Behind a seven-inning, two-run start from Nick Tepesch and a two-run ninth inning, walkoff rally capped off by Adam Rosales' game-winning RBI single over a drawn-in infield, the Rangers knocked off the Angels yesterday, ending a four-game losing streak overall and a nine-game skid against the Halos.
It was yet another failure to execute in a season full of disappointment for the club.
At this point, it is imperative that the Rangers do everything they can to lose as many games as possible. Ninth-inning comebacks should be shunned. Yu Darvish should be shut down. Adrian Beltre should be sent on vacation. Jon Daniels and company should call up as many non-prospects as are currently on Frisco or Round Rock's rosters. The tank should be fully embraced.
The Rangers have had the first pick exactly twice -- taking Jeff Burroughs while still the Washington Senators in 1969 and infamously picking, and ruining, David Clyde in 1973 -- in their largely moribund history. This year, they have the chance for number three, but not if they stubbornly insist on competing down the stretch.
After yesterday's win, the team is only one game worse than the Colorado Rockies, a club that has sagely shut down its two best players, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, for the season. There is no pride to be had for finishing with the second-to-worst record in Major League Baseball, just the shame of not being able to draft uber-prospect Daz Cameron.
Cameron, the son of former major leaguer Mike Cameron, is the speedy, power-hitting outfielder, likely to go No. 1 in the June 2015 draft, who you can see taking cuts in the video above. He's one of those rare guys who profiles -- like Mike Trout, or Ken Griffey Jr. or Mickey Mantle before him -- as a lock-down defensive center fielder who's also an elite hitter, the kind of guy you can build a franchise around for years.
Given Coors Field's massive outfield, the Rangers shouldn't expect Cameron to slip past the Rockies should the local team not try its hardest to give up. That, combined with the reduced bonus pool for draftees the Rangers would get if they fail to finish worst, would be unforgivable.
