Mike Minor was the lone bright spot in the Rangers mostly slapped together rotation.

The Rangers rotation to begin the season was: Cole Hamels, Doug Fister, Martin Perez, Matt Moore, and Mike Minor. Or to put it in layman’s terms, it was: Aging, Wing and a Prayer, Failure, Pitiful, and Question Mark.

That’s like going into a street fight with a butter knife.

It’s like after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, we retaliate by dropping a carton of eggs on them.

It’s a wonder the Rangers have won 62 games.

Jon Daniels actually had the cajones to declare he was going for it. Then he built this rotation. He said he was building a playoff-caliber team. He said Adrian Beltre was going to be surrounded by winning.

Daniels has as much credibility as the National Enquirer on April Fool’s Day.

Hamels was dealt off. Fister got injured. Perez was Perez. Moore showed that being the worst starter in MLB in 2017 was no fluke, and Mike Minor was very good.

Remember early in the season when Banister was talking about a six-man rotation? You have one reliable starter (Hamels at the time) and you are thinking about adding another ineffective arm into the equation?

That’s like saying, “Hey, let’s make West Virginia bigger.”

Of course, at the time, the six-man rotation was trying to gain traction across baseball. It didn’t. But what did is the notion of an opener.

The Rangers are doing it again today.

It’s a lost season. Might as well give as many new guys as many innings as you can. Maybe you find a gem. Maybe you find someone who can slide into the rotation. Or maybe they just have stories of that time they pitched a couple of innings in a major league game.

It can’t be too difficult to find a better five than they started with this season. A pair of cleats could put up better numbers than Perez and Moore.

Prediction: Expect Lucas Gialito and Dylan Bundy to be anchoring the rotation next season. They are statistically the two worst starting pitchers in baseball this season.

No reason to think the front office won’t give next year’s team the same fighting chance they give this year’s.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Connor Sadzeck (0-0, 0.00) vs. Robbie Erlin (3-6, 4.42)
Game time: 9:10

How the Rangers hit against Erlin.
The Padres have never hit against Sadzeck.