If at the beginning of the baseball season I'd asked you "which division is most likely to be a runaway?", the answer of "AL West" probably wouldn't have been a surprise. The team doing the running away probably would've been. The Texas Rangers are currently 7 games up in a division where the perennial powerhouse Angels are clearly having a down year. I say that as objectively as I can without sounding like it's taking a shot at Texas. Clearly, credit is due.
Nolan Ryan appears to have had a tremendous impact on this team. He has imparted a tougher attitude for the pitching staff, and has also seemed to have stabilized a very shaky ownership situation (even though it still unresolved). The foresight of the interim ownership group to preserve some payroll flexibility for mid-season acquisitions must be applauded. I don't know how a team that had to borrow money last year from MLB just to make payroll could do it, but they did.
I hate Jon Daniels, but only because I'm jealous. He's younger than me, and he's got what would be a bit of a dream job for me. He's a heck of a GM, and he's done a great job putting this team together. While he certainly deserves credit for getting Cliff Lee and Bengie Molina in the last month, he also should be commended for getting guys like Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, Colby Lewis, Rich Harden, etc. Every GM has ups and downs (certainly trading away Adrian Gonzalez is a down), but getting Nelson Cruz and Neftali Feliz in trades are certainly wins.
The organization also deserves credit for sticking with Ron Washington despite his drug problems. Washington has done a very good job this season and will garner some Manager of the Year consideration.
On the field, this a very good team that's a lot of fun to watch. They hit for average, have power, speed, and play good defense. They have a pretty good bullpen with a fantastic young closer. Their starting pitching should be solid going into the playoffs with a legit ace in Lee, and the return of Harden, to a couple resurgent pitchers (Wilson and Lewis) and some promising young arms (Hunter and Harrison).
This team might just make some noise, I'll certainly be pulling for them.
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