Some days you’re the boxer. Some days you’re the heavy bag.

For the first few months of the season, the Rangers were the boxer. Jabs, right, lefts, pokes, slashes, combinations. They were attacking, their punches were landing with precision, hitting above the belt, below the belt, bobbing and weaving, landing devastating blows. So what if their footwork was fatally flawed? Nobody was looking at that. 

Then, just like that, they became the heavy bag. The heavy bag takes all the punches. The heavy bag doesn’t hit back.

That offense that was so dynamic it led to five Rangers making the All-Star starting lineup, stopped hitting back. Their best offensive weapon is the bases loaded hit by pitch. They strikeout more than a pit-stained high schooler at prom.

What they lack in stagnant offense they more than make up for with one of the historic all-time worst bullpens.

The Rangers have twenty-four saves. And thirty blown saves. Now, you might be thinking, “Yikes, thirty?” Mind you, that number is deceiving. Twice they got two blown saves in one game. So, really, it’s twenty-eight games their bullpen has lost that they should have won. Twenty-eight is so much better than thirty.

While their offense morphed into a heavy bag, their bullpen has been a speed bag all season. It takes hit after hit after hit after hit and keeps coming back for more. Rapid fire hits. Rat-a-tat-tat.

Some days you’re the boxer. Some days you’re the heavy bag. And, some days you’re the speed bag every day.

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