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The Texas Rangers rank first in the major leagues in runs scored this season and 29th in team ERA. In another startling development, it'll be hot and muggy with a 100 percent chance of sopping brows this week in Arlington.

Nolan Ryan, the team president, feels good about the offense and understandably ill at ease with the performance of the pitching staff. He scoffs at the suggestion that he could come out of retirement in a grunting, fastball-flinging, Robin Ventura-headlocking frenzy and help remedy the situation. After all, Big Tex is now 61 years old -- or almost 16 years older than baseball's resident pitching relic, Jamie Moyer.

"I'd need a lot more than Advil if I did that," Ryan said, chuckling.

In his first year on the job, Ryan chooses to watch the team from a box near the field. That vantage point allows him to see how Texas pitchers are using their repertoires and trying to outmaneuver opposing lineups. While headed to and from his seat, Ryan is also sure to hear a few suggestions, critiques or trade proposals from the fan base. He's learning that passion, in whatever form it takes, is always preferable to the alternative.

As the Rangers begin the second installment of the Lone Star Series in Houston on Tuesday night, Ryan is seeing lots of positive signs, most notably in the outfield. It doesn't take a tremendous leap of faith to envision Josh Hamilton winning the American League MVP award, David Murphy taking Rookie of the Year and Milton Bradley capturing the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Ian Kinsler and Michael Young are bona fide All-Star candidates, and Vicente Padilla is 10-3 with a 3.74 ERA. The Rangers have enough strong individual performers to do the unthinkable and squeeze a Yankee or Red Sox player off the All-Star Game roster.

But a 39-38 team is, invariably, a mixed bag, and most of Texas' deficiencies can be found 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate. The Jason Jennings and Sidney Ponson experiments failed to pan out, Brandon McCarthy has been out since spring training with a forearm injury, and Armando Galarraga, designated for assignment by Texas in January, is 7-2 with a 3.03 ERA for Detroit. C.J. Wilson has taken some lumps as closer, and as wonderful as the Hamilton trade has been, it cost the Rangers Edinson Volquez, who has blossomed into a star in Cincinnati.

In some ways, the Rangers are on the same developmental curve as those scrappy Tampa Bay Rays. They can put a dynamic lineup on the field, but the young pitching has to catch up with the everyday talent. How close is Texas to making a run at its first postseason berth since 1999? That hinges in large part on whether Eric Hurley and former Braves prospect Matt Harrison continue to progress, Thomas Diamond makes a successful comeback from Tommy John surgery and 20-year-old Neftali Feliz is as dynamic as his numbers in Class A Clinton (93 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings) suggest.

Although general manager Jon Daniels' moves have been hit-and-miss, the Texas organization is awash in position player prospects. First baseman Chris Davis leads the minors with 23 homers and 73 RBIs and is making a strong case for a call-up. Catcher Max Ramirez, acquired from Cleveland for Kenny Lofton last July, was hitting .363 with a .662 slugging percentage when the Rangers summoned him from Double-A Frisco on Saturday to replace the injured Gerald Laird.

Texas has a top young shortstop, Elvis Andrus, and an elite catching prospect, Taylor Teagarden, in the minors, and that doesn't factor in the rest of the haul that Daniels acquired in the Mark Teixeira and Eric Gagne trades last summer. The Texas farm system has climbed from 28th to fourth in Baseball America's rankings, and the Rangers hope an increased commitment in Latin-America will pay even more dividends.

"We feel we have some awfully good players in our minor league system who will definitely have an impact when they're ready," Ryan said, "but we're trying not to rush them."

When Ryan agreed to a four-year deal in February, he became the first Hall of Famer to assume the job of club president since Christy Mathewson did it for the 1925 Boston Braves. Speculation was rampant that Ryan might be too much of a daunting, interventionist presence to co-exist with Daniels, but Ryan seems comfortable in his role as a resource rather than a shadow to the Rangers' young GM. He also has other things to worry about besides Hank Blalock's recovery from wrist surgery or the team's lack of quality starts.

On any given day, Ryan might be preoccupied with development around the ballpark, marketing the brand or researching new scoreboards. He is also routinely on the phone with the New York offices as the Rangers' principal liaison with Major League Baseball.

"He has so much on his plate, he needs to delegate and trust his people," Daniels said. "I try to keep him up to speed with what's going on. But as far as day-to-day roster moves or where our scouts are on a particular day, he has too many things going on to dig in at that level. It's more top of the line stuff we talk about."

Ryan's knack for strategizing has served him well in his business career. He owns successful minor league teams in Round Rock and Corpus Christi, Texas, which are now being run by his sons Reid and Reese. He is chairman of the Express Bank of Texas, owner of Nolan Ryan's Waterfront Restaurant and Bass Inn, and has a financial stake in Nolan Ryan's Guaranteed Tender Age Beef, which doles out beef brisket and sausage on a stick by the 10-gallon-hatful at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Lest his days become too boring, Ryan is also a spokesman for the Principal Financial Group, which is sponsoring mini-fan fests at 60 minor league parks throughout the country this summer. If you have any used equipment to donate to underprivileged kids through the "Pitch in For Baseball" program, Nolan is happy to tell you all about it.

Although the Rangers are one of the game's most entertaining teams, they could use a few more people in the seats. After ranking 17th among MLB clubs in attendance last year, they're 25th this season and down about 5,500 fans per game. Ryan is quick to point out that gas prices are high, the economy is struggling, and the Yankees and Red Sox have yet to visit Arlington this season.

Ryan recently hired former Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey as executive vice president of marketing and community development, and he's taken a long-term view on the field. When the Rangers began the season at 8-17, manager Ron Washington's job was reportedly in jeopardy. But the top brass conferred and decided to stick with Washington, and Texas has gone 31-21 since.

Although that decision jibed with Daniels' description of Ryan as a "calculated and deliberate decision maker," Ryan's weather-beaten exterior conceals the heart of a born competitor. Like everyone else, Ryan finds his pulse quickening as he watches Bradley spray line drives all over the field and Hamilton circle the bases after 450-foot shots.

"Talent-wise, you look at Josh on the same basis that you do a Mickey Mantle, a Ken Griffey Jr., or players of that magnitude," Ryan said. "For a big man to be able to run like that and be as agile as he is, he's a phenomenal player. He's fun to watch."

Ryan, now a self-professed "suit and tie guy," will continue to mix business, baseball, short-term fun and a long-term sense of obligation in his role as a top executive. While no believer in shortcuts, he has, nevertheless, taken a small liberty or two recently as a concession to comfort.

"Now that it's June and it's 100 degrees, I'm starting to see Nolan in a lot more polo shirts," Daniels said.

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com. His book "License To Deal" was published by Rodale. Click here to order a copy. Jerry can be reached via e-mail.