Friday newsletter time: Rangers unveil Texas-themed logo for 2024 All-Star Game

The unveiling of the logo for the next All-Star Game is akin to the passing of torch at the end of an Olympic Games.

Club officials, local dignitaries and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred were at Globe Life Field on Thursday morning for a ceremony that officially puts the Rangers on the clock for the 2024 Midsummer Classic.

There’ s no going back now, barring some kind of unforeseen political uproar or a pandemic.

The logo, shown as the main art for this newsletter, tries to wrangle Texas heritage. The Texas Rangers are hosting after all, not that team three hours to the southeast.

The Rangers haven’t hosted since 1995, when temperatures for the Home Run Derby were said to be somewhere near the surface of the sun. That won’t be a problem next season thanks to the sweet, sweet retractable roof.

If we’re being honest, that roof is why the Rangers are getting the game. A roofless Globe Life Field might have landed the game, as MLB likes to reward teams who make major ballpark investments, but it would have been done so reluctantly and with the assurance of plenty of water breaks.

The only outside activity will be the red carpet show, which might become the world’s shortest parade.

Lots of people will attend. My son asks about every other day if he gets to go. The answer is yes, of course, assuming we can score some tickets over the next 11 1/2 months.

The countdown is on.

Fast starts

The Rangers were off Thursday and will look to run their second-half-opening winning streak to seven games tonight in the opener of a three-game series against the Dodgers.

Rangers Today historian T.R. Sullivan pointed out Wednesday on Twitter that the Rangers haven’t always started well after the All-Star Game.

If you know anything about Rangers history…a six-game winning streak after the All-Star Break…

Would have changed everything for Doug Rader (1983), Toby Harrah (1992), Jeff Banister (2017), Chris Woodward (2019)

Post ASG for the Rangers has always been perilous…until now

— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) July 19, 2023

An exception is the 2010 team that became the first in club history to reach the World Series, and they finished the first half in similar fashion to these Rangers. That team opened July 3-8 and lost four straight at home to the Orioles, including Cliff Lee’s first start following the big trade, before the All-Star Game.

They didn’t go 6-0 upon the resumption of the season, but they did go 5-1 with the lone loss a walk-off at Boston the day after Bengie Molina hit for the cycle. By the end of July, their lead in the American League West was 8 1/2 games.

This season the Rangers dragged into the All-Star break by going … 3-8. Their AL West lead is four games over the Astros.

Card of the Week

The trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and the Rangers are expected to be buyers for the first time in a long time.

They didn’t have much to sell off last season, though they found a trade with Milwaukee for Matt Bush. He’s back in the organization after a rough go with the Brewers. The Rangers no longer have Mark Mathias, who went to Pittsburgh in a spring waiver claim, but left-hander Antoine Kelly is pitching well in relief at Double A Frisco.

The Rangers made several other trades in 2020 and 2021, including deals for first baseman Nate Lowe, right-hander Dane Dunning and catcher Jonah Heim. They also picked up Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith and Glenn Otto (and Frisco outfielder Trevor Hauver) in the 2021 deal for Joey Gallo.

Gallo’s 2012 1st Bowman blue No. 40/500 is the Card of the Week.

I thought then that Gallo would be at his best with the Rangers and continue to believe he would be faring much better than he is now with the Twins after the trade to the Yankees and a subsequent trade to the Dodgers.

Gallo had an .833 OPS over parts of seven seasons with the Rangers. He’s at .770 this season with 17 homers after a meager .638 OPS last season.

He’ll be a free agent again this winter. The Rangers are likely to need a designated hitter and an extra outfielder, and Gallo would probably be more affordable than the $11 million the Twins are paying him this season.

Gallo was comfortable here and might be again, and I’d like to see if play out. But if the Rangers are going to take a flier on at designated hitter or in the outfield, they should do it with an internal candidate like Justin Foscue, Bubba Thompson, Dustin Harris, Luisangel Acuna, J.P. Martinez or another minor-leaguer who wins a job.

Doggy video!

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m jealous. Enjoy.

Guard dog on duty…🐾😅 pic.twitter.com/yJQjB14Kpz

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) July 19, 2023

Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com