OAKLAND -- Fans know the operative term when teams start poorly, to wit, "It's early."
Literally yes, only two weeks into a major league season that extends six months. Still, early or late, the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, who on Monday night begin a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum, are going in the wrong direction.
Both lost their past three games, the A's dropping one at Kansas City and then two in a row to Houston at home before getting rained out Sunday. The Rangers, meanwhile, were swept in Seattle and thus replaced the Mariners at the bottom of American League West.