team that stretched its win-loss record to 10 games over .500, that is off to its best start in more than a decade -- the Texas Rangers, who swept a doubleheader from the Athletics, as the Angels lost to Seattle and fell to 4½ games behind Texas.
If you talk to players and executives within the division, there is deep and appropriate respect for the Angels and what they've accomplished in this decade, and a presumption that eventually, any team managed by
Mike Scioscia and led by the likes of
John Lackey and
Chone Figgins and
Torii Hunter is destined to get on a serious roll and start crushing teams.
But just for argument's sake: Is it possible that isn't going to happen? Is it possible that the Rangers are a good team that's getting better, maturing right in front of us? They're 23-10 since April 24, and they've posted a staff ERA of 3.70 in the month of May, the
fourth best in the majors.
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Buster Olney
