By Dic Humphrey/Correspondent
Texas beat the Angels last Sunday to clinch the weekend series three games to one, and finish the important opening schedule stretch after the All-Star break with three series wins and an 8-3 record.

Last weekend’s series began important stretch of 16 consecutive games against West division opponents. After finishing the Oakland series this week, Texas leaves for nine games on the road facing all three divisional opponents in three-game sets. The divisional games are particularly important, as they basically count double in the standings. A Ranger win is not only a win, but also hangs a loss on one of the teams chasing Texas for the pennant. The difficult schedule doesn’t stop there, either. When Texas returns from the road trip, they play eight consecutive games against the three beasts in the East; five games at home against the Yankees and Red Sox and three more on the road at Tampa Bay.

Watch out for the A’s
Fortunately, the Rangers are still looking in the rear view mirror at the rest of the division. Surprisingly though, they see not only the Angels but also the Oakland A’s. Quietly, Oakland has crept back into the conversation. They arrived in Arlington this week having won four straight series and nine of their previous 11 games. Their record was back over .500, and they had cut their deficit in the division to single digits.

Oakland opened the series this week with their top three starting pitchers on the disabled list. Highland Park resident Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer and Bret Anderson were all recovering; though Anderson is expected back this weekend. Last Sunday, he threw 5.1 shutout innings in his final AAA rehab start, and should start this Saturday in Sheets’ rotation spot. With the A’s track record of strong second half finishes and with ailing players returning to the roster, Oakland is not to be taken lightly, no matter what happens in Arlington this week.

For the Rangers, postseason play looks even more promising despite the tough second half schedule. Taking nine of the first 12 games after the break has really strengthened their hold on first place. The team looks good in every aspect of the game. The addition of Cliff Lee has shored up the rotation. He may be just 1-1 in four starts, but he has completed nine innings in three of them. He’s pitched well enough to be 3-1, but poor run support has cost two wins. The offense has scored just seven runs with Lee on the mound in his four starts. Scott Feldman is the only struggling starter at this point, and Rich Harden, who had a very good minor league rehab start last Monday, may replace Feldman in the rotation soon.

Spearheading the pen is closer Neftali Feliz, who led the league with 28 saves after closing out the Angels last Sunday. He has converted 19 consecutive save opportunities, one of the longest streaks in Ranger history, and is a serious candidate for American League Rookie of the Year. The defense has been more consistent of late, and routinely seems to turn in three SportsCenter-quality plays per game.

Is a lineup shuffle coming?
Then there is the offense. It has struggled to some degree, scoring just 16 runs in six games through Tuesday. A batting order change is likely on its way. Josh Hamilton simply has to be moved up from the five slot. His statistics are outrageous. He is a definite Triple Crown candidate with little more than a third of the season remaining; he leads the league in batting average while ranking third and sixth in home runs and RBI. He is hitting .409 in July, including .447 in the first 12 games since the All-Star break.

When the Rangers beat Oakland Tuesday to open the series, they extended their division lead to 8.5 games, just shy of the largest division lead in the team’s history – 10 games. This Ranger team looks to be the most complete one ever. It is strong in literally every area of the game. Only time will tell if it becomes the greatest Ranger team ever. It looks to have the weapons to advance in the playoffs if they get there. The current 16-game schedule stretch against divisional opponents presents the opportunity to pull away from the other three West foes and put a strong clamp on that playoff berth.