Also born on May 16th:

Megan Fox
An Estonian Footballer named Taavi Rahn
The Lone Ranger
Tracey Gold from Growing Pains
Rapper Special Ed
And of course, yours truly.

The Rangers are going to make the playoffs. A bold prediction? Hardly. You’ll have to search far and wide to find someone who disagrees with this projection. Rather, the question now is whether or not they finish 2012 with the best record in the American League, and where the team’s final tally will line up among the great teams of recent memory.

The incentive to finish the season with the league’s best record is the highest it has been since divisional play began in 1969. The team with the best record will secure home field advantage, and have the opportunity to potentially play the league’s fifth best team, and a team weakened by pitching its ace in a one game wild card playoff.

Despite a recent “slump” that left them on the losing side of series against Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Cleveland, the Rangers are currently on pace to win 106 games.

The Rangers play a very favorable schedule from here until the All-Star Break. Their opponents combined for a .472 winning percentage in 2011. Furthermore, their schedule is heavily weighted towards the laggards, including two series a piece against Houston, Seattle, and Oakland.

In other words, it’s time for the Rangers to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the American League, and move a step closer to finishing their unfinished business from 2010 and 2011.

A personal aside:

In the middle of March, I accepted a position with a Google Apps for Business premier partner, and I officially changed careers on April 2nd. I will remain a partner of the Philippines call center I started in ‘07, but will no longer have an active role within the company.

I moved into a great new home on 4/14. I have steadfastly attempted to keep a promise to my wife that I would handle the entire process.

And last but not least, to say the least, I expect to become a father sometime within the next week. My wife’s due date was yesterday, and it’s looking like she won’t go too late. With good luck, my daughter will arrive this weekend.

All this while I have been able to enjoy watching probably the best Rangers team in history.

Life is good.

Rangers fans saw a welcome and familiar face on Monday night: Trent Williams. He’s not a player, or an individual involved in the game in anyway, but a fan who often appears at the team’s best moments. Williams is a regular at Rangers Ballpark, and seems to catch just about every home run hit onto the centerfield lawn. He celebrates when he catches a Ranger homer, and has shown off a pretty impressive arm when throwing back those of the opposition. After catching a bomb off the bat of Josh Hamilton last night, Williams debuted a new home run dance in front of potentially millions of fans around the world.

1. Season tickets are still on sale.
2. 159 regular season games still remain.
3. The 2012 Rangers are probably the best team in the franchise’s 40 year history.

The Rangers have improved their record in every season since they went 75-87 in Ron Washington’s first season as Rangers manager in 2007. It looks like the trend may very well continue despite their franchise high of 96 wins in 2011.

2011 marked the first time in my memory that the Rangers didn’t really need another starting pitcher. When July came around, the Rangers attention was instead directed towards adding bullpen depth.

In 2012, it doesn’t look like the Rangers need to add anybody.

Don’t get me wrong, this team isn’t perfect, and can always get better. They could use a star first baseman and a right handed bat off the bench. But that’s probably nitpicking.

I’m not overreacting to a small sample size of the season’s first weekend. After all, they did lose a game on Saturday to the lowly White Sox. Still, it’s hard not to look at the team’s October configuration implemented in April, and quickly realize just how special this team has a chance to be. Josh Hamilton in centerfield makes the offense significantly better, and probably baseball’s best. The rotation depth gives the team a chance to win every day. The presence of Mike Adams and Alexi Ogando in middle relief gives Ron Washington the opportunity to choke off opponents’ rallies with a wave of his right arm.

Nothing lasts forever. The Rangers should be able to withstand the impact of several key players hitting free agency at the end of the year. But in 2013, the team that might be MLB’s best won’t be the same. Fans should appreciate what they’re witnessing, savor and enjoy the 2013 season, and try not to miss a minute of it.

The Rangers take on the White Sox today in Arlington. I think you know what that means.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

Well, sort of disappointing so far this Spring. When judging whether a team improved year over year, most commentators simply look at what moves were made during the offseason, and forecast a team’s future accordingly. However, when considering the Rangers, the biggest improvements may have been put in place last July. Despite its March struggles, the Rangers bullpen should be another team strength throughout the season.

In the opening months of 2011, the Rangers bullpen featured Dave Bush, Brett Tomko, Mason Tobin, Arthur Rhodes, and Ryan Tucker. Darren Oliver was temporarily the team’s closer when Neftali Feliz hit the disabled list in May. Mid-season trades for Mike Adams and Koji Uehara improved the pen, and the postseason move of Alexi Ogando to the bullpen created a dominant force in the late innings. Scott Feldman is healthy and should be one of the better long relievers in the game.

The American League Champions’ roster is mostly intact, and now that Texas’ short flings with Conor Jackson and Brad Hawpe have met their bitter end, we can look at some of the bullpen questions in more detail.

A few question marks:

Joe Nathan

Nathan lacked velocity and struggled early in Spring Training. This week, he pitched back-to-back days for the first time this spring and reported that his arm felt stronger in his second outing. Nathan’s velocity was also up and ranged between 92-94 MPH. It seems unlikely that Nathan will return to his Mariano Rivera comps of the last decade, but should do a sufficient job closing out games.

Koji Uehara

Uehara’s dominance in Baltimore enticed Jon Daniels into trading Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis for what was supposed to be a critical piece in the postseason bullpen. In 43 games and 47 innings with the Orioles, Uehara walked only 8, struck out 62, and posted an ERA of 1.72. The team believes a few bad outings upon joining Texas shattered his confidence, and he was left off of the World Series roster. The Rangers had hoped that he would have put it behind him during the offseason, but things have only gotten worse. In 8 ⅓ innings through Thursday, Uehara has allowed 11 runs, including four homers. I’m starting to seriously doubt that Uehara will be a Ranger come October.

Mark Lowe

Is it just me, or does Lowe cough up a long-ball in each of his trips to the mound? It’s not just bad World Series memories, either. So far this Spring: 8 innings, 4 runs, and 2 homers. It’s hard not to question the $1.7 million Texas gifted Lowe this Winter.

Robert Ross

Robbie Ross has created an interesting dilemma for the Rangers. Based on his ceiling to potentially become a middle to back-end left handed starter, MLB.com ranked Ross as Texas’ fifth best prospect, and Baseball America listed him 14th. However, if the Rangers convert him to the bullpen now, his overall value will decrease, and there may be no turning back. The reality is, Ross isn’t likely to ever penetrate the Rangers rotation. His value as a starter would be as a trade chip, and the Rangers traded similarly talented starters Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to San Diego for Mike Adams last summer. If the Rangers value a dominant reliever over two middling prospects, than Ross’ ability to stand out should answer any questions regarding his future.

March Highlights:

Ken Caminiti Before & After
Bowling Celebration
Just believe in your dreams
Troll stories
George Bush cowboy
Mom breast
Chicken troll
Sexy Brewers fan
See through top outsider
Ass Alexis Texas
Prince thong
What to wear with coloured skinny jeans
Greg Amsinger height
Polyester rib
Cheerleaders masturbating
$431,810
Championes de justin bieber
Sexual guilt
Anemic chicken
Chicken steroids
Pee wee at the alamo
Fantastic makeup
Photo of United States
Great mustaches in history
John Wayne tattoos
What’s up? starter
Mexican muscles
Trailer advertising
Beard chart
I’m done with him
Ron Paul Washington caucus
Momboob
6 foot 5 man
Buff pits
What are those shirts called that are for baseball
Neftaly Felix
Fat Rangers fans
Cheerleaders gossiping
Chicken and porn Chicago
I hate baseball
80’s Dallas
Hot busch
Toothpaste label
bipolar or “glycine reuptake” or “rg 1678″ or “rg 1678″ or schizophrenia