Monday, June 10, 1996

Finally, the Rangers might have a team for the postseason

By SCOTT MILLER
Knight-Ridder Newspapers

They sing "God bless Texas" after "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the Ballpark in Arlington, but it's more of a prayer than a song.

This is the place where infielder Lenny Randle once punched out manager Frank Lucchesi. Where one year on opening night it rained in the afternoon so hard they brought in a helicopter, flying it low in an attempt to dry the field.

It crashed.

This is the place where pitcher Roger Moret once slipped into a catatonic state in the middle of the Rangers' clubhouse, holding his shower slipper, frozen like a statue, for 15 minutes.

It is the place where four men once managed the Rangers in a one-week span in 1977 - Lucchesi, Eddie Stanky, Connie Ryan and Billy Hunter.

You might say Texas and serious baseball never have exactly found the perfect fit of, say, a 10-gallon hat and a rancher's skull. But as early June drips into another sizzling Texas summer, the Rangers are attempting to change all that.

Strange as it sounds, Texas has the third-best record in the American League this weekend despite losing two of three in Milwaukee last week. Despite a couple of recent stumbling blocks - the Milwaukee series and losing two of three to the Twins last weekend - these Rangers are winning nail-biters in the ninth inning. They are winning double-figure laughers. They are playing together, pitching well, and, of all things, they actually are getting along with each other in the clubhouse.

Only two franchises in baseball have never played in the postseason - Florida, which can be excused since the Marlins have been around only since 1993, and Texas.

Ah, Texas. Where they like to say there are only two sports.

Football and spring football.

Yes, there still are four months of baseball remaining. And in that time, the summer heat that shimmers off the roads and sidewalks there could bake the Rangers to a crisp.

But this Johnny Oates club has a distinctly different look than any previous outfit Texas has put together since moving to Arlington from Washington, D.C., in 1972.
It's not even close.

And if you don't believe it, just check out the Rangers' three-game sweep of Cleveland two weeks ago.

"That was big, man," third baseman Dean Palmer said. "It was a great series to beat those guys three in a row. Big.

"It's still so early in the season you can't put a whole lot into it, but it gave the team a lot of confidence."

For the most part, these Rangers have stayed away from the injuries that have crippled them during the past few years. The additions of pitchers Ken Hill and Mike Henneman have helped. And with a few choice Rangers from the past gone - Jose Canseco and Ruben Sierra come to mind - the clubhouse cliques that plagued the team no longer exist.

"This team is more together," catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. "Everybody is close. We're always joking in the clubhouse, preparing ourselves before we go out. Then we go out, and we're ready to play nine innings hard."

Palmer, who missed nearly all of last season with a ruptured biceps muscle, agreed.

"The chemistry's a lot better," he said. "There's this feeling that everybody gets along very good. Guys have fun together."

This isn't to say the Rangers aren't without their pressure points. First baseman Will Clark has very little power left, and his body is breaking down joint by joint. He's 32 but walks like he's 42. Right fielder Juan Gonzalez already has spent time on the disabled list with a bad back - an injury that certainly could bite him again this season.

But there are also more positives than the Rangers have ever had. Center fielder Darryl Hamilton has taken over the leadoff position in the batting order and made Rangers fans forget about Otis Nixon. Rodriguez, Palmer, Gonzalez, Clark and Mickey Tettleton give the Rangers one of the best batting orders in the league.

And with Clark, Henneman and Kevin Gross in the clubhouse, there are none of the reindeer games that ruined team chemistry in the Canseco-Sierra days.

"Those guys keep the team happy," Rodriguez said.

Once, people in Texas spent their summers covering their eyes while waiting for Cowboys training camp to begin. Now, word is quickly spreading like a Texas thunderstorm: It's OK to open your eyes. With Seattle's pitching breaking down, with California still reeling from last year's choke job and with Oakland rebuilding, this could be the Year of the Ranger in the AL West.