Tensions boiled up Monday after another blowout loss for the Rangers.

“I’m embarrassed, and the entire team should be embarrassed,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said after the game. On Tuesday, the at-bat quality looked slightly different; however, the club still took their seventh straight loss. The numbers are awful, I’m not even going to sugar-coat it. Texas is 1 for their last 32 with runners in scoring position, and that one hit didn’t produce a run. In that span (51 innings), oppositions outscored the Rangers 51-4, along with a run scored Tuesday that snapped a span of twenty-eight and a third innings without a run.

The message throughout the season is clear. At-bat qualities are essential, and even though the results won’t always show, the key is never to give away at-bats. It’s a message that sounds redundant, but for Chris Woodward, he doesn’t care at this point. Think of either a parent having to tell their child to do something over and over again. I’m sure we’ve all been on the child’s side, and most parents can relate to the parent’s side. Sooner or later, the message resonates, but sometimes you have to be creative in delivering that message. “As a leader, you have to find a way to get that message across,” Woodward told me. “You have to be creative at times. I know with my kids, I have to be creative.”

“There’s a responsibility that comes with putting on our uniform and going out competing, and there are certain expectations that come along with that,” Woodward said before Tuesday’s contest. “I’m not asking these guys that will hinder them or hurt them in any way with statistics or numbers or anything that’s going to cost them money.” There was more fight in Tuesday’s game, and hopefully, the message sent between Monday’s loss and before the game Tuesday received loud and clear.

ON THE BOARD, Y'ALL! pic.twitter.com/gVYtd9fwjC

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 21, 2021

Current Players reacting to Minor Leaguers

The Rangers minor league systems continue to make noise throughout the organization. One of the top questions is when first baseman Curtis Terry gets a crack at the Major Leagues. While he’s more than earned a shot, the Rangers don’t want to rush on guys they fully view in their future immediately. I’m not saying hold Terry back only because he’s a future piece, but make sure he’s ready mentally as well.

As for the current players, they ignore the minor league noise. “Not at all,” Isiah Kiner-Falefa told me in asking if he pays attention to the minor league guys. “It’s a competition at the end of the day. Those guys are coming for my job. I would like for them to do good and push us.” Kiner-Falefa said it’s difficult to compare the guys in the minor league and the guys in the big leagues. While IKF has a point and documented that minor league success doesn’t directly translate to the big leagues, the Rangers may give certain players a shot to see how they adjust to the major leagues.

For a veteran like Charlie Culberson, he did pay attention to minor leaguers’ success, but more so as a cheerleader for his teammates than anything else. For Charlie, well-versed in the game, he doesn’t pay attention to that anymore. “I’m trying to worry about what I’m doing and what our team is doing. When I was younger, I did a little more, but not so much anymore.” Culberson’s message Monday was about someone always behind you gunning for your job, but seeing what the minor league guys are doing isn’t a bad thing. “It’s good if they’re checking those guys out,” Charlie told me. On the one hand, there is one minor leaguer/draft pick that Isiah paid attention to. “I just pay attention to the [Jack] Leiter pick, and I like that pick a lot,” Kiner-Falefa told me.

Flexing the clutch gene 💪#Rangers No. 26 prospect Curtis Terry ties the @RRExpress game up late with a two-run blast the other way. pic.twitter.com/nPcPVJ2yi6

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 20, 2021