Why would you watch Germany face World Cup elimination in a penalty shootout when you could watch two teams slow-motion walking toward the top of their divisions in the American League? Of course, I’m talking about the Cleveland Guardians vs. Texas Rangers thumb-wrestling match. Now that's appointment television!
In Monday's marquee game, Cleveland's Parker Messick faced off against the Rangers' bullpen, with the bulk of the innings thrown by Chris Paddack, debuting with his third team this season. (This season, might I remind you, has just reached the halfway mark). After being designated for assignment by both the Marlins and the Reds, Paddack threw four innings and allowed two runs. His pitching was adequate, which is a word I think about a lot when these two teams are on the field. As for Messick, he also pitched ... fine. He struck out five and allowed four runs over 6.2 innings.
The Rangers came away with the win, 6-3. The game was a collection of groundouts, aggressive base running, and runs eked out on singles. Watching this game, I began to think that maybe Ernie Clement really is the best player in the American League. It certainly isn't easy to find a worthy challenger.
The Rangers have been one of the hottest teams in the AL this month, only because they've managed an 18-11 record since May 29. This wild success was made possible by hefty bats like Brandon Nimmo and Josh Jung, who have lifted Texas to 24th among all MLB teams in runs scored.
Meanwhile, someone appears to have hacked my computer to display the White Sox in first place in the AL Central, but I am still fairly confident that the Guardians sit in second with a 44-41 record. Like pesky little ants, they have attained their small-ball wins despite ranking second-to-last across all of baseball in runs, hits, and batting average. While I personally have never formed much of an opinion about the Guardians, other Defector writers have described them to me as "annoying," "sickening," and “unethical terrorists.” Either way, their position as a team to watch says more about the dismal state of the AL than anything good about Cleveland.
Typically, as the All-Star break nears, the hierarchy of a season starts to solidify. Above .500 means you can think about the playoffs, and below .500 means you can think about the trade deadline. Such is the logic that generally governs baseball. But the AL, with a mere five teams above .500, has thrown all of this tradition out the window. This year, no team is too terrible to be written off from wild card contention. Just look at the Rangers and Guardians: They can't even hit! And even previous standouts like the Yankees have been slumping, suggesting that this mediocre play might be contagious.
When OK is the new exceptional, anything is possible. Could the Red Sox pull their season together? Could the A's win the World Series? Does life hold any meaning? Are we put on this Earth just to watch varying levels of subpar baseball and then die? These are the questions one must contend with while watching the Guardians play the Rangers in a three-game series. France-Sweden could never do the same.
