From Baseball Prospectus, here are your current AL West playoff odds:
Since last week, the Rangers have become less likely to win the division according to the odds. Perhaps a solid week coupled with a bad week by the A's could move Texas back up, but with a long way yet to go in the season, it wouldn't surprise me to see this change several times before it's all said and done.
A few things hanging around out there today:
I can’t say that he isn’t [an option]. You have to take him into consideration because there’s just not a lot of [right-handed hitters] out there and if somebody has one, they usually are overpriced this time of year. So it’s hard to say.
He’s so closed to the media that we don’t know where his mind is ever. He’s clearly miffed. You don’t really know if he’s miffed at the media or if he’s putting on a show. But he seems be carrying on something of a feud with the media over his pitch selection. But we really don’t know what this guy is thinking. You’re just completely guessing. In my opinion, the guy has been very disappointing in that he hasn’t come up big when he’s had leads. The Rangers haven’t scored runs for him his last eight or nine starts. They scored a boat load of runs for him in his first eight or nine starts. Don’t be afraid to win a game 2-1. You’re supposed to be the ace of the staff, and he has not pitched like that for me.
So there's that. I've wondered for a few weeks about what the perception is of Darvish in the media, and while I didn't imagine it being quite this much of a perceived "feud", it has seemed that his pitching has suffered from trying to prove something. Maybe this DL trip his just what he needed to get ready for ace-like performances in the second half of the season.
From Baseball Prospectus, here are your current AL West playoff odds:
Take note that while the Rangers are currently sitting a half game back of the Oakland A's, Baseball Prospectus actually gives them the nod over the A's with a slightly higher chance of making the postseason and a slightly better chance at winning the division. As of right now, the Angels -- while still technically in the race -- are considered a long shot, and have a better chance (obviously) at squeaking by with a Wild Card spot.
From there, you have Seattle and Houston, both pretty much written off at this point, although, as the Rangers found out last week, both teams are threat to play the role of the spoiler.
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
A few things out there and on my mind today:
Edit: Furthermore, ESPN Dallas is now reporting that Mike Olt received some instruction from Manny Ramirez. Ramirez looked at some tape of Olt's swing, identified some issues, and worked with him in the cage. Not earth-shattering by any means, but nonetheless cool.
I think I threw too many fastballs. I’m a breaking-ball pitcher. I should have thrown more breaking balls, not just this outing but the last one, too.
In no way do I agree with Darvish's assessment of his own repertoire, rather I feel as if he's actually just tired of answering questions as to why he's been ineffective recently. The results don't lie, and Darvish is a better pitcher when he's dealing a heavy dose of well-located fastballs. The location is key. At times, it seems as if Darvish relies far too much on the swing-and-miss instead of trusting his location. I think he'll get there, but he's prone to revert to old habits after a less-than-stellar start or two.
But I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of Young being a fallback as a RH DH/utility guy for the second half of the season here. Both Yanks and Red Sox want him and you could certainly make a case the Rangers could use him, too. Think it would be a move that would be welcomed in the clubhouse and give team an extra shot of energy. But it would also have to be as a supplemental role. He might be both a part-time DH and a part-time player. Young has veto ability on a trade, so he'd have to be on board with that. But I think he could help.
For my money, I can't imagine this is much more than sensationalistic writing and an attempt to earn a reaction, be it positive or negative. Whatever the case may be, I simply can't imagine the Rangers going back down that road, and can't imagine Young being willing to accept simply coming back in a "lesser" role. That ship has sailed, and there's a reason the franchise took a chance and signed Manny Ramirez. With Jurickson Profar also on the roster, the team has more options than making a desperate trade to reacquire the guy they just managed to trade away this past offseason.
