ARLINGTON, Texas _ Baseball now takes a break, having all but broken the Rangers the last couple of weeks.
Make that last, lowest blow a 15-5 loss to the Twins on Sunday before 31,978 at the Globe.
"Hopefully," Jeff Banister said, "that's the bottom."
Let me assure you this wasn't necessarily the column I had in mind heading into the All-Star break. For the better part of three months, you've watched the Rangers build a monster lead in the AL West. Next thing you know, they've lost nine of 12, the Astros are suddenly looming, Bryan Holaday's showing off his knuckler and Jared Hoying is serving up BP.
This column should have been about Ian Desmond's extraordinary first half and maybe even the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
But as is the case historically around here, pitching got in the way of a nice story.
The fact that A.J. Griffin got through three innings Sunday without giving up a run proved to be just a tease, giving way to the usual pasting from Minnesota, of all teams. The latest means the Rangers have given up a whopping 55 runs in five losses to the Twins, who are not to be confused with the 1927 Yankees or even the 1991 Twins.
The Rangers, on the other hand, have aspirations as high as the teams listed above. Namely ...
"The World Series," Adrian Beltre said.
Nothing less will do?
"I don't have a lot of time to basically be comfortable just getting to the playoffs," he said.
"That's not enough for me."
Nor should it be enough for anyone else in the organization, from Jon Daniels on down.
The reason for reminding everyone of their priorities is not to suggest that Daniels would settle for anything. History says he'll go for help when required. But in case he's tempted to think four days of R&R is all this tired bunch needs, what with Yu Darvish and Keone Kela coming back soon and Derek Holland and Colby Lewis returning at some point, allow this gentle caution.
If the goal is the World Series, as Beltre says, the Rangers' rotation needed help even before the roof caved in on it.
Griffin's comeback this season is second on the club only to Desmond's, but Sunday's outing also was instructive as to exactly what kind of pitcher he is. In five innings, he recorded one ground-ball out. Kennys Vargas, who goes 6-5, 290, hit a ball that probably violated several flight paths over the Globe, and Max Kepler more or less finished Griffin off with a grand slam.
"Gotta erase it, go out and get 'em next time," Griffin said, apparently assuming there will be a next time.
On a World Series team, Griffin is in the bullpen. So is Holland and, God love him, maybe even Lewis.
Believe me, this is not just an overreaction to a bad run by the rotation. The Rangers desperately need another starter.
"Maybe two," a scout said Sunday.
Daniels and his scouts have done their due diligence on San Diego's Drew Pomeranz and Oakland's Rich Hill as well as Tampa Bay's Matt Moore and Jake Odorizzi. They're all candidates to plug a hole somewhere from the middle to back of the rotation, which the Rangers will need because:
1) Holland wasn't on top of his game even before he got hurt and may never be again.
2) Lewis is still six weeks out.
3) We've seen Chi Chi Gonzalez and Nick Martinez.
Frankly, the Rangers probably need to be even more ambitious. If they look at Darvish's first start in the second half and determine he's not ready for heavier duty, then a viable replacement will be more expensive. Might cost Jurickson Profar or Joey Gallo.
Are the talent-rich Rangers ready to pay such a price? If it's World Series-or-bust, they'd better be.
Opportunities like the one the Rangers created for themselves this year don't come along often. Even with all of their problems lately, they've posted their largest lead ever at the All-Star break, 5 { games. They've demonstrated they've got enough offense despite season-long funks from Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland. And even though Roogie Odor made two errors Sunday to continue a sloppy trend, the defense is much improved over last year's.
What's hurting as much as the losses, though, is the look of a rotation that at times seems like it's lost its nerve. The starters have gone from a group charged with knocking hitters off the plate to a timid bunch of nibblers.
Sure, Boston is a tough place to pitch, especially against that lineup. But it's also the kind of atmosphere you face in the postseason. Tells you where you're short.
Listen, I don't like complaining about pitching all the time and the need for more. Writing about Desmond would have been more fun. But there was another train wreck Sunday at the Globe. If they don't get some help, it won't be the last.
