Sean Bass

With the July 31 trade deadline less than two weeks away, we are anxiously waiting to see if the Rangers can provide clarity on whether they will be buyers or sellers. That decision will hinge on whether the club can find consistent form offensively and jump into the thick of the wild-card race. The bats will answer those questions. Chris Young and the front office have big decisions to make in the coming days—and they have already started.

The Rangers are hovering around the .500 mark as we approach the mathematical midpoint of the season. Fans are praying for a level of consistency at the plate to match the club’s stellar pitching. During a nice run of form last week, the club won seven of eight and swept the White Sox, giving some the sense a corner had been turned.

Last Thursday afternoon as the Rangers were in the late stages of getting shut out in their series finale against the Athletics, I sent my good friend (and fellow D Magazine contributor) Jamey Newberg a text that read, “Dark days.” To which Jamey promptly replied, “The darkest.” Now maybe that is a tad hyperbolic for the two of us to share that sentiment in early May. But it’s in our DNA as lifelong Rangers fans to assume the team will slug and score an adequate number of runs.