Do you think the Rangers should sell the farm to acquire Roy Halladay? The Rangers, like the Brewers, are a team that’s having more success that they might have bargained for this season. That’s good as it helps them build toward a championship team, but franchises like Texas and Milwaukee have been doing that forever. When your franchise has never won a championship (or the only people who remember you winning one are all retired), I believe there’s an obligation for the organization to go for a win whenever possible.
So does Roy Halladay put the the Rangers over the threshold? It looks like it’s going to take 95 wins to make the playoffs. If the Rangers acquire Halladay today they should get 17 starts out of him. Best case, Texas goes 15-2 in those starts. That means the rest of the staff would need to go 35-29, a .547 winning percentage. That seems rather doable.
A 15-2 record is a tall order. As great as Sabathia pitched in 2008, the Brewers went 14-3 in his games. It’s a very close call, but if Texas could get him for one of their top pitching prospects and a catcher, I would do the deal.
Given that the Angels are currently on a 92 win pace and are projected for 89 wins (by coolstandings.com) based on run differential, why do the Rangers need to win 95 to have a shot at the playoffs?
@TheOrioleWay: 1) 95 wins likely gets them into the wild card. 2) The Angels have lots of room for improvement if Vlad starts hitting again and Lackey comes back to to form.
If the Rangers win 92 games and the Angels win 93, they probably don’t make the playoffs. If the Rangers win 95 and the Angels win 96, then the Rangers probably make the playoffs.
I agree that the Rangers may make the playoffs at a lower win level, but 95 wins almost certainly gets them there.