MILWAUKEE -- Skip Schumaker knows what he wants the Rangers’ offense to look like.
He just can’t quite say that it looks that way yet.
That search for an identity has followed Texas throughout an uneven season, and it takes on even more significance now. The Rangers entered Friday at 66-68, just one game behind the Astros in the American League West despite spending much of the year searching for offensive consistency.
Across the field this weekend is a team that, in Schumaker’s eyes, provides a pretty good blueprint.
The Brewers entered the series with baseball’s best record at 83-51, but what stood out to Schumaker wasn’t simply the wins. It was how they create them.
“They don’t chase, and they run the bases really well,” Schumaker said. “They’re young, they’re athletic, and so I think there’s a combination of things that are challenging to defend.”
Milwaukee entered Friday third in MLB with 133 stolen bases and third in baserunning value. The Brewers force opposing teams to deal with their speed, their bunting, their ability to put balls in play and, as Schumaker repeatedly noted, their willingness to control the strike zone.
In other words, they make an opponent uncomfortable.
That is the type of offense Schumaker wants Texas to become.
“I think the toughest offenses to play against are the ones that don’t chase and then move the ball forward in leverage counts,” Schumaker said. “Those are the toughest offenses to defend and gameplan against, because it typically scares you out of the zone.”
The Rangers haven’t been devoid of positive offensive signs. Schumaker said they’ve done a better job recently of creating traffic and drawing walks, and the return of Corey Seager has helped stabilize the lineup.
The problem has been turning all of that traffic into runs.
“We’re getting on, just not driving them in,” Schumaker said. “That’s been the thing that’s been the most frustrating.”
It’s a distinction that matters at this point of the season. Texas remains firmly in the postseason race despite entering Friday two games below .500, but its margin for inconsistency is shrinking. The Rangers dropped two of three to the White Sox earlier this week and have not won a road series since the end of June against the Guardians.
Now they get the Brewers, winners of eight straight home series.
And as Schumaker looks at Milwaukee from the opposing dugout, he sees many of the qualities he hopes his own club can develop.
The Brewers put the ball in play with two strikes. They run. They bunt. They recognize spin. They force pitchers into the strike zone and then capitalize when they get something to hit. Their offense doesn’t necessarily overwhelm teams in one particular way; it finds different ways to win.
That last part might be the most important to Schumaker.
Asked Friday to identify exactly what defines his own offense, Schumaker acknowledged that he doesn’t have a satisfying answer yet.
“I haven’t found [it],” Schumaker said. “I understand that because I can’t give you one right now.”
It was a candid admission from a manager whose offense has seemed to change shape throughout the season, in part because of injuries and an ever-changing cast of available players.
Schumaker doesn’t use that as an excuse. Every team deals with injuries. And while having Seager healthy for a longer stretch would undoubtedly alter the Rangers’ offensive profile, Schumaker knows Texas has to establish something more sustainable regardless of who is available.
“I think you have to stand out in some way, for sure,” Schumaker said. “There’s top-10 offenses that are top 10 in something for a reason, whether it’s slug or batting average, putting the ball in play, chase. You don’t have to be a full-blown team to win your division.”
What Texas has to become remains less clear. What Schumaker wants is not.
Plate discipline. Productive at-bats in advantage counts. Athleticism. Pressure. An offense capable of beating an opponent in more than one way.
“Trying to find different ways to beat you has always been kind of what I wanted to be,” Schumaker said.
With a little more than four weeks left in the regular season and the Rangers still very much alive in the AL West race, the time to find that identity is running short.
This weekend, they won’t have to look far for an example.