Terry's Questions Answered

So what are your predictions for the following:

• The series this weekend against the Angels.
• Vlad the Impaler: batting average and number of home runs in the series.
• The Rangers record for the 2nd half of the season.
• Whether management will write off the season and unload Blalock and Tex.

The series this weekend against the Angels:

First off, the Rangers are hot right now. They have had four days off to cool off, but I still think they are carrying some huge momentum into this series, especially since they just won the series against the Angels on this run that they are on. My concern is Mark Teixeira. He is coming off his injury and should be in the lineup. Why am I concerned? Well, he has only played in the minors for a game or two and hasn’t picked up his rhythm. The reality of the situation is Tex is going to be a designated out for this series, and maybe longer. If he collects one hit in the three game series, I would be surprised. I seriously don’t think he could hit the water if he fell out of a boat. It’s that bad. Despite that, I will take the Rangers two out of three.

Vlad the Impaler: batting average and number of home runs in the series:

Vlad had lower numbers than usual in the series at the Ballpark. If I recall, he had only one hit per game, so his consecutive hit streak against the Rangers is still intact. But this time, we’re playing in the Impaler’s house. Sadly enough, I would expect Vlad to continue his romp against us, picking up the pace and being the normal Vlad we know (as Rangers fans). I would suspect about 13 to 15 at-bats, most likely 14 at-bats, with an average of .429 (6 hits in 14 at-bats), 2 HRs, and 5 RBIs. He’s going to walk a couple of times, as well.

The Rangers record for the 2nd half of the season:

The Rangers have already played 88 games of the 162-game season. So, that leaves a whopping 74 games left. If the Rangers play with a winning percentage of 60%, they will go 44-30. That would give them a record of just over 500 with 82-80. Again, I had mentioned earlier that should the Rangers knock down a significant winning streak and continue playing baseball the rest of the way like they have played the last month, they could do a significant damage and have a second half record better than 44-30. The forecast doesn’t call so much for that. Why?

Whether management will write off the season and unload Blalock and Tex:

The Rangers are going to gut the team a little. Teixeira will be traded. He has already voiced that he wants a trade. His trade value is going to continue to go down as this season moves on, so the Rangers are not going to let him be a Ranger after the trade deadline. That’s just what will happen. Blalock will stay. Washington wants to turn him into the stud that he should be. I don’t think that JD will hinder that any. Gagne and Otsuka both want to stay. They most likely will not be traded. Sosa will go (I’m willing to wager that he will go to the Cubs, of all places, but seriously, he will go to the highest bidder.). Kenny Lofton, who really knows with him? I mean the guy has played for almost everybody in the majors, or so it feels like when you look at his stats. In all honesty, he’s only played for 11 teams. ONLY! I’m not so sure if he’s going to be traded or not, but since he signed a one-year contract, it’s most likely that if anyone shows interest, he’s gone. And I say all this since the organization has already conceded this season. The question is are they still focused on 2009 or are they now starting to look at the 2008 season?

To answer the second half record, the forecast calls for a 39-35 and an overall mark of 77-85. And honestly, right now, looking at the current 38-50 mark, the 77-85 doesn't look bad. Johnny Out.