The baseball season has started, and when every team begins 0-0, it seems all clubs feel they have a shot at a magical year, if they have a good start.
And it’s funny how people react when they do get off to say, a perfect start.
Take the Texas Rangers, for example.
They got off to a 3-0 start, and it was the first time they’ve begun a season with three straight wins since 1996.
Now, they are in the same division as the favored L.A. Angels, who are expected to win the AL West. (The tragic death of rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart isn’t going to send the Angels off to a bad year.)
And with 159 games (at the time) still to play, obviously it was way too early to know.
Yet, it didn’t stop Marlon Byrd from saying the following to the press after the Rangers’ 12-8 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday: “This team has a different feel. We go out there and we’re expecting to win now.”
Huh?
Looking at Texas’ two wins following Opening Day, however, shows the Rangers are still having the same problem as always: they can’t pitch. In those two games, they allowed 13 runs against the Indians (while scoring 20).
That’s not going to carry them to the playoffs, especially if the pitching continues to be mediocre.
The Rangers were almost a .500 team last season (ending up with 79 wins), so is Byrd trying to say they’re “expecting to win” more games now this year, and thus the division and go to the World Series?
“The team chemistry in here is second to none, and right now it’s a special team to be part of,” said pitcher Brandon McCarthy.
I wonder if McCarthy has been in the clubhouses of all the other big-league clubs to know that their team chemistry is the best. Hmm