As I sit here preparing to watch Vicente Padilla and the Rangers square off against Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks, I can’t help but feel excited about the future of this team.

You probably think I’m crazy…maybe I am. But I am genuinely optimistic about this team. And not necessarily just 2010 and beyond…I’m still optimistic about the 2009 Texas Rangers.

Think about it…we are 69 games into this season, and the Rangers are tied for 1st place with the Angels. I realize that they lost the division lead they owned for 48 consecutive days. While that is not an ideal situation, it’s also not the end of the world. I see a lot of encouraging signs that good things are about to happen to this club.

1. If you watched last night’s game, you probably noticed that the Ranger hitters seemed to have a much better approach at the plate. They weren’t swinging for the fences. They were taking good swings at good pitches. I think they are about to break out of this funk. Maybe not tonight against Haren, but you never know…they hit Roy Halladay pretty hard at his place early in the season.
2. Josh Hamilton is making progress toward returning to the line up. I think we have all underestimated his importance to this line up. He did not have the kind of start we all expected out of him, but he did command the respect of opposing pitchers. His return will bring stability back to the batting order.
3. It looks as though Neftali Feliz will be making his major league debut sooner rather than later. The Rangers have moved him to the bullpen at AAA Oklahoma City in order to get him accustomed to the relief role. It won’t be long before we see his triple-digit fastballs in Arlington. What an infusion of energy he will be to this bullpen! I can’t wait to see him! I think we will see A.J. Murray in Arlington as well, probably replacing Eddie Guardado.
4. Now that Justin Smoak is healthy and once again dominating AA pitchers, I think he will be on the fast track to Arlington. I’m not saying he will replace Chris Davis. I still have hope for Chris, but I think Smoak has proven that his bat belongs in the big leagues. I think we will see Hank Blalock traded before we see Davis on the auction block. Jon Daniels is too smart to sell short on Davis. He has too much potential, which we witnessed last year. We don’t want a repeat of the Adrian Gonzalez trade.

There are a lot of good things coming the Rangers’ way. I hope too many people don’t jump off the bandwagon…they will miss something special.

It’s funny how one’s expectations can change their perspective on things. At the beginning of the season, most “experts” picked the Rangers to finish at around 82-80. Now it seems that most of the talking heads are complaining that Rangers’ management is not doing enough win this season, when none of them expected the Rangers to contend at the beginning of the year. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

I fully expect this team to turn things around. The bats will heat back up. The pitching and defense, anchored by Kevin Millwood, Frank Francisco, Michael Young, and Ian Kinsler, will keep performing. And we are going to get a glimpse of what the future holds. The Rangers are going to give the Angels and Mariners a run for their money this season. It won’t be easy, and it won’t always go the way we want it to go, but it will be fun to watch. I am all for meaningful games in August and September…and, hopefully, October.

Stay positive. Think about your expectations for the Rangers at the beginning of the season. Think about how much fun you have had watching them up to this point. We are back to square one. The Rangers are tied for 1st place after 69 games. 93 to go…

Hang on and enjoy the ride!

Go Rangers!