Tilt

Yesterday, I assumed that I was important and pretended to be Jon Daniels, general manager for the Texas Rangers.

In that post, I mentioned that the Rangers are at home for a majority of the remaining 60-odd games.

The funny thing: The first nine games after the All-Star break, starting tonight in Minnesota, are on the road. That means after this road trip, the Rangers will have 57 games left -- 35 on the road. Snazzy!

This road trip -- Minnesota, Chicago, Oakland -- will end May 27. That leaves four days for Daniels to properly assess his team and make any corresponding trades before July 31. The reason he can do this is because Minny and Oakland are two of the four teams ahead of the Rangers in the wildcard race. The White Sox are just good and if the Rangers roll in there and take two, then it's gravy.

Frankly, if they end up 5-4 on this trip, I would very much expect Milton Bradley, Vicente Padilla and Eddie Guardado to be on the team. Should they? Probably not, but there's been so much progress with the farm system, it doesn't matter much. Guardado and Bradley could walk after the season or they'll agree to a reasonable contract.

If this thing ends at 6-3, then ... watch out playoffs! Not for real. But that's what many (see: media) will start telling us. They will start saying things like, "Why not the Rangers!?" and "Look at the 2007 Rockies!" and "The 2006 Cardinals won the World Series with 80 wins!"

All bunk. If this team makes the playoffs with this roster, then I think I'll die. Just cease to breath. It'll be fantastic. But the key is to do it with this team. Meaning, the Rangers shouldn't forego the uptick of the minor league system for some vet who'll leave after the season.

I don't think 7-2, 8-1 or 9-0 are even possible.

Be watching Rangers fans. It's a time to see what this team is really about.