Rangers Blame Lack Of Pitching Depth For Upcoming Collapse

ARLINGTON, TX--The Texas Rangers, current front-runners in the American League West, are citing their lack of pitching depth as a prime reason for their upcoming late-season collapse. The team has had a surprising first half, winning 49 games and getting quality starts from moderate talents such as Kenny Rogers and Ryan Drese. They’ve also had an influx of young, talented position players step to the forefront in the absence of Alex Rodriguez. Unfortunately, the first half is over and the Rangers are preparing for a painful downward spiral that will expose their dangerous lack of depth on the pitching staff.

“It’s been a great run, but we just don’t have the pitching to keep it going,” said Manager Buck Showalter. “We’re loaded with young talent and we’ve got a bright future ahead of us, but it’s obvious that we’re going to have to part with some of that talent in order to gain some quality starters. We can’t afford to have another collapse like we’re going to have this year.”

Despite the painful downfall, Showalter insists on looking at the bright side.

“Yea, we’re going to endure a slow and painful downward spiral that will sink us down to about third or fourth place,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we should hang our heads. We’ve made some huge strides this season, and a horrible August and September isn’t going to erase all that progress.”

Coming into the 2004 season, the Rangers were expected to struggle mightily due to their lack of young, talented pitchers, coupled with the departure of Rodriguez to the Yankees. To the surprise of everyone, they’ve managed to get by on a potent offense and some decent pitching.

The team’s best pitcher, 39-year-old Kenny Rogers, is 12-3, but expects a downturn during the second half of the season.

“It’s been a really fun first half,” said Rogers. “I’ve experienced quite a little resurgence with this team. There’s nothing like playing with a group of hungry young go-getters like [Hank] Blalock, Mark Teixeira, and Michael Young. But let’s face it, we just don’t have the arms to make it through a pennant race. I may be 12-3, but I have an ERA well over 4, which means I’ve been getting some great run support. By August, I should be smack in the middle of a tailspin that will silence all those morons who have put me in the Cy Young race. What’s that you say? We have Chan Ho Park coming off the DL? Oh, goodie! Let’s start printing up the World Series tickets now…for the Angels, that is.”

In order to prepare for their upcoming collapse, the Rangers have already started shopping some of their young players around to contending teams. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Twins have reportedly been in contact with Texas about shortstop Michael Young and first baseman Teixeira. Newly acquired second baseman Alfonso Soriano is also said to be available for the right price.

“This isn’t something we really want to do,” said GM John Hart. “But you have to give up talent in order to acquire talent. Obviously we’ve got a good nucleus here, but we’re still a couple pieces short of a playoff caliber team. This late August swoon we’re going to experience will be pretty painful. The only way to eradicate that memory is to fix the holes in our pitching staff. I certainly wouldn’t call this a fire sale, though. That’s something that happens to teams who have already collapsed, not ones who are a month or so away.“

Hart also addressed the Chan Ho Park situation, saying that the pitcher is available to anyone who wants him.

“We’d actually be willing to pay the remainder of his salary if someone would take him off our hands,” he said. “Ideally, it would be a division rival like the Mariners, Angels, or A’s. That would be a win-win situation for us. First we'd get rid of him, then we'd get to face him four or five times in a year.”

The Rangers historic 2004 collapse is already causing problems in the clubhouse. The once tight-knit clubhouse has been hurt by finger pointing, accusations, and in-fighting.

“Everyone is blaming everyone else for our collapse,” said one player, who asked not to be identified. “When things like this happen, it can really tear a clubhouse apart, you know? Just the other day, when we were talking about how we’re going to get killed in the late season when the serious contenders emerge from the pack, a couple guys got into a fist fight. Buck [Showalter] had to come break it up. He said that we shouldn’t be pointing fingers, and that we should take the blame as a team. We’re going to fuck this up as a unit.”

Showalter repeated that mantra during a press conference after his team’s 6-5 victory against the Boston Red Sox Sunday.

“Look, it’s not just one player’s fault when these horrible collapses occur,” he said. “We win as a team and we lose as a team. This is a young group and sometimes when things go bad, they can start spiraling downward pretty quick. That’s what’s going to happen to us. It’s all part of the maturing process of a young team. But I tell my players to keep playing hard despite the fact that we’re out of it. We can still finish a respectable third place in the division, despite the fact that Chan Ho Park will be back with us for the second half.”