Year in Review: Month by Month

April. C+
April began with a sweep, then went haywire, and then got good again to keep the Rangers at respectability. Ian Kinsler had the big 6-6 game, which included hitting for the cycle, and Michael Young proved to be the savior once again with a walk off homerun when the Rangers desperately needed one. Also, Derek Holland arrived, which was reason to celebrate, numbers notwithstanding. Final record: 10-11.

May. A-
May was about as perfect a month as the Rangers could have hoped for. Everything seemed to come together all at once, especially the pitching, which ended the month with a 3.57 ERA. It's hard to believe that the Rangers actually got swept by the Tigers in May, but then they followed that up with a sweep of their own against Houston. The most exciting stretch during the month was the sweep of the Mariners, followed by a sweep of the Angels. At the end of May Texas was in first place. Everything was looking great. Final Record: 20-9.

June. C-
June was a bad month for the Rangers, no doubt about it. I think everyone sort of saw it coming after the incredible May. While the pitching was solid, the offense really fell apart. The Rangers only averaged 3.8 runs per game. Ouch. Oh yeah, and they also lost sole possession of first place for good. Final record: 11-15

July. B+
July saw many improvements just when Ranger skeptics were ready to write the team off. First of all, the offense, while still not nearly as productive as the year before, saw its RPG go up a full run. Plus, the pitching was even better, with 3.59 ERA for the entire month. The big standout, I think, was Tommy Hunter, who went 3-0 during the month with a sparkling 1.11 ERA. Final record: 17-8

August. C+
The Rangers played well enough in August to stay alive, even though the month as a whole wasn't all that great. August provided one of the most exciting moments in the season when the Rangers won two of three from Boston to take brief lead in the Wild Card. But it vanished as the rain does in Texas and never came back. Two big members of the team in the final months, Neftali Feliz and Julio Borbon, arrived on the scene and created a great deal of buzz. Around that, Scott Feldman had a dynamite month, going 5-0. Final record: 14-15.

September. C
September was the month when it all fell apart. Ranger fans will be haunted by this month until the team makes it to the playoffs. Everything went wrong when it needed to be right the most. Well, you know the story. Final record: 13-15.