Why the Perennially Contending Texas Rangers are Baseball's Worst Team

Injuries to star first baseman Prince Fielder and others haven't helped, but the Texas Rangers' problems go deeper than that.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

After spending 11 years in Washington, the Senators moved to Arlington and became the Texas Rangers.

While the franchise was in the nation’s capital, it spent the bulk of its time in the basement of the American League, including five seasons with sub-.400 winning percentages. Since moving to Texas, the Rangers have finished with sub-.400 records only four times in the 42 years that they have played before 2014.

However, after enjoying great success over the last half decade (four straight 90+ win seasons and two World Series appearances), Ron Washington’s club has fallen on hard times. The Rangers are the league’s worst team, and the club’s eight consecutive losses before the All-Star break doubled the number of the second-longest active losing streak at the time. Buck Showalter managed the team the last time they lost that many games in a row, and the Rangers have currently lost 10 of their last 11.

March Mascot Melee™: Round One of the MLB Bracket

Neither of these goofy guys made our tournament, but how awesome is this picture?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

And so it begins.

Our month-long mascot battle royal opens today with the feistiest mascots from Major League Baseball. It is by far the weakest of our four brackets, if you're curious. I won't waste any more of your time, let's get to the bracket and break down each match up below.

MLB Playoff Push: American League

Will Miguel Cabrera's injury keep the Tigers out of the AL's top seed? (Flickr)

By Bennett Corcoran

Yesterday, we took a look at the National League. Today, our focus shifts to the American league, where a greater number of teams remain in contention.

Boston Red Sox (88-58)