at this point, I'd rather see the Rangers completely tank and get the 1st overall pick in the 2008 draft.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

I got to vote in the Canadian election today, turned 18 two weeks ago.

Hoping the Liberals stay in power.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

With the sudden influx of good pitching from the Rangers' young starting pitching, the bullpen has become a bit more interesting.  If the Rangers keep Rogers and sign a free-agent starter (or signs two starters and lets Rogers go), the rotation looks like this:

Rogers/Young/Loe/Dominguez/Free Agent

Which leaves the following pool of players for the bullpen:

Mahay, Shouse, Benoit, RicRod, Cordero, Wilson, Regilio, Feldman, Wasdin, Almanzar (mid-season), Fransisco, and some useless retreads.

Long man/Spot Starter:  Benoit, RicRod, Wasdin
Middle relief: Regilio, Shouse, Mahay, Wilson
Setup: Feldman, Fransisco
Closer: Cordero

Those are the possible options.  It seems to me that the gaping hole is in lefty relievers - Shouse and Mahay have been pretty bad this year.

What kind of bullpen configuration would be most effective?

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What are the chances that the Rangers take a flier on Danks tomorrow, offering him 2nd round money in hopes that he would sign to come play with his brother?

I'm guessing the Rangers tried to get John Danks to convince his brother to sign with the Rangers.

On an unrelated note, the 90th overall pick, the catcher Chris Robinson, is from my hometown of Dorchester, Ontario  (population: 3000 or so).  His mom taught my high school English class and always raved about how Chris was "such a good kid."  And my brother played baseball with him 5 years ago.

I was talking to his dad today, because his dad also taught (he retired, but was at the school today) at my school.  He was very tight-lipped, but said that he didn't think the Rangers would draft him.

The bastard is going to get $450,000+.

I remember hearing stats last year that if a team is x games out at the trade deadline, they're effectively eliminated (except in rare circumstances).  Are there any statistics on when a team is x games out after 60 games or so?

I am asking this because I'm curious how much longer the M's and A's have to make a run to get back into the race before they're dead in the water.

Do the Rangers have a shot at winning the West?

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