The Ranger Zone

The AL West is a mess-t. Down the home stretch, and for most of the season, the Rangers, Astros and Mariners look as graceful as ostriches in a three-legged race. In this episode, we search for clues to tell us who might accidentally stumble across the finish line with the AL West title. Is it home/road splits? One-run games? Extra-innings games? Remaining schedules? One thing’s for certain: the b...

Someone left the booth unlocked again. And when the cat’s away, the mice call baseball games. Welcome to the fifth installment of Amateur Broadcast Theater. This was the June 7th rubber match against the Cleveland Guardians. This one went exceptionally better than the last time we called one against the Guardians, and we got to channel our inner Vin Scully, Eric Nadel, and Harry Caray while trying...

The Rangers are still holding the middle down in an eternal dance with .500, but there’s naive hope on the horizon. In this episode, we take a stab at the back half of 162 and call our shots across the league. Robbie thinks Yordan Alvarez has a serious case to take the Triple Crown, Tony sees the Big Dumper taking the rest of the M’s to the trash heap and missing the postseason, and Chris thinks t...

If we have to blow it up, this is how we’d do it. In this episode, we imagine the worst and envision a scenario where the Rangers burn everything to the ground to build anew. Robbie targets promising prospects and veteran gap fillers, Chris eyeballs catchers of the future, and Tony reminds us why Jacob deGrom is valuable to all 30 teams.   LINKS: Spotify ⚾ https://bit.ly/41njqFi  Apple Podcasts...

The voting sham that is the MLB All-Star game is nearly complete, and despite what all of Canada thinks, we believe no Blue Jays (except Ernie Clement) should even sniff the ballot. In this episode, we put together our All-Star rosters and make a case for two Texas Rangers position players to join the prolific squad in Philadelphia this season, and vow to start rioting if Jacob Latz isn’t an All-S...

We’ve reached the first milestone of the season – the quartermark. In this episode, we explain how the first 41.5 games weren’t all dreck and dismay. The pitching has held firm from 2025, aside from a few dozen home runs from No. 1 and No. 2. And the hitting… well, the hitting has been hard and fast, but often right into a fielder’s glove – unless you’re Josh Jung or Ezekiel Duran.    LINKS: Spoti...

The fourth and final installment of Beast of the Best has cometh, and it might be the most depressing. In this episode, we visit the last three positions available – pitcher, catcher, and designated hitter. And what if I told you names like Nolan Ryan and Yu Darvish aren’t on this list? Well, you’d be as flabbergasted as we were to learn who outshined their single-season WAR accolades as a Texas R...

The newest threads of Nike’s City Connect program are here and we’ve got inflammatory opinions. In this episode, we describe in painful detail every nook and cranny of the seven new City Connects, including, of course, your Texas Rangers, rather – Tejas Rangers. We also give our top-3 personal rankings, but which one takes the cake? San Diego’s fireberry and marigold accents? Pittsburgh’s dagger-b...

You can have your peanuts and Cracker Jack, we’ll take the chicken-fried hot dog served on a biscuit with gravy. In this episode, it’s FOOOOOOD! We bring you all the wild, wacky and worrisome food coming to Globe Life Field this season, as well as some other delicious dishes from around the league, like the Pig Kahuna, the Blooperito, the Glizzilla, the Bratwurst Smashie and many more mouth-wateri...

The third, and second-to-last, installment of Beast of the Best hath arriven – and it might be the saddest one in the four-part series. In this episode, we travel beyond the base paths into the outfield to discuss why and how Juan Gonzalez stole two MVPs from Ken Griffey (or a handful of other players in the ‘90s), froth at the sight of Adolis Garcia’s 1.000+ OPS in the 2023 postseason, and discov...

The amateurs are back in the broadcast booth for 2026. We last left you in the final game of the previous season and are bringing you into this season with the rubber match of the Rangers' opening series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In this episode, we get home runs from the two newest additions, Brandon Nimmo and Andrew McCutchen, and a 5-inning no-hit performance from another new addition,...

Beast of the Best is back, and this time it’s second basemen and shortstops. In this episode, Christopher reminds us that Toby Harrah was only 16 batting-average points shy of winning the Triple Crown in 1975. Robbie discovered that Marcus Semien is one of six second basemen to log 25+ HR, 100+ RBI, 120+ Runs in a single season. And Tony got the short end of the stick and had to talk about how gre...

The baseball season is upon us all, and we could not, would not, let another second go by without predicting all the things and stuffs for 2026. In this episode, we discuss every digit from AL West standings to playoff spots to World Series winners and even some Rangers-specific guestimates. Also, we vehemently reject the racist statue erected at Globe Life Field last month and hope the people who...

If the Rangers’ farm system is ranked 25th, did they really give up anything of value to the Nationals? Only the cruel, unrelenting march of time will tell. But for now, the World Series window remains wide open with the addition of MacKenzie Gore and his lethal curveball. In this episode, we get into the Gore-y details (see what we did there) from the five prospects dealt to the Nats, to his mach...

Welcome to the first of a four-part mini-series where we break down the Rangers’ best single-season performances by position. In this episode, we learn that Rafael Palmeiro stole 22 bases in 1993 – he’d never stolen more than 12. Hank Blalock led the league in defensive WAR in 2003 and didn’t win a Gold Glove. Buddy Bell is not only the all-time best and second-best defensive third baseman for the...

Things 1 and 2 behind the plate for the 2026 Texas Rangers are Kyle Higashioka, and man of the hour, Danny Jansen. In this episode, we gaze into our crystal baseball and glimpse Jansen’s past so we can predict his future – we think. We also compare the new tandem catchers with recently released Jonah Heim, shake in our boots about the Rangers’ long-term plan for the position, and Jansen’s historic...

A 1-for-1 trade has brought Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers, and we want to know: If the Big Apple were in Texas, would it be called the Bigger Apple? In this episode, WE. BREAK. DOWN. EVERYTHING. From Nimmo’s experience days leading up to the trade to reading between the lines of Semien’s exiting quotes to unpacking Nimmo’s entire plate approach. Robbie is concerned about his defense. Tony is concer...

Before hopping completely back in the saddle for 2026, we are humbled by our 2025 predictions for Jake Burger, Joc Pederson, and Kyle Higashioka. In this episode, we do what we could not last season and try to make reasonable predictions - this time, it’s trades. Robbie still yearns for Brent Rooker, Chris suggests a few 1-for-1s, and Tony thinks the Twins’ cupboard still has some non-perishable i...

Even though Chris Young said he can’t spend a lot of Ray Davis’ money in 2026, we still think there’s a budget team to be built. In this episode, we count the nickels and dimes of player salaries for next season and play free agent musical chairs. How do Dustin May, Zac Gallen or Victor Caratini sound? Chris also debuts a new POWER RANKINGS segment.   SHOW NOTES: https://bit.ly/48nwfmh ⚾ CY year-...

We’re back in our make-believe booth for the final edition of Amateur Broadcast Theater for the 2025 Rangers season. In this episode, you’ll hear the sounds and our calls of the final game from Sunday, September 28th, against the Cleveland Guardians, which includes a guest appearance from Christopher’s dad acting as a sort of on-field reporter as he attended the game in Cleveland. Lots of electric...

Just who is Skip Schumacher? You’re about to find out. In this episode, we chronicle Skip’s time as a player, bench coach, and, of course, a skipper. We’ll never forget the heartbreaking 2011 WS, you know, the one where Skip’s team won. But we’re hoping his vision for better communication, stronger teambuilding, and establishing a new “winning clubhouse culture” throughout his next four seasons as...

The Rangers’ 81-81 record may be the numbers that measured wins and losses, but we spread the data sheets and found our limelight-less favorites from the 2025 season. In this episode, we get nerdy by the numbers and put a bow on our perfectly average end result. Robbie celebrates Higashioka’s career year, Tony hands out his own team awards, and Christopher remembers Bobby Wilson.   SHOW NOTES Seag...

The Dont-Quit-Your-Day-Job team is here again for another edition of Amateur Broadcast Theater. In this episode, we called the Sunday, July 27th matchup between the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves – a win that would secure our 2nd consecutive series sweep. This time Christopher gets a home run call. So, sit down, strap in, and let’s play ball.   LINKS: Spotify ⚾ https://bit.ly/41njqFi  Apple Pod...

The Rangers have miraculously un-slumped, and a playoff appearance is closer than it’s ever been. While the younglings realign our postseason hopes, the league eyes team realignment and expansion. In this episode, we build our own dream divisions that completely upend everything baseball traditionalists care about. Robbie says it’s all about geography, Tony says it’s all about the money, and Chris...

Wallow with us in the doldrums as we ponder if Tony was right – will the Texas Rangers miss the postseason? Will we overcome the lack of clutchness? Just how tired is the bullpen? Can the Little Rascals make baseball history? Robbie takes us on the season-long journey of offensive mediocrity, Christopher is already non-tendering Heim and Bombi, and Tony thinks Skip should be the new skipper.   SHO...