2007 Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers' 2007 season has begun with the team trying to win an AL West title for the first time since 1999, when they got swept by the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

[edit] Roster changes

The AL West is becoming more competitive with the Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners making several key offseason acquisitions to compete in the division. The Rangers started the 2006-07 offseason by firing manager Buck Showalter, who still had three years remaining on his contract, and hiring former Oakland Athletics third base coach Ron Washington as their new manager.

During the offseason, they lost several key players. Gary Matthews, Jr. (to the Los Angeles Angels), Mark DeRosa (to the Chicago Cubs), Carlos Lee (to the Houston Astros), and Adam Eaton (to the Philadelphia Phillies) were free agents signed by other teams. They filled those holes in their lineup with left fielder Frank Catalanotto, whom the Rangers signed to a multi-year contract, as well as closer Éric Gagné and center fielder Kenny Lofton each to a one-year deal. Right fielder Sammy Sosa also signed a one-year contract with the team that drafted him in 1985, expected to be the Rangers' right fielder.

The team entered the season with only one spot in the pitching rotation to fill, with Jamey Wright beating out Kameron Loe and Bruce Chen (both of whom moved to bullpen roles). Two other new players won roster spots in spring training: backup catcher Chris Stewart and utility player Matt Kata.

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Season summary

[edit] April

April saw the club get to a slow start. Several of the club's offensive threats had poor starts, notably Michael Young and Mark Teixeira. One of the few players who was swinging the bat well was sophomore second baseman Ian Kinsler, who batted .298 and hit 9 home runs, earning him an American League Player of the Week award.^[1]

Another concern was the starting rotation. Jamey Wright was moved to the 15-day disabled list on April 12, and hasn't returned to the lineup. Vicente Padilla and newcomer Brandon McCarthy both had rough starts, ending April with 4-loss months.

The team's first home series, a two-game set against the Boston Red Sox on April 6 and April 7 set records for the coldest home opener and the coldest game ever played at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.^[2]

[edit] May

The month of May was one of the most dismal in the club's history.^[3] The Rangers ended the month with a 19-35 record, putting them on a pace for a 105-loss season, which would tie the franchise's previous mark for futility, set in 1973. The team's 20 losses set a record for the most ever in the month of May.

The starting rotation continued to have problems. Both Kevin Millwood and McCarthy spent time on the disabled list. Even when healthy, the starting pitching was suspect, as Rangers starters finished the month with the worst ERA in the Major Leagues. ^[4]

The injury bug struck the position players as well. All-star third baseman Hank Blalock was moved to the 60-day disabled list after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome in his right shoulder, a condition that required surgery and a layoff of as much as three months. ^[5] Outfielders Brad Wilkerson, Frank Catalanotto and Jerry Hairston, Jr. also had long stints on the disabled list in May. At month's end, only second baseman Ian Kinsler was among the top three players at his position in All-Star balloting.

[edit] June

In stark contrast to May, June was the Rangers' first month of 2007 with a winning record (14-12). Several players had a strong month, most notably outfielder Marlon Byrd, who ended the month with a .375 batting average, and pitcher Kameron Loe, who used a brief stint in Triple-A to correct his pitching mechanics, resulting in a month-ending streak of three straight wins. ^[6]

Veteran right fielder Sammy Sosa celebrated a career milestone on June 20, hitting his 600th home run in a game against his former team, the Chicago Cubs.^[6] Sosa became only the fifth player to reach the mark, following Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds.

While several key players returned to active duty in June, including Wilkerson and Jamey Wright, injuries continued to plague the club. Gold Glove first baseman Mark Teixeira's franchise record for consecutive games played ended at 507 on June 8 when he strained a quadriceps muscle. ^[7] Starting pitchers Vicente Padilla and Brandon McCarthy also spent time on the DL, for elbow inflammation and blisters, respectively. ^[8]

[edit] July

[edit] August

On August 22, the Rangers scored an all-time American League record of 30 runs in one game against the Orioles. The final was 30-3. Texas' 30 runs broke the AL record and modern major-league record set by the 1950 Red Sox and tied by the 1955 White Sox, and were the most scored by any team since the Chicago Colts hung 36 runs on Louisville in a game in 1897.^[9]

[edit] Season standings

E = Eliminated from winning the division

[edit] Game log

Template:2007 Texas Rangers season game log

[edit] Current roster

Template:Texas Rangers roster

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

[edit] Other batters

[edit] Starting pitchers

[edit] Other pitchers

[edit] Relief pitchers

[edit] References

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