The Rangers have been here before. One game under .500. Trying desperately to get to even. Trying even more desperately to get above .500 and be relevant.

They lost the first game of the season, so technically they were a game under right away. But that was before the world realized this team couldn’t hit. The Rangers were so full of hope then.

They won the next three games to not only get to .500 but stay above it for a while. At one point, the Rangers were 8-2 until the reality of the situation hit and they started their slow slide off the side relevance.

They lost on May 2 to dip below .500 for the first time at 16-17.  Got back to 18-18, had the good fortune of playing Colorado, usually three guaranteed wins for any team no matter how bad it is, and at one point, after sweeping the Rockies and winning a game against Houston, Texas was 25-22. They couldn’t hit, but they were hanging in. Then they lost six in a row, dipped under .500 May 22, got back to .500 June 15, but can’t get ack over the hump. Since then, they’ve had four games they could win to get back to .500, they’ve lost all of them.

So, they try for a fifth time today. They have their full team back on the field. Burger, Carter, and Langford are back. 

Counting today, The Little Team That Thought It Could has eight more games before the All-Star break. 

It would be nice if they could do more than break even by then. If they could actually poke their heads above .500 and hit the second half with a bit of momentum.

*****